Greetings, blog world!

So, I think I've decided that I'm going to do more of a once-a-week blog post, and if I get to do more, then great! I know it's been more than a week, but I'm here with lots of goodies so please forgive me!!! I have been SUPER busy, worked a youth conference, finished up a class project, went to a life changing Bible study, spent time with new and old friends, and relaxed a little! Oh, and I went to our botanical gardens in town because they are having their spring festival! So here are some pictures I wanted to share with you all:

::Youth Retreat::

There's more of them here: http://sarahruthphotography.smugmug.com/Events/SWEAT-2011

Ok, there's a story behind this next one. In my photography class, we're doing still life shots, and my professor wants us to do different categories. One is "toys" and he showed some examples, which included a couple of sweet shots with dolls having tea. My classmates were CREEPED out by the doll pictures (they weren't creepy) so I set out to do a not creepy one! Well, then I decided, what the hey, I'll show them what a REALLY creepy doll picture looks like! Enter, Felicity:

Awesome, right?!?!

Ok back to the happy! Botanical Gardens time!!

I hope you've enjoyed my picture share!! I'll have more coming soon! Hopefully I'll get to shoot a NEWBORN this week!!!!!!!!!

Bonus post!

Ok, so my life has been NUTS this past week. I really feel like I'm falling behind spiritually. I know I wasn't where I needed to be before we left, but it feels like I've fallen even further backwards. I can't tell you the last time I had an alone "quiet time" with God that wasn't prompted by small group or a conference...

Now that I'm looking at photographing a youth conference this weekend with my church, it's really got me thinking. I need to take a step back, look at my life, and figure out how everything fits... On one hand, I have my photography, school, the required assignments, and the passionate stuff that I do for fun. On the other hand, I have our whole TTC process (btw I confirmed O this weekend while we were away! My mom always jokes that you don't go to Myrtle Beach if you don't want to come home pregnant... That's where my sister, at least one of my cousins, and myself were all conceived!)But I digress...

So I have all of these things going on in my life, and I really tend to struggle with fitting God in there. I know the Sunday School answer, "God shouldn't have to 'fit' in your life. He should be over everything." And while I know that's technically true, it's SO tough to apply it. One way in which I feel like I'm doing better since I picked up photography is seeing God as the ornate artist and creator. I see macro shots that I take and put on my computer, and I see things in the flowers that I couldn't see with my eye. It's incredible!!

Anyway, thanks for reading my ramblings. Pray for me that I find out how to work this all together to create a smooth life for me!!!

I'm home!!! (huge post!!!)

I know, it's been FOREVER since I posted!! I had a great vacation, and some great rest afterward!

Ok, where we went/what we did:

Thursday the 10th:
We drove to po-dunk SC (literally the middle of nowhere) to meet with DH's superintendent before the big job thing on Friday. It was nasty rainy and windy, but I managed to get a few shots.

::They got SOME concrete on the tank Thursday before the rain::

::Sand-covered Rebar::

::Stormy skies floating away::

Thursday evening we decided to go stay with my uncle, aunt, and two youngest cousins. They are HAMS!!!!

Friday the 11th:
We got up at 5:00 (WOW!) and left by 6am to head back to po-dunk!! This was the sunrise we drove towards!

The rest of the workday was spent watching these guys shoot concrete onto a tank:

And I made a new friend!!

Around 4 we left for our next destination... The beach! I saw these beautiful blossoms when we stopped for dinner, and we drove away from the sunset.

Saturday the 12th:
Waking up to the beach! Then a journey to Wilmington, NC to visit one of my girlfriends!!

Then we got SUPER touristy and went to the USS North Carolina (pictured above)

Sunday the 13th:
We visited my grandparents' beach house and went for a walk on the beach (it was still closed up for the winter so we couldn't stay there).

::I coerced him to get in the water... It was FREEZING!!!::

::The old, dependable cabana that my dad and some of his buddies built::

Monday the 14th:
I'm on my way home! I stopped in Charleston County at the Hampton Plantation to get in touch with my southern heritage. It was breathtaking!! These pictures don't do any of it justice.

::The owner forged this ornate bench HIMSELF::

March 9th: No pictures...

So today turned into a crazy and chaotic day. My husband and I have been TTC for 15 cycles now. Earlier this week, his schedule changed and he was no longer going to be home at ALL during the window for this cycle. So I had to drop a coffee date with a girlfriend, a dinner outing with a few couples (our Bible study group), dinner with my husband's best friend and his wife (we've been trying to do a dinner with them for TWO YEARS!!), and my nephew's FIRST birthday party that I was so excited to do a cake smash photo shoot for!

I'm so upset and frustrated, but when I think about the bigger picture, the fact that this could be our cycle, I know I'm doing the right thing. So we're off on an adventure tomorrow! Tomorrow he will be inspecting the tank (his company builds concrete tanks), and then Friday he will be overseeing the big shooting of the concrete process for the tank! I'm so excited to be able to take pictures of this process! Who knows, maybe his work will pay me for the photos!

Anyway, I'm trying really hard to see the good out of all of this frustrating nonsense. Hopefully I will come back with some great action shots, as well as some great beach shots from the weekend. Also, both my sister and I, as well as several of my cousins were conceived at my grandparent's beach house!! We won't be staying there because it hasn't been cleaned out after winter, but we'll be going to the beach right there and I will show my husband the outside, so MAYBE that extreme fertility will rub off on me?? :)

Hopefully I will be able to post some this weekend (it will most likely just be text and no pictures unless I can get to a Starbucks and have wifi!). Thank you all my lovely readers!!! A treat for you from Monday:

March 7th and 8th: People!

So I have to take pictures of people for my class! First are a bunch of my friends (edited to how I will use them for class). The last one is a self-portrait of me with a tripod.

::City Hall Landscape Caretaker::

 

::Sleeping homeless man at City Hall::

 

::At the mall my friend Lisa works in a bra store::

 

::My friend Nicole::

::My friend Chris at the library::

 ::Me at the library::

::Me at the library::

::Today's self portrait::

 ::Wisteria::