um...HELLO!!!

So, if you've been following this blog for a while its no secret that I'm addicted to parusing homes in random parts of the country on realtor.com. Since my husband applies to jobs when they come available in his field (which is few and far between) and they are often in random, small cities, for fun I look at housing where he's applying. He applied to a school in Lincoln, IL and so of course I had to check out the homes, and that is where I found this beauty:









Okay, can I just tell you that this house has NINE bedrooms and FIVE bathrooms, is over 5000 sq ft and is $90,000!! INSANE! Not only do I not need a house that size, I certainly don't want to clean it (but I suppose my mortgage on a $90K house could maybe allow for a cleaning allowance?), but isn't that UNREAL?!! Anyway, just had to share...wonder what the inside looks like?

Baby James

Tad and Katy had their baby boy last week and he is pure yumminess. I got to meet him earlier this week and had the pleasure of snapping his newborn photos. Welcome to the world, sweet James. xo

baby James sneak peek

more of this newbie to come.

i really don't like hearts...

...but I allow them into my home once a year. :)


Hope you all have a lovely weekend, my niece and nephew are coming into town so I have every intention of having a blast! xo

what I've been up to...

...not much. I'm not a huge fan of New Year's resolutions...well, its not that I'm not a fan as much as I hate not following through on something, doesn't matter what it is -if I say I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it -period. Being a flake is not in my blood, so it naturally goes against everything in me if I have to cancel something, be late for something, let someone down (even in the smallest of ways), I.hate.it. So, with new years comes resolutions and if I'm gonna make a resolution then that means I have to go through with it -yikes. So, I'm not so much making resolutions as I'm generally trying to change some things about myself and about how I do certain things. I'm being much more reflective than usual, about who I am, who I want to be, who God created me to be, what I want for myself, my family, my friendships, etc... So yeah, that's what I've been up to. There are some simple things, more tangible things I've been working on too, such as being more intentional about planning ahead what I'm making for dinner, trying to be better about staying on top of the laundry situation in this house (a constant struggle for me), etc... So, that's whats going on over here, not very exciting I know but even a not-so-exciting post is better than no post right? And once again, since I have NO pictures, check out Kelly's blog for my tattoo journey via photos. Thanks for being there Kel, for your support and mad photo skills. :)

my tentative travel schedule for 2010

It's been a pretty chill week around the ol' Winn household, not too much to report. I have been pretty busy working on a tentative travel schedule for 2010 and wanted to put it out there in case people wanted to book a shoot and keep it on the back burner. So, here is the plan (which is subject to change but hopefully not):

*March 24/25/26 I will be shooting in the Wichita, KS area (this trip is set in stone)

*March 27/28 I will be shooting in the Blue Springs/Kansas City, MO area (this trip is set in stone)

*end of April(ish) I will be shooting in Southern California (more specifically Pasadena and also hoping to make it to San Diego)

*May (likely more toward the end of the month) I plan to be in Eastern Washington (Spokane area)

*June -maybe Georgia, maybe Tennessee, maybe nothing...we'll see (anyone anyone?)

*July -I will only be coming to Washington this month, the weekend of July 17/18 and I've only got a couple spots left open for this weekend

*August-thinkin' I'll just stay in Oregon...we'll see

*September -back to Denver, CO!

*October-maybe Texas?....not sure yet

*November-back to Southern California I hope!!!

I will be traveling to Washington on and off throughout the year so, if you live in WA and want a shoot just keep checking in for dates or email me!

So, that's the tentative breakdown, if you are interested in booking a shoot please email me at mollywinn2@yahoo.com and more info will be given. And since I'm lame and have no pictures for this post, mosey on over to Kelly's blog and look at these cute pics of B and Audrey or these pics of the yummy Danish dinner party we attended, or our day in Seattle thru her eyes. Enjoy!

january randomness

I feel like a lot of things have been swirling around my head for a while, nothing substantial per se, just thoughts. I've read a lot of cool blogs of peoples new years resolutions, seen cool posts of the whole year via photos, etc. I don't think I'm on the ball enough to attempt either but I think its pretty neat.

I've mentioned before that January is a hard month for me, my least favorite of the whole year for sure. The holidays are over, the weather is cold, not much to look forward to in the month for me, etc.. This year its a tad different and I'm not sure why. I think I'm excited about some of the possibilities that are looming, some involving photography, thinking about doing some decorating in certain parts of the house that look a little blah, excited for Adam to start teaching his new semester of classes and the possibilities that brings, looking forward to some traveling for work this year, etc.

I feel like I'm not starting 2010 very well on the ol' blog front, gotta remedy that! To be honest I haven't been super inspired to blog, not much to say, haven't touched my camera a whole lot, and have just felt kinda "eh" about it all. After being an avid blogger for 2.5 years I realize blogging lulls come and go so I anticipate its only a matter of time before I'm back on the wagon!

Thanks to each of you who checks in regularly to see what we're up to, sorry I've left you bored lately!! I'm anticipating life getting back to normal here real soon. xo

*And b/c blog posts most often need pictures, here's one I took today of me and my girl before walking out the door to church.

Movie Review:Leap Year

The romantic comedy "Leap Year" came out yesterday, Doug and Kemi watched B (thank you!) so Adam and I could go see it. Adam and I were eager to see this movie for the simple reason that it was filmed in Ireland. Thankfully we went to a matinee so the theatre was pretty empty b/c if any one was sitting close to us I'm sure they would've been uber annoyed. We couldn't help it, we of course felt the need to point out every ridiculous (to us -blatant) problem w/ the geography in the movie (ie cities being too close/far from each other, cities not really being portrayed correctly, the Cliffs of Moher being in the wrong place, etc..). What was also amusing was that one of the scenes in the movie was shot at the Rock of Dunamase and while we were in Ireland there were all these fake props set up there, and we were told it was b/c a romantic comedy was being filmed there - Leap Year! So, that was actually fun to see (but of course they didn't say it was the Rock of Dunamase and of course they faked its surroundings). Anyway, it was fun for Adam and I to see our "home"for 2 hours yesterday and be reminded of how beautiful it is and how much we miss it. We were both very nostalgic and all "we miss Ireland!!" until we were hungry for some good Mexican food...then we were thankful to be back in the U.S. where Mexican food actually exists. :) We still miss you Ireland. xo

(oh, and as far as an actual movie review, it was just okay, I'd say 2 stars)

chillaxin' in Seattle with Kelly

Just a beautiful day in the ol' pacific northwest with a dear friend.
















this is a pretty boring picture of Seattle but I love the shadow of the spaceneedle


if you look closely you can see me and kel :)














um...yeah, this is a pic someone took of us on my point n' shoot, nuff said.

Evidence of Grace

For a long while now I've contemplated getting a tattoo, to be honest, the whole idea of "forever on my body" really freaks me out. It freaks me out until I take a step back and realize how short life really is and how quickly things can change -then it doesn't freak me out at all. I wanted it to be something meaningful to me, something that would encourage me, something centered around my faith, and something that if asked about by strangers/others could potentially spur on conversation about God's love for them. I wanted it to be visible, but not all the time. I decided on the top of my foot. Any one who knows me knows I wear flats about 98% of the time and the top of my foot often shows, so for me, the perfect place. So, after all of this thought I decided I wanted "evidence of grace" to be what it says. In a nutshell, I'm a mess. I'm a sinner who makes mistakes all.the.time. I judge, I hurt peoples feelings, I say mean things, I'm often quick to anger, I complain, I'm inpatient, I'm selfish, and the list goes on and on and on. I'm all of these awful things and more, but (and this is a big but) in spite of all of it, I'm loved unconditionally by the God of the universe who is refining me each and every day and my life is evidence of his unwavering love and grace for me, and I need to be reminded of that, often.

My husband teaches Greek and he requested that if I did get a "saying" or words on my body that it be in Greek as that is the original language in which the Bible was written and something of great importance and significance in his life -done. So, that is the where and why of my new choice. The how and when is also fun so I'll share that too. :) Dear friends of mine who I made while living in California (but are now scattered across the U. S.) were all together this weekend for a girls weekend and so the timing seemed perfect! Abby has an artist who she trusts and has used herself so he was the guy for the job (thanks Luke!). I'm not gonna lie, it hurt....bad. But, like a lot of things in life, the pain is temporary and will eventually fade but I will forever have the reminder of my savior's love for me where I can see it every day. Tattoos aren't for everyone, I totally get that (don't be too upset mom :)) but I am pretty darn happy with it. (Kelly documented the whole event, so once she gets those photos uploaded and blogged I'll link to the post for any one who cares to see me wincing in pain!)

I did it...

I got a tattoo tonight. I've been thinking about doing it for some time now and I finally bit the bullet. I've had a lovely weekend with some girlfriends and we've been going, going, going. When I get a chance to stop, take, and upload a pic I'll share my new thing. I really really love it. AND happy birthday to my beautiful niece Rowan, who 13 years ago made me an aunt. Love you to the moon sweet girl. xo

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 everyone!! I hope this year is a great one for all of you and maybe even the best yet! I wanted to say a heartfelt "thank you" to each person who hired me to capture a special moment this past year. It is such an honor and a privilege to be the one chosen to commemorate memories for you so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you (and I hope I get to do it yet again this year)! Here's to 2010 ~ Cheers!