Well, they have slowed a little for the moment anyway.  I am enjoying a lull in photography that has been a hard taskmaster for several months now.  Lets just say that as I was getting started I bit off more than I could chew.  I knew it would be that way before I started and I was okay with that.  Sometimes there is no other way to learn.  I’ve learned so many little odd lessons.  Like how competitive some people can be, remembering to triple check everything, to never forget my stepstool, and how to deal with instructional customers.  Well, I still have a ways to go on that last one, but it is a learned skill.  I have learned a lot more about our fair city of Fort Worth, enough to know that even now I don’t know diddley.  And I feel like I know even less about lighting.  Sometimes it is discouraging but then I think back to when I first ‘put my shingle’ out for business so to speak.  I have come eons from there.  It has been fun and rewarding and butt kicking.  I have decided that I’m not a fan of the hours though.  Most of the time when people are celebrating or taking family pictures it is when one or all can get together.  When do folks do that the most?  Evenings and weekends.  It was just killing me at first.  Then I thought of a compromise that would save my conscience and my business.  I will do one job per month.  There are many other things that we photographers do behind closed doors.  Pictures do not magically look good straight out of the chute.  You must dial in the correct exposure in camera Raw and then make any and all changes necessary to produce a happy response in the client.  Sometimes this means hours in front of the computer.  Thankfully I feel that I have put in my time and learned a great deal and could be mostly past the ‘hours upon multiplied hours’ stage.  *knock on wood*  I love all my equipment and look forward to years of amassing more in the future.

Interestingly enough this brings me to a second and completely separate segment of my life.  I studied to be a school teacher in college as my ‘money making’ job so I wouldn’t live and freeload off my parents forever.  I saw with my sister that it paid the bills, and quite nicely at that [for a young single gal].  Well, naturally the next thing I knew I was hopelessly in love with Aaron.  Knowing that he was/is loaded I changed my major to something more fun, photography.  So, now I have quite a bit of time at U.T.A. with these two subjects under my belt.  I recently was awarded a diploma for all this work from a fully accredited college who is friendly to transfer students, Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey.  I will be forever indebted to Sarah Walston for this.  Sarah, when I am rich and famous, I won’t forget you.  This brings me [mostly] to the present.  I want my children to have a wonderful education.  I am now applying for my teaching certificate and going through the enrollment and studying process to obtain it.  My goal is to have my children enrolled in private school and have myself teaching at the same school.  So far things are rolling along and the training class is in July so I am enjoying a nice little lull in my life.

The kids are doing great as usual, Kathryn received several awards in school today for the last chapel of the year.  They were for Christian character and obedience.  Of course I know she was the best!  I love her cutie patootie!  Caleb is doing well in homeschool.  I have discovered the Wii as a reward is all the motivation he needs, and it is amazing how good he performs with that motivation!  He is so easy and fun to homeschool.  I would continue with him if it were all about me.  Aaron and I are keenly aware of Caleb’s love of people and so it is our goal to get him into school as well.  If only it were that simple with Kathryn, but I tell you, she excels in private school.  Jessie is three and a half and it shows.  We have wonderful days where she is silly, smart and charming and then we have frustrating days where all she wants to do is be contrary, and then we mostly have days that are blends of the two.  She is so adorable and cute, and ornery too!

Oddly my journey this last year [from last summer to now] has been long, hard, wonderful, fruitful and and above all educational about myself and my new trade, photography.  I aim to continue building it slowly by word of mouth and to mold it in the direction [family photography and seniors] that I want it to go.  I have had some surprises along the way when some folks are supportive of my endeavors and others aren’t but I guess I can chalk that up to the quirks of humanity.  Or at least the mature side of me tries to.  The best thing shining above all?  Aaron.  He is stellar, I tell you I have no idea how he manages to be Mr. Wonderful and Perfect and Handsome all the time but he does.  He pulls it off.  He makes our life amazing, and the children always reflect the happiness and joy he keeps in our home.  Sometimes I don’t know how I deserve him, but I do enjoy it.  :o)

I enjoy having this blog still, and I don’t want to give up on it yet but Facebook is sucking the life right out of it.  I think I will post here every once in a while b/c it seems like eventually everyone will get tired of facebook and move on to somewhere else.  I have noticed things like facebook are so fun for a while, then they just peter out.  Aaron and I think it is b/c they don’t plan ahead for growth.  Then the system gets slow.  Then that makes it boring.  To me, that is the story of myspace in a nutshell.

I have finally caught up on all my photo editing!  I am learning new tricks of the trade all the time that are so helpful in expediting this side of the photography business.  On that note, the more time goes on the more I can understand why prices are so high on the great photographers.  Its b/c they have mega awesome equipment and do a boatload of work on the pictures!  I am trying to learn how to balance what I can/should give out for my price point verses getting in all the new business I can for my startup year.

The kids are all doing good.  Kathryn is at Calvary and loving it.  I am homeschooling Caleb and finding him much easier to deal with than Kathryn.  She like to pick random hills to die on.  I don’t want to die on any of them.  The battles can get epic.  Currently they are  playing the Wii as we just got back from the YMCA and I need to fix lunch.  Life always is so great, but also has that constantness about it.  It really is just one thing after another as the kids get older.  In some ways I love it and in some ways it has a hardness to it that I am finding ‘hard’ to deal with. ha ha.

Well, I am hungry and not sure anyone reads this anymore anyway.  Time to go fix lunch.

You must check out this wedding cake, it is like no other.

Well, I can say that starting a new business is time consuming, interesting, fun, frustrating, maddening, fulfilling, fun again, constant, and etc.  I haven’t been able to tend to my blog like I have wanted to b/c I’m just not as dedicated as Sarah Walston who apparently could blog through a tornado and frequently does.  I am loving TreeOutside Photography and the fact that there is more to me than housewifery.  Don’t get me wrong, it will not be allowed to take on a life of its own and take over, but it fulfills a certain part of me that needs something [accomplishment-wise] to feel like its mine.

I would post more tonight but the only time I have time left over is when Aaron is home and the last thing I want to do is sit over here typing whilst he sits hotly nearby just smoldering and waiting for me.  So, that is all for tonight.  Hopefully more business/life/stuff blogging to come!

Cool U.S.A. geography quiz

Super cool educational website

To see the rest of Micah and Jeff’s pictures go to my website and on the first page scroll down and their link is just under ‘client links.’

Well, if you know me at all you know I have an appreciation for unsophisticated humor.  This was our favorite Calvin and Hobbes strip growing up, and the one my mom had to deal with in reality the most.  Mom, it is amazing that you still have your sanity.

This is the most hilarious Christmas ad yet!

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

The teacher told Pepito to use the word cheese in a sentence.

1. *Cheese*

Pepito replies: Maria likes me, but cheese fat.

2. *Mushroom*

When all my family get in the car, there’s not mushroom.

3. *Shoulder*

My fren wanted 2 become a citizen but she didn’t know how to read so I shoulder.

4. * Texas *

My fren always Texas me when I’m not home wondering where I’m at!

5. *Herpes*

Me and my fren ordered pizza. I got mine piece and she got herpes.

6. *July*

Ju told me ju were going to tha store and July to me! Julyer!

7. *Rectum*

I had 2 cars but my wife rectum!

8. *Chicken*

I was going to go to the store with my wife but chicken go herself.

9. *Wheelchair*

We only have one enchalada left, but don’t worry wheelchair.

10. *Chicken* *wing*

My wife plays the lottery so chicken wing.

11. *Harassment*

My wife caught me in bed with another women and I told her honey harassment nothing to me.

12. *Bishop*

My wife fell down the stair so I had to pick the bishop.

13. *Body wash*

I want to go to the club but no body wash my kids.