Life As I Know It

really quick ten on tuesday.

1. happy december! i cannot believe it is here already. this year has gone by so fast.

2. methinks i have a case of the holiday blues or just blues period. 

3. for the first time in many years, my house is not decked by december 1st. normally i bust out christmas deco in full force right after thanksgiving, but this year there just wasn't time or opportunity. i'm hoping to make it by the end of the week.

4. will be busy editing and ordering until the middle of the month and then i will shoot a wedding (my SIL's) - i haven't done one in forever - i might start doing them though again - people are always getting married, right? and it will help keep business steady.

5. ry and i cut way back this christmas. we are just doing gifts for the kids.

6. i'm refusing to turn on the heat for as long as possible. it's been 70 everyday during the day and the lowest the thermostat has reached is 64. ryan is totally making fun of me every chance he gets but he will thank me later when he sees the bill. although, i might have to give in soon. it's 39 degrees outside right now.

7. this is the 2nd all-nighter i have pulled in a row. i'm totally dragging. i think it would be prudent for me to sleep a little bit today.

8. i need to be shipped off to a "f" camp. i've gained a few. i don't know why i keep doing he whole yo-yo thing. it's like torture.

9. i wish i could read people's minds. i would really like to know what they are thinking. the good or the bad.

10.too tired for ten - this will have to do.

good night or good morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

" Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of Thanksgiving."

                                                                            -W.T. Purkiser

 

Wishing you all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

today or i guess rather yesterday.

i seriously need to get caught up on posting, so i will start with right now and work my way backwards.

at the current moment, i am editing. this being one of my busiest times of the year, if i am not otherwise obligated, i am editing. i was way behind on editing as i had the hard drive on the family Mac (gasp, i could hardly believe it myself) crash and so i've had to let my kids and husband use my Mac for school projects and things which has left me very limited time to get my own work done.

along with it being the holiday busy season, my 3 younger ones have been all on track break for the whole month of November, my youngest got baptized and started scouts, the kids all wrapped up soccer season with tournament and end of season parties and things, we spoke in church, we've been doing service here and there, and Ry has been super busy with work, church, and Scouting for Food.

the highlights though of my month thus far though have been a trip to Chicago to visit one of my closest friends and meet her new little baby

and to see New Moon with a bunch of girlfriends.

i saw it twice.

yesterday was a bit crazy. on Monday, my friend Erin and I swapped kids for sleepovers as her son is best friends with my son Zack and the twins are good friends with her daughter.  in the morning, i had a hard time getting the boys up and going, but we finally got around to it and drove almost to utah to aliante to the "dinosaur park" for park day with some friends who are also on track break.

this park was pretty cool. it had a large fake triceratops buried with its bones by the sand box and a giant playground structure and a really cool waterfall and duck pond.  it would be a really cool spot to do a family session and come play again but it is seriously far! 40 miles or so from my house.

 

 

i was just standing around talking with friends when i noticed the boys had gone over to the one duck pond.

 

 

i love these two pictures. a lot. i feel blessed that Zack has a good friend in Austin.  he's a great kid.

after we left the park, i went to get gas to make the trek home and got the boys some food from a drive-thru.  30 minutes later i was at my friend Erin's house where we traded kids back.

i dropped my kids home and then headed back out to Summerlin to meet a client for a session. i loved the private park we went to.  it had large trees with gorgeous fall leaves which are just starting to fall.  this is my very favorite shot from the session. . .

 

the dog has been sick for awhile and my clients wanted some nice portraits of their beloved dog. i had so many cool shots from this session. i will have to share more in the future.

after i wrapped up the session, i raced home to hit the post office to ship some stuff out to clients and then home to do some previews for my client and get more editing done

this is the session i am working on wrapping up. so many great shots in this one. i love the colors.

i took a break from editing to take my oldest to the store to get stuff for her Biology project - she had to make a food ensemble that modeled a cell.  she chose to do a fruit pizza.

got home to cook dinner, print stuff out for my SIL's bridal shower, and get my daughter started on her project.

ate dinner with just my kids as ryan was still working, dropped madison off at YW, and then headed over to my SIL Jen's house for my other SIL Jo's bridal shower. it was nice to see some family i hadn't seen in awhile and Jen made an amazing berry trifle.

came home from the bridal shower to help maddie finish up her fruit pizza project and with math. sat down with Ryan for 40 minutes to watch a show and just be together and take pause and then headed back into my office to get more editing done and now i sit here and blog.

most days are pretty much like this. tomorrow i got a haircut for Zack, kid projects to supervise and help wrap up which are due monday when we go back to school, a bunch more editing, a shoot out at the Boneyard, a bunch of file moving to do, and cleaning (my house is embarrassing at the moment) and a million other little things.

Thanksgiving i plan to take pause to spend time with my family, take a nice afternoon nap, and maybe even catch a movie.

and then it's back at it.

so yeah, life is busy. but fun. and sometimes not. i do feel really blessed and for that i am extremely grateful.

ttys~

the current state of mind.

random thoughts . . .

had one computer down and one running painfully SLOW this week. not a good thing when you have a lot of work to do.

and so i'm behind.

and been working really hard to get caught up every spare moment i've had which has been little.

i'm editing a lot. and this week will be shooting a lot. and designing a lot. and helping with kid school projects a lot.

and trying really hard to still make time to serve and help and do things for other people - because i believe a little help goes a long way - and because it makes me happy - and trying to teach my kids to look for opportunities to do so also. even if it is something really small.

had kids busy with sports - twins just wrapped up tournament and were the champions again!  i am so proud of my kids. it is worth all the driving around and watching and cheering on. the joy i see transpire on their faces as they play a game they love makes it worth it.

feeling so old. my oldest went to her first church dance. feel so so old when i talk to people about something i remember when i was a kid and they have no idea what i am talking about because they weren't even born yet. hoping i don't look old though. my mom looks way younger than her years. hoping that gene got passed down to me.

bugs me when people don't care about anything but themselves. or they think i don't have a life nor the right to enjoy it.

need sleep. i got a solid night's sleep once last week. it was amazing. i am hoping for a repeat this week.

hoping to get a card sent out this year. i haven't the past 3yrs. so sad i know. been too busy. gonna make the time this year. 

i don't like my to-do list. still don't like mondays. and laundry.

trying to be grateful. everyday. for all that i have. the ups and the downs.

good night.

feet.

hoping for sunshine.

in my soul today. for at this late hour, i feel the dark clouds rolling in and it is not pleasant.

santa baby + fave vampires

just taking a moment out of my crazy busy-ness to share this -

 

how cute is this little guy?  how i love little babies!

just been up to shooting and designing cards and gifts for clients - took a trip to chicago to visit one of my very very best friends - and trying to prepare for the upcoming holidays

will be posting lots and lots soon ~ i've got quite a bit to catch up on!

ttyl.

p.s. regarding my favorite vampire . . .

while edward is great and sparkly and all and damon is cute too and stefan is very very likeable (he would be my 2nd favorite), my favorite vampire is . . .

 

Eric.

so Jen Reil, you win!  you will have to e-mail me and let me know how to get something to you in Canada.

how do you find the time?

i posted this question on facebook and figured i would post it here too because i can't seem to find the answer.

"i want to know how some moms seem to have enough time because lately it seems like i am always running out - i don't even sleep and i still don't have enough time - how do you do it?"

happy birthday little dude.

just want to take a minute to give a birthday shout-out to my favorite little man in my life. 

happy 8th birthday Zack!

 

i can't believe my baby is 8 and getting baptized and going to scouts and everything.  i am so trying not to cry.  he is growing up too fast!

can see it on your floor, wrongway. lift your head up, WeDnESday confessions.

1. Dug the YW in Excellence Program that was given last night in my ward.  The theme was "The Worth of (Soles) is Great".  Each of the leaders and the girls brought a different shoe and talked about how the shoe fit their personality.  The one that stuck out in my mind was the leader who got up to talk about the value of Choice and Accountability.  She talked about how we all love shoes and that there are some shoes that are just beautiful and gorgeous and the ones that everyone talks about and asks where you got them.  However at the end of the day, we find that our feet our sore and blistered and in pain.  Does that make the beautiful shoes worth it?  The whole idea is that we need to think about the choices we make and how we are accountable for them.

2. we have had the most gorgeous weather the past few days. 75 degrees. sunny. no wind. clear. the kind of weather that just makes you want to stay outside and play.

3. i have a slight fascination with vampires. which one is your favorite?

would it be edward?

 

or damon?

 

or stefan (don't you think he might have made a better edward?)

 

or perhaps eric?

 

wanna guess mine? a yummy prize to the one who gets it right.

4. did you know that photography can sometimes be a dangerous profession? a week or so ago i shot two sessions downtown and i encountered a few hookers, a drug dealer, a mentally insane bum, and a bum doing #2 100 feet from where i was setting up my shots. don't think i will be going downtown alone anytime soon. also yesterday during a family session, i had a run-in with not one, not two, but three different park rangers at a place i have shot tons of times and never ever had a problem. it was kind of irritating. not only to me but to my clients. it is a big place. i wasn't bothering any other people there.

i think i figured out why. another photographer in town - i don't which one - i think was doing mini-sessions out at this park. people would just show up and pay to have their portraits done. the park ranger told me it is illegal to transact business on the premises of a state park in that manner without a permit. it is ok if you come out to the park with the client to shoot their pictures. he asked me several times if i drove with the client to the park, who i was with, and who i was shooting. it is not ok to pretty much open your own outdoor studio in a state park. if you know who is doing this, please ask them to stop. i nor the other photographer who was also working yesterday nor anyone else i'm sure would want to lose the privilege of shooting at this particular location as it is a client favorite.  it was bad enough that we were bothered  and asked to leave the park as soon as possible.

5. some of my fave new albums of the moment

 

 

 

 

6. I need to start making my calendars for gifts that i do every year.  i don't scrapbook really much anymore but will be putting together some with this . . .

 

the Basic Grey calendar kit. Kelly did an amazing job with it :)

and i also want to do something like this . . .

 

but i think i am going to come up with some of my own templates. these would be printed big and mounted on a board to be hung by a ribbon (great gift idea!)

7. this is one of my new favorite images

 

8. i used to have great legs. not so much anymore. i wish my legs looked more like this

firm. shapely. great calf and quad definition but not big.  sexy. my legs look awful. i need to really  get with the program.

9. i am doing a month of gratitude. counting my blessings. so everyday on facebook i will post something that i am grateful for that day. i am then going to turn it into a really cool little mini-book based on something Cathy Zielske did awhile back.

10. little dude is turning 8 in a couple days. i can't believe my baby is 8. we took him today to pick up his cub scout shirt, belt, and book. tomorrow i am taking a few photos of him and his two friends he is getting baptized with this weekend. he is also going to his first pack meeting. he is way excited. i am a little sad that all my kids are growing up way TOO FAST!

how's that for a post? a random sampling at best. methinks i should try to get some sleep now.

'night.

ttys~