[ Happy Monday: 2-8-09 ]

As I'm typing this... drinking my second cup of coffee... I can see my three kids in all their comfy glory in the family room... enjoying our Snow Day... they are watching a Jonas Brothers Concert I DVR'd for them. Cort is dancing around like a maniac and they are all three singing each and every song... YES, Cort knows them all by heart as well! It is a precious picture and I'm glad I am blogging about it now because it's a memory I want to remember.

I am personally SICK SICK SICK of snow and cold... but on this day it actually works out great for me because I am overwhelmed with sessions to edit! Which is a great thing... and I now will have a great big chunk of time to WORKWORKWORK!

Pics from this morning:





Brrrrrr... it's cold!







... onto Happy Monday prompt:

Wear Something You Love

"Dress not just because you have to clothe yourself, but because it's fun and gives you and others day-long pleasure. You could choose a whole outfit that you enjoy putting together and feel all-round good in. Or it could be one item of clothing that always makes you feel a million dollars.

Alternatively, simply choose an accessory that gives you a thrill of pleasure, like a scarf in a color that really suits you, fab shoes or an eye-catching piece of jewelry. Wearing something that lifts your spirits will make you feel good all day and give pleasure to others, too."

** This is so true... it's amazing how putting on an outfit you love makes you feel immediately better. A color that compliments you or an amazing pair of jeans or a cool, funky scarf... It just makes you feel GOOD! Today I am going nowhere... we are snowed in... but I have on my favorite grey Arkansas Razorbacks sweatshirt... the kind that is big enough to feel comfy but not frumpy?!! I did go shopping yesterday (that ALWAYS lifts the spirits too!) and bought some black pin-stripe dress pants, a purple top with a black vest and a BLUE spring dress. All of which I'm dying to wear! I'll wear the pants outfit sometime this week. The dress (which I'm in love with!) will have to wait a couple months! Spring CANNOT get here fast enough for me! I have so many things I want to do work-wise and personal-wise.... hurry up sunshine and green!!! :)

I cannot WAIT to wear this dress this Spring! I love dresses... and I love the colors of THIS dress! It's one of those dresses that isn't that inspiring on the hanger... but once I put it on I just felt feminine and great! Love getting surprised like that with clothing!



Onto the rambling part of this post...

* I cannot even say how much I loved my Fayetteville sessions this weekend! It was wonderful! I met some great people... and they endured the BITTER COLD for the sessions... which made for some really cute "winter-y" pictures!!! Thanks everyone!

Me infront of Bliss Cupcake shop. It was an adorable little shop on the Fayetteville square!



Ms. Nicole Bolinger:




Little Sophie... aren't those UGGS just precious!



Chance & Janna. So crazy about each other after TEN years! Love it!



The Bruder Family. One of the sweetest families I've been around!
And the outfits she picked.... LOVE IT!



* Valentine's Day is approaching. My kids' Valentine's Cards (which I'm actually sending this year) are SO going to be late. :( I am off my game...




* My dear friends Liz & Zach just had their little boy Zachary! I am so excited for them and he is precious! CONGRATULATIONS Wiggs Family!
Not helping with the baby fever thing I've got going on when I keep seeing such precious babies!!! Not gonna lie!




And I swiped this from her blog as well! Look what Zach wrote in the snow for her!!! Sweet ... sweet..




* I am LOVING my new Iphone! Loving IT!!! But sadly I am probably only using a 1/4 of what it's capable of. New things scare me. Maybe in a year I'll learn the App thing...?

* If you are on Facebook... and would like to "Become a Fan of Anne-Camille photography," I created my page yesterday and would love it if you would add me!

* Had a good conversation this week with an old friend. It's amazing how clarification just makes life better! Very thankful for that!

* The song "Evacuate the Dance Floor" is probably one of my all-time favorite songs. I play it all the time. And it never gets old. Kinda like "Big Green Tractor" never gets old for Cortland! He falls asleep to it on my Ipod almost every night. He also plays it over and over and OVER again while he's in the cart grocery shopping with me. It makes for a fun Grocery Trip!

* I am really getting the itch to attend another photography workshop soon. I need to get some plans in motion.

Hard to believe a little over a year ago the three of us were in Sunny California at a workshop with Drew Bittel!





* Due to these "destination sessions" I have planned I have received some inquiries from the Conway/Little Rock area. I'll be planning something there in the next month so stay tuned!

* Last night while reading in bed (Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life... which is HILARIOUS!) I couldn't quite get my warmth meter down. It was the first time I GENUINELY wish I owned a Snuggie. Every time I had to pull my arm out from under the warm covers into the cold air to turn a page it made me mad! A Snuggie would've done the trick!

* I bought my first US WEEKLY last night for the first time in about 2 years. I used to have a weekly subscription. No kidding. But they got old and I canceled. I started to read it last night and realized why I hated them again.
Who cares about these peoples' lives? Really? Not me!

* I finally saw Avatar a few weeks ago. It was just as amazing as everyone was claiming!
Beautiful love story. And I enjoyed the action as well! ;)

* Anyone who reads my blog knows about one of my dearest friends in the world, Celeste.
I get to see her beautiful, smiling face in 18 days!!! The countdown is ON! She cracks me up! Last night she was telling me about her weekend trip to New Orleans over the Superbowl weekend and she was telling me about the energy of the city and the Saint hype and what a blast it was being in the city for the Superbowl...
Quote of the week by Ms. Celeste. "Everywhere we went everyone kept saying, "Who Dat? Who Dat?" And IT NEVER GOT OLD!"
Cracked ME up because normally Celeste would've been like, "SHUT UP" after the 10th time hearing it! So glad she had such a great weekend!



* The girls and Cort have been all about playing "train" lately. Madeline holds Cort under his arms and Cort puts his legs on Kenzie-Lynn shoulders and off they go. I'll have to get a picture of it.

* Speaking of that... my childrens' laughter is the BEST. SOUND. IN. THE. ENTIRE. WORLD.

* I suppose since I have watched The Bachelor from the beginning of this season I will ENDURE it tonight. UGH. I don't like ANY of the women... and he is the biggest D-O-R-K... I can barely stand it. But I'll persevere. I'll stay the course. And want to throw up every second of it. This is the LAST season of the bachelor I will torture myself with. GAG.

* I am ready for the BEACH. Any beach. I just want a beach with palm trees all around. I'll be working on that... Mel, I am TOTALLY jealous right now that you are in FLORIDA!!! Jealous... jealous... jealous!



* I had a WONDERFUL group session yesterday afternoon. Such an amazing family! I kinda wanted to be apart of it! ;) Just kidding... but they were all so wonderful and I am excited about those photos. It was a pleasure meeting them all.

Okay, off to edit edit edit!

Happy "Snowy" Monday everyone!!!

[ Love ANYONE can see ]

My Fayetteville sessions went GREAT! I met so many amazing people (that's what I love so much about this job!) and reconnected with an old friend.
More to come soon of all the sessions!

These two were so unbelievably ... UNBELIEVABLY... IN LOVE!
They have been together ten years and are STILL ooyey-gooey-PDA-style in love!
These two were playful, connected, serious at moments, thoughtful, caring, all-over-each-other.... I saw all that by spending just 45 minutes with them! It seriously melted me! More to come of these two lovebirds...




Also swiped this quote today from my friend, John Blair's facebook page!
"When you have nothing else to give, just give of yourself."
... You know how much I love quotes!...

... now off to my afternoon shoot! Woohoo!

[ Breakfast for Dinner ]

My family loves to eat breakfast for dinner! And sometimes we all get involved in making it...
Waffles, turkey bacon & scrambled eggs!
Collins Family Favorite!

C helping me with the milk...
(I love his little crooked pinky... which he gets from his Daddy... who got it from his Mom!)



M getting the bacon ready to serve! (With KL peeking from the pantry door!)



KL scrambling eggs!



Lucy always in the middle of everything!



YUMMY!

[ Waffles & Cuties ]

A look into my kitchen on any given night...
I love it!



More pics to come tomorrow!

I also came across a couple quotes today that I loved:

"You don't have to necessarily be the best at what you do- there's always someone better.
Instead, be the only one who does what you do."

"I believe that if something in your life is not worth fighting for, it really isn't anything in your life at all."



I also have some news to share soon! I will restrain for now! Soon... soon...

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday evening! Getting ready to curl up with my boy & watch some Grey's!

[ Jamie Watson: You. Are. Amazing. ]

Jamie and I grew up together. We have been friends since 7th grade!
Way back to the time of sleep-overs, crushes & tons of telephone conversations... on phones with CORDS!

I adore this woman!

We reconnected a few weeks ago and both of us were so thankful and grateful for our time together again! We shared, laughed and caught up. It was crazy because it was like no time had passed. Old friends are AMAZING like that! LOL!

Jamie. You are beautiful. You are amazing. You are one of my most favorite people in this world.
Thank you for letting me take these photos.
I love you and always will.

Of course. Starting out with my fav:





I love the jacket... and the boots... and the whole thing!



Um... can you say JUICY light??? :)





The many faces of Jamie!
I've seen them all! Love the laugh! .... or should I say RATH, Jamie?! LOL



Another one of my favs!









AWWW ... beautiful!



Can you say "fierce?"







I have to say as well that I really LOVE taking photos of women... I love everything else as well! Truly I do!
But I love making women feel special and beautiful by capturing them at their best!
I really feel every woman needs to do this!
... Hmmm... Maybe there's a special coming soon?

[ Jamie! ]

More to come....

[ Happy Monday. 2-1-10 ]

I've been trying to come up with a weekly theme... something to blog about on a regular basis. I know a lot of bloggers are jumping on this... Jasmine Star with her Kisses & Disses, Jessica Claire with her Thursday Thoughts and our very own Jamie Swetnam with Random Wednesday! Not wanting to be a copy cat but truly ADORING the concept, my authentic reason for deciding to have a weekly blog theme is to motivate me creatively and to just plain motivate me to blog! I love to blog personal things... but at the same time I don't like my blog to be too personal... that's why you don't see my family on here as much as I take photos of them. Maybe you think it's often... but I take A LOT Of pictures and don't post most of my family life. I don't mind blogging about ME, but I don't want my family & kids on this blog TOO often, you know?

I recently purchased a mini-motivater book called Everyday Happy: 365 Ways to a Better You by Jenny Hare. I read a LOT. I love books. Right now I'm in the middle of five books. Yes, you read that right! FIVE! I gravitated to this book not only because of the vivid color or the fact that I like anything list-oriented but because there are many times in life when I just want a little kick start. Life gets routine. Sometimes frankly... it's not so fun! I thought that anything to have MORE of a positive outlook on ANYTHING is a good thing, right?



It would've been super cool if I had found this book before the first of the year and maybe even blogged each one daily! Now that would've been something to inspire me to blog, huh? But I don't think I could realistically blog everyday. Or be motivated to be super happy everyday! LOL. So I'm going to pick my favorite of the week and blog that. Sometimes I'll have a picture to go with it. Sometimes I'll have photos of other things. And due to the fact that this book has 365 motivators... and there are only 52 Weeks in a year... I may post more than one on any given week! Call me crazy...

So my theme will be Happy Monday. Why Monday? Well, honestly I am always SUPER motivated on Mondays. I usually don't edit much on weekends and by Monday I am ready to go! On Mondays I usually straighten my house, organize SOMETHING, catch up with friends about weekend goings-on, plan my week, the girls are back in school and Cortland is always ready for his solo-play and to watch shows HE wants to watch... it's just truly a great day for me! So that's why I chose Monday!

Along with my Happy Tidbit, I may blog anything else I find inspiring or interesting... things going on or things coming up. Funny stories. Pictures. Recipes. Quotes. I will also post specials and sales on that day! So stay tuned!

Okay ... well here goes Internet world!
Happy Monday. Post 1.
2-1-10: Do Something Really Active.



"Feeling a bit down? Try doing something really active and proactive. You might go for a run, pop round to see an old friend, wash the kitchen floor or start up a new project. Even just making a decision to do something specific will help you feel happier.
Once you get going, using up energy will generate even more energy, and instantly your body will respond with endorphins. Not only do you feel good when you are being active, but afterwards you'll bask in the satisfaction of having been active."

* So... I think I'll actually START my Dance CD... I'll do that today! It still has it's wrapper on it! Sad... yes!

* I am also meeting a good friend for lunch. Being around her always makes me so happy. There is something soothing and just so genuine about her that soothes my soul! :) Can't wait M!

* I need to clean my upstairs. So- Scrubbing Bubbles & Mop... here I come! I may wait to do all this until this afternoon! ;)

... and now for the randomness...

* I am finally. Finally. Finally getting an Iphone. :) And I am SUPER pumped about it!!!



* After having some Precious newborn sessions I am... kinda... experiencing some baby fever! AAAGGHH! Not gonna lie! All of a sudden I'm thinking about being pregnant, designing a nursery, holding another baby... and thinking that FOUR kids is a good number!?!! This feeling needs to pass. This "fever" needs to turn into.... SPRING FEVER! Yeah... I need to channel it into that!



Spring Fever...
Come back Good Weather! I am SICK SICK SICK of cold, snow and ice!



* On to Puppy Love! I really enjoyed my recent Pet Session! It really was so much fun! Contact me if you would like a Pet Session!



* My desktop is giving me HECK. It is driving me BANANAS.

* If you are in need of a Valentine's Day Gift... I have Gift certificates available!



* I am super excited for my Fayetteville Sessions coming up this weekend! If you are in that area and would like a session please contact me!

* I just recently purchased my logo. My official Logo!! It's colorful. Simple. And I love it! Your thoughts?



* I still have my 2009 Digital File Discs for sale 1/2 off! For a limited time...



* And finally... Cortland asked for something yummy to eat this weekend so I looked in my recipes and found this recipe and it... was... YUMMY! Of course, like always, it got eaten up QUICKLY so no pictures. :(

Apple Crisp
6 Gala apples
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 t. apple pie spice or cinnamon

Place apples in a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Blend butter, sugar flour and spice together as for a pie dough; work until crumbly and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream. Yield: 6 servings.

Okay... off to get this day going!!!
Happy Monday to all!