More Tornadoes and some other stuff.

Well, first thing's first.  Thank you guys so much for entering the giveaway!  And now for the random winner:

So!  DEB!  Send me an e-mail at jennybeanjcb@msn.com with your shipping info and we'll get you hooked up with your very own Quantum Scale!  Thanks to everyone for entering.

Now, I'd like to ask you guys a quick favor. :)  I don't know if you remember when I did this photo shoot for my close, good friends and their band... MESTIZO!

Well, they're poor.  (Duh, they're musicians.)  They are also in this contest for free studio time.  So, they need lots of votes to win some free studio time from Marquee Magazine.  If you would pop over by clicking THIS LINK, and voting for Mestizo, it takes two seconds, you do NOT have to register or give any info.  That'd be amazing, y'all.

In other news, since I should probably throw something in here about weight / health / fitness / etc... I weighed in this morning with the Quantum scale at -3.4.  Apparently I'm up .6 pounds.  I've been totally lax, I go back and forth, I suck.  I also just saw this photo of myself, and I'm not too happy about my apparent ARM GIRTH. 

I need to remember I have around 1 month until Engagement Photos take place, and the wedding is 128 days away.  Holy crap, I'm not eating anymore.  Well, okay, that's extreme.  I'm going to really have to buckle down.

And yes, that was me at a Chaser Convergence (fancy ass way of saying "a bunch of nerdy weather freaks and photographers standing in a parking lot waiting for storms to fire) on my most recent storm chase.  Skip & I had our most close encounter (EVER) to a tornado.  Here are a few of my favorite photos... and you can click HERE to view the full chase log on my photography blog, complete with lots of photos and info - and links to some amazing video of how close we got. :)

I just can't stay.

Apparently I just can't stay long enough to write the blog posts I want to write right now.

I'm slapping this up on the screen for you guys in a hurry before I hop in the shower, scramble a bag together and get on a plane to Denver.  John Mayer, 4th row at Red Rocks?  Yeah, that'll be me Wednesday. ;)

In the mean time, please do this:

1.  Please, PLEASE go and  Vote for me over at WISN - my local "best of business" contest.  I've fallen to 2nd place and need some votes!  Thank you sooo much.  It takes about 2 minutes - just click "cast vote," then register (they only want to make sure you're a real person, and it's only one vote per e-mail address,) and then confirm by clicking the link in your e-mail afterward.  Voila!  (And thank you.)  Oh, and if you're feeling extra nice - you can tweet and facebook share your vote to encourage others to vote too.  Heck, blog about it if you can! ;)  <3

2.  On that note, click here, here and here to check out the THREE weddings I did this weekend!  I am one sore exhotgirl.  Methinks I need a massage. <3

Here are a few shots from those weddings.  Click the links to see the full previews! :)

Beach front wedding:




Bright church / Military groom wedding:




Country Springs Hotel wedding:




I'll be back real soon!

~Jenn

Farmer's Market and Consignment Shops!

Hey guys!

Well holy comments, Batman!  Thank you for all your input on my birthday outfit. :)  It looks like the top winners are dress #3 and #4.  And for me, that works.  I think it might depend on where we go, so my plan is to wear dress #3 if we go bar hopping or to the clubs.  If we do something like jazz or a wine bar, dress #4 it is!  Thanks again for your help, all. :)

So!  Today I wanted to show you my take from the Farmer's Market today!

Potatoes, jalapenos,eggplant, bell pepper, two cucumbers, a vidalia onion, dill and three types of tomato: yellow, red and pink.  

Here are the salads I made Dan and I for lunch:

His is just lettuce, chicken, tomato, cucumber and feta.  Mine I added avocado (he doesn't like it.)  :)

So, I know some of you are overwhelmed by farmer's markets, so I thought I'd give you a little rundown on how I approach it.  There is inevitably a lot of stuff that you might not know how to use, or that you might not even know what it is.  For me, I mainly buy what I would normally buy at a grocery store:

-Cucumber

-Lettuce

-Tomato

-Bell Peppers

-Zucchini

-Yellow Squash

-Onion

-Broccoli and Cauliflower

-Jalapeños

-Potatoes (for Dan)

I will occasionally buy other things, and do so with last-minute intention to make something special.  For this trip, that includes:

- Dill

-Eggplant

I saw they had these two things, and immediately thought, "What kind of recipes do I usually hear of with these ingredients?"  The ones that came to mind were:  Eggplant Parmesan and Grilled Eggplant.  I also figured I could use fresh dill for the recipe Wes posted over at Gay Weigh.  And of course I got the jalapeños because I tried the jalapeño popper recipe Beth posted over at the B.E.T.H. approach and HAD to make it again.  /bliss.

So, Dan is going to be grilling steak tonight and I'll be grilling the Eggplant for myself!  I'll post a recipe later for you guys to follow if you want to.

Really, the trick is to not overthink it too much. There's no need to buy beets or endive if you don't usually buy or eat it.  Don't sweat the stuff you don't recognize... just buy the stuff you recognize and enjoy eating.  Just remember you can use fresh veggies in your salads and omelets! :)

On another note, I went to a few Consignment shops in the Third Ward yesterday and tried on a few pieces.  I love that they pretty much have Thrift Store prices but it's way more boutique-ish than a Thrift store.  Here are a few items I got:

A pair of size 6 Banana Republic slacks.  Holy crap, they fit.  Stoked!  

Oh, and they were $7.

I saw this cute blue dress and thought it looked kind of vintage.  It fits me like a glove.  Sort of tight around the bust/ribcage area (usual for me,) but I love it!  Size 10, $9.

This cute blue shirt was only $4.99.  I saw the detail on the sleeves and had to have it!

Last but not least, if you guys would like to take a look at what's been keeping me so busy...

Click here to see the recent shots of the studio.

Click here for Colleen or Megan or Haley's boudoir shoots.

You can check out these gorgeous weddings here... 

Milwaukee Art Museum

Lake Park Bistro

Osthoff Resort

At Home and Fabulous

Oh, and this engagement session at the Lakefront Brewery.

:)

~Jenn

8 Pounds in 8 Days?

Well, yep!  I am guessing the Cancun/eating crap weight wasn't "real" weight.  I've lost 8 pounds in the last 8 days, and that definitely can't be "real" weight.  So!  The good news is that I'm down to 172.5 as of this morning.  That's bloody brilliant!

Now for the new weight loss goal!

I want to be 160 (actually I want to be 159, 'cause it just sounds/looks/feels better...) by the time I go back home for my birthday, August 15th.  That means I have 10 weeks to lose 13 pounds.  TOTALLY healthy, and totally doable.

Any of you renewing your weight loss goals?  I know I'm not the only one who has gotten a tad loosey goosey over the last few weeks (months,) so I thought I'd ask.  I've been going through so much salad, it's kind of insane.  The other night I ate a pound of asparagus for dinner.  (THAT pee smelled for about 24 full hours.)  But, it's feeling good.  I actually forgot how much I enjoy salad!  I couldn't remember the last time I made a big, delicious salad, and now I'm back to doing one a day for a meal.  Mmmm!

So!  In other news, I've been pretty busy.  (shocker.)  I did a few entry shots for the Insatiable Host's Pinup Contest, so you can see my cheesy-ness, and also some sort of "now" photos of me.  Took them two days ago:



Also, did an engagement session on Friday (click HERE for those images):
 

And rocked out a boudoir session last night (click HERE for hers):



Overall, things are good, and I'm glad to sorta-kinda be back in the blogging semi regularly groove.  I need to do it more though.  Also, I keep thinking about jump roping.  I have three of them and I NEVER do it.  I want to start.  Anybody else out there jump roping?  Tell me that it's fun and you love it!

~J

Stop. Eat. Cancun!

What's up, all!?

So.  I'm sitting here with a delicious Diet Coke, updating you all on my blog.  And I'm doing it from the beautiful Riu Cancun hotel.

I've never done the All-Inclusive thing before, and let me tell you... it's awesome.  Awesome and wonderful, and awful.  Margarita, Pina Colada, Blue Ocean, Stawberry Daquiri.  Tequila, tequila, tequila.  You guys, there is a liquor dispenser in our ROOM.  A full bottle each of rum, whiskey, vodka and tequila.  And a fridge full of mixers.  Everything is included, 24 hours, and it's awesome.  But I can tell you, there's no way I can "stop" this week.  I'm fully planning to come back to Milwaukee with an extra five or ten pounds on me.

It's a good thing I have three different bathing suits with me.  I have my "fat girl" bathing suit... the one that'll basically fall off of me if I were to go down a water slide or something... the bathing suit my Mom lent me which is a vintagey kind of halter/marilyn type of suit, and my "hot" suit I just got a few months ago.

Somehow, I'm wearing the white size 12's I bought from Old Navy.  They were too tight for me a few weeks ago and they're fitting today, so I don't know what that's all about.  I feel like I've been drinking SO MUCH SUGAR.

Anyhoo!  I'm here through the 20th, so I just thought I'd throw you guys an update about that.  I thought you might want to know why you might not be hearing from me for over a week.  Then I realized that happens even when I'm NOT in Cancun.  I do apologize again for the lack of updates and posts.  Things have been mad crazy with the studio and lots of shoots.

Speaking of, here's the latest one.  I did a promotional shoot for some fellow photographers.  For me, that's one of the greatest compliments I can get.  If another photographer wants me to do their promo images... that's rad!



Click here for Miranda and Adam's shots. :)

~Jenn

Busy, Busy Bee.

Hey lovelies!

I just wanted to pop in to apologize for how crazy my schedule has been, and for the sporadic posting going on.  I thought I'd come over and let you all know what I've been up to!


Today I had a maternity shoot with Sandra and Leo.  Click HERE to check out those photos! :)




I just got back from another trip to Denver where I shot my good friend Rico's wedding.  It was so much fun!  Click HERE for those photos.





My last day in Denver I also participated in a Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) Counter-Protest at Boulder High School.  You can check out the photos I took there in the album on my Facebook profile here.  While you're at it, feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook. ;)

I also did a fashion shoot with my friend Dani, so you can check out those images HERE.



Prior to these I shot Courtney and Jon's wedding, those images HERE.




Also, don't forget about my other, newer blog about my dreams, Tantrums of the Mind.  Come visit, and follow!!!  I totally need some insight, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm not the only woman who dreams she has a penis sometimes.  I'm also pretty sure I'm not the only person who dreams about celebrities, or regularly dreams about water.  I'm looking for some dream interpretation, and general thoughts.  Also it's a pretty decent way to keep track of themes in my dreams through tags!

That's it for now, all.  :)

~Jenn

Updates!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to stop in really quickly and update you guys.  Things have been super busy... I'm moving into the new photography studio and there is SO much work to be done.  Be sure I'm burning about ten thousand calories this week with all the cleaning, sweeping, mopping, painting and moving stuff.

Here are some pics I snapped while we were working today:

I'm tellin' ya, my hands are hurting me today.  It's a real mop.  Heavy, mannish.  And I'm girlie.  The person who was in this space before me was a potter, so that first photo is what's COVERING the entire studio.  Walls, floors, everything.  Dust, clay, crumbled crud.  It's like... when you're doing hard-core spring cleaning in your garage and you blow your nose and it's all dirty?  Yeah.  It's gross.

So all my stuff is quarantined in the side rooms for now... we're doing half, then moving stuff, then doing the other half.  And despite that, things are totally getting dusty and dirty.  I'm going to have to clean everything.  It would have been ideal to clean, then move... but it didn't work out that way.  Too bad for "as-is" spaces.  Why couldn't they have just cleaned it themselves, the lazy bastards!?  -- I'm telling you guys, I don't think these potter people cleaned EVER while they were in this space.  Eeeww.

No fear, I will be updating you guys on the Eat Stop Eat program, and I'll also be posting a few thought provoking things in the next few weeks.

So, anyone wanna come help clean? ;)

~Jenn

My love, my love.

Indeed.  Went to see Johnny at the Bradley Center last night, and the show was amazing!

Click here to see all my favorites from the show!  Oh yeah, Spearhead opened, and they were awesome!

~J

Just a few notes.

Hey guys.

Sorry I've been sparse in the updates lately.  There is a lot of change going on in my life, and I'm finding it hard to concentrate on writing here. :(  I'm sure it's just a funk and I'll be over it soon.

One, I am keeping Chile in my thoughts.  Hold tight, Hawaii.  /sigh...   I feel like the end of the world is coming.

Two, you should go check out this post at Eating Journey.  I've never related to the term "compulsive overeater" but considering how out of control I feel the last few days, it struck a small chord with me.  Though I usually won't overeat or stuff myself every day... I definitely am two things:  A fast eater, and a carb addict.  I eat SO fast... I rarely put my fork down.  I often can finish a meal and struggle to remember what it tasted like.  Dan reminds me to eat slower, or to put my fork down every once in awhile, but I can. not. do. it. 

I haven't gone back to low carb yet (going to the grocery store today), so that's probably why I feel out of control, when in fact I haven't actually been eating THAT badly.  I'm maintaining, in fact, back down to 172.8 today.

Three, I'm looking for a new studio space!  Here are a few shots of the place I looked at yesterday:

I'm looking at a few other places this week, but I really, really love this space.  Lots of colorful walls, around 1600 square feet, and it's a killer rent!  The location is really fantastic as well... it's super close to / basically downtown, and it's only about 8 minutes from my house.



Ta-Ta for now,

~Jenn

Family Photos!

Well, today I did a bit of a shoot with Dan's sister, husband and their gorgeous, gorgeous little girl. :)

Click HERE to see the photos!



~Jenn

Sunsets and stuff.

Hey all.

Sorry I've been crap for crap with updating my blog recently. I've been wrapped up in NaNoWriMo, on vacation with my family and came home to jump feet first into a wedding.

Weight updates: I weighed in yesterday at 180.6. I'm .6 pounds away from reaching that 45 pound weight loss button!

I have been getting the weight loss compliments, and that always makes me feel good. And I finally am starting to see the body changes for myself. I'm also getting hit on more, which makes me believe I'm looking better. I'm pretty much in 12's now.

Today Dan and I enjoyed the first Saturday off I've had in quite some time, and it was awesome. Went out with some friends after the wedding yesterday... overall it's been really nice. I feel strange now that I basically have four months off. I do have some finishing of wedding work to do (editing photos, designing albums, etc) and some consultations for 2010 and 2011 weddings. But other than that it's a lot of free time. November will be lots of writing. After that, I want to start shooting live music.

Gah, this is totally a "nothing" post. I suck.

I'll post something cool soon. In the mean time, click HERE for photos from the wedding!

~Jenn

Something Blue..

Busy with weddings this weekend, y'all! :) I have one tomorrow as well, then Monday I'm heading to Denver and I'll be there with Dan through the 1st, and then I'm staying through the 4th. I'll do my best to keep you all updated daily!

Click HERE for the images from today's amazing wedding. This is my favorite candid Bridal portrait to date. :)



Also, check out my new favorite blog:

http://thislittlegirldreams.blogspot.com/

She's witty and posts some really interesting stuff. And a good sense of humor... that's always important! :)

Comments? I'm sorry...

So, I tried to install a nifty new comment thing where I could supposedly reply to the comments in a tier, and apparently it erased the comment feature completely. I'm sorry guys! I was wondering why I wasn't getting any comments. DOH!

So... I wanted to share with you guys two things:

1. I had a piece of pizza yesterday. I'm pissed at myself, 'cause I'd already eaten a lot with the wedding and all.

2. I did a really fun engagement session in Madison, WI today! Click HERE for the photos. :)

I will be back tomorrow with a longer, cooler, more nifty blog post.





Also! I got up Whitney and Nathan's part II to their engagement session, this time at the bowling alley! Click HERE for all those photos! :)






~Jenn

Day One.

Day one of my busy weekend, y'all! After the 10 hours of wedding shooting, I'm home with sore tootsies and I finished some editing. Come check out the photos! :)

Tomorrow, a set of engagement photos is comin' your way. ;)

~Jenn

Ass Bad Jeans.

Many of you ladies out there know how DAMN hard it can be to find good jeans. It's nearly impossible sometimes, particularly if you have a big ass and a smaller waist. I want to share with you my favorite jean brands and also a few progress photos.

My favorite size 16 jeans come from Levi. They're the Curvy Boot Cut 529's, and as soon as I showed the ones I bought to my Mom, she ran out and bought several pairs.

The jeans I'm currently wearing, as of tonight, are a size 14 "Jeanology" from Newport News. Notice the fact that my huge badunkadunk fits into these but these jeans don't assume a big stomach along with the big bootie:



(Only a very slight muffin top effect today, but that'll go away soon.)

My favorite jeans are my "skinny" size 8T Boot Cut, low waist jeans from Old Navy. The ones I can't fit into yet. Before, I could barely get them up over my knees:




Now, I can squeeze them up, but really not all of my thighs fit into the legs, and it does not cover my ass nor can I come anywhere in the neighborhood of close to zip them up and button them:



Once I can fit (truly fit, not pathetically, grossly fit) into these jeans, I'll have considered my goal: reached! It will equate to me looking like this:




I have gotten a few really sweet comments from some folks, saying that I don't need to lose weight, or that they're surprised I want to. That's very kind, but the truth is that I know where I need to be, for me. I'm a size 14 right now, and there's nothing wrong with that if you're happy in a size 14. Me? I'm not. :)

Oh! And some of you wanted to know where I got my cool footie pajamas. Target, dude. Target RULES!

SO! On another note, I did a fun engagement session at the airport today. Click HERE for all the shots I like so far! :)



~Jenn