books i've been reading as of late

{via}

this book is amazing. i couldn't put it down and now even though i have finished it i am reading it again. definitely a book i plan on buying. 

{via}

 while i really enjoyed reading this book, it was very deep. i could only read one or two chapters before i had to put it down and think for a little while to comprehend all it was saying. but, i would definitely recommend it.

{via}

this is probably one of my favorite series. all the books are really well written and i enjoy reading them. so, i have started to read them a second time. :) the only thing is there are forty books in the series so it takes a while to read. 

{via}

i picked this book off the shelf in the library because i recognized its cover. i'm glad i did. it was the perfect book to read right after do hard things and i enjoyed reading it.

what have you been reading lately?

 

my challenge

i have decided to stay off pinterest for a month(number five on the list). partly because it means i will get another thing checked off my in a year list, partly because i've wasted allot of time on pinterest lately, and partly because i found something more useful to do with the time i spend on pinterest.

it's called freerice.com.  basically, it is a free, online, vocabulary game that currently donates ten grains of rice to hungry people for every question you get right. so not only are you working on your vocabulary skills, you are helping to feed hungry people! so what am i doing? well... first of all, i am staying of pinterest for a month that means i will not be going onto the site for a month(thirty days). secondly, i will be playing free rice using the time i normally would be on pinterest. will you join me? i am going to start on monday(to give you time to link-up) and continue till the 15th of may. here is a link to my free rice account: emmie0952. let's see how much rice we can donate together!
here is a button to grab if you do this:



<center><a href="http://pupsqueakphotography.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Want to know why I'm staying off Pinterest for a month? Click here to find out!" src="http://i.imgur.com/KzGMP.png"></a></center>

cameras, people, and some snapshots// week three

<center><a href="http://pupsqueakphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/cameras. people. and some snapshots." target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Younique" src="http://i.imgur.com/377Nd.png" /></a></center>
welcome back to cameras, people, and some snapshots! sorry for the delay in posting. last week's winner was:
Carli Nicole from Reflections

this is a beautiful photo! i love the lighting and the bokeh.

this week's theme is:

it can be any part of a face(human or animal). eyes, noses, hair, as long as it is part of a face. :)

rules:
-the photo you enter must be taken by you.
-you may only enter one photo per challenge.
-if your link goes to a blog post with more then one picture please specify which photo you are entering.
-you can enter using imgur, photobucket, flickr, or your blog.
-please keep all the photos rated g or pg.
-you must include either the button or a link to this post.
-you may edit the photo.
-the contest will close on thursday. 
-have fun!

the changes

about an hour ago i posted about how my blog was going to be closed for some changes. well, now those changes have been made and i am writing a post about them. these changes have been long in the coming. and no, i am not going to stop blogging. just change my blog's focus. here is what i wrote last night in my notebook:

see, after i posted this post i thought it would be easy to post about my Christian walk with God and how he was working in my life. but then i read this(pg.8-19 March/April 2012) and realized that what i was going to post should of been between me and God. not on my blog. so, i gave up. but now i am ready to try again. i don't want my blog to be "all about me" i want it to be all about Christ. so i have changed the name, design, and focus and now will be using my blog in a different way(not to promote me but to promote Christ).

closed for changes

note to all followers: pupsqueak will be closed for a few hours while i make some major changes. :) come back soon to check them out!

i redid my walls!

so a couple of weeks ago i decided my walls needed a change. :) so took down my old stuff:

and put up the new:

i basically took a bunch of pins i liked from pinterest and printed them out! click on the numbers below to go to the pin:

what do you think?

Pinspirational Tuesday @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul

Source: pirouetteblog.com via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: heckyeahjesussaves.tumblr.com via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: wonderfullymadeblog.org via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: kissingtree.org via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: cottencandyclouds.blogspot.com via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: pinterestbest.net via Emilie on Pinterest

Source: heckyeahjesussaves.tumblr.com via Emilie on Pinterest

want more? follow me on pinterest here. or better yet, go link-up @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul. :)

just remember

when i've looked professional photographers photographs many different thoughts have run through my head. sometimes they are inspirational thoughts and sometimes they are thoughts of amazement.

 and yet sometimes the thoughts are that of discouragement. "Wow! That photographer's photos are always so amazing! Why do I have to go through lots of outtakes just to find the few photos that I like that are 'blog worthy'?" 

 then today when i was looking through some really amazing photos something occurred to me. they have outtakes too. the professional photographers, while still amazing, make mistakes. just like you and me. so just remember, next time you are feeling discouraged about your photography skills, that the professional photographers aren't showing you the outtakes, just the beautiful photographs.

and just because we all need this reminder sometimes:

Source: faithinourlord.tumblr.com via Julia on Pinterest

cameras, people, and some snapshots// week two

<center><a href="http://pupsqueakphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/cameras. people. and some snapshots." target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Younique" src="http://i.imgur.com/377Nd.png" /></a></center>
hey! welcome to week two of cameras, people, and some snapshots. sorry about last week's link-ups. all photos that were linked up with inlinkz were lost. :( so, with that said, last week's winner is:

Lily Caroline from Lily Caroline Photography!

congrats Lily! i really like the focus and the bokeh on this photo. beautiful!

this weeks theme is:

the photo you take can be of anything as long as you shoot in manual. by manual i mean manual setting or manual focus.

rules:
-the photo you enter must be taken by you.
-you may only enter one photo per challenge.
-if your link goes to a blog post with more then one picture please specify which photo you are entering.
-you can enter using imgur, photobucket, flickr, or your blog.
-please keep all the photos rated g or pg.
-you must include either the button or a link to this post.
-you may edit the photo.
-the contest will close on thursday. 
-have fun!

beauty in design challenge | week 18

this week's challenge is to do a double exposure. i did a double exposure using a picture(taken by me), a screen shot(of pinterest), and then i added a quote over it(via). want to link up your own double exposure? head on over by clicking on the button below. :)

little design change

i decided to add a background to my current design. :)

before:

after:

which do you like better?

shooting in manual

i have some exciting news. i have begun to shoot in manual! no more auto for this girl. :)

anyone want to guess what the above photo is of? while i still have allot to learn, the photography seminar i've been watching has been very helpful. :) do you shoot in auto, manual, or both?

inlinkz

how many of you have ever used inlinkz to link up to something or have had people link up to something on your blog? *raises hand* well, today i want to share with you something very scary and dangerous that i found out. today i received a couple of e-mails that someone had submitted a link to link-up to cameras, people, and a few snapshots. no big deal, right? well in the e-mail i saw something disturbing, take a peek(i removed my ip address from this for security sake):

 

geolocate user? so i made a test link(because i didn't want to see the person who linked up's information) to see how much information it included. it was scary!

 

look at all that information that someone can get by you just entering your link in an inlinkz link-up widget! i want to encourage you to:

1. spread the word. please tell people about this! 
2. stop linking up with inlinkz. you don't want to be giving this information to a stranger!
3. stop using inlinkz to have people link up to something on your blog. 

because of this information i have found i will no longer be using inlinkz.

{surprise ii} a giveaway just for you

 so i realized tuesday that i hadn't had a giveaway in like 100 days! so i decided that it was time for another giveaway. :) what i'm giving away:

1 pre-made header made by me! the giveaway is open world-wide to anyone. all you have to do is enter below. i will hopefully announce the winners on may 1st. :) have fun!

{surprise i} cameras, people, and some snapshots

<center><a href="http://pupsqueakphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/cameras. people. and some snapshots." target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Younique" src="http://i.imgur.com/377Nd.png" /></a></center>
hey everybody! after much consideration i have decided to bring back my weekly photography challenge! this time though, instead of being Snapshot Saturday it is called "cameras, people, and some snapshots". so are you ready? this week's theme is: pets. feel free to take the picture of a pet-related item too. :)

rules:
-the photo you enter must be taken by you.
-you may only enter one photo per challenge.
-if your link goes to a blog post with more then one picture please specify which photo you are entering.
-you can enter using imgur, photobucket, flickr, or your blog.
-please keep all the photos rated g or pg.
-you must include either the button(at the top of the post) or a link to this post.
-you may edit the photo.
-have fun!

saturday... :)

 this saturday i have not one but two special surprises for you! the first will be posted at 7:00am and the next will be posted at 1:00pm. :) while you're waiting, what do you think the surprises are?

a new blog design

before:

after:

i'm still playing with it a little bit so it will probably change but i like this design allot better. it is still simple but isn't like too simple. :) what do you think? oh, and from now on i will be posting my photo for the april photo a day challenge in a weekly digest. thanks to all who voted on the poll.

april photo challenge | day two

linking up//here

don't forget to vote on the sidebar poll! i would really like your opinion. :)

april photo challenge | day one