Happy Halloween!!!

Well, I don't know if my kids have ever worn costumes that fit their personalities so perfectly like this year's costumes...
My daughter is a Kick-Butt-Ninja...she is always some kind of super hero, but this is just perfect.

My son is the creepy Burger King guy from the commercials...he just wants to make people laugh. Love that.

Today I'm doing a bit of work, then I'm working frantically between the kid's 2 classrooms to help their parties go smoothly and have some rockin' BINGO. Then off to the nursing home to visit my Grandma. Then some good friends are coming over to go trick-or-treating with us. And I'm going to try not to eat a vat of chocolate.

Can you believe this was written on the garage door?! Perfect for this peanut-free kiddo! hehe!

Great Jeans and other stuff...

Yesterday, my mom took me on a shopping extraveganza...she bought clothes for my entire family...so sweet...so fun...and so generous!

I have to say, I think the best part of the day was finding the most perfect jeans EVER. If you haven't been to Buckle for jeans, drop what you are doing now and get there. I told the sales girl what I was looking for and my basic size estimate (because who knows what that is when it comes to jeans) and she brought me tons of jeans...all of which FIT me! unbelievable. truly. I have never seen anything like it. I am wearing my new jeans right now (thanks MOM!) and i feel a million miles tall and 20 lbs thinner. love that. and thank you Lucky Brand Jeans. I think you make magic jeans.

Okay, I have to get back to working, but here's a happy picture, cuz a post without a picture is like bread without a huge pat of butter.

Edit: I forgot to mention this...Buckle also does FREE alterations to any jeans bought there...hems, rips, etc...for the entire time you own those jeans! And they have over 70 different sizes and fits. Amazing.

Goodness comes in a family of 3...

Not only is this family just the best, they are our friends, they help us move things (thanks for today!!!), and they just happen to be so great with the camera. They let me do anything I wanted, they were up for anything. And it was a very brisk 36 degrees, with a bit of wind. Yikes, but they were troopers! I can't wait to proof the rest, but in the mean time, enjoy your sneak peek!

quicky post

I'm off to a shoot in a bit, but I did this collage yesterday and I just LOVE it. I think it might be one of my most favorite collages ever.

After some fun shooting time with a family that says I can do anything (how fun is that, and watch out!) we have soccer games, end of season parties, and then I'm starting the process of turning the kid's playroom into my new office (sorry kids!). So excited to stretch my wings a bit. Happy Sat everyone!

going to the dark side/moment of weakness...

I don't know what I was thinking, but I got like 8 inches cut off my hair, and here's the mistake, I asked for BANGS. Seriously, I haven't had them in like 20 years. i dunno.
and in an attempt to do a self portrait, the only picture that wasn't completely blurry is this one, which looks all together too serious and like I'm trying to be sexy, WHICH I'M NOT...more like I'm trying to figure out when the timer is going to go off and my fidget-y-ness infront of the camera. Ugh. there's a reason I'm BEHIND the camera.

But I also want to prove that I did exist, so here I am. Tomorrow I'm asking my hubby to snap a few of me, and I'm sure they will be 10x's better than this. Also, I will look more like myself in pigtails.

bathroom people

I have become obsessed with them. I saw them in different scrapbook magazines as accents, and tried to find them at the local scrap stores, but could find none. SO...I made them myself.

I even made one for our dog.
I'm thinking of making our christmas card with these bathroom people...I love them, can't get enough of them. I'm actually thankful that I couldn't find them in stores...I think it's better that way. I've been thinking alot about all the NEWNESS that I think I want in my life...new things, new projects, new furniture. But maybe what I have is good enough, or better! I'm listening to the Jack Johnson song, "The 3 R's"...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What can I reuse today? It forces your brain to be creative. And that's always good.

for first snows
for my daughter who still wants to sit in my lap
for my son's love of life
for my husband's soft touching of my swollen throat glands this morning
for warm coffee
for photoshop
for quiet
I feel so thankful this morning. Happy Sunday everyone.

Welcome Woodpecker!

But I don't think our house is made of real wood!...sorry Mr. Bird!

Actually, this rather large bird scared me and my dog...I was like, why is someone knocking on our door non-stop?!

Also, I always knew that my husband was a complete genius, but his blog post yesterday totally proves it! I am completely inspired by it. Read it
HERE...it's so worth it! I SO love this guy!...And everyday I realize how meant for each other we are. Sending out a big "thank you" to God on that one for sure.

more from sat!...

see, I promised! :)

My baby is 11.

Unbelievable.

I love you, Booboo.

blogging out of order...

I promised more shots of Sat's shoot, and here I am posting Monday's sneak peek. Shame on me. I will get to it, really. Tomorrow I am going to be PROOFING! like a mad woman. I will NOT be answering the phone...I have to kick the day in the butt. I will have invisible blinders on and will think only good photoshop thoughts.

So, here are a few from today. :)





When I take a small break from PROOFING! I will show you all the beautiful and well loved TEAK patio furniture our good friends passed on to us. So excited!

Blogging on the run!

Here is a very small sneak peek from yesterday's shoot...it's my mom's birthday and I am running out the door (Happy Birthday MOM!!!)

I promise there will be more sneak peeks later! :)

(This "hay there" pic is purely inspiration from the great Kal Barteski...loving life extraordinaire!)

Yesterday, I took a mini vacation. Good for the soul. We went to a farm to pick our pumpkins.
This is my pumpkin...PLUCKED! straight from the vine!


The farm has a little country store with fresh jams and freshly picked apples, but my favorite part (besides getting an apple dumpling) is this super old cash register...love that!

In Rememberance of a Good Dog.

I took pictures of this wonderful dog over a year ago. The vets told her owners that she probably didn't have more than 3-6 months. Well, she hung on tight til this week. Brain tumor, deaf, more problems I can't remember now...and just the happiest dog ever...really, just the sweetest thing.




I got an email from her owner yesterday letting me know the sad news. "I will always be so grateful to you for taking Goldie’s pictures in June of ’06 …the best thing I have ever done was have you photograph her. Your pictures will enable us to remember her forever. Though you probably didn’t even know it, you provided me so much comfort during the last 2 days."


Goodbye sweet Goldie.

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday I was in a serious funk...I didn't really feel like doing anything, I had no pep in my step. I HATE feeling like that. I tried to shake it, but in the end, I just got through the day as best I could without making everyone grumpy around me.

But today is a new day, and besides being compared to my grandma this morning (and in not such a good way), I think it will be a better day than yesterday. I feel excited about proofing, I have some design ideas, and I just have this feeling that I'm gonna bust some things out. Love that. Want more of that. Let's BUST this day!

Just a few things...

I have so many clients who stress over what to wear and I am constantly saying "oh, I will email you a list of photographer sites to look at so you get some ideas"...and then I forget to do it. SOOOOOOO, now I have a list on the right of the screen with photographers who inspire and create and leave beautiful-ness everywhere. Basically when you look at their family sessions, you will see, you cannot make a mistake with clothing...it comes down to what YOU want on your walls. :)

Also, (cringe)...this year I will only guarantee prints by Christmas if you order your prints by mid-November. This is coming soon! If you haven't scheduled your session yet, I only have a few more spots open, so email me and I will try to get you in.

Happy Monday everyone! Let's GO!

Today's sneak peek...

The wind has been going like crazy today. After my daughter's soccer game and a little hike and errands, I hid in the house. I HATE wind. It makes me grumpy.

Thank God the wind had not picked up yet at this morning's early shoot. It was perfect. And so was this cute family. Thanks for hanging with me. :-) And enjoy your sneak peek!

Once upon a time...

before I even had business cards, this yummy family paid for my very first photo shoot. Before I could even get out the words "I'm a photographer", you believed in me. When I said it with a stutter because I was unsure of myself, you told me how wonderful I was.

I love you more than I can tell you. I am thankful beyond words. I love everything about this profession that found me. And you are so much to blame for that. Thank you and thank you and thank you.

Oh yeah, and here's your sneak peek.








And because I promised to put this up, here you go kiddos! You all did SO great! :)

Poem of the day...

"Listen to the musn'ts child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts,
the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves.
Then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be."
-Shel Silverstein


This is for you, girlfriend. :)

Tis the season...

I've been sitting at my desk, itching to get something festive. And I just can't stand it any more...I'm off to buy some fake leaves for our mantel...it's been calling for it.

And in keeping with the holiday spirit, here's another Christmas card example. :)

Sneak Peek

I'm running today...jammin' through work...focused...and the phone hasn't rung once! Hurray for that! :)

Here's a sneak peek from yesterday...thanks for hanging out with me. Enjoy!

Grabbing the bull by the horns...

I was just working on my bible study and it was talking about all the roles we play...for me that includes wife, mommy, house cleaner, photographer/business woman, accountant, taxi driver, soccer mom, friend, daughter, chef, artist, scrapbooker, encourager, school volunteer...the list could go on and on, right?! We all live these completely busy lives.

Well, the house cleaning thing was totally out of wack. See, I used to do all my house cleaning in one day. Right now, that just will not work. I just don't have an entire day to do ANYTHING. So, you make it work, and I'm so excited, I thought I'd share my little schedule.

Now, this is not organizing, it's not deep cleaning, it's not paring down...it's maintaining. And I'm SO okay with that. So, besides the daily cleaning of my kitchen (just so it's basically sanitary), basic straightening, and a load or two of laundry, this is what I'm doing...

Sundays...clean sinks and counters in bathrooms (we have 4 bathrooms)
Monday...clean the inside of the toilets
Tuesday...clean the outside of the toilets (this requires heavy rubber gloves - yuck!)
Wednesday...vacuum half the house and dump trash containers (we have 3 floors of our house. this means 2 whole flights of stairs. And when I vacuum, I also do baseboards and furniture)
Thursday...clean all things glass, or shiny, and tv's
Friday...Dust all things wood (dh, please keep your comments to yourself!) :)
Saturday...vacuum second half of house

I'm so excited. I have cleaned the inside of the toilets, which means I'm done for the day. No guilt. No getting side-tracked. I'm done. Hurray. :)