Sunday, November 1, 2009
One B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-L woman {portraits}
I met for a quick head shot this afternoon with a friend of mine. She's starting this amazing Woman's group this week that I am going to be trying out and needed a new photo of herself for her marketing materials. Tara and I ran down to a nearby favorite spot of mine to snap a few pictures. She brought her daughter too, which is always fun, to have a few "mommy/ daughter" photos. They were both experts and we managed to get out with 50 beautiful shots in less than 30 minutes. Tara...your eyes amaze me! I'm so excited to get to know you better through this Woman's group and you are one B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-L woman! Inside and out.
Good vs. Evil
Last night was Halloween. A typical Saturday, we cleaned and hung out, watched a few movies, until it was time...Time to get ready. Luckily I pulled the box of dress-up and costumes out early enough. Taylor changed her costume 5 times before we finally left the house.
Her friend Anna was going to be coming with us this year. Anna had no costume. Luckily we were able to pull together some great costumes for both Anna and Taylor, good versus evil. In other words, the devil and the angel. Both girls were so happy (FINALLY) with the outcome, that it made their Halloween.
We had a few parties to get too, tons of trick-or-treating to accomplish, so while I was getting my costume on the girls headed out to stock up on candy in our neighborhood. Let me tell you...they TOTALLY scored! 1/4 of their pillowcase treat bags was filled when they came back to get me after only 30 minutes. Those three were on a roll.
Our first stop was a friends "non" costume party. A little strange being one of the only witches in the room, (my costume changed from Little Bo Peep to witch...but it was too cold) I had the moles and black tooth, all witched up, in a room full of jeans and sweaters. We didn't stay long. The kids took the opportunity of mom grabbing herself a "treat" of wine as a sign that they could try to scour this neighborhood for more candy. Another half hour, the kids hit all the available houses on Gwen's street.
We made our way to a few other friends houses, and while the kiddos tried all of those houses, the adults found their treat in a cocktail. This type of Halloween activity makes everyone happy! One particular stop we caught up with Kaci's friend and spent sometime trick-or-treating the typical way. The last house we went to was all decorated, and spooky. Smoke all over the entry and a rather large witch sculpture perfectly placed on her front porch in a rocking chair. Anna and Kaci ran right up to the house, Taylor stayed back, in her typical cautious manor. Our friend walked up with the girls for moral support, (he knew what was coming) they made their way to the door and reached out to ring the bell...the "sculpture" reached out raised both hands in the air and screeched the loudest, scariest scream you have ever heard. I was laughing so hard at this point. Anna had run for her life, Taylor was half way down the block and Kaci was stunned. She was screaming as loud as the witch, but stuck in her own tracks. The poor girl was scared stiff...literally. I know it may be kinda mean, but as a parent watching your kids get the crap scared out of them seemed rather funny, and possibly it could have bee the cocktails, but it was all in fun...I promise. Kaci thought that was the best thing EVER, and loved her frightful experience. Not for even one second did she cry, get upset...nothing. It was great! I have to admit, the lady was so convincing she did startle me, since I was close enough to witness the whole thing.
By the time we made it to the finally party everyone was pretty tired. The girls entertained the adults in line for the bathroom and met all the crazy characters of the evening. It turned out to be quite a memorable experience. They even met the guy in costume known as PAP, or pimply ass patient. A grown man in a hospital gown....only hospital gown. The girls of course were completely scared for life, as they saw him on his way OUT of the party. There was a costume contest and both Taylor and Kaci were making sure the whole crew got paper and pencils to do their voting. The rules were to vote for the favorite character, and included in the thought process was, who stayed in character all night. There was Hank Hill (he won my vote) Roller Derby girl, Jelly Fish, "The Swine Flu" and so many more. Apparently after all of their winning behavior and buttering up the competition, Kaci and her "Mad Scientist, that went so made he went crazy" costume hit the top of the list. Well actually PAP won, but he had left, so the first available runner up, was Miss Kaci Jo. That made her whole year! She got high fives from a group of the guys, and all the cute girls told her they want kids just like her....the girls were in heaven.
It' was a great night for us all, Mom was happy, Kids were happy. This may be a Halloween that tops all others. And the best part...I was able to entertain Taylor enough to keep her wanting to be with us one more year! The girls are already making plans for next year and well see what happens. They still want to do costumes, but next year they want to hand OUT the candy and have a little house party of our own. Sounds good to me, I've been doing this trick-or-treating thing now for 12 years. We've never handed out candy, so the change of Halloween is good one. Cocktails and party at my house next year....mark your calendars!
Her friend Anna was going to be coming with us this year. Anna had no costume. Luckily we were able to pull together some great costumes for both Anna and Taylor, good versus evil. In other words, the devil and the angel. Both girls were so happy (FINALLY) with the outcome, that it made their Halloween.
We had a few parties to get too, tons of trick-or-treating to accomplish, so while I was getting my costume on the girls headed out to stock up on candy in our neighborhood. Let me tell you...they TOTALLY scored! 1/4 of their pillowcase treat bags was filled when they came back to get me after only 30 minutes. Those three were on a roll.
Our first stop was a friends "non" costume party. A little strange being one of the only witches in the room, (my costume changed from Little Bo Peep to witch...but it was too cold) I had the moles and black tooth, all witched up, in a room full of jeans and sweaters. We didn't stay long. The kids took the opportunity of mom grabbing herself a "treat" of wine as a sign that they could try to scour this neighborhood for more candy. Another half hour, the kids hit all the available houses on Gwen's street.
We made our way to a few other friends houses, and while the kiddos tried all of those houses, the adults found their treat in a cocktail. This type of Halloween activity makes everyone happy! One particular stop we caught up with Kaci's friend and spent sometime trick-or-treating the typical way. The last house we went to was all decorated, and spooky. Smoke all over the entry and a rather large witch sculpture perfectly placed on her front porch in a rocking chair. Anna and Kaci ran right up to the house, Taylor stayed back, in her typical cautious manor. Our friend walked up with the girls for moral support, (he knew what was coming) they made their way to the door and reached out to ring the bell...the "sculpture" reached out raised both hands in the air and screeched the loudest, scariest scream you have ever heard. I was laughing so hard at this point. Anna had run for her life, Taylor was half way down the block and Kaci was stunned. She was screaming as loud as the witch, but stuck in her own tracks. The poor girl was scared stiff...literally. I know it may be kinda mean, but as a parent watching your kids get the crap scared out of them seemed rather funny, and possibly it could have bee the cocktails, but it was all in fun...I promise. Kaci thought that was the best thing EVER, and loved her frightful experience. Not for even one second did she cry, get upset...nothing. It was great! I have to admit, the lady was so convincing she did startle me, since I was close enough to witness the whole thing.
By the time we made it to the finally party everyone was pretty tired. The girls entertained the adults in line for the bathroom and met all the crazy characters of the evening. It turned out to be quite a memorable experience. They even met the guy in costume known as PAP, or pimply ass patient. A grown man in a hospital gown....only hospital gown. The girls of course were completely scared for life, as they saw him on his way OUT of the party. There was a costume contest and both Taylor and Kaci were making sure the whole crew got paper and pencils to do their voting. The rules were to vote for the favorite character, and included in the thought process was, who stayed in character all night. There was Hank Hill (he won my vote) Roller Derby girl, Jelly Fish, "The Swine Flu" and so many more. Apparently after all of their winning behavior and buttering up the competition, Kaci and her "Mad Scientist, that went so made he went crazy" costume hit the top of the list. Well actually PAP won, but he had left, so the first available runner up, was Miss Kaci Jo. That made her whole year! She got high fives from a group of the guys, and all the cute girls told her they want kids just like her....the girls were in heaven.
It' was a great night for us all, Mom was happy, Kids were happy. This may be a Halloween that tops all others. And the best part...I was able to entertain Taylor enough to keep her wanting to be with us one more year! The girls are already making plans for next year and well see what happens. They still want to do costumes, but next year they want to hand OUT the candy and have a little house party of our own. Sounds good to me, I've been doing this trick-or-treating thing now for 12 years. We've never handed out candy, so the change of Halloween is good one. Cocktails and party at my house next year....mark your calendars!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
KPOV community radio show {publicity}
Just for fun, the new home page of my boudoir website...to be launched soon!
I received an email from a friend a few weeks ago. She's a volunteer at the local non-profit radio station here in Bend. Being the great friend she is, she wrote a note to me, and one of the radio personalities who does a show she thought might boost some business for me.
The odds of me actually being on a radio show seemed low, although a great opportunity....YEAH right! Another few weeks went by, still no word from Aylette (our radio wonder woman/ radio talk show host) The dream quickly died for me and I moved on from the thought of everyone hearing me speak. After all...what could I possibly have to say of any interest.
One normal morning, I pulled myself out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and began the daunting task of checking my emails. I'm not that popular, but being a business owner I have seemed to end up on every junk mail list on the planet.
Nothing too important, an order or two...GREAT. Then, there I saw it....an email from Aylette, asking if I would be a guest on her show! OH NO....I completely forgot I'm deathly afraid of public speaking!
Ive been wanting to conquer a few fears lately, so I guess this is it....I'm going on the radio. Alyette wanted to make this comfortable and easy for me. We met up last Sunday to pre-record the show, that way in case I was at a loss of words, she could just take that part out.
The first few minutes were hard, but I tried to forget about the hundreds of people who could potentially listen to this. I cringed at the sound of my voice...I can't possibly sound this ridiculous in real life...can I? Once that shock wore off, I actually started to think I sound pretty great, and the things that just flew out of my mouth were almost incredible. Alyette is so excited about the subject that we fell into, no one knew what would come out of our interview. Insecurities, and self doubt that everyone feel at some point, and why I love what I do. The gift I feel I give to people, and what society has done to young girls self worth. For the rest you will just have to tune in. I hope it all flows together in the end, I'm really excited to hear it finished.
So, for all of you out-of-town-ers...no worries, they actually stream this stuff live on the web. Just click on the link below at 4:30, tomorrow, Friday the 30th. Please leave me feedback. I'd love to know what you all think.
Follow me to KPOV!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Annual Harvest Party
This time of year is a fun one. I've always enjoyed dressing up, in an imaginative costume, giving you the permission to be a little crazy. A few weeks ago one of the teachers at Kaci's school asked me about our costumes for the annual Harvest Party at school. He said we were a big Halloween family. This is not a thought that has ever crossed my mind...Big Halloween Family...well, Ok.
It's not too long after the shock of school starting wears off, that the ideas around here start forming as to what this years costume of choice will be. The kids change their minds two or three times and then we finally set out on a scavenger hunt for the pieces to put together our Halloween outfit.
One of my favorite school activities has become the Harvest Party. The entire school community gets dolled up...even the parents, costume contest and all. I usually am behind the camera at the costume photo booth, but this gives me an opportunity to check out all of the competition.
At the end of an exhausting night, I plop myself and my aching feet onto the futon outside the front office of the school, drool at the teacher I have myself a little crush on and anxiously await the kids to cash in all of their tickets for an array of useless prizes and trinkets that end up in the garbage, sometimes before the night is even over.
This year was no different. Taylor came over soon after the crowds had left, sits down next to me and says, "Mom, I think I want to change my costume...." just like she does every year. One thing I have always said is..."It's nice to know my kids are consistent. In all they do, there is consistency, and this years scramble for a second "great" Halloween costume is no different. After sporting her "amazing" Little Red Riding Hood, Taylor has decided on "Dead Ballerina" as of this evening...we'll see if she actually pulls it off.
It's not too long after the shock of school starting wears off, that the ideas around here start forming as to what this years costume of choice will be. The kids change their minds two or three times and then we finally set out on a scavenger hunt for the pieces to put together our Halloween outfit.
One of my favorite school activities has become the Harvest Party. The entire school community gets dolled up...even the parents, costume contest and all. I usually am behind the camera at the costume photo booth, but this gives me an opportunity to check out all of the competition.
At the end of an exhausting night, I plop myself and my aching feet onto the futon outside the front office of the school, drool at the teacher I have myself a little crush on and anxiously await the kids to cash in all of their tickets for an array of useless prizes and trinkets that end up in the garbage, sometimes before the night is even over.
This year was no different. Taylor came over soon after the crowds had left, sits down next to me and says, "Mom, I think I want to change my costume...." just like she does every year. One thing I have always said is..."It's nice to know my kids are consistent. In all they do, there is consistency, and this years scramble for a second "great" Halloween costume is no different. After sporting her "amazing" Little Red Riding Hood, Taylor has decided on "Dead Ballerina" as of this evening...we'll see if she actually pulls it off.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The colors of fall {portrait}
This Saturday the kids and I piled into the photo mobile and headed down to one of the parks in town. This particular park is a photographers dream in the fall, with the beautiful aspens and the bright orange trees. It won't take long to run into another photographer here with a family dressed in their fall colors. I think we passed at least a dozen of them this morning. Each time the kids whispered..."Mom, there's another photographer...is her/his camera nicer than yours?"
We all say our hellos and secretly check out the equipment that photographer is toting, while we try to find our spot that no one has taken over yet.
As with all our attempts at a new family picture, the kids were mostly uncooperative, but it does make for some fun candid shots. I tend to get a lot of laughter and on the outside these kids seems like they are having the best time ever! While this is sometimes the case, it was not this morning.
I had grabbed a coat out of the closet, knowing I was going to need it. It wasn't cold, just a little chilly, and I've finally gotten to the point that I will sacrifice style for some warmth here in the fall and winters. To my surprise, when I put on the coat at the park....this was not my coat. I had grabbed Taylors, and since they are both black, it was an easy mistake. At least the sun was out on Saturday.
We started our walk and let me tell you, I got every last smile those kids had hiding anywhere in their being. There were tears towards the end, mostly by me...no Just kidding, probably Taylor...but she cries REAL easy these days. It was a beautiful walk, in the gorgeous fall weather, in a photographers playground.
Thanks kids, for the laughs, and tears, and the tad bit of cooperation somewhere in there to give us another set of amazing photos. Are my kids just "that" good looking?? Or am I just "that" good??
We all say our hellos and secretly check out the equipment that photographer is toting, while we try to find our spot that no one has taken over yet.
As with all our attempts at a new family picture, the kids were mostly uncooperative, but it does make for some fun candid shots. I tend to get a lot of laughter and on the outside these kids seems like they are having the best time ever! While this is sometimes the case, it was not this morning.
I had grabbed a coat out of the closet, knowing I was going to need it. It wasn't cold, just a little chilly, and I've finally gotten to the point that I will sacrifice style for some warmth here in the fall and winters. To my surprise, when I put on the coat at the park....this was not my coat. I had grabbed Taylors, and since they are both black, it was an easy mistake. At least the sun was out on Saturday.
We started our walk and let me tell you, I got every last smile those kids had hiding anywhere in their being. There were tears towards the end, mostly by me...no Just kidding, probably Taylor...but she cries REAL easy these days. It was a beautiful walk, in the gorgeous fall weather, in a photographers playground.
Thanks kids, for the laughs, and tears, and the tad bit of cooperation somewhere in there to give us another set of amazing photos. Are my kids just "that" good looking?? Or am I just "that" good??
Happy Fall my faithful readers!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
2009 Holiday Card Templates! {templates}
I' have finally come up with a few fun templates for your holiday card needs. I've made it SUPER easy this year, with mix and match fronts and backs....
"Romantically Chic"
This is the only design that has it's own back.
As for the rest....pick your favorite front and choose from two backs...it's THAT easy!
"Simply Chic"
"Cheerfully Chic"
"Elegantly Chic"
then choose your back design....
All colors on the back templates are fully customizable...that means I will change the colors to match your front design. It's really that simple. You can also change the text on your cards....Pick a fun Holiday saying of your choice. Just make sure to let me know.
So, this year, leave ALL the hard work up to me!
"Romantically Chic"
This is the only design that has it's own back.
As for the rest....pick your favorite front and choose from two backs...it's THAT easy!
"Simply Chic"
"Cheerfully Chic"
"Elegantly Chic"
then choose your back design....
All colors on the back templates are fully customizable...that means I will change the colors to match your front design. It's really that simple. You can also change the text on your cards....Pick a fun Holiday saying of your choice. Just make sure to let me know.
So, this year, leave ALL the hard work up to me!
On the wrong end of the camera....
I think there is some truth to the saying that "most" photographers enjoy being behind the camera. This is definitely true for me. I'm uncomfortable, I feel awkward, and I just don't really like it. While this is completely a true statement, I also believe that in my case, it is important to see how the other half live, and have a little sympathy for my clients. So I will endure the pain of having my portraits done...every once in while.
Yesterday I met up with a photographer friend of mine, and the ever so talented, Kristi Eckburg, and had a few new photos done for the website. We also practiced a new off camera flash technique, and had a great time. Thank you Krisiti! The photos are beautiful. The fact that I found three I liked is somewhat amazing...I never like photos of myself. Well...it's a rare occasion to say the least.
So, you'll see these on the website soon, but here are the great photos of, none other than.....ME!
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