Canon 50mm 1.4

I love this lens. Do you own it yet? No?? You should.
It's small, bright and it packs a punch!
Don't confuse it with a macro lens but if you are looking
for that "razor thin" depth of field, this is your lens.
And for only about 300 bucks too! Head to B&H and
get one! My friend, Tim, out in Portland who is a hobbyist
just informed me that his is on the way!

Gary and I met Tim and his wife Kristi in Playa del Carmen
about 4 years ago. We kept running into one another the
same week at the Mimi del Mar hotel (our not so secret
spot anymore). Tim had a Canon Rebel and was admiring my
10D and my grand assortment of lenses and we began talking
(well and drinking...let's not let a few details get in the
way of a good story, right?)



I think I had Nedi take this one..that's Kristi's brother
behind my right shoulder.

This night, we got into some trouble....



I've since graduated into other lenses, equipment and added
my Mark3 (a year ago) but that darn 10D, you couldn't pay me
to part with it. It's still a FABulous camera and the day it
runs out of frames will be a sad day, let me tell you.

It's become my bring along, vacation, point & shoot SLR camera.
Once I break it down, it fits nicely in a bag. Throw on the
1.4 and it can go from day to night! Wow, sounds like an outfit!
Toss in Brooke Shields..."I won't let anything come between me
and my 10D & 1.4." OHHHhhhhh, I digress. Besides, I think that
photographers are not normal.....who is really..?

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you own a camera, and
I think pretty much that's everyone, right?, um, don't stop
learning. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Save the shots you like,
print the ones you LOVE and dump the rest. Also, very important...
back your stuff up. Get those darn images OFF your camera!!
If you lose your camera, lose a card or, God forbid it gets
stolen you are outta luck. Those images are GONE, PERIOD. FOREVER!
Get yourself a nice 250-500 GB hard drive that's primary purpose
is to store your gems!!!
Oh,....and...DO IT NOW!!!!

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! :)

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.

Buen Viaje...

I'm heading out this morning, with my sister's
family to Cabo. I've never traveled there so
I'm a little excited to have this experience.
Thanks Anne & Pete!

I plan to get some more sun, take some amazing
photos and of course, scuba with Pete and Benji.

their neighbors are joining us as well and we
are all praying for a great time.
(See the top link on my "check these out" for
the web cam to the villas that we are staying at.

I'll blog from there if I can and so for now
I will leave you with what I woke up to yesterday
morning.....



Oh, and thanks to Gary Fong for commenting on
my blog yesterday about The Puffer
image that I shot in Playa the other day.
tooo funny!!!

Tanya, what happened to your blog? It's gone...

Jacquie, did you get my vm?

Mom, I love you. I'll visit when I get back.

Jen, have fun with the new kittens.

Suzie, I got your Girl Scout Cookie message.
Go ahead and bring them over anytime.

Yum!

First a word about NILMDTS...

I just got word that Jessica Person from
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep was on the Today
Show this morning. I actually read it on
Gary Fong's blog. Click HERE to see what
NILMDTS does and oh my gosh, how it's grown.
When I started there was about 9 photographers
in Minneapolis and about maybe 800 world
wide. This organization just turned 3 in
February. Nice job Jessica. I'm so proud to
be apart of such a wonderful foundation.

Okay, to happier things....
This morning I awoke to an inch of new snow.
By Friday, the temps will be below zero, again!
Altho' I just got in last night, I'm not
troubled by this at all. Why? you ask...
Well, cuz I'm heading out tomorrow morning
with my sister's family to Cabo. Never been
there before so I'm anxious to see what all
the hype is about.

Here are some closing shots from Playa.
I have some great ones on my iPhone as well
that I'll have to transfer and then Gary
took some as well, with his LUMIX.

Hey Mike! You need to start a franchise down
on Cozumel!! Whatta ya think about that!? ;)











Faibola, here's a few more of your lovely LUNATA!
I'll send you some high res images later.
Thanks for the fabulous room and stay, we love it there!!
I will come and photograph your hotel anytime.
Just shoot me an e-mail!









Hey, to all my PUGgers out there, check THIS out!
It's Gary Fong's "Puffer"!! On 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen!
A woman handed her camera off to the guy in the yellow shirt.

Bob Davis.

If you don't know Bob, you should.



I've mentioned he and his wife, Dawn, before
so they are no strangers to this blog ("hi Dawn!").
I stole this photo off of their la Storia foto blog.

Well, I ordered his DVD and I am so excited
for them and I'm looking forward to seeing the
final product as Dawn has shared some of the
footage from it during the process of creating it.
It's pretty cool.

Moving on....

This is my brother giving his new daughter, Reese,
an eskimo kiss at the hospital on Monday.







I'm heading to the Hilton this afternoon to greet
2 cancer families. A 2 year old boy and a 7 year
old boy (different families).
They'll be checking in for their "Minnesota Miracle"
weekend...free of charge. This is the first 2
families of 2008. Unfortunately, this will be the
first of many but what the Hilton provides along with
the Miracles of Mitch Foundation it allows these
families a little "time-out" from the cancer.
It fills my soul to see these cancer kids get
excited about their hotel stay. The smiles are priceless!
I especially love it when they allow me to accompany
them up to their rooms and witness them opening the
door to all the balloons and gifts...sometimes, if
they are in the mood and healthy enough I get them
to jump on the bed with their friends and siblings!
That usually doesn't take much coaxing! ;)



Well, back to editing.
Make the very most of your day today.

My apologies...

I missed making an entry yesterday!
I'm so sorry. Things just got out of hand.
I know I have loyal readers and seriously, I know
what it's like to keep checking and keep checking
to see if an entry has been made.

Xanga has a subscription button that allows you,
the subscriber, to automatically receive a note
saying that an entry has been made and actually
sends you the feed..cool, right?
Well, currently, Blogger does not offer that.
Bummer.

ANYway,
Did you caucus last night? I didn't. I wanted to.
Someone had to vote for McCain, right?
My neighbor, Jacquie and her daughter, Abbey, were
headed out last night and she said she'd vote for
Hillary for me...HA! In case you are not in the know...
I actually have cat nip toys for my cats that
are Hillary dolls. They are so funny. She has a
book in her hand that reads "It takes a village...
to do my hair." Pretty funny, right!? :)
Well, let's just say that this toy has seen better
days! Check 'em out at FAT CAT.

Still working on both weddings.
Finished up my Fairview Southdale NILMDTS session
and I'm just waiting to get the prints back from WHCC.
I had to re-order Jane's invites due to an over site
on my part....so sorry Jane, they'll be here today!
Sales tax due yesterday and I needed to sort that out.
I wanted to head out to Woodbury to see Reese who
arrived on Monday afternoon but I'll do that today
with my mom. So more photos of Reese to come!

Tonight I have a NACE meeting over near Tanya's studio.
I always look forward to those!

Mike Miller..THANK you for all you are doing for me!
You have much on your plate this Valentine's season
and I appreciate that you are taking time out of your
schedule to b a "cheerleader" for me and my business.
You are amazing! Go McCain! ;)

Here's a couple shots from Lexi & John's wedding in
St. Paul last weekend at Forepaugh's (FYI, the scoop
is that ghosts live there...very cool!)








Oh, and Nedved's did the flowers and they were
amazing! I have their card and I'll post the information
later. They are in St.Paul off West 7th. GREAT people!!

I'm off to see Reese!!!!!

(Gary is having his injection done on Monday!!)

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?

Lexi & John's Wedding Day

Good morning everyone!
Today Alexis & John are getting married.
Lexi (as she is called), is the eldest daughter
of my mom's best friend, Judy, who died nearly
2 years ago. Judy's presence will be felt today.

This is Forepaugh's....





This will be a small ceremony in a very unique setting
with just immediate love attending.

I stopped out at the Apple store to pick up a couple
of things yesterday and saw my friend, Charlie.
Charlie helped me with my iPhone purchase in December
and is the greatest!
I love how you just stand in the middle of the store and
he rings you up with his hand held device and asks if
you want the receipt e-mailed to you. It's just such
a breath of fresh air to shop there...personal attention,
fast service, no bull.
Charlie even offered to place my new static screen on my
iPhone for me...I hear it's tough. He made it look easy.





Thanks Charlie! I'll see you again. Seriously, ask for
Charlie when you go in...

Jane's Valentine's Day cards arrived yesterday
and they look FABulous! I suggested to Jane that we
go with the "pearl" cardstock at WHCC and it
absolutely MAKES the card POP! LLLLLOOOOVVVVE them!
I hope she sends me one! ;)

Say, I did not end up going out to the Health Expo
with Sherrie. I just couldn't do it. Too much on my
plate. I apologized to her and told her that I would
attend the function next Saturday at Jefferson.
More on that later.

Ummmm, oh yea...cute story I MUST share with you before
I close out today's entry.
The other day, My sister in law, Kiki we call her,
along with her mom, decided it was time to take Owen
to see the hospital where Reese will be born so
they packed up and drove out to Woodbury and sat
through what they hope to be the final weekly visit
(She's due on the 6th and everything is looking good).
Now, keep in mind that Owen will be 3 at the end
of March and they have talked a lot about his new
sister, Reese, her room is ready and he understands
some of what is going to happen.
So, the 3 of them leave the hospital and head for
the car and Owen says...."Reese didn't come."
I just think that is soooo funny! Love you Owen.

Happy anniversary Sue (Kindra's mom) & Jesse!!!!

Saw this on Gary Fong's blog today....I like it.
...John Lennon said it best, "man plans, and God laughs". My life really changed when I saw the bumper sticker that said, "Since I gave up hope, I feel much better." ...

Lisa & Shane.

I met Lisa & Shane last night at the Sofitel in Bloomington.
That may just turn into my new favorite place to meet clients.
Suzanne, who works there, said folks conduct interviews there
and meet there all the time. It's really great!
I guess I just always forget that it's there and that it's
a terrific option!

Well, this couple is having their reception there so I thought
it would be nice to just meet there and take a look at the
ballroom as well. SUPER nice!

This couple has a lot to do in 7 & a 1/2 months and I'm sure
that they would love to cross "find the perfect photographer"
off the list! I enjoyed them thoroughly and would LOVE to be
selected. Lisa had a lot of great questions for me and I love
a bride that goes after what she needs as well as wants.
They leave for Cabo on Saturday and want to make their decision
prior to departure...I'll let you know.

I got an e-mail from Mike at the Hitching Company this morning.
Mike was looking for some images that I shot at Amanda & Mark's
wedding a few weeks ago to put up on his web site.
I sent them off right away so soon they will be appearing on
The Hitching Company's web site! That's so cool.
Mike is going to put a link in for me. Thanks Mike!

Perhaps he'll use this image...



Or maybe this one....



I love this one too!



Moving on, I'm getting a wee bit tired of the cold now.
The 20's make a return appearance this weekend and thank God
for that. I have a wedding this Saturday in St. Paul.

I'm meeting Tanya Villano today to discuss the studio thing.
I really think that we could work well together and I'm
so jazzed about the possibility of studio space!

Then it's on to meet Jane and discuss her selection for her
Valentine's Day card and Party invitation images.

Even Colder...

The temps up here in Minnesota seem to be
crashing along with the market these days.
The actual temp overnight was like 20 below.
Nothing is even moving outside, everything is
frozen still. So please, if you have to
walk your dog, get those little dog booties!

Altho' the temps were frightfully cold yesterday,
I managed to get over to visit with Mike, Kindra
and Owen. The mission?...belly shots! :)
















Here's Owen, waiting for Reese in her new, perfect room!

Rain, Rain, Rain....

Got to Arizona and it was pouring rain!
lots of flooding around the area as the water
really has nowhere to go.

Oh, our rental car is one of the newer
Dodge Chargers...a pretty cool looking car!
not much under the hood, but who cares, right?

Headed to Fountain Hills for a little lunch
and a look at the "fountain"...it shoots like
200 feet into the air ~ mighty impressive.
Yesterday, however, apparently when the winds
reach 10 mph or more it won't go...bummer.

I did manage to get a shot of it before it quit,
I'll post it later.

We had a nice dinner with Dean & Lois at the
house and then off to their friend Felice's
casita..it's so cute.

Weather is sunny and should hit about 60, not bad.
I talked to the vet today, Hobie is doing good.
Not so much for my sister, Anne...
When she went to pick him up yesterday to deliver
him to the vet (purely for boarding purposes),
she chased him for 40 minutes. The really
funny thing was that she had her polar heart
rate monitor on 'cuz she was going to the gym
afterwards and her watch started beeping!!!
wrangling Hobie around got her to her target
heart rate!!! soooo funny..

A little hot tub this morning and breakfast
here at the house. I left my laptop at home
so I am sitting at Dean's control center here
on Pima Trail!! :)


Well, more later.
Have a great day!

woops!

okay, i must be really losing it now.
i've come down to the computer this
morning in my snowflake grandma pants and
i have my big fat hobie in my lap and i
just realizes that i'm drinking yesterday's
coffee....i never set my pot to go off today.
not good.

busy, busy, busy hair day today.....
and again tomorrow as well and a re-shoot
for a colleague of a friend of mine. yay!
the week is really rolling and i've not
got too much time to sit here.
besides, i have to go make a fresh pot of
coffee!
have a great day!
these next few blogs may be short.

peace.

congrats to anne...

yesterday marked my sister's 9th month
of not smoking! way to go anne!!
i knew you could do this!

mom is doing great in her new condo.
i've got to get back over there
this week and visit!!! :)

nicki's hair turned out fab yesterday
i forgot to take a photo in that
i needed to go back and adjust the
color so we ran long and she needed
to get going....next time i see her
i'll snap a photo.

today i ran my tail off.
first at the gym with Sherri (trainer)
then all over the city to complete
the Christmas 2007 shopping season.
It's so nice having monday's off.
you could not PAY me to hit the stores
on the weekends!

question for you......
as i was out today getting some
personal items as well i noticed
that you can't even BUY a plain tooth
brush anymore...when did that happen.
when did teeth get so complicated? :)

got my new iphone today too and it's
all set...same #. this thing is "all that",
aMAZing! and the real beauty part is that
i can actually read it with my aging eyes!
i can now watch a movie while on the
elliptical machine! not to mention
get e-mail on the fly and web access.
i'm really getting behind with the blogging
and i apologize.
i have to get back to the vikings game now
and see how they are doing.

enjoy the balmy temps!

Christmas photo cards...

hey, i don't care what anyone says about
the Christmas photo cards...i LOVE getting
them. AND i keep them, i don't toss 'em.
don't get me wrong, i don't have a wing
dedicated to Christmas past photo cards
at my home or anything, i just save them for
a while before i toss 'em.

well, here's the deal, my sister sent this
photo (apparently she doesn't need me to
photograph her children anymore) this morning
in an email...



but this is what it looked like before i
fixed it...silly anne! 'spose i'll need to
hold a photoshop seminar for her soon!



or perhaps just get her a real camera and or
teach her about lighting. wouldn't that be
a fun thing to do! i like to teach!

gotta run, too much on my plate today....
more snow on the way and gary finally found
a snow blower today..yay! next several days
we will easily add a foot to what is already
on the ground! i still think it's pretty.

Lois, thank you again for the perfect holiday
blouse...i LOVE it!!
i'll be wearing it a lot this season.

pray for my good friends ron & cindy...
ron's dad just suffered a really bad
stroke and is at st. mary's in rochester.
i just get sick when terrible things
happen to those i love...please pray.

Blessings....

z's trees in waconia, mn

at z's trees in waconia minnesota,
you can take a tractor ride out to the fields
to select and cut down your own Christmas tree!



i went along last year with mike, kindra & owen
wearing sweaters! this year was quite different
but nevertheless just as fun!

they ventured out earlier this fall and selected
the tree they wanted so as to make the trek to
cut it down less of a challenge and with the snow
and colder temps??? a good call!

it was chilly, but we were prepared and at z's
they have these great big wool blankets for the
ride and they are toasty!!






once you locate your tree, position yourself
so the photographer that you brought along
can take some appropriate shots,





you cut it down...



then haul it to the road side and wait for the
next tractor...






to take you back to the barn...



for some hot cider!