We moved and got ferrets!

It's true. Grace and I are now hanging out in our new apartment with our two furry rascals, Tabitha and Abigail. They are having a lot of fun so far, and have been pretty high octane this first day. Grace and I have decided to start a wedding photography gig, and started up a photo blog. You can check it out at kroghphoto.blogspot.com.

She took all the photos thus far, she's fantastic. I guess she does have her B.A from Columbia in photography, but I really love the stuff she's doing. I help out in assisting at weddings, and will be doing more photos when I can get my hands on a dslr of my own. I also have been helping in post production photo editing, since I know photoshop quite well. So, the two of us do pretty well so far, and will be getting better as we go! So, if you know anyone who is getting married, needs family photos taken, any events, let us know! Krogh Photo will be there.

It was a great weekend!

Grace shot her first wedding this weekend, and it went really great. Cassie and Cory got married this Saturday, August 1st, and the wedding went well. It was supposed to rain all day, but the sun was actually out most of the day, except for a few showers during the reception.

It was really great to see Grace taking photos and doing what she loves. She has an awesome personality, and her soft and gentle nature actually worked well for the photography. I was a little worried she wasn't going to be outgoing enough to tell people where to be at and how to look, etc. But, it wasn't a problem. I guess I assisted in a way, swapping memory cards for her, backing up files, helping with photo arrangements, answering questions. It was a really good time, and we have actually begun to discuss the possibilities of a wedding photography business. It could happen. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm liking the idea more and more.

Today was an off day a little bit, and Grace and I seemed to nitpick at small stuff. It's funny that this happens for almost the first time the very day after our one year anniversary. Silly, I know. The Lord is good, though, and we didn't let it bother us, and we moved on. We went to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and hang out, and it was good. We saw Jeff, Ariel, and their dog Wally while we were there. He's a basset hound/ Shar Pei mix, and he's a cute guy with a lot of personality. You can tell he loves Jeff, too.

This morning Grace and I also went to prayer together for the first time in a while, it was nice, and we went for a run. I've been running consistently lately, and it's been hard to get my lazy butt outside and actually exercise.

As I write this, boxes are stacked everywhere around the apartment. We're moving Saturday, and we're really excited. Let's hope it all goes smoothly!

Another day, another dollar.

So the new Sleeping at Last album is good. It has grown on me the past week or so, and I'm enjoying it more each time I listen to it. I would have liked some more upbeat songs, but it is what it is.

Grace and I went over to the Cory's house for dinner tonight. Our friend Margaret was there as well, she has just gotten back from Canada. She had some great stories about working on a farm with people from around the world, and having a wonderful experience. It sounded like she has had a good summer.

It's so good to talk to Joe and Sarah about life and art, and pretty much everything in between. They have been where Grace and I are at right now, and it's so encouraging to hear how they learned from their experiences. It's also great to be around people that encourage us to continue with art, and challenge us to do better. They also have such cute kids; two little daughters named Abby and Margo.

A lot of stuff is on the horizon for Grace and I:

-Moving to a new apartment
-adopting two ferrets, Tabitha and Abigail
-Grace is shooting a wedding this Saturday
-Our one year anniversary is on Sunday
-I'm almost done interning
-classes start at Judson August 25th (at least I think)
-Our friend Nick is coming to visit from Florida August 19th
-I have a job interview at Target on Tuesday.
-I'm in the process of designing the new logo for Vineyard

Exciting times.

My thoughts so far.

I downloaded the new sleeping at last album today, and I'm on my second time through it. My initial impressions:

I'm disappointed. Why? Because it seems that since the track off of "Keep no score" to get the most attention was quicksand, the band based an entire album off of it. The whole thing is quiet, very laid back. In fact, when I first started it up, I actually fell asleep for a little bit.

Now, my being disappointed does not really mean anything at this point. I've listened to it only one time through. After all, some of my best friends are awful at first impressions, so I'm giving this album the benefit of the doubt. It sounds very pretty, but as of yet hasn't caught my attention. Once I get a better grasp of what "Storyboards" is all about, I'll let you know.

And why in the world is the first post I've written in 5 months turn out to be a album review/thought? I have no idea. I guess I thought "hey, I should write in that thing" and this music is what is on my mind at the moment.

tired.

I've been having a really crazy, extra difficult week. There has been a lot of work, there have been a lot of late nights, and there have been quite a few discussions with several people about where I am at in life. I've realized lately that I have been unsure about a lot of things:

I've been really unsure about school. I received an email from my aunt discussing the cost of school, and whether or not I can continue at Judson. If that's true, I don't know where I would go, or what I would do. It's frustrating.

I've been really unsure about music, and how I'm supposed to be using it for the Lord. I love to play, I love to sing, I can write music, I can play other people's music, I can lead worship, I can be in my own band, I could even write my own music. But none of that is really working right now, and it's frustrating.

I've been unsure about my faith, and I believe that this is the real root of the problem. Not because I think that I'm about to deny my faith, or anything to that extreme, but I've just been discouraged. I haven't been in the Word, my prayer life is somewhat non existent, but I think that even though I ignore God, I should still be feeling good. That makes no sense at all. I can do nothing apart from Him. That includes my relationship with Grace, school, Starbucks, my family, art, music, everything. If I'm not giving Jesus the time of day, I'm going to be pretty jacked up. I've found this out rather quickly.

Regardless, it's now the weekend. I have a ton of work to do, but it's the weekend. I can (maybe) sleep in tomorrow morning, but I work tonight and tomorrow night, after a two week period of not working at Starbucks at all. I hope I don't suck too much, and I hope that everything goes well with that.

I have a design project to finish, along with a three point perspective drawing to do for Prof. Cory. I also have to get on it and start reading for my history of art class as well as Archetypes of Western lit.

...
....
.....

oh, school.

today.

so our band still has no idea what we're doing. We had a discussion about sound the other day, and recorded a folkish sounding song. It sounded pretty good. However, I really want us to find a sound that is fun to play, that we all connect to as artists, and that can really translate live. I also want all of us to be onboard with it, so that things don't get going a lot and then fall by the wayside. I really know I'm supposed to do something with music, but really don't know yet. I hope I figure stuff out soon.

Class all day today. I'm currently in digital tools, learning about photoshop. Actually, we're going over stuff that I already know. so it's really boring. Grace is shooting at a martial arts place at the moment, I think.

Got more info for the graphic design stuff for Harris and the moods. I'm excited to get that underway. Graphic design work is way the heck more fun when it's not for class.

Grace and I have been hanging out more lately, which is a ton of fun. I really wish we could hang out more, but, with out schedules, we don't always see each other that much, which is really too bad.

birthday.

today is my birthday, and I am so far behind on all my work its not even funny. I just finished a project today for 3D design that was due on monday, and I'm approaching two weeks late on another assignment, so that's no good. It's a drawing where I make up texture for something, and I really just need to hurry up and do that as fast as I can. errg...

Grace, Rob, Eric and I are going to Anathallo tonight in Naperville. We're meeting up with Sarah and Matt there, which should be a good time.

I got to open presents this morning, which was awesome. Grace got me wind in the willows and this really awesome and nerdy shirt from threadless: http://www.threadless.com/product/1462/The_Sound_of_Colour

It's amazing. Right now I have to go to class, and then I sit around some more. Cool.