You can't handle the truth

So, a part of my job is being able to testify in court. It was a part of my training, I had to testify in a mock trial. I thought I did really well, but my coworker and I got blasted out of the water in our evaluation and it depressed me. I've gotten subpoena-d (what is the past tense of subpoena?)twenty times at least but have goten away with never having to testify in the last year and half.

My luck ran out this past Monday. I can't go into details. I can tell you this. I had to wake up freaking early to check in a circuit court at 8:30 in the morning. I met a coworker at work at seven am to ride together. So, first, I had to find my court clothes...thankfully I found the pants in the back of our closet. Then I was running out of time, and i couldn't find my makeup bag. I found part of it and just grabbed it and ran to my car.

It wasn't until I got to work that I really started to evaluate my "court" attire. I guess my pinstriped pants doesn't really match my nice fitted gray jacket. In fact, in the sunlight, the pants look way more brown than gray. The worst is when I opened my makeup bag and discovered that I had stocked it for make-up for my last big event...my 80's themed birthday party in October. No lipstick and only a palette of bright neon eyeshadows. I kid you not, not a subtle color anywhere there. I had to settle with the fuschia and hope it melded in..especially when I started to turn red on stand. I also used some of the eyeshadow as a hint of lip color. I was the MacGyver of make-up. But, if you got past all that...I looked good!!!

I did have to resist the urge to blurt out "You can't handle the truth" when I was asked my name and occupation. And I have no idea what I was saying sometimes because I just kept fixating on whether I should fold my hands on my lap or on the counter. I wish I wasn't such a nervous dork sometimes.

Troy and Bow-A Valentine's Maternity Session

Who: Troy and Bow a.k.a. "Expecting Parents"
Where: Their beautiful hale on the shore of Kaneohe Bay
Oahu, Hawaii
When: February 14th, 2009, 9 am

A year or two ago, Scott and I were filmed in this little skit about couples and love life with another couple from our church, Troy and Bow. One 2 minute ditty and I still see pictures from that clip at church everywhere I turn. Now a few years later, and Troy and Bow are just a few weeks away from their first little blessing. Bow is a petite woman and I was really worried about getting too close to her due date and having her feel too uncomfortable. I didn't have to worry...she climbed on piers and sat over the water for me. She was such a trooper. And I had to be careful to pose her to show her belly because you couldn't even tell she was pregnant from a lot of angles. She photographed beautifully...absolutely beautiful. I think I have my model for any portfolio building.

I had asked them prior to the session what they planned to name their baby daughter, but I wasn't sure what the exact spelling. I was still confused when I arrived because I hadn't heard a definitive answer, and I found out why. They are still on the fence with two alternative spellings for the name. I didn't want to pressure them to make a life-long decision in the next ten minutes so...if you see multiple versions of the same shot...that's why!! And their property is right on Kaneohe Bay. Gorgeous. And windy. So when a gust of wind tossed my reflector over the wall onto the shore...I jumped over a little too hastily to retrieve it before it rolled into the water. Big mistake. Apparently, the "shore" was really just a dry crust over thick swampy mud. Oi!!! I sank to my ankles. I had to wave off Troy, the gentleman, who was moving to jump down to help me. I'm Big Island. Mud don't scare me.

Hah, I really love this one...


See, can YOU tell that she's pregnant?
I
I almost forgot it was Valentine's Day (Scott and I are such the romantics) until I saw all the balloons Troy had set up everywhere for Bow. Aw...and he made us both breakfast.

This is them just being cutesy while I was trying to get my camera set up.

Look, they had such fun locations on their property.





Look, A DOCK!!! They said I could use it anytime....sweet.








These are just my favorites.

Sneak Peek-Troy and Bow's Blessing-In-Waiting

I just got back from a weekend in Maui so I'm using my first minutes back in civilization (not a knock on Maui, Kelii!!!) to upload some sneak peek photos from a maternity session from this past weekend. I went straight from this session to a one-year birthday party to work on Saturday...running...ahem, I mean slow jogging/moderate walking 8 miles in Monday's Great Aloha Run followed by a 36 hour trip to Maui. Can't believe I made it and dreading the return to my hum-ho every day life. Here's my favorites so far from an awesome session with two very excited expectant parents.

Adventures in Babysitting

I have kind of an odd job...if you watch CSI...my job is a deglamorized version of that. Most people are pretty surprised when they find out...they seem to put me in the category of preschool teachers or librarians (which I admit I would love to do either). However, my job is very practical, stress-free, and very secure. I am so blessed, especially in this rough patch in the economy. My days off are pretty variable so I had yesterday and today off.

So, I went to my older sister's and watched her 9 month old twin girls so she could get out and run errand.Man, my nieces are adorable...but, oh, boy...they can wreak havoc. They are now mobile...they can crawl. They can pull themselves up and thus pull things down. And their new favorite snack is paper. They kept me busy and sometimes I just sat and watched them destroy things together because it was just fascinating to watch. I came home and told Scott "I want twins." He said "okay, as long as they are born two years apart."

Hmmm, I guess that's a no.

I'm trying to blog but I'm a little distracted watching Top Chef. I definitely have a crush on Fabio. Scott knows...I must tell him 10 times during every episode.

I'm back at work

I took a week of vacation... I didn't go anywhere but I did have a wonderful time.
And now here I am...back at work. *Sigh. It's not too bad.

This month will be pretty filled with change. Stanton is trying to close on a townhouse and then he'll be moving out. We're getting a new roommate, a girl from our church whose lease is running out this month. But, it looks like it's both up in the air when the moves are happening. But it is a blessing to me and Scott because I was pretty worried about financially trying to make it when Stanton moves out.

Anybody want to see "He's Just Not That Into You?"

Wedding Bells-Heather and Brandon

A month ago, I got an call from Moana Bjur, from Sands of Time Weddings. I've photographed weddings for her before and I have always loved her weddings. They're beautiful down to the smallest details and so well-organized, which I love (I'm a high S and C in the DISC personality tests). This time was different because she also needed an officiant and so, my hubby, Scott got a call too and we got to work together. The couple, Heather and Brandon, had asked for the officiant to wear a solid colored shirt, preferably blue. I was thinking a muted blue or maybe a navy. But, no, the morning of the wedding Scott pulled out this bright, vivid blue shirt. He insisted on it, saying it was a "non-aloha" aloha shirt. I don't know what that means. Thankfully, he didn't steal the spotlight because all eyes were on the Heather and Brandon. The groom, Brandon, is stationed nearby on the Kaneohe Bay Marine and the men were in their dress blues. I've never been to a Marine wedding. Although we had colder weather this past few months, the morning was pretty warm and I didn't envy the groomsment in their uniforms.

Kailua Beach is our stomping grounds but I have never been to a wedding there. It was a young, fun wedding...including the classical procession music played from the groom's jeep, the bride going barefoot under her beautiful strapless gown, and of course, the family having way too much fun with the formal portraits. We also had a few beach-goers who sat nearby and watched the whole wedding. That's Kailua, my old hometown for you. I tried my best to try to photoshop out the shirtless old man sitting in the sand behind the whole ceremony