Wake Up, Juliet

Week 26 Pets Only | I Heart Faces

I haven’t participated in a little while, shame on me. But this week is Pets Only over at I Heart Faces and I wouldn’t a very good kitty mum if I didn’t flaunt their furry adorableness. Presenting: Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka, Rumbleroar, aka, the little sh**.

Don’t let the sweet little face, velvety ears and oh so nommable paws fool you. This is 6 lbs of “brother” bugging, house lapping, yarn stealing terror waiting to be unleashed! It’s a good thing he’s so darn cute…

Week 22 Barefoot Week | I Heart Faces

This week over at I Heart Faces, it’s “Barefoot Week”, and entries should focus on feet and shoes. It’s a non-challenge week (Superwomen Angie and Amy need weeks off occasionally) to raise awareness about a Nashville-based charity called Soles 4 Souls.

About Soles 4 Souls: Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner’s World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.

My shot for this week is from a fun concept shoot that I did with my friend this weekend. I absolutely adore shots of ballerinas and point shoes, even though I never danced ballet myself. They have a gracefulness and beauty that is unlike anything else.

Lacey | Central Massachusetts Headshots

Lacey and I had a lot of fun during her headshot session this past weekend. This girl is gorgeous, super sweet, and quite adventurous, climbing into a little cavern (despite the spiders) for some gorgeous light and atmosphere. I loved getting to know her better, and we chatted all about her horses, the fact that she prefers running around barefoot (keeping shoes in her car just in case she runs out of the house without some) and her love of photography.

Happy Birthday a day late, Lacey! You are a stunner

So Proud | A Lesson in Success

Today is an exciting day for my husband, Sean. He’s been working with a team on a book fansite for the past year and a half, and they’ve had tremendous success with it. Their success was given a boost today when Random House named them the OFFICIAL fansite for The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott! God only knows where they will go from here, but with a movie in the works, this series has Harry Potter potential for blowing up.

I’ve had the pleasure of observing some of the inner workings behind this team, and it’s taught me some things about making a blog or website successful.

1. Find a need and fill it – The concept for this fansite came about when there was no fansite for the series. They approached the author and asked his permission, and with his blessing, a forum was born.
2. Have a solid team – In this instance, a team was needed to build something to accommodate potential size and magnitude. The team started small, but as the site grew, so did their team and their skill set. When it came to forum moderators, they recruited from within with existing forum members who were active and reliable. And what is most important is the constant communication that happens between team members.
3. Create community – The original idea behind the site was a forum, a place where fans could discuss the book series. As the site grew, a podcast was born that included poll questions and emails from fans. The fans became a part of the show.
4. Run a tight ship – The series is geared towards Young Adults, so a no tolerance policy was created and enforced to keep the forums age appropriate. Moderators were always present and active on the boards. This was huge when they were reviewed by Random House. They were flame-free and a safe haven for young fans.

So congratulations to the entire Flamel’s Immortal Portal team! Your hard work and diligence has paid off and I cannot wait to see where you guys go from here.

Welcome Aubrey

A big congratulations to Gina, who you may remember from the maternity session last week. Last night she welcomed little Aubrey into the world!

Picture provided by a friend of the mother.

Week 21 Yellow | I Heart Faces

This weekend I had a lot of fun taking Lacey’s headshots, and her blond hair is my yellow in this week’s I Heart Faces “Yellow” challenge. But the color that really pops is her super blue eyes.

Now go check out the rest of the sunny yellow entries over at I Heart Faces.

Gina’s Expecting | Central Massachusetts Maternity Photography

Gina is one of my coworkers, and she is expecting her first child, a baby girl. She’s anxious, but we all know she’ll do just fine. She’s had plenty of practice with her stepdaughter, even coaching her cheerleading team to the championships. Her stepdaughter, Valerie, is an absolute crackup. Her antics made her parents smile and my job easy! Here are some of my favorites from the session. Gina, you and your family are beautiful and we are all waiting with bated breath to meet your little girl!

Katt | Central Massachusetts Teen Portraits

Katt is a fellow community theater actress, and this girl’s got chops! She’s gorgeous, funny, and very talented. Some of her latest roles have included Anne Frank and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. For this session, we headed over to Moore State Park in Paxton, MA where we took advantage of some beautiful rustic mills and bridges and gorgeous light that bounced off of a waterfall. We had the best time, and this girl does not have a bad angle.

Weight Watchers Weigh In | Week 5

I joined Weight Watchers and attended my first meeting 5 weeks ago. Part of me feels like I should keep this a secret, because part of me feels like I shouldn’t need a program to eat sensibly and keep the weight off, or worse, what if I fail at this like I have with other programs. But before my brain thinks, the big mouth part of me spills it. And I think this is best. Spilling the beans creates accountability, and it makes friends and family aware, which will hopefully lead to support in social situations.

Sadly, I have to admit that I already stumbled a bit. The first few days I tracked and did very well. Then the weekend showed up, tech week for Romeo and Juliet came, and I slacked. It was still in the back of my mind, so I was more concious about what and how much I ate, but I was not diligent. The next four weeks I weighed in every other week, managing to eek out a .8 lb loss each time.

Last week I headed to a new location, one just up the street from me, with renewed sense of determination. I am sick of this cycle I’m on which does nothing but leave me depressed and loathing myself. I’m paying for this program, I’m going to make it work for me. So I got very friendly with my tracker over the past week, successfully tracking most of my intake for 6 out of 7 days. I felt the hunger pains, but I was determined to succeed.

Yesterday I stepped on the scale, praying I didn’t gain. Praying that my focus and diligence would pay off.

“You’re down 1.8 pounds. Good job,” the receptionist said, sticking the printout to my book and handing it back to me with a smile. “Have a good week.”

1.8 lbs…in one week. 3.4 lbs so far!

“Thank you,” I said back, and added a silent ‘I will’ in my head.

Week 20 Flowers | I Heart Faces

This week over at I Heart Faces the theme is “Flowers”.  This shot is from the session I had with my sister while she was home from school. The beautiful yellow flowers provided a sunny background for her natural beauty.

See more flowery goodness over at I Heart Faces!