VeggieTales LIVE on Stage!!!

It was so fun to see the VeggieTales LIVE!!! The kids loved it ALOT!! And I got to test out my camera with really bad lighting, LOL. I mean so bad that my pictures of the kids didn't turn so good. I need MORE PRACTICE!!! But the Veggies, they are great, for my first time on M in public, anyway!!!!! Here 's a sneak peak.... Enjoy!! Oh but first, I got the best before shot possible of three little ones thrilled to no end to see VT's and eager to hit the road...

Before shot is a MUST!!!

This is what I mean about the bad lighting!

Here too!

Again, terrible lighting!!!

I really like how she's lit up here!

Been there, Did that, Got the T-Shirt.. VeggieTales!! YES!

After this cool experience we headed over to Chuckie Cheese. What a great day these kids had today!!! I'm so happy for them!!!(BTW, if I had control, these images would be ALOT bigger, you don't really get the big 'picture' here, sorry) Live, Laugh, Love and always be YOU!! Cheers!!

As Promised...

I have been really slacking on my blogs. I had a very busy week last week and am looking forward to this week! But, I will say that I had my mentoring session with Teresa Little Earnest on Thursday which was completely amazing. She gave me a whole new outlook on what I need to be doing as a photographer!!! I am so excited get the ball rollin'!!!! Craig came home on Friday and we had a great weekend!!! Full of family time, tiny bit of shopping, dinner with friends, church, topped it off with the Zoo and Thunderbird's, AND I booked my FIRST wedding in KANSAS!!!! (YAY.YAY.YAY) How we squeezed in all that in 2 days, idk. But we did and it was fun!!! Oh oh oh and Friday night, Craig and I had a great time shooting with our cameras until 1am!!!!! It's so fun, tedious, and detailed. I am so happy that my shooting partner (JD) will be Craig!!! We have so much in store for TLC Photography and couldn't be happier about it!!! One day, are will be  "rocking" the Photography WORLD!!!!! Not only that, but I have another really cool secret!!! But that's another whole blog in itself. I am signing off now as I am exhausted!!!! Nite, Nite.....  Live, Laugh, Love and Always be YOU!! Cheers!!

Persistence Pays Off!!!

Wonderful weekend with my family, including Craig, for once!!! We(I) enjoyed some much needed retail therapy by myself as Craig strolled the kids around the mall!! Agh, it was soo nice! Not only were we having a great weekend, BUT, I got it!!!! I GOT IT!!!! An upgrade!!! Oh yes, We went there!!! I crossed over, took the leap and purchased a NEW camera!!! I have had it ONE day and already LOVE IT!!!!

I mean really, what more could a girl (photog) want?? Right?

That was Saturday. I was beginning to wrap up my night/weekend, Craig was already two hours down the road, the kids were bouncing off all 300 of our hallow walls, and I am exhausted!!! Do ya'll remember me talking about really, really wanting to win the Mentoring Giveaway by Teresa Little Earnest a few blogs ago? And remember I said I was going to do ALL I could to WIN??? Well, just before I get ready to put T&L in the bath, I decide to check my Facebook just one more time. I knew the giveaway was up (kinda had it in the back of my mind all weekend, and envisioned what if, just what if, I, INDEED was the lucky winner in the midst of all the family time and shopping festivities). I open my page and see that TLE had posted a link on my page. Oh my goodness, was it me, what was it??? I click it and this is what I see:





Persistence pays off!! Tiffany Lauderdale is our winner!!! Tiffany, email me to set up your skype session!

 

 HOLY MOLY!!!!!!  IT IS MEEEE!!!!! My heart filled with complete joy and excitement!! I couldn't believe it... I'm on the phone with my mom, "Oh.My.God, Mom!!! I WON!!"

How wonderful!!! I really did do everything I could. I LITERALLY blew up her blog with entries day in and day out, and guess what?? PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF!!!! What a way to end an already fantastic weekend!!! Can't wait to start my mentoring!! It will be unforgettable!!!!

So, in a nutshell, I will sum up my thoughts of this weekend for you.. ( I fell in love again, with who, my husband, my kids, and my Lord. I satisfied my inner DIVA. I am the proud owner of a super sweet pro camera. AND, I am one step closer to becoming who I want to be as a Bona fide  photographer!!)  If you believe, anything is possible!!!! Remember Live, Laugh, Love and AWLAYS be YOU!!!! Cheers!!!

 

TLC

 

A shoot for BOTH!!!

I am in a hurry, hustling to get everything done so I can get a quick shower, get dressed, get the kids lunch and get Taylor dressed for school. Today is kinda a special day despite being the 3rd day of school. It is her first "picture day". So.... I rush her upstairs to get her dressed up, teeth brushed, and hair fixed. Now a little background.... used to be, Taylor hated to be in front of the camera. When they are little it's hard to get them to cooperate. Now that she is a little older, she cooperates, BUT, I get the eyes half shut, the silly smile, or a full set of teeth. After she was all dressed up (perfume and all), we practiced her 'smile' with mommy's camera. Then we were off to school. I told her to smile and be pretty! When I picked her up, I was so proud because her proofs are AMAZING!!! Not to mention the photog's equip was pretty sweet! (oh yeah, I scoped it ll out.... 5D, 70-200 and ALL) I couldn't be happier. Since Landon isn't in school, and doesn't get to celebrate the school hype excitement (yet) I decided I would dress him up too and he would have his own "picture day"!!! So we did...in the bright, hot, sweltering sun.... there we were.... about 5 feet from traffic, shooting in the middle of the day..... (insane, but fun)this is the outcome!!! Note Landon's (not loving being in front of the camera mode) that I mentioned earlier about little ones NOT liking, LOL. Got MAYBE one shot of him looking at the camera with out a smirk!!! Enjoy!!!

There's the "I'm not going to SMILE or LOOK at the camera, Mom"

And here it is... that silly face!

Are we DONE yet!?!

"Momma's Don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboy's!!"

My little "Lane" ... Landon Lane

I'll end with this photo.... it was a last minute shot when Taylor was DONE.... I mean, literally starting to fall off the 'wagon'.... becoming fussy..... and I snapped it anyway, LOL..... I am so glad I did... I think it the just captures her in the most angelic way!!! Live, Laugh, Love and be YOU!! Cheers!!

Short'n'Sweet.... but maybe the best thing yet!!!

So, I have been searching and searching for the 'right' workshop to attend and this is how I decide whether or not it's a good fit for me: 1. can I afford it; 2. How long will I have to leave my kiddos to attend; 3. What will I get out of it; 4. Is it the right fit for me?; 5. will I learn everything I need to know about being the best photographer I can be; 6. will the shooting experience be enough for ALL the information to sink in!; 7. Will I learn how to market and network? 8. will I learn how to use my equipment properly and learn what equip works best for natural light?; 9. Will this experience be fun?; 10. Is it worth it? Most all of the workshops I find, I can't afford(with travel and room/board included), and most are just not ideal for me. I really, really want to focus on newborn/maternity and WEDDINGS!!! My good friend/partner and mentor is attending an online workshop and is really learning so much. She is such a creative photographer and really produces beautiful photos. But, after seeing her progress with this workshop... I have got my heart set on this one in particular. It's called Really Fun Workshops by Teresa Little Earnest and her one on one mentoring is held in Savannah, GA. Though we have family in GA, Savannah is kinda far away from them and it is a long shot for us to fit it in the budget these days. Until today! I just found out that I have a fantastic opportunity to WIN a FREE GIVEAWAY for that same online mentoring session I have been praying for!!!! How ironic?? Thanks to Manda, who told me about it, and I am going to do ALL I can do to WIN!!!! How great would this be?? YOU CAN WIN TOO!!!! Just click here to enter!!!!
 http://www.reallyfunworkshops.com/a-really-fun-giveaway-2/
I am almost done with the 7 steps to WIN!!!! Good luck to me and to you!!! Live, Laugh, Love and ALWAYS be YOU!!!!! Cheers!!!

Glad it's over.....

We as for a Friday, it wasn't a very good one!! 1. I was up until two trying to keep my cat from scratching on the laundry room door(his punishment for urinating on our brand new couches is he is to sleep in LR until we can trust he won't do it again). He hates it!!! 2. I was woken up EARLY by an energetic 4yo who was ready to start her day with full, 100 mile-an-hour conversations. 3. my unsuccessful search for an open door continues!!! 4. I strolled around the mall today (after Landon had his 'fun with mommy' play time and ice cream cone) looking at all the things that I would LOVE to have-- don't really need-- but really really want!! 5. we have been under storm warnings and I HATE STORMS!! Especially when I'm ALONE!! AND-- 6. My husband didn't come home this weekend! :(  Why did I stop at 6 and why not just go to 10?? Well because  today wasn't really THAT bad. There were great parts, actually, like when Taylor was excited about going to school and afterward she told me me she had soo much fun! When Landon was excited about playing and ice cream. Or when the kids and I surfed the web looking at Halloween costumes and Care Bears. When Taylor sneaks a hug and kiss and says "Mommy, I love you." When Landon smells me and says "mmmm... you smell like gum, Mommy." (he loves to smell things like me and is always in tune to the way things smell) and when I was able to actually see my hubby via Skye that I JUST downloaded!! What a cool feature!!!! That was fun!!! Soo, all in all it wasn't sooo bad, but I sure am glad it's over.... I'm tired... I love my kids.... I love my husband.. and at the end of the day, I am thankful to have been blessed enough to have TODAY!!!!  Have a great weekend!!!!  Live, Laugh, Love and BE YOU!! Cheers!!!

First Day of Pre-K.... Labor Day....HOLY MACRO!!

Got her backpack!

Her BIG day!

Moral Support!

Ready to learn!!!

So, my baby girl started Pre-School today. Despite a rather stressful morning, I managed to get her ready and get her to school for her first day. It was totally chaotic as all the newbies file in, crying, sad faces and clinging to their mommies and daddies! My cute Taylor is in shock at all the tears and begins to look very nervous. I quickly distract her by asking her to find her name on the rocket ship. She find it and places it on the board and her teacher places her name tag on her little chest.... TAYLOR. Such a big girl.... she looks up at me and says "Mommy, I'm gonna miss you!" My reply was, "I know, Mommy will miss you too but I'll be back real soon!" She sits down and precedes to play with toys like all her other classmates. I say, "bye Dee,"Have Fun!" She is so brave and such a big girl!! She has never been afraid of adjusting and though it takes her a while to open up, she handles separation so well. As I walked away,(Landon in tow screaming, b/c he didn't want to leave his sister and wanted to play), I was ONE PROUD MOMMY!!!! Report for her first day.... She had FUN!!!!!

brother sisterly LOVE!!

lovin' it

so happy to be big enough to ride!

you can only see L but T was on other side!

Expressions are what make a photo!

just love these two!

Love these shoes! and of course the kid in them!

Craig and I spent our Labor day weekend dating, talking, kissing, hugging, loving, living, and most of all laughing!! Watching our two little gifts from God running from ride to ride in complete excitement and seeing the gigantic smiles on their faces while riding the rides at the Adventure park made us feel all giddy inside!!! We always strive to make our children happy and we them want to experience everything in life!! Our kids are 4 and 2 1/2... no they haven't yet been to Disney, Discovery Cove, on a cruise, to an island, over seas, to D.C. or to most of the monumental places this beautiful world has to offer. But it's pretty spectacular how a simple ride on a Ferris Wheel, that moves maybe 5mi per hour, can bring such joy to their hearts, and laughter to their faces!!! One day, in time, we hope to visit some of those beautiful places with our children. But, until then, we will marvel in their happiness at a town carnival(especially when it's permanent, LOL)!!!

Somehow I convinced my husband to trust my decision on ordering a lens. It didn't look legit... so I, of course, did some research and found that it is not in fact a lens, but a macro 10x10 'lens adapter'. My thought immediately was "okay, so it's a beater cheater." I can't afford the 'real deal' macro lens so I decided to give this a whirl.  Much to my surprise, it works pretty darn good. I mean clearly, a 'souped up' macro 'official' lens would be 100x better, but hey, I need to save up to buy my camera first and a couple of other 'souped up' lenses before I get too crazy(not to mention, my well is pretty dry, lol) . So my little 'beater cheater' will have to do!! These shots are some of my outcomes!! Pretty nice, right? I think so!!! So, I'm happy!!! Live, Laugh, Love and ALWAYS be YOU!!!! Cheers!!