Category Archives: 101 things

November 30, 2009

Update on the progress of the list!

Posted in 101 things, personal

Looking back over this list I can’t believe how many things I have accomplished since the last time I updated it :) Still waiting on that Thai though Jayme lol :) Almost halfway done!

1. Go on a Wednesday afternoon picnic with my husband and my dog Two wednesdays ago by the canal :)

2. Teach Freddie (my dog) to roll over

3. Go on a trip to Europe

4. Shoot a destination wedding

5. Go on a roadtrip – destination unknown

6. Have lunch or a real conversation with a photographer I admire

7. Make my mind up about having children

8. Buy a new house

9. Set up a home studio in said house

10. Smile more Smooshie makes me smile :)

11. Get my photo taken at least once a month for the next six months ( I never take photos of myself as it’s something I hate) – 5 months in a row! soooo close!

12. Do a portrait session with my family Completed April 13th – To be displayed in a blog post shortly

13. Do a portrait session with my husband :) (We don’t have any formal photos since Christmas 2003 unless you count our wedding photos) Thanks Sam!

14. Participate in a workshop

15. Attend WPPI again but do the Business Institute and Master classes as well :)
16. Get my business to go in the direction that I want it to with the clients that I want

17. Make sure that this time when I attend WPPI – I go a few days early so I can photograph all the landscapes I want

18. Do at least 5 seniors sessions

19. Donate my time to a local cause using my photography skills Donating prizes to Mainstream Golf Charity

20. Tell my husband one thing that I love about him (that’s different from the day before) every day for a month :)
21. Be a second shooter for a photographer I admire

22. Plan something great for our wedding anniversary

23. Spend more time with my mother

24. Take my little brother back to Canada’s Wonderland

25. Take my 19 year old brother out to a bar for drinks just the two of us

26. Give everyone of my bride’s a little gift to thank them for the gift they have bestowed upon me

27. Join the chamber of commerce Joined April 24th

28. Donate more money to charities or donate more time

29. Buy lens, end and body caps for all my gear and actually keep them without losing them for an entire wedding season

30. Lose 20 pounds before the end of the year – Completed 2009 – lost 24 pounds so far (not the way I would have wanted to though)

31. Go out dancing with my best friend Stella’s – April 25th

32. Have a get together with all my brides for the upcoming season

33. Get a few new backdrops for the studio

34. Create a really great mother’s day and father’s day gifts

35. Recover the panels in the office

36. Participate as a vendor in a local bridal show

37. Try thai food

38. Get together with some friends from out of town and catch up

39. Photograph a “first peek” session before the ceremony

40. Become a member of “Now I lay me down to sleep”

41. Deliver all of my brides and grooms their photos online within two weeks of the wedding

42. Quit pop – for good this time (don’t laugh it’s a serious addiction)

43. Swim in the ocean Did this with Bryan when we went to California :) such an amazing trip

44. Go fishing (haven’t done this in a long long time)

45. Add 10$ to a savings account every time I complete something on this list

46. Get my full G

47. Take a photo that represents each of the words in the 100 snapshots challenge ( http://thaumaturgise.wordpress.com/101-things/pictures/)

48. Go camping at BYNG

49. Go camping in Algonquin

50. Print some of our wedding photos to hang in our living room

51. Learn conversational Spanish

52. Learn conversational Italian – bought the book and CD and I am working on it !!!!

53. Take Freddie to puppy obedience classes

54. Take a tropical vacation

55. Learn how to snorkel or scuba dive

56. Take photos from the top of a mountain

57. Ride in a helicopter

58. At least three times in this period – push past my fear about something – and climb over the wall to do it anyway (ask me more if you’d like to understand this)

59. Research one new thing I’d like to learn a month – whether photography related or not (and blog about it) for six months

60. Go kayaking again – somewhere picturesque

61. Be a little more risky

62. Get regular pedicures this summer

63. Get regular massages this summer

64. Get signs made for the office

65. Install the fixed phone in the office so that when I lose power on the portable I can still answer calls!

66. Prepare flyers and promotional items for the bridal show

67. Plant the garden in the backyard

68. Dress Freddie (my dog) up for Halloween in a doggie Halloween costume

69. Change phone companies

70. Launch portrait site

71. Blog a video once every two weeks

72. Create an official charging station in the studio

73. Enter 5 photography contests

74. Shoot a “wear the dress” session in my favourite place in Ontario

75. Create a standardized logo file with my logo made to fit samples, envelopes, letterhead etc…

76. Get my hard drives under control

77. Finish MD photo book

78. Delete old and unecessary facebook messages

79. Order new business cards

80. Book a wedding out of province

81. Teach a basics course on how to take better photos

82. Finish office reno

83. Finish this list

84. Get glare free glass for all of my frames

85. Clean out my car – top to bottom and then get a car wash that includes the inside of my car

86. Order sample prints for comparison

87. Create supplier pricing binder & customer pricing binder Completed!! This past week thanks in help by Brianne!

88. Order new batteries and charger

89. Go to bed on time more

90. Read more Bukowski

91. Take a cooking class

92. Drink more water

93. Switch around the den and the dining room

94. Have a garage sale

95. Organize my entire house

96. Read the 57 other books on the BBC’s top 100

97. Reconnect with some friends who have fallen by the wayside

98. Be a “doer”

99. Clean out my closet

100. Take Freddie for more walks

101. Get up in time for Sunday breakfast with the in-laws again

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Posted in 101 things, personal Tags: , ,
March 3, 2009

# 7 crossed off **warning** highly personal post

Posted in 101 things, personal

Lately I’ve been so tired and have been hit with one bug after another that it’s no surprise to me that I have fallen behind blogging and a few other things. But no one can blame me when they hear why I have been such a state for the last month and half. It goes back to a conversation I had just under two months ago with Sam – we were talking about how tired I’d been and had some pain in my stomach. I thought it was just coming to my time of the month and that it was just worse than usual when Sam pipped up and said “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” To be honest this thought hadn’t crossed my mind! Bryan and I had talked about children a lot over the last 6 months – since so many of our friends have just had babies or were expecting, it was definitely something we were thinking about, but had decided to wait another year and see where everything went with the economy.

My mom always said that you can’t plan these things and that there isn’t a perfect time for anything – so as I stared, shaking, at the positive test – I was happy, in shock and disbelief, and quite rightly; nervous. The decision I have wrestled with for over 12 years was made for me. 12 years you think eh! That means I was contemplating children at the age of 15 – of course I was! My mother had my youngest brother just after my 16th birthday and it changed our whole world. Daniel is the light of our family and was the perfect addition – he has grown into an amazing kid and I just can’t believe he’s my brother, but I was also at a point in my life where he was born where I was able to help a lot more with him than if there was a 2 or 3 year difference. This ended up being for the better as now even though I moved out of the house when he was only 7 – we still have a strong bond.

Watching my mom’s pregnancy and helping out really gave me a birds eye view about having children and to be honest it scared me. Not just the pain and uncomfortability of being pregnant but just how many demands children make on your life. Although every parent will tell you it’s worth it and they would do anything for their kids – it does not mean that the weight of this responsibility doesn’t weigh on them.  Being a parent seemed like such a dangerous risk to me of getting hurt – and I have always felt that I have dealt with enough pain in my lifetime. What happens if you lost the baby? Or someone kidnapped it? or if the kid died of a terminal illness? I know – I know – all very pessimistic views – and as I grow older and have watched my friends have their own babies – I have seen the risk and the reward. In my own brother – I see a joy and renewed sense of youth in both of my parents. I go out at least once or twice a year to watch his hockey games or baseball games and as my brother flies down the ice or heads toward home – I feel immense pride. Although I am only his sister I know that parts of who he is – have been shaped by me. It is an awesome feeling – something I am sure that is akin to the way a parent feels.

So as I came to grips with the fact that the scary day was here – I am actually pregnant and awaiting this little life to come into mine and Bryan’s and make our house messier than it already is. I started to have terrible morning sickness and the fatigue only got worse. In fact in total now I’ve lost over 20 pounds from being sick. When I had my first doctor’s appt – I told him about this and about some of my other worries and he looked at me and told me that I was probably fine but sent me for an ultrasound just for the due date and to make sure that everything is ok. The morning of the ultrasound I was sick with worry – I was so glad Bryan was able to come with me as I stressed about the worst case scenario. We got there early and got in early and as she brought the wand to my stomach I saw the bean shape out of the corner of my eye. She started taking her measurements and I tentatively told this Patti – that I was worried about whether or not my baby was ok. Patti promptly pulled up the part of the screen that shows you the vibrations from the heartbeat and told me to hold my breath (not sarcastically but because you actually have to so they can see it) and showed me the little waves that indicated a heartbeat. After the measurements she left me in the room alone to go and get Bryan and I just couldn’t take my eyes from the screen – it felt so much more real! As Bryan walked in, he searched my face, and found a smile. As he looked at the screen he made a totally Bryan comment about the quality of the resolution not having changed much over the years and then she zoomed in so we could actually see where the heart was beating, a mile a minute, inside our healthy baby. As I felt his hand touch my leg I knew we both felt relieved and like we could finally be happy. I had worried so much about being sick that I didn’t want to feel happy yet, just in case something happened.

I am about 10 1/2 weeks pregnant now and very close to the 12 week mark – we were going to wait to tell everyone until that mark but after seeing the ultrasound and after having such a difficult time we kind of wanted to sing it from the hill tops! I know now – even this early on – why most people would take this risk. Because the love of a child is worth it.

Wishing you friendship & love,

A very happily pregnant – Amanda

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Posted in 101 things, personal Tags: , , , ,
March 3, 2009

101 in 1001 – finished and revisited

Posted in 101 things, personal

So it’s been awhile since I last looked at this and in light of the news coming in the post after this I thought this list could do with some updating :)

1. Go on a Wednesday afternoon picnic with my husband and my dog Two wednesdays ago by the canal :)

2. Teach Freddie (my dog) to roll over

3. Go on a trip to Europe

4. Shoot a destination wedding

5. Go on a roadtrip – destination unknown

6. Have lunch or a real conversation with a photographer I admire

7. Make my mind up about having children

8. Buy a new house

9. Set up a home studio in said house

10. Smile more

11. Get my photo taken at least once a month for the next six months ( I never take photos of myself as it’s something I hate)

12. Do a portrait session with my family Completed April 13th – To be displayed in a blog post shortly

13. Do a portrait session with my husband :) (We don’t have any formal photos since Christmas 2003 unless you count our wedding photos)

14. Participate in a workshop

15. Attend WPPI again but do the Business Institute and Master classes as well :)
16. Get my business to go in the direction that I want it to with the clients that I want

17. Make sure that this time when I attend WPPI – I go a few days early so I can photograph all the landscapes I want

18. Do at least 5 seniors sessions

19. Donate my time to a local cause using my photography skills Donating prizes to Mainstream Golf Charity

20. Tell my husband one thing that I love about him (that’s different from the day before) every day for a month :)
21. Be a second shooter for a photographer I admire

22. Plan something great for our wedding anniversary

23. Spend more time with my mother

24. Take my little brother back to Canada’s Wonderland

25. Take my 19 year old brother out to a bar for drinks just the two of us

26. Give everyone of my bride’s a little gift to thank them for the gift they have bestowed upon me

27. Join the chamber of commerce Joined April 24th

28. Donate more money to charities or donate more time

29. Buy lens, end and body caps for all my gear and actually keep them without losing them for an entire wedding season

30. Lose 20 pounds before the end of the year – Completed 2009 – lost 24 pounds so far (not the way I would have wanted to though)

31. Go out dancing with my best friend Stella’s – April 25th

32. Have a get together with all my brides for the upcoming season

33. Get a few new backdrops for the studio

34. Create a really great mother’s day and father’s day gifts

35. Recover the panels in the office

36. Participate as a vendor in a local bridal show

37. Try thai food

38. Get together with some friends from out of town and catch up

39. Photograph a “first peek” session before the ceremony

40. Become a member of “Now I lay me down to sleep”

41. Deliver all of my brides and grooms their photos online within two weeks of the wedding

42. Quit pop – for good this time (don’t laugh it’s a serious addiction)

43. Swim in the ocean

44. Go fishing (haven’t done this in a long long time)

45. Add 10$ to a savings account every time I complete something on this list

46. Get my full G

47. Take a photo that represents each of the words in the 100 snapshots challenge ( http://thaumaturgise.wordpress.com/101-things/pictures/)

48. Go camping at BYNG

49. Go camping in Algonquin

50. Print some of our wedding photos to hang in our living room

51. Learn conversational Spanish

52. Learn conversational Italian – bought the book and CD and I am working on it !!!!

53. Take Freddie to puppy obedience classes

54. Take a tropical vacation

55. Learn how to snorkel or scuba dive

56. Take photos from the top of a mountain

57. Ride in a helicopter

58. At least three times in this period – push past my fear about something – and climb over the wall to do it anyway (ask me more if you’d like to understand this)

59. Research one new thing I’d like to learn a month – whether photography related or not (and blog about it) for six months

60. Go kayaking again – somewhere picturesque

61. Be a little more risky

62. Get regular pedicures this summer

63. Get regular massages this summer

64. Get signs made for the office

65. Install the fixed phone in the office so that when I lose power on the portable I can still answer calls!

66. Prepare flyers and promotional items for the bridal show

67. Plant the garden in the backyard

68. Dress Freddie (my dog) up for Halloween in a doggie Halloween costume

69. Change phone companies

70. Launch portrait site

71. Blog a video once every two weeks

72. Create an official charging station in the studio

73. Enter 5 photography contests

74. Shoot a “wear the dress” session in my favourite place in Ontario

75. Create a standardized logo file with my logo made to fit samples, envelopes, letterhead etc…

76. Get my hard drives under control

77. Finish MD photo book

78. Delete old and unecessary facebook messages

79. Order new business cards

80. Book a wedding out of province

81. Teach a basics course on how to take better photos

82. Finish office reno

83. Finish this list

84. Get glare free glass for all of my frames

85. Clean out my car – top to bottom and then get a car wash that includes the inside of my car

86. Order sample prints for comparison

87. Create supplier pricing binder & customer pricing binder Completed!! This past week thanks in help by Brianne!

88. Order new batteries and charger

89. Go to bed on time more

90. Read more Bukowski

91. Take a cooking class

92. Drink more water

93. Switch around the den and the dining room

94. Have a garage sale

95. Organize my entire house

96. Read the 57 other books on the BBC’s top 100

97. Reconnect with some friends who have fallen by the wayside

98. Be a “doer”

99. Clean out my closet

100. Take Freddie for more walks

101. Get up in time for Sunday breakfast with the in-laws again

As you can see I’ve knocked quite a few things off the list – I still have more to go but lots of time – I think – to complete it – but we’ll see :)

Wishing you friendship & love,

Amanda

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Posted in 101 things, personal Tags: , ,
October 24, 2008

Blog post mayham!

Posted in 101 things, personal

So umm get ready for a whole lotta blogging. I feel kinda like Elvis, but instead of shaking my hips around and swiveling to and fro while singing about shaking – I’m doing an editing, shooting and blogging dance. So this could be considered fair warning . . . There are a lot of blog posts coming at once :) The gorgeous Emily and handsome Anthony are getting married tomorrow so I am hoping to be all caught up this evening so that I can blog their wedding on time!

Wishing you friendship & love,

Amanda

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Posted in 101 things, personal Tags: , , , ,
August 18, 2008

Rushing life . . .

Posted in 101 things, lyrics, personal

Monday inspirational song lyrics

I am constantly rushing myself and being impulsive in life – I want to get the best of everything as fast as possible and I am always left looking for the next thing. The other day I heard a song by Alannis Morrisette that really moved me – It talks about the joy in being incomplete and enjoying the journey. This is a goal for myself to start enjoying where I am now and the process to get to where I want to be.

Incomplete – Alannis Morrissette

One day I’ll find relief
I’ll be arrived and I’ll be a friend to my friends who know how to be friends

One day I’ll be at peace
I’ll be enlightened and I’ll be married with children and maybe adopt

One day I will be healed
I will gather my wounds forge the end of tragic comedy

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time
Of being forever incomplete

One day, my mind will retreat, and I’ll know god and I’ll be constantly one with her night dusk and day
One day I’ll be secure, like the women I see on their 30th anniversaries

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time
Of being forever incomplete

Ever unfolding
Ever expanding
Ever adventurous and torturous
But never done

One day, I will speak freely
I’ll be less afraid
And measured outside of my poems and lyrics and art
One day I will be faith-filled
I’ll be trusting and spacious authentic and grounded and whole

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time
Of being forever incomplete

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Posted in 101 things, lyrics, personal Tags: , , , , , ,

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