A Hard Decision...

So when I first started writing this post, it was crazy long full of personal details and thoughts that I thought you all might want to know. Then I thought about it a little while and came to the conclusion that mainly people just look at my page to see the photos, not to read what I write. So I'll make this post short and sweet.

I have decided to make a major life change. Starting January 2012 I will be going back to school to finish up pre-req's that I need to be able to apply for medical school. All my life I wanted to be an OBGYN and then chickened out when it came time to actually head to college and now, working at a high-risk pregnancy office has really made me wish I had gone forward with that dream when I had the chance. So I'm going for it!

Don't get me wrong, I love taking photos, but working so many weddings a year has really taken a toll on my energy, enthusiasm about weddings and my creativity level, not to mention the massive amount of time that goes into all aspects of preparing for the wedding and working on the photos after the event. So as of now, I will not be booking anymore weddings. I will shoot the ones that I already have booked for 2012 but will not be booking any more. I will still book portrait sessions (families, kiddos, seniors) as long as I'm able to handle those and school, but will limit those sessions to weekends only and only take on so many a month. Eventually, once I get into medical school (fingers crossed), I will stop booking sessions altogether.

I really appreciate everyone's support and encouragement over the years and I hope you all know how much you have meant to me and how much I've loved getting to know you. It's just time to for me to go after a different dream. For those of you who might be interested in purchasing rights to print your photos and get your own disc of the photos from your session, just email me at linnie_a@hotmail.com and we'll talk about it.

Thanks again!
Linnie

Teresa + Levi | Hiawatha Wedding Photographer

Teresa, or Treese as I call her, and I go way back! She's been one of my best friends since as long as I can remember. Growing up in Hiawatha, I'm not sure if I spent more time at her house or mine. I loved going to Treese house because she lived out on a farm and had cows and animals and all manner of things that us city girls just didn't know about. I learned about doing real chores at her house, like feeding the cows and, my favorite job, opening up the shoot when weighing them and getting the fear of God put in me by Treese's dad, Howard, that I had to be really careful or I'd get trampled by one. Eek! Teresa and I stayed really close all through school and were even each others dates to a Sadie Hawkins dance in high school.

I remember when Teresa and Levi started dating and it was pretty much a well known fact that they would end up together. And sure enough, they did. I can't tell you how much I love these two or how happy I am that they found happiness in each other. I was honored to take their wedding photos. Here are my favorites...

What's New Wednesday

1. Last weekend Luke and I celebrated our first anniversary! This is really all I have to talk to you about this week, so I hope you're as excited as I was! I can't believe we were married a year ago, it does not feel like it's been a whole year. Our anniversary was technically on Sunday, July 31st, but Luke took off work on Saturday so we could go out and do something special. My only request was that we go out to eat somewhere that you had to have a reservation. I think that's a pretty good anniversary-worthy stipulation, don't you? So Luke did a little research and found a restaurant in downtown Kansas City called... The Rieger! Our name! Whoa! More specifically, it's The Rieger Grill & Exchange on 20th and Main. It was amazing! I didn't know this before we got there and our amazing waitress explained it to us, but they use as much local produce and meat as they can! Which made this green girl very happy! I had chicken that was from a local farm and Luke had the best steak I think we've ever had, and our salads were all local produce but was all different vegetables, not predominantly lettuce. We loved it! The food was amazing and the atmosphere was very fun and to top off the meal they gave us free champagne and chocolate covered bourbon balls. Oh man!

Before we went out to eat we had a fun time with a dead battery in our car in the Home Goods parking lot and then a nice time at the local Auto Zone, but then I got to see Monet's "Waterlilies" and a painting by my favorite contemporary artist, Elizabeth Murray, at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum. I seriously got teary when I saw the Monet. Claude and I have a very special relationship, so it was really imperative that I get to see "Waterlilies" while it was in town. Once Luke was finally able to drag me out of there we walked around the Plaza till it was time to head to the Rieger.

We had a really great day and our wedding cake was still pretty good after a year. Luke gave me a really awesome iHome so I can jam in my kitchen when I'm cooking and I gave him a couple gun holsters. He's seriously the only person that would want work stuff for a gift. Oh well, he loved them!

Here we are outside of the Rieger...(sorry for the crappy quality of the picture, I just took it with my iPhone)

And here we are a year ago....
The year doesn't seem to have aged us too badly, does it?!

Thanks to all of our family and friends who congratulated us! It was nice to know you were thinking of us!

Here are a couple reasons I knew Luke was the one for me:
1. I can quote lines from "Spaceballs" or any other Mel Brooks movie and he knows exactly what I'm talking about and can usually finish the quote for me (he knows my "Princess Bride" quotes too).

2. He likes to cook with me. Hence the iHome. My favorite times are when he helps me cook and we just stand there with music playing and talk about our day or what's going on in our lives and just be. And when we're feeling really goofy, we dance a little.

3. He knows that if I'm seeming a little crabby that he should think about when the last time we went out and did anything special. And if it's been a while, all it'll take is a trip to get ice cream or to see a movie to get me back to my normal self.

4. He'll listen to all of my crazy music that he's never heard before and doesn't say a word.

5. He knows I'm about as stubborn and bull-headed as it gets when I dig my heels in. But he digs his in too and eventually we get so frustrated with each other that we just bust up laughing because we know how ridiculous we're being.

6. I'm the crazy loud impulsive one in this relationship, most definitely. I love that he's my opposite in that respect. We balance each other out. He keeps me grounded and I get him to unwind every now and then!

Honestly there are a million more reasons, but I think that will do for now.

Love you Lukey.