summer evening

My dear friend, Christina, recently moved back to Manchester in June after completing her Master's Degree and becoming a licensed therapist. We have gotten together for visits since she has been back, but last week, on a perfect summer evening, was the first time she and I got to sit together, sip wine and do some serious girl chit chat (without the interruption of a hungry baby or a bored Bean). It was divine.

I'm not sure if any other mothers feel this way – but I am pretty sure the moment after you give birth, they hand you not only your squirming little miracle, but also a HUGE side of guilt. I often feel guilty for wanting to take time for just myself; there is always too much that "needs" to get done. I have to remind myself that it's not selfish for me to want to be away from my kids, it's necessary to relax and recharge.

Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who realizes this time  - for both he and I - is important. He encourages me to take an evening here and there and head out for a couple hours with my girlfriends, and I do likewise for him. (Of course, this also means after he gets the kids to bed, he gets to be a kid himself and play on the video games completely undisturbed)

Silly little fly flew in my wine!

This is a good shoulder... all great friends should have one like this

I would also like to take this time to warn the rest of my girlfriends that in lieu of my decision to upgrade my camera and lenses, I have decided to lug that thing just about everywhere. Put on your lip gloss ladies - 'cause your picture will be taken on girls night!

i am a pixel pusher

It started almost 17 years ago with graphic design... and now my obsession has grown and I am recently (re)obsessed with pixels... more specifically the sharpness of pixels in my photos. It's never enough.

I am constantly striving to improve what I have previously done... always viewing my work with a critical eye and telling myself "Ok.. you did well, but you could do better, now get to it". I get nervous - even when shooting my own kids - about finding pretty light and that and exposure just right, creating a pleasing compositions in camera, angles, catch lights... Ahhhh! It is safe to say there is a lot whirling around in my brain when the camera is stuck to my face.

Fortunately, I have a tiny little model (who cannot runaway when she sees the camera like her big sister, Bean) with me when the light is just right. While I prefer to use only natural light, but I have been know to pop a flash or use my alien bees from to time to time. From her expression in these two photos, you can see she has already learned, at her young age, to be patient with Momma when she has her camera out.

Right now - other than pushing the sharpness of photos (it's not enough!! I want more!!! I want better!!!) - I am also experimenting with different angles to take photos of the baby. As much as I like props, I seem to lean (recently) in just taking photos of baby in her natural element - whether that be in a little sundress or just her diaper chilling out on a furry rug on the living room floor. The way I see it - this little image is more real and when she is grown and perhaps has babies of her own, this is what I will remember and will make me smile when I look back.

four months old!

Happy 4 months, Violet Catherine! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by! The photo is a little grainy - but it was dusk when I took the photo so I had to push the ISO... but she was giggling so hard I just couldn't miss this little moment!

{love}

I am not a wedding photographer by trade – I much prefer the pace of modern portrait work.  I have the utmost respect for my photographer friends who regularly shoot weddings – it is truly a natural talent and a love. Not only is it an incredible amount of work – hours of constant shooting at the event it self, plus all the hours of post processing and editing – there is a lot of pressure not to mess up a couple’s big day! “Excuse me.. could you kiss the bride again.. my exposure was slightly wonky….” When close friends of mine decided to get married in an intimate celebration – they asked me to shoot their day. How could I say no to such an awesome couple? I couldn’t! I am still in the process of… errr… processing - and there are more to come - but here are a couple of teasers.

Congrats to Tiffany and Jeremy! Thanks for letting me part of your wonderful day!

Cheers!

Dear Baby Blog

I simply adore adore adore this blog – Dear Baby! There is little I don't find intriguing about her style, her photography, her stories of home, family, work and play. It never fails to either inspire me or make me smile... or both. I just thought I would share it with anyone who wanders over here.

Coupons... not just for blue haired old ladies anymore!

Not to long ago, I viewed coupons with some level of disdain. In my mind, coupons were associated with old women saving pennies on margarine and toothpaste until I caught a clip of that TV show 'Extreme Couponers'. Yes, yes, I know... I am late jumping on this train – it's a life long habit of blocking out main stream hype on movies, books and 'trends'. But perhaps, this time, there is something to this particular craze.

We all know the economy sucks. Layoffs, pay cuts and investment losses abound still. Even the lure of getting ab MBA has lost it's luster with hundreds of well educated folks underemployed or unemployed. We are more then a generation removed from the Depression Generation who took nothing for granted.. the original reuse, repurpose, recyclers. My generation was raised by Baby Boomers whose hey-day was in the Partying 70's and the More More More 80's – mass consumption and disposable everything. By the time the 90's hit, I was in my teenage/early 20's... and the course was set. Maybe that explains this re-fascination with saving money through coupons? I don't know but watching these men and women and their extreme couponing skills - I was fascinated, amazed, horrified and a tad bit inspired.

The fascination and amazement came through the strategy and planning that these people created and implemented to save hundreds and walk out with essentially 5 free grocery carts full of stuff. The horror was when they gave tours of their stock piles... I mean come on, who needs 75 boxes of Fruity Pebbles, 42 toothbrushes and 36 cans of stewed tomatoes?!?!  I'm pretty sure one woman had 3 years worth of diapers and didn't have children. And while I admire that strategic shopping, there is no way I would want to - or be able to - dedicate 40+ hours towards planning such a shopping trip.

The other thing I noticed was that most of the grocery savings come from the 'inside' aisles. In an effort to eat healthier, when Eric and I shop, we mostly fill our cart the perimeter items. (Good rule of thumb when grocery shopping is "If the food can go bad fast, it's good for you. If the food can keep longer, it's bad for you.) Saving big at the grocery store probably isn't in the cards for us – I don't want to save money at the cost of health. It is, however, inspiring to think, that I could save big on all most of our personal care items  - like soap, deodorant, diapers and such.

My co-worker, Lisa, took some couponing classes our company offers from time to time. She has been taking photos of what she has been getting from store like CVS and sharing the tales of her savings with me. Check out this weeks latest score:

Lisa's CVS score!

She saved 77%! The value of goods was $101 and she paid just $23 for everything. Those Olay moisturizers alone cost $26 each. Basically, she bought one of those – at a discount – and got all this other stuff for free. I want to do this!!!!

As a primer - she used this blog post to plan her attack shopping trip: My Shopping Trip: CVS

Here are some coupon resources to help you get started
Extreme Coupon Professors (This is the woman who works with my company)
Coupon Divas
Living Rich with Coupons (my personal fave at the moment!)
Hip 2 Save

And a YouTube tutorial as well!