Latest Album

love this one :)

 

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. When Joe comes home from work at 6am and we snuggle up for an hour before I get up and go to the gym... it's just what I need to start my day.

2. Finishing a huge project.  I've finished a few in the past week (thanks, snow!) and I love wrapping them up.  Always a sense of accomplishment, and I'm always happy to check something off my to-do list.

3. Quiet moments with my dogs.  I love when I'm on the couch and I have a sleeping puppy on each side of me.  They are so trusting and loyal.

4. Making lunch + dinner with Joe.  It's really a small thing, but it's a big thing to me.

5. E-mailing with friends all over the world.  Just this week I've e-mailed with friends in Ireland, Egypt, Australia, Samoa, Kenya and even someone visiting Antarctica!

6. Spending some time with just myself.  I love curling up on my "editing chair" in my office and making to-do lists, reading magazines, and finishing my business plan.  It's always energizing for me to turn everything else off and focusing on one thing at a time.

7.  Getting on the scale every morning and watching the number go down :)

8. Reading a book... just for fun.

9. A date day- like today- starting our registry at Macy's, lunch, a movie, running errands, and just spending time together

10. writing thank you notes and giving good gifts

Here it is.

so so so excited and humbled by this.
Such an honor to see my work on the glossy pages of a hugely popular magazine.

Hey Hon! :)

Hey Hon! See ya in Hampden! :)

I had so much fun today hanging out in Baltimore with a few of my best friends!  Jaime, Jesse, Quinn and Natalie were all at Hon Fest rocking it out!

Jaime is the official photog of Hon Fest and has a booth.  We all took turns taking photos at the booth with the FABULOUS life-sized Hon that Quinn doodled!  I didn't stay all day, but I did snap a few photos of my own enjoy!

Quinn and her awesome doodle!

A Little Hon!

Lotsa Hons!

Jaime! :)

I loved her shirt- Quinn also designed these

Jessi!

Jaime in action!

All the girls!  :)

Tweetup!

Last night was fun!

I met up with some fellow Frederick Twitter folk at one of my fave places, Brewer's Alley. Most of the people run their own businesses and we had a lot in common. I so very enjoyed being able to talk nerdy with others who also live in my community. One of the guys there actually went to college (a very small, private college) with my high school chemistry partner- it's a small world!

Anyway, so fun.  Today is another beautiful day here, and I'm calling it "design" day.  I have three books to design and an album!  Eeek!  Tomorrow is an edit day.

Hanging out with @bethschillaci @DCPhotog @MammaMania @cariegrls @cdigennaro @jesshibb @kevinbruce @cdiaz @danielcoleman at Brewer's Alley

15 Things I Love

1) Joe.  And everything he does for me.  

Yesterday I came home from a rather stressful grocery trip (don't ask, but it was crazy) and there were two glasses of red wine on the counter, and he had dinner started.  Love him!

2) Our furry creatures and their sweetness.

Each one of our little guys has such a personality.  Gordon is a total lovebug, Lilly is sassy, and Frankie is very sweet and loving.  They bring so much to our lives and I am so lucky to have them around.

3) Our Living Room.

We rearranged the furniture a few weekends ago and now it's so open and nice.  I framed some photos and Joe put the shelves up, and now it looks great.  A very livable room!  Very happy with it.

4) Twitter.

Twitter has helped me meet soooo many people in our new town, including some non-profits I'm going to be doing some volunteer work for, and it even helped me join the Chamber of Commerce- so excited!  I've also booked a wedding through Twitter, so yay :)

5) My Canon 5D Mark ii.

Oooh man.  Last Saturday I shot at 5000 ISO.  No joke.  Such a beautiful thing!  Can't wait to edit those photos... gotta do that soon!

6) My Office!

Now that it's done, it's so comfortable and I love working in there.  Gordon sleeps on the couch and the kitties sleep on the top of the couch and watch the birds out the windows... it's perfect :)

7) Paying off credit cards.

When I first started my business 3/4 years ago, I put a ton of stuff on my credit cards (cameras, lenses, etc) and I am still paying those cards off.  But last week I totally paid off two cards, and it feels great.  Eat that, APRs :)

8) Our patio.

A grill.  Cute furniture.  A puppy.  It's great. :)

9) Being busy.

Sometimes I hate it, but it's nice waking up every day knowing you have stuff to get done.  And getting checks.  I like checks :)

10) Making albums.

I avoided this for years (literally years!) but now I kind of enjoy it!  Being able to give my clients something tangible after their wedding or photo session is awesome.

11)  Sugar Free RedBull.

Oh man, this gets me through that 2pm hour... that's when I'm really dragging.

12) Friends!

I got to have a sushi night with Jaime last week and I looooved it.  Not only the good food and all the stuff we got, but just being able to chat with a friend, face to face, about business, our guys, everything.  Tonight I'm headed to a happy hour with a bunch of my girlfriends, and I'm excited.  :)

13)  My Wedding Dress!

OK, I don't even know what it looks like yet, but I know it's gonna be awesome.  I met with the designer last week and I am soooo excited.  She is the best!  And it's affordable.  Woo!

14) NPR.

I've been listening to NPR for awhile, but now I listen to it streaming on iTunes and it's perfect to listen to when I'm working in my office.  I also am subscribed to the "This American Life" podcast and wow, I love the stories.  Some are sad (I was sobbing at my desk last week about an adoption story!) and some are so funny (more tears, but happy tears) and some are fascinating.  I try to listen to one a day to catch up.

15) Lunch with my honey.

I love that Joe and I get to eat lunch together most days. It's usually just a sandwich or soup, or maybe Subway, but it's nice.  It helps break up the day and I love getting to see him :)

There's my 15. :)

Office is Getting There...

It's not quite done, but it's getting there!  I hung up my magazines and canvas wraps yesterday, and Joe hung up my sign last week- looking cute :)

The last magazine isn't in there yet... that's because it comes out next week- The Washingtonian!  

I am sooooo excited!!!  I've set this up so I can add more if I get published more. (hopefully!)  You can also see my huuuuge to do list (on the green clipboard) that I am currently taking a break from- I'm doing good, though! :)

The other side of my office- I can't think of anything else I want to add- 

this is my place to package things up, be crafty, etc.

OK, this isn't in my office, but this is what's going happening on our top deck- since we're experiencing a monsoon right now, the birds are taking refuge up here- so cute!

A Day in the Life

I've been wanting to try this for awhile now, and originally I wanted to do it for a week, but that would be waaaaay too hard.  So here it is, a day in my life.  This is from the 18th.  I thought it would be fun to try and document a day at work for me, something to look back on.  It's actually really hard to remember to take photos!

I actually get up at 5:50, but I forgot to take a photo...

Taking the pup for a walk

breakfast with my honey

reading my e-mails

making my to-do list for the day

quick read of the newspaper

realizing that I have a lot of crap from my trip to put away

Also realized it was recycling day

Time for the gym

Then time for a shower

And when I get out of the shower I realize puppy had an accident

Time to respond to e-mails

burning DVDs and filing them away

more backing up... so important!

A little snack

Lilly helps me get mailings ready

Getting lunch ready

Yay!  Joe came home for lunch!

calling people back- so many calls to make

printing out photos for photo boxes

A little Facebook time

photo boxes are done!  time to mail 'em out

FTP-ing photos to Pictage, and backing up files to my externals

yay!  parents albums came in the mail!

fun time- cutting out dresses to show my designer :)

Listening to my fave podcast: This American Life

A little play time with the pup

To-do list isn't done, but a good chunk of it is!

time to relax with my favorite boys! :)