Come play!

What is it? It's the one you almost deleted because everything was technically "wrong"; but for some reason you love it. And it can't be crappy for crap's sake. It has to make your heart happy.

When is it? Here, Tuesdays.

Why is it? Because life happens in bad lighting, with the wrong lenses. And once in a while, we all need to STEP AWAY FROM THE PHOTOSHOP and let imperfections BE.

My shot today is of my dear friend, Rochelle, hugging my sister. This was taken the last time I visited California.

I  met her in junior high, and we hated each other. I have no idea why, but I'm sure it involved a sequence of overly dramatized pre-teen hormones. Luckily, somewhere in our 20's one of us (okay it was her) started calling. And it was weird at first too. Number 1, I'm not a big phone-chit-chatter. Number 2, it was Rochelle...the girl who I thought hated me. But we grew up a little, and I think I even ended up photographing her wedding. Now that I think about it...good lord Rochelle, were the photos half-way decent?! I can't remember anything but dancing to the Macarena!

Anyway, this shot is blurry and obscurred. The lighting is awful. But the way Rochelle is bear-hugging my sister IS SO HER. She's been through everything, and makes everyone feel understood. Even the most guarded people, will end up laughing, or crying...or crying until they laugh. She just has a way of reaching past the bullshit, to find what's really inside. I love that about her. And that's what I see here. My friend, just being her sweet, open, hilarious self.

What about you? Got any shots that have been hanging out on your hard drive because they weren't "perfect" enough? Let us know with a link in the comments. And don't forget to post about why you love it! Yippee!

The Brenners

Debbie contacted me a few months ago. She knew she'd be back in Texas (visiting from Holland) for the summer and wanted to schedule a session. She also sent me a link to her blog (link is below), so I could read up on her family beforehand. It was great because I felt like I knew everyone before hand.

Look what we found in the laundromat!

You can check out Debbie's fun blog to catch the latest on their adventures in the Netherlands. Here's a (literal) behind the scenes look that she posted of this shoot. Thanks Debbie...always fun to see how bad my posture really is. :) But really, thanks again for such a great day! You have a fabulous family.

AND. Thank you to Maria Miner for the referral! If you don't already  know Maria, she is the creator of the fabulous Tango Baby slings. Check out her cute designs here. Also, congratulations, because I think she's at her first market with her slings this week. Yay Maria! Go girl! And here she is with her cute family. They were nice enough to trek through 100 degrees of downtown Boerne with us, so I had to get at least a few shots of them together.

Have a good Monday peeps! And get your shots ready for tomorrow's first "CRAP SHOOT" Tuesday. Yep, I wrote about it a couple weeks ago, and I'm making it into a regular thing. Hope to see you there with your link! :0)

Random Friday

So, it looks like the stars were just not aligning to spell "Vegas" for me. On top of Jason's job keeping us here, AND getting sick, Grammy, who was originally going to babysit, missed her flight! So, we may not have even made ours anyway! Oh well, goes to show that things work out the way they're supposed to. The good thing is that she is still coming, and will actually be here any minute. So this one will be quick.

I just wanted to show you the cute gift I got from Courtney for my bee-day. How many times have you thrown your hot curling iron into your suitcase? I do it almost every time! And now I won't have to pack it in with my shoes!

If you want one, you  can go here. And if my stupid links still aren't working, then you can find it at www.verabradley.com.

And while I'm recommending stuff, I've been wanting to tell you about the awesome landscaper we found a few months back. His name is Morris. It took us a long time to find someone that actually showed up...let alone that did a good job, and was honest. So, if you are in San Antonio, and need someone great to do your yard, you can email him at lawnsoftexas@yahoo.com.

And while I'm at it, anyone else have any good recommendations or tips?

Either way, have a great weekend y'all.

thank you!

This was on my doorstep yesterday afternoon. Sandee, originally a client, turned assistant, turned sweet friend had left it there. btw, it's not real. :) Isn't it cute? Thank you Sandee! You are truly one of the most thoughtful people I know.

Also, thanks to everyone who left comments and voicemails, and sent cards. And to all the girls last night who made me laugh at all the wine-related birthday gifts. I guess I'm easy to shop for...ha! Tonight I will be hitting the chicken soup. I think I caught the virus that the girls had. So I apologize if you're waiting to hear from me via email. I will get back to work tomorrow. But didn't want to let the day pass without saying THANKS to everyone who is out there who sent wishes for a happy day. You make a girl feel lucky...snot nose and all.    :0)

Baby Colton

Isn't he dreamy? Thanks Laura and Patrick! And thank you to my good friends DD and Katy for the referral! Cupcakes are coming your way today, and I don't want to hear anything about your diet either!

So it's Friday before the long weekend and I'm totally caught up. Miracles happen. Today I'll be focusing on the other important parts of my life, like using a gift certificate to the spa that my thoughtful friend DeAnna gave me. Then I will brave the self-tanning machine again. I'm too lazy to find the story I wrote a couple years ago about my Mystic Tanning near- death experience. Suffice it to say it should've been called Auschwitz Tanning Chamber. Since then, Katy found one that isn't as traumatic. You still have to get into the coffin box of horror, but the machine-lady-voice warns you before each pummeling of toxins. I did it once, and have been putting off going back. But girls night is tonight, so I have no more room for procrastinating. The things we do to hide ten pounds.

Tomorrow I get to take the girls to their first ballet lesson of the year (woo!), and Sunday we're going to a four year old's birthday party at a castle. Um, how guilty do I feel about Emily's birthday now?! :0) I will bring my camera, and might even blog over the weekend...seeing as I'm totally caught UP! Yippee!!