Whew! I'm Back...Sort of

Wedding we went to in September

I apologize for the lack of blogging the past two months or so....I have been busy with my last semester of college, as well as working full time. I have not been shooting much, and when I have, I've been up to a month behind on the editing....I've been missing blogging though!

Northern lights in September

I have been eagerly looking forward to being done with school...I won't know what to do with free time! I've been pondering many things for the coming months. I'd like to push my photography harder, and move this blog to Wordpress, among other things.

Fall

When I do have free time, I've been helping work on our house repairs...but now it is cold, and the snow is coming soon, so we are wrapping up our outside project and starting on the inside. Beyond that, I have been making time to read lots of books. I usually don't have this luxury during the school year, but I've had a voracious appetite for reading the past couple months...I've been reading up to 4 books at a time O.o, but I'm down to 2 at the moment! Heh.

Mt. Augustine at sunset

Here's a list of a few books I've devoured lately:
- Anne of Green Gables. I'd never read them before! I found the whole series at the thrift store this summer, and am on book 6 now.
- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the other 2. What a fascinating story. I could have done without the sex and the graphic sexual abuse, but it was an incredible story.
- Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang - Interesting fiction story in the time of WWI. Quite gripping!

I've read several others, but these are the ones I figure many of you may be interested in.

My new Canon 7D!!!

I caught a cold a month ago, and I actually missed work because of it, which never happens. C caught it after me, unfortunately. One of those days, when I was feeling a little better, I sat on the floor in front of the heater, drinking tea, and watching the yellow leaves flutter down. I sat there thinking, "Despite feeling awful, life is good. I can't complain." It was a nice feeling :)

I emailed my college advisor a couple weeks ago about making sure I was ready for graduation. I had not understood that graduation and commencement are two different things! Or rather, when I applied for graduation with my AA, I didn't really know what I was applying for. I missed the deadline for graduation by 3 weeks, and had to apply late, something I had not understood until right before the deadline. Now I have applied, and I went into my local campus to ensure that I could walk in the ceremony in the spring. I was surprised to learn that my college will have to send someone to represent the school, because UAA is different from UAS. So...tax payer money is going to be spent because I am graduating college. Hmm. But anyway, I'm happy to report that things should be moving that direction, and I pray that I pass my classes!!!

My sunsets are coming back and getting more glorious the closer to winter we come. Unfortunately, now that Daylight Savings Time has come around again, I will be at work for most of the sunsets, and I am mourning that :(

C's Halloween costume...an expired ice cream sandwich

I was shooting the other day at one of my favorite beach locations, and this truck with out of state plates pauses by me as I'm walking by, with my camera around my neck. Two guys in the front seat and one rolls down their window. "Excuse me miss, would you do the pleasure of marrying me?" I was confused for a couple seconds, staring at them, and then just turned and kept walking. What on earth was that?

Oh yes! The biggest news lately: I purchased a new camera!! I bought a Canon 7D with my dividend for the year. It's been fun working with two cameras when I am shooting. I haven't been out enough yet to have a great system down, but it's very satisfying. I bought a Luma Loop strap to alleviate the neck strap stress, and it is pretty nice.

Lynx at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

We've had a couple of good snowfalls since Halloween, but then it rains and it disappears! We do still have some on the ground right now.

Bear at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

We made a couple trips out to my hometown to spend some time with my parents, which was nice. I also made a trip up to the big city with a friend, which was a lot of fun.

Wood Bison at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

I will probably never get caught up blogging the photos I have missed blogging, but this is a random collection of what's been happening :) Thanks for not giving up on me! I hope to come back and blog after the semester is over...less than 6 weeks now!