Tuesday, April 27, 2010

(308) My First Photography Competition!

I finally took the leap and entered my first photo contest!

I have been nervous to do so as there are so many talented photographers, but finally decided why not try.

Share it with everyone you know, the more votes the merrier!

Please take a look and vote for your favorite :)

Here are my entries for the various categories:

Scenes of the Natural World
http://www.greatoutdoorscontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009802796
http://www.greatoutdoorscontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009802797

Plants, Animals, and Insects
http://www.greatoutdoorscontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009802798

Outdoor Sports and Activities
http://www.greatoutdoorscontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009802795

Wish me luck and hope you enjoy the show!

~Amber

Monday, April 26, 2010

(309) Family Blog and Wedding Websites

My mind is clouded by a fog of planning. Every which direction I turn is like jumping from one project plan line to another. I feel like I am stuck in a bad 80s video game. Picture Burgertime, except the task master is on my heels! I am climbing a ladder and above me is the photographer, flanking my right side is a line of caterers, on the other side the line of home construction workers, and closing in are my colleagues at work asking for my status update... way up at the top finish line is a park with an easel, but right now it seems quiet far out of reach.

Despite my general lack of time for creativity I did take the time to create a blog for our family (www.nollkamper.com). A little different target, but the new site did make me feel the creative surge that I have been missing for several days.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

(310) Acrobatics....

This evening as an early birthday present for my Mom we went to see Cirque du Soleil - Kooza.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

(311) Winter Haven

Today marked my third wet-on-wet painting class.

Our subject was a winter scene, which seemed rather odd given the rather warm Spring day. Before class Mom and I grabbed a bite for lunch, then went for a walk around Gladstone. The weather made it difficult to motivate to go to class.

Here is my Winter Haven:


After our session we headed to Chris and Jason's to watch the Blazer game. On the way the painting got damaged so I had to do some emergency repair, which turned out okay with the limited painting tools available.

After enduring the painful game and eating some delicious BBQ another evening found its end.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

(312) Do you Believe in Luck?

Do you think some people are luckier than others?

Do actions cause reactions or are there intervening forces beyond our control that govern our destinies?

*****

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

(313) No Rest for the Weary!

Hello blog!

*insert awkward pause here*

Yes, I know it has been a while and you feel neglected. I swear I will make it up to you (famous last words)! Oh the stories I have to tell, but I am lacking the time to share them. I have been quiet the busy bee!

One month ago I got engaged. After some adventures is vendor selection we found the right fit and have managed to set a date!

October 2nd, 2010

And where might you ask? Parkdale, OR at the Mt Hood Bed and Breakfast.

Now that we have the venue and date, I am switching to photographers. We are reviewing a ton of portfolios and narrowed the search to a couple of our favorites for selection:
During my search I fell across this photographer who's work I fell in love with. Check out David Stubbs site. I didn't try to contact him as he is located in Wyoming, but I think I will see if I can get in touch if we go to Jackson Hole for our Honeymoon. I also have to give a shout out to my work buddy (though he does not do as much wedding photography these days) Adrien Klein. I was planning on doing one of his photo retreats, but time is scarce so I don't know when I will get to follow through and go on the adventure with his crew.

Tonight I am glass studio bound, so hopefully we will create some new neat obj’d’art to brighten the bare space below.





Ugh. The wedding in infiltrating my mind! In addition to a photographer I am desperately seeking a save the date (though I sent a cheesy one on Facebook to reserve flight for my out-o-towners).

Perhaps my most dreaded search is for a dress. I actualized part of this experience last weekend, but I will spare the details here as I write a full entry on the mortifying experience. On the up side I do have an appointment Thursday that holds much better promise. I will feel relieved if I can find at least one item that looks decent on me!

In other worldly new I applied for a new job (IT Portfolio Governance) that I think I would really enjoy! It would be an excellent fit. Last Friday I also spoke a Director in the business about an opportunity that is customer facing that would be a great fit for my experience and would not be within IT. I really wanted to give it a shot, but being that my contract runs out in July (7-22 to be precise), I don’t know if it is a viable option. We will see where the ebb and tide flow leads. So yes I realize this is not all that creative, but I wanted to start with the exciting news.

Now back to the wedding. I am in search of a caterer too. Any recommendations are appreciated! Sheesh even I can tell I am a little scattered by the entry. HA!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

(314) Wedding Crazed and Creativity Fades

This weekend brought a visit from some of my favorite people!

Friday we grabbed dinner @ Buffalo Wild Wings and then hung out at Mike and Karly's and checked out the Blazer game. Sierra, Karly, and I flipped through the magazines looking at wedding ideas.

Saturday the girls made a food run and got the fixins to make delicious meat on a stick to celebrate Greg's 31st:


The evening was filled with BBQ and beverage galore.

Sunday we had brunch with Tiffany and AJ at Sanborn's. She and I shared a sweet and savory morning breakfast spread that was perfect. The savory dish was a stuffed chili oozing with cheese and pine nuts with tart cherries on top and blue corn pancakes on the side. The sweet dish was a German pancake with baked cinnamon pears, crunchy walnuts, and mouth watering blue cheese. It was a wonderful start to the day!

After some down time we met up with Sierra and Karly to start a search for my wedding dress. The experince left much to be desired and to avoid the details I will now jump to a random subject to distract you.

Check out this neat site - http://www.hallofritz.com/

Monday, April 5, 2010

(315) Glass Greg Style

For Greg's solid entry into 30 something I signed him up for an Intro to Boro class at Aquila. For several hours I watched as he smiled and enjoyed the art of welding glass together.

I practiced some soft glass work - beads... I also worked a little with the boro, but need to get some more tools to do implosion. How does it feel that the list is getting longer rather than shorter?

Sunday, April 4, 2010

(316) Cesar Chavez Party

Tonight we went to a "what would you have rather named 39th Avenue after party" for Daphne's birthday. The night was splendid fun! We at Mexican food and drank from the falic tequila bottle in supreme style.

Does coming up with an strange, slightly politically in-correct costume count as being creative? I say yes!

Needless to say the Sanchez's arrived in style.