I know that makes us old ladies, but what can I say?  We love it!

I am still working on my first project (a cute pink scarf for Monkey) but my sister is an over-achiever and already finished up her baby hat.

How cute is that? I told her she could sell it on Etsy for at least 20 bucks.  But, instead she’s giving it to me!

I am already imagining sweet little naked newborns, perfectly adorned in this hat for holiday cards.

Contact me, and let’s set it up – I’m booking for November which is perfect timing for this hat to go to good use!

But, I figured, why not? and made the appointment.

Our first visit was pretty uneventful.  I sat down in the waiting room and right away I saw a sign that said “I believe in Miracles”.  That sounds alrighty to me, because I need one … plus I patiently waited for an hour, so I figured if anyone qualified for one, it’s me.

Miracle Man (I’ve never had a self-proclaimed name in my blog before … I kind of like it!) took me off of the meds Hippie Doctor had me on and went on and on about how bad Armour (my old thyroid pills) were and how they aren’t FDA approved, etc. etc.  He also took me off of the Cortisol Hippie Doctor had me on.  Gave me some samples, drew some blood and I was on my way.

The nurse called two days later to inform me that I had Hashimotos.  Um … no kidding.  She said I had toxic levels of T3 due to the Armour (the number was 4.6 for all of you number crunchers … the closer to 1 I get the better I’ll feel)  She recommended I stay on the samples until the next appointment. I was a little excited thinking about the possibility of actually feeling better, and oh, I don’t know, losing weight … and I suppose if we get there I will have to do some dancing around the Pol.

Fast forward to today … the next appointment.

Today they informed me once again that I do, in fact, have Hashimotos.  At this point I am starting to wonder if they’ve written down anything in my chart, because the nurse is sounding like a broken record.  She even has the same inflection with her words as she says them.  It’s fascinating.  Oooh, I know – Let’s give her a name too, just because I am in a bad mood – how about Turntable?  Sounds good to me.

Anywho, Turntable asked if I had any questions, and I almost asked her if she knew if I tested positive for Hashi’s, but I bit my lip and only asked about my sun allergy.  To which she replied I would have to ask the doctor.

Miracle Man came in and he talked a bit about the fact that my anti-bodies are some of the highest he’s seen in his 30 years of practice, so there’s a good chance I will have other auto-immune disorders.  Well, that’s awesome news.  He then told me they will need about 3-4 more monthly visits to lock in my T4 hormone (between .8 – 1.8 is the target) … and that’s only if I don’t get pregnant during that time.  If I do, then we start over.  Then we start over again upon delivery.

It’s about this time that I felt like the walls were closing in and things were feeling a bit more like a prison sentence than a doctor appointment, and at the same time I could hear the collection calls in my head because all of this sounded pretty expensive.   I was able to ask the questions about the sun sensitivity issues I’ve been having, and he told me I had to see an allergist or auto-immune specialist for help with that.  I just don’t understand why he couldn’t run the blood test for the other auto-immune disorders.  It’s not like he wasn’t going to do a blood draw anyway.  But, I didn’t have any fight left in my at that point, so I packed Caterpillar up, let a nurse dig around in my arm trying to find a vein and I left.

I got home to find a nasty message from our credit union about our two-week late car payment … which I had planned on paying as soon as some of Daddy’s invoices from JULY made it into our mailbox.

Today is awesome.

So, when I was setting up my business model, I made sure that my pricing was set up the way that I would want if I were looking for a photographer.  This means I would want to know up front, what it’s going to cost me.  So, I provide just that – my packages include the rights to your photos.  This means, once you buy a session from me, you can walk away and never pay me another dime … WITH your images.

However, that being said, I also offer professional printing services.  Why?  If I am releasing the rights to you, why would you pay me even more money to order your prints when in today’s world, you have a million and one options when it comes to buying photos?

There are many reasons, but here are a couple of my favorite reminders when people are debating which route to go:

What is your time worth?

I have already spent time calibrating my computer with the print houses that I use.  I know when I have photos on my screen exactly what they will look like when the prints arrive.  I also know that when you order a cluster of photos, the colors will be the same in each picture.  If they aren’t, I can send them back.

Will your online company do that for you?

How long does it take you to upload, rotate, crop, etc. your images when using online companies?  Just how well can you see your image after it’s been uploaded?  Can you make edits as you go, if you decide to order an 8 x 10 instead of an 8 x 12?  These are all things to think about when you take on the task of ordering photos.

Aren’t all prints equal?

No.  There are many variables when it comes to prints.  First, the quality.  Are the blues really blue?  How about your reds?  Do that have a vivid punch?

Can you get different paper finishes or are you stuck with glossy?  Changing up a finish can really make a project stand out!

What about paper weight?  Many chain retailers print your photos on the cheapest quality paper.  I love paper that has some weight to it, so I can be sure it will stand the test of time.

How about custom sizes?  Many of the lower end print companies offer certain sizes, but aren’t flexible.  Some don’t offer square cropping or only offer certain mounts with certain sizes.  Your photographer should either already have a print house on hand that can get you what you need, or they should be willing to find one!

What if you’d like a UV protection coat on the images, since they are going to displayed in a sunny area and you’d like to protect them against fading?

If you have paid a professional photographer to capture a special moment in time, do you want to risk the final step in the process?

If all of this is true, why do you sell me the rights?

Not all prints NEED professional printing.  If you are completing a scrapbook, for example, many times people will use outtakes, unedited photos, etc.  These photos have glue smeared all over the back and they are behind some sort of a sheet protector.  The weight of the paper isn’t as important in these situations, nor is the quality of the print.

Also, if you are printing smaller sized prints, and plan to frame them behind glass, many times I will recommend my clients order these prints online themselves if they are comfortable doing so.  Any paper imperfections, color variations, etc. will be lost behind the glass, so why pay me to do your dirty work?

Bottom line is this; if you are looking to create wall art from your images, really consider asking a pro for help … especially when it comes to alternatives to traditional prints and frames.  But you don’t need a pro every time.  There are a lot of resources online, and it’s fun to see all of what you can do with your images!  Go for it – I’ve given you the legal and artistic right to do so!  But please keep in mind, most of the time you really do get what you pay for, so be smart when making your decisions – there is a reason photographers charge what they charge, and it would be so not-cool to have to pay twice!  Not only do we have access to professional print houses, but our time and talent is invested into making your printed items perfect!

First, (and probably the main reason) is because I am in the process of writing a series of articles for mommies relating to all things photography.  One of the articles is going to be featured on Mamapedia, so I have been busy, busy, busy making sure I don’t sound like a complete idiot. More to come on that …

Secondly, as you know we purchased a new, big, beautiful imac.  We also made the switch to CS5 so I have just been relearning everything. Additionally, for some reason, we can’t get my laptop to talk to the desktop.  Soooo, when I am up late at night watching 24 and working on MOPS stuff, it is on my laptop.  When I am up late editing photos, it is on my desktop.  Now I have this huge disconnect, which has made it hard to keep things rollin’, especially with MOPS starting up next month and I am doing the normal start of the year crunch.  We’ve contacted AppleCare and they escalated the call and now they are working on it and they are going to get back to us.  We’ve been Apple geeks for years now and never had that happen.

Thirdly, (Yes I know I said two!) I have been busy, but having so much fun with More Sugar Than Spice Photography.  I have had the best clients, and even though we had the snafu with mamapedia, I am optimistic that when the Sweet Deal makes an appearance, things will just get better. Stay tuned for details on that as well.

Anywho, the boy is up, which means duty calls!

A

P.S. We are going to hide in the mountains this weekend.  I’ll check in with you all when we return! xoxox

Best Friends? I thought.  They’ve only been in school together for a week.

I asked her for his name and she told me it was Colon.  Colon? No way.  Did my daughter become BFF’s with someone who’s named after a not-so-popular body part?!  I assured her there was no way that was his name, but she insisted so I went with it.  She does go to a hippie school, after all.

Every day since, she’d come running up to me after school, just as happy as a clam.  Our high/low games at dinner have turned into talks about Colon and all of the fun things they’ve done together and how much she’s absolutely loving Kindergarten.

That part makes my heart smile.

I was chatting with a girlfriend about the pain in the colon, and informed me that her daughter and her friends were all boy crazy when they were in Kindie.

No way.  Not my Monkey.

And even though I know her intentions are innocent, and I have no reason to believe his aren’t, but just to be sure, I checked him out during my volunteer time at her school.  It was then I found out his name was Conner.  Only a slight mistake (but one I had to document to giggle about later.)

That night, I unloaded all of the love letters, and found some artwork from another little boy.  When I grilled her about the details chatted with her, she explained that this little boy had given it to her because she’d mentioned she thought it was cool.

Seriously?  Could my girlfriend be right?  Are these kids already, dare I say, flirting?

I am still confident that Monkey has no clue that these boys may one day consider her more than just her friend.  But when do they start to put that together?  Not in a birds and the bees kind of way, but in a hey, ‘you make me smile’ kind of way?

Someone clue me in here, and please don’t let Kindergarten be your answer.

Off to obsess over this now,

A

Yesterday, we were running a tad bit late, so we used the kiss and go lane so she would have more time on the playground.  Today she wanted me to walk her again, which honestly was just fine by me!

We walked up, and right after the crossing guard got us across the street, I leaned in and told her I loved her to the moon and back.  I kissed her, she kissed brother and instead of turning to walk away as I normally do, I watched.  She looked so big, yet compared to the other kids and the school, so small.

I could feel the lump in my throat and then she turned.  I straightened up and she smiled so sweetly and waved.  She set her favorite lunch box down and did this:

I love that she knew that I was tired and cranky, and needed a little extra lovin’.

She picked up her lunch, and ran off to be with her friends as I stood there trying to soak it all in.

Man I love that little girl.

All of the entry fees from this event are donated to The Justice Project, an organization that works to raise awareness and stop human trafficking.  It’s not too late to register, so head over to their site and register today, as I’d love to see each and every one of you (through my lens of course!).

If you do participate, be sure and come and chit chat with me.

I’ll be the one with the camera.

(Daddy’s going as a second shooter, but I’m sure you can tell us apart. )

I was so excited about Monkey being in her first parade last weekend.  She is in her first year of cheer, and I knew they weren’t making the little ones walk/perform in the parade, but I couldn’t wait to see her waving and shaking her little pom-poms.

Look at how cute she looks!  Makes mama proud.

Seriously, she didn’t look our direction once.

Even though we were screaming her name like total freaks.

Not once.

Or maybe that’s why …. hmmm.  I’ll have to think about that one.

On a side note (well sort of), is it just me, or are parades different now?  I remember my mom spending hours and hours stuffing chicken wire with little tiny paper tissues, building enormous floats for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and everything else my brother and I did at the time.  Do people not do that any more, or is that a Texas thing too?

Off to ponder how the changes in the world are giving me a complex about getting old,

A

Not because I am nervous about the school, or her teacher.  In fact, I am thrilled with both of those things.

I was just so nervous that she wouldn’t make any friends, or that she wouldn’t like it.

I know, I know.  Even saying that out loud about my Monkey sounds redunkulous, but I was just so afraid.

I mean, look at how small she looks.

Afraid she’d be like me ~ socially awkward and nerdy.

But, she’s not like me.  She’s like Daddy.

So fun and easy going.

And I won’t say that my day without her was tearless.

But, I did alright.

Turns out, I was ready too.

Going gluten free was a challenge, but we’ve settled into a healthier lifestyle of GF eating, and we are back to having fun cooking and eating together.  With a food section of the blog, I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to keep up, since sometimes I am a total slacker when it comes to the journal side, so I reached out to a near and dear, most favoritist person to see if she’d be interested in joining me.

She’s interested, but also looking for time in her calendar, which is okay by me, as I will need time to sweet talk Daddy into the addition.  I have given him more headaches with this site and the MOPS site than most clients in a year, so this might need to involve pumpkin pie and other things that aren’t on his Candida diet.

We’re thinking this section would include recipes, reviews of restaurants and food products, etc. etc.  What do you think?  Would you read it and/or find something like that interesting?

So, if you could join me by getting your prayer on for all of us, as we navigate through this new endeavor, I’d really appreciate it!  I’ll keep you posted!

xoxo

A