alison!

I keep telling Alison that she should teach a class on how to pose for headshots. I am not at all kidding about it. She has some sort of unearthly skill and comfort in front of the camera. For every frame, she would slightly change her pose and/or expression, and required NO DIRECTION AT ALL! I'm still stunned. I'd like to know what her secret is, so that when people take pictures of me, I no longer default to "the muppet face" or "the fish face". Ah, my old stand-bys.

Alison is also one of the nicest gals around. When she's the next "it" girl, I can say that she was once willing to pose for me in a trash-filled alley. Yay!

So here she is workin' that magic. See what I mean???

We had to take one final shot...just for fun!

sloane & scott + 2 !!!

Q: What could be more exciting than the anticipation of a new baby???

A: TWO NEW BABIES !!!

That's exactly what Scott and Sloane are eagerly awaiting. The arrival of Logan and Sawyer. A month or so ago when Sloane first told me the names of the boys, I had a little trouble remembering, and kept calling them Lawyer and Soupy. Part of me hopes that they'll use my versions when the time comes.

Sloane and Scott are two wonderful people that I've known for years through our Atlanta theater family. These are two very talented parents-to-be. Sloane can also give you the best massage of your life. You will be shocked at how powerful her teeny hands are! Check out her site at Atlanta Body Retreat. Some of my clients may also recognize her name since she's also a skilled hair/makeup artist. Perhaps she will also run for president this year.

Since Sloane and Scott are both extremely creative folks, I knew this would be the best kind of maternity session. The kind where we all exchange ideas and play, play, PLAY! And we did.

I couldn't be more thrilled for them and their exponentially growing family!

Here's one of Sloane's brilliant ideas. You know that famous pic of Janet Jackson where she's topless, but has her chestal area covered by a man's hands? They wanted this version instead. Scott has done some brilliant puppeteering and had these awesome monster hands. YAY!!!

And now....fun with lasers! Don't worry, it was just a laser pointer. We didn't fry the babies or anything.

Scott has the most incredible collection of action figures I've EVER seen. I could spend hours in "the room". So much to look at. I like to think that when they sleep, there are some pretty epic battles in there. So Logan is named after Wolverine, and Sawyer's middle name is Kal-El (aka, Superman's name from Krypton). Aw yeah. So naturally, we had to get the action figures in the action photos. And how fitting is it that Sloane has that t-shirt on?

I'm not sure if I have the words to express how much I LOVE this next pic. Sloane is one stunning momma.

I don't know how she manages to carry twins AND look like a pin-up model...but she does.

I think Vogue should do a pregnancy issue, and this should be the cover.

Thanks to Sloane and Scott for a fantastic day of friends and photos!

To see a slideshow of more images from their photo session, click HERE

who am i and what have i done with myself?

First, I must apologize. I have been a bad, bad blogger. I have some cool posts coming as I get caught up, but in the meantime I am giving myself a time-out for not throwing tidbits of life onto the webosphere for my blog friends to snack on.

Speaking of snacks...

I've done lots of crazy diets over the years: the no carbs diet (horrible), the college anxiety diet (effective, but dangerous), and there was that year in high school where all I ate was those Oscar-Meyer CHEESE-FILLED hot dogs. No bun or condiments, mind you, just the cold, processed meat stick. Ew. The cheese inside just made it look like the hot dog had some hideous disease.

I'm proud to say that I think I'm beyond ever doing "diets". They don't work. I'm all about positive, GRADUAL lifestyle changes. This is why I was drawn to the book "Quantum Wellness" by Kathy Freston. She's all about the mind, body, spirit thing. She also talks about working toward healthier eating/living at your own pace. Undergoing a 21-day cleanse is recommended. This means none of the following:

• sugar
• alcohol
• caffeine
• gluten
• animal products

I eased into it by eliminating caffeine and alcohol 4 days ago. Alcohol is no problem, other than a mild urge to sit on the porch in the evening with a little glass of red wine. Caffeine on the other hand! I've had headaches since I stopped, which is a blatant clue that perhaps I was consuming enough for myself, 2 night-shift truckers, and 30 Wall Street Stock Brokers.

Yesterday, I started the food portion of the cleanse. Now is where I ask you to be proud of me for the fact that I have had NO CHEESE for 2 days, and not a single person (or animal) has been harmed. I have to admit that in the past, I have "drunk dialed" once or twice. Nothing mean or regretful...usually just loud, slurred 80s power ballads on some unfortunate friend's machine. I may begin to "cheese dial" soon. I have NO idea what this will sound like or entail. If I have your number, just be on guard.

I must admit, I already feel different. I have tons of energy! Matt thought I was bad before when I'd get all Stepford and spend 4 hours organizing the linen closet. I'm sure this will be much worse. I may have to take up ultimate fighting to harness some of this new uber-liveliness.

The only negative thing I've noticed so far is a digestive issue. How do I put this? I am typically a precision machine when it comes to the whole "food-in, food-out" process. Well, the machine seems to be slacking off on the "food-out" process, despite the fact that I continue to shovel food in. Sorry to readers who didn't want to know such things about me. Let's just say that my girlfriends probably know more about the workings of my internal organs than they do about my hopes and dreams. So these things are not taboo for me. I'm sure a little CHEESE would fix the problem.

I'm not saying that I'll give these things up for good, but I'm just trying to see what happens during the 21 days, and I'll make some choices from there.

So, here's a photo of some of the stuff I'm eating. Apparently food comes in different colors (other than orange or beige). Who knew? I'm sure my fridge is blinded and very confused.

I'll keep you posted as to how the cleanse is going, and what the body count is after, say, Day 8 of NO CHEESE.

brian & krista's anniversary!

I had the true pleasure of shooting Brian and Krista's gorgeous wedding last year in Athens. I was thrilled when Brian contacted me about taking photos for their first anniversary as a surprise gift to Krista. How sweet is that?? We talked about taking some fun, relaxed shots of the two of them, along with their three furry babies...Sebastian, Olliver, and Penny.

We strolled down to the UGA campus as I watched Brian and Krista expertly wrangle a very excited pack of doggies. In between shots, there was a lot of squirrel chasing and then resting in the shade for a bit.

Once we were out of sunlight and energy, we took a few more pics with the pups at their home turf, and then headed to The Grill for a late dinner. I don't remember what I ate, but I remember the gigantic chocolate malt that I chugged like a frat boy with a beer funnel. YUM!

Brian and Krista, it was wonderful to see you again and spend time chatting and playing...and your pooches are awesome! A big congratulations on your 1-year anniversary! Woo hoo!

Sebastian!

I think Penny has a lucrative modeling career ahead of her.

Brian and Krista are so easy to photograph, because they share LOTS of moments like this...

I love Sebastian's shadow on the wall behind Olliver.

There's always time for one more smooch.

To see a slideshow of more images from their anniversary session, click HERE

welcome to parrotdise...minus the parrots

Today will be spent feverishly catching up on photo editing, so I thought I'd quickly post some pics from last week's beach adventure on St George Island.

The water and sand were beautiful, yet I have no photos to prove it. As soon as bathing suits went on, I was not allowed to get within 10 feet of my camera.

I think we all got some MUCH needed time to relax and take a big ol' sigh from life.

And now...Eddy Teach's! It's a small bar on the island that's super laid back, and is always rockin'. They also appeal to my sense of preparedness by having cans of bug spray on all the tables. They had me at Deep Woods Off.

This next pic, pretty much says it all. It was taken by Matt, who was indeed surrounded by six party girls all week. He probably needs another vacation.

My favorite pillow and life philosophy

wish you were here

I try to keep my blog updated frequently, but there is one thing that can keep me from it...

...and even that's not true, since I'm still here and have stolen a moment from paradise to blog this photo I took last night.

Now it's time to get back to playing in the water, reading a good book, and desperately fighting the epic fight between me and the sun.