Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Mindy Cooper Photography

Well, we survived our family portrait session...barely! It was nuts! Let's see...Case cut his arm on the barbed wire fence and could NOT stop crying, the dogs started barking at the horses and had to be taken back to the car shortly after we started shooting, the horses stampeded toward us as a result of the dogs barking, and then the horses would NOT leave us alone! It was nuts. But Mindy did a great job in spite of all the craziness! Mindy and I played basketball together at Harding and it's probably a good thing she knew us! It was a memorable experience for sure! Thanks to Mindy for pulling out a miracle on these shots. Check out her website when you get a chance! 

Emmy's 18M shots:





E's signature "stink-eye."

I wanted to remember these curls in case they don't last forever!
 Case's 4 year shots:



Love this one! Even with the swollen eyes from all of that crying!
  And us after 8 years of marriage:

Is there something in my back pocket??

Why yes, it's my cell phone! Ahhhhh!!! 




Sunday, October 21, 2012

Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is my very favorite of all seasons and we have been enjoying every second of it lately! 

We've enjoyed mornings at My Big Backyard at the Botanic Gardens...

Emmy stopping to smell the flowers.




Where's Emery? Can you spot her?

There she is! That little stinker...literally! 
I panicked when I turned around and she was gone! I finally spotted her after several minutes of freaking out. She had crawled inside the hen house to do her "big job!" Even at 18 months a girl knows she needs a little privacy to poop! Ha!




We've spent time on the soccer field...
Emmy and Poppy Whit watching Case's soccer game.
And have made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch...




I just can't stand the cuteness of these two sometimes! Love them!









Hoping this beautiful weather sticks around awhile so we can enjoy more fun days outdoors! Looking forward to dressing up for Halloween soon! Yay fall!!




Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fall Getaway

The kids didn't have PDO last week for Fall Break, so James and I decided to go on a little mini-vaca, just the two of us! We headed to Waverly on Tuesday night to drop off the kiddos and then headed to the Smokey Mountains! We only travel at bedtime these days. It's just so peaceful and far less stressful than traveling in the daytime! 


We arrived in Cosby, TN at our wonderful bed and breakfast, Creek Walk Inn. We stayed here before, a couple of years ago. When I was pregnant with Emmy! We loved it then and it did not disappoint this time either!



Fuel for our 12 mile hike on Thursday!
James had planned a 12 mile hike to Mt. Cammerer for Thursday and the website had rated it as "strenuous." Great. I wasn't sure what to expect and it's been a long while since I went on a "strenuous" hike. And I must say that the first 3 miles were tough. Very steep and I had to take frequent breaks, but it got a bit easier after that but it was so worth it! The views at the top were amazing!!

We love going in the fall when the leaves are changing. It is just breathtaking!! And the chef at the Inn had packed us a lunch so we just hung out at the top for over an hour, chowing down, taking in the views and maybe even laying down to catch a few rays. The weather was absolutely perfect!!

Layered up and ready to go!






The old watchtower!






And as if the day hadn't been perfect enough already, we finally saw a bear on our hike back down! It was so close. About 20 yards away. It was not the least bit afraid of us. It was eating something on the trail and was in no hurry to move along so we just stood there and watched it for about 10 minutes. It. Was. Awesome. We have always wanted to see a bear on one of our hikes in the Smokey's and have been close a few times, but never had. We were thrilled!





Did I mention yet how delicious the food was? Oh man, it was so good! We certainly don't eat breakfast like this around our house! Back to Frosted Flakes and frozen waffles around here!

What a perfect little getaway. Great weather, beautiful scenery, challenging (but doable) hike, and great company! 


Friday, October 12, 2012

A New Business Venture



I’ve started a new business venture, folks! I’ve recently become an independent consultant for Rodan + Fields Dermatologists. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “What are you doing...are you crazy?” Nope, I’m not crazy. Here’s my story…

I was in advertising for over seven years and loved my job and the people I worked with. But after having two kids and no family in town, it just became too much for this momma. So I decided to stay home. Just as I was approaching a year mark of being at home I was presented with the opportunity to join Rodan + Fields by an attorney that works with James, Julie Wells. I wasn’t looking for anything like this at all but had been contemplating what the future was going to look like for me. As my oldest approaches school age and the public vs. private school debate becomes regular conversation in our home, I had been thinking that if we wanted to have the option to send the kids to private school, that I would need to be willing to go back to the office full-time. And while I loved my previous job, I would prefer to have a lot more flexibility and time with the kids, even after they are both in school. So, when Julie presented me with the opportunity, it did at least perk my interest enough to go and check it out good. I was very skeptical and started searching for criticisms of the company, the business model and the products. But instead, this is what I found.

The Doctors
The Doctors are credible. Stanford trained, inventors of ProActiv, and practicing dermatologists.

The Company
The company has grown over 1400% in the past three years. How many companies out there can boast that kind of growth? Especially right now. Not many.

The Products
The products are proven to work and are backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee. You can check out some before and after’s here. Beauty editors are smitten with these docs and their products. R+F has received over 100 million media impressions. That’s more than every other direct selling company combined. In fact, Oprah is a big fan of the anti-age line and has featured several of the anti-age products in her O magazine. She even wanted to give the products away on her favorite things show her last season but because the company was so new and there were so few consultants in the U.S. at that time, they had to turn it down. Their current infrastructure couldn't have handled millions of orders at the same time!


The Timing is Right
I was getting in early, which would set me up for the most earnings potential. There are only 11 people between myself and the Doctors themselves! Yes, that's right. ELEVEN! 

The Flexibility
And the best part is that I’m my own boss. Working this business on my own time and on my own terms. 

To sum it all up, I realized that this is a legitimate business opportunity and if I were successful, it would mean more than just a few extra hundred dollars a month. It had the potential to provide the full-time income that I might be seeking in a few years. I’m not just selling great skin-care products. I’m building a business and changing my financial future and helping others do the same. And if Julie could do it (working full-time, with two young children and a 45 minute commute), then I could too! I didn’t want to look back and have any regrets. I knew that I couldn’t go back in a year or two and get in 11 down from the top. If I was going to do it, the time was right. Now.  And the business itself comes with a 60-day money back guarantee, so I knew I had absolutely nothing to lose and everything in the world to gain.

So now you all know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.  And hopefully you no longer think that I’m too crazy!  And if you want to know more about the business or the products, please let me know.  I have both a product and business website that have a lot of additional information. I’m very excited about this opportunity and want to share it with as many folks as I can. 

I'm ready to do this!