Merry Christmas!

It's that time of year when families come together, the kiddos run and play, all of the gals are cooking and baking in the kitchen, someone (usually me haha) is running out to the store at the last minute, because you forgot a gift or food item. And to top it off you are so EXCITED to wake up in the morning to see the kid's faces when they see what Santa has brought! Christmas is wonderful in so many aspects, but never to forgot the true meaning of Christmas. =) So, as I sit back and enjoy the kids playing, family laughing and chatting - I remember that there is someone who was born to give us all life eternal. For this I am blessed in life and in spirit! Happy Birthday Jesus!!

So, today I wish the Merriest Christmas for all of my family and family of friends - Yep! All of my clients have become my family of friends. =)

Merry Christmas and I hope Santa ;) brings you LOTS of goodies.

XOXXO
Shannon Wermers

The Totally Gorgeous S. Family!!

I had the pleasure of spending some time with this incredible family! They were so fun and their little girl was such a cutie pie. =)  We couldn't have asked for a better day for their session. It was 72 degrees, sunny with some clouds and a cool sea breeze! It was simply beautiful. =)  

I had a wonderful time with you guys and I hope that you enjoy your "sneak peek"!! 

This is Daddy's sand hill...... lol ... I said they were fun. =)

Thank you again for choosing me to capture your memories! Again, I had the greatest time with you. 

XOXXO

Shannon Wermers

Pensacola Photographer

6 lbs down and my AWESOME gym!

Well, I'm still doing the diet throughout the holiday season - which is HARD! Especially when I'm a baker and love to make goodies! So, here I am making fudge, brownies, and cookies and all I can do is look at them!! haha... So not fair. =)  I have indulged a tiny bit, but I really want to keep up w/ my routine - ya know?! 

Speaking of working out - I have found THE BEST place to workout at. =) I joined Pensacourt and LOVE it. They have the friendliest and most helpful staff and trainers! Everyone is more than willing to answer questions and they even do evaluations, so that you can monitor your progress! This truly isn't your "ordinary run of the mill" kinda of gym - it's a family owned business that cares about your health and well being.  They have two locations one on 9 mile and on Langley. So! If you are in the market for an AWESOME gym - please check them out!  

Oh! One of the best parts of being a member there is for those of us that have KIDS!!  They offer Child Care!! Yes!! For those of us with small children that's a MUST have. The gals in the child care center are so good with my girls and my girls just adore them! Honestly, they are the best hands down and all around. 

Check them out at http://www.pensacourt.com

Tell them I sent ya! ;)  They all know me.... lol   *only because I'm there EVERY day!! haha...  =)    They'll hook you up w/ a guest pass

Happy Birthday!!

Today is a very special day. My little girl is turning 3!! Hooray. =) I cannot believe that she is three already...it's almost unreal.

Three years ago today I was holding a beautiful baby girl in my arms and today.... well, today I get to watch my "big girl" blow out candles, rip open presents, "play mommy" to her little sister, and talk about her friends and what she wants for dinner. She amazes me each day with her incredible personality.

Today, she opened one of her presents - a tutu and cute little hat. She looks up at me and says, "Mommy photo-shoot?!" LOL What a kid!! =) So we dressed her up and had a photo-shoot.

So without further due - here is my Adorable Cadence J.'s 3 year photo-shoot.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

She is trying so hard to hold just 3 fingers up!! lol...so cute

I love you pun'kin!!

XOXXO

Mommy

P.S. Curious on where you can get the awesomely cute tutu or fuzzy hat?

I bought those from this cute children's boutique; TY & KC

They are located at 823 E. Gadsden St.

Pensacola, FL. 32501

Phone: 850-332-6171

Check them out for some really cute stuff!

Thanks Jenny for finding that adorable children's store TY and KC =)

Cans for comments!! This is an amazing Food Drive!

Hi gang!

So many photographers are doing this! It's such an awesome idea, so I thought I would jump aboard. 

Christmas (and Thanksgiving too!) is such a giving time of the year; so many things to be thankful for - healthy friends and family, job prosperity, a roof over my head, food in my mouth and so on. =)  Unfortunately, there are many who are without during these times and well, sometimes throughout the entire year. 

This really hurts my feelings! Cans for comments was started by a fantastic photographers -  Chris and Lynn @http://chrispluslynn.blogspot.com/ and so many since then have joined this cause!

For every comment made on my blog - I will donate a canned good to our local food bank; Bay Area Food Bank. 

Please help us - help others by commenting on our blogs!  I will be posting links to my fellow participating photographers!! Let's do this!!!!!!

*If you would like to donate to this charity or would like to drop off your canned goods - please drop me a line.

Thank you!

Here are some of the amazing photographers that are participating -

Chris and Lynn  http://chrispluslynn.blogspot.com/ 

Amber Hughes - http://blog.amberhughes.ca/

Scott - http://www.thinkphotographics.com/

Kristel Wyman - http://kristelwyman.wordpress.com/

Courtney Paris - http://courtneyparisphotography.blogspot.com

Totally Tubular Ghiglino Family Beach session

I had a fantastic time with this wonderful family! They have two little boys that were just a blast to be around. They were so funny! They were all about Scooby Doo - so we had a great time getting them to look at me by saying "Is that Scooby over there - Oh! I think I see Scooby !! Oh my - I think he's out there surfing! Can you see him?!"  It was hysterical. =)  Tricia and Luigi were wonderful people. I had such a great session with you guys! Thank you for using me to capture your memories! 

Here are some highlights from our session =)

Here is the beautiful family....

Luigi and Tricia (aka Mommy and Papa)

The cuties

Mommy and the boys

Papa and the boys

When I say they were a fun family! I meant literally meant that!! lol 

Thank you for such a fun session. You guys were a blast!!

XOXXO

Shannon Wermers

www.portraitsbysw.com

My kiddos Portrait Session

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I thought I would share my little girls' portrait sessions with you! =) My oldest is almost 3 and my little one is 19 1/2 months old. Even though my oldest will be 3 on Friday, I decided to take her 3 year portrait a little early... lol. 

We took some on the beach with their pajamas (Idea I "borrowed" from a previous session) and then some studio. 

Here are my little girls.  =)

She was giving lil' Sissy a hug. awhhh...

XOXXO

Shannon

Recipe Day!! - Spring Salad -

Hi everyone! Well, not only do I LOVE photography, but I also enjoy cooking and baking - hence the weight gain! lol. Well, since joining fellow photographers on our "battle of the bulge" (lol) I have decided to share some of my recipes with everyone! I hope you enjoy reading and following along! If you are interested in being Fit - please leave comments on the blog with your story and how you are coming along! I would love to hear from you. Take care!

Today, I have a salad recipe for you. =) Yummy!!

Spring Salad

Ingredients:

Spring Salad mix 

Strawberries (4 whole ones sliced)

Roast Beef ( 2-3 pieces of sandwich meat... I use the deli, but you can get pre-packaged)  Cut into pieces

2 tsp Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette (I use the Old Cape Code brand)

handful of Pistachios or almond nuts

1 - 2 tsp Crumbled Feta Cheese

Directions:

In your bowl pour desired amount of lettuce. Add strawberries, Roast Beef, and nuts. Pour 2 - 3 tsp dressing over top and toss. Sprinkle the Feta and enjoy!!

Add salt and pepper if desired.

I hope you like this recipe. It is pretty tasty. Let me know what you think and I will be posting some new recipes within the next week. I think we'll do a Ginger Chicken. Who says eating healthy has to taste bad?!

XOXXXO

Shannon

Day 3 - Dieting Temptations!

So, as many of you have read by now - I am starting a diet! Yippee... and especially right before the Christmas holiday. All those chocolates, fudge, pies, cakes, candies....must I go on?!  lol  This is why I HAVE to get my workouts going strong, so that I may have some of those things without gaining 10 pounds. ;)

Today has been pretty good! Went to the gym and boy did it feel sooooooo good to stretch!  I Did some cardio and worked on legs! Even though my legs were still sore from working out the other day. lol  Today was a good day.

Meals:

Breakfast - 1 bowl of Oatmeal, cup of coffee and water

Lunch - Turkey and cheese

Dinner - Grilled Chicken Wrap

Loads of water today.... I feel like I'm pregnant again; having to go every 10 minutes!! hehehe..

Temptations!!! I took the girls to Chic Fil A tonight and while they were gobbling down waffle fries, chocolate milk and those tasty battered and fried chicken nuggets; I was scarfing down my grilled chicken wrap - and I ate a couple of fries *eeekk* but I did have Diet Coke Caffeine Free...which I have done really good about now having soda. Go me!! lol

On another note -

I have a session booked for Saturday with a great family! I am so excited to meet them!! So, stay tuned for some of their session sneak peeks!

Good night!

XOXXO

Shannon

Day 2 - Ouch it hurts!!! and what's on my ipod

So, I slid out of bed and my legs and butt are KILLING me. haha… and as I’m making my way to the kids’ rooms - I’m keep telling myself “It is ALL worth it…this pain means that something is working!"

*yes, keep telling yourself that…lol*

So, same routine as yesterday as far as meal plan. I CHEATED!!!! I had a few of my daughter’s french fires….eh, I know, I know!! Weakness right there. But just a few…much better than the whole thing.

Went to the gym did 30 minutes of cardio and then did arms/upper body. Feeling pretty good right now! Yay!

Now for this week’s rendition of “what’s on my ipod”  Nosey people want to know!! lol  

I don’t know about you guys, but when I’m working out “what are other people listening to?” So, I do this on my photography blog and thought that I would also share on this blog too. Here we go!

5 Songs

1. Womanizer by Britney Spears

2. Sandstorm by Tunnel Alliance 

3. Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit

4. The Devil went down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band

5. I don’t care by Fall Out Boy

Bonus song - Footloose by Kenny Loggins

Hope you enjoyed reading today’s entry! Stay tuned for more of “what’s on Shannon’s ipod” and I will be putting some great recipes together to share with you! 

XOXXO

Shannon

Day 1.........Just the beginning of my becoming fit

Honestly, it hasn’t been a bad start at all. Surprisingly! I went to the gym (thank GOD it offers child care! - major plus) worked out for an hour and 20 minutes. Did 40 min. of cardio (burned 400 calories) then did Legs. When it was all done - I felt GREAT!!! Now, since having only one cup of caffein - I have a slight headache! yuck! It’s the price I’ll pay for getting rid of the horrific “muffin top”. lol

Meals:

Breakfast - I had an egg w/ wheat toast and 1 cup of coffee

Lunch - Turkey sandwich, handful of grapes - loads of water

Dinner - I’m making baked chicken w/ veggies

I’m so excited for this journey with everyone! We are going to look HOT! =)

XOXXO

Shannon