busy bee (no pictures, just ramblings)

I got stung on my right index finger's knuckle by a bee while de-leafing our pool this evening.
It doesn't hurt that much, but rolling the mouse roller bothers me. 

I got stood up by a photography client today.  She scheduled months ago.  It's a key weekend b/c it's my overflow from my busy month of October.  I thought she might cancel, so I confirmed at the beginning of the month.  She confirmed the cost and location and everything.  At the beginning of this week, I still hadn't gotten her form, so I emailed her.  Then I emailed again and emailed her sister, a previous client.  i called her number but it was disconnected.  I could have put a couple of other people in and turned some away.  Oh well, I had time to get stung by a busy bee. 

I upped my prices already so I'll be less busy and will be able to continue to spend time and give quality work to each photo.  I'm also only giving the 18-25 images instead of well over 50.  It's just the cream of the crop.  And I'm including the digital files so clients will stop using the watermarked ones for profile photos then not buying digital files.  That way, they've already bought it before they get to see it.  I've been burned twice by clients who had me spend over 4 hours on the double sessions, having me either drive them all over town to 5+ locations or just to 2 locations on 2 days plus waiting an hour for them to show up.  Steven warned me about driving clients around, so I won't do that any more.  Neither of those clients bought anything, but used the watermarked images in their facebook pages and got the proofs.  I have wonderful clients usually, who buy something, who talk to me, who refer friends, and are too nice.  Anyway, now I'm including everything.  I did like both of those maternity sessions for my own portfolio, I got to be creative and love the pictures.  I seriously don't spend that much time on my own pictures (as you know.)  I guess that's what blows my mind, that they put so much into the session too, and must have just scanned in the proofs or something. 

Right now I just got a 2nd wind, and figured I'd use it to blog my thoughts, no time for personal pics, I have 3 camera cards to dump onto my computer still.  Steven turned our clock from reading 10:30 to reading 9:30 - woo hoo! 

I'm reading this month's book club right now.  Well, I'm listening to "The 5 Love Languages" on CD.  I went to the library and asked the librarian if she had the book.  She said, "well we have the audio disks" to which I exclaimed, "even better!"  I thougth the book would be about agape, erros, filos, and whatever the other one or two is/are.  It's a self help book though.  Again, even better!  I like listening to self help books.  I still don't know what my love language is, in case you've read the book.  I'm leaning towards "words of affirmation" in that I like feedback and really value others' opinions.  The book isn't as good as others I've read.  I liked the "acts of service" part as a separate "language."  I always think that I should do service for somebody in whom I dislike (or want to understand) - that should help me to see the person in a different light and in changing myself, it'll help me at least be able to tolerate the other b/c I'll be more Christlike.  This book also tore down the stereotype that men are always one way and women are always another way - like the Venus and Mars mentality.  Of course there are underlying men and women thoughts/wants/whatever, but this is talking about other wants/thoughts/needs/whatever.  Maybe service isn't the simple answer after all.  Even just putting myself in anothers' shoes may not be enough.  I like that it talks about keeping a book (journal) of what will work and what has worked.  I also like that it talks about asking the other person what would make him/her feel loved.  (As opposed to trying to figure it out and do surprise service and hope that changing myself will fix everything.) 
K. Done w/ my book report rambles. 

I'm also editing a family's pictures - cute family, as always. 

And I'm eating a bowl of cereal b/c I had eaten too many candy corns already. 

Pictures will appear on this blog sometime, maybe tomorrow since I don't work on Sundays.  I'll probably go for a jog like I got to do this evening.  We'll see. 

Our family pictures are this next weekend.  Our photographer cancelled on US last month.  I want to order photo blocks w/ them and pictures I've taken.  I need to do a sessoin w/ Isaac, he needs a hair cut first.  So does Dylan.  Luckily Tyler doesn't have a bald spot yet in the back.