gary's surgery day

picture this...
if i could have brought my camera
i would have.....but due to HPPA,
that would be a "no".


got up early, and headed to
fairview southdale at around 7.
what a cool new facility they have
now...it's been open for about 4 years,
they said.
TERRIBLE coffee (thanks ladies auxillary!)
i left mine in the car thinking i was
going to take him in and head back home.
nope.

all is well. altho' dr. teynor said that
gary should have done this a couple
of years ago..it was pretty bad.

so, i'm just camped out here at home
waiting for the block to wear off
and the babying to begin! :)
more later....

the big chill...

picture this...
well, no snow (as usual)
but considerably colder!
it's perhaps not going to
even get into the 30's the
rest of the week. yuck, it's here!

so is the plethera of new musical
artists butchering some of your
favorite classic holiday songs!
like..."santa clausizzle is comin' to
town"! nice
maria carey always does a nice
job jazzing up the classics too! jk.

anyway, today my network group
is meeting out at jeff stone's
place of business out on smithtown
road near excelsior. jeff is an auto
broker extraodinaire! :)
next week we'll meet back at
flagship (sorry, it'll always be flagship
to me!)

my cats love to lay under the christmas tree.
just as soon as i put the old latch hook
tree skirt (that the whole family worked on
in '81) goes under the tree, katie gets right
under there where she stays as long as it's
there....hobie just goes under to bug katie!

well, stay warm everyone!

thunder and lightening....

picture this....
what a crazy night and morning!
rain, thunder, lightening....

MUCH needed rain, however.
it's been sooo dry so this was a
welcome site and quite unusual
to hear the thunder this late in the
year.
the wheels are supposed to fall off
overnight and over the next several
days. YIKES!!

gary's surgery is thursday....early morning.
rotator..yuck.
june and garrick fly back to england
that same day in the evening.
it's really been terrific having them here.
i just burned them a CD of all the images
that i shot while they've been here.

oh, went to gerri & jim gefre's on saturday
night for a get together...there were about
6 or 8 couples..really fun!
turns out that their daughter, kathryn has
contracted the chicken pox!!!!
gary thinks that he hasn't had them.
i'll just die if they cancel his surgery AGAIN!!!

a blog in need.....

picture this...
i helped my brother's father-in-law
get his blog published today!!

here's his address:
grick.blogspot.com


and here's gerick...with his
bride, june (nicki's mum)


i shot this at my brother's home
this afternoon after church.

here's the whole fam......



here's one with my brother's eyes open....




we had the greatest afternoon.....
got garick's blog up and running.
i'm certain that i'll hear from him regarging
his log-in information! :)

sorry this is soo late. i spent the day
with my brother scott and his family
and we just had the best time!

i wanted to be sure to capture some
shots of them while they were here.


monday, i'll be "shooting" eva...a family
friend's daughter...so darling ..can't wait!
i'll post some of eva later on monday.
have a great weekk...pray for gary's
surgery on thursday!!

love to all!

jacquie, call me if you need my computer!!!!!

kiki's birthday!

picture this....
it's kiki's birthday!
happy birthday girl!

yesterday, i went out to cologne with
mike, kindra and owen to cut their
christmas tree down.
we were at "z's trees" out near 140 and 284.
i sat in back with owen. he is so
funny. i brought him a snow
globe....he LOVES it!!



took a tractor out to the actual
site where the trees are, hopped
off and walked around until they
spotted the perfect one!!



the ride out was a little chilly so we sat really close and huddled!




thanksgiving at the baker's!!
here's the adult table! gary and i didn't
make the cut!



here's june (nicki's mum) & gary taylor
all the way from england!



here's gary cutting his first thanksgiving
turkey! he was an old pro!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

picture this....
june and gary stopped over yesterday.
it was so great to see them.
june is an animal nut too and wanted
to come by and see the cats!

well, happy thanksgiving everyone!!
gary and i are going to hit the gym
this morning...we want to start the day
by working off part of one of the meals
that we will be having today!!

first, it's off to northfield to see gary's
family...then to chan to see mine and eat
more turkey! it's tough performing twice
on thanksgiving!

i am thankful for my family and that
we all live so close to one another.
it makes for many get togethers and
for that i am grateful.
i am thankful that we are all in good
health and love each other endlessly!
i am thankful to be a child of God and
follower of Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

thanksgiving eve......

picture this..
it's been almost 6 months since
i started this blog. wow the time
just whizzes by!

supposed to be 60 degrees here
today...unbeLIEvable! doesn't quite
feel like thanksgiving around here but
you won't hear many people complaining!
that's 'fa shizzle'!!

gary informed me last night that while
in mexico, we get a bunch of extras due
to the room that we have reserved at the
royal porto real in playa....such as
a mini cooper, free international calls,
premium liquor in our room and
turn down service in the evening...
how cool is that??!! :)

i've got a really full hair day today
so i'm going to keep this one short today!

safe travels everyone!

june and gary arrive today!

picture this....
the brits land around 3 today!
i'm so excited to see them.
gary wants to learn more about
"blogging".....so cute!

um, i just realized that in 2 & a half
weeks my sister and i start our
marathon cookie baking!
we've gone as many as 4 days straight!
i usually stay there and just haul
all my pans & stuff there.
gary gets to be a bachelor for the
weekend.
this has become more about
the memories of doing this together
than about the cookies over the years.

channel 5 got wind of it one year (thanks to
my mother-in-law) and they came out to
film us during their morning show.
we stayed up all night to prepare for them.
it took me a week to recover from that one!
God, we have fun. i have to keep reminding
myself of that, cuz things get pretty hectic
and we start to get serious. not this year!
(we say that EVERY year!)....seriously!
we plan to lighten the schedule and back off
of some of the recipes! last year we called
it "the year of FUN!" and it really was.
this is all a labor of love....we bake for 4 days,
and then give it all away to folks that we
do business with and friends and neighbors.
everyone looks forward to it!!

the brittish are coming!!!!

picture this...
tomorrow at this time, nicki's
mum & gary will be about 3 hours
outside of minneapolis!
they will be joining our family
for their first thanksgiving ever!
boy, are they in for a treat!
i wonder if they have been
practicing reciting "pumpkin pie"?!

i popped by to drop off my nieces
enlargements that she selected from
her shoot earlier this month and they
are now prominently displayed up
on the mantle.
put a few more foils in both of the
girls hair, making one darker and the
other lighter....they were surprised and
happy!!

caught just a glimpse of the viking's
game yesterday....they were up 13-10...
not for long...i had to shut it off.

doing some hair tonight to make up
for the thursday evening that i will miss.

i'm excited for thursday! it's also supposed
to be almost 60 degrees!!! pretty crazy!

kindra, i'm working on moving my friday
appointments so that i can join you guys
on your tree hunt! can't wait!! :)

i've been putting up an artificial tree for
years now. maybe it's time to get a real one.
wonder how the cats would behave?????
hmmmmmmm............

canon class a disappointment...

picture this...
i head to the front of the rather
large room and share a table
with a gentleman that photographs
hockey games for buffalo.
most of the folks there own either
the 20, the 30 or the 5D.
this class was designed to teach
the innerworkings of these cameras.
not what i went there for.
i attended this class to find out
which of these models might suite
me better as a wewdding/portrait
photographer. this was not covered.

people were busy jotting down everything
the speaker said. from what "noise" is
and how to avoid it to composition to
what everything on the camera body means
and does. amatuer stuff. who knew?
well, that's 4 hours of my life i'll never
get back. lesson learned.
i'll stick to www.dpreview.com and the other
forums from now on.

vikings play in miami today...wonder if
they'll win? i guess i'm not really caring too
much these days...(sorry kip!)
it's hard to watch them week in and week
out play so poorly. this is not what
i expected from childress.
therefore, in the hopes of gaining some
time back that i lost yesterday sitting through
that canon class, i may skip watching them
play today....then i'll come out even for
the weekend! :)

update on the boxing match for january...
my sister got home that night (friday), got
on line and ordered 4 more tickets!!
so, bonsante vs vanda on january 12th! :)
this is CRAZY!

"the bullet" wins!!

picture this...
shakopee resident, tony bonsante,
took top honors last night in the
main, feature event at the target
center as boxing returns to minnesota
by defeating troy "TNT" lowry.

bonsante became better known as a
contestant on the low rated reality show
"the contender" that ran for just one
season on network television and then
hopped over to a cable station later on
(hosted by none other than sylvester
"sly" stalone)...i confess....i never missed
an episode! :) it was really moving, actually.
shakopee is located just south of eden
prairie so many local folks rooted for tony.

anyway, we had the greatest seats!
3rd row off the floor right by the ring.
it may be my new guilty pleasure!
i'm telling you, my sister and i are already
planning a return on january 12th to see tony
go up against st. paul, east side's, matt vanda.
a punk with a wrap sheet and anger management
issues.
gary and i sat next to him in the new(er) NBA restaurant
in the target center earlier in the evening.
one look at this guy's nose and we both were like,
"i think he might be fighting tonight!"
i noticed that he didn't eat any of his fries and
he was working on a tall bottle of aquafina.
then i over heard him say that he would be fighting
around 9:30. he won his fight.
it was really great!

i regret not bringing my camera.
there were plenty of them around.
i'll definately bring it along in january!
my sister shot some pix with her phone.

pug meeting week

picture this....
go to my pug link (on right side)
and see what we did at our last pug
meeting. it was great!
i loved erin's lecture on "foofing"!
can't wait to try it!


OMG! my sister talked me into going
to a boxing match tonight (of all things!).
nearly ringside seats at the target center.
we're trying to figure out what to wear!! :)
i've never been to a boxing match and
i suppose i'll have to call and see if i can
bring my camera along cuz i'd hate not to,
ya know??? i'll just size it down and bring a '
2.8 along with a flash. i'd better call first.
i'll post photos tomorrow if i get any.

heading to a canon lecture about all the "D"
classes tomorrow, put on by national camera.
i'm looking for more information on them so
that i can make a more informed decision for
my next purchase. i'd like another for more
back up before the end of the year unless
canon is releasing yer another model, cuz then
i'd wait!

have a great weekend!

hairy season

picture this...

this time of year i get bombarded
with hair appointments...it's a good thing.
for now, at least, i have something to
keep me going through the lean
wedding and portrait season.

i've really relied on referrals and word
of mouth for new business and it seems
to suite me at this point in time.
my business continues to grow each year
without dumping a bunch of money
into heavy advertising.....another good thing.
i also am able to control my business
without it controlling me.....nice.

jill magee, jay's wife, sent a referral my way
and i spoke with her a couple of days ago.
i think we are pretty much set fot next october.
it's a friday wedding! kelly & jeff.

turkey day is just a week away...yum!
i get to eat twice....once in northfield with
gary's family and then back up here to
chan with mine. ugh!
we'll have a couple of britts visiting and this
will be their first thanksgiving celebration!
should be loads of fun! Nicki's mum & stepfather.

enjoy your thursday!

back up!

picture this...
my internet & cable provider, road runner,
was replaced with comcast in eden prairie
recently. everything was goin fine until
all of a sudden...BAM! nothing....nothing
for 4 days. oh, i was a happy soul as you
can imagine!~ i can't even type anymore
it's been so long! DANG!!
all is well now (i hope!) and i am able to
connect to the outside world once again!


i know, you are wondering what you've missed,
am i right?! let's see. my service has been out
since saturday so that means last thursday is
where i left off.

well, i'll start with the dull and boring.
i had most of my hair cut off on friday.
got to go in and visit with all my old friends
in deephaven...so very wonderful to see them all!

i joined the jr. high kids from Westwood at
"feed my starving children" in chanhassen
to photograph them all bagging a grain
mixture to send to haiti...it was pretty cool
and a ton of fun!! and all for a fabulous cause!
something like 15,000 children die everyday
from starvation alone!~ this group of teens
bagged enough for over 6,000 meals. nice.








any rubber stampers out there???
(well besides you kiki, anne & nicki!)
we got together on saturday and made
holiday cards all afternoon.
got to visit with owen...he'a about 19 months old.
i taught him "pull my finger" it was soo cute!
mom wasn't too excited about that!

sunday, i brought my camera along to church
an shot people serving at westwood in the
different ministries....teaching, child care,
coffee, connection center, greeters etc....
then back home with my oldest niece to do
her hair. i heard throught the grapevine
that she'd like to go even lighter! YIKES!!

monday. well this was a TCPPA night and
they held their annual print competition.
i chose to enter too late and my prints wouldn't
arrive in time but i went and observed anyway.
it was great! they were pretty brutal tho'.
now i know what the judges like and are looking
for so perhaps that will help me next year.
they certainly don't like all the fluff which is
nice, cuz i don't work that way!
i love a pure image with great composition.

had another PUG meeting last night where
i was the spotlighted studio so i brought along
my slide show and a bunch of prints framed and
unframed and stood and talked about me and
my business. most were interested in my
ablitiy to acquire so many destination weddings.
it was really great to stand among peers and
feel accomplished and vindicated as we all seem
to be our own worst critics and have, at times,
a sense of not measuring up.
thanks to everyone for allowing me the opportunity.

we finally put our vacation on the calendar so
that's exciting. i've got a call into my friend in
playa so that perhaps on one of the weekends
that we are there i can shoot a wedding!
i'll keep you posted.

thank you comcast for finally getting back on line!!
have a terrific day!

are you talkin' ta me?

picture this...

so, i pop into a local grocery store
this morning to grab a couple of items,
bread, kleenex, butter.... not much,
and there's one register open.
that's fine.....the woman in front of
me however, is shopping for the
REST OF THE YEAR and i stand
patiently and wait my turn....i'm truly
in no hurry.
okay, now it's my turn and i pay cash
so my purchase goes quite quickly but
as you can imagine, the woman in front
of me is standing in the isle with the cart
full of the year end grocery pile while a
socially challenged gentleman loads the
rest of her stuff. again, i wait patiently.
now, get this, this is just unbelieveable to me.
keep in mind that this is the only register
open and the line is getting a little longer.
i'm still standing by where you pay and this
woman behind me (5 foot nothin' , as wide as
she is tall, about 70 years old) starts in...
"please move!" she demands, as she shoves
her cart into me..."i have to pay for my
groceries!" silently, i stepped aside so that
she could see that there was someone in
front of me. she then said, "well, tell her to
move!" " i have to pay!!" this woman was
absolutely insane! she just kept on....."get
out of the way!!"
i couldn't take it anymore, i said "i'm sorry,
but you're being awfully rude."
and she of course returned with "YOU'RE
being rude!!"
finally, the woman in front of me finished
having her items placed in her cart and pushed
it out of the isle which then allowed me to
move to the other side and throw my 4 things
in a bag. but it doesn't end there....oh, no...
i'm just ready to pop as the grocery bagger asks
the disgruntled woman, "would you like paper
or plastic?" and she saids, "get out of my way,
i'm packing my OWN!"
well...you must understand that i now HAVE to
say something...so, i do. oh, and it felt so good too.

i picked up my bag, got my keys in my hand
as i mustered up the perfect words and i turned
to her and said quite nicely..."well, i sure hope
everything else goes your way today!"
(it was at that moment that i felt that the rest
of the people in line wanted to CHEER having
heard everything she had been saying....)
and this woman looks up at me and says.....
you are not going to believe this.......she says,
"SHUT UP!" and i was like, :O

unbelievable. never have i witnessed or been
party to anything quite like this in my life!!!


have a great day everyone!!

it's finally over!

picture this...
back to chevy truck ads again!!


i am just baffled...why do so
many politicians have such
horrid photos of themselves???
i mean, really..some were downright
scary, dmv-ish and sex offender like!
you know, i can only help if you ask!!!!!

glad t-paw got in for another term!
we'll see what happens these next couple
of years leading up to the presidential election.
i look forward to seeing all the democrats
fix everything like they promised! (right)

do what you can, get help for what you can't
pat your team on the back when you get
something done and praise them for a
job well done no matter what the outcome.
no one wants to lose....OR suck.....EVER.


enjoy a political ad free couple of years!

this just in.....

picture this.....
election day in america!
what a great responsibility!


late entry today, nearly forgot.
it's my friend, sheena's, birthday today!
happy birthday girl!!

other birthday news is that my sister and i
took amanda for a mani/pedi's today...
(i had gotten amanda a gift certificate for
her birthday and i'm still getting crap for that!)
YES, she's SIX! i GET it! i'm SPOILING her!
so what!
anne and i decided to get pampered as well.
it was fun...i actually left the camera in my car,
if you can believe that!

i still have a bunch of outstanding senior orders!
what's with that?? i'm going to enforce a time
limit next year and make the incentive time shorter.

kind of a quite week which i will embrace as i get
some personal things taken care of like moving my
lights and such.

i applied to be an associate with "bella pictures"
they are looking at all of my information & web site
and will get back to me in a week or so.
i thought i'd put myself out there and offer up
my services to a reputable company that had just
moved into the minnesota market.
www.bellapictures.com
i would essencially be an employee of sorts.
they would call, see if i was available to shoot on
a particular day and then pay me a flat rate to
shoot and assist. i actually think it's kind of cool.
i get to be creative and shoot and let someone else
worry about the business end.
now i'm not obligated in any way to say "yes" each
time so i am also free to do my own thing.
i like this idea cuz it allows me to get more exposure
and work with other photographers around the country.
heck, they could potentially have me flown places to
shoot! a great opportunity for me.
i met the creator of this organization at one of my
recent TCPPA lectures...bob davis....very great photographer!
he's the one who shot oprah's "legends ball". nice.
gotta run..sorry, no images today.... :(


GO VOTE!!!!!!

re-shoot & CAKE!!

picture this.....
here's alex, we got together
yesterday for a re-shoot for her
indoor shot for the school wall.
her deadline is this week so we
had to move fast!






then it was off to the "family" birthday
party, altho' gary, tim, laurie & pete didn't
make it....pete is excused, he is in the bahamas
handling some family business of his own!
the other 3 goobers decided to go golfing
and then pooped out! these 3 think that
15 is just too old to have a "family" birthday
party! the rest of us think that's crap!
do you have any idea how some families
would LOVE to get together like we do??
i feel pretty darn fortunate that we all live
close and are all still living....so, i'll get
together when someone gets a new PET
for God's sake! or paint a room a new color,
or turn 45!! (oh, and that would be me in april!)
i'll be registered at GNC & target pharmacy
and edina plastic surgery!! :)

here's jessie in the traveling family
birthday hat!



forgot to show everyone emily's new glasses!
she said.."i thought that's how life was!"
(prior to the new specks!!) she LOVES them!
a blue pair and a pink pair.



guess i had a bored moment and thought
i'd shoot their ceiling fan in their new addition.

guy fawkes day!

picture this....
it's "guy fawkes day".....in england!
go to www.guy-fawkes.com for details!!

our family is getting together to celebrate
jessie's birthday and having a big 'ol
bonfire in honor of guy fawkes day.
not really a nice story but apparently
it makes for some pretty interesting
parties in england!

i am re-shooting alex's indoor portraits
today and altho' it's going to be about 60
today, this was the date we settled on.
gary is going golfing with jimbo and
probably shouldn't. he's still sick and
his shoulder is garbage.
gotta go when it's 60 on november 5th!

went to dinner with friends last night and
came back here for a little bon fire action and
some wine...too much wine! even will came along!
we (i) taught will to say "clinky-clinky!" and
then we'd all raise our glasses, then i'd say
"love you, mean it!" and he'd repeat it.
scott said he's like a parrot right now, he's
2 & 1/2......soooo funny!

get out and enjoy this gorgeous day!

jacquie, it was so great to see you last night!
thanks for joining us....i just love will! :)
thanks a lot for bringing your halloween candy
down ron!

fun with photoshop.....

picture this.....
gary's been sick so he pulled out
the humidifier and placed it on the
floor out on the porch.
the cats keep walking up to it
and sniffing at the moist air that
comes out....it's sooooo funny.
gary goes...."oxygen bar for cats!"
i'll try to capture a shot of it!!

here's owen, i found a fun photoshop
tool.....silly, really...



here he is just 5 months old...




met with tammy yesterday and we
talked for like an hour and a half.
we pretty much covered everything
from what we do and how we got into
this business to sharing some of our
most recent work and upcoming projects.
we also decided that we would enjoy
getting together on a regular basis to
catch up from time to time.
if you missed it yesterday, tammy is
a portrait and wedding photographer
that i met at an expo last spring, locally.
thanks for meeting up with me tammy!

hit "buca" last night with my niece and her
friends for her birthday...not a fan of
their "gnocci"... pretty bland.
i remember my old boyfriend scott's
grandmother, angelina scamporino,
made THE best gnocchi! couldn't beat it!
i used to help her roll it out. it was
quite an art!

did anyone catch mike hatch's notes that
he had on his hand during the minnesota
gubernatorial debate last night?....pretty
funny, really. seems as soon as he realized
that the camera on his left picked it up,
he took his right hand and placed it on
the back of the sofa for the rest of the debate!
i think that's pretty funny, dont' you?? :)
enjoy your weekend!

happy birthday j!

picture this...
i forgot to mention that yesterday
was my niece's birthday!
i mean, i already gave her a gift and
i mailed the card AND called yesterday
to say "happy birthday"... i just forgot
to mention it here...so,
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"


the family is getting together on sunday
to celebrate and it just so happens to
be "guy fawkes day" (in england).
it's kind of a cool deal really,
everyone has bonfire parties where
they make a life sized, stuffed, clothed
dummy and burn him at the stake.
google "guy fawkes" and read more
about this man!

meeting tammy today, looking forward to that.

here's some color for all of us!








we hit a wine tasting here locally last night
and found a few wines that we wanted
to try....yum! topped that off with a little
chinese....which i nearly NEVER do!
i'm not sure what is happening to me as
i get older, but my willpower seems to be
going out the window or at the very least, it's
on the ledge! shame on me...kung po chicken???
what's up with that!
jacquie, we can get together soon and
compare tummies! oh and i heard it through
the grape-vine that i might be seeing you
for dinner on saturday night!!!
could this be true??? hush honey!

i am collecting money for jay magee's
surgery so if anyone is interested in dontating,
i'd be happy to get it to his brother-in-law, justin.
ANY amount great! it's money they wouldn't have if
you hadn't given! and thanks in advance!

anne, i'll stop by with the album later.....like lunchtime.
of course i'll call before i come! see you later.

have a safe weekend everyone!

musty tv..

picture this...
does anyone still watch NBC on thursday night?

well it's thursday.
gary was supposed to have his shoulder
surgery this morning. turns out, if you
are sick and have a fever during your "pre-op",
they make you reschedule.
so he's on for the 30th of november.

i have an opportunity to enter a
"print competition" for the TCPPA.
they are judging on the 13th of november.
these images are to be 16x20, mounted
and unframed.
categories are wedding, portrait and open.
i'll keep you posted on my entries....
i can enter up to 4 photographs or 3 photographs
and 1 event album...cool, huh!?
even if i don't enter, i'll attend the show.
there really is no reason NOT to enter...it's free.
you get recognition and constructive criticism.

jason stenvold, whom i've recently come to know,
is a terrific photographer and i thought i would share
one of his images with you to prepare us all for
what is to come this month!!




i'm meeting with another photographer tomorrow
that i met at a bridal show last spring. we seemed
to have a lot in common and i told her that someday
we should get together and "talk-shop".
i love to meet and talk to phototographers.
i used to be intimidated, now....i just feel a bit
more relaxed as i establish my style and nitch.
i am my own worst critic and at the same time, the
stongest force standing between me and what i want.
everyone inbetween, no matter how i look at it,
is a mentor in one way or another that i can learn from.
i love that.
the next time you feel yourself getting jealous of
someone....say to yourself....i need to get to know
that person! what do you suppose might come of that?

november already???

picture this....
cold night, 1/2 the trick or treaters
we usually get.

spoon fed babies!
at the risk of sounding like my
father, when i was a kid, it didn't
matter if it was cold or raining or snowing.
we went anyway.....and we hit EVERY house!
if we wanted candy in the house, we had
to provide for ourselves!
my 2 older brothers and i would come home,
dump our pillow cases out on the livingroom
floor and sort out our goods....trade, eat and
yes, give away (some) of our candy.
God, those were the days, right!?

we found out yesterday that due to gary's
sinus infection, he will not be having his
surgery on thursday.....instead he had
to reschedule for november 30th.
kind of a bummer. now he will be a month
behind in his recovery process and he
would like to be golfing in april (weather permitting)!
this surgery carries a 4-6 month rehab!


my nephew owen stopped over today
with his mom & noni (grandma in hawaiian)

owen loves the etch-a-sketch!






he had so much fun trick or treating last night!
he calls me "sue-sue"...LOVE that!
good to see you all! hope your brows are still
in tact! :)

did i tell you how much i love my new sample
album? i contacted amanda to tell her that i
had received it. she wanted to see it when
i came in.

have a great day!