Jon

My name is Jon Turbett, I am 24 years old. My Life in short has been as
normal as one can expect. Parents divorced at an early age. Friends and
family have come, and gone, some more peacefully than others. Through it
all I’ve learned one thing. Life is short, and I know that may sound
cliché, but there is truth in its simplicity. No amount of time on this
Earth will be deemed enough. When your time comes, you reach for the clock
to set it back, even just for a minute.

I learned at an early age to apply this “Life is short” motto to my life,
most of the time with damaging effects, after all being young is all about
making mistakes. Learning from those mistakes however is where knowledge
and wisdom are born. I spent most of my youth rebelling against my Mother’s
husband, or teachers, anyone and everyone except for my Father.

My Father I feared and respected, he showed me how to be the man I am
today, not through relentless lectures or the classic “do as I say, not as
I do” mentality. No, my father lived his life everyday they way he expected
his kids to live. And by no means is the man perfect, but He showed me
compassion, empathy, how to always be there for the ones you love, even
when they don’t always return that favor. He taught me family.

Another important thing in my life is music. I’ve had a love affair with
music for as long as I can remember. I am truly what you would call
eclectic in my music preferences as long as there is strong lyrical
content. In recent years this has translated to a love of spoken word, or
Slam Poetry. I was a member of the volunteer staff that organized the 2010
Nation Poetry Slam (NPS). The National Poetry slam, for those that don’t
know is the Olympics of poetry, over 500 poets from all over the world
descended on St. Paul Minnesota for a weeklong event.

Working for NPS only strengthened my resolve to follow my dream of opening
a youth center that focuses on teaching music/poetry to young people.
Starting school with UoP is the first step in that process, and I am
looking forward to this journey.

This bio may be unorthodox; I never have been good with writing about
myself, so I thought I would write about some of the things that make me
who I am.

Clint

So, I've survived Year One of the photoblog! I've really enjoyed
documenting my days and sharing this with you all. Bring on Year 2!

Who am I? Good question... I'm Clint, and Jean (not her real name) on the
site is my sweet wife. I think that I have the hang of referring to her as
Jean in my descriptions, but it was hard to get used to at first. I'm a
certified Geek - I love technology, and I work with teachers in SW Utah to
help them integrate the amazing array of options out there to engage their
students and liven up their teaching. I love my Mac, my iPad, my iPhone,
and pretty much anything else that Apple tempts me to purchase. I'm
originally from northern Utah (Ogden, for those of you familiar with the
state), and came to Cedar City in the south for college. Once the red dirt
of southern Utah was in my blood, I really never left.

This past year my greatest accomplishment was to win not one, but the TWO
Fantasy Football leagues that I was a part of! I was proud to keep the
crown in the family with the main league that my brother-in-law has set up.
My father-in-law won it the first year, and my sweet wife Jean won it last
year, and I was lucky enough to take the title from her. I hope that she
can forgive me some day...

A couple of things that I love to do: Cook great food and brew my own beer.
The former is something I've always enjoyed doing and experimenting with,
and the latter grew out of the necessities of life in Utah.

The past year has been a rough one for me with the shrinking of my family
with the loss of my remaining grandparents, changes in my job, and other
things. However, I'm working hard at enjoying my life and feeling better
about things every day, and I have very high hopes for this year and
beyond!

Niky

Hi there everyone! Nicole here, but I will go by Niky on this blog :)
Nice to jump on-board and meet all of you! I am pumped to share and visit
 this years photographic life journeys! I love the art of photography,
and am wading into the photographic market of Calgary this year. I love
 textile crafting and knitting very much, also painting, dancing, and
reading. I also plan to sell some of my creations on Etsy this year. **I
speak English and French as does my partner.** The great outdoors inspire
 me greatly, I love camping and I have 3 green thumbs I enjoy utilizing. I
 have 3 cats, whom I bet will be major features in my photo-blogging. I
like to hula hoop and spin fire poi in the warm summer months and I enjoy
 growing a garden each year.. well.. as best as I can in Calgary, Alberta,
 Canada (Zone 3.. ugh) I am having my first child soon, supposedly on
St.Patrick's Day, or perhaps my partner's Birthday of March 19th, so right
 now we're getting ready for the last few weeks in our countdown to
 parenthood :) We have no clue the sex of our baby, so the surprise is
 always fun! *I am also curious to see who at his work will win the baby
 pool* I turn into the **Decade Trois this year ***
I wish you all well! Let us enjoy this Year of the Water Dragon! Au Revoire!*

Kirsten

Hi, I'm Kirsten. Mom, wife, sous chef, janitorial/ pool tech and owner of
this wonderful phone blog. I can't believe we are already starting up on
our 4th year! I absolutely love what this group has become and how close
and supportive we all are of each other. This second half of year 3 was a
struggle for me to keep taking photos every day. My goal is that come
spring I get inspired to pick up my camera more. Now that I also have
upgraded in the technology world I can send in my daily photos by phone
now. So hopefully I wont fall so far behind.

Hello to the new members and I hope you guys enjoy this photo blog as we
all have!

Chelle

hi i'm chelle. i'm suffering a major funk right now, been fighting
depression for a few years (on meds for three years now, maybe four?) i
like to bake and decorate cake and treats. i feel that i'm being
marginalized at work. i've gained all the weight i lost four years ago
back and am struggling to lose it again. i like to colour my hair. i'm
pretty lazy but i think that's due to the funk i'm in. i struggle to find
motivation and not sleep my free time away (the dreams are amazing!) i
play sims, WoW, and FB games. and lastly, i'm obsessed with skulls.
they're just so happy as they have had the weight of the world lifted off
of them. ^_-

jennifer11

Who has two thumbs and is totally ready for year four?

name: jennifer11
residence: charleston, sc
age: 32
height: 6'
weight: 165
hair/eye color: dark brown, blue
martial status: married 11 years
offspring status: 3 offsrping units- rolin, 17 year old stepson, maddi, 15 year old custodial stepdaughter, lucas, 8 year old son
occupation: construction coordinator for an apartment rehab company
likes: pie (or really food in general), reading, sitting on the porch with the hubby, doing stupid things to make people laugh, venus fly traps
dislikes: zombies, the ex-wife, d-bags in general
lifelong ambitions: stay married forever, be a good mom, buy a canoe

Renatta

I'm Renatta, a 28-year-old newspaper reporter living in Southwestern
Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

I'm a fourth-year Photographic State-er who enjoys many things including
baby animals, exercising, being an only child, watching Steelers football
and Penguins hockey, reading, dancing, shopping, animal prints, Chapstick
and awesome shoes. I don't like being the adult child of divorced parents.

I am helping The Boyf renovate his home where we both live. We've been
together for five years, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of marriage
in the foreseeable future. I think I'm OK with that for now.

I feel like this is the happiest I've been in awhile so I'm riding the high
and hoping to share it with everyone here.

Rachel

This is my FOURTH year of PS… so I’m sort of running out of bio ideas….
This year, you get a picture collage!!!!

(Left to right, top to bottom)

1. I’m getting married to Eddie (new PS member!) in June of this year!
There will be tons of pre- and post- wedding pictures.

2. By marrying Eddie, I will finally have two younger sisters.

3. I graduated college this past May – Magna Cum Laude with a BA in History
and Political Science and a minor in Spanish…. And I did this in the
pouring, cold rain… Barefoot.

4. I’m currently in law school, reading books that are more of an
anti-mugging device than reading material.

5. My not so little brother graduated high school this past June and now
attends the college I just left.

6. I made all my wedding invitations by hand (with a little help from the
MOH and the groom).

7. I’m a foodie. Brace yourself for food pictures.

8. All of those could be true…. OR me and that lovely lady in the bottom
right picture are secretly sisters… separated as children because the
government realized that our super powers, if combined, would be too much
for one state to handle. Separated by two states, we only recently united
our powers and took over the bustling metropolis of Chicago… But that could
be a lie… or I could be telling the truth because I knew you wouldn’t
believe the truth if I told it to you, savvy?

Jean

Year four? Already? My PS alias is Jean, and I’ve been with it since the
beginning. I work with freshman college students for a living, although my
job description will change significantly in the next year. I’m married to
photographer Clint, alias “sweet husband.” We have two sweet, wiggly,
waggly Labs—you’ll see a lot of them. I’m lucky enough to work with
photographer Lauren--she’s not only a total riot, but she’s saved my life
and sanity more than once in the past 6 months. Things to know about me…
I love monkeys. I do not love living in Southern Utah--it’s is stealing my
soul. Last year I was a runner. Maybe I’ll start again this year. I
garden, but I get tired of it part-way through the summer and end up with a
jungle instead. I was diagnosed with ADHD about 8 months ago, and that
knowledge has changed my life. I’m passionate about animal rescue, travel,
helping students reach their full potential, and constantly learning more
about myself in an effort to create a happier, healthier me. I'm glad
ya'll will be along for the next leg of this journey.

Enzie

I’m excited to be joining this! I am 38 (for the next couple of months at
least), happily married, and a stay at home mother to a toddler. I consider
myself a late bloomer. I was once a working professional, but in the course
of one year, I met the man who would become my husband, got married, moved
from the suburbs to the hinterland in rural Pennsylvania, and got pregnant.
Although I enjoyed working, I eventually resigned from my job to stay at
home. I have quickly transformed from a single working gal to a mommy.

I am neither photogenic nor technologically savvy. I shy away from the
camera when it’s pointed at me. I don’t have a Facebook account. I
occasionally write hand-written letters to keep in touch with old friends
and co-workers. I read a lot, and I enjoy long road trips. I’m rather
introverted but I am drawn to all things silly, and I like dry humor and
sarcasm.

I look forward to being a part of PS, and to the challenge of capturing
little bits of my world on a daily basis.

Lauren

Hello all and thank you for already welcoming me into the group :) I’m
excited to be a part of this crazy crowd. My name is Lauren and I’m a
20-year-old college student finishing up my third year at Southern
Utah University and already dreaming of bigger things. ‘Jean’ is my
“boss” on campus but after all of the crazy times last semester we’ve
become good friends. It was also Jean that told me about Photographic
State and urged me to join.

When I’m not on campus I’m a part time employee at a local women’s
crisis center and a full time advocate for victims of domestic
violence. My work is hard but rewarding, as I’ve met some of the most
amazing women. I also volunteer with special needs students at the
local middle school; something I’ve always been passionate about as my
little sister has RTS (Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome) a condition most
closely related to Down syndrome. When I can’t be home with my family
I love spending time with my college family which primarily consists
of my boyfriend and two best guy friends who I practically live with.
If you’ve ever seen the show New Girl, that’s kind of how my life is.

I’m sure you’ll get to know a lot more about me and my crazy life
throughout the year, so I’ll shut up for now. I look forward to
getting to know all of you through pictures and am ready for a great
year!

Jody

Here goes...

Let me introduce myself, I am that crazy, wacky, fun-loving gal that lives
in Strongsville, Ohio, otherwise known as Joelyn, or Jody as everyone calls
me.

I love my family, friends, cats and most importantly life, as you can see
by my collage it represents my bestest friends (Jean would be in there, but
I can't seem to locate any grade school pictures, but don't worry I will
soon) family and cats. You'll see a lot of pictures of Samantha who is an
awesome teenager and even though she drives me bonkers, she makes me so
darn happy as well as Cookie and Sherbet my cats. Outside of that they will
be random pictures that represent such a small part of my life.

Some things that I enjoy outside of those things are:

Cleveland Browns
Ohio State Buckeyes (football, basketball & hockey)
Chicago Blackhawks
Photography & Scrapbooking
Arts & Crafts (pinterest.com/morgan_jody)
Cooking & Baking
Writing/Blogging (joelynmorgan.blogspot.com)
Tweeting (twitter.com/morgan_jody)

The last couple of years that I have done PS I have had the opportunity to
connect with an old friend from my younger years (Jean) and make a most
wonderful bestest bud (Rachel) and I look forward to continuing to get to
know everyone as you let me peek a little into your lives each day.

Thanks for reading & carry on with your day!

Eddie

After much deliberation for the last year and a half maybe longer, I have
decided to finally take the plunge and...join this wonderful community. Oh
yea, I am also getting married soon, I had better mention that before I am
brutally attacked for “conveniently forgetting.” For those new to the
community, I am apparently the beast to Rachel’s beauty and the subject of
some of her photos and comments. I too enjoy taking photos even if I do not
own my own camera (aside from my nice cell phone camera) and always tend
to…borrow the cameras of others.

Living in the Chicago area, I look forward to sharing my life with all of
you as I go through major life changes and fun moments. In addition to the
non-profit organizations I volunteer with (Boy Scouts of America and Lambda
Chi Alpha Fraternity), I am also attending classes part-time toward my
Masters in Public Administration and I am currently working full time at
one of the world’s leading public research universities. As (college)
royalty I hereby decree, Carpe Diem.

Jordan

I am 25, just got married on June 25, 2011. We live in Grove City, PA and
my husband and I are both educators. In October I purchased a Nikon p500
after a friend of mine got me interested in photography. I don't do
anything fancy, just enjoy capturing different things like my puppy,
beautiful scenery, and I am happy to take pictures for anyone at any time.
I love sharing my photographs with others and look forward to checking out
everyone else's.

ROBIN

Hi. I’m Robin and there are no words to describe me. I serve as a warning
to others. I am 50 going on 5, once snorted a “Moon Over My Hammy” sandwich
out of my nose at Denny’s and had an uncontrollable laughing fit in a rest
area on the NJ Turnpike when my boyfriend told me to wipe my snout. I have
been known to stick my tongue out at small children in the grocery store
when their parents aren’t looking. I am a techie by day but can’t figure
out how to use call waiting. I am introverted but not shy. Definitely take
charge. I look like a nun (minus the lisle stockings and black shoes) but
can say the most outrageous things without a second thought. I love FLARP
(aka noise putty) use it to leave strange phone messages for my sister when
I know she isn't home. My favorite song is “I Walk the Line” by Johnny
Cash. I am a good friend but a terrible poker player. I grew up in NJ
(where I never fit in) and am getting a second chance at happiness with a
wonderful man named Joe. Life is good.

jennie

I am a Mother of 2, but Mother many more! I enjoy my family, my work and
my play.

My work "wife", known as "jennifer", recommended this to me and I am so
excited.

Liz

I keep putting off sending this in because I can't make myself take a new
self-portrait, so for now you get the one I use on my blog. This is my inner
brat, circa 1965 or so.

If I even tried to tell you what's been going on around here over the past
four years, you wouldn't even believe me. Let's just say it's been a Wild
Ride and leave it at that.

Now that the hurricane seems to have passed, I'm left with figuring out who
I am aside from my age (51), number of kids (two, ages 27 and 11),
profession (computer geek), location (across Puget Sound from Seattle) and
marital status (divorced after 27 years, then remarried and widowed in less
than a year).

Nicole

Howdy! I’m Nicole, and it’s my 2nd year of Photographic state.
Unfortunately, I faded away toward the end of PS 2010…what can I say, life
happened…and I wasn’t sure if I would participate this year. However, one
of my 2011 New Year’s resolutions is to finish what I start – so here I am
again!

I live near Columbus, OH. I’m 30 years old, a wife, and mother of two –
Audrey will be 2 in March, and Braden is 4. We have two Golden Retrievers.
You will be meeting my kids and pets here soon. I work for a very small
web-based training company, my roles include Project Manager, HR, Accounting
and Recruiter. It’s exhausting, but I love it; It’s a great place to work.
I enjoy playing with my kids, music, running, exercising, blogging, dancing,
food, cooking, sports and reality TV. I O-H-I-O all year round.

I look forward to getting to know everyone throughout PS 2011!

Paul

The kids and I. I am the big ugly one in the back :)

Jennifer11

Since you will see plenty of me in the next year, please enjoy this photo of me when I was fun-sized!

I like the random facts thing, so I'm going to steal that. : )

1.  I have three kids- a 16 year old stepson, a 14 year old stepdaughter and a 7 year old son.  I have one husband of ten years.  My family is awesome.  

2.  I work for a construction company.  We do apartment rehabs, so I not only do I understand how toilets work, I'm actually kind of interested in it.

3.  My "work wife" Jennie is joining us this year.

4.  I am deeply and profoundly afraid of zombies.

5.  I love the smell of Vicks Vaporub.  I carry a Vicks Vapo Inhaler with me at all times.  I think I am addicted to it.

6.  My mother & I work at the same company... but we don't work together.

7.  I have a bog garden full of carnivorous plants.  

8.  I have been a Girl Scout for 25 years.

9.  It takes very little to make me happy.

10.  I have one deep, dark, secret, burning desire...it's-  oh gosh... look at the time...