Last Monday I was exhausted. EXHAUSTED. Decided the best only thing to do was take the day off and rest before taking off on a litte roadtrip vacation on Tuesday.

Set the autoresponder on my email and man was it satisfying. Giving myself permission to not check it constantly while away. I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little anxious about potential clients responses to it. I know we’re impatient people. But I needed to stop working. Remember that part about I was exhausted. Ya. I was exhausted. And not feeling super hot. I even emailed a bride I was supposed to meet with Monday night and asked if she would mind meeting after I got back. Nervous to what she would say. I felt bad. But I needed some rest. Her response. DEFINITELY, I wanted to go on a hike anyway. It’s so nice out.

My clients get me. Hike on, girlfriend. That anxiety over the autoresponder vanished. The perfect clients for me, get it.

True story Joe doesn’t drive much. Cause he’s not a very good driver. Ask our daughter she’ll tell you *I might have told her to say that, I don’t think she knows if he is or isn’t*  So I always drive. First cause I’m a better driver And second cause if I’m not driving I get all sorts of nauseas and car sick.

We roadtripped our way across Western Montana, the Idaho Panhandle and across Washington to Seattle. Excited. Seattle is so close to our favorite city (Vancouver, BC) that we rarely stay there or even stop we just head up north. But this time we were stopping.  Staying in a nice hotel. Enjoying the views. Perusing the streets of downtown with a 5 year old in tow. Less than a handful of things we wanted to do on the trip but no real schedule.

We believe that no set schedule or plan and going where our heart desires is really vacationing.  We believe in straying from the beaten path. Doing and seeing what speaks to us. Not cramming every minute with something that everyone who goes there must do. For example. We had a view from our room of the space needle. That was good enough for us. Maybe next time we’ll want to venture there. This time we were satisfied with sleeping. Spoiling Caterina at her favorite place. Indulging in Turkish food. Ice cream on the pier. And slowly wandering the streets, soaking it in. Even while driving we weren’t in a hurry. Stopping several times each way. Searching for lizards, climbing rocks, dying of heat strokes in an old antique mall warehouse, and laughing at Washingtonians who think Snoqualmie is such a horrible pass to drive and their pride in posting up signs showing each place at an elevation of 2300-3300 ft as if it were so high up

Vacation is to be enjoyed not rushed through. Relaxing not scheduled. Savored. Refreshing. That it was, it really really was.

Now we’re back. Excited for work. How lucky are we? How many actually say they’re excited for their work? All I know is more people should say that and we’re blessed to be a few of those that do. Warm weather. Everything blooming. My work schedule will become less scheduled so I can enjoy the summer day with my daughter (who starts school in just 3 months! AH!). And the wedding season begins. It’s an intensely AWESOME season this year and it starts next week!!!! Make sure to stick around. It’s gonna be a fun ride. And I’m stoked to share it with you!

Cheers to Tuesday my friends!

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It’s been almost 1 month since I last blogged. I’ll be honest I didn’t realize it had been that long until I just looked a second ago.  I started looking at my blog and what I was writing. I hated it. What was I trying to accomplish with this blog, what’s the point?! I was posting how I thought everyone did. Sessions, weddings, tips here and there, quick blurb about my life. But all in all it was brushing the surface of me. As I’m searching for the raw, natural you, I failed to give the raw, natural me.  I’ve been holding back. This blog is my story. My version of a wedding day. My version of session. My business. My life. In a way it’s my journal. And from here on out I’m going to treat it as such.

I’ve never been good at keeping a journal or diary. Ya, I know you had a diary too. A special little key to unlock it thinking we could keep all of our little secrets in it. I wish I had been better at writing life down. And as a photographer I suck at keeping up with taking photos of my family. I mean I get Cattie out every once in a while to stand/sit all nice and smile. But I fail to photograph her. Really photograph HER. It’s time for change in my life. Time to buck up. So get ready to see this blog transform as I begin to bare my soul. I’m stoked, you should be too

I believe in authenticity. But to find it we have to initiate it ourselves.

I believe that by choosing to be fearlessly authentic those around me, including you, will choose to do the same.

There is only one you for all time. Just one. Own it. And fearlessly be yourself!!

Blog posts are just so much better with a photo, eh? It’s our first spring in our new house and the plum trees started blooming today. I’m so jacked that this is happening in my own yard!

Last summer was amazing. I hit my goal on weddings booked and learned sooooooo much about where I wanted to take my business that there was nothing but excitement for this year. Knowing that I was moving in the direction of targeting my ideal clients. Knowing that I could book that many weddings and more this coming year. If I did it once I can do it again. But honestly that kind of scared me. As fun as photographing weddings is, there is a lot of work involved. Many don’t even realize how much. The thought of possibly photographing 25-35 weddings and the work that followed them really didn’t sound exciting at all. Reality is that after shooting several weddings weekend after weekend I go into routine mode. Often leading to being uninspired. No matter how amazing the wedding or clients are I need something to rejuvenate me. To breath life into me.

After thinking this through I knew 25+ weddings just wasn’t for me. And in the future, 20 weddings isn’t going to be for me. I decided I would limit the number of weddings each year. Taking on less so I could experience more. More with each client. More with my family. More in my adventures. This decision instantly made me feel like I was taking advantage of life. Choosing to live it.

This weekend it poured rain. Our weekend outdoor projects were put on hold. But an idea with two of our best friends took flight. We had talked and discussed a trip camping together. I LOVE camping. But over the last few weeks the idea of backpacking would sneak it’s way in. This week it became VERY clear that the 4 of us wanted needed to go backpacking this summer. And as the rain poured down we met up at REI. Choosing new backpacks. Discussing water filters, cooking utensils, best clothing options, smaller tents, pillows, etc. Hours of looking and discussing with our 3 children running circles around us. Then it moved to our house as pizza cooked we pulled out maps and planned out our summer adventure. With 16 weddings in 15 weeks this summer I’m pumped for a long weekend away smack dab in the middle of the season. Time to disconnect with the world. Reconnect with nature. Breath in the crisp, clean air. Experience something new. See things we haven’t seen before (other than in pictures of course). Come back inspired and ready for the rest of the season. This is what I want forever. Good news is we’ve already determined that the 4 of us have some serious passion for backpacking and getting out into the backcountry and exploring. And each year we MUST do a big trip and we must go bigger than the year before.

I’ve found some sort of balance in taking less to experience more.  I’m highly recommending it at the moment. Try it With that cheers to experiencing more in 2013!

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Last summer I sat in a conference room at a hotel in Disneyland attending a business workshop. The workshop leader, Jeff Jochum, asked the 6 of us attending to write down some of our guilty pleasures. We took a few minutes, did that. Grabbed some coffee. Then he asked us to say them out loud. In front of him, our peers in the room, 4 showit guys filming us and who knows how many were watching us on the internet as it was be live streamed. The first 2 I listed were just meh. Something others related to. Nothing that really gave insight to who I am.  Then I said my third guilty pleasure. Some sat puzzled. Others laughed. And I’m certain some were slightly grossed out.

3. I like my feet to be dirty.

It felt like at least 2 minutes had gone by before Jeff said anything, although I’m sure it was really 3 seconds. He replied with “Why?” Something he would continue to ask me more times than I want to mention. I knew why. I based how adventurous my day was on how dirty my feet were. If they were clean was I really LIVING life.

Now winter is slowly coming to an end. And during winter my feet aren’t getting too dirty. They’re generally covered in the winter. And even if they weren’t snow keeps your feet pretty clean. This time of year I base my daily adventure level on how sore my body is. Cause honestly I love the feeling of rubbing Tylenol Precise pain reliever cream into my neck, shoulders, legs, back. I love it. The feeling of being that sore makes me feel alive. I can literally feel that I pushed myself.

Today I sit here rubbing that Tylenol Precise cream all over my neck and shoulders. It stinks literally smells, I won’t lie. And, pushing away anything, or anyone, that comes close to my bruised cheek.  But I love it. It might be Monday in the office but I’m inspired to go beyond my “boundaries” this week. And although I’m really sore from yesterday I pushed myself. Took runs and lines I’d never done. And didn’t let a good face slam stop me from enjoying it. Sometimes I let a slam at work hold me back for a bit. That was the last 2 weeks. But it took just one day to remind me that  I sorta like the feeling of a slam in a way. I don’t stay down. I get up and I conquer it. I’m ready. I’m gonna rock this week. BIG TIME!

It’s taken me a few months to really share that guilty pleasure. I used to be embarrassed by it. But these dirty feet (and sore body) say something about me, a little bit of who I am. I’m gladly embracing it. Care to share? What are your guilty pleasures?

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the weekend away at the lake to celebrate the boys birthdays.

lots of laughter.

late nights.

games.

girl time.

nsync.

eating out.

but mostly relaxing.

I can’t wait to do it more.

now to catch up on sleep

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Time is what we want most, but use worst. ~ William Penn

I took a moment last week in Santa Barbara to escape to the beach for just a little time to relax and soak everything in. Lauren and I grabbed towels and wandered down to the sand. Laying there in my jeans, plaid shirt and scarf as the California sun beat down on us.  Moments later a friends daughter ran down to the beach. She’s so close in age to Cattie. And as I sat there noticing her playing and having so much fun in the sand I realized I failed last year.

Last year is the first year we didn’t take Cattie on a family vacation. I know some might think oh big deal we never go on vacation. This is a big deal to us. With our busy lives we need this time away. Time away together. That doesn’t involve work, lots of social media, house chores, house projects, yardwork, the list goes on. Now we did buy a house last summer, but I still wish we had made family vacay a priority.

I  couldn’t be more thankful for that moment on the beach with Mia playing.  I immediately expressed to Joe we needed a vacation of some kind. Of course he didn’t decline And just 2 months from now we’ll be on a mini-vacay to Seattle as a family. I’m excited cause we’ve never stopped in Seattle. It’s so close to Vancouver, BC we just keep going haha. But this time we’re stopping. Taking in a few sites. Letting Cattie go crazy at the American Girl (not too crazy now). Hitting up IKEA, our fave. Spending a day strolling through the market. But mostly just being together on a new adventure. Cross your fingers, I’m planning something else in that trip and hoping it works out. It’s a secret for now, but I’ll definitely share if it becomes a reality!

I just love when she leads the way on vacation

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