The first step.

Hello everyone.  My name is Liz.  And I'm an addict.  A junkie.  A user.  I have tried to resist, but I can't.  I'm just not strong enough.  It - they - have this power over me that is overwhelming.  I see them, and I MUST have them.   I don't even give it a second thought.  My friends have gone with me to keep me in check, but the moment they turn their back, I'm at the next corner, whispering, "How much?"   I'm supposed to be buying them so I can sell them.  But it's so hard for me to part with them.  I want them all.  I sometimes "forget" to mention that I have any available, just so I can keep them to myself.  

And now, now it's starting to affect my life.  Whenever I bring a new one home, I try and hide it in my office, hoping no one will notice (and if you've ever seen my office, you know that is not an unreasonable hope).  But every once in a while, Kris, my business manager, will have to look for something in the office, and she'll come across my stash.  She gets that look of exasperated disappointment in her eyes.  "Another one??!  Really, this has got to stop!"  But I can't.  I'm an addict.  I can't help it.  

I just love frames.

And I have WAY too many of them in stock.  Nice frames.  REALLY nice frames.  So I think we're going to have a special of some sort.  I haven't figured out what it will be yet.   If any of you, my faithful 15, are going to be having an ordering session coming up, remind me that while I may love my frames, I really need to share the love.  Specifically, I need to share them with YOU.   

I'm going to miss them when they're gone.  Of course, I just ordered new corners for these absolutely adorable frames that I'm going to be offering soon.  (Shhhh!  Don't tell Kris!)  Here's a preview of just how adorably cute they are:

  

I LOVE them.  (Btw, that's my wee beastie on the right.)

So .... other news...  I managed to squeeze ten people into my teeny tiny studio this morning.  Nobody was more surprised than I was that I actually pulled this off!  This client is one of my favorites - she's been coming since her first baby was born, and now we're on baby number two!  I love it when her family comes to town, because she frequently brings them over for a quick mini-session, and I get a visit!  I get to meet a lot of grandparents when new babies are born, and it's one of those things that has always given me the warm fuzzies.  I love when I get to know the extended families of my clients.  It makes the whole world feel a little big friendlier to me.    So - ten people.  Want to see?   Good, because I want to show off a little bit!!  :)  

 

These guys were DONE.  They lasted an impressive amount of time!  

It's funny - 90% of my clients bring me babies.   And then they grow up.   I'm starting to have a crop of bigger kids come in, which I suppose, logically, I really should have expected.    But it still is catching me by surprise.  And then there was another surprise - I really ENJOY working with these kids!   [Before I had children, my work was very un-child friendly, as are most photographers when they are first starting out, and trying to be either arty or journalisty (yes, those are real words.  I just made them up, but they're real NOW.)  I was doing a little bit of both.]   My comfort zone has always been the age of my oldest kid, and younger.  Well, my kid will be eight this summer (EIGHT??!!!  More on that later!)  and I'm working with all these BIG kids. Which I thought I wouldn't enjoy, but I do!  They're fun!  They make me laugh as often as I try and squeeze (not literally) a giggle out of them.   This is a great job, I have to admit.  

Eight.  Seriously.  (Okay, in 5 months, but that is much closer than  you'd think). He orders off the adult menu as much as the kid's menu these days.  My daughter is almost potty trained, and by the end of the summer, I'll only need one booster seat.  We got rid of the monster stroller last summer.  No more diapers.  No infant car seats.   No more babies.  They're both kids now.  Just kids.   Although, as long as Josie is still in preschool, I have a little bit longer to belong to the club.  The "Mom's with small children" club.  Which feels much more exclusive when you're out of it than when you're in it.

I think I want to plant a tree.   I wonder if there's a "mom's with young trees" club?