I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Auburn Dixie White Sox for their win in the championship game.  They played hard, and they all did a faboulous job, I may be a little biased because my son also plays on the team!    All I have are cel phone pictures since we waited for hours in the rain, I wasn’t brave enough to bring out the big camera…

Check out the facbook page for more sneak peek shots of recent weddings!

Happy Summer!

2 Avocados

1 lemon wedge

1 clove of garlic or garlic powder

1 container of Italian Rose Salsa from Sam’s Club

While you are at Sam’s Club, so ahead and grab a bag of the “On the Border” tortilla chips to use when the guac is done!  You can probably use any kind of thick salsa or pico de gayo, but this is the kind I use, and it works for me.  You don’t want to use salsa that has a lot of liquid, the thicker the better.   I also make sure my avocados are slightly smooshy, so when I press my thumb into it, it leaves an indent.   If they are hard, they aren’t ripe and your guacamole won’t be so good!

1. Cut your avocados in half and scoop out the inside with a spoon and place in a bowl.

2. Mash with a fork until you don’t see too many big chunks.

3. Add 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of your salsa.

4. Squeeze your lemon wedge into the mixture. (The lemon also prevents it from turning brown)

5. Add fresh garlic or a few shakes of powdered garlic. I’ve used both and they both work well.

Mix it all up  & Voila… Homemade Guacamole!  You can add more garlic and salsa even salt if you prefer.

• First up would be some changes to the blog and website… Did you notice my little sun heart logo has gone into retirement? I kinda miss it already, but the time had come for it to be put to rest.  The story behind the sun heart actually came from when I lived in Arizona.  Phoenix is referred to as the Valley of the Sun, so when you add a little love, a sun heart logo was born. Well, and I also had 2 keychains from the Coach store that overlapped on my keyring one day forming a sun and a heart… So it was kind of meant to be.   It really represented happiness, love, sunny days, everything that made you feel good, but it didn’t necessarily compliment my photos and sometimes distracted from the elegance, so with a fond goodbye, or adios as I sometimes say… I’ll find a new use for you sunshine!   But… Please know I’m still the same sunny, happy person you know and love!  Some bigger changes are coming so check back and hopefully the transformation will be complete in the coming month.

• Next I want to send a big hug to all my past brides that gave me such great reviews and made Burnett Photography one of the recipients of the 2010 Brides Choice Awards! Thank You Girls! I once won a haircut in the 2nd grade, and it was BAD, (notice the capital letters) so I’m not much for contests, but I was honored that my brides said such sweet things!  I love each and every one of them!

• I was having a conversation the other day about canceled weddings and how it is better to cancel the wedding if you know it isn’t going to work out. Which got me thinking…  I went back though all my brides and guess what, every single one of them is my friend on facebook, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS STILL MARRIED!   WOW… I’m at 100% over 5 years and I like those odds!

• Then there is my friend David Dismukes, who loaned me his old school Nikon film camera today!  He even gave me 3 rolls of film, now THAT is Southern Hospitality!  Look out people… This takes me back to the college days, well, except I’m not developing these in the darkroom, using my teeth to open the canisters and loading rolls of film in to spools all by myself.  I’ll leave that to the professionals.  Thank You David!

• Lastly, and because blog posts are way more fun with pictures…  I’ll leave you with a shot from a wedding  a few weeks ago…  Ashley and Owen were absolutely amazing and their friends and family were a blast!

The random drawing winner was #54

Who was Jen Rhodes!!

The second winner was chosen for having the best reason for wanting a session and the winner was Tami.  It took me awhile to post this because I wanted to ask permission to share her story.  I have cried several times reading this and trying to put it here on the blog, so please take a moment to read an incredible story!

We had twins in June of 2008, a boy and a girl Audrey and Avery. A couple of hours later, the nurse rushed in and said, “we need to get Momma in the NICU right away.” I was nervous and felt like I couldn’t get there fast enough.When they rolled me into the NICU the doctor proceeded to tell me that their hearts both stopped at the same time. She went on to say things, but I just didn’t understand what she was saying. I looked at Adam and he said, “Our baby girl is gone.” I was in complete shock. After much persuasion, the nurse convinced me to hold her, I didn’t want to hold her out of fear, I didn’t want to face reality. I still wanted her hooked up to those machines, because that meant she was still alive. But they unhooked her and wrapped her up in a blanket and put her in my arms. It was so hard. My body was going into physical shock (septic shock) due to the massive amount of blood lost during surgery, and my heart, and mind were in shock and not able to comprehend the magnitude of loss I just experienced. We sat there, crying, and staring at her. She was so beautiful and perfect, I couldn’t understand how she couldn’t be alive. My wheelchair was parked in the middle of my twins, and to my right was our sweet boy, Avery. As we looked into Audrey’s face, heartbroken, we would look up and see Avery’s tiny body, fighting for life. They worked on him for another hour and half. The doctor explained that there wasn’t anything left for them to do and asked what we wanted them to do. I looked at her and said that I know what she was saying, but I couldn’t tell her to stop trying. How can you tell someone to stop trying to do everything they can to save your child?   Just minutes later, he was gone.  We never thought about taking pictures of them, we weren’t ready or had planned to have them on that day and so we didn’t have a camera with us.

I never knew leaving would be so difficult. There were no babies in my arms and no carseats to fill. We had their funeral the day after our 8th anniversary and then we were faced with a new life and learned how strong we were and how good God is. God has been our rock. Adam is such a strong man of God and really helped me get through it. We never gave up hope. In fact, we didn’t have a middle name for Audrey and during the time I was in my room after they were born, I starting thinking about her middle name. Immediately, I felt like I heard the name Hope being spoken. It was so clear that this was to be her middle name, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before! But little did we know that “Hope” would be what would bring us through the most difficult time of our lives, and keep us living. If it weren’t for hope we wouldn’t have had the strength to keep trying. We tried IVF again in Jan 09 and June 09 with no success. We tried again in October and are finally pleased to be pregnant…with triplets and we are due on our 10th anniversary!!

Because we didn’t have the opportunity to take professional pictures with Audrey and Avery, it is even more important and on the forefront of our minds with the delivery of our triplets.  We want to make sure that we capture their first few weeks here with us with special portraits and capture their smallest of features.  We can’t go back and get close up shots of our twins tiny feet or hands, but we can with our triplets and don’t want to miss this opportunity to celebrate their lives through photographs.

I think after reading Tami’s story, you can clearly see why I felt she and her husband Adam deserved to receive the session.  But it gets better… I had an option on the contest to get an extra entry for posting about the contest on their facebook or blog, and Tami posted a link on her facebook page.  What happened next made me cry again.  Several of Tami’s friends and family registered to win a session and instead of asking for themselves they each asked that if they won to please give the session to Tami, because she, if anyone deserved photographs of her babies when they arrive… And I”M CRYING AGAIN!

Tami and Adam are expecting their triplets this summer, and I am so excited to be a part of capturing this families memories.  I will ask you, whether you are a friend, client, or just stopping by this blog, PLEASE say a prayer for Adam and Tami and these three tiny babies they are expecting.  Lift them up in your prayers and deliver them safely into the arms of their Mommy and Daddy.

Thank you Tami for sharing your story, and I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me to be able to give you this session.

And I found a little wallet size family pic that I’m guessing is about 1995 or so? And yes, I got my Dad’s crazy hair and eyebrows.

Now these are both nice pictures and all, but if you know my Dad, you know he is the funniest, goofiest, story telling guy you have ever met.  In fact, my kids and I were having a conversation about why old people sometimes tell the same stories over and over again, and one of my boys said, “Not Grandpa, he tells lots of stories, but they are never true!”  To which we all laughed because that is SOOO Dad.  He makes up all kinds of funny stories to make us laugh.  He’s gonna kill me for this, but I stole this image off my Mom’s facebook page.. This is my Dad!   I’m not sure if he’s trying to look like  a moose or he’s just trying to appease my mom and get the picture over with, but this makes me smile so big because this is how he normally looks, minus the funny gloves!  I love you Daddy!  Happy Birthday!

My cousin Emily who is 4 months older than me was having her first baby near Washington DC, and I was living in Phoenix, Arizona.  Her mom, my Aunt, was hosting a baby shower in Indianapolis, Indiana.  So I had a choice… Fly to the baby shower, or fly to see the baby when he/ she arrived.  Easy choice, I wanted to hold the baby!  Not so easy choice was to find a gift to send that would make it to Indiana, then to be transported back to DC.

So I have a box of baby stuff, and it’s just missing something.  I’m not sure what, but I’m running short on time, and I can’t mail it until it’s just right, and I’m pretty sure I was a day from the “2 day guaranteed delivery”.

That afternoon while picking up groceries, I see it… The absolute perfect baby gift from a photographer.  I grab it and excitedly call my aunt on my cel phone to tell her I just found the best baby gift in isle 7 at the grocery store.  And I’m pretty sure she asked how much caffeine I had that day.  She didn’t see my vision yet!

In my hands was a baby safe photo album that was going to be so fun, yet practical that I just couldn’t stand it!  It was perfect because our family was spread across the county, so I could fill it with pictures of the baby’s grandma and grandpa, aunt and uncle, great grandma and even a picture of the baby’s cousin “kitties”.   The baby (whose gender was yet to be known) would be able to see pictures of her family that was far away!  So perfect.  I called and had e-mailed to me just the right snap shots to fill the album.  Except one… the cover picture.

I packed it all up in the box, I had 20 minutes before the last pick up so I dropped it off to be mailed to my aunt and kindly called and asked for her to stuff it in a gift bag, as I kinda ran short on time.  My aunt, who knows me quite well, and I’m sure after 30 years she probably expected as much!  

Since I wasn’t at the shower, I got phone call from my cousin, and expectant mom.  They had just opened my gift and I could hear the laughter in the background.  As I hear, my gift came up and she opened it carefully, and there wrapped in tissue, she pulled out a baby photo album, complete with my smiling face on the front!  My mom said everyone laughed and knew that was definitely something to expect from me.

Baby Mallory was born that January, and last I heard she LOVED her photo album and still carries it around.

The message of the story is; Photos not only preserve your memories, they can create them.

If you wanted to give a fun baby photo album for your special baby to play with;  Here is the one I purchased:  Baby Einstein Just insert your face on the front!

#1 on the list is a recent find, Mr. Clean with Febreeze in lavender vanilla scent.  I’m addicted.  I can spray down the kitchen counters and voila… the whole house smells clean, like a sunny spring day.  My husband thinks I spent the whole day cleaning and I have impressed the man… Not a bad find.

#2…. OMG…. If you have never had a delicious square of Indiana Pizza King Pizza… You are missing out.  Thin crust, chopped toppings, all cut in itty bitty edible squares.  My family and the airport hate me.  Last fall I had my aunt drive me 11, no that’s not a typo, Pizza King pizzas all the way from Indiana.  When I fly into Indy, I also have them half cook them and freeze them, so I fit a few in my carry on bag on the way back home. Try explaining to the TSA why you have a suitcase full of pizza.  Some locations even have a train that brings your drinks to the table!  Once you have pizza from the king… you’ll crave it forever!

#3.  I feel a bit guilty about this one.  I am a Diet Coke addict, through and through.. ask anyone… my friends have been known to drop off a case at my place when I have a birthday or holiday.. No joke.  But I recently gave Diet Dr. Pepper a try… and yummm… It’s like a desert version of my Diet Coke!

#4.  Beaver Honey Mustard.  Now that you have stopped laughing from saying “beaver”…. I can tell you that it is a mix of honey mustard and something that I *think* is horseradish.  My kids love it on their chicken nuggets, and it’s excellent on a turkey sandwich, and the best part….. only 15 calories, 0 fat and 2 carbs!  Yes, I also realize half of my list is food!

#5.  US Weekly… Because everyone needs a smidge of tabloid news to realize how good they really have it!

Lat but not least… #6… Laser Hair Removal.  Five words ladies…. “NEVER SHAVE YOUR LEGS AGAIN!”   I have the absolute best laser hair tech in Phoenix, so an occasional trip back to the Valley of the Sun is always a trip well taken!  Oh- and they say that laser hair removal feels like a rubber band snap, I’m here to tell you that’s BS…It feels like being stabbed with a hot needle repeatedly, but it’s well worth it!

So enjoy, and tell me a few of your favorite things!

All images sourced from the websites above.

http://burnettphotography.com/blog/

How stinkin’ cute is this????  My 4 year old seriously wants a pair of these skates now…

Some insane graphic talent and production went into this!

And behind the scences…

1.  I am a complete dork

2. I blink a LOT!

3.  I need to stay behind a camera, because it took my several times to actually say words that made sense in a sentence.  Which is odd, because I am fine in front of people, but a little camera had me all nervous.  I have no future in TV!

And the winner is……………..

Free Engagement Session Winner from Jamie B on Vimeo.

Congratulations!