Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am especially thankful to all those who have supported me. The friends and family who comment about my photos and say such encouraging things. And to my wonderful clients.

"The best compliment you can give a photographer, is to book them."

Thank you for all of your support! I truly love what I do.

Coming from 37,996 feet up

I am writing to you from 37,996 feet in the air! I am on my way to Las Vegas to visit my family and friends for my 22nd birthday!!! I'm not so excited about turning 22 really. I kinda want to be 21 forever. 21 is the perfect age. When people lie about their age, they jokingly say they are "21." And everybody wishes they can just be 21 again. So does that mean it is all downhill for here? But the oh so thoughtful Alexandra Beckstrand introduced me to Taylor Swift's new song "22" and I'm getting excited! As long as I'm listening to this song (as I am right now) I am excited about turning 22! This will be my theme song for this week, and perhaps the year.

I have been away from my blog for a few weeks now. And I promise that it is for a very good reason! I am working on something SUPER exciting and I cannot wait to tell everyone!!!!! But your going to have to continue to wait. But this will be BIG and helpful to such a deserving family! Get excited and get ready to help share a special story with the world! Once the big news is revealed, I'll talk all about what has been going on the last few weeks, why I haven't been blogging and a little out of touch, and why this story has taken so long to finally tell.

You're just going to have to wait until then. I don't know when "then" is, you'll have to find out with me.

In the mean time, I will blog about some of my adventures in Vegas. I'm celebrating my birthday while I'm in Vegas, but I still have no clue what I should do!! Any suggestions?

Roasted Red Pepper and Sweet Potato Soup

Today is an exciting day! It's General Conference! The leaders of the LDS church will be talking to the members of the Mormon church and the public who have an interest in our faith throughout today and tomorrow. We just finished watching a session earlier today and another session will begin in just 2 hours!

You can go to this page to find a list of ways to view General Conference:
http://www.lds.org/church/events/members-and-friends-of-the-church-invited-to-participate-in-october-2012-general-conference?lang=eng

When we lived in Las Vegas, the first session of General Conference began at 9am. We had a tradition of a big delicious breakfast before watching conference! Now that we live in Florida and the first session begins at 12pm here, we changed our tradition to lunch!

We got today's recipe from Landen's Blog:
http://thecloakroomatvictoriastation.blogspot.com/2012/10/sisters-share-it-all-favorite-fall.html

The recipe has been handed down from blog to blog and now I am sharing it with you!

Roasted Red Pepper and Sweet Potato Soup

2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 ;arge yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
dash crushed red pepper flacks (This is optional, the more you add the spicier it is!)
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 dried parsley
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth


Preheat the oven to 450

Coat the Sweet potatoes and bell peppers in olive oil. Place chopped sweet potatoes and bell peppers on a tinfoil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle basil, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes over the top of the vegetables.

Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are nice and mushy!

Put all ingredients, including broth, into a blender and blend until smooth. Bring the soup to a boil on the stove. Let cool. Serve. Enjoy!


This was the perfect Fall General Conference lunch! AND it is "Skinny Girl" Recipe Approved!

1000 Days

A couple of weeks ago I asked my husband I could take him on a date next Wednesday. He said yes :). I told him that we will be celebrating a special occasion in our marriage; a milestone of sorts, but I wouldn't tell him what it was until next Wednesday. This drove him a tad bit crazy. He never stopped guessing, trying to remember what happened on that day 3 years, 2 years, or even 1 year ago.

Tuesday night was like Christmas Eve for Ben. He tried to get me to tell him at midnight, but I refused. We FINALLY got to sleep and the next morning I woke him up with a kiss and a "Happy 1000 dayaversary."

We have been married for 1000 days!

We had a light breakfast then got our workout on at Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park! And it was a work out! Blizzard Beach was built as a Ski resort, but the snow melted! So each water slide is at the top of a mountain, and you take a ski lift to get to the top. We didn't use the ski lift, and that was the ultimate stair master! With a great reward at the top!

Then we went home and got dressed for part 2. I made Lunch, then we headed out to a far away part of town!

We played GIANT CHECKERS!!! (I won :)

Then to Ben's surprise, we stopped by Rollin College and saw their play "The Miss Firecracker Contest." It was cute.

We had a great 1000 dayaversary!!!

People who have support loose 3x more weight

Ben and I went on a 6 mile run this morning! Well... more like a 4 mile run and 2 miles of gasping for breath as we walked home.

But I did it. And I have now stuck to my diet for 36 hours! Woah! Is it time for cake yet?

On our walk home, we passed by a house with this cute sign on it. It reminds me of somebody I miss a whole lot, and her German Shepherd pup.

Alexandra has helped me and supported me a whole lot these last 36 hours, and I wouldn't be able to carry on without the support I have been given. I wish we could be work out buddies, and I wish we could walk our spoiled rotten dogs together!

But we're doing this together! Me, Ben, and Alexandra! And anybody else who wants to join us. Because...

People who work together to loose weight, loose 3x more weight.

So grateful for my support group.

Introducing "Skinny Girl" modified recipies

This morning, Ben brought a magazine article to me that caught both of our attentions. The magazine is put out by Disney, and the article talked about an incentive program that neither of us knew about. Disney is offering a monetary incentive to any Disney employee and their spouse, who is enrolled in Disney's medical program, to stay fit, healthy, and in shape.

This surprised me when I read it, but it does make sense. Everybody who is on Disney's medical plan pays the same monthly payments no matter what their health is like. It's worth $300 per person, per year, to save money from medical expenses that occur more often when we're not healthy.

Each employee and enrolled spouse can earn up to $300! If your BMI is in the "healthy zone", you receive $150, and if your Blood Pressure in in the "healthy zone", you receive another $150! Disney takes these measurements in January. If you do not make the cut, then you have until August 13th to lower your score by 5%. Very do-able.

Ben is being serious about this challenge! He is already in the "Healthy Zone," but he wants to make sure he stays there! Plus he's getting ready for 2 upcoming marathons.

I am in the "overweight zone". I have to loose 11lbs by January to be in the "healthy zone." My goal is 35lbs.

So to help with this challenge, I am going to be taking Chef Ben's (my husband) recipes and modifying it into a "Skinny Girl" recipe. I'll be substituting things like Pasta with Spaghetti squash, and sandwich bread with lettuce wraps.

I've already modified Chef Ben's Eggplant Parmesan by taking out the breading and the cheese and substituting the pasta for spaghetti squash. This brings the recipe down to just vegetables and seasonings. Since he bakes the recipe already, this was an easy one, and SUPER yummy!

I'll be posting recipes on Chef Ben's blog along with the super "Skinny Girl" version starting next week! This means that come January, you'll already have a list of recipes for your new year goals!

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

I got today's photo shoot idea from this picture I saw on pinterest:

I'm getting ready to apply as a photographer for the volunteer orginization "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," abreviated as NILMDTS. At first it seemed like the process to volunteer my talents should be easy, but when I found that it was not an easy process, it did make sense to me.

Picture taken from www.NowILayMeDownToSleep.org

NILMDTS is an orginzation of volunteer Photographers who remain on call for their local hospitals. When a mother goes through the painful experience of having a still born baby, they are offered the professional services of one the NILMDTS professionals.

This is such an emotional and sacred experience. I completely understand why NILMDTS wants only the best photographers, whom they are confident will produce beautiful pictures that will last forever.

Part of the application process includes submitting 20 pictures showing your skill level in using light in different ways (Natural and artificial). Today's project helped me feel more confident in my upcoming application.

These are photos of the cute Aidan Mullen:

Wrapping Paper Studio

I LOVE taking pictures of babies! They are so cute and so innocent and have no idea what that thing I put on my face is (my camera). I am always trying to find ways to make the baby as comfortable as I can so that their true selves come out. Taking pictures in their home makes them more comfortable. Thats why I decided to make a...

Wrapping paper Studio!

This was such a cute idea! I let my client, Kelli White, pick out the wrapping paper to use as the backdrop. She found 2 great choices, and we used both!

Since I was not in my house, I didn't want to tape the wrapping paper to the wall and risk taking paint off when we remove the paper. So we got creative and taped the paper to the top of their bar counter, and then draped the paper down to the floor and taped the paper onto the floor.

I am calling my very first Wrapping Paper Studio a success!!! 

Anybody else want to give it a try?

The BEST Marinara Sauce!

Being Married to a chef sure has its perks :)

Recently, Ben and I went on a date to a fancy italian restaurant at Downtown Disney named "Portobello" because there was a great cast member lunch deal going on. The food was INCREDIBLE!

We started the meal with Eggplant fries and Marinara dipping sauce. The Eggplant fries were even better then they sound, seriously AMAZING! But the marinara sauce made them EVEN BETTER and the marinara sauce had a familiar taste. Then I remembered, this was the same sauce that Ventano used!

Of course it was familiar! Ben did his internship at Ventano in Las Vegas, and even though he didn't get paid, I got to eat there anytime I wanted for free, and I almost always ordered spaghetti with spinach. It was sooooo good.

As soon as this realization occurred, I blurted out to Ben "Could you make this?" And he could! He even made the Eggplant fries and his were EVEN BETTER than Portobello's eggplant fries. So was his marinara sauce. Seriously loving being married to a gourmet Chef!

Here is a link to the Recipe on Ben's blog:
http://chefbenjaminlstewart.blogspot.com/2012/09/bens-marinara-sauce.html

Ben will be posting his Eggplant Fries Recipe soon!

Introducing... BABY PLANS!

I am SOOOOOO excited to be introducing Baby Plans to my list of services! I have wanted to start baby plans for so long, but have put it off until NOW.

Yesterday I talked to a wonderful woman who I go to church with. We moved to the area about the same time, and so I didn't realize that she was also new to the area until just yesterday. She is pregnant and told me that she is looking for a photographer, and one of the sessions she would like to purchase is a Delivery session.

Seriously, DREAM COME TRUE for me! I LOVE being a part of that moment in the hospital!

Typically my time on location goes up by how many hours I am there, but with a delivery, the amount of time I am there is unpredictable and typically several hours long. This means that I not only need to be on call and have a free schedule for a few weeks around the due date, but I also have to clear my plans and entire schedule the day the baby decides to come.

WORTH IT!

This is such an incredible opportunity. But pricing this opportunity is hard. Hiring a professional photographer for up to 24 hours straight with an additional 3 weeks on call could be very expensive. But because I don't want to miss this opportunity, I've decided to make it FREE and just include it in a Baby Plan. This way, if you pay for a few sessions when the baby arrives, then I'll stick around for the birth at no additional charge.

Not only that, but with the baby plan, the sessions that you do pay for are SUPER discounted! I offer discounts all the time. Some pretty big discounts to. But no discount comes close to the discounted sessions in my Baby Plans!


PLUS some of my baby plans include a Maternity session, Birth announcements, and even a book filled with photos from each session! Think of the peace of mind knowing that your announcements and babies 1st year book will be taken care of! You'll be carefree with extra snuggle time with the new baby!

Both the "Extensive Baby Plan" and the "Complete Baby Plan" come with mini-session add ons that you can use for pregnancy bump growth pictures, or baby growth pictures, for as low as $15 a session and comes with 10-15 pictures on a CD. That is typically priced at $175!

With the pre-paid plan layout, as your baby grows, you won't need to worry about finding or paying for a photographer, or even forgetting to capture those moments. Life moves quickly. Take advantage of this package and don't let moments slip away. Your baby will love looking back at their book about them when they're older! And so will you!




Because this is a NEW PROGRAM, I am offering the packages at a HUGE SALE price!

And don't forget about my Punch Card reward program! After every 10 sessions purchased, you get a FREE session! This includes EACH session from the baby plan! This also includes any referrals you send my way. If you refer a friend who purchases a session, both of you get a punch in your card!

To learn more about my Baby plans, view the 3 different package choices, and see the pricing, please visit the baby plan page on my website by clicking HERE or copying the following link:

http://msphotographer.weebly.com/baby-plans.html

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

This book has become one of my favorites! I'm looking forward to reading it again sometime soon.

The book is told in the perspective of Alice. It starts out with Alice waking up from consciousness after an accident at the gym. An accident she doesn't remember. Surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place, Alice first worry is of the baby in her belly.

Alice not only for got the accident, but has been told that she has forgotten the past 10 years. Now Alice has to go home to her family, meet her fetus that is now a child, and find a way to show love to complete strangers.

With her family life different as she would have expected, Alice has a hard time accepting the divorce she is currently going through and living the life style she has built. Alice becomes dedicated to learn where her life so significantly changed. What about this accident she hears about, changed her life for the worse?

This book was written SO well! Once I picked it up for the first time, I could never put it down! It was an easy read and a great read!

I originally learned about this book through a review at
http://www.everyday-reading.com/2011/09/what-alice-forgot-by-liane-moriarty.html

I've also recently heard rumors that "What Alice Forgot" will soon be made into a movie and will be released sometime in 2013! I sure look forward to that!

Be ready for rain

My hubby had the day off of work yesterday, so we got to go play! We went to Magic Kingdom and I spent the day taking pictures of the parade and fireworks. It was hot and sunny when we arrived, but just like typical Florida weather, it was pouring by the end of the night. This leads me to the

Disney World Travel Tip for the Day:

Just because the sun is shinning and the forecast calls for a sunny day when you are heading to Disney World, it doesn't mean that it won't rain. There is a good chance that you will receive a down pour  at an unexpected moment. So always got to Disney World with rain in mind, and you won't be disappointed!

Here are some suggestions on preparing for rain:

 - Map out and learn where all the indoor attractions are. Each disney park has several indoor rides, shows, and activities.

 - Wear closed toed shoes with traction. Sneakers are great. Waterproof are even better! But stay comfy!

 - Don't wear a thin white shirt.

 - Put your extra clothes (especially Baby's extra clothes) in plastic grocery bags inside of your backpack.

 - Put anything you don't want wet, inside of zip lock bags.

 - Bring a rain stroller cover-up; a wet baby in a wet stroller does not equal a happy baby.

 - Pack ponchos and umbrellas.

 - Don't promise your children a parade or fireworks; those can be cancelled due to weather.

 - If you brought your ponchos and your willing to get wet, take advantage of the short lines. The rides with lines outside and the water rides will drop their wait time quickly as guests head for dryer ground!

 - Large sun hats and umbrella hats are wonderful to have during rain. Even baseball hats and visors can make a difference. If you're preparing to stay and play in the rain, I suggest bringing hats.

 - And most important, be ready for the rain and when it comes, enjoy it! Stay happy and positive! Everybody can enjoy a little dancing in the rain!

I also suggest bringing water proof gear for your camera. There are SOOOO Many options you can buy or put together yourself. My personal favorite rain accessory for DSLR cameras is a rain Camera Coat. You can find camera coats here.

Without rain accessories, I wouldn't be able to capture some of my favorite shots.

My brother's wedding

I got the rare opportunity to be both the photographer and a bridesmaid at my Brother's wedding. With the help of Jon Carmichael, a groomsman and photographer, and my last minute assistant, we were able to photograph Courtney and TJ's wedding without a hitch. I'm just going to show pictures from my camera.

It was such an honor to be a bridesmaid! I got to hang out in the bridal sweet with all the girls, complete with chocolates, champaign, and sparkling cider! Then of course I also got the great opportunity to take pictures of Courtney as she get ready to be married.

These Boys:

 How fun are these guys?!? I told them to do this shot, and just has I expected, they hesitated, but then really got into it and completely pulled the shot off!

Courtney was gorgeous! And she did such and amazing job planning this wedding! I thought everything turned out just perfect!

Dancing with mom:

Both the Mother/Daughter and Mother/Son dance was emotional for me and I'm sure others as well. TJ picked a silly song from his childhood, and Courtney chose a song that described her relationship with her mom. Both these pictures were made dramatic from the use of Black and White.

This shot reminded me of a scene in the movie "Hitch" where the awkward "Albert" is on a date with the sexy, famous, "Allegra Cole." During the scene, they are at a club dancing, and every time Allegra Cole would turn her back to him, Albert would break out his famous moves that Hitch mad him promise not to even try. Of course this seemed harmless, until pictures of the moment appeared in the papers the next day.

 As you can see, everybody had a great time! The wedding was a HIT!