Friday, November 30, 2007

silpada jewelry...

fine sterling silver jewelry

the recap on cindy's party last night
goes a little something like this...
i went knowing that i would have fun,
drink some wine, snack on some goodies,
talk to all the gals and even take some
photos~oh sure, i did all that AND i
ended up purchasing 2 rings!!
i absolutely LOATH waiting!
"here's all the really fun~gorgeous
stuff that you can have..." ....in 3 weeks!

i'll still love them when they get here!
thanks again, cindy for a great time.


ron & cindy (& reggie)






i forget this little guys name but he tagged
along to the party and stayed pretty darn late!





gary just called. he got three birds yesterday!
not that that excites me any but i told him that
when you go out there every other weekend you're
bound to get good at it, right?!

the snow that is to hit us tomorrow will, of course
hit them first and so they are considering heading
back early so they don't have to follow it all the
way back to minnesota on sunday and we are expecting
a PILE of snow. the first big snow of the season.
pretty cool really....on december 1st an all.
that should get everyone in the Christmas spirit!
i'll be posting images of that tomorrow! :)

i have several families that are waiting to take
"snow" photos and so this may turn out to be a
very busy weekend for me! :)

i head to the Hilton later today. 2 families are
checking in for the weekend

Go get ready for the snow!!!!!

(i'm sorry, i forgot to post photos of Uta
and her new "do"! what a treat for me to
meet her and cut her hair. Uta returned to
germany this morning...hope to see her again!@
thanks, ann conrad, for bringing her by!)



Thursday, November 29, 2007

a night at the fun house!

oh my gosh! i was at my sister's last night
and holy cow, 3 kids...homework, dinner, tv,
computer, bedtime and oh...this....







amanda came running around the corner
from the office, screaming! and then she
said "take a picture with your phone and send
it to my mom!!! times sure have changed!

i got her all cleaned up and we dug out her
"toothfairy" box and laid it under her pillow.
she was soooo extremely excited!

ben, on the other hand, if he's not careful,
will lose ALL of his teeth if he keeps eating
a 1/2 of a box of lucky charms at a time!
kid's got a hollow leg...i don't know where
all the food goes!







i'm not really certain where emily was at this
time but i do know that anne specifically said,
"i don't care if they eat cereal for dinner"~
well, guess what...all three were ecstatic!
oh, that's right, mom & i had the lasagna!
(for all you "airplane" movie lovers out there!)

here's emily from about a month ago...







we watched "shrek the halls"....a little
"kid nation" and then it was bed time, story
reading and prayers.

i'm just terrible at babysitting!
i let them run around and antagonize
one another and then i step in and
separate them until they settle down
and then i laugh....nice.
ahhhh, but i am making lasting memories, right?

kindra said i'm not allowed to babysit for
her cuz i let those 3 eat cereal for supper..
ANNE SAID THEY COULD!!! it's HER fault.

more tomorrow.
no word from gary yet, i hope they are
keeping warm out there!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

...little baby bunting...

gary's gone a hunting....again!

my mom used to sing that song to me when
i was a child. it's sweet. i'll see if
she can recall the lyrics and i'll share
them on another blog.
well, except it goes..."daddy's gone a
hunting".

so, i'm a hunting widow again. this is
the 3rd time he's gone since the end of
october. he's crazy.
ya know, when i bring my camera along to
dinner and sporting events and get togethers,
gary always gives me "the look" and this
past weekend when we stayed at the hilton
in maple grove he confessed that he just
doesn't get it...i think that he feels
like it's my work spilling over into life.
i guess i see it as my life being captured
by my passion.



gary's passions are golf and hunting.
not that that's a bad thing,
it's just that sure, he can remember his golf
score and every shot (trust me...EVERY SHOT!)
but if i "drag" my camera along i capture the
emotion, the determination and my God, the
stud driving the drink cart! :)
but if he "dragged" his club with him everywhere~
oh, wait....he DOES~!!!!
i digress....

ANYway, i'll be at anne & pete's tonight
watching the girls for a bit...this'll be fun!

congratulations to helio & julianne on their
big win last night on dancing with the stars!

and tomorrow i get the distinct honor of
cutting ann conrad's friend's hair, uta (sp?)
from germany. she's here for a visit and i'll
share some pix with you over the weekend.

God bless.....

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

"Merry Christmas" is back!!


check this story out!

i have to say that i catch myself often making
the correction to "happy holidays" and i have to
say that i hate that!

recently, with a friend i went on a little rant
about what's going on with this country and so
i think i'll share it.

first, i am a loving, giving, God fearing, tolerant
person...that said, i don't let most things get to me.
however, i related this country to marriage recently
and it goes a little something like this...
when did things go south?
when did americans become the 2nd class citizens
in their own country?
when did persons get to request their nation's
food items be added to an american thankgiving
meal at a homeless shelter?
i could go on...
well, what concerns me is that those that have
"dreamed" of coming to america to live the "dream"
are now creating a nightmare.
here's what i see happening;
you want to come here because it beats the heck
out of what you had where you came from...that's fine.
but now you want things to change to suit your needs.
(this is what i see as a conflict)
soon we will be the nation that no one wants due
to the fact that so many changes have been
implemented that we don't even recognize ourselves
as the "free" nation that we once were!

like the marriage where the woman spends years
making all the needed changes to her husband only
to realize one day, that he is not the man she
married....hmmmm. are ya with me??
wheeeeew. see what i mean?

i'm sorry if i've offended anyone, it's just that
i love my country. i loved it more the way it
was. if you celebrate Hanuka, i'll wish you a
happy Hanuka...I have a calendar. if you celebrate
Kwanza (which by the way does not show up in spell
check), i'll wish you a happy Kwanza.
But please let me have my Christmas back!

After all, it's Jesus Christ's birthday. :)

Monday, November 26, 2007

tree is up!

katie loves to sit on the tree skirt!
as soon as i pull it out of the bag she
runs under the tree and waits.
this tree skirt is one of those latch-hook
things that we did as a family and completed
in 1981 (the year is hooked into the rug).
every year i say i am going to hook her a
mat to lay on and i never do. i think i will
find one to do for her (if they even make them
anymore!!).


today we are also going to tackle under the
stairs. it's mostly Christmas stuff anyway
so we dug in and started dragging all the
boxes out. ugh! much of it will go to good
will and then some just simply to the trash.

i'm going to part with my "cropper-hopper"!
i used to be huge into scrap booking and stamping
and i have just had to let it go so if you
know of anyone who might be interested in a ton
of "stampin' up" stuff have them contact me!

just confirmed a photoshoot for saturday with
mike, kindra and owen for their Christmas card.
i'm going to have them come to my friend,
tayna villano's studio in st. louis park.
she has a really terrific place and it'll be
so much fun. she tells me that she has painted
some more walls for backdrops! i can't wait to
see what she's done since i was there last.

gotta get back to these darn boxes!!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

vikings @ ny giants...

adiran peterson still out.
so far at the 1/2 things are looking up
for our beloved team (i'm really more of
a closet fan to be honest).

i napped so much yesterday that by
the time i called it a day (around 1:30 am)
i figured i'd better take a tylenol pm so
that is the reason for the late post...
i slept until about 11:30, YIKES!

making sense of all the boxes that gary
brought upstairs yesterday..they're
everywhere. i think i'll start hauling
some of it to the trash. i seem to put
less and less up every Christmas. no, not
because i am a grinch, mostly because, well,
i think i'm getting lazy, really. okay, so
i said it. i do love the season, however,
just feeling a little "less is more" these
days. are ya with me?

next sunday i'm going to go along with mike,
kindra & owen to cut down their Christmas tree.
they have already pre-slected it and we'll
toss it on top of the jeep next weekend.
here's a shot from last years search for a tree.



i've been asked to come along to assist in
shooting a wedding on the 15th of december
down in northfield with jason & stacey thon
i'm honored that they asked me and i'm really
looking forward to shooting with them as well.
i love working with other photographers!

my next wedding is on janurary 12th (mandy & mark).
here's a few engagement shots from last february...







maybe i'll see if stacey or jason want to shoot
with me that day??? :) hey, let's just swap!

relax today and let God work his magic!!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

maple grove, minnesota

we had a blast in maple grove!
ventured out around 3 to check in at the
hilton garden inn.

small, quaint, brand new AND this was a
freebie as i won this at last year's
minnesota miracle new years eve event.
and as i mentioned, we were running out of
days to use it.

we thought we'd pop into bella sera first
for a snack and some chianti. we selected some
bruchetta and it was perfect!!
this is where we met luke, the bartender~great guy
(married recently and hated their photographer).
they have a ragdoll kitten! i told him to check
out my website to see our 2 ragdolls!
luke will graduate this coming spring from
st. cloud. nice to meet you luke!
if you go to "pets" under labels you'll see
some shots of our cats.

next we headed to another new spot, pittsburgh blue.



we happened to hit it during happy hour so we
proceeded to order their mini philly cheese steak.
it was delicious!



this is where we met greg, one of the bartenders.




he is a pilot and works for wcco, a local
channel here in minneapolis and flies for them
as well. so we are going to hook up so i can get
some aerial shots. nice!
pittsburgh blue pours "salmon creek" as their
house wines just like the airport hilton.

well, we decided that we should head back and
get a little closer to the hotel so on that note,
we headed back to the hotel, they have a small
bar there and a full kitchen.
i actually can't believe that we passed up some
awesome steaks and settled for pizza at the
hotel but you know what? it was mighty tasty!



when we got home this morning...the cats greeted
us at the top of the stairs..like always and
gary got right to the task of decorating for the
holidays. i love doing it, i just hate hauling it
all out from under the stairs. thanks gary for
getting it all out for me! :)

Friday, November 23, 2007

happy black friday!

okay, so is that racest?
of course not, because it is a good thing.
but you can bet if it was referred to as
"white friday", congress would pass a bill
saying we had to change it to "colorless friday"
or simply the start of the "kwanakahmas" shopping
season. but then that would leave out all the
folks that don't celebrate any of those and or
ostracize those without the means to shop....
so perhaps we should just cancel and continue
to spend recklessly on ourselves instead???
wow.

well, we started at gary's mom's in northfield.
yum! it was just the 5 of us as machie is still
in southern cal and headed to gary's dad's in
arizona to be with them on thanksgiving.
she hopped in a convertible and drove 7 hours
to do so....wow! that was awesome machie!
bonnie set a place at the table for her....









once thing wound down at bonnie's we packed up
some containers of left overs (she always makes
enough for an army!) and made the trek back to
eden prairie where i proceeded to take and hour
long nap! ahhhh...needed that. then grabbed
more wine and drove to my sister's in chan.
25 people including phil, who is a neighbor of
my brother's and then my nieces had their boyfriends
come along too. it was a mad house! and i wouldn't
change a thing! i love the chaos and the energy.

after dinner we recited the "pumpkin pie" poem
made famous by my brother scott....illustrated
by my aunt (mom's sister cindy).



here's ben with the assist....



i don't remember when we started reciting this
poem, but it will long be remembered as a tradition
in this family as much as the pie itself. :)

gary and i are heading to maple grove to stay at the
hilton up there tonight. just for fun.
we won it last year at the minnesota miracle new years
eve event at the airport hilton and we are running out
of days to use it so...why not.
not sure what we will do up there but we always seem
to get the job done wherever we go.
i'll report tomorrow.

enjoy your day off today!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

happy thankgiving!

i over slept due to an impromptu outting
with jacquie and her daughter abby.
then a little wine at home to celebrate
the end of gary's work season...woops.
so i just said, "i'm heading to the shower!"
and i ran down here to post a little
holiday cheer. but i really have to run
we are supposed to be at gary's mom's in
an hour.

missy, i LOVE my hair!!!! and it was
fantastic to see you and spend some one
on one time...

jacquie, i love YOUR hair and i had so
much fun last night tearing around the
mall, the grocery store (self check outs
are the BOMB!!) and snacks at the green mill.
wow! thanks.

Love to all, Happy Thanksgiving.
Give God the thanks and the glory.

Dean & Lois, enjoy your visit with Machie!
I think we will give a call a little later.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

thanksgiving eve day...

i have incredibly fond memories of this
day from years past.
this was a day where all your college
friends & neighbors would be coming home
and we would all pick a bar and head out
for the night...good times!

axel's in chanhassen has been host to
many a thanksgiving eve get togethers as
well as Christmas eve gatherings.
as a matter of fact, the axel's in chan
takes all the tips they receive on
Christmas eve day and donate them to
local charities...everyone is very
generous. the first cocktail is on the house!

yesterday i had about 3 feet of boxes show
up on my doorstep from white house. nice.
everything was perfect and amazing looking.
jane's cards are almost all together, i'm
just waiting on one more pack and then
i'll run them up to her. they are just
adorable! i may have to take the image of
betty, the close up of her face, and blow
that sucker up...it is such a great image!



anne, i'm so thrilled that you love your hair!
we went with darker chunks and dark underneath.
those things sometime take a little getting used
to so if she love it now..that's a good thing!

it's my turn today! an old friend of mine that
i haven't seen i quite a while is coming by
today and we are going to swap color services!
everyone should add a little holiday sparkle to
their hair this year! :)

carly is coming over today, home from iowa state,
to get her holiday hair!



then kiki!






gotta run. have a super holiday!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

tuesday the 20th?

turkey day is in 2 days!
i've been at the gym a lot so that
i can fit 2 desserts in the pants
that i plan to wear! :)

we'll head down to northfield for dinner
with gary's mom and then head back up
to my sister's for some pie and chaos! :)
it's a fun day of family and feasting!
we'll miss june & garrick this year!! ;)



today, lots of hair to do while i await
a ton of orders to arrive from white house
custom colour. i'm going to really have
to get my fed ex & ups drivers something
special this year!
come to think of it, i had better send the
folks at whcc something as well...COOKIES!
i think i'll hand deliver some cookies!

my sister and i will be getting together soon
to shop for our cookie baking extravaganza!





yum! :P~~~~~~

Monday, November 19, 2007

36 days until Chritmas...

havent' even THOUGHT about it yet, really.
lots going on i guess.
i'm sure the e-mail Christmas lists will
begin showing up soon...
ahhhh, how i long for the good old days when
you got what you got and you were thrilled!

but then there's my brother scott, he is
grateful for anything and my sister and i
joke about it all the time....
"an oven mit?...i LOVE ovens, i can't wait
to use this!"..."a river rock? i LOVE rivers!
whenever i hold it or look at it i will think
of the time that........."
i, of course, love my brother and he has been
a gift to me all my life, i would want nothing
more from him ever...just his smile! :)



hey, today might be a really good day to put
some lights up. it's warm...almost humid out.
the wheels are supposed to fall off tomorrow,
or so we are told by local weather folks.

hope you all had a scrummy weekend.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

timberwolves blow it again...

this is not to say that we didn't have a
fabulous time, because we totally did,
but when i attend a professional sports
event it would just be so nice if it weren't
a blow out! 82-100, hornets win.
it was fun to see bobby jackson, he's so
cute! he used to play ball for the gophers.
then he went to the denver nuggets and now
he's with new orleans. his salary for the 2008
season? 5.6 million. not bad.

well, we arrive to the target center and
discover that some folks that sit right
behind ron (when he runs the clock) have
3 friends that couldn't join them so cindy,
gary and i joined them in the front row.
i really great way to get close to the game.
even listening to the banter of the stats
guy, ron, the shot clock guy and the announcer.
pretty interesting, not to mention cool.
those seats go for about $330. keep in mind
that ron & cindy's seats are pretty awesome too!

we all got to press the buzzer too cuz i'm
serious when i say we sat right behind ron!

the game sucked but the experience did not.
we decided to get a little closer to home after
the game and swung into biaggi's for a couple
then home.

thanks for your note karen!

jacquie, it was good to pass by you on the
street, i owe you a bottle of bordeaux! :P
and this is what you get when you don't call...



dean & lois, we FINALLY booked our flights~
we arrive on monday and will be heading back
on thursday. kind of a quicky but we are
anxious to come down and celebrate.
do NOT make plans for the 9th! we already have.



love to all.

wait, one more thing. my cousin kim who lives
out in montana with her fiance scott just
sent a few photos of their little guy, orion..
i have GOT to get my hands on this guy!
i think they are coming out for Christmas!



Saturday, November 17, 2007

b.s.

"blowing snow"!
it's not accumulating or anything but
nonetheless, it's snowing. as ann conrad
said this morning...."it's the beginning
of the end." it looks like everything has
been dusted with powdered sugar. leave it
to me to turn something into sweets! :P
oh and like i always say, we minnesotans
like to talk about our weather! :)
and snow is a biggie!

i hit massive traffic on my way to the
hilton yesterday. does NO ONE work close
to home??? it took me darn near an HOUR
to get to the hilton yesterday.
but, as always, it was soooo worth it!
here's why...meet connEr (with an "e"!)



he is wrapped in a "tie" blanket that was
made by a group of girl scouts. they have
committed to making 150 blankets for the
miracles of mitch foundation's minnesota
miracle weekend cancer kids! wow! that's
a mouthful!

here's conner with his brother trent...







and their folks...



they had already checked in by the time we
arrived (karen & i) so the front desk called
up to their room and asked them to come
down so we could give them their goodie bag.
i'm certain that they are having a great time!
trent was running around like crazy! i asked
him if he had already been jumping on the bed
and he said no...woops! i wonder if he did...
they should check out bed jump!

gary and i did a bon fire last night and
talked for hours. it was so nice.
oh, thanks scott & jacquie for allowing us
to snag a bottle of wine from their collection.

i'm heading off to deliver some proofs and
such today. i think i'll swing by my sister's
and say hi.

timberwolves game tonight with ron & cindy.
so we'll be heading downtown around 5 or so
i suppose. ron takes us into the tunnel
to watch the players come out. it's so much
fun. KG won't be there...that's weird.
oh, well c'est la vie, right?! :)

Friday, November 16, 2007

happy 8 months anne!!

my sister has gone 8 months without a cigarette!
kudos to you my sweet, queen sister!
that is an amazing, awesome accomplishment!!!

i met up with heather, kathleen & jessica this
morning at the caribou on penn & 494.
we are the 4 pack of photographer's that seem
to take the most sessions for NILMDTS and i thought
it was high time we got together to chat a bit
about our own personal doings...something nice
for a change. i think the plan is to make this
a regular event. it's good to support one another
outside of our families. not to mention just
simply getting out.

i got a call from a mom who should have received
her son's photos LAST friday and hasn't...i'm
having ups run a check on the tracking #.
i am soooo upset about that! i'll just have to
reorder and drop ship to them if it's lost.
i'm certain who ever finds it will want to send
it on to the family. i pray that whoever ended
up with it will do that.

i'm getting ready to leave for the hilton.
just one cancer family is checking in today.
an 8 year old.

i'm on the move...gotta go.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

posting late today...

swamped is the word of the day.
the boxes from white house custom colour
just keep coming. this is a good thing.
i LOVE delivering final images to people~
it's like Christmas!

i had a nice visit with stacey yesterday.
got some one on one time with ian and did
a little coloring with lauren





once i returned home i got a call from a NILMDTS
coordinator that a family was going to be disconnecting
their 2 week old daughter's life support later in the
afternoon so i committed to the session and waited for
the call from children's in minneapolis.
a beautiful little girl surrounded by loving family
and pink blankets. i always consider it to be an honor
to be asked to photograph for these families and be
given all access to do the most unobtrusive work i can.






let the healing begin....