Lately in the days of my life.

Well hello there! I do hope everyone is doing well, especially with this terribly cold winter weather we are having. (I'm beginning to hate winter.... HATE winter.)

So lately I have been CRAZY busy! So many new things in my life and I am unbelievably happy about it!

Here's what's been going on:

• I started working on a website for my photography business. (So excited about this! Almost ready to share it with the world!)
• I started college! (Coolest college experience EVER)
•  Changed some things with my photography business, I think it's much better now. :) 
• Took up crocheting! (Yeah, I have literally turned into an old lady.) 
• Started getting serious about my future. (Time to step it up.) 

So first things first..... Let's talk Photography! I want to share some of my favorite latest photos and also tell you about my super duper exciting news!

  I've shown these photos more than once since I did them, but I was just so excited! My studio is up and running and this was the first shoot I got to do with my new equipment and studio room! I think they turned out beautifully! (It helps that my model was my beautiful sister! She's stunning!)

 These are my other two favorites from this maternity shoot. I just love the way the white walls work with my white lights! I am just in love with this new room! :)


Also new to my photography world, a website! I am setting up my first ever official website and I couldn't be more excited! It's taking me some time, but it will be so worth it! I'm hoping to do some more things with marketing to get my business off the ground a little more, but that will come when the weather warms up a bit. :)

My super duper exciting news is that I now have permanent prices!
I have to be completely honest, I got a little over my head about prices when I was extremely busy this fall. But then one day when a customer told me that they wanted to do photos with me but couldn't afford the price, I felt HORRIBLE. Money was not the reason I got into this. I LOVE photography, it's not a money making thing for me. So I have set up prices that will take care of my gas and material expenses and set at a more comfortable price range for everyone. I have to remember why I'm doing this and make sure my customers are always coming first! So check out my new prices on the "about" section of my Facebook photography page and you can see the difference!

(Also, let me just apologize for that. I feel terrible about the money side of it.)


So that's what's new in Through My Lens Photography by Stephanie! Book a session and have some gorgeous memories to keep forever! :) (Plus spend an hour with me, win-win situation!) :)

 Wanna hear some more extremely exciting news?!?!?!?!

I STARTED COLLEGE! Woohoo!

 Okay, let's be honest. I had no intentions of going back to school after I graduated. When I was still in high school I wanted to go away for college and have the whole college experience. And then life happened and my thoughts of college drifted away. (Not complaining, I LOVE my life choices! Happier than ever!) :)

 But after high school, real world does start. You start having bills, responsibilities, and a taste of what financial mayhem feels like. I went from job to job to job and was never satisfied. I had jobs but that's exactly what they were... jobs. Not careers, not something I love, not something that has a future for me, just a job. That works for a little while, but then you start to feel stuck.

So last week my mom started talking to me about college. She was asking about different types of degrees and credit hours and stuff like that. I didn't really think anything of it. The next morning at 8 o'clock she called me and said, "Do you wanna go back to school with me?"
 My reaction was less than enthusiastic. I started making excuses for me NOT to go.

I couldn't pay for it, it's to late for me to start, I wouldn't be good at it, I'd probably never finish it, etc. But then, for once in my life, I took my own advice! I prayed about it.  And then I started thinking of reasons why I SHOULD go! It completely changed my outlook on it and now I am having the coolest college experience ever! My mom is my best friend and how many kids can say they are going to college with their mom? (Okay go ahead, make fun of me. I go to college with my mommy, blah, blah, blah.) ;)

But seriously, we are having the time of our lives! We talk about homework together, we help motivate each other, we have better communication skills, and it will be so cool to get my degree with my mom!

Okay, my mom deserves some bragging rights! She never does anything for herself and it's pretty awesome that she is finally doing something for her! Go mom!

So now I am officially a student at Drury University. (Go Panthers!) Everyone is super friendly there and I am loving everything thus far. :)


Okay now for the really cool part: I crochet.

Yup, you read that right. I am now an Andy Griffith watching, hot tea drinking, puzzle putting together, crocheting wife. Life is good friends, life is good.

I am in the process of making my first scarf, and you better believe I'll be posting pictures of that bad boy! Crocheting is seriously so relaxing. If you crochet before bed, you're basically guaranteed to fall asleep. Someone else my age should start doing it too so I don't feel so lame.... Seriously, I need a buddy.
(I think I use the word "seriously" too much. My apologies.)

So I have to be honest, my beauty product that I was going to do today hasn't came in the mail yet. So no beauty this time. Hopefully by my next blog it will be here. :/



But it is time for my favorite part! Let's talk about JESUSSSSSSSS! :)
This one is pretty short sweet and to the point, but it swells with information.
(Don't ask why I used the word "swells"..... It just came to me.)

1 John 4:19
"We love Him because He first loved us."

That's one of those verses that packs a truck load of reassurance! It doesn't matter what you do, God loves you. You could do something as simple as tell a little white lie (that's still a sin.) but God still loves you. You can do something as extreme as stealing a truck, but God will still love you. Now, I am by no means saying you should go steal a truck today and all you have to do is ask for forgiveness and everything will be perfect in God's eyes. I'm saying strive to be just like God and his love for you will grow more and more everyday along with your love for Him. How cool is it that even before we were born God loved us. Even before we were a teeny tiny cell, God loved us. Even before our parents parents parents grandparents were born, God had a plan for us and loved us! It's pretty hard to find love like that anywhere else!

So if you're having a rough day and you're angry and hurt, remember that God loves you and it's as simple as that. Knowing that the most almighty being in all of eternity loves you more than anything should be a pretty awesome feeling. :)

Have a fantastic night and keep that in mind. Chin up, and keep on smiling. :) Love, Steph.

The word of the day is PRAY!

Happy Tuesday! :) What a beautiful weekend we had!


I've been thinking lately about my FUTURE. I had to ask myself; Stephanie, what do you want to do with the rest of your life? What do you want to be? Who do you want to grow into? What kind of career is going to be the right thing for you?


I've been praying unbelievably hard lately. I need some guidance, DESPERATELY.

But once again, I've been looking to myself to have all the answers. (I have seriously GOT to work on this.)
I started thinking about things I enjoy doing and things that really interest me and would be rewarding to me.

I finally gave up and prayed. And boy did I pray! Every night before bed, every extra second, every chance I got, I was praying over and over again, "God, just lead me. Show me what I need to do."

I was almost a little frustrated at times! Not proud of that, I mean who wants to be the one to question God.... Scary!
I just felt like I wasn't getting anywhere and I wasn't being shown anything that was right for me. And then one day, it hit me like a ton of bricks! I wanted to do something in education, preferably Christian education. So I've been exploring this new thought and trying to get that started.

The point of this is to tell you that if you're going through a similar thing in your life, PRAY about it. It helped me tremendously. You search for God, and He will show up.

I also want to ask you to pray for me. I need a little extra help getting started in this and a little extra prayer might be what it takes for this to work out. :)


Anyway, enough about me. Let's talk beauty!
I have had a hard time thinking of something today and then this one popped into my mind!



This stuff has saved my face. I get stress acne TERRIBLY. I start worrying about something and you can almost watch acne show up. (sorry.... that was actually a really gross way to tell you about this....) Anyway, I love this stuff. It makes my face feel nice and cool with a side of freshness! You definitely don't want to leave this on for super long though because sometimes it makes my face burn if I leave it on my face for too terribly long. So simply apply, rub it in, and rinse it off with a wash cloth. It's really helped me out. Hopefully it'll do the same for you. :)



My daily verses on my Bible app for iPhone has been coming up with some dandies! I look at them either every morning, or every night before bed. This is one that has stuck with me and I have been looking forward to sharing it with you. :)


Jeremiah 29:13
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

I think this goes along perfectly with what I was saying earlier. Until I REALLY and truly started searching for Gods answer for me, I felt stuck. When I really started praying hard and showing Him that this was important to me, He helped. He came through just like He always does. Man I wish I would get this through my head! I keep looking to myself for answers when God has them right in front of me if I would just seek Him.

So there's a new challenge for you. Seek Him in all you do and see if the outcome is better. Remember, we may think we want something REALLY badly, but God can see further than we can. He knows if we're going in the right direction or not. So trust in Him, don't put the world on your shoulders. It's His world, let him carry it for you. :)

I hope I didn't bore you to death. Have a fantastic day and give your problems to God. Seek Him and everything will turn out alright. :) Love, Steph.


P.S. I got the photo I used in this blog on Google. I do not own this image, just using it as an example. :)

New Year, Shmew Year.

Happy New Year! 

Okay, I'm a few days late.... Whoops...

I've been thinking about New Years and what all that means for everyone.
New resolutions, new ways of thinking, new diets, new workouts, new hair-do, etc.

My new years resolution isn't to starve myself, lose a million pounds, or try to make myself more like society says I should. My resolution goes a little deeper than that. I have decided that the year 2014 is going to be a growing year for me. (Hopefully not in my pants size.) I want to grow in my relationship with Christ and I want to change the way I look at people.

I can be VERY judgmental. Judging a book by it's cover is definitely something I have been guilty of. It goes even to road rage. Think about it... Someone pulls out in front of you and cuts you off. You're ticked right! How rude of that person! Now, that person could just be irresponsible and not paying attention and pulled out in front of you because they were so impatient they couldn't wait 3 more seconds. But, that person could also be in a hurry because they just had something terrible happen or maybe their wife is having a baby and they gotta get to the hospital! We don't know, so how can you absolutely come unglued, scream your head off, use choice hand gestures, and who knows what else, when that person may be going through something urgent.

I know, that's probably a long shot. But that was the only thing that came to mind for an example at the moment. 


Appearance is also something I judge people for. But I must say, if you show up in public in your spongebob pajamas, pink fuzzy slippers, with no bra, we have a problem.... But then again, I have to stop myself. Who knows what that person is going through that they maybe HAD to dress like that. (unlikely... Just get dressed...)

My point is, we don't know what everyone else is going through, so don't judge them, don't hate them, and don't use choice hand gestures.


As for dieting/working out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with making a lifestyle change! But do not, I repeat, DO NOT put all of your hopes and dreams onto this new years resolution to lose weight. I've done it, you've probably done it, your great aunt Ethel has probably done it, and EVERY SINGLE TIME it fails.

Here's why I think it fails- you try to do too much at one time. Take it slow. If you go from eating 10 cupcakes and a bag of chips a day, to a small salad the next day, you are going to have cravings like you've never experienced! So instead of eating 10 cupcakes and a bag of chips, eat a handful of chips and an apple. Wean yourself off of the junk and slowly introduce salads and other healthy foods into your daily meal plan. And keep in mind, there is no diet that is going to make you lose 30 pounds in a week. This is going to take time. Be patient and keep trying, you'll get there. :)

Also, it helps me seeing before and after pictures. Take a picture this January, and see what you look like 6 months from now or even next January. You'll probably be shocked! :)


So enough about the new year, let's organize!


I've been looking at new ways to organize my closet. My closet is CLUTTERED. That's probably the understatement of the year. I have scarves everywhere, shoes all over the place, and clothes I haven't worn in years. So I looked to my favorite place in the whole wide world to find ideas to de-clutter my closet! Pinterest :)


If you're like me and you have scarves EVERYWHERE. This is a really cool way to store your scarves!

I must say though, I don't have extra shower curtain rings hanging out at my house. They are inexpensive to buy, but why buy them when you can do this!


 






 This is nifty! I have a couple of towel rods in my bathroom that would work perfectly for this! But If you don't, all you have to do is grab a hanger and tie them onto the hanger, or you can tie the scarves directly onto your clothes rod in your closet! :)







Next, I gotta get rid of some of those clothes that I NEVER wear. I found this really cool chart that tells you what to do with clothes you are uncertain about! :) 




I hope that helps you at least get started in getting rid of that closet clutter! :)



Okay, so I have a recent favorite beauty product to share with you! :)










Well, it's not exactly a beauty product, but it's really stinking cool! Those are Lush bath bombs! They're these nifty little things that you put into your bath water and they do some awesome stuff! They smell fantastic, change your bath color, sometimes they put cool things into your bath like rose petals, sparkles, and other amazing, girly things that you'll love! They make awesome gifts (I actually got one as a gift recently and it is the coolest thing ever.) or get them to enjoy for yourself! :)




Oh my lanta is my favorite part!

Some words from God :)

I found this verse yesterday when I was looking at my daily Bible verse on my phone app.

Mathew 5:16
Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. 


That little baby tells me to SHINE! Show people what a follower of Christ should act like! As Christians, we were put on this earth to lead people to Christ. What better way to win people to Christ then to show them how AMAZING it is to be a child of God! Do some works of kindness, but don't brag about them. That takes away from the amazing thing you did. Do something anonymously and feel God's blessing. I know I need to do that more. So make it simple- once a month make an effort to do something anonymously for someone. Brighten their day a little bit and feel how amazing it is to do something for someone else and know you made their day. It's quite an awesome feeling! :)

Well, I hope I didn't bore you to death. Enjoy this new year and start loving yourself! Have a fantastic day! Love, Steph :)



P.S. I got the images used in this blog from Google and Pinterest. I do not own these images, just using them as an example. :)