My hero...Anne with an "e"

"I discovered it's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it."
That's a quote from my all time favorite movies the Anne of Green Gables series! I pretty much scream the whole time because of how much I love it! lol!
I think I see myself in her so much...and I love how much joy she brings into people's lives! No one can hate her! And she is fearless which I know is something that I'm working on becoming more and more...Also, she dreams endlessly and no matter what dream killers come into her life she never let's them get her down!

If you haven't ever seen these movies or haven't seen them in awhile...WATCH THEM!! They will change your life;) hehe! I also read all the books years ago and they are probably the best fiction books anywhere! Check them out!
Have a beautiful day! I love you guys soooo much!!

Changing the world....one story at a time.

Last month a group of 7 of us photographers; Jenna Walker, Liana Lehman, Amy Nave, Shyla, Crystal Goss, Jasmine Star, and I headed out to Denver, CO for a little retreat to get away and get to know each other better.....but we decided months before we ever went out there that we wanted to make an impact somehow through photography, on the first day! Since Jenna lives in Denver and had worked with non-profits before she had all the connections and hooked us up with a day of documenting Volunteers of America! Let me just tell you....it completely opened my eyes! It was SUCH fulfilling work getting to see all these people rally together to help the homeless and needy! As their full time job too! I definitely got the bug to do these type of projects again! Especially for people who don't normally have the privilege of getting their pictures taken!
We all broke up into 3 groups to fully document all of "VOA's" projects! My friend Amy and I documented all the elderly people in the program and OMG I LOVE older people!! Amy and I were laughing pretty much the whole time from how hilarious and adorable they were! We also went to a hospital to document foster grandparents who just come there to hold the baby's so they always have physical touch...incredible!! That's us styling our very hard to breath, stylish masks...hehe!

We also got to do our project with the amazing Jim White who works for VOA and has some of the most incredible stories! The best part was working with him and then the next day turning on the TV and seeing him being interviewed about VOA! Too funny! But he and VOA are truly making such an impact in Denver! Here is a slide show that I put together for VOA's promotional stuff of all of us girls pictures!! This was one talented bunch here!! I was in awe going through all of their pictures! Check it out!

PS..The top pic we are missing Jenna and Crystal...since we all broke up into groups we didn't know what the other group was doing...so that is also why Amy and I have SUCH original "I AM's" LOL!!

Bowling is not good for my pride.

This weekend has been so fun but insane! I'm definitely still working on the NO thing like in the last post...hehe!! :)
Yesterday was a trip! I took my friend Jenny bowling for her FIRST TIME EVER! I couldn't believe it when she told me that she had never played before! How can you even be American without doing that sometime in you life?? lol! So I decided to help her out in this little predicament and take her! Well...we get there and I was absolutely so exhausted that I couldn't even think straight so it took me about 5 minutes to explain to the guy working there that we each wanted 1 game and a pair of shoes...I know that seems pretty simple but for some reason none of it was coming out right!! And then I was laughing so hard that he totally couldn't understand me at all...so this definitely started off on a great foot..;) Jenny and I go and start playing and she totally beats me! And I wasn't playing easy...ugh!!! I thought that she just had beginner's luck or something...but when we played another game she just beat me even more(although that time I let her because I was trying to figure out how many different ways I could roll the ball including kicking it...)!! lol! Twas quite fun...but definitely horrible for any pride that I ever had! ha!
Last night was awesome too because my brother, sister and I all met my hilarious friend Regis, who lives in California but was flying through Chicago, for dinner! He is one of the funniest people ever so it was so fun to hang out for a little bit!
I totally was camera less yesterday...so that is a picture of Regis and I from Partnercon almost 2 years ago..but it's still funny!
:)

Saying NO!!

Wow...what a week!! I feel like the whole wedding season kicked in and it hasn't even started!
The past month or two I have been realizing more and more the power of the word NO!
Sometimes I can be a real people pleaser and always try to do everything to win people's approval! So I run from one end of the earth to the other! Don't get me wrong...I'm HIGHLY addicted to traveling and visiting with people all the time..but if that is all I do it becomes the "good" rather than the "BEST"!

I know what I'm called to so that has really helped me lately to look over everything and prioritize what I need to say yes to and what to say no to... but it's still SO easy to get caught in the trap of wanting to look busy all the time! If we are always BUSY when are we ever going to get a chance to breathe and really see if what we are doing is making any difference or if we are just running around in circles?? I actually cancelled 3 trips this spring because of this! I looked over it and thought...what is the purpose of this or is it just a distraction? I was able to free up a month and a half of time that I've now been able to get SOOO much done and make real progress in where I'm headed! Even this week I had everyday booked but I consolidated and cleared space and time so that I can breathe! What can you cancel, consolidate or just plain say NO to right now so that you can have TIME to do the BEST things??
I hope you all are doing amazing!
I love you guys so much!

Podcasts are cool.

My cousins have been doing a reallllly hilarious podcast everyday on the tour that they are on and I just think it is sooooo perfect..and super smart too!! They do a couple videos a day which is brilliant because like a blog people keep coming back for more and now they are HUGE on You Tube like really high in the stats! Incredible!
Anyways....I wanted to post about that...but also...all my pics are on their newest poster which is so exciting!! Here is Becca and Beka introducing the new poster:)

Check out their fun daily podcast on their Myspace or the direct link to You Tube!
I love you all!

Rotic Valentines night!

Ok...yes I know there is some explaining to do...I hosted a party that my incredible friend Kristen told me about...it's called Rotic Night which basically stands for romantic...but if you take out the "man" in romantic you get rotic! So for Valentine's night my sister Natalie and I invited allll of our single girl friends to have a fun little girly party! On top of that it was a Asian theme so everyone had to come dressed up appropriately...we had some seriously incredible costumes one including black nylons and bubble wrap for a big Chinese up do! SO hilarious! It was a wonderful night of seeing old friends, PF Changs, low asian tables, pictures, laughing, and of course at the end closing the night with an adorable chick flick! Definitely the most perfect Valentine's day! I love it! Here are some pics from it....I would definitely party plan for one of my jobs if I wasn't in photography! It's WAY too much fun and I think I've loved it and planned my own party's since I was like 4 so it's fun to get back into it! :)




PS...Only like 2 more spots for the Spread the Love workshop open!!!!!! Better hurry if your going to join the FUN!!:)

A LOVE story....

A little less than a year ago I decided to get away for a much needed retreat....I headed out to my cousins house out in the country and spent a couple days out there.

While out there I was laying in the grass one day near their pond looking up at the beautiful sky and just started dreaming....thinking of everything that God wanted me to do! All of a sudden after praying a little bit I had an idea!! A MUCH needed photographer's personality workshop!! No no no! I swore I would NEVER do a workshop...(I thought they were overrated...)

I then went inside and was reading in one of my absolute favorite books about how the author was considering not writing it because he thought there was an over abundance of books! So this one would just be another duplicate! NO! God had given HIM something specific that would help tons of people out and he had to share it and not back down! I decided then that I probably should run with it! I didn't quite know where to start though!

A couple months later my incredible friend Mary Marantz emailed me saying she had been thinking ALLL morning how we should do a workshop together! I emailed her back wondering what her thoughts were about it...like what we would want to cover and such...she emailed back and to my amazement covered the same things that had been put on my heart months ago plus some more! I knew her and her husband Justin were the perfect fit for this especially because of their incredible and infectious personalities!

SOOO we are doing it!! YAY!! Basically we are going to be covering a TON of areas...how to really show your love to your clients through: how to interact with them at the shoot, how to bring out their real beauty, to them becoming your friends, and how to fall more in LOVE with what you do...AND so much more!!
I think it was absolutely perfect too that 2 months ago right when we started planning this my friend DJ ran survey on the importance of YOUR personality on his forum and the statistics were incredible!! Check it out **HERE**
Also.....duh duh duh.....the BRAND NEW....SPREAD THE LOVE WEBSITE!!! www.spreadtheloveworkshop.com
....and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! I love you all!

The two cutest girls!

I'm very much biased and think that my two youngest siters, Olivia(THE O's) and JuliAnna(Jules) are definitely the most adorable little girls ever! They get along so well....most of the time...except when O's is doing soming that Jules doesn't like and Jules WILL NOT stand for it! Which is so cute in itself, a one and a half year old putting her foot down! lol! These two are SUCH a gift to the family and bring us SO much joy everyday it's unreal! I decided to do a little photoshoot of them the other day and they couldn't stand pictures very long but I love what I got of them!

You KNOW Jules is growing up with a older sister who is a photographer when this morning she goes over to Olivia and gives her a big hug and then looks over to me mid-hug and says CHEESE!!!!! LOL!
(disclaimer: I DON'T make people say cheese at photoshoots....just when joking around at home we do, just thought I'd clear that up;) hehe!

PS!! The LOVE teaser that I posted a couple weeks back....the MAIN thing will be released TOMORROW!! Perfect time to think about love huh??? :)

Lily in Colorado!

I've definitely documented a lot of, my friend Schlyce's, little baby Lily's life!!
She is SOOO adorable and is such a character! Since I stayed with them for a week I was able to get a bunch of lifestyle pics of Lily doing what she does best! So fun!!
I think the funniest part was when Schlyce was looking at some of the pics on the back of the camera and she's like "OH! Lily had her first cookie!" OOps! LOL! Leave it to me!! ha! Well at least her first cookie eating is documented!
Check out the slideshow here!

I feel like I'm working night and day working to get caught up...and AHEAD!! It's pretty exciting....so there are some MIGHTY fun things to post about in the next couple days!!

Cabin Fever

Being the age that I am and the fact that I'm in business makes it slightly interesting in the social area....I was thinking the other day when I needed some time with friends..."most of my friends live out of state!!" whether being in college or just business, it definitely gives me a WONDERFUL reason to travel but also when I get back it's HARD work getting together with a lot of people! I think this is a definite special season of God wanting me to really draw closer to Him so that he really is my bestest friend! It's been incredible how much nearer He seems! I absolutely LOVE it and wouldn't trade it for the world!
I definitely take advantage of any time that I have with my friends though!! Which is wonderful to get me out of the work mode too! lol! :) I was able to get together with my two best friends....finally!! :)
Last night my friend Joy and I went out for cheesecake to catch up with life and plan a trip to Europe! I try to get every minute I can in with her as she lives in Michigan....:)

And then today I took my friend Rebecca out for breakfast for her birthday at a adorable new organic restaurant called Honey and then shopping! It was perfect...and to end it we got a cupcake from Honey that was like licking a very sweet cloud!
I think I'm going to have to go back there at least once a week! :) hehe! ok....time to babysit....I thought I'd just catch you all up on some of my personal life! LOL!
I love you all so much!!

WOW.....I should just do the intern thing full time!

Well....we have all 7 applicants in for the intern program and several for the pre-intern program! Wow! What an amazing response! We were already half full after only having released it for 3 hours! Pretty sweet! :)
I'm going to be evaluating all the applications tonight and emailing out details and if people have been accepted....so if any of you all are on the fence or really wanting to be part of this program get your email in and I will look over your request too, I can't guarantee anything...but it doesn't hurt to try!! But you only have a few more hours!! :)

THE INTERN PROGRAM!!!

Yay!! After months of thinking and planning this program and putting the site together it is finally ready!!!
I had THE most amazing time with my interns last year..and to be honest sometimes love training them more than even doing photography itself! shhh! hehe!
I decided that this has to be a definate part of my business because of how fun it is but also the incredible people I meet through it! They are some of my BEST friends now and don't know how I lived before without them;)
**CLICK HERE** for the brand new intern site that the AMAZING Nameless Design helped me out with!!! You HAVE to check them out btw!!:)
**EDIT: The requests are coming in VERY fast and will possibly be filled up by tonight or tomorrow so get your requests in soon so that you get the date that works best for you, as it's first come first served!!** :)

Some thoughts....that are pretty much thoughtless..

1. I NEED to duplicate myself about 5 times and have 48 hours a day rather than 24...
2. I HATE the dentist. Scraping teeth with that pointy thing should most definitely be illegal.
3. I just voted for THE first time the other day and had no clue who to vote for so I just voted for whoever's name sounded nice.....except for voting for prez that is;)
4. I dislike politics sooooo much. Can't we all just give each other hugs instead??? lol;)
5. I decided that I'm going to get into extreme sports....after I get REALLY good insurance though;)
6. It snowed about a foot and a half here in Chicago which is why "Nashville here I come" is sounding pretty much amazing!
7. I got 3 matchmaking offers last week in a day and a half.
8. I WILL get more Colorado pics up but I have to clean my desk so that I can get to my main computer.
9. I LOVE you all:)
10. I'M RELEASING IN THE MORNING THE NEW SITE FOR THE SUMMER INTERN PROGRAM!!!!!!!!! Get ready!!! :)

Garden of the gods

I had NO clue that I took soooo many pictures out in Colorado! Wow. So this post is dedicated to the absolutely breathtaking Garden of the gods in Colorado Springs...you feel like you've entered another planet or world it's so beautiful! Then you see Pikes Peak with all the snow and it just doesn't click, the different terrains, but of course God love variety...huh!?? :)

No longer in the shadows!

WOW WOW WOW....so I only watch one football game a year and that of course is the Superbowl! I always get pretty pumped about it! Last year especially because Chicago was in it...but unfortunately was defeated:(
This year though...I started watching having NO clue who I was cheering for but randomly picked the Giants since I LOVE New York and I think the Manning boys are pretty cool!

What a game! Holy cow! I was totally screaming at the end...and I definitely didn't think I was THAT into football! ha! But I am just so proud of Eli Manning! I almost cried! LOL... Just seeing his brother and how proud he was of him the whole game and Eli really living in his brothers shadow but now was HIS time to prove who he really was and not just Payton Manning's little brother! How incredible! I'm pretty pumped right now as you could probably tell...but I just had to post a little something about THE best football game I've seen...(except for the halftime show;)..lol!
I will post allll about Colorado tomorrow..but today is my NO WORK day so editing pictures is not allowed;) haha!
I love you all!

Colorado...my third home!

Colorado now feels like my third home! Nashville...of course being my second..!:) I've been here for 11 days now and I decided yesterday,(which I was supposed to fly out last night...) to stay two days longer to help my friend Schlyce out with some things and do a little nannying:) I totally feel like a mommy right now...cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, running errands, babysitting, changing diapers, giving baths, and walking the dog! Thankfully I don't have my internet on my laptop to distract me! :) I have always LOVED cooking...but once my parents kept having more and more kids it would take almost all day to make something decent for 9 people so I pretty much stopped doing it...but it's kinda fun doing it for only 3 and a baby! Especially the dish part...where I'm used to having 2 dishwasher loads of dishes per meal...here they just run it once per day! It's so foreign to me! lol!

I am SO glad I decided to stay a little longer too because in this whole time of serving and putting all of my stuff aside God still was looking after me and honoring the time I was giving!! Last night Schlyce and I had THE best talk/dreaming/vision inspiring conversation and stayed up super late just talking about tons of different ideas and what God had planned for my life! I could hardly fall asleep last night...God has always used her to really speak into my life at JUST the perfect time! So I was so excited that He was faithful in continuing to use her as a REAL blessing and counsel!
I'll be home tomorrow night and will be able to catch up with everything then!! I miss everyone! It's weird being so disconnected yet so refreshing at the same time! I love you all! :)