daily mantra:

“your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. don’t be trapped by dogma…which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. don’t let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. they, somehow, already know what you truly want to become. everything else is just secondary.” {steve.jobs}

……

-10 years ago i was a different person going in different directions, and living in a different world. you could have found me crossing the snowy mall of the University of Maine campus…sprinting to my class because the closest parking spot was 2 miles away. 10 years ago, i was married, but not to someone i loved. and being married to someone you don’t love is harder than being alone. 10 years ago today, i thought i knew everything i needed to know about life, and that all that was left was finishing college and paying off my student loans, and finding the white picket fence somewhere in between.

-9 years ago…i found out i knew nothing and became a much happier person.

i met the true love of my life and we started on our journey to forever. not necessarily the white picket fence but somewhere in between.

even 5 years ago i couldn’t have imagined where i am now….that i would be living in, of all places, Rumford, Maine…that i would have my own business…that we would own a house {!}, or even that we had two cars that are actually running…at the same time…so we can drive them places. {yay!!!}

10 years, not without bumps in the road or without sadness, but with so much more happiness, fun, and more importantly…contentment than i would have ever imagined.

i wonder what the next 10 will bring. i am sure i will write about it then.

dear mikki and katie….

we are on the cusp of 2010. while i find new years resolutions are often bright lights of doomed failure laying in the shadows, i do feel that goals on an every day, every week, every  month, etc. basis are not only important but a way to measure your own personal growth.  so, i sat you both down on our living room couch and asked you, with all seriousness and formality, what your goals were for this up coming new year.

Mikki…your goal was to use better manners and whine less. this is why you are my favorite.  because despite this lofty ambition {one i should perhaps try myself even} you already have impeccable manners for a 6 year old. your other goal was to have more fun….which is brilliant. i think every one’s yearly mission should be to have more fun.

Katie…your goal was to eat more cookies and learn about rocket ships. hmmmm….yes. this was a typical Katie answer.

the dawning of 2010 has left mommy in a bit of a panic. first, i will be 30. when i tried to explain 30 to you this morning, Mikki, you said simply. . . “holy moly, Mom, that is a big number.”

awesome.

i usually make some ridiculously unattainable weight loss goal. i am not going to do that this year…set yourself up for success right? this year i resolve to eat fewer cookies {unlike you, Katie}. i will put my Jillian Michael’s DVD at least once a week, if for nothing else than to make me feel guilty for not having the fortitude to put it in more often. {guilt is a good motivator for me} moreover, my goal for 2010 is to simply hit the PAUSE button once in a while on life. the whirling, twirling of time this past year has left me feeling not only disoriented but robbed of moments that i didn’t stop and enjoy. 2010 is definitely the year where i unplug the computer more  and leave my blackberry in my purse {…in the closet…under a pile of neatly folded blankets which has a pile of dirty clothes on it….yes, it takes that much to get me away from my blackberry}.

so here is to more fun, less whining, more {and less} cookies, and more stopping to smell the roses, girls…

all my love darlings,

p.s. daily mantra: “sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down”….{kobi.yamada}

p.p.s: one of my goals for 2010 was to rebuild, and redesign my website. i am checking this one off the list: check it out! http://www.labellavitaphotos.com/

daily mantra:

“i believe that wisdom is about accepting that life is difficult, but recognizing the beauty that exists on this very bumpy journey. i believe it is about being gentle with myself and those around me, about recognizing all the tender places we share as human beings who are all searching for meaning, comfort, love, shelter and maybe even the perfect sunset.”

{christine mason miller: from Ordinary Sparkling Moments}

taking a blog break for the next month to enjoy my friends and family over the holidays. honestly, after a busy season i am looking forward to throwing myself into domestic bliss.

just some biz notes before i go:

*if you have scheduled an appointment for 2010 but have not paid your deposit, please do asap. if i receive your deposit after january 1, 2010 you will be under the new pricing for 2010.

*as many people have asked,  i will tell you that i am not going to be having a sale this year on sessions and prints. i will, however, be looking for models for the rebuilding of my website and the model searches come with SO many goodies {free stuff…yay}, i am sure it will not disappoint. i will post those online as they come up. i will post the first one on January 2nd, 2010.

* i am fully booked for 2010 weddings. i am currently taking a list for 2011. i am humbled that this list is long.

*current clients: all orders expected in time for Christmas must be in and paid in full by December 15th if you want to receive them by December 24th.

*i will still be answering phone calls, photographing sessions, conducting business meetings,  processing orders, shipping orders out, working on the sessions i have left, etc, so do not hesitate to call me and save me from my children. in fact, you have my number…call me every couple of days to make sure they haven’t taken over the asylum.

*last but not least…thank you. thank you for sticking with me this year, leaving comments, or just stopping by to read. every reader makes my business a success, and it means so so much to me.

*also, i wasn’t joking about the phone calls.