goodbye.

So I've been traveling so much and sitting at a computer for too many hours it's time to put a stop to this ridiculous nonsense.  It's true.  I've gained waayyyy too much weight over the past year or so.  It's got to come off.  It's time to say goodbye to it!!!  Especially by the time Love Affair gets here!!!

This is my plan.  I walk every morning for at least 20 minutes (until my body can handle running).  Then 10 minutes of lifting weights.  I know this sounds like a wimpy plan but I need to start somewhere.  Just to do this I have to get up at 6am.  I love walking and getting out into the fresh air just as the world is waking up and the sun is about to come over the mountains.  My main desire here is that I just be consistent.  I just want to make sure that I stick with a plan continuously for the next year.  To me, continuity is what takes the weight off for real.  I'm not about losing weight the fastest---just about doing something everyday.  Also, I'm trying to take smaller portions and then leave just a little food on my plate.  If I want chocolate...which I always do!...I get to have one small square of dove milk chocolate (that would be a huge cutback from the 1/2 bag that I usually eat these days...ummm...yes, that's embarrassing....)  And the after 8pm eating has got to go too....

Who is with me?  All you need to do is at least 20 minutes of exercise 6 days a week and eat smaller portions.  If you want to do more than that go for it but that's the minimum.  We're going for being consistent.  And doesn't 20 mintues totally sound do-able?  Maybe we could make a contest out of it some how.  Any ideas?  Tell me in the comments if you're interested and then we'll see how we can make it into a fun, friendly competition. 

get. LIFE.

stories.

My Grandma died 10 days ago.  While I was in New York at her funeral two weekends ago I was in charge of helping out with pictures for the funeral.  As I was looking through all of the pictures I realized that she was once young, in love, happy, excited about the life ahead of her, that she had dreams, plans, and hopes for her life.  I wondered how I could have never asked her all of the questions that flooded my mind as I saw so much in her eyes while I thumbed through her memories.  I felt like I was looking at wonderful memories that I had come to too late to know what was really going on. 

There was a picture of my Grandma, probably just around the time when she married my Grandpa and one of my Grandpa (who died a couple of days before my 12th birthday).  I wanted to know how they met, what they first thought of each other when the caught one another's eye, what they did for their first date, and how they knew they had to spend their lives together. 

My Grandma in a fur collared coat looking extremely happy...why was she happy?  Was the coat new?  Did she go somewhere special?  Did she buy the coat for an extra special outing? 

All of these questions I wanted answers to and I don't know if they are available to me now.  What do you not know about your loved ones that you want to know today...not tomorrow...

know.LIFE.

a gift.

It is a gift for me to get to spend time with Saylor and Audrey.  Every time I get to see them and hear about the amazing, blessed, strong, and difficult but happy life they've led I'm inspired.  Everything that happens for them is a miracle...and often on a daily basis they see miracles and see life for the first time again. 

We had planned to go up to Snowbird and get pictures of Saylor in her skiing lessons (she loves the snow)...but Snowbird classes were cancelled.  Plus when I got to the foot of the mountain they wouldn't let my mom mini van up with out chains or four wheel drive.  That's when Audrey and I decided to go for the unplanned for plan 'B'.  I met them at Saylor's school hoping that we'd get to do a shoot of Saylor at school only to find out we had to make sure that the other parents were okay with their children being photographed (totally understandable and we're hoping that it will work out in the future...).  I've been wanting to photograph Saylor at home...so we headed home.  I loved the downtime of being with Saylor and Audrey and hearing about the stories of the life of their family. (I can't wait to meet them all.)

Saylor showed me her room and all of the ways it's been customized for her in ways none of us would consider.  I talked with Audrey about the rare amount of couples who are given the news that the baby growing inside the hopeful mom will have challenges similar to Saylor's.  To those couples, the doctors recommend talking with Audrey and meeting Saylor.  They discuss the hardships and challenges as well as the joys and triumphs of bringing their child into the world.  It's not an easy life for anyone.  There are so many emotions wrapped up in the surgeries, healing, hope for change, travelling to doctors, remaining close as a family and as a couple, the daily frustrations of mundane tasks, and the joy of great news, hope on the horizon, and science catching up with the miracle of the body.  So often, the couples that Audrey and Saylor talk to decide not to bring the baby to full term; making the difficult decision of opting out of the challenges and joys ahead of them.  When Saylor picked up the Newsweek magazine, right when we were talking about the trips that Saylor and Audrey make, it moved me.  The journey of her little life, the surgeries before she was ever born, and the steps forward and backward since those early days that life hung in the balance before she breathed her own breath...all of them sped through my mind to the moment now as she sat in front of me.

I love the sweet relationship between Audrey and Saylor.  They remind me of slowing my life down, of appreciating life on the simplest and most real level, and of being moved by the miracle of life and the warmth of the person sitting next to me.

miracle. LIFE.

Valentine's Day.

Yes, truly.  Valentine's day is second in favorite holidays here at our house only to Christmas.  Why? You ask.  Because they are the two days a year that the kids get to eat candy for breakfast.  Shameful, as a mother, I know. 

The day before Valentine's we make hearts galore and hang them on string above our kitchen table.  Miraculously, in the morning when the kids wake up there is candy strewn all over the table with little gifts and a token pumpkin muffin that no one eats (even though if we had the pumpkin muffin at any other time of they year, they would be finished off completely before the bus arrives...). 

At night for dinner the kids get a favorite book on their plate...this year we went on a family trip to Barnes and Noble. We spent most of the evening scouring the store for the perfect book for each person and left a boatload of work for all of the workers there.  I think they were pretty glad to see us leave.  And, of course, on the way home everyone had their light on in the car while Mike tried to drive.  When you find the perfect book you can't wait until you get home to read it...

love. DAYS.

Giving back...giving LIFE.

Following is some of the important information and the link to the auction:

*Mentoring sessions are up for bid on an auction at http://www.fotoverite.com/joomla/index.php.  The site has a Thirst Relief banner that you can click on that will take you directly to the auction site.

*The auctions went live on February 9th at 10am EST.   The auction is based on Eastern Standard Time. 

*Bidders will need to register in order to place a bid on a mentoring session.  Each mentoring session has a different ending time.  However, when the auction is supposed to close, if there is a bidding war happening over a particular mentoring session then that session will stay open until the bidding war ends.  This is a very important feature of the auction and it is vital that bidders know.

*The auction will take place for three days from February 9-February 12th.  Auctions will end on the 12th (unless your mentoring session is having a bidding war…in which case the session will close when people stop bidding).  Bidders need to read the entire auction, including payment information very carefully.   Auctions will end at different times, make sure you know when your favorite sessions will close.

*Once the auction ends you and your mentor will be responsible for getting in touch with one another to schedule your mentoring time.

*Mentoring sessions are an opportunity for you to have an industry leader review your website, talk with them about your marketing, pricing, critique your work, or help you in any way. 

Become active in the cause of Thirst Relief by becoming a monthly $5 donor whether you participate in the auction or not.  Five dollars saves a life.  It would be an amazing gift and a visionary movement if every photographer helped save one life a month for one year!! 

give. LIFE.