Jennifer Halen Photography | Blog: FABULOUS 500 GIVEAWAY!!!

My friend Jenn is an amazing photographer and she is having a special promotion right now!  Jennifer Halen Photography | Blog: FABULOUS 500 GIVEAWAY!!!: In just over a year's time, I've gone from zero to 500+ fans. Two thoughts come to mind... 1) I can't believe how fast the time has flown by...

Badgers and Roses Don't Mix

This was the second year that the Wisconsin Badgers rallied and made it to the Rose Bowl.  One of the super elite bowl games where young boys dream of playing on the field when they're older.  I learned that it is the oldest college bowl game.  Wikipedia called it "the granddaddy of them all."  Teams have been winning and losing in Pasadena since 1902.  I tried my hardest to get me and my husband to the game.  But between my new job, zero vacation time, and no extra spending money we had to watch the game from our own 50" TV (there are worse things, right?).  This was just not the year of the Badgers.  They couldn't cut it last year and they certainly couldn't hold on to it this year.  The score was unbelievable.  This was the highest scoring first half of any Rose Bowl... EVER. Final score...45-38 Oregon over Wisco.  This means I am living with a sad, depressed, angry, livid, and distraught husband.  The first thing he did when the game ended was take off his brand new Wisconsin Badger shirt, throw it on the ground, declare it a piece of garbage and needed to be burned.  I offered up that he could wear it in the off-season.  He scoffed at me like I was an idiot because the shirt has the years 2011 and 2012 written on it.  He didn't want to remind others (and himself) that the Badgers lost two years in a row.  So goodbye brand new Badger red t-shirt.  It's obviously your fault Russell Wilson just couldn't get 'er done.  Might as well get rid of it now, we don't need it jinxing the Packers chances at the Super Bowl!

Car Collection in Tempe

Today I went to have my car's oil changed and transmission/coolant fluid flushed at Sports & Collector Car Center. My Dad suggested that I take my camera with me because Joe, the owner, has "some cool stuff he's working on."  My Dad wasn't kidding.  He had all kinds of old cars, Jaguars, Corvettes, jeeps, etc sitting in his shop in all kinds of condition.  My University of Wisconsin sweatshirt even matched the red in some of the cars! Below is a quick glimpse of some of the photos that turned out really well.  I'm getting the hang of my 50mm manual focus lens and light attachment.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Merry Christmas!  My last post was months and months ago.  I started a new job which meant no posting and no photography.  Don't worry, I still had plenty of Packers Nation to enjoy and it was brilliant until they lost to Kansas City.  My birthday was last weekend and my beautiful parents gave me a Nikon SB-700 flash and a Gary Fong collapsible lightsphere so I can control the light in my photos.  I'm still trying to get the hang of my 50mm lens which is a manual focus, but I think these photos (with the help of Photoshop) turned out really well.  Wishing anyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Brinkley

Chloe

Herc

Marriage Test #2

My marriage was first tested back in 2009 when the Cardinals and the Packers played each other to get to the Super Bowl.  My team won and I had a very sad and grumpy husband.  Luckily we survived and now we just have stories to share about how I'm a traitor and cheered for my home team.  In any case, it was all in good fun and I tease about our marriage struggling.  I think back fondly to my memories of the three games we attended.  Unfortunately, I did cry for the pre-season game (left the tickets at home and we missed the first quarter).  Believe me, I don't think ANYONE will forget that day.  But the other two games were a lot of fun.  Packers won the pre-season game and the regular season game that didn't matter.  The Cardinals won the one game that did matter to get them to the Super Bowl.

Pre-season game.  Great photo... bad memories.

The Game that didn't matter.

The game that DID matter

We had seats with John and Jenn.  You can see the boys are green and gold... the ladies are sporting red.  The ladies win!

Why am I bringing up memories of rivalry?  Well.... post season baseball is about to start.  For anyone keeping up, both the Diamondbacks and the Brewers have clinched their divisions and are both vying for home field advantage.  If the Brewers win then they get home field advantage.  If the Diamondbacks win AND the Brewers lose then the DBacks get home field advantage.  There is also a chance that the Diamondbacks and the Brewers could play EACH OTHER!!!!  Oh man... my heart is racing just thinking about that.  If the St. Louis Cardinals can beat the Braves in the Wildcard standings then they're in and they will play Philly which means Brewers and Diamondbacks face off in round one.  Heart palpitations have already started.  Skipping out on boot camp tonight so we can watch both games together.  Wish us luck!

To top it all off, I start my new job on Friday.  I need my Hubby to be supportive... not yelling profanities at my baseball team!

NFL Football is BACK baby!

If you didn't already know, football is back.  My fantasy football team has been chosen, and my husband has been counting down the months, days, hours, and minutes until the Packers kicked off on opening day.  I just wanted you all to get a true realization of what I live through almost every Sunday.  I knew that the first touchdown by the Packers was going to be a big one in my house.  I decided to capture it on videotape and it is posted below.  It got a little tricky in the 3rd and 4th quarter because the Saints were making a comeback, but luckily the Packers prevailed.  This will be my life through next February.  Wish me luck!

I Learned A LOT Just By Attending 2 Pool Parties

What a weekend.  This weekend I witnessed some horrible parenting, drunkiness, and overall merriment with good friends and family.  Thanks to the horrible parenting fiasco, I learned what kind of father my husband will be.  A GOOD ONE!  To make a long story short, I saw an acquaintence (not a friend.... not then and especially not now) teach his 3-year old daughter how to yell and scream at a 2-year old girl.  He had her yell things like "get away from me" and "no!  don't come closer".  When I say yell, I mean he shouted these things at his daughter and in turn his daughter was screaming, crying, and shouting at a 2-year old.  (By the way, the 2-year old was just trying to play with the 3-year old, but ended up bursting into tears.)  To make matters even worse, this "Dad" pushed the two-year old away.  He didn't push her so she fell over. He took his index and middle fingers and forced them into the 2-year olds chest until she was pushed back.  What the $%&! is up with that!?  At this point I overcame my shock of what I was seeing, and took the 2-year old to her Mother.  The next day my husband told me he was so mad at himself for not kicking this guy and his soon to be bitch of a daughter out of the party.  The good news is the "dad" his daughter, wife, and son didn't stay very long.  Probably because of the chatter and looks they were getting.  Horrible horrible horrible.  

In addition to these shenanigans the Packers played their first pre-season game against the Cleveland Browns.  The first-string was in for almost the entire first quarter, so needless to say the game did not matter.  It didn't stop my hubby from recording it and then analyzing it.  Packers ended up losing but, again, I thank my lucky stars that the game didn't count and wasn't an example of things to come.

On to some good news.  Husband and I have been playing with my best friend's kids for the last week.  They're great practice for when we do decide that we want to have our own.  These two are the cutest and nicest kids ever.  The boy is 4 and the girl is 3.  The girl immediately attached herself to my husband.  They were having a blast in the pool.  They dove off the diving board together, made waves in the pool, were sharks and fish getting everyone else... it was adorable.  Husband has been pretty funny saying that he "doesn't know what to do with girls" and that "they scare" him.  I'm pretty sure he can't say those things anymore.  He was so great with her.  The 4-year old is incredible sweet and he was loving the pool.  Once he was brave enough to jump off the diving board there was no stopping him!  On Saturday I took a photography class with my girlfriend (she takes some amazing photos so make sure you check out her website - http://jenniferhalenphotography.blogspot.com/).  We learned how to use the light we have available to take photos.  I learned I need a flash, a cone to cover my flash, and a 50mm lens to really get my photography going.  I was just happy that with the equipment that I have I could take these photos:

Husband throwing the 3-year old into the air.  I think she's having fun!

No Photoshop work needed.  The water is blue and he looks spectacular!