{9th Day of Love}

Last night, my husband and I both went to Urgent Care with our oldest son making a total of 2 separate trips. Today, I had two additional doctors appointments, no coincidence with the first, with my other two younger boys. On the way out of the last appointment I saw this little table in the foyer with "Heart Smart" info in tribute to Valentines Day. It did, of course, catch my eye as Valentines has been on my mind a little more this year with the {14 Days of Love}. So, I stopped and grabbed a few of the pamphlets to take home for review.

I thought it would be a great tribute to the {14 Days of Love}.

Day 9, Heart Smart {Part 1}.

I have decided to cover this in two parts. The first part will be about the more obvious prevention, while the second part will be a little more specific.

"Heart and blood vessel disease kills over 950,000 people in the U.S. each year. By comparison, cancer claims about 530,000 Americans each year and AIDS claims about 16,000 lives." (Hope Health, www.HopeHealth.com, NO. 113-6)

Hope Health gives us, "The Seven Best Ways to Help Prevent HEART DISEASE."

The 7 risk factors we can control...

1. High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

The biggest problem with high blood pressure is that it usually has no symptoms.

2. Tobacco Smoke

If you smoke, you double your risk of heart disease.

3. Overweight

If you are overweight, you are more likely to develop heart disease - even if you don't have any other risk factors.

4. Undesirable Blood Cholesterol Levels

Healthy adults should have their blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels measured at least once every five years.

5. Lack of Regular BRISK Exercise

Regular exercise can greatly reduce the risk of heart disease.

6. Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes tends to appear in middle age and among people who are overweight.

7. Stress

Everyone has "stress," but because we feel it in different amounts and react to it in different ways, it's difficult to define and measure.

**ACT FAST! In the event of a Heart Attack for you or loved one, DON'T WAIT LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES BEFORE CALLING 911.

Most of this information was gathered from, www.HopeHealth.com. Feel free to go to their website to get more detailed information.

Part 2 will be coming soon, with an action plan!! :-)

{8th Day of Love}

Oh Happy 8th Day of love... look what just arrived in the mail!

Yes, that would be my Shootsac! It has made my heart all happy and warm! Oh the ease of carrying/changing my lenses now on a photo shoot. Just their packaging is amazing! It makes you excited just to receive their box, let alone the bag.

Below is the cover I chose. I decided to stick with the green for now to go with my logo.

My yummy Day of Love was postponed today. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

{7th Day of Love}

My 7th Day of Love is about 2 of my favorite people... My Mother and my Grandmother. They decided to drop in Saturday around 4pm last minute. It was such a treat to spend the last 24 hours with them. We had to stop and take a 3 generation picture for the record and this was the best shot we got (if this is any indication of how much fun we have). This is us! We all have a ridiculously good time together and laugh non-stop.

My mother and I have a special relationship. We are best friends. I would say the same with my grandma. So anytime we get together, it is hands down, a blast! There is usually chocolate involved and a late night of card games. That does not go with out the occasional, "we almost peed our pants- from laughing so hard" scene.

I was sad it was such a short trip, but so glad to see them, none-the-less.

Until next time, Grams and Mom, Love you!

Thanks, Aiden, for taking the picture! :-)

{6th Day of Love}

I have to apologize for getting behind with my "Days of Love." Thanks for the kind reminders! :-) I do have good excuses! My husband got into a project that left us with one vehicle temporarily, as well as running back and forth to Boise Friday and Saturday. Then I got a wonderful surprise from some very special people Saturday. That story will be for another day.

So, on to the 6th day of love. This one is simple. I am a simple girl.

The way to my heart...

That spreads a smile on my face larger then life, and is way better then flowers! :-) Nothing is better then a good Dr. Pepper and some Dark Chocolate!

Enough Said.

{5th Day of Love}

The {5th Day of Love} is to learn about loving yourself. This is such an important part of being happy and enjoying life.

One of the first things that you should do is sit down and write a Top Ten list of things that you love about yourself. This might be sort of hard, but try to be sincere. Don't just write ten things down to get it done. Really try to think about 10 things that are unique, that make you special.

Second, write down a Top Ten list of things you Love. This is important because you should also focus on things that make you happy. It can be hard to find true happiness when you don't ever spend time on yourself. This can be hard if you are a full time parent, dedicated employee, or a care giver of a loved one. I am sure I am not the first person to tell you this, but you need to take care of your self before you can truly give yourself to others. So, do it! Write down your list and post it on your bathroom mirror. It is good to read it often to keep in mind who you are and what you want from yourself.

Although I will keep my Top Ten list of things that me special, I thought I would share my Top Ten list of Things I Love:

1. Snuggle up and read a good book.

2. See my boys sincerely laugh.

3. The feeling of a good workout.

4. X-treme Sports: Wake boarding, Motocross, Snowboarding...

5. Being handy, starting and finishing a project.

6. Going on a date with my hubby!

7. Talking with my Mom everyday on the phone.

8. Good Mexican food, good sea food, good BBQ food, OK- just GOOD FOOD!!

9. The feeling of being spiritually fed.

10. My job! Capturing those special feeling that people have, in an image.

Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you love to do! {6th Day of Love} coming up!

{4th Day of Love}

Today, I have decided to share with you my love for my camera! I have just recently upgraded my camera, and will soon be upgrading my lenses. Since I will eventually be all new with my equipment, I figured now would be the time to make a camera brand jump!

So, here is the BIG question... CANON or NIKON? I get asked that all the time. So, I decided to start doing some research. I have been researching for MONTHS now!! And what I have found out, is that they are both great cameras!! Sorry, I know that is something that you probably didn't want to hear. BUT, if one camera was really that much better then the other, then one would have been out of business a long time ago. The two companies seem to play leap frog with who has the "best" camera for the moment, only to be passed up by the other when their new model is out.

So when you have two great camera companies, then how do you make your decision? I would then look at the company because that is what you are utilmately buying is your relationship with them. Some questions you should ask your self is: How will they treat you with warranty issues, customer service, product replacement? Do they offer all the products I have on my wish list (if you are a photographer then that will always be an on going list :-)? What are their prices in comparison to the other leading brand? What will be my ultimate price be in the end? These are all questions that I researched in looking for a new camera, and which ultimately brought me to my decision.

I did go back and forth on the two brands for some time. There are things about Nikon that are really awesome that Canon does not offer, along with Canon offering some awesome features that Nikon did not. I had to weigh out all the options. I spoke to many camera shops (which I found out that every person has their own preference and will try to talk you into theirs), and tested each camera. I also had a great friend *wink-wink* (Jamie!) that gave me some great advise, "When you can't make up your mind about two different things, you are always best to go with your initial choice." She was absolutely right! Your first intuition always seems to be what is best for you.

My decision is to stay with what I am comfortable with, and what would be the least expensive for me in the long run. I wouldn't have to upgrade my flash, a few of the lenses that I will keep, my remote, along with a few other things. I decided to stick with my Nikon. It is hard to find a non-biased opinion when searching, but like I already said, they are both great camera's. Go with what you feel works best with you!

Here are a few pics of my new camera! I have been having so much fun getting acquainted with it!

Here is the camera straight out of the box.

Much love! The {5th day of love} is just around the corner!

{3rd Day of Love}

The third day of love is going to be dedicated to the meaning behind Valentines Day. There are a few different versions of the "true" meaning behind Valentines Day, and who the real Valentine is. There were three different St. Valentines that all happened to be martyred around the 14th of February. However, the version of the story that I liked the best is found HERE. It goes on to explain how Valentine lost his life and how the first Valentine note was delivered.

Another fun piece of information I found was the meaning of different rose colors:

RED rose means romantic love.

PURPLE rose means that the giver has fallen in love with the recipient at first sight.

ORANGE & CORAL roses represent desire.

YELLOW rose is for friendship or joy.

PINK rose is for gratitude or appreciation.

PEACH rose can signify sympathy or gratitude.

WHITE rose is for humility or reverence.

Enjoy the information, and stay tuned for Day 4!