So Sad...

King of Pop and Farrah Fawcett pass away.
Now, while Farrah Fawcett's passing away yesterday
after her 3 year battle of anal cancer was,
to quote EVERYONE, "expected" this does by no
means make me feel any less about her passing.
As a child of the 60's/70's I idolized her right
along with the rest of America (I will do my best
to scan in some shots of me sporting the "Farrah"
hair do soon!). I still can't believe that she
only spent a year on "Charlie's Angels". For some
reason it seemed to me to span more time.

The Michael Jackson news was a smack in the face.
This is up there with Diana, Elvis just to name 2.
I watched the NBC Dateline Special last night
and it made me really think. Perhaps because I am
getting older, or maybe just because as we age we
look more closely at our own mortality, our health,
our genes, science...or all of it.
As I watched the piece on Michael Jackson
it occurred to me...Holy Crap! He was only 50!
This can only spur you in the path of righteousness
when you are 47.

When I quit smoking, over 6 years ago (really, no
applause necessary), I knew that I was embarking on a
longer life. A life to be shared with those whom I
love...longer. I, to this day, don't know how much longer
but the choice was mine and I made it.

When we make healthy choices for ourselves they aren't
always easy but with all the research out there and
our family health histories staring us in the face,
these decisions, at some point, seem simple enough, right?

I am a Christian first, and everything else second.
I know that God has a plan for my life and yours and
I also know that I/we am/are responsible for heeding
God's promptings (not to mention the text on the side
of a pack of cigarettes). This does not mean that if I
follow the rules I'll live a long life...that would be
irresponsible of me...history is a great teacher.

Life teaches many lessons, that's God's job. It's our
job to show up, sit up and pay attention.

Yesterday's losses prove that God is in control, nothing is
forever, and to treat everyday as if it was your last.

These two icons (and American historical figures) will
live on in all of us as I plan to grab life, hang on
and pray that God allows me the opportunity to leave
a legacy of my own.

Please do what you can to refrain from the media swarm
of Michael Jackson's children as they are innocent
victims and young lives suffering a loss of a beloved
father.

Thanks for allowing me to ramble....
God Bless and welcome back to the US Nicki & Gemma!

Same Sex Marriage In Iowa.

Today, as I was preparing for a wedding that I'm
shooting here in Minneapolis, Gary was preparing for
a trip down to Iowa to be a witness at his very best
friend's (Jimbo) sister's (Suzie) wedding.
Are ya with me so far?

Due to the fact that same sex marriages are now legal
in the state of Iowa, Suzie & Mary decided to go for it!

Suzie and Mary, long time partners, will tie the knot
in Des Moines, Iowa in a 15 minute ceremony later today
(first things first...Gary and Jimbo will golf down there
today!). :D SHOCKER!

I was so disappointed to learn that they would have
the ceremony today of all days. I really wanted to be
there. These are some great people and I would have
loved to be there to witness the joy...not to mention
a little history in the making.
Congratulations Suzie & Mary on this very momentous
occasion!

Weisure....

That's right, "Weisure".
Were work combines with leisure.
Sara France posted this on twitter late last
night and I happened to catch it this morning.

I have fallen victim to this myself in that I work
mostly from home.
I've been twittering for more than a year, I've even
twittered and uploaded images to Facebook between
ceremonies and receptions and I've also uploaded images
to both while at NACE functions, PUG meetings and
TCPPA programs, just to mention a few.

It's a way of letting folks know what I'm up to
whether it be professional or personal. And it's fun!
Gary doesn't get it (nor will he ever) and that's okay.
He does read my blog from time to time tho' and he's a fan.

I was told, once, that it's narcissistic to assume that people
care...hmmmm...well, when people respond to the things that I
post about I think that must mean that they, indeed, do.
Or at the very least have an opinion or comment they'd like to
share with me. Try it..go ahead, I dare you!

In this ever changing, fast paced world technology will
always be connecting us, informing us and educating us
and I, for one, think it's way more than a "good thing",
Martha, it's a great thing.

Enjoy the CNN article by clicking HERE

I have rescheduled an engagement shoot today due to the
wind and cold. Kate and Tom want to do some boat/water
shots and this is just NOT the day. :\

Enjoy your Saturday.

It just wasn't in the Cards.

The Arizona Cardinals, while a valiant effort
was made, lost to the Pittsburg Steelers in
the 43rd Super Bowl 27 to 23.

I was amazed at the play, the amount of penalties,
the unsportsmanlike conduct and the officiating
on both sides. All the while, I watched the entire
game (a rarity for me). I even watched the 1/2 time
show with Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.
Altho' I wasn't as impressed with his show as I
was with Prince a couple of years ago, I felt
he redeemed himself with his last song selection.
I simply don't appreciate it when all I can here
is the crowd singing and I HATE it when an artist
holds the microphone out over the audience to sing
for them! Now, I know I'm pissing off some "Boss" fans
here but it's not my fault... The NFL tries to put
a 4 hour concert on in 12 minutes and frankly I think
a marching band might serve the time frame better!

OMG, moving on!!!


Today, picking out tile and carpet with Gary for the
basement, clearing out all the junk and getting
things looking near completion is our goal. I'll
keep you posted.

I have a ton of photos and video from our trip to
Arizona, I'll share when I get the chance.

Back to the cold today....YUCK!
20 days and counting! :D

Paul Newman dies.

Today I am shooting a wedding in St. Paul.
I'm shooting alone...which, oddly, I enjoy from
time to time. I like to shoot everything sometimes.
I know it's a lot more work and running around
and on occasion means missed shots and opportunities
but I have this thing about control too.
Which, frankly, I should get over. So there, I
said it.

I'll share images from today next week.

Now, I must share with you my experiences from the
passed couple of days (Oh, btw my mom, the editor, has
given me the lecture on when to use the spelling "passed"
vs "past"...once an editor, always an editor!
Thanks mom!)

Moving on... I've been working with MOFAS, as many
of you know and this has been eye opening for me.
Did you know that fetal alcohol babies suffer more
life altering effects than crack or meth babies!?
Me neither. I visited the Hosterman school yesterday
morning and met some very interesting young people.
Thanks to Brad Wing, a teacher at Hosterman for 10 years,
my life may just be forever changed. This is 100%
curable and for these diagnosed few my heart aches
because they did not choose this life their mother did.

( I just got at tweet from WCCO that Paul Newman died!!)

Emma Krumbee's.

This morning I am going to hop in my car
and head south on 169 to Emma Krumbee's.
It's a well know little stop for apple seekers.
I'm meeting a young mother and her 1 year old
son to photograph them for an upcoming annual
report for MOFAS.

Then, later this afternoon, between storms, I
will head north to Blaine to photograph a family
for the same project.

Tomorrow morning, I'll head back up that way to
photograph a teacher in district 287 @ Hosterman.
(I need to get a new ear piece for my car!)

This is an exciting project and I'm so happy that
Emily found me. After working with Emily at Urban
Ventures on another project, Emily called me up
when she joined forces with the Minnesota Organization
on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and asked for my help.

Thanks Emily!

p.s.I met Tom Petters at the Starkey Gala this
passed summer. Here he is pictured with Steve
Chepokas...Tom is in some deep dooty! Huge FBI raid
yesterday at his Minnetonka based business! yikes!

National Night Out 2008?

Well, not in Eden Prairie, Minnesota anyway!
The city of Eden Prairie has made the decision
to pull out of the NNO event. Why, you ask?
Well, check this out... the founder, Matt Peskin,
has been pocketing MILLIONS because cities
pay to be a part of NNO.

This year, my fair city is throwing it's own
"Eden Prairie Night Out"! Yay us!
I mean, c'mon, it's about a city coming together
and "taking back the night", right?
So, that's what we intend to do! And all for
the cost of some brats, chips & brownies! :D

Here's some shots from last year..
This year it takes place on Tuesday, August 5th.
Well, actually it the first Tuesday in August
every year! We'll share the same date as not
to confuse folks on our street!





July 9th!!! WHERE IS THE TIME GOING????????!!

Okay, random thought....
Have you ever sat down and talked to your self
at say....age 9, 16, 24 and told your self that
things would turn out okay? It's such a calming
feeling to connect on that level.
We often tell our children, nieces, nephews and
friends that things will work out but how about
YOU? Give it a try.

Have a peaceful day.

Superbowl Sunday..

Well,
I just watched the Giants eek out a victory against the
Patriots. Great game.
Spent 3/4 of the game at Ron & Cindy's ~ totally impromptu.

Commercials, if you missed any, can be seen at MySpace.
My favorite? the ETrade ones with the baby....OMG!!
Especially the 2nd one with the clown! It KILLED!

I'm pooped, a very long day and I will have more time
to post tomorrow.

Had fun at the MOA with Anne & Alan (engagement photos).

Ran to Linden Hills afterwards to drop off Jane's cards.
She let me keep 2 for my records...they are completely
fanTAStic so I just had to have them!

Sorry your boy didn't win, Gemma.
But at least Tom Brady gets to wallow in his self pitty
with Gisele Bundchen.

Dean & Lois, perhaps your town can get back to normal!

Good night.

Nicki, coffee tomorrow, Tuesday or Wednesday?

byog...

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

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

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

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

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

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

poor air quality alert in minnesota!

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

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

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

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

"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. :)

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! :)

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.

Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center

Meet President & CEO of the
Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation, Art Erickson



well, the big evening was a huge success!
this was truly a night to remember!
the grand opening of the colin powell youth
leadership center and cristo rey~jesuit high school.
i worked it like a wedding...getting ready,
details, ceremony, reception, formals.
after the local media had some time with
General Powell, i stepped in and soon
after rode the elevator down with he, his wife
and staff...pretty cool. sorry, really cool!



we hung out in a holding area and then on
to greet some students currently enrolled there
then we popped outside and I jockeyed for
position amongst the media and guests for
the ribbon cutting (which was actually a
puzzle assembly). many folks that i'm certain
you'll recognize were in attendance like
minneapolis mayor, r.t. rybak



minnesota governor, tim pawlenty



general powell's wife, alma, spoke on behalf of
"america's promise"





a vip reception was in place on the 3rd floor where
jacquie called a play on how she was going to go and
introduce herself to colin powell and i was to quick
get a photo! nice covert ops, huh!? so stealth! ;)



some of the students were there serving up
citykid java coffee and they were hilarious!
bryant would not let me have his t-shirt!
so i gave him a business card and told him to
contact me when he had one available! thanks bryant!



now it was time to head into the gymnasium.
this 4-full court gym had been transformed
from basketball to ballroom. it was done so
elegantly and love filled, complete with a
giant, colorful stage with larger than life images
(compliments of white house custom colour! my lab!)
but even more impressively...shot by my very good
friend, jacquie boyer, who is also a board
member for urban ventures.

after everyone was seated we were all treated
to one of the most amazing singing voices i've
ever had the privilege of being in the presence of.
wintley phipps has this james earl jones voice and
when he sings you can see angels!

he was born in trinidad & tobago and is an ordained,
7th day adventist minister. he spoke of a young (26 or so)
woman that came up to him after a concert where he
was performing and she said that she felt compelled
to come and introduce herself and that he looked like
someone she could talk to...they spoke and prayed
together about her direction in life and where God was
to lead her...that young woman? was oprah winfrey.





colin powell took the stage again and spoke
of the spark that is in these kids eyes and how it
is our responsibility to make sure it stays there!



i am most certain that this is not the last event
that i will cover for urban ventures.
thank you jenifer siegle of urban ventures and
thank you jacquie, my friend. i am so proud of you!

God bless this organization and all who come in contact
with it...this can begin to change the world.

(oh, and lastly a shout out to prom catering out of oakdale, mn.
they served 1300 people hot salmon & filet mignon!
an amazing job!)

happy birthday, gary!

today is gary's birthday and he is going
to be doing what he loves....golf.
the rain has ended, the skies are clearing
and it is going to be 70...happy birthday
alright, what a gift!
he's playing in an annual tourney to raise
money for the hard working folks at carver's
fire & rescue (largely volunteer).
i'll see him tonight, dinner tomorrow and
perhaps another night at a hotel~i have
2 more to use up by the end of the year.
and the gift of a clean house is coming!

say, did any of you take this survey yet?
i just received it this morning. click here
and fill it out. no one is looking over your
shoulder...just answer as honestly as you can.
i was surprised to find hilary dead last.
i mean, i wasn't really, but when you really
get into the meat of the survey...it might
surprise you who rises to the top.
pretty cool, just takes a few minutes.

okay, i wasn't going to do this but now i am.
the other day i met kiki & owen at a park
near their home and brought along my camera.
i got some sweet shots of some of their
friends and, without names, i want to post
them here for them to see...











and a couple more of owen...





i love my new 1.4 lens! can you tell?

i'm thinking about throwing an outdoor portrait
party this fall...portraits at a discount for
groups. interested? e-mail me.

sorry...one more thing....paris

this just in....

Crawford, Texas -- A tragic flood this morning destroyed the
personal library of President George W. Bush. The flood began in
the presidential bathroom where both books were kept. Both his
books have been lost. A Presidential spokesman said the President
was devastated, as he had almost finished coloring the second one.
The White House tried to call FEMA, but there was no answer.
(okay, so i stole this off my sister's blog...pretty funny!) :)

i'm excited to announce that i will be taking over my pug blog
giving jason & stacey thon a much needed break from even
thinking about keeping that current!
i'm going to start that soon so keep a close eye on this
one for more updates! ;)

i talked to karen fernow, executive director of the
MOMF last night at length regarding the future of my
involvement and i'm ecstatic to report that this young
organization is thriving and dependent upon all that i
can provide and i will continue to offer up all the support
that i can throughout it's growth as a non~profit foundation!
it gives me great joy and fulfillment!
i selfishly suggested that karen, becky and i
meet up at campielo's for dinner tonight so that we can discuss
upcoming events and needs of the foundation.
i'm hoping that i can talk my sister, anne into taking
over the position of "grant manager"...are you up for it??

megan (bella) is flying in this morning from chicago
for the wedding that we are shooting tomorrow.
we're gonna hook up this afternoon and go over our
game~plan.

minneapolis and it's surrounding suburbs experienced
some wicked storms late afternoon and early evening
yesterday. all is well in eden prairie altho' it was
the focus for quite awhile. portland at 494 was under
water again....um, yea, SHOCKER!!!!

supposed to be a fabulous weekend.

35W bridge aftermath...

a good friend of mine (and photographer),
jason stenvold, recently took up the
offer when they opened up an adjacent
bridge to head down and see first hand
what has become of the 35W bridge since
it's collapse nearly a month ago.
to view some really outstanding images
click here. so much has been done yet there
is so much left to do. it's nothing like
the towers of new york, but this is
"our" ground zero.
nice job jason, thanks for the pix!

met zach at the wayzata country club
yesterday afternoon to shoot his senior
portraits. it was hot and windy
(not a good day to photograph a girl as
the hair would have been OUT OF CONTROL!)





so handsome, wouldn't you agree? :)

off to meet nicki and anne in excelsior
then on to meet up with cory barton
to go over the cool changes i want to
make to my web site! yay!

gotta run!!

president & laura bush visit minnesota...

well, aren't we special!
laura arrived to look at our
collapsed bridge and george dubya
is flying around in a helicopter
as i type to see first hand the
devastation of the wreckage.
i still can't get over it. it's so
weird. i keep watching the video
of the collapse and it's just
so, i don't know....deliberate
looking, yet there are cars on
the bridge and my God, the bus
full of children...how does something
like this actually happen?
so much more to come on that
subject...it's been reported that
it could take as much as a year
to come to some sort of conclusion
as to what actually happened.

another airport hilton visit yesterday
for a minnesota miracle. i met little
miss madelyn, age 4 (left). she brought
along her very, very best friend for
the weekend. they were so funny! and silly!




they were very excited to go swimming~!

grandma and dad and the two girls will spend
the weekend and enjoy lots of fun compliments
of the "minnesota miracle"...a division
of the "miracles of mitch" and partnered
by the airport hilton..."the hotel with a heart"!



picked up some cabernet on the way home and
sat out front with gary by the fire pit (no fire)
and slowly we started a gathering at our home.
first we were joined by all the neighbors dogs...







then some neighbors...trisha, then
ron & cindy. it was a perfect night to
sit outside! due to all the dry weather
there is a shortage of bugs!! (one nice thing
about no rain!).

FINALLY some relief in the way of rain.
woke up this morning to the sound of rain
hitting the bedroom window! hooray!
gary brought the cats into me on the bed
and headed off to paynesville to play golf
with his buddies. this is an annual event
at the koronis golf club there and they all
stay at tom & mary hendrickson's lake home
(you really can't call this place a cabin!).

got a late start today but it was nice to
lay in bed and listen to both the rain and
the cats purring next to me! :)

more bridge collapse images...

and no, i did not shoot these but
they are amazing images and worth sharing.

to date i do not know of anyone,
personally, that was involved in
the bridge collapse...and for that
i thank God!

well, on to the starkey event...
i picked up where raphael left off
(after the lunch break) and photographed
the first hour of dr. charles berlin's
lecture on diagnosing the need for
cochlear implants...(umm, yea...WAY over
my head! pretty interesting tho', i found
myself listening and trying to make sense
of some of the information!)










the student then broke off into other class
rooms and got into specific areas of interest.









then they all resumed in the large
auditorium for the closing and scholarship
awards. mr. bill austin arrive to hand those
awards out to some very deserving students!




everyone then had the opportunity to
change into jeans and head over to the
bowling alley for food, cocktails and
of course...bowling!!













this was a VERY energetic group!
i had a blast and so did they.
rapheal called and said they were running
the bowling photos during the breaks
today and that they were a big hit!

thanks raphael for calling on me to
help you out yesterday!

35w bridge collapses over mississippi...

incredible video account of bridge
collapsing..click here

gary called me right after it happened.
i was attending the NACE outing on lake
minnetonka...we were just getting ready
to board the boat for a buz around the
lake when he called.

i grabbed the mic and made an announcement.
it was quite surreal. "what?", everyone
said...and i repeated the information that
i was given...not many televisions around
so we couldn't get a glimpse of any of it.
we all decided that we would continue on
with the event.

the good news is that i won all the big
raffle items while out on the boat.
2 separated overnight stays, one at the
bloomington sheraton and the other at
the airport hilton in bloomington.
oh, and a yummy starbuck's gift card!'
thanks NACE! i guess i'll see you next month!
here's some shots from last night...

our lovely entertainment by joy divine



chrissy peterson whipped up some
gorgeous arrangements for the event at bayview



joy with jennifer christenson, catering
sales manager at mystic lake casino.
jennifer is whom i have been in contact
with over joining NACE.




this is the group of folks from
the depot in minneapolis.



some ladies from midway party rental



left is janice from the embassy suites
airport hotel and right is barbara from
the st. paul hotel



and let's not forget about the food!





thanks to everyone at NACE for
welcoming me into the group. i had
a great time and i will be sure to make
good use of all of my winnings!

see you all very soon.

off to Starkey Labs today.

oh, here's a shot of "j" and her new do...



(just got an e-mail from all the folks
down in playa del carmen praying that
we are all okay!
thanks brenda and the gang at ajua!)