So far so good

I can hardly believe it's March already.  How did that happen?  After this crazy winter we've had of basically no snow, I will admit I'm finally ready for Spring to arrive. I've finally given up hope of making a snowman or sledding with the kids this year.  With these 50 and 60 degree days that keep popping up here and there, I think it isn't too far off.

I've really enjoyed my Project 52 so far this year. You may have seen most of these images as I posted them in my stream each week but in case you didn't, here's a recap of the first 10.  More to come soon!

January morning hike

Friends are the Best!

My sweet, furry baby

Papparazzi

Last minute lunch

BW Selfie

Freedom

On her way

Winter Wonderland

At the Hawks Game

I truly appreciate all of you who have taken the time to look at my images and "like" or comment on them.  It means more than I can tell you. I love being able to share this passion of mine.

Ten weeks down. Forty-two more to go!

A Kick off to 2012!

Last weekend, I had my first session of 2012.  What a perfect way to start the year.  This beautiful girl is the daughter of an amazing woman who was my favorite nurse during 8 of my 11 weeks on bed rest which were spent in the  hospital, as I was bringing my 2 sweet babies into the world. (They are now 7 and a half and fabulously happy and healthy).

I hadn't seen Megan in quite a few years when an email showed up asking if I would photograph her.  This shoot was for a couple of online profile photos, which also inspired me to start offering a new type of photo session. But more on that later.

We met downtown Naperville and had a blast wandering all over taking shots in amongst the activity happening late in the day.  The sunshine was perfect and the temperature wasn't too bad.  Megan was happy and energetic and truly so much fun to photograph. Her sister joined us about halfway though the shoot and kept Megan focused, laughing and made sure she didn't have a hair out of place. She came armed with a brush!  It made me laugh and  I joked that she should join me on all my shoots s a stylist!

Megan inspired me to create a photo session called Connections. I have been asked on several occasions for photos to use for online dating sites or other online sites like Linked In.  A normal full blown shoot isn't necessary for those purposes.  A Connections Session is $100 and includes a phone consultation, 45 minutes of shoot time, 10 final edited images for viewing and 3 final low-res images for your online profile.  I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to start the year off this way.

Thank you for asking me to be your photographer, Megan. It was wonderful to see you after so long.  And, I love still having a connection back to you and your mom from a very important and special time in my life.  It's amazing how photography brings people back into my life after so long.

Enjoy your photos!

Last Minute Lunch Date

I love those last minute lunch dates.  Spur of the moment doesn't always work out but when it does, it's the best. Jenni and I hadn't seen each other in over a month and  half. We kept trying to get together but life kept getting in the way. Friday morning she texted and said, "I can get out of work early...wanna do lunch?"  YES!  We agreed to meet at Hugo's Frog Bar (after we each vetoed about 5 other options).  I basically accosted her with my camera as she walked up to meet me.  I must admit, I love this photo of her. Happy, relaxed and coming to spend time together with me!

We both had what i consider to be one of my favorite lunches. And we were both good and did not order Coke, even though we both desperately wanted to.  Adding lemon to water makes it a bit more tolerable for me. And yes, that does subtly suggest I'm not a big fan of water...

Next we both started with Wedge Salads - my favorite all time salad. Simple but so yummy!

Next we moved on to a filet slider and potato chips. Honestly, looking at this makes me want to go to Hugo's tomorrow and get the same meal!

Jenni was such a good sport about waiting for me to photograph everything that came to our table before being able to eat it!    Once we finished at Hugo's, we decided we would switch restaurants for dessert.  While Hugo's is fabulous, their desserts are all gigantic and I just can't do that kind.  So, we decided to head to Lou Malnatti's for a cookie pie.  

Our eyes were a bit bigger than our stomachs, sadly. We enjoyed a handful of bites before we had to call it quits.  Next time we'll share an individual sized one.

I'm one lucky girl. A relaxed afternoon, with great food, one of my best friends and photographs all along the way. Can't wait for our next lunch date!

Family Time

One of the best things I ever did was purchase a membership to the Morton Arboretum.  Okay, well that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But, it was still a pretty darn good move!  After just 3 family visits, it has more than paid for itself. There is an awesome children's garden, which we visit a few times each year, great walking paths and amazing colors in the fall!  When we get a huge snowfall, it feels like you are wandering through a fairytale setting! And then, we get to attend cool events like the one this weekend.

Yesterday and today, the Arboretum had an event called Husky Heroes.  A film was shown several times throughout the day about the history of the Iditarod, followed by a series of photos from some of the recent races of the past couple of years. There were Huskies up for adoption and Huskies for the kids to pet.  Finally, a sledding demonstration was held in one of the open fields so we could all get a teeny tiny taste of what it looks like at the Iditarod. Though rather cold outside, i enjoyed every minute. Oh, and did I mention that my daughter loves Huskies?  I feel so lucky to have access to these unique events we get to do from time to time!

On our way to the demos - she stopped to play with the snow and her walking stick

A husky sledding demo

They were just beautiful - resting in the sun before their run

I did not know that Huskies came in more colors than just black and white

Look at those gorgeous eyes!  This is Murphy.

My daughter petting Murphy! She loved every second

Waiting for the "racing" to start

Here comes the first team...

Another team rounding the corner

And riding off into the sun... (note the pink booties!)

What a fun day and a great learning experience for all of us. While I don't think I'll ever head up to Alaska to watch the Iditarod, it was fun to get a small inkling of it here in our backyard.

New Beginnings

There's something so powerful about those two words. New Beginnings. We just had one with the start of 2012. While life wasn't really any different on December 31, 2011 than it was on January 1, 2012, in my mind it's all a part of a fresh new start.  A good jumping off point for those things I've been wanting to do for awhile...

* I've started walking and running on my treadmill. Three days on, one day off.  So far so good.  I've now announced this publicly so perhaps that will help to keep me motivated.  :)  I'm also planning to run/walk my first 5K in April in honor/memory of one of my best friends, Sheryl Garrett, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer a little over a year ago.

*I will be working on a new, improved and updated website.  This upcoming May my business will be three years old. I have NO idea how that happened but it's true. So, time to freshen some things up a bit.  That will come with some new pricing, new print options and a few new policies.  Each year has brought wonderful new learnings that I want to put into practice.

*I ordered new business cards that I absolutely love. Check out Moo.com if you need cards as well.

*I have a new Project 52 underway.  In 2010, I did my first 365 project where I took and posted a photo every day for the entire year. It was an incredible learning experience and I'm so happy I did it. I'm still not ready to take on another one though.  So, one photo a week sounds much more doable. I'm not following any sort of theme. I'm simply taking photos that move me or highlight something special for that week.

*I have a goal to go to be earlier this year - in generally.  While I am a night owl without a doubt, a bed time of midnight every night gets a bit old.

*Finally, I have GOT to be better about posting on this blog.  I can't believe a month has gone by already since my last post. You know how we all have things that we just aren't good at? Well, if I'm being honest, this is one of them.  Regardless, new year, new plans for posting more frequently. Comments help (hint, hint). It lets me know someone is reading my ramblings and encourages me to do more!

So, on that note, it's almost 10:30pm and I'm going to hit the hay. Below are my first three Project 52 images. More to come.

New Beginnings

There's nothing like a close girlfriend to share wine and laughter with!

My sweet, furry baby. I could not possibly love this kitty more than I already do!

Wishing you all the best in 2012!

Tis the Season for Baking

Oh how I want to be better about posting on the blog. But, the funny thing is that the world doesn't stop and wait for me to upload, edit and resize my photos so I can get a new entry going.  Thanksfully, I've finally found some time to get this overdue post going on a topic I don't visit very often....baking.  I will admit I am a much better baker than I am a cook.  But, since we only have 24 hours in a day instead of say, oh, 32 or so, I rarely have the time. But, each Christmas, starting about 4 years ago, we bake and decorate Christmas cookies. We make the dough from scratch as well as the frosting. Last year, we grabbed the food coloring and added some extra pizazz to the frosting, which we repeated this year.  Each year we add a few more decoration elements and each year we get a bit better.

We've amassed quite the arsenal of decorating options.

We love to give personalities to our cookies!

There's some serious concentration going on here.

One of the first masterpieces!

I love all the red and green!

A perfect Christmas tree!

I love that we have started this tradition. We always keep two cookies set aside for Santa each year and put them out on Christmas Eve, along with milk in a Snowman glass.

Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

New Friends

I originally "met" Caroline through Flickr. I saw her work quite some time ago and absolutely fell in love with it.  Recently, I saw she had moved to Chicago and reached out to see if she might like to meet up for coffee one day. I find it truly fascinating that this amazing digital world we live in allows us to connect with people from all over the world, most of whom we'll never meet.  However, every once in awhile an opportunity presents itself where I get the chance to say hello in person.  I was thrilled when Caroline accepted my offer and we quickly got a date on the calendar.  She chose a very cool coffee shop, which had the best hazelnut latte I've ever had!  When our coffees were ready, I refused to take a sip of mine before walking to the table as I wanted to take a photo of them both. It's a wonder I didn't spill anything!

We talked pretty much non-stop for 2 hours before finally heading down the street to find a place for lunch. Along the way, we stopped to take a few photos of each other. In this neighborhood, there is some really cool wall art!

We found our way to Jimmy John's and continued chatting away. I snagged a photo of her really cool tattoo - what's not to love about this???

The three hours flew by and before I knew it, we had to head our separate ways. I'm thrilled to have a new friend who shares my passion for photography.   I can't wait until our next get together!