thank you...

i would like to take this opportunity
to thank all my clients and loyal readers
for allowing me to touch their lives this
past year, 2007 was amazing!
going forward into 2008 i pray that you all
experience health, spiritual & personal
growth as well as a life filled with love
and laughter.

if a time should occur in your life or in
the lives of those around you that you
feel requires timeless capturing, please
give me a call~it would be my pleasure
and honor to extend the joy to your worlds
beyond the moment.

whether this coming year brings us closer
together or places us apart know that you
can always pop by this blog and catch up anytime.
i welcome your comments, requests and ideas
as God unfolds another year for us all.

i am constantly inspired and encouraged by
all my friends in Christ and for that i am
so truly grateful.

tonight gary and i will be attending the
3rd annual Minnesota Miracle New Year's Eve
event at the airport Hilton in Bloomington.
please join us! here's some shots from last
year. Belinda Jensen was the emcee last year.
this year...Don Shelby.
and yes...that's John Randall from the Vikings.









God bless you all.
Happy New Year.

here's life inner city...

took megan to the train super early today.
well, for me anyway....plus we were up until
about 1 or so, that made for an early
morning! we will all miss her. even the cats!

i came home from st. paul this morning and
grabbed another hour of sleep before i
drove down to the mpls hilton for an outreach
event for here's life inner city and
john sather.

i've done some work for them in the past
and love to come along side that organization
and assist in archiving events for them.
this weekend marks about the 25th annual event
for a ton of college students that all come
together to share their faith with others.
today they set out on foot with boxes of
pantry staples to folks in need and perhaps lead
some of them to Christ by sharing the gospel.
i had NO idea that there would be so many
students..when i arrived to the 3rd floor
ballroom the music was intoxicating!
a live band on a HUGE stage playing contemporary
Christian music...i loved it. i quickly got
to work and photographed the worshiping of
Jesus then we moved on to churches throughout
the area (i was assigned to the marie sandvik
center on chicago & 11th).

there i met up with about 50 students that
were prepared to head out into the streets
of the phillips neighborhood, talk about
Christ and share the gospel all while on their
holiday break from college. pretty moving
considering that their class mates were off
skiing, working, sleeping etc...

we bundled up and set forth. i was there to
document their efforts and make sure that
the students had some fun too! ;)

came home and totally crashed! i have been
running all week. tonight we will stay in
and rest up for tomorrow's big new year's
eve bash at the airport hilton.

tickets still available...come on out!!!

running with megan..

what a day we had yesterday.
first, gary to the surgeon...
ran home, took hobie to the vet~
then megan and i ran to southdale
to shop at macy's and find boots
for her then we had to race back
to pick up hobie from the vet~
he's now poop free! :)
then megan and i got back in the car
and buzzed up to crystal to meet
with sergio (her good friend) and
his girlfriend wendy for a bite at
"el toro" in robinsdale...
sergio had to work last night so
it was a quick bite and off to
ridgedale to get the shoes that the
southdale macy's was out of stock on.
THEN i thought...wow, wouldn't it
be fun to introduce megan to von maur!
so we hit that place too and we both
picked up some lancome! we were nearly
shopped out...
the following are some highlights from
my camera as we both brought along
our cameras for the day. i nearly got
kicked out of the macy's at ridgedale
for taking pictures of shoes...yea, like
i'm going to, in my spare time, copy some
shoes and start another business...
megan and i just laughed! ;)





















today, it's off to the hilton to drop off
some things for the new year's eve event.
then....later we are to hook up with
sergio again and i also am going out
to excelsior to attend a belated "boxing day"
gathering at my brother & nicki's home.
looking forward to an outing with friends!

megan is taking the train back home in the
morning and i will be heading back downtown
to shoot an event at the mpls hilton from
10:30 to 4. megan is shooting a wedding on
new years eve and i'll be shooting the minnesota
miracle event at the airport hilton that night.
work, work, work...good thing we play hard!!

tigger point healing...

megan, tho' a terrific photographer
and friend has also turned out to be
healer as well.
last night, when she & i returned from
dinner (and skate buying..more on that
later), she talked to gary about
trigger points and they quickly
sat down on the porch and she located
one of them near his left shoulder
blade and started to go to work on
several. he slept really well last
night for the first time in weeks!
he & i are heading off in a minute to
see his surgeon who is coming off
vacation to meet with him.
for the first time, gary is hopeful
that it may NOT be rotator cuff after
all....thanks megan!
i'll add more to this when we get back.

2 sick boys...

first, gary....
miserable.
can't sleep, can't do anything,
can't get vicodin to work, can't
see his surgeon until the 31st.
i sat him down this morning and
handed him the phone and made him
call the office and request another
surgeon to see. he MUST be seen.
this is just awful. more later...
(he's on the phone with them now)

next, hobie.
the cat with a colon the size of
my forearm! poor thing.
we were at the vet yesterday to
see dr. ginger..2 enemas, some
sub-q fluids and some abdomen palpations
and nothing. nothing at the vet,
nothing overnight...back we go today.

my friend megan is here (from chicago)
visiting family west of here and is
having her mom drop her off here
around 10. can't wait to see her
and hang out with no weddings to shoot!
just some hangin', shopping, girl-time.

hope she knows that she's entering
the psych ward! YIKES!!
i gotta run...more later!

Christmas 2007...in the can.

well, it's really more of a "film" term
than a literal meaning...in that our
Christmas was really wonderful and we
topped it off with a little Christmas
fire last night. it was just gorgeous
out last night. calm, quiet, snowing
profusely...it was the perfect nightcap!
i hooked up my ipod and we sat and
listened to some classical music by the fire.
it was magical.







first we were at my sister's for Christmas Eve.





then to gary's brother's on Christmas day
for a delicious brunch and gift exchange.
gotta love this cat of theirs.."G"



i got bonnie a hillary nutcracker!~
it is a true, working nutcracker but i think
that she will keep it in the package as a
collector's piece! ;)



we left there a little earlier than expected
due to the snow that started to pile up.
and we even got another 3 inches after we
went to bed around midnight last night!
here's some shots from this morning!







nice talking to you last night dean & lois!

gary cannot get in to see his surgeon until
the afternoon of the 31st. bummer.
he'll get an mri prior..of that i am certain.
he's really struggling to keep it together.
his shoulder is in rough shape...pray for a
good outcome. thanks!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

everyone at austin images photography
would like to wish to those celebrating
Christ's birth today, a very Merry Christmas!
enjoy the day with family & friends~
and as you gather, remember that
Jesus IS the reason for the season!!

fun with jib jab...

i'll admit, i don't fall victim to
most things but this was too funny
and i wanted to introduce you to 3
kids that gary and i love down in
playa del carmen mexico.
i sent them the link and i'm postive
that they will think that their virtual
snowball fight is pretty cool!

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

hi indiana, jose maria & talisman!! ;)

today we will meet up with a bunch of friends
at axel's in chanhassen. each Christmas eve day
they open the bar and take donations and donate
all tips to a local children's charity.
axel's has been purchased by another group and
will most likely not be able to do this in the
years to come...kind of a bummer! end of an era!

in any case, we love going there on Christmas eve
before heading off to all of our families homes.
it's become a chanhassen tradition. this year
we will pick up my mom and bring her along.
anne & pete don't live far from there so will
haul all the goodies with us in our sleigh and
have a Christmas "bump" on the way.

we got more snow yesterday and it blew around like
crazy and drifted quite a bit. definitely a
white Christmas this year!!!

here's pete on his birthday playing guitar zero...
seriously...love you man! :)



thanks jacquie for braving the crowds and shopping
with me yesterday, that was fun!

if i don't get the opportunity tomorrow...
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!!

Christmas eve, eve...

celebrated a little too much for my sister's
husband, pete's birthday last night.
gary and i decided to just stay the night.
we haven't had that much fun in a long
time! mostly siblings (minus mike & kindra).
first tim, laurie, gary and i met up at
mom's for a visit. that was so fun!

pete picked up his new car yesterday (on his birthday!).
black with tan interior...a 2006. nice!

we'll go back over there tomorrow afternoon.
the girls want me to sleep over tomorrow
night and do Christmas morning with them.
we're doing a brunch on Christmas day at
gary's brother's at 10:30....hmmm, can i
make it? i'm going to try. mom's going to too.

is it december or march?

we just got hit with a couple of inches
of heavy, wet march-like snow!
i simply gives Christmas a fresh coat!







here's a few shots from the other night at
ron & cindy's for a little get together..

our perfectly prepared welcome drink.
(ron always does some special drink
to hand out when you arrive!)



little will enjoying his thomas the
tank engine gift from r&c



ron doing his version of "solja boy"...



reggie got in the action too..




oh, and i hit the galaria with nicki yesterday
and picked up a little somthin'somnthin' for
myself...merry Christmas to me! ;)




do NOT get stressed out today!

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!!!)

last minute shopping...

anne & nicki are going to pick me up
around 10 today to head out and throw
ourselves to the wolves!
ordinarily i would say "let's just
slit our wrists and get it over with!"
but today i think it will be more fun
than work.

ya see, i'm done shopping and just
simply want to bop around the southdale
area and the galaria. it'll be festive
and alive and i could use that right
about now. i'be been in the house working
for too long and need to get out!

alright...i just got off the phone with
anne and she is up to her double d's in
wrapping gifts. it's the only time
she can haul the hidden treasures out
and get 'em under the tree so the kids
don't get a glimpse. i told her to relax
and get it done..no worries.
guess i'd better call nicki and change
the plan for the day.

here' ben (anne's oldest) giving me a
bed jump when i stopped over the other night.



baby eva...sheena's niece's daughter



frost from the other day...so beautiful!



momf board member gift boxes that i put
together the other day. inside each one
is a gift card for a portrait session.
thanks karen!



have i mentioned lately how much i absolutely
LOVE my iphone!???

gotta run...

byog...

apparently a new surveillance study
shows that you might want to bring
own glassware on your next hotel visit.
this is super gross!

okay, today is my last hair day for 2007.
i'll be out tomorrow and returning on the
2nd of january. gosh, that even feels good
to type! :)
what will i be doing you ask?
well, i may simply re-introduce myself to
my husband for starters, then move into
a cleaning mode for a day or two.
oh, and my sister (anne) & nicki and i are
going to throw ourselves in the middle
of all the madness of the holiday shoppers
and hit a few stores tomorrow. fun, fun, fun!

my reshoot went really great yesterday and
i dropped of my so cute boxes with the gift
certificates in them to the momf office for
their board meeting. i can't load any photos
on right now in that i have an extra external
hard drive hooked up to my monitor where i
plug my card reader so it'll have to wait.

i'm off to the gym to have sherri kick my butt
again today.

tonight our friends ron & cindy are hosting a
holiday party so we'll walk down there tonight
for a really much needed relaxing evening
of visiting! see you there jacquie!

mom, where are you??? at the casino??? ;)

poor air quality alert in minnesota!

yesterday and today have proven to be
quite strange...warm, muggy and low
lying clouds which is making the air
quality pretty bad. i'm inside most days
but i guess it's really awful out.

i'll be heading over to the momf
board meeting today to bestow some
portrait gift certificates for the
board members..14 in all.
this is a gift from the foundation.

relaxing tonight with a fire.
didn't get around to it last night
had to watch the finale of the
biggest loser!

gary's niece, mariko, who graduated
last spring from usc film school just
got word that she got the job as the
1st assistant at the ant farm in los
angeles! best movie trailer maker
around...she's pretty excited!!
kudos girl!!

woops!

okay, i must be really losing it now.
i've come down to the computer this
morning in my snowflake grandma pants and
i have my big fat hobie in my lap and i
just realizes that i'm drinking yesterday's
coffee....i never set my pot to go off today.
not good.

busy, busy, busy hair day today.....
and again tomorrow as well and a re-shoot
for a colleague of a friend of mine. yay!
the week is really rolling and i've not
got too much time to sit here.
besides, i have to go make a fresh pot of
coffee!
have a great day!
these next few blogs may be short.

peace.

congrats to anne...

yesterday marked my sister's 9th month
of not smoking! way to go anne!!
i knew you could do this!

mom is doing great in her new condo.
i've got to get back over there
this week and visit!!! :)

nicki's hair turned out fab yesterday
i forgot to take a photo in that
i needed to go back and adjust the
color so we ran long and she needed
to get going....next time i see her
i'll snap a photo.

today i ran my tail off.
first at the gym with Sherri (trainer)
then all over the city to complete
the Christmas 2007 shopping season.
It's so nice having monday's off.
you could not PAY me to hit the stores
on the weekends!

question for you......
as i was out today getting some
personal items as well i noticed
that you can't even BUY a plain tooth
brush anymore...when did that happen.
when did teeth get so complicated? :)

got my new iphone today too and it's
all set...same #. this thing is "all that",
aMAZing! and the real beauty part is that
i can actually read it with my aging eyes!
i can now watch a movie while on the
elliptical machine! not to mention
get e-mail on the fly and web access.
i'm really getting behind with the blogging
and i apologize.
i have to get back to the vikings game now
and see how they are doing.

enjoy the balmy temps!

the church at valley grove...

okay, so i get to northfield, meet up with
jason & stacey at the bride's home on union st.

i see that meg's sister, mo, is having a dickens
of a time backcombing her sister's hair in the
cute bathroom off the kitchen, so
i stepped in and said..."oh, that's enough!
step away from the bride!" we all laughed
and i think it was a darn good introduction
for me and meg. kudos to stacey and jason
for bringing along a photographer AND a
hairdresser! big points were made! :)

we shot a ton there at the house and then we
caravaned about 15 minutes south to the most
adorable church on a hill!

(i'll add images later as stacey & jason shoot
raw so i did as well and need to update my ACR
to identify my mark 3 camera...bla, bla, bla)

as i entered the one room church i could smell
the evergreen garland, it was simply enchanting!
it was then that i met the flower girls all
dressed in their sweet, white, bejeweled
twirly dresses and baskets of gorgeous holiday
greens with berries & bows! DAR~ling!

i pinned flowers on everyone in need and met
their 100 year old grandmother...a real charmer!

jason stationed himself in the front, stacey
in the middle and i headed to the balcony. this
made for some fabulous coverage! 3 photographers
should be an industry standard. we rocked this
wedding!

i cut out in the middle of the reception so i
could get back closer to home and attend a
dinner party at Hazeltine National Golf Club
in chaska. 16 of us all together~this was fun!

here's mike & jacqi, our hosts for the event.



gary and i (a rare shot of me in front of
the camera as gary hates it when i hand it
off to people...worry wart!)



my brother tim and his wife laurie.
they will be celebrating their 25th wedding
anniversary on april 1st this spring!!



food was amazing, as always!



and the bailey's cheese cake was a hit too!
(not sure why they brought 2 forks...oink!)



a very long but rewarding day!
i got to work with friends and play with friends.
it was perfect!

nicki will be here shortly to get her holiday
hair do gift...more fun!

vikings play monday night so no football today.
gary went to see the cohen brother's film...
no country for old men. i asked him to
save juno for us.

thinking of re~gifting??

here are some do's & dont's

i have a bunch of things that i want
to get off my desk top. are ya ready?

first, i went to whcc and delivered
cookies yesterday. that new building is
gorgeous! however, i felt like i was
going to see the great and powerful oz~
there's this big door in the entry and
they have to come and get you once you
call on the phone on the foyer.
i walked around and gave each employee
a personal greeting and thanked them
for all their hard work! i love white house
custom colour!




here's my mom's new bedroom. gary is
perhaps going to fashion a new closet door
for my mom in her bedroom.



here's my friend dave dutoit. we were
classmates in high school. he is in real
estate and when i was shooting his head
shots for his new business cards we talked
about my mom's building that she is trying
to sell. they are going to get together and
perhaps do an auction....



my PUG holiday party was held earlier this
week and here are some fun highlites from
the evening. i LOVE the game "apples to apples"!





and jason tried to take everyone's money
at poker...hmmmmm..baby needs new shoes! :o)



i'm going to go get ready to drive down to
northfield for the wedding with jason & stacey.

enjoy your saturday!

nicki, are you ready for your early Christmas
present tomorrow?? :)

settled in..

my mom's condo is so cute, i just love it!
gary and i popped over there last night to
visit and see if there was anything we could
help with. me....not so much (my back).
gary got all the new tv's going and i helped
get the bed in order.

anne was there with her 3 hulagans and my
mom's friend gladys was there (she lives
right down the hall...which is really nice!)
and it was fun to visit.

i talked to mom this morning and she slept
great and sounds like she is settling in
just fine.
pete is heading over this morning to hook up
her new computer and get the tv in the office
up and running. wow, fox news and meet the press
in 42" hd...my mom is in heaven! :o)

as for me, the back is feeling better and i
must get to cranking out some trays off cookies
today or i'll end up with more chins than a
chinese phone book soon! ;o)
first stop...whcc in eagan so i'm going to get
a move on.

2 families checking into the hilton later
today so i'll be heading over there, meeting
with karen and also discussing my part in the
gift to the board members at momf for Christmas.
a very cool opportunity for me!

oh, don't forget to check out the fun new year's
eve event at the hilton to benefit minnesota miracle
you won't want to miss it!!
please join us this year...it'll be a sell out again.


peace.

merry christmess.....

i'm under a pile of stuff somewhere! :)

i sit with my low back about to explode
and a day of hair ahead of me.
there is a light at the end of the tunnel,
however. and no, it's not a train coming
from the other direction! :)

tomorrow i will do the majority of my
cookie deliveries, that is always so
much fun!

today my mom is moving into her new condo.
i'm going to head over there later for
dinner. mike, kindra and owen are bringing
dinner and hooking up her new computer!
i'm just going for fun in that i am going
to be helpless with my back and all.

this is a new era for the whole family.
i'm so excited for my mom to get to
have her own space again!



i love you mom. see you tonight! :)