HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!

Today is a beautiful day...

The love of my life turns another year older! He's not the little guy he once was... although he was a cute kid. (Check him out!)



But many years later, he's grown into such a wonderful man, loving husband, awesome companion, and much more. I'm so excited for him as he gets older and more importantly we grow older together, that's the BEST part! Making memories that will last forever. Happy Birthday! I love you honey!

Such Beautiful Children

Have you ever saw a child and just knew they were going to be heartbreakers when they grew up?

Well I had the privilege to photograph three of them... and they are ALL siblings. Their parents are going to have some trouble when they get older, especially little Mackenzie with those big blue eyes. Mom says she already knows how to use them! Heartbreaker I tell you! Logan, the oldest boy, was a bit shy at first, but started to break away towards the end of our shoot, and little Dylan was the hambone as he was working the camera and working his little dimples. They are all such adorable children, and their parents Matt and Rachel are awesome parents. I've known Rachel for quite a while, as we used to work together and it's sad that we don't anymore, but it was great to see her again and get to hang out with her and her wonderful family!

Thanks to Matt and Rachel for the great day and for allowing me to document your beautiful children. They were all were so distinct in their personalities, it was fun to see and to capture through the photos! :)


Logan, the shy one... he didn't like the camera...





Dylan, the ham... he loved the camera...



that's him flexing his muscles...



but he also liked to pout...



Mackenzie, the one too young to know what I was doing...







But they love each other, and that's what makes them a family...

Third Time's a Charm: Brad

I talked to Brad's mom on the phone last week as she explained to me this will be his THIRD time getting Senior photos done, as the two previous times he has had some bad luck. I was glad to help as he was such a sweet kid. I guess you could say he was "used" to all the photo taking as some people just get so tired of it and it shows. But he was a trooper and had a great attitude! He was a joy to have met and turns out they live just around the way from my in-laws. What a small world!

An Innocent Trip Gone Wrong

I used to get so excited for Friday's because I knew after I got off of work I wouldn't have to go back in to the ol' job for at least two days and I could either 1. take photos, which I love, or 2. relax with Todd. Well Friday's are a little different now, now that I work from home. I still love them, but I usually spend it by getting up early and going in to do my strength training before I have to teach my Aqua class, then doing some errands, and then making it back home by noon so I can at least work a 1/2 day here. Well... this past Friday was nothing what I imagined it would be like.

Let me paint a picture for you...

Last year, when we bought our house we did some renovation to our front room. It had this rod iron staircase, and I hated it. So we tore it out and built a 1/2 wall, and plan on putting in a wood staircase in the future. The thing is, is the rod iron that we tore out has been sitting in the garage ever since we tore it out, and since it was so nice out I thought that I would take it to a scrap metal place and get some money for it. Every bit helps right now, especially since Todd's birthday is Wednesday. Ha!

Well as I made my way over to the place, I noticed that the radio lights went out, nothing too huge. Todd had mentioned a couple days before that the battery light came on, but I didn't think anything of it because he had driven it earlier in the day. He needed the Jeep to go to Chrysler later on, so we switch vehicles at lunch. It was running fine, just no radio lights. As I pull in to what was suppose to be the scrap metal place, I noticed that no one was there. Hmm... I find someone that was two doors down from the supposed metal company and a man told me that they moved around the block, so back to the car it was. As I put the keys in and turned the ignition, it just made a clicking noise. I was thinking "OH NO!" My innocent trip to do a good deed was just about to get interesting. I tried and tried and tried to start it some more... NOTHING! So I called Todd. He was at work and was getting ready to step into a meeting... so I wasn't exactly sure what to do as he was unable to help me. I went back to the man that I talked to earlier to see if he could give me a jump. Easy enough, just get a jump and get back home. So I thought!

The guy was so nice and did the whole jump for me, and my car started. I was about 5 miles away from home. As I drove just 2 miles away from the metal place, all of a sudden the car started running extremely funny. It was jumpy and I could only go about 20-25 mph. I didn't know what to do... I would press the gas but it wouldn't go, I would let off the gas and it would go and then jerk back and forth. On a road full of traffic, people are getting so mad at me, oppss... I finally get past the stoplight, LUCKILY and pulled into an oil change place. I told them the situation and again asked if they could jump me. They did, and I was back in action... so I thought AGAIN. I still had 3 miles to go, and as I pulled out I thought everything would be fine. The whole 45 minute trip home (Yes, it took me 45 minutes to get 5 miles) was about 15-20 mph and complete motion sickness I was from all the jerking. I would like to add that it was almost 80 degrees yesterday, and alI the windows wouldn't roll down AND there was no air. Let's just say that I was a bit shiny (that might be an understatement) once I got out of the car.

I finally made it home for what I thought was just an innocent and thoughtful trip. It definitely was a major stress, and Todd and his dad have spent a full day out in the garage working on it and have another full day tomorrow. I guess it was more than just a bad battery. I am known for breaking things... but this one tops it all.

Happy Saturday!

Inspiration in a Scrapbook Store?

A Scrapbook Store?

It's odd reading that because if anyone knows me at all, you know that I'm not much of a scrapper. (That's what I call them, but I'm not sure of the correct lingo for it)

There is a scrapping store called "I love Scrapbooking" right down from our house, and every time we drive by on a Friday or Saturday night, I get a good laugh because all the scrappers are in there at crazy hours. I guess the Scrapping Bug never bit me because both my mom and sister love it. My mom has even become a rep for a Scraping company called, Close to My Heart Scrapbooking. (If you're intersted you can contact her at dkfaunce@gmail.com or check out her blog). But I never really got it... and then I thought about the reasons why I don't like scrapping because I love taking photos, I love telling stories through them, I love editing them (most of them at least), and I love displaying them. The only thing that I could come up with was that:

I'm a neat FREAK and HATE clutter, so having all those supplies sit in my house makes me just a bit ______what's the word I'm looking for??? OK... I'm OCD about it... I can't stand the pillows out of their spot on the couch, or the fridge not being organized, or the dirty clothes not being placed in the correct spot of whites, darks, and dry clean baskets, or blankets being used and not being folded and placed back where they belong, or... I could go on all day about things that I go CRAZY about.

I've worked up a sweat just typing that... ha! Let's just say it's not for me.

Anyways... enough of the blabbing... I went in to the "I love Scrapbooking" store about 4 weeks ago, after I got some great advice from a couple people in Indy when I went for the photo seminar. I had just redone my logo right before I went and I wanted feedback on it because, to me, my logo is important and I didn't have a lot of feedback on it beforehand. I want my logo to represent what I do, my personality, and most importantly I want it to suit me. As I talked with a couple people and showed them what I had come up with, they described the logo being someone that was NOT me at all. I knew right there I needed help!

I loved being in college because there was so much constructive criticism that it was great to hear the bad stuff... obviously to help you become better. I needed what these people were saying, I yearn for this stuff. As I took their advice, one of the girls, and friend of mine Shelly, told me to find inspiration from different kinds of designs and shapes, like in a paper store. The week after I got home from Indy, I decided that's where I should go. I found some really cool papers, shapes, and designs. It has taken me almost four weeks to come up with one, and as I almost gave up being so frustrated at the thought of designing something I honestly am terrible at, I created one that is ME.

I want to thank my good friends Goody and JD for helping me and giving the criticism I needed. Thanks guys! Also if you are interested in having a logo created just for you, please contact Janelle as she is a very talented freelance graphic designer in Indianapolis.




Very simple, clean, and fun... just like me! ;)

It's a Boy!

I just want to CONGRATULATE our good friends John and Rachel for their new baby boy, Elijah John! We are so excited for them, and hopefully we will be able to come and visit the little guy soon. We know you guys are going to be awesome parents! We love you and miss you guys!

What a proud dad!


Twin brothers, Luke and John... We miss you guys!!!

(Photos sent by Rachel)

Miss Gracie

I must say that I have not been around a lot of younger kids in my years, besides when I was young and they were my friends. I have only one sister and she just now is getting ready to have a baby. I have a couple younger cousins, but we only travelled to see them a couple times a year. I never hung out with a lot of people who had younger siblings or never known a lot of people with babies or kids. And Todd doesn't have any young kids in his family either... unlucky for us, I guess!

But I have always wanted to photograph kids more because they are so cute when it comes to showing facial expressions, energy levels, not afraid to be silly, and they are just more dramatic, which is great when taking photos because their might be something you might ask of them to show their personality and someone else might try and hide it because they don't want to look ridiculous, but a child gives it to you 110%.

Little Miss Gracie was just that, she gave me 110%, and was such a trooper. She was the cutest little girl, with the bluest blue eyes, and my favorite part about her was her teeth. Her mom said, "We're trying to get that other big tooth to fall out, so that she can have a nice big garage door." Haha! She was such a doll, her personality definitely shows throughout the photos, and that was my goal. What a great time we had!

Cupcakes...yea or nea?

So I will admit that I'm a terrible cook, right off the bat. Maybe not necessarily TERRIBLE, but definitely up there when it comes to cooking a good meal. Every now and then, I'll do something right or even wrong to the recipe and it will turn out good. But about 80% of the time I seem to forget to do something, or add something, or cook too long, or I'm best known for bad timing where everything gets done at a different time, so half of the hot food is getting cold while what you are having with the hot food is not finished yet, or WHATEVER. I do usually get an A for effort though, and I try REALLY hard!

Well I'm trying to practice baking for my sister's baby shower come June because I want it to be PERFECT for her. I want to bake some really cool stuff, one of those being mini/baby (baby-hence the theme) cupcakes. I want to come up with some really cool ideas for that and more importantly I want them to "taste good." The problem is, is that I don't like cupcakes too well. I would rather have an ice cream cone with sprinkles (of course... you can't forget those!) than a puff of cake with sugary icing that just takes like you dipped a spoon in the sugar bowl. It's just not my thing.... PLUS, I'm such a calorie freak that when it comes to counting them out and the whole nutritional value of each, ice cream wins all the way. But I am very lucky because my husband LOVES cupcakes, so they won't go to waste if I do practice, plus it's getting nicer out and I'm seeing a lot more of our neighbors so they can be my taste testers or dummies... if they think that I'm an awesome cook. Haha!

So Todd and I decided to make some cool cupcakes, called mini-cookies and cream cupcakes. We did them up real nice, followed the recipe to a t, and I even got out my frosting tips to ice them with. As they got done cooling, I went ahead and got everything together to ice them. It figures with me cooking something would go wrong... right?! Well... turns out the icing was extremely runny and I was trying to decorate them, but it was like it melted and it dripped all over the counter. Plus, they didn't even taste that great. So there goes the cookies and cream idea. BUT... I did however try to make them look nice, and do a little product shoot with them. We did shoots like this in college where you try and make something so irresistible. As pathetic as they look in person, let's hope the photos do them more justice than they deserve. Well... I hope I did that in these couple. We have plenty left over so if you want one... we'll send one your way. But just know there is 114 calories per MINI cupcake...haha!

Miss Lisa

I can honestly say that I do not miss the ol' job too much. There are times where I will go places, like the bank or the dentist, and the worker says to me "So, do you have the day off today?" and I get a smirk on my face and chuckle some, and comment "Well... I actually work from home." Yes, what a nice feeling it is to say that, but the one thing I do miss about my ol' job is that I do not get to see some wonderful people as much anymore. One of those people was one of my lifeguards, Lisa. She is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet, and I had the oppurtunity to get to know her much more than just being her boss the last two years. It was good times!

Well...we had plans to met up for lunch the other day, and also have a little photo fun afterwards, as I am always wanting to play around with my new lens's and new people. She was a great model, and did anything I asked of her, even if it meant laying on the dirty ground with no complaints! What a fun day it was and such beautiful weather out! I am so happy to have the job that I have now... it is so much better than I even imagined. I can FINALLY say that I LOVE what I do for a living... LOVE IT!!!

Here are some photos from our fun... she is a beauty!

Weekend Bummer....

We had been planning to go to Columbus, OH this coming weekend for a few weeks now. I was so excited because we were going to be staying with some friends of ours, John and Rachel, and we haven't seen them since last August... too long ago, plus we were going to be getting out of town. John and Todd were roommates all through college, and both him and his wife have become great friends of mine as well. I was super excited because Rachel is 8 1/2 months pregnant and is due April 29th, right before Todd's birthday. I thought what a great opportunity to get some photos of the soon-to-be mom and dad while we are there.

We had everything set and ready to go....when we got a call yesterday. John called to say that he was going to becoming a Dad earlier than expected. Rachel is going to be induced on Monday because the baby is getting too big. I was a bit bummed because I miss them terribly... BUT... we are so excited for them to be adding to their family. They decided to wait the long 8 1/2 months to know the sex of the baby, so the anticipation must be killing them. I'm not sure I could do that, but what an exciting time for them. We are so happy for them and love them so much! Here's a tribute to hold me over from their amazing wedding almost 2 years ago, just until we can go down and hang out, and then take BABY photos.

Congratulations you guys... we couldn't be happier... you both are going to make EXCELLENT parents!

Back to School...YES!

Do you remember the days when your parents took you shopping before a new school year began? You got new clothes to wear and show off to all your friends, and sometimes just sometimes you wore the same thing that others had on... a bit embarrassing, but you got over it. Well... this is my new school wardrobe, and I don't care if I have the same clothes on as everyone else... I'm not worried because I'll wear them differently.

Before the BIG wedding season began this year, I had planned to get a couple new lens's that I've been wanting/needing. (Is it sad that everything on my wish list is a NEED thing- ha!). Well, I had my eyes set on a couple in particular. One of those begin the Canon 50mm f/1.4, which is the affordable lens to the Canon L-series 50mm f/1.2. Of course I would have picked the f/1.2, but that will be my upgrade when the time comes. But the f/1.4 captures awesome Depth of Field (DOF), and I'm having so much fun playing around with it.

Here are a few photos to tide you over, until my next photo shoot on Wednesday. Check out that DOF... love it!!!!





We practiced on each other, I think I get in to it a bit more than he does though. ;)

The COOLEST Band Teacher!

Beyonce and Mozart, in the same music concert?

Yes, that is correct, you read that right.

Ryan is the band teacher for Berkley High School, and also a good friend to Todd and I. I decided to pop over to see one of his concerts and take a few photos, and I just want to say that he is the best band teacher ever. I remember playing the clarinet years ago, which I hated and actually lied to my mom by saying I couldn't take both band and art, so that I could quit... Sorry mom! But my teachers weren't that cool to have a concert and play pop songs. Plus coming out on stage in sunglasses, a gold *bling* necklace, and top hat (or whatever that hat is called). The kids absolutely love him, and it's hard to see why not.

I had a great time. It was fun to see him and his band in action.









Yes that is a sequence top she has on... but she doesn't seem to enjoy it... if I had it on I would at least have a smile on my face!