"There's a party going on!"

Just a little update on my Sunday School class Sticker System...it's going well! It's been really fun to see as our monthly squares fill up as we work on our goals. Some of us have some room for improvement (me being one of those someones :0)), but so far so good.

My favorite was last week when one of my students smiled, pointed to her square and giggled as she said...

"there's a party going on!"

Too funny :0) I'm glad they're getting a kick out of the stickers! I know that this system has definitely helped me be more accountable for my goals. As much as I enjoy stickers...that's not what's driving me. Sorry folks :0) But how can I expect them to make progress when I'm not, ya know?

**For those of you who are looking at what seem to be fractions and thinking that 7/50 or 9/60 is NOT so great...it is just the personal goal/class goal for the month. We each have a personal goal we're trying to achieve and while working toward that goal we are indirectly contributing to the class goal. Just wanted to clarify that :0)

We're all friends here...

...so I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I have my "ice breaker" wedding set up for April and I am pretty scared about the whole thing. OK, maybe scared is not quite the right word, but I'm feeling pretty inadequate about being the person in charge of preserving this couple's wedding day memories for posterity. Wow. BUT, on the positive side, that unsettling feeling has definitely been motivating me to get my tail in gear and to get working...on all the things that have always puzzled me and gone right over my head. In any case, any extra prayers sent my way would be appreciated :0)

In preparation for doing this couple's engagements...Rachel & Buddy (Bry's cousin and her husband) were my AWESOME guinea pigs. We had a great time and I learned A LOT! Thanks you two. Here are a few pictures from their shoot...

(To see more of their pictures click here, Belle Petite Photo)

Looking for the right couple.

I am currently working on a website for my photography (I googled "free websites" and found one that should work great for getting my first one up and running.). As I've been looking through pictures and deciding which ones to include...It's been so fun to see how things have progressed in a year's time. Thank you to all of my guinea pigs :0)

One of my photography goal's for THIS year is to dip my toe into wedding photography. But in order to get my foot into that door I need the "ice breaker" wedding...one that I can use for my portfolio to assure people that I am capable of beautifully capturing their wedding day. (Just between you and me...I don't know if I CAN pull it off, but I sure want to try! :0))

SO...I am currently looking for just the right couple. Here's what I have in mind:

• Aren't spending a lot of money on their wedding
• Don't have photography as a huge priority
  
• Are laid back and OK with whatever they get
• Would just be happy to have pictures of their wedding day

Here's where you all come in...if you know of anyone that fits this criteria...Let them know that:

I'm offering a wedding day photo package for FREE!

Contact me* to see if they qualify! Ready, set....
spread the word :0)

*bellepetitephotographie@gmail.com

A week away.

Brie and I spent most of this last week in Logan. Bry was scheduled to audit a client up there and we figured that we could hang out in the hotel room and see each other at meals and at night. I seriously felt spoiled meeting up with Bry for lunch every day. That NEVER happens on a normal week day. How fun. Anyway, we had a great time! I'll have to post some pictures when I get them sorted.

As a side note: I didn't have internet access most of the time which was...let's be honest...a big change for me, but a good one. I can get a little too attached to the computer. So I'm making renewed efforts to limit how much time I spend sitting here. In fact, one of my goals for the year is to only spend 20 minutes at a time on the computer. I don't know about you but I tell myself I'm only going to check my email and then before I know it an hour has gone by. SO--as much as I love email and Facebook and blogging and Photoshop--I hope that by breaking things up I will get other things done during the day. Here's to change :0)

Strive for Five.

Rainbow of colors.

(Produce from my trip to Sun Flower Market this week)

Thanks to my Mom's great example over the years of nutritious and delicious (and constant reminders to eat LOTS of veggies :0)), Bryan's Aunt Su's advice on how to feed your family nutritiously and then coming across some information at the Sunflower Market*...one of my goals for this year is to strive for five servings of fruits & veggies. I'm excited to start taking better control of my health and my body. I've really been thinking lately that the way we treat our body is in large part determined by how we feel about ourselves. The better we feel on the "inside" (really recognizing and feeling our worth) the better we'll feel on the "outside".

*while getting ready to walk out I noticed some big colorful posters. I went to take a closer look. Each poster was dedicated to a different color and had pictures of some of the fruit and veggies that fall under that color category. At the bottom it had a description of what that color group of fruits and veggies provided nutritionally. It was really cool to see and inspired me to strive for five, but also to strive for a variety of colors each day.

Instead of passing by the radishes, spinach, eggplant and so...branching out to include them in my meals. In fact, this last trip to the store I felt like I was on a treasure hunt, trying to buy the rainbow of colors for my produce (on sale). I ended up getting...

kale
red leaf lettuce
golden delicious apples
bananas
lemons
tangelos
carrots
gala apples
and an egg plant

When I came home I decided to make an inventory of all my fresh fruits & veggies. That way when I plan my meals I can more easily plan them around produce instead of the grains and the meat. The adventure has begun :0)

Anyway, while researching the strive for five I came across a few websites that I thought might be of interest to others:

• To see a cool website where you can calculate how many fruits & veggies you should eat, find recipes for different fruits & veggies, find out how to determine servings, etc., click here
• To read up about the different color categories and unique nutrients that each one provides, click here.

Anyone else striving for five? Any ideas?

Bringing in the New Year.

Yay for spending New Year's Day up at
G & G Stevensons with Bryan's family!!


(G & G gave Brie this little bear hoodie for
her birthday and doll for Christmas. TOO cute! )

I am now teaching the 12 year old sunday school class in our ward, and am so excited for a fresh start! I really enjoyed my class last year (12-14 yr olds), but had so many things to work on as their teacher. It just felt like every week was a chatting fest. We had some great weeks, but on the extra chatty weeks I walked away feeling frustrated and wondering how someone who graduated in teaching wasn't able to manage her sunday school class. But there is always room for improvement and the need to humble myself...to rely on the advice of others and the help of the Lord. So here's to a new class and a new chance!

Last week I asked everyone to write down three goals. As part of my classroom management plan each week and month we're going to report on how we did with our goals. And then if we, as a class, collectively meet our overarching goal we're having a pizza party this summer. Today when I presented the plan they seemed excited, so far so good. I hope this will motivate us all to try harder and longer to acheive our goals this year. I know that I sure could use some extra motivation :0)

In any case, I'm grateful for
new beginnings and clean slates.