My Big Fat Horrible Morning

SO. What happens when you throw together an 8:30 a.m. dermatologist appointment, a three-year-old who thinks she calls the shots (especially in the morning), a husband who has to take a work call from the shower, and a mommy who hasn't had a solid night's sleep in a week? You get a big fat mess. A big fat mess that involves car crashes. In my own driveway.

Yes, this morning I bolted out of the garage at 8:28 in an attempt to make the aforementioned dermatologist appointment. Unfortunately, I bolted straight into my husband's car, severing his side mirror, denting the back of my own car, and leaving a ridiculous amount of streaks and scratch paint on both vehicles. Thank god I have a husband who can very easily be classified "not a car guy." And an understanding one at that.

These photos are from after The Understanding One spent some time rubbing out the streaks of transferred paint. Oy.

Beach + Cute Kids + Sunset = GOOD TIMES

It was back to the beach this evening for another fun mini-session (a little prelude to this weekend's fun). The weather was nice, if a little chilly (sorry, Miss S!), and my little buddies were in fine form. Here's a sneak peek for their mom. I have lots more where this came from. ;)

Sweet Baby G

I got to spend this morning with Baby G -- a sweet, mellow little girl. I felt especially privileged to meet her and photograph her, since even her serviceman daddy hasn't met her in person yet. I hope that this sneak peek is fun for the WHOLE family, and I wish G's dad a speedy and safe return from his work in Iraq.







Looks like she's getting a nice little snooze in, doesn't it? ;)

I DID IT!!

Indulge me for just a second here while I celebrate one of my biggest accomplishments to date (or certainly my biggest since the birth of my kids). I completed the San Luis Obispo triathlon yesterday. Yeah, I'm just gonna say it again. I completed the San Luis Obispo triathlon yesterday. Woooohooo!!!

Somewhere back in the late winter I made the decision to tackle this thing, and around 11:00 yesterday I started to wonder what, exactly, I was thinking. But at about 11:15, I was off, and within a couple of hours, I was celebrating at the finish line. I actually did WAY better than I thought I would, and -- call me crazy -- I'm thinking of doing another one (with an ocean swim!) in September. Oh, and my husband well exceeded his own expectations. Go Clausen triathletes!









Oh, and don't worry: I'll never again post photos of myself in that horrible tri-suit. Once is MORE than enough.

Headshots

The other day, I stepped out of my usual world (kids! kids! kids!) and did some headshots for a young woman who recently moved to the area and joined a local company. Headshots, for those who don't know, are those fairly standard head-and-shoulders images that companies post next to employee bios on their web site, etc. This particular company is in the financial services industry, so as you may expect, the photos they wanted were pretty conservative (no funky backgrounds or edgy angles). The assigment didn't require me to exercise much creativity, but ooooooh, it was nice to work with a grown-up. One who did exactly as I asked. And who didn't need to be bribed with candy. Or require me to bust out my lame jokes or make embarrassing noises. I didn't even need to break a sweat.

Yes, headshots can be a refreshing change of pace.

They Grow Up So Fast...

For her third birthday, one of my daughter's fabulous godmothers (yes, she has two) gave her a gift certificate to get her nails done. The girl has been begging to go "do her toes," so this morning I turned off the laptop, closed the the door on the overflowing laundry room, pretended not to see the gigantic mess in the front hall (again), and took her down to the salon. What's more important than a little girl time, right? I couldn't believe how grown-up she seemed. Was that birthday 3 or 13??

Beach Mini-Sessions: Grab one before they're gone!

Over the weekend, I sent out an email advertising 10 available mini-sessions at Avila Beach on Saturday, August 1 and Wednesday, August 5. The response was fantastic, and as of now I have only two timeslots remaining: 4:30-5:00 and 5:50-6:20 on Saturday the 1st. If you haven't already considered this and are interested, let me know right away. It's a great way to capture the fleeting feeling of summer here on the Central Coast without the cost of a regular session. Just look at some of what we got for one family during a mini-session last weekend:



And if you can't make it on August 1 but are interested in a beach mini-session, let me know. There is an itty bitty chance that I'll schedule a third date to accommodate those who can't attend any of the original days/times. I just hate the idea of anyone missing out. ;)

Summer Glow

Holy smokes, this was a fun little shoot. Three of my favorite kids on a lively beach on a Friday evening... Toss in some AWESOMELY good moods and dash of playful attitude and you have the makings of an album-worthy session. Seriously, if their mom doesn't make a book out of the images we got, then I just might have to use them to whip up a little something for MY coffee table. (That won't cause issues with my own kids, right??)

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th from the best vacation spot in the world. Especially when the sun breaks through and it gets all gorgeous and sparkly.

Birthday Suits

This week's client shoot was postponed, which actually worked out well for me. Among other things, it gave me a little time to catch up on some personal to-dos (and the list is so very, very long). One thing I do every year is photograph my kids in a certain shirt/dress right around their birthdays. Each boy has a special shirt that belongs to their dad, and the girl wears an old dress of mine. It's already fun to look back and see how much they've grown; it will be even more interesting once they're old enough to fill out the clothes and we get to see the entire progression. Anyway, we'd done N's shoot but I still needed to do the other two, so this morning I caught them in a decent mood and we took care of business. I even got all three together mid-wardrobe change for a few funny snaps. Of course, I had to rely on the ol' candy bribe, but I have to say that they were more agreeable than usual. The whole process was -- dare I say it -- enjoyable.