26 January 2015

Week 3 - Project 52

Good Snowy Eve!!! We are gearing up for what is supposed to be blizzard like conditions...hmmmm, now whether that is what we will see or not, is anyone's guess!!! LOL! This weekend we had a little snow and I took that opportunity to get out and get this week's Project 52 photo.

The theme for week 3:

SIMPLICITY

My photo:

Everyone knows I DO NOT LOVE SNOW, but this photo just struck me as the perfect selection for this theme.


For everyone who is preparing for this storm, stay safe and cozy!!! Hmmm....maybe I need to enjoy a glass of vino in preparation for this blizzard! ;)  XO

21 January 2015

Reflecting

Soooo we were no longer able to dodge the "sick bug" in our house! BOOOOO!!! It hit me for a few days and it was horrible! I really dislike being sick. Not only did it hit me but it delayed me from getting to start my 21 day fix which I am SUPER stoked to start. I am FINALLY starting to feel human again so as long as I stay good I will definitely be doing that first thing in the AM!!! Now we will sit and wait to see who it strikes next in our house. :( 

Anywhoooooo, so I've been doing some reflecting about all of the good things that have happened since we have been here. (um, yeah I don't do that quite enough because let's face it, it's sooo much more rational easy to be negative! LOL) Seriously, there are some really great things and one started in Arizona and by some weird universe thing ended unbelievably awesome!

Friends from Arizona were visiting their family in New Jersey last year and wanted us to come see them. To make it even better she set up a few different shoots for me to do while we were visiting them. We had such a great day meeting their family and I of course had a blast getting my photography on, but never in a million years could I have predicted what would follow. Our friends flew back to Arizona and I did my editing as I normally would, sent out my discs and then followed up to make sure everyone received them.

When I sent a message to Tina (the sister of our friend in AZ) to make sure she got her pictures and liked them, she immediately responded and asked me if I got her email. Hmmm, email, no I didn't. Thankfully she told me where she sent it because I had just got my new phone and did not have everything transferred over, which made me completely BLANK on checking that email. I immediately found her email and it gave me the BIGGEST smile. She was soooo sweet and basically told me how she knows we only just met but she has a "feeling we'll get to be good friends". It was in that email she invited my family to come spend the weekend at their house to BBQ, drink wine and do some beach pictures!!!!!! WHAT!!!????? Are you serious?!

Now my family is VERY shy. I am the ONLY. LOUD. OUTSPOKEN. person in my house. It was going to take some work to convince them to go spend the weekend with what were basically COMPLETE STRANGERS!!! They all agreed, but were extremely nervous the whole ride there. I was soooo ready for a weekend of fun and not nervous, one little bit. That was by far one of the BEST weekends EVER. We all meshed so well. The kids got along and Tina and I....well we are definitely long lost sisters. We ate, we drank, we went to the beach, we relaxed and we did family pics on the BEACH! From one little shoot came AH-MAZING new friends!!!!!

Since then they have come and spent a weekend with us and now we are already scheduled for another weekend with them. There are no words for how lucky I feel to have got to meet Tina & Bob and their sweet, sweet girls, but then again I adored her brother and sister in law so I shouldn't be so shocked.  It's crazy how sometimes things just work out and in this case they totally worked out. My only low to this story is I wished they lived closer but then again it makes our time with them that much more meaningful. To Ken & Lisa, thank you for introducing us to your fabulously sweet sister and her lovely family. To Tina & Bob, muahhhhh!!! Love you guys so much! Can't wait to see you for our next weekend of memories! XO

And this is WAY WAY WAY over due, but here are some of my favs from their Beach Session!!! Enjoy! XO























18 January 2015

Week 2 - Project 52

Hellooo my lovelies!!! It's been a crazy week, but I made it through! I took my favorite girl out to grab some shots of her this winter and it worked out perfect for this week's theme!!!

The theme for week 2:

COLD


My photo:

Brrrrr it was cold but she ALWAYS pushes through on a shoot for me and she didn't disappoint this time either!


Now to keep up with my goal in shooting more of my own family...I think I can, I think I can!!! ;)  I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! The lesson I learned this weekend is NEVER take your health for granted and ALWAYS listen to your gut.  Here's to a new week!!! :)  XO

15 January 2015

January 15!!??

Good Morning! Can you believe it....January 15th ALREADY!!!??? How does it go soooo fast! Well so far it's been a good start to the year and now I am gearing up to start a Fitness Challenge Group with my beautiful sister! I work out for the stress relief, to just stay in shape and to feel better mentally as well as physically. We all know last year at this time was ROUGH, to say the least! I definitely was not a happy person because adjusting to winter in general was a challenge and then go ahead and throw last winter at me!!! NO WAY! I couldn't deal with one. more. snow. storm. Slowly things got much better and my inner voices of negativity started going away. I could either embrace where I am now in my life or keep wallowing in how much I don't like it here in PA.

I ended up getting a job and met some WONDERFUL ladies who made life here a little more manageable, my photography got A LOT busier, I started a Fitness Challenge Group and I was just happier in general. Although that job was just a stepping stone into the work force, because I ended up finding a position literally 8 MINUTES from my house with yet another group of awesome people!!! Do I still miss Arizona and my life there? ABSOLUTELY.....EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! Do I want to eventually get back there? Ohhhhh I KNOW I WILL!!!! Our hearts are in Arizona and to us it is home, but for now embracing the here and now and enjoying where we are is so important. Nothing is forever and I've definitely learned that in the last 18+ years, but the change doesn't have to be all bad.

Wish me luck on this Fitness Challenge I will be starting a new beach body program the 21 Day Fix!!! Eeeekkkk!!! I hope everyone has a fabulous day!!! It's almost FRIDAY!!!!! XO



09 January 2015

52 Week Project!

Soooo I'm BACK! So far so good! ;)  Hey at least I made it a week in, I could have just forgotten and came back in a few weeks with an apology! LOL! Well in the past I have done the whole 365 project (a photo a day for each day of the year), however, as easy as that seems, sometimes this little lady gets sidetracked, life gets in the way, or any other number of excuses comes up and somehow the project gets pushed to the wayside. I LOVE these type of projects because they really challenge you as a photographer and keep you on your toes practicing, practicing, practicing, which we all know is soooo important! Instead of beating myself up about missing a day etc, I've decided to embrace the 52 week project which seems more manageable, well for me anyway.

The 52 week project has weekly themes and challenges so this should be a fun endeavor! Not only am I going to do the 52 week project but I'm going to attempt to capture more of the 'every day' moments in my own little family. Last year was so insanely busy I feel like I missed out on capturing some of the important memories with my kids/family, so this year I'm putting a fresh foot trigger finger forward and consciously working on that.

The theme for week 1:

RESOLUTION


My photo:

The grain, the light, this girl....LOVE her! Right now she is waiting for the bus, but I need to make sure I enjoy EVERY moment with her because somehow the years are FLYING by and before I know it she will be grown and on her own. 




I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!! XO

02 January 2015

Happy 2015!!!

Seriously....it's the new year!!!??  What the....WHAT!!? So last year as you all know I did a list of 'goals', not resolutions because we all KNOW resolutions are just meant to be broken!!! ;)   I just went back to my post from 2014 and I'm happy to say I really accomplished quite a few on my list so I'm ready to jump start this year off the same!

So without further ado here is my list of GOALS for this year!!!

  • to keep working out at least 4 to 5 days a week  (hey I can't even believe I kept up with it last year, but I did and I kinda LOVE it!)
  • to try and enjoy every moment of every day no matter how much crap gets thrown at us (um, yeah this is a carry over from last year because I feel like it's something I need to remind myself of regularly)
  • to keep shooting every day and capturing more every day moments of my own family
  • to be myself and NOT worry if I’m not like other photographers, not as good, not as experienced etc., just worry about MY work and what I'm doing as a photographer (Another carryover, but this one is so relevant, especially in a market that is soooo saturated it's easy to do the compare game and it's just NOT healthy!)
  • to re-do our laundry room
  • to maintain this BLOG 100 times better than I did last year....for REAL!!! Ugh...I need to commit to posting at LEAST once a week.
That's it for this year! I'm keeping it short and sweet this time around!
I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and New Year's! XO