A blizzard and a new body

Camera body, that is. What were YOU thinking?

In case you hadn't heard, we had some snow here in the Chicago area this week. About 24 inches of snow. So not that much.

A few days before the blizzard my new camera body finally arrived after waiting two months for it (actually, a second new camera body should be arriving tomorrow, but that's another story and it's going back to the store as soon as it gets here).

I haven't gotten to test the new camera out in a session yet (darned winter), but I took a few snappy snaps around the house when it got here and also gave it the blizzard test. So far, it is love.

Tuesday's Top 5

So here's the deal. I'm a nerd. I mean, I know this. You don't just become Law Review Editor of the Year and not accept the fact that you are (despite occasional episodes of moderate coolness) a nerd. So today I'm going to celebrate my nerd-dom by ranking something you (all you very cool people) have probably never considered before.

MY TOP 5 FAVORITE FORMS OF PUNCTUATION IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (and my one least favorite)

(I know, it's so nerdy, right?)

5. The Period. Sure, periods are not all that exciting, but they have a purpose, and if you fail to use them, you risk confusing your reader with an overly-long and complex run-on sentence, like this one. Enough said.

4. The Question Mark. Por que? I don't know. Why do you ask? Wouldn't you like to use an upside down question mark like in Spanish? Doesn't it seem sensible to indicate at the beginning of the sentence that the words to follow are meant to form a question? Still, even in English, don't you think this is a useful piece of punctuation? At the least, don't you enjoy being able to employ the traditional "questioning head tilt" when asking or reading a question?

3. The Exclamation Point. Yay! I love exclamation points! The only problem is that exclamation points are meant to be used sparingly, but in this internet-based world, where tone, intent and sarcasm frequently fall prey to the dangers of being reduced to text, the exclamation point is becoming to punctuation what the word "like" is to pre-pubescent vocabulary. And, let's face, it, I am personally guilty of exclamation-point-overuse, too! Oh well!!!

2. The Em Dash. More formal than parentheses, less formal than off-setting commas, the em dash is the perfect--albeit underused--piece of punctuation. Unfortunately, blogger won't let me type an em dash--a dash the width of an 'm'--but you should note that an em dash is different than an en dash which is different than a hyphen. Have you em dashed today?

1. Parentheses. If you have spent any amount of time reading this blog (and if you haven't, why haven't you?), you know that I LOVE to use parentheses. Just like when I am talking, I frequently find the need to pause mid-sentence to interject a bit of information which, if left to later, might become forgotten or seem random. I would say (per an unofficial estimate) that I use parentheses at least once in every blog post and at least twice in ever Tuesday's Top 5 (but at least 6 times in this post).

And finally, as a special addition to this week's list, my LEAST favorite form of punctuation is the semi-colon. Why? Because despite diligent study, repeated application, and the aforementioned Editor-of-the-Year award, I still cannot manage to use semi-colons correctly 100% of the time. I'm not even going to attempt it in this post. Instead, I will wish you a Happy Tuesday and remind you to enter the Share the Love contest. And, if you live in Illinois, don't get eaten by a blizzard.

p.s. Please note that, while an apostrophe is pictured below, it was replaced in the final hour by that work horse of the English language, the period. My apologies to the period for its omission from the visual aide.

Something Different

It is winter. Winter means snow. Snow means cold. Cold means I stay inside.

So I thought I'd mix it up a bit with some Springy florals done in the comfort (and warmth) of my house. Spring is right around the corner, right? Well, a girl can dream.

New Website is Live!

The day has come! The new website is done and it is live! I am beyond excited to have a clean and professional-looking space to display my work on the web (and I can mark one of my 2011 goals off the list)!

To celebrate the launch of the new site, I'm offering a limited time special.

Reserve your session between now and February 28 and receive $30 off your session fee. Session must take place before May 31, 2011. Email me at katie@kathrynshoresphotography.com to reserve your session.

But before you do that, go check out the NEW WEBSITE!!!!

KATHRYNSHORESPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Tuesday's Top 5

Thanks to my sister for pointing out that there was no Tuesday's Top 5 today. Frankly, I spent a couple hours last night putting the finishing touches on the new website and I completely forgot to do a Top 5. But, that same sister also got bit by a dog yesterday (I know, right?!?!? It is super gross looking), so I can't deny her a bit of Top 5 Fun today.

THE TOP 5 REASONS YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THE NEW WEBSITE!!

5. It has a link right to this blog so you can check in with all the lastest and greatest KSP news.

4. It has a contact form to make it super easy to get in touch with me to schedule your session.

3. It has an f.a.q. section to help you prepare for your session.

2. It has all (or most) of my favorite photos in one spot.

1. It is so pretty!!!!

So there. And no post is complete without a picture, so here is one of my "self portraits" that I took for the "about me" section of the site. This one didn't make the cut, but I still like it. And how'd you like to see the outtakes? Okay, you talked me into it.

Max's Future Bride

These are from a few weeks back when we were in Florida for the holidays. By virtue of the fact that her mother and I have been besties since her mom was a tiny little Junior Magic Dancer (oh yeah, I went there), Ms. Nora has been destined to marry Max since she was in the womb. To pave the path toward the altar, the two got to play together over the Christmas holidays. At first, Nora was a little put off by Max in all his crazy boyness. He was really showing off for her, racing cars, running around, staying up past his bedtime. But soon she came around and Ms. Diva started driving cars around like a regular tomboy. On our next visit, Max is going to teach her about mud and bugs. I'm not so sure it will catch, though.

Share The Love

Are you ready to share the love?

Valentine's Day is coming up and I'm in the mood for love, so why not share some love with all of you lovely folks, right? Right. Ahem...announcing the...

KSP Share the Love Contest 2011

(Yippee! Streamers and confetti come pouring down from the ceiling!!!)

This is your chance to win a FREE (uh yeah, FREE) custom portrait session with Kathryn Shores Photography. But wait, there's more! The winner will also win four 5x7 desk prints from their session, plus their choice of two 11x14 wall prints or one 16x20 wall print, PLUS 10% off all additional prints from their session.

That is a seriously sweet (or shall we say LOVELY) deal! So here's what you need to know:

HOW TO ENTER:

~ Become a fan of KSP on Facebook, by clicking HERE and pressing the LIKE button at the top.

~ Starting January 18, e-mail a picture of a little (or big) one you love to kspShareTheLove@yahoo.com.

~ In your email, in two sentences or less, tell us how you’re going to “share the love” this Valentine’s Day.

Easy peasy, right? But there can only be one winner, so...

HOW TO WIN:

~ Starting February 6, come back to the KSP facebook page to vote for your favorite entry (and of course, send all your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc to become fans and vote, too!)

~ Voting will continue through February 13.

~ Winner (i.e. the entry with the most votes) to be announced February 14 (pssst...that's Valentine's Day)

Got it? Remember: become a fan, send a picture, and tell me how you're going to share the love. In return, you just might get a little KSP love shared right back!

Official Rules:

1. Entries will be accepted starting January 18 and through February 5th. Siblings may be entered in a single photo. Only one (1) entry per person.

2. The person submitting an entry must be the parent or guardian of the child in the submitted photo.

3. Please do not enter photos taken by other professional photographers. KSP photos are okay, though.

4. Anyone may enter, but the session must take place in the Chicagoland area and before April 30th, 2011.

5. Voting will take place February 6th through February 13th.

6. You may only vote ONCE.

7. A person voting MUST be a fan of KSP on Facebook to vote. Votes from people who are NOT fans will NOT be counted.

8. Winner will be announced February 14th.

9. The winner is the photo with the most amount of votes. A VOTE IS A COMMENT LEFT ON THE PICTURE'S COMMENT SECTION STATING "VOTE".

10. Does not apply to sessions already booked.

For questions or to enter, e-mail kspShareTheLove@yahoo.com

I cannot wait to see all those adorable (LOVELY) faces so get your entry in today!