Over the past few years, it is who I have become. It is who I want to be, and what I want to write about.

Armed with that knowledge and insight from last weekend, I took the plunge last night after 13 years and 1 day of blogging under BigPinkCookie to announce that I am moving my site to this name, embracing my Avenger of Sexiness status. It wasn’t a choice made without a little bit of fear – after all, I’ve been BigPinkCookie for so long! However, it was a decision made with such clarity that I have no doubt that it is the right thing to do.

Moving forward is always a good thing. I can’t wait to share the adventures of being a Hot Mama photographer!

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13 years ago yesterday I wrote the first post on this site. The First First Post. It is incredible to me to think that this site has been around now for 13 years and 1 day.

More incredible to me is the fact that I’m in the process of leaving behind the BigPinkCookie name after all these years.

Yes, you read that correctly. I keep trying to “revive” the blog, and I realized while I was at the Mom 2.0 Summit this past weekend that a revival was not what I need. I need a fresh start. A new identity that matches the rest of the changes in my life.

This blog has seen me through so many great times, so many amazing things. I met Mike, we bought a house, got married, Jason grew up, we bought a house in the Heights, we sold our old house. I made new friends, friends that have been with me through a lot of things.

This blog has also seen me through some really hard times. Maybe that is the baggage that I’m feeling, that I don’t want to carry around any more.

Most of all, I have changed. 13 years ago I was working for a web design company. Then another, then a round of being unemployed, time at a law firm, back to school, years as a wedding photographer plus a boudoir photographer.

In 2010, I started working with Jeff Jochum, first through two workshops where I realized I *REALLY* wanted to focus on photographing Hot Mamas, and over the next year or so of coaching with him I discovered … well, I discovered ME. (Matter of fact, the move to the Heights and the physical changes all started after that time.)

I’ve never felt more like myself since … well, for as long as I can remember. I now own my own business, happily working as the Hot Mama photographer. I love my life. While BigPinkCookie helped me get to that place, who I am now is the Avenger of Sexiness. I help Hot Mamas grow their confidence and rediscover their beauty … all while I am doing the same for myself.

It was fascinating watching how “Avenger of Sexiness” resonates with other women as they read my business card or commented on my t-shirt at Mom 2.0 last weekend.

That was when it hit me. This blog? It needs a change. A fresh start. And that all starts with the name. As soon as I can get the geek-fu magic to take place it will become AvengerOfSexiness.com

Writing that out makes me feel like I can breathe again. I’ve known for 4 months now that I need to do something BIG with the Avenger of Sexiness concept, and this change is just the start of it. I don’t know what the future holds, but I can’t wait to find out!

I’m not sure what I am doing with the archives. I don’t know how it will all work. Don’t worry, I promise you won’t get lost trying to find me. For now, consider this post a line in the sand. From here on out, I am the Avenger of Sexiness!

PS – if you have any suggestions of what I should use for my Twitter name, please let me know. @ChristineBPC makes no sense if I’m no longer the BigPinkCookie. To be honest? That is the only part of this name change that is freaking me out!

The post 13 Years and 1 Day – Changing the BigPinkCookie name… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

I had been on such a roll here with daily posts, and then one day, I slipped. One day lead to two, which lead to over a week. Yesterday I realized that not posting here daily was actually adding to the grumpy mood that I was in. It seems I do need to keep a rhythm going, to keep the habit up. It gives me something to strive for, even when I feel like no one will notice.

(If you notice me slacking off again, nudge me, okay?)

The reason that I pieced this all together? Brussels Sprouts. More specifically, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. Writing that post last night was like opening up a flood gate. I didn’t want to stop writing. Then it hit me how much I missed it.

As I looked at all the comments that flooded in, I learned that the Brussels Sprouts, which no one seems to care about and they are the most hated vegetable on the planet, is actually pretty well liked. Well, by my friends at least.

Things aren’t always what they seem. Don’t give up. Do things that are good for you.

Not a reminder I expected to get from a vegetable, but I’ll take it.

As we start the month of May today, I’m about to hit the 18 month anniversary of starting up 4-Hour Body, going gluten-free, and changing a lot of things. I plan to reflect on that a lot this month. One of the things that has changed? I’ve learned to have a new appreciation for foods I always thought I didn’t like – including Brussels sprouts. Pretty amazing to look back and think about!

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As of Sunday, Jason is officially an adult. He turned 21. I still find it a bit hard to believe. Really? 21??? Where has the time gone?

I started blogging when he was 8 years old. Mom bloggers weren’t even a thing yet. I shared bits and pieces of his life here online, but not many. Eventually he was at an age where I decided that his digital life should be in his control, his story, not mine. So I shared even less.

Looking back, sometimes I wish I had shared more, that I had journaled more. But I didn’t, and life shouldn’t be lived looking backwards anyways.

I remember waking up on his 18th birthday, while he was a senior in high school, and cheering because I had made it to 18. Now here we are at 21. This day doesn’t have the same victory lap feeling to it. Maybe because he has spent time out on his own now. Adulthood is ahead of him. So much possibility. It is a strange transition as a parent, that is for sure.

I am really proud of him and the man that he has become. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here!

Photograph taken in Galveston, Texas. One of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen there. Taken in October, 2012. Click it to view it larger.

The post Happy Birthday, Jason! The Setting Sun on Childhood… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

A day full of photography! A Boudoir client in the afternoon, followed by an engagement session in the early evening.

What a wonderful day! And isn’t that wall groovy? Love it!

The post Love is in the Air… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

I was invited before my medical drama started to come back to White Oak Kitchen + Drinks to photograph their 2nd birthday party that took place today, and it turns out it was the perfect cure for the pity party I was having last night.

As I arrived, the DJ was there playing music that was loud and full of energy. The crowd was excited, and standing in line waiting to get their swag bags. The MC for the day, Will, was pumping up the crowd. The energy was AMAZING!

It was exactly what I needed to feel alive, awake from my slumber, like the party was ready to start! BAM! I was ON!

That is one thing about photographing events like this – I can instantly turn it on. It doesn’t matter how tired I am, what state of mind I’m in, if I’m so sick I should actually be in a hospital bed getting blood transfusions. The crowd and the music will light me up. I’ve got a job to do, and my game face is on. Smile & be nice to people, take great photos. I can do that, and for awhile I will forget everything else.

I could not be more grateful that Elizabeth had hired me to be there today, because I had no idea at the time that we made the plans how much I would need this today.

Added bonus? I got to take another round of photographs of some of their fantastic, phenomenal food! (They even have a GLUTEN FREE menu! YAY!)

Photographing food soothes me. Just me and the food. I block everything else out. The restaurant could be noisy, and I hear nothing. I’m just looking for the light. Looking for the angles. Studying the food. Finding the photograph that I want to take.

These days, it is my favorite hobby – which sort of explains the whole Spoon & Knife thing, doesn’t it?

It was a wonderful time, and the staff at White Oak Kitchen + Drinks is delightful. If you haven’t been there already, I recommend you go! 3rd Level of the Galleria. (Yes, it is in the mall. It is still fabulous.) Do the Galleria valet parking if you want to skip the hassle of parking yourself. Tell them I sent you!

Day 25 of 365. Photographs of White Oak Kitchen + Drinks new menu items taken at a previous assignment with my 5D mkIII on March 1, 2013.

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My doctor called me late this afternoon. The results of my biopsy test from last week? Well, we pretty much don’t know anything more than we knew we did before I had a needle stuck in my neck about 10 times. Ok, ok, that isn’t true – we know that the samples were not malignant. That is a victory! But we don’t know much more than that.

I have a reactive lymph node. We don’t know exactly what they lymph node is reacting to, but it is clearly swollen and painful and causing numbness & tingling along the left jaw line. Something is causing it to be inflamed and has been for some time now. (Before the pneumonia, so it wasn’t that.)

She pointed out that the list of potential causes is quite long. I had my blood work drawn on Monday, and she does not expect to have those results until next week, so we will regroup then and discuss what is next once she has them.

As for my thyroid, yep, there is a cyst there. The samples they got were fluid though, and not tissue. Frustrating for me, since the pathologist said at the time that the first samples were fluid, so the radiologist went in again for another sample. No idea why that one didn’t have tissue. My doctor is waiting to talk with a radiologist to see if doing a Thyroid Uptake test is the step to take next. The goal of that would be to see if the node reacted “hot” or “cold” to the iodine as it went through the system. Hot, and the chance of it being malignant is small. Cold, and the chance of it being malignant is about 20%. We are waiting on blood work for my thyroid as well.

Not out of the woods yet.

To say I’m frustrated is putting it mildly. I’m just tired of it. This has been going on for over 2 months now as far as exams and testing goes, and to be honest, over 2 years now as far as the pain in my neck caused by that lymph node is concerned, although it has definitely grown worse over the past 6 months.

The irony in all of this is that since changing my diet in December 2011 and going gluten-free, I can honestly say I feel better than I have in YEARS. Most of my chronic inflammation related issues are gone because before I had no idea that I was allergic to wheat. My blood pressure is down to normal, I’ve lost 30 pounds, I just feel better. But my lymph node is having a battle with something, and my thyroid has a node.

(Inflammation is at the root of a number of health issues, including high blood pressure & reflux, two of the many things I’ve been treated for with medication in the past, and which have resolved themselves with dietary changes. My blood pressure is normal instead of borderline high. Where I had to take medicine daily for reflux, I now never have to take it.)

Oh, and I may have asthma too – I shouldn’t forget that. Which is also caused by inflammation in the lungs. I have a test next Wednesday to determine my pulmonary function levels.

I’m also 99% sure that I have celiac disease, which is also caused by inflammation. I have all of the symptoms any time I eat wheat. People often comment to me how surprised they are that I’ve stayed gluten free for 17 months now. If you knew how much wheat hurts me, you wouldn’t be surprised at all.

It may be time to move on to an endocrinologist. I need a doctor to look at the whole system.

I don’t want to be sick. I want to BE well. I feel well. I’m doing my part, so I really wish my body would do its part in return.

Day 24 of 365. Photograph taken outside of the House of Blues in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana on my iPhone 4S in July, 2012.

The post Trying to See Good – Biopsy Results, Sort of, Part 2… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

As Angie & I left Taco Tuesday this morning, she asked me what I was doing later today and if I wanted to join her to head to Galveston. As I left my biopsy last week, at the hospital just across the street from NASA, I considered heading south to Galveston when I reached I-45. The Gulf has been calling me. I needed some sand between my toes. I needed a distraction from waiting for my biopsy results. So I said yes.

An aside: TARGET! WTF is up with this bikini top?!? How is that even comfortable? That is just all kinds of WRONG. You know what those look like attached all over a woman’s chest, right?! Is anyone paying attention, Target? SERIOUSLY???

We stopped (at Target, obviously – I’m still really confused by that bikini top!) to buy sunscreen because I just threw all of mine away. I am convinced that sunscreen eventually loses its effectiveness, and if it doesn’t then it was likely rancid anyways. New sunscreen, water, and a few snacks in hand, we made our way to the island, only to be greeted by a light misting rain as we arrived.

The rain stayed with us, but that didn’t stop us. We walked along the water’s edge, discovering it was far too cold still today. We walked out on the jetties, carefully because they were slick with water and the wind was blowing. We checked out the Pleasure Pier, at least the part that we could see from the closed gate; it wasn’t open in the rain.

More walking along the seawall, and I finally received the call back from my doctor’s nurse about the biopsies I had done last week.

There was no malignancies in the biopsy samples. However, my doctor has questions about the pathologist’s report, and she has called him to discuss it. She will tell me more once she has talked to him, hopefully tomorrow.

“In the biopsy samples” jumped out at me as an odd phrase. Is there something more they are questioning? We will see. She also asked about my bloodwork. It was done yesterday, so it will likely be a week before they have results. They had made me wait until my pneumonia was cleared up, and then I waited another day or two to pick up the orders from the doctor’s office because it is a 30 minute drive to get there. I picked the orders up after my biopsy, but since my lymph node & parotid gland area hurt so much on Friday, I decided to wait until Monday to have it drawn, after confirming with them that it was ok to wait.

So I wait. Still waiting. I feel like I’ve been waiting for months now, since the first MRI was weeks ago.

The gray weather was fitting for my mood. It wasn’t bad, it kept Galveston quiet. No one else was out except the occasional surfer and a handful of small groups on the beach. I needed quiet time.

As we walked along the seawall, we stopped in Murdouch’s to use the bathrooms and to check out the kitschy tourist trinkets. As we left, I commented that I really wanted some ice cream, so we headed to La King’s on the Strand. Angie pointed out that it was to celebrate “No malignancies!” After making a selection of a few chocolate goodies from the candy case, I went with the peanut butter ice cream with chocolate chips. It was delicious and cool on such a muggy day.

We left the island then to head back home. Just a little adventure, but we decided that we really must do it again soon. After all, the road to Galveston isn’t that long, and if we time it right to avoid traffic it is maybe an hour drive. Houston drivers do that all the time in rush hour traffic. Since our commutes are only a few blocks, and we are the bosses of our businesses, there really is no excuse.

I’ll hear from my doctor once she hears back from the pathologist. I’ll do my best to keep myself busy in the meantime. At the moment, it is all I can do. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll know more.

Day 23 of 365. All photographs taken in Galveston, Texas, with my iPhone 5 and edited in Instagram on April 16, 2013.

The post A Grey Day – Biopsy Results, Part 1… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

Finally tired. Finally ready to go to sleep. Wait, I still have makeup on. Wash my face. Brush my teeth. Now I’m wide awake again.

Damn it. I hate it when that happens.

Day 22 of 365. Photograph taken with my IPhone 5 as we left Las Vegas, Nevada after WPPI on March 14, 2013.

The post Time For Bed, But I Am Wide Awake… appeared first on Avenger of Sexiness.

Enjoy the pretty clouds as I try to make my new WordPress theme behave correctly at Spoon & Knife. New recipes coming soon!

Day 21 of 365. Photograph taken just off of 610 North in Houston, Texas with my iPhone 5 on April 13, 2013.

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