New website for all of your photographic and choreographic needs, ha...

KimberleighAHolman.com

BAD BUNNY BLOG

My baby bunny Domino (who WAS a girl) turned into a male today when her testicles descended.  Shocking.  With adolescence/puberty comes all sorts of bad bunny behaviors including placemat tasting and bunny Wii-Fit, backpack tasting and watching too much tv.

the end.

Andddd.... it's over.

Lots and lots of planning, one beautiful day... dunzo.

I want wedding pictures but no one will give me any (that's a semi-lie, Casey posted some nice ones!).  I am horribly lonely during the day... I want a job now, but I am stuck in limbo at home at least until Wellesley starts.  Actually I am teaching Friday morning for the Rashi School in Newton, but that is only a few hours a week.



This whole name-change issue has been kind of a pickle for me.  You never give your last name a second thought, until you have to change it.  Don't have to, I guess, but I am.  It's not that I am against getting Russell's name or anything, I obviously enjoy the people he got his name from and his family... it just feels weird.  I am not even super invested in my last name's heritage from my dad's side of the family- I love my grandparents over there but I don't overly identify there.  It was always so nice in grade school being the first one in line, being in the first classroom, being called early during graduation etc... the perks of having an A-name.  Now it's an H-name and it is just not the same being in the middle of the alphabet.  Also, to a lot of people I am 'kimallen' one name!  When Caty moved to Florida in elementary school she talked about me constantly, as her bff back in NH.  However, her sister is also named Kim, so when our families went on vacation we were always 'kim allen' and 'kim fay', not like jenny... caty... etc.  Anyways... when I met a bunch of her FL friends on a visit, they were like oh you are kim allen... what is your last name?  excellent.

So... in order to make it work a bit more, I left it Kimberleigh Ruth Allen Holman. 

In 21 minutes... 8 days until the wedding.

I don't like moving. Too much stuff, too little space, too many management decisions I hate to make.

Say "Put the pajamas on the Amazon" five times fast. I made that one up today, and I am slightly proud of it.

Now I am following Jenn and Christos and I wish I had more friends with this type of blog to follow... I am often bad with keeping up with people and their busy lives.

Last semester....

Back at school... my last semester of undergrad. It is weird to be back, and while every semester of college has had a certain rhythm and feeling, this semester feels different already. It is not at all like the senioritis of high school, in that slack-off, foot-out-the-door kind of way, but more urgent and frantic to accomplish so many last minute things. I think that means I am *gasp* growing up perhaps, or maturing even?

Still, lots to do and prepare for.
-3 dance concerts to artistic direct and choreograph for
-1 theatre production to do lighting design
-An independent study... accomanying dance classes, composing a body music suite
-Berkshire Hills Music Academy.... teaching private lessons
-2 work study jobs including tech mentor and working at the gym
-Applying for jobs for next year
-So much more I can't even remember... ah!!!

On the wedding front...

All I really need is music, flowers/table decorations, and cosmetic services for the day of! Everything else is basically done... I can't even believe it. I am a little nervous about finding music. I want a string quartet or something like that for the ceremony. Then for the cocktail hour I want some sort of jazz combo, which could expand to a small band for the reception. However, most of the quotes I have gotten for wedding bands start at $4000! I didn't want a DJ so much, as it could turn high-school-dance pretty quick. So... I am going to advertise at Berklee because I am sure there are fabulously talented students who would play for a lot less (Jenn, who just played Foxwoods, told me this was a no-brainer). I just really need to make sure whoever I get is a good MC as well, as the band leader or DJ really keeps things moving and fun. I don't want any line dances, chicken dance, country music, or really new pop or hip hop. I like the standards that everyone can dance to... Earth, Wind and Fire, Sinatra, Stevie Wonder on and on. If I wanted Top-40 I could go to a club or listen to the radio.

Phew.

Bunny love...

My beauuuuutiful new car and I went through the car wash for the very first time today! By somewhat of an accident I discovered I had automatic rain sensors. Oops. Because my last car was a soft top I never drove it through the car wash, but when my Rabbit made it through it was beautiful and shiny and new looking (newer, I guess, as we just hit 2,000 miles today)! I splurged for the extra wax and the wheel shine and it was worth it. I am so pleased with my car, I grin like a fool when I am driving it. I have to say I miss the neon-teal of my Tracker however, no car was so easily spotted in a parking lot.

On another note, my invitations arrived today! They don't look super pretty in this photo, the pearls and random satin background look pretty grandmother-ly, but I love them! I think going through catalogs and websites dripping with so many disgusting and tacky invites was the roughest part of this whole wedding process.

So now that this is done, with 7 1/3 months left until the wedding I have...

• Booked venue for ceremony/reception
• Bought dress, outfitted bridesmaid/junior bridesmaids... 1 mother dressed, 1 not
• Picked tuxes, tux colors
• Secured invitations
• Made guest list
• Got Russell's pastor committed to date
• Decided on menu
• Narrowed it down to one photographer I love, and others I don't love as much...
• Honeymoon! (The Kinneys surprised us with reservations in Aruba.... how generous is that?!)... Russell's fam is booking flight and wedding-night hotel this week too.
• Limo is booked for getting to the Mile Away
• Picked out (but haven't bought) rings
• And more... I just forget right now.

I never really got how political and at times awkward a wedding can be. The whole shuffle over who pays, who gets more say, who is in the wedding, who gets invited... it is just weird at times. While I want to have ideally six bridesmaids, Russell is just having his two brothers be groomsmen. I am a stickler for visual symmetry, so what do I do about my four best friends who I love more than anything? Be like, "Oh sorry, I'm just having my sister.... or even my sister and Caty... or my sister and my cousins..." Also, to match Russell's two brothers I couldn't pick just one of my girls- we are a unit! Maybe the place can go to the highest bidder, like Obama's seat.

It is hard to put friends who have gone through such crazy stuff with you in chairs, when they should be standing up with you. On the other hand, it would look so weirdly unbalanced if I had a million people on my side and Russell did not. I think I am going to keep my wedding party very small and have my best friends do a reading/reception toast etc. I am the worst in these situations, I don't want anyone to feel bad. I want a fix that will feel good to me, but right now there are no perfect alternatives.

On another note, why is it so hard to find wedding clients this year? I have only booked a couple weddings for 2009 so far. I always get nervous this time of year. Planning my own wedding I know how much crap wedding photography is out there (tons)... but I think people get scared away as I dont have a studio they can come meet with me in or an elaborate website. This is how I keep my costs low! Running a wedding photography business and finishing college is not the easiest.

The first of many...

Ok! A wedding post. The first thing I decided on was what to wear. Before anything, even the date! Below is some girl wearing my pretty dress. I knew I didn't want satin or lace, or a big full skirt, no ties up the back, no huge train... really nothing overly traditional. I tried on ten or so dresses by myself over a few weeks, and then the one time my mom comes she pulls this one out, and bam I love it. It is kind of Grecian when its on, almost, lots of super-soft chiffon flowing everywhere. While my parents are (generously) paying for the wedding, the dress was going to be the one expense I had to pay for myself. I wasn't exactly opposed to that, but then graciously Russell's grandma stepped in and insisted on buying it for me. It is kind of bittersweet as they won't be able to attend the wedding (due to medical reasons they can't leave Maui), and they are such great people.