I'm in the middle of proofing proofing proofing and came across this one. I love it. Aren't they gorgeous?!

okay, back to work.

Being present...

that's my goal today. :)

This morning, as I was packing lunches, filling water bottles, unloading the dishwasher, making scrambled eggs, and thinking about all the proofing and laundry I have to do today, it suddenly occurred to me...

I couldn't remember SMILING at the kids this morning.

How can it be that I can say good morning and wake up our wonderful kids, and FORGET to smile?

It's just not right. And it's time to wake up, smile, and get going on an awesome day. I am missing bible study this morning because the roofing guy had to come to see if we needed a new roof because of the freak HAIL storm we had a few months ago. And I am proofing. And listening to Christmas music. And being thankful for our life. And smiling.

Two under 2...

Anyone who does this should get daily free facials and massages. Truly. These parents not only do an amazing job with their kiddos, they are so beautiful inside and out. I'm so happy I got to do this shoot. Thanks for hangin' with me and enjoy your sneak peek!

{troopers}

That's what my clients were today! I was a bit scared this morning before the shoot cuz my Yahoo page said it was 4 degrees (that felt like -6). Well, it warmed up to the high 20's. Downright balmy if you ask me. :)
The parents and the kids were such great sports about it. We did the shoot at the Mining Museum...my new favorite spot. So, through the snow and cold, we hung out and made the best of it. :)




Thanks so much for today! It was such a pleasure!

On a slightly different note, if anyone knows where I can get fingerless mittens, you know, the kind that has the mitten flap when you need it?...please let me know! :)

Thankful...

*for contact lenses
*for 1% Spandex in my jeans
*for all the people that wave and say hi to me at church
*for my son's laugh...it bubbles out of him and always makes me smile
*for my daughter's spunk
*for struggling with being comfortable in my own skin...it makes me much more compassionate toward my clients who are uncomfortable in front of the camera
*for a snowy and cold Thanksgiving Day...much better for cooking all day in the kitchen
*for photoshop...really, I love it
*for smashed potatoes
*for Diet Mug Root Beer
*for my almost 16 years of marriage
*for our hard years together
*and for the easier years together
*for yummy patterned scrapbook paper
*for the grace that's given to me daily
*for chocolate
*and Starbucks
*and butter

What are you thankful for today? I'm gonna print this out and put it in a little book I made, because it's important to remember. :)
Many blessings to you all!

I wonder how long she can hold it.

Our dog...
It snowed last night, just an inch or two, and it's really cold out. I get it. She doesn't like being cold. She looks completely insulted when we put her outside to do her business. Like, how come YOU get to stay warm when you do YOUR business...thought from the other side of the sliding glass door.

Every winter it's the same. We have to re-train her that the snow won't kill her. That she CAN go in the snow and it will be okay. She has done a very good job at training me, though. I am sure that if she stares at me long enough, I WILL go outside and shovel a little patch of snow off the grass so that she can go in a civilized way.

Families like this...

make my job so easy! Man, the mom said her kids were photogenic, but WOW!!! And I ended up taking way too many photos, but this kids were troopers. Thanks so much for hanging out with me and enjoy your sneak peek!




A little urban cool...



Psss...this is a surprise for their dad/husband...if you know this family, don't tell him! :)

I'm trying to seize the time I have...but the everyday stuff gets in the way, doesn't it? Laundry, cleaning, sibling fighting, dirty kitchens, all the things that make my head spin...so much of my day is trying to keep balanced and sane.

Maybe I should just hang on for the ride and go with it. And eat dessert.

So, thank GOD for my clients today!!! We decided to do the shoot at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, where the mom volunteers. The place was incredible. Red weathered barns, wonderful fields of native grasses, old windows and doors, and BURROS! I'm sorry, but if that's not a great place for a photo shoot, I don't know what is. If anyone lives in Colorado, you gotta check this place out. They even have picnic tables, a pond with ducks and TURTLES and tours and other good stuff.

I love everything about this place.



The daughter was so sweet, and totally knew what I wanted her to do right before I ever got to asking her to do it. You rocked it girl!


This is one of the burros, named Oro. Isn't he sweet? He was watching us while we were shooting.

You guys were a joy to shoot. Thanks for hanging with me, and for never once looking tired of hearing about my new camera. That makes you the sweetest ever. I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek! :)

What a busy and eventful day!...here goes:
First, my wonderful mom started out the day taking me to a tour of some old houses downtown. I loved seeing the woodwork, the lead glass, the radiators, and the christmas decor. It was lovely. And it was so nice to walk a few block going house to house. Then, my mom took me out to lunch to a place that oozes estrogen from all 4 walls. It is GIRLY. and scrumptious. I had a chicken and brie sandwich, and carrot cake (with plenty of coconut in the frosting) to top it off. Yum and THANKYOU!
While I was out, my equally most wonderful husband called to tell me that I had a huge package waiting for me. MY. CAMERA. AND. LENS. oh my. My dear husband stayed home from work to make sure that I got it today, just in case UPS asked for a signature, which they did...so THANKYOU!
Then I came home to see if I could figure this camera out. Seriously, there's like a manual for the manual. and it's HEAVY! Wow, I'm gonna have to start bench pressing a small child so that I can carry this thing around for a few hours at a time.
But man, this camera rocks. That's all I can say. It is everything I ever dreamed it to be. My clients tomorrow morning...watch out. :)I'm gonna rock it.
And guess who was my first perfect model?...

Oh, Lily, what will we do with your fur on top of your head?!

And then my wonderful daughter, (who did want to get paid for this), and is curtzing with a heart and skulls shirt on...perfect...that is exactly who she is.

I am so thankful. This camera. This life. This season that is filled with the smell of nutmeg. I am in love. With life.

Oh, and I got an email wanting the recipe for the "Aloha Chicken Cosmopolitan"...so here it is...It is from the "Fix it and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining"...(crockpot meal)...but I have adapted it to my taste and laziness.

Aloha Chicken Cosmo
1 package chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
salt
half a can of frozen orange juice (eyeball it), thawed or close to it.
3/4 cup of lite coconut milk (it does NOT taste like coconut...this makes it a bit creamy), shaken well.
3/4 cup reduced salt soy sauce
a few good shakes of sesame oil

Put chicken in crockpot...sprinkle with salt.
Combine the rest of ingredients and pour into crockpot over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or until you get home. Serve over brown rice with a side of broccoli.

Scheduled Arrival Date: 11/16/07

My camera is on it's way to it's new home.

Honestly, I had a hard time deciding if this purchase was something I could ALLOW myself to do. I had my bible study pray about it. I journalled about it. I talked endlessly about it. I have thought about it for a year.

And then something came to me..."Snap out of it!...it's a business expense!"

And that was it. :) Decision made.

Today I am designing another xmas card for a client, then the kids have dentist appointments, I'm making Aloha Chicken Cosmopolitan in the crockpot. And I might even get some laundry done. Happy Thursday everyone!

The wait is over...

This past weekend, I painted with my kids. My daughter says it's better painting and drawing with a real artist. I felt so clutsy with the brush. I find watercolor so hard. I'm much more comfortable with smelly, thick oil paint. But it's high maintainance and I didn't have a canvas, and I'm okay with feeling clutsy sometimes. And honestly, it was fun getting back to what I did on a daily basis in college...playing, creating, seeing what happens. It was freeing and nice. So, thanks to my wonderful kids for getting me out of myself.

Can you tell what's still on my mind? If you have a DSLR, please let me know what your favorite lens is and why. I really want to get some advice on this. Thanks and Happy Tuesday!

As many of you know, I started my business without being prepared. I never got a small business loan. I didn't even have business cards yet. That was 2 years ago. I have been adding things as needed, just chuggin' along. And it's been good.

BUT NOW IT'S GOING TO GET A LOT BETTER. :)

I will be purchasing this camera by the end of the week. And I am so excited. Taking it to the next level. I'm so happy and excited and a wee bit nervous. I CANNOT drop this camera. EVER. hmmmm. We'll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, I have to concentrate on the tasks at hand. FOCUS. No daydreaming. Stay in the present. :) Happy Monday everyone!

Just got back from Bible study with the most awesome group of chicks...listening to Grey's Anatomy vol 3 CD...gonna bust out some Christmas Card designs for clients. Ready Set Go. happy Thursday everyone!

Setting: In the car, on the way to school, with the background smell of something small decaying under a minivan seat.

Daughter: Can I take Oreo (a large stuffed panda bear) into school today?
Mom: No, you cannot.
Daughter: Will you at least watch Oreo to see if she moves or does something?
Mom: Sure sweetie.
Son: He will not move.
Daughter: Yes he will.
Son: No he won't, he's NOT REAL.
Daughter: Well then how did he climb from the foot of my bed to cuddling with me this morning?!
Son: That's happened to me before. That doesn't mean he's real.
Daughter: HE IS REAL!
Son: NO HE'S NOT! (head about to explode)
Mom: stop. it's okay.
Son: well, I get to stay up late and you don't (said in a singsong voice) because I'm older.

Well played young son. Well played.

Yup, I'm one of those that loves the cold. I love hats. I love the coat I got last winter. I love watching the snowflakes fall. I USED to love shoveling snow ... til I hurt myself and now I enjoy watching my husband use the snow blower. I love crockpot meals and soup and my dog curling up in my lap cuz she's cold. I love the smell our heater makes in the morning. I love gingerbread lattes. I love watching winter movies, like "While You've Been Sleeping".
These pics weren't taken today (they are from a few weeks ago), and while I really want to enjoy today and live in the present, I am eagerly anticipating the weather that will be here soon enough.
Oh, and thank you Kal and Maile for teaching me to do the squiggly wording. love learning new photoshop skills! :)

Some days...

I wake up with pep in my step. love that. especially on a Monday. I have sent the kids to school with healthy lunches, I've done some laundry, vacuumed, done design work, pet my dog, and sent some love out. feeling great today. and like I can take a deep breath. Breathing is good. :)

here are more pics from sat. These girls are just the best, so sweet, so individual, and the best of friends. You guys were such a pleasure to photograph.

a sneakity peekity...

It's almost 10pm and I'm just getting to posting Sat's sneak peek. I spent yesterday at a school harvest carnival and then an 80's party that night! My hair loved the 80's and my new bangs did great getting "poofed" back into bigness. Today, church and then I don't know what else I did. I wasn't motivated to do much besides taking a nap. Ever have those days when all you want to do is lay poolside and read a really lame book? ya, that was today. And maybe that sort of lounging was what I needed, but I could've made it better if I had just EMBRACED the lounging instead of constantly feeling like I should be doing something else.

Time for me to hit the hay, but before I do...here's Sat's sneak peek! :)

changing emotional directions...

I started out the day dragging my feet, tired, and a bit resentful that I had to get up at all. Then I found myself running out the garage in my bathrobe like a crazy person cuz the trash people were here. Snapped at the kids. Irritated at the person going 5 miles BELOW the speed limit infront of me. Tired of some of my neighbors who don't talk or wave back to me because I quit our neighborhood bunco group (it's bunco people...can we please get over it? it's been almost a year.)

But now, after giving myself a mini facial and having some fritos and iced coffee, I am feeling better. The fact that there's a Project Runway marathon on Bravo and I have it on for background noise while I work doesn't hurt either. Oh, and I will chose to focus on my one neighbor, Nancy, who waves at me EVERY morning. With a smile. Thank you wonderful friend and neighbor. It means more to me than you'll ever know.

Doing some work today. Still slowly changing the kid's playroom into my office. And I will chose to smile, wave at non-responsive neighbors, and generally enjoy today. Because it's the only "today" I'll get. It's here for a reason. And I don't want to miss a thing.