Thirty-Something

I had a birthday on Saturday... I'm thirty-something. So I got to thinking about birthdays as an adult and what it means to be thirty-something. When you ask my Ewan how old he is, he'll likley say, 'I'm free or somesing (three or something)..". Sounds an awful lot like thirty-something doesn't it? So the little guy isn't so proud of his age. I find my boys fighting this 'i'm too young insecurity' every single day. When there is a birthday at school Ewan will come home and cry, 'Now COOPER is 4 and I'm still JUST 3...'. Then there is Wes who cried the other day when he heard his cousin lost his first tooth. 'It's going to take FOREVER for me to lose a tooth'. As an adult you can smirk at the mere thought of being jealous of someone who's older. But it happens for a good long while.. jealous of the first person who can go on a roller coaster, the first person to drive, the first person to turn 18 (apparently that means 'adult'), and then ultimately (in my quest for age) was the first person to turn 21. At that point I think I stopped wishing my youth away for another year. I remember watching the show 'Thirty Something' and I thought the characters were all SO depressing. But as a 'thirty-something' I don't really find it too depressing. Maybe it's biological but I find women in their thirties pretty damn empowered. Maybe it's that we've all been shamed by men a time or two, we've gained (AND LOST) the freshman 15, we've had several jobs, maybe even been fired by one, kept life-long friends, been pregnant, gained the 'rookie' pregnancy weight, birthed babies, had post-partum depression, lost that pregnancy weight, mothered children, established a career, still mothering, and HAPPY with how the years have shaped us... I think it's pretty amazing what women in their thirties have accomplished and I still LOVE to dance, still want to travel the world, still love my job, LOVE my boys, love good wine and talking to strangers on the street ... So I don't think I'll wish for my 40s or 50s right now b/c the 'thirty-somethings' are alright. As for the kiddos, there is no stopping them from wanting to be older, but at least we can DOCUMENT them along the way...

WORKSHOP UPDATE: thanks for a great PRE-release response!! May fill this one up FAST. We're having a bit to trouble with the darn website, so we'll get er' up soon! Keep checking back! (for inquiring minds, other workshop hosts are Kelley Ryden, Tracy Raver, and Jael DeYoung).

Sanity..

What makes me crazy keeps me sane....

It's been a weird couple of weeks. My Saturday AM kind of sums it up. I woke up, got the boys ready (in our guest bdrm shower b/c our master bathroom is out of commission due to OLD HOUSE plumbing issues), I then decided breakfast wasn't happening b/c our kitchen sink/dish washer isn't working either (separate but equally frustrating issue). As I stared at all of the dishes piled high and my inability to muster up energy Starbucks came to mind (naturally, yes?). So I threw the kids in the car, ran through Starbucks (tall dark roast with cream and ONE Splenda), and drove quickly to good ol' Sara's house to drop my younglins while I ran off to a photo shoot. Once I got them inside I went back to the car to discover that Ewan had knocked over my tall coffee and the entire thing had spilled ever so neatly in to my center console, 12 ozs of dark roast splendor, saturating the stereo components. I quickly opened my hatch and grabbed a blanket in an attempt to clean up but I realized I was late so I hurriedly pulled out. Once I turned on to May Ave my hatch flew open, littering the street with all of my newborn blankets! I pulled over, collected my props, shut the hatch and drove quickly to my shoot. Once I got there I grabbed my camera, keys...and my phone....where was my phone (my FOURTH I phone)... Luckily as I was scrambling around, I saw it resting ever so peacefully on the hood of my car (props to my I Phone CASE that kept it there)... at least the phone was spared, my sanity on the other hand had been left somewhere on May Ave. I apologize to those people I inadvertently involve in my 'frazzle'..upon another recent parallel 'Beth' mind lapse a special person said to me (instead of yelling at me), 'Ok, it's time to let Beth be Beth'. For those words I will kiss you! BUT, for ONE day I could really benefit from a functioning left brain...seriously.

On a positive note, I've been busier than I ever have been, been shooting more than ever...and on a night like tonight when the kids are asleep, the hubby is working, I have my music, a good glass of wine, and my art. I love these nights, my music, wine, and hours of proofing, I get lost in it.... And I can say that I'm proud of a lot of recent work - thanks for being amazing clients! There is so much happening these days so I'll just list a few..

New Employee/assistant/savior: COURTNEY HAMILTON - she has a functioning left brain AND is hip and cool - imagine that?? She'll be scheduling your appts. etc, answering your questions etc. etc., keeping the biz afloat... my good friend Catherine will still be helping out but on more a 'behind the scenes' level.
TRIPS AWAY: I'll be in out of state on vacation Oct 02-05, working out of state (east coast) Oct. 24-26, and then again (west coast) Nov. 6-11.
BOOKINGS: I'm pretty much booked for 2008 ~ we are starting a wait-list now. If you don't care about having stuff for Dec. 25th then it MAY be possible to squeeze you in.
Things coming up: I am hosting a photography workshop in APRIL here in Oklahoma City along with 3 other amazing photographers (website to be launched mid-October) THREE days - one day dedicated to NEWBORN shooting, lessons on creative shooting and a day dedicated to post-processing.
My blog is also getting a face-lift soon --- but it probably won't be ready for another week or two (b/c of craziness..)!
I've taken pictures for NINE billboards in town for my favorite little kids boutique in town, Funky Monkey, so look out for those!!

Energy

My friends know that whenever I SHOULD have my camera I don't. First day of school...nope, good concerts, ummmmmm, no.....school assembly even after being reminded to bring the darn thing...not so much. Thank goodness for my I phone - little sucker can take a good picture (and Apple should be happy about the 'props' i'm giving them b/c i DEFINITELY have a love/hate relationship with my phone. I sware the sucker has major PMS, some days it just decides to be a brat and not cooperate with anything i want it to do. I threaten that I'm going to toss my I phone in Lake Hefner on my next run and live happily ever after with a Blackberry but I just can't bring myself to it)! Anyway, I've been on a positive energy MISSION. It started about a month ago at the DMB show, carried on to Eureka Springs Arkansas and last stop being Denver, Colorado for the Democratic National Convention. I can learn a lot from Dave Mathtews, seriously the guy plays the same stuff over and over and over and as his jugular pops out of his neck and his violinist thrashes his dreads across the stage I marvle at the energy they produce. Each song feels like the first time they've played it live. They amaze me time and time again, as do Dave crowds...everyone is a friend at a Dave show! Then there was Eureka Springs, one little funky artist town. It's the kind of place that everyone has an interesting story as to what lead them there and how they found this amazing community of artists fueling energy for their work. Some are really talented and others, not so talented but they all seem to be in the right place. As a homeless man played his tune outside our hotel, claiming to be 'the best violinst in the country' my Wesley watched him intently and whispered, 'Mom, I really like his music.' Maybe not the best music in the country but I think all of us enjoyed his music.

So the icing on the cake was Denver - a good friend of mine allowed me the opportunity to be part of history. To see and be part of such an amazing election is truly priceless (as was seeing all the big dogs, The Clintons, John Kerry, Gore, Biden, BARACK, not to mention the amazing 'ONE' show Kanye West put on...that Wed. will remain one of my favorite days ever ;). So witnessing all of this power was incredible but bigger than that was watching all the people there to witness it. Nothing more energizing than being surrounded by amazingly educated, diverse, and politicaly and socially active citizens (that all know how to also have a really good time ;). My friend Cory and I used to call these types, "SJWs" (Social Justice Warriors), people that live by the motto, 'the sole meaning of life is to serve humanity'. Lots to learn from this type of energy. SO, after returning from these 'adventures' as my Ewan put it, you'd think I'd have lots of images to share...but sadly, I don't. I AM hoping that all of this energy passed between state lines will continue to motivate creativity and friendships with all of you... Here are a few of my faves from the past few weeks....

Rain...Rain...is welcome today!

I woke up in the middle of the night to thunder...I was excited about it since it literally hasn't rained in what seems like FOREVER. The only positive thing about the lack of rain is lack the of mosquitos and weather cancellations. But ALAS, it has rained all night and most of the day.... it's been a crazy couple of weeks, lots of shoots, not nearly enough care for my boys, home improvements, blah blah. So here I am, first picture shows the daily madness here. Sometimes I really don't know how I'd manage as a mom of girls. I know nothing different than having legos, Star Wars, and guns all over the house, not sure anyone would guess i'm such a pacifist hippie at heart. I HATE GUNS, there is really NO NEED FOR THEM...but my boys see it differently. They are in a state of constant war (both pretend and real). Anyways, while I was blogging the previous shots all of these boys ran in my office and i had to snap an Apple computer screen pic!

I've had some good looking clients lately, been having a lot of fun. I have to admit, I'm a little scared for the fall - it's going to be busy but I love fall fashion, so i'm hoping lots of fun layering is on everyone's horizon :) Anyway, someone needs a snack, a drink, a time-out.....when does school start again?