So, you may or may not know that I have a little photography business.  I do mean little, it's truly me and my camera (not plural - cameras - tho I would LOVE to have several camera bodies so I could switch things up more quickly, right now I have to stop everything and switch lenses, sounds trivial, but it really slows does the creative process).  Anyway, fall is upon us and time for fall foliage family pictures!  It is usually when everyone starts thinking about getting pictures taken for their Christmas cards (or rather holiday cards) and although each year business picks up a little, I am frustrated with not being able to grow my business as quickly as I want to.  Some would say all in God's time, and I agree, but some of it is on me too, I honestly don't believe that with all the crazy in the world that God's top priority is my photography business - I may be wrong, and if so, I apologize God, but in the mean time, I have free will and know there is more I can do to get my name out there and drum up business.  The eternal problem  is that it takes capital to make capital!  When I'm not producing any noteworthy income yet, where do I get the cash to put into advertising and how do I go about choosing the most effective route with limited funds?  I have take the money I got for my birthday and hired a friend who is a pro to totally redo my website - I am very excited about that!!  And I have invested in a program that changes the way I present images to my clients, but I want more clients!!!  Winter will be here before long and that drastically reduces my opportunity for business since I don't have a studio and work totally out of my home.  Uuugh.  I didn't mean to gripe and moan, consider this me thinking out loud and brainstorming - I've done the thinking out loud, anybody got any brainstorming ideas for me??

this little piggy....

So, how's H1N1 fairing in your community? The piggies are running wild in our Indy town! Big S was the only one at her table of 5 yesterday at school! Now I'm not sure of the exact count absent n our school of 700 students, but the table by the front door with all the assignments for parents of absent students was stacked pretty high. I seems like everyone has at least one person in their house who is sick - not necessarily visited by the piggies, but there seems to be all sorts of other viruses running around too. This is ridiculous! I suggest we have a good old fashioned American pig roast and be done with it once and for all!!

So, I thought I would join my dear friend The Mom Jen with her thousand word thursdays. The weather being what it has been this week, I can't help but think about what is just around the corner. I am on my knees praying that we will have a 2 month long indian summer starting any day now, but in lieu of any miracles that God may choose to bestow on me, and I certainly know that He has more important things on His list, but that doesn't lessen my level of appreciation were he to grant me the gift of answering this prayer. I hate winter, I hate cold, I hate cloudy grey days, my "sun light" for my s.a.d. helps a little, but not enough to get me through if the grey days start now and don't end until march or April! I will begin accepting donations for my vitamin D therapy treatment week immediately! These were taken last year and make me feel very pessimistic. I need a happy pill!!

Crazy Lady....

• "Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food."
  (Austin O'Malley, Keystones of Thought)

I found this quote somewhere and thought it was hysterical and terribly true all at the same time! My memory sure is like that! All the important stuff just flies out - all the crap stays put filling every nook and cranny, not leaving room for the stuff I really want or need to stay put there. Location of car keys, cell phones, purses, children (ok, not the kids ;p), my grocery list

I am certain that I have earned this button! I feel that as a public service, I should be required to wear it when out in public! Now, I must first clarify that I am not the talking to the invisible dragon sidekick kind of crazy, I'm the mom of 3 girls, 3 cats, 2 dogs and a hubby who knows how and when to stay out of my way kind of crazy! Your are not in any specific danger when interacting with me, nor am I a threat to the general public, but my sanity is certainly to be questioned!! Is this just part of the process? Was I forecasting the future when I chose the mom3crazygirls handle for myself over 8 years ago? Perhaps, but isn't a little crazy kinda fun sometimes? The big questions are still on the horizon: am I crazy enough to be an amusement to my kids as they reach puberty, or an embarrassment? I'm not sure which side I want to land on yet - both could be fun, what do you think?

My assignment....

So, I like the linky love every once in a while and Mama Kat at Mama's Losin It always has great writing prompts that she puts out on tuesday with her "your assignment, should you choose to accept it..." so, I choose #4 for this week! "When I look in the mirror..." (inspired by Liz from Loving Mom 2 Boys)Now, the caveat to this is that it really is a challenge for me to really, I mean really look in the mirror. Of course at first glance, I see those extra lbs that I put on a couple years ago and have yet to drop - why? a combination of laziness, other priorities, surgically induced menopause, a pathetic thyroid that has to be augmented daily to work right, an erratic schedule that creates munching instead of meals... I could go on and on, but who cares, really? What do I see next? The roots that need touching up, the grey that shows through the highlights and especially at the roots that need touching up! I see a handful of wrinkles that I immediately decide I don't give a hoot about - better than lots of gals my age and honestly, nothing that I have ever wasted much energy worrying about. It may be that I have been blessed with fairly good skin - I wash my face in the shower and any other face regimen is strictly hit and miss - moisturizers when it crosses my mind, same with eye creme and all that other stuff that fills the cupboards and counters of so many of our bathrooms! What do I see after that? Hmmm, not a 42 year old wife and mother of 3 for sure. Sometimes I see the little girl who loved spending all day alone in her room cleaning, organizing and reading. Sometimes I see the young mother still trying to figure things out but glad to hear the little voices down the hall! Some days I see a strong woman who has earned every little line - the smile lines, the laugh lines and the frown ones too! There's probably so much more to thisexercise that I will learn over time, but for now, I need to go put on some make up looking in that mirror so I don't look like a slop when I show up at my meeting later! Hope you have a great day!

4.) When I look in the mirror...
(inspired by Liz from Loving Mom 2 Boys)

quotes from the girls...

Ranch Girl, the Mom Jen, M

me and H

a sampler of the weekend!!

uh oh, I don't have a pulse, so I'm out....

it's like blogging suicide....

dingleberry...

the ass family...

it's cindy crawford!!!

I have a linebacker back....

oh, wait, that's not my phone....

I've never seen so much ketchup....

where are our cds Moll?...

I was drunk, how should I know?...

she's got earplugs in...

she's reading Hamlet, seriously?...

I swear those young boys were flirting with us...

get it really wet and tight and then twist it...

you should be on the bun, hun...

fish tacos and coronitas...

knitting season begins with the toetat weekend...

meatloaf pizza...

McConnell's, where all your dreams come true....

the diva cup...

Jordy, you're busted...

I'm too hot to be seen...

is it angora...

you don't want to see my bunny or my kitty...

Emily's giving me that look again...

I never met a dog who cussed so much...

add two beers and a coffee to the spreadsheet...

add 42 shots and three beers to the spreadsheet...

I should have stayed till monday...

day two of the toetat5 weekend!! (ok, day one was travel day!)

Yea, we're hangin' with Cindy and the fam!!

Walking down state street in sunny Santa Barbara, the mom jen spotted this 80s/90s icon and her gang walking down down the street - she screamed - "it's Cindy Crawford!!" then we casually crossed the street and stalked/walked behind them trying to be not blatantly obvious, then when they stropped, we kept walking and actually ended up with a better angle at an intersection and stopped to take some pictures of "ourselves" on state street!! I am proud of myself for being so discreet! Ha! We were totally busted!!!