3.six.FIVE.

my oh my.  what a year.  I can't believe that I'm done.  and I was ready with the picture by 4 pm today but I wanted to make this more than just a picture.  if I were to capture any year, I'm glad it was this one...so many things occurred in my life:

-greatest trip of my life to ireland, scotland, and england
-I crossed something off my bucket list : visiting stonehenge
-two of my best friends got married
-two of my best friends had babies (different friends)
-the first part of the last harry potter movie was released...can't wait for july!
-I rode the hogwarts express
-I attended my share of festivals
-my wyldlife kids are moving onto highschool
-I choreographed the greatest dance of my career...go dolls!
-I went to nine shows of the broadway variety
-imago dei church moved into its new home
-imago dei members moved to hondurus and I became closer to them then ever
-mhs basketball made history going to super-sectionals
-one of my best friends got baptized
-I moved out of my parents house and into my first on-my-own apartment
-my car got destroyed and then got fixed
-an 18 year old wonderful girl became one of my best friends
-I fell in love with the city of peoria
-I got sick...a lot
-I had the best trip to michigan that I can remember
-I made lots of new friends
-I officially became a stalker
-I started my own business

YOW.  crazy, huh?  what a year to capture!!  and here are some interesting stats for you, here are my photos, somewhat categorized:

nature: 34
feet: 10
lights: 11
people: 62
animals: 12
signs: 5
food/drink: 31
the sky: 28
reflections: 6
buildings/barns: 40
roads: 17
water: 7
festivals: 3

interesting, no?  and here's your final stat.  I thought it'd be interesting to try and figure out just how many pictures I took this year.  of course this is a rough estimate, there were so many deleted and discarded along the way.  my biggest month was july with 2,405 pictures...wanna hear the grand total??

15,266 pictures in 365 days.  holy crapballs.

my camera has been through the ringer!

and now to today's picture...

I was panicking.  I couldn't think of anything grand and glorious enough to encompass this journey.  but then I thought back...its never been about that, its about me and my camera and finding beauty in the simple pleasures of everyday life.  then I had a talk with some best friends of mine:) and they helped my mind go in the right direction.  so here it is...a conclusion to an epic journey...of a girl...and her camera.

heart of it all.

I didn't notice til right now, but that camera is right at the spot where my heart is...my heart is even racing faster as I type this and tears are coming to my eyes.  I can't believe its over but it truly was a piece of my heart to share with the world.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  what a blessing from God.  I have a new journey in mind so keep your eye out for that update on facebook.

what a great way to end this chapter.

3-6-4.

hey!

so this is great.

I got to meet the sweetest little girl today.  her name is julia and she rocks.  she has an infectious toothy grin and the most awesome dance moves you've ever seen.  we took her out today to a park in springfield for a little photoshoot.

she did great...except for a small incident...but I got a great picture!

it was hard for me to pick.  there were so many great ones of her and her amazing smile.  she's quite hilarious.  but this one took my breath away, even on my small camera monitor.

take a look.

stunning.  ridiculous.  look at those eyes.  I just said her name and she locked me in.  what a joy to meet you, little julia.

one day left.

seriously freaking out.

363.

reserved day: especially for miss kelsey.

poor girl, just had major surgery on her foot...but it made for a fun "min-shoot" and I love this picture.  its so kelsey and I'm glad I could chronicle this crazy time in her life.

love you so so so so so so much, kels, you're my fave.

walking on air.

what a riot, love it.

three hundred 62.

what a great day.

karyn and I went to the manito wine festival...and while it was still a little rainy...it was a great time.

we got to sample some great wine, eat some delicious food, and listen to some great music.  we waited for hours though because there were supposed to be hot air balloons.  took forever, and then because of the dang wind, they didn't even go up!  but its ok, I still got a sweet picture.

up up and away.

isn't it cool??  love it.

three days left.  still taking suggestions.

361.

oh man did I get lucky.

I went over to "taste of morton" with every intention of getting a food picture.  however, fate had other plans.  I ran into one of my favorite families.  my little jeremiah and his mom were being so adorable just in their natural state.  this is perfect.

little big boy.

isn't he so sweet???  look at those pouty lips.  and the way their hands are folded is pure perfection.

three-sixty.

holyyyyycraaaap.

five days.

I'm getting extremely anxious about that last day.  I want it to be amazing, epic, exceptional, and final.  how can you do that when you live in central illinois?  on a tuesday???  there is nothing epic here.  any ideas????

anyways...I love this picture.

the detail is incredible and intricate and whimsical and "chintsy" - that last one is for nick.  I went to burger barge today for lunch.  I love that place.  its such a dive and its got so much character.  plus, the burgers are delicious.

tiki time.

YES.  I love the napkins, the little dollar bill folded oragami outfit, the straw hanging over the bar...awesome.

3-five-9.

ugh ok, I don't feel all that well so this will be quick.

I took a bunch of random pictures today, downtown washington, construction sites, and then this little friend turned up...

bunny ears.

hewwo!

day three hundred 58.

I crossed the line.

today I became the ultimate of the creeps and guess what?  I got caught.

here's the sitch:  I saw a lot of people at dq and it was drizzly and colorful over there.  so what did I do?  I parked my car across the street, moved over to the passenger side so that I could face the open driver's window and just creeped up on people with m'lens.  and they saw me.  they were laughing, I think some cell phone pics were taken.

and here's the deal...I don't care.

I am seven days away from being done and this picture kicks ass.  so I don't care.  I know how creepy I am, I've accepted it, it's part of the 365 lifestyle.  I think its pretty funny that I got caught, its about time...

late night snack.

I love this. that black space is my car. how perfectly it captures my creep factor...and frames the picture in a sa-weeeeet way.

357.

I'll make this quick cause I'm tired and I just started a good book.

I drove out in the country today.  it was peaceful and breezy and quiet.  I wanted to stay there and sleep in the tall grass.  I saw this beauty and the set up and the layers were so perfect that I couldn't resist.

barn raising.





I can't get enough of barns, I guess its a good thing I live in illinois.

3 fifty 6.

hey-o!

sometimes God just gives me great things to take pictures of.  the sky was insane today, insane and schizophrenic.  downpour, hail, and the weirdest clouds ever.  I got a SWEET picture of the clouds but I have waaaay to may sky pictures in this blog and I like this other choice just as much.  but I will post the cloud pic on facebook.

rinse cycle.

I realize that caption is lame, but that's exactly how the weather was today!  except add hail.  

OMG, I'm in the single digits.

355.

I only took three pictures today.  but I really like this.

I went to flattop, it was delicious, I've been there many-a-time but today I went to the bloomington one.  its a much different set-up than the peoria one.  anyways, I took this while we were waiting for our table.  like the creep that I am...

stir it up.

love it.  I could not be more ready to be done with this blog.  but I'm looking forward to the next endeavor I have in mind...just trying to think of a name.

TEN DAYS.

3-5-4.

I just realized I totally skipped posting friday's picture!  I didn't miss friday, don't worry.

I went out to a great restaurant "two25" in downtown peoria for my friend caitie's birthday.  it was classy and delicious and expensive.

someone ordered a red merlot at the table and it had the sweeeetest bottle ever.  it is the picture of the day and it is so awesome.

wine and dine.

I love the print and colors and the texture of the cork.  I love the fold of the tablecloth and the crisp white contrast.

353.

so I'm dog sitting.  its super fun...

we went for a walk and I saw something crazy cool...sometimes you just get lucky.

happy hive.

sweet action.

three fifty two.

this is gonna be short and sweet cause I'm tired.

I rode my bike to dance and stopped at one of my favorite spots cause these guys just looked so cool.

parkin' it.

 






































I don't know why I love this but I do.

3-five-1.

holy crap.  the end is super near.

I love this.  sometimes the furthest I have to look is my "backyard"

thanks for the blue sky, God!

beautiful.

at the pole.

love the colors and layers.  the tree in the black looks painted.

three fifty.

so this was a good day but a bittersweet one.

I met melissa and tara for a movie (bridesmaids - GO SEE IT) and a goodbye.  we went out with a bang.  that movie was perfect for us and we were crying we were laughing so hard.  then we made a toast with some skinny girl margarita and hugged each other goodbye.

trips to indy and virginia are in my future!

but for now, here's a fun movie theatre pic.

cinema fare.

yay!  seriously, go see bridesmaids.  its hilarious and quotable and melissa mccarthy deserves an award.

3-4-9.

so this one is AMAZING.

me and my friend caitie went to brian regan.  my mom gave me tickets for my birthday.  he's the best comedian ever, it was hilarious.

the caption is for you regan fans, hopefully you'll get it...straight from his material.

this picture perfectly encompasses brian's comedy...its all about the faces.

circus boy.

amaze.

day 348.

sorry.  not that I'm getting many comments and attention - did anyone even notice the absence?

my computer crashed again.  so I did what anyone would do.  I bought a macbook pro and just plan on furthering my debt more and more.  its beautiful and it was time for an upgrade...my computer was eight years old.  no more crashing!

anyways, love this.  it was graduation weekend and it was rainy and disgusting.  as I was outside taking pictures and there was rain droplets everywhere, I knew it was feeling similar to day 335 so I took a different perspective on it.

I decided not to give attention to the leaves, just the branches and twigs.  looks good.

til you drop.

yep.

day three hundred 47.

yesterday was sunny and then it quickly got dark and creepy.

literally everything was creeping me out.  the "helicopter" plants blowing on the street made this eerie sound, everything was a gray sullen color, and I heard weird things like people cackling and the wind making things creak.

I was thoroughly creeped out, and the rain didn't help.  but here's this.  its pretty but also kind of spooky.

going under.

twenty days.

3-4-6.

this is one of my favorites.

barely even a block from my house, I guess the lighting of dusk was just perfect.

wonderwall.

revel in it.

day 345.

yesterday, blogger was down.  stupid.  I'll never use this again.

here's a good one.  a hidden lovely in the depths of morton.  and yes, I just used lovely as a noun.

aerial view.

rosy posy.

3 hundred 44.

here we go!  oh oh oh!

sorry, I'm watching "raising hope".

so I've been noticing these trees on the side of jackson, the flowers on them are snaking up the branches and its amazing.  so of course I rode my bike over there and went nuts.

I feel like this is somewhat of a combination of two other days, but why would that be a bad thing?

in the curve.

I love the focus.  I love the purple.  I love the crazy twist of that tree branch.  mmmph!

343.

so I was driving on highview road in east peoria and drove by this and nearly missed it.  it was just a peek but a good one.

over the bridge.

almost done.  thank God.

three hundred 42.

yesssss.

went for a bike ride yesterday.  it was luscious weather.  there's a greenhouse not far from my apartment and right up behind it, with the street lights in the back, it looks freaking sweet.  sometimes it just takes looking at something you see everyday...just a little differently.

rainbow room.

magical and creepy and beautiful.

3-4-1.

this one is sa-weeeeet.

anthropologie is my fave.  my happy place of beauteous awesomeness.  and this caught my eye.  I want this for my house.  but I'm pretty sure it isn't for sale, they just make cool stuff and put it all over the store to tease us.

let it shine.

those are plastic ties.  freaking sweet.

340.

went to st. charles to visit my kellster.

we went downtown for dinner.  st. charles has the cutest downtown ever.  this was basically a cakewalk but i like the perspective of this.

around the corner.

mmmmm brick roads.

day 339.

catching up!

so it was cinco de mayo and I had a great night out with my girls at la fiesta.  but by the time we were done it was dark and I still didn't have a picture.

so I drove around.

I've been shooting in manual a lot more now, trying to get used to it.  I like the way this looks.  it had just rained and everything was glossy and smooth. 

on the edge.

I captioned it that way because it looks like the bottom of those rails are just hanging over black, but they're not, its just the dark.

day three hundred 38.

went on a bike ride today, I refuse to drive to dance when its decent weather.  I'm not spending that gas money anymore.  ick.

but I probably ended up seeing something I wouldn't have from the car. 

I love this.  I got so lucky that it was the time of day when the light was falling on the trees and making some really sweet shadowing.

sunspots.

yes.

day 337.

today I ate lunch at cyd's.  and as always, it was scrumptious.  I'm pretty sure this is my fourth post featuring cyd's.  can I help it if they make beautiful food?

caprese a la carte.

yumzo.

three 36.

went exploring in washington yesterday and found this little treasure.  I love the colors and the details.

by the barn.

sprinkled spring everywhere.

day 335.

I love this day.

I went for a little soulful walkabout.  I needed to clear my head and appreciate time with myself, not worrying about anybody else or anything else.  it was wonderful.  I had adele on the headphones and a camera on my neck.  the weather was that pleasant crisp feeling after a rain.  it was one of the better moments I've had.

there were these water spackled leaves on the ground.  I don't know what type of plant it was but the detail on this is splendid.

right as rain.

God is good.

I can't imagine what I could accomplish with a macro lens.  holy cow.

one month from today I'll be free and uninhibited.  I won't even look at my camera that day.  don't worry, I have ideas for something to keep you entertained after the blog is over.  plus, the photography won't end, its just beginning.

reverted back to the original blog layout, full circle.