Ok…I cannot avoid it any longer…I have to write this blog.  Now I always have other things to do…a million other things to do…but for some reason writing this blog has been at the top of the list to NOT DO.  Why?   Well for once in my life I don’t want to talk.  Seriously it might be hard to believe…but I don’t (imagine a pouty face, hands crossed against my chest, and my right foot placed firmly in a stomp position).  But nonetheless I am here.

So Me Ra has given us many assignments and for some reason this one, talking about my dreams, is the hardest one.  I try to keep my dreams held tightly in my mind, only sharing with less than a handful of people.  These dreams to me are one of my most private areas, and that is saying a lot since if you know me…I am not a private person.  I was half tempted to have my husband write my blog, because for some reason he has no problem sharing his dreams or mine.  This Soar scholarship was a huge step out for me to say this is my dream, and I was very quiet about it.  Now my husband on the other hand could not share my video and dream with enough people, he was insatiable.  But I suppose I would be too…for him.

For some reason sharing my dreams feels selfish and self absorbed.  I feel as if anyone listening to them or reading them might think “Haha, why does she think that she could ever do that, or be that?”  “Who do you think you are?” I was so inspired and in awe of the beautiful way in which Linda and Jen have shared their dreams.

So I thought back to what Jiminy Cricket told me when I was a child – “When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.” So with my brave girls and Jiminy as inspiration I am daring to share with you my dreams.  Here goes (feeling a bit sick to my stomach).

So it would be easy for me to tell you my goals for the end of the year, but I don’t think that is what Me Ra has in mind.  So what I am going to tell you is what my dream is for what will come.  But first for the sake of openness (hehe) let me tell you my husbands dream.  Kyle’s dream for himself is simple yet monstrous. His dream is for the right side of his body to be healed.  No fair that his dream gets to be so direct, but hey you can’t knock him for it.  It is one of my greatest dreams too!!  Now whatever I share will seem easy, right?

My pie in the sky dream is to someday have an HGTV show that combines my two passions and loves. My love for photography and design.

Before following my true love of photography interior design and home improvement is what pulled me out of the depression after my husband accident.  It gave me footing, and direction, and something to work for when it seemed I was walking in quick sand.  What I really have grown to love is my ability as a woman to do things that make men’s mouths drop open, and it has nothing to do with my body ; )!!

My desire is to motivate and teach women out there to do it for themselves in yet another male dominated industry of home improvement.  I have been blessed with a father that has talents beyond my imagination.  He has taught me so much, and given me such confidence in my abilities that I would love nothing more than to share this with others.

My dreams show would start with me shooting family portraits.  Then it would show me meeting with the family to show them the images and choose a main image or theme to design their room off of.  Then the design would come in, (no male contractor involved) and I would teach them how and what to do on their own in order to make the room reflect who they are, as a beautiful and strong woman.  Power tools are a must!!  It is unbelievably empowering to hear the roar of a motor while you are sawing something in half!!

The show would end with me giving them a gift of a camera and a quick lesson on how to add more photographic art of their own to the space.  This would be especially powerful if I was working with a mother!!

So there you have it…my big pie in the sky dream.  It may never happen, but at least some day I will be able to show my children that I dared to dream.  I wrote it down and cast it out into the world and it did not kill me.  One of the greatest gift we have as American’s is this ability…the ability to dream bigger than we think possible.  And in some rare cases (Me Ra) those impossible dreams become possible and give us all added “silver dust”.

Dream Big,

Lindsay

Goodness chapter 7 in the Artist’s Way is not something you can read lightly.  I often find it interesting how a certain conversation comes up in life, completely unrelated to another aspect of life, and despite that they could not have been more eloquently timed.

(It is in the rare moments where no one is watching me that I can truly capture a moment.  This was Ella’s first touch of the sand on our recent trip down the Oregon Coast.)

What in the world am I blabbering on about…Well I just happened to have a conversation tonight about perfectionism being narcissism and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Thinking of, or seeing yourself, as a narcissist is not an easy pill to swallow.  So sadly I listened as someone I adore told me how she felt that she was a perfectionist and further more a narcissist and I realized that darn it I was too (in true narcissist fashion of course).

(Kohen’s movement was crucial in order to show you that he is truly my little monkey)

Julia Cameron writes…“To the perfectionist, there is always room for improvement.  The perfectionist calls this humility.  In reality, it is egotism.  It is pride that makes us want to be perfect.”

(Julia Cameron ~ ““Try to remember that God is the Greatest Artist.  Artists like other artists.” This was the amazing view that sent me to sleep each night on my trip.  The shining star brought me great joy.”

I think that perfectionism has had a multitude of purposes in my life.  There are moments where it pushes me to be more than I think I can, and moments where it keeps me from being who I could be.  I am trying desperately to learn where to draw the line between perfectionism and hard work.

For each person this might be different.  For my husband it is pretty much everything I do, and it drives him nuts. For me it is fewer and smaller things that not everyone might see.

I think my greatest need and weakness is that too often I’m looking to my audience for approval instead of looking within and above for that approval.  I tend to focus on the results and not the process…and ultimately my work suffers.

(Then…as Julia Cameron says there are moments of clear inspiration that require me to move into them by faith.  It is my hope that these moments will be more frequent, and that my soul will feel as free as they did this day.)

The greatest gift I have to give to others is myself.

They might not want it and that is just another place for me to humble myself.  After all…believe it or not…the whole world does not revolve around Lindsay Baumgartner!!  Can you believe it!!

I loved the exercise that Jennifer wrote about in her Blog.  I love the little parts of a person that you get to see in just those few statements.  How fun would life be if we didn’t walk into everything thinking we needed to be perfect, or even good?  Well there are a few places in my life where I can do this, failure aside.  Seriously you should see the tile in the first bathroom I tiled.  It drives me crazy to this day and I can’t wait to get away from it some day…but I wasn’t afraid to fail at it.  It might drive me crazy that I didn’t do it perfectly but at least I tried and ohhhh what I learned in the process.

Then there are the others and I am still terrified to even say them out loud much less write them down.  They are those dreams and wishes that I am sure we all have hidden deep inside.  Those dreams that seem so foolish and selfish that we dare not tell a soul.  Well there are many of those still hidden deep…for only my eyes, but there is one that I have had for some time that I finally allowed to sneak out and look at where it has gotten me.  Last December when I read about Soar! for the first time all judgment aside I allowed myself to speak a dream and take a step towards it. The night I hit that send button was one of the most freeing and terrifying nights of my life.  All I can say is…THANK GOD I TRIED!!!

Shine On,

Lindsay

So to say that it was a minor transition when going from your run of the mill photo cataloging and editing system to Lightroom would just be a flat out lie.  While the transition was work…it quite possibly may be one of the greatest tools I have ever used in regards to my photography.

I am big into teaching myself how to do things…jump in feet first and wade my way through a situation.  That is how I go about doing things.  Jump in try it out and figure out the kinks later.  Not always the smartest way to go, but hey at least I am willing to try!!  I would recommend doing it with a bit more thought than me, and I am sure you can avoid some of the faux pas I have created for myself along the way.  By the way the Classroom In a Book is so helpful in navigating your way through the new and wondrous world of Lightroom.

If you don’t have Lightroom yet…well then put it at the top of every gift list you can think and hand it out with an eager smile mixed with a puppy like pout.  That should work in no time, and you too will be raving about the awesomeness of Lightroom!!

So let me tell you about some of my favorite features in Lightroom.  The first being one I learned during the Confidence Workshop in May.  Sync settings was literally life altering.  It has saved me so much time in editing images…and it is so easy!!  So you have edited an image and you think…Hmmm I wish the next six images looked just like this.  Well now in a matter of seconds I can make all the same changes to as many images as I want or need simply by clicking on sync settings in the lower right hand corner in the Library menu located just to the left of Sync Metadata.

When you click Sync Settings a menu like this will open…

In this window you can select or deselect a wide range of things.  For example you may choose to sync the White Balance and Basic Tone settings, but omit the Vignettes and Local Adjustments that might not make sense for the rest of the images.

There are so many possibilities with Lightroom that I myself could write a book telling you about them all.  For example…by making a few simple adjustments and then clicking on the three images I edited I am easily able to compare and contrast them

…helping me to make a decision one way or another.

Brian explained how editing an image in Lightroom works so well to us at the Workshop.  He explained it in a way that just clicked.  I wished I had known this when I first started using Lightroom.  When editing and image in Lightroom you are not actually altering the original file.  Instead you are basically editing a cataloged copy of the image, allowing you incredible versatility and ability to change things without destroying and permanently damaging the original file.  Light bulb moment for me!!

Another feature that I find helpful and fun is the before and after button.  This comes in awfully handy when my husband walks into the my office that I have been holed up in for hours and asks…”What have you been doing in here for so long…aren’t you done yet?”  To this I answer “I’m working…see!!”

I could go on for hours telling you about all the things that you could do in Lightroom.  So I hope that I at least touched on something that might be helpful to you all in starting out, or to those of you who already have it.  I would love to hear any of your tricks and secrets…if you want to share (PLEASE)!!

Lastly I would like to tell Adobe how honored I was to receive Lightroom.  My thanks and appreciation for everyone at Adobe is bottomless!!  Thanks for supporting and enabling the fulfillment of my dreams and so many others!!  You are truly a class act!!

So this week it has been a bit difficult for me to think of business.  Last Saturday my Mom, my Aunt, the kids and I loaded into the car for a trip down the coast.  Destination…Gold Beach, Oregon.  If you have never made this trip let me tell you it is worth every minute.  The beautiful winding coast is absolutely breathtaking!!  I will share photos from this trip when I return home to my computer…I can’t wait to share the beauty with you!!

In true fashion my little Ella girl got sick our first day in Gold Beach and has been running a high fever ever since.  Amazingly she awoke today to her first normal temperature in days.  Thank God!!

So please bare with me…this is feeling rather abstract to me at the moment. Not to mention this is my first Blog written completely on my iPhone.

Discover what works: Describe a time when you did feel confident, when you trusted your decision or a step that you took in your business.

Before I left town I finished up the photos for an inspiring family named the Pollard’s.  I must say I went into the shoot feeling quite comfortable.  This was due in large part to the kind and generous spirit of the Pollard family.  My husband was also with me to film the session, also adding to my ease and confidence.

I no longer feel I will fail in a shoot.  I lack confidence in many things, but dealing with my clients and photographing them is no longer in my self doubt arena.  That is now my safe zone.  It feels safe and uplifting.  I feel inspired and at peace. It is similar to the peace I found in meeting my husband, and the peace I feel each time I hold my children.  It is hard to define but it is like I am finally at home, all is right in the world, and I feel God’s peace and love surrounding me.

Notice your self-limiting self-talk: Write down 3-5 sentences that you say to yourself way too often.

Unfortunately this is something that I can recall far too easy.  They are less at certain points, but they frequently find there way back into my internal self talk.  Here goes…

“There is nothing really special about what you do, anyone can do it, who are you kidding!!”

“You can never truly be anything other than average.”

“Who are you kidding Lindsay, your dreams are selfish and foolish, you will always be mediocre.”

That’s about all I can bare to let out.  This self talk is painful and defeating.  It makes my stomach ache and my heart sad.  So why does it have a place in my mind at all?!!  If I knew they would be vanquished for sure…trust me!!

The pictures of the Pollard’s were a challenge, in the best of ways.  I thank them for trusting me with their children and their time.  It is people like them that push these self doubts down, and bring in the feeling of hope and promise that my God has for me.  Thank you Camery!!

PS…this is Kyle (Lindsay’s husband).  I had instructions on how to post the photos written down…but I either wrote them down incorrectly (likely) or Flickr TOTALLY changed their website.  So…sorry for the lack of pictures in this week’s post =(.  She gets back Friday…check back for the pictures when she returns!

It is late Wednesday night and my whole family is tucked away in their beds, and of course here Mommy is writing her Blog.  I would love to tell you it is because I have been relaxing and enjoying the summer, but that is pretty far from the truth.

As I write this I have a wrist brace on and a pillow supporting my tender back.  My summer has been non-stop work of my own making!!  How dumb am I…seriously I have no one to blame for this but myself!!  It was my brilliant idea to rip out our carpet and install all new hardwood floors myself.  And it was my idea to upholster a chair or 2, make a desk, install new trim, tear out sheetrock, install a new wall system, redecorate my kids room, design and decorate my office, get organized, do laundry, clean the house, oooh and start a photography business while still running a design business on the side.  Why should my body be tired?

Well I think it is rebelling at the fact that…

I don’t know if I should be telling you this…since there is a chance my cousin Karli might read it…but my body is feeling really old this week.  I am not sure if its overuse, or purely mental since this Friday will be my 30^th birthday.  That feels really weird to type!!  Now please do not get me wrong…30 is not old!!  Do you hear that Karli!!  In fact I hear that 30 is the new 20 ; ), right?  Now if someone could kindly explain that to my body I would greatly appreciate it!!

So with all that to say I was reading in my Artist’s Way where Julia Cameron writes this…”An artist must have downtime , time to do nothing.”  OOOPS!!  She then goes on to say that without it an artist will feel vexed, angry, and out of sorts.  Hmmm, not sure that I have allowed myself a moment to feel anything.  Darn…that doesn’t sound good either, that sounds like I’m escaping reality.  Perhaps I have been, but let me tell you all of this work will have been worth it when…I’m not really sure when but darn it, it has to be!!

While piling all of this stuff on myself I have learned that my photography is my escape.

I feel guilty and selfish going into my office to work.  I feel bad leaving my kids to play, or my husband to take care of them alone.  But you know what…this is my work, and while I may not be highly paid or sought after just yet…I am still working.

I think that it is hard to see work as something that is pleasing to do, and therefore I think it is difficult for us as women and photographers to feel validated in doing just that.

In chapter 6 Julia Cameron says “Most of us harbor a secret belief that work has to be work and not play, and that anything we really want to do must be considered frivolous and be placed at a distant second.”   I am challenging myself to abort this feeling and notion.  I know that not everyone will understand why I am driven or have chose to do the things that I do, but just because my choices beat to a different drum doesn’t make what I do any less valuable!!  Do any of you feel this way?  How do we demand respect without feeling like we are somehow cheating the system?

Finally…as my last day in my 20’s I am going to think about what my 30’s will hold for me.  Goodness knows my 20’s have been full to the brim with life changing events.  I am so thankful for all that I have learned during this time, and I am so happy I don’t have to do it over again!!  Gosh darn it…they were hard.  I know that my 30’s will not be a walk in the park, and by the time I turn 40 I will be saying “Peace” to my 30’s in much the same way.  As a child I remember my Mom most clearly in her 30’s, and I don’t think as a child I recognized her youth and her beauty, after all she was my Mom ; ).  I wonder if the same will be true of my little girl, does she already think I am old when I myself still feel so young?  Life is so interesting…I am just so happy to have had another year to spend with my family and friends, and what a year it has been!!  Who would have thought last July that I would be writing a Blog… for SOAR!… for my idol ME RA KOH!!!  Life is good!!  Bring on the 30’s!!!

Shine On,

Lindsay

***The images sprinkled throughout my Blog are from two weeks ago on a hot July night I had the pleasure of capturing Josh and Teal in the quaint town of Poulsbo, WA with the help of my beautiful assistant Cherina!!  Over the last two weeks I have have found great joy in editing the engagement photographs of this adorable couple.   They were so much fun to work with and it is my pleasure to give them their first peek at what is to come!!  Happy Thursday  ya’ll!!***

Bright sun you say?!!  Well it is only a small part of the year that we actually have this, and unlike many of the vampires that live in my area I adore each drop of sunshine!!  So with the kids off for the summer, and the sun shining bright in the sky we ventured outside with the bribe of the sprinkler as soon as the pictures were taken.  Does using my kids to further my photography career seem like a good thing, or a bad thing ; )?? At least Linda is on the same page ; )!! At least they get my undivided attention for the entire time!!  With house projects and feeling sick it is hard to be as amazing of a mom as I had imagined myself being.  So with bathing suits adorned, and camera in hand we headed out into the noon day sun to see what we could come up with.

I have to tell you that almost always my first image at a shoot looks like this or perhaps the exact opposite…BLACK!!  It cracks me up that after this much time I still think that I can pick up my camera and have it be just what I see in my lens, no corrections needed.  Haha…so my first direct sun image was awesome…right?!!

SO full sun done wrong can be unflattering on even the cutest of people.

Take my Ella.  I find it hard to take a bad picture of her, but give her some full sun, and shoot up at her and even my Ella could look better.  She has raccoon eyes, and a bit of a Charlie Chaplin mustache under her adorable little nose and lip. Kohen should just be happy he was spared from this image, but he was not so lucky on the next!!

Now the picture of Kohen is not nearly as bad, thankfully for him I was not shooting up at him in the harsh sun.  He is however almost a floating right side of the body saved only by the fact that my exposure was not too bright.

So to complete my torture of my talent and my adorable children’s faces is my final masterpiece of sun disaster.

The artist inside me felt I should name this image…so I have named this one “Rudalfo the glowing nosed child”.  What else can I say really.  His eyes are dark holes, not to mention his mouth, and then the beauty of his glowing nose to me was the icing on the cake.  I tried for more, but those kids were on to my poor images and started to make their own adjustments.

Here Ella created a shadow on her face as she held “Tigey” the tiger to block the direct sun from her face.

So after literally 5 minutes in the full sun my kids were begging for some shade.  I thought about telling them to suck it up, and then I remembered they are most likely little vampires just like their dad.  So we decided to walk around to the front of our house in search of shade where to my children’s delight we found plenty.

Oh yes noon day shade is quite possible to find with all of these darn trees.

From this point on my kids were happy campers!!  They were able to play for the camera and my Ella was finally able to bring her inner “Water Bender” out!!

My kids have spent the summer watching Avatar the Last Airbender and most of their pictures were in one pose or another.

After a little bit of time I was able to coax Ella to edge of the light and was able to capture a glowing shot to make up for the not so flattering full sun image.

I love you my Smelly Ellie!!

All and all I would say it was a pretty fun afternoon.  I got the vampires into the light for a small amount of time, and in the end they were able to return to their shade where they felt most at home.

Thank you my Ella and Kohen for the wonderful afternoon!!  Words could never express how much I love you two!!

Shine on,

Lindsay

Ahhh, goals you say?!!  Well I most want to tell you I SUCK at goals, but I am learning that perhaps the goals aren’t the problem, but the follow through is.

Perhaps the problem is I have too many goals and ideas?  Seriously I think I might, if I could just share some of them or shake them from my consciousness perhaps I could really get somewhere in life.

My life is full of partially finished goals, and goals that never got off the ground.  I desperately don’t want photography to be another proverbial notch in the old belt.  I so want to follow through and actually be a success at this.

I don’t have an unrealistic goal of being the greatest photographer out there, but I greatly want to be recognized as one, and gosh darn it, a good one!!

The other night my sister kept asking me if I knew how amazing I was.  Weird question for me to answer, and yet so telling about who I am.  What do you say to a question like this?  “No I’m not”,  “Of course I know that” (yuck), “Thank you”, or kindly “No I have no idea”.  The big question… Can or will I ever be a success if I can’t learn how to toot my own horn, or at least learn how to accept someone else’s compliments to my work or abilities?!!

I was raised to keep quiet about ones gifts or talents.  My parents are not boastful and don’t brag in any way about themselves or us as kids.  Perhaps that is why situations like the one with my sister are so uncomfortable.  I want that, I crave it, I need it, but I don’t necessarily believe it.

I recently saw on a show how an “artist” was described as someone who never thinks his or her work is good enough.  If that is the case, than I am for sure an “artist”.  Sign me up, I can completely identify with that mantra, but I don’t really like it.  So where does that leave me?

I need to be confident and believe in myself, but I also need to be humble and generous without arrogance.  Is this combination possible to achieve?

I would think no, but I can honesty say my husband exemplifies this to the umpteenth degree.  Now, how do I tell him he is so right without telling him he’s right?!!

So here I am. Goals in place, and along I find myself finding bits and pieces that make this life of mine make sense.  I have been working non-stop on creating an office and home environment that speaks to me as an individual, and to me as a creative being.  My goal since May has been to create a shared bedroom space for my children, and an office space for myself and family to work and create in.

To many people, this would be a far simpler task.  For example buy a desk, set desk up, buy a chair, sit in chair.  For me it is so much more, and thankfully God has blessed me with a loving and supportive husband, children, and family.  So as July begins the goal is nearing completion and I am so excited to be able to share that with you!!

Early July goals done…stay tuned for the rest ; )!!  I am set and determined to finish them in a timely manner!!

Shine On,

Lindsay

***The images in this Blog are from the 4th of July and our boat trip with my husband’s family.  Jen challenged me to take some firework pictures like described in Me Ra’s Blog.  My battery died before the grand finale : (, but I think I was able to capture the magic of the evening none the less!!  I love my family!!***

A couple of weeks ago the ladies and I had the pleasure of talking with Carey Schumacher of Barefoot Memories.  She is an outstanding photographer from San Diego, and I wanted nothing more than to have her sitting in my living room in order to pick her brain.  She was brilliant, and blunt, and completely forthcoming with all the questions we hurled at her.

In a Facebook post Carey said …

“You know I’m not the touchee-feely type, right? (that’s like saying “you know I like to take pictures a the beach, right?”)   The last quest posts for MeRa Koh have been awesome – but mine next week is VERY different & 100% me.  Consider yourself warned :)”

And you know what from an hour talking to her I understood completely where she was coming from.  Call me a nerd but I am a fan of the show The City on MTV.  There is a little bit about Carey’s personality that reminds me of Kelly Cutrone.  Some might not see this as a compliment, but believe me it is.  I think her strength, determination, and direction in life are truly inspiring.  I got this from Carey.

Carey was an incredibly strong woman, I am inspired by her personal style and way of conducting herself.  I hope that someday I will feel as self-assured as she comes off.  She has an incredible business sense, and to pick her mind was truly a priceless gift!!

Carey talked about how she prices herself, and what her packages are.  She explained that she offers two packages a that include a mini session and a full platinum session.  I love this.  I love the idea of keeping it simple and I am absolutely in love with the idea of the mini session.  It allows me to offer a lower more affordable price for people to get portraits with a minimal time constraint, allowing me to book multiple sessions back to back.  Thank you so much Carey, I am in love with this!!  I can’t wait to roll out my mini-session package!!

Last but certainly not least of what Carey offered me was to talk to my OBGYN and discuss putting something in their newborn packages, and possibly art for their office.  I am terrified of this, but heck no pain no gain right.  I want to adopt some of Carey’s fearless characteristics and put myself out there.  Like my business coaches Fay and Karen say…what is the worst they will say no?  That is their choice, but the least I can do is offer myself and my ideas to them.  They can take it or leave it, but at least I will have tried.

The greatest thing I think I learned from Carey was that there is nothing wrong with trying.  You might find that it works for you, you might find that it is not the right thing for you.  It seems like knowing either way is better than always wondering.  So now we will see… am I all talk or will I actually follow through and know the answers, good or bad?!!

Shine On,

Lindsay

So I am not sure if this is cheating since it is not actually one of the exercises at the end of the chapter.  So I am telling myself that it is okay for me to be in the gray zone.  I am so excited to say that I am actually getting business, but I am also realizing that my perfectionism and lack of personal organization are sucking up hours of my time.

I am working on this and trying to tell myself to not over think things.  I believe that allowing myself to do something in the gray zone is a small step in the right direction. So for those of you who have The Artist’s Way these questions are in Chapter 3 on pages 73 and 74.  For the rest of you the questions are in bold, there are a total of 20.  So, here goes……..

1.  My favorite childhood toy was a doll that had a rubber head and hands and you could pull down a flap on her bottom and pat her little bottom.  The hilarious thing is I still have the doll, and she is missing bits of her hands, and there are little Lindsay teeth marks in her rear end :O !!

2.  My favorite childhood game was Red Rover.  Do you all know what that is?  “Red rover, red rover, send Linda right over”.  Seriously we didn’t get to play it that often at recess, but I remember being so excited every time!

3.  The best movie I ever saw as a kid was the original Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid.  This is not the Disney one but one that stays more true to the original story.  I would insist on renting it and my Mom would say “Again, you always cry, why do you want to watch something that makes you so sad?”.  She was so right I would watch it and cry my eyes out, but I loved it!

4.  I don’t do it much but I enjoy painting.  Not wall but one an actual canvas (I paint a lot on walls too).  I struggle to find the time to add that in to everything else, but it is so cathartic and peaceful.  I wish I had the space and the time to do it more.

5.  If I could lighten up a little, I’d let myself breath.  Seriously if I could just ease up on the expectations I have of myself I might be able to take a deep breath and get some serious work done!!

6.  If it weren’t too late, I’d find when that perfectionist entered my head and kick her butt out!!

7.  My favorite musical instrument is a close tie between the guitar and the piano.  If I had to choose one it would be the guitar.  I can’t play, but I dream that my kids will have the interest to learn and play for their old mamma.

8.  The amount of money I spend on treating myself to entertainment each month is less than $10.  That’s kind of sad when I write it down, but hey at least I’m saving money ; )!!

9.  If I weren’t so stingy with my artist, I’d buy her a new lens.  Perhaps a wide angle one.

10.  Taking time out for myself is becoming more and more scarce.  Between taking care of my kids, work, cleaning, laundry, yardwork, and all my other commitments I am finding it increasingly difficult to squeeze any time in.

The rest of my answers will be on the SOARority forum so please head on over there to see them.  I had so much fun answering these!!  I can’t wait to see how you ladies would respond to these questions!!

***The pictures in this Blog are from a Senior photo shoot that I did a week ago of Erynn.  It was an absolute pleasure being able to capture this time of growth and change in her life.  Thank you Katie for trusting me with such a cherished moment in your life and the life of your beautiful daughter!!***

When Me Ra told me about revisiting our self-portrait I thought I’ve got this.  No problem, after all I have done this before.

Then reality hits, and drats!!  How do I do this?  I know there is no right and wrong, and that amazingly you all will be incredibly supportive of what I do.  I must admit that I really wanted to rock this!!

So I am just going to go ahead and put it out there.  Let me know what you think, or not.  Either way I am so interested to see if you all see what I was going for and what I felt in taking this picture.  Check out the forum to see what in the world I am talking about.

Shine On,

Lindsay