i'm so excited!!

how cool does this picture look?? it was always a favorite of mine, but now i love it even more.
i just figured out how to use textures with the online photo-editing software i use at www.picnik.com. i found an awesome how-to video on Flickr. check it out. sooo much fun. :)

{things i love} thursday
july 30th

is it a beautiful thursday where you are??
here are some of the things brightening my day...

my Flickr faves
i'm calling it: "there is a soft, blurry line between life, love and magic"


1. sandy feet, 2. thousands of souls all stopping together, 3. b&w field, 4. Golden slumbers kiss your eyes., 5. I want to extend my 'self' to that far atmosphere Only my dreams allow., 6. Modern-Vintage, 7. Untitled, 8. Sisters are different flowers from the same garden, 9. Can you play me a memory?


this morning in my usual read-through of all my favorite blogs i stumbled across this piece of writing that just took my breath away...and felt i needed to share:

"following the dimly lit path to the winding staircase was terrifying, i thought you would see me.

the morning air was thick with moisture and the grass was dew covered. the cashmere shawl was not merely enough to keep me warm.

the dark blanket of blu-ish gray laid still and hush over the still small city while i could peer and see a few fireplaces burning. i hurried, i took my shoes off so i would not make any noise.

by the long clear pond of water i spotted you, sitting, waiting. the terrible beating of my heart was so loud i thought you could hear it.... your smile was relaxed as the morning sun began to rise over the lower hills.

i hastily said goodbye to what i knew. there was not one ounce of who i was left. i was changed. but i jumped in, full feet & full heart. there could be nothing else.

my heart stopped beating, i was home."

find this entry and many more things to inspire HERE. you won't regret clicking on that link!

last night i had the pleasure of shooting my friend marta and her sister rebekah again, and this time their mum maxine tagged along. here are some of my favorites from our shoot.





thank you so much ladies for letting me capture some special moments and memories for you. it was a pleasure!

its all about the CHICKS...

do you have a special chick in your life you'd like to celebrate??
or did your chickens have actual chicks??
or do you wish you were more of a 'chick'??

scrap about it and link us up over at the PINK ninjas!
here is my page about my darling friend kaelah... :)

i'm a scrapping scarf*girl

so i've decided that i am now a "scarf*girl." i have a few that i just love, got a couple new ones last weekend, and my friend mathea gave me the one in the picture. i'm loving them. i want to have something thats just me, you know?? so scarves it is!!

i've also been doing some scrapping just for me. feels good to create pages with pictures that mean something to me, or about a topic that i needed to write about. these pages are precious to me right now.
thanks for looking.



so chris and i are heading to a movie tonight. getting a pizza to go with it. i LOVE our theater!! :D then tomorrow we're heading to wenatchee for the rest of the weekend. its nice to have some time to spend together and visit friends and family.
i hope you all have a terrific weekend!!

and i hope this makes you smile, like it did me!!!

{things i love} thursday
july 23rd edition

my Flickr faves.

1. cedar, 2. sky fell over me., 3. friendship = good times-->EXPLORED, 4. summer love 2, 5. ., 6. 322/365, 7. 12/365 Sunkissed, 8. Miss C., 9. albertson25, 10. W A R M T H, 11. I dream about you every night., 12. cole1year-5, 13. I, 14. twenty/three six five: love, hard to find, but great worth it when you find it...--->EXPLORED, 15. moore2, 16. TTV Chloe :)

over the weekend my cousin hannah did my hair for me. i'm a blondie again!! and sooo loving it. chris says you can see the different colors better if its straight, so that's how i've been wearing it lately. (and look how long it is!!) now it feels like summer is finally here!! :D
thanks hannah!

this thursday i'm {lovin'} these things:

• having my wedding band back from the jewlers. it cracked and they had to replace it. i went 3 weeks without it. it feels better back on my hand. :)
  
• knowing we're going out for karaoke tonight!! oh yeah.
  
• looking forward to another weekend in wenatchee with friends and family. hoping to do some photo shoots. (stay tuned!!)
• deepening friendships... *sigh*
  
• having chris around again. his presence calms my soul
• my job, and the freeness it gives me to pursue other things as well
• new scrapbook paper

have a lovely thursday everyone.
<3

it was a HOT beautiful summer's day...the town festival was in full swing, and we met to take part in Scott Kelby's 2nd annual worldwide photowalk. soooo cool. our little group of 5 headed out, cameras in hand, to find the little gems in our small town.
here are my favorite photos:






thanks for a wonderful time to my group, and to scott kelby, for such a fantastic idea.
see the website for more information: www.worldwidephotowalk.com

guess what i'm doing today?!!

its the second annual worldwide photo-walk!
and today is the perfect day for it. we've got our little town summer festival going on this weekend called Basin Summer Sounds, and tonight Smashmouth is doing a FREE concert!! wahoo!
i have a feeling there will be a lot of fun things to take pictures of.
last night i saw a large dancing grape (lady in a costume) advertising free beer and wine tasting. that might make for a cool shot!

i'll be back soon to share my pictures with all of you!
have a terrific weekend!

{things i love} thursday
july 16th

my lovely Flickr faves.... *swoon*
there seems to be more color than lately, and some pretty cute babies.... :)


1. Shades. of. color., 2. the stars lean down to kiss you., 3. Soph, 4. You belong with me, 5. from the bottom of my heart, 6. love you, 7. cedar {7 months}, 8. i morgon kommer jag att flyga, 9. "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair", 10. What do you do?, 11. "i've been secretly falling apart", 12. ..., 13. Holds It's Color, 14. he poses., 15. after the storm, 16. Paint Me Beautiful. (Explore!)

and speaking of babies, you have to watch this. soooo adorable!



something else that makes me happy today is the fact that chris was recommended for a full-time position with the company he's been working for this summer!! the main boss came and told him of the open position and said he was putting his name in. how cool is that?! especially since pea harvest will be done the end of the week, so any work is awesome.
so we'll wait and see if he gets the job.
this will also help with our little "mortgage hiccup" we've had. they are requiring that chris is listed as a full time employee. he's working the hours, but is technically only a "temporary worker." this can change that, and get the ball rolling again!
*score*

i'm soooo looking forward to this weekend! its gonna be busy saturday.
i'm working till 2. then i'm doing a photo-walk with my friend marta. she's signed up as photo-walk leader, and it sounded like fun, so i thought i'd get involved too. use some of my newly aquired skills! ;)
then there is a bike show/music festival happening and then Smashmouth is putting on a FREE concert! how cool is that?? i'm pretty excited.
and i've invited my cousin hannah and her family down for all of it.

and i can feel a change of hair color coming on..... you'll just have to wait and see!!
have a great weekend everyone
<3 shaina

scrappy~love

a couple new challenges went up today....
so i thought i'd share my pages. these are some fun one.

~Scrap Outside the Box~
it was my turn to pick a challenge this time, and i chose coffee filters! so fun! so grab a couple, distress them, fold them, turn them into flower...go to town and play along!

in other SOTB news, our first zine is finished and in print! how cool is that??!! i'm so excited. its my first time being published. check it out and purchase your copies HERE. thanks for the support! :D

~the PINK ninjas~
"the places we go" or in my case, how we get there.
i used a picture i've been saving for awhile of my buddy josh and i on his bike. that was totally one of my favorite parts of living in spokane. i totally miss riding on his bike.
come play along with us. there are soooo many ways to interpret this challenge! :)

alright everyone...hop back on by tomorrow for a much needed {things i love} thursday post. :)
tonight i'm off to a friends house for a clothing swap! dude...shopping without money. gotta love it. i'm hoping i can get some cute new things.
:D
have a great evening!

sunflairs and beautiful smiles...

i was in desperate need of a model so i could get some of my classwork done for my photography class, so i asked my friend mathea if she would get all prettied up and let me take some pictures of her. and they turned out sooo good. i'm very proud of them. here are a few of my favorites i wanted to share.






thank you my pretty friend for letting me take pictures of you. you are beauty.

in other news: hehe
i know its been like forever since i've posted anything. i didn't even do a {things i love} thursday post. :( i've been feeling pretty blah for a few days. just the usual boo-ness that comes 'this time of the month' but i get so drained. yuk. :(

however, last weekend's trip to montana was soooo much fun. total girl time. hadn't had that in awhile. i'm getting some pictures e-mailed to me of us dancing at the wedding. should be good. :P i'll post them when i get them.

tonight we're going out again for karaoke. i'm soooo excited! whoop whoop! we have a fun small-town bar here in soap lake called Del-Red. its the place we always go. "where eveybody knows your name" hehe. and the karaoke DJ is the sweetest old man. too funny! we have a lot of fun. last saturday night the bar was pretty much empty, so we got to sing a lot! and you'll never guess what song i totally rocked!: "oops, i did it again..." -britney spears!! i know right!?? crazy and fun. i'm looking forward to going again tonight. my "classis" song i always sing is "she's in love with the boy" -trisha yearwood.

what are your favorite karaoke songs??
do you get up and sing??
share! i'd love to hear all about it.

have a great weekend everyone.
<3

CONGRATULATIONS

to my cousin whitney on her recent engagement.
i am so happy for you.
and i can't wait to hear the proposal story!! :)

photo by FRESHphotography.
(amazing work...see more photos on the site)

sHe dEsiGns

i've been busy! getting lots of requests for blog designs and make-overs. its been a blast. one of my favorite parts is getting to know these wonderful people.

this one is for sarah. she's a fellow Scrap Outside the Box design team member. and how cute are her puppies?? *swoon* check out the full makeover HERE.

this was created for the adorable emjay. while reading my usual blogs i found hers and in the post i read, she said her blog was "under construction." so i e-mailed her and offered to help. she is so much fun, and has a terrific etsy shop. swing by her blog HERE and take a peek!

scrapbook royalty is a non-profit organization that is full of scrappy ladies who volunteer their time and resources for good causes. i got an e-mail from their founder, elena asking for help to make their blog look cute. this is what i came up with for them.
please stop by their blog and website for more information about this warm and giving organization.

this weekend my friend amanda and i are going on a roadtrip!! she invited me along to a wedding in montana. i'm so excited. its always good to "get outa dodge" and you know me...i *heart* a good roadtrip!
look for pictures and updates coming soon!!

have a safe and terrific weekend everyone!
i'll be back next week.
:D

"i think of cupcakes and i smile." ~dana

gosh, its wednesday already, but i'm still on a high from last weekend! i got invited to abi's mum and dad's 25 wedding anniversary party. it was a surprise for her mum anita. her dad, steve planned the whole thing... right down to the exact replica of their wedding cake. *sigh* so romantic and sweet!
it was a great party. :)
i got to hang out with my friends again...first time since the wedding in may. it was good to see abi, nate, brenna, and dana again. amazing how fast times goes by... but with some people, its like i never left. i feel that way with these terrific people. they are so kind and welcoming.

some other great quotes from this weekend:
"i fear for my dryness."
"something long with strawberries."

for those of me that have known me for a long time you will be no stranger to my "little pink notebook." for many years it was a literal notebook that i kept with me all the time and filled with those memorable quotes... the kind that when you hear again take you right back to those moments. people always would say: "get your notebook, shaina...that's a keeper!" and i did keep em. i have 5 notebooks full of such quotes.

now though, i keep them all in the "notebook" tool on my phone. brilliant i say! i totally have it with me all the time, and its even pink! hehe. i'm thinking i'm going to start incorporating some of these terrific quotes into my blog posts.

everyone needs a good laugh! :D

on sunday i also got to hang out with my other group of peeps in the tri-cities: the American Sign Language group. i went to their meeting and then out to lunch with everyone. it had been too long since i had a chance to visit with them, use my sign, and enjoy an all ASL meeting.

i've heard it said that a talk in english touches your mind and intellect... but a talk in ASL touches your heart. that is so true. there is something so moving about this language. something that cannot be explained in spoken or written words. i feel honored to understand this beautiful language.
*sigh*
i've missed it so.

there was an illustration given about sin. ~ god's destination and purpose for us as humans has always remained to same: perfect life. sin is just the detour along the way. our destination has never changed. ~

another thing that happened this weekend:
my friend marta knows a sister that has a business called Liberating Style. its is a clothing /accessory/ purse company for plus-sizes. she is starting up her website soon and needed some images to upload. so marta called me and asked if i'd model for her. i was sooo excited!!
so we got together downtown on friday night after work and got started with some accessories..mostly earrings, glasses, and bracelets.
dude, i was workin' it; top model style! haha! but i totally had a blast.

marta let me have a cd of the images, so i wanted to share some of my favorite. maybe not the best "model" ones, but the ones that i feel good in.