Merry Christmas!

It's been a wonderful Christmas! We got to spend some time with my family in Pennsylvania and the kiddos traveled very well which was a huge blessing. We always kinda dread the trip with our two small kids, but they did really well.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well, and were able to enjoy some good times and make some great memories! We mailed out more Christmas cards than ever before, but I'm sure we still didn't reach half of you... One of these days we'll get a little more organized and we'll start in October. =)

Anyway, here's our card! Holly spent a few days pulling this together and due in large part to the card-designing expertise of our good friend Trinnica up in the Tulsa area. Thanks, Trin!




MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A Great Birthday :: 35!

Yesterday was one of my best birthdays ever. I heard from so many old friends that it really made the day (and me =) feel special. Holly spoiled me again with my favorite breakfast - strawberry crepes - and we were able to have a nice long date over steak dinner and then enjoy Australia, the movie, at the new all digital theater in town.

So, thanks to everyone who dropped a line, called, Facebooked, etc. -- you all had a part in making it a really great birthday! It didn't quite hit 73 degrees today like they were forecasting, but it's still been a really mild weekend for December and I'll accept that as a little birthday gift. =)

In the last couple of weeks, Holly was able to get lots of new photos up to help decorate our own house and not just everyone else's! =) It's funny how it works that way... how does the saying go? The cobbler's kids don't have shoes? =) Well, we're all set for photos now, with beautifully hung pictures and frames from the bedroom hallway all the way through the living room and kitchen. What a rewarding project!

We have a ton to do before the holidays, so it's going to be another very busy week. We've managed to stay caught up on holiday cards for our customers, but we're behind on wedding retouching and are doing our best to catch up before the holidays.

That's pretty much the news in these parts! Be safe with all of the crazed shoppers out there this time of the year! Ordering prints or gift cards from our website would be safer and less hassle. =)

Actually, I seriously should have blogged about our new gift cards a few weeks ago. Oh well! If you have someone on your list who could use one, we do have new gift cards available. The website says "gift certificates" still, but you can order the new gift cards here if you like.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Snug-Its and Otterboxes

I've had recent experiences with two really ingenious products that I thought I'd share with you. No, I don't get any kind of residuals or kickbacks from these plugs, I just enjoy passing along tips on cool products. =)

The first is an ingenious silicone jacket for your digital camera, called a Snug-It. I bought one of these inexpensive protectors a few months ago for our little pocket camera (a Canon SD800IS, but they sell them for every brand!) and it has successfully protected it from drops, bumps and other forms of torture and abuse! Here's what they look like if you're having trouble picturing it.


The second really great product is a case for the iPhone made by Otterbox. I got the Defender case, which isn't waterproof, but it's pretty much shock-proof and has a screen protector. They make cases for iPods, Blackberries, Palms, etc. They're probably the best cases I've ever seen and they seem to be having a bargain bin sale going on, too, with lots of great cases to popular devices. They retail for about $50 each, but I was able to pick one up for about half that at my local electronics wholesaler. Here's what my case looks like...


Anyway, just wanted to pass along that info in case it was of any help to any of you! I love hearing about new, innovative and useful products, so if you have any to share, feel free to leave a comment!

Oh My, It's December!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends and great food! We stuck around and enjoyed Holly's family for Thanksgiving again this year and were pleasantly surprised when Holly's oldest brother (Titus) flew back from LA to join us for a few days. It was deliciously relaxing and rejuvenating... the way I always hope holidays will be. =)

Brides, today is the last day to submit your story for the $1500 giveaway by Photographik.org! Let me know if you're interested and we'll help however we can (i.e. submitting photos from your engagement session, etc.). I'm taking the banner down from our home page now, but you still have all day to put your name in the hat!

Well, we're officially behind in retouching. It's been hard to keep up with traveling for weddings, sickness in between, and now the holidays. Thankfully we have a fairly open week this week, so we'll be working hard to catch up starting tonight. Today I have to head down to Cleveland County to be a witness in a trial against a local gangster who happened to have some of my stolen property from the big theft earlier this year. So, yet another day out of the office... Seems like when it rains it really pours.

And we can't blog without including a few pictures, so here are a few favorites from recent sessions...




























I'm sorry I haven't done a better job of blogging them as we go along, but I always feel bad blogging when we have so much else to do.