Oh my lordy. . .am I old or what??

Last night Ailynne, Tenille and I got together for a night practice photo shoot. We had a great time SQUEEZING into our wedding dresses to act as each other's models. Then, Ailynne's hubby connected the laptop to their big screen TV so we could share and practice different processing techniques. This went LATE into the night and I didn't get home until it just before 2am.

This morning, I woke up at 8am, took a shower, put my PJs back on and fell back asleep until 3:30pm! BOY, have times changed. I remember in college, friends and I would go out until 2:30am and still be up for our morning classes. These days, I'm asleep by 11:30pm at the latest! :-P

Here are a few I took of Tenille and Ailynne:

And of course one of me:

For our next practice shoot, we're planning to head to the beach where I'll trash my dress. Well, not really TRASH it just get it all wet and sandy. :-P

In other news, janellelynnphotography.com has FINALLY gone live!!!! Oh happy day! I plan on sending an e-mail to everyone announcing it but in the meantime leave me a comment and let me know what you think. :-)

WHY OH WHY is my site not live yet?

I'm having anxiety attacks. The company my new site is hosted with promised that my new website would be live by the end of the day YESTERDAY. Today, it's still not live. :-(

I've done everything they told me to do - why oh why isn't it live yet??!!

Brand spanking new website is going LIVE!

It's a happy, happy day! Today, janelle lynn photography is going LIVE with a SUPER-COOL website. The link will remain the same (and hopefully the e-mail addresses) so there's no need to update your bookmarks/favorites/etc. Today, though, www.janellelynnphotography.com will be DOWN so don't worry - I haven't gone out of business. ;-)

Stay tuned - as I'll post a new blog entry the MINUTE it goes up. :-)

E-mail

My e-mail at janellelynnphotography.com is out of sync. :-( If you're expecting an e-mail from me (or my hubby) chances are we sent it but you haven't received it. I'm in the process of resending all of my e-mail from this account:

janellelynnphotography@gmail.com

In addition, please send any requests to the gmail account until I get my e-mail situation straightened out.

This is actually the PERFECT time for this to happen as I'm in the midst of completing my brand, new website!

CLICK HERE for a preview. I'm still working on the wedding site but the portraits site is complete. :-)

Hon! Lizzie's drowning!!!

I think I have blogger ADD. I promised to write about Lizzie *almost* drowning but always have over things that pop up in my head that I think I must write about. For instance, right now I want to write about my LOVE for Bora Bora but a friend recently e-mailed and asked, "So, how did Lizzie almost drown?" :-P So, here it goes!

This is our dog Lizzie. She looks like a goofball in the picture when in reality she's the smartest dog we've ever owned. Well, she WAS the smartest dog until a few weekends ago.

(this is a print screen from our wedding album design - pardon the poor quality ;-) )

Lately it's been raining ALOT - which is strange for Houston as temperatures are normally in the mid to high 90s during this time of the year. In our back yard, we have an empty flowerbed that Buddy (the goofball with my hubby above) decided was his personal sandbox by digging out the dirt. Well his digging has created a large enough hole for Lizzie and Flamey (the little one next to Lizzie above) to crawl underneath the deck.

Ever since she was a puppy, Lizzie loves dark spaces whether it be her kennel, under the bed or in the closet. She'll just go into her space whenever she wants to get away from us and needs time alone. Can you imagine her excitement when Buddy dug out the flowerbed? Lizzie HATES being outside and when we don't let her in fast enough she'll go underneath the deck. Normally this isn't a big deal. We leave her out there until she realizes the other dogs are inside and she's the only one left. :-P

When it rains. . . .it's an entirely different story. A few weekends ago, it started pouring (monsoon style again) while the dogs were out. We opened the door to let them in and sure enough Miss Lizzie was underneath the deck. We left her out there like always - thinking she would come out on her own. Well, after half an hour there was still no sign of her and I walked out onto the deck and discovered this:

I freaked out and immediately screamed for my Hubby. "Hon! Lizzie's DROWNING!!!!" I did not hear a sound coming from underneath the deck and had visions of my Lizzie gasping for air desperately trying claw her way out from underneath the deck.

Hubby told me to calm down because according to him we would need Tropical Storm Allison type rain (Houston folks know what I'm talking about) to fill the underside of the deck. I did not care - I wanted my Lizzie OUT. I called for her and saw her paw peep out from underneath the water. She couldn't get out 'cause her mouth, nose and paws would have to go underneath the water in order for her to crawl out. Hubby began digging out the hole with a shovel but it caused MORE water to fill into the hole. By this time, I'm ready to grab my Dad's chainsaw and cut a Lizzie sized square out of the top of the deck. Hubby stopped me, of course. ;-) Hubby's course of action was to wait. His reasoning being that Lizzie knew we wanted her out and she would find a way. We went back inside and I stayed by the window watching. Sure enough - she crawled out!

Doesn't she look terrified?

I've never been soooooo happy to see her in my life! Of course, Hubby was mad because she was COVERED in mud and had to be rinsed off. :-P

Since then, she's hasn't gone under the deck. :-) (*knock on wood*)

Have a great day! :-)

THIS is why I ALWAYS have a second photographer at most of my assignments.

(pardon the proof watermark - I'm writing this blog from my PC and I'm too lazy to whip out my ibook and grab the original file. :-P )

During the ceremony, I asked Ailynne to focus her perspective on the guests - especially the parents AND look what she got!

Isn't that awesome?! Great job Ailynne! :-)

CLICK HERE to view Kirk and Erika's proof galleries.

Kenny Chesney. . .

I don't have anything new to blog about, photography wise, so I thought I'd share a couple personal stories complete with pictures from my point and shoot. Last Thursday, Hubby and I went to see the Kenny Chesney concert in The Woodlands. (suburb north of Houston) I think Kenny Chesney is HOT even though I know he's probably COMPLETELY bald underneath that cowboy hat. :-P The evening started great - I left the house early in order to pick up my Hubby from his lab and have a nice dinner in The Woodlands.

All of that changed a few minutes after got onto the freeway. It started to POUR! Not just a passing, summer thunderstorm - this was MONSOON type rain. :-P I even witnessed lightning strike the Exxon building in Downtown Houston! It was so cool yet scary at the same time because the thunder was so loud the car windows vibrated. :-O

Needless to say, traffic was a NIGHTMARE. It took us over an hour to drive from the Museum District through Downtown Houston. Only in Houston does the INTERSTATE flood! Not some lowly side street - I-45 was under water!

It was soooooo annoying when all the little cars were trying to get in the right lane only to have big trucks, vans, etc speed by in the flooded lanes covering our windshields in a wave of water.

After a two hour trek and sniping at each other we FINALLY made it! (SIDENOTE: Hubby and I argue/snipe at each other when stuck in traffic or under stressful situations. It worries my Mother but I tell her not to worry - this is how we communicate and release our frustrations. Once we get it all out we call a truce and all is well. :-P )

The concert was AMAZING! I felt bad for the people on the lawn 'cause they got soaked - but that's why we buy tickets under the covered area of the pavilion. We enjoy seats, A/C and protection from the elements. :-P Here are a few images from the concert:

Cell phones are the new lighters! During the song, "There Goes My Life" people waved their cell phones - not a lighter in sight!

Wow - this was a long blog post. :-) Tomorrow, I'll write about how our dog, Lizzie, almost drowned over the weekend. :-P

Have a great day!

Newborn Session Sneak Peek!

Today, I shot my first newborn session and I LOVED every minute of it. You may recognize Nhi and Hieu from our many maternity sessions. ;-) Well, their little bundle of joy Miss *C* was born last Saturday and I had the opportunity shoot her while's she's 'fresh from the womb.' With newborn sessions, it's best to shoot the baby within the first 10 days of their life. Why? Because they sleep - ALOT and their bodies are so soft and pliable that I'm able to position them anyway I want. :-)

Nhi and Hieu enjoy your sneak peek and the slideshow will be up soon - promise! :-)

Rachel's Bridal Session Sneek Peek!

Last Sunday, along with my associate Ailynne (and her hubby Andell), we shot Rachel's bridal session at the Sam Houston park in downtown Houston. I cannot stress how HOT and HUMID it was! Rachel was such a trooper and her friends were so sweet. At one point, one of them took out a portable fan to cool her down. :-P

Unfortunately, I'm unable to post the images directly on the blog until after the wedding. BUT, you can view them if you know the username and password! ;-)

CLICK HERE to view Rachel's Sneek Peak!

The username and password are identical and contains the name of one of my dogs. Can you figure it out? If you read the blog, I've written about this dog and I even posted video!

If you're unable to figure it out leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll forward the username and password to ya.

Enjoy!

Kirk and Erika: Slideshow

Kirk and Erika were married in a beautiful ceremony this past Sunday at the Crystal Ballroom. You may remember their engagement session from a few months ago. The Crystal Ballroom holds a special place in me and my hubby's heart because that is where we had our wedding reception exactly 11 months before Kirk and Erika's wedding. We just love the character the lobby, ballroom and empire room exude. Can you imagine our excitement when Kirk and Erika told us they chose it for their wedding? :-)

Kirk and Erika ~ We hope you guys are having a great time in Ireland. Enjoy your slideshow and your proof gallery will be ready in a week or two. :-)

I'm on a mission!

Did you know that catching up on e-mails and phone calls after vacation creates even MORE e-mails and phone calls? :-P

Last week was soooooooo HECTIC and I'm trying to regain my balance of work/clients/home/hubby - so I appreciate everyone's patience. I'm on a mission! :-)

Kirk and Erika: Sneak Peek!

Kirk and Erika were married yesterday at the Crystal Ballroom at the Rice Hotel yesterday. I'm working on putting the slideshow together but in the meantime enjoy the sneak peek!

Kirk and Erika: Crystal Ballroom at The Rice

Sneak Peek and Slide Show coming soon!

A HUGE thank you to second-shooter extraordinaries Ailynne and Andell for helping us out today. Thanks Guys! :-)