April Showers...

Enough with April showers! I am ready for May flowers! The weather here in East Central Iowa has been cold, rainy and miserable. On the plus side, we have mostly have had just rain, not the ice or snow that other people have had to deal with.

Since "April Showers" was our blog circle theme this month, I had plans to do some fun April showers pictures with rain boots, puddles and umbrellas. Those things never happened because if it was raining during the day, I wasn't home or it was just nasty misty stuff. Plus, I hate the cold and the temperature were in the upper thirties or low forties so it was just damp and miserable and we even saw some sleet and snow (yes, I am whining!). This severely hampered my creativity!! Not at all the kind of weather I like to go outside and play in! We seemed to have a lot of heavy rain at night, so I took a few quick photos in the dark with a spot light from the protection of the porch one night. This was my favorite from the group.

I brought a wet daffodil in one morning and using a piece of black fabric and the light shining in the window from behind the flower took this photo....it's what I am looking forward to...May flowers!

Stop by my friend Lynnea's blog and check out "April Showers" in her part of the world.

Lucky!

This is the time of year when photographers usually focus on marketing programs and plans that will take them through the year. My blog circle subject for the month is “lucky,” so this has been in the back of my mind as I have been working on business goals and marketing plans. It is clear that success isn’t simply a matter of luck, but hard work and good decisions. However, sometimes it seems luck plays a part when something you hadn’t planned works out! Conversely, bad luck can be a painful learning experience! So, let’s be positive and think lucky from a business standpoint!

These are some quotes I found about luck and being lucky that I liked. Unfortunately, most of them did not give credit for the quotes but they were good ones.

1. A real man makes his own luck. 

2. I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.

3. I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often. – Brian Tracy

4. Diligence is the mother of good luck.

I am lucky to be doing what I love. I am lucky that I can set my own schedule, even though I tend to be a workaholic, I can work late and sleep late, at least most mornings! Lucky to have a studio space in my house! My house isn’t large and my studio space is not space I would dream of having but it works. Living in the country means I have beautiful outdoor locations right outside my door, even if the gravel roads aren’t always very nice getting here!

Lucky is often a matter of perspective. We had a strong wind that blew down a tree. It wasn’t lucky that the wind blew over the tree, but it was lucky the tree feel where it did and made a great spot for family portraits!

I am lucky to have great clients that believe in me and my ability to capture moments that they will treasure forever. While I feel incredibly lucky to have all of my clients and to enjoy each area of my business, these little people make me feel especially lucky! 

Stop by my friend Livie's blog and check out her take on "lucky."

Love is...

February is the month of love! It's also a good month to snuggle and stay warm! As I type this, we are hearing more information about the expected snowstorm for tomorrow in Iowa and we are currently under a winter storm warning. Right now, my area is supposed to get around 9" of snow, but the worst thing is the wind that will be whipping around at 25 to 35 mph. I had to run into town today so I stopped a the grocery store to pick up a few things so we can weather the storm with plenty of good food to eat! Typically out here in the country, we get snowed in for a day or two....sometimes more.

The subject of our monthly blog circle post for February is "Love is..." Love mean different things to different people so it will be interesting to see what everyone in our circle comes up with!

Love is...

Living in the country and seeing sights like this.

Love is...

brother and sister giving each other a kiss.

Love is...

a big spotted, goofy Dalmatian with a cold, black nose!

Love is...

a little beauty in everyday.

Love is...

family... three boys with one married giving me a daughter-in-law that I dearly love!

Thank you for stopping by! Take a minute to check out my friend, Livie's, blog and see what "Love is..." to her!

January 2013!

So, I fully intended to do weekly blog posts starting at the first of the year. Despite my good intentions, that just hasn't happened! My major excuse is having surgery on Dec. 27 that has really hard to bounce back from. I had a nissen fundoplication and hiatal hernia repair. The surgery went fine but eating and feeling good since have been really hard. In the three weeks since the surgery, I have lost 20 lbs. While losing weight is a plus, the loss of strength and muscle tone are definitely not! On a more positive note, I am feeling better and I have been able to have some photo sessions but strength and endurance are taking a lot more time to return than I would like!!

Our monthly blog circle theme this month is "black & white." My first thought was that's easy...I have the perfect subject, my dalmatian, Callie. Trying to get the photo that I envisioned of her was an epic fail! Yesterday, I had a maternity session and I love maternity photos in a warm black and white so I will share a few of those with you.

This afternoon, I looked out to see it was snowing hard. I couldn't resist a few black and white snow pictures to complete my post.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog! Take a minute to stop by Livie's blog and see her black and white vision for the month!

I thought it was a bit ironic that the our blog circle word for the month was cozy and today was all about staying cozy in the middle of the big blizzard in Iowa! Thankfully, we have had electricity all day but a lot of people are without power and many are stranded on the roads here. The wind continues to blow the snow around making travel difficult. Since I live in a rural area, we have not seen a snowplow yet so we patiently wait.....kindle in hand, hot cocoa and cookies! That is my definition of cozy. Please visit Kristi at her blog and see her take of the "cozy!"

I have several Christmas photo orders on my desk waiting for better weather so people can pick them up. We had to cancel a session today as no one had any business being on the roads and there was no way to get through the drifts to my house today!

Most all of the area schools have canceled school again for tomorrow (everything was canceled today because of the weather) so kids got an early start on Christmas vacation this year. I'm sure no one really minds, including the teachers!


Stay cozy!

Thanksgiving is approaching so fast! I finally made a trip to town today to get all the groceries necessary to have a great feast day with all the family. It was a painful jolt when I saw the total at the checkout counter but it made me think about how thankful we can be for all that we have. While the groceries were expensive, I could afford to buy them and for that I am thankful. Thankful too that we live in a country where we can go to the store and find most anything we want just waiting for us to purchase. Our country may not be in the best shape but I am thankful we are still relatively safe and able to go about our daily lives without fear. Most of all, I am thankful for family and friends that are such a special part of our lives. As we gather together, I want to just be more aware of how special and important these relationships are and I don't take them for granted.

It was so special to photograph this mother and family as they look forward to their second little bundle of joy. It is even more special to me as I photographed their wedding and first child also. I love it when photography is more than just a session. It is a relationship and a friendship.

On a side note, these photos were taken on Sunday. Monday this little girl made her debut! So happy for this family.