NEW BLOG!!!!

It's ready. It's finally ready. So, head on over and check it out (and yes, I know it's not 100% ready as I have someone special helping me out on a few technical things I have dreamed up).

http://www.carlabphotography.com/theblog

This also means it's time to update any bookmarks you may have to it. :)

Moving the blog

I'm in the process of moving the blog, and have a few minor things to "tweak" for it's grand debut! It's not that I'm ignoring this blog, but in a way I am to get the new and improved one ready. Bigger photos, easier to navigate, prettier design, and hopefully easier to keep up with (well, doubt that really, but I can hope!).

I got to go to a Tea Party!

This little girl shared her new tea set with me, and we had a great time until a spider crashed the party. If we both had not been quickly moving out of the way I would have had a great storyboard - "Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider and sat down beside her, scaring Miss Muffet away."


It was a harmless grass spider, but they do look rather large and alarming at first.

Quick proofing break...

to show you some images of Katie that I took during a recent playdate at the Gardens. When I mention to everyone that Katie does NOT like participating in a session, please remember THESE images. Thanks!

Laughing at me because she knew I did not want her in full sun (harsh shadows on the face)

Running from me when I tried to get her to go back to the shade.

Looking at the fish (but hey, it's one I like!)


Instant motion as soon as she turned around...*sigh*


She's either thinking "Take that photo and I'm putting this rock in my mouth" or "Take that photo and I'm throwing this rock at the camera."


OH a CUTE one...too bad she was running away, turned to look, and I wasn't fast enough for perfect focus.


Pretty smile, will work well for a "head shot" portrait for the Grandparents...unfortunately I wanted the full length for the wall.


This one, she didn't run away, she looked at me (though did not smile), and gave me the full length I wanted...knowing she had her sippy cup and I was NOT going to allow it to be in anything but her scrapbook.



Yes, these are the BEST ones I got of her.

Such beautiful children

...blue tongue and all!


Seriously, could these kids be any more beautiful?


What is even better is that they are truly more beautiful on the inside. They are the sweetest kids.

She reminds me of my favorite movie

Well one of my favorites...The Sound of Music. See, this little girl reminds me of Gretl sitting on the stairs singing the song "So Long, Farewell."



She also gives me some of the best silly faces ever!

BBWSOD

What's that? BlackBerry White Screen of Death, otherwise known as JVM Error 102 - Reset, which the kind technical support people told me means that basically there is nothing they can do except replace my cell phone. I will be getting it Tuesday morning, so until then, I will have to check voicemail remotely and log into my email to get those messages!

I am feeling quite lost right now, but have so many GORGEOUS images from the wedding I shot yesterday. Luckily the cell phone died after all my sessions and the wedding were done!

Out of office times

I am once again traveling out of state (sessions and a wedding). I will be looking at emails and such, but may be slow to respond. I am out until July 1st, then gone from July 3rd evening until July 8th. July 9th I should be back to normal/regular business hours.

I have sneak peeks and sessions ready to showcase! I'm so excited on many of these sessions. I have photography many beautiful families and siblings and children these last few weeks!

Thinking of Christmas already!

No, this is NOT a post about Christmas sessions and scheduling them soon. Rather, it's about a little online store that my family loves. As we live in "Pocket Protector" capital (well at least of Alabama), I thought I would share just in case any of you have a special "enginerd" on your list this year.

Think Geek

To be perfectly honest, my 9 year old stole the catalog as soon as it came the mail and I've not seen it since. ;)

Be on the lookout for some truly wonderful sessions that are previewed/sneak peeked/showcased here. I have so many favorites from recent sessions. Oh, if you really are thinking of Christmas sessions already, please let me know as I am starting to think of them as well!

When the computer tells me it is time for bed!

I hardly ever talk about my nights, but this was a lesson I truly need to share with you. See, I do my best intense computer work after the kids (namely the little Princess) is in bed. Tonight I was innocently enough editing photos on my computer (it has some pretty good RAM and processor speed in it) while having my email open as well. I also, in my infinite wisdom, had an internet browser (or two hundred) open as well. Photoshop, chose that one moment where I was mid-edit of a long edited photo to flash the ever so lovely sign "(not responding)" on the title bar.

My heart sank. My stomach dropped to the floor. I quickly switched to an internet window to see if I could ignore it and it would go away. It didn't.

CTRL-ALT-DEL brought up Task Manager, and as this seems to happen frequently in my life (I do have Vista) I have learned which processes are normal and which are not, which I can kill and which I can not. This time, oh this time, I clicked the "show all users" and got to even MORE! Yippee!!!

I ended this one and that one, and JOYFUL noise sounded (in my head) when I saw that Photoshop was once again working. Instead of quickly going and SAVING that long edited photo like any self-respecting computer tinkering person, what did I do? Oh I went and blithely ended other fun sounding processes. I clicked one, and I promise it sounded innocently enough. How was I to know it would completely kill my entire session and REBOOT my computer?

After my cry of dismay, my dear husband said to me "Perhaps the computer is telling you to go to bed."

Perhaps it was, but I really do need to get these edits done as I know tomorrow will be busy with making sure my little sweet Princess keeps toys out of the toilet, keeps itty bitty "big boy" toys out of her mouth, and doesn't unload the clean laundry baskets by putting those clothes in the trashcan. Yes, I really should get those important edits done tonight because I know I won't have much time tomorrow. I'm off to edit again, but this time, I think instead of my two thousand internet windows, I'll turn on some music instead. Something nice, uplifting, and not at all lullaby like. ;)

Treat yourself to a Frosty from Wendy's this weekend!

Wendy's is donating 50 cents from every Frosty product sold on June 14th and 15th to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Dads rock. And so does a Frosty over Father’s weekend (June 14-15). Why? Well, participating Wendy’s ® stores will be donating 50¢ of every Frosty product sold to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The funds are vital to helping us find permanent, loving families for children in foster care. So how about surprising your dad with a frosty and enjoy a good treat for a good cause?

Two gorgeous dancers

I love dancers. They are so graceful, and always beautiful. When I was a really little girl, I took ballet for a short period, and loved it. I do not believe I was just awesomely great at it, but I loved it. These two girls are much better than I could have ever hoped to be, and the love they have for dance shines through.

When it comes time for Katie to start dancing, I hope she enjoys it as much as they do. The oldest is going to celebrate her 10 years of dancing soon, and I really think that is awesome!

As I work through the images I will probably post more here because I have so many good ones!

Sneak Peek of Little Miss Adorable

I do have images without the lollipop, and will show those in a few...but...

First the Lollipop...

"Daddy, the lollipop is great! Can you believe I got a BIG pink lollipop? I love it!"


Sometimes I love photos in color:


Sometimes I also love them with "selective color":



Then, sometimes, you must follow them to get some really cute images!




Without the lollipop (in the beginning) and singing a song to her mother.


She wanted to go through the gate and show me the fish in the neighbor's yard.

A few of her favorite things...

This little girl has a special place in my heart as she was one of my first baby planners and having seen her grow up before my lens has been incredible. I'm working on the sneak peek for her parents, and I saw this one image. To me, it reminds me of her favorite things...her backyard, lollipops, dirt, and not smiling at me. ;) Seriously, this little girl gives me the best images, but this one just grabs my heartstrings. I have quite a few from our little mini-session, and I do not envy her parents the decisions they will be making!

ABC's of Me

I came across this fun little post on my friend (and extraordinary photographer) Shannon’s blog, so I joined in the game of tag.

A is for age:
32, but sometimes I feel ever so much older

B is for burger of choice:
Veggie Burger in Disney World!

C is for what kind of car you drive:
Honda Odyssey.

D is for your dog’s name:
I don't have one.

E is for essential item you use everyday:
my computer

F is for favorite TV show at the moment:
Battlestar Galactica

G is for favorite game:
Big Brain Academy

H is for Hometown:
*too personal for the internet*

I is for instruments you play:
Piano and French Horn

J is for favorite juice:
Pineapple Orange

K is for whose butt you’d like to kick:
No one at the moment

L is for last restaurant you ate at?
Moe's

M is for your favorite Muppet:
Kermit - it's not easy being green

N is for Number of Piercing:
2 - one in each ear if they've not grown back already

O is for overnight hospital stays:
2 - childbirth stays

P is for people you were with today:
My hubby and kids, the people at karate, the people at therapy, the people at Starbucks, the people at Moe's, the people at Gamestop, and the people at Target. Just a normal day! ;)

Q is for what you do with your quiet time:
Read

R is for biggest regret:
It's too hard to choose.

S is for status:
Married.

T is for time you woke up today:
8:15. Had to be at therapy by 9:30, I overslept.

U is for what you consider unique:
Unique about me? or just Unique?

V is for vegetable you love:
Oh...ummm...all of them? Yes, including brussel sprouts

W is for worst habit:
over analyzing situations.

X is for x-rays you’ve had:
1 that I remember.

Y is for yummy food you ate today:
My Starbucks drink - a true treat!

Z is for zodiac sign:
Aries

Tag to anyone who wants to play!

From my blog reading

As we've been going through speech therapy evaluations (among other medical appointments), I was sent to this blog by a friend. I found it very interesting to actually hear what a "mild" hearing loss sounds like and what it can do. See, I have been putting off having Katie's hearing tested because she was learning English so well. But she's stalled, and a friend mentioned that perhaps she has fluid in her ears and it's causing some hearing issues.

I thought to myself, "well it will clear up and I can wait until I see the pediatrician, and her ears are not infected so what's the big deal?"

THIS is a big deal!

This author has links to sound files that show what my friend was talking about. I found it so important that I wanted to share with everyone!

She melts my heart

As I'm going through our vacation photos, I found this one. Katie melts my heart. She's trying to become so independent lately, and she's testing those 2 year old limits and boundaries well. However, that smile she gives me reminds me how very much I love her. It also serves to get her out of trouble quite a bit as well.

We barely got done with the outdoor photos before the rain! They were troopers to the end. I had so much fun with these kids, singing, acting silly, and playing. Their backyard is so pretty, and I know my own kids would love that tire swing!


She has such a good singing posture, and she loves to sing. What are her favorite songs? "If your happy and you know it," "The Barney Song," and "Row, Row, Row your Boat."



She was singing and doing the hand motions for one of the songs. I just loved all her facial expressions. So lively, so animated, so incredibly adorable!


But her brother had the very best silly poses and faces!

Back from vacation!

I'm still going through my emails, my messages, and looking at my calendar to remember where I am and what I've promised. Thanks for your understanding as my standard response time is somewhat slower at the moment. I will definitely share some of my favorite images from our trip. They are total snapshots, but this photographer was a Mommy on vacation!



Yes, that memory just about sums up our trip!

June 1st - Price Increase

I know we all hate it when prices go up, but believe me when I say this it necessary! As gas has gone up, my expenses for traveling to sessions, traveling to deliver prints, and meeting for ordering sessions have increased. In addition, shipping costs for prints and other items for the business have increased raising the cost for those items. Then, like they have each year, the lab has increased prices of the actual prints as well! I tried to wait as long as I could, but looking ahead at ever increasing prices for gas I thought it was time.

Effective June 1st, a new price book will be in effect. This will ONLY apply those of you booking a session on June 1st or later! All sessions booked prior to June 1st will be on the "old prices" and "old session fees." It's only fair as they have been waiting for their session time to come up.

Session fee is going to a flat $75, travel outside a specific radius (30 miles) from my home will incur a set fee per mile past the 30 mile radius. Mileage will be determined based on Mapquest miles stated.

Anyone who books a session prior to that date will have their choice of "old" prices or "new" prices if their session is after June 1st. I am creating some new packages based on things clients have asked for in the past.

I can not believe it is summer already!

Where has the time gone? Wasn't it just yesterday we were shivering in the snow flurries and battling illnesses like the flu? It seems we blinked, and it's time for swimming, hiking, camping, vacations, summer camps, playing with friends, and having fun.

I've opened my summer months for sessions, and June is almost completely full, July is filling up quickly, and not so many people are asking for August outdoor sessions at the moment. If you were wanting a session during this time of sunshine, outdoors fun, childhood fun days, you need to talk with me soon!

I do have some great ideas for sessions during the summer, so if you just know you want portraits taken then talk to me about those ideas. Perhaps we'll come up with something that strikes a chord in your heart strings, that will make you remember these summer days spent with your children!

Now, for those of you who like to really plan ahead, I'm taking names for those who are interested in fall sessions and will contact those people first when I open the months up for sessions! If you have a particular date in mind, or just know you want those brilliant fall leaves, then please let me know that as well.

A day later than promised, but hopefully worth the wait!

Such gorgeous children, and so precious! I loved every minute of our session together, the playing, the posing, the smiles, the laughter, and funny faces!

What funny faces you might want to know? These! I love them!

I'm late with this Sneak Peek!

I told them Monday. Well, it's LATE Monday. Boy am I embarrassed, but I blame the storms Saturday night.

So, Mom & Dad, I'm working on it....

These children will melt your heart!

I feel like she's asking her brother how much she is supposed to smile at that silly woman with the black box to her face.

These two children love each other so much. He would hug her, she would hug him back. They played ring-a-round the rosie, and they imitated each other. I know the parents got a work out (keeping active little ones from the water), but I hope they feel it is all worth it!

See, she did warm up to me. OK, she was more interested in what her brother was shaking that made noise.

Isn't her dress beautiful? I loved it!

Her brother's outfit was gorgeous too, isn't it?

Happy Mother's Day!!

I wanted to wish my friends and clients a very Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day. The storms last night put a halt to my working late, then from the moment I got up this morning my day was filled with kids, laughter, love, and memories.

Rewarding myself

Have you ever had things to do you kept procrastinating on? I did this week. I also had this session that I was anxious to download and edit, but I knew, if I started I would keep going until I was done. I was that excited about the photos! I made a promise to myself, fold the laundry then I could play!



Wasn't it worth it? I have plenty of time to finish up proofing this session now.


I have so many favorites from this session, and I should have them ready for the family soon. I hope these few can tide you over, if not, let me know and I will post a few more.

About me - I've been tagged!

My blog has been tagged, by Jenny Thrasher (of Jenny Thrasher Photography in Oregon). I'm not that interesting of a person, honestly, but here goes nothing!

The rules are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answer the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

here goes.....

10 years ago I was newly arrived in Huntsville, AL with a 4 month old child and interviewing for my first job after graduating from college with my degree. I ended up getting a job working at Intergraph Corporation. I enjoyed my time there, but would not say I loved it as I missed my baby!

5 things on my to do list today...
~Proof 2 sessions
~Karate & Piano Lessons for Kids (I'm the chauffeur)
~Clean house and gather things for thrift store donation
~Contact clients
~Homeschool Parent meeting

If I were a billionaire the first thing I would do is pretty boring. I'd tithe the 10%, then gift the church with extra. I'd pay off our existing debt, fund $300K into each child's college fund, gift each of my nephews (and future nieces or nephews) with college funds. What is left? Oh wow...ummm...WAY too much. I'd invest for a great retirement, then I'd start giving. I'd give to Love Without Boundaries, A Child's Right, Half the Sky, Autism Speaks, Make a Wish Foundation, and Orphan's Ticket Home. Oh and Shoahannah's Hope. Actually, I would probably create a fund for people who are adopting. OH there is so much I would do. Of course we would go to Disney World, DisneyLand, Tokyo Disney, Disney Hong Kong, Disney in France, and I think that is all the locations for now. :)

My bad habits include drinking Dr. Pepper, reading fluffy romance novels, and chatting online for hours at night.

5 places I've lived...Tucson, East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and HERE!

I'm too lazy to actually TAG 5 other people. So, if you are reading this, consider yourself TAGGED and then let me know you posted the info on your blog. (I guess that is another bad habit of mine.)

Beautiful 2 year old

I've had the distinct pleasure of watching this young lady grow up to be a wonderful 2 year old (and yes she IS wonderful).


She played a little shy with me (but notice those beautiful eyes peeking out from sniffing the flower).


She had her special friend with her, and I love taking images with the special friends. I had one growing up, and I wish I had a photo of me as a child with that bear (and my fuzzy blanket). I know her parents will treasure the photos of that lamb with their daughter in years to come.


She had a good time with her parents more than she did with me (remember she was a little shy with me). She pointed out the trees, the flowers, and the water. It was so cute.


Then her attention was captured, she turned her back and sat down...


What so so intriguing to her you wonder?

Dirt! Her parents told me that she loves playing in dirt. I love girls who aren't afraid to get a little dirty.