I'm sorry for being MIA!

Hi everyone!! I'm really sorry to all of you who have been checking my blog and been DISAPPOINTED!!! My life has been busy and somewhat undergoing a change.

About me now: I'm almost done with my photography class, I'm going to start SBing (skill building) through a photography charity drive, and then I will research for potentially (still not sure) starting PBing (portfolio building) and going professional! Who knows?! The world is at my door, I just have to answer it!

Ok, so where have I been the past month? I will show you!! Prepare for a LONG post! :)

First, a couple of pieces that I had to take for my class! Our categories for this still life assignment were tools and toys. So the first is tools, the second is toys.

Now for a few vacation pictures! I went to a friend's lakehouse for a girl's getaway yarning weekend!

::CHEESECAKE!!!!!!::

::My friend's knitting project::

::The Lake with a fellow bumpie's lens since we had a mini GTG::

Last week, DHh and I went to Niagara Falls for a wedding, and headed up a few days early so we could have some vacation time on our own!! It was beautiful!!

::Canadian Falls::

::American Falls at night::

::Night shot in the cold mist with DH::

Thanks for looking!! Sorry I've been such a lame poster this past month! I'm hoping that I'll get better??

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::