I want to keep these two!

So normally I keep my clients on my photo blog but these two were so fantastic I had to share! Honestly I wanted to put them in my pocket and take them home with me. They were so funny and cute with each other and up for anything!! I just shot them yesterday and had a quick chance to proof a few tonight, before I return to editing the other clients, and had to show you why they made me smile :)

Time for Change

A trip to the end of the world inspired me to change the blog a little this week! I'll be posting more pics from this journey, it was a wonderful day.

The chickens are out of school tomorrow and Little One has been invited to her first playgroup....she's had many playdates but usually they revolve around G's friends. This time she was invited to a playgroup with all of the girls from her preschool class. She is quite excited, and informed her sister tonight that she was more than welcome to come but would not be allowed to play with any of the little girls because they "are my friends". Thankfully Audrey's mom offered up Audrey for a playdate so that G can have some fun of her own.

I'm am dreadfully behind on editing so this weekend was filled with more photo shoots and editing, editing, editing. It is now 2:24 am and I am so keyed up from the day of staring at the computer and when I tried to go to sleep I just lay there twitching. *blink blink*. So I got up to....yes that's right...edit more!! WOO HOO.
Actually it feels good to be accomplishing something that is in the back of my head. I have four discs ready to go out tomorrow and my final photo shoot tomorrow before taking the next few months off!

Okay I'm going to try and go to sleep now....wish me luck!

Random Food for Thought...

Some randomness that has been in my head this week....

#1: I LOVE Dancing with the Stars. Usually I have a handful of shows I love to dig into when the new fall season starts, but this fall the only two shows I must see are Dancing with the Stars and The Office. Something about DWTS makes me so happy! I love to imitate the liveliness and joy of Helio. Is there anybody happier than that man? I thought for sure I wanted Julianne his partner to be in love with Apollo Ono from last season but now I've decided that Helio would make a mighty fine match with her instead.
Marie Osmond passing out, seriously it freaked me out for the rest of the night! I was so stressed out, and in my mind the passing out was far more dramatic then what was replayed today on every station EVERYWHERE.
In my version she had eyes bugged out and sort of convulsed, maybe her head spun around....I can't remember. Then I saw it today and felt better that it was a very calm passing out.

#2: Today I had a random DOOCE sighting. I wanted to yell out "DOOCE!" but didn't. I wanted to say something, something witty and wonderful, but instead I just kept finding reasons to turn around and look at her as she and a female friend waited to be seated at the restaurant. Of course I had to call my friend Jen who has had numerous DOOCE sigtings in and around the valley. She also has not said anything for fear that she will end up on the blog being berated by the DOOCENESS herself.

#3: Is that I need this camera.



When I say "need" I mean it in a "want" sort of way that feels like a need but isn't. It is more of a drooling, credit card in hand, add to shopping cart and remove sort of need.
Leave it to the White Stripes to come up with such an awesome promotion. A camera to represent both members of the band. This camera above is the "MEG" and the "JACK" is just as amazing....it even comes with a peppermint filter. You can see why I NEED/WANT these camera. AND there are only 200 limited editions of both that are probably already gone.

That's all for now folks :)

It's The Great Pumpkin!!!

What a fun afternoon at the pumpkin patch! This little patch was adorable and filled with an amazing variety of pumpkins that I had never even seen before! They also did a great job of hiding little Halloween sounds everywhere that drove G insane trying to figure out where they were coming from!! They had the fun little cutouts for them to stick their heads through....Little One particularly liked the witch stirring her bubbling cauldron!
We walked around in the sunshine for quite awhile waiting for G to find the perfect blemish free pumpkin. If Little One would have had her way we would have left with 100 pumpkins just for her, blemishes or not!
Fall is such an amazing time of year I can't imagine missing all of these gorgeous colors and scents all around us.
Bri and I had our first date in the fall, married in the fall. G was born in the fall, and I craved pumpkin seeds with both pregnancies which of course means fall fall fall!! If there was a place on earth where it was fall all year round I would pack up my family and head there with no questions asked :)

Little One: "Look I found my pumpkin!"



Little One: "Hmmmm, so many pumpkins so little time.....maybe I'll look around for another one...or two.



Well, it looks like Little One found the ones she wants!



Look! Daddy found his long lost brother!!



Me: "Did you find a pumpkin?" G: "Nope, not this one....it's too bumpy."



Little One: "Mom, while we're waiting for G to find her pumpkn let's pretend that you walk around the corner and you say 'Look it's a statue' and then you see me!"



Me: "I'll take two of those statues!!"



G:"C'mon Little One, there has to be one over here that I will like?"



G: "Phew I need a break from all this pumpkin hunting."



G:"No scratches, no dents, no funny colors....FINALLY....it's the perfect pumpkin!!!!"



"That's all for now dad, let's hit the road!!"

Run Don't Walk to See This Fantastic Movie!!

Tonight we went on a couples date to The Dodo for a yummy dinner and then to the movies. We saw a sneak preview of "Dan In Real Life" and oh my gosh it was really really good!!
I adore Steve Carrell, anything "Michael Scott" from The Office does is AOK with me! He was so lovely and this movie was tender and funny and sweet. I went in not quite knowing what to expect. From the commercials it looks like it could possibly be slapstick which it totally wasn't.
If you love Steve Carrell go and see it, if you love Rhode Island scenery go and see it, if you love a great soundtrack go and see it, if you love to laugh go and see it! And if you go and see it and you don't like it then go and see something else *snicker*.

There are quite a few movies I think look interesting right now....Michael Clayton, Rendition, Gone Baby Gone, and the new Elizabeth The Golden Age. We rarely get to the movies so if I go I want it to be something really good, if anybody has any good suggestions I would love to hear them!!

I've Chosen My Next Book

This months choice is....

Wonderful Tonight By Pattie Boyd
I LOVE books about musicians and bands, I have a lovely collection of books and coffee table books on the Beatles and John Lennon. I have books on The Grateful Dead, Keith Moon, Crosby, Stills and Nash and on and on. Just because I read the book does not mean I have to be a fan of the music or even the person. I am fascinated by the lifestyle....especially the over indulged youthful musicians of the 60's. So knowing this imagine how excited I was to learn that Pattie Boyd herself had written an autobiography!! Pattie Boyd was married at one time or another to George Harrison of Beatles fame and Eric Clapton. She inspired some of the most beautiful love songs ever written and was an amazingly beautiful model.

This is my current book and I have to say I am sailing through it so I might be posting a new choice soon....and I'm pretty sure it will be Clapton the new autobiography by Eric Clapton :)

I Did It !!!! (oh, and a book review!)

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it but I did....six photo shoots in seven days and I'm alive to tell about it!!
I just took it one day at a time, appreciating each shoot. The days outside enjoying the amazing colors of fall.....the new hidden treasures of nature that I discovered with families in tow......The hikes up the Pipeline with two toddlers in tow, the jaw dropping scenery almost making me forget that I was there to take photographs.....The snuggly newborn with a strawberry hat perched on her head, her adorable mom such a joy to chat with..... And the cousins and their mothers who braved the weather getting in a great shoot just before the rain began to fall!
It almost makes me wish I hadn't made the decision to take November and December off.....almost!
I have five more shoots this month and then it's two months of family time, of course by the time I finish editing this months pictures it will probably be January so I might not get as much free time as I first thought *snicker*
I have added some more shoots to Photography Blog . I know that I have forgotten to add some clients, I hope they don't think it isn't because I didn't love their sessions! I just got a little behind and confused on which ones I had added and which ones I hadn't. When I get it all ironed out I will add their sessions too :)

A belated book reivew on "The Uglies". Hmmmmmm....a very very interesting book. The author has an amazing imagination. I can't say that I have ever read a "futuristic" style book. Somedays I would think "eh, I'm over it" but then I couldn't get the story out of my mind so I would have to go back and see what was going to happen to Tally and Company. This book really made me think about our society now and what we are going to leave for the future generations and how we will be perceived by them. And it was also a great commentary on the perceptions we have of ourselves and what is beautiful and what is ugly. There are two more books to this series which I have not decided if I am going to read or not....but if you're into futuristic books this is definitely a book you should read!

My next book.....I'm not sure! I have three possible choices right now so hopefully I will figure it out in the next day or so :)

Current Ebay Boutique Faves

I'm sure when I talk about the Ebay Boutiques I confuse people who think that Ebay is just people selling their old stuff! The Ebay Boutiques are AMAZING. The amount of talent in these groups just amazes me, especially considering I can't even thread the needle of a sewing machine. I drool daily and these are some of the current ones I am super drooling over! If I had tons of money I would bid $1000 on all of them just to ensure that I would win! LOL


SKIPPING ROPE APRON (click name link for auction)


RED RIDING HOOD (click name link for auction)


FALL APPLES (click name link for auction)


SANTA XMAS HOODIE AND PANTS (click name link for auction)

For those of you who I have babbled on and on about these groups to, I decided to make a list of some of my favorite groups so that you can search on a regular basis the way I do!
In the Ebay search engine just type the words:
IVYLANE
LILYPLUM
LIMEVINE
THEBLOSSOMS
BOUTIQUE JAYNES
BOUTIQUE BETTIES
STUDIOE

A Case of Fall-itis?

Fall is in the air.....or at least it was in the air for about a period of 48 hours and then freak winter weather seems to be settling in ruining all the gorgeous fall colors and crisp scents in the air.
I'm wondering if anyone has done any studies on Fall and if children are more likely to become extremely obnoxious when this season sets in? The girls have become blonde balls of obnoxious whining-ness complete with phrases coming out of their mouth such as...

G: (in a tone that only dogs can hear) "Mooooooooom she says that she doesn't like me anymore.
Little One: (in a peppy tone) "Yup that's right, I don't like you!"

and the ever popular

Little One: (just after finishing lunch that she ate three bites of) "I'm hungry"
Me: "You just ate?"
Little One: "I'm hungry."
Me: "Eat your lunch then?"
Little One: "I'm hungry I want a snack."
Me: "Eat your lunch then?"
Little One: "I'm hungry, you get me a snack."
Me: "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH"
Little One: "I'm hungry."

Today I informed Bri that I was daydreaming about bursting out the front door and running down the middle of the road with my arms flailing in the air yelling "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH". The best part is when I make a comment like this and he pauses for a second like maybe, just maybe, I am actually contemplating this course of action.

To their credit though they did shape up for dinner. When I made ceaser salads and potato corn chowder they actually thanked me. And both of them ate their salads and asked for more? Then G dug into her soup and said "This soup isn't good.....it's GREAT!" (and no she did not see a Tony the Tiger commercial recently). I just stared at her with my mouth dropped open and then exclaimed "Thank you, thank you so much!!! And when dinner was over Little One didn't ask for a snack. I didn't even mind when they followed me into the bathroom where I was going to take a child free soak in the tub and read my People magazine. They sat sheilded with the shower curtain around them reading their own books, G her "My Twin" catalog which is like crack for six year old girls. And Little One a "Toot and Puddle" story which cracked her up when she kept referring to him as "Tootie".

Now they are both in bed and the house is quiet. I'm sure fall-itis will return tomorrow but at least occassionally the symptoms subside!

Long Ago When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth....

Two people fell in love.....I remember the day vividly that we met, in fact I was wearing the same dress, in a lovely shade of pale lilac, that I am wearing in this fantastic smudged Kmart photo booth picture of us! He made me laugh and I knew right away that this was the person I was met to be with. Our first date he took me to T.G.I. Fridays and ate his spaghetti with his face down in his plate so that I wouldn't see him slop it all over his face. We went and saw "Ghost" and he covered my eyes at the sexy pot sculpting scene! When he drove me home and dropped me off he gave me a big hug and I could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
We rode that silly rollercoaster of teenage love, embarassing dramatic moments that you wish you could erase and carefree moments of snuggling up and watching American Gladiators and laughing until we were crying over the dumbest stuff!
Thirteen years ago we were married in a gorgeous wedding surrounded by our family and friends. There have been low times and high times and everything in between. He still makes me laugh harder than anyone and he still frustrates me like no ones else can and even now I look at him with his sparkly eyes and cute squeezeable apple shaped cheeks and am so happy to be married to my best friend and greatest love!

Happy 13!