Most of the last few days have been spent cleaning up Christmas and playing with my web sites Thedestinphotographer.com PerceptionsByMayer.com and my blog site CaptureDestin.com.  Being a Destin Photographer I am pretty much able to make my own schedule and get all the “stuff” done that needs attention on a daily basis, things like getting the kids out of bed and ready for school, dinner, laundry, Annie’s Piano, James weekly shot, groceries, playing with the doggies Blue and Lucy.  Even as the owner of my own business, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done.  I do a fair amount of business in Destin and Panama City Beach with vacation rental photography but with the weather not being the greatest over the past month or so things have backed up a bit.  Over the past week I have been able to get back on track and I am feeling much better about where I am with the business.  Last year was my 5^th year and my best.  Thanks to all my current clients in the vacation rental industry and thanks to all my summer beach vacationers as well.  Hope to see some of you again this summer.

Me and my Bride

It sounds so cliché, but it seems like a month ago that Amber said to me, “You know your stuff if pretty good, how come you have never thought about doing this full time?”  She was talking about my photography and for a while every time we talked about it I would just shrug it off and say, “I could never make a living being a Destin Photographer.”  It  just didn’t seem real to me at all.  Well after many conversations about it, I of course took the leap and started my own business.  Amber is such a big part of why I am very comfortable in my business today.  I love her so much.  I call her my office manager because she takes care of all things computer and money and everything that makes the business run …then I just take calls and do what I love to do.  Beach Photography in Destin is booming and whether you are after studio portraits or just casual candid shots you have those options in Destin.   People from all over the country come to the Emerald Coast to enjoy our beautiful white sand beaches and there are plenty of reasons they come year after year.  They are the same reasons I took the leap.  The Destin area is full of fun things to do like fishing trips, water parks, music events, and sailing, jet skis the list goes on and on.  We have some of the best sun sets around and our food and some of our restaurants are award winning.  So if you have thought about coming to Destin FL and just haven’t taken the leap yet, let me encourage you.  Take the leap you will be very glad you did, it won’t be just a vacation – it will be a tradition.  See you soon!

We are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary today.  Well, we are celebrating the whole weekend.  Friday was just the two of us, last night was with our best friends and tonight will be with the children.  In the same sentence I can tell you that I feel like the year went by so fast it was as if in one blink it had already passed us by, but in other ways it was a very long year filled with so much change and growth.  Two contradictory perspectives can’t seemingly live in the same memory, but it is true.  All I know is that this past year with Joe – if it only repeats for 50 more years, it would be too short.  Think about how many times you have watched your favorite movie?  Would that be enough times of waking up next to the person who is most important to you?  Would it be enough chapters in your life story?  Maybe when you find love and respect like Joe and I have for each other – forever wouldn’t be enough.

This I do know.  I have been forced to recognize that at the end of the day – I spent too much of this year living to work, instead of working to live.  No one ever tells you that being ambitious can be extremely unhealthy and no matter how high you climb on the ladder of success – each rung can plunge you deeper into unhappiness.  I did not recognize how lost I had become and shallow my days – until my professional situation abruptly turned on its heels by no control of my own.  I can assure you that I would never have chosen to find myself in this position – losing a company I worked so hard on for so many years, jobless and self introspective at 31 trying to ask myself once again who I am and who I want to be.  But I’m here and I can tell you that I haven’t been this happy in a very long time.  I haven’t slept this well in years.  I wake up every day feeling light and happy.  With nothing, I feel like I have everything.  Maybe that’s the secret to life – that in the contradictions you will find the answers.

In these past few weeks I’ve learned a lot about myself.  That my ambitious nature never brought me happiness.  My husband, children and friends bring me extreme pleasure and satisfaction.  That no promotion, salary increase or bonus ever gave me the pure pleasure that is experienced during a simple breakfast listening to my children divulge their life’s aspirations at 10 or 11 while devouring Joe’s lovingly scrumptious and now famous omelets.  Never has a project’s successful completion at work ever brought about the laughter, joy or memories of really bad bowling with friends.  I will never repeat this past year of my professional life.  There is no job, project or opportunity worth stealing my happiness…. or worth missing my life with my loved ones.  Somehow in losing everything, I have found myself again.

So to the love of my life – here’s to 100 years not being enough.

The house is almost three times the square footage of our other home (our last house was really small so don’t think this new one is a mansion or anything!).  And guess what??  It has a huge kitchen for Joe to enjoy when he gets to cook our friends and family dinner! 

I could sit and tell you all the details of the new house – but really, our favorite part is just knowing that there is enough room for us to let the kids have friends over and play, and for friends and family that like to visit the beaches each year. 

Something else weird is that we can’t figure out how we had all of our current stuff in the old house – you would think that moving from a 1200 square foot house to over 3000 square feet would make you feel like you need to go shopping – but as we put items away we just keep thinking – how in the world did all of this fit in the old house?  Where did we put it all??  (especially all of Joe’s knick knacks – I mean, my goodness!)

Blue is also enjoying the big back yard and we have plenty of squirrels and stray cats to keep her driving us insane with the barking.  There are many small items we have to finish later – one thing at a time – to say we underestimated the cost of refurbishing a home is putting it lightly.  =)  So we still need to paint the columns, add bead board to the roof of the porch (it’s over 800 square feet!), and hopefully within the next year or two – add a pool.  The backyard will probably end up being our favorite place to exist!

Did I mention that aside from the Kitchen – that Joe inherited three garage bays with the new house?  Yes, you men out there are drooling!  AND an office for his Destin Photography business.  He has tons of “man space” now…. and a home for the Porsche.  Yes, Rosa finally made it back home… (I’ll leave that for another blog…. a year and a half in the shop and this is the most expensive go-kart I have ever seen in my life!)

I’m slightly OCD – so we are holding off on having a big “Meet the new Mayer House” family/friend dinner until we atleast get the columns outside painted and the bead board up… I just feel like the house is naked without!  But when we do – we promise to break it in right – with candlestick karaoke, good food, too much booze and great stories.  For our friends that we haven’t been able to hang out with much over the last few months because we were so busy:  We miss you.

Family

Joe and I both believe that things happen for a reason.  Last week one of our dear friends lost his beloved wife.  Talk about putting tragedy in perspective.  Our friend’s wife, Misty was truly a testiment to being an “inspiration”.  Throughout her battle with colon cancer at the young age of 32, she was upbeat, postive and always such a warm and charitable soul.  In her last days, she was still inspiring all of us to make sure that we focus on what is most important and get past the “little things” that are not.  Obviously, none of us will ever understand why such a bright and glorious soul was taken from her family and friends at such a young age, but according to Misty – God had a plan and she wasn’t going to question it.  We’ve decided that we wont either.

Regardless of what is in front of us, Joe and I know that the most important thing is to get through it together.  That can be tough sometimes when life is so busy that you’re running in a million directions!  No one ever warns you how much work kids can be when they reach the “social years”.  I was always reassured that things got easier when they grew up – but whatever!  Now they have social engagements, birthday parties, tea parties, just because parties, karate every single day of the week, music lessons, recitals, concerts, plays – they grow out of shoes every other week and their pants are above their ankles within a month of purchase.  Easier?  Puhlease and I’ll gladly trade a bag of diapers a week for their “activity and social needs costs!”.  Not to mention feeding them – our son eats more than a pack of wolves!

Yet, what would life be like without our mini-me’s!  Joe is not the biological father of James (our son) but most people can’t even tell.  They have the same mannerisms, wear similar clothes, walk the same way, talk the same way and whistle just alike.  It is uncanny how similar they are – unfortunately, they even have the same taste in expensive cars.

I know it’s taking me a while to get there, but the point of this post is to reiterate that life is really all about family and friends.  It is so easy to forget about what really matters when life throws its punches, but I guarantee there is no bank account balance, no bill, no diploma or job that can replace a simple dinner with friends, family and laughter – and the satisfaction that ensues. 

No wonder so many people that flock to our gorgeous beaches contact us for Destin Beach Portraits – what’s better than capturing a moment in time where everyone is so happy and in such a beautiful place.  Joe is lucky to be a Destin Photographer, and I am so lucky that he is my wonderful husband and such an outstanding father.

Mt. Sophris CO.

Ok, this is my second time writing the blog and I have a feeling you guys may have to adjust to a totally different writing style hope you all like it.  Since the last blog we have been all over the country.  We had just gotten back from Vegas and then I am sure Amber had been somewhere before we headed for Co on the 18^th of Dec.  We stayed there a week and were supposed to be home on the 25^th.  So, we drove to a town called Grand Junction the night before our 6:30am flight to come home on Christmas day and as we were settling in for the evening Amber checks our flight status and finds out all flight out of Grand Junction, Denver and Vail had all been cancelled for the 25^th.  What there was to eat and open on Christmas Eve in Grand Junction was an Applebee’s so that’s what we had for dinner.  The 25^th we spent in the room of the Country Wine Inn, it was fine just not where I or Amber wanted to be on Christmas Day.  The flight home on the 26^th was uneventful and we were so glad to sleep in our own bed after 8 days away.  Next was Orlando, Amber had some business with Imagine Vacation Homes and our annual passes to Disney had 8 days to the expiration date so we loaded the kids in Caesar and headed south.  While there Amber worked and the kids and I headed to Animal Kingdom to let James ride Mt. Everest.  I thought I was ok with it and Annie was willing but hesitant.  First went through the tree of life with flick and then headed to the Everest Coaster.  We got on and while the coaster was moving forward I was fine then it climbed a steep hill and stopped.  Then came the backward part and it was all over for me.  We got off the ride and Annie shouted let’s do it again as I was trying not to vomit.  I guess she got over her fear of Space Mountain from a short year prior.    I didn’t share that the weekend was really overcast and rainy so after I almost lost my stomach we went back to the rental home that imagine vacation provided for us. The night before we left to come home Ambers clients and our family went to Arabian Nights a great dinner show that is perfect for families with kids.  We had a great time with our family friends Mike and Adam and we even brought some friends from Destin with us, it really was a great long weekend.   Ok we finished the Orlando trip got home Sunday evening and then we were home for 4 days and off to Dollywood yep you heard right, Amber has a client in Dollywood.  This time it was just her and I.   Uncle Rory and Aunt Lisa help us all the time, they are great and they helped out with the gremlins for a couple days before they were off to AL. with their Dad. In Dollywood Amber worked for 3 days straight and we had a day with David, Amber’s brother and Aleda his wife on Sat.  Then back in the plane we go come home Amber has a day to breath and then off to CO. she should be home Friday the 23^rd at 3:30pm but there is really bad weather in Vail the airport she has to leave from so hopefully things will be ok for her.  Vail is about an hour from Basalt where she is working so everybody cross your fingers.   

Great Cabin in Dollywood TN.

I have been trying to keep our home clean.  1284 sq ft is just way too small for our family at this point.  The office at Destin Commons is finally finished and I am planning on having it somewhat decorated before Amber gets home and I haven’t started.  I am so excited for Amber the business is really going well, things are hectic but everything will be fine.

On the photography front my phone has been ringing way sooner this year than last.  I already have about a week of photography booked for July.  The Destin Photographer is going to be busy this year.  As always I brought my camera with me on all the above mentioned trips so there will be a couple attached to the blog entry.   I have been doing more condo photography and HD videos as well so I may need some help this year.

We announced everything  with very short notice thinking that no one would be able to make it, but either everyone has just been waiting with baited breath hoping Joe would get married some day, or our friends and family do love us as much as we hoped because everyone has been able to find a way to the beach in order to celebrate with us.  Surrounded by my father, Joe’s mother and both of our siblings and their family – with both of our best friends standing beside us (Rory for Joe and Oliver for Me) … we’ll seal our fate as husband and wife.  Although we’re going for a casual atmosphere, the wedding has taken on a life of its own with outdoor speakers, bamboo walkways and arbors and a waterfall of cala lillies (my favorite).  I originally requested a wedding with jeans and a white tshirt but Joe swore he wouldn’t kiss me unless I wore a dress – so yes, I’ve got plans to become one with the tanning bed so that the guests are not blinded by my slight affinity to Casper, the friendly ghost!  Oliver will make a fantastic Maid of Honor – or is there a term for when the Bride is supported by a male instead of a female?  I’m going to google it – hold on….. “Man of Honor”… if any of you know Oliver then you know how ironic and funny that title is!

We have the most amazing friends who have graciously offered their Destin Vacation Rental home for us so that our entire family can stay in one place for a few days and have the rare experience of being together (I’m in the business – so I could have stayed anywhere, but this home is fantastic for a large family vacation and my favorite rental in Destin so if you’re still trying to decide, check it out – and no, they didn’t pay me to say that… I really just love the house).  My father from Houston;  Joe’s mama from Philly;  Joe’s sister Tina, Robert and the boys from Bedias, Texas (yes, no blinking or you’ll miss it); my brother David, his wife Alida and their son little David from Nashville; Oliver and his beautiful fiance Angie from Houston and more friends and family from all over.  There will just be two important faces missing from the crowd and I’ve been wondering how to honor their memories.  Joseph’s father passed away about ten years ago, and my mother a little over two years ago.  I never met Joe Sr. and Joe never met my mother – but he did speak to her once on the phone, and she saw a photo of us about a year before she died on MySpace and left us a foreshadowing comment… “That guy sure is handsome beside you.”  Even then, just freshly divorced and certain that I’d maintain my single status for the rest of my life – my mother told me I’d spend my life with Joe – and she hadn’t even met him yet. 

James and Annie are estatic about their wedding roles (and of course Annie is thrilled with her new dress).  Joe is an amazing father and the children adore him.  I’m a handful on my own – ask anyone who deals with me on a regular basis!  But Joe is marrying me and the children – and only a very special man has room in his heart and energy in his soul for such a big task. 

I’m sure there will be several more updates as we experience our own wedding journey.  Thank you all for your business and support this past year and we hope to continue as your Destin Photographer for many years to come.

Its much prettier than the cabbage

It’s hard to believe that it is already August and I skipped an entire summer of blog posts. To be honest though – I’ve been writing them all along in my head and now I just have to take a few evenings to pour them out here on the world wide web. 

Busy would be an understatement to describe our Summer.  Joe has been incredibly blessed to have worked with some of the finest clientel any photographer could ask for!  The resort has been full steam ahead and in between work we have found a little time for play so that the kids don’t blink and summer is over.

This summer has been truly memorable.  Family visited for five weeks in a row and we survived, Michael Jackson died but I’m fairly sure we spotted him at Disney World, our dog is still lively but naps more than she used to and has gray in her muzzle, my son and I can wear the same shoes and he’s only nine, my daughter looks like Daryl Hannah and we’re terrified, our hearts were broken over losing a house three days before closing, we mended our wounds with brand new vehicles and have no room left in our driveway, and had the most beautiful sunflowers in our front garden that replaced the cabbbage.

In retrospect, it is probably one of the best summer’s I’ve ever had – nothing terrible to report, lots of laughter with the family (just imagine 11 Italians in less than 1300 square feet for over a week….), I didn’t gain any weight even though all anyone wanted to do was eat or cook during the visits and I passed my milestone – I have not been sick for two years! 

So as I delve into these next few posts  – everyone please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay on reporting our most intimate and hilarious moments these past few months.  =)

Guess Who!!!

Destin Photographers

are often all lumped into one group of individuals who run around town with digital cameras trying to capture tourists and their families in matching outfits posing on beautiful beaches.  Joseph is different – he has a camera at all times – seriously.  I wake up – flash, I walk out of the bathroom – click, I’m cooking bacon and eggs in my pajamas – giggle, flash, click, click.  It gets annoying – especially because I have really long, curly Italian hair and it’s not tame until after my first cup of coffee and half a bottle of frizz ease.

Joseph is a prankster – I was at work the other day and I thought he was showing my employees some photos he had just taken of some of our Destin Condo Rentals.  Nope – he was showing them his gallery of “Amber’s not paying attention to the fact that I have a camera in my hand photos”.  They were laughing, I was snarling – Joe was proud.

Ironically – I really don’t enjoy getting my photo taken.  I’m not particularly photogenic, my skin is too pale, my hair has not been dyed lately – etc.  But this weekend – I had to get a headshot taken for a board of directors position I accepted on the Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association.  I had avoided sending them a photo for two weeks… they had asked several times.  I caved and let Joe pose me in front of our fireplace.  I was embarrassed in my own home.  I think the photos all look goofy…. but Joe says they look perfect.  So does that mean I’m perfectly goofy?  Ugh!

Baytown Fireworks show

We were so tired that we almost spent the last moment of 2008 on our couch with our eyes half open.  Neither one of us has been feeling very well the year has just been exhausting!  I managed to climb onto our kitchen counter and give Joe the “look” long enough for him to ask me what was wrong – so I told him:  I feel like we have so much to be grateful for and I don’t think we should be celebrating the New Year half asleep.  He agreed, we both took a shower to wake up and headed out to Baytown Wharf in Sandestin to meet some friends.  We had no idea what was going to be going on, in the past we have avoided the typical New Years spots and preffered a backyard bbq or something quieter with a simple escape to get home to bed soon after midnight.

As we walked towards Sandestin (we parked at Grand Boulevard) – we saw a tram coming our way in the round a bout, our driver was so nice he stopped in the middle of the road and let us onto an overcrowded bus.  My butt was against the door of the bus for the entire ride.  The driver let us know that it was absolutely okay to climb on the buss and to crawl back later when we were finished.  He was an excellent tour operator and I wish I had grabbed his name so I could steal him for our Seascape Resort tram operation in the Spring and Summer. 

We walked into Baytowne and headed for the band area – they hadn’t gotten started yet so Joe played with the boats in the lake that you can pay to play with via a remote control.