Hey friends, the weeks just keep passing us by! I am sorry that there hasn't been much photography centered content lately and you are stuck hearing about my life. Admittedly, winter is usually quiet for most photographers. I thankfully have already started my wedding season but am holding off on sharing some of those due to focusing on trying to get some work published. This is one of my goals for 2013, to make an effort to get published more.

1. So speaking of goals for 2013, what were some of your goals and resolutions because we are almost a fourth of our way through the year! I promised to get more organized and although it hasn't been a magic wand effect, I am slowly but surely working on different areas of my life and home to organize. I confess that my closet is still a headache for me because of it's small, odd shape. I did, however, do some cleaning out and organizing in the closet on Saturday and now can better see what I actually own!

2. I confess a new slight obession with buffalo chicken dip! My friend made it a party recently and I stole her recipe. I have been working on perfecting it to our likes and the hubs is a big fan! Is this a recipe you friends might want? Let me know and I will share :)

3. Working out was another goal for the new year. I wanted to get back on track with doing a legit workout at least 3 times a week. I have been doing so much better at this the last 4 weeks or so. Today, even though I am a little under the weather, I pushed through and got a workout video done while kids played around me. I have realized that as a mom, nothing gets done without major intentionality. It's too easy to let things slip! Taking care of myself means I can take better care of everyone else!

4. Don't forget your free Iced Dunkin today...I confess I can't wait for mine! I have been saving it and getting it before class in the evening. My favorite combo lately has been the caramel iced coffee with just cream. The caramel makes it sweet enough for me! It gets me through my 6-10pm night class!

5. Like most moms, I confess I have grocery store woes. I try to plan so that I don't have to go there multiple times a week but it just never seems to work out that way for me. I also like to go when the store is less crowded but that usually means going with my little helpers who aren't always the best "help" in the grocery store. We made a dash in this morning for juice, milk and fresh produce. It felt like a major workout just for that 15 min excursion! Any moms have good grocery strategies? Other times I just punish myself and go at 9pm to avoid crowds and kids :)

6. I am just one month from what would've been my dad's 60th birthday. There's not a day that passes that I don't think about him. We are actually going to travel to his favorite place on earth, Colorado, to spread his ashes next month. It's hard to think about but I know I better start preparing my heart for the journey. (I also prepared myself by purchasing a cute winter hat on clearance yesterday at EMS :)

7. The twins have been off their rockers today. This mornings shenanigans included a game where they were both barking dogs, which I was not a fan of. Other games today have included wrestling and running. The funniest came after lunch when Macy was playing the "mommy" and Dean was playing her pet guinea pig "Bobo." I really don't know where they get this stuff....other than the fact we visited the pet store yesterday and have been getting hounded about animals ever since!

8. Here's a peek at our trip to see the Easter bunny, as you can see the youngest Troutman wanted nothing to do with that larger-than-life bunny!

9. I am going to leave you with a great video I came across this past week. Some of you know of our love for the show Duck Dynasty. We stumbled upon it during the first season and it quickly became our favorite show. We are not alone because it just recently took over the top spot for any reality based shows. It's wonderful that a goofy show about a family with values is sitting at the top! They have stayed true to their values and not wavered, I believe God is honoring that as they honor him. If you have questions about Jesus, especially as these next couple weeks leading into Easter, check out Phil's story here on this video.

I hope you have a great week ahead friends and I will see you back here next Monday!

Emily Troutman Photography