Bathroom short cut

It's not really a big secret: I don't like cleaning bathrooms. At all.

I'm pretty lazy/lax about it.

A few months ago, however, I read a tip in a magazine that I find to be handy/helpful in the bathroom arena: Store a container of Clorox wipes under the sink, then spot clean as needed.


This does NOT replace regular bathroom cleaning (but who am I kidding, I don't clean them regularly). But when the counter is all hairy or has a toothpaste smudge, I pull one of those out and it's a quick clean.

It's been a really positive change. And I can neither confirm nor deny that I used several to clean all of the baseboards in the guest bathroom before company arrived. It's great in a pinch. I even feel like I'm doing a little "light" cleaning in between the times I really work up the energy to give the entire bathroom a good scrub. Besides, if I do a little "light" cleaning in between the big ones, the big ones won't be such a daunting task, right?

I was telling my sister about this, and later she cautioned me to not use these to clean the mirrors. They evidently leave the mirror a streaky mess. Just FYI.

Slammin'

Slammin' busy, y'all.

For retail, the "Christmas Season" is from after Thanksgiving (or a little earlier, say, Oct. 1) thru December. For me, we try to have all orders in by Dec. 1 so I can deliver in time for Christmas. So, this is MY Christmas "retail" season.

I apologize for the blog neglect.

But here's the thing: being crazy out of my mind is SUCH A BLESSING. I'm thankful for the clients and the expansion. So I'm not complaining (the complaining is left to our cat, for those of you who are curious).


One of the stylists from the salon on the main floor of my building. :)


Cutie-pie family session from this morning.


Super-awesome panoramic float wrap (15x30 inches, top, compared to the VERY popular 16x24 inch size, bottom). I've NEVER ordered a pano from one of my images, and I'm glad a client told me this was what they wanted. I actually love it! :)

Our "big sister"

Last night, I made THIS RECIPE (using jelly in place of Nutella), then called up my sister and said "I just tried one of Melissa's recipes and it's AMAZING!!!"

Who is Melissa?

I think of her as our surrogate big sis: Friendly, approachable, kitchen goddess. I even showed Dad how to make Melissa's grilled corn on Labor Day. See, she's part of the family.


When I left home for college, I don't really think I thought much about cooking. How much I enjoy it has been a large surprise for me. But I do. I like throwing things together and seeing what happens. I don't know if I'd go as far to say that food is an artistic expression for me, but I see how it could be.

But back to Mel (I can call her that because, after all, she IS our "big sis"!). We "met" a year or so ago. One Sunday afternoon, Erik and I were flipping through channels and ran across the marathon of all episodes leading up to the season finale (for the record, this is my favorite way to watch a show/series). We were excited when she won, and I DVR her show so I can watch it when I have time.

What I really like is her practical approach to cooking. Nothing too fancy. Well, for ingredients, I mean. The dishes seem fancy when you put it all together, but the ingredients are things I keep around.

A few weeks ago when I saw her made the pastry recipe (first link on the top of this post), I freaked out. Because it's a recipe of hers that I can actually make and EAT. It's SOOOO easy! Butter + cream cheese + flour. That's the pastry. And let me tell you .... it's heaven. The cream cheese makes it so tasty!

See, because we're family, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Mel. I love her approachability and charm. I hate that she uses red wine vinegar and sugar with a high degree of regularity in her recipes. And sugar includes using bacon to add flavor to a dish b/c it's cured in sugar, so it's off limits for the likes of me.

So Mel, big sis, let's have some recipes that are more digestive friendly!!!!!

Sizzle

Slammin' busy!

Excited to proof this session this week:


Had a great time proofing this session last week:


Had a great time shooting this session yesterday:

Oh so close!

Three weeks.

THREE WEEKS.

Those of you who know what I'm talking about KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

HARRY POTTER MOVIE 1, PART 1!!!!!!!

I've been eyeballing the trailers on YouTube, but today saw one of TV for the first time and squealed.

One of those ear-splitting squeals. Louder than Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber fans COMBINED. Ok, let's be honest. If you wanted to throw in New Kids on the Block fans, too, I was probably STILL louder than all three of those fan bases screaming and squealing all at once.

No joke.



I'm not a late night person, but on Nov. 18/19, I'll be making an exception. I'll take an afternoon nap so I can be awake for the midnight showing. :)

I think I'm going to go with a client here in town who's also a BIG fan .... if anyone else wants to join us, hollar, because I'd love to have others geek out with me! :)

But for the time being, I think it's safe to start COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS!!!!

Crossover

Some, but not all, of these are on the Heartland Photography Blog. Those not yet on the blog will make an appearance over the next few weeks. :)


Mr. M was a better camper this year than last during family portraits!


Bre's a smokin' hot senior who rocked out this awesome location I found. :)


Gotta just love Drew + Jillian. Just gotta.

Monogamous relationships

I was getting a cup of tea with a girlfriend this week. And our conversation turned to our stylist. When I moved here, I asked a friend of Erik's where she got her hair cut, because she had a really great cut. Fortunately for me, she shared. And I <3 Nikki, my girl.

Now that I have a downtown meeting space, though, I'm sort of feeling pulled. I'm going to do some photos for the salon upstairs, and sort of feel like I should have a reciprocal relationship with them. But I'm a one-stylist kind of girl (please tell me there are others of you out there that feel this way!).

I'm actually not even joking about having a monogamous relationship with a hairdresser. When I lived in the southeast corner of the state, I'd drive back home to have the same lady cut my hair.

In fact, I can count on ONE HAND the number of people who I have made a conscious choice to let cut my hair (this excludes cuts as a little kiddo). Seriously. I am just not quite brave enough to try a new stylist. I have such fine, thin hair ... well, it ain't easy to get a great cut. I'd prefer to have someone be familiar with my crazy hair and just keep going with them.

Back to my tea talk with my friend. I mentioned this, and she gave this big sigh ... and agreed. We don't really want to "cheat" on our stylist. Or even go elsewhere, then go sheepishly back and deny that anyone else has taken scissors to our hair.

Isn't that silly?

Happy Sunday!

On the road ...

IN FUNK NEBRASKA!!!!!!


When I went to Nebraska for Jillian and Drew's engagement session, I drove through FUUUNK NEBRASKA!!!!! I stopped long enough to take a photo. and that's about it.

As you can see from the population numbers ... there probably wasn't all that much to see. ;) (apologies to any/all Funk residents out there that might be reading this!).

Jumping for joy :)

Woah.

It's 10:25 p.m. on Wednesday as I sit to write this. I'll schedule this to post in the morning, but I want to capture how I am right now.

Speechless.

In Awe.

Shocked.

Jubilant.

All at the same time.

I want to scream from the top of our roof. And I want to haul another bed into our room so I can jump from bed to bed in a victory lap.

But let me back up. Back in July, I signed a lease on a meeting space downtown for Heartland. I felt it was the right move. But it was still scary. I needed a place to meet with people. In addition to meeting with potential wedding clients there, I have also started to proof portrait sessions in this space. It's a work in progress. I am still learning a lot.

Over the years as a photographer, I'd be disappointed when someone would order an 8x10 as their largest photo. I know how amazing large photos are on the walls. They're so rockin' out of this world ... yet so few people get them.

Until now. With proofing in person, I can show people exactly how big (or small) an 8x10 is. And tonight, a portrait client walked away with ordering a 24x36 gallery wrap and two 16x24 gallery wraps. HECKS YEAH!!!!!

And earlier today, my parents came in to select a 36x48 gallery wrap for their house ... it's been a big wrap day around here today!

After I got over my initial shock, then excitement, my next thought was thankfulness. Seriously. It's so easy to ask God for help when things are crummy. And I know I do. But things are so totally amazing right now, and I want to remember to thank him for really rocking it out.

So this is my reminder ..... to myself. BE THANKFUL.

Backfilling

First off, we pushed the rocks back.


Esse, of course, had to investigate.


Our associate pastor, Fr. Peter, was really excited to learn we were doing dirt work. And wanted to help. More power to him! :)


We put down a bit of weed barrier. Then scooted some of the rocks back.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Of course, we'll want to add some more rocks, but for the time being, it's a big improvement.

I'm actually surprised, but I really notice the visual difference, even just driving up to the house.

Of course, now if I would just never see water again in the basement, I'd be an even happier camper. *sigh*