Year: 2011

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you who check in regularly to see whats new! I can’t believe 2011 is almost over. I have my final two shoots of the year tomorrow and then I’ll enjoy a nice, relaxing New Years weekend with my family and friends. I counted the portrait sessions I photographed over the past 12 months and my jaw dropped. I honestly had no idea how many, I’m just on cruise control all year until I actually sit back and look at my calendar. I am so thankful to have all my clients support and also the support of my friends and family who spread the word about my photography business. Last year I started blogging everything I shot. Weddings, Rehearsals, Special Events, Portrait Sessions, some Personal photos, etc! It’s fun for me to look back on this past year and see my work here on web. Blogging in my last step when editing someones session. My work is not complete until that’s done :) That’s why when my website was giving me trouble last month, I almost had a heart attack. Needless to say, I was a bit lost!

I am currently booked solid for the month of January, I have a couple more spots for February, and mostly booking for March and afterward. My “Grow With Me” kids always get top priority with scheduling, so that’s the great thing about signing up. Their availability is guaranteed. If you are a past client who didn’t sign up for GWM, but still would like 6 month or 1 year photos, please be in touch at least 2 months in advance to book your date.

Also, just a heads up… after 2 years of having the same portrait pricing, my regular sessions are now $350. I changed this about 3 months ago for a few reasons. With the cost and time of travel, the hour long shoot, all editing, photo CD of high-resolution photos, and blogposts of the session – I had numerous people tell me it was time to raise before I wore myself out. I spend between 5-8 hours on each session. I am slowly learning to say no and to only take in what I can handle. I hope 2012 brings lots of new and old faces to photograph. I am truly blessed to call this my job. I work hard because I enjoy making people happy. I hope that my dedication, patience, and consistency shines through here on the blog. Without you all – there wouldn’t be anything to share. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, I really enjoyed spending time with my loved ones. I took some time out to make a couple of small appetizers and desserts from pinterest! I can’t wait to get back to working out and eating healthy. The Holidays are filled with splurging left and right. One last weekend to make it all count and then back to focusing on being healthy :)

Much love to you all! Here’s a few things I made last week…..

Greek Appetizer Stacks! (Feta, Cucumber, Kalamata olive Olives, Grape Tomatoes)

http://pinterest.com/pin/123215739774671502/

Mini Bacon and Egg Desserts! :) How CUTE are these?!

http://pinterest.com/pin/123215739774659779/

Festive Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods!

http://pinterest.com/pin/123215739774613458/

Most of us run around everyday trying to make sure we get everything done on our to-do list. Wearing ourselves thin, not remembering to take a step back. That is until you get a wake up call. Whether it be hearing about a sick friend, someone getting into an accident or just a story that reminds you to be thankful for life. Some people may not understand why I chose to start cutting back next year and honestly, I’m okay with that. My faith is what leads me to make certain moves in life. I’ve learned to wait for God’s presence before making life changing decisions. If you pray hard enough and focus, you will hear your answers. There are times in life when you just need to slow down. I’m learning how to do this and trying to reprogram my brain. I spoke of all this a few days ago when I talked about needed some balance in my life. It’s funny the people who texted me, called or emailed just to say hello or check on me after reading my blog. I am fine and I so lucky to have people in my life that care so much about me. I’m just wearing myself out chasing my dreams. But honestly- isn’t that the best way? Things could be way worse.

I wanted to share a story with you guys that touched my heart. I debated talking about it in yesterdays post, but I figured the more prayers the better. Do you remember the session I posted yesterday of The Trouard’s? Scroll down to the post beneath this if you missed it. Since Renee left me such a heartfelt blog comment, I figured it was okay to share their story. I received an email several weeks back from Renee asking for a photo shoot for her family. Her Dad had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. My heart was breaking for her when I first read the email. So, without a doubt in my mind- I made time for their session and we drove up to Bay St. Louis, MS last Saturday morning. It was my first Saturday off in 8 weeks from shooting all those Weddings. It didn’t matter. This family and their story mattered way more than having a day off. I photographed their session that morning and Renee’s father smiled the entire time. His whole family was together and he was happy. I was so incredibly honored to be there to document this special time. Here’s Renee’s comment she left on the blog after viewing her pictures.  I read this and had tears in my eyes.

Jen,

They came out AWESOME!  We can’t thank you enough.  I wanted to tell you that the timing was perfect.  On Sunday he began to run a very high fever and has been in the hospital all week.  He is doing much better now though.  He started losing his hair and his beard on Monday and is almost bald with no facial hair now.  It is crazy how fast it happened.  He was teasing telling me that he wanted me to take a picture and send it to you. He said you would really would have had to work some photoshop magic if he had looked like that on Saturday.

You know, when we are doubting and asking God to show his presence to us during our hardships, I believe he often reveals himself to us through certain people.  Just the fact that the photo shoot was possible, everyone was healthy, and you went out of your way to make yourself available, lets me know He is listening.  He is shinning through you!

Thank you for capturing such a special moment for our family.  You will never know what it means!
Renee

Thank you God for blessing us and allowing the shoot to happen on that particular day. Thank you for bringing The Trouard family into my life. For holding my hand and guiding me, for allowing me to feel your Grace. I will forever be thankful for the many gifts you have brought into my life. I will continue to live in your name, follow you and show my appreciation. I will be praying for this family and remembering how precious life can be. Hold your babies tight, tell your family and friends how much you love them and just be thankful to be alive. Lately I’ve really tried to work on being a more positive person, hoping in turn it will make a difference in my life and for those around me.

Be safe this weekend and remember how much God loves us. Sometimes other people are brought in your life so you can feel God’s presence. I will be praying for Mr. Trouard and his entire family. Please keep them in your thoughts as well. Hugs to you all!

Although it’s just a low-res iphone photo… I took this heading home from Bay St. Louis last Saturday. Sunsets remind me of God’s power and presence every single time!

Well, hello! :) It’s been a while since I’ve written anything personal here on the blog. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been really busy over the past few months. As you can tell from all the recent posts. Alot of time, I meet myself coming and going. There are days were I want it all… I want a successful business, time with family, friends and husband, time for crafty stuff, time to shop, time to workout, time to relax, etc… It’s really hard to find balance when you own your own business though because there’s always something that needs to get done. Always. However, something has to give.

Being the control freak that I am, things need to be done on certain days in order for me to move on to the next thing, or take in more work, or to have time to treat myself to that manicure, etc. I’ve been ignoring my needs and over doing it. I just finished up the busiest 2 months I’ve ever had, I’ve shot a Wedding the past 8 weekends and have had about 3-6 shoots per week. Still somehow finding the time to get Portrait clients images back within 1 week and Wedding clients images back within 2 weeks. To be completely honest, somewhere in the middle of all that work – I had a mini breakdown. It was alot of pressure and I just wasn’t making enough time for myself. I got out some tears and let out my frustrations, fears and emotions all on Randys shoulder one night. I am human and sometimes yes, I hit a breaking point. Which is why some things needed to change. For me. For my marriage. For just plain out living life and feeling normal. I can’t do everything. Sometimes it takes things happening to put whats going on around me into perspective.

I decided to turn some things around when I started feeling blah. I started bootcamp again after taking a few months off. I began going to the morning classes and pushing my shoots back a little later in the day instead of starting so early. I wake up and go there 3 times a week and I am starting to feel good again! I also starting buying more organic foods and really trying to focus on being a healthier person. I’m down about 6 pounds and convinced it’s been a combination of eating breakfast every morning, followed by my vitamins, a bottle of water and then heading to sweat it out at Bootcamp. Small meals throughout the day, portion control and only cheating every now and then. I started keeping a private journal which has helped alot too with just getting it all out of my brain. I also signed up at Massage Envy and really going to try and get a massage twice a month. Between carrying around heavy equipment and camera bags combined with 40+ hours of editing at a desk per week… my back and shoulders are filled with knots. Little things along the way and changes in my routine will help me find balance again.

I am so in love with my job, that it was really easy for me just to keep overbooking myself. Some days I just can’t get enough and I hated turning people away. However, I knew some things needed to change in order for it not to feel like work work work all the time. Starting next month, I’ve decided to only take in 2 Weddings per month and 4 portrait sessions per week. I want each person that books with me to get the proper attention, taking in more than I can handle is not the option for myself or the client. I have turned down dozens of Weddings over the past year. Truthfully, this is a decision I made back in Jan 2010 that is just now coming into effect. Brides book really far in advance, so I knew I needed to make some changes and it’s now finally happening. I am looking forward to the upcoming months and being able to have a little more time on my hands.

I am so thankful for each one of you who has hired me as your photographer, you mean more to me than you know. I am just hoping that this upcoming year will continue to bring in past and new clients in order for this change to happen. I have about 15 people on a waiting list right now in case something opens up before Christmas. When I look at that list is takes me back to the day several years ago when I wanted to just give up because this wasn’t working. Note to self: with enough drive and dedication you will push forward and succeed. You just have to want it. Some days you may even need to eat, live, breathe and sleep that particular goal in order for it to happen. It will happen if you don’t give up. I am looking forward to what the next several months will bring. I will be transitioning into a different work schedule, but deep down it’s for the better.

Throughout my life of ups and downs, I am still reminded to put God in the center. Whether I’m doing awesome and things are great, I’m overworked, tired, or just feel like running … God is there. I’ve noticed God working through me several times in the past month. Little instances of people in need and I’ve been given the opportunity to either help or ignore. I’ve chosen to help and I had felt God’s grace poor over me. Sometimes so much that I get emotional and teary. I am so thankful for the many blessings I’ve been given, that my only way to show appreciation is so share my time and talent. I leave those situations with a happy heart and a refreshed mind. I want there to be more good in the world, less fighting, more loving. It begins with a positive attitude. It’s amazing what God can do. I will be right here waiting to see what he has in store for me. Not giving up, just holding on for the ride. Knowing he will provide in my times of need.

Thanks to all of you for continuing to follow my work, my life, my passion. It’s amazing how far this little old blog has gotten me in the past couple of years. It’s changed the way I do business and has helped me grow as a photographer, its helped me make new friends along the way, and hopefully it’s been a source of entertainment or inspiration for you. I am human and this is sometimes my place to let it all out. I am so glad I made it through the past couple of months. Being the sweet age of 26, I often have to remind myself that this is exactly where God wants me, this is his plan. Sometimes you have to come full circle in order to know what is and is not working. This is me and this is where I am right now. I am so thankful and proud. Everyone is in different places and stages in their lives and all I can do is stay positive. As soon as I took a step back, started trusting myself, and quit comparing myself to others and what they have – – that’s when the world seemed to make more sense. I am so happy for what I have and through all this, I’ve found more meaning in life. Hard and hectic times make the good times sweeter. Remembering to thank God every Sunday at mass and a few extra prayers is what gets me through ;)

So it’s that time of year again when the weather is changing and everyone is ready to book photos! I put an announcement up on facebook today that I only had a couple of spots left for 2011 and I got about 15 calls, emails, texts and facebook messages about people needed to be squeezed in. You don’t know how bad I wish there was another month in there between November and December just so that I could make this work for you guys. The second half of January is currently booked too, so please get in touch with me soon if you are thinking about having your session done in the near future. I currently am shooting a Wedding almost every weekend and 4-6 shoots per week. Somehow in there I’m still needing to find time to edit and spend time with my loved ones. Bookings will change a bit next year to make sure I keep some balance in my life, but for now I am working like crazy.

If you are a person that recently inquired and I gave you a few possible dates, please get back with me so you can be guaranteed that spot. They will all be full in a couple of days. Right now I only have about 3 days left in December. I will be taking off for a week or so around the Holidays to spend some time with my family and refresh for the new year. And… also to try and enjoy Christmas :) My lower back is finally healing after time spent at physical therapy, a new back brace to wear while I’m editing, and some light exercises. I am really hoping I don’t hurt it again! It’s hard because I just want to keep my head down and keep moving right along but sometimes our bodies just tell us we need to slow down!!

I can’t thank you all enough for the love and support you’ve shown me. Thank you for hiring me as your photographer or just stopping by the blog to read and see whats new!

Thank you to my wonderful assistant, Kacie for taking these photos for us at my brother’s Rehearsal Dinner. I really got to have fun and let Kace do all the work! It was at Mother’s Next Door and we had a great time! Erin Steen, the same florist who did the flowers for my Wedding, also did the flowers for their Rehearsal. Beautiful! I was so happy to be able to spend so much time with Chris and Jen during this special time. I took a whole week off of work! :) Thankfully they picked a Wedding date that was during my slow season, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was able to soak it all in. Now it’s back to the grind! I can honestly say though, I have loved every minute of my free weekends, vacations, time with family and friends, home cooked meals, etc.. The next 3 months are my busy season and I have never been so ready to go for it!! I am feeling refreshed and inspired since I had a little time off. Back on the saddle — here we goooo! I love my job and I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people!

The favors we made: little bundles of Hubig pies, Zapps, Crystal Hot Sauce & Barq’s Root Beer – NOLA Favs!We draped their Engagement photos across the favors table. Loved this idea!Beautiful flowers by Erin SteenAll the Bridesmaids! Me and My Momma!!My brother Chris… his sister Jen Amato to the left, his wife Jen Amato to the right! Beautiful couple! Love them!They gave us these adorable painted wine and beer glasses that looked like us!Me and my brother! Can’t believe he’s married now!My family, love them to death!Here comes the waterworks! Speeches! This picture makes me tear up…LOVE LOVE!Chris, Jen, My cousin Erin (my godson Reed is in her belly) & Justin!

It’s been a really busy week with wrapping up last minute details for Chris and Jen’s Wedding festivities. As most of you know, my brother is marrying his long time love, Jennifer tomorrow! We had the rehearsal last night at Mother’s and everything was wonderful. I just wanted to share a quick photo of my family. I’ve done a little editing this morning and about to head about the door to get a manicure with mom. I really want to bake Jen some cupcakes for tomorrow, too! She loves funfetti! Enjoying this time with my family and soaking it all in!

It feels weird to not be blogging every single weekday. I can usually plan out my blogs up to 2-3 weeks in advance and I know exactly what will be posted. Right now, I made sure to give myself some time off to enjoy my brother’s Wedding festivities. We had the Bridesmaids Luncheon this past Sunday at Metairie Country Club, the Rehearsal is this Thursday and the Wedding is this upcoming Saturday. I’ve been helping my mom plan the Rehearsal, which tonight we are making all the favors. Looking forward to sipping some wine and relaxing with the girls.

I woke up the other morning with a really bad backache that had been lingering since last week. Well after running some tests and 2 hours at the doctor’s yesterday, I got no news but ‘Oh, you must have pulled a muscle!” AWESOME! So, I put a medicated back strip on last night and that seemed to work a little bit. I can only sit at my desk and edit/do work for about 2-3 hours at a time without needing to go walk around and stretch my back. I am really hoping this passes by the weekend. I need to go take some more Advil!

I am excited about the new props that my mother in law bought me for my newborn shoots. It’s 3 adorable animal crocheted outfits to swaddle them in with matching beanies. My godson, Reed will be born in about 2 months- so I’ve been trying to think of some new ideas. I joined Pinterest a few days ago and my creative juices are flowing. I wish I would have joined earlier. That site is amazing!!! I am also on the lookout for some thin fabric in assorted colors to swaddle the babies in. Lot’s of new ideas in my head!

Well we finally have our guest room complete, it just needs something to hang over the bed. I found this idea on Pinterest that is an old picture frame with yarn draped across the center. You clothespin old black and white photos across it. I thought this would be an awesome idea for that bedroom. It’s amazing how finishing that bedroom has seemed to make our house a little cozier. I can look around our house now and see all of my and Randy’s hard work. He built our wooden headboard with his own hands. I am so proud of the way it came out. I did the distressing and I’m really pleased! I need to take some some photos of it soon. I wish I could have documented the whole process- but I got busy and blew it off. He said he wanted to make another one, so hopefully I snap away for the next one. There’s so many little areas in our house that make me smile – things that we’ve created together. That’s worth more than buying pre-made art or furniture any day.

I can’t wait to share my sister in laws Bridals with your guys, I had so much fun! She looks amazing in the photos! Another one of my brides, Sylvia had her session a couple of weeks ago, too! She’s another one… I was like OMGoodness while editing, breathetaking! I can’t wait to shareeeeee!

So I’ve taken over Randy’s little shed/workroom outside. My props were EVERYWHERE! So he went and bought ceiling hanger hooks from Home Depot. You walk in now and all of my props are hanging from the ceiling.. looks kind of crazy! But at least you can walk in there now and find things easily.

Okay enough typing for now, my back is starting to ache. Sometimes it feels good to just talk and get things out in my head. There are some many hours a day when I’m not shooting… that I’m sitting here alone in my home office. Often my blog is my platform and speaking space. Even though I have no clue who most of you are that read this, my blog is my voice and storefront. Thanks for stopping by! More posts to come soon :)

Here’s a peek at my cousins shoot from last week!

Just returning home from my future sister-in-laws Bachlorette trip in Florida. Enjoyed a nice little 4 day trip with all the girls. I am finally back in the office, so I’m sorry if you sent me an email and didn’t hear back yet. I’m working on sifting through them right now :) We had a great time in Destin just relaxing, soaking in some sun, riding on the boat we rented, eating dinner, having girl talk, etc! My upcoming October/November Wedding season is going to be pretty intense so I am really trying to relax and take it all in right now while I have some down time. I have shoots to edit from last week and I have several shoots coming up this week.

This time around to Florida I can honestly say I only took a couple of photos on my phone. I think I was just ready to take a little break from the camera. Sometimes its hard when I take my good camera to the beach because I constantly have to keep my eye on it – making sure its safe from sand and water. However, here are some of the photos I took while there. I am obsessed with instagram now! If you have an account, come find me! My user name is: jenamatogreff

When we first arrived to our rental house, there was a Wedding happening right outside on the beach. It was so cute!

Me, my friend Chrissy (college roommate BFF) and Mindy (grew up with her in River Ridge!) We rode up there together and roomed together, lots of fun! This is when we were headed to dinner.

We had dinner at Harbor Docks! My favorite restaurant in Florida!!

We went to this danceclub which was pretty random but the music was awesome!!!

The following afternoon we rented a pontoon boat and enjoyed the water – headed to Crab Island!

Pretty sailboat!

The original Jen Amato and the soon-to-be Jen Amato! Yes, my brother is marrying his longtime girlfriend named Jennifer!

Every year all of our friends get together to go the beach. Most of us have been friends for over 10 years! We typically go to Destin or the Fort Walton area, but this year we went to Pensacola. Last year, you may remember our Bahamas trip? Instead of Florida, all of our friends saved up for the Bahamas to see our friends Tim and Dana get married!

Although my website it typically for adventures in my photograph business- I like to share a piece of me every now and then. At 26, I am happy where I am in life. A business that I am proud of, newly married, a house that we are slowly turning into a home, a wonderful family and a group of friends that remind me how important it is to just relax and be a kid again. Sometimes it takes going on vacation soak this all in. Time away from the weekly hustle and bustle to just reflect and pray.

I look at these photos and realize how much we’ve grown up over the past several years – all of us have big boy/big girl jobs that were waiting for us back home. But when we go to the beach, we cut up and have fun! This was an awesome vacation and I hope we continue to do this. Marriage, babies, you name it — I just pray that we all stay close and never forget about our yearly summer vacation!

Here’s a few from our trip :)

Morning #1 at around 6:30am, I woke up and just relaxed on the balcony  – – soaking in the sunrise.

Ready for the beach!Randy’s candid shots he always takes in between!Going to dinner!Cobalt was amazing! If you are visiting Pensacola, FL area- check it out! The sunset dinner was fabbbbulous!Me and the love of my life ;)Being 10 years old again and writing our names in the sand!Crazy looking storm that passed right over us!!

Yesterday my family went to Sunday mass at Immaculate Conception on Barrone and brunch at Jackson on Magazine to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. We missed Randy though, he had signed up for an RC Race a month or so ago and didn’t realize it would fall on the same day. So, my mom…. I can’t imagine my life without her, she has motivated me to be the person I am today. It’s funny how as I get older I find myself becoming more and more like her. She loves to entertain, enjoys the simple things in life and strives to be a better person day in and day out. She has given so much of herself to us four kids that I wonder where she found and still finds the strength to do it all. It doesn’t matter if its midnight and we need something – she’s right there. I can remember getting really really sick about 6 months ago. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like death. I got hit with a 24 hour flu bug and it really knocked me out. Ya know those times when all you need is your mom? I called her up and she was over in 5 minutes. She is so selfless, loving and kind. Anyone who meets her loves her. She’s sweet to everyone, just one of those plain out genuine souls. Just don’t mess with her kids! She jokes about that all the time and would put up a fight for us.

No matter how old we get, we still need her. Everyday. She’s someone I look up to and who I can trust. When the day comes, I only hope to be half the mom she is. I always dream about having a little girl – she looks like me and sounds like me when I was young. I hope that one day I can have a daughter, so I’ll know what it feels like to have one of my own. So I’ll finally understand the connection my mom has with me.

Mom, thank you for being you. For loving me and understanding me. You’ve always let us four kids be us. Never judging us, never pushing us to be someone we’re not. You let our gifts lead us to where God wanted us in our lives. Thank you for remembering that even though my job gets busy some weeks and I don’t get to see you that much- that I’m still right here loving you guys. I’m just trying to chase my dreams and make you, Dad and Randy proud. Thanks for the motivation and for being such a great role model. You’ve made me a better person, I love you!

Enjoyed our Sunday outing yesterday and another home cooked meal tonight at my parents to celebrate my Mom! I love getting the chance to spend quality time with my family :)

Just wanted to apologize for the website being down most of the weekend. I know many of you were trying to access your online galleries and the site was not working. In the 4 years of having my photography site, its never been out of commission for that long.

I noticed several weeks back that the site was running really slow. When you would arrive at the home page, it was taking at least 10-15 seconds to fully load. I contacted my hosting company and they suggested I upgrade and update several different things. To my knowledge, this was something that was going to be seamless and almost do its magic without any web downtime. I was wrong. A few things went crazy and it took me just about all day yesterday to recover everything.

I woke up Sunday morning with no site, needless to say I was flipping out. This is my storefront. This is were I spend countless hours writing posts and sharing photos from each and every one of my sessions and weddings. To think that all of it could be gone really worked me up. Well about 10 phone calls later and hours on the phone with my hosting company, it finally started working again. It took talking to the right technician to help with all the issues.

Thanks for your patience to those clients who emailed me about it! Now it’s back up and I have a ton to share this week, stay tuned :)

You ever have those days where you just wake up and have pep in your step and the world seems a little bit brighter? Today was one of those days, not because everything in my world makes sense right now and not because I have it all figured out. That is surely not the case. It’s because I felt God through other people today. He was just reaching out and waiting for me to listen to him. Sometimes you just need people to enter your life at the right time to put things in perspective, whether it be meeting a new friend or just having a conversation with someone you’ve known your entire life.

Over the past few months I’ve done alot of soul searching on what really matters in life and what brings happiness. Maybe it’s my age, maybe its being newly married? Is it money, material things, God, nice cars, clothes, a fancy house, success, having family, good friends, a lasting relationship? What makes people happy? What makes me happy? Having gone to church every Sunday for several years now I see that my only answer is that I owe any sort of happiness to God. He should be top priority – in doing so everything else will fall in place. I will be straight up honest- there are days when life gets in the way and my focus is off balanced. Those are the days when I’m stressed, blue and I can feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Pray.

Since I was younger I’ve always had this desire to live my life to the fullest. I wanted to get the very most out of every single day. Which is why I somehow manage to cram as much as possible into the hours per day when I’m awake. There are days when I find it hard to just chill out. I would like to awake every day with a positive attitude and refreshed mind. The first thing that should hit my brain when my eyes open is to give thanks and not…….. let me see how fast I can brush my teeth and eat breakfast before I need to run out the door.

There are days when I feel like I just needa “get through this” in order to “do this” and feel happiness. I want to wake up everyday and just be in the present moment, enjoying it. It’s really funny to find myself thinking of these things lately because for some reason it’s always God’s way of telling me to “straighten’ up!” He seems to know when everything is all out of whack and my priorities aren’t in the right place.

Well since getting alot of this off my chest, I am brought back to putting God in the center. Some things need to change in order to feel love, to feel grace and all the wonderful things in my life. You ever look at someone and think wowww, that person has it all! Really? Do they? Personally, I feel like the ones who have it all are the ones with very little. Faith makes up for what money can’t buy. I’ve thought long and hard about just simplifying my life. I am content with where I am in life and with what I have. However, anyone that knows me well knows that I want larger house. This is my goal in working hard and I feel like that should be okay. Not even really about the house, just a kitchen and den that open up to each other :) For no other reason but to fit my big ole’ Italian family comfortably under our roof eating meatballs and spaghetti. I feel like I can picture that day in my head and what it looks like. Randy tells me all the time that I am a combination between Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network and Leah Remini from King of Queens. Seriously, he hit the nail on the head. God has a plan for us and I will be patient. It feels good to want to rip down all the walls of any sort of competition or negativity brought on by material possessions. I am working on this. It doesn’t happen over night. I am so looking forward to refocusing my energy. There is so much of my life to be LIVED!

I just hope I’ve reached one of you, someone, somewhere reading this. When things are bothering me, my first thought is how can I fix it or what can I do to make myself feel better? I’ve been putting in alot of effort towards eating well, excersise, and regaining control over whats most important. Remembering how important Randy, my family and friends are. This is a journey that starts today for me. I will continue to grow, change and mature as I age. Each day is a blessing and I need to remember that. I can’t wait to see what God has planned for Randy and I in the future. For us, our families and our friends. I just want everyone to be happy and to feel the power of God’s love. It just takes stopping long enough to listen to him!

These photos below are from several months back…. the first time I made meatballs and spaghetti in our renovated kitchen, we had about 15 of us in our house that night, it was so much fun :) Those are the kind of days that bring me happiness. Even all crammed up in our itty bitty house! I love spending time with our families. Meatballs! Randy’s are the ones with the toothpicks because he doesn’t like peppers and onions. This good little wife made some special for him.I had to borrow my moms Magnalite pot that night. Everything I had was too small. Needless to say, my wonderful Ma-Maw bought me my very own Italian Family sized Magnalite pot. It’s so big it stays on the floor of my pantry, it doesn’t fit in the cabinet. She thought I had earned it, haha. It is HUGE and I love it.

So at the end of every 4 week Fitcamp session, we always have some kind of special treat! We either have a big BBQ with the whole crew, get smoothies or like tonight we went to my brother’s Tutti Frutti in River Ridge. If you guys haven’t been yet – what are you waiting for? It’s pretty addicting ;)

It feels weird to be caught up with work right now. I usually go to sleep every night with 20 things on my to-do list. Today I edited a session, designed a wedding album, and made two print orders. Laundry’s done, bed is made, house is picked up, went and worked out, made dinner for Randy and I, and now I’m just playing around with some of the photos from our little yogurt trip. Look forward to sharing Newborn Madi’s photos with you guys tomorrow.

So I guess I’ll take advantage of having a little breathing room this week to just enjoy the down time. The next month is going to be really busy, so I’ll soak it all in while I can. Maybe tomorrow night Randy and I can go on a little date downtown somewhere?

So here’s a few quick photos of getting yogurt, the light was pretty rough in there around that time – so picture quality isn’t the best, but that’s okay! I love this fitcamp because our group is so much fun. It makes me want to be a healthier person. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for over a year now. Come join us! :)

Anyone want to sign up? Call Guerre! He is about to start offering a 8:30am along with his 6:00pm class. I’ll most likely alternate between the morning and evening class. That is Guerre to the left and Jennifer on the right. Jen owns Louisiana Running Company on Canal, off Carrolton! Best place to buy tennis shoes!! She runs with us several times a week. She’s the reason why I can run distances like did back in High School! She kicks our butt in a good way!

We had a great time with our friends at the beach this past weekend, it wasn’t long enough! When I get home, I’m always wishing we could have stayed longer. I’m not going to lie- it was great to just be cut off from my computer, cell phone, technology and the everyday hustle and bustle of doing 100 things at once. We really just enjoyed each others company, grocery shopped, made lunch and dinner, rode on the boat we rented, layed out on the beach, laughed alot, played board games, etc. SO RELAXING!

View from our balcony:

Ashley and her little girl Sophia! ;)Toes!Our mound of sandwiches we made for our boat ride!That water was gross out by Crab Island!Enjoying our little boat ride back in to the dock!The crew we had! Fun times!Chicken & Steak Kabobs for the pit when we got back!Enjoying our last day on the beach ;(Happy 4th of JULY!!!

Wow!! I am finally up to date with my portrait sessions. It feels nice to head out the door on vacation and be caught up with every last bit of editing :) I just wanted to give ya’ll a heads up that I will be out of the office from Friday, July 1st – Tuesday, July 5th. I will be bringing my laptop and checking my email periodically, so please don’t hesitate to contact me. I will get back with you guys as soon as possible.

Looking forward to a little rest and relaxation on the beach. Our good friends are bringing their little girl Sophia, remember her? It’s going to be her first time to the beach and I can’t wait to see her play in the sand and ocean! I see her so much it’s as if she’s related, love that little girl! I bought her a red lady bug fold up beach chair today, haha! I’m looking forward to snapping some photos just for fun. Should have some pics to share when I return home. I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend! I am already looking forward to my shoots once I get back home :)