Dear Dear internets its been a long day.

*just a note that my nifty little feature I’ve been trying to use at the bottom of my posts should now work - click a picture and tell me if it expands the image for you
I stayed home from work today and got to be with little Miss Bri. Who was STOKED by this turn of events. She kept coming to check like - “hey, you’re still here! Sweet!” then she would walk off to find something else to get into. Did you catch that? my little girl is WALKING ALL OVER THE PLACE! its barely been a week since she took her first step and shes just flying all over the place. She likes to hold a finger still, mostly because she likes to be holding on to you. Shes the most independent dependent person I’ve ever seen.

We went to church Wed. after noon, just because. More because lately I’ve needed to go for me. my husband gets my restless spirit and has been very understanding and open to attending where ever i want to go. I expect I’ll probably try and make bible study this week as well. We’ll see. He’s been very concerned about me as of late and I’ve tried to explain that the first year of any business is a little nerve racking.

All in all I have such little room to be nerve racked, my biggest complaint - things are not moving at HYPER SPACE drive speed. YET.

And that’s a good thing - I’m using this time to get my kids acclimated to longer stretches of me being home and doing the mom thing and then the periodic two or three day stretches where I have a shoot every day during what used to be us time. I’m also making a point of spending more time with the family as individuals. Cammy and I spend a little more time together, I encourage her to help with dinner even if it will cause things to hit the table a little later than planned. I have recently been reminded that over planning in general is probably not the best option for us a family. We have always worked better as a shifting unit. Now if I could just earn enough for somebody to come and do our laundry, I think that is my success point. When i can comfortably say I can afford for somebody to come and do our laundry I’ve done what I need to do, in the mean time I think i may take a page from a friends book and just BUY new clothes. Seems so much easier somehow.

Cammy is such a teenager stuck in the body of a four year old. What pray tell do you do with such a creature? I am not the mom to her I want to be. And I am working on that. Cammy is the kind of kid who should be in all manner of extra circular activities. This fall that is a MAJOR goal of mine. To find the things she would like to get into and well, get her into them. I think we are gonna try a sport, probably dance and swimming, and an art, probably music. We have a piano, she likes to play it. Maybe we should nurture that.

Husband isn’t blogging enough for anything I say about him to be a spoiler over on his blog. I expect alot of his peeps read here cause otherwise you think we’ve fallen off the face of the earth. He’s been workin up a good little storm. He gets along with his coworkers from what I can tell. Its hard not to like Jerry though, you sorta gotta work on that. He’s taken to role playing on line, which I think he enjoys it gives him creative ideas for his writing. So i’m hoping to encourage his writing more. We are both starting to work out more, although since Jerry is a man - his efforts are visible WAY faster than anything I could ever, ever hope for. But we are well, he is a joy to love.  Some days are more interesting than other but man, he does make them colorful.

We went to dinner with our grown up friends the other day. Once a month we make a point to have dinner - not date night mind you but dinner with adults away from the kids. Date night is great and all but it takes more than one night a month to keep things movin around these parts. So once a month we go to dinner with our grown up friends who don’t have kids. Some times its a little more financially taxing cause the night starts off with you 25-40 dollars in the whole from paying a sitter and your single friends they don’t quite get that. Ours are getting better though we had a FANNY-tastic time. Our chosen location was Vin de Set in South City.

We’ve eaten at its sister restaurant on many an occasion but this was our first time there. Things I would recommend, the cheese plate was excellent. Our waiter made perfect recommendations. I had the duck which was beautifully prepared. Funny cause i love ducks in general, it seems odd to me that I order duck when ever I can.

three different people ordered the pork tenderloin special and while it was good, the tender loin that Adam order WAS OFF THE CHAIN. Literally, they easily must have laid a chain next to the plate to prove the point it was so good.  i don’t know if the company made the food better but MAN, we had such a good time. It couldn’t have hurt the meal that the company was awesome. Some of the pictures below are my favorite ever of my friends, yes they aren’t PERFECT but they capture them perfectly.

Now speaking of Perfect I am posting a new session this weekend I had the joy of photographing MommyMae and her beautiful family. She is the most calm beautiful pregnant person I have ever met. I was like DUDE- if it had been like that for Bri we might be having another one! Then reality SMACKED me across the face for saying such a thing. She has three beautiful kids including twin girls who are such genuine characters. I’m looking forward to posting those images soon.
Also we have a little giveaway, i think we’ll do that on Monday so do keep on the look out for that. It is Photography related as it should be over here.

The next few weeks are gonna be a doozy I have two seminars, a field trip with Cammy, TWO additional maternity shoots and This months boudoir shoot!!! I am soooo excited. If you are a bride reading this you get a lovely little discount if you book this particular session. If you are interested in booking a session during my marathon boudoir session This Aug 23rd and 24th please shoot me an email at Pinxit photo at gmail dot com for information.

Why not? is a perfectly good life strategy! Be peaceful be photographed..

bestest buddy spoken and bestest hubby

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I do not think I would have tackled this photography thing had I not heard that speech, right then. You ever look back and know that a moment changed you fundamentally - at your core - it changed you?

I look at meeting people at I know that Lisa as one of those people for me. Someone who changed me just by meeting her. You don’t know what you are missing if you don’t know her.

Today I mention her because she has cancer as well. we don’t know anything more - we don’t know what kind we don’t know what fight we will have to fight but I want to say out loud to the universe, we will fight this with her in what ever way she needs us to, for however long she needs us. “We” are a real breathing group of people who love her and she will not be taken with out a fight.

This is all I can say.. Lisa we are so praying for you and ready to fight with you.

Lindseys rearview..

Its been a long weekend, and since I started the whole photography business the weekend just means I get to work on love instead of on spreadsheets, which is good, but it also means I always need a weekend from my weekend.  I have more detailed posts coming up soon, including some behind the scenes stuff, my growth as an artist, and as a person. I went to a seminar last friday that kinda helped kick me along on both fronts. I got to meet a few of the area photographers whose work I really, really admire. I got the chance to see them as people, get to know them beyond images. It was sort of like the first day of highschool and I got invited to sit at the seniors table. Only the seniors have kick arse cameras and like their guiness draft. (Hi Peter!) I got to meet some very nice vendors, who sold me on a new lab, and might have restored my faith in In the same breath I got home from my seminar and had all these ideas and things I want to implement and I got frustrated that I couldn’t do it all right now.  

But I have the chance to step back and think, figure out how I want to work. I have the chance to learn from a lot of great people and not make the same mistakes, no matter how attractive some of those mistakes seem. I get to focus on what will allow me to have the relationship I want to have with my clients. How to produce the best images possible. How to become exactly who I want to be.. Me, only with Jazz hands…

Longer post tomorrow with real recap of stuff. and more pictures..

This whole business thing is heavy people. But things are coming along. I am much more confident with my sticks than I expected to be. I remember more than I thought I would. I like it as much as I remember, possibly more. I’m booking fairly well. Better than I expected, I’d like to be book 3/4 into next year… Alas a girl can dream. I’m currently redeveloping the main site, the blog in gonna go through an over haul here in the next weeks. I’ve gathered all the little pieces so I can really do this thing in a way that makes me feel like I can be successful, and thorough and really enjoy what I have gotten my self into.

It feels good. There needs to be another 48 hours in a day - i could use at least a spare eight. but other wise this is all coming together one peice at a time.

My family has been amazing. My husband has been amazing. My husband has been amazing. I know I said it twice I think it bears repeating. and I’m going to get off of the subject before I get all misty eyed and mushy and move on to all the subjects I’ve neglected to mention here in blog land.

It has been hectic, I got to see one of the poets I as most interested in seeing in person Sunni Patterson. She is such an interesting spirit. I enjoyed watching her just talk.

she performed at local poetry joint Legacy and at a kirkwood church she facilitated a discussion and converstaion on the whole Cookie shooting tragedy. It was certianly interesting to hear her poetry as a person who lived through and katrina and still lives in New Orleans, it definately breathes new life into the notion that there is so much unfinished business down there, and hopefully no matter who becomes president (cough cough BARACK cough cough) they will refocus some of the nations energy on resolving the situation there.

While I was there I got to walk down Delmar and stopped by a wonderful littel yarn store and as much as I want to learn how to knit, and you have no idea how much I really really want ot learn how to knit, its just something that is gonna have to wait until I am closer to the stereotypical silver haired woman, but given my current pace that maybe less than five years.

I walked past a guy to day with a t-shirt on that said I ghost write for battle rappers.. and that tickled me so. I have no idea why.

there is a bakery/cafe in down town St. Louis who makes such a kick ass brownie I want to pay her for the recipe as I think I could tweak it and make it better than my best friend Spokens. Yes spoken I am resorting to BUYING the ammo to best you in a brownie. Take solace in the fact that even if she gave it to me i’d STILL HAVE TO TWEAK THAT BYTCH to make it better than yours.

Cammy told me the other day when I gave her some blue kool-aid in a cup shes just had red cool aid in resulting in red spots around her blue kool aid… and I quote..
“What the hell is in my glass?!?!?”
I was at a loss for words. I did however recover enough to explain how hell was a grown up word, not to be used by kids, I don’t think she paid me any attention as she told her grandfather while they were on a Nature walk.
“Shit, I think we walked too far from my house Paw Paw.”
I am not sure what I am to do with such a sassy little person. My father in law however did not give Cammy the good speech, he laughed.

We did try and make it to pick strawberries but this year the weather would not be outdone and the strawberries didn’t ripen despite the lack of a frost this year. We ended up playing alot of carnival games and rides. She had a blast.

My child makes best friends every where she goes. She makes the most sincere half a day, shoot half an hour friends I’ve ever seen. shes happy to meet people and happy to evolve them in her joy. Sometimes It makes me nervous that some one will take advantage.

Bri is growing by leaps and bounds. Shes standing and has decided that perhaps walking won’t be so bad if she can follow her sister.

Let me make this clear. Bri LOVES Cammy. smiles at her all the time, doesn’t mind in the least when Cammy picks her up and carries her around. Not in the least I tell you. She just looks up and smiles this adoring smile at her sister and is just happy to have her sister paying attention to her.

They are going to be quite the pair  I am sure, cammy sure can’t wait to be able to play with her sister for real. I also participated in the neighborhood house tour and hosted in a house that was BEAUTIFUL and made me want to burn my house down. they had the most beautiful yard EVAH. and adorable dogs.

the water pump in this picture was in their yard, it was just so well put together.

OH yeah - I hope every one is watching and taping Army Wives. Yes I said it Army Wives, who knew Lifetime would actually pull off an original show? I know you are used to the hallmark movies and Valerie Bertanelli, but dude army wives is worth watching especially since they air it when shows like Grey’s are on hiatus… Besides - ITS GOOD. Spoiler alert:

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I can’t beleive they killed the daughter… Actually I can anybody who walks into a build after a disgruntled person wearing vest..and she had two first names… in TV land you get what coming to ya. But I hated that. She was such a teenager, and having daughters the last thing I ever want to think is that I’ll have to bury my eighteen year old.

I wasn’t real fond of the way they did that, making us think they were really okay then yanking that rug from under us like that. I kinda figured it was either Amanda joy or Claudia Joy (really that much Joy in the world huh?) when they showed the other sister with an attitude. but then they threw me when they showed them leaving for college and walking on campus.

Heres hoping the people at lifetime send me the season one DVD to give away to you guys cause the show is really super awesome, and I know they are reading this.

I love it when TV shows Google themselves, it shows they care about their show. Grey’s Anatomy HAD to goodle themselves during the strike to come back like that. I’m just sayin..

The candle lit room layout - priceless cheese..

um what else did I not get a chance to blog about?!?!?

Um, this is probably enough I need to go rub my husbands head and then edit some additional photos I’ll be posting tomorrow, I have a wedding I want to show you guys and another couple. Adam and Angela. In the mean time.

Dana was in the house, clearly.

Bill I think won the award for social butterfly he was everywhere and ended up in more pictures I took than anybody i think. My favorite Blogger Jaelithe was there with her hunky husband John, who blogs by the way. Their adorable son hung out with Cammy while we were at Atomic cowboy.
BOO to the arsehole who broke into her car while we were having good times. St Louis City is making strides but we still got a little ways to go. The Grove has alot more nice businesses than it used to, and is on the verge of become a Lacledes Landing type atmosphere, we just gotta stick with it. If the city, the patrons, police and business owners keep at it, it will get where we want it to be.
It was nice to see everyone out again. Particularly J. Spagetti who I hadn’t seen in a while. And Farrell, who I LOVE. We are gonna have to Hang out girl, bring your girl to hang with my girl, maybe science center or magic house soon?!? Irony, I spent most of the evening talking to Walljm, who is a photographer as well, and he gave me some nice meat to chew. Jerry too on the compter side of my new start up. I like sitting with him and Tojosan. Craig gave me a great peice of advice as well, and it was nice to meet his wife. He should meet Joe, they could have alot in common I think.

I swear I thought we’d only been there a few mintues when I looked up and it was time to go! Time flies. I think our next meet up happens in June or July, we’ll be posting information soon!
*the goal is to update my blog rolls today so I’m not going to link to people who I should always link to - I’m gonna get this done today…
** you guys know how the picture tool works below right, click a thumbnail and it should blow it up

Twice the sexy

THE SEXY!!

tojo and Walljm

ANOTHER cute couple

CHris Craig and Sonia

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cute couple (Mel!!!)

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THe only person I didn’t get to meet that I wanted to was Melissa from Sugared Harpy. But not to worry there were many very cool bloggers there in her stead, including MP from My Second Journal, who was super sweet with awesome sauce. Bri from Under the Arch, we’re the same age she was sweeter than red kool aid, and helped me finish off my blondie, and she loves photography too… Might have to discuss asking her to second shoot for me… hmm instant idea there, making mental note to follow up. Heather from Three Boys and Me, J from Mommymae (not to be confused with muthamae) L from Tempered Woman and Sonrie from 1017 who were on the other end of the table so I didn’t get to chat much with and there there is the ever lovely Bossy.I must thank her for bringing such a new group of bloggers out for me to meet- it was most excelent. Even when I got cursed out by my best friend for going to the chocolate bar with out her - perhaps this is the motivation she needs to BLOG MORE OFTEN!?!?! maybe? not?

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it was an easy night. The kind that reminds you that you are still human and woman and your life is still yours. My good friend Jaelithe gave me the most nifty cookbook and cookies baked from the book - WHICH - mind you my four year old confiscated. She gave my said birthday gift at our blogger meet up where we solidified the new St. Louis Bloggers Guild.

Bloggers are well… bloggers regardless of what value anyone believes blogs to have - believe in your own value, we believe in ours which is why we started this whole thing. This is not about who you know - its about what you do. We hope to help bloggers know as much about blogging on both the technical side as well as the artistic side, and we hope to help define blogger rights as the new era of link journalism has been born.

We’ve had countless meetings they all seem to include Dana at some point making this face…

which should be reason enough to join the Guild in its self. We are still in infant stage but we totally expect this to take off quickly so I would advise local bloggers who in anyway, well, blog, to join.

In other news I’ve decided to move forward on the whole Photography thing - I am going to offer HEAVILY discounted sessions for the first TEN sessions I book, including weddings - family portraits - pets - seniors - business head shots what ever - you want me to shoot your granny’s third cousins 35th bar mitzvahs anniversary just let me know I’m there.

I’ve got thing poppin off , my granny was sick today and I’ve had my kids all day today so this post is a tad short.. I’ll end with kid cute for you guys…

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same dana different meeting

first and foremost those who have stuck around as I have fixed Server gate 08 I appreciate the loyalty. The images in my header will be back shortly I’m sure I am still working the kinks out of this switch…

next thing - Queen of Spain just laid the SMACK DOWN on her blog. please go clicky I’ll be here when you get back.

Next.

I am admittedly a fan of all things nonconformist. So it goes with out saying that I love Dr. Seuss. So I was excited but reserved about what would be Horton Hears a Who. Because Horton is my favorite Seuss character. My favorite Horton book, Horton Hatches the Egg, is still one of my favorite kids books ever - only beaten by Corduroy and How to Eat Fried Worms. All of that being said - go take your kids, Cammy and I had a blast - we went with Spoken and she (Cammy not Spoken) was enchanted. So were we grown ups for that matter. It was beautifully animated, so well so that if you weren’t looking at Whos you might be tempted to forget that it is animated.

I also had a few Who-revelations. If The Whos are on a speck- does that make the Grinch spec sized as well? His whole thing was the Whos down in whoville as well right?

Next

Anywho I have tons and tons of posts in my head, one about grandparents. the way of the careering parental team. Camera buying. I gotta weigh in on the obama/rev wright thing, and a bunch of others. So the blog is gonna be a little busy in the next week or so, as most of these are started just not quite finished yet.

Way more important than the other nexts

Bri cut a tooth! did I tell you guys this?!?! I know cause she BIT THE SHYT out of me with it.. Our breast feeding days may be numbered if she doesn’t watch how she wields those things….

Alright gang. Glad to be back… really glad to be back.

 forum link is right here feel free to link to it, and visit and talk, it was mentioned that a forum might be easier to keep up with than the massive trail of emails that we generated  in the last week, so I gutted the defunked poetry forum and here we go!

look forward to discussing things there with you all as well..  

And when you push me, I push back. Even if the most tasteful way I will push back. I don’t take well to ultimatums, and my confrontational side just aches for somebody to say “or else..” AWWW YEAH?!?!?! And I normally do a decent job of dialing it down. On a scale of one to ten I think I walk around on a four usually. Not a push over, and very diplomatic in my truth telling, but I still tell the truth.

My favorite Character on Grey’s Anatomy is Alex. He tells the truth. All the time. He. however, walks around on TEN+. This of course does not exactly facilitate the positive maintenance of casual female friends, which is why I work on a level four. I have comes to terms with this, I keep my inner circle of friends rather tight, and let the outer circles do what they may.

That being said. I am a passionate person. I hold my relationships dear. When I say I’m on your side, I’m there. Lock stock and two smokin barrels. When I believe in a community I am there ’til the embers turn cold. That being said, I love my blogging community. Blogging is about community. Much like the poetry community. So I assume it is only natural that I was drawn to it. I appreciate the friends I have been able to make and the people I have been able to meet.

I love the fact that my idea base has been broadened that I have become more accepting and understanding of different view points and political ideas. The thing I that suits me most about blogging and my blogging community is that we expect to hear your opinion and can disagree with out it becoming personal. We understand that a single idea does not define any one of us as individuals. And we can move past our disagreements and remain friends. We can in laymans terms agree to disagree and move on. Now to be certain this requires a level of logic that is not normally available in your average human being. But truthfully the people whom I sincerely value have that level of logic.

However it has come to my attention that some humans, how can I put this? They do not. Or they, assume my level of intelligence leaves something to be desired. Either way I have caused some…. tension.

Frankly, Scarlet….

I’m sorry I almost lost myself for a second there.

See here’s the the thing I want to make perfectly clear. None of us own this thing we have created and nurture. It is ours to build and enjoy and contribute to. It is not a business, it is not a corporation to be controlled and manipulated to benefit shareholders, or owners of websites, or organizers, or anybody else who would abuse it. So you’ll have to pardon me if the sudden “incorporation” of what has been a regular good time in my blogging world has me a tad bit defensive.

Did I lose you?

I’m sorry let me go back to the beginning. In the beginning there was a girl with a blog. Oh what? not that far back?

Fine.

So I first started meeting up with blog friends roughly in May of ‘06. I know a lot of my blog friends know each other and it makes for a real good time when we can get together as a group. We’re pretty open when we have gatherings the more of them that we have had - its always been a more the merrier kinda thing. Somebody is always like “Haven’t seen you guys in a while, lets get together!” And we do.

But recently some people have decided that THEY are the organizers and if THEY can’t put these things together under their logo, or what ever, then the person who has suggested that the community be involved in the gatherings, is in all basic thought - A Bitch, cause I know they’re thinkin it, and in actual verbalized words, MEAN. (what is this Jr High?)

and thats fine, I’ve been called worse.

But heres the thing. Their actions aren’t any better than a BNN, or a major market media company who wants to sponsor. Cause when it boils down they are only do exclusive sponsoring, only their goal is notoriety, not money, and thats fine, only - it ain’t. So all I’m sayin is the issue is really about control.

You can’t control a community.

The idea that you can - on a fluff “business call” be like - we’re separate from the community… Means solely you are exactly what we are trying to protect our selves from -outside interests taking advantage of us. What you forget is your business is SHIT with out us. So clarifying what you will be involved with and what you won’t - basically you guys fight the good fight and we’ll be here to party back at camp, kickin with your enemies - is totally reDONKulous. It is particularly annoying that this group is choosing to make mountains out of molehills at a time when we are all trying to come together to protect our work from people who want to exploit it, it is exactly that which makes me feel this way.

however my momma always told me if you want to see a persons true colors - just wait. They are comin.