Backtrack to Christmas

Posting a few photos from our Christmas trip that never got posted. I'm trying to clear some photo space on the laptop. (It's too cold to do much today, but I have a ton I need to be doing. Trying to do something that doesn't take a lot of brain power right now, because I'm really, really sleepy and also helping Nat with school.)

Pray that I get a lot of business stuff and household stuff done this week. I'm overwhelmed and feeling like it's never going to all get done. I just can't do it all myself.


My training starts tonight, and it's freezing. Yay! I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Now, some random shots from our trip:

The underground cave.

Natalie and Parker loved the cave.

I didn't get to go all the way down to the bottom. Olivia was scared the whole time, and about 70% of the way down, she said she had to go "poopy". I had to take her all the way back up (lots of stairs) and miss the rest of the tour. Another lady followed us back up, because she was having trouble traveling the stairs. Olivia didn't go "poopy" when we went to the bathroom.

The traditional gingerbread house Daddy and the kids made.



In The Butterfly Palace. See the butterflies flying around them?

Living angel. They do this for their White Christmas special thing.

2009 Logo is Finalized

The first image, which is the actual logo, is the one that goes on all the marketing materials and client info. stuff. The second image is the one you see on the website and on packaging.

(The color change happened, because the draperies and other stuff I want to use in the new studio are blues and browns. That was what I wanted originally, anyway.)

Kick Start

I received my first donation for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. Thanks, Dad!

I'm starting my official marathon training on Monday.

I'm thinking about having a certain amount from each client session fee (from now until October 1st) serve as a donation. I just haven't decided what amount, and if I want it to come from the session fee or from the portrait order.

Yesterday, I had a big chunk of the day to myself, with big plans. Olivia was at school until 3:00, Natalie was at Gigi and Grandpa's doing school, and Parker had school until 2:30.

Before I even got out the door in the morning with Olivia and Parker, to take Olivia to school, I received a call from an ad. rep. asking if I would accept the position as the only photographer on the front cover of the new Ada-area phone book. This costs me an additional fee, besides the big amount I'm already paying for my ad inside the book. I accepted, because I did see the results of my phone book advertising last year, and the advertising (expensive as it is) does pay for itself with just a few good clients (especially senior sessions).

Then, as soon as I got home and started on one of my business tasks that had to get done yesterday, I received a call from another ad. rep. with another phone book company that I turned down last year. I worked a good deal for the book ad and online, so it cost me less than what they wanted for just the online last year.

Anyway, both of the ad. rep. calls took a long time. Plus, I had to send some files with the logo, etc. Then, I received a call from a woman I met last weekend (by chance). She is a small business owner (massage), and she wants to do some dual marketing and also for me to display in her shop. Her call was about an opportunity with a commercial project for another local small business. The massage lady is part of a barter group, and the job was being offered/requested through that group. I said I would be interested, and she gave me the contact info. for the guy who runs the group. I called him and we scheduled a coffee shop meeting for 1:30.

I knew the guy who runs the group, because Jeremy used to live with him a long time ago. I hadn't seen him in a long time, except for his photo in advertising, because he's in real estate and several other businesses. Anyway, the meeting went well, and I said I would join. Now, I'm sort of doubting that I will get enough offers for my service for it to be worth my monthly membership fee for the group. I'll just give it a 3-month trial and see if it's worth it to me.

After our meeting, I picked up Parker. He was asleep on the carpet when I went in to get him. The teachers apologized and said they wore him out and they had been playing outside. I was worried he might be sick, because he would never fall asleep at school like that. When I woke him up to carry him out, he said, "Mommy, I'm sick." He was. He was really, really hot by the time we got home after picking up Olivia, and he said he was going to throw up.

I didn't get much sleep last night, and I'm trying to catch up on the priorities that didn't get handled yesterday because of the interruptions to my plans by ad. reps. and other new opportunities.

So, lots going on for me with the business, and I need to wrap things up so I can kick start client sessions for the year and start making money again!

Dallas 3-Day Walk

I registered for the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Dallas this November. It's something out of my comfort zone, since we will be sleeping in a two-person tent two nights in a row!

Anyway, I started a team, Pink Princess Parade, and my sister, Laura, said she will join me. Another sister and niece may join us, as well. It gives us something to look forward to, and we have a lot of months to prepare. (60 miles over the 3 days!)

I have to raise a minimum of $2,300 myself, so if you want to help, please donate under my name. You can use the link posted on the blog to the right, just above my other links, or you can do a search for my name when you go to the website to donate, http://www.the3day.org/.

We've Been Robbed

Sometime between midnight (when I went to bed) and probably a little before 5:00 a.m. (when Billy got up for duck hunting), someone got into Billy's truck and stole his favorite handgun ($900+) and his friend's dog-training collar ($350). Billy will have to buy his friend a new training collar. Our homeowners' insurance covers all of Billy's guns.

*Edited: We have a $1000 deductible, so Billy is not going to mess with it, since it would only be for a few hundred dollars and would then probably raise our rates.

Billy (or possibly something else) interrupted the thieves, because they were unable to finish taking his shotgun, his wallet which they didn't have time to notice stuck in the visor, and anything else. They had turned the floor-mounted display screen for the back-up camera, so they were probably trying to get that off of there when they were interrupted. There may be a few more things missing that we can't tell yet.

I think Billy has figured out that he should have installed the new security light over the garage a long, long time ago. We'll be getting video surveillance, too, for sure.

The sheriff said that the DA officer guy that lives at the end of the dead-end part of our neighborhood was robbed recently, as well, and they cleaned out his gun collection completely, including a State-issued suppressed rifle (with a silencer). The sheriff also commented that we never had break-in trouble in our neighborhood area until the newest housing addition went in less than a mile past the entrance to our neighborhood.

It's been about 5 years since we had that creepy casing incident, while Billy was out of town on business, and I was home alone pregnant and with a baby (Natalie) in the house with me. We should have added the outdoor cameras to our security system at that time.

Anyway, we are both sick to our stomachs.

Anna and Isaac

Not finished editing these, but you get the idea of what we captured. It was cold and a little chaotic with my wild Indians there, too, but we still got some cute ones.

Weekend Update

My best friend's baby arrived safely by C-section. She's adorable and looks like her brother more than her sister (so far). Steph and the baby are both well.

We had a good time yesterday with two of my sisters and Anna and Isaac (my niece, Leah's, two cuties). I'll post photos of Anna and Isaac later today or tomorrow.

Here are a few "behind-the-scenes" shots from yesterday while we were waiting for the aunts and cousins to make it to our little photo session with Anna and Isaac (as a surprise for their mom).

Metering for the graffiti wall. This is Natalie's favorite spot on the wall.

Parker bringing me some more gear. What a good assistant.

Always the model.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I've lost my thrill of blogging. Maybe it will return after January. January is just always a sort of depressing month for me. Anyway, maybe I'll do some catch-up blogs at the end of this month, or not. I think 2009 will just have a bunch of completely random, maybe less wordy blogs. I just want to make sure I document certain things the kids do and say that I don't want to forget. I always seem to not get to it all in the blogs. I'll try short and to the point blogs for a while.

Here's a video of the girls playing salon after Olivia got home from school today. Parker spent the day at Papa's house, so that was nice for Natalie and me. With Olivia at school and Parker at Papa's, Natalie and I both got a lot done (school and household stuff).

"The aunts" and some cousins are arriving tomorrow morning, so the kids are excited about that. I am, too! Hopefully, I'll have some lovely portraits of my great niece and nephew to post after the weekend.

Oh, also waiting excitedly for a call about the arrival of my best friend's newest little one. She's at the hospital right now!

Birthday Friend

So, I did get to go to OKC with my friend Friday night, and we had a good time.

We had a great dinner. Then, we went to Lowe's so I could get wallpaper for some background panels for the new studio space. Lowe's is clearancing out all of their wallpaper and will only do custom orders in the future. I learned about the wallpaper clearance on a pro forum, and I'm so glad I did. I got a bunch of wallpaper all for less than $14. You'll see the results when I finally get to the studio space.

Anyway, we went to the mall. Then, we went to Target. Then, we went to see Bride Wars, and it was actually good.

We got home at 1:00 a.m., but it was worth it. I needed the mini break.

I might do a mini session with the girls later today, if we get enough done at home. So, hopefully I'll have some photos to post tonight.

For Real This Time

The "final" logo design is posted on my website, now. It's not what I have posted here.

Decision

I said I wasn't going to post anymore about the logo on this blog, but I'm posting the "final" logo decision here anyway.

Let me know if you can think of changes that should be made to the design, but the slogan is the way I want it. (Contemporary Photography) Let me know what you think about the colors on the design and if I should change part of it.

Crying Game

Yesterday, Olivia and Parker came running into the house and wanted me to go outside and help Chicken Nugget. She was crying. They said that a snake bit her. They were so upset. I asked where she was and what they heard. They were so cute when they were repeating the way she was crying and again telling me how a snake bit her.

When they told me she was over toward the neighbor's house (where her boyfriend lives), I started to giggle. I knew it wasn't a snake that bit her. I just told them that Chicken was okay and was just playing with her boyfriend.

I guess now we know Chicken hasn't been pregnant yet since the last litter. I kept putting off taking her in for surgery, because I thought she was already pregnant, since that's how she did it last time. Anyway, I guess we'll have a litter in a couple months.

So, OU lost the BCS title last night. I don't think I can handle it if Parker wants to play football. I am way too competitive and way too emotional when one of the guys gets hurt. My mommy instinct just gets me every time a guy goes down. It's too scary for the moms. I know Billy would be happy if Parker played for OU. We'll have to check Oklahoma law and make sure it's set up like Florida law, so homeschoolers can play sports with the local highschool. That's what Tim Tebow (Gator QB) did. By the way, college football is so much better than pro.

I have no photos or anything exciting to post. Maybe tomorrow. I have to get some orders ready to deliver. Then, I get to leave this afternoon for OKC with a friend for my birthday dinner and movie with her. I'm looking forward to the mini break, but I have so much to do over the weekend.

Happy Friday!

Josie

So, I have been craving a Golden Retriever for about the past year. Since one of the first dogs I ever knew and loved was a Golden Retriever, they have always been a favorite of mine. Billy and I have only had Labs since we've known each other.

Anyway, I said that I wanted a Golden Retriever in 2009, after the fence is finished. Well, who got a dog right after Christmas (the same night we got home from Branson)? Not me. Billy. Now, I have to wait for one of the Labs to die before I can have my Golden Retriever. Anyway, Billy got a really great Lab who has been trained really well and is worth a lot. He is loving hunting with her and playing with her every day. He made me stand outside in the cold earlier to watch her retrieve. She is really smart and finds the training thing even in the dark and even when she doesn't see it get thrown. Like, Billy will throw one and send her to retrieve, while he throws another in a different direction without her knowing. Then, after she returns, he turns toward the direction he threw the other one and sends her to "hunt it up". She searches the scent and retrieves. Billy is in love.

Anyway, here is a video Billy shot of her retrieving the other day while they were calling ducks to their death. The "duck" on the left is obviously a mojo (wings spinning to attract ducks from the air). So, a whole blog dedicated to Billy's new pride and joy, love of his life...

Moving On...

Thank you for voting and for the comments.

I am moving the business discussion to another blog (private). Send me a message via my website with the e-mail you want to use to sign in to view the blog about my business decisions, and I will add your e-mail. (For family and the few friends who know I want their input - you know who you are.)

A decision has been made, and it is not exactly anything that was posted for voting/commenting, but it is based on what I already had in mind and the feedback I received from the selections posted.

I keep forgetting to tell everyone who might not already know that I don't use my old CableOne e-mail anymore. I still have it, but I haven't checked it in 6 months or something. That computer hasn't been hooked up in that long.

One of my roommates from college called me yesterday for my birthday. We hadn't talked since last year on my birthday, so it was nice to hear from her. I should call her on her birthday, so we can talk twice a year instead of once a year. Anyway, that reminded me that I need to let everyone know about the e-mail, because she didn't know. Just use my business e-mail.

Okay. Now, I will go find a video clip to post that has nothing to do with my business.

Some Good, Some Really Bad...

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#2




#3




#4




#5




#6

New, One-Choice Poll

I'm thinking...

Simple, uncluttered, and still descriptive of my style, I think.

Also, it would be an easy transition to having the website address listed as sarahhilton.com, because that's actually what it is now, I just have a redirect from www.SarahHiltonPhotography.com. I would keep it like it is, so if someone happened upon the old address listed somewhere, it still works. So, just so you know, when you are going to my site right now, you can actually just go to www.sarahhilton.com.

Anyway...

Slogan Vote

Another Quick Bit

I forgot to tell something that shows how sharp Natalie is with her thinking. She's such a quick and deep thinker.

When the flower lady delivered my roses the other day...

Oh...

Interruption to tell something about Olivia and Parker:

As the lady got out of the van, Olivia and Parker ran over and hugged and kissed her. It made her day, she said. I'm supposed to take the kids into the shop to get free balloons, because the lady was so happy about the hugs and kisses. Silly kids.

Back to the Nat story:

As we were walking back into the house with the roses, Natalie said, "Now you can use those flowers for your party tomorrow night. (We had a little dinner party for New Year's Eve.)

I just thought about how most kids her age would not have been thinking about how the roses could be used as a center piece for a dinner party the next evening. She's always thinking about stuff like that. She really has great ideas a lot of the time. I ask her for her input in a lot of stuff, like party plans, because she really gives me good, creative, useful ideas.

Okay. That's all I wanted to say. I just don't want to forget about that, because it was one of those times that I realized how much she is always thinking.

Because...

My mother-in-law wants me to catch up on the blog.

Quick Bits:

*Billy got a seat belt violation ticket the other day. The kids were with us, so they got to see Daddy get in trouble with the cop.

*I took Natalie to her play practice tonight, and we found out that the play is cancelled "for now", because of a lack of actors for some of the roles. She sat through the whole speech the director was giving about why and how sorry they were, etc. I could tell Nat was upset, but she didn't show it in there. On the way out, she said, "Well, that wasn't fun."

Then, when she got into her seat in the car, she started to say something about it and broke into tears and couldn't talk. She was trying so hard to be big and not cry about it, but she was really disappointed. She's been waiting a long time to be in her first play. She was all excited about it, and we were ready to get started on the costume.

I took her for ice cream after that.

*I had a good sales session this afternoon.

*I will post a video tomorrow (for sure this time).

*I will post some more about our Christmas trip.

*I am about to post a little vote thing for the new slogan. I got feedback from only two people so far.

*Oh, "Happy Birthday to Me" tomorrow.

*Billy and I went to the City Friday night for dinner at Red Lobster and a little necessary shopping.

*I got really lovely roses sent to me by my best friend, Steph, last week (to wish me a happy day, since I was feeling sad). What a nice friend. I'm watching the airfare to Boston, to see if I might be able to make a weekend trip to photograph her new baby that will be arriving very, very soon.

*Our waitress at Chili's today (after my sales session) had a seizure and was taken out on a stretcher. About 4 nights ago, I had a dream about a girl having a seizure.

*That's all for now.

New "Slogan"

I'm thinking about changing my "headline"/"slogan" thing for the business. Right now it's "candid and fine art portraiture". Since I'm going to be focusing on my natural style, which tends to be more modern (not formal in-studio look) and, I think, fresh, crisp stuff (especially in the children's portraits), I am thinking about changing it to this: "Fresh. Modern. Real." Is that cheesy? I need input.

I'll also be changing my information sections on the website. I want to make it clear what my style is and that those seeking formal family portraits can be referred to another studio who specializes in that look, but that look is not what I do. I just don't enjoy family portraits where everyone is supposed to be sitting formally and looking at the camera at the same time. I really, really didn't like the family session I did indoors. Anyway, I won't keep going on, but I just want input on the slogan. I won't change all of my materials until I run out of my current stuff.

I may also change the logo when I make that change to the new materials. The one I have now was just supposed to be a quick fix, but I ended up with a bunch of materials with that logo.

Okay. Another post tonight, with a video. I just don't feel like doing the catch-up Christmas stuff right now. I need to go get something else done.

Oh, I'm starting to update my business blog a little. There's a link to it now on the intro page to my site, and also on this blog on the link list to the right.

I have a ton of ideas for promotions this year, but I won't get to it all this year. Next year will be really, really great. This year will be good.

Later.

Funny Elf

A couple videos that crack us up. Olivia and Parker.