Boo to Boudoir!

So, I don't know how many of you ladies have tried doing the Boudoir Photo Shoots for your SO's, but two of my girlfriends and I went and did them the other day.  Let me just tell you what a TERRIBLE experience it was for us!
First, we arrive and put on robes and slippers and sip Champagne... okay, so it wasn't ALL terrible.  My first turn off occurred while they were doing out make up.  These women literally painted out faces with foundation, saying this was necessary so that they could start with a blank slate.  Now, correct me if I am wrong but I'm pretty sure faces aren't supposed to be blank slates, they are FACES... of PEOPLE.  Anyways, they gobbed us up with 15 pounds of eyeshadow, eyelashes, eyeliner, lip liner, lipstick... the whole nine yards.  My favorite part was when they filled in my friend's blond eyebrows with black eyeshadow. Needless to say after this process is complete, we looked NOTHING like ourselves, but of course, this is "necessary" to produce good result in our photos.
Fast forward to the actual photo taking process. Oh My Goodness.  "Arch your back, pop your chest out, look up, look down, look at me, look away, lay on your back, stand up, kneel down, suck in your stomach, hold it right there while I fix your underwear!!" And I am not kidding about the underwear.  Let's just say, I am literally sore today after all that intense posing we had going on.  My new found respect for models, I suppose.
Now after being at this place for a full six hours and paying for our session (the price was $299 for a calendar, and we had each won a $100 gift certificate) we were beyond exhausted.  On my way home from picking up my daughter, I received a call from an employee at the shop.  She tells me there was a mistake when I was charged, and she is sorry to inform me that my gift certificate is not good for a calendar shoot.  Umm, excuse me!? Now, before I go on let me just tell you that the first time we went into this place to get some information, the "manager" explained the calendars to us and told us that we could fill out an entry form for a chance to win $100 off.  When we went in to book our appointments, ANOTHER employee told us that our certificates were good towards the calendar and booked our shoots for a few weeks later.  While we were getting ready for our shoots, we mentioned the gift certificates and a different employee said "Yeah that's fine we will figure it our after you're done." So maybe it's just me, but it seems pretty clear that these employees are under the impression the certificates are good towards the calendars. 
At this point, I am livid.  The woman on the phone tells me that she will give us the "Deluxe" package so that we can use our certificates, and that includes TWO photos.  Again, I don't know how many of you have done this but running around changing twelve different times and trying to nail twelve different shots is nuts!  So rather than bombard this woman who I have never even met I told her that I felt extremely misled, and needed to think about it because she really didn't want to deal with me right then, when I was beyond pissed.
All ended well when the photographer/owner called me later saying she would honor the price we were given, but that she would never normally shoot a calendar at the price.  I explained what the other employees had told me, and she informed be the "manager" was never actually a "manager" and she was also no longer with the company.  It all seemed a little sketchy to me.
Typically, I am not one to try to swindle my way to a lower price, or rip off a merchant maliciously, but I was really disappointed in how this place was run.  Nearly everyone was supposedly "new" and no one seemed to have the correct information.  However, we were given a price for a service, that service was performed, we paid for it, and THEN we were told we owed more money. This story is pretty irrelevant to everyday life, but maybe it will help spare at least a few people from a similar experience.  Do your research ladies! Get all the information up front, and if they a company tries something similar with you, don't back down! Hold your ground and stand up for yourself because no one deserves to be walked all over.
My day started out trying to create a nice surprise for my deployed husband, but in all reality, I'm not sure the headache was worth it.  I AM glad the owner ended up being able to understand where I was coming from, and worked with us to honor the offer we received. It was a fun day with the girls, and I am sure that I will be happy with the finished product, but I have definitely learned to ask more questions up front... even though the price we were given seemed like it would be painfully obvious to anyone.

Do you ever wonder...?

I have a close friend who's husband is an Army Reservist. He is considering going active and making a career out of it, and I have spent many hours discussing this potential switch with his wife. The other day she asked me, what I believe to be, an important question.


"Do you ever wonder if someday Madison will resent you for choosing this life for her?" -Madison being my daughter, and "this life" being that her father is Active Duty in the military.


My response was pretty simple, and really didn't require me to think too much. The answer is YES. ABSOLUTELY. Every single day I worry that my little girl will someday say she hates my husband and I for making her move around, change friends, change schools etc. I worry everyday that I am feeding her the wrong food, disciplining her the wrong way, or letting her get away with too much as well! However, I don't know one mother, military or not, who doesn't question every single decision she makes from the day her child is born. We have to have faith in ourselves that we are doing what is best for our children and ourselves. If active duty military means a stable paycheck and a good career, then we go that way and hope our children understand why it is important for us to live that life. I hope everyday that my daughter will grow up to be proud of her Daddy for the sacrifices he makes. I hope she will understand why it is necessary for people to do the job that he does. I guess my point is that if we avoid making decisions because we are too busy worrying that our children will resent us for them, we'd never make any decisions at all! Do what you believe is in the best interest of your child, and you cannot have regrets. We all make mistakes, and we surely will along the way. But what's important is knowing we made our choices having our hearts & minds set on giving our children a bright and wonderful future.


To any of you who are willing to make these sacrifices and live the life of a military family, I thank you. It takes a strong person to handle the things we go through, and that is why God found the strongest people around and made them into soldiers, their wives, and their families.