Stacey Bode Photography

The fabulous Synchronicity Performance Group hosted a cabaret fund raiser at one of my favorite venues, The Moulin Rouge Room at Paris on Ponce. The evening was a very entertaining mix of songs, dances, holiday themes, jokes, and some good old-fashioned naughty versus nice.

I loved their idea of auctioning off “table songs” sung to individual attendees. Man, there was a lot of talent in that room! Everyone seemed to be in a really giving spirit for a great cause. Everybody wins!

It’s time for another edition of “How I Spent My Christmas Vacation”, by Stacey Bode. I was glad to just have a super-chill time with the folks, and I was completely thankful that doing so only took a short car trip versus an airplane. Yay! My sister and her hubby were in town, so it was swell to see them. We totally missed not being around Susie (Matt’s mom) and John, but we’re going to visit them in Florida as soon as 2009 hits. See ya next year!

One highlight of the holiday was when we were all playing Cranium, and my Dad had to illustrate a movie title clue with his eyes closed (a movie he’s never seen). All he had was a squiggle, and Ricardo shouted out “Snakes in the Plane!!”. He got it. We call it a Christmas miracle.

Every year, it seems my mom and I get mad at someone who goes out and buys something at the last minute which is the SAME something that someone has already gotten them as a gift. Oh, and it’s usually something they’ve specifically asked for. Does this happen in your family?? The logic escapes me. Well, this year the offender was MY MOM! As if it’s not weird enough that I’m buying her video games for Christmas (she’s obsessed with the Nintendo DS I got her last year), then she goes and buys one of the games I got her. If I didn’t love her so much, I’d strangle her with boughs of holly.

On Christmas day, I went for a walk with dad and Matt. We couldn’t believe how warm it was. I did half the walk in BARE FEET! It was surreal how warm the pavement was and that my parents live in a neighborhood that’s so clean, I didn’t even have to look down as I walked for fear of stepping on broken glass, discarded gum wads, or chicken bones. I miss the city.

After Christmas, we all went to a Thrashers game that Matt was announcing in the arena. Woo hoo! Matt did a super job and it was a great game, even thought we lost. It was fun explaining to everyone why the fans shout “Knights!” during the national anthem, and that people were not booing our goalie Hedberg, they were shouting his nickname, “Moose”.

My Christmas gift to Matt was tickets to the North Mississippi All Stars concert, which we went to last night. They blues-jam-riffed our faces off!

It was so great to see Heather, Bill, and Alex again! Wow, you don’t realize how significantly a year can change things until you see how much little kiddos grow up in that amount of time. Alex was so tiny last year!

I met up with the lovely Pequignot family at Kennesaw Mountain Park for some late autumn photos. It ended up being REALLY cold, and sweet Alex was such a trooper. We were able to snap some fun pics before we were like, “let’s get this fella back to where there’s heat!”.

For a potential project, I needed to put together a little slideshow of some candid shots of families and kiddos. I’m really glad to have had a reason to do so because looking through the images brought back many beautiful memories of people who have affected me in such a positive way. I’m extremely lucky to be able to work in situations that don’t just allow an outpouring of emotions, they downright encourage it. Not many folks would be glad to have a job that makes them cry, but I love that I get choked up when a father dances with his daughter at her wedding, or when I watch a couple gently holding their newborn. Wearing my heart on my sleeve is a huge part of my photography, so I will continue to wear it there and remember to pack plenty of tissues in my camera bag.

Matt and I don’t have a tree up, or stockings hung by the chimney with care, or even egg nog in the fridge. What we DO have is an “ode to Tom Waits” holiday tune that we recorded in our dining room. Yay! That was on your wish list, right?

I have reaffirmed the fact that I belong BEHIND a camera and never, ever in front of it. I wish that all those episodes of America’s Next Top Model had paid off, and that I could have some semblance of natural flair when posing for photos. However, as soon as I see a camera aimed my way, my face gets a severe case of ADD, and I turn into a bad, one-woman vaudeville act.

Yesterday, I had to drag Matt out to shoot some quick headshots of me. I needed to submit my photo and some info in the hopes of being involved with a new photography TV show. I’ll keep you posted (fingers crossed!).

Matt could probably tell you a few stories of when he has defied death or at least serious bodily harm. None of these stories involve bravery equal to that required for him to take my picture. When he’d show me images on the LCD, I kept saying ” is THAT really what I look like??!!”. I mean, I know I don’t exactly have bee-stung lips, but I wasn’t aware that they are nonexistent. This isn’t just typical self-deprecation. I am actually wondering how I am able to effectively drink through a straw. I may also change my Christmas wish list to nothing but gift certificates for spray tans.

Anyway, I’d like to give a HUGE shout-out to all the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege to photograph. I have a new appreciation for how completely cool you are.

Oh Henry! I can’t get enough of you. Maybe someday you’ll forgive me for convincing everyone that your name was Chauncey Rocket. Maybe someday Matt will forgive you for making me want to have a baby. My sudden desire to extend our family to more than cats or dogs is fueled by not only Henry’s shameless perfection, but also the fact that our friends are “stealing” all the good names. First, Melanie took Owen. Then, Jed and Nikki used Oscar. Tim and Shelby nabbed Max. Mary and Dan grabbed Henry. Now Melanie’s soon-to-be-boy#2 will get Elliott. Is she allowed to steal TWO good names??? If Matt and I ever get around to this baby thing, looks like I’ll be dusting off Chauncey Rocket: The Revenge. Boy or girl.

Last week I was hanging out with Leigh and Mary while getting some quality time with the little guy. We took some non-hospital newborn pics in their beautiful new home. Then we helped Mary get started with the big scrapbook. By the way, I think there needs to be an entire page dedicated to me since I was his first official babysitter. I watched him for a whole 5 minutes all by myself! It was tough, but I’m really patient. Actually, when Mary got home, I think my first words were “you can’t have him back yet!”.

One of the joys of being an actor is that you have to properly document changes in your appearance. I took headshots for Louis earlier this year in April. However, one haircut later and his look has changed. Presto! So, back to the camera he goes. We even took some pre-shave and post-shave shots this time to make sure all the bases were covered.

It was MUCH colder out than you would guess by looking at these images. Like any good actor or model, Louis handled it like a champ. A very cold champ.

I should probably point out that this post could also be considered an early Christmas present for my friend Vicki, who developed a little inter-web crush on Louis after I posted his first headshots. Hi Vicki!

Louis, it was great to see you again. Thanks for doing another fantastic job, and I can’t wait to hear about all your super acting adventures!

My pal Rene needed some pics for a dandy secret santa gift he was concocting, so he came over the other day, and we snapped a few gems. Here’s one of my favs. Truly, nothing screams “holidays” like bumble bees, teddy bears, kittens decorating a tree, and some totally rad shades. This is a look not to be attempted by untrained individuals or those prone to dizzy spells.

I will also be using this image to prove to my cats that they do in fact have the manual dexterity to help out around the house like these motivated little kittens. These motivated, vacant, gigantic, creepy, robot-clone kittens.

The other day, I shot some photos for Synchronicity Performance Group’s production of “The Snow Queen” at Actor’s Express. It’s based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, and has some really beautiful music/singing throughout. The sets, costumes, and performances are downright impressive, so if you’re in Atlanta between now and December 28th, you should totally check it out! For more information, click HERE. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good musical with evil queens, talking animals, tragedy, and the triumph of friendship? Git yerself on o’er there!