My mountain is waiting ...

It's February 29th and in honor of leap year, I am planning a "leap" this year! I am working on changing and expanding what I do with my photography business. I have been dabbling in it for to long and I am ready to get serious about the business side of things. I am realizing that taking a leap requires quite a bit of work though. Work that is hindered by a cute little website called Pinterest ...

Starting today, I am seriously going to commit to making my evening time on the computer more productive. I'll be honest, in no way do I plan to stop using Pinterest or Facebook, but I do need to be more deliberate in my time spent there. Or at least accomplish one "leap task" each night before allowing myself to be sucked into the Pinterest vortex. It's waaaay to easy to just click over to the site and then find yourself looking up an hour later.

Dr. Seuss says it best  "'You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!"

The thing about Betty

In the past week I have started 3 blog posts. But the past 4 days have kind of turned me upside down because I woke up Sunday morning feeling like I was going to be sick and the feeling stayed with me all day. Luckily I was over it by that evening, but we've had an assortment of maladies over the past few days and I am ready for life to go back to "normal." Which at my house, equals chaotic and busy but in a more scheduled way.

In the middle of my feeling awful on Sunday, Uncommon Husband had to leave for a couple of hours for work. The girls were supposed to be napping, but Ava woke up about 10 minutes after he left (figures). Once both girls were up, I was giving out snacks when I heard a soft knock on the door and looked up to see the handle on my front door turning. Oh yes, it was Crazy Betty. Not only has she started dropping by unannounced, but she has decided that as long as she knocks softly, it's perfectly acceptable to just come on in. Not my favorite tactic to put it mildly. (I'm a FIRM believer in calling before you go to anyone's house) I told her I was not feeling well and she immediately gives me "the look" and said "you're not pregs, are you?"   Pregs?!? I'm not even going to tell you how I felt about the timing, delivery, and the question itself. But no, for the record, I'm not "pregs"

Wedding Rules - Part Deux

My sister is getting married in September and a good friend of mine got married this past Fall. All of this wedding talk made me think about wedding rules and how many people do not seem to know these rules. I wrote a post back in 2009 with some of my rules, all of which are the result of me personally witnessing someone breaking one of these rules (click here to read). My latest experiences have lead me to some updated rules. I am praying that my sister is not subjected to any major rule breakers at her wedding ;)

Toasts - In my last post, I said that toasts should be filled with loving, congratulatory words. I guess I should also specify that they should be something that everyone can relate to. If you are going to tell a story about the bride or groom, make it short and sweet. More than once, I've heard a drawn out story about how long Suzy Maid of Honor has known the bride, dappled with inside jokes and references to things no one else "gets." They don't ever seem to get to the toast part - it's just about their story and it's bo-ring! I think that's why I found this scene from Bridesmaids so hilarious


Bridesmaids - and speaking of bridesmaids, why are so many bridesmaids so competitive? I used to think it was just an age thing but now I'm not so sure. It seems like that one of the reasons the movie Bridesmaids was so funny was that there was truth in a lot of it (obvi on a very exaggerated level). Who's know the bride the longest? Who gave her the best gift? Who did the most for the bachelorette party? Who cares?!?

Photography - if you are not the hired photographer, get out of the way! The bride did not hire a professional photographer so that you could try to get every shot she is getting with your inferior camera. Step away with the camera. I am not a wedding photographer and I love taking pictures of beautiful parties as much as anyone but it must drive wedding photogs crazy that every and their mother has an SLR these days.

What wedding rules am I missing?

Ten on Tuesday

1. I had a wonderful weekend. I took pictures of my girls and I have realized that when I am relaxed, I take pictures. Or maybe it's taking their pictures makes me relaxed and happy. Either way, it's good.

2. I am working on a new business plan for my photography business in the coming year. I have scheduled a mentoring session with an a-mazing photographer in April and I have some other exciting ideas and plans in the works. More on that later.

3. Life is getting a little bit easier as Ava is getting a little bit older. Don't worry, I am not disillusioned that it's all going to be easy peasy going forward. I have a 2 year old to keep me in check ...

(this is her throwing herself on the floor because her new shoes "didn't work" the way she wanted them to. I have no idea what that means)

4. We went shoe shopping for Addison with Crazy Betty this weekend. Somehow she ended up getting this one in shoes as well. She's a tricky one, that Betty. And she is obsessed with babies wearing shoes.

5.  I have a really funny Christmas/ornament story about Crazy Betty - I need to find a photo and I'll blog it on Thursday. It's been this long since Christmas so why not wait a couple more days.

6. I went to the mall today for about 45 minutes between meetings. It was SO odd to be there with no children, not in a hurry, without a mission. I almost felt lost. (in the mall!?! Me? lost?)

7. Play-Doh is always a hit in our house. However, after Addison "cut" this guy's hair, she started trying to use the plastic scissors on my hair. Not so sure I should have introduced this game, lol

8. I realize this post is almost entirely focused on things related to my children, however, they are at all-consuming ages right now so that's par for the course.

9. Comparison is the thief of joy. Got that from Pinterest, love it!

10. I bought a new book on my Houston trip and read half of it on the airplane. It hasn't been touched since I got back. Luckily I have a couple more trips coming up in the next month so there's hope. I miss reading.

10 on Tuesday

1. Did you know that you can spend $700 on a blender?!? I was not aware that a home user would ever require such a thing, but apparently there is a market for it. One major selling point in the description is that it is "fingerprint-resistent." Obsessive compulsive much?

2. As much as I abhore the $700 blender (which is currently on sale for $600), I do fully appreciate the quality of my $119 blender. Having had a cheap blender that wouldn't make proper smoothies or blend much of anything, this bad boy hasn't let me down yet.

3. Why am I even posting about blenders, you ask? I am on a smoothie kick, thanks to Pinterest and the amazing green monster smoothie I recently found (my fav new delicious lunch). I was thinking about buying a blender for my office but don't think it would be cost effective to spend $100 on a blender to save money on lunches, lol.

Source: iowagirleats.com via Jessica on Pinterest

4. Why is it that my children will not get in sync with their sleeping/waking patterns? Addison was getting up every day at 4:15 last week, not she seems to be back to normal (fingers crossed) and Ava is up between 4 am - 5 am this week. I am not a fan.

5. I haven't been blogging so I haven't let you all know that I appear to have lost my mind and accepted the position of President of the local Junior League. Although it probably appears that I have lost my mind, it has been something I have wanted to do and I am very excited about it. Praying for balance and clarity in the upcoming 2 years (I am Pres-Elect for a year, and then Pres in 2013-14).

6. Happy Valentine's Day!! Aren't my girls the cutest little cuties?!

7. I am getting ready to make some announcements and changes to my photography biz and I am excited. I will share more soon. (don't you just HATE cryptic blog and Facebook posts?!? lol)

8. I really need to start exercising again. Maybe I'll start getting up before the girls. Oh wait, they get up between 4-5 am. So maybe I just won't sleep. ever.

9. I am excited about the upcoming months. I am going to San Francisco in April and DC in May. Also going to Tallahassee for my sister's first bridal shower and possibly a photography related trip squeezed in there somewhere as well. Whew!

10. I love caffine ;)

What's on your mind today?

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

One of my favorite people in the world is having a baby in April. She came to visit this weekend (she lives in DC) and we had her baby shower at the Ritz-Carlton. She got married at the Ritz and has since, celebrated many special occasions there, so it was only fitting that her baby shower be held there too. I co-hosted with several lovely ladies and it was a special afternoon. Although the perfectionist in me wants to re-create several aspects of the afternoon (cakes should have been more "sparkly," they set the tables differently than we thought, photography looks a little yellow, etc) I think that's just me being a crazy woman and hopefully everyone went away feeling happy. I was feeling clever with my gift to the mommy-to-be. I did a little theme of "brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite Baby things!" And with that, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures and the song from the Sound of Music in your head ...

Where to start??

Where to start when it's been over a month? I keep thinking I am done with the blog but I just hate to let it go. I have been blogging for more than 5 years and when I think about it, it has been a great chronicle of my life. So I am going to try for just a little bit longer. The Fall months were crazy busy - too much photography, combined with trying to balance work, family and life in general. Something had to give and the blog was it. I think I can work it back into my routine but we'll see. I have a lot of things on the horizon and I'm not sure where the next year is going to take me but one thing I know is that I am excited. Things going through my mind tonight ...

If you never stop saying "what if," you'll never be able to say "I did"

Stepping out of your comfort zone is scary, but it could be the greatest decision you could make.

And on a different note -

Babies grow up too fast.