So.

So.  Here I am.  Slacker blogger.  How dare I show my face around here after not posting for 12 days!  Well, my excuse is...I've been busy.  Real busy.  Like working a bunch busy.  So I'm not complaining.  Busy is good.  Just not for blogging.   There appears to be an inverse relationship in blog frequency between my personal fun blog (this one) and my work blog (that one.) Therefore, if you ever wonder where the heck I've been, check blog number two.  If I'm not posting on that one, then check Facebook.  If I'm not on there then call the police.  ;-)
Ok so now that my pathetic excuses are out of the way...what's new in our little world?  Well, SB continues to entertain and delight us.  She is spunky, opinionated, and running around the house like a maniac.  We spend lots of time outdoors in our new grassy backyard.  That's right, grassy.  For those of you who have seen our backyard in the past, you may remember the jungle-like mass of ivy and weeds covering  our property.  Well Kurt tilled it all up,  planted grass seed a month ago and like magic, we now have a green lawn suitable for baby to play on if not for the dog "presents" they leave behind.  With leaves everywhere it's hard to locate all their, um, leave-behinds so naturally our first romp in the yard ended with SB picking up an old dog turd.  Lovely.  I was horrified.  Kurt would have been horrified too but he was so amused with my horror that he laughed instead as I carried SB, holding her defiled hand out of reach, into the house for a thorough scrubbing.  Gross.

We had an awesome day today.  my friend Ouida was photographing her friend's wedding up at Hanging Rock State Park north of Winston-Salem and she invited me to shoot with her for fun, for her friend, and to add to my portfolio.  Of course I jumped at the chance and we decided to make a day of it.  We got up relatively early and headed up to Old Salem for a few hours.  It is the coolest place you've never been to.  I lived in Winston for years and barely set foot in Old Salem.  It's just like Williamsburg but smaller and closer and with Moravian cookies.  Love it.  Our time was limited so we only walked around outside but it's on our list to return for a tour of the buildings and a little shopping.

 Here's SB with...wait, who's that?  Holy cow it's her Mommy in an actual photo.  Very Rare.  

Thanks Daddy for taking this one. 

Oh now that's better.  Mommy behind the camera where she belongs.  Aren't these two the cutest?

After Old Salem, we headed up to Hanging Rock, about a 40 minute drive through some, shall we say, more rural parts of the state.  Wow.  Walkertown, Walnut Cove, Danbury.  We are talking the sticks here.  Some of the scenery was very quaint and pretty.  Some of it, not so much.  Like, for instance, I wouldn't recommend going to the Stokes County Hospital for any reason.  It looks like a run down grammar school.  The pharmacy there is a trailer.  Maybe I'm judging a book by it's cover but I would venture to say they are not on the cutting edge of medical science.  It wasn't all bad though.  My favorite scene was a store that did not have a sign out front so I know not what it was, but there was smoke coming out of the chimney on the tin roof and there were at least 6 older men sitting out front in chairs in their overalls shooting the breeze.  They were still there on our return trip.

The park itself is stunningly beautiful.  The trees were red and gold and the light filtering through the trees about sets them on fire. 

See?

The coolest part is there's a lake at the top of this rock/mountain thing.  It's just lovely.  The family was so sweet and happy.  We got some beautiful pictures and had a great time.

Pretty as a postcard.

While Ouida and I were busy, Kurt and SB ran off with Greg and Avery to explore the woods.  They must've had fun because SB fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot.  She woke up 30 minutes later, fresh as a daisy.  So we stopped in China Grove (continuing our tour of tiny towns in NC) to stuff ourselves at Porky's BBQ.  A longtime favorite of Kurt's from his days working in Kannapolis, we introduced it to SB and she was smitten.  Not only is the food delish, but there are lots of people to watch and if that isn't enough there's a TV hanging on the wall every10 feet.  A feast for the senses.  She ate most of her mac and cheese, some pork BBQ and tried a hush puppy.  She was too interested in the little boy at the next table to really care what she was eating, but I think she left with a full belly.  She will sleep well tonight!

Back Crackin' Good Times

Wednesday already?  Wow this week is flying by.  I've been staying up late editing photos.  I had a great OpLove Shoot on Sunday with a spunky little girl and her Mom.  Daddy has been in Iraq and has three more months to go.  They actually live in Idaho but she grew up here and has been staying with her parents for a while.  Apparently, there's not a lot to do in Idaho, but the scenery is beautiful, she says.  I don't know how she manages, chasing this little one all over creation while her husband is in flippin' Iraq.  I'd be a basket case.  She keeps it together though, all those military spouses do.  It's remarkable.  Anyway, I am so excited to get these photos done and mailed off to her husband since it's a total surprise.  So that's why I've been up every night waaaay past my bedtime and been ignoring my blogging responsibilities.

In other news, I went to my very first chiropractor visit today.  Come to find out, I'm not supposed to feel like I've been hit by a bus on a daily basis.  Every since baby, my body has not been the same...aches and pains from head to toe.  I thought it was just because I'm the old and decrepit "Advanced Maternal Age" of 37 (shudder!) but no.  I quote my doctor, "your shoulders are really messed up."  And my foot too.  It's some kind of plantar fasciitis type of thing.  Anyway, Kurt got tired of my bitching and moaning and I got tired of hobbling around like a 90 year old, so off I went to Estramonte Chiropractic.  It was great.  They did some heat therapy like super-duper heating pads, a few other things with wires and wands, and then the infamous adjustment.  Overall it was fine but it is a strange sensation when someone grabs your neck and pops it like you see Steven Seagal do in those awful Fat White Guy-Doing-Karate movies.  I must admit, I feel a little better.  So I may be jumping on the chiropractic bandwagon, especially if it can prevent me from popping 20 ibuprofen a day, getting cortisone injections, or even worse, surgery.

Baby update.  Baby is walking, I repeat, Baby is walking.  Only a few steps without holding on, but it definitely qualifies as walking.  She is on the move and so proud of herself!  She lets go, takes a few steps and squeals with delight before plopping down on the floor or grabbing a chair (or us.)  It is the funniest thing.  She is also eating everything in sight.  Must be a growth spurt.  Tonight she tried tilapia and loved it.  What kid likes fish?  She also chowed down on some pinto beans, rice and guacamole.  Is there nothing this girl won't eat?  

We went to our first storytime at the library yesterday.  SB loved it!  She sat on my lap, listening intently to the lady and watching all the other kids.  They sang songs and did dances and topped of the whole thing by blowing bubbles for the kids to pop.  Can they pack any more fun into 20 minutes?  I don't think so.  Sarah Beth only got irate when I wouldn't let her run up and steal the felt duck off of the storyboard.  She wanted to hold it in her little fists so badly.  After storytime, we played in the little kids section for a while.  Most were still bigger than her, and she got knocked down twice by a couple of little brats.  Mommy restrained herself and did not kick them in their baby teeth but boy did I want to.  There was one nice little boy who thought SB was the cat's meow and showed her how the toys worked and was sweet and gentle.  SB eyed him suspiciously, but allowed him to play with her.  It's so interesting to watch her interact with other kids since we've practically sequestered her for the past year.  I think we'll try to go to storytime every week and maybe she can make some friends or at least learn to push them back when she gets knocked over.  Oh wait, I'm not supposed to tell her to do that, right?

The Height of Laziness...

Ok, this is lame but that's what happens when you have two blogs.  SB's one year photos looked so great I wanted to post them on my New Shoe Blog so here's the link to her post. Sorry people. I've been crazy busy.

I am soooo excited about this weekend because Auntie Weedie, Uncle Greggie, and SB's boyfriend Avery are coming for another visit.  Yay!  Not only will it be fun to catch up and watch our kiddies get better acquainted, but Avery may be getting his first haircut while he's down here.  There is a super cute kiddie hair salon near us that has the whole nine yards...firetruck barber chairs, playroom, etc etc.  So hopefully Avery will have fun and we can get some cute pictures.  Also, Ouida has let slip what SB's birthday gift will be and I can't wait to see this thing.  Rest assured, this will be another photo opportunity.

Hopefully the weather will cool down soon.  I feel like a prisoner in my own home.  I discovered I fall into one of those "sensitive" groups when the Ozone level is high (or is it low) thanks to a touch of asthma and crappy allergies so SB and I have been locked up for 2 days straight.  If I had an emergency slide I may pull the cord and jump with a few Coronas in my hand.  Ok, how many people wish there was videotape of that outburst?  I know it's inappropriate but you can't help but feel the urge to high-five the guy.  He is the new patron saint of disgruntled employees.  They're going to have to change the term "go postal" to "take the chute" or something.  The best part of the story is that he grabbed beer before he left.  Ha! 

Well I better go order some prints of our precious baby before she turns 2.  Grandma is itching to get her hands on some new brag-worthy material and I think those baby blues qualify.  Stay cool everyone!

One Year Old Baby Stats

30 inches tall (75th percentile)

21 pounds (50th percentile)

Doctor's Diagnosis - Perfect in every way

Well we could have told her that. But I disagree on the weight, their scale must be off. According to my aching back and burning arms, she is at least a ton, maybe a ton and a half. Anyway, we had a successful trip overall however the two shots in her arm were not received well by Miss SB. She protested. Much. The whole way home, in fact. Poor thing. She recuperated quickly at home with a few laps of the coffee table and a little Yo Gabba Gabba. Man that show is weird. They must be on some serious hallucinogens when they’re crafting that material.

Other than doctor appointments and frequent Mommy-assisted strolls up and down the hallway, we haven’t been up to much. First of all, it’s hotter ‘en Hades in Charlotte. 100 degrees? What the heck? I thought I left all that behind when I said goodbye to Arkansas. It’s definitely cramping our BOB style and thus my plan to have six-pack abs and run a marathon again by September is foiled. So instead of exercise, why not visit our favorite French air-conditioned bakery for some salted-caramel brownies, chocolate croissants, and delicious baguettes? We got SB a delicious little cream cheese puff. How could we resist, she loves puffs, after all. She enjoyed her dessert quite a bit but for some reason did not want to indulge herself with the leftover half-puff for breakfast the next day. What is wrong with this girl? I’ll need to teach her that pastries are an acceptable breakfast food.

The other way I’ve been keeping cool is by toiling away on photos in our frosty basement. Our lower level is so cold we could hang meat down here. I literally have to dress in long sleeves, pants and wool socks to spend any amount of time downstairs. It’s refreshing at first but when I start to lose feeling in my fingers it becomes a problem. The other problem is the giant cockroaches that occasionally attempt to keep me company. We only get one every now and then, but with all the trees in our yard and our house pushing 50 years old, it’s inevitable. BLECH. I hate roaches, I mean REALLY hate them. They make me want to run screaming from the room (ok I do run from the room most of the time.) Why are they so big? God they’re prehistoric. You can actually hear their creepy little legs twittering along the tile UGH. I was watching an episode of “Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends” the other day (don’t ask) and the cutest little cartoon cockroach came to visit the Sunny Patch from the big city and I almost gagged. Even a cute doe-eyed cartoon roach makes me want to grab a can of Raid. I’d never make it on that game show where they had to eat a giant Madagascar hissing cockroach. Great, all this talk about bugs, now I’m paranoid one will make an appearance as I write this. I swear they can read my mind, or maybe smell my fear. I better change the subject.

I just put another photo shoot “in the can” so to speak. Proofs are online and hopefully a happy client will be ordering soon. I am loving my new gig. It’s a lot of work. Hours and hours of post-shoot editing work, but it is so rewarding when someone loves the photos you took of their loved ones and you know those pictures will be with them forever. I just mailed the OpLove photo albums today. I think of the soldier opening up that package all the way in Afghanistan and *poof* his family is there with him for a few moments. I love that I can do that for him. Sure beats spending my day in a cubicle on conference calls all day. Even if there is a roach or two to contend with once in a while!

BOB and Other Happenings.

Ok ok so I've totally slacked off on the blog.  Well, this blog, anyway.  I've been busy as a little bee with regards to my business blog.  Hopefully you've checked that one out because I've had 3 photo shoots since we got back from vacation and I've got one scheduled tomorrow.  That is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
I'm so thrilled that my photography business is taking off.  I had my first OpLove shoot a few weeks ago and finished up the pictures just in time for the sweet young couple to view the slideshow the morning he was being deployed.  I just can't fathom saying goodbye to my spouse for an entire year, especially with a little 4 month old son.  My heart breaks for them, but I am also inspired by their strength, love, and faith to get through the separation.  I didn't realize how much I'd be affected by volunteering for OpLove.  It made me realize how much our servicemen and women and their families sacrifice for this country.  It also makes me hug my husband and my baby girl a little longer. 

So other than snapping off pictures, what have we been up to?  Well, Kurt had a week-long trip to San Francisco for work, so Grandma came to stay with us.  Sarah Beth had an absolute blast with Grandma.  They sang silly songs, played with fun things like shoe boxes and magazines, and snuggled up on the couch for naps.  Most importantly, Grandma taught SB how to S-H-O-P.  We had a 3 hour excursion to SouthPark Mall, in which Grandma showed Sarah Beth the finer points of shopping.  How to check the tags for sale items, which purse is the most stylish yet versatile, and how to take a break for refueling mid-shop.  Grandma bought our little shopper a beautiful dress, a super cute top with fishes on it, and the piece-du-resistance, a bright green tutu.  I can't wait to take pictures of her in this tulle sensation, but I am so behind I have to finish going through her birthday pics before I take another shot of her.

This week did not go as planned, thanks to a computer crash, 2 visits from CPI to fix the security system, and a $650 visit from the plumber to unclog our pipes.  Ouch. I don't think our pipes have ever been snaked based on the look of this guy but the time it was over.  That's 47 years of, um, build-up.  At any rate, plumbing is flowing, computer is restored, and the perimeter is once again secure so life is good.  We had a fantastic walk today at the park with our new BOB stroller.  Oh wait, I didn't talk about BOB yet, did I?  I've been too busy.  I need to devote a whole post to BOB.  Write a poem, in fact.  You may remember my previous post about the BOBs.  Well, B.O.B. stands for AWESOME, as are our fairy Grandparents in TX who bought it for us for SB's birthday.  Yay!  Had we known how truly fantastic this piece of machinery was, we would have bought it months and months ago.  This jogging stroller is da bomb.  (Yes, I went there.)  It's true.  I heart it.  Why?  First of all, SB loves it.  The faster you go, the more she kicks up her heels with delight.  It's comfortable for her and she thinks it's fun to speed, which you can actually do with this stroller.  I can run like the wind and BOB keeps up no problem.  It doesn't wobble or shake like my crap-a-doo Graco stroller did.  It handles amazingly well and really motivates me to get out there and jog.  Oh, and I look cool like those other mommies at Freedom Park.  Granted I'm huffing and puffing and sweating a little more than they do, but give me a few weeks and I'll be cruising along with my pearls and evian water and BOB like a pro.  So thank you TX Grandparents for this gift that keeps on giving!

In baby news,  despite all Grandma's attempts to get SB walking, she is still cruising along the furniture for the most part.  She has taken a few wobbly steps from the chair to her Momma but that's it so far.  She's so adept at furniture surfing, I expect her to be walking on her own any day now.  She continues to practice the piano on a regular basis.  She eats everything you give her, and I mean everything...her latest favorites...pesto, ravioli (she's had sweet potato and goat cheese & sun-dried tomato so far), rosemary bread, and lemonade.  I was drinking a glass and she wanted a taste, and I created a monster with one sip.  She went crazy for it.  Oops.  No more sugary drinks, Momma.  So she is eating well and sleeping great.  Finally, she goes down for bed without any tears and usually wakes up 12 hours later.  She is pretty good about naptime, too, however there have been a few no-nap days lately.  At the end of those days, Mommy is the one who is exhausted, not baby.  Go figure.  We're having lots of fun playing and exploring the big exciting world.  I hope to find some little friends for her to play with soon so she doesn't think Mommy is as good as it gets as far as playmates go.  Maybe we'll start going to storytime at the library soon and pick up some cute 1 1/2 year old there.  I think she likes older men. 

Well  I must get back to editing but I will try to update sooner than every three weeks and avoid all the hate mail. ; ) Heehee.  Have a great Sunday everyone!

Oh and here's another peek at SB's first birthday shoot.  I can't leave you without at least one picture of the prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen...

Mountain Getaway

 My tribute to Ansel Adams

 

Last week, Kurt took the week off and we spent our vacation at our mountain getaway, aka Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Poor Grandma and Grandpa.  Their home is so nice and we come in like a tornado with 2 mutts and dog gear, us and all of our sporting equipment, cameras, laptops, and one crawling baby accompanied by half a carload of baby stuff.  Baby food, baby toys, baby clothes, towels, blankets, bottles, sippy cups, formula...oh lord did we forget anything?  Impossible.  Our house must have been empty because we brought it all with us.  If that isn't enough, we then proceed to rearrange all of their things so baby doesn't get into anything that could hurt her.  Which covers just about everything.  Even innocent magazine inserts could scratch the cornea of a flailing 11 month old.  Ok, so we may be a little overprotective, but when you are responsible for this tiny precious, perfect person, every scratch and bruise is a small failure.  For example, we had a lovely day up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We picnicked outside and were careful to keep a hat on baby and even pulled out a big umbrella to shade her.  Nonetheless, the next morning I noticed a slight pinkish tint to her arms - AAAAAHHHH sun damage!  Barely detectable but it is enough to make me feel terrible.  I'm going online right now to see if i can find a baby burqa with SPF protection.  Meanwhile...here are a few shots of our mountain adventure:

Here she is playing with my lens cap.  She loves everything that is not a toy.  Preferably something breakable.  And expensive.   Lens cap, iPhone, Daddy's watch, Baby monitor are some of her favorites.  The one I can't figure out is the Diaper Genie.  She loves to push it around her room and knock it over.  It's plain white plastic and despite the "genie" name, does not "POOF" make the smell disappear.  It's much better than no genie, but it's not magical.  Nevertheless, she finds it very amusing.  Go figure.

Here's Kurt trying to get SB to play with Sophie the Giraffe rather than the remote to his video camera.  Nice try Daddy but she's not interested.  BTW, how beautiful is our picnic location?  I love the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We came back on Friday because I had a photo shoot on Saturday...yay!  If you haven't checked my photo blog yet, go see a preview of how it went.  Sure beats sitting in a cubicle listening to conference calls for a living.  :-)

I've got a good excuse this time...

So I realize it's been over a week since my last post.  Yes, yes, beat me with a wet noodle if you must, but I swear I've been busy!  Here's the proof.  Drum roll please.........

http://www.newshoephotography.com/

Ta DA!

There it is.  Finally, version 1.0 of my website is done, courtesy of my dear husband/ web developer.  If you recall, part of my plan when I quit my job was not just to play with baby and eat bon-bons while watching Oprah.  (Where are those bonbons?)  I am starting up my own photography business.  My main focus is portrait photography, but I'll shoot anything that moves or doesn't move for that matter.  First step was getting the website established, along with that comes a blog (another blog jeesh), a facebook page, and lord knows what other social media I'll need to jump into.  But here I come! 

Step one really started a few months ago with deciding on the name.  So...New Shoe Photography.  What the heck, you ask?  Well, I didn't want to name it after myself and be another FirstnameLastname Photography business.  Besides, what if I expand my photography empire and have other awesome stay at home mommies turned photographers join forces with me?   I also wanted something catchy and unique that says something about me and oh yeah isn't already taken by one of the 50 billion other photographers on the planet.  Kurt and I were joking at the breakfast table one morning and I said, what about Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes Photography?  A weak attempt at a humor referring to our shrunken income.  Well, New Shoe stuck.  It does rhyme after all so it's got that going for it.  It's kind of quirky.  New shoes are almost always a good happy thing, right?  And most importantly, http://www.newshoephotography.com/ was available.  Cha-ching!  Sold.  So, I got some super cute business cards printed up and a business was born. 

Kurt designed the site, including the logo at the top which I really love.  I've been working steadily on the portfolio pics.  My former photography teacher was kind enough to review the whole site and give me some great tips too.  We've gotten some folks to test drive it, so I think it's safe to say it's officially working.
That said, your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to check out the site and let me know if you come across anything weird or broken or really slow.  I know old versions of browsers, and different PCs can make websites go all funky so if you will do me this favor when you have a few moments, and email me at jen@newshoephotography.com with any feedback, I will be forever grateful.  Or you can post a comment on this blog but only if it's nice.  My fragile ego can't take public criticism.  ; )

Ok with that out of the way, you are probably wondering how our superbaby Sarah Beth is doing.  Holy cow has she been busy!  Within one week she went from sort-of crawling to full steam ahead and also got her first tooth.  Finally!  We were worried she's be a toothless wonder forever.  It hasn't seemed to bother her too much although she's been waking up at night a few times this week so maybe her tooth is the culprit.  It's the cutest little thing.  Just breaking through the gumline.  When she laughs you can just about see it.  I can't wait for it to come in all the way and take some pictures.  Speaking of pictures, here's a few for you.  Guess who is all of sudden best friends with baby?  Coincidentally at about the same time baby is trying finger foods out?  That's right, distant and aloof Savannah is now BFFs with our messy eater here.

So sweet and innocent

Why hello baby what'cha got up there?

SB has learned to feed the dogs - note the in-flight puff in this photo? 

(I should win the Pulitzer Prize for this one.)

Savannah is never satisfied with just one.

Hello Savannah...

Close-up of Beggar

Feeding the dog is funny!

Don't forget to check out my website and let me know what you think!  Thanks readers!