PhotoJenic Photography [blog]

I don’t think I have ever seen or heard a more POWERFUL, INSPIRING, AMAZING story of the power of PRAYER and FAITH and COURAGE (although I would say Nie Nie’s recovery is definitely on this level).  I read this story from just days after the accident after someone posted it on a blog requesting prayers for this family.  This sweet baby boy, 18months old, was found lifeless in his bathtub and then pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital.  He was dead for a full 12 or 13 minutes as they attempted to get his heart beating again and air evac him to a Pediatric ICU at a nearby hospital.  After being in a coma for 13 long days…this guy is a miracle!

If you feel like being inspired, grab some tissues and watch this video!

What a Valentine’s gift for this family!

My husband crankily (yes that is a word) informed one minute ago that I need to make a change…”your photos are too big.”  I sat there confused, we weren’t discussing anything in particular, I thought…

 the ones on the wall?

 my large file sizes on the computer?

 the ones I just printed?

what are you talking about? 

Then he says, “seriously, it’s starting to bug me…you need to make your blog images smaller.” 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh…really?  They are too big? 

So, apparently on MY SCREEN they look great, but on OTHER screens that aren’t as big as mine, maybe they are just TOO big. 

So, I’m asking you…are my images too big?  Cuz now I’m getting a complex…(I might post the next set a bit smaller just to see…but base your answer off my PREVIOUS posts).

Before launching new blog, figure out and perfect new system of posting images, including multiple images so you don’t have to leave said blog unwritten all week! 

Sorry folks…giveaway winner coming, more posts coming…still working out the kinks…

So I’ve already seen this a kajillion times…yes kajillion is a word!! And so I wasn’t about to do it…but then to give my husband an example, I did it for his name…and then for mine and I must admit…I did laugh out loud, a few times!!

So you’ve probably all seen it to…google your name and “needs”

On my first page this is a few of my highlights…

Jennifer needs a smack daddy
Jennifer needs to play by the rules
Jennifer needs to develop age-appropriate language for social situations
Jennifer needs a shave
Jennifer needs a session or two with the therapist

and then I got to the bottom and I read this…

Jennifer needs to accept that she’s gained what looks like some major pounds. Probably from the cookies…that’s a lot of sugar.

And so then I stopped and decided to go to bed!

Who’s idea was this anyway?

After a week of being at a conference, I made a safe arrival home at 1:45am…YES ONE am this morning (thanks Southwest).

I couldn’t resist peeking in on my kids after being gone so long…the boys were out…
Emery was too…until she saw me…darn her for being a light sleeper like me! After much rocking and cuddling and even a new bottle…she finally went to sleep at 3am, which is when we finally got to go to sleep!

Muffins with Mom started at the school at 8am, Brennan came in to greet me at 6:50, he was already dressed, had his backpack ready and was attempting making his lunch, he was really excited for muffins with mom at school!

My husband was happy to hand over the “Mr. Mom” reigns, as he so nicely told me…

Muffins with mom is at 8.
Regency pest is coming at noon.
Weed control will be coming in the afternoon.
Emery has a Dr. appointment at 9:30 on Thursday.
You have 3 deliveries…canvases, new Lightroom 2 and new Adobe CS4
You have 8 new phone messages and over 100 emails…
Oh and check the home phone messages too!

Welcome Home honey…we missed you!

And Dawson had to contribute too…he REALLY wants to CELEBRATE Emery’s birthday! What? She had a birthday? Oh yeah…she did didn’t she?

And I didn’t even get that pedicure I earned in Vegas! At least the house was still pretty clean!

Thanks to all 6 of my helpers that filled in while I was gone…does it really take that many people you ask? Well, probably not, but we couldn’t burn out one on the first day!!

It was an AMAZING conference and weekend. Even with so little sleep I’m rejuvenated in my business desires and can’t wait to implement the things that I learned. I’m grateful I had the chance to go. In the end, once I can really apply the things I’ve learned, my clients, my family and my business should all benefit from the time I was able to focus on my business, it’s needs and how to more efficiently work. And of course my work will improve after I can perfect the newest photo techniques I learned.

An average day around here…
I put on my mom hat and got the kids ready for school
Then I put on my taxi hat…they had to get a ride to school
Then I put on my gym cap…somehow I gotta lose those extra baby pounds
Once home it was mom hat again, the baby needed food, diaper and sleep
Ahhhh…a quick moment to put on business hat, check email and phone messages
But wait, you can’t pick up kids from school in gym clothes still smelling…time to wear the pamper hat, a quick shower and change
housewife hat is in order, quick house pick up hoping to pass it off as clean
taxi hat for preschool pick up
mom hat for baby and 3yr old needs
Another quick business moment, sent a few emails while kids played happily
oooooooo…most fun, redecorator hat because fed ex guy brought me a nice package from Pottery Barn, you see i’m trying to make my client room more polished FINALLY
Mom hat comes again, Brennan’s home from school, noise level up and thankfully my saving grace has arrived to let me work a few hours…thanks Amber
off to the office to wear more hats, marketer, editor, retoucher, graphic designer, order fullfiller, secretary, photographer (so many business things in the works…)
about 20 interruptions from the boys to share whatever highlight or anger that’s on the mind
around 6:30pm, mom time we did promised date nights with the boys, Dawson came with me
9:00pm kids finally in bed, finally a bit more time to work quietly and do ONE more thing…
honey, i’ll only be in here like 30 minutes…
and somehow it gets to be midnight and i’m so exhausted that I’m looking for my sleeping hat…

Lately I feel like I’m just incredibly ADD, I start so many projects and can rarely finish one because there’s always 10 other things interrupting or waiting to get done!! I know I’m not alone, who’s life doesn’t have this many hats? I’m just wondering how are you managing with all of your hats?

If I were not stuck to my chair with some head pressure making me want to explode and a to do list as long as Santa’s toy requests, I think we’d be on rainy day schedule around here…

the windows would be open (with the heat on)…
hot chocolate would be brewed…complete with marshmallows…
the kids would gear up in jackets for the 5 seconds of a small drizzle they might see this year…
I would make hot, homemade chicken noodle soup with yummy fluffy PILLSBURY biscuits
(cuz I don’t make the other kind)
maybe I would clean
Or
cuddle up to a Christmas movie on the couch with the kids
maybe I’d teach the kids thumbs up 7-up like I used to play on rainy days at school
daddy would come home early, cuz rainy days need daddy’s around
and we’d have a fire going too!

Instead it was a great daydream (thus the reason for the post)

My hands are icy…so are my toes. I just texted my husband a nice message…”forget it honey…I turned the heat up, if I’m going to be sick and working like crazy…I’m going to do it with warm limbs.”

And that’s where I am…now back to work!

I almost forgot about this…go to this link and check out People Magazine’s Celebrity Look Alike Contest. My good friend Katie who worked for me for years has a chance to win the contest and be printed in the magazine, wouldn’t that be SO FUN! I’m super excited because when she worked for me seriously every wedding people would stare or come up and tell her how much she looked like Reese Witherspoon (I think I should have her back…maybe I booked more weddings because of her)!!

If you look at all the photos in the contest, from a professional standpoint, I think she deserves to win because her photo is a true CANDID shot and many of the others are photoshopped into the celebrities hair/body which isn’t truly representative if you ask me! So click on the link above and vote TODAY, NOW…because I think the contest ends today, sorry Katie!

Ellen’s show is on at 3pm! Thanks Nicole!

Yes, that’s right, I’m moving up into photographing celebrities…!! Remember Janelle one of my best friends who recently debuted on my blog? Tomorrow she’ll be having her first (certainly can’t be her last) tv appearance on the Ellen Show!!!!! She was the lucky girl chosen out of 4,000 (yeah…totally rigged) audience members to do an audience gambling segment when they taped the show in Vegas!