today, i woke up in my own bed, alone.
no girls, no cats & gary was up and off to
work pretty early.
no rest for the weary, i have an 8 o'clock
and the fun won't stop until around 4.
we had a pretty heart warming reunion last
night at anne & pete's. they were on the
ground early and home early.
anne was bummed. she noticed that they never
stamped her passport in france so now she
has no proof that she was actually there.
weird, huh?
lots of gifts bestowed on everyone (even me)
and we were just really excited to have them
both back home, safe and sound.
i'm going to miss those girls & ben. we had
such fun. we always have fun when i stay there!
so, until next time...
my good friends jason and stacey thon had a
baby boy (ian jason thon) just before lunch
on the 29th. VERY exciting! congratulations
you two...or should i say 4! you can get to
their photography site & blog from my PUG
blog listed under "check these out".
so, it's halloween. hmmm. i didn't get any
pumpkins this year. i got very sidetracked
at anne & pete's this year. oh well, the
candy will taste the same, right!? :)
i have been waiting for days to get my new
leopard system installed. gary's brother
is coming over to take care of that for me.
it'll take a couple of hours but from what
i understand, well worth the wait!
i'll let you know as soon as i get the chance
to dive in and play with it.
i can't post photos today either...very little
time this morning...
happy haunting!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
last day @ baker's
woke up early and gave anne & pete one last call.
we knew that they would be on the plane around
1:00 paris time so emily (who slept with me last
night), rolled over and asked if we could call.
they will fly straight to michigan, go through
customs there and then on to minneapolis.
today will fly by, of that i am certain.
the girls are so excited that their mom & dad
come home that they both think they should
stay home today! :) nice try.
i've got some clients to meet back at my house
today, then i'm going to pick amanda up at school
and take her right to gymnastics at 4.
finally got a costume that amanda will wear.
she put it on right away when we got home from
the store and she ran to show her friend maija.
amanda asked last night if there was halloween
vacation. funny.
well, once again i had a great time here with the
girls. no one got sick, no one got hurt, nobody
honked at mom (anne will get that!).
gary had a great time hunting. every year he
says it was their best year yet and this one
was no exception.
i'm ready to have my life back tho', this is
tough work. so to all you mom's out there,
i salute you! whether you work outside the home
or not, it makes no difference, it's a tough
job and these kids just want to be loved and
recognized. i can't remember who made mention
of this but i remember someone saying...
"everyone wears an invisible sign that says
'make me feel special'"
i'll be heading home tonight after the big reunion!
here's another fun site...click here
hairstyle makeover is fun!
have a great halloween eve!
we knew that they would be on the plane around
1:00 paris time so emily (who slept with me last
night), rolled over and asked if we could call.
they will fly straight to michigan, go through
customs there and then on to minneapolis.
today will fly by, of that i am certain.
the girls are so excited that their mom & dad
come home that they both think they should
stay home today! :) nice try.
i've got some clients to meet back at my house
today, then i'm going to pick amanda up at school
and take her right to gymnastics at 4.
finally got a costume that amanda will wear.
she put it on right away when we got home from
the store and she ran to show her friend maija.
amanda asked last night if there was halloween
vacation. funny.
well, once again i had a great time here with the
girls. no one got sick, no one got hurt, nobody
honked at mom (anne will get that!).
gary had a great time hunting. every year he
says it was their best year yet and this one
was no exception.
i'm ready to have my life back tho', this is
tough work. so to all you mom's out there,
i salute you! whether you work outside the home
or not, it makes no difference, it's a tough
job and these kids just want to be loved and
recognized. i can't remember who made mention
of this but i remember someone saying...
"everyone wears an invisible sign that says
'make me feel special'"
i'll be heading home tonight after the big reunion!
here's another fun site...click here
hairstyle makeover is fun!
have a great halloween eve!
Monday, October 29, 2007
day 7 @ baker's
alright, here we are on our 2nd monday together.
this time has just whipped by.
emily was already up when i got up this morning.
i said, "see what happens when you go to bed on time?"
she was fast at work on "club penguin" trying to win
enough $ to get buy a halloween costume for her penguin!
josette brought the girls home around 4.
they each had a tie blanket! they worked on those
while they were there, they went to see ratatouille
and a trip to target. they did so much while
they were there!
talked to anne & pete this morning. paris already
turned their clocks back so it's only 6 hours ahead
now but anne would like to turn the clocks ahead about
a day so that she can come home. she's getting pretty
homesick and is getting a bit bored with the history.
oh, we went and picked out pumpkins yesterday, that
was fun. we still don't have a replacement costume
for amanda but we'll get that sorted out.
not much more to report from here.
oh, but notable is the fact that i got both girls
in bed at 9 last night! that was HUGE!!!
anne, i love you. make the most of your last day/night!
here's some of the fun the passed several days...
peter's pink princesses picked a peck of picked over pumpkins!
this time has just whipped by.
emily was already up when i got up this morning.
i said, "see what happens when you go to bed on time?"
she was fast at work on "club penguin" trying to win
enough $ to get buy a halloween costume for her penguin!
josette brought the girls home around 4.
they each had a tie blanket! they worked on those
while they were there, they went to see ratatouille
and a trip to target. they did so much while
they were there!
talked to anne & pete this morning. paris already
turned their clocks back so it's only 6 hours ahead
now but anne would like to turn the clocks ahead about
a day so that she can come home. she's getting pretty
homesick and is getting a bit bored with the history.
oh, we went and picked out pumpkins yesterday, that
was fun. we still don't have a replacement costume
for amanda but we'll get that sorted out.
not much more to report from here.
oh, but notable is the fact that i got both girls
in bed at 9 last night! that was HUGE!!!
anne, i love you. make the most of your last day/night!
here's some of the fun the passed several days...
peter's pink princesses picked a peck of picked over pumpkins!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
day 6 @ baker's
i slept in until almost 9. felt good.
the house is pretty quiet. the girls slept
at nana's last night.
i decided that my neighbor's party would
have to do without me this year. i elected
to spend the evening with my mom, just the
2 of us...haven't done that in years.
we watched wedding crashers & failure to launch.
i opened a bottle of chianti and we just
kicked back. it was really nice.
no anne, that doesn't mean that she's moving
to my house! :)
talked to anne & pete yesterday. anne's
ready to come home. not because she misses us~
she thinks paris is dumb. old, dirty buildings
and bad food. she was hungry and needed caffeine
in a country without mountain dew, she settled
for a diet coke and some quiche lorraine...
not quite perkins. poor dear.
pete said he could spend a year there and i know
for a fact that i could live on coffee, bread & wine
as long as i could charge my camera battery every
couple of days!
they come home tuesday night so...hang in there anne!
dropped the girls off last night at nana's.
liz and josette were cleaning out the garage.
actually throwing stuff!! i couldn't
believe my eyes! the siding people have a dumpster
there so they are taking full advantage of that
and they need to! they keep everything!
the house is a beautiful yellow now (some kind of
cement siding...it's really nice!). carole had me
talk to the guys (all spanish speaking) so i translated
for her that they were doing a nice job and that
the color was lovely. nana was impressed with me.
yea, i got skills!
later today liz will drop the girls off here and
we will go and get some pumpkins and try to find
a replacement costume for amanda.
i'm going to head over to my house now and see
my cats. i miss them and they miss me.
gary comes home today so that's nice.
the guys usually hit the road early, stop along
the way and have lunch and catch some of the
vikings game and he usually comes through the
door around 4 or 5.
nicki broke her ankle at karate yesterday.
her very first injury in 4 years. she's a black
belt and never had an injury...pretty good girl!
waiting for the radiologists final report on the
condition but she is laying low..in a 1/2 cast.
more tomorrow.
before i go...here is a fun thing...
click here to play a silly game.
the house is pretty quiet. the girls slept
at nana's last night.
i decided that my neighbor's party would
have to do without me this year. i elected
to spend the evening with my mom, just the
2 of us...haven't done that in years.
we watched wedding crashers & failure to launch.
i opened a bottle of chianti and we just
kicked back. it was really nice.
no anne, that doesn't mean that she's moving
to my house! :)
talked to anne & pete yesterday. anne's
ready to come home. not because she misses us~
she thinks paris is dumb. old, dirty buildings
and bad food. she was hungry and needed caffeine
in a country without mountain dew, she settled
for a diet coke and some quiche lorraine...
not quite perkins. poor dear.
pete said he could spend a year there and i know
for a fact that i could live on coffee, bread & wine
as long as i could charge my camera battery every
couple of days!
they come home tuesday night so...hang in there anne!
dropped the girls off last night at nana's.
liz and josette were cleaning out the garage.
actually throwing stuff!! i couldn't
believe my eyes! the siding people have a dumpster
there so they are taking full advantage of that
and they need to! they keep everything!
the house is a beautiful yellow now (some kind of
cement siding...it's really nice!). carole had me
talk to the guys (all spanish speaking) so i translated
for her that they were doing a nice job and that
the color was lovely. nana was impressed with me.
yea, i got skills!
later today liz will drop the girls off here and
we will go and get some pumpkins and try to find
a replacement costume for amanda.
i'm going to head over to my house now and see
my cats. i miss them and they miss me.
gary comes home today so that's nice.
the guys usually hit the road early, stop along
the way and have lunch and catch some of the
vikings game and he usually comes through the
door around 4 or 5.
nicki broke her ankle at karate yesterday.
her very first injury in 4 years. she's a black
belt and never had an injury...pretty good girl!
waiting for the radiologists final report on the
condition but she is laying low..in a 1/2 cast.
more tomorrow.
before i go...here is a fun thing...
click here to play a silly game.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
day 5 @ baker's
it's saturday!
the girls and i all slept in a little.
then a little "full house"...season 6!
just waiting on 9 (my mom) to get up. she'd
better get up soon or i'll have to make another
pot of coffee!
yesterday (trash day) went really smoothly.
girls up..on the bus.. trash out..i ran home
to medicate hobie & meet gerri for our 11 o'clock..
then we went to wildfire for some halibut...
sadly, it just went out of season but the
flounder was just as amazing. we had to keep this
lunch short due to the fact that she had to get
kathryn at 3 so we parted and i popped back in
at home to check on the cats again, get the mail
and get back to chan before the bus arrived.
amanda would not be on the bus cuz she had a field
trip to the dinner theater.
emily went with her very good friend to the day
care near the house for a halloween party.
she went along to be a helper with all the little
kids. they had a great time and got home around 9:30.
amanda, 9 & i went to applehurl...i mean applebees
and had dinner, it was packed!
funniest thing...amanda orders..."i'll have the
3 cheese chicken penne pasta with no tomatoes and no
chicken." the server thought perhaps she was a
vegetarian! :)
anne called around 5:30 last night (12:30 in paris)
to tell us that she was "plastered in paris"!
well, after all, it was her birthday! can you blame her?!
the girls will stay at nana's tonight. i'm not sure
when we will venture over there but i also thought
we should go get pumpkins today.
hope you are not too hung over anne!!
have a great day in paris with pete!
we love and miss you...hope the blog helps and
makes you feel a little more connected.
au revoir!
the girls and i all slept in a little.
then a little "full house"...season 6!
just waiting on 9 (my mom) to get up. she'd
better get up soon or i'll have to make another
pot of coffee!
yesterday (trash day) went really smoothly.
girls up..on the bus.. trash out..i ran home
to medicate hobie & meet gerri for our 11 o'clock..
then we went to wildfire for some halibut...
sadly, it just went out of season but the
flounder was just as amazing. we had to keep this
lunch short due to the fact that she had to get
kathryn at 3 so we parted and i popped back in
at home to check on the cats again, get the mail
and get back to chan before the bus arrived.
amanda would not be on the bus cuz she had a field
trip to the dinner theater.
emily went with her very good friend to the day
care near the house for a halloween party.
she went along to be a helper with all the little
kids. they had a great time and got home around 9:30.
amanda, 9 & i went to applehurl...i mean applebees
and had dinner, it was packed!
funniest thing...amanda orders..."i'll have the
3 cheese chicken penne pasta with no tomatoes and no
chicken." the server thought perhaps she was a
vegetarian! :)
anne called around 5:30 last night (12:30 in paris)
to tell us that she was "plastered in paris"!
well, after all, it was her birthday! can you blame her?!
the girls will stay at nana's tonight. i'm not sure
when we will venture over there but i also thought
we should go get pumpkins today.
hope you are not too hung over anne!!
have a great day in paris with pete!
we love and miss you...hope the blog helps and
makes you feel a little more connected.
au revoir!
Friday, October 26, 2007
day 4 @ baker's
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!!
today is my sister's birthday.
she is going to be celebrating in paris, france!
she'll be celebrating her birthday in paris,
with her husband and her very best friend, jenny
& jen's husband matt (who are living in holland
for a couple of years).
anne is writing a little bit on her blog about their stay.
i just popped over to her blog and there is an
update...jen has to go home to holland.
she is having some health trouble darn it.
poor jen. take care, you! :)
well, emily got to gymnastics last night and
amanda and i went to select a costume for halloween.
she wanted to go to target and naturally, it's
pretty picked over. amanda decided that she wanted
to be the "cheerless leader". emily took one look
at it in the car on the way home and said, "dad's
gonna HATE it!!" we plan to take it back and get
something a little less "dark".
amanda kept insisting that we weren't done shopping
because the cart wasn't full....hey, anne, what are
you teaching her anyway!!! ;)
emily worked on 14 math (division) problems for
2 hours last night. the goal was to finish them
and then she could sleep in my bed. she had one
left, it was 9:30 and so i said "c'mon, that's
enough, good job!"
today, amanda has a brownie field trip to the
dinner theater here in chanhassen after school.
then emily had a costume thing at a friend's
mom's work.
i'm heading back over to my house to meet gerri.
i think a nap might be in order today! :)
mike called from florida, he was having a flashback
from when he was a kid a disneyland and wanted
to just reminisce with mom. :)
i run out of time everyday to add photos to this
blog..i'm so sorry. i have some pretty good ones
too. i'll try to give it a go later today or
tomorrow when the girls go to nana's for the night.
happy birthday anne, i love you.
hope you enjoy your birthday surprise!
today is my sister's birthday.
she is going to be celebrating in paris, france!
she'll be celebrating her birthday in paris,
with her husband and her very best friend, jenny
& jen's husband matt (who are living in holland
for a couple of years).
anne is writing a little bit on her blog about their stay.
i just popped over to her blog and there is an
update...jen has to go home to holland.
she is having some health trouble darn it.
poor jen. take care, you! :)
well, emily got to gymnastics last night and
amanda and i went to select a costume for halloween.
she wanted to go to target and naturally, it's
pretty picked over. amanda decided that she wanted
to be the "cheerless leader". emily took one look
at it in the car on the way home and said, "dad's
gonna HATE it!!" we plan to take it back and get
something a little less "dark".
amanda kept insisting that we weren't done shopping
because the cart wasn't full....hey, anne, what are
you teaching her anyway!!! ;)
emily worked on 14 math (division) problems for
2 hours last night. the goal was to finish them
and then she could sleep in my bed. she had one
left, it was 9:30 and so i said "c'mon, that's
enough, good job!"
today, amanda has a brownie field trip to the
dinner theater here in chanhassen after school.
then emily had a costume thing at a friend's
mom's work.
i'm heading back over to my house to meet gerri.
i think a nap might be in order today! :)
mike called from florida, he was having a flashback
from when he was a kid a disneyland and wanted
to just reminisce with mom. :)
i run out of time everyday to add photos to this
blog..i'm so sorry. i have some pretty good ones
too. i'll try to give it a go later today or
tomorrow when the girls go to nana's for the night.
happy birthday anne, i love you.
hope you enjoy your birthday surprise!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
day 3 @ baker's
where to start...
as the girls were finishing up their breakfast
yesterday i got a call from heather. heather is
one of the main coordinators for now i lay me
down to sleep. there was a young mother at
abbott with a 28 week loss. i was pretty sure that
i couldn't take this one with the girls and all
plus i had an 11 o'clock back at my house.
i thought about it some more and quickly called
heather back and told her that i would go.
my mom got the girls on the bus and i raced to
my house to get the # of my 11, called her and pushed
her appointment and made my way down to abbott.
this mother was all alone in her room with her son.
dad had to return to work and her parents were on
their way down from duluth. i've never had one on one
time with any parent to date so this was really nice.
very quiet, she was resolved. she whispered to the
nurse, after we were introduced, "does she know that
my baby has died?" she was so sweet...she even ordered
chocolate milk with her lunch just in case her 4
year old son came in later that day. :)
i made it back home by 11:05.
from there the day just flew!
josette brought carole (pete's mom) in around 2 and
i gave her a perm and she looked fabulous!
then i drove her back over to anne & pete's, the girls
were working on their homework with 9.
we then all went out to dinner and nearly experienced
"the curse" but i nipped it in the bud!
emily still had homework to finish so i dropped her
& 9 off at home and took amanda with me to drop off
nana...she gave amanda a halloween flashlight that
reads "boo" when you shine it on the wall!
showers for the girls. emily read the next chapter
in the junie b. jones book to amanda and off to bed
we all went...emily finally got me to agree to let
her sleep with me in the big, soft, warm bed! ;)
today i will go and work on "preston's" images back
at home and spend some time with my cats!
darn, i was thinking that today was friday...woops!
why is it that when you are with children, 10 minutes
feels like an hour and a day feels like 2?
cuz when i'm at home and i nap, an hour feels like 10 minutes!
hey all you parisians! i hope you are all having
a bon tiempo...that's "sparench" for good time! :)
oh my gosh! happy 60th cindy jo!!! that's my aunt! :)
as the girls were finishing up their breakfast
yesterday i got a call from heather. heather is
one of the main coordinators for now i lay me
down to sleep. there was a young mother at
abbott with a 28 week loss. i was pretty sure that
i couldn't take this one with the girls and all
plus i had an 11 o'clock back at my house.
i thought about it some more and quickly called
heather back and told her that i would go.
my mom got the girls on the bus and i raced to
my house to get the # of my 11, called her and pushed
her appointment and made my way down to abbott.
this mother was all alone in her room with her son.
dad had to return to work and her parents were on
their way down from duluth. i've never had one on one
time with any parent to date so this was really nice.
very quiet, she was resolved. she whispered to the
nurse, after we were introduced, "does she know that
my baby has died?" she was so sweet...she even ordered
chocolate milk with her lunch just in case her 4
year old son came in later that day. :)
i made it back home by 11:05.
from there the day just flew!
josette brought carole (pete's mom) in around 2 and
i gave her a perm and she looked fabulous!
then i drove her back over to anne & pete's, the girls
were working on their homework with 9.
we then all went out to dinner and nearly experienced
"the curse" but i nipped it in the bud!
emily still had homework to finish so i dropped her
& 9 off at home and took amanda with me to drop off
nana...she gave amanda a halloween flashlight that
reads "boo" when you shine it on the wall!
showers for the girls. emily read the next chapter
in the junie b. jones book to amanda and off to bed
we all went...emily finally got me to agree to let
her sleep with me in the big, soft, warm bed! ;)
today i will go and work on "preston's" images back
at home and spend some time with my cats!
darn, i was thinking that today was friday...woops!
why is it that when you are with children, 10 minutes
feels like an hour and a day feels like 2?
cuz when i'm at home and i nap, an hour feels like 10 minutes!
hey all you parisians! i hope you are all having
a bon tiempo...that's "sparench" for good time! :)
oh my gosh! happy 60th cindy jo!!! that's my aunt! :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
day 2 @ bakers...
all is well here.
i have a cat on my lap (sugar) and it feels
like home already! altho' i could really use
a bean grinder. i brought some yummy coffee
and i prefer to buy beans and so my next
house gift for anne & pete will be a bean
grinder (i'll try to remember to bring mine
back with me later today). my mom & pete
like to mix all kinds of flavored stuff and
just grind it all up together at the store.
i'm a purist...i like plain coffee and plain
cream. flavored coffee to me is like putting
ketchup on filet mignon! :P~~~
i'll suffer for one more morning.
today's flavor is like a pumkin patch in a cup!
okay, so i got a call at 7am from my neighbor, susie.
apparently, my garage door was wide open, the all
the lights were on and nobody was home (no blonde jokes please!).
she ran over and shut it for me.
i called gary and asked if he was still at work
and he said "heck no, i'm in st. peter" (heading to south
dakota pheasant hunting). i told him what happened and
he was like..."well....?" let me tell you, if i had
run off all excited to get somewhere (like to, i don't
know....um...let's say, national camera and left
the garage door open, i'd get the riot act for sure!
thanks susie, for being on neighborhood watch for us!
i'll be there from about 11 to 4 today working.
speaking of which, i met a really nice couple yesterday
that are desperately trying to find a photographer for
their december 22nd wedding this year. it's the last
thing that they have to do and they had a long list
of photographers to meet with, starting with me.
they were fun and it sounds to me like they are keeping
things quaint and personal so it would be just a joy
to be there for them and photograph their wedding.
i'll keep you posted.
gary brought pizza last night for all of us and after
the girls were done they went down to the theater and
selected "dumb & dumber" to watch before bed (see my
profile at the top and check out my top movies!)
we shouted out all the lines that we have memorized
over the years...it was really fun!
"...our pets heads are falling off!"
"it's okay, i'm a limo driver!?
"samsonite, i was way off!"
"just when i think you can't be any dumber, you go and
do something like this....and TOTALLY redeem yourself!"
9 went to the casino last night with bob.
oh, and it was so windy yesterday the we could have
tied a sheet to the roof of the house and flown to
paris ourselves!
i'll try to remember to add some photos when i
get home. the girls want to call you in paris
this morning...it's about 3 there right now.
later.....
i have a cat on my lap (sugar) and it feels
like home already! altho' i could really use
a bean grinder. i brought some yummy coffee
and i prefer to buy beans and so my next
house gift for anne & pete will be a bean
grinder (i'll try to remember to bring mine
back with me later today). my mom & pete
like to mix all kinds of flavored stuff and
just grind it all up together at the store.
i'm a purist...i like plain coffee and plain
cream. flavored coffee to me is like putting
ketchup on filet mignon! :P~~~
i'll suffer for one more morning.
today's flavor is like a pumkin patch in a cup!
okay, so i got a call at 7am from my neighbor, susie.
apparently, my garage door was wide open, the all
the lights were on and nobody was home (no blonde jokes please!).
she ran over and shut it for me.
i called gary and asked if he was still at work
and he said "heck no, i'm in st. peter" (heading to south
dakota pheasant hunting). i told him what happened and
he was like..."well....?" let me tell you, if i had
run off all excited to get somewhere (like to, i don't
know....um...let's say, national camera and left
the garage door open, i'd get the riot act for sure!
thanks susie, for being on neighborhood watch for us!
i'll be there from about 11 to 4 today working.
speaking of which, i met a really nice couple yesterday
that are desperately trying to find a photographer for
their december 22nd wedding this year. it's the last
thing that they have to do and they had a long list
of photographers to meet with, starting with me.
they were fun and it sounds to me like they are keeping
things quaint and personal so it would be just a joy
to be there for them and photograph their wedding.
i'll keep you posted.
gary brought pizza last night for all of us and after
the girls were done they went down to the theater and
selected "dumb & dumber" to watch before bed (see my
profile at the top and check out my top movies!)
we shouted out all the lines that we have memorized
over the years...it was really fun!
"...our pets heads are falling off!"
"it's okay, i'm a limo driver!?
"samsonite, i was way off!"
"just when i think you can't be any dumber, you go and
do something like this....and TOTALLY redeem yourself!"
9 went to the casino last night with bob.
oh, and it was so windy yesterday the we could have
tied a sheet to the roof of the house and flown to
paris ourselves!
i'll try to remember to add some photos when i
get home. the girls want to call you in paris
this morning...it's about 3 there right now.
later.....
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
day 1 @ bakers...
i shall start with the fact that their wireless
connection is not working for my powerbook so i'm
on anne's computer.
it's about 7am, no one is up, it's dark and i
slept like a queen! emily tried to pull out all
the old tricks to come and sleep with me but i
stood my ground. why? oh, i don't know. looking
back i figure what could it hurt, right? i mean,
really, i'm "not the mom" as amanda once said to me,
i'm the aunt. i'm supposed to break rules, right?
um, as i recall, last night anne showed me all the
notes, rules, schedules and so on but the main
thing she said was just to be sure that i kept
the girls alive while they were gone! :) got it!
we were all up a little late last night but it was
our first night together and the girls were a tad
sad about mom & dad going on a big plane far away
so my heart melted a little bit and...well...
i caved. once things settled down and pete and
emily quit texting one another back and forth
we got settled in our jammies, read a little
"junie b. jones" and i called for lights out.
just the ben came in my room and said.."sugar peed
my bed, right by my pillow!" OMG sugar had been
locked in there some how and decided that she would
make certain that didn't happen again (sugar is
one of their cats)! so we did some bed stripping
and then we all turned in.
oh, but it doesn't end there. i saw emily out of
the corner of my eye and she turned and ran back
down the hallway...she layed something on the end
of the bed...it was the note that her mom taped
to the head of the bed reminding her that she &
her dad loved her and to be a good girl etc...
i picked it up, noticed it was wet and i walked into
her room and said "what's up? why did you bring
this in to me and why is it wet?"
emily replied, "it's from my tears." :(
she went on to say "it's not the same."
ben came in and gave her a big hug and told that
he understood and that seemed to calm her down.
i told her that she should be glad that sugar
didn't pee on her bed!
okay, side bar...
frost this morning. ben thought it had snowed!
i have a meeting with a couple today that is getting
married this december. they are still in the
selection process.
anne & pete, i pray your flight was uneventful!
i found a halloween photo from last year...
my sister dressed up as our mom..nice sweater!
connection is not working for my powerbook so i'm
on anne's computer.
it's about 7am, no one is up, it's dark and i
slept like a queen! emily tried to pull out all
the old tricks to come and sleep with me but i
stood my ground. why? oh, i don't know. looking
back i figure what could it hurt, right? i mean,
really, i'm "not the mom" as amanda once said to me,
i'm the aunt. i'm supposed to break rules, right?
um, as i recall, last night anne showed me all the
notes, rules, schedules and so on but the main
thing she said was just to be sure that i kept
the girls alive while they were gone! :) got it!
we were all up a little late last night but it was
our first night together and the girls were a tad
sad about mom & dad going on a big plane far away
so my heart melted a little bit and...well...
i caved. once things settled down and pete and
emily quit texting one another back and forth
we got settled in our jammies, read a little
"junie b. jones" and i called for lights out.
just the ben came in my room and said.."sugar peed
my bed, right by my pillow!" OMG sugar had been
locked in there some how and decided that she would
make certain that didn't happen again (sugar is
one of their cats)! so we did some bed stripping
and then we all turned in.
oh, but it doesn't end there. i saw emily out of
the corner of my eye and she turned and ran back
down the hallway...she layed something on the end
of the bed...it was the note that her mom taped
to the head of the bed reminding her that she &
her dad loved her and to be a good girl etc...
i picked it up, noticed it was wet and i walked into
her room and said "what's up? why did you bring
this in to me and why is it wet?"
emily replied, "it's from my tears." :(
she went on to say "it's not the same."
ben came in and gave her a big hug and told that
he understood and that seemed to calm her down.
i told her that she should be glad that sugar
didn't pee on her bed!
okay, side bar...
frost this morning. ben thought it had snowed!
i have a meeting with a couple today that is getting
married this december. they are still in the
selection process.
anne & pete, i pray your flight was uneventful!
i found a halloween photo from last year...
my sister dressed up as our mom..nice sweater!
Monday, October 22, 2007
house of fun and fur...
***i was going to post this yesterday but i just
felt like giving my dad his own blog day. ;)
i met with a woman on saturday in the linden hills
area at her home...or should i say "the house of fun and fur"...
she has 2 cats and a new puppy "labradoodle" that
she wanted photographed so my friend gerri said
"call my friend sue!" we finally connected and i set
out to find the house on the corner with all the
halloween decorations. this was not a difficult task.
once i drove by and saw where she lived i turned around
and popped in to see my web designer, cory barton,
who lives just down the way. she has 2 cats as well~
gurty who is about 17...
alice...
and bob, who has adopted them as his own family.
(he lives next door but spends his days and some
of his nights at cory's house...pretty funny really.)
so, back to the house of fun & fur...
this house is bubbling with energy, spilling over
with character, overrun with creativity and screams
eccentricity inside and out! i LOVE it!
she is currently adding a ship's bow to the end of
her new deck...totally amazing!
here's a shot of the wall in her dining room.
can you name the celebrities that she has painted?
(click on the image to enlarge)
these are her children...
daisy, or "daisy doo" as she is called!
i have totally forgotten this one's name.
but i have a soft spot for this one because
the white spot reminds me of my hobie! :)
betty is just a dear. she has licked off the hair
on her back from the stress of losing her litter mate
sibling, jane adding another cat (above) and then
there's daisy! betty is just gorgeous...i love her!
this was an interesting shoot and i plan to go back.
oh, sidebar...turns out that my ex and her ex were friends
and i had been to a party at her old house on girard!
how utterly CRAZY is that!
in the middle of the shoot i'm like, "i know you."
and when i told her that it was at a party she threw...
she looked me straight in the eye and said "who are you?" we talked
and laughed and once again...the world gets smaller.
have a small~world day today!
felt like giving my dad his own blog day. ;)
i met with a woman on saturday in the linden hills
area at her home...or should i say "the house of fun and fur"...
she has 2 cats and a new puppy "labradoodle" that
she wanted photographed so my friend gerri said
"call my friend sue!" we finally connected and i set
out to find the house on the corner with all the
halloween decorations. this was not a difficult task.
once i drove by and saw where she lived i turned around
and popped in to see my web designer, cory barton,
who lives just down the way. she has 2 cats as well~
gurty who is about 17...
alice...
and bob, who has adopted them as his own family.
(he lives next door but spends his days and some
of his nights at cory's house...pretty funny really.)
so, back to the house of fun & fur...
this house is bubbling with energy, spilling over
with character, overrun with creativity and screams
eccentricity inside and out! i LOVE it!
she is currently adding a ship's bow to the end of
her new deck...totally amazing!
here's a shot of the wall in her dining room.
can you name the celebrities that she has painted?
(click on the image to enlarge)
these are her children...
daisy, or "daisy doo" as she is called!
i have totally forgotten this one's name.
but i have a soft spot for this one because
the white spot reminds me of my hobie! :)
betty is just a dear. she has licked off the hair
on her back from the stress of losing her litter mate
sibling, jane adding another cat (above) and then
there's daisy! betty is just gorgeous...i love her!
this was an interesting shoot and i plan to go back.
oh, sidebar...turns out that my ex and her ex were friends
and i had been to a party at her old house on girard!
how utterly CRAZY is that!
in the middle of the shoot i'm like, "i know you."
and when i told her that it was at a party she threw...
she looked me straight in the eye and said "who are you?" we talked
and laughed and once again...the world gets smaller.
have a small~world day today!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
patrick allen craig...
my father died 24 years & 3 months ago, today.
for the first time ever, i ventured out to
the fort snelling national cemetery near the
minneapolis/st. paul airport yesterday afternoon.
it was a perfect fall day. peak color, the sun
was out, the sky was an electric blue and i was
determined to find his marker on my own.
you see, shortly after he died, the entire family
went out to his gravesite (i think on his birthday)
and for some strange reason we, collectively, could
not find it. i don't know why.
but that made such an impression on me that i
actually had a dream that he came in my mom's
front door laughing about the fact that he really
pulled one over on us...that he wasn't really dead.
i never went back. it's been 23 years.
every friday that i have a cancer family at the hilton
i drive by that cemetery and it just all caught up
with me~so before i headed to a client's house
yesterday for a shoot, i made the journey to the
marker where my dad was buried.
section "o", marker #1894. God lead me right to it
as if to say "make peace with your dad."
this is a very big place and every marker is the same
but as i walked the narrow width of the graves
counting up from 1847 or so, my smile got a little
bigger with each headstone. i finally arrived at #1894,
walked around front and with the warm sun at my
back and my shadow casting on his marker i said "hi dad."
the ground was just damp enough for me to have to sit
on my jacket, i was able to take it off cuz it was
so warm out...about 75. i sat there and studied the
inscription...joel johnson, my pastor, spoke one sunday
about 'how will you live "the dash" that comes between
the dates that you were alive'. although he has missed
so much, he made his mark on me. i'll miss him always.
i forgive him...turkey.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
sunshine!
the sun is making an appearance today so i have
double checked to be certain that i do NOT have
any indoor plans and i don't.
well, except getting today's blog out there! ;)
yesterday megan and in kind of just sat and
talked shop for most of the morning and downed
a pot of yummy citykid java french roast!
we never got to shopping and we also, sadly, did
not make it to the gym...that's okay i really
think that we needed to just sit and get to
know one another better. we work soooo well
together but we've never really had any face time
to talk about ourselves, our goals, our lives..
that sort of thing. so we just carried that theme
right into lunch (at d'amico's here in eden prairie).
i dropped her off at her hotel and headed to the
hilton to hook up with steve, becky, karen and patty.
patty is going to me one of the foundations new
"greeter" for the minnesota miracle family stays.
i'll see her most every friday when i go to shoot.
i was so exhausted when i left there (NO sleep thursday
night)that i had to call megan and cancel. she had
called right when i arrived to the hilton to tell me
that they had put her in some huge suite! she wanted
me to come back when i was done and i was like...no way.
we may hook up today before she heads up to stillwater.
i'd love to do a "bed jump" photo...we'll see.
hey, here's the three lovelies that came over
yesterday morning for hair. they are non~stop talkers~!
the one in the maroon and the one in the blue
are sisters and i have been doing their hair
since the older of the two was about 3 years old!
they are my surrogate daughters! :) the young
lady in the red shirt is their very good friend.
here's anne, pete and amanda (who turns 7 on monday).
i took this at the bowling alley the other day
but blogger was having "issues" and i couldn't post it.
i'm meeting with a new client today at her home
in south minneapolis to photograph her babies!
well, her new puppy and cats. i pray that this goes well,
you know what they say about kids and animals, right?
i may go early and hit the cemetery where my dad is
burried. fort snelling national cemetery
i've wanted to take photos there for years and haven't.
i'd better get hobie off my lap and get a move on.
get out and get some natual vitamin D today!!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
house guest...
megan is in town from chicago to shoot a bella
wedding on saturday up in stillwater. gary gave
her the low-down on stillwater (that it is the
oldest city in minnesota) so she's actually
planning on going up much earlier that day to
hunt around for some cool spots for a photo walk
with the bride & groom, wish i was shooting with her!
'sposed to finally be a nice day on saturday!
NOT gonna hold my breath! :)
i thought it would be fun if she came in a little
early so we could hang. her flight was delayed due
to high winds in chicago and ultimately called me at
about 10:40 when she landed so i zipped to the airport
and picked her up and brought her here. i hadn't seen
her since the 22nd of september when we shot a
wedding together...wow!!
she brought me chocolate! bad friend BAD FRIEND! ;)
we stayed up til 1 and she got to meet gary and
the two cats. and mirACulously...i know that
those of you that know katie won't believe this..
but katie actually hung around and greeted megan.
megan got down on the floor and kind of crept up
to her and she stayed there and let her pet and
scratch her...i KNOW!!! so weird, right!?
anyway, i gave megan the nickle tour and showed
her her suite (complete with a cute basket of
towels, a robe and an overnight goodie bag with
shampoos, lotions and some of my "thymes" samples.
oh, and som 70% cocoa lindts chocolate. hmmm. theme?
she'll head off to her hotel later today.
i've got some hair to do this morning and then
2 cancer families are checking into the hilton
today. one at 4 and one at 5 so i'll be there for
a little bit today.
amanda's bowling birthday party yesterday was
so much fun. i'll have to post photos tomorrow,
as blogger is "aware and fixing the problem" of
not being able to post photos.
i think it's because some folks have cracked
the code of posting larger images! tee hee stacey!
we are in for a hugely blustery day which in turn
should usher in the sun tomorrow, so....
bring it on i guess.
TGIF. actually lets TGFE (thank God for everyday!)
wedding on saturday up in stillwater. gary gave
her the low-down on stillwater (that it is the
oldest city in minnesota) so she's actually
planning on going up much earlier that day to
hunt around for some cool spots for a photo walk
with the bride & groom, wish i was shooting with her!
'sposed to finally be a nice day on saturday!
NOT gonna hold my breath! :)
i thought it would be fun if she came in a little
early so we could hang. her flight was delayed due
to high winds in chicago and ultimately called me at
about 10:40 when she landed so i zipped to the airport
and picked her up and brought her here. i hadn't seen
her since the 22nd of september when we shot a
wedding together...wow!!
she brought me chocolate! bad friend BAD FRIEND! ;)
we stayed up til 1 and she got to meet gary and
the two cats. and mirACulously...i know that
those of you that know katie won't believe this..
but katie actually hung around and greeted megan.
megan got down on the floor and kind of crept up
to her and she stayed there and let her pet and
scratch her...i KNOW!!! so weird, right!?
anyway, i gave megan the nickle tour and showed
her her suite (complete with a cute basket of
towels, a robe and an overnight goodie bag with
shampoos, lotions and some of my "thymes" samples.
oh, and som 70% cocoa lindts chocolate. hmmm. theme?
she'll head off to her hotel later today.
i've got some hair to do this morning and then
2 cancer families are checking into the hilton
today. one at 4 and one at 5 so i'll be there for
a little bit today.
amanda's bowling birthday party yesterday was
so much fun. i'll have to post photos tomorrow,
as blogger is "aware and fixing the problem" of
not being able to post photos.
i think it's because some folks have cracked
the code of posting larger images! tee hee stacey!
we are in for a hugely blustery day which in turn
should usher in the sun tomorrow, so....
bring it on i guess.
TGIF. actually lets TGFE (thank God for everyday!)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
bella certified photographer
well, it's taken awhile but my site is complete.
most of the photos that i have posted on my bio
page you have undoubtedly seen already but
prospective brides have not. here is my bella bio page.
my niece, amanda, is having her kid party today.
this is MEA weekend so the kids are out of school.
she's taking her friends bowling and i'm tagging
along to photograph the fun!
jenny and olivia we wish you were here. maybe i
can get anne to video a little and we can put it
up on my blog for you to watch. :)
at least you will see anne and pete in a few days.
IN PARIS!!!! you high rollers! hey, why aren't you
blogging. not that i don't want to keep staring at
the photo of you and your mom each time i check in.
just wondering what's up...
my blog may get a little more fun starting on tuesday
of next week, i'll be reporting from my sister's
as i will be watching their girls while they are in
the "f" word.....(france), yes indeed, ooooo~lala!
this will be the 3rd time they have trusted me with
those little darlings in the past year or so.
first to australia/fiji last fall. then st. lucia this
past spring..pete travels a lot. but skype comes in
real handy!
my bella friend from chicago, megan, may come in tonight
and stay here. that'll be crazy!! :) she's shooting a
wedding here in minneapolis on saturday and wanted
to come in a little early.
happy birthday jimbo! i'll remember from now on that
your birthday is the 18th!!
karen f. if you read this today, tell YOUR jimbo
that i will see him at 3:45 today. :)
gotta run.....
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new lens!!
most of the photos that i have posted on my bio
page you have undoubtedly seen already but
prospective brides have not. here is my bella bio page.
my niece, amanda, is having her kid party today.
this is MEA weekend so the kids are out of school.
she's taking her friends bowling and i'm tagging
along to photograph the fun!
jenny and olivia we wish you were here. maybe i
can get anne to video a little and we can put it
up on my blog for you to watch. :)
at least you will see anne and pete in a few days.
IN PARIS!!!! you high rollers! hey, why aren't you
blogging. not that i don't want to keep staring at
the photo of you and your mom each time i check in.
just wondering what's up...
my blog may get a little more fun starting on tuesday
of next week, i'll be reporting from my sister's
as i will be watching their girls while they are in
the "f" word.....(france), yes indeed, ooooo~lala!
this will be the 3rd time they have trusted me with
those little darlings in the past year or so.
first to australia/fiji last fall. then st. lucia this
past spring..pete travels a lot. but skype comes in
real handy!
my bella friend from chicago, megan, may come in tonight
and stay here. that'll be crazy!! :) she's shooting a
wedding here in minneapolis on saturday and wanted
to come in a little early.
happy birthday jimbo! i'll remember from now on that
your birthday is the 18th!!
karen f. if you read this today, tell YOUR jimbo
that i will see him at 3:45 today. :)
gotta run.....
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new lens!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
editorial retractions...
jimbo's birthday is actually tomorrow, the 18th.
dick cheney and barak obama are 8th cousins.
(that's just weird)
hobie never ate any of his toys...check this out!
we got a new dryer yesterday (yay!) and when we
went to pull the old one out....look what we found!!
hobie and katie thought it was Christmas!
i think that we are fortunate that this never
started a fire. crazy cats! just like teenagers...
hide, lose or destroy the old stuff in the hopes that
we'll replace it with new stuff!
hey, anyone interested in the outcome of blog action day?
click here. you can sign up to participate next year by
simply submitting your e-mail address.
someone from the university of minnesota was quoted. cool.
alright, i'll admit it..i've had some time on
my hands. at times, we all do. it's what you
do with that time that separates us. i'm clearly
in a class by myself. first there was bed jump
and now i bring you halloween fun and
granny panties by victoria secret!
on a serious note...
a good friend of mine is going down to abbott today
to meet with a surgeon to talk back surgery.
her name is nancy. she and her husband, larry, are photographers
and there is no good time for back surgery...for anyone, really.
but she's in a ton of pain and this is an absolute necessity
for her. i ask that you take a moment now and pray that she
is comforted by what the surgeon has to recommend. and that
the surgery is a complete success! she's been battling this
for quite awhile. the surgery is slated for friday the 19th.
thank you for your prayers. meals may be provided & welcomed
as well. feel free to contact me.
saw the sun for a minute this morning...more clouds moving in
and more rain! the southeast is turning into a desert and
we are covered with constant rainfall...should hit 60 tho'.
lens arrives today! my bright spot! :)
dick cheney and barak obama are 8th cousins.
(that's just weird)
hobie never ate any of his toys...check this out!
we got a new dryer yesterday (yay!) and when we
went to pull the old one out....look what we found!!
hobie and katie thought it was Christmas!
i think that we are fortunate that this never
started a fire. crazy cats! just like teenagers...
hide, lose or destroy the old stuff in the hopes that
we'll replace it with new stuff!
hey, anyone interested in the outcome of blog action day?
click here. you can sign up to participate next year by
simply submitting your e-mail address.
someone from the university of minnesota was quoted. cool.
alright, i'll admit it..i've had some time on
my hands. at times, we all do. it's what you
do with that time that separates us. i'm clearly
in a class by myself. first there was bed jump
and now i bring you halloween fun and
granny panties by victoria secret!
on a serious note...
a good friend of mine is going down to abbott today
to meet with a surgeon to talk back surgery.
her name is nancy. she and her husband, larry, are photographers
and there is no good time for back surgery...for anyone, really.
but she's in a ton of pain and this is an absolute necessity
for her. i ask that you take a moment now and pray that she
is comforted by what the surgeon has to recommend. and that
the surgery is a complete success! she's been battling this
for quite awhile. the surgery is slated for friday the 19th.
thank you for your prayers. meals may be provided & welcomed
as well. feel free to contact me.
saw the sun for a minute this morning...more clouds moving in
and more rain! the southeast is turning into a desert and
we are covered with constant rainfall...should hit 60 tho'.
lens arrives today! my bright spot! :)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
jimbo's birthday?
from year to year i can never remember if today
is jimbo's birthday or if tomorrow is.
jimbo, aka jim and or "the spoiler" is one of gary's
very best friends. they were "best man" for one
another's first weddings which disqualified him
from our wedding so now he just tortures me by
showing up on all of our vacations (see "the spoiler).
it's become more of a quest for him really, i think.
okay, so there has actually been a couple where he
didn't show up but i was constantly wondering where
and when he would! gotta love him!
he makes gary happy so that matters to me.
so, happy birthday jimbo whether it be today or tomorrow.
my lens arrives tomorrow! i am very excited.
i adore my new camera but my 1 year old wide angle
does not work on that camera, only the 10D so i had
to add to my arsenal!
more rain today. this is getting old.
can't imagine what it would be like to live in C@L!
mom's looking at a condo. anne & i went along yesterday.
it's really nice. she's looking to purchase the model.
it had a lovely chandelier...nicki would be jealous!
the new leopard software for apple is coming out on
friday the 26th (my sister's birthday) and i have a
5-pack pre ordered!! lots going on in october!
one last thing...we caved in and dug out the electric
mattress pad. i love to rip it off in the spring but
there's something sad about getting it out in the fall.
it sure felt great tho'!
stay warm and dry today.
jacquie...2lbs!
is jimbo's birthday or if tomorrow is.
jimbo, aka jim and or "the spoiler" is one of gary's
very best friends. they were "best man" for one
another's first weddings which disqualified him
from our wedding so now he just tortures me by
showing up on all of our vacations (see "the spoiler).
it's become more of a quest for him really, i think.
okay, so there has actually been a couple where he
didn't show up but i was constantly wondering where
and when he would! gotta love him!
he makes gary happy so that matters to me.
so, happy birthday jimbo whether it be today or tomorrow.
my lens arrives tomorrow! i am very excited.
i adore my new camera but my 1 year old wide angle
does not work on that camera, only the 10D so i had
to add to my arsenal!
more rain today. this is getting old.
can't imagine what it would be like to live in C@L!
mom's looking at a condo. anne & i went along yesterday.
it's really nice. she's looking to purchase the model.
it had a lovely chandelier...nicki would be jealous!
the new leopard software for apple is coming out on
friday the 26th (my sister's birthday) and i have a
5-pack pre ordered!! lots going on in october!
one last thing...we caved in and dug out the electric
mattress pad. i love to rip it off in the spring but
there's something sad about getting it out in the fall.
it sure felt great tho'!
stay warm and dry today.
jacquie...2lbs!
Monday, October 15, 2007
blog action day...
today is blog action day! the topic? the environment.
how do i see it? well, i can honestly report that i am
doing my part.
i don't own a prius but i do work from home which
is (by the looks of the traffic reports each morning)
a rarity! lucky me!
we are replacing bulbs around the house to those funky
"DQ~twist" looking jobs. spendy but they last for years!
gary has always been a big fan of all the electric
lawn tools (minus the mower) like the weed whipper,
the hedge trimmer and the leaf blower..he has all the
lawn gadgets...he's the lawn master! when you google
immaculate lawns..you get a picture of gary in front
of our house...i'm kidding! but while i'm on the subject,
why does the word "google" get a red flag for spelling?
hmmmm, isn't it in the dictionary already?
i digress, sorry.
back to the environment...
i think that earth day needs more attention...
people still throw stuff out their car windows! i'm just
amazed by that! where's that indian that stood by the
side of the road crying? they should bring him back.
mark your calendars for april 22, 2008...earth day.
more rain for our lovely earth today here in minnesota.
beats snow at this point i guess, right?
here's a blog that quite clearly spent more time on
her "blog action day" blog than me...
happiness project. enjoy.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
vikings BEARly win...
nothin' gets me going quite like a near win by
the minnesota vikings! why do i care, you ask?
i don't really...just feel a need to support
the home team.
so here's something worth writing about~
check out this site-bed jump.
i stumbled upon it yesterday (don't ask) and
i thought it was not only hilarious, but a
terrific time waster too! :) i've added it to
my "check these out" links.
i'm planning on going through all the bed
jumping pictures i took of my nieces & nephew
in playa last spring and posting some of them.
i'll link to it when i do.
so funny...here's a youtube take on bedjump.
that's all for today.
still feel great! thanks for the thoughts & prayers!
my new wide angle for my mark 3 will be here wednesday,
can't wait! :)
the minnesota vikings! why do i care, you ask?
i don't really...just feel a need to support
the home team.
so here's something worth writing about~
check out this site-bed jump.
i stumbled upon it yesterday (don't ask) and
i thought it was not only hilarious, but a
terrific time waster too! :) i've added it to
my "check these out" links.
i'm planning on going through all the bed
jumping pictures i took of my nieces & nephew
in playa last spring and posting some of them.
i'll link to it when i do.
so funny...here's a youtube take on bedjump.
that's all for today.
still feel great! thanks for the thoughts & prayers!
my new wide angle for my mark 3 will be here wednesday,
can't wait! :)
Saturday, October 13, 2007
michael clayton review...
a democrat, photographer friend tells me that
you should watch the first 10 minutes, go watch
another movie and then come back for the last
20 minutes~then your experience will be much greater
when you go to see michael clayton, starring george clooney.
this 30 minute time frame is,apparently, all you
need to enjoy this movie..funny..that's pretty much
how i would describe 80% of the films.
hey, good news everyone! i feel terrific!
i ran next door last night to my friend jacquie's
with a glass of cabernet in hand and she's was
like, "hey, should you be drinking?"
no pain meds, no grogginess, this was a pretty
slick procedure..i can't really refer to it as
surgery as no incisions were made.
but there's something to be said for anesthesia!
it's a wonder why we all don't have procedures done
more often. some folks have what they refer to as
"hangovers" from anesthesia...not me.
i just really enjoy the "going out" process! :)
as coach on cheers would say, "it's kind of a nice
break in the day." :)
i'm going to meet the sumner's later today out
at the arboretum for some fall family shots.
miraculously, today...the sun is out! it's
been under the clouds for like a week and that
just really gets to me, i have to say.
i may bring my umbrella and pocketwizards along
for this one.
gary is heading out to a game farm west of here
to kill pheasants! he and a
rather large group of his buddies go out to
south dakota every fall/winter and get all
testosterone-y and shoot birds...i don't know
how they can do it...he gets all of his cute
hunting clothes on...tan and blaze orange
(nice combo!) and off they go!
i guess i have to say that i enjoy the 5 days
that he is gone but....those poor gorgeous birds!
have a great weekend....
you should watch the first 10 minutes, go watch
another movie and then come back for the last
20 minutes~then your experience will be much greater
when you go to see michael clayton, starring george clooney.
this 30 minute time frame is,apparently, all you
need to enjoy this movie..funny..that's pretty much
how i would describe 80% of the films.
hey, good news everyone! i feel terrific!
i ran next door last night to my friend jacquie's
with a glass of cabernet in hand and she's was
like, "hey, should you be drinking?"
no pain meds, no grogginess, this was a pretty
slick procedure..i can't really refer to it as
surgery as no incisions were made.
but there's something to be said for anesthesia!
it's a wonder why we all don't have procedures done
more often. some folks have what they refer to as
"hangovers" from anesthesia...not me.
i just really enjoy the "going out" process! :)
as coach on cheers would say, "it's kind of a nice
break in the day." :)
i'm going to meet the sumner's later today out
at the arboretum for some fall family shots.
miraculously, today...the sun is out! it's
been under the clouds for like a week and that
just really gets to me, i have to say.
i may bring my umbrella and pocketwizards along
for this one.
gary is heading out to a game farm west of here
to kill pheasants! he and a
rather large group of his buddies go out to
south dakota every fall/winter and get all
testosterone-y and shoot birds...i don't know
how they can do it...he gets all of his cute
hunting clothes on...tan and blaze orange
(nice combo!) and off they go!
i guess i have to say that i enjoy the 5 days
that he is gone but....those poor gorgeous birds!
have a great weekend....
Friday, October 12, 2007
and there's only one river....
sorry, only a few people will get the connection
in today's title, my mother and my sister for sure.
today i am going in for a common procedure that many
women my age have performed, it's called novasure.
now for those of you that don't like to talk about
or hear about "girl" stuff or "women's" issues....
this blog ain't for you!
i just felt like sharing because, well, frankly,
i have to fast until the procedure and it's at 1:15!
(thank God they said that coffee was okay!) so
blogging is taking my mind of my empty tummy :(
so, moving on...remember back when we had a code
for when you had your [period]? my friends and i
used to say "aunt flow is in town."
that way you didn't have to embarrass yourself in
front of other people and for some reason, back then,
having "the curse" was embarrassing...whatever, right?
well, most recently i have been sharing with my sister
and my mother that aunt "flow" doesn't come to see
me anymore...oh no...now it's her evil step~sister
aunt "tsunami"...this bitch blows into town and ruins
my life, my carpet, clothing and most recently she
showed up for a 9 hour wedding shoot. she's relentless.
therefore, today i'm going to disown her.
and this is where the novasure procedure comes in.
basically they seer the walls of the uterus.
it can eliminate bleeding all together or worst case
decrease it to something much more manageable.
either way, i can't wait.
so the cover of the brochure shows this woman with
long blonde flowing hair in a billowing white gown
walking through the waves along a secluded beach
running her hand through her hair....yea, that's
what i want! okay, so here's the actual brochure...
(this just in....another bird just flew into one of our
windows downstairs...dang! )
have a great day everyone and if you see me wearing
white after labor day, it's just because i can! :)
in today's title, my mother and my sister for sure.
today i am going in for a common procedure that many
women my age have performed, it's called novasure.
now for those of you that don't like to talk about
or hear about "girl" stuff or "women's" issues....
this blog ain't for you!
i just felt like sharing because, well, frankly,
i have to fast until the procedure and it's at 1:15!
(thank God they said that coffee was okay!) so
blogging is taking my mind of my empty tummy :(
so, moving on...remember back when we had a code
for when you had your [period]? my friends and i
used to say "aunt flow is in town."
that way you didn't have to embarrass yourself in
front of other people and for some reason, back then,
having "the curse" was embarrassing...whatever, right?
well, most recently i have been sharing with my sister
and my mother that aunt "flow" doesn't come to see
me anymore...oh no...now it's her evil step~sister
aunt "tsunami"...this bitch blows into town and ruins
my life, my carpet, clothing and most recently she
showed up for a 9 hour wedding shoot. she's relentless.
therefore, today i'm going to disown her.
and this is where the novasure procedure comes in.
basically they seer the walls of the uterus.
it can eliminate bleeding all together or worst case
decrease it to something much more manageable.
either way, i can't wait.
so the cover of the brochure shows this woman with
long blonde flowing hair in a billowing white gown
walking through the waves along a secluded beach
running her hand through her hair....yea, that's
what i want! okay, so here's the actual brochure...
(this just in....another bird just flew into one of our
windows downstairs...dang! )
have a great day everyone and if you see me wearing
white after labor day, it's just because i can! :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
northfield, minnesota
home of carelton college, st. olaf college
and malt-o-meal! woody, a friend of my husband's,
used to say that he loved the days that they made chocolate!!
in that g was not interested in applying to either
college, nicki and i went straight into town
to wander around this quaint little river town.
"digs" is one of my favorite stops.
they have the most unique collection of cards,
paper, candles, doo~dads and now have crazy
fabrics on the lower level! i'm a paper nut
so i always stop in there to see what's new!!
hey, jen! i shot nicki "swishing through the leaves"!!!
can't you just hear the leaves??? :)
we popped into the town bakery to grab a goodie and
i got reprimanded for taking pictures...in a BAKERY?
are you kidding me?
well, what could i do but stop shooting. it smelled
just like the excelsior bakery from when i was a child.
many great memories for me from the smell of a real
bakery....sorry to have caused any undo stress!
then just simple darting in and out of the shops
on the main street (mostly to get warm! it was cold!)
before we headed back to digs so nicki could pick up
some fabric, we went around the corner to "basil's"...
for some of the greatest pizza!
i'm off to a pre-op appointment this morning.
nothing serious but i must get going!
thanks for checking in today!
stay warm!
and malt-o-meal! woody, a friend of my husband's,
used to say that he loved the days that they made chocolate!!
in that g was not interested in applying to either
college, nicki and i went straight into town
to wander around this quaint little river town.
"digs" is one of my favorite stops.
they have the most unique collection of cards,
paper, candles, doo~dads and now have crazy
fabrics on the lower level! i'm a paper nut
so i always stop in there to see what's new!!
hey, jen! i shot nicki "swishing through the leaves"!!!
can't you just hear the leaves??? :)
we popped into the town bakery to grab a goodie and
i got reprimanded for taking pictures...in a BAKERY?
are you kidding me?
well, what could i do but stop shooting. it smelled
just like the excelsior bakery from when i was a child.
many great memories for me from the smell of a real
bakery....sorry to have caused any undo stress!
then just simple darting in and out of the shops
on the main street (mostly to get warm! it was cold!)
before we headed back to digs so nicki could pick up
some fabric, we went around the corner to "basil's"...
for some of the greatest pizza!
i'm off to a pre-op appointment this morning.
nothing serious but i must get going!
thanks for checking in today!
stay warm!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
cold wednesday...
brrr. 50, i think is going to be the high today!
(i know....weather again!).
real quick, i don't have much time this morning~
what an amazing person liZ banfield is! she
shared so much last night and i was very
grateful that she could come and talk to our
PUG members. getting published is just not
something that i have been concerned with until
now...i just wanted to produce fabulous images
for my clients, never thought of submitting them
to national magazines.....hmmmmm....i should
get on that right away!
had dinner at hazeltine last night with my brother,
his wife, laurie and my husband gary. wow!
amazing food! and jacqi, (different jacqi but friend
as well) who's in charge of, among other things,
event coordination at hazeltine... met us
at our table and arranged for a very sinful dessert!
thanks jacqi! and thanks tim & laurie for inviting
us out for laurie's birthday dinner.
and for those of you that read my blog yesterday
and thought i was referring to "hazelden" the
treatment facility here in minnesota...we were at
"hazeltine national golf course" in chaska!
buy your tickets now for the 2009 PGA!!
this is laurie, the birthday girl...
here's baby eva, sheena's great niece...so
adorable, she just smiles all the time!
i'm heading to northfield with nicki for a little
college scout and browsing expedition!
more later.
stay warm! ;)
(i know....weather again!).
real quick, i don't have much time this morning~
what an amazing person liZ banfield is! she
shared so much last night and i was very
grateful that she could come and talk to our
PUG members. getting published is just not
something that i have been concerned with until
now...i just wanted to produce fabulous images
for my clients, never thought of submitting them
to national magazines.....hmmmmm....i should
get on that right away!
had dinner at hazeltine last night with my brother,
his wife, laurie and my husband gary. wow!
amazing food! and jacqi, (different jacqi but friend
as well) who's in charge of, among other things,
event coordination at hazeltine... met us
at our table and arranged for a very sinful dessert!
thanks jacqi! and thanks tim & laurie for inviting
us out for laurie's birthday dinner.
and for those of you that read my blog yesterday
and thought i was referring to "hazelden" the
treatment facility here in minnesota...we were at
"hazeltine national golf course" in chaska!
buy your tickets now for the 2009 PGA!!
this is laurie, the birthday girl...
here's baby eva, sheena's great niece...so
adorable, she just smiles all the time!
i'm heading to northfield with nicki for a little
college scout and browsing expedition!
more later.
stay warm! ;)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
blog action day...
on october 15th join me and thousands of bloggers
as we blog about the environment... see link at right.
brought 4 prints to last night's critique.
there are very strict guidelines in place for such
a competition. that said, one fo my 4
was worth entering. and to anyone that may know her,
tell lauren n. that the image that's been on my
screen for the passed couple of months an also
entered in my PUG competition (that tied for 2nd)
is the image that i will submit for a merit print!
david jones suggests that i tweak the catch lights
in her eyes and crop the light color out at top left.
we'll see. they make it very clear that this is not
a personal attack on anyone, just going on the content
of the image submitted. i'll keep you posted on others
that i consider for submission.
tonight i get the distinct honor of meeting liz banfield
at my PUG gathering tonight. liz is going to get us
familiar with the idea of getting published.
pretty cool. i'm really excited to meet her. i love
her style of photography, it's really soft and real.
the birds are crazy...yesterday, one ran into the window
of my studio! i went to rescue her...
now there's one in my furnace! it's been flapping
for 2 days! it's just that today i finally discovered
what it was. i thought one of the cats were in the
furnace room screwing around. when i figured out that
it was a bird i went in and talked to it...yes, i
speak finch! ;) i'm just sick about the fact that
she may die in there! :( i called our furnace guy
and gary would lock me up me if i spent $150 getting
her out! she just chirps ans chirps and flaps and flaps.
******
okay, so let me tell you what JUST happened...
so i'm sitting here with the door to the
furnace room open and she just comes blazing out!
bouncing off walls, windows and ceiling.
i jump up and try to open a screen (after shutting
all the doors down here so she doesn't go to
another floor) and before i know it, she's upstairs!
now she's up in a skylight! crap! now what?
i close all the doors, open the front door a front
screen and she chooses to go out on the porch so
i follow her, my heart is racing as fast as her's
and of that i am certain! i have a client in 15 minutes
and "bird wrangling" was not on my schedule today!
i had put on gloves and grabbed a pillow case so i
pretty much looked like i was going out on a "snype"
hunt with frasier crane on an old episode of cheers!
didn't need either, i opened the doors to the deck
and she flew right out. i'll miss her.
oh, and where were the cats you ask? laying on the
bed in our room....absolutely no interest.
um, yea, shocker!
what is with birds anyway, i mean what makes one
say to itself, "hey, i wonder what's down this
long, dark tube?"
hey, my kleenex boxes arrived yesterday and they
are so great looking! go to kleenex tissue
and have some fun...they're only like 5 bucks!
my friend sheena is coming over today and bringing
her niece, eva. i can't wait to meet her and
photograph her!
happy birthday to laurie! we're going to meet up
at hazeltine nat'l for happy hour to celebrate!
anne & pete, scott & nicki, mike & kiki, you should
come along! :)
as we blog about the environment... see link at right.
brought 4 prints to last night's critique.
there are very strict guidelines in place for such
a competition. that said, one fo my 4
was worth entering. and to anyone that may know her,
tell lauren n. that the image that's been on my
screen for the passed couple of months an also
entered in my PUG competition (that tied for 2nd)
is the image that i will submit for a merit print!
david jones suggests that i tweak the catch lights
in her eyes and crop the light color out at top left.
we'll see. they make it very clear that this is not
a personal attack on anyone, just going on the content
of the image submitted. i'll keep you posted on others
that i consider for submission.
tonight i get the distinct honor of meeting liz banfield
at my PUG gathering tonight. liz is going to get us
familiar with the idea of getting published.
pretty cool. i'm really excited to meet her. i love
her style of photography, it's really soft and real.
the birds are crazy...yesterday, one ran into the window
of my studio! i went to rescue her...
now there's one in my furnace! it's been flapping
for 2 days! it's just that today i finally discovered
what it was. i thought one of the cats were in the
furnace room screwing around. when i figured out that
it was a bird i went in and talked to it...yes, i
speak finch! ;) i'm just sick about the fact that
she may die in there! :( i called our furnace guy
and gary would lock me up me if i spent $150 getting
her out! she just chirps ans chirps and flaps and flaps.
******
okay, so let me tell you what JUST happened...
so i'm sitting here with the door to the
furnace room open and she just comes blazing out!
bouncing off walls, windows and ceiling.
i jump up and try to open a screen (after shutting
all the doors down here so she doesn't go to
another floor) and before i know it, she's upstairs!
now she's up in a skylight! crap! now what?
i close all the doors, open the front door a front
screen and she chooses to go out on the porch so
i follow her, my heart is racing as fast as her's
and of that i am certain! i have a client in 15 minutes
and "bird wrangling" was not on my schedule today!
i had put on gloves and grabbed a pillow case so i
pretty much looked like i was going out on a "snype"
hunt with frasier crane on an old episode of cheers!
didn't need either, i opened the doors to the deck
and she flew right out. i'll miss her.
oh, and where were the cats you ask? laying on the
bed in our room....absolutely no interest.
um, yea, shocker!
what is with birds anyway, i mean what makes one
say to itself, "hey, i wonder what's down this
long, dark tube?"
hey, my kleenex boxes arrived yesterday and they
are so great looking! go to kleenex tissue
and have some fun...they're only like 5 bucks!
my friend sheena is coming over today and bringing
her niece, eva. i can't wait to meet her and
photograph her!
happy birthday to laurie! we're going to meet up
at hazeltine nat'l for happy hour to celebrate!
anne & pete, scott & nicki, mike & kiki, you should
come along! :)
Monday, October 08, 2007
top jobs...
i saw this article yesterday and i thought
i'd pass it on in case you are thinking about
a job change....here are the 12 jobs and why
they are indestructible. interesting.
well, now that i know some of my income is safe...
i was at a lecture last night that from
the looks of the attendance, many people missed!
too bad. bruce dorn and his wife maura dutra, who
own iDC photography, spoke about their
lives as photographers now and how it has
changed over the last 6 years as the influx of
people coming into the photography market with
digital cameras, calling themselves photographers.
how do you set yourself apart? do you study other
people's works? do you create your own works and
push yourself? i feel as though i am a blend, really.
bruce and maura are both incredibly established,
accomplished, award winning artists that held my
attention for 4, nearly straight, hours.
these are real people with real talent and again,
like most of the folks i run into in this industry,
are willing to share their experiences, ideas and
equipment designs with other professionals.
the lighting techniques that bruce shared were such
that i could begin to implement them right away with
little or no investment. i did order, from him, a
muslin reflector that i should have in a day or two.
it just bounces a softer, a tad warmer light. i'm
going to love that thing! i'll shoot some samples
when it arrives.
bruce's wife, maura dutra, is a corell painter expert!
MAN! this is crazy, fun stuff. i could really get
into that! i am an artist at heart and could really
see taking an image and transforming it into a work
of art...literally! however, gary already thinks i spend
too much time at my computer!
i've got to go and prepare 5~8x10's for print competition
critique (tonight's tcppa event). next month i will
prepare the images in 16x20 form for the actual competition.
thanks for sitting with me last night, david jones
& bjorn miesner. i'll take good notes at the liz banfield
PUG meeting on tuesday evening.
i'd pass it on in case you are thinking about
a job change....here are the 12 jobs and why
they are indestructible. interesting.
well, now that i know some of my income is safe...
i was at a lecture last night that from
the looks of the attendance, many people missed!
too bad. bruce dorn and his wife maura dutra, who
own iDC photography, spoke about their
lives as photographers now and how it has
changed over the last 6 years as the influx of
people coming into the photography market with
digital cameras, calling themselves photographers.
how do you set yourself apart? do you study other
people's works? do you create your own works and
push yourself? i feel as though i am a blend, really.
bruce and maura are both incredibly established,
accomplished, award winning artists that held my
attention for 4, nearly straight, hours.
these are real people with real talent and again,
like most of the folks i run into in this industry,
are willing to share their experiences, ideas and
equipment designs with other professionals.
the lighting techniques that bruce shared were such
that i could begin to implement them right away with
little or no investment. i did order, from him, a
muslin reflector that i should have in a day or two.
it just bounces a softer, a tad warmer light. i'm
going to love that thing! i'll shoot some samples
when it arrives.
bruce's wife, maura dutra, is a corell painter expert!
MAN! this is crazy, fun stuff. i could really get
into that! i am an artist at heart and could really
see taking an image and transforming it into a work
of art...literally! however, gary already thinks i spend
too much time at my computer!
i've got to go and prepare 5~8x10's for print competition
critique (tonight's tcppa event). next month i will
prepare the images in 16x20 form for the actual competition.
thanks for sitting with me last night, david jones
& bjorn miesner. i'll take good notes at the liz banfield
PUG meeting on tuesday evening.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
indian summer...
wow, a stretch of hot~humid days.
yesterday a record high of like 87 and
today another warm one~80, i think.
just not used to these hot october days.
i'm certainly not going to complain at all.
and there i go again talking about the weather!
here's all the craig kids (5 in all) and our spouses
preparing to dig into my mom's birthday cake.
can you spot kindra? she's barely showing...HA!
and she is barely showing her baby bump too!
(sorry pete..i just got the top of your head)
and here's the grandkids...minus g who was at
her boyfriend's homecoming dance @ wayzata.
check out owen...he's blowing out my mom's candles.
if you click on this image and make it larger you
can see the burning wicks and one wick still has a flame!
and the birthday girl!
check this out...after their final inspection
on the deck was complete, mike & kindra popped
a panel of rungs out of the railing and in it's
place they popped in a slide for owen! made my
mom CRAZY!!!
i have a seminar this evening put on by graphi sutdio.
tomorrow evening is a tcppa function on preparing
prints for competition. i have a month to pick as many
as 5 16x20's out and submit them.then tuesday in a PUG meeting.
have a blessed sunday.
call someone you haven't talked to in a while! :)
yesterday a record high of like 87 and
today another warm one~80, i think.
just not used to these hot october days.
i'm certainly not going to complain at all.
and there i go again talking about the weather!
here's all the craig kids (5 in all) and our spouses
preparing to dig into my mom's birthday cake.
can you spot kindra? she's barely showing...HA!
and she is barely showing her baby bump too!
(sorry pete..i just got the top of your head)
and here's the grandkids...minus g who was at
her boyfriend's homecoming dance @ wayzata.
check out owen...he's blowing out my mom's candles.
if you click on this image and make it larger you
can see the burning wicks and one wick still has a flame!
and the birthday girl!
check this out...after their final inspection
on the deck was complete, mike & kindra popped
a panel of rungs out of the railing and in it's
place they popped in a slide for owen! made my
mom CRAZY!!!
i have a seminar this evening put on by graphi sutdio.
tomorrow evening is a tcppa function on preparing
prints for competition. i have a month to pick as many
as 5 16x20's out and submit them.then tuesday in a PUG meeting.
have a blessed sunday.
call someone you haven't talked to in a while! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
