Happy New Year!!!

I Hope the Best of Last Year is the Worst of the Next!

I am back home now and slowly getting back to the swing of things. Wow. That Holidays are exhausting! I don't know if I can even consider eating another sweet until.... At least Monday :) I can understand why there is such a long haul between Holidays with Christmas and Easter, you really do need the break after the festivities of Christmas.

Well, lets see, Quebec was fantastic! I just love Mount St. Anne, it's awesome for snowboarding and just the coziest little village! I highly recommend it. Turns out it was the 400th Anniversary of Quebec City so there was a Huge celebration right downtown. We braved the freezing cold I believe it was -16 w/o the windchill and climbed atop the citadel a wall with some 20 000 other people to watch the outdoor show and the fireworks. It was something to say the least! The fireworks we the best I have ever seen, honestly, it was insane!

We ended up driving home in a bit of a blizzard and stopped counting the cars in the ditch off the 401 when we reached 35 cars. I closed my eyes and begged that we pull over. Needless to say, I think I'll be flying next year!

We're home safely and I only left my purse behind once, which for me, is pretty good. For those who know me, they know I have a small issue with leaving that little guy all over the place. I am starting to think that I may do it subconceiously to be reminded of the good people in the world! I left my purse in a restruant in St. Anne De Beaupre... and didn't realize until we were checking into our hotel in Quebec City, the following day that I didn't have it. So we had to get back into the car and drive back to St. Anne. Small source of contention, I must say. We got there and in a mix of broken French and English, the server found it in the Manger's office. I wanted to hug her. In it, I had cash as well as my Ipod (which I never leave home without) and a number of gift cards from Christmas, not to mention all of my Identification, etcetera. I was just so happy that they had it -- It really is a horrible feeling to lose your wallet. I would image it is so much worse not to get it back, however, that has yet to happen to me. I seem to have the best of luck in this regard. The good people of the world always seem to find it and keep it safe for me.

Overall the whole trip was a great start to the New Year. I have so many projects and goals for the coming year with regard to my business, however they are ever evolving. So, I thought I would pose my personal New Years Resolution here so I can be held accontable.... I'll keep you updated on my progress:

1. Double check when leaving everywhere that I have my purse.

2. Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. Water really is the fluid of life.

3. Stop paying for an unused gym membership.... Physical fitness is key to wellbeing and I need to utlizie the gym, rather than just paying for it.

4. Become involved in a Charity. This is a good goal for everyone really, there are so many people that need assistance in the world.

5. And finally, blog everyday... really this is quite difficult, but I am gonna try!! Those all seem like fairly common resolutions...Perhaps I'll add to the list as the year progresses! I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday season and a wonderful 2008!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Another successful Christmas has passed! I just LOVE this time of year because I'm blessed with amazing family and friends, all of whom I spend excessive amounts of time with laughing, eating, and enjoying life.

I've pretty much spent the last few days consuming far too much, exchanging gifts, and simply loving the holidays…you know, all the things that make my heart explode with gratitude.

I think for next few days all I can eat is salad.... sadly I have a fridge full of wonderful leftovers!!! Perhaps the salad eating will need to start in the New Year!! :)

Merry Christmas and I hope your Holiday was filled with unadulterated love, goodness, and joy!

Due Date.....

Well, today was my final due date for the next two weeks. It has been a very long December and I finally feel all caught up!!! I'm sure most of you know the feeling of accomplishment and relief to have met your deadlines and move on to the next project. It feels GREAT!!! Now, I have to start Christmas Shopping.... errrr... Not looking forward to that, but that's not until tomorrow! Secretly, I sort of like leaving it until the last minute, everyone is so festive! The stores and the malls have that warm Christmas feeling to them. Just makes you want to get a hot chocolate and sit and people watch... I will be unable to do that considering I have a lot of shopping to do in two days, but nonetheless, I'll get to enjoy that feeling! Any present suggestions are much appreciated....

I'm off for the next two weeks and have some very exciting things coming up. First up is of course: the shopping; three parties on Christmas Eve; two breakfasts and two dinners on Christmas day; another on Boxing day and then it's off to Mount Saint Anne for some snowboarding; and Quebec City for New Years. I'll be ringing in the New Year for the second time in a row in Quebec City and can not wait to be standing at the Ice Bar outside in Old Town sipping Bailey's and Coffee. I'll be posting randomly with updates over the holidays.

The New Year starts in full swing on the first weekend of January with several shoots. If you're looking to book a lifestyle session or a wedding consault, shoot me an email @ lindsay@lindsayvanderbeek.com -- The calendar is certainly filling, which I am really excited about. I'm already looking forward to the 2008 weddings and have some very creative clients scheduled for lifestyles, which will make for fantastic images.

NOTL

This weekend as a little break from the December Craziness.... Steve, myself and a group of friends went to NOTL and stayed at The Stable Bed and Breakfast, which was of course awesome! A bride from the summer, Jenny (of Jenny and Adam ) owns the B&B and offered it to us for the weekend as she and Adam were away. The B&B was right downtown and I highly recommend it to anyone that feels so inclined to enjoy all that NOTL has to offer... There were 11 of us in total and we liked (therefore purchased) a lot of the wine we tasted! All of the sudden, we have the beginning of a wine collection. It was a great weekend and much needed break!

Here are a few of the images....

Oh course we had to start with a very competitive game of...

Paige and Griffin

A few months ago, I shot Robin and Rae-Anne's beautiful wedding at the Ancaster Old Mill. Last week I went to their home for an infant session with their two beautiful newborn twins!! These two babies were so animated. They were very tiny and just so expressive. Often babies, are not too keen to have their portraits taken, however, Paige is clearly going to be a model, she seemed to love the camera. Griffin on the other hand, wasn't quite as happy with me as his sister... He just wanted to be held by either his mom or dad. I am so looking forward to watching these two grow!

Congratulations Robin and Rae-Anne, you're very obviously going to make wonderful parents~!

Here are some of the images....

Better Late Than Never

I realized that I did not post any images from the brief afternoon I spent in Dallas Texas... Sorry about that! We had such a great afternoon on the Sunday following the wedding. Steve and I went downtown Dallas to the Sixth Floor Museum and became what some might call slightly obsessed with John and Jackie... We have in the past been known to become a little obsessed with political leaders... Last year, about this time actually, we were all over Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Seriously, it was a lot -- to the point where we got matching PET t-shirts for Christmas...The good news is that for Trivia night, we've always got all the answers in this regard!

Well, back to Dallas, it really was a great experience to see Downtown Dallas. After we went downtown we went back to the Grapevine and had lunch with bride and the rest of her fantastic family ;) We had real life Texas Ribs on a Patio! Those who know me, know that I have a grand appreciate for Patio Weather, never mind Ribs! It doesn't get much better than that.

Here are some of the Images from Dallas....




























And Steve's great photg skills.....

Short on Christmas Present Ideas Anyone??!!

I know I am...
Sorry, should I say: I was!
That's right, I have solved all my Christmas present woes without even going to the mall!
Everyone on my list is getting a Gift Certificate for Lindsay Vanderbeek Photography!!!

You can get them in any denomination and they really do make great presents. You can either buy a Portrait Package for someone or you can give them a Gift Certificate for a dollar amount to put towards the cost of a package.

Maybe you know one of my great 2008 wedding couples? Perhaps your daughter just had a baby? Maybe you know someone who just got engaged, or that wonderful family who needs to get the Walmart White background posed photo off their wall, sorry...updated with a lovely Lifestyle session! The list really is endless.

If you're interested in purchasing a Gift Certificate, please contact me at lindsay@lindsayvanderbeek.com


Because this IS a Photography Blog... We have to have a photo with ever post...

So, here is one of the Hotel Frontenac in Quebec City from 2006.....