Photography Blog

First things first, Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful momma's and momma's to be out there!

I had my first photoshoot for my portfolio yesterday. Kerry agreed to model for me and got some great shots to send to her husband who is currently deployed with Chris. I have a ton of great shots to edit and I'm so excited!

I've created a blog for my adventure into professional photography. I hope you guys follow along on this journey with me! I'm really hoping that this works out because I have always loved photography and would like to make this a new career. And hey, this will actually force me to upload pictures and stop being lazy!

Check me out at Christina Beckett Photography.

I thought I would combine me and Chris' first names since he is my biggest supporter. Sweet no? There is a link to my photography blog on the right somewhere as well.

I could use all the support I can get! I still wake up every morning completely nervous and doubting myself about this new venture.

I have to thank my daughter for giving me a reason to get off my butt and pursue this. My first Mother's day is amazing because of her. We miss Christopher but I love that she is my teammate and partner and crime during this deployment. I hope you all have a great Mother's day and those around you thank and cherish you for all that you do!

Staying at Home

While Chris is deployed, we decided that I would not work. It just didn't seem fair to me that we would both miss so much of her first year of life. Granted, the job market here isn't that amazing anyway so I doubt I'm really missing out on much. It's been hard to go from making more than Chris to not making anything but we do okay and the deployment money helps.

I've really been trying to find a way to become a stay at home mom permanently. I would love to work from home and be at home with the Bean and our future children. So, I've bought a sewing machine and I just ordered another lens and some more camera accessories. I am also going to pick up writing again. I am extremely determined to find a way to make money and stay home.

I have never sewn a thing in my entire life. Well, that's not entirely true. I made a pillow once in 7th grade Home Ec but I don't remember it turning out too well. But, I will force myself to learn how to sew and see what I can come up with to sell on Etsy. First, I have to take the damn thing out of the box but you know, baby steps. Does anyone have any favorite online stores they like to buy fabric and patterns from? I need to get some practice on some easy peasy things first. What did you guys start with? Below is what I got to start. I haven't bought anything else yet.

I lived in the dark room in high school. The dark room is probably one of my favorite places in the entire world. Digital photography is relatively new to me and while I still prefer the dark room and traditional photo processing, I don't have the means to have a dark room and I probably won't for a very long time. I do have my Canon T1i and a few lenses and flash and Adobe Photoshop and I do pretty well. Bean has been my main subject but I took photos for K and her daughters and they turned out great. I figured why not try to make money at it? I'm going to do some free photoshoots to build a portfolio, create a website, and see if anything happens. Even if it doesn't, I still plan on taking pictures of Bean and it's a fun hobby of mine so no loss. I'd love to get a better camera but that will have to wait until I can justify the purchase!

I can't tell you how many stories I've started writing only to abandon and delete them because of sheer laziness. Now, I have real motivation.

I'm hoping at least ONE of these things pan out for me. If not, it's back to the drawing board. What are some ways that you guys make money from home?

Hi, my name is Tina and I'm an addict.

I have an addiction. An expensive addiction. I love gadgets.

There isn't a new tech gadget that comes out that I don't want. Even when I have absolutely no use for it. Christopher is great about it and let's me indulge myself. This was done with a lot less guilt when I was also working and made more money than he did. Now, I just have to space out my indulgences.

After three weeks of owning my Kindle, I am now officially in love. At first, I was kind of iffy about it because I love real books. Seriously, I love book stores, I love holding books, I love the way they smell, I love collecting them, and I love having them on the bookshelf. I think this also has to do with my addiction to buying things and looking at them. As if owning a bunch of similar things is something of an accomplishment.

But seriously... I love my Kindle. I can't put it down. I love the click sound when I push the button for the next page. I am fascinated with the screen. I take it everywhere with me and I'm ignoring Christopher. He hates it when I read because he's a big baby and wants me to pay attention to him. I try to get him to read but he just falls asleep after the first page. Sometimes, he doesn't even get the book open.

I also love my FlipHD. It is so freakin convenient and it's going to come in handy when Christopher deploys so I can send him clips of the baby. I had to buy it. I had to. I've had it for a month and a half and I haven't really recorded a damn thing but I love it and it's necessary.

Six months ago, I also bought an awesome camera. The Canon Rebel T1i. I had to have it. I mean, we knew we were moving to Germany and we're about to have a baby and seriously, I needed it. I have barely used the damn thing. Nevermind the $650 lens I bought after that and the $350 lens I currently drool over and have sitting in my Amazon cart. And seriously, I love Amazon. WTF. Greatest website EVER.

The iPhone 4. C'mon... I don't even need to explain why that was necessary. So, I only have two contacts. SO WHAT?! It's sad that I actually feel proud of myself for not wanting to buy an equally useless iPad.

We got two new laptops and a desktop at the beginning of this year too. Christopher makes fun of me because I have a "Command Station." I have three external hard drives filled with all sorts of crap, the laptop hooked up to the 42" LCD TV, and all sorts of other shit going on. I'm the one who deals with setting up the electronics in our house. Internet connection won't work? I fix it. Computers acting funny? I handle it. It's frustrating to watch Christopher struggle through it. I can work my way through most computer issues.

You know... getting into IT would have made a lot more sense. But no... I have a BS in Psychology and I'm in my last week of class for my MS in International Relations. I am proof that you can go to school, and still be an idiot. I hate school. I hate the 35K I racked up in student loans. But guess what I'm considering! Getting certs in IT. Yay me! At least now, I'm married to Christopher and can use his GI Bill if I'm stupid enough to really try to get certs with a new baby taking up 100% of my time. Eh... we'll see how I feel after this baby gets here.

Anyway, yay for gadgets!