Misconceptions!

Well helllooo! Thank you for coming back after my personal "vomit" post the other day! LOL! Sometimes you just have to be honest and put yourself out there and you have all been so supportive so it's not as scary! What's this post about you ask? Well you know in the past I've said how social media is good AND bad and that sometimes it gives people the wrong impression of others and their "perfect" life? Same thing, but I want to put it into perspective that I think people look at people who may have NEVER had a weight issue and just say to themselves 'she has no idea what it's like to struggle', 'she's never had to deal with this or that'... YES, you are absolutely right. I was dealt a lucky hand of genetic genes in which I have NEVER had a weight problem, BUT I don't care who you are or how good others think you look, unless YOU are happy with yourself and I mean 100% happy with yourself there is ALWAYS something you want/wish you could change!


There are only a handful of people out there who have an ABUNDANCE of self confidence and um, yeah this girl here is NOT one of them. I have always tried my best to be "healthier" but I would start and keep with it a week or maybe 2 and fall off the wagon oh, you know one, two a million consecutive times, start back up and do it all over again. I think once you start getting older and you have kids you realize that it's sooooo much more than "looking better", it's about wanting to be around to share in their lives. There are people who look at me and say 'I would never want to be that skinny',  oh I hear ya....I wish I had CURVES. I evidently got the short stick in the chest & hips department, but it is what it is. I have to learn to LOVE myself and the body I was given. My all time favorite judgement line 'she must not eat' (this little beauty of a comment goes ALL the way back to my early twenties not to mention these little comments are just as HURTFUL as putting someone down over being heavier). One thing I have NEVER done, is starve myself. Please contact my boss from Florida who will tell you I used to base our work days while we were traveling on where we were going to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner!  I LOVE me some food! I have a SWEET tooth! I LOVE wine! I guess my point is it doesn't matter if someone has had weight struggles their whole life or if they are just naturally thin, EVERYONE has their own struggle they are dealing with and unless you walk a day in their shoes, try very hard NOT to judge or preconceive what or who you think they are before REALLY knowing them.

So am I head over heels in love with myself now? NOPE! But all I know is that I'm approaching 29 39, ooops, slip of the finger on the keys there and I want to be the healthiest, BEST version of ME! ;) There will ALWAYS be people who doubt you, put you down, judge you, so it's up to you to put on your big girl panties, smile and prove them wrong and do what you gotta do for YOU!  I will be putting together my first Fitness Challenge Group in the next few weeks so if you think you are ready to make a change whether it's a BIG one or small baby steps or maybe you are trying to stay off that medicine the Dr has you on and you want the help and accountability of other women like you please message me. These groups have changed my life, changed my perspective and are making me feel alive again!!! Happy Tuesday!  XO

Health Scares Lead to a New SCARY Adventure!!

Happy Sunday loves! Well I have been sitting here stewing over this decision and I'm finally just going to take the chance and make the jump! So here's my story. Obviously I have been having some health crap going on now for the last couple months and it just reaffirmed for me how REALLY short this life is. About a month or so ago I woke up and had lost vision in my right eye! Um, SCARY, really scary! Hellllllooooo I'm a photographer, I kind of need my eyes! Long story short my blood pressure had gotten sooo high it caused a retinal hemorrhage and swelling of my arteries. The back end to this is that around the end of November my PCP thought it was time to see if I could go off the bp meds and honestly I was ALL for it. Not taking meds was like a DREAM for me and I was totally game. Well, the blood pressure is OBVIOUSLY genetic, so that is here to stay no matter how much I LOVE hate it! This all led to a bunch more testing in which I had the Carotid Artery Ultrasound that I mentioned in a previous post, yeah well those who have known me my whole life would drop over to find out that pesky little test showed tortuous arteries with PLAQUE build up in them!!!!!??? Are you freaking kidding me!?

To say I was EXTREMELY frustrated and upset was an understatement. I have always thrived to be a healthier person and make good decisions etc and to hear this was so upsetting. Then my doctor put it into perspective and said 'If you weren't doing what you are doing, we would have a VERY different situation to talk about'. This past Friday I had a follow up with her on my latest round of blood work and she was BLOWN away by my cholesterol! She said she can't get over how my numbers are even better than the recommended!!! I seriously could have CRIED because I was waiting for her to tell me that I needed meds for that too and I was going to LOSE it!  My cholesterol has always been teetering on not good, being saved by the skin of my teeth by the good portion. So this time to hear it was FABULOUS made me want to jump up and kiss hug her!!!

Where am I going with all this?....well as you all know I have been doing Fitness Challenge Groups with my sister for the last few months and have been LOVING the workouts!!! Then this health crap just CONFIRMED for me that my healthier lifestyle is working and keeping me around! She has mentioned to me before about becoming a Beach Body Coach and I just didn't know/think I could do it, but if I can help ONE person understand that working out and making healthier choices isn't JUST about being tiny, or looking great it's about being a HEALTHIER you!! I want to be around for my family and basically if I wasn't working out or eating "healthier" I would be a stroke waiting to happen! People need to see that it's not just about the scale or that they have never been "small", it's about keeping your heart healthy and being the BEST version of YOU and for me this was an eye opener! I've always been the one that people look at and say 'she doesn't need to work out', 'she's never had to worry about anything'....etc., WRONGO....No, I'm the one with high blood pressure and arteries filled with PLAQUE, if that isn't a wake up call then I don't know what is. 

So, after going back and forth about this and deciding if I'm afraid of failing at it or if I just want to put myself out there, yep, I'm going to do it! What do I have to lose? Everything is always scary at first....photography was scary but I did it and I feel grateful and lucky EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. because of it! Stay tuned because I will be starting my own Fitness Challenge Group here soon and I would love to have you along, so message me if you think you may be interested. XO

Coffee Talk!

Hellooo my lovely followers! It's our favorite day of the week.....(ok, WELLLL next to Friday, of course) Time to catch up with our coffee talk!

5 Random Thoughts:

1 - Thank you so much for the sweet words on my blog makeover! I LOVED getting all of the positive feedback, it meant the world! The new look was definitely needed and I'm really liking it!

2 - Update on the new Laundry Room - yep, I still HEART that little space like nobody's business! Another positive...getting to check that off my goal list for this year.

3 - I'm bouncing off the walls wondering if  this Auntie is going to have a handsome little nephew or another precious niece but my sister and brother in law have will power like no other!!!! Ugh! They want to be SURPRISED! What?! Come on now, just let Auntie Mel know so she can start her shopping spree......purty please!

4 - I'm already in weekend mode because Saturday is FONDUE night with friends that we literally have not hung out with for OVER A YEAR! Unacceptable! Entertaining is my thing, I truly enjoy it and in AZ we constantly were having get togethers. I sooo missed that when I was "Debbie Downer", but now that I have a new mindset and things are turning around it feels good to have things to look forward to. :)

5 - Ohhhh how I love when my photography calendar fills up!!! It's been a busy week of getting peeps booked especially for these next 2 months and I'm jumping up and down with excitement! Lots of repeat clients (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!) and lots of new ones! LOVE you all! Muahhh!

Ok, it was a quick one this week. I'm busy editing sessions and have been sidetracked with testing and Dr's appts. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO to that, so I am playing catch up! Message me if you want in on the spring sessions and have an awesome Thursday! XO

(This couldn't be MORE true!!! I just caught up with my NJ bestie/long lost sister over a cup of coffee yesterday morning and it felt PERFECT!)

Enjoy The Little Things.....like a Laundry Room Makeover!!

The Laundry Room Makeover is DONE!! (well mostly, still have a few little tweaks to make and a couple more accessories but basically DONE) To say I'm in LOVE would be an understatement! Ok first off I will say this may not be a big deal to some (a few laundry room changes, who cares? Right!?) but for anyone who knows me, like really knows me, I was an Interior Design Asst for 5+ years in Florida and nothing makes my heart pitter patter more than making my house cute!! (Well besides photography! Of course! )  The laundry room in our current house is sometimes the main entry for guests if they don't feel like walking around to the front door or they aren't sure which door to go to, so I HATED how drab and gross it was! It's the first room peeps see and it wasn't living up to my expectation!  Paint was a HUGE change! It made a world of difference! Shelving was a must and there may or may not have been sweet bad words thrown around during the hanging of the shelves! LOL  The little decor elements make it home, make it me and that's what matters most to me! I did get my sparkly light and YEP totally crushing over it!!  ❤️❤️❤️.  After my last little tweaks etc, I may never stop doing laundry!!!! Have a fabulous day!!!

Here is the before (it wasn't very exciting so there are only a couple pics, because you can EASILY get the point of how BORING it was!) OH, and you are just lucky enough to get phone pics because I was way too busy to be pulling out the big camera this weekend! SORRY! ;)

The AFTER!!!

 Getting the laundry baskets up and out of the way was a MUST!

Hubby raised his eyebrow at my laundry detergent...he's a guy, he doesn't understand! LOL!

 

The key holder/morning inspiration board! XO

 Seriously, it can't surprise you....you know I'm GIRLY! ;)

Enjoy the little things and that's EXACTLY what I'm doing!!!XO

Ryleigh is 9 Months Old!

Happy Sunday my Lovelies! I promised I would be back sometime this weekend with a shoot that can only be summed up with one, ok a million words, but let's just sum it up with freaking ADORABLE!!!!! This little bundle of LOVE started walking BEFORE she was 9 months old! WHAT?! Yep, you heard me right, the girl is a serious OVER ACHIEVER! She is one of the happiest little ladies I know and her shoots are ALWAYS a blast! Her Mom is head over heels in LOVE and really, could you blame her?

Ryleigh you are going to be a heart breaker! Thank you for another memorable shoot. Here are some of my favs of you and all your preciousness! XO

A New Look & Some Overdue Coffee Talk!

Hellllllooooo NEW blog!!! Ahhhhh it's a day late for coffee talk BUT so worth it!!! So without further delay here is COFFEE TALK for this week!

5 Random Thoughts:

1- My new blog design....helllooooo GORGEOUS! Clean, simple, pretty...EEEK! I am so thrilled with it. I guess everything happens for a reason and maybe it was just time for an update. I still have some "tweaks" to make on it, but all in good time. (I'm learning that everything doesn't have to happen IMMEDIATELY) LOL!

2 - Well it's the first day of Winter, oops SPRING (it's hard to decipher the difference when there is WHITE CRAP falling from the sky!)  I have no more words for this event happening today. (none worth sharing..I am a lady after all)  ;)

3 - I am tackling another one of my 2015 goals this weekend and the anticipation of seeing the final product is killing me! We are re-doing our Laundry Room and I may or may not be like a little kid on Christmas Eve! It may seem silly to some to even bother with doing something with that particular room, but with the layout of our house a lot of times our guests come thru that way, so I want it to be pretty. Before/After pics will follow next week.

4 - Lemon Water- I'm sure you all have seen all the recent hype on the benefits of drinking warm lemon water. Wellllll I'm jumping on the bandwagon and trying it out so I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

5 - I've been throwing my family for a loop and have been whipping up a bunch of new healthy meals these last couple of weeks.  It feels great to be eating better this year. I truly feel a difference in my energy level between the working out and healthier eating choices. ;)

Thanks so much for your patience while my blog went thru a "facelift"! I will be back this weekend with the adorable shoot that I have been promising you (in between laundry room fun of course!)  Just a reminder I am booking for spring/summer shoots now so if you know you are interested in a shoot just message me and we will get you on the books.

Happy "Spring"! XO

A Beautiful Mommy to Be!!!

Hi my loves! As promised here is my maternity session from this past weekend. I had the pleasure of having gone to high school with Shannon and we got to reconnect on facebook but haven't really seen each other since then, so when she contacted me for pictures I was tickled pink! I never like to assume because I know someone that they will definitely use me as their photographer. I also know it's a saturated market and almost EVERYONE 'knows' a photographer, so I never set myself up for disappointment and then I'm SUPER DUPER excited if they do pick me! :)

 I couldn't have been happier to get to capture these memories for two people who have been thru a whole heck of a lot to get pregnant. I remember the day she made the announcement on facebook. My face just lit up for them because I know how badly they wanted this little baby! They are going to be AH-MAZING parents!  Ok, enough of the blubbering from me...Here are some of my favs from our session. Shannon and Jason, thank you so much letting me take part in these memories for you and for the fun (even if we were "tripping" over SNOW) LOL!

The look on both of their faces here seriously melts my heart. You can just FEEL the love!

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm starting to book up for spring so if you are interested in a spring/summer session please contact me so I can get you on the books! XO

Coffee Talk!

Helloooo my lovelies! Ahhhh it has been a WEEK since I have been on here! I've missed you all! Ok, so I really planned on getting on here more since my last post, but after my weekend away I got hit with that darn NASTY stomach bug! UGH! Anywhooooo, I will be getting my 2 recent shoots on here shortly....I pinky promise! But first things first....Coffee Talk Thursday!

4 Random Thoughts:

1 - Helllllloooo SPRING! OMG....where have you been?! Oh yes, buried under the snow, but now you have shown your purty little face and sprinkled us with 50+ degree temps!!! Wooo Hooo! Seriously I feel like I live in AZ...break out the flip flops, gone are the jackets! Now let's hope this continues because I am ready for GREEN & FLOWERS!!!

2 - You never realize how important fitness and health are until you are faced head on with it. I had a doctor's appt this past Friday and when I left there my head was spinning, I was frustrated and had lots of other emotions going on. However, what I came out of there realizing is thank goodness I LOVE my new workout and the new healthier lifestyle my family is following this year or I could be in a whole HEAP of trouble. So I'm going to keep pushing along because that is what I need to do for myself and for my family.

3 - Sometimes you just look around and need to realize how extremely lucky you are....that is all. :)

4 - Got to spend my girls weekend with the bestie and it did NOT disappoint! Lots of laughs, lots of baby cuddles, cocktails, hours catching up and even squeezed in some sister time too! We may or may not have went and saw Fifty Shades...(hey, don't judge, I knew it wasn't going to be award worthy but I was committed! LOL)


Just think it's almost FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the rest of your week! XO

Coffee Talk!

Helloo Helloooo!!! It's Coffee Talk Thursday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and staying safe in this ABSOLUTELY ABSURD weather. (insert bad word/mean face here) 

5 Random Thoughts:

1 - So of course the weather is a drag, but I'm holding out hope that SPRING is on it's way. Grass, green, flowers, sun....PLEASE! Just keep chanting the 2 famous lines 'I think I can, I think I can' and 'Just keep shoveling swimming' (sorry slip of the tongue there!)

2 - Trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I've been dealing with headaches, dizzy spells, blurred vision now for awhile and I'm JUST ABOUT DONE WITH IT!!! However there is ALWAYS someone going thru something FAR worse so I'm keeping positive and keeping up with my workouts to stay as healthy as I possibly can. This too shall pass.

3 -

"HEALTHY" Cookie Dough??! WHAT?  Yep, I made this little treat yesterday because I am an absolute sucker for Cookie Dough ANYTHING! I totally heart it! Of course we know it's TERRIBLE for you! So I tried this out and I'm still deciding how I like it. LOL! I think I need to tweak some things but it definitely has potential. I'll let you know if I perfect it! ;)
(Excuse the phone pic)

4 - I'm so ready for spring/summer clothes. Yes, that is all. I'm DONE with the boots, scarfs, sweaters.....it was "fun" while it lasted and now I'm OVER it.

5 - Another getaway weekend with my bestie and her family this weekend. EEEEKKKK! I can't WAIT to squeeze my little niece! We haven't seen them since the middle of December so I am having total withdrawals! I LOVE LOVE LOVE little weekends away and am so fortunate that we get to do so many.

Stay tuned for sneak peeks next week from my shoots this weekend!!! Also, if you or someone you know is pregnant and is interested in a newborn shoot please message me BEFORE the bundle of joy arrives so we can get you on the calendar. It's never too early to book your newborn shoot. :) XO

Weekend Memories!

Hellloooo loves! The weekend we had been waiting for, excitement built up for, total anticipation for....yep, OVER already!!! :(  So very bittersweet. They are absolutely one of the sweetest families we have ever met and by far the BEST hosts! We ate sooooo many YUMMY DELISH meals, drank wonderful wines and tried some new concoctions....um, yeah I will be hitting my 21 DAY FIX  HARD this week! LOL!

There were late nights, relaxing, movies, lots of laughs, throw backs of some 'back in the day music', catching up and oh yeah our next visit booked on the calendar! :) YAY! Something to look forward to is ALWAYS nice! Here are some highlights from our trip!!!

At first I felt some guilt about missing out on my workout. Seriously I have not missed 1 work out in 6 WEEKS!! (7 days a WEEK!) WHAT??!! I know, I know, totally not like me but I am so proud of how well I am doing this year and it's been a great change in lifestyle for not only me but our whole family.  However, I refuse to NOT eat or drink because I am living a healthier lifestyle. I totally  believe everything in MODERATION. If I can't get together with friends every once in awhile and enjoy some indulgences then what is the POINT?!  When I got home and once I was settled in and unpacked I napped got my workout in! Woo Hoo!!! I may or may not have napped as well, but that's neither here nor there! ;) Tomorrow starts the workouts for my second Fitness Challenge Group and I am ready to take that head on. Life is short, embrace it & enjoy it! XO