Always Remember Photography

The Savvy Photographer Blog is having a huge giveaway right now! There is even a prize of $2000 to a lucky winner! I’m super excited and want to spread the word to any fellow photogs who might *maybe* follow my blog. LOL. Check out Savvy’s Facebook page or The Savvy Photographer Blog.

Oh and I’m working on another set of photos from our cruise…lots of pictures of the Miracle inside and out. Coming up soon!

Sailing away to the Bahamas for a 9-day cruise – what a dream! We had a lot of fun and I have so many pictures to share with everyone, so I’ve decided to break up the photos one day at a time. This is a brief look at our departure {and our soon-to-come adventure}  from New York City on the Carnival Miracle!

First, a few sights that I was so happy to capture on our way out.

And my little man looking absolutely adorable, as usual.

I have debated over and over with myself whether or not to post this on my blog. I know I will read and reread this post before publishing it. I pray that speaking out about my life and experience will help someone. Even just one person. Maybe a family member trying to understand what their brother, sister, mother or father may be going through…Anyone…

October was Depression Awareness month. As much as this post is about my life, I’ve decided to make it informational. Everyone should know how depression can effect someone’s life. Depression alone is difficult and many people have other symptoms such as general anxiety or panic disorders.

This episode of depression has been horrible. It has worn me out and broken me down. The pain and darkness depression brings are not new to me at all. I’ve gone through this many times in the last decade. I can say that every time is just as painful and dreadful as the last. Even if you can feel it coming on, even if you seek help right away, sometimes it is difficult to stop before you are sucked into complete blackness. I describe it almost as an abyss that you sink into or a black hole with no way to climb out.

It’s like they show in movies, the actor or actress hanging on to a ledge by one hand…Slipping slowly. You see the terror on their face. You see them losing their grip. Barely holding on by a few fingers, their nails digging into the ground. Their is someone standing over them, trying desperately to pull them up and out of danger, but there is nothing that can stop them from falling…The ground gives way and suddenly they disappear…

Depression or any kind of “mental” illness is such a personal thing. You can’t “see” it as you would a physical illness like cancer or diabetes. I want everyone to be aware, though. I promise you, although you can’t actually see it, it is there. It happens to so many people every year. These statistics are hard to argue over. “Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.”  {http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html} 18.8 Million people. That is a huge number.

I am one of those people. I work to keep myself from falling down again. It’s not always easy. But I’m still here and the fight is not over. October may have come and gone like any other month of the year. Any month that could be painful and exhausting for someone you know. Depression doesn’t wait for October. Remember that. Although you may not understand how depression feels to another person, show them that you are there. You can make a difference in the day of someone experiencing depression in the most simple ways. Having someone to listen patiently when you are feeling awful is a wonderful thing. An unexpected phone call or a funny greeting card can bring your spirit up, even if just for a few minutes. Anything, no matter how small it may seem, can be huge to a person who feels crushed by the world. Trust me. I know…

In the last week I have fallen in love with exercise. I have never been one to workout everyday and now I feel like I just can’t go one day without it! The YMCA has become part of my daily routine. Gravity training, yoga classes, aqua aerobics…there are so many choices that some days I almost can’t decide what I want to do. Today I hit the indoor pool for an aerobic class at 11am, changed clothes super-fast and ran up to Express Yoga. I spent an hour in the pool and then another 30mins doing yoga…I feel great! I smell a bit like chlorine because I had no time to shower between classes, but my muscles are stretched out and I am completely relaxed.

My “athletic attire” has become my everyday wardrobe, so if you see me out and about with my hair up, in cropped workout pants and a tank top, don’t be too surprised!

Summer life is wonderful! I *love* the sun and being at the pool. Going out with friends and sitting around a bonfire. It is so relaxing! The only thing I don’t love is the humidity we’ve been experiencing these past few weeks…Nothing anyone can change, of course, so I just spend more time by the water or in the air conditioning.

I’m going to try to post more now, including posts about my life to give everyone a peek into my world. I have to say I don’t have the most exciting life, but I do have a lot of fun! Next week is going to be a busy one. Kol has a birthday party to go to on Monday and on Wednesday we leave to visit family in Pennsylvania. I’ll have my laptop there and will be snapping away photos of Koltan and my cousins’ children…it should give me plenty to post about!

Things have been a little bit crazy in my personal life over the last few months. I’m just getting settled again and hopefully will be back in the swing of things soon. Thanks for everyone’s patience! I really *really* appreciate it.

Trying to develop my business image, my identity, my brand, has been difficult for me. So I finally broke down and paid someone else to do it! Kori, from Kori & Kate, was absolutely wonderful to work with! Anyone looking for design should head on over their way and see the possibilities!

So once again the blog will be going through major changes! My colors are completely different and the whole look will be made-over to match. I’m excited to unveil the new look, but it will take a little time (as expected…), especially because I have a backlog of editing right now. I’ve been recovering from a minor surgery and prior to that I broke a piece of equipment that had to be replaced before I could continue the post-processing work. I was not too happy with myself after that mishap…right after the holidays! Oh well…what’s done is done…and I’m moving on!

Another note: I am now booking *paid* sessions! Pricing is not listed on the site at this point, since it is still under longterm construction. I schedule very few sessions each week so that I can provide my clients with the greatest customer service, custom designed products, and an amazing session experience. Please contact me at AlwaysRememberPhotos@gmail.com for more details!

Thanks!

This little one was itsy-bitsy! And yet, most definitely the feistiest baby girl I have ever photographed! It’s already obvious that she is going to have a *huge* personality.

Here is Baby Milana!