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Do one thing every day that scares you.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Why would you want to do this, something that scares you? Doesn’t scary imply danger?

What if it doesn’t?

What if it means unknown or new?

I have goals for each week and then break them down for each day. Personal goals, professional goals and goals with my children.

And then I have larger goals, the ones that scare me. One in particular. It is not dangerous – but it is unknown to me. And it is a driving force. After a lot of thought and reflection on my own experiences, I can see why we need to do things that scare us. Because we just might discover we CAN do the very thing that scares us the most. And the process of doing it – is just as important, if not more, than achieving the goal itself.

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I feel like flying. I’ve been working hard both personally and professionally and today I see results.

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
~ Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Isn’t she beautiful?

She radiates vibrance.

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This first one is my favorite!

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Because I believe in the importance and value of it 110%, with all that I am.

Because I know what it’s like to put everyone else before myself and then there is little left of me. As women, and especially as mothers, this is quite common but can also be harmful. I believe in a healthy balance.

Because I know the value in saying YOU are worth the time to do this. **BELIEVE YOU ARE WORTHY**

Because I see and experience the confidence that comes from this type of photo shoot and it makes we want to do it for YOU.

Because we need to stop comparing ourselves to other women and look WITHIN ourselves. Invest in yourself.

Because if we want to practice kindness to others, first – we have to be kind to ourselves.

Watch this:

How do you see yourself?

I love what Florence says, near the end of the video:

“It impacts everything. The choices and the friends we make, the jobs we apply for, how we treat our children.”

It is healthy! GO AHEAD – give yourself permission to feel good about YOU.

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Nicole, I love that you shared this experience with your daughter. Both of you are absolutely striking!

Hair and makeup by: Janey Cascaddan, owner of Rock Your Locks Salon

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I really have no words to say this time – I’ll let these images speak for themselves.

Her mom is up next…

Hair and Makeup by: Janey Cascaddan, Owner of Rock Your Locks Salon

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I had the opportunity to go to San Diego last week. I took a class and had several photo shoots, which I will be sharing. I caught glimpses on my camera just a little last week, so as soon as I look at all the images on my computer for the first time, it is going to feel like Christmas Morning. SERIOUSLY. That is my favorite process. When I see what I have and my artistic perspective is in all it’s glory. I turn the music up and I make my choices.

When I made the decision to makeover my business, I chose to put myself into situations that would promote growth. Have you read, Donald Miller’s, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years? If not, I recommend it. So that is what I did, I went to San Diego and then I am taking another class next month. That one I cannot wait for because it is with a photography community I have been involved with for a while and it will be nothing short of rocking my world. Of course, there are many benefits I get from the photography perspective, but it is so much more than that. It was also about meeting people like Carmen and Jessica who I connected with right away. It was about being on the ocean for five days. It was also about learning of another non-profit I have had on my mind since and I will be looking into, to name a few. Just what I needed, more ideas.

I wanted to share these two, without having looked at the rest. I knew when I took the one on the left, it would be a favorite.

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THIS is some of the new work I could not wait to share and… now it’s time.

THIS means so much to me. More of why and what else is on the way. From this point on, I will be specializing in Contemporary Portrait Art for teen girls and women of all ages. It is an experience – and Crystal can tell you all about it – actually, she will tell you about it in the near future.

I still have requests for family photo shoots and while I make this transition, I will offer family shoots for the end of June/beginning of July and then not again until fall. Contact me if you want to book a shoot or be on the e-mail list for fall. This also means no more photographing babies, I will miss them – but I enjoy this genre and it’s the perfect fit for ME.

Crystal – you already know this first one is MY FAVORITE!!

Hair and makeup by: Janey Cascaddan, Owner of Rock Your Locks Salon

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As a wise woman reminded me, I am standing in front of an enormous elephant. She said – don’t look at the whole massive thing or you will want to shrink from it. You need to just go at it – ONE BITE AT A TIME.

Are you facing, or have you faced an elephant of your own?

New work is complete, a new logo is complete and I have a great opportunity to take part in for the next few days…no more time to blog though because I’m busy eating the elephant.

Photos by Beth Gehoski

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I am posting a limited display of images from my mission trip to Costa Rica, due to the sensitive nature of the children’s situations.

Many have said they are waiting to see these and I would love to share them with you. What I ask is that you send me a message via my contact page or Facebook and in return, I will send you the password to view the private gallery on my website.

MY REASONS FOR GOING….

I had the opportunity to share this with my daughter. We got to watch each other in action. I heard her ideas long before we left and I then I watched her play it out. And I think it went over better than she even expected.

One thing I did on this trip was take portraits of all the children and the tias (aunties). These kids do not have photos of themselves. When children grow up seeing pictures of themselves, it fosters confidence and self esteem. They see themselves as valuable and EVERY child deserves to feel valuable. We took 8 x 10 frames and left them at the orphanage and I am in the process of ordering the portraits from the lab to send back to the orphanage in Costa Rica.

Savanah came to me not long after making the decision to go to Costa Rica with an idea. She said she wanted to buy an Instax Camera and enough film to take pictures of the kids at the orphanage to give to them. If you’re not familiar with an Instax, it is a modern Polaroid. It spits out the picture instantly. Her idea was a huge hit, to say the least. They were treasured.

I had a front row seat to watch the people on my team make connections and be MOVED. What an amazing group of people they were, I cannot say that enough. They had huge hearts, great ideas and they made things happen.

AND THEN… and then there were the teenage girls. Before we left, I received a list of children at the orphanage and I immediately felt drawn to the teenage girls.

THIS girl I connected with on the first day. I will call her Fabi, she is fifteen years old. She has an 18-month old little boy and she is eight months pregnant with her second child. Want to discuss things that stir your soul? This is it for me. I zoomed in on her the first day.

The second day, Sarah said to me, “Did you see how Fabi’s face lit up as soon as she saw you today?” If I accomplished one thing on that trip, it would be to have reached that girl and I’m pretty sure I did. I also spent some time with the teen girls and teaching them about the power of journaling. Writing down their experiences, feelings, hopes, dreams and everything in between. Something that is very important to me.

A woman on the team taught the girls how to make pies. Watching them take pride in this…PRICELESS.

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