“Where is your belly button?”

I was supposed to get up this morning at 5:45 am and was super excited to try out SWEATY CHIX for the first time with my sister. I woke up at 7am and never remember my alarm going off, but LOW AND BEHOLD I guess it did and I just slept right through it. This might be way harder than I thought  since mornings & exercise are 2 things that I actually don’t like very much, ok I HATE those two things. Ya see, I get so bored of working out. I am sorry, it’s BORING! A daily trip to the gym sounds so routine and lame to me. You would all laugh if I told you that I got my BA in Exercise Science….. ok go ahead and start laughing…… so I decided to take the fun social route of going to a class. I was so excited to go that last night I couldn’t sleep, which was probably the main reason I slept in. Aren’t I off to a great start?

Lately I have decided something. I am SOLELY responsible for my happiness.  Too often we blame our depression or anxiety on our situations, or other people. My train of thought this last year has been … “poor me, we are so poor that I have to work a ton, and since I have to work a ton my girls suffer, then I am not being a good mom, then I am depressed and feel hopeless.” LAME.  I have found so much power in taking responsibility for myself. I am tired of my own self-pity party so it HOPEFULLY has ended officially starting now. 

So after my power-talk I just gave everyone, in a nut-shell I am making simple small life changes….. starting with exercising…. which FAILED miserably this morning but that doesn’t mean I am not going to do it after making this random blog post.

I have been looking for inspiration online and found some good random reasons of WHY we all need it, even though it’s painful.

1. Exercise improves your mood.

Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You’ll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression.

2. Exercise combats chronic diseases.

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent osteoporosis? Physical activity might be the ticket.

Regular physical activity can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular physical activity boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.

And there’s more. Regular physical activity can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

3. Exercise helps you manage your weight.

Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.

This one’s a no-brainer. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don’t even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Dedicated workouts are great, but physical activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too.

4. Exercise boosts your energy level.

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don’t throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.

Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep.

Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.

A good night’s sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There’s a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day.

6. Exercise can be — gasp — fun!

Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical!

Physical activity doesn’t have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you’re moving, it counts!

So anyways…. exercise will help with stress, moodiness, energy levels, and so many other millions of things that I need help with so I am putting in the blog so I am held responsible to follow up on how it’s going.  Anyone who wants to change this part of themselves with me SHOULD. amen.

And of course a picture from Friday’s wedding…. all I have to say is that Latin’s can dance better than anyone…and why didn’t I have Latin music at my wedding? BEST dancing and music EVER! (PS thanks Jerrie for holding my flash so pretty-like)

 They are the top two reasons WHY I:

1. Swear. (this has become an embarrassing habit that I am working on)
2. Melt
3. Laugh
4. Scream
5. Lose sleep
6. Cry
7. Feel all warm and fuzzy inside
8. Stopped trying to have a clean house
9. Shout for joy and thank the heavens when my husband walks in from work at night
10. Swear

So instead of blogging one of my 10 blog posts that I am behind on, I decided to rebel and show off my girlies. Thank you to one of my VERY best friends in the world for making me do this shoot. I LOVE her.

I spent the ENTIRE day on her birthday. It felt SO good to be totally consumed in her little life as I put everything aside, and focused on my little girl who already has crossed over into the sassy independent stage. (which is a definite trial in my life as all of you with 3 year olds know) I made cupcakes for preschool, went shopping for her presents, made the gigantic tutu below, made a princess blanket, (don’t get me wrong, I am the LEAST crafty person you have ever met so this was a big step for me), spaghetti dinner (her favorite), picture taking, ice cream, bath time, and finally exhausted as I now sit here and look at her pictures, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Is there anything better in the world than this? I didn’t get anything else done except a load of laundry, and my house is covered in tool pieces and dirty dishes from today, and I feel completely happy inside and out. I love being a mommy.

Hailey has worn this shirt NO JOKE every year of her life for pictures. No I dont do it because it’s sentimental, I do it because I was scrounging to find something to go with her tutu that wasn’t completely filthy. That is usually the case, and this shirt pulls through every time! I hate laundry ok?

this is Hailey’s best buddy. Her mom introduced me to the tutu making (I will post the video below for those who want to make one)

How to Make a Tutu Video

We are off to Cedar City for the weekend! I am so excited for 3 senior girl shoots, and of course my first workshop ever! I am definitely more excited than nervous…..weirdly enough…so everyone have an amazing weekend and I will be back Monday.

Advice to photographers…start taking more pictures of your OWN life, its SO rewarding now that I have started doing it every day.

i cried today. One thing I have learned about myself today is that I dont cry very often. I cant even remember the last time I cried at all. Although a really good sad movie will do it to me, or if someone else looses it I have problems keeping it in, but in general, I am mostly a happy girl. BUT, the last week or so I have been thinking ALOT about this last year, and got sad. There was a time when photography was ALL I did, thought about, dreamed about…..I even ATE at the computer and fell asleep in front of it. It was hard being the bread winner when Ted didn’t have a job, and it was even harder not being there all the time with my girls. I feel like the first year of Samantha’s life was so busy, stressed, and flat out depressing. Yet, through it all, she is the happiest and most snuggly baby I have ever known. I am so beyond blessed to have her and Hailey. I thought I knew what REAL unconditional love was, until I had a baby and then realized I had no concept of it at all. Life sure did change quick, in all sorts of ways. And now, life needs to change again, because I dont want to let any precious time to slip through my fingertips. I will still need to work to help sustain our little fam, but its time for balance and more happy times. Thanks to everyone’s kind words on facebook today, and especially to my sister Tami who listened to me bawl and helped pick me up again.

happy birthday to my Sammy Jo. if you want to go look at pics of her from when she was a wee thing, click here

i do apologize…i photoshopped these SO quick and now i am really looking at them and did a terrible job. i will post more on FB soon when i can really make them pretty

i even got a nice little love present in the mail from a girl i have never met today. i did her the smallest favor ever and she sent me happiness in a box (or two)i totally got the better end of the deal.

my fun trip will be blogged about very soon….i am just a VERY busy bee right now so as soon as i have some time i will tell ya ALL about it. (it did not disappoint).

What happens in Vegas, gets bragged about all over the place for me because i am probably the world’s most boring vegas visitor, so dont expect any crazy stories. ANYWAYS, take care, my lovely blog readers…….who dont ever comment and show your love, but i know you visit and thats enough to get me on this dang thing late at night.

luv,

me

well….I have decided to go to the WPPI tradeshow. I am SO ridiculously EXCITED! And I get to go with a handful of fun girls that I love! I will be gone until Tuesday morning so if you need to email me, its best to do it before Sunday.
ps….if I only get to meet Bobbi+Mike and no other famous photographers, that would be enough for me. Bring on the sunshine vegas!!

Last night before I went to bed I made a list of everything I needed to get done today. I KNEW my girls would REFUSE to let me even sit at the computer for anything, (they never do) so I planned my ENTIRE day so that they would both take nice long naps in the afternoon so I could get lots of stuff done. I seriously wore them out SUPER hard just so I could have those 2-3 hours.  So, the nap thing didn’t happen how I wanted….and after we had dinner tonight and were watching American Idol (which I have never really done before) we realized it was too quiet for comfort in the Clark house. We found her, passed out on the table. NOW she sleeps!!!!

ps….she fell off the table not too long after the pic snapped….bad parents? maybe, but it was definitely hilarious. and yes she is wearing her favorite tutu and winter coat.

now, if you are HARD core you will recognize this girl from a LOOONGGG time ago somewhere in my blog. You are looking at the new Winkfotos Assistant. So basically, after I take your pictures, she will be taking care of you from there on out. She will be doing my RAW file processing in Capture NX2 (i said goodbye to Lightroom), basic photoshop in Cs3 extended, gallery proofing in SmugMug,  client orders and printing from my “secret lab” (emperors new groove just popped in my head), disk burning,  etc. I feel bad for her already. We have already completed almost ALL of her training so this is starting week. HUURRRRRAAAYYYYY for me! Now I might actually have a life outside of photography! I cant remember what that was like!

My workflow will now look like this….

1- shooting…(the fun part)
2- image choosing and sorting (i think thats fun too)
3- final touches in photoshop (i LOVE this)
4- blogging. (of course not bad either)
5- for now wedding albums….which will also be outsourced….I haven’t decided on this one yet.

A photographer that I ADORE once said….. “Only do what you love to do, then hire someone else to do the rest.”  AMEN Jaclyn!

pefect huh?

Anyways she is EXTREMELY organized, responsible, and super super diciplined…….all things that do NOT come naturally for me. And if she gives you any trouble, just let me know…… because she is ALSO my older sister and even though she is older, I could totally beat her in arm wrestling.

here is her pretty face.