taking the train | personal

Well, it’s only January and I am knocking things off of my 101 in 1001 list left and right! Although I shouldn’t get too far ahead of myself since I only have 50 items on the list so far. But, I am excited to cross another item off of it! # 39. Take a trip on a train.

Last Tuesday night I boarded a train to Atlanta to spend a few days with Tommy while he was down there for work. If I’m being honest, I actually almost missed it. Had you been there to see me, you would have totally been able to tell I was a complete newbie. Oops! Lucky for me everyone who was already on the train was asleep, so I didn't have to do any sort of walk-of-shame. :) I took the red-eye (is it called that if it’s a train?) through the night and arrived in Atlanta in the morning.

Overall it was a great experience. Purchasing my ticket, boarding, and riding the train was overall a LOT less stressful than dealing with an airport. The attendants were super laid back and there was plenty of space for me to sleep comfortably in my seat and actually tuck my oversized purse in my seat with me. The pop-up foot rests were a treat, too! While there is a luggage limit, you would have to be moving to a new town to reach it (you can bring whatever you can carry). And though I didn’t take advantage of one of the available beds in a sleeping car, I can definitely appreciate that the option was there.

The best part of the whole thing was that the cost of the train ticket was less than half the cost of a one-way flight from Lynchburg to Atlanta. You can’t beat that! Taking a trip on a train is definitely something I hope to do again in the future... especially because each passenger has their very own electrical outlet right at their seat! Can you say a working trip? Yesss.

And because all posts are more interesting with photos... here's one of my 365 shots taken while I was in Atlanta at Condesa Coffee. This is, hands down, the best coffee I have ever had in my entire life.

Gratituesday: dog sitters!

Gratituesday is a weekly blog post (that I try to keep up with) I got involved with over here. You should join, too! If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments as I would love to read what you write about. Tommy and I travel a lot. Between my job and his, we are basically required to do so. On top of that, we like to travel. We have family and friends all over the country and we have done our fair share of traveling internationally (I'll give Tommy credit for doing much more international travel than me). With traveling comes the regular routine of tying up loose ends before leaving town... packing bags... loading hard drives with work (and entertainment), and finding dog and house sitters.

This week... I am so, so grateful for our troop of dog sitters. Between family, friends, and care.com (for real!) we have a fantastic circle of people who love our pups as much as we do. I love that we can call any one of these people at the last minute to take care of our pups! I know our dogs are safe, comfortable, and taken good care of while we are away and the security that offers us is priceless.

Tonight I'm boarding a train to Atlanta to join Tommy at a work conference (through Friday) and I am so grateful that our dogs (and our home) are safe in the care of trustworthy people.

What are you grateful for this week?

365 project | personal

If you are friends with me on Facebook you may have caught a glimpse of my 2011 365 Project. A 365 project basically involves taking and posting one photo every day of the year. I made my first attempt at a 365 project last year and I didn't make it past February. So... this is my second attempt. This time I am using my andriod smart phone and the retro camera app. My hope is that by removing the download-edit-upload process I can actually complete the project this time around.

As I look through the first couple of pictures of  my 365 project from 2010, I am reminded of days spent traveling and enjoying snowfall. Even though I didn't get very far into the project in 2010, it is strill pretty cool to look back on the days that were captured and be able to recall specific details about them. For that reason alone, I know that capturing an image a day in 2011 will give me the opportunity to reflect on this year and remember a lot more about it than I would without this project. I am pretty excited about that.

I am not alone in this project. Are you also doing a 365 project this year? If so, link up in the comments and I'll add you to my RSS Feed of 365 projects! I'd love to follow along with the happenings in your life in 2011!

Hill City Bride | Photographer's Tea

It has been such a pleasure to be a part of the advertising family over at Hill City Bride. Jennifer has been doing so much for the vendors that advertise with HCB as well as other wedding vendors. On Monday she threw a little get together for women photographers in the area (advertisers and non-advertisers with HCB). We met at the new Ploughcroft Tea Room downtown and had tea together! It was such a lovely time of connecting with other ladies that share the same passion for photography. I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community here in Lynchburg. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our time together:

Jennifer, thanks for hosting such a lovely event! I hope we can do it again soon!

gratituesday: my friend sabrena

Gratituesday is a weekly blog meme I participate with over here. You should join, too! If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments because I would love to read what you write about.

Internet, meet Sabrena.

Sabrena is another photographer here in Lynchburg, but more importantly, she is my friend. Sabrena and I shared a lot of classes in college, including the same photography class. We started shooting professionally around the same time.

And it is important for you to know that she changed my life.

When you are just starting a photography business, it is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself and your work to others. It's easy to compare things like how much business you appear to be bringing in, how accurate your white balance is, the overall quality of your images with others, and the list goes on and on and on. It's easy to feel competitive and it is very, very exhausting.

One Sunday I was chatting with Sabrena after a church service we both had attended and she was telling me about her work. And suddenly she said "I don't worry about competition because I trust that the Lord will provide for me and my family."

Um. Woah. Imagine that.

That statement made me stop and reflect. Do I believe I was meant to do this? Yes. Do I believe God wants me to have this business? Yup. Then why am I worried about whether or not I will be successful? If it is clear to me that this is what I am supposed to be doing... then I need not worry.

And from that moment on, my life was changed.

Of course, I love Sabrena for so much more than her life-changing statement. She is an inspiration to me. She is positive, encouraging, and has a servant's heart. She is confident yet humble. I love that we both receive and give encouragement to one another regularly. I love all of the time we get to spend together... and I love that she is in my life!

So this week... I am grateful for my friend, Sabrena. She is a light in my life!

P.S. I also really love that her and her husband are comfortable enough in our home to come over wearing slippers and comfy house clothes. :)