Here a are a few little highlights from my weekend:

* Finally gave snowboarding a real shot (I’m a skier). Nearly broke my wrist, but besides that I had a lot of fun trying it.
* Drank more tea than I probably consume in a whole week. I was in tea-heaven.
* Had my first bucket of Poutine at Fritz. YUMMMMM.
* Also had the best cup of hot chocolate ever from Blenz Coffee. If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with hot chocolate! (Hot chocolate snob right here)
* Tried alcohol-infused gummy bears. Not good.
* Sat on a toilet that had more buttons than my tv remote. And the seat was heated…
* Finally went to a legit Dim Sum restaurant and tried many new things. Like duck feet.
* Went to Duty-Free for the first time and happened to catch the Superbowl Halftime show. Awesome.

Well that is my weekend in a nutshell. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Monday.

This hits home for me.

…and maybe it does for you too?

It seems like every year I go through this. This thing. This thing that eats at me. I’m not proud of it…
I’ve had so many conversations with other photographers about this same topic, I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve said it before…this isn’t new. It’s so easy to get caught up in looking at the person next to you and wonder why you don’t have the success they have. You begin to beat yourself up and dissect everything you do or don’t do. There are so many things I love about being a photographer…seriously, so many. But there are also things that I hate…if I’m going to be honest here.

I hate that we somewhat have to “sell” ourselves in this business. It’s a weird thing to try and do successfully without making yourself seem full of it and disingenuous. It’s a game I’d rather not play…ya know what I mean? Another thing I’m not fond of, but realize how impactful it can be is:
SOCIAL MEDIA.
Oh social media…I have a love/hate relationship with you…oh yes I do. I’m trying to get better at using social media as a marketing/connecting tool…but OH MY GOSH it can be such a DISTRACTOR. I think my productivity has gone down a significant amount since I joined TWITTER. Gosh dang you twitter…

Okay enough venting about that, back to what I was saying…
I had a very lovely conversation with a friend last night and it really made me think. It made me realize just how much the quote I posted above is SO DEAD ON TRUE. “COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY” Being comparative has taken my joy away. Always looking at the person next to me has taken my joy away. Feeling like I have to portray some type of “cool kid” status has taken my joy away. *sigh* I’m exhausted people. And please don’t think this is a “woe is me” type of post…it’s more of a venting post that I seem to come out with every other month or so. I know y’all just love em’…right?! RIGHT?! hee hee.

The fact that I have this struggle does not surprise me one bit. The one thing I struggle with most in life is just being content. Being content with my life, my work, where I live, the list goes on. I know God is working on this with me. The thing that gave me peace last night after I had this conversation with this friend is when she said, “It’s all His and for His glory anyways. We have to be willing to lay it all down at any time. It’s all His”. I love you Jenny. She could not be more right about this. I have to stop wasting time comparing myself to those around me and just focus on glorifying the One who gave me this freakin’ gift in the first place. Easier said than done of course but this is a challenge for me and for anyone else who feels the exact way I do.

Here’s to challenging ourselves and being content with not being the “cool kid”. Happy Thursday.

Photo Credit: Ryan Flynn

I’m a sucker for a sale. Always have been and always will be…
Since I love sales and I’m sure some of you out there do too, I wanted to offer an awesome sale that won’t last very long…

This sale is just for fun, but it’s also to show my gratitude for all the love and support you all have given me this first year. I could not have asked for a better first season, I met so many wonderful people and got to travel to some spots I probably would have never been to if it wasn’t for some of you believing in me…believing in the work I do. So thank you…THANK YOU SO MUCH!

* THIS SALE IS ONLY GOOD UNTIL JANUARY 1ST 2012. MUST BOOK BEFORE THEN.
* MUST TAKE PLACE IN THE GREATER SEATTLE AREA.

First I want to say thank you to everyone who left some love on the blog yesterday for my sister’s engagement session! You all made her and Donald feel very loved and for that I am so grateful!

These are my beautiful cousins. They mean the world to me. Every time I see them I feel so old and I can’t believe how fast they are all growing! As you can see, little Mae steals the show when the camera comes out! I can’t even begin to explain how much JOY this little girl has. You can’t help but smile and laugh when you are around her. Love her. And my handsome little…or not so little cousins are just the best older brothers to little miss mae.

Enjoy.

This past summer my best friend got engaged. Her name is Jonna. She is my sister.

When I found out I immediately wanted to run to my computer and share the news here on my blog…because that’s what I do, share my entire life with you guys haha! But I told myself to calm down and just wait for the right time. After my sister asked me to shoot her engagement session, I knew that when I blogged her session it would be the perfect time to share the news with you all. I could not be happier for my sister…

Donald could not have entered my sisters life at a better time. I am so thankful for him and I can’t wait to watch them grow as a couple and I especially can’t wait to see them say “I do” in May. Shooting their engagement session was a complete adventure and I loved it. We were able to cover so much ground driving around to soooo many different locations and we were completely racing against the last bit of daylight. Shooting their session in Spokane on a snowy day was such a nice change of scenery for me, I could not have asked for a better shoot or a better couple.

In doing this shoot for my sister and her fiance, it really gave me an inside look as to what my other couples experience when working with me. It was so comforting and fun to watch how excited they both were for this shoot. Making sure everything from outfits to hair and makeup were juuuust right. When I went home for Thanksgiving, I knew I wanted to reveal their session to them so that I could be there to watch. I was soooo nervous to watch their reaction, but it was exactly what I had hoped for. They looked at their photos for over an hour…flipping back and forth, laughing, crying, then flipping back and forth some more.

It was perfect.

When they were done, my sister looks up at me from the sofa they are cuddled up on…tears welled up in her eyes and says, “I think this is exactly what your couples do when they see the photos you take of them.” I smiled then I instantly imagined all my couples…cuddled up together somewhere…flipping through their own photos that I’ve taken of them. There is no better feeling than making my clients happy…this is what it’s all about…I promise you that.

Enjoy.