~ FAB FIND ~

I've decided that I'm going to start posting some of my favorite finds on the internet & beyond. Hey, if that Oprah gal can have a whole show dedicated to her favorite things, why can't I have a few blog posts? : ) Besides, it's NICE to share (or at least that's what my kindergarten teacher told me).

My fab find for this week is: http://www.jott.com/

Listen up all you easily distracted people! Unite all you folks who remember all the important things you should be doing while cruising down the highway at 60mph! You need JOTT in your life!

Their website says:
"You may experience moments of pure relief after Jotting. Extended use may result in organized schedules, met deadlines, better connections, and more time in your day."

Hip-hip-hooray!!!! What is it? Let me walk you through my latest JOTT experience:

1--Call toll free number (now saved to my cell phone)
2-Sweet, female-like computer-generated voice answers, "Who do you want to JOTT?"
3-I say, "Me."
4-"JOTT yourself," she nicely replies.
5-"Charge batteries," I remind myself.
6-"Got it," she assures me.
7-I hang up & rest my brain, happy that there is one less thing that I have to cram into my head.
8-The sweet computer-generated "lady" at JOTT transcribes my message and an e-mail is sent to my e-mail address reminding me to "Charge batteries." (It also includes the actual voice message in case they don't get the transcription quite right--you can spell out tricky words, though)
9-I check e-mail later & happily remember to charge my batteries.

How awesome is that? You can set it up to send a text message along with your e-mail reminder. You can also set it up to e-mail or text other people in your life. (Wives, are you hearing me? You could actually have JOTT e-mail/text your honey-do list to the man in your life! You could bombard him with reminders until he actually picks up the dry cleaning! Awesome!)

I can't tell you how wonderful this invention is for me. It seems I always have moments of clear thinking when I am far away from paper or don't need to be texting myself (driving & texting don't mix).

I hope you enjoy this FAB FIND as much as I do!

Oh...did I mention that it's a FREE service????

Little Lady

Okay, so I came up with the title of this post because Miss R has a puppy named "Little Lady," but it is also reflective of Miss R. I've known her since she was just a "pup" herself. I've watched her and her massive head of beautiful black spiral curls grow over the years and it's hard to believe that she is, indeed, becoming a "little lady!" Gosh, where does the time go?

Enough chit-chat...let's see those pictures!










Doesn't she look like a polynesian princess? She's not...but she could be!






This blue bench was a fun find. I love finding color in unexpected places.



Thank you, Little Lady, for putting up with the silly photographer and showing me your pretty smile!

Blog Special for August

This is a super-dooper Blog Special that you won't want to miss (I'm trying to make up for forgetting to post a July special--lol)!

This album normally sells for $75, but for private sessions booked in August, you can get your hands on one of these little beauties for only $50!

F.Y.I.: You'll want to book your session A.S.A. P. because
August is a very popular month for sittings and there are only a limited number of sessions available! Don't delay!

P.S.--You must mention that you saw the special on the blog in order to get the reduced price!

P.S.S. Yes, I do realize that it's not technically August yet... :)

A Different Kind of Family Portrait

It's hard getting your own family to cooperate for a family portrait when you are a photographer, so I've finally found a solution: http://www.becomeanmm.com/

My girls & I got together to create our family--it was fun!

You have to choose from their selection of names to name your character, so ours are: Mr. Sunshine, Genuis Pants, Cutie Patootie and Princess Stinky. I'll let you guess who's who.

BTW, I think it's super cool that I could accessorize my M&M with a camera. SWEET!

Little Beauties & Handsome Gents

As promised, here are some more images from last weekend's portrait party.

You've got to feel sorry for this dad:

He's WAY outnumbered by the women in his household, not to mention that they are gorgeous little gals!

Someone should get Dad a big stick A.S.A. P. to keep the boys away! : )

Speaking of boys, this one is sure to melt your heart:

He's such a cutie, ummmm...I mean, HANDSOME fella! ; )

This is Miss S, who really wasn't in the mood to take pictures (Who can blame her? It was hot!), but we still managed to sneak away with a few. I like this one because she looks so graceful and sophisticated. I know 2 year olds don't really shoot for the "Audrey Hepburn" look, but for some reason, this shot reminds me of her (or at least that era).

And last, but not least, you'll remember Mr. Belly Laugh himself (see previous post)! Aren't those baby blues to die for?

How lucky am I? All these cute kids were in one location!

Belly Laugh

Oh my gosh! I was just going through all of the photos from last night's Portrait Party & I stopped everything when I came to this image:

Isn't that the most ADORABLE thing you've ever seen?

He should be on a package of Pampers or Gerber something-or-another! I love it when I run across unexpected pictures that make me smile!

More sneak peeks from the portrait party coming soon!

More Reasons to Love Summer

...and to love Leedey! These delicious, homegrown treats were gifts from our friends and neighbors. Just another tribute to the generous spirit of life in a small town!

Here are some juicy wild plums (they collected 10 bushels--yes, BUSHELS--from one tree):

Wild and wonderful blackberries (my FAVORITE!):

And fresh corn (it's just begging me to slather it in butter and salt & throw it on the grill!):

Creek Week

As you may have noticed, I haven't been around as much lately. Summer has always been a busy time for me and my family. My latest journey has been to Falls Creek , the largest youth camp in the nation. It has been estimated that 10% of Oklahoma's population will have attended camp at Falls Creek in their lifetime (and there are several other states that attend also).

Falls Creek is special to me for several reasons. After moving to Oklahoma, I was able to attend camp for two years as a teen. While in college, I became a certified lifeguard so that I could spend my summer working at Falls Creek as part of the Recreation Team. It was a very memorable summer. Then, my husband & I spent nearly every year of our marriage at Falls Creek in the summer or fall with the church youth groups he was leading. Though he is no longer a youth pastor, we still mark off a week for Falls Creek every year on our calendar. Hanging out with teenagers is always a blast and it is truly a place of spiritual renewal. As if the wonderful time of worship and Bible study aren't enough in itself, I find that being away from the daily grind of the world--no telephones, no internet, no television, no laundry, no unfinished projects, etc--makes it a truly wonderful escape.

This year, there have been major changes at the Creek. For years, over 5000 people would gather at Falls Creek to sweat in the outdoor tabernacle during worship services. It was hot, very hot, but it never stopped anyone from coming. This year, there was a brand new state of-the-art air conditioned tabernacle awaiting us. People wondered if Falls Creek would be the same (okay, I wondered too!). It was BETTER! It really was.

Here is a photo of the new tabernacle. No, I didn't use some sort of freakishly large wide-angle lens, but used my photoshop wizardry instead. :)

(click to enlarge)

And I couldn't finish this post without mentioning CORNHOLE! When our youth minister brought out a couple of big wooden boards with holes and bags full of corn, I thought he'd gone a little crazy. It didn't look like anything that belonged at youth camp. Family reunion, maybe, but not a camp for teens! I couldn't have been more wrong. Everyone loved cornhole. I loved cornhole!

It's almost like horseshoes (minus the metal stick and...um, the horseshoes. Okay, maybe it's not really like horseshoes). The object is to get the bag of corn into the hole. If you get a bag on the board, you get a point unless the other team also gets on the board & your points are then canceled out. If you make an actual cornhole, you get three points. When a team gets 15 points, it's over.

We ended up having a cabin-wide tournament and almost everyone participated. It was great. By golly, we loved it so much, we even decided to have cornhole t-shirts printed (designed by yours truly). I'm telling you Cornhole is going to start sweeping the nation! ;)

Unavailable

I am going to be on the road during the week of July 9-14 and will have limited access to phone and e-mail. If you need to reach me, you can call me at (580) 705-0054 and leave a voice mail message and I will return your call as soon as I can. Thanks!

The Littlest Firecracker

Happy Birthday to Ms. Sophie who shares a birthday with the good ol' United States of America!

Family Togetherness

I'll admit it: family and group portrait sessions are never easy to shoot, but I have rarely (if ever) had a session where we didn't come away with a memorable shot or two.

Take these, for example.... Little Ms. Sophie has become quite independent at the ripe ol' age of one. In fact, she has the gift of being able to completely ignore you if she wants to! So no matter what the silly ol' photographer said or did, she still was going to do her own thing....but all was not lost! Even with her uncooperative spirit, we still got plenty of good shots.

Family portraits are so important, yet we always seem to put them off (preaching to the choir, here!) Family portraits can also be difficult to arrange when you are juggling multiple schedules. I suggest making yearly portraits an annual family tradition. Let everyone in your clan know that they can expect a family session in the fall or in June or whenever and stick to it. You'll be glad you did!

You may also be worried that your child will not cooperate. This is a great example how a session feels like not much is being accomplished, but we still waked away with a variety of great shots. Besides, there's no need to worry because we can always reshoot on another day.