25 things

. . . you don't know about me :)

1. My favorite Sunday morning activities are recipe searching, meal planning, and grocery shopping.

2. I love me a good dirty martini once in a while!

3. I have to change the channel when I see the ASPCA commercial with "Angel" playing in the background because it breaks my heart!

4. I cannot stand the singer Ke$ha or however she spells her name, and I have to change the channel immediately or I am going to punch myself in the head!

5. I am left-handed, but I golf and I bat right-handed.

6. I love labor. Seriously. It hurts, but it's truly such an amazing experience.

7. I DESPISE cliches.

8. I didn't learn until probably late junior high/early high school that you could guzzle water really fast from a bottle or water fountain and breathe through your nose the entire time. I always held my breath and then would gasp for air when I was done.

9. Pretty much all of my closest friends and family now call me "Mo." It actually sounds weird to hear the name "Morgan" unless it's from my mom or dad!

10. I am addicted to buying dishes and every time I'm in a kitchen store or even Target, I have to talk myself out of it.

11. I still journal and calendar events by hand.

12. My all-time favorite book is "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb.

13. It creeps me out to see two people married and over the age of 60 sitting across from each other in a restaurant not saying a word to one another . . . don't you think after being together for THAT long, you should have plenty to talk about?

14. I truly believe, from the depths of my heart and soul, that pizza was the greatest thing ever invented.

15. I always cuff my jeans at the bottom. 9 out of 10 times, it's because they are too long. The 10th time, they are my Mom jeans and I'm just still trying to look trendy ;)

16. I am extremely naive. You want my social security number? Just ask. I trust that you won't do anything with it.

17. In a celebrity comparison, I always get Sandra Bullock or Rachel McAdams.

18. I am in LOVE with Bozeman but if I had the opportunity to be closer to the ocean and eat fresh seafood every day and walk on the beach every weekend, I might go.

19. I gained at least 60 pounds in my first pregnancy because I ate two bologna and mayonnaise sandwiches and a big bag of Cheetos for lunch every day, among other reasons :)

20. My hair is naturally wicked curly, kinky and chia pet-ish.

21. I think if you're smart enough and have a good head on your shoulders and value the good things in your life, that money truly does buy happiness.

22. When I was in third grade, I had over 70 warts burnt off the bottom of my feet. Sexy, I know.

23. I have never, ever broken a bone.

24. I am extremely superstitious - my most recent one is that when I pull into my garage to park my car, if I hit the orange cone too card, which is my marker for where to stop my car, that means I'm going to have a bad night. I've actually put my car in reverse and re-parked because of this probaly 5 or 6 times.

25. I HATE flying and am convinced every plane is going down, and when I watch a plane in the sky, I'm actually watching for it to fall/explode/burst into flames, etc.

As if I'm not honest enough, here's a bit more to me you might care to know :). Happy Sunday everyone! Stay tuned for LOTS of photo blogging this week!

happy love month!

I do realize Valentine's Day has come and gone, but the entire month should be filled with chocolate, roses and wine. Here is a dose of cuteness to fill your hearts! I am also checking this off as #62 of my 101 in 1001 list. I do realize it was done on my bed and they both needed a serious brushing of the hair, but kids will be kids! :)

I know she is mine, but seriously! Stella is hands-down the CUTEST 2-year-old in the entire world.

And her sister is the cutest 4-year-old :)

checkin' in with my bad self

I am one of those people who spends so much of the day thinking and dreaming and I get distracted quite easily . . . I'm not one to get up from my computer, pour Stella a glass of milk, and quickly return to my work. I get up from my computer, pour Stella a glass of milk, realize the dishwasher should probably be emptied because I'm having company over for dinner, and while I'm at it, think it's time to start another load of laundry, sweep the floors, and check on my hair. While I'm doing this, I'm daydreaming about what to blog next, whether to redo my website, the quickest way to design albums without a much-needed assistant, and my next photo shoot. I am quite ADD, diagnosed by yours truly.

I am, however, a fierce list-maker, and I checked in with my 101 in 1001 list the other day to see how far I've come, and I immediately was overwhelmed with the joy of setting goals, and making them happen, and being able to blog it all :).

#52. Break into the boudoir market. I'm not quite sure I've established myself as Montana's most sought-after boudoir photographer, but these sessions are booking so well for me! You can see a recent session here, and I will be developing a separate boudoir website in the next week or two to be able to reach more beautiful ladies!

#62. Do another photo shoot of the girls. I did a cute little shoot with them for Valentine's Day and failed to post it . . . it is coming up next!

#74. Successfully use my electric wine opener 3 times consecutively. Oh, yeah, baby! I think I have this bad boy mastered. It was a Christmas present, and in the time I've had it, I've learned 1) althought it says it works on synthetic corks, it really kind of does not work on synthetic corks; 2) it does not work on the Gallo-Sonoma Pinot Noir. I have no idea what is up with that cork; and 3) you need to press the "charge" button to get the charge started. I'm kind of a toss-it-in-and-walk-away kind of girl, so this takes time, thought and effort, but it's well worth it.

#83. Give Stella her first haircut. Done! Not a picture to prove it, but done!

#100. Brush my teeth. I officially do this every day, I promise.

#101. Go to bed. I also do this every night. :)

I do have an exciting one coming up . . . next month is my destination wedding in Jamaica! And THREE of my best girlfriends are accompanying me!

Happy Thursday!

2009 favorites: the shorties :)

I don't know what to say about how your children grow up without sounding like a cliche, but look at these faces and how they have evolved! If you are a new follower, Ava is the dark-haired, dimply older one, who was born May 3, 2005. Stella is the blonde-haired, dimply younger one, who was born May 4, 2007. We like to party in May. :)

me & my clients

When I started this business, the very first thing I started was this blog. I had a Nikon D50 with two kit lenses, a couple of cute kids to photograph and post as much as I could, and the ability to completely open myself up to the public and put it all out there. I've always been that way . . . I'm inspired by so many people for so many reasons, and when they open up to me, I lean in and listen whole-heartedly. I knew I needed to share this part of me as well with my potential clients. My theory was, you either love my photographs or you don't. If you love them, the next step was hoping you'd love me. It was risky, and it still is risky. But it's who I am, and it's why my business grew so quickly and became as successful as it did in such a short amount of time. And when new photographers come to me and ask me, how did you start?, the first thing I tell them is, start a blog. Open yourself up. Post everything you shoot, and write about it.

It's a well-kept little secret that I also have a website. I'm in the process of having my blog designer re-design my blog to a cleaner, more organic look like my website has. For those new photographers out there who read my blog, first of all, thank you. I am honored you love my work. Second, my site is a BluDomain website, and they are beautiful and so easy to customize. Go have a looksie!

Here are a few pictures of me and my clients . . . my 2010 goal in this department is a photo of me with each of my couples. :)