Friday, September 29, 2006

yay saturday!

picture this...
i finished editing and uploaded all of
marissa's images last night while gary
watched "narnia".....absolutely one of
my all time favorite movies!!
i remember the books as a child and
i thoroughly enjoyed the movie!!

yes indeed my fong amber~dome arrived
yesterday...i am now in need of some models
to try my new lighting and my new
lightsphere amber dome!
call me if you are interested!! :)
i know that my nieces will come by!

gary just informed me that he is going
to the twins game today with his boyfriend,
jimbo....well, that's what i call him anyway.
well actually a number of years ago i started
calling jimbo "the spoiler" cuz he used to
show up at nearly every vacation we have ever
been on..he'd come walking up the beach
in his "salmon" shorts with a gym bag in
one hand and a cold, adult beverage in the
other and ask, "hey, can i toss this in your room?"
and i'm like...NO, get your own damn room!
then the two of them would go on a tour and
head off down the beach...whatever.

jimbo in '04...





jimbo in '05



jimbo in '0...wait a minute! that's not jimbo!!!




most weekends they are joined at the hip.
yes, i'm afraid if jimbo jumped off a bridge.....
gary would indeed jump as well!
he MIGHT toss me the keys to the beemer
as he leaps...more likely keys to the lawn mower!
they make a practice every summer of
seeking out festivals in little towns near
and far....gary and jimbo are "festival chasers"!
i think that jason davis should do a story on them!
"corn dayz"..."nickle~dickle days"..."steamboat days"
there are just too many to count.
so NOW he gets to go to a twins/white socks game!
they truly are "buddies for life" and it's really kinda
cool...i'm such a good wife to put up with it. :)

i'd better get going and post this...jacquie gets
pretty anxious if i don't get this up early in the day!
besides, i have to go and get gary's b-day present
for tomorrow!! :)

minnesota miracle

picture this....

my sweet boxes arrived yesterday!
i now can package my clients images
into something other than envelopes.
my family owns an ad specialty
business so i'm going to order some seals
made of my logo for the packaging as well.
can't wait!

attended a wine & cheese gathering last
night for the miracles of mitch foundation
at the airport hilton. this event was
held to get folks hyped up about the
"minnesota miracle" event on new years eve!

here's mitch's mom, becky chepokas (center),
with a couple that thought i was my
sister anne (weird),..tom workman's sister
and her husband...i forget their names already!
i'm so BAD about that!! sorry you two!
i almost gave them money cuz they thought
i graduated in 86!! HA! i still got it! ;)
did i mention that this event was also
heavily sponsored by GREY GOOSE!!!!
hense the martinis!! :)



and here's mitch's dad, steve (center) and
mitch's grandfather (becky's dad), ron stanchfield
on the right along with dietre (food & bev. guy @ hilton),
the man mostly responsible for getting this ball
rolling last year! thanks dietre





visit www.minnesotamiracle.org for
additional information...all the images on
that site are one's that i have shot.
check out the "new years eve bash 2005 video"
the opening video was done recently and
includes many of my images from last year as well.
now don't get me wrong, i know this is not
about me! but the opening video will explain
the importance of this new years eve event!
contact me if you need more information or
would like to volunteer or donate for the
silent auction this year.
we can use everyone's help! thanks.

i think my fong amber dome should arrive
today!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

sweet marissa...

picture this....

as i work with marissa's photos
yesterday, it occurred to me.......
people really DO love having
their pictures taken...really!








i think that once you get into
the swing...you get more comfortable
with the camera and the photographer.
(as long as you don't have too extensive
of an audience)....people generally get
pretty good at relaxing and letting their
soul show....i just love that!
i can almost tell when it happens too~
and that's even cooler.
there is a sense of confidence that comes
over people..like, "i can do this!"
i just shoot an shoot until i feel it.
dare i say...it's a sort of "lensgasm"...
a connection between the shooter and
the shoot-ee!

I don't mean to offend, it's just that
most folks feel nervous and it's my job
and my job alone, to get the "subject"
to settle and be themselves...
the smile becomes more genuine, the
cheek cramps go away and the eyes connect.

it's really nice to know the difference between
taking a picture of someone and taking the
time to capture the soul of someone...
through the lens of a camera.
some of you will understand...the rest will
think that i'm weird.

now, i call myself a purist so these next
two are just examples of the fun
that you CAN have with certain images......






i ordered the fong "amber~dome".
should have it by friday. it should
warm up any indoor image that you have
to shoot with at white balance of "tungsten".
sometimes these shots get pretty "cool".
and with winter coming i thought it would
be a great addition to the rest of my filters.
i'm anxious to try it out when it arrives.

congratulations jacquie!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

stone arch bridge

picture this.....

here's marissa!
isn't she gorgeous!
her mom, mia, kept saying...
"i can't believe i made her!"
tough to see your baby girl
all grown up and looking so
mature all of a sudden!







in the middle of the shoot
it started to rain....darn it!
not hard, just enough to halt
things for a little bit....
so we ran for shelter under
one of the arches and i discovered
that the light was really great there
so we hung out for quite a while
and got some really great stuff!
you were quite the trooper marissa.
thanks!
the rain let up and we finished with
about 200 images...my personal high
for a senior student...usually i get
150 in. marissa made it easy to shoot
more...and more....and more.... :)

that might be it for seniors this year.
this has been a terrific season for me
and i have so many people to thank!

cameron's wallets should come today.
sara's 4x6's came yesterday.
i shared my finished flush mount studio
sample album of amanda & rick's wedding
with them last night via the internet.
it should be here in 6 weeks.

jacquie.......155!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

call me crazy!

picture this.....

with all the trouble that i have had with
pictage, i have just completed an album
that i am having them produce & bind for me.
yikes!!! this will be a studio album sample for
me to show others. it's of rick & amanda's wedding.
it's pretty cool! i'll keep you posted.

drove up to meet kristin and go to lunch.
i walked in the door and said...
"okay, we haven't seen one another since june 9th!"
bad friends, BAD friends!
it was the best visit! we vowed to not ever let that
happen again! she and alex are trying to work
things out.....jury's out on that...i pray that they
can resolve it...somehow, one way or another.
break ups suck....divorces are even suckier!

moving on.....
so gary's brother has requested that i "clean out"
my G4 laptop so as i've been going through
the archives of my life (most of which are also on CD),
i've come across some of my favorite images,
here are a few....

golden gate bridge...
these were taken while on a harbor
cruise on our friend's yacht for our anniversary
a couple of septembers ago.





and ferrari carano cellar...so great!
you gotta go there!



i'm going to shoot marissa's senior portraits
tomorrow late in the afternoon down at the
stone arch bridge...i'll post a couple of shots
either later today or tomorrow.

have any of you caught the new show
"studio 60 on the sunset strip"?
it airs on monday nights at 9, so far so good.
that is if you believe that a 20 something can
get hired as the president of a major network
channel! right! it's nice to see Chandler Bing
back on television. it's intense like the west wing was..
constant dialogue..8 minutes in, and i'm exhausted!

oh, and jacquie likes to see her name here on
my blog so....jacquie, enjoy "the march of the penguins"
on your flight to ohio to meet your new board
members! don't forget about us little people!

anne, jacquie is borrowing march of the penguins!
see you at noon.

torii hunter rocks!!!! twins win!!!

one last thing...tony has linked my site from
his "my space"...he's a senior at chaska whose
portraits i shot a week ago.
i think he likes his photos...and so do some of his
old girlfriends i hear! :) i thought that was pretty cool.

Monday, September 25, 2006

places to go , people to see...

picture this...

i'm troubled every year at this time.
the mornings are darker and the
sun sets too early...i don't think i'm
a "SAD" sufferer, but frankly, i just
prefer a little more daylight........you?

today i am going up to visit kristin.
i don't think i've seen her in about 3 & 1/2 months.
the last time i cut her hair was june 9th...
yep, that's the last time i saw her.
we're gonna grab some lunch up by
her house in plymouth.
it'll be great to catch up....and besides
then we will be good 'til.....oh, i don't know.......
sometime after Christmas i guess.
she's the busiest person i know...next to
jacquie...tons of travel, gone all the time.

however, jacquie popped over on friday night
to see my new lights and she'd stayed for
a couple of hours.
jacquie shoots a canon too and we are always
talkin' shop....our husbands think we are crazy!
and then, maybe we are..it's fun tho'.

i keep forgetting to ask jacquie how zach is
doing at colorado (state?)... oh and dude,
he's a freshman this year and looking forward to
the ski season for sure!

i've got to figure out what to do about gary's
birthday...it's this sunday.

poor brad childress......vikings lost yesterday.

hobie is STARVING! i gotta go...poor baby.
'sposed to be a beautiful day...enjoy it!

(happy jacquie?...i finished before 7:30..real time!!
see you at 2) :)

Sunday, September 24, 2006

lights, camera, action!

picture this...

a couple of unwilling subjects
for a lighting test...





i only set one of the softboxes up
(with gary's help). these things are
huge and perfect!
i said, i'm not going to be able to
use these downstairs and gary said...
"so, are ya telling me you want a bigger
house?" i laughed!! (maybe!...tee hee.)

tony schiller, race director for the miraclekids
triathlon (august 20th), released an e-mail
to all the parents of participants instructing
them on how to view my images from the event.
about 30 people have signed on to view them.
that's pretty cool, i'm donating proceeds
back to the foundation from the sale of the
images.
this thursday there is a wine & cheese event
for organizations to get involved with the
2nd annual "minnesota miracle" held
new years eve at the airport hilton.
i photographed it last year and had a blast!!
please go to www.miraclesofmitchfoundation.org
and go to the minnesota miracle link and
check out the slide show! it's pretty cool.
i'm certain it'll be even bigger this year!

if you haven't guessed by now...i'm pretty
involved with the foundation on an archival
level and of course-a personal one too. :)

if you know of anyone that would be interested
in getting on board with the new years eve event,
have them contact me...my web address is at the
top of this page and you can get to my e-mail
from there...thanks.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

restaurant reveiw

picture this....
did i mention that my cat is ridiculously
good looking these days??



okay, so i shouldn't have named the blog
"restaurant review" and then put a photo
of my cat there...certainly not a good idea!

anyway....last night we went with our neighbors
ron & cindy over to "brix" on excelsior blvd.
it's in the old "mojito" spot. great! yum!
we asekd mike & peggy to join us so that made
6 sets of eyes that couldn't read the menu!
i was the only one that brought along "cheaters"
so we all shared!
ron & cindy and mike & peggy had never met
but we knew it would be a good fit and it was!
turns out that ron & mike have some people
in common that they know..weird! (did i just say
that right?) sorry, nice grammar! :)

i was the designated driver so i was a good girl.
we went from brix to mike & peggy's home in
edina where we sat at their bar and had the
best time! i'm glad mike & peggy could come along!

then i got everyone poured back into the car and we
made yet another stop closer to home,
biaggi's in eden prairie. had a bump there too.
(that might explain why ron decided to "drop trou"
when we dropped them off at home!)
fun night.
going to pick up my lights today! :)

Friday, September 22, 2006

how did it get to be friday?????

picture this...
first of all i want to say that i should have
named this entry....
"good thing i'm almost done building my ark"!
we have been drizzled on for like 3 straight days!!!!!

here's tony's yearbook selection.
jen, his mom and my sister's good friend,
said it makes her cry!




soooo sorry to all of you who are
avid visitors to my blog!
i have been having one of those weeks!

working with a couple of seniors and
their yearbook submissions and it's been
a bit crazy. getting it all done tho'!

my presentation went really well on wednesday.
i had my DVD slide show to music going
as members arrived and sat down to eat.
then i had brought along many of my larger
prints and i also had some items to
pass around so that they could all see some
cool things that they can choose from once a portrait
has been taken....proof books, coffee table books etc.

i really like this group and i want to do all i
can for them and if i can't get them referrals
right away, i can, at the very least, offer them
a terrific deal on some portrait photography!
the referrals are already coming in!
thanks business connections!

my friend jacquie took a new job and i might
see her less (if that is at all possible!!)
congratulations on making the decision to make
the move! i'm very excited for you.
big vp now, i probably won't get to hang out
with her anymore! :) kidding jacquie!

marissa and her mom & i are supposed to go down
to the stone arch bridge in the morning for marissa's
senior portraits...not in this drizzle.

i just got a call from gary's brother glen.
my lights arrived at his home!
i didn't want to go thru' all the rigmarole (?)
to get a paypal account so glen said he'd
use his account for me and so he had to have
the lights sent to his address. yay!!!
nice rainy weekend project, play with my new lights!!

OCTOBER BIRTHDAY'S
gary's birthday is 1st.
gary's niece, machie's is the 4th.
our friend john's is the 5th,
my mom's is the 6th.
my sister in law laurie's is the 9th.
jimbo's is the 17 (we always get that one wrong!)
amanda will be 6 on the 22nd.
my aunt's (mom's sister in owatonna) is the 25th.
my sister anne and our friend dave johnson share the 26th
and....ummmm...i think that's it!

we usually try to get together once and celebrate.
that way we don't have to have cake every weekend
in october.....altho' whose to say that that's such a
bad thing???!! right?

hobie's hungry (there's a bulletin!) gotta go.
have a nice safe weekend!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

late entry on a cold day

picture this...

are you ready for this????
we just put the electric matress
cover on the bed.
no, it hasn't snowed here yet,
but it sure has felt like it could
these past couple of days!!!!



if we are lucky, we'll get a couple of weeks
of this first....i shot this tree last fall just
around the corner from my friend gerri's house
in plymouth....nice.




after a day of hair,
i turned to my photography.
i took an image to bill clark's house
in minnetonka to show him what
pictage is turning out to my clients.
(bill is a member of pictage and
has been hosting the "pug" meetings
the 2nd tuesday of each month in his home)
i have decided that i may actually stay
on the pro plan so that i can keep
my unlimited image uploading, let
clients view their images online offer
the array of products that they have
(pretty extensive, really) but
then i will go thru another production
house locally here to have the work
printed. it will be more economical
for everyone!

bill and i sat and looked at a lot of
his albums and talked about the
direction that we both want to go in the
near future with our photography.
i told bill that if he needed any assistance
from me at any of his upcoming weddings
to give me a call and i'd be happy to
help. thanks for meeting me today, bill!

my lighting should be here friday.
more on that at the end of the week.

i'm speaking tomorrow about my business.
i'm going to get up in front of my network
group and explain why they and the people
they know should do business with me.
it's tough....how do i talk about photography?
how do you sell something you haven't done?
that's the strange thing about this business....
people buy "me"...based on previous performances.
they have not been married before so how will
i shoot their wedding.
their children are going to be photographed in
their own home, not someone else's....
i am always so flattered when someone buys "me"
for having a vision.
no one cares if i'm shooting a 2.8 or a 1.4 lens...
is mega pixle just a #? who asks, "are you shooting
RAW or JPEG?"...pretty much no one i've photographed.
a face of an 8 month old is precious, everyone knows
that...can you photograph it?....probably.
with the right light, from the right angle, with
proper exposure? with any luck, maybe.
i can...everytime!

there are a lot of photographers out there.....
there are also a lot of folks out there that are getting
pretty darn handy with today's technology.
me?....i am a purist. i like to shoot what i see......
and print what i shoot.....no fluff...no over the top
filters and gadgets....i love people...they should
look like people....like themselves.
don't 'cha think?

Monday, September 18, 2006

sorrow for a 10 year old girl

picture this...
would my 9 1/2 year old niece
know what to do if she was babysitting
and there was severe weather?
my heart is aching today.

a 10 year old girl was killed when
the home she was babysitting in
saturday night collapsed on her during
a ravaging tornado that appeared too quickly
just north of the twin cities in rogers, mn.

I know how deep a hole that emily
would leave in my life if it had happened to her.
it's just so heartbreaking!
i love you emily!




very dismal day today.
errands all day. one minute it's pouring,
the next it's sunny...only about 50 something
today...yuck!

i've been in touch with a real estate group
(carlston group) and we are planning a photo
session at the home of one of the group members
on the 3rd of october. i'm looking forward to
this, i've got some new lighting that i'm excited
about that i'll be able to bring along for the
occasion.

another senior straggler, just when you think
you're done! i met with tony yesterday and that
went great! altho' it was tough shooting around
the cast on his left hand we got the job done!
thanks jen.




marissa ("rissa" as she's known by some) and her
mom & i will venture down to the stone arch
bridge on saturday for a unique shoot for a unique
girl! that's going to be fun..that should be the
last of the seniors this year....i think! :)


wednesday, i am speaking at my networking
group. yay! i get to get up and sell myself &
my business. i threw out a teaser last week-
knowing that i would be speaking this week.
i brought along some of my favorite images
to give the group an idea of what to expect this
wednesday.
i'm preparing an offer to extend to each of them
to "test the waters" with me, so-to-speak.
two of the group members have already referred
me sight unseen...nice. thanks steve & pam!

my neighbor just sent me this image that her
husband shot this weekend...pretty good i'd
say for a rookie with a point & shoot.
nice job, ron!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

the big cool down

picture this..

here's my niece who, earlier this summer,
decided to peel the bark off a tree 'cuz
it was fun. they tell my sister that
this tree has a 50-50 chance of surviving.
i'd say by the looks of things, they'd be right!
weird, huh?




big weather moved in last night.
from 80 to the 50's in a matter of a day.
yikes!!! sooooo "blowy" yesterday day too!

here's my brother, scott.
he was speaking at the carver county
court house on tuesday and i thought
i should pop in and get a few shots of him
for his web site (www.craigmediation.com)






owen needs his own jeep, i'm afraid!
it's what ya get when you are out numbered
by girl cousins! :)




poor new kitty, up in sugar's tower hiding
from all the kids! sugar was not very happy
about her being up there...much hissing going
on today. emily feels bad that sugar is upset,
it's so cute to see her so concerned.



last but not least, my neighbors headed
out of town in an RV on thursday night.
the kids were pretty excited. all in their
jammies for the long night's drive to
deadwood for the weekend.
the boys were mostly excited about the
bathroom.....typical! :)
i hope they had good weather...



Saturday, September 16, 2006

a "blowy" saturday

picture this....
golf digest, watch out!
this is mike malone's course down
in jordan, minnesota. about 45 minutes
south of the msp airport.
"the ridges at sand creek".....
it's beautiful! the fall color
there will be spectacular in a couple
of weeks!






my sister tells me that in fiji, instead of
saying "it's very windy", the fijians (fah-gee'-ans)
say, "it's very blowy"....i like that!

wow, yesterday i went to iowa & back with
my sister to pick up a kitten that she's
been waiting months for.
a tiny little female birman....
the jury is still out on a name.
they plan to breed her so they need
to come up with a name that starts
with a "d" because 2006 is the year of the "d".
whatever, right? i vote for "destructive". :)
okay, maybe "darling" cuz she is!!



she got one last nail clipping in the hy-vee
parking lot near cedar falls, iowa from the
breeders....



emily "cut class" to come along...
"are we there yet?"
"how much longer?"
"how far IS this?"
"are we back in minnesota yet?"
"when are we going to be back in minnesota?"
"i have to pee!"
we practiced singing the "all 50 states" song.



it was a very long day....

Friday, September 15, 2006

gusty friday

picture this....

i am on my way to jordan to shoot
the ridges at sand creek golf course.
i'm looking to get there before sunrise
so i have to get going.
i'll post photos later today.

should be another beautiful day.
warm, sunny and breezy.
beats the alternative, right?

Thursday, September 14, 2006

days go too fast!

picture this.....



i've been nursing, what i believe to be,
a cold/sinus infection....not fun.
one minute i feel great, the next,
i can't hear...nasty. i muddle through.

i delivered amanda & rick's album last
night, the yearbook image that cameron
selected and i tried to get ahold of
kristine & ryan but was unsuccessful.
i have their album completed as well.

these things are like my children, it's
hard to describe...but when i work
with these people and their images for
so long and then it's over...it's a little wierd.
..am i going to see them again? will they call?
it just....ends. after about a week i relax
a little. i guess it's kind of like a parent when
they send their "babies" off to college or
a child off to kindergarten, you just move on
to the next task at hand.
so that's where i'm at. the next task.

preparing barb & dave's images of keegan
& jonathan.
pinning down marissa for her senior portraits.
the deadline for submission in ep is oct. 1!
tony's photos that i'm going to need to move
to tomorrow due to the rain that is expected
on saturday.
ahhhhh, the weather. a photographer's
gremlin if you will...it's never cloudy when you
need it, it rains at just the precise moment that
you don't. wind....this time of year
when you get a nice warm day with filtered
sunlight....there's a 25-30 mph gust. fun, huh!?

sorry for missing yesterday and also for not
posting any images.

have a great day! :)

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

tuesdays are my mondays..

picture this...



today i will be going to shoot my
brother while he delivers yet
another mediation seminar in near by
chaska, mn.

i suggested that he begin to collect
images of himself working for future
print media or his blog, not to mention
his website...so we'll start doing that today!
yay scott! i'll see if i can get some
permission to post some of these here on
my blog.
he's just getting started with the whole
web thing but he'll get there. i've been
bugging him for a year!! :)

i forgot to mention that i ran into
megan & randy at steamboat days.
they are a couple whose wedding i am
shooting next july. randy is a carver
fire fighter and first responder.
oddly, i find out that randy responded
to a call over 4 years ago when my brother
fell 18 feet from a ladder and nearly lost
his right hand.
tim is doing great and randy remembered him.
(and the world gets smaller!) :)
we'll be getting some great fire engine shots!!!
have a great tuesday!

Monday, September 11, 2006

happy anniversary baby.....

picture this...
a day of celebration and
remembrance...
this is the atrium of the IDS
tower in minneapolis. it's only
50 stories tall.
i shot this on my way up to
rick & amanda's wedding reception
at windows in july.




today is our 8th anniversary.
we thought "911" would be a cool date,
one we would always remember, one
gary wouldn't forget, right?
well, turns out that some other folks
had other plans for that day...and
here we are 5 years later. wow.
still so painful.
it's still "our day". oh, and karen's too...
(happy birthday karen!)

i sat and watched MSNBC this morning
and watched as the day (5 years ago) unfolded.
it's really erie to sit and listen to what
everyone thought was going on because
we now know so much about that day
and what was involved from every aspect.

tonight, gary and i are planning a simple
celebration. gary is picking up ribs from
redstone in eden prairie and some wine
and we will stay in and watch the Viking's
season opener on monday night football.
what more could you want on an 8th anniversary?!

but before that i have a last minute senior
portrait to shoot this afternoon.
my sister's good friend jenny's son is
graduating from chaska and needs a portrait.

the high today...like 60 i think..yuck!!!
cloudy drizzley. should clear up tomorrow.

thanks for the beautiful card Dean & Lois!!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

the big parade

picture this...
today is the big "steamboat days"
parade in carver. i'm missing church
for this!?

oh, here's amanda (from last friday)
heading off to the bus stop for her official
1st day of kindergarten!




here she is with mom...




so, apple day.
ran into a lot of friends.
everyone says..."move to excelsior!"
well, not right now anyway.
heck, i grew up there, i'm not ready
to return to the roost just yet.
don't get me wrong, i LOVE excelsior!
i think about the only thing you can't
do there is get a tatoo....and i could be
wrong about that!
you've got the old log theatre....
the dock cinema, dunn brother's,
there's even a cub foods now,
of course there's lake minnetonka,
maynard's, bayside the cutest shops!
oh, my God, what am i waiting for??!!!
oh yea, i have to talk that over with gary!

tomorrow is our 8th wedding anniversary.
and as we have for the past 5 years we
will be celebrating by watching all of the
news coverage of the anniversary of
the attack and collapse of the
World Trade Center.
not that we choose to or anything but
i'm told that on i think MSNBC they are
going to run, in it's entirety, in real time,
the events as they unfolded that morning
5 years ago.
i remember sitting at our kitchen counter
on the 1st anniversary when they did the
same thing on all the major networks.
i hadn't seen it because when it happened,
gary and i were asleep in california.
it happened the morning we were to fly home.
we were out there in wine country on an
anniversary trip.
i sat at the kitchen counter and sobbed.
i'm sure i'll cry again tomorrow...
hopefully not over the loss of the vikings
tomorrow night! :)

Saturday, September 09, 2006

friday?????

picture this....
on top of losing my voice
(people laugh, it's always funny
no matter what),
i've lost my mind. i never sat
down and made any sort of entry
yesterday.
the nearest lost and found must
be FULL of my stuff!

well, i ventured out to my sister's
yesterday to capture all the tears
and good-byes for their youngest
child who is officially now a
kindergartener!
my sister had it all together.
amanda, who is STILL sick of my
camera (from the two weeks i
chronicled her & her sister's lives
at their house while anne & pete
were out of the country) made
me chase her around to get a shot
of her in her super cute outfit and
hello kitty back-pack (which is almost
as big as her!). she settled down and
let me get a few shots at the bus stop.
my lap top is at my brother-in-laws
being "dumped" and i'm trying to
locate my cord for the camera to
transfer the images to the G5
(must be with my mind and my voice
somewhere).

last night gary and i decided to go
into carver, (a little town just west of
chaska which is just west of where we
live). every town has it's "festival days"
and carver is no exception.
carver celebrates "steamboat days" every
year the weekend following labor day.
live music in a tent, corn dogs (thought
i'd seen the last of those!), cheese curds,
giant bounce houses, a parade the whole
she-bang! oh, and beer.
this town's main street is two blocks long
and has 3 thriving bars. (getting the picture?)
it's fun. it's near where i graduated from
highschool and so i usually run into
several class mates. not this year, we
didn't stay too late.

today i'm going to yet another small town
"festival". this one is in excelsior on lake
minnetonka...so, not as small as carver,
this one is during the day, is only 1 day
AND there's no beer or band.
it's mostly an art-slash-crap you buy that you
don't really need kind of fair.
it's pretty cool today, most years it's 90 and
the bees just carry you away!
i'm going to scott & nicki's for pancakes and
then off to town for the fair.

later today, i'm bringing pizza to the
groomer that my cat bit on tuesday
(go back to the "cat scratch fever" blog for photos
and details). i feel the need....the need to feed
(sorry-all you topgun fans out there!!).
i thought it would be a kind gesture.

that's it for now.....

Thursday, September 07, 2006

thursday, september 7

picture this......

it's my dad's birthday tomorrow.
he died 23 years ago.
he was only 49.
i miss him.


well, on a brighter note, gary and
i will celebrate our 8th anniversary
on monday..."9/11".
it is also our friend karen's birthday'
that day. :)

i got a ton done the past couple of
days! yay! sr. portrait orders in
(should arrive any minute).
i went back to WHCC in st. paul.
1 wedding album finished and i'll
deliver it in a day or two. the other
i'll have done on monday!

my sister and i are going to drive
down to cedar falls iowa and pick
up a "birman" cat from the same
gal that she got "sugar" from.
just the two of us! should be fun!
this cat is actually a biological
sister to sugar...cool!

anne has to put amanda on the bus
tomorrow for the first time.
i'm going to go and take photos of
her crying!!
it's her last "baby" to go off to school.
well, a.m. kindergarten anyway.
god help us all when these 3 head off
to college! :)
no images to post today...i'll get on that
over the weekend! :)

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

cat scratch fever

picture this.....
hobie went first.
oh yea....



here's christy with NO band aides...
(good boy hobie, hang on!!)



and here's christy with FOUR band aides!!!!
hobie didn't care for having his tail shaved
so he chomped on her left arm..
(oh katie, it'll be over soon!)




i posted so late last night that i feel i've nothing more to write.

today i am still playing catch up with all the photography.
tons of senior portraits to order and a couple of wedding
albums to wrap up as well.

i'm beginning to research the 40D due out this spring.
pretty intriguing!

another beautiful september day.
love these cool nights and warm days!
get out and enjoy it!

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

big hairy deal!

picture this....
back to school cuts for the cats today!

(photos are not uploading.....i'll try
again in the morning..)

christy did hobie's cut first, i ran home
and got my camera and came back....
notice that when christy is cutting katie
that she has band-aides on her left arm.
hobie bit her! he did NOT like having his
tail shaved.....four puncture wounds.

short blog today, i was soo busy.
i actually took today/tuesday off to work!!!
ever do that?????

more pictage nightmares. wallets are
arriving UN CUT!!! unbelievable.
i'm so over it now.
i called amanda and told her that
i would be pulling her wedding off of
Pictage by the 14th in case anyone wanted
to order anything....i'll be moving it to
another host while cory and i work on
getting everything on my own site.
tired of people letting me down...
sorry this was so late today.
it was gorgeous out today~

Monday, September 04, 2006

fair to partly...

picture this.....
labor day in minnesota.

woke up, no food in the house,
so we went to the fair! not bad!

ran into:
-dawn and kenny holmen
just outside the axels booth.
-jim & karen flattum at the
"international bazaar".
used to be "mexican village"...
can't say that anymore.
-steve tessman and his wife
(from dahlgreen) while we were
sitting in one of those old
tilt-a-whirl seats outside of the
main beer garden doing some
annual people watching.
-jenny (who helped me with the
girls while i was at anne's)
she and her husband matt were there
with olivia and matt's sister from
brainerd...ya.
oh, on the way out as we were
headed for our last stop at the dairy
building for our ice cream fix,
i saw my old boyfriend, scott, at his
booth, "leroy's" (right next to the
haunted house) where they do some
pretty amazing paint jobs on bikes-
cars-vans...you name it.
it seems to be the only time i ever see
him (which is weird cuz we don't
live that far from one another)
and it's always nice to catch up.
he's the one whose camera i was
using when i fell in love with photography!
thanks again scott! :)

oh, i had the "hot dish on a stick"...
not bad! might be a new "must have"
next year!

we did a couple of cool things this year...
we went back and watched the "french fries"
people prep the potatoes (no one was back
there and we just stood, shared a small cup
and watched. it was neat!)
then we went to see the clydesdales(sp?)
get hitched for the parade...all 8 of them.
so massive and gorgeous up close.
(that's where we ran into jenny & matt)

skipped a lot of my favorites in favor of
my closet!! but hit the usual suspects...
"pronto pup" (accept no imitation!)
"tom thumb" mini donuts(same rule applies)
dairy building soft serve ice cream cone.
gary and i split a small "french fries" cup.
oh, yea a couple of beers.
never got onion rings, cheese curds (do i ever?)
sweet marthas...i'm sorry, they have just
gotten TOO commercial! :)
and the bucket? forget about it! by the
time you get home..they never taste the same!

the weather was perfect and we would have
really hated to miss a year. glad we went.
and glad we didn't need ponchos!

sorry, no photos today. :(

Sunday, September 03, 2006

soggy sunday

picture this...
so much rain and gloom,
i thought i'd share some
color that i found while out
at the arboretum on friday.





(happy 18th anniversary scott & nicki!)

the overall outcome of getting my
new computer loaded with what was
on my G4 is driving me crazy!
the plug-ins and filters didnt' transfer
so i'm forced to work on my 15" laptop.
and then for some reason my images
all of a sudden don't match the RGB
working space, UGH!~!!!!
everything was fine before all of this
started. i haven't changed my camera's
settings OR the preferences on either
machine. i'm so crabby.
my 23" screen has spoiled me.

rain. we were supposed to go to the
fair today with gary's family.
his mom even got ponchos for us all.
i said, "sorry, i don't think that i care
to stand in the mud with a 3.2 beer
in one hand and a soggy pronto pup
in the other wearing a poncho in the rain.
gary and i are going to pass.
we may try tomorrow if the threat of rain
is gone.

hobie and katie are finally getting their
haircuts on tuesday. their girl, christy, :)
who usually cuts them is no longer doing
cats! but said that she would continue to
cut hobie and katie cuz she likes them!
yay! i'll be posting those images either
late on tuesday or wednesday morning.
it's pretty rediculous, really.

see, i told you my life is dull. those
girls really kept me on my toes.
i miss them.

i've got a couple of eden prairie seniors
to photograph this week and then i think
i'll be finished with senior portraits.

i contacted phil young this weekend and
hope to hook up for a photo shoot next week.
he's running for mayor here in eden prairie.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

sleepin' in

picture this.....
back to work,
here's cameron. he'll graduate
from chaska next spring.
i shot these friday morning.






i slept in today. felt funny.
no more tip toe-ing around in the
morning. no more finding children's
chewable vitamins from breakfast hidden
in various spots around the house!
(that's right, girls! i was on to you!)
no more amanda cuddles before emily
woke up. no more coffee with mom.
mornings will really feel dull around here
for awhile.

i've got a lot of work to catch up on this
week...didn't have much time to devote
to either job while i was with my nieces.
i'll be doing quite a bit of editing over the
weekend as i'm being told we are to
expect a bunch ot rain. good for me!

oh, and another catching up thing is with
gary...we have never bee apart that long.
it was really weird! i mean, i was just
in the next city over, yet we really only
got together 1 night to go out for dinner.

we don't have any real plans for the day
so i'm sure we'll just hunker down and
get reacquainted.
we have an anniversary coming up next
monday, the 11th...yep, that's right...september 11th.
we woke up in wine country on our 3rd
anniversary to the news of the twin towers.
our 5 day trip quickly turned into 10!
Wow! 8 years this year. that's the longest
i've ever kept anything! :)

enjoy your saturday. stay dry.