Congrats to my one of my favorite young moms, Elyse, who used to hang out at my house with my daughter when she was a teenager.  It’s been so awesome watching her life take shape, marrying a wonderful guy, having baby #1 and now  TWINS!!!  I can’t believe it.  I’m so proud of her!

I took a trip recently.  It wasn’t your average get on a plane and fly somewhere hot and sunny and lie on the beach type trip.  It was completely opposite of that actually and I had more than a few people shake their heads at our crazy plans.  Our trip would be to the Olympic Penninsula..  with a group of students from Abbotsford’s Columbia Bible College.  Their instructor is our neighbour and their final exam for their first year student’s Outdoors Program is to take their guests (Clarke and I) on a guided backpacking tour in the wilderness.  So, we would be carrying our belongings on our back through the outback and sleeping in tents, no running water, none of the conveniences of modern life.   Now I’ve always been a hippy at heart but part of me wondered if I could swing seven days without running water, make-up, phones, computers… I guess I will find out how much of a “princess” I really am.  I like to think I’m not, but the last time I got up and didn’t put on make-up was probably 14 years ago when I went into labour in the middle of the night.  I’m also a bit leary about hurting myself after a back injury 3 years ago left me afraid of doing anything that might lead to another injury.  I was excited but completely freaked out…

“Can I really do this?”

“If I hurt myself will they be able to get a helicopter in to fly me out?”

“Will I be able to outrun a bear?   Are there cougars?  I’m skinny so probably not worth the kill but what if they get Clarke…. “

The first time they put a backpack on my back I felt like I was sinking into the ground.   Really?  seven kms with this on my back (in one day)?  Okay, don’t be a wimp just start moving.  And so I did.  Now this hike I thought was supposed to be pretty easy turned out to be more of an obstacle course than the nice little flat path I had expected.  We were up huge slopes that had ropes on them to get you up the hill, we were down crazy drops and turns and rocks and roots and slogging through mud, crossing rivers and creeks via fallen trees.  I think the variety of the terrain made me forget how long a hike it was.

At one point in the trip one of the guides suggested that he take my backpack for me down the slippery slope…. I slowly took it off and handed it to him, looked at the slope and thought to myself. I came here to backpack and I’m going to get that thing down that slope on my back because that’s why I’m here.  I told him:  ”I need to do this for me so gimme that thing”.  This whole trip is one big personal challenge and I’m not going to be carried through it.

The experiences and lessons I learned on this trip were vast.

• I learned that the weather doesn’t have to be perfect to enjoy nature.
• That the pain is temporary.
• You can either talk yourself out of  it or talk yourself through it.
• Less is more…
• and by having less… I felt more.
• By being unplugged I became connected.
• By trusting I felt safe.

To say this was just a week in the woods is an understatement….  it was truly a life changing experience for me and I will carry many of the lessons I learned on this trip throughout my life.  I can’t thank our six young guides enough.  They were teamwork at its best.  Courtney, Alexis, Aaron, Dan, Cynthia & Deanna lead by example.  Kind & caring, hard working, positive & professional..  We struggled through days of rain and wind and came out to sunshine on the other end.  Every challenge that we experienced was rewarded with a life lesson. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I could come away from a trip with so much.  It wasn’t a hot sunny beach but it was amazing.  Thanks so much Chris for inviting us to be a part of this unique experience!  You are amazing at what you do.

And more of our trip images mostly taken with my point and shoot.  Note to self… leave camera equipment at home……  it’s far too heavy…

So my kids are getting older and my business is getting busier and it’s time to start setting some lofty goals. If you know me you know I get restless when things are too “normal”  - whatever normal is.  I feel like there is so much life to be lived and  to spend my whole entire life working and living a conventional life scares the crap out of me.   I don’t even know what I want other than to get out of dodge and experience different things.  I’ve managed to quell my gypsy spirit by painting my house, renovating a studio and take vacations as often as possible.. but alas, that feeling is rising again and I’m not sure painting my house is gonna work anymore.  I know I need to be home to finish raising my kids, but my dreams are worldly and my kids will be gone in the blink of an eye hopefully living their own adventures.  So now… I’m planning and dreaming…

These images shot in Vegas make me realize WHY I need to seek adventure…  I mean really…  life is too short.

I had the pleasure of shooting the very sweet and very alert – Mia Grace Marie at the ripe old age of 10 days!  She was everything you could ever want in a baby… cute, cuddly, warm, soft and wrinkly… just a joy to her proud mama and papa!  The baby announcements are in the making and the wall display will be hung with pride… a wonderful reminder of this fleeting time that is so incredibly life changing and exciting in so many ways!

in our town there is a little movie theater just up the street from my studio that was boarded up not too long ago and is now on the chopping block for a demolition.  Now call me a sap, but I love anything arts and vintage and the thought of this little gem being torn down makes me cringe.  By some strange sequence of events and a bit of serendipity, I ended up becoming a part of a team of some amazing people that are on a mission to save the Paramount with some very strong support!  So, this is my plea to everyone that I can reach through this blog to please contact me.  We are looking for local businesses and volunteers to help with our cause.

There is an urgent meeting planned for Monday, March 12th at 7pm at the old Chilliwack Arts Center.  This is where you will hear the details about how WE as a COMMUNITY can come together.  Imagine a theater refurbished back to the glory of the 1940′s playing Gone with the Wind, or a fun Friday night out to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show (BYO Confetti).  It’s like The Ridge, right in your own backyard.

So join us at the old Chilliwack Arts Center tomorrow night…

Well, it has been an AMAZING journey since I took over the downtown studio, very busy and I met so many new clients and had the pleasure of seeing a lot of my past clients again… (which I love) .  Last year I learned a lot about balance and staying inspired – the hard way. At the end of December I’m pretty sure I experienced a form of burnout that in all my years of working, I’ve never had.  I tried to work, but just didn’t have the energy and found myself in my pajamas for about two weeks or more. It took me about 3 weeks before I could get back to my normal routine and I was really not my happy self and had some days that I was just downright depressed.

This has taught me that I need to balance my work a little better and take more breaks.  Part of the problem gets to be that everyone waits to have photos done in the fall, which make my shooting schedule insanely busy.  Ideally I would like to be able to balance the work so that people come for family photos between Jan & August.  This will serve a few benefits!  Your photos will be unique!  I LOVEEEE winter sessions with the blowing wind and trees in the background, the lake is DIVINE in the spring time.  AND…  I’ve got a gorgeous natural light studio that’s awesome for the young families.  And, the sessions fees will officially discounted between Jan & Aug. (and past clients receive $25 off of that)   And wouldn’t you just LOVE to be that much further ahead when Christmas comes?  All you’ll need to do for gifts is call me up and place your order.  No worries about trying to fit that session in between kids concerts and Christmas shopping!

So do yourself a favour!  BOOK now for your updated photos, family sessions are awesome this time of year!  Here are some samples of off season fun!

A snowy day, a vintage dress and I’m completely entertained.  Nothing like a snow day to put school and work on the back burner and bring families and neighbors together.  I couldn’t resist getting out and shooting and Nicole and her bff Taylor were completely on board…..   My kinda day..

Taylor….

And Nicole…

Don’t underestimate the power of a professional headshot when it comes to business. Your headshot tells a story! Make sure yours says, professional and doing well enough to be able to hire a pro photographer! Having a friend do it for you in your backyard sends the wrong message and it can come across as unprofessional and give the impression that you are not serious.

Just throwing a few up one the blog as I go!!  Some cute kids that I photographed downtown Chilliwack after Christmas.  More to come!!

This recent family session I did just last month.  It was cold but it was super fun!   I love winter sessions myself.  Our weather is so crazy you can shoot or not anytime of the year. I’ll be designing a Magazine Style Album for this family as well as a Wall Gallery and a Collage, so I’m working hard!  I’ll post the results when I’m finished!!