Amy Rae Photography » Oklahoma

Pushing My Limits | MTH

Amy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:30:06 +0000

This past week I coordinated a local wedding concept shoot with other local vendors from the Enid, OK area. I was given the challenge to do a concept shoot and my fears told me that it was going to be too hard and I didn’t have enough time. On Tuesday I am leaving for Minnesota for six weeks. Two weeks ago a friend said she would help me and pushed me to go for it! So in less than a couple weeks a concept shoot was pulled together with other local vendors!! It didn’t go without it’s bumps along the way. The hardest thing was finding a location and two days before the shoot a friend graciously let me use his barn. With a little cleaning it fit the part. The shoot day came and with doubts in my mind I was scared! The day started off unusually cold and the NW Oklahoma wind was blowing right into the barn. I wanted to get the shoot over with, I was tired, stressed, nervous, and having sleepless nights! To push it out another day was going to make my stomach knot! I found some courage, called the other vendors, and everyone was kind enough to make their schedules work. The shoot ended up taking place the next day and it was gorgeous!! No wind and stunning evening light! Some days are great in Oklahoma! Here is a sneak peak of the shoot. A full (HUGE) post will come later!

Welcome to Enid

Amy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:17:56 +0000

I am here in Enid, Ok and starting to get settled down! Nice name for a little southern town eh? I am slowly acclimating myself to the great new world that I was just dropped right into. It doesn’t take long to find your way around, however, I have spent most of my time either and home, on base, or Lowe’s. I swear I go to Lowe’s a few times a week to either pick something up or return something! That or Walmart are pretty much the biggest stores here.

The first weekend we were here my parents came down in my car on Saturday. We had a great time cleaning up the house, making yummy food, and watching the Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Wild Wings. There was a nice group of MN fans down here rooting for the Viks! We got to take the drive down to OKC (Oklahoma City) to drop my parents off at the airport. It made me miss Minneapolis and crave that downtown atmosphere as we drove through OKC. We got to stop at a few shops while we were there. We even drove by TARGET and I was sad to say I didn’t really have anything I needed to stop there for, but I am glad there is one within a couple hours. Those visits could be dangerous! On our drive home I did a little scoping out of some of the small towns just north of OKC which could be potential meeting points for clients. Some of the towns are pretty cute.

Thanksgiving was nice and relaxing. Matt and I slept in and then went out to Walmart at noon to get the goodies! We found a thawed turkey for 8 bucks! We got all the yummy fixings and went right home to cooking! Matt was very thankful this year to have our DirecTV installed the day before so he could watch football on Thanksgiving. So that is what we did while the food cooked away! By 5 or 6pm we had a giant feast for two!! Probably was the best turkey I have ever tasted. It is still juicy when we heat it up for leftovers! That night I had to get to bed because I planned on trying out black friday here in Enid! It was CRAZY because Walmart is about the only big store with the best deals and opened the earliest. AND in the south people are so darn slow that it took forever for me to weave through all those shopping carts that were at a standstill in the store. It was like driving down a California highway at the height of rush-hour traffic on the worst day of the year. I survived. Friday night we went to downtown Enid for Light Up the Plains. They had singing and food in a small park outside and some of the town shops were open. I met the owner of one of the local bridal shops in hopes of getting to know some of the local wedding vendors! The night concluded with great fireworks accompanied by country christmas classics. I was loving it. The country feel down here is great! Defiantly me!

Base living is different. I have met my neighbors who are both very nice, but with the holidays everyone has been busy so there hasn’t been time to get to know people. Matt and I have been taking advantage of the free fitness facility walking over there in the evenings and working out together. Some of the days have been warm enough to walk outside! Like almost 70 degrees but windy as always. I have my own military ID now which I have only forgotten once when I needed to get home. I remembered I forgot it before I drove home so I had to call Matt to meet me at the gate. Opps..it was on black friday morning so he wasn’t very happy! I won’t do it again! There are a lot of rules about our house, driving, can do/can’t do sort of thing. It is hard to find out the answers so patience is important. Lastly this weekend we got our xmas lights up outside and then we made some great appetizers and decorated our xmas tree. I am ready for the holidays! We will be home over christmas but only for four quick days so we don’t have to take any leave.

Lastly, today we found out that our ASBC training in Alabama has been moved up from Feb 1st to Jan 11th! That is going to change a few of our plans coming up but it will still be nice to just get it over with. Living in the military is tough because they can just change things on you whenever they want and you have to adjust. I have heard that MANY times from other friends and now it is my turn to learn patience for this new lifestyle. So far it is okay. Especially all the great discounts, perks, and the base’s willingness to help out the families that live here on base.

Here is an image from today! A little preview of our christmas cards! Matt took it…YEAH!!

Moving to Oklahoma

Amy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:37:59 +0000

Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices in our lives. Sometime they can be the hardest things we have ever done. I am thankful that up until now I haven’t really had to do anything that I didn’t really want to do and it usually benefited me in one way or another. Well this week I did so far the hardest thing that I have ever been asked to do. I moved with my husband from our home in Minneapolis, MN to small-town Enid, OK to support his life-long dream of becoming a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Last week we packed up our house and had it shipped to OK. We were lucky to have some intimate time with close family and friends who have loved and supported us in everything.

Today we arrived in Oklahoma and are unloading the moving truck at this very moment. I have no internet other than my phone so until we are settled there will be no posts.

I don’t really have a plan right now other than allowing God to guide me into His path and hopfully still persuing the things I love which especially include photography. I am also here to support my husband while he learns how to serve our country.

I am excited to start branching out and building my photography business here in Oklahoma and surrounding areas. I am not gone fron Minnesota for good. I miss home and still want to offer my Minnesota clients great rates so that I can get back and work there as well. Here is to the start of a great journey!