PT

P1140265.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

Guess what? As if I didn't have enough new things in my life, I just bought a car!

I have had only one car in my life, my Jeep Cherokee, since my senior year in college. She has been a great car. But with over 230,000 miles on the jeep and a job where I travel hundreds of miles a week, it just seemed like the right time for something new. I gave the jeep to jeremy and we bought a PT Cruiser.

Its a 2002 Limited Edition with 78,000 miles. It has leather/suede interior, a sunroof, nice stereo, and lots of fun features. The best part is that it has lots of storage for work and my favorite part is that it has cup holders. Ha.

Anyway, just wanted to share yet another new thing in my life lately. Welcome the PT to the Vess family!

my new do

JESSICA-BC699E-Img02611(Masters Touch).jpg, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

when you like to take pictures, it usually means that you rarely end up with any pictures of yourself. so when i recently decided to get a new hairstyle, i asked a friend at work to take some photos of me. since portraits is what we do at work, she took them in no time! so, now i actually have some updated pictures of myself. :) just thought i'd share the new do.

sister in nyc

moving subway, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

so, yesterday my sister moved to new york city. i cannot begin to say how jealous i am. :)

ever since our aunt (who is my age) moved up to the city over 6 years ago, i have wanted to join her. she tried very hard for several years to convince jeremy and i to come up there and get an apartment with her. but alas, jeremy cannot withstand cold temperatures. so the ny move was out.

my middle sister emilie decided last winter that she would move to ny this fall. so yesterday she flew up there and tomorrow she starts her new job in the city. good luck in the big apple, em!

(the shot above was taken on my last trip to new york in november '06. subways are fun.)

I have returned...

LeechSaldanha_0476, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

So, I am finally blogging again. Wow, I can't believe its been 6 weeks since I've posted anything. Shame on me! The blog gods are angry with me and now I must appease them with a new post and photo. Okay, now I'm going a bit too far. But I'm tired, so I shouldn't be expected to make sense right now.

Anyway, its been a very busy past two months. I have pretty much been working my tail off. But I have enjoyed it so far. The new job is fun and I am still enjoying the travel. So far I have been to Cherry Hill, NC, Hickory, NC, Chattanooga, TN, Stanley, NC, McLeansville, NC, Norfolk, VA, Cary, NC, and now Atlanta, GA. I just got a call from my boss and he might be sending me to Greenville, SC this week. Crazy!

So, needless to say I haven't had much time to take photographs for myself. But I am picking up a lot of knowledge on portrait photography, lighting, cropping, and people skills. I have even been able to shoot some. I still hope to learn more and eventually be the photographer, but I am being patient with it.

Anyway, since I am away all this week, I will try to get back into the habit of posting. I do have a few things to share, so check back for more news!

(The shot posted above was taken while I was second shooting for Andrew Bryant at a wedding in Duke Gardens. It was such a fun day for me. I got to go around and use one of Andrew's cameras and take shots of family and friends mingling at the reception, as well as some pre-ceremony and detail shots. It was a wonderful experience and I hope I have the opportunity to do it again. Andrew was kind enough to give me copies of the images from the wedding. Right now, I am sifting through them, trying to remember which ones I took. I do remember this little girl though. Its hard to forget a face like that. I'm apparently a sucker for taking pictures of kids.)

Last year...

P1060196.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

This month last year, Jeremy and I were heading to Hawaii with my family. We spent an amazing week in Kauai, thanks to my mom's great bargain shopping skills. I have never been anywhere so beautiful. And I really hope to be able to go back again one day.

The job has been going well. Keeping busy with that.

Jeremy and the band are recording right now. We're all really excited to hear the finished product.

But now I must go to bed. 6:30am is gonna come too quickly.

(The shot posted above was taken last year in Kauai, Hawaii off Hanalei Bay at sunset.)

Changes

P1120754.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

The new job is going swimingly. I really enjoy it and am doing pretty well at it, if i do say so myself. My 3rd day of training I ended up making the highest sales percentage the company has ever seen. WOW! It was totally God. Anyway, they are very excited about me and I am excited about making money to pay off debts and build a savings.

The hardest part about the new job is that I have to travel quite a bit, pretty much five days a week. Sometimes within an hour or so, which allows me to go back and forth everyday, but sometimes farther so I might have to spend the night. That hasn't happened yet, but I heard that they may be sending me to Fayetteville next week, so that would be the first overnight week. It will be hard to be away from Jeremy for 5 days straight. I know we'll be fine, but I hope its not every week like that.

Another unfortunate aspect of the job is that the hours are 1pm-9pm, Tuesday-Saturday, which normally would be awesome -but I will have to miss youth group every week. It has become such a large part of my week and my life over the past two years, that not being there is going to be difficult.

And lastly, going back to work means that I must give up some of the freedom that I have been able to experience over the past two years. Like the freedom to travel. I am going to miss it so much. I love just going away for a few days - to the beach, or the mountains, or to see friends and family. It has truly been a blessing to be able to go whenever we want to. But, as I am joining the ranks of the working world again, this is just one more thing I must say goodbye to.

Change is hard sometimes. But I definitely see the good in this job and the opportunity we have to become debt free. So, we have decided that that is a priority. So, goodbye familiar and hello change!

(The shot above was taken underneath the Avon Pier in Avon, NC this past June. I don't recommend walking on it, though.)

I'm tired

backside of a building, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

So, I haven't updated in a few days. But its been a very busy week.

It started off on Monday with Andrew Bryant coming to Salisbury to take band shots for the guys. We had a lot of fun. Beforehand, me and the boys hit Marshalls and Old Navy, looking for some fun tshirts and good fitting jeans. Who knew I'd become a stylist? Then when Andrew got there, LOS played a couple songs for him and then we just jumped right in to picture taking. Andrew had some really great, creative poses in mind, and the guys came up with a few too. We pretty much tried everything we could think of. Inside, outside, standing, sitting, jumping, singing. It was so fun. If you want to see a few of the shots, visit Andrew's blog and look for the post called Lords of Salisbury. They are amazing!

The other big thing this week is that I have started working full time again. It's been two years since my last full time job. I took some time off when we moved to NC, simply because I could. Honestly, I thought I would get bored not working and then want to go back to work immediately. But that wasn't really how it ended up. I became a new person. My life stopped revolving around my career. I was able to volunteer in the youth ministry and grow in my walk with the Lord, because I gained a whole new focus and put my identity in the things it should be in. So, I feel now that I am ready to work again after all these changes. We could definitely use the financial boost. And I am looking forward to having more of a set schedule again. I'll be on the road a lot, mostly locally. But if I am ever in a city near you, I'll let you know!

I am so tired now. Time for bed. Gotta work tomorrow!

(The shot posted above was taken in downtown Salisbury, NC back in May '06. I love the look of old buildings, especially in alleys or at back entrances.)