Hungry-Girl, Yay! {diets}

Well, I am one happy woman, let me just say! I discovered the BEST cookbook last weekend called Hungry Girls' 200 (recipes) under 200 (calories)! I was already doing a lifestyle change for my diabetes and had recently rejoined Weight Watchers online to help me. And it was working. But I was hungry....I am definitely a Hungry Girl! I love food and always will...no supermodel anorexia for me! And I know how hard we women are on ourselves..."I'll do pictures of me when I lose 10 lbs" or "I don't like how I look in photos"...you know all the reasons we don't want to be in the portraits. And family portraits are so important. So ladies, here's a great way to jumpstart losing those pounds we all probably found over the holidays!

So I got this book and devoured it over the weekend...and went shopping on Monday. I sent my "bad" foods home with a friend on Tuesday...see how good I am being? lol Anyway, this book and author takes the stuff we really like to eat (junk food/fast food) and converts the recipes to low fat / low carb / healthy recipes.

Now I am no cook but these are easy! I made one of the breakfasts this morning (see attached image)...OMG...it was the best breakfast sandwich I have ever had! Sorry Whataburger! She has a website hungry-girl.com and if you go to youtube and goggle hungry girl you can find tv appearances etc. It's that time of year so I thought I'd pass along a great website! Enjoy!

Daddy's little girls

I met a new family yesterday that were referred by one of my longtime customers and I was immediately in love with all of their hair. Beautiful blonde ringlets, mom and both girls had them. We met at a beautiful park in Southlake which is normally an iffy spot as it gets very bright sun throughout most of the day. We so lucked out and had some cloud cover so the light was just beautiful! And by the time we were done, it was about to rain, missed by a very narrow margin! The oldest sister "R" is so photogenic it's crazy (in a good way!). This shot of her is my absolute favorite from the whole session...it's to die for good! I did show mom on the back of the camera but when I opened it up later on my pc I was soooo thrilled, it looked even better blown up! I am showing it to mom in color and bw but posting the bw here, you know I love my black and white! The little one is 17 months old "K" and she has the sweetest little baby curls, love them and her long eyelashes. We played some in the water but she wasn't too sure about that part! Next is one of the images of the girls (shh, its a secret for daddy)...I love it, its so sweet and I think this one will melt mom's heart too!

Grace, A Gift From God

I was so in love with this family and their beloved dog. They were in town visiting relatives and booked a photography session while they were here. These images of Grace just melted my heart. A little back story (grab a tissue)...Grace had belonged to a woman in Nebraska and she was pretty much kept crated all day, every day. Her new owner Barbie heard about her from her sister, who knew about Grace's situation and the rescue society there talked the owner into giving her up to a new family who would be able to spend time with her. So Barbie and Mark rescued her and at first she didn't even know how to play she was so used to being crated. Barbie fell in love with her, this was her new best friend. A few months after getting her, Barbie found out she has Chronic Leukemia and I think that's where Grace comes in...Grace went totally blind not long after Barbie's diagnosis. I truly believe God sent Grace to her new family because they needed her, Barbie needed something to love and take care of so as not to dwell on her illness. A true love story of the best kind. Both are doing well, and except for a few bumps in new, unfamiliar surroundings Grace gets around great. I can tell you, she can hear a Frito bag from another room!

Family Treasures

This is my Uncle Gene...a nicer, kinder man you will never meet. He celebrated his 81st birthday last weekend and we had a big family celebration out at his son's ranch. I call it the compound...many acres and several houses on the property for the various family members. It was a great day and so relaxing! I could move out to the ranch right now! My uncle is married to my mom's twin sister and he's always been one of my favorite relatives...he has a gentle sense of humor and he and my dad used to give each other little ribbings when we all got together. I'm so glad I was there and able to get this image of my uncle...we also did a "real" session for their family...all the sons, wives, grandkids etc.

On a sadder note, my cousin on the other side today said my aunt had had some debilitating strokes and the outlook wasn't good. This is the aunt that I definitely got my wicked sense of humor (and housekeeping skills) from! And my uncle by marriage on that side is also not doing well. He's another one of the great "gentle giants." I was blessed with a great family and now that I am in my 50's its sad to start to lose our elder members. Not trying to drag this post down, but I lost my dad in 1995 and I so regret that I wasn't doing photography then because we have so few pictures of my dad. It's very important to take their pictures now, while you still have them in your lives. I got a great image of my mom (77) walking hand in hand with Gigi (17 months) at the picnic...its truly priceless especially since we almost lost my mom last year. Gigi will always have that picture to remember her great grandmother by and how much she was loved by her. Images of our family are simple treasures, something to cherish forever.

So, if you have any prayers to spare, my aunt and uncle and their families would appreciate them.