Monday, June 30, 2008

More about Mom

Good morning.
Today I spoke with ICU nurse, Susan.
Seems that mom is doing well. No real changes,
just doing well. They actually think that
she will be moved to a normal room sometime
later today...barring any complications
like fever or infection.

I stopped in there late last night after
G's graduation party and brought her an
11x14 mounted image of G to spruce up her room.



I sat and held her hand, gave her ice chips
and pressed her pain med button for her every
6 minutes. She's a little goofy from all the
meds (morphine and dilaudid) but she has her
lucid moments as well and she was glad I was
there~me too.

I dug up a couple more images from Jennifer &
Chris's wedding that I needed to share with y'all.








That's all for today.
Enjoy your short week...the 4th is coming!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Jennifer & Chris

Perhaps I am now, officially, the Queen of Weather!
Altho' the skies opened up while I was at Jennifer's
home shooting the "getting ready" shots with her family,
once we arrived at the Arboretum and they emerged from
the black stretch limo, it cleared. It was perfect.
Wow! A lucky break? Or my infamous prayer chain request
for no rain...I'll leave that up to the man upstairs! ;)

Here's just a few for now....













Jennifer & Chris...have a relaxing time in Hawaii!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Mom update.

My mom remains in ICU where she spent the
night last night. A general surgeon came in
around 6 and determined that she, more than
likely, had a perforated ulcer in the bowel.
YUCK, right?! Yep, YUCK.

This is totally unrelated to her back surgery.
Altho' it seems suspicious, we were quickly
educated on the probability of this happening
to our mom and the timing was just that. Timing.

She was admitted on Wednesday for a simple
Laminectomy. My mom, being the comic relief
expert that she is, said upon admission.."Oh, I
didn't know I was getting new counter tops!
"WHOA! Stop Mom! You're killin' me!

By Friday morning, my mom was developing pain
in her abdomen. This later got much, much worse
and so they took her down for not 1 but 2
separate CT scans and discovered that she had
a huge air pocket behind her diaphragm causing
horrific pain...I mean, forGET about the back
surgery recovery and morphine for a minute..
my mom is in full on, screaming,"don't touch me!"
pain. This is just awful! To sit idly by and
listen to my mom writhe in pain...unrelated to
her back. they sent for Dr. Osee (sp?) and he
took one, tender touch to her belly and said,
"we need to do surgery, now."

We (Cindy, my mom's sister was with me) started
the phone call brigade and quickly ran out of battery.
4 siblings and friends and my uncle.
Cindy and I went to dinner when they took mom
down for surgery. We needed a break and a little
comic relief of our own. So we had a little
giggle fest and wine with our dinner and returned
to the hospital. Soon after, Mike, my younger
bother popped his head in the door of the
family room on mom's floor. We sat at the computer
there and watched some of my slide shows and
I introduced them to "Twitter".

Around 9 o'clock, Dr. Osee came in the family
room and I was shocked to see him so soon.
Successful surgery but not out of the woods.
It was indeed, perforated ulcer and he patched
that up. She will need to stay in the hospital
for the next 5 to 7 days. Think I'll bring her
own pillow down there

This morning, I just learned that they are taking
her off of the ventilator (she was having a tough
time breathing last night) which, of course, is
awesome! Mike is there now and the others will
be there soon. I will be shooting a wedding all
day so I will return to the hospital tomorrow.

Feel free to check my twitter as I will be updating
today remotely!

Thank you for all your prayers and support and to
Marty Noll, you are such a champion of medical
liaison-ness! Yes, I think that should be a word! :)
So tell Zach



and Ava



that 9 is doing Grrrrreat!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Much needed break @ Applebees.

Mom's going into surgery

Working with idiots.

I ran across this story this morning.
I thought I'd share it...cuz it's funny.
Do you work with IDIOTS?

Oh, and here's another tid-bit that was
passed on to me by my sister-in-law, Kiki.
It appears that our beloved state fair is
taking on yet more stupid fair foods.

Food officials are introducing:
~Pig Lickers
~Pickle Pops and
~Big Fat Bacon.

There was some hesitation about allowing something
called Pig Lickers to be sold at the fair.
But Charlie Torgerson, who co-owns several Famous
Dave's Franchises, says the chocolate-covered bacon
decorated with some sea salt is the best meat out there.

Next, if you want the bacon but not the chocolate,
you might try the Big Fat Bacon. It's one-third pound
of bacon, fried and caramelized with maple syrup.
It's, of course, served on...you guessed it...
a stick.

And lastly, a Pickle Pop? It's simply pickle juice
frozen in a push-up sleeve. Fair vendor Preferred
Pickle came up with the idea after years of serving
deep-fried pickles, again.....on a stick.

One of my favorites at the fair..."weather on a stick"
at the WCCO booth. I'm going to miss Paul Douglas
at the fair this year!

The Minnesota State Fair runs August 21 to September 1.
Might I suggest that if you want to avoid a lot of
hassle at the fair, don't go while the RNC is taking
place. I'm told that candidates will be showing up
and the security will be crazy!

Gary and I sat outside last night and chatted it up
with our neighbors Ron & Cindy. I must say that
had we not sprayed the lawn and shrubs with this stuff



we'd have been carried away by the mosquitoes!
This stuff works AWESOME!! Don't go another summer
day or night without it!

Boo is still not so sure about the grass. It's pokey.


Here's Ron & Cindy's baby, Reggie..




Mom Update.
She stayed one more night at the hospital
and will come home today. Her leg pain is
completely gone and she has been up and walking.
All great news! Thank you so much, everyone, for
all of your prayers!

Later today, I will go with my sister Anne up
to Wyoming (the city) and pick up Emily. She
has been there for two whole weeks at camp
Ajawah.
I can't wait to see her!!

Getting some much needed rain today.
Pray that my Arboretum wedding doesn't get
rained out tomorrow afternoon! :)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Cube Jumping.

Mike, Ben, my aunt Cindy and I left my mom's
room for a bit so the nurses to do some
routine stuff for my mom.
We hit one of the waiting areas that had all
this fun "kid" stuff. My nephew, Ben, decided
to take his life into his own hands (at my
prompting...don't tell his mom!) and do some
handy "cube jumping".
I mean, hey, we are in a hospital, right?
So, what if he falls and breaks a bone...
the ER is like~~right there! ;)

Ben is an avid skateboarder and I challenged
him to flip the cube like a skateboard.

My brother, Mike, caught it on his phone.
Gotta love a collaborative

Here's the Olympic trials for "padded cube jump"!



I still laugh my ass off when I see this!
Thanks Mike for sending it on to me so I
could share with my loyal readers!!
Sorry, I thought the sound would come through.

Let's review.....
My mom has just come out of surgery where
Dr. Michael Wengler performed a "disc-ectomy"
and we, loving family members, converge in
a family waiting room (no one is there but us
by the way) and begin to egg on my nephew.
He is always up for a challenge...he's our
resident "Johnny Knoxville"..Love you Ben!

Ahhhhh...good times.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Cube jump

Ben is trying to entertain us.

Mom's Surgery.

Today, my mom has her long awaited back surgery.
I pray that all goes well and her pain is gone.
My younger brother, Michael, lives near the hospital
so he went there early when mom was getting admitted.
He sat there with my aunt Cindy during the 2 hour
procedure and called as soon as she was done.

I'll head down soon and meet up with her in her room.
Not sure how long she will be there but if all goes
well, a couple of days...maybe 3. (St.Francis # 2237)

Got my call from Kim Martin out in DC with Epiphany
regarding the gig with the RNC. Looks like I will be
joining Andy Richter and his clan to cover the upcoming
events. I'm so psyched about all of this!
I've worked along side Andy most recently with Starkey
and I'm thrilled to be working with him again.

There is still some event/time line details to work
out but I'm in and thrilled to be chosen to cover this
monumental event!

More to come.

It's getting steamy outside...HATE humidity!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Jet

Playing catch with Jet.

Almost done.

One down.

Hobie is taking it lying down. Good boy!

Awaiting her turn.

Katie's stand.

Katie was far more vocal about the journey than Hobie. It's tough to
console a cat that's in the back seat. My arms aren't quite long
enough. : \

Not going willingly!

These cats hate the process but LOVE the outcome !

Sherrie Carnicle.

My friend and trainer Sherrie Carnicle has
spent the past few months training for a
National "fitness" competition.
She placed 9th last year at this same event.
Winning this year would allow her to attain
her "pro" card. A goal of hers.
I found this image from last weekend of her
competing in Chicago. I have yet to hear the
outcome...



I know how hard she worked and I am so proud of
her for practically putting her life and family
on hold during the process. You literally can't
do anything but work and train. It's quite a
commitment few will ever know. Good job Sherrie!

Today, the elders go in for their summer cuts.
Jenn at "Clean as a Whisker" in St. Louis Park
is amazing! I hope this appointment goes as well
as last summer's visit!
Remember these shots??






Thanks Ann C for your prayers about mom!



I'm going to try to "dive" into my diving
certification DVD & book this week! ;)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Back Trouble.

My poor mom is enduring some mighty terrific
back pain. I stayed with her last night and
and managed her meds all night.
Her sister is coming up to stay today and
tonight. Mom's surgery is Wednesday morning.
Then, hopefully, we will be in the clear.
She has a horribly herniated disc and they
will slice it out about 48 hours from now.

I have never seen her in this shape before.
She tells me that the only thing she can
compare it to was when she gave birth....
to ME!! Thanks mom, I feel really good now! :\

I got over here around 3 yesterday and will
head home around noon then Anne will pop by
in the interim while we wait for Cindy to
get here (3-ish).

This is when having multiple siblings really
pays off. I mean, my mom's not really "old"
or anything but this is surely giving us
a peek at what could be down the road and
should we need to band together in the future
I think we will get high marks! :)

I had such a great time at Jennifer and Michael's
wedding on Saturday! I've barely had time to
talk about it. I feel like each wedding I
photograph I grow as a person as well as a
photographer. This wedding made me want to
come home and hug my husband a little harder.
Watching love makes wanting love contagious.
Thanks for almost 10 years (Sept 11), Gary!

Oh, I want to warn everyone...Hobie and Katie
are going in tomorrow to get their summer cuts!
Photos to follow!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Wedding cake! Yum!

Our Lady of Lourdes



I'll be posting more from my iPhone today
and you can catch up with me on my twitter
today as well.

I'm shooting from 9 to 3 today....a nice change!

Have a great day!

Friday, June 20, 2008

BBQ with the neighborhood.

Had a delicious invitation to go to a neighbor's
for a BBQ. How do you turn THAT down mid-week!
NO COOKING? I'm in!!

Here's some of the darlings in attendance.
(sisters Molly and Ellie)...in the 'secret garden'.





Hey, is that a glass of Cabernet in my hand?



Jenn & Michael are in town from Massachusetts
and are getting married at the most beautiful
church just off Nicollet Island. This is the oldest,
continuously used Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
Our Lady of Lourdes.
Can't wait to get there. The reception, of course,
will be held at the Nicollet Island Inn.
This will be a joy to shoot! Chloe will be shooting
with me and I look forward to working with her.
She is a fellow NILMDTS affiliate.

I sat with my mom for the majority of the day today.
She is in some extreme back pain due to a ruptured
disc. Her surgery is scheduled for this coming Wednesday.
I've never seen her like this and it's hard enough
sometimes to think of a parent as "aging" but to
see her having to deal with and manage pain is
quite another thing...We had a really nice day together.
After surgery, I'm certain that we will have more
of those and I look forward to them. She lost Tim
Russert and now this...NOT a good week for my mom.

Last night I elected to take a call to go to Abbott
to cover a session for a family that lost a 20+ week
old boy. The gentleman that was 'on call' was not
reachable so I went. The baby's name...Joshua.
When i arrived the Chaplain was coming out of their
room, she wiped a tear and I rubbed her back.
She then started to silently sob. I held her for a
couple of minutes and she thanked me for what we
do at NILMDTS and I told her what a special job
she has and that she was, indeed, an angel too.



God Bless.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Boo @ work.

Kindle

Do you own a Kindle?
I am a self proclaimed non-book reader.
I don't know what happened to me but at
an early age I decided that books were for
school. Now, please don't confuse not wanting
to read with not being able to read.
Rest assured I can read. ;)

That said, I have to remark that I have
indeed read many books but
I also must add that they are never in the
"novel" category...I am most likely to read
a biography or a "how-to" or even a, oh, I
don't know....a DIET book or 4 (who's counting).
So I think that I'm not really convinced, at
this stage in the game, to shell out the $400
to just "look cool". For now, I'd rather get 7
tanks of gas! ;)

Moving on.

Today I am going to meet with an old friend
for lunch. His name is Dan Butter. Our families
grew up near one another and we attended then,
and do now, the same church. Dan has an interest
in photography and wants to discuss career moves
with me. I was flattered when I got the call.
I look forward to seeing him later today and I'll
share more on that tomorrow.

How about Twitter? I love that application.
Do you twitter? Staja Studios just started!

So, here's a shot I took of Pat Benatar at the Starkey Gala last Saturday.



My friend, Cheryl MacLennan, made mention that
one or more of my images would get published.
How cool is that (at the risk of tooting my
own horn!)??

Have a great day...we need the rain that's coming
but Iowa doesn't....Pray.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Another Blog Fan

I forgot to mention the other day that I
had received an e-mail over the weekend from
Amy Jes. She is a cousin of Jill Kraus (of
former "Jay & Jill" fame). I photographed Jay
and Jill's wedding several years back down in
Waseca on her family's farm. So far unremarkable,
right? Well, it turns out that even tho' I
don't remember her well, she has been a loyal
follower of my blog for quite some time and sent
me the nicest note...Amy learned about blogging
through my site and has since started her own.
She recently moved to Vail, CO and is using hers
to keep everyone up to date with what's going on.
Blogging is truly a fabulous tool! You don't have
to live across the world or even the country to
make use of a blog. Student's can blog away at
college, new parents can blog for out of town
family & friends...one of my NILMDTS moms just
started a blog to help in grieving process of the
loss of their son. KUDOS to Angie!!
Blogs are really a wonderful communication
device for the ages. Thanks Amy, for taking the
time to let me know that you, yourself are now a
blogger!

So, I just received a call from Amy Martin.
She's the one in charge of organizing photographers
for the upcoming RNC. "You are at the top of my list."
I can't believe that she said that! I'll have all of
my assignments early this next week. YAY!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Starkey Gala 2008 in review.

Well, there are just too many images
to post on one day so I have opted to
put together a couple of slide shows
instead...hope you like this one...



Being selected to cover Tani & Bill Austin
on the red carpet the night of the Gala was
a real feather in my cap and I am so grateful
for the opportunity. Thanks Cheryl!

I'll post the Ultimate Bass Challenge
images another day and more from the Friday
night VIP party at the Austin's home.

Everything was as fabulous as it looks
and more!

Back to weddings and the upcoming RNC in
August/September!

Anyone interested in taking a look at more
images can go HERE. This was set up by the wonderful Cheryl, Rachel
and Caroline from the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
Be sure to enter "star" for the password.
Nice job ladies...see you next year!