But I digress from my original reason for posting today. I have wonderful news for those of you with mobile devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Opera Mini, Palm Pre and BlackBerry Storm. The blog is now transformed into a more compatible format for these types of devices. You still have the option to view the website as normal (you can turn mobile on and off in the footer of the site). You can see all the pictures in the blog posts and also leave comments while in mobile view. Bookmark it today!

Finally, and update on the first week of school. 2nd grade seems to be Munchkin’s cup ‘o tea so far. She’s been doing all her homework as soon as she gets home - including reading for 20 minutes. She also finishes up her chores and then settles down to whatever she fancies (coloring, a snack, reading, playing cards, DS, Wii, trampoline, playing with the pups - you get it). She had great behavior all week! Now on to another great week! I hope everyone else had a great first week.

Can I just say that I like Nanny McPhee. I liked the first movie and I like the second movie. I thought that the first movie was a smidge better than the second, but still enjoyable. I also like the fact that Emma Thompson was the writer for both films. Nothing like a writer to play their own character. No spoilers here, just if you liked the first one, then you will probably enjoy the second, so go see it.

Now it’s time to just relax for tonight. Tomorrow is full of a baby shower for a friend’s daughter. (Picture opportunities). And work on Sunday and then the nightly struggle of getting back on schedule for school. Then the big day Monday! If I don’t see you until then, everyone have a super weekend.

• I’m having a bad hair day
• I need to lose these last 10 pounds
• I need to get my teeth whitened
• My hairdresser didn’t have an opening
• Portraits are soooooo expensive
• Pictures just aren’t in our budget
• We always get the school photos
• My family never cooperates
• We’re not photogenic
• We don’t have time

I’m sure we’ve all used one of these or another one sometime during our lives.

Should we really be making these excuses? What should photographs be? They should be a means to capture the moment. Once in a Lifetime moments that we can only relive in our memories. Precious moments that should and can be shared only by stories and pictures. They shouldn’t be cookie-cutter portraits that look cold. They should reflect our inner beauty, our essence, our personalities. They evoke emotions when viewed or shared. A picture should be worth a thousand words. Remember how special a photograph should be. You never know the importance of ANY photograph being taken.

Deb Schwedhelm had a great post Is There a Perfect Time with some beautiful photos. I encourage you to stop by and read the entry and really think about photos and what they mean.

Happy World Photography Day!

As always, comments are welcome.

We want to give a little back. We’re wanting to give someone their Time to Shine. Do you have that someone who is always there for you? A person who gives more than they take? Someone who is the true definition of a humanitarian? Someone who you admire for their strength to overcome adversity? Is there someone who’s story you would like to share with others while giving them a great gift of capturing their moment?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you need to consider nominating that person for our Time to Shine contest. Nominations will be accepted from August 15th-September 25th. Nominations will be reviewed by a panel and one nominee will be selected to receive a free photosession and free basic print package. Details of the contest and ways to nominate can be found HERE. Please be sure to read thoroughly as there is a time-frame in which the session must be completed.

I hope everyone has had a great summer! Welcome back to school!!!!

Sessions are for up to a family of 4 ($25 for each additional person) and include:

• 1-2 hour photo shoot at outdoor location of your choice
  

• Photographer travel time

• Minor retouching (blemishes, red-eye, tooth whitening, skin smoothing)

• Minor colorization (black/white, sepia, other tonal conversions, selective colorization, vignette)

• A private online gallery for viewing proofs available for 3 weeks

• CD/DVD containing 5 of your pictures printable in 4×6 format only and copies in a smaller watermarked format suitable for sharing with friends/relatives via e-mail or for posting on various community websites like myspace or
  facebook.

Some venues do charge fees for photography sessions. The customer will be responsible for this additional cost (not included in the session fee). Session fee is due at time of session.

Session Cancellation: Cancellations need to be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled session. If for any reason the photographer cancels the session, he/she will reschedule the session at his/her earliest convenience. If for any reason the client cancels the session, he/she may reschedule at the photographer’s earliest convenience. If the 24 hour cancellation notice is not met, the client will be responsible for 50% of the session fee. (Can be added to new session if rescheduled.)

Here’s where a couple of girls were walking by and he turned on the charm. He smiled and giggled and pointed. Of course, they stopped and “oh’d and ah’d”. Momma’s going to have her hands full when this little charmer gets older.

I have a few of him and Momma together. He loves his mommy so much, and you can just tell how much she loves him by the way she looks at him.

Momma L, I hope these are what you expected and I am working to edit the rest. There are so many…. Thank you for sharing your special little guy with me!

We were supposed to go out for the 4th of July Rodeo. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the rodeo was canceled. They did have the parade, but not without sporadic showers. The kids scored tons of candy and the adults got t-shirts and koozies. We headed down to the craft fair downtown after the parade. Dad had a custom cutting board made for Hubster and surprised him with it at the vendor’s booth. I’m sure that day we probably saw most of the 387 population of the small town while we were there that afternoon. That night the girls lit sparklers. Munchkin held her ears as the sparkler dwindled down because she thought it was going to explode or pop in some way. I couldn’t help but laugh.

When we go out, I love taking pictures of the animals and various flowers and other plants out there.

Sometimes I see what I can find in the barn.

If I am lucky enough, I get to snap a quick picture or two of Munchkin.

We were going to head back on Thursday so Hubster could do payroll for work, but he did it remotely, so we ended up staying until Saturday morning. We wanted a day to recoup. Hubster tackled the lawn while I worked on the dryer (he stuck his shoes in there and they scuffed the inside all to heck) and the shower door (gotta love hard water). I also worked on the business a bit. I updated the background image to the blogsite because Hubster wasn’t too fond of the watermelon colored polka dots. To be honest, I wasn’t either. I wanted something a little edgier, but wasn’t sure what to do at the time. I think I’m happy for now.

I also set up a Newsletter Signup. I hope to be able to send out newsletters regularly. If you want to sign up for our newsletter, go here and enter your email.

Stay tuned for more updates!

On our way back into the house the other night, we noticed some more “friends” camping out on our palm.

This hairy little dude was just hanging out, surfing the leaf that was waving in the wind.

On a close leaf, we found these:

Unfortunately, they’re not there today. I don’t know if they hatched, were eaten (we do have lizards who live in the palm too), or just blew away. A little further up the same leaf we saw this teeny, tiny young lady. (I’m assuming the mother to the above eggs?????)

There are more friends out there. Maybe this coming weekend we’ll go out and take a closer look. What’s in your front yard?

More info can be found on our site by either visiting the Senior Superstar page or by viewing the Senior Superstar online brochure.

Webpage and application

Flash brochure

I arrived slightly early as I always try to do. I have been to The Domain before so I had some ideas in mind, but then we went to the totally opposite end. As I was walking in, I was greeted by a Segway Security Guard. He advised me of the photography policy since the mall is private and there are residential spaces above the stores.

I met Eric shortly thereafter and we headed down the sidewalk. We found a niche that was a walkway leading from the mall to the parking garage. We took some fabulous shots there and then moved on to an elevator and then a parking deck. Eric wanted me to take some shots from on top of a post that stops cars from driving through the front doors of a store. I’m sure I looked like a roly poly red panda trying to climb on top of it. Then Eric suggested that I butt-jump. I wasn’t sure I would make it that high. I mustered up my vertical intgrity and bounced. I made it. Eric assisted me to a standing position and we got some shots. As I made my way back down, we laughed. We then moved on to the top of the parking garage, then back to the car/restrooms for a quick clothing change and then back into the parking garage to do some clone shots. Eric and I did a clone shot before of him talking to himself on a park bench. We tried something a little more difficult this time around. Maybe pictures will be posted later after editing. You’ll have to stay tuned to see.

I do have a sneak peek though. Eric, I had fun and will definitely miss you while you are in Australia, but expect Facebook updates! Here’s the sneak.