Stephanie Clark

Yay... a shiny new blog!!!

I've got a snazzy new blog!  Ch ch check it out here.  Tell me what you think in the comments section!  Hopefully this will keep me motivated to blog more frequently.  :)

Girl Trip '08

Sunday night I got home from my annual girl trip with Erica and Rachel.  Each year we go someplace different.  Last year it was Miami Beach.  The year before it was NYC.  The location really isn't important.  I'm confident we could keep ourselves entertained at Grayson Lake.  Rachel lives outside of Cincinnati and Erica lives in New Jersey... so our visits together are few and far between.

Rachel and I have been friends since 2nd grade.  Erica and I have been friends since 7th grade (except for the time in 10th grade when she asked Barry Stewart to Morp even though she knew I was going to... in retaliation I asked Scott Kiefer, with whom she was madly in love).  Wonder where those boys are?  I digress...

Last Thursday, my two BFFs and I met up in Scottsdale, Arizona at The Spa at the Camelback Inn (Oprah and Gail are regulars).  It was blissful.  I have so much work to do, I really had no business going out of town again... but I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to jump into the holiday madness.  If you've never had a scalp treatment/massage I highly recommend one.  It was quite possibly the most enjoyable 20 minutes of my life.

In true girl trip fashion we talked incessantly about our kids, consumed a gazillion calories each day, fought over the thermostat, argued over who had to sleep with Erica, didn't read a single page of our books, pretended we weren't the oldest ones at the night club, and laughed until snot was coming out of our noses.  Can't wait to do it all over again next year!

This was the view of Camelback Mountain from underneath our umbrella at the pool.

Erica, your assignment for this year is to learn how to rock.  K?

At dinner one night, our entertainment was the couple sitting next to us.  No exaggeration, they made out through the entire dinner.  Here, Erica is pretending I'm taking a picture of her.  To say we were acting like we were six years old would be generous.

My friendship with these two girls is so special.  I love them to the moon and back!!!

Back to Blogging

So the summer's over and I've decided no time like the present to dust off this blog.  It's been a whirlwind last few months and I'm looking forward to spending some time at home.  I've made lots of new friends all over the country this summer (even a few foreigners).  Since my last blog I've been to Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina... and I just got home from Light Pro Expo in Captiva Island, Florida.  Whew!  I'm exhausted just thinking about the time I've spent in a Delta or US Air terminal.  Raise your hand if you despise airline travel.  Seriously, it makes me cranky.

Near the top of exciting things that happened over the last few months... my Dad gave up his job as Ashland's Mayor to become the superintendent of the Ashland Independent Schools.  Unfortunately there was a conflict of interest being both, so the city's loss is the schools' gain.  Interesting side note:  My Mom and Dad divorced 15 years ago.  After their divorce, my Mom went to the University of Kentucky in Lexington and got her doctorate in education.  After that, she came back to Ashland and became the principal at Hatcher, a local elementary school.  She's now an administrator at the central office (Director of Pupil Personnel and Title 1).  My Mom and Dad's offices are steps apart.  Crazy, I tell ya.  What better form of family counseling than working together everyday?  I'm pretty sure somebody's already lined us up for a reality show on the E! channel.  Good times.

In my excitement to reconvene blogging, I almost forgot to mention that over the summer, in addition to several speaking gigs and a family vacation, I went... drumroll please... CAMPING.  That's right folks, I said camping.  Katy and John (my Sis and BIL) bought a camper, for reasons I'm still unsure.  Under the guise of "quality family time" I've been lured into some of the less luxurious vacation spots I've yet to visit.  Over Memorial Day weekend, the Kentucky State Horse Park was the first stop on my camping trifecta.  Despite sharing a camper with seven other people and having to use the bathroom for all to see and hear (sorry, TMI I know), I actually had fun.  My sister is a fantastic cook and kept us all very well-fed.  Brent and John kept the coolers well-stocked so as not to become dehydrated.  We even got to see our first Polo match.  Fun stuff!  My second camping trip was during the Fourth of July at Grayson Lake.  Since it was close to home, I drove up separately and snuck away relatively unscathed.  This past weekend was my last camping adventure.  I got home from Florida on Friday night, slept a few hours, washed the airline yuckies off, and hopped in the car for Fallsburg.  Don't let the "Falls" part of the name fool you.  Brent and I joked as we passed school buses and satellites in most of the front yards along the road.  Heaven forbid there be a cell phone tower nearby.  That's asking far too much.  I'll admit, we did share some QT together.  My sister and her family are truly our best friends... it's just that I'd rather spend QT at a Four Seasons.  Hell, I'd even settle for a Ramada.  Dirt and bugs should not be part of a "vacation".  I'm just sayin'.

I also traveled to Northern Ohio for my step-brother's wedding this summer (Mark and Erin).  Annabelle and my niece, Langley, were flower girls.  How cute are they?  It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was way fun.  I'm posting this picture mostly because I think the girls are edible, but also so you people will stop asking me to photograph your weddings.  Clearly, I'm no wedding photographer!  This is proof.

I'll leave you with one last highlight of my summer.  Each year I put an ad in the Ashland Tomcat football program.  For the past four years I've photographed one of the "stars" of the team for my ad.  This year, Ryan Bonner was the star of the show.  Isn't he pretty?  Not a bad football player either.  Go cats!

I've got a couple more traveling jaunts before the year's over.  Next Tuesday I'll be in Louisville speaking at the KPPA Fall Seminar.  My personal photographer, BFF, Jen Hillenga is speaking on Sunday.  If you're a KY photographer, I'd love for you to come to my class, but Jen's class is an absolute must-see.  The girl is crazy gifted and you shouldn't miss out on this opportunity to learn from her.

I've got one more trip before the Christmas chaos begins.  In a couple weeks I'm going with Erica and Rachel (my two BFFs from high school) to the Camelback Inn Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This will be a much more relaxed trip than last year's Miami trip.  I can't wait!  It'll be bliss (as long as they don't bust out the conservative blah blah blah).

One more thing... since I posted a pic of Annabelle, I'd remiss if I didn't post a pic of Carlyle too.  Don't want to provoke any sisterly hatefulness.  So here's my little straight A, never-missed-a-day-of-school-EVER seventh grader.  I hope I didn't just jinx her.

OK, I'm off to bed to watch Tivo'd SNL.  Thank goodness for Sarah Palin fodder.  Have you seen the Katie Couric interview?  Again, I'm just sayin'.  :)

p.s.  Whitney, Winnie, and Joanne... I had a blast with you girls today.  I hope Annabelle didn't traumatize you too badly.  Winnie, I'll be on the lookout.

  

Fusion Extreme

If any of you (photographers) are in the Kansas area, I'll be speaking at the Fusion Extreme workshop in Emporia, Kansas next week. One of my BFFs, Jen Hillenga, will be speaking also. She's a rockstar ya'll. My good friends, Kevin and Dixie Jordan, are speaking too. Love these kids! I'm so excited to get to play with my friends!

Come play with us!!!

Nothin' But a Good Time

Raise your hand if you're ready for Rock of Love 3? ***raising both hands***

Even in puffy-faced renal failure, he does it for me. Maybe it's the guyliner?

Idol Gives Back, join me?

For spring break, my girls went on a Disney cruise with my Mom & stepdad. When Brent and I agreed to let them go a year ago we thought it was a great idea. Wow, did I have second thoughts. Last week was one of the longest weeks of my life! The girls have spent extended periods away from me, but I was always able to talk to them everyday. This was quite different. In nine days, I talked to Carlyle one time. I didn't talk to Annabelle at all for fear she'd have a complete meltdown. Plus, my sister had warned me about a friend of hers who returned from a cruise last year to a $2000 cell phone bill. We're a bit concerned about our next cell phone bill.

The girls got home Sunday night. I'm sure I've never squeezed them so tightly. I'm so thankful to have them home with me. Tonight, the girls and I are cozying up on the couch to watch Idol Gives Back. As Gandhi so eloquently said, "You can be the change you want to see in this world."

Idol Gives Back

~blogged from my iPhone

I fought the tub, and the tub won.

But, I went down fighting! Friday morning, I slipped and fell in the shower. Picture a 100-year-old iron and porcelain bathtub. Oh. Sh!t. My head hit first, then my elbow and left hip. The pain was paralyzing. I am such a doofus. Grace has never been one of my strengths. Brent came in, made sure I hadn't knocked myself out, and promptly made a note to get some non-slip strips. He wasn't entirely surprised. This wasn't my first rodeo. Two years ago I fell down the stairs and did quite a number to myself.

Friday was our last day of White on White limited edition sessions. We had to re-schedule the entire day. My head was splitting, I was nauseous, and couldn't keep my eyes open. I'm sure I caused a mild concussion. My head's all better, but the bruises are popping up everywhere. This is my elbow. I'll spare you the rest.

Saturday, I felt like I'd been hit by a train. I'm not sure what hurts most, the bruises or the bedsores from laying on the couch all weekend. If anybody wants reviews of the movies on Direct TV this month let me know. I've got 'em all covered. Highly recommend Gone Baby Gone. Excellent!

p.s. Happy birthday Dad! I love you!!!

This is good stuff!

Check this out! Some serious inspiration!!!

Way to go Brandon!

It feels wrong rooting against the Reds; but as long as Brandon Webb is pitching against them, you do what you've got to do. Hometown hero Brandon Webb, pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, was home over the weekend. He and his gorgeous family came in Saturday for pics. Ordinarily, Saturdays are off-limits for me; but I was happy to make an exception for the 2006 Cy Young Award Winner. :)

Yesterday, he and the Diamondbacks were in Cincinnati playing in MLB's opening day game. Brandon pitched a winning game against the Reds! Congratulations!!!

My friend, John Flavell with The Independent, took this super cool picture. John, you must have a really good camera. :)

Here's a shot from Saturday of Brandon, Alicia, and Reagan. Way to prepare for the big game. Family Picture Day does not exactly equate to a stress-free day. I think he was just glad I didn't ask him to take off his shirt this time. Next time, I make no promises. ;)

Happy Birthday Reagan!!! I hope you had a fun party!

It's here! It's here!

I just pulled in my driveway and noticed our weeping cherry tree is in bloom. Spring is finally here! Yay!!! So long to my seasonal affective disorder. Happiness!

Blogged from my iPhone