Wanna see some awesome pics?

Completed number 87 last night "get a family portrait made"! Check them out here! I am so happy with them. The talented Natalie Harris of N. Harris Photography took the pics. I can't wait to get some printed! Thanks Natalie, you did an awesome job, I know more than anyone how difficult my children are to photograph!

Making Grape juice

Henry was asking me how you make apple juice and grape juice a couple weeks ago and so we looked on Youtube and found all kinds of videos. He really wanted to make some juice after that! I decided to buy some Concord Grapes so that he could make some juice. First, I had him and Zoe take all the grapes off of the stems and put them in a bowl.

Then I let them smash the grapes with a potato masher. (I helped a little too) and strained the juice to get all the seeds and skin out.

And this was all the juice we got, about 7 ounces. Let me tell you, at 3.99 for the grapes that was the most expensive grape juice I have ever drank! (is drank a word?)

Henry liked it! It was good but I'll probably stick to buying Welches, It's much more cost effective. It was a fun project for the kids though!

B is for Book (or Blog)

As promised, I am sharing pictures of my Alphabet book. If you haven't been following my blog long, last year for Henry's 3rd birthday, I did a series of pictures of him from a - z. If you want to see a slideshow I did of them go here to see! Well, I decided that I wanted to have a book made of the pictures to keep. It took forever but I finally did it. Here are some pics of it. I'm really happy with it and Henry loves looking at it. I'm planning on doing one for Zoe for her 3rd birthday, which will be here before I know it! I guess I'd better get started :)

Here is the cover I designed for it. I wanted it to have that 50's schoolbook look to it.

and here are some of the pages from it

Fun night planned

can I write another blog? Is it ok to do 2 in one day?LOL I'm trying to make up for the lack of blogging over the last month. I have found that what I would have blogged about in the past I narrow down to a status on FB instead. I need to stop doing that!

Tonight my friend Tabitha and my sister Kelly are coming over to paint with me. I needed some "girl time" and I thought this would be something fun and different. Plus I can work on my painting at the same time that I want to try to finish this weekend. I can't wait to see what they paint!

I'll share some pics tomorrow!

Coffee Tawk with Sarah

Well, here I am again drinking a cup of coffee and in the mood to blog. I crossed a few items off of my list yesterday that I had been meaning to for a while.

First off #20 Sell a photo - thanks to my dear friend Elizabeth for wanting to display one of my pictures in her home! She wrote to me yesterday and asked if she could buy a signed 11 x 14 of this picture.

Liz is also a photographer! Here's her website. They do very unique photoshoots, check them out if you are in the Red Lion, PA area!

The next item crossed off is 61 and 62 get business cards and get a business license.

A very exciting one for me and one that I, if I was being totally honest, never thought I would achieve. #81, lose 20 pounds! yay! I'm hoping to lose about 10 more. Matt and I have decided to start working out again starting Monday.

and #27 get alphabet book made! I'll share some pics of it later.

anyway, I think that's it! so now I have 18 items crossed off, I'd better get moving, I only have 656 days left!

Editing and Identity Crisis

Just got a cup of coffee, nice and hot. Sitting down to edit some pictures. I am having an identity crisis of late. Up til now if meeting someone for the first time, I would tell them, if asked what I do, that I am unemployed. The other day I realized that I can tell people that I am a photographer. I may not make much money doing it after factoring in the money I spend on props and templates and the gas to and from shoots and my costs of the prints I sell my customers, plus the taxes I have to pay on every cent I make. But, I still do make a little money and so I guess that makes me a photographer. I sometimes am confused and scared to go out on a limb. In my mind I am too insecure to go further with my editing. I edit pictures sometimes and they look really awesome but I'm so scared to show them to a client because it's "different" I edit pictures of my own kids differently. For example here is a picture I took of Henry edited several different ways.

Up until recently I probably wouldn't have even shown this picture to my client. He's not looking at the camera so it can't be a good picture, right? I don't know, I happen to love this picture. It's so Henry. I love how his toes are curled up on the ground. I love how he is just looking down at the ground like he's thinking of how he's going to torture his sister when we get home. I would be disappointed if another photographer had taken this picture and decided to reject it just because he's not looking at the camera. I need to get over these insecurities I have and just be the artist that I want to be. If I think an image looks good, my client probably will too. I need to stop assuming what my client will or won't like.

I want to create art, I don't want to be your every day run of the mill photographer. I'm not putting down those photographers, they create beautiful portraits and I'm not knocking that. It's just not what I want to be. I need to decide what kind of a photographer I want to be, find my style and stick with it. I want customers to come to me for portraits because no one else can do what I do, not because my price is lower or because I'm the first photographer that came up when they did a Google search.

I want to be respected for my work. I want people to have the pictures I do of them and their children displayed not just as a picture of their child but as a work of art. I have recently started telling people that I am a photographer, I want to one day tell people that I am an Artist. I hope to get there one day!

Am I an artist?

I started a Facebook Page for my paintings. People have shown an interest in buying paintings from me ( I have 3 in the works Yay!) so I thought maybe during the Winter when my photography business is bound to slow down I can make some extra money painting. Check out my page and "like" me. Oh, and if you want a painting let me know!

New pictures up!

new photo blog up! Go check it out!! Leave me some blog love if you are so inclined!! Thanks :)

Finding my Joy!

Tomorrow I am starting this online photo class called finding Your Joy. Willette, the photographer / designer that is teaching the class describes it like this:

When you really look at all the photos you have of your family, how many photos are there of YOU? I discovered after printing my family photos for the year, that I was only in a handful of photos out of over 1000 photos. Finding YOUR joy is my personal quest to better document my own life (and my quest to help you do the same). I would hate for my children to see all of our family photos and wonder where I was (when in actuality I was there…I was just behind the camera). This three week online e-journey will help you explore how to capture your own life in photos and how to escape from always being behind the camera.

I think it will be fun and I plan on sharing some of the pics on my photo blog. This week's assignment is simply to take 20 self portraits. Stay tuned....

A year in the life of Henry....His fourth year. :)

Today you turn 4 years old!! Your daddy and I can't believe how lucky we are to have a boy like you in our lives! You love everything that is dinosaurs and sharks. You love to pretend you are a bug hunter and you get frustrated when you can't find any bugs to catch in the back yard. You make up stories about cardemon, and Nicky and you love to play pet shop with Zoe. You put the laundry basket over you and pretend you are a baby tortoise or baby hermit crab so that Zoe can buy you from the pet shop. Lately you have loved playing the "knight game" or the "turtle game" with daddy. I love the songs you make up, "I'm going to the fair, to see mamamama" or the classic "here comes a monster swinging his tail, ee I ingy, kingy kaaale" You must have popcorn and hot chocolate when we sit down to watch a movie. You love to help me cook and do the dishes even though I don't let you help me as much as I should. Sorry about that, some days I am in too much of a hurry to get things done.

You accomplished a lot this year. Potty training, learning to write your name, and now you let mommy occasionally take your picture.
You took your first trip to Disney World (thanks to Grammy and papa), and you are getting better at sharing with your baby sister. You also got to go see the Wiggles this year (thanks to Grandma and Papa)You are a sweet, smart, funny little boy, you have never met a stranger and you will talk to anyone who will listen. You teach me patience daily and I am a better person for knowing you. Thanks for always knowing how to make me smile when I need it, the snuggles in the morning, the hugs and kisses all day long. I can't wait to see what this, your 4th year has in store!! I love you :)

I'd be really happy if you....

Do me a favor?? go to my photo blog and become a follower? Comment on it every once in a while please? I found out that the more traffic / comments I get on my blog the more likely it is to come up on search engines if someone is looking for a photographer. I made it easy on you and put a "follow" button at the top temporarily. Thanks in advance! You all are awesome!

Picture of me taken over 10 years ago

this pic always cracks me up! I was in 10th grade I think and I have my dad's workboots on. I was trying to go for an artsy look! LOL

not sure if it will work, but you can see it bigger on Facebook

Day 9: a photo you took

Well, I missed yesterday's assignment! I'll have to do it another day. Todays assignment is hard. I have too many pictures to choose from, it's hard to choose only one. This is a picture I took a few days ago of Henry. There's something about it I really love!

5 things I couldn't possibly live without

Let's just get rid of the obvious right now (God, my family, food, air, car, electricity, water blah, blah, blah) Let's not take this topic too seriously! :)

1. The internet
2. My camera
3. Contact Lenses(can't see without them! and I hate glasses!)
4. Chocolate
5. Coffee

A moment you would like to relive

There have been a lot of great moments in my life, I think my favorite moment to relive in my mind is the first time I kissed my husband, Matt. It was magical and innocent and beautiful. Of course, every time I kiss him it is wonderful but there is just something about a first kiss. You both are unsure, don't want to be rejected, don't want the other person to think you are a bad kisser, it's like jumping off a cliff into water below. You are so scared and excited at the same time. You know that once you step off, there is no going back. You are either gonna have a great experience or you're gonna bash your head open on the rocks below. (or in this case get your heart broken)

I was unsure of dating Matt when we first started hanging out together. His brother Will and my sister, Kelly had just gotten married and if our relationship didn't work out it had the potential of being awkward. Not to mention the fact that I am a lot older than him (I was 23 and he was 19 when we started dating). It's funny, because I remember the conversation I had with Matt right after we had our first kiss. I look back and think, "man, I was blunt! Most guys would have thought I was crazy and got out of there as fast as they could!" I think the conversation went a little like this:

Me: If you want to date me, you have to know that I am 23 and I'm gonna wanna get married in a couple years, I know you are young and that might not be something you want. So, if you don't want to get married in a couple years we might as well not even start anything.

Matt: Ok

Me: and if we don't work out you have to promise that when we break up, things won't be weird between us (because of Kelly and Will being married)

Matt: OK

Me: and I'm older than you, I want to have children before I'm 30 so you will be a young father.

Matt: OK

I think he must have liked me a lot because I sounded like a psycho woman! He kept his end of the bargain though since we did get married a couple years later. (well 2 1/2 years later) and we had our first child when I was 28 and our second when I was 30.

I love Matt so much and I'm so glad that I jumped off that cliff!

Favorite quote

"Why not go out on a limb? That's where all the fruit is!" Will Rogers

and another from Mr. Rogers

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Favorite tv show

This topic is easy for me. I don't watch too much TV. My favorite show, hands down is "The Office" It is the funniest thing ever. I don't just laugh when I watch this show, I LAUGH MY BUTT OFF! If you've never seen "The Office" you need to check it out. Enjoy some funny stuff!

Favorite Book

I like to read. I don't have a favorite book though. I guess it would be the Bible. The instruction book on life! Sorry that this post is lame! I'll do better tomorrow! LOL

Movies

Today I'm supposed to blog about a favorite movie. I really love to watch movies when I get the chance. Some of my favorite movies are, The Lord of The Rings trilogy, Seabiscuit, Love Actually, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Carribean and Napoleon Dynamite. This is just to name a few! I also love old movies like Gone with the Wind and Breakfast at Tiffany's and musicals like Chicago and Grease.

One movie that I figured I would write about today, since most people probably haven't even heard of it is Waiting for Guffman. This movie is a documentary style comedy about a small town theater group. It takes the viewer from Auditions to the performance of the show. It is cleverly acted and "written" I say that in quotes because some of the scenes are completley improvised. I think it is a movie that not everyone will "get" or like. It was funnier the second time I watched it, the first time I watched it I didn't know what to expect and so I was caught off guard. Here is a scene from the movie so you can sort of see what I mean.




and, just cuz, here's some Napolean Dynamite :)

hmmm, I must be a weirdo.

Today I'm supposed to blog about my favorite song. I don't have one. I have a lot of songs that I like to listen, sing and dance to but I don't have a favorite. I decided to show you all a few of my favorite songs to dance to. up until now, my husband has been the only person to have the pleasure of seeing me dance to these songs (and maybe I should have kept it that way). The following video is meant for entertainment purposes only and should not make the viewer believe in any way that I actually think I can dance. Now that we have that out of the way....Enjoy:

30 Day Challenge

My Facebook buddy and blog follower Alaythea over at Rock n' Roll Hideaway is doing a 30 day blog challenge. Since I have been having trouble blogging lately, I figured that this would give me something to get my brain in the blogging mood again.

These are the topics for the next 30 days:

Day 1: A favorite song.

Day 2: A favorite movie.

Day 3: A favorite book.

Day 4: A favorite television program.

Day 5: A favorite quote.

Day 6: A moment you wish you could relive.

Day 7: Five things you couldn't possible live without.

Day 8: A thank you letter to someone who has changed your life.

Day 9: A photo you took.

Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago. *might have trouble with this one* *hehe*

Day 11: A photo of you taken recently.

Day 12: A song that you want played at your wedding(or was played).

Day 13: A guilty pleasure.

Day 14: A vacation you would like to take.

Day 15: A person you admire.

Day 16: A song that makes you cry.

Day 17: An art piece.

Day 18: A time when you felt passionate and alive.

Day 19: A talent of yours.

Day 20: A hobby of yours.

Day 21: Something you know you do differently than most people.

Day 22: A website.

Day 23: A way in which you want to be remembered.

Day 24: A movie no one would expect you to love.

Day 25: A recipe.

Day 26: A childhood memory.

Day 27: A physical feature you love.

Day 28: A scar you have and it's story.

Day 29: Hopes, dreams and plans you have for the next 365 days.

Day 30: A motto or philosophy.

I might have trouble with some of these but we'll give it a go!

My Artwork

I bought a canvas back in the Winter time at a thrift store. It had a very ugly painting on it of fish and flip flops. (I'm pretty sure it was painted by a child) but for 50 cents it was a lot cheaper than buying a new canvas at Hobby Lobby. I wanted to paint a picture over it for Zoe's bedroom. Finally, this weekend I did it and I really love how it came out. I have never tried painting before except for the mural in Zoe's room. I know it's no Rembrandt but I think Zoe likes it! I was inspired by the artist Susan Van Horn. She does the cutest paintings of fairies and princesses. I sort of took her style and made it my own. This painting was really my inspiration. I didn't want to copy it though. I tried to make the girl look like how I imagine Zoe will look in 10 years.

and here is the painting hanging in her room.

Yardsales and photoprops

I thought I'd share a few of the things I got at yardsales / thrift stores this week. I love old cameras and saw this old Polaroid camera and decided to buy it. Not sure if it works but, even if it did, I'm not sure where to buy the film for it!

I found this chair at Salvation Army. I thought it was nice. I thought about painting it red or turquoise to use as a photo prop chair, but I think I like it black.

Here's my spokesmodel, Henry modeling both the camera and the chair.

I got this old turntable at a yardsale. I thought it would be cute to use as a chair for a photoshoot.

Here's Henry Modeling it. It's his "bench Monday" pic! LOL

Today I went to the flea market and got some parasols there to use at my next photo shoot. I can't wait to use them!

Winner with Sarahbells' Etsy shop!

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway with Sarahbells! I picked a random winner last night and the winner was Shana. Shana, please contact Sarah through her Etsy shop to tell her what you want for your prize as well as where to send it to. If you choose a hat tell her what size you need.

The fun of Selfies, haircuts and hair dye.

First of all, if you haven't yet, make sure you enter the giveaway before Sunday! There are only 22 entries so far so you have a really good chance of winning! (much better odds than the lottery I'd say) Now that we have that out of the way....

For those of you who don't know I take a self portrait everyday. I started last August and will finish when I have taken 365 "selfies". Some days I like it, some days I don't. Today I liked it because I got a haircut yesterday, and I died my hair this morning. New hairstyles are always fun to share with friends (unless they are awful!) Those of you that have my 101 list memorized (hehe) don't worry. I only got my hair shaped up a little. I still have the length.

I thought I'd share some photos to explain why most days I have to take several self portraits before I get the perfect shot. (and some days I never get the perfect shot and just settle on the best one)

This one is not focusing on me, unfortunately the camera doesn't always focus on the right thing. While my neighbor's house is lovely, it's not really what I was going for.

Sometimes I'm just not ready when the.....shutter goes off :)

This one was nice but I cut the top of my head off :/ kind of important if your goal is to show off your hair.

This one looked a little too Miss America wanna-be

This one was too straight on a la drivers license photo

This is what my hair looked like before my haircut / dye job, it was all one length, kinda just hung there.

and this is the picture I settled on for today.

Thanks for looking! Now, go enter the giveaway!

Brainstorming

I am constantly brainstorming, trying to think of ways to promote my photography business. I don't have much money to spend on marketing right now so I am mostly relying on Facebook and word of mouth. What is it that people are looking for in a photographer? I know that people seem to like my work. A lot of people tell me they love my pictures but I'm not getting a lot of business. I know the economy is bad right now. Is that why? Tell it to me straight people! I want to know what I'm doing wrong? Or give me suggestions. How can I get the word out to the people?

Pics of the kids - I love spring!!

I wanted to put this post on this blog but the pics were too wide. So I put it on my photography blog instead.

Check it out!

My first Giveaway!!

I've always wanted to do a giveaway on my blog and now I finally get the chance! Sarahbells is a shop on etsy that has super cute stuff. Sarah is a very talented crocheter and has offered to giveaway any item in her store to one lucky winner! (she will custom make it with the colors you choose!)

Now, just between us, if I don't get a lot of entries in this giveaway, it may give me a complex so please, for my mental health enter the contest!!

You could pick this hat for your little girl

Look at this necklace!! How unique and pretty! I would definitely choose this!

oh, well wait, Isn't this bag the cutest!? hmmm decisions, decisions!

There are a lot of other very cute and unique items in the shop! So reasonably priced too! Sarah has so graciously offered a 10% discount this week for anyone that mentions Sarah Hawkins Photography when they make a purchase from her shop. You can mention it when you purchase and she will refund the 10% to you or you can contact her before you order and she will adjust the price for you. whichever you would like to do.

There are 3 ways to enter: (you can do 1 or all 3)

1. You must go to Sarahbells Etsy Store and come back here and leave a comment of what you would choose if you win the giveaway.

2. Become a fan of Sarahbells on Facebook, come back here leave a comment that you became a fan.

3. tweet or post the link to this blog on your Facebook status or write a blog about it, linking back here. Leave a comment here that you did that. (for example: Hey everyone, check out the cool giveaway going on this week at She's a Peach (make sure you include the link)

You will have until Sunday night June 13th at 5:00 Eastern time to enter the giveaway! Winner will be announced Monday June 14th. (winner will be chosen by random drawing)

Good Luck!