Not to judge how one should spend her birthday, but...

When I think of what I want for my birthday I think of a spa day or spending hours reading, maybe laying on a beach somewhere or watching a guilt-free marathon of The Office. I think of anything that requires much sitting still, being pampered, and wine drinking. What I DO NOT think of on my birthday is exercise. What I ESPECIALLY do not think of on my birthday is RUNNING SOMEWHERE. And what I would rather die than do on my birthday is RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLES OF COSTA RICA for TEN DAYS of panting, sweating, watching for snakes, and trying not to swallow a tapeworm. But THIS is what my friend Karen called a "GIFT to herself".

I think she's part-robot, part-alien. And thanks to the power of the internet, she found other robot-alien friends from around the world who also love to spend their "vacations" out-running snakes and tapeworms. It's called the "Coastal Challenge", (you might as well describe water-boarding as a "facial"). You can watch these crazy brave people in real time here. Right from your pedicure chair.  

Karen, you are the most bionic woman I know. And for as much as I cannot relate to what you're doing, I am completely in awe of you.

Happy birthday to you! 

These are from her family shoot a few weeks back. If you've been reading this blog, you might recognize her because I've done her sessions ever since she was pregnant with her third. It's always fun to see how much the boys have grown. Plus they're all little hams. <3 them.

Owen the moody musician. :) 

Brilliant Ben.

Ethan the lady killer.
If you're in San Antonio you probably know this because her practice is wildly successful. But Karen is also Dr. Hasty, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. She and her partner Dr. Finney are two of the best around, and even better to hang out with. I love them both. I also love that their cosmetic program is erasing my pregnancy mask. If you have spots or lines that you aren't in love with, you should totally call Marta at Fourseasons. 

Dr. Finney's session tomorrow! (and hopefully a Blissdom wrap-up this week too). 

The Barerras

I'm in Nashville for Blissdom, which is an amazing blogging conference that I have so much to say about. But I only have 15 minutes. So here, pictures! Look at pictures!

Also, YES I am still shooting people! :)

This is my friend Jaime, who... (I know it's appropriate to say "whom" here, but that word makes me feel like I'm trying to be the Queen of England)... Anyway, I met her when my friend DD hosted a Stella and Dot party a while back. Have you ever seen Stella and Dot? It's really lovely, and I'm not just saying that. I kind of want the whole catalog. And the parties are fun because they're not high pressure-y. But that might be because Jaime is some kind of Stella and Dot Rockstar. I know this because every time I log onto facebook, I see pictures of her on a beach or a cruise ship or riding in a plane that Stella and Dot bought for her. Okay, the last part may or may not be true, but I'm sure it won't be long before she's earned the jet. 

And when she earns it, this is her cute family that will be flying to Barbados with her.  

The Barerras live on this huge ranch that has been in their family ever since the first Texan was born (I'm pretty sure). So it was fun photographing them in a place that had so much history for them. Also, who doesn't love a photo shoot that includes riding a horse?! 

Okay, maybe it was a golf cart but in my mind I was wearing chaps.

Thank you Jaime and Roy for such a fun day! xo

Happy New Year 24 Days Late!

So it turns out that I'm tardy for the party. While everyone was promptly posting their incredible 2010 video montages, I was sitting back with my popcorn thinking, "I'm totally going to do that." Not really, it was probably a Weight Watcher meal as part of my very repetitive and cliche "Lose Weight in 2011 Initiative" which lasted I think until January 6th. And that's right when I said to myself, "Oh man, I really don't want to let another year pass without doing this." Then another week passed, and I was like "Oh man, if I do it now I'll be like the person who gets the date wrong for a costume party. So let me preface this by saying I am totally aware that I'm standing in your front door wearing a bunny costume. 

Also, if you aren't in my family (i.e. are not my mom or sister) this video might be a little like the time when at least twenty of us sat around Jason's Grandpa's livingroom watching Benji. We hadn't seen each other in years, but the magnetic pull of the television was apparently so great that every single eye was fixed on the 70s (therefore endless) running sequence of a dog being chased by a policeman and a Grandma, and eventually the whole neighborhood. And don't act like that doesn't happen in your family. I know it does because I just saw my mom and sister. It'd been months since we'd been together, but we watched at least three hours of The Dog Whisperer. ...Maybe it's just something about dog-television. 

Anyway, wow. When I blog at night I tend to ramble. So here, look at some pictures if you need a way to burn the next six minutes of your life. Oh, I should also warn you that a lot of these are straight up crap. That was one of the other reasons I was going to procrastinate it (again) until 2012... you know because then it will be PERFECT. And then that made me sad because I'm getting old enough to know that will never happen. And so I just decided to roll with it. The only thing I told myself was that each picture had to genuinely trigger a good memory for me. And I'm so happy I did it, because it really feels like an easy way to recall the great moments of the year. 

And a really great year it was. Thank you 2010. I think you are among my favorites.

Untitled from maile wilson on Vimeo.

When Christmas tried to kill me.

So last year I loved Tara's elf, Bernard. Then I forgot about how much I loved him until I read her post again this year. And then I decided to turn into a spastic Christmas Over-acheiver. What a great way to get the most out of your holiday season! What a fun way to string out the gift-giving! The treat-eating! The memory-making! Right? RIGHT. TOTALLY. I WAS SO ON IT! I dug out the dust-covered scrapbook supplies (from the days when I was hard-core), and stayed up til 2:00am making these little gems.

Aren't my good intentions so cute?

And see how they're still un-opened? That's because Alabaster Snowball (yes I even googled elf-names) is a relentless, slave-driving, homicidal bastard. The first morning was fine, even fun. He suggested we "Watch Elf". Check! What's next? "Write your letters to Santa". Check!

Then the fun train started to speed up. Take a family photo! Buy a toy to donate! Make treat bags for your class! Don't forget your teacher! Visit Santa's Ranch! Make cookies! Now make ornaments! Go see Christmas lights! Now now now! It's all so much fun!! Go have MORE FUN!!! 

And it was all just TOO MUCH FUN. We got so behind !!ON THE FUN!! that we had to take a break !!FROM THE FUN!!

And that's how we turned into Advent Calendar Drop-outs.  

Which isn't to say that we still didn't do lots of things on the list. In fact, the treat bags got made. So did the cookies, and Narnia was AWESOME. 

We just didn't go on the "right" day. Because it turns out that I'm better at doing stuff when it happens to fit in. As opposed to when it's ON! THE! FUN! CALENDAR! Also, after emailing Tara that Alabaster was forcing holiday cheer at gun-point, she said, girl you are crazy don't you know you need to break it up with easy stuff, like 'cuddle'. And that was confirmed by the ever-reasonable Laura when I saw her calendar which included activities like "give someone a hug". 

Oh.

Yeah, so I'm not sure if Alabaster the Fun Enforcer will make a return appearance next year. If he does, he will definitely need to bring it down a notch.

Other than that, we had a great time. Here are a couple lazy, under-acheiver shots I grabbed Christmas morning.

They were taken 10 minutes before we were buried in the avalanche of boxes and paper and toys that (as always) needed to be surgically removed from the high-security packaging that we all adore so much.  

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A MERRY HOLIDAY SEASON! 

Now it's onto the time of year when we get antsy about changing stuff up. For me that will mean giving this blog a little face-lift. Nothing major, just botox and a laser peel. Because I realized the other day that there are a two things I look for most when I visit a blog: 

1. A photo of the writer with some background info. 

2. Easy to find categories broken down by subject (not date)

Mine contains neither of those things, so I'm going to change it. If you have any other ideas about what you'd like to see here, (whether it's suggestions for content, opinions about design, organization, photo tips, personal stuff, business stuff) I'm all ears! Thanks for sticking around despite my lazy posting habits. I hope to change that up in 2011 too.  

xo

Friendsgiving

Our family is scattered across the country. I wish we could be together at every holiday. But traveling with three kids at the most insane time of year while paying double for tickets usually keeps us here. And while I love spending lazy days in pajamas, hanging in the backyard or the movies, and generally having no agenda, sometimes it's melancholy to watch friends gather with their close-by families. So this year, I decided at the last minute to invite a few friends over for what turned out to be our first (I think now it will be annual) Friendgiving. 

I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few that managed to get snapped.

Such a fun night.

I've never been in love with cooking. But digging out the old recipes reminded me that there was a day when I used to put a little more effort into making meals. It's fun to find lost parts of yourself.

Want the recipe for the best apple pie ever? It's simple and will make you look fancy. 

 

I have no idea why cornflakes go on the bottom of the crust, but somehow it works. 

The trick is to make it beforehand and put into the oven as people begin eating dinner. That way it will be hot out of the oven right as everyone's ready for desert. Mmmmmmm...

Nothing says "great recipe" like drips of old food crusted all up on the paper. You're welcome.

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Whether you're in the US or not, I hope you're enjoying a fabulous weekend surrounded by people you love. For the next few days I'll be posting snapshots of what I'm grateful for here.