Did you know...

Near 730 B.C. was when the "Rule of Thumb" was establish. It was Roman law that a husband could beat his wife in order to keep her from saying/doing things that would degrade his integrety. The law was that a switch could be used and it could be no larger than the base of his thumb. Hence "Rule of Thumb".

Unbelieveable... my jaw hit the floor when I heard that one.


Big dissapointment today... the business cards came in and they look like something I could have printed off. I'm going to a local place tomorrow. Money lost, knowledge gained, lesson learned.



Things to smile about today:
:) the possibility of getting new business cards... quality print
:) photo shoot with B
:) silence since 6 p.m.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago I signed up for a photography seminar that was held today... I found myself sitting in a room with people who get $150 for an 8x10! I was blown away when I heard those figures... and then to be able to experience all of the toys that they have to be able to get these quality pics... I was definitely in a thinking mode of wanting to get big, fast. However, this is on God's timing. I can't see myself ever charging that much money for an 8x10, but I would like to be able to get the quality that they have and produce those images for others at a lower cost. The advantage of the situation is that I am in BG and not Toledo so my market already assumes the lower prices. Some people would see that as a negative, but personally... I don't think I would ever pay that much for an 8x10... even if it made me look like a supermodel!

I did learn a lot today. I can't wait to apply some of the knowledge... and I get my first crash course in two weeks with this wedding. I am so excited about it. I ordered business cards yesterday so that I could pass them out at the wedding. I developed my shot list. I'm getting the Bride and Groom gift finished up... I can't wait.

Anywayz, the weekend felt short even though a lot was accomplished.


Things to smile about today:
:) learning
:) being with "family"
:) talking with JW
:) talking with mom (first time in a week... she ran off to GA on me!)
:) business cards
:) prayer

Such an intersting week. It started off with me not being able to move Mon. morning. It was the most pain I have ever experienced. I found out later that day from the chiropracter that I had several ribs that were out and my neck was all a mess. She fixed what she could, but I have been back to see her twice since then and I have an appointment set up for Mon. We have no idea what caused it. The only thought is that the back muscle spasms that I have been having got so intense that they pulled my ribs out.

Anywayz, it was a good week otherwise.

I have finally decided on a name for my photography business. It isn't the most creative name, but it is simple, will always work and won't sound cheesy when I am a well known national photographer. :)

Erica Marie Photography

Told ya it was simple. I am currently trying to solidify a blog and get a business card made up. I'm having fun. That's what counts right now.



Things to smile about today:
:) Erica Marie Photography
:) Casting Crowns concert with friends... oh... and Olive Garden afterwards
:) breathing without pain

Started out my day cleaning up smeared #2 on the outside of the toilet, only to discover that I was standing in a puddle of #1. You just don't feel clean for the rest of the day when that happens.

Oh, I also went through a drive through window to get lunch because I was trying to run 50 errands at lunch... they gave me my pop, I handed them my money, they handed me my change and I drove off..... yes, without my food. I turned around to get it and lost an additional 5 min. of my running time.


Not exactly the best day for me... but enough smiles to balance it out.

So I just had a conversation that I have been dreading... I had to tell my mother that I sold my clarinet. She wanted me to bring it home so she could learn how to play again. I had to tell her that I sold it on ebay a few months ago. She is disappointed, but has reassured me that I have not lost my birth rights. I know I was good at one point in time. I know I could get it back. But the time that I have to devote to music... I would rather devote it to the piano... and I have been. I really don't like to disappoint people.

Anywayz, I have had kids for one week now.... and I do have some stories! :) There are so many adorable children in my class...

*The first day of school (for our little ones) is a day to explain where the bathrooms are (two of the three doors in our room), what the fan sounds like, how to knock before opening the door and how to wash our hands afterwards. This lesson always brings upon children who all of the sudden have to use the bathroom. In our first session of the day, Miss C was explaining the fan and turning it on so the children could hear it and one of our girls starts doing a little dance. Before we could get the children out of the bathroom and the door shut, she was stripping down and going to the bathroom. Due to that bathroom being unavailable, Miss C goes to the next bathroom to finish explaining the proper proceedures. That's when one of our 3 yr. old boys decided that he needed to use the bathroom too. He, thankfully, was able to wait for the door to shut. Miss C then moves to the sink to show how to wash hands. That's when we heard the lid to the toilet seat fall four times in a row... quite rythmic actually. Shortly following those sounds, we hear (from our 3 yr. old) "Emergency, emergency. I have an emergency." He continues repeating this phrase until Miss C knocks on the door. He then says, "I'm in here. I have an emergency." Miss C - "I know you are in there. This is Miss C, may I help you." Boy - "Yes, I have an emergency." At this time, Miss C goes in. The little girl is done and has come out. Miss C moves the boy to the other bathroom. Miss C comes out and starts the hand washing process. When the boy is finished, he comes out of the bathroom saying, "Man. That was an emergency." Miss C informed Miss A and myself later that the toilet seat lid would not stay up and it kept falling down while he was trying to use the bathroom. Needless to say, the next morning, this little boy needed to use the restroom. When he was finished, he came out and announced - "Good thing there was no emergency today." I wish I would have counted how many times he had said the word emergency this week!

*When we roll up our rugs after putting our work away, we use the phrase "It's getting away from me." It lets the children know that the rug needs to be pulled back towards us so that we can continue rolling it without moving our bodies. During one of our sessions on the first day, Miss C had one of our 3 yr. old girls roll up her rug. Part way through the process it got to far away and she started moving her body instead of pulling it back towards her. Miss C then said - "It's getting away from you." Our dearest little girl said - "Let it." and continued moving her body inorder to roll the rug. The next day she mentioned to us that she was going to let her rug get away from her so she could "creep after it."

*The first day (yes it was a big day) one of our 3.5 boys screamed and wailed and gagged himself and threw his body on the floor for 55 min. (One of the longest 55 min I have ever had.) I was trying to show the demonstrations. I was sure the other children didn't learn a single thing. However, they proved me wrong and jumped right in on Tuesday when we started reviewing. This little one also had learned a lot even though I didn't think he was paying attention one bit. He came in on Tuesday and told us that he was "tired of that crying stuff." He then proceeded to ask other children if they were wearing their smiles.

*One of our new 5s came dressed up everyday this week. He wanted to dress up like his dad since he was doing work. They are still trying to find his tie.


Things to smile about today:
:) a good week at school
:) a three day weekend
:) being hired to photgraph a wedding in October!
:) doing portrait work for friends
:) sleeping in