February Specials!

Hello all!  I know my last couple blogs have been about my injury.  I meant to blog everyday because I thought I'd be laying around all day, everyday.  Not the case!  I was either passed out sleeping or up doing stuff.  A bum arm isn't gonna hold me back!  Anyways, this IS a photography related blog.  It's about next month's SPECIALS!

Valid Feb. 1-28, 2013:

1.  If you buy a frame from me (either one in my studio or a special order), you will get a coupon for 50% off a gallery wrapped canvas!  That's a HUGE discount!  :)  *cannot be combined with other offers*  Email me at dwhiteheadphotography@gmail.com to order or get pricing information!

2.  On February 9th, it is MY  birthday.  In honor of my 26th birthday, you will get 26% off your ENTIRE print order by entering the code BIRTHDAY at checkout.  This code is valid ONLY on Feb. 9th, 2013 from 12:00am-11:59pm.

3.  Because of Valentine's Day, this entire month, if you spend $100+ you get $14.00 off by using the code VDAY14.  This code is valid Feb. 1-28, but cannot be combined with other offers.

Enjoy!  And as always, be sure to follow my Facebook page so you don't miss out on giveaways & other special offers!
~D

Post Inury | Day 12

This post won't be nearly as long as yesterdays.  Not much going on here.  I find it hard to sleep at night.  Not sure if it's the meds or what, but I was up again till 2am last night.  This time however I wasn't sucked in to another episode of Family Feud, but finished reading The Secret Life of Bees, which is am AMAZING book if you haven't read it yet.  I saw the movie several years ago, but kind of forgot a lot of it.  After reading the book, I bought the movie & I am going to watch it tonight.  I am SO excited!  This book was amazingly inspiring.  It warms your heart.  So after my lack of sleep I was woken up around 730am to a howling sound.  At first I was confused, thought perhaps I was dreaming.  Then after I laid there listening to it & really woke up I realized it was my dog, Lucky, howling in the garage below me.

I finally couldn't take it anymore & went downstairs.  He immediately shut up when he heard me get out of bed.  I opened the garage door & he bolted inside with his tail between his legs.  I moved his bed inside so he could lay down, wondering what had spooked him.  I called my mom & asked if she'd ever heard him howl before & she said "Oh yes, he was probably howling at all the sirens we heard this morning.  Just tell him to shut up & he stops."  I look down at Lucky shaking & just laughed.  Oh scardy dog.  I know he hates thunderstorms.  He's hysterical during those.  Anyways, I laid here for about an hour till I was able to fall back asleep.  I definitely wasn't ready to get up.  That's the other end of my late nights, not wanting to get up in the morning.  And I am so sore in the mornings now.  I HATE laying flat on my back, but with my injury there really is no other way to lay.  I think my body must try & flip flop or roll over during the night & the constant battle probably is putting me in pain.  I eventually woke up from my previous "Norco" alarm & realized it was NOON!  Holy cow.  I called Grandpa & he said they'd be up in a few hours.  So I watched an episode of Full House (it was the one where DJ starves herself because she thinks she's fat).  Then an episode or two of Reba, then finally talked myself into getting up.  Ate a little lunch then got myself ready the best I could with one arm.  I had to wait for Grandma to put my hair up for me.  We went to my mom's work so they could see where she works, had to wait 30 minutes or so for her to be done working so we played corn hole.  

It was a lot of fun!  I beat Grandma in the first round, then Grandpa beat both of us!  It really wore me out though.  Phew, I feel old.  We went to Trader Joes (one of my Top 10 favorite stores) & I got stocked up on some stuff.  I've been wanting to go there since September!  They have the best shave cream ever!  It smells good, you don't have to use much so it lasts a long time, & it makes your legs really soft.  And the best part is it's only like $3.50.  My friend, Jess, introduced me to it.  Thank you dear!

I also got some food items, but I don't need to go into all that.  ;)  I'll have a post dedicated to Trader Joes another day.  We went out to eat tonight with my grandparents, which was fun.  It's nice to be able to get out of the house.  My incision site is looking good, or so my nursing friends tell me.  Steri strips still haven't came off yet, but I'm guessing that takes some time.  

Ok this is way longer than I intended so I'll go now.  I am going back to Manhattan tomorrow night to get some stuff.  I need to get my camera because I could have a new niece any day now!  Then I'll be in Topeka the rest of the weekend so I probably won't blog again until Sunday night.  Love y'all to whomever's reading & again, thank you to those for the continued support.  Goodnight!

~D

Crash & Burn | My Journey

I know this is not photography related, well not entirely.  It's part of the reason I will be off from photography for a little while.  As most of you know, I was in an accident recently & I've had TONS of support from people calling, emailing, texting, etc. checking on me.  I love all of the awesome friends I have & appreciate the thoughts & prayers, but I figured it might be easier to update everyone on my blog!  I meant to do this awhile back, but wasn't able to move my arm in the right position to type very well.  And I'm a home row girl so let's face it - this hunt & peck with one hand crap was killing me!!  Ok so here it goes...

The accident:

Without going into too many details a four wheeler "joy ride" only ended up lasting 2 minutes & ended with an end over end roll over.  I don't want to relive all the scary details with everyone, but I really wish we had the go pro camera on the helmet!!  Darnit!  My boyfriend was driving, he's ok.  Just a few aches & pains, but they're improving.  I ended up fracturing my clavicle (broken collarbone for those of you not in the medical field).  Thank goodness it was my left.  Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be able to survive on just relying on my left hand!!  (I'm right handed.  ;)  For those of you who don't know, I'm an x-ray tech.  So of course broken bones & stuff is cool to me.  Not quite the same when it's your own, but still very cool.  I knew it was my clavicle the minute I started having the pain.  I knew I wasn't dislocated or had any other broken bones. My clavicle felt like fire from joint to joint.  It was obvious to me.  I was taken to a very small community hospital, but everyone there was SO nice & helpful.  The PA that saw me was awesome.  I toughed it out through the first x-ray, then had to lay down for the next two.  I immediately asked for a CD & to see them.  As I was sitting in the ER I could tell I was deformed from the looks I was getting, but no one wanted to tell me.  I made my boyfriend take a photo so I could look at it.  :)

See the bump on my left side?  Yeah, that's the middle of my clavicle jutting up towards my skin.  

Anyways, found out quickly that Demerol was my best friend that day/night.  So I was sent home (to my boyfriend's parents house; I don't think I mentioned that we were back home visiting) with a lot of pain meds.  Of course this happened on a Saturday so I couldn't do anything until Monday because this type of fracture really isn't an emergency, just REALLY painful.  Side note: I had torn some ligaments in my ribs in December & thought it was awful at the time.  NOW I realize that is the second worst pain in the world.  This isn't the first bone I've fractured.  I broke my right wrist & a finger when I was like 5, but I was also knocked out by a concussion & they just casted it, but I don't really remember the pain.  Ok back on point.  

The waiting game:

So Sunday we went back to my boyfriend's house where my mom met us to take me home.  I got an appointment on Monday with ortho & he happened to have a cancellation that Thursday so we scheduled my surgery.  My mom took me to my Grandma's for the next couple days so she could go back to work.  It was rough, probably the worst pain...sleeping in the recliner, sleeping for 2 hours from the meds, then awake for an hour.  Just around the clock in that vicious cycle.  Then the appetite loss - I'd only be hungry for like 30 minutes, just a couple times a day.  Everyone did a great job of taking care of me.  My cousin even brought me Orange Leaf when  I was craving ice cream.  :)

She even helped me take a bath (which you don't realize how much better that can make a person feel). The best part was I got to still hang out with my best bud, Khloe.  She knew something wasn't right cause I didn't hold her & I wasn't up playing with her.  She sat with me in the recliner a few times, & was very curious about my ice pack & the cut on my head (oh yeah, forgot to mention my head & chin had scratches/cuts on them, but I didn't even realize it until someone told me).  

The surgery:

So back to Manhattan for surgery on Thursday.  Everyone was super nice.  I had great nurses, OR staff, doctors, etc.  It's so weird being on the other side of it!  

I went back to get an intra scalene block put in so basically I wouldn't feel my arm.  This was the best thing EVER!  My friend, Chris, who's a CRNA did it for me, & I was still nervous, but I don't remember it at all.  After he put the O2 on, I was out.  I remember waking up back in my room & apparently I was hilarious everyone tells me.

Surgery went well.  I wasn't feeling much of anything afterwards, especially pain.  I was really craving fried okra.  I settled for mashed potatoes with brown gravy.  I had a lot of coworkers/friends come &

visit me in the hospital.  It was so nice!  The funniest thing is that I was very worried about my arm smelling because I couldn't probably wash it between the accident & surgery & the worst thing is that I couldn't shave my armpit!  Maybe TMI, but I'm a very OCD person & it was driving me nuts!  So my nurse, Dora, shaved my armpit for me in the OR while I was out!  Dr. Palmgren even told my mom in his post op report to them.  Oh boy...and I work there.  Haha

Post surgery:

I was told several times to get ahead of the pain.  I was told that my block would eventually wear off, usually in 12-18 hours so to start on my pain meds so they'd kick in when it did wear off.  I took one at the hospital before I went home, but I felt fine.  Couldn't feel my arm at all.  As soon as we got home, mom left for the store to get some groceries & fill my pain meds.  Grandpa & Grandma stayed with me.  At some point after she left for the store, all hell broke lose.  At first it was that I just couldn't get comfortable.  Then it was a pain almost worse than what I had originally experienced in the ER.  I felt bad for my Grandma because she was trying to help me, but I just couldn't stop crying.  My Grandpa finally called my mom & told her, forget the groceries & just get the meds & come home now.  It took about 12 hours to get that really intense pain to go away.  The first 24 hours after the surgery were awful, but my mom was there to take good care of me.  I also had the support of my kitty, Kenzie.  She didn't really leave my side & sensed there was something wrong since I just stayed in bed.

I'm not sure when it was exactly, maybe Saturday morning, but I had to show my mom how to burn a CD for a client so we had to go to my studio.  I was tired & couldn't stand very long so I sat down on my baby bean that I use for newborn posing.  I was SO comfortable!  I was like, why didn't we think of this sooner??

My boyfriend came Saturday to take care of me through the weekend.  We didn't do much.  Laid around & watched movies mainly.  We watched Matilda.  I love that movie & haven't seen it in forever!  My parents sent me gorgeous flowers!

Like I said, I am very appreciative of all of the support I've gotten.  Not only the visits, phone calls, emails, etc.  But the gifts that I got!  Thank you Amy K., Angie & her girls, Ashley, Amy E., Wendi, Megan, Mom, Brenda, Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Mac & everyone that has been my support system.   

I got to take off my bandages Sunday & shower.  Felt SOO good to do that.  That microfoam was hurting my neck & just tore up my skin.  It's still recovering almost a week later.  But I think I'm gonna have a pretty gnarly scar!

Sunday night my mom took me to her house.  I'm staying here until my 2 week post op check up.  It's been very nice.  I'm not good at sitting around & it really is killing me to not be working.  But we did bring my computer & my whole office set up practically so I've been able to edit (I can do that with one hand!).  I keep saying editing is my therapy.  Gets my mind off the pain.  I need to do my taxes...grrr...but besides that I have found stuff to do.  I've come to find out I LOVE watching Family Fued.  And have gotten to the point where I am yelling out answers.  Lol...I'm convinced I could win the $20,000 in the fast money round if given the chance.  I especially love the episodes where Steve Harvey hosts.  Very funny!  I've been reading a lot.  Trying to finish The Secret Life of Bees so I can watch the movie (again).  I've also been watching a lot of Full House & drinking Dr. Pepper.  Brings me back to my childhood.  So much for no pop in 2013.  Haha 

I've decided that I'm going to gauge my recovery on the ability to put my hair in a ponytail.  I'm not sure how long I'll be off work, but my job requires lifting, sometimes a lot, & right now I can't carry a full bottle of water in my left hand without my shoulder hurting or raise my arm very much at all.  Every once in awhile I give my arm a break & take the sling off.  I can my arm down to my side, but can't extend my elbow all the way yet.  I can't externally rotate my hand or abduct my arm very much (bring away from my body).  At least I have more use of my forearm & hand.  It's been a big help.  I've figured out a lot of tricks to doing things with only one good arm.  So as far as the pain, it's gotten better.  I mean, I've been on pain meds around the clock since it happened, but I hate it, so I've cut way down & in the mornings I just lay in bed so it doesn't hurt, but then I don't have to take my meds till late morning.  Some days are better than others, but I make little improvements everyday.  Here's a photo of the other night when we went out for sushi.

Mom had to put my hair in a pony tail for me & help me dress, but still, better than sweats.  Last night I took a bubble bath & read my book.  It felt so good to wash my hair.  Well, mom washed it for me, but still.  Brenda made me homemade fried chicken.  We also had fried okra & mashed potatoes & gravy.  So good!  Today has been a good day.  Besides laying in bed all morning because I didn't feel great, this evening I'm going out to eat with mom & some of her coworkers.  So I got up, washed up, changed my bandage, brushed my hair & I actually put makeup on!  First time in almost 2 weeks.  I also got my left arm through the armhole of my shirt today!  Another thing I haven't done in 2 weeks.  I can also get my sling on & off by myself.  And, I got up the energy to write this blog.  ;)  I will try & keep up with daily blogs, but I promise they won't be as long as this one.  I had a lot to catch everyone up on!  :)  Anyways, thank you again - I can't say it enough.  I better go finish getting ready for dinner.  Chat with ya tomorrow!  :)

~D

Valentine's Day Mini Sessions *modified 1.13.13*

Addition 1.13.13:
I've had a recent accident requiring me to have surgery, which I did last Thursday & now on the mend.  However, I'm slowly getting back into editing, but my arm is still in a sling so no shooting for me for a little while.  With that being said I am cancelling the January 30th mini session date so there will only be the spots left on February 12th.  All the more reason to call & sign up - less spots available!  If you had already made arrangements for the 30th, I should've already talked to you.  E-mail me if you want to get in on the 12th, though!  Should be lots of fun!  :)  Thanks for your understanding & cooperation!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello again!  Can you believe Valentine's Day is right around the corner?  I am going to be holding another set of mini sessions because it was so much fun in the fall!  

The date is: Tuesday, February 12th
Please e-mail me at dwhiteheadphotography@gmail.com to reserve your spot!  First come, first served!

This will be in the studio.  It will be a red,white & pink heart backdrop (Valentine's day themed - see photos below).  I will have coordinating colored props, so dress yourself and/or your children accordingly.  Because of the small space in the studio, it is limited to a maximum of three people getting photographed at one time.  Ex. a family of 3, or just 3 children, etc...there's not room for more than that!  

The sessions are 20 minutes long so parents be sure & bring something to entertain your child or bribe them to get them to cooperate!  (Fruit snacks, marshmallows, their favorite toy, their favorite song, etc. usually works)  :)  I know sometimes these things take time, but I'll help as much as I can!  Also, even if you don't plan on being in the photos, come somewhat dressed because getting your kids to participate might mean you having to sit with them for some.  ;)

The session fee is $50 (this includes tax).  For the fee you get a 20 minute session, 10 edited photos on a CD (your choice) & a 5x7" print of your choice.  The $50 must be paid at the time of booking.  The time slots will be filled according to who contacts me/pays first.  If for some reason you must cancel your session, $25 of your fee paid will be refunded to you, but the remaining $25 will be kept as a non-refundable retainer to hold your spot.  Email me at dwhiteheadphotography@gmail.com to get your spot!  :)  Thanks & hope to see you all there!

~D

*Just added - if you sign up, you get $10 off the regular price of any frame in stock!  You can pick out & take home your frame the day of your session!

Pricing Information | Updated for 2013

Every session will be $100 flat rate.  This will include 1-2 hours of shooting & up to 2 locations.  If there are small children involved we'll probably lean closer to 1 hour because of attention spans.  ;)  The 2 locations can be both outside or 1 outside & the studio.  With this sitting fee you will get to choose 15 edited photos that I will put on a CD for you along with a print release form.  

A bonus to this is you will get 15% off any prints/products if you order within the first 2 weeks.  When I send you your gallery information + password I will give you a coupon code to use.  If you place a print order that is a minimum of $300, you will get all of your session's images on a CD for free.  This has to be one consecutive order totaling at least $300; cannot be multiple orders that add up to that amount.  So have your family members tell you what they want & you can combine orders to get that free CD!  

*Some additions for 2013:

You can save up to $20 per session!

I am offering referral bonuses now, so when someone comes to their photo session, if they tell me who referred them, I'll send the person who referred them a $10 off coupon (applies to sessions).

If you pay for your session at the time of booking it, you will get a $10 discount.

I am hoping to be able to have more mini session dates.  The first one will be for Valentine's Day with details coming this week!  Also, subscribe to this blog so you don't miss any monthly specials on prints & session fees!

January Specials

Hello all!

In lieu of me taking January off from shooting (mainly so I can catch up on editing & get taxes done), I am offering a print sale!  I am offering a package with an 8x10" print (reg. $14) & a set of 8 studio wallets (reg. $19) for only $20!  This will be added to your gallery under "prints" & is good from January 1-31!  The 8x10 & wallets do have to be of the same print, but this is a HUGE deal!  Biggest sale I've ever had on studio wallets.
Also, for the new year, I'm offering 13% off on orders $100+.  Just enter the code 2013 at checkout.  Cannot be combined with other coupon codes.
Frames in stock are also discounted.  Email me for more information!  dwhiteheadphotography@gmail.com.

Happy 2013!
~D