I'm sorry, she's very busy right now. She'll have to call you back.
I'm not going to lie. These past few days have been an nightmare. I'm so busy getting everything ready for the Pinkle Toes professional photographer workshops that are starting next week and right in the middle of this, my Mac hard drive dies. Just out of the blue. Um. I *NEED* my computer like my child needs a hairbrush.
But I think the computer gods were smiling down on me (or perhaps it's because I *just* went through an external hard drive failure this summer), because we've been able to recover from this one pretty well. I've become a pro at backing up (all of my client pics are safe) and the guys at Apple were very helpful, too (for once, I'm glad I bought the extended warranty).
Two things kept me in check during this little crisis:
#1 My kids. Evidently, the world doesn't stop for them when Mommy is having panic attacks. Amry was so sweet to serve me up some delicious tea yesterday. I love that she loves to pretend.
#2 Our first full-fledged, actual, real-life family photo session (that I almost considered canceling in light of my meltdown) with Bonnie -- or as Amry likes to call her, Miss Bunny Rabbit. I *reaaaaaallly* didn't think it was wise to continue with the session as planned, but something told me that I needed it. I'm so glad we did. I'm so glad I had a good excuse to step away from my smoking computer and just be with my family for a while. And I met a new friend in the process. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the images from our evening and I'm very thankful that she helped me (unknowingly) through quite a trying time.
But I think the computer gods were smiling down on me (or perhaps it's because I *just* went through an external hard drive failure this summer), because we've been able to recover from this one pretty well. I've become a pro at backing up (all of my client pics are safe) and the guys at Apple were very helpful, too (for once, I'm glad I bought the extended warranty).
Two things kept me in check during this little crisis:
#1 My kids. Evidently, the world doesn't stop for them when Mommy is having panic attacks. Amry was so sweet to serve me up some delicious tea yesterday. I love that she loves to pretend.
#2 Our first full-fledged, actual, real-life family photo session (that I almost considered canceling in light of my meltdown) with Bonnie -- or as Amry likes to call her, Miss Bunny Rabbit. I *reaaaaaallly* didn't think it was wise to continue with the session as planned, but something told me that I needed it. I'm so glad we did. I'm so glad I had a good excuse to step away from my smoking computer and just be with my family for a while. And I met a new friend in the process. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the images from our evening and I'm very thankful that she helped me (unknowingly) through quite a trying time.
QUICK LINK TO VOTE HERE!
[Also, don't miss the annual "Year in Review" slideshow at the end of this post]
Let's kick off 2011 the best way I can imagine with a recap of 2010 and determining our 2nd Annual Pinkle's Pic of the Year Winner! Each month in 2010, I selected an image (or images) that moved me, but now (as before) it's YOUR job as the Pinkle Toes Blogstalkers to decide
which of these was the best image of 2010.
M'kay, let's vote! You can click on the images in the poll to view larger:
[Also, don't miss the annual "Year in Review" slideshow at the end of this post]
Let's kick off 2011 the best way I can imagine with a recap of 2010 and determining our 2nd Annual Pinkle's Pic of the Year Winner! Each month in 2010, I selected an image (or images) that moved me, but now (as before) it's YOUR job as the Pinkle Toes Blogstalkers to decide
which of these was the best image of 2010. M'kay, let's vote! You can click on the images in the poll to view larger:
The winner will receive an 11×14 canvas of their winning image AND a $500 Pinkle Toes gift card to be used
on a Premium session in 2011. Two runners-up will each receive
a $100 gift card and the Grand Prize winner gets to choose a 3rd
runner-up, also to receive a $100 gift card!
The fine print:
- Voting will run January 1st-31st (ending at midnight central time)
- Voting is monitored by IP address, so no multiple voting.
- Results will not be shown, but I will announce winners on the blog Tuesday, Feb 1st.
- I reserve the right to disqualify entries or terminate/modify the contest if necessary.
- No purchase necessary to win.
Just like last year, I have absolutely NO clue who is going to take this prize. I'm just as excited as these families are to find out what will happen. (Did you know we had more than 1,400 votes last year??? Craziness!)
And of course, I can't start a new year without taking a look back at all of the amazing people I've had the fortune of working with last year. I love making this slideshow every year...I love remembering each and every session. Be warned, though, this slideshow had to go pretty fast so I could fit all of the images in. Be sure to watch because it's full of my favs from the year and many, many images that I haven't even blogged yet:
I've said it many times before, but thank you...a million thank you's to all of my clients. I truly feel blessed to have met each of you. Thank you for inviting me into your homes, to the births of your children, to glimpse into your lives and for trusting me to capture what makes your family so special and beautiful.
Much love,
Michele
[Kinda hard to show on here, but this is a 5x7 wide format card...the red pages are the front and back of the card and then green pages are actually side by side and fold out to a 14 inch spread when opened.]
I was very proud of this year's holiday card for several reasons:
1. I honestly didn't think it was going to happen. I've had this concept in my mind (and Amry's dress in my hands) since this summer, but when the busy holiday season actually hit, I just couldn't imagine finding the time to take the pictures and then create and send cards. But with the help of my AWESOME husband and our new Pinkle Toes Office Manager (my mom!), somehow, we got cards mailed out.
2. I knew I was going to have to use my new lighting techniques I learned this summer and honestly, I was very skeerd that I wouldn't be able to make it work.
3. It was cold. And my kids were NOT happy about taking these pics. In fact, most of the images from that night looked like this:
4. And most importantly, it served as a visual reminder of my goal to TRAVEL more starting in 2011. We're ready to explore...to see the world...or at least give it a good start. This is why we homeschool and I know I want the kids to experience these places and not just see them on TV. We're going to start small by hitting a few places in the U.S. and see how it goes, but I'm very hopeful we can make it happen. I'm VERY excited about 2011!But for now, I think we'll take a little break and hunker down at home to enjoy this Christmas. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful 2010 and I wish you the most magical, wonderful, special, and love-filled holiday season ever!
Much love,
Michele
Finally done with holiday orders and I'm pretty sure everyone's cards have been sent out, so now begins the fun job of sharing all of these sessions! This family is dear to my heart as I've photographed both of their boys as newborns. It is always such an honor to get to watch these kiddos grow up and they have become healthy, energetic, all-boy-boys! We had to outrun the rain, a footrace, and in many cases, the boys, themselves to snag pics at our session, but gosh, just look at those grins and bright blue eyes!
