Khristen Powell Photography

Two weeks down, ten weeks to go….

I wasn’t really feeling the class tonight. Friday was a bad “me” day in general. As it turns out it was that kind of week for all my friends so I didn’t feel quite so bad about not being completely pumped for class.

We targeted legs thankfully. My upper body was still sore from the night before…I swear had we done one more push-up, I might scream- out loud!….

My thighs burned. That’s for sure. There is a definite power to these simple moves we do in each class.

This weekend I’ll be doing a little shopping to find some smaller clothes and hanging with my little dude!

Here’s a pic of Ethan chomping on a huge grape! (compliments of iphone)

Happy Friday! Cheers!

I feel the need to start this blog with a…… SHEW!

South Georgia is hot this time of year! Working out makes it that much more uncomfortable! Thankfully, we have gyms and workouts designed with this in mind which I am so grateful for when heat advisories take over your weather notifications! Yes it’s been that hot!

This week has been challenging. I feel mentally tired which causes me to want to slack on my exercises. I have made that extra effort though. I have kept walking a minimum of 2.1 miles every night and hitting the gym on nights that I don’t have class.

Tonight was not as hard for me as the last few times we’ve zoned in on a specific area. Thursday have seemed to be the night we target arms. Since I missed last Thursday I wasn’t sure what to expect. Though, I had less trouble than I thought I would. I credit this in part to the fact that I have been trying to lift a few weights and work my arms on our off days. My main concern is my right wrist. I’m having trouble putting pressure on it during push-ups so after discussing, I think I might start trying a few new techniques and styles of push-ups. While doing crunches tonight I went a little farther and lifted my legs. I feel like I got more out of them that way than just traditional crunches.

What I love most about the class is even though we target an area one night we still work overall muscles and toning. We’re still getting our heart rates up there! Not to mention the great group of people we seem to have. Everyone laughs and cuts up with one another while we’re sweating our butts off! I am so glad it’s not a shy group!

This is an image of a homemade fruit pizza that I LOVE! On a lightly golden crust you spread a mixture of cream cheese and vanilla yogurt. Then load up the fruit! Pictured above are fresh red seedless grapes, bananas sliced thin, mandarin oranges from a can, and kiwi. (Anytime you get fruit from a can make sure you always get it in light sauce.) Watch your sugar intake! You can mix and match toppings to your taste! For all you nut lovers you can even throw on some fresh pecans or crushed almonds! This is a great sweet substitute.

Here’s to a fantastic Friday!

Cheers!

Choreography.

Shuffle.

Swing.

Waltz.

It’s all dancing. Almost every wedding has it and no one ever wants to be the first one out there. Every bride stresses on the perfect set up. Live Band or DJ? What if no one dances? Every bride thinks the same thing. Trust me. This post is just for them. Those Soon-To-Be’s that have their dream reception pictured in the back of their minds. Dimly light floors with room to shake it, tables lining the area to bring attendants into the audience yet allowing them to be wallflowers if they want…it’s just what they imagined. Perfection.

And just what happens if no one actually does dance?

Who cares?

You do. We know this, but non-rhymically shaking what our momma’s gave us in front of total strangers is a little scary! We all know we have to do it though lol!

Brides-to-be, don’t let one little worry make a big splash on your wedding day. Grab your grooms, your BFF’s and families. Hit the floor smiling and live it up. It is your special day, so soak it up and keep that smile shining on! More times than not if you start the trend the crowd will soon follow. Sometimes you have to give a little push!

So take your lover by the hand and get out there!

It is your party after all! Shake it till the sun comes up! Life is all about ending old chapters and writing new ones; closing doors and opening windows….

“Work like you don’t need money, Love like you’ve never been hurt, And Dance like no one’s watching.”

Future Brides, please contact me for pricing and wedding packages on how to get half off your dream wedding package!

CHEERS!

You’d think that after such an excruciating first week I would have taken it easy this weekend. Not me!

I spent the weekend being very active. Between the local neighborhood streets and the gym I was constantly running and moving. In between photo sessions, I was at the gym for a minimum of an hour a day working on weights and building muscle definition. I even had a photo session AT A GYM! When it cooled off a little outside, I would walk and jog a minimum of 2.1 miles. And let me just say…. the heat this summer is almost unbearable! Speaking of my workout at the gym, here’s a little image I snapped when during the magazine shoot Saturday. Hilarious right?

After working and pushing myself so hard this weekend I really expected tonight’s class to be tough for me. Making it a habit to stretch thoroughly before and after any physical activity has really aided in my body’s quick response time. Don’t get me wrong! The class was still very challenging. Everyone goes at their own pace but there is a little competition within your mind to do your best! To me that is one of the best parts about it. We all challenge each other to do better, be better.

Tonight’s workout had us back on overall cardio. Push-ups, flying X’s, dive bombers and jumping jacks were all there. Over and over again. Jumping Rope is still no easier for me than three days ago. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do something so elementary haha!

My eating habits have been great lately. Only allowing myself one diet soda a day has reduced swelling and made me feel less jiggly? I know that’s a rough word. Especially when we’re talking weight here. With the lifestyle change I have made my body is craving more healthy foods which is a  terrific sign that I must be doing something right! I will probably do a post soon on recipes that I’ve been trying and some of the healthy foods and snacks that keep me from devouring that cake at my grandmother’s birthday party

Let’s see what Thursday brings! In the meantime, I will be at the gym every evening if anyone would like to join me!

Cheers everyone! Here’s to continuously moving forward!

It’s been your typical Monday. Not just for me, but my friends too. Hopefully, the rest of this week will fly by and will be completely uneventful.

I have a ton of things to do this week, deadlines to meet and tasks to accomplish before I can relax. On top of all that I’ll be hitting the gym and attending class. I am going to try to catch up on blogging too!

The highlight of my day will be picking up my little dude this afternoon. Long days like this one make me miss him even more! Here’s one of my most favorite recent pictures of him….

How could you not love a face like that? It all goes away when I see his little toothy smile

Tomorrow back to class! Here’s hoping Tuesday is better for all of us!

Cheers!

Today I shot a few images at Crossfit, Valdosta for a magazine that I can’t discuss right now. However, I stuck around awhile during their workout and took a few shots to share.

I’ve gotta go jet out to my next session! I hope you all are having an amazing weekend!

Cheers!!

Since I had to skip Day 2, Day 3 was pretty easy. Well, not really easy but I had more time for my muscles to heal and relax after that excruciating Day 1. Our instructor was out of the class so our back up kindly stepped in and took over. Our first thirty minutes was conditioning and cardio. Heavy stuff. Burpees…. they are terrible. If you don’t know what a Burpee is, first count yourself blessed, then picture jumping high to the sky and dropping quickly to the floor for a push-up then jumping back up to a standing position. Just to do it again. I’m still working on improving my upper body strength so I have a super hard time with anything like push-ups…..seriously.

I’m pretty sure I pulled a butt muscle. I don’t even know what they’re called but it’s painful. Hopefully this weekend I won’t be hurting to badly. I have to so many shoots to cover and events that will force me to suck it up and dip down to get that shot!

Because we’re wonder women, my friend and I decided we are going to run our first 5k in Atlanta in November. Then we’re hoping to keep expanding and attempt the half marathon next year at Disney in Orlando. I’m staying positive, but right now the thought makes me cringe and almost brings tears to my eyes. I feel so far away from that goal. I know that I must keep conditioning and pushing past the pain… to finally reach the gain (or something like that lol).

Pray for me this weekend… I’d hate to fall on my face while shooting. Of course that could be a great ice breaker with my clients!

Happy Weekend all!

She sat at ease in the makeup chair. Her long, silky hair falling gently across her shoulders. Her cheeks being toned by the brush in the hand of an artist. Brandon sat watching the woman of his dreams with a smile on his lips. Even from across the room you could tell that he loves this woman. You can see it in his eyes. You can see it in his smile and the gentle expression on his face when he looks at her. You can tell by the way they melt together.

I met Erin and Brandon one morning for their engagement shoot. It was a typical south Georgia summer day. 10 A.M. and incredibly hot and humid! They have chosen Alcyone Plantation for the location of their ceremony, so we decide to go down there and explore for their engagement shots.

They are such a fun and loving couple. They kept making me laugh the entire time! I know their wedding is going to be fantastic! The excitement is killing me!

The ladies at Ageless Beauty helped Erin bring attention to her eyes by giving her the light smoky eye shadow and slightly golden lips.

Brandon was feeling a little pensive and had to let it all out…. then we laughed!

Down by the lake there was a ton of blackberry bushes we had to rustle through to get to the dock. But we did it. And I had to fight the urge to stop and snack on some, haha!

Again with the chuckles…. They’re just so darn cute together! Shake it guys, don’t break it guys!

In the summer heat…. they look this good. MAHVALOUS!

This has got to be the most intrigued lizard I’ve ever seen. I put Erin’s ring in this day lilly right when a little lizard popped his head around the corner. He had obviously been eating something or maybe he was hungry. He was licking his lips! I thought for sure he’d run off but he did not. I got several shots of him inching his way closer!

The tire swing was a little treasure on the other side of the house and of course, we couldn’t resist!

Favorite!

These two are absolutely amazing together. They compliment each other perfectly!

Erin and Brandon: Thank you for allowing me to share in this special step in your lives. I am blessed to have such fabulous friends and I can not want to meet the rest of your families! You’re beautiful inside and out! And you have the *cutest* pup ever!

I can’t release the rest of their images just yet, but I may share more at a later date.

This weekend is going to be a busy one. Cheers everyone!  Have a great weekend!

My work schedules are conflicting this week so I missed the class tonight. I hear it was just as good as the last, but longer and more exhausting.

Week 1, Here’s my mugshot:

I haven’t weighed myself in months, but I’m about 185 lbs! I have a ton of weight to lose!

Let’s see how much I change over the course of 12 weeks!

Tomorrow I will be there. FOR SURE!

Sometimes you just have to let go. Sometimes things happen.  Sometimes you just need to laugh at the plate of yuck the world has given you. This past weekend my plate was full. I was so ready to see Monday morning and looking back now it was all something to laugh at.

OUCH!

Yeap, that was my Droid. It got caught on my purse and was dropped from my pocket. Complete sadness for an addict like myself. However, it didn’t stop the party from continuing. After my friend decide to try to touch the screen and get her finger cut, I promptly put packing tape over it and VIOLA! Good as new…. well….sorta. Okay, not really.This was just a little reminder that it happens… and you just have to keep…..going.

The weekend wasn’t all bad. Kind of bittersweet really.

As of today, I’m glad to report that my phone has been replaced with a shiny new one and fun gadgets! (Shew!)

This week you’ll see a few engagements as well as a few professional shoots going up. I hope everyone is enjoying their week! Come back and visit soon!

CHEERS!