this & that...

i received an honorable mention for an image that
i submitted to my "PUG" group. it's kind of cool.
see the winners here.
tasha of f8 will move on to the national level
and represent our minneapolis group. go tasha!!

today gary is taking lois (his dad's wife) up
to coon rapids so she can visit her sister.
dean's going to go along and then come back
here and hang with us for the weekend then gary
will pop back up on sunday and bring lois back.

no real solid plans around here this weekend.
no cabin to rush to, no traffic to sit in,
an honestly, that sits well with me. :)

i've been requested to cover the "getting ready"
shots of the bride next saturday. this bride
(susan veltum) had discovered that she, indeed,
needs more than 6 hour coverage to be certain
that she get's what she wants...excellent choice
susan! i'll be there! so i'll be shooting for 8.

my new brochures arrived yesterday. they look
amazing..thank you whcc! top one is front and the
bottom is the back side. the front has a really
great glossy uv coating.





might go back to the fair today with mike,
kindra and owen. i hope they still want to
make the trip!

another gorgeous day on tap and looks
like this will last through the holiday
weekend. nice.
i'm going to work on gaby's images so that
i can post a slide show tomorrow.

now i lay me down to sleep is launching
a new web site soon so check out the link
under my "check these out" links in the
coming days for the fabulous changes!


give Him the glory today!

matt, jenny & olivia are in holland...

i have some good friends that just
arrived to holland and i told jenny
that she needed to start a blog for
while they are there (2 years).
and she has it up and running.
i will add it to my "links" so that
you can check in with them right
along with me.

jenny is a long time, best friend of
my sister anne. they got pregnant
at almost the same time and both gave
birth to daughters. olivia (jenn's)
and amanda (anne's) are the best of
friends too. this family was on
the same vacation in mexico that i
tagged along on back in march
(see the "vacation" label below on
my blog)...anyway the blog is called
"dutch word of the day"....love that!
so we will all be speaking fluent
dutch by the time they come home (not)!
please read it, appreciate their
sacrifices and comment...tell them
"sue sent me!"

here's gaby~the young lady whose
senior portraits i shot yesterday...
i'll get a slidshow going for
tomorrow as i have not had the time
to sit and play with her images
just yet..i will very soon.
i had so much fun gaby! you were
a great sport doing this all in
front of your friends too!
gotta run, more later!

dean & lois arrive...

they pulled in the driveway around 6
yesterday. a long, 4 day trip from
arizona. we visited them last down
there last january. it's always great
to see them and have them stay with us.

hobie got reacquainted with lois
and katie kept her distance (as
she does with most people).

gary and i prepared a meal here
thinking that perhaps they might
like to eat in after eating on the
road for 4 days.

talked and talked and talked the
night away...it's really great to see
them both!









(today is kyle's birthday!
he's 6!!!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!




i'm meeting with melissa
chepokas later today to take some
photos of she and 3 of her friends.
one of her friends, gabby, is going
to have me shoot her senior portraits
today as well. this is a fun bunch
of girls and they just wanted to get
all dolled up and have a session
just simply documenting their
friendship. i think that's cool!
i'll post some of their shots
tomorrow.

cory and i talked yesterday about
my new web site..i am sooo verrry
jazzed about this change! yay!

oh, one last thing...i'm up to 9th on
the list at national camera exchange
for the mark III!!! should have it
pretty soon!

debris....

so, here's the deal...
i'm getting tired of the 3am storms.
this one, last night, was a doozie!
however, once it passed (about 3:45),
it took me another hour or so to
get back to sleep. love that.

but now get this....gary gets home
this morning around 8 (he's an early
riser due to his work and commonly
pops back home mid morning) and says
"there is sh*t everywhere!" as he
looks out at the lawn. and i'm like,
well, would you like me to give God
a call and get him down here to
clean up his mess? really now.
gary's dad is due in today and i'm
afraid that gary thinks that his
dad is going to wonder if he is some
sort of slob or something! HA!

moving on...
we really have no plans as of yet
for the 4 of us this week altho' i'm
certain that we will be eating out
a few times.
dean is pretty laid back and low
maintenance and lois is a shaker and
a mover. she likes to go visit friends,
go to church with me, shop, you know..
the kind of things that we girls like
to do. i like that!

(whoooops...christy turned 13 yesterday
and i forgot to mention it. sorry christy.
HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY CHRISTY!!!!)

big news. well, for me it is.
i'm working on a new website. a new look.
fresh new colors, fonts, designs and
most of all...content. i'll be changing
out some of the "old me" and sharing
the "new me"...i am so excited about this.
i believe that we can only convey our
newness by changing our "samenesses"
make sense? good. i would love to have
it in place by the end of the year
and perhaps even sooner.
i'll be keeping you all posted on the
process. i'll be working with cory
barton of barton design fame!
she's awesome!

several portraits this week...
babies and seniors (and no, i don't
mean dean & lois). :) altho' i'll
get some pix of them as well i'm sure.

gotta go prepare for my meeting with cory.
have a fabulous day

way cool cooking school...

way cool cooking school is exactly that!
i arrived a little early to prairie
village mall on saturday morning , met
lynn (the owner) and took a few shots
before the kids got there.
lynn was also set up for a birthday
party of 25-7 year olds complete with
chef hats, measuring cups and aprons!
this place is really great! colorful,
spacious and places for parents to
sit (if need be). the decor is clean
and modern and fun (for everyone!)
check them out. it's on the west
end of prairie village mall opposite
kowalski's & next to h&r block.






this would be owen's last day in a
series of 4 saturdays where he and
his dad (my brother mike) would
bond in a cooking class for kids.
so adorable!










on today's menu...painted
french toast! yum!!
check out the craig "tongue" action:)




thanks for letting me pop in
with my camera! that was fun!
oh, a funny note...owen does not
know about pancake syrup yet-
and as mike passed it to the other
little boy he said, "and we'd
like to keep it that way for
awhile." i thought that was funny!

the arizona austins are in colorado
and should be here sometime tomorrow.

oh, gary and i went to excelsior to
visit with nicki's brother, simon.
he's here 'til tomorrow then it's
on to philadelphia for work and then
back home to england.
no photos to share...sorry.

we hit the fair yesterday afternoon.
hit all the usual booths and ate
all the usual crap! it was
the most packed i've ever seen it!
didn't over do it tho'...that
was a first! must mean i need to
make a 2nd trip....with my sister!

up for it anne????

tom & jess...

hey there everyone...happy saturday to you.
woke up at tom's house on lake minnetonka
this morning which for me was breaking
a resolution that i made nearly 7 years
ago to never have to stay over at someone's
home...but, we had a great time and i
guess i wouldn't have done anything
different if given the chance.

so, that said... we loaded up tom's
ski boat with champagne, strawberries and
some yummy cheeses from trader joe's,
a really great collection of red wines and
hit the lake. sunset, 70, puttering along,
it was a gorgeous night to be out on the
lake. we drank the last bottle of korbel
from the san fransico trip a few years ago.
they had to go and empty out the strait
jacket before the sale and there was one
left so they saved it for our cruise last
night!! :)











here we go with the wacky blogger
photo stuff again! i have NO idea what's up
with that but i'll check into it cuz it's
making me crazy!!












thanks tom & jess for a great night!
we are now planning a dive trip! :)
have a spendid day!

(welcome home june & garrick)

oh, and welcome to the USA, simon.
hope to see you tonight! (nicki's brother)

i'm going to blog about owen's cooking
class tomorrow.

dean and lois are on their way!

the sun is out!

turned off the air, opened the
windows and let the sun shine in!
the sun has been hidden beneath
low clouds for 1 solid week. yuck!
can't even begin to tell you how
happy this makes me. now, i'm not
a sun worshiper but i'm certainly
not a cloud worshiper either!
this will make our boat outing with
tom & jess a bit nicer.

we're going to head over to their
house on minnetonka around 6:30
and boat over to excelsior to
bayside for dinner. looking forward
to seeing them. they are always gone.
oh, tom finally sold his yacht, the
"strait jacket"...
we were privileged to have joined them
on 2 separate occasions. once to
st. maarten and st. barths and once to
san fransico for our anniversary.
this was an amazing ship and we will
miss it very much.



this is tom & jess...

john & diana were in on the
st. maarten trip too. and that's
gary behind all my hair!


blogger is a mess again today, sorry
for the jumbled blog.
enjoy this gorgeous day!!

june & garrick...

we had a great send off-visit last
night over at anne & pete's for
nicki's mum & stepdad.
they head back over the big pond
later today. i promised them that
the next time i saw them it would
be in jolly old england. nicki and
are a planning a trip over. i haven't
been since scott and nicki's wedding
and that's almost 19 years! wow!

here's june & garrick....




and here's mum & daughter...



okay, blogger has gone wacko!
today it's really acting up.
first, it won't allow me to
select from all the folders on my
desk top and now that i put these
photos into a different one so it
would...it places them side by side.
weird.

good to see everyone last night!

lots of hair today.
photographing baby gavin tomorrow and
then a boat ride to dinner tomorrow
evening with friends.

i'll be photographing owen's final
cooking class on saturday moring.
yea, a cooking class...with his dad.
and yes, he's 2. how cute is that!?
i can't wait...he's sooo funny!!

dean and lois begin their trip up
on saturday as well and should arrive
by tuesday. say, do you two want to
go to the fair?? (kidding!).

our state fair begins today and runs
through labor day...yay!!!
corn dogs...oh, sorry "pronto pups",
sweet martha's choc. chip cookies,
tom thumb mini doughnuts, cows and
sweaty kids tethered to their parents
with bungy cords..what's with that!?

enjoy...

defending bella pictures...

i got an e-mail from lesa musatto,
vp of marketing at bella pictures
last night. it seems some very
hungry photographers are suffering
from "i wish i'd have thought of it
first" syndrome.

i own and operate a wedding, portrait
photography business and i shoot for
bella pictures on the side. i love
to shoot when ever i can. therefore,
if i'm asked, by bella, to photograph a
wedding i jump at the chance (when i'm
available). i've been treated fairly,
paid promptly and i have met some really
talented people along the way.
i don't understand the fuss, really.
i mean, i'm no idiot, i understand that
bella gets the credit. but, it's images
i wouldn't have, it's money i wouldn't
have made and a wedding i wouldn't have shot.
what's the harm. market yourself however
you wish...if it's unlawful, you'll have to
answer to the Big Guy!.
one last thought...marketing is marketing.
you either do it or...someone else will!
'nough said.

got a call from my coach (bob) today.
he likes my work. i was relieved. not that
i didn't think i did a great job, it's
just that, well, being critiqued can be
tough sometimes. he had lots of positives
and suggestions as well. i'm excited to
move forward to the 9/8 wedding.
i'm going to do a sample graphi album
of the 8/11 wedding.

i'm so ready for the sun to come back.
haven't seen it in 5 days...it's such
a downer to have the clouds and rain
hanging around for so long when we have
been experiencing such warm, sunny weather
all summer..
sorry for the late post, blogger must
have been down this morning and i got
swamped the rest of the day.

more tomorrow.

some great people...

pressing some fare trade java this
morning (from dunn bros.)..yum, and
checking out bob and dawn davis' blog.
i subscribe, so i get update information
sent to me automatically, it's nice.
i love to see what they are up to.
they are my "bar". these are real
people with a real passion and those
are folks i care to align myself with.

my next bella pictures wedding is
september 8th and i am working with
a bella coach to review my 8/11 wedding.
this is becoming a really terrific experience.
i won't ever be one to say that i know
it all or that i've done it all cuz
i don't and i haven't. i never want to
stop pursuing more in the field of
photography. and besides, it changes everyday!


next, i wanted to share some of the fun
from the "after party" for the triathlon.
greg and mary sumner hosted a fabulous
bash! here they are in the kitchen...




here's jennifer mixin' up the smoothies..



here's joe and jennifer cox, owners of
cornerstone grill~divine grilling & catering.
this meal was outstanding! i recognized them
from church...westwood community church.
if you have an event coming up PLEASE call them.
(612) 618-5653...this will be the best call you
ever made for catering your next party!!!



here' the sumners other girls...
bella & tess. aren't they gorgeous?!



tony schiller (race director), becky chepokas,
mitch's mom, mary and another guest (?)...



i brought along my laptop to run a slide show
of the day, it was nice to have the rainy afternoon
to put that together and share it at the party!

it's getting steamy here again. time to shut
the windows and turn on the air!

jacquie, i put you down at 5pm on thursday.

oh, i forgot to mention that my shootsac arrived
saturday. i'm looking forward to putting it
to use soon! yes, it's kinda spendy but you
should see what i bought that cost nearly
the same. i returned that one and will now be
sporting my new, stylish shootsac by jessica claire.

this humidity is KILLING me!!!!!

comcast down again...

technology is both a blessing and a
curse. we hear that all the time, right?
well, yesterday i actually got to church
a half hour early due to the fact that my
internet was down. :) got to visit a lot.
the conrads were there so i got to see
christy and find out how her birthday
party went and how she's doing with her
new do. here's some shots from friday...









christy's gone hollywood!!



saturday, at the miraclekids triathlon, things
got pretty wet...well, soaked really...





the day did not start rainy but by the time
the athletes were lined up it began to sprinkle
and it never really stopped.

these kids, ages 7 to 17, managed to
become energized by the rain and push
through to the finish line...all but 2.
not bad considering there were about 800
entrants!





my niece emily was there and finished!
yay emily, i'm so proud of you!!!







this was the 4th annual and i am
beginning to recognize faces of the
kids racing (for kids who can't).

everyone got a medal...







and i'm certain that there is something
special in the works for jordan dahlke...
he raised over $21,000 for the event!!
nice job jordan!



here's jordan with lexi (l) and karen (r)



oh and thanks to the sumner family for
hosting the post party at their home.

alright, i'm off to the gym now...
there are 52 monday's in a year and
i'm going to use this one to get in gear!!