my honey moon :)

did you know that today was the first day of summer?
I know! (you have to say that like craig fergusen for the full effect of saying, I know!) :)
otherwise known as: summer solstice. (summer solstice?!  for you lindsey. :) )

or:
the day that the sun stands still for a minute...
midsummer's night...
honey moon...

I like that.  honey moon.  because they made sweetened wine from honey for all the wedding celebrations happening after the summer solstice.  honey moon has a nicer ring than solstice, no?

I love summer.
well, not really arizona summer.  but summer back home...
going to the dunes and eating pringles with sandy/salty fingers singing chama-chameleon :).
rolling all the windows down and opening the moon roof and just driving old country roads letting your left hand "float" outside the window.
watching the sun set as you finish off just one more game of volleyball and then turning on the flood lights only to keep playing all night long.
laying on the trampoline with absolutely no lights on and counting millions of stars.
catching twenty lightning bugs in a glass jar only to let them go again.
canoeing down a river and letting your toes skim the water.
listening and watching a summer thunderstorm roll in on a screened in porch.

*sigh.*
yes, I love summer.
I get to go back home in three weeks.  july 14th to the 23rd to be exact. :)
there.

there is where I will enjoy my honey moon. :)
happy honey moon to you. :)

p.s. I am only taking on four photography sessions while I'm in IL, as of right now.   email me if you'd like to book one of those sessions at jendriesbach@kreatid.com :)

coloring with different colors

this weeks challenge at i ♥ faces is teenagers.
whenever I hear that word I hear sebastian from "the little mermaid" when he's talking to the king and he says "teeeenayjuhs." in his thick jamaican accent...
makes me smile.

and yes, I am 32.  and no, I will never grow up. ;)

I still really love this picture.  one of my favorite things to do as a photographer is go back through favorite shoots and and remember the people and places in them.

the place of this shoot makes me smile...Red, baby chicks getting a bath, the alpha goat, 1920 old cars and tractors...
and this girl?  this girl sparkled.

for me this shoot was like a new box of crayons.  excited about all the new colors you can't pronounce and not too sure how it's really going to go - but excited nonetheless!  and I loved how her pictures turned out...

fun, colorful girl.  fun, colorful memory! :)

sugar + spice

"...sugar & spice, and everything nice. that's what little girls are made of..."

meet sedona.
cool name, right?
cool little chick, too! :) she genuinely seemed so happy to have her photograph taken!
and the outfits!
oh, the outfits! little girls simply have the BEST clothes! :)

 loved the details of her quilt!

the return of fun fridays :)

I'm back, baby! :)

break time is officially over for me.  my mom always said a good vacation is one that you are SO looking forward to go on and one that you are looking forward to return home at the end.
according to her wisdom, this has been a good break for me.  :)

okay so why?  why the break?

somewhere in the last six months, I got lost.  don't get me wrong, I loved the business of working with clients...the creative adreneline rush from an amazing shoot...being challenged in ways I never dreamed of!

but I got so busy reacting to the business of life that I couldn't be proactive with the things I felt like I should be or wanted to invest in.

questions like these haunted me over the last six months:
what creatively inspires me?
what dreams should I be pursueing?
better yet, what does God want of me creatively?

there's a passage in Galatians that I LOVE in "the message"...

"...make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.  don't be impressed with yourself.  don't compare yourself with others.  each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life..."

could these words get anymore inspiring!  these words breathed new life into me and gave me hope that God made me exactly who I should be.  and should I choose to live with "open hands" instead of feeling like a tight-fisted hamster on a hamster wheel, freedom to be ME is mine to attain.

all this being said...it's Friday.  and it's fine-uh-ly fun friday again...so here's my first of many more to come of "favorites" and "not-so-muches" :)

*Pretty Lovely Designs.
shalon (the designer) is an AMAZING, creative, super cool lady who helped design my new blog's look.  I tried out WordPress and like it...but didn't want to lose the history I've created with my current blog.  I didn't really care about creating a custom domain for this blog and simply LOVE the look of my new blog - mimicing my current style with my website.  She is extremely thorough and detail oriented and was more than helpful throughout the whole process.  DEFINITLY look her up to create a look that is completely unique to you! :)

*D300

yes.  I have one.  and it is AWE-some!  I just finished up three shoots with it and the D90 and am amazed at the usabilitly and clarity or it.  definitly a keeper and a challenge to learn - but I LOVE it! :)

*san diego.
if I could transplant my loved ones and life that I love in AZ to san diego...I'm pretty sure life would be almost perfect.  over the last two months I've had the privelage to travel there and it simply is amazing...the cool breezes, the deep smells of green things growing...the freaking OCEAN!  :)  yes, I love this place. :)

and the "not-so-muches"?
not in the mood this week...just favorites!  have an amazing weekend being creative! :)

hitting the pause button...

JEN.  seriously.  WHAT are you doing?!

:)

I am simply hitting the pause button on "life" to work on "jen" things.

I've felt for simply TOO long that I'm on a hamster wheel attempting to join the rat race.  that is SO not who I want to be.  not that I don't love this.  but feeling like you're doing things half-way is not my style and creatively draining.

so in answer to the question "what are you doing?"  I am catching up.  taking my time with edits.  reconstructing the blog (thanks to a really cool designer!).  updating the website (almost there!).  finishing painting my house (yes, I'll post before/afters).  playing with my kids.  going to summer camp.  working out.  playing by the pool and getting a tan.  dreaming.  and, oh yeah...prepping blog posts for when I come back on  *hopefully* june 14th (depending on if the new blog is ready by then).

however, thank you for asking what's up, all of you who did.  makes a girl feel loved. :)