Giving Gifts...

I have a great friend at work, Teri, who just turned 50 a month ago. I was in London for almost 2 weeks leading up to her birthday.

I had thought and thought and thought about what to get her for her birthday...but was so busy with work that I didn't have time to act on my thoughts.

Well, she is a very close friend of mine (we sit next to each other and talk ALL THE TIME)...and we're very much alike.

She's a great photographer, has 3 grown boys, and loves to look at photography. She's been monumental in encouraging me to start my JVW Photography business.

So, I got back to work on a Wednesday...and her b-day was on Friday. I thought and thought about what to do and came up with the PERFECT gift.

I IM'd her husband (he works at the same company) and asked if I could borrow her boys for 30 minutes so I could photograph them as a gift to Teri.

He called the boys, arranged them to meet me THAT SAME NIGHT, and I met them that evening. They were wonderful, and I got some fantastic shots.

I went home that night, downloaded them, edited them, and picked my favorite. I sent it off to get printed and picked it up Thursday night on my way home from work. I bought a 8x10 and a 4x6 frame (big one for home...smaller one for desk) and got it all wrapped up.

I brought it with me to work the next day (along with a cake, balloons, streamers and big 50 signs everywhere) and put it on her desk.

She was surprised about the decorations, not so surprised about my cake (in case you don't know...I used to decorate cakes) and was even more surprised by my gift.

Now, I had the big one wrapped in tissue...and it was kinda obvious once you picked it up that it was a frame. This is not unusual for me to give her a frame for her b-day or X-Mas (because as I said...she's a lot like me).

She started unwrapping it and was talking to everyone standing around her and having a great old time.

That was...until she unwrapped it, and glanced at it. At first...you could tell she was looking at a nice frame and all was well. Until it CLICKED that those were her boys in the frame...and not some cheesy random stranger that is normally on the insert.

She gasped.

She flew her hand over her mouth.

She looked at me.

And started bawling.

When people say it's so much better to give than to receive....they really do mean it.

At least I do. Because let me tell you...I haven't felt that good in a long time.

She'll treasure it forever. It's the only one of its kind (her last good photo of her boys was about 8 years ago). And I feel great.

101 in 1001

So, we all know that I'm crazy...and that I like to do fun, little things. So when I heard about the 101 in 1001...I knew this was something for me to do.

It's 101 things to do in 1001 days.

Yes. I'm crazy. But won't this be fun!

I made my list of 101 things (which...is REALLY, REALLY hard), and now I'm going to stick with it. Wish me luck...and check back for updates on my 101 in 1001!

Start Date: June 26th, 2008
End Date: March 24th, 2011

1. Arrange, set up and decorate my home office space.
2. Get pregnant with my 2nd child.
3. Redesign http://www.jvwphotography.com/. Make it Professional with a Capital "P"!
4. Host a fantastic Christmas party at the house for all our friends & family.
5. Go to California to visit my friend Laura.
6. Stay at luxury resort and go to the spa.
7. Organize all the photo cd's I have and consolidate them onto a few cd's.
8. Get a BIG external hard drive for my computer and all my pictures.
9. Finish G-Man's 2nd year scrapbook.
10. Start G-Man's 3rd year scrapbook.
11. Go to Disney World.
12. Complete the 365 day challenge in Flickr.
13. Have neighbors over for dinner.
14. Complete 10 years at my day job.
15. Set up a booth at the Indianapolis Home Show to advertise my business.
16. Get trendy camera case for all my junk.
17. Do something fabulous for my 30th birthday.
18. Book 50 clients a year.
19. Book 100 clients a year.
20. Make cool artwork with G-Man for my laundry room.
21. Print and hang up my favorite photos of clients in my home office.
22. Meet a blog-friend in person that I have only corresponded with.
23. Buy a cool photo printer.
24. Go fishing.
25. Send out birthday cards and coupons to past clients and their children.
26. Visit a state I haven't been to yet.
27. Set up referral system discount/coupon.
28. Become a vegetarian for 2 weeks. See how I like it.
29. Install window coverings in my house.
30. Buy a cool Macro lens. Completed 7-9-08.
31. Go back to Chicago.
32. Lose some weight so I can get to my goal of 150 lbs.
33. Take photos of my parents.
34. Enroll G-Man in some swimming lessons.
35. Build screened-in porch.
36. Get one huge photo done of all the grandkids. A good one.
37. Have another baby.
38. Blog every day for a month.
39. Document G-Man's first day of school.
40. Take a workshop given by Audrey Woulard.
41. Decorate guest bedroom.
42. Do a blurb photo book of my favorite recipes.
43. Go on a weekend trip with my mom and sister…no kids.
44. Build a snowman with G-Man.
45. Go camping. Completed 8-22-08
46. Have all my nieces and nephews over to spend the night. That's 7. 8 includes my own child. YIKES!
47. Go to a vineyard in Napa Valley.
48. Set up a booth at county fair(s) to promote my business.
49. Enter some photos in a print competition.
50. Go horseback riding.
51. Get a photo of mine published in any magazine.
52. Implement surveys and gather client feedback.
53. Go to Florida.
54. Read one book per month for 3 months to benefit my business.
55. Go to BlogHer.
56. Start and complete one difficult jigsaw puzzle.
57. Get canvas prints made.
58. Rent a cabin on a lake in Michigan for a week with my entire family.
59. Get awesome logo made for jvw photography.
60. Have the Lasik eye surgery done on both eyes.
61. Hire someone to clean my house bi-weekly.
62. Get awesome business cards made for my business.
63. Decorate guest bathroom.
64. Take photos of someone famous (and/or their kids).
65. Get cool customized stamps for snail mail communications with my clients.
66. Get postcards made with advertisement for my business.
67. Read the Bible. The entire thing!
68. Visit the Grand Canyon.
69. Design and promote custom Christmas cards for clients with their newly taken images.
70. Take a pilates class.
71. Advertise and do coupon in Neighborhood coupon pack - Avon/Brownsburg.
72. Buy more "props" for photos with kids/babies.
73. Go to a concert.
74. Get a dog.
75. Get a makeover and get all new (not drugstore cheap) makeup.
76. Design and promote custom birth announcements for clients with their newly taken images.
77. Get a facial (or give myself one if my hubby complains too much) every month for a year.
78. Gotta pamper your face!
79. Advertise in Indianapolis Monthly magazine.
80. Organize/catalog all my books.
81. Finish decorating G-Man's bedroom.
82. Learn how to sew on a button and fix a hem.
83. Try 10 new restaurants in Indianapolis. (Progress: Elements)
84. Meet The Pioneer Woman! www.thepioneerwoman.com
85. Go to Canada. Why? I don't know…but I should visit my neighbors (already did Mexico!)
86. Floss every day for 3 months. Maybe it will become a habit?
87. Visit New York City.
88. Try out and cook 1 new recipe at home every week for 12 weeks.
89. Create and give away customized business cards for clients (with their images on them).
90. Have mini sessions available for clients.
91. Subscribe to photography magazine.
92. Get my grandmother's ruby ring remounted so I'll wear it.
93. Promote my work in a business already established (wall of photos, business cards, etc.)
94. Start advertising at local hospital for newborn pictures.
95. Take self-portrait every week for a year. Post it on my blog.
96. Go to a Bingo night. I love Bingo!
97. Start recycling our home aluminum cans.
98. Have themed mini sessions (Christmas tree farm, orchard, pumpkin patch, etc.) available for clients. BOOK TODAY!
99. Decal for my SUV windows with my business information…Is this corny?!?!?!
100. Walk/jog/exercise 3 times a week for 6 months.
101. Build/buy shelving unit in our playroom corner of our loft.

So...what do you guys think? Doable? Corny? Are you guys pumped and excited to read about my 101 items?

Hello? Anyone there? Do I hear crickets chirping? Hellllllllllloooooooooooooo??????????

Summer Favorites

So far this summer...we've (meaning G-Man) come across a few favorites. I thought I'd share them with you...


1. Daddy (oh boy...do we love our daddy. I have quickly fallen from favorite parent to barely-tolerated mother.) But this barely-tolerated mother is the one who gave him those gorgeous blue eyes.



2. Licking. Don't ask me why...but G-Man licks us whenever possible. Could be our reaction to the licking that tickles him to death...so I'm sure it's entirely our fault.



3. Diet Coke. Now...he's always enjoyed playing with our diet coke cans...and very rarely gets caffeine-free diet coke. I think he likes to pretend he likes it...but really doesn't. Mostly he just sucks the residue from around the lid after we drink. OR...it could be the the addiction to the diet coke he got hooked on when he just learned to walk around holding onto furniture...and he was walking around our coffee table and I came into the room to see him slurping the Biggie Diet Coke from Wendy's that Travis left on the table. When he was about 10 months old. OOPS!



4. Chips. God...the boy loves chips. And dip. But not any dip (well yeah...really any kind of dip)...but his favorite is French Onion Dip. Gah....the breath!



5. Basketball. In our sloped driveway. So I'm constantly running after the ball down our driveway. Hey...surely I'm burning thousands of calories doing this so it balances out all the food I've been stuffing in my mouth lately. Diet? What diet?



6. Popsicles. Or should I say the popsicle-mouth-residue. Every kid needs to eat Flavor-Ice. It's a rule.



So, these are just some of our activities this spring/summer. I'm sure I'll post more later on our other activities...but this is our Summer Activity I.

Busy Little Bee...

Boy...I've been a busy little bee lately. Not that I'm complaining.

Remember my lovely graphic designer friend who is my saving grace?!?!?! Well, I took photos of her kiddos on Saturday. Kinda as a re-payment for the work that she's done for me. And boy has she done a lot of work for me.

First things first....her kids are abso-freakin-lutely adorable!

I photographed her two kids, as well as her neice and nephew. We were working on getting a photo of the four of them together (for Brooke's mom) and I think we got a couple. A really fun one...and a good one for her wall (although I'd hang the funny one on my wall!).

Her daughter is so beautiful, that I couldn't help but continually take photos of her. Her son is so handsome...but not very interested in smiling for photos. :) Ah...a 4-year old boy. Aren't they all the same?

So, enjoy the photos....these are some of my favorites. These kids made it easy on me!!!!

Good Weather....Good Photos!

Well, the weather has finally cleared up some from our nasty bout of severe weather. All I can say is Thank The Lord! I'm tired of all this rain.

What comes with good weather?

Good photography conditions!!!!!

I've been brainstorming on ways to advertise my business more and more. I've got it on the classifieds here at my work, I've got it on Craigslist, I've got it on IndyMoms.com. Where else should I advertise????

My portfolio lacked some babies and pregnant ladies. So I ran an ad on IndyMoms.com for some newborns and pregnant moms out there. I've had some luck...and have added those photos onto my website. My neighbor is due any day...but not real comfortable with taking maternity photos. I've advised her that I'm stealing her newborn for an hour or two when she gets home to take photos of. I just know she'll be beautiful! I've also got a maternity session lined up this week so hopefully I'll have photos to post later on.

I'm going to a playdate on Wednesday to meet some west-side moms and kids....and bringing my camera. Who knows if I'll run into the Cutest! Kid! Ever! while I'm there (besides my own). Plus, this is a great way to spread the word. An added bonus is that G will wear himself out and sleep soundly that night...and hopefully meet some new friends.

So back to my baby shots. I took them on Saturday...and photographed a 7-week old little girl...and a 4-month old little boy. Let me just say that they were ADORABLE!

The 7-week old ideally should have been a few weeks older...or a few weeks younger. Not an ideal age...but my word she was gorgeous. Can you tell her name started with an R???

And the 4-month old little boy was happy as could be. He literally smiled the entire time his big ol' toothless grin. Made me really miss my G-Man when he was that age. Also, while editing the photos...I have found that the colored photos are really the way to go for these little guys. Black and white I have found rarely look that great with the little ones (some exceptions do apply). I think it has to do with their innocence and perfect, soft, pink skin.

I've got a 1-year old girl on Friday night...and my friend (the graphic designer who I have been working to death) and I are getting together on Saturday so I can photograph her kids. Let me just say that they are gorgeous so I know they'll turn out great.

So, share some ideas on how to promote my business (kinda cheaply) and spread the word for me!

Blah.

Blah. It's how I felt about the colors of my old blog and my old website. B-L-A-H.

What was I thinking? Why did I think that taupe-y, green-y, beige-y colors were uplifting? Colorful? Kid-friendly?

I'm obviously an idiot.

So now that my huge work project is over (London trip), I have time to commit to my website, my blog, my pictures, and recruiting me some business.

I called my lovely friend Brooke (old college roommate...graphic designer extraordinaire) and told her I needed a new color scheme (with a new banner). Then I went out...found my color scheme...and sent her the info. 2 days later she sends me this.

GORGEOUS.

She did my business cards...she did my banner (since my last one I created S-U-C-K-E-D)...and she doesn't know it yet but she's going to do some postcards for me too. And maybe anything else I think I might need.

She claims I'm her easiest client. I'm happy with anything she does for me. Mostly because all the work I do is so awful...that smelly poo smeared on a banner is better than the one I created myself.

I'm getting some good orders placed with my previous clients...selling some AWESOME canvas prints that are TO! DIE! FOR! (I apologize now for my use of all caps, ----'s, and !!!!!!'s.) and getting some senior photos lined up for this summer.

Oh, and I also promise to blog more. Yes, I know that is what I always say, but I really mean it this time.

So in honor of my new color-scheme...I'm going to post some of my favorite photos from my previous sessions. They make it so easy...being adorable and all!!!!!