A very Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful Mom and to all of you readers! Sweet little Will gave his Mama a priceless gift for her first Mother’s Day by being an absolute delight from start to finish of this afternoon’s session! Today was his dedication at church (during his usual nap time) and he was a complete joy despite having his normal routine completely turned on its head. He took a long nap right before they came out to meet me, so long that they actually had to wake him up, and yet he was nothing but smiles! I wish they were all this easy! He happily traveled through the arms of his whole family – grandparent photos, mom and dad photos, uncle photos, individual photos of everyone with Will, more group photos, AND we even got a quick outfit change to take a few of Will by himself before we were done. In all my years taking photos, I’ve never had such an agreeable little model! He’s grown into such a sweet little baby in the 6 months since I first met him – I think we’ve got a heartbreaker on our hands!
Happy 2nd Birthday to the Strat-man! Is that the sweetest face you’ve ever seen? Great end to the week at this barnyard-themed party! Since I was coming from my office in Plano during rush hour, I knew I was going to miss the start of the festivities, but I still got there in time to see the kids having a blast playing with the animals, bouncing to their hearts’ content and enjoying lots of sweet treats!
I took last Friday off work and headed down to Fredericksburg for the Hill Country Film Festival with some friends. I had never been to Fredericksburg and was dying to see this charming little town I’ve heard about for years, so the Film Festival was the perfect excuse for a weekend trip. The drive down was absolutely gorgeous since wildflowers are still very much in bloom, yes, even a few bluebonnets hanging on for dear life! There are thousands and thousands of colorful wildflowers hugging the sides of the road – you have to see it to believe it. This is not my photo, but click here to get an idea of what I mean. Incredible, right?
Unfortunately we were in such a hurry to get there (hello, there was wine waiting for us) that we never stopped to take pictures. And I even offered my friends use of my adorable child-sized props from my bluebonnet sessions! They passed, but mark my words, I’ll be visiting that stretch of Hwy 67 again next year with my camera along with anyone who wants to join me! Anyway, Fredericksburg was lovely (although I have some very strong opinions about the biker traffic we endured all weekend, but I digress), the Film Festival was great, the wine was plentiful, and the company was delightful. Not a bad way to spend a weekend!
Photos from the Festival (of which we were VIPs, obviously) – oh, and this was my favorite film!
This is Austin musician, Shakey Graves – quite literally a one man band. And some photos from around town - This is where we had brunch on the way out of Fredericksburg. Lovely little restaurant by Rebecca Rather, a.k.a. The Pastry Queen! We may or may not have purchased a few of her sweet treats for the road after brunch… and then promptly ate them 10 minutes later in the car. Worth it. And you know I’m going to pull off the road if I see horses AND wildflowers! We found these guys in Johnson City at an LBJ memorial spot called the Johnson Settlement.
Life lately. In a word… exciting! Exciting in both the awesome and not-so-awesome way. I try to live my life under the radar. I’m pretty boring, honestly. But lately I’ve found myself wandering outside my comfort zone, putting myself out there in a way I never imagined I would. It hasn’t always been my choice. Sometimes I got pushed there. But it has been an interesting ride these past few weeks, and I’ve had some pretty amazing moments along the way.
Here are a few snaps from March and April to provide some visual clues …
It seems most appropriate to start with a portrait of my wonderful parents from Easter morning. A fateful Easter morning, as it would turn out.
On my way home from Easter in Houston with the padres, I stopped in The Woodlands. It’s a master-planned development just north of Houston, and I’d heard there was a great field of bluebonnets in Creekside Park which is one of the neighborhoods located inside The Woodlands. Stopped off for about 5 minutes and took a few photos. Most of them were forgettable, but this one I loved. There are few things more quintessentially “Texas” than a family in their Sunday best taking pictures in a field of bluebonnets.
Bluebonnets came late to north Texas, but they are still hanging in there as you can see in this quick clip I took recently near my office -
Turns out that picture I took in The Woodlands caught the eye of a New York Times reporter, and what started out as a simple request to use the image in a story turned into me being interviewed for the story. Unfortunately, my photo ended up on the proverbial cutting room floor, but my quotes made it in the article which came out last week. To say it is surreal to see your name in the New York Times would be the understatement of the year. I am STILL pinching myself. Although I must admit I’m really disappointed that my photo didn’t make the cut. I’d rather my art be on display than my motor mouth…
Then this happened, which was not fun. I was on my way to a newborn session when I got hit. Let’s just say I’m thankful for airbags, insurance, and my amazing chiropractor. Car is still being repaired and won’t be ready for another 2 weeks. Big fat bummer. My car is barely a year old.
While the New York Times moment in the sun was amazing, I’d have to say the best thing that has happened recently is my commitment to getting healthy again. I find working out to be absolutely loathsome. I have lots of friends who run, and whenever they say how good they feel after a run, I have to be careful that my eyeballs don’t get stuck in the back of my head from rolling them too hard. I have never enjoyed one single workout in my entire life. Not one. I hate it, I really do. I’m just not cut out for it. And then I discovered Flywheel. And now I am eating a heaping plate of crow because I don’t just like it, I LOVE IT. I am certain I have been possessed by the spirit of Richard Simmons or something, because this isn’t me at all! This can’t be me, rearranging my schedule so I can get there 3 times a week. I shake my head at myself. I’ve turned into that annoying person that I’ve always made fun of… oh, the horror! But for whatever reason, Flywheel and me, we click. I love the music, I adore my instructors, and I’ll be damned if I don’t feel really good after class. More than that, Flywheel offers the unique opportunity to track your progress from class to class which has been incredibly motivating. Take a look at my performance data – the top one is from my very first class, the bottom chunk is from the last 2 weeks. It may not look like much of an improvement, but if you look at my Total Power score, average and max torq (resistance), and calories burned, you can see how much harder I work these days. I’ve also lost 10 pounds as of this week – not too shabby for someone who once considered walking to and from the refrigerator to be an actual form of exercise. If you live in a city that has a Flywheel, just try it once! First class is always free – you can’t beat free!
And of course, no personal post of mine would be complete without a musical recommendation. I recently caught one of my favorite bands of all time – Southern Culture On the Skids – down at Sons of Hermann Hall. I’ve been listening to SCOTS since college, and that was also the last time I’d ever seen them live. Happy to report that they are just as awesome as they ever were. I still remember every word to every song, while Mary’s hair and Rick’s guitar playing are still as fabulous as they were 15 years ago. Oh gosh, I just realized I’m old…
I am so glad the rain held off for this fun session out at White Rock Lake! I was so worried it was going to pour, but we still haven’t seen a drop yet. Just lots of clouds which was a lifesaver because we didn’t have to worry about staying in the shade and were free to explore the north side of the lake. There is so much to do out there, and as you can see, we had an activity-filled morning! Sam was ready to race from the moment he hopped out of the car, so we got some good exercise running up and down the trails. Then we did a little drawing in the dirt – pirate ships and treasures, lots of good stuff! After that, we headed down to feed the ducks and throw rocks off the dock. The Rangers might want to keep an eye on Sam – he’s got quite an arm for a 4 year oldMiss Meg was not so sure about having her picture taken today, but we managed to get a few smiles out of her thanks to her big brother’s silly faces! Hope you enjoy my sneak peek of this sweet family of four!
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