What  would be more characteristic of you? A. Pack your bags and leave on an unplanned holiday. OR B. Feel terrible that you can't solve world hunger and write a poem about it.

And that was word for word. HMMM... Let me think... pina colada on the beach, OR crying into a notepad about how I cannot save the world. How to CHOOSE.

What best describes you? A. Confident and self assured. OR B. Rational and mediocre

Again, self assured? Or mediocre? Which one do I pick?!! And am I more of an elephant or a donkey...OR a lemming???

ANNNND, Welcome To My Night. I'm sure there will be more to come as my body continues the process of morphing into a bat. Now why wasn't THAT one of the choices on the quiz!

And for all of you who are saying, "Sheesh, just get to the pictures!" Here you go. Another cute family: Kristian and Jason, and their babies. I met Kristian at the United Lending shoot a few months ago. It was so great to see them again. And fun mixing it up with their dogs too. Thanks you guys!

Have a nice hump day peeps! :)

1. What the hell happened to Heroes? Jason and I have COMPLETELY opposite taste in television. Basically he likes the Sci Fi network, and Kung fu movies. And I would rather stick straight pins into my fingertips than watch people kicking above a sub-title. And don't get me started on grown adults in unitards, running around a hollywood set, I'm sorry "the mothership", pretending that they are aliens. I would rather lie on my roof, and get pelted with hail. Besides, I have more important things to do, like find out if Lauren will ever forgive Heidi. Or whether or not the Bachelor will pick the nice girl or the skank. These are dire questions in need of answers. HOWEVER, somewhere along the way, Jason got me roped into two programs that don't make me want to poke my eyeballs out: One is 24 (the best show EVER. We have only ever missed one episode. And that was because a stupid babysitter deleted our timer. We never used her again). And the second show was Heroes, which I used to look forward to. But it has gotten SO BAD...SOOO BAD, and BORING over the past couple of months. There are way too many characters, and none of them ever figure anything out! I told Jason last night that I hope they do blow up the world. So, now we're back to having only one show in common. Oh well.

2. I had no idea I was going to write so much on that topic, I think there's only time for one more thing now. :)

So 3. I'm going to be in Houston the weekend after Thanksgiving. So if you're in the area, and would like to schedule a session, I'll be running a special for Houston peeps just for those days. So email me if you're interested: admin@relishportraitstudio.com

4. Time for another Christmas session. You might remember The Friesenhahns from last year. Carrie is one of my all time favorite clients. She is so easy to talk to, completely laid back. And everything she does has style and flair. Love her, and the whole family!

 Thanks Carrie and Johnny!

See everyone tomorrow!

I still have red sofa sessions to post for days! Today, meet the Trosts and the Suttons. I met Michelle and Cyndy originally at the Hot Mama shoots earlier this year. They are buds, so I thought I'd post them together.

The cute Sutton fam.

The lovely Trosts. :)

 Thanks you guys! It was so great to meet your whole families and play!

In other (HOLY-COW-YOU-ARE-KIDDING-ME!!) news, our own AMAZING TRACEY, founder of, and dedicated writer/photographer for Shutter Sisters is going to be a spokesperson for Snapfish, ON OPRAH today!!! So make sure you tune in, and send her lots of love! Go Tracey go!!! Go Tracey go!!!

This morning I woke up to an email from her, that made me laugh out loud. We've been friends since 8th grade. And before I post this, you have to know that Vicki writes EXACTLY like she talks: totally unfiltered hilarious honesty in stream-of-consciousness sentences.

from her email:

"Okay I am totally reading the Anticancer book now and getting obsessed. People make fun of me cause I'm always like "is that organic" so they tease me and ask if my lunch is organic. It really makes a difference and I love Dr. Oz. I would have a love affair with him just to get all his health secrets".

Not that Dr. Oz had anything to do with Anticancer. BUT, I agree that he is a total hottie. And I would do him for his molecular-pillow-talk any day. 

She goes on to say:

"Love ya. Tell Jason hello. He was looking smokin' in the Halloween pic with you as a mother earth, kid- hatching Betty Sue chic".

"kid-hatcher" still cracks me up! I love and miss you Vic! xo

Rochelle and Vicki how I know them best.

I should also say that in no way do I profess to have rid my life of pollutants (if that's even possible). There are many toxins which I still fully embrace... like the ones in red MnMs...or paraben-laced shampoo (the healthfood store brand smells like ass). Any sort of toxin involving the fermentation of grapes. Skinny-cow ice cream sandwiches. Oh, and whatever synthetic material they use to make Spanx. Keep them coming.

Want to know what else made my morning? Oh, JUST THE FACT THAT MY FAVORITE ARTIST OF ALL TIME IS OFFERING HER INCREDIBLE-ENOUGH-TO-INDUCE-ALL-CAPS-IN-THIS-PARAGRAPH ART BOOK FOR 50% OFF TODAY!! Go see! I am now, officially almost done with Christmas shopping. THANK YOU KAL! You are awesome!

Now it's back to work for me. Have a GOODday.        

Playing with harsh light a little bit, (instead of running from it). I like how it turned out.

 There's a little story about this last one, that I posted on Shutter Sisters today, too. Have a great day peeps!

I have so many Red Sofa Sessions to post, but I'm  going to mix it up in-between. My friend, Shannon recently hosted a Hot Mama shoot at her home, and it was so fun! I can't say enough about these shoots. For one, such a fun day of playing dress up. But it's also something that I really believe in. Moms are too often invisible behind their camera lens. AND, I PROMISE you that there is NOTHING your hunny would want more for Christmas. So, if you're still thinking about it, let me know: admin@relishportraitstudio.com, because there is still time to book. And if you do your own hair and makeup, you only need to get 3 friends together (total of 4 peeps vs. 6).

I was so thrilled that Shannon gave me permission to post these, because I think they show the range of how you can vary your shoot. Some shots for the office. Some for the boudoir.  :) 

My favorite.

And going from Hot Mamas to Veterans, may not (or may be) be a fluid transition. But I still wanted to say Happy Veteran's Day! I hope everyone takes a minute to remember why we have the day off today. Well, those of us who are not photographers, anyway.  :)

 Thanks you guys! 

New baby, sweet family.  :)

  Thanks you guys, it was so fun working with you!

Is everyone ready for the weekend? ME TOO. Have a good one y'all!

Okay, onto some family photos. Her are the Ortiz-Wilsons agan. I met Jackie and Ryan for their first maternity session. They were (and still are) the EEEEEASIEST family to photograph. They are totally connected, and fun, and Ryan completely adores his girls. They are all the sweetest.

 Thank you Jackie and Ryan! And if you all have waited to schedule your Christmas session, there is still time! I don't have any weekends left, but there is availability during the weekdays. Call soon! 210-259-3271

What is it and how do you play?

For various reasons, my morning has not been the greatest. Then, adding salt into the wound, Emily walks into my office like this. I first noticed a few chopped hairs on her shoulders. Then scanning the rest of her, it was like that moment in a cartoon when the road runner realizes the string is attached to a stick of dynomite. Yep, the cherry on the top of my shit-day is my daughter giving herself a MULLET. Really, it's so bad. It's more like a rat tail. I guess I can be grateful that she didn't cut any pieces down to the scalp. And that it was an excuse to get a good cry in.

Hopefully you're all having better days. Any Crapshoots to share?