Oh my boy…my sweet sweet boy.  Hard to believe he’s the same age that our daughter was when we moved to Ottawa!  He drives me nuts at the best of times, but within a blink he’s the sweetest little guy you’ve ever met.  I love how he goes on the bus and says good morning to the driver and gives me the biggest grin and wave once he’s on.  And I equally love how he curls up and falls asleep on the bus ride home (he told me he made it 3 stops yesterday before dozing off) and then gives me an all encompassing bear hug when he wakes up and stumbles off the bus…

Love you wee man 🙂

Mommy xox

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and oddly enough it is also my Mom’s birthday month (Happy Bday today Mom!), so it is an extra meaningful month for me.

12 years ago, while blissfully planning my wedding long distance for later that summer I got “the call”.  It’s the call no one wants to get.  My Mom phoned to say that she had to go in for surgery THAT WEEK to remove a tumor from her lower abdomen (ovaries).  I had no clue there was even a problem, but the week prior after some stabbing pain, she had an ultrasound which showed a mass and thus things were set in motion.  I think we were all in denial about what it could be, but I knew she sounded scared so I flew out to be with her.

I will never forget sitting in the tiny phone booth at the hospital talking with her doctor and her telling me that yes, indeed it was ovarian cancer, but a general surgeon had been in her surgery and said her other organs were clean.  This was amazing news, but I couldn’t quite get past the “Big C”….

To make a long story short, she had 6 months of chemo, which were hard, but she handled it amazingly well and we are all very happy that she was able to attend our wedding, see our children grow and be healthy and happy 12 years later…Go Mom!  🙂

Not everyone is so lucky though.  Ovarian cancer is called the “silent killer” because it’s symptoms are so common and can be mistaken for common bloating, constipation, indigestion, low back pain etc.  Please take a moment to read THIS article from the Mayo Clinic on the signs and symptoms…and as always, know your body and if that little gut feeling tells you to pursue things further, DO IT!!  It is a fast, take-no-prisoners disease and the sooner you get that little bugger out, the better!!

So when I came across fellow photographer Jen Thompson (from Oregon pictured above) and her story of ovarian cancer I was crushed.  She is a young, healthy, beautiful Mom of 2 boys who was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer just weeks ago.  In that time, she has had friends from both Canada and the States rally around her by literally being there for her before, during and after her lengthy surgery to remove the massive tumor and to create THIS incredible video of her and her boys just before her surgery…A picture is truly worth a thousand words…

As you know, health care bills in the States can be scary especially when you have a lengthy battle ahead.  She and her friends have set up a blog to keep people updated on her progress (friends have posted recently), there is a section to donate to her medical bills and you can also send her messages of encouragement HERE.  Every little bit helps!

I know this is a lengthy post, but it is topic that is obviously very near and dear to me, especially since these things can be hereditary.  All I ask is that you know your body and be persistent if things aren’t right.  Early detection is key!

Stay healthy and please pass my “infomercial” onto everyone you know 😉

Shona xox

Well, we have almost survived the first week of school…Little Miss is enjoying Grade 2 (crazy for me as that’s a grade I used to teach!) and Mr. Man is in JK.  It’s staggered entry (much to his dismay and chagrin).  He had a meet-the-teacher on his first day, goes once with a small group next week and then starts full time on the 20th.  It’s hard to believe summer is winding down and that both my babies are at the same school…where does the time go?  Oh well, we certainly can’t complain about our summer with it’s AMAZING weather, playing tourist in our town, umpteen visits to my in-laws cottage, a trip abroad, camping in New York State and play dates with friends…whew!  Time to get down to business!!

Enjoy the updated shots of the kiddies and enjoy this beautiful Friday!

TGIF!

Shona xo

How lucky am I?  When I moved to Ottawa I was blessed to meet some amazing photographers who have now become wonderful friends!  Christine of Love Bunny Photography, Jennifer of Jennifer Bailey Photography and I decided to do a session swap of sorts in July, but we had to cancel due to extreme heat…This was definitely a first for all of us as that has NEVER happened before!  Sunday night was a little dodgy weather wise with huge black clouds and a bit of thunder looming, but we got ‘er done and enjoyed a great bbq after!  Thank you so much ladies for the incredible images and better yet, the fantastic laughter 🙂

Christine’s gorgeous family:

And Jennifer’s sweet family of 6:

Till next time!

Shona xox

Yup, the joke’s on me today.  You see, anyone who knows me, knows that getting my picture taken isn’t my idea of a good time.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about being a goober and hamming it up for the camera, but a good picture?  Bah.  I didn’t think it was possible!  Case in point:

It didn’t start off too badly…I was a lil’ pudger who would smile at anyone and anything. We’ll call this Exhibit A:

Then I started to add my own props…generally to hide my own face…Exhibit B:

Oh, and then it got worse…MUCH worse….short *permed* hair and braces…I’m not going there…you can only imagine how much I loved the camera with my metal mouth!

But alas, it’s the early nineties and I didn’t get the memo that big hair should have been left in the eighties.  Exhibit C:

After a wedding, I was asked if I’d like to “model as a bride” for a photographer…being 5’4″ that was a funny prospect!  But it ended up being not the greatest experience….Don’t get me wrong it was fun getting my hair and make-up done (um, but ya, I look like a hooker in classic era attire…), but the actual picture taking was awful.  I felt like a failure.  In particular I remember her having this vision in her head of how I should be standing and I just couldn’t get my hips to project in the right way.  I didn’t get it and the results were rather obvious….meh meh, double meh.

Flash forward a few decades to the PT4P Workshop…I got to wear “big girl shoes” and had so much fun getting head shots done by Michele (Pinkle Toes Photography which is the first set) and Amanda (Amanda McNeely Photography which is the second set).  I had confidence in them which relaxed me and the end results are Exhibit D:

And Exhibit E:

I rest my case!

I just wanted to prove that even *I* can take a good shot if I’m confident in my photographer (which helps me relax and be more confident in myself)!  So what’s your excuse?!?

Shona xox

P.S. Random Fact…I can’t spell!  I wrote exhibit without the ‘h’ every.single.time.

Well, I guess I can’t really long for summer anymore as we’ve had a week of gorgeous weather!  I know many members of my family are thrilled that it has cooled down, but me, not so much…I love the heat (except if I have to run in it!!) and summer is so stinkin’ short in Ottawa, you have to enjoy those jacket-less days!  Besides, I love closing my eyes and dreaming that I can smell the ocean on some fabulous beach!

Alas I’m not, but it brings me to today’s post!  A little walk down memory lane to the, um, okay, last century (ha!) when I was in Hawaii…take particular note of the dress I’m wearing!

My Dad had THE cheesiest mustache, but I was told it was cool at the time…sure Dad, sure…

Flash forward to last summer, and here’s my lil’ bug in the same dress in Parksville, BC.  Cool, huh?  As soon as she put the dress on and the light was beautiful I knew I had to do a session with her!

FYI:  She’s “calling mermaids” in the picture with her arms up…3rd summer she’s tried to see one with no avail 😉

My son is a little less amicable in the photography department, so here’s some of my surfer dude doing some dry land training…that’s about as far as he got!  🙂

Enjoy your weekend, enjoy the sun and enjoy your family!!

Shona xox

Sorry the blog has been a ghost town…I’ve been unable to photograph for a bit due to a lovely case of pneumonia.  Now that I’m on some good meds, I’m getting better fast, so I’m very thankful!  While I was licking my wounds, I took the time to sort through some old personal gems and came across these…On this cold rainy day it sure did make me long for summer and the beautiful West Coast!

Oh and this one shows my son’s mischievous personality perfectly….

Luckily she forgave him 😉

Have a great weekend!

Shona

I don’t even know where to begin.  My short, but intense time in Austin, TX was nothing short of fab-u-lous…once I finally got there!  Suffice it to say:

1.  I will never travel the day before I need to be somewhere again if I can help it; and

2.  I’m not fond of airports that have armrests on every couch…makes it hard to sleep when you’re crashing for the night…

But that was then and once I arrived, it was quickly forgotten because I hit the ground running.  The workshop with Michele Anderson of Pinkle Toes Photography was amazing for so many reasons.  For me, I think it was the overall experience.  We had an amazing, diverse (yet oddly similar) SMALL group of women with like minded goals and amazing abilities that clicked instantly…I can honestly say I hope to keep in touch with all of them!  In addition, Michele ran a tight ship, but I never felt rushed or “done”.  In fact I didn’t want it to end!!  Topics were diverse, experience was a mix of hands on and discussions and the level of collaboration was inspiring.  I came home refreshed (okay, bagged, but a good kind of bagged), excited (hopped up on caffeine) and ready to rock and roll (but I promise I won’t sing!!).

Here’s a few behind the scenes shots from day one where we got to watch Michele work her newborn voodoo (seriously, we had to wake this baby up…I says pardon???):

The last one on the right is titled:  “Stick ’em Up…Photographers Style!”

And then we also got to take a few.  He was such a sweet baby, Mom looked amazing and Dad was a trooper as he was having major seasonal allergies!  You’d never guess it from these shots though, would you?!

Until next time,

Shona xox

And the world smiles with you.  It’s true.  Every.Single.Time. I look at this image I can’t help but smile at the sheer joy my daughter is radiating.  She loves the beach, sand and all things mermaid, so each summer when we make our annual pilgrimage to the West Coast (where I’m originally from), I have to make her into a mermaid in the sand…

So why am I posting this summery photo now…when it’s cold and snowy?  Well, the good folks at iheartfaces are having a wee contest with the title of “Smile”.  I decided to finally participate and I can’t wait to see the other submissions.  You can check them out here:

Enjoy your week!

Shona xox

I almost fell over when my daughter said that on Sunday morning…it was c-c-c-cold.  But I had a new hat (prop).  I was hopped up on coffee.  AND, I was all pumped up to try new techniques after watching a photography course all weekend (that goes back to a previous post on irritating my family with my constant drive for challenges and improvement).

Now, in all fairness, I warned her that it was cold and that she couldn’t just chuck the hat on over her pj’s.  She agreed to my styling and braved the chilly morning to grab these beautiful images of her with her new short hairdo….sigh….I had a hard time getting that chopped off earlier this fall, but I had promised!

And she was a human Popsicle by this point, so our final shot of the morning was…

Stay warm!

Shona xo