Finding the Life │ Volume 1

a personal 12 month project

So this year is about both business and personal growth. You've probably seen some of my 365 project I'm working on. This year I have vowed to myself that I will see it through and finish it. I have attempted one on 2 other occasions and usually fell off the wagon somewhere around August. This year will be different. I can feel it.

I have also joined up with fellow lovers of every day stories, founded and run by the very talented "Victoria Anne - The Storytog". Victoria wanted to start a blog circle to push many of us to capture more of our own families and our own journeys and to help hold each other accountable for finishing it. Of course as soon as I heard about it, I signed up. This means that once a month for the next 12 months, you will see a day in my life. I invite you into my crazy hectic world to witness the joy and the chaos that is my every day. You will also see links to many other talented documentary photographers/bloggers at the end of each post. I highly recommend you check them out... We often fail to see the beauty in every day life... maybe seeing that all of our lives can be chaos as well will help you embrace the craziness that is your own.

You may be wondering why I'm doing this... Why I took on not one, but 2 (pretty intense) personal projects this year... One of the biggest and most important things that this is going to do that will benefit me, as well as YOU my dearest friends and clients, is it will help me hone my craft. It will push me and teach me to be a master moment seeker. It will allow me to perfect my skills in seeing the beauty in my own every day, which will in turn make me better at capturing yours, whether an average day or a major life milestone like the birth of your child. It was said to me when I was in school for photography that you need to log 10'000 hours at something to be considered an expert (this has since been debunked... but I'm rolling with it anyhow) and I'm well on my way. This will only get me closer. I hope that you will follow along and get to know me a bit better. That way, when we have a session together we'll feel like old friends! It's going to be awesome!

Our days have been pretty jam packed as of late with Daddy being on holidays for 3 weeks. It's not very often we have so much time together as a family (it has never in fact happened before) so we made the absolute most of it. We had big plans for this day and I decided that this would be the day to bust out my camera... but it feels like there are a few missing chunks in the story... it doesn't flow as nicely as I want it to... and as my dear [former] radio dj husband would say, "that segue ([ˈseːɡwe]): a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next) needs some work"... I also found out that it is really (and I mean REALLY) hard to photograph my own family, be present in the moment AND parent all at the same time, but I will only get better! Welcome to a day in our chaos friends! 

Our days start early.... I am lucky (not) to have early rising kids... I myself am not, nor have I ever been a morning person... this means that my mornings are filled with LOTS of coffee...

and mandatory checking of the weather network to get a rough idea of what we're in for for the day.

while we were having breakfast, my lilest one found the moon. He proceeded to point at it, point it out, and stare at it for a good 10 minutes in between bites. while the bigger one was finishing getting dressed, the littler one put his boots on and declared himself ready to go. Tears ensued when we informed him that his boots needed to come off so that we could get him dressed. first stop.... The Winnipeg Children's Museum!

one last time down the slide and it was time to go for lunch.... someone (not naming names... ↓↓↓↓) was not happy to have to leave.... and we were off to an amazing local brew-pub for some grown up refreshment and delicious lunch! If you have not yet had the chance to go to PEGbeer Co. yet, I highly HIGHLY recommend it... you will not be disappointed. You can check out their Facebook and follow their awesome craft brew lineups HERE. Lemons.... nuf said. The hugs from the head chef, who is a dear friend of ours, aren't bad either ;) Or when you live in the bigger one's world... hugs for everyone, including momma's former co-worker. The squeezy, tackley kind that knock you over if you're not prepared for them... We had plans of going for a walk after nap time since it was so gorgeous outside... but our morning/afternoon ran late... which messed with nap schedules... which means both kids KO'd on the drive home and we never got the littler one back down, so he was a grump for the majority of the rest of the day. I even managed to sneak into a frame or 2 :) on the plus side, some PEGbeer Co. came home with us... so Daddy and I were well prepared to deal with tantrum central. and since I am the official cuddler to fall asleep to, this pretty much wraps up our crazy day... except for one last image.... The end. 

Even though my brain was mush and I totally forgot to adjust my settings before setting up this shot... it still feels like a good end to our day. Poor exposure, bad lighting and all, the company I'm in is still my favorite ever.

Thanks for sharing in my day friends! Here is the link to the next round of awesome daily goodness, from another very talented photographer (who I have a feeling will become a fast friend) Alex of Alex Sumner Photography, from Clarksville TN. Click on over and enjoy!

Finding the Life, Blog 1 

Cheers!

~Alicia