On the Jay Leno and Ellen show!

I've gotten terribly behind on my blog, and I have zero time to be doing this right now, but I just had to post these pictures from last weekend before they get buried in the archives of photos I do nothing with.

Last weekend, Kevin's mom flew me and Kevin's two sisters out to LA to see both the Ellen show and the Jay Leno show.  I can't believe Rose and Kris pulled off getting us tickets to both shows two days in a row and on top of that we got to go to Santa Monica to the beach. It's been so long that I've been to the beach that I almost forgot how much I loved it.  I think I actually liked the beach better than the shows, but the shows were also fun.  Apparently we made it on TV quite a few times on the Ellen show, but my favorite was the Leno show.  We got to see Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, and Steven Tyler, and Jay Leno was surprisingly super nice.

Highlights of the trip:
(1) Basking in the California sun in the middle of January
(2)  Getting picked before the Ellen show as a potential "random" contestent that might be called on during the  show
(3)  Being very relieved when I was not picked as a contestant on the Ellen show since the game involved making out with the celebrity guest Shemar Williams, which would have left me in the dog house with Kevin for months
(4)  Putting my toes in the Pacific Ocean, sitting in the sand, and truly soaking up the moment
(5)  Drinking half a dozen Hibiscus martinis, and spending girl time giggling like an idiot

Lowpoints of the trip:
(1)  Traveling home for 8 hours back to Nebraska with a hibiscus martini migraine

Here are some of the pictures from the trip, mostly from the beach since you weren't allowed to bring cameras into either of the shows.

Thanks again Rose for the trip.  It was so generous of you and was a very fun trip.

And for anyone that wants that Hibiscus martini recipe, it was fabulous:  Blue Ice Organic Wheat American Vodka, hibiscus syrup, fresh lime and lemon, organic agave nectar, muddled fresh ginger and cucumber served straight up.  Yum.

One more thing crossed off "the list"

Thank you so much to everyone's wonderful responses to my last blog post about starting a business.  It really means a lot to me that you guys care enough to read along, let alone provide such encouragement.  Throughout this whole process I've really been amazed by people's generosity and support.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Since I haven't blogged since early October, I was looking back through my pictures to see just how many I never got around to posting.  There's a lot I left out, and I definitely won't catch all the way up, but I thought it'd be fun to post a few pictures anyways. 

Just a little background - originally when I thought I was going to quit Union Pacific entirely to pursue my work at Ova Ova, I thought it'd also be fun to do some photography work part-time.  I have always enjoyed photography, and the more pictures I've taken over the last few months, the more I've liked it.  I know it's so cliche - it seems like everyone is a photographer these days.  And real photographers must be really annoyed with people like me who pick up a camera and start snapping a few pictures and then call themselves a photographer.  

But it was sort of inevitable.  I think my brain is wired a lot like my dad's, and like many of you know he's done photography part-time for years.  So when my dad gave me his broken Canon 5D and I was able to get the entire shutter replaced and the camera back up and running for $200 bucks, I was totally hooked (thanks dad!).  I even had my wonderfully talented friend, Danielle, create a photography logo for me, and I laid claim on the the domain www.amandakohlerphotography.com.  That's about as far as I got when I realized there was no freakin' way I could do photography and run Ova Ova all the while working at Union Pacific 20 hours a week.  I may be crazy, but I'm not that crazy.  

So alas, Amanda Kohler Photography will remain on pause for the foreseeable future.  But I still thought it would be fun to post some pictures of the beautiful weddings I was able to attend during the second half of the year.  I really do love weddings.  Here they are in order:

Adam and Erica (Kevin and I's wonderful wedding photographers, The Moment It Clicks, were super nice and let me tag along to one of the weddings they photographed)

Nina and Robert (Kevin was an usher in this wedding.  His cousin Nina married one of his best friends, and it was a great wedding)

Jessica and Jay (One of my new friends, Emily, and I took pictures at this wedding.  I was nervous, but it was so much less nerve wracking with a second photographer - thanks Emily!)

Kait and Jake (Kait has been one of my best friends since elementary school.  I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, but still couldn't resist snapping a few pictures).

Even though I don't plan on taking on too much of my own photography work for awhile, I do plan to partner up with my dad on some weddings this year.  My dad has been doing photography professionally for years, and we've shot a bunch of weddings together, but this is the first year that he's officially opened the door to weddings.  He is a far better and more experienced photographer than I am, and having recently shopped for a wedding photographer, his prices are definitely on the lower end for his talent and what his packages include.  Here's a link to the wedding packages if anyone is interested.

So, with all that being said, I am officially crossing number 13 off the Pre-Baby Bucket List:  "Take Up Photography." When I put this one on the list I was more just hoping that I'd finally be able to remember the difference between aperture and ISO.  Let's just say I went a little over the top on this one, but I had a lot of fun crossing it off the list.

Over the last few months I've had quite a few questions from people that are interested in learning photography.... what camera to buy, what lenses, books to learn, etc.  If you are looking to get more serious about photography, I'd recommend you go with a Nikon or a Canon.  I've heard great things about Nikon, but my dad has a ton of Canon gear that he's nice enough to let me use, so it would be really silly for me to go the Nikon route.  If you're interested in buying a Canon - here's an email I sent to a friend giving the details on what I would recommend.  Obviously if you're not in the market for a camera, this information is totally useless, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case it might be helpful for anyone.

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I would recommend buying the Canon T3i (for $712) or the T3 for (for $454).

The T3i is obviously the nicer camera (and it's more expensive), but the T3 is also very nice.  

The two main differences between these cameras are:  (1) the number of megapixels and (2) high definition video.   The T3i has 18 megapixels and the T3 has 12 megapixels (more megapixels is better).  I use the Canon 5D which only has 12 megapixels and I haven't had any problems with it at all - I love it.  The other deciding factor between these two cameras is whether you want to record hi-def video with your camera.  The T3i has high def video and has an LCD that flips out so you can use the camera more like a video camera.  If you don't care that much about video, I'd go with the T3.

The standard lens that comes with the T3i or T3 is ok, but I would highly recommend buying a second lens.  If you're not going to buy at least one decent lens, I personally think it's not even worth buying an expensive camera. I have had really good luck with the Canon 50 mm 1.8 lens.  It's under $100 and since it opens up to F 1.8, you can create those professional looking photos where the subject is in focus, but the background is blurry.  You can also take pictures in lower light without a flash (and flash photography takes awhile to get the hang of).  You won't be able to do either of those things with the standard lens that comes with the T3i or T3.

Check out this link to go to my amazon store with all the products that I mentioned.  I put some Kelly Moore bags on there (those are those purse/camera bags - they are kind of expensive and not really great quality, but they are really nice for carrying your large camera around).  I also put the flash cards I recommend, and a book I liked that can teach you the basics.  I would buy 2 flash cards if I were you (definitely buy these online - they are way cheaper than at the store!).  If you end up buying anything from amazon (which amazon has some of the best prices), then I get a 4% kick-back in Amazon gift cards.  I've never tried it before, but I wanted to give it a go since we may eventually sell fertility related products on Ova Ova.  Let me know if you have any questions!!

http://astore.amazon.com/wwwlivingeasi-20

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Why I almost quit my job at Union Pacific

We talked.  We debated.  We dreamed.  We cancelled our Africa trip and instead we put our condo on the market.  We sold our condo on October 17th at 2:45 and fifteen minutes later, I walked into my boss's office and told him that I was quitting.

But why?  Why sell the condo that we loved?  The one that we had saved for, and loved, and painted every square inch, and made into a home.  Why quit a great job that I was pretty good at?  Because I'm crazy.  And because my husband is crazy enough to believe in me.  And we are doing something I never thought I would have the guts to do.  We are starting a business.

The business is called Ova Ova, and will be launched very soon.  More to come later on the business, but here is a placeholder page we've put up while the site is under construction (www.ovaova.com).

Despite many wild ideas over the years, I have to admit that I've always taken the safe route.  In high school I dreamed of being a social worker, of making a real difference in people's lives, but I opted for corporate finance instead.  In college, I almost dropped out of school to travel around the country with one of my best friends.. no particular destination in mind, just the open road.  I nearly convinced my friend Kait to come with me, before I chickened out myself.  Then after graduating from college, I almost quit my first real job to move to London then Ireland... I even had the work Visas lined up and everything... but chickened out.  A year later, I planned to take a leave of absence to spend 4 months traveling around Europe... but then I cancelled the trip.  For as many crazy and awesome ideas I've had over the past 5 years, I've stuck to the straight and narrow.  And don't get me wrong, I'm very, very happy with the way everything has turned out.... but.  I've never taken a real risk in my entire life.

Until now.  We are starting a business.

And even though I'm now working part time at UP - my boss offered to let me stay on part-time - it is still one of the biggest risks I've ever taken.

And you know why I haven't chickened out yet?  Kevin.

When I told Kevin I had always wanted to start a business, he encouraged me.  He told me that I was the smartest girl he'd ever met and that I would succeed at anything I wanted to do.  Even before we had fully decided on a business, Kevin agreed that we should sell our condo to finance this business, and downsize to be able to afford for me to leave my job.  When I lost faith in myself, Kevin believed in me.  When I lost focus, Kevin encouraged me.  When I worked on our idea for hours on end, Kevin helped.  He brainstormed with me.  He proofread my emails.  He worked with me on the business.

I know I'm making him sound like some sort of super hero.  And don't get me wrong, we have our disagreements and our misunderstandings, but honestly I am very, very grateful for him.  Because the crazy thing is that even if this business fails, I will still be so glad that we tried.  Because I know what it feels like to have someone believe in me.  And really stand by me.  And to do work that I think is important and that I'm truly passionate about.

I recently came across a a Mart Twain quote, where he said, "Twenty years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream.  Discover."

This business is pretty much consuming every drop of free time and creativity we have, which is why I have been doing a terrible job with this blog.  But last night when Kevin and I were celebrating the end of 2011, we spent a little time scanning through some of my posts over this past year.  And even though I cringe at some of my pictures (I guess that means by photography skills have improved) and even though sometimes I wrote about stuff that was stupid, it was still nice to be able to look back at some of the highlights and even some of the mundane stuff that made up our year.  So my goal is not to let too much more time go by before updating the blog.  Call it a New Years resolution.  Thanks for reading.  Here's to hoping 2012 is a big year for us.