........the cuteness continues.....................

 

Some of PJ's solo shots from the shoot (Izzy's are below in his own post) :) .......

 

Ruthless and toothless (not sure if I mentioned it on my blog or not, but miss PJ lost her first TWO teeth this summer) :) Yes, she's only 5 1/2, but she did get those first two teeth at 4.5 months old, so the sooner they come in, the sooner they fall out ;)

 

I'm posting a bunch of these since I did nothing but sharpen them (meaning it was basically ZERO editing time ;) hehe).....

I had a last minute reschedule this past weekend, and a test shoot (yesterday) for a commercial shoot, so I don't have much to post this week (which is a good thing on my end....since I have lots to catch up on, a commercial shoot on Friday,....and my busy season officially starts next week). Of course I didn't want to leave you guys hanging and post nothing this week, so I thought I would do a "random" post to tide you over until the next sneak peeks are up (which i'm currently waiting for a sweet little baby to be born ANY day now - he's due today! Good luck T!! Can't wait for our shoot! ;) hehe) :) 

To start out the randomness. Here are my top 5 recent loves and hates.....

 

***LOVE***

(1) PJ's room makeover. Mark, PJ and I talked about re-painting her room for quite some time now. PJ picked out the colors she wanted and we went through all of her stuff and she picked out things she wanted to sell and donate. We cleared out a good amount of stuff, made some money (for paint, supplies, etc) off of the things we sold....and we were ready to re-do her room. The only problem? I was leaving for Colorado that weekend :( After a 3+ hour flight delay, etc, Mark and PJ picked me up from the airport. It was nearing 11pm by the time we got home (and I needed to be up and out the door the following morning to head up to LA - and still needed to pack our bags, etc when we got home). I was EXHAUSTED beyond belief. When we got home from the airport, Mark and PJ headed upstairs first while I said hi to the dogs, etc. I finally got upstairs and out of the corner of my eye, I spied PJ's room (and PJ and Mark in there, smiling....followed by them yelling "SURPRISE!").....and it was completely repainted and DONE! I was in SHOCK. My awesome husband (with the help of my amazing sister) re-did PJ's room while I was gone that weekend! It was SUCH an awesome surprise (and PJ even kept the secret!!)...and they did SUCH a good job. I still need to take real pics of her room, but for now, here is a little sneak peek from the iPhone a day or two after it was done....

 

(2) Chick-fil-a sweet tea. Ok, so this isn't a NEW love.....but I don't care. I love it....and I always will. 

(3) 2010 Audi A4. A few months ago, we traded in the A3 and went back to an A4. I've been driving Audi's since I was 21 (damn, i'm old).....and I love them. This is my 4th Audi (3rd A4), but it is by far my favorite. I love, love, looooove it. 

(4) Each and every person who has been taking a few seconds to vote for me each day. Voting ends on August 31st (link is to the top right of my blog), so I would LOVE your continued support. I can't do it without you all....and I TRULY appreciate it :) I know it's a pain and it's hard to remember to vote each day, but I promise this is the last year i'll be doing this :) 

(5) PJ's haircut. Not even so much for looks, but just for the fact that A) It is SO much easier to wash/condition/etc, and B) Her hair isn't constantly in her face anymore :) A few of her new headshots (with bangs)....

 

 

 

***HATE***

(1) Tension headaches. I've been getting them a lot recently (like right now). I've tried it all (massage, acupuncture, chiropractor, doctor/meds, drinking tons of water, etc)...and nothing has helped. 

(2) Cancer. I've known WAY too many people who have/had cancer....and I wish it would just go away forever. My dad's wife is currently going through chemo for breast cancer (she had surgery last month), so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  Thank you!

(3) Copycats. Inspiration is one thing. Blatant copies are just annoying. Whoever said "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" was never copied numerous times, i'm sure.  One of my favorite quotes that a friend of mine posted is: "It is better to fail at originality than to succeed at imitation" (H. Melville).  

(4) Mosquitos. My husband says that I have "sweet blood"...because I am ALWAYS the one who manages to get eaten alive.....and my bites get SUPER bad. Uggh. Go away mosquitos.

(5) Our pug's breath. Seriously....it's horrendous. Who knows of a good (and decently priced) doggy dentist/vet in North County San Diego? =P

 

 

Since a blog post is always more fun with photos. Here are a few other pics from my Colorado trip :)  Bella is such a sweetheart :) 

 

Ok, so next Saturday (July 10th) is Lot116's *3 YEAR* anniversary! Lot116 wouldn't have made it this far without the love, support and encouragement of so many of you, so this upcoming week is all about FUN, thanks and giving back :)  I've gotten a lot of questions about the "Week Of Wow", so I wanted to post a little intro to get you guys ready for Monday :) 

 

WHAT IS THE WEEK OF WOW? 

The "Week Of Wow" starts Monday (July 5th) thru Friday (July 9th) and is my way of celebrating Lot116's 3 year anniversary! Each day there will be multiple giveaways from some of my favorite vendors, clients & companies :)

 

HOW DO I WIN?

To win, make sure you are a fan/like on Lot116's Facebook page and then leave a comment underneath the link of the giveaway item you would like to win (yes, you can enter as many giveaways as you like, but only ONE comment per giveaway please)....BUT not just ANY comment!.... I would love for you to comment and let me know why you would like to win the item, or what you will use the item for. Basically, I don't just want a bunch of people commenting and saying "cool!" (in hopes of winning). I want to know that the item will go to someone who truly wants, needs and/or will USE it :) Once all of the comments are received, I (with the help of a few others) will go through the comments and pick my/our favorite 5-10 and then toss those names into a drawing and pull out a name. That person will win :) So yeah....when you comment, make sure you post anything from why you want it, what you'll do with it, who you will give/gift it to, etc :) 

 

WHO CAN WIN?

Anyone!....although there ARE a few SAN DIEGO, CA based prizes ;) But hey, if you can come to SD, then by all means, enter! :) Basically all of the other giveaway items can be mailed or emailed, so yes......anyone can win! :) 

 

WHAT WILL THE GIVEAWAYS BE?

Sorry, you'll have to check back every day to see what the prizes are ;) Just remember that there will be at least TWO giveaways per day, so keep posted :) 

 

WHEN IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER/COMMENT?

I will be gone to Colorado for a shoot from the 9th thru the 11th, so comments will need to be received no later than SUNDAY (July 11th) at midnight. 

 

WHEN WILL WE FIND OUT WHO WON EACH ITEM?

Since I won't be returning home until Sunday evening, I will need at least a few days to go through the comments, draw names, etc....so winners will most likely be posted on/around Wednesday - July 14th :) 

 

P.S - The photo above (of PJ) has nothing to do with the "Week Of Wow". I just posted it because posts are always better with at least one photo ;) 

....from my shoot yesterday :) I promised this cute family that I would at least get one little sneak peek up before they left for Tahoe. 

I will pretty much be "Out of the office" until Monday........but don't forget that the "WEEK OF WOW" starts on Monday, so if you aren't already a fan/like on the Lot116 Photography Facebook page, hop on it! ;)  Oh and there will be at least two giveaways PER DAY (Monday thru Friday)! Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July weekend everyone!! 

Well in this case, ALUMINUM and EYE candy ;) Today marks 6 wonderful years that Mark and I have been married! He literally blew me away with his gifts this year. Let me back up a bit first. Mark has always been 110% supportive in my photography. When he realized I was serious about it, he surprised me with my camera for Mother's Day (2007). A few months later he surprised me with a new 20" desktop Mac (for my birthday) since he saw me struggling to edit photos on my old Mac laptop. He has done everything to help me with Lot116. He threw the website up in days (and trust me, it could (and hopefully will be soon) a million times better (he and his brother are awesome website designers....trust me), but at the time we just needed something up super quick since people kept asking, and haven't had time to revamp yet.....soon though, soon!) He also designed my logo, designs my postcards, business cards, etc.....on top of making sure he's there to watch PJ while i'm gone to shoots, etc. He is just AMAZING all around (did I mention HE cleans the bathrooms, dusts, vacuums, etc too ;) hehe). Yes....I have the best husband (and PJ has the best daddy!) in the world :)





Anyway, this year he once again went over the top (even though we ALWAYS say "no gifts - we'll just go out to dinner or something"). Say hello to my little (or NOT so little) friend (on the left)...................




Ahhh yes, the new 24" iMac. Don't worry, my "old" (if you can even call it that since i've only had it for about a year) Mac will be going to an awesome (and much needed) home.......my sister's house ;) Yes, they are FINALLY stepping out of the stone(PC)age (hehe) and will see what it's like to have a virus free and FAST computer ;)




Those were taken while all of my files were transferring to my new computer, but here is the set up now........




The "eye CANDY" was another gift he gave me, a vintage Argus Argoflex camera, which now sits on my shelf with the other vintage cameras I have.......


Oh and the whole "iron and candy" is really ironic since I just happened to look up what the "traditional anniversary gifts" are for 6 years and saw this:

"The traditional materials for your sixth anniversary are candy and iron."


I'll take eye candy and aluminum over a cast iron skillet and a box of chocolates ANY day! ;) I'm so frickin' excited (in case you can't tell)!!!!