86/365

Life is just so much fun when you're chillin' in a ball pit!

85/365

Gotta love it when a random joker invades your special moment photographing a friend enjoying her Frogurt!
I had a lovely evening catching up with two of my Photography Girlies from College tonight, over dinner and then some frozen yoghurt, and of course I had to take a photo for the blog, so out came the camera, and then along came a group of lads who thought they were hilarious. We did kind of laugh.

I love your face, Becky :)

84/365

I was just gonna do an I Might Stay In My Pyjamas All Day Bench Monday, but decided to try do something a bit prettier, so here's a nice, bright, Teal Inspired Bench Monday :) I wish I could say that I enjoyed a nice walk outside in the sunshine in my sandals, and then sat and drank a scrumptious cup of tea while reading one of my favourite stories, but...there's still snow outside, I left my decaf teabags at the Youth Conference and I had photos of beautiful people to work through. That last part wasn't a bad substitute :)

83/365

So...another Youth Conference has been and gone...I can't quite believe it! I'm pretty sure they go by quicker and quicker each year...

It's wonderful to see so many students and young workers coming together from all areas of the country, for a weekend of fellowship, learning more about Christ, reminding ourselves of simple truths that we so easily let slip from our minds, and encouraging one another, ready to get back in to the world as strengthened followers of Jesus.

The singing throughout the weekend, whether it was during our main meetings, or at 1:30am, brought many smiles to my face, it was such a beautiful sound!

Our topic for the weekend was 21st Century God, and we had Alasdair Macleod from Lochbroom Free Church up North leading us through this over the weekend, looking at how God is the same now as he was in the times of the Old Testament, abounding in mercy and grace, which we are so undeserving of. We also had a variety of seminars to go to on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, covering a range of topics, practical and theological, each one providing us with something to think about and apply to our daily lives. I could say so much more...if you'd like to hear more about it, get in touch!

Not only am I still on the committee, I crazily agreed to be Convener for the 2014 Youth Conference! I'm really looking forward to organising it over the next year with my wonderful committee :) Wondering if it's too soon to set a date for our first meeting...

82/365

Anna Green, everybody. Lovin' life...

We hired the giant inflatables for Saturday afternoon at the Youth Conference...of course I had to grab my camera for a few photos! I got a few beauties of Anna, but I thought I'd be nice and show this one which expresses her pure delight.

Once I put my camera down I had a wee shot of the Bungee Run myself...the first thing I said to Cassia when I woke up the following morning was "I feel like I've been strangled..." her immediate response was an apology...ho ho ho. I must snore in my sleep. The actual cause is probably whiplash from the severe pull back I got from the bungee cord after reaching the end of the run...it was fun all the same! And I'm hugely disappointed in Cassia for wussing out on it.

81/365

I realised at 11:15 pm on Friday that I hadn't taken a photo for the blog yet, but what better to take a photo of than our fabulous, spacious and cosy m̶e̶e̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ bedroom for the weekend!? Haha. While walking around Lendrick Muir putting up a list of names on each door so people would know which room was theirs, I was unable to find the room that belonged to Cassia and myself...we were excited to have a room to ourselves, so we could be old ladies and go to bed without being woken by young'ns coming in at 4am! But we had a good laugh when we discovered that our supposed bedroom was in fact a meeting room...with plenty chairs, a few tables and a wee kitchen, but no beds! See below...


So we had the choice of simply joining the young'ns in one of the big rooms...or stealing matresses and duvets from the spare bunkbeds there. We of course chose to steal matresses, cause we like a bit of excitement like that!

Cassia's bed is the one in the wee den area...we'd have built a fort if we had more linen.

80/365

I'm not gonna say much, cause I should really be sleeping right now. Tomorrow's going to be a pretty hectic day, and then I'm guessing I'm not gonna get a lot of sleep over the weekend as I'm away at the Youth Conference...so really I should be stocking up on as much as I can get right now!

But, anyway, tonight I was at the first Connect event by Souled Out at a Starbucks in town, with, as you can see, some fantastic live music. The aim is for young adult Christians from all the different churches in Aberdeen to meet together and hopefully form some good friendships with one another :) I met a lovely girl who, turns out, lives right around the corner from me! Small world. It had a great turn out and it was a really good night! Looking forward to the next event and seeing how this group develops.

Now, time to get some sleep!

79/365

I had a lovely surprise this afternoon, in the form of a Laura from Dundee :D I was 80% through my duties of printing the 'Delegates Handbook' for the Free Church Youth Conference this coming weekend, when I received a text message enquiring as to my current doings. I was very excited about the possibility that she was asking because she was in town and wanted to meet up, and that's exactly what was happening! So I managed to get through the last of my printing and stapling (saved the folding for later) and hopped in my car to meet her at Starbucks for a frrrrrap :) If you look closely you'll see that she's actually drinking Katherina's drink...yeup, that's me. It's amazing what they hear when I say my name or how they presume it's spelt.

I love surprises :) It was such a lovely, but too short, catch up! I look forward to your next dentist appointment, Laura :) Perhaps I'll start sending you regular packs of sugary goodies so you have to come up more often...

78/365

I spotted this little guy out the kitchen window, while making my first cup of tea of the day, so I decided to run and get my camera and my 70-200mm lens to get a few shots. He's pretty much lost in the bushes in this shot, so, as I made and ate my breakfast, and then started to catch up on the last few days of my Bible in One Year, I sat on top of the breakfast bar, hoping that he would fly on to the washing line beside the bush as it would create a far better portrait! I even got a wee tub, put some berries in it and pegged it to the line, hoping that would draw him in...but it wasn't long before I got uncomfortable and moved to a nice squishy armchair to continue my reading, knowing that the chances of him perching on the line were slim.

I almost used a photo of just the washing line as my photo for today, as the depth of the image is just so much nicer! That very same hedge doesn't look so harsh and tangled, it's all blurred out creating a beautiful background, and the falling snow added to the bokeh very nicely! Oh why, oh why, little birdy, didn't you perch on the line?! It would have been magnificent.

Oh well. The distinct red breast of the robin amongst the abstract pattern of the hedge branches works too I guess...

77/365

I had some surprise visitors this morning :) Brightened up a horrible dark, wet and cold day!

I got my first migraine of the year late this afternoon, which destroyed my happiness, so off to bed I went, and when I awoke I discovered an inch of snow outside...which is prettier to look at than grey skies and soggy grass, but so is sunshine and flowers! I'd much rather some of that.

I'm off back to bed for Round 3 of Catriona vs Migraine, this is my favourite, cause I win.

76/365

We had a church lunch this afternoon, so I should really have taken a photo for the blog then, but I was so busy chatting to various people, and eating yummy food, I forgot all about getting my camera out. It's quite nice to give it a wee rest though, after it was on the go all day yesterday.

At about 10:50pm, while I was on my bed, catching up on the last few days I've not had the chance to blog, I thought I better take a photo. So I lay down, shut my eyes, and snapped a photo, to show that I can't wait to go to sleep! I wasn't sure about using yet another photo of my face, and thought I might take another, but by the time I got caught up on my days I noticed the time was bang on 00:00am...technically the next day, so I'd missed my chance. Oh well, I'm going to sleep now!

75/365

So, as you know, on Saturday I was at a wedding in Edinburgh, second shooting for Roddy Mackay. The wedding was at the Royal College of Physicians, which I am now absolutely in love with. My eyes lit up and I had a silly big grin on my face the moment we walked in through the front doors, and that grin only got bigger every time we walked through to another room in the venue...I was close to skipping about the place. It's a very beautiful building!

I couldn't resist getting a photo of Roddy at work for the blog. This was taken during the ceremony in the main room. See the pillar on the left? They were lining each wall, creating the perfect little corridor for me to hide away, and get great vantage points throughout the ceremony, and then later during the speeches at the meal.

I really hope I get to go back there for more weddings!

74/365

Friday was a pretty busy day! I spent the morning doing portraits at a Mum's & Toddler's group, then met my friend Tanya to make clues for an Easter Egg Hunt, on Aberdeen Uni campus, for our students from church...which took us a while. Haha. Then once I'd gotten home and unloaded all my studio kit from the car, I had to back up all the files from the shoot that morning, and clear my memory cards ready for the wedding I was assisting at on Saturday. I then squeezed in having a shower and eating some, very nutritional, food (fish supper), as I hadn't really done that yet, before driving down to Edinburgh.

I had only just decided to go down to Edinburgh the night before, and my friend Katherine very kindly let me stay with her for the night, after my very short notice request! It was a nice treat getting to see her while I was down for the wedding :) This photo shows how cool we are, especially in our colour co-ordinated pj's.

73/365

I made cookies again! This time they're oatmeal and chocolate chip cause I had a craving. Mmm mmm mmmm. I clearly have an obsession with oats right now...what with my flapjacks the other week, and the 3 or 4 weeks that I had porridge for breakfast every morning.

Still have two big tubs of cookies left...can I have oatmeal cookies for breakfast instead of porridge?

72/365

Another fun morning doing creche at Ladies Bible Study in Church. This week I helped Hannah dress up as a Princess, a Pirate, a Chef, a Cowboy and Spiderman. It's difficult to choose between her seriously impressive Pirate impression, or her idea of a smile in her Princess outfit...haha. What a cutie!

Meantime, Luke was enjoying walking back and forth to the slide and this weeks, not so adventurous, train track.

71/365

Check out ma funky wee Punto! JD is currently at the Spa having his brake pads and discs rejuvenated, so I'm hanging out with my new friend Rurie for a day.

I enjoy trying out other cars, and Rurie seemed nice when we first got going, then I got him on to the dual carriageway and I felt like he was gonna fall apart if I took him above 60, but once he warmed up it was all good.

I headed to the petrol station to fill him up enough to get me around for the next day...and a little bit extra to go for a wee spin. He's a petrol drinker, so he's quieter than JD and a little bit faster on the get-go, so that was nice, and I like the gear stick, but the windscreen is too small. You can probably tell I am in no way a car babe who knows all, so that's where my analysis ends. I just like to drive, and sometimes drive fast...but obviously it was frosty and snowy outside tonight so I drove safely, and couldn't resist finding a wee spot for a quick photo shoot before heading home.

So yeah, it'll be nice to have some fun with Rurie for a day, but I think I'll be happy to get JD back tomorrow evening :)

70/365

I had some company for this week's Bench Monday, in the form of a cute 4 year old and her Mum, my good friend, Emma.

I can't believe it's another snowy Bench Monday. Seriously, where did it come from?! I'd much prefer snowdrop flowers, than actual snow. Bring back Spring! Saying that, we did have fun throwing snowballs onto the frozen pond and creating beautiful art with snow splatters. We were intrigued as to the thickness of the ice, but with a child present we were, of course, responsible adults and didn't test it to find out.

I don't think we'd be have been able to run across it like Hotty McHot Hot does in Skyfall. Yes, for those of you who haven't seen Skyfall yet, there is an actual character in it who's called that...you want to watch it now don't you!

69/365

I spent the afternoon with these beautiful, frozen looking young folk from my church, enjoying a feast at my Aunt and Uncle's house today.

You were probably expecting a photo of my beautiful Mother, but alas I was invited out for this lunch a couple of weeks ago, and knew nothing about Mother's Day being on the same day, so will be making up for my lack of pampering tomorrow night!

You may also be wondering why there's snow on the ground in this photo...I am too! I am so looking forward to summer.

68/365

A year ago I attempted (twice) to do a newborn shoot with this little guy...who's not quite so little anymore! Both times he was far too excited to see me than go to sleep, and wasn't too keen on getting his photo taken, but this time, a whole year on, he found my camera rather fascinating, and was just as excited to see me, of course. We had lots of fun outside beside pretty, blue doors, playing with the dumper truck in the stones, and crawling around inside with cars...and iPhones.

Inga inga inga, Ross! (For those of you who don't know baby chat, that translates as "I can't believe you're already a year old, Ross!")

67/365

I'd like to tell you the photo for Day 66 has a deep and meaningful reason behind it...but, really, I spent all afternoon at my desk working, and rather than take a photo of me with ma specs on I had a wee look through the various amazing pieces of jewellery I've received as gifts over the years and thought this necklace would be cute for a photo :)

I guess, I could say, that I am very glad I decided to follow my heart, give up my job as an Accounts Assistant and go full time at my photography business :) I am so very very lucky getting to do what I love as my job! It's wonderful being asked to capture the day a couple starts their new life together with all their friends and family. I'm close to tears at every wedding, and quite often realise there's a massive grin hiding behind my camera throughout the day :)

66/365

The new wireless trigger for my studio lighting kit arrived last night, so this afternoon my sister, Sarah, and her sister in law, Susie, came round with the kiddies, to pose for me while I tried out my new grey backdrop.

The wee cutie above is Danny boy...he's quite the little lad, huh?? You may remember him from the newborn photo I posted of him and my niece, Elspeth, almost 5 months ago now! He's an incredibly smiley wee boy; on several occasions, while I've been talking to someone, I've realised he's looking over at me with that adorable smile on his face (I'm clearly just hilarious).

65/365

Last night Cassia and I had a delicious dinner at Handmade Burger Co. (no horse was consumed throughout the evening), before heading to the joint prayer meeting of the central churches in Aberdeen...and then going to the cinema to see a film that we'll probably never watch again. Ha.

I thought about taking a photo of people mingling in the hall at the end of the prayer meeting, but we were sat next to a lovely lady, Hazel, who was telling us all about the new church that her and her husband started up in January. It was really nice to be with and speak to fellow followers of Christ, from different denominations, who are doing great works for him in the city. We were so busy talking that taking a photo completely slipped my mind!

So you're getting a snap of the location of our scrumptious burgers instead. Yum. I could eat another bowl full of their chunky chips right now...

64/365

I made chicken lasagna for tea tonight. Yum! I don't think I've made it since last July...which is crazy; I love it so much I should really make it more often! And that's all I have to say about that really.

I'm currently watching You've Got Mail. I love Tom Hanks. Every time I see it I realise I really must watch The Godfather.

Tom & Eileen Sneak Peek

I got an anonymous comment on the blog post on Saturday night, asking to put a photo of the couple from my Engagement Shoot that morning up on my blog. The comment could easily have come from someone I know, who does have Facebook, but it made me wonder...are there people following my blog, who don't have Facebook and therefore don't see all the photos of couples that I post up there??

Doing a blog post of my engagement shoots and weddings is something I always wish I was doing, but am not setting aside the time for. So, I really must start doing it! I also need to give the website a good update; I have lots of beautiful couples and adorable babies to show off!

Please do let me know if you are following the blog! I'd love to hear from you.

63/365

Today is New Kicks Bench Monday! Last week I ordered new trainers from Ebay as I'm in serious need of doing more walking in life, and I didn't own a pair of trainers that weren't too small for my big man feet. They arrived on Friday morning before I headed to Glasgow, and when I took them out of their bag they looked enormous so I wasn't sure I'd be keeping them. But I tried them on this morning and, because I have big man feet, they fit! And they're so pretty! :) Look at them, all clean, and white with turquoise! Yum.

So I thought I'd make a good start to my week, and break them in with a nice wee walk :) But my wee walk turned in to a 5-6 mile walk because I didn't just want to walk through the village, so I headed out the road in to the countryside behind the village, which takes you along to the opposite side and then walked back home through the village. I had my awesome tunes to accompany me half way, then my silly iPhone battery died.

Oh! I've just remembered the very exciting things that happened on my walk! So, every so often, out my bedroom window, I see a girl walking her pet pug, and part of me wants to run outside and say hello and give it a wee cuddle. Well, just as I was starting my walk, I saw a girl walking down the hill, on the opposite side of the road, with a pug...and before I knew it I was crossing over the road and smiling at this girl and the pug...she took off her headphones, probably thinking "Who is this crazy lady??", and I asked if I could say hello, cause I want one! Haha. The pug was more interested in the bin men round the corner than saying hello to me. Gutted. So I didn't keep the girl standing there for long. Ha. Then, just over half way round my walk, I saw a guy coming towards me with TWO PUGS! It was like Christmas had come early. I thought I was going to keep on walking, but the man said something, so I couldn't resist starting a conversation and saying hello to the dogs. These two were far more interested in saying hello to me! I told the man I wanted one, and people always laugh at me when I say that, but that I'd read they have quite bad health issues...He proceeds to tell me that the girl is missing an eye, and she's had an operation on her hip because it keeps falling out of place...and they're only 1 year old! So that was quite sad. I don't think I'd like to have a puppy that I kept having to take to the doctors! So I don't think I'll ever get a pug...perhaps a St. Bernard instead...:)

On return from my walk, all I wanted to do was put my feet up and eat. So, once I put some washing on, and emptied the dishwasher, and made my lunch, that's what I did. I had more than just a packet of McCoy's, but they were an excellent accompaniment to my lunch! Yum.

I'm probably just going to lay back and float when I get in to the swimming pool tomorrow...

62/365

My friend, Tanya, cooked an absolute feast for the students, and young workers, this afternoon at church. I am still stuffed! Thank you, Tanya, for all your hard work :) And your lovely lady helpers for their work too!

After lunch was done, our very musically talented friend, Megan, started playing the piano in the big hall in church, so I suggested we go upstairs and try out the organ...Megan was just a little bit excited at the possibility of getting to play it!

I have no idea when it was last played, so it took a wee bit of time to get it's puff back, but the magnificent notes eventually began to fill the sanctuary. It was a wonderful sound :) The above photo looks so calm, and quiet...I should have taken a short video to post along with it to express the grandeur of the moment.

61/365

This morning I was in Luss on Loch Lomond to meet Tom and Eileen for their engagement shoot, and it couldn't have been more perfect! The forecast I'd been checking the last few days had said cloud, then fog, then mist throughout the morning when our shoot was planned, so when I was cruising up the west coast of Loch Lomond and the sun was beating down on the mountains I couldn't believe it! It was beautiful :)

I was about to say this was the first time I had met Eileen and Tom, but while I was up in Lewis the other week my Granny's cousin informed me that Eileen is her niece, and we actually played together when we were little. Don't you just love Lewis connections! Haha. But this was the first time I had met them as my clients :) We enjoyed walking, chatting and laughing with each other for about 40 minutes before we started taking pretty pictures, and then we were laughing even more. It was so much fun hanging out with Eileen and Tom :) I can't wait to get started on their photos next week, and I'm super excited for their big day in exactly 5 months!

After we parted ways I popped in to Cameron House and took the above photo of Ben Lomond, which is the hill Janice Berry and Alexander Stewart, along with other students from Glasgow, walked up at midnight, over 30 years ago, to watch the sunrise. It's on that walk that their "courtship" began, a few years later they were married and quite a few years later, after having 3 other children, they welcomed a cute, fat and hairy baby girl called Catriona in to the world. Nice wee story don't you think?

I also headed up the east coast of Loch Lomond to check out the location of one of my July wedding's, and by chance, found myself on the road to the beach that we used to go to as a family when I was little :)

A pretty fantastic day, I'd say!

60/365

I headed down to Glasgow yesterday afternoon and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle in Milngavie, ready to head up to Loch Lomond this morning for an Engagement Shoot (more on that in Day 61). I hadn't seen my wee cousins, Euan and Abigail, since last summer, and they have gotten so big since then! So it was lovely to spend some time with them :) And hopefully it won't be so long a gap between visits this time!

It's clear I'm more attracted to pictures than words; I was so busy admiring the photos on Ruth's fridge (a couple of which were mine.Yay!), that I didn't even notice the lovely message that was right in front of my face! And the cute wee face in the other photo is wee Euan with my aunt, Anne :) I can't wait till he's got a broad Glaswegian accent, like Abi's, to entertain me with!