dani's hair...

picture this..
dani b. is coming over today for
some color and a cut. i shot her
senior portraits last summer out at
the arboretum.
she has a fraternal twin, carly,
whose portraits i did out there as well.
here's one of the 2 of them together....



here's dani...she's a fabulous dancer!
she goes to nationals soon down in
orlando, florida. the competition will
air here at the end of april on espn!!
good luck dani (and the whole eden prairie team)!




well, it's friday, and we are expecting yet
another day of abnormal temps...warm temps!
35 is predicted and frankly, it's sunny out
for the first time in days so that's all that
matters to me right now.
this will be another day to be sure that you
have enough windshield washer fluid
on hand!

more later.......

let GO already!

picture this...
michele bachman.
hanging on the president for 24 seconds!
even in fast forward president bush looks
uncomfortable! rather embarrassing for
the state of minnesota. well, it was a slow
news day, what can i say!

gary's off to a rehab appointment this morning.
he goes every thursday and he's improving the
mobility of his left shoulder every day...
still putting! :)

hobie, relaxing yesterday...



i got an e-mail yesterday from an old friend
(diane fredeen) who just got married last friday.
they are planning a marriage celebration this
summer in parker, south dakota (about 4 hours
from here). she wants me to come out and
stay and photograph the ceremony!
she is going to be involving all of the animals
including riding her horse down the isle
(quite clearly an outdoor ceremony!)
they are going to put gary and i up at the lodge
(pheasant hunting lodge..gary should be pleased!)
and we'll stay a day or two and join in the fun.
notable will be that i shall not be wearing my
traditional suit that i usually wear to all of my weddings,
but rather jeans and cowboy boots! yeeee haw!!
i am so pumped about this one...can't wait!
june 23rd is the date.
oh, also notable is that she has hired me before
the arrangements to have port-a-potties on site!!!
smart woman that diane!!

have a great day and remember.....


(a gift from my good friend jacquie.
who, by the way, is onboard with my southwest
art/spa.....i think i'll add alpakas too!!)

owen...

picture this...
here's my other nephew, owen.



he's been a little under the weather right now.
kiki sent me this photo that she took the other day
and i played with it a bit.....
a little "noise ninja" and paper toner conversion
from "nik"...gotta have filters! :)

i want to go over and help kiki with
her camera and go over some stuff
(there's that word again, carston!)
like focal plane, depth of field, iso's
and other technical information to ensure
proper exposures.. it's tough when
you are outside with flat light, bright
white snow, falling snow, and a dark
jacket and hat...but we'll get to the bottom
of it all as soon as mr. o is feeling better.
hopefully this weekend!
oh, maybe not, it's only going to be in
the teens this weekend....drat!
we'll work inside! maybe up at the studio! :)
kiki..let's work on a backdrop for him!!

here's one of me, taken by my sister...



i told her that i wanted a shot for this blog
to post in my profile or on the front page.
this was taken after the bonsante fight at the
target center on the 12th....at the friday's in ep.
i had it set for a 2nd shutter flash and, well....
we'd had a couple of glasses of wine hence, it's
a little soft...pretty flattering really! :)

jacquie, nice talking to you yesterday!
i want you to take some more shots this
weekend also....i need one for my bio page
for "bella pictures"....miss you.
can't wait to go to jabz with you!! :)

hey, i found some images of cards that i made a couple
of years ago....anyone want to get together and
make valentine's day cards!!??

"dream girls"~out...

picture this...
here's kyle..he lives across the street.
he and his sister anna came over
last night to show gary and i that kyle
had lost his first tooth!




we gave anna a dollar when she lost
her first tooth so i think kyle was
jones'n for a buck (kidding suzie!)

enjoyoing another warmer-than-normal
week this week which is nice!
problem there is that you canNOT keep
your car clean...such a frustration!

gary got his putter out last night and
preceded to "air~put"!
he's getting pretty excited about his
progress thus far in the shoulder rehab.

"dreamgirls" loses out on best picture
nomination?....hmmmmmmm
gary and i are voting for "the departed"
to win for best picture....what do YOU think?!

i have the wonderful opportunity to
photograph a cancer family that will be hosted
this weekend at the airport hilton for some fun
(provided by the miracles of mitch foundation!)
i'm so excited to meet them!

have a great day.

ben...

picture this...
here's ben, my nephew.



he's quite the snow boarder!
i learned a bunch of new terms
yesterday afternoon as i photographed
him in his back yard doing all of
his favorite jumps and tricks!






then he had me grab his video camera
and film some jumps too.
i rather enjoyed filming as well...
who knows maybe i have a career in
videography as well!! (not!)

i have to get busy enlarging these for ben.
gotta go.....

my appologies...

picture this...
i spend the evening with my networking
group (eden prairie business connections),
we enjoy a dinner at bar abilene and then
we popped over to "comedysportz" at
calhoun square for the early show.
i....didn't bring along my camera!
i actually had it out, charged and ready too!
i'm such a loser.
whenever i think about bringing it with me
for something....gary always says...
"you don't need to bring that do you?!"
and then i leave it behind......i'm sorry
i didn't bring it with me this time.
we had a great time.!
i will forever, from this moment on,
bring my camera with me where ever
i go and for what ever i want whether gary
likes it or not!!!

"comedysportz" is just like the show
"who's line is it anyway"...pretty funny really!
i'd go back again.

i'd never been to bar abilene and i would go
back there again also...awesome tex/mex!

gary got lottery tickets today....i did not.
funny thing about that...he said i'd be on my
own if he won...why is that??? why does money
change people!? i'd share if I won!
i mean, all he did was purchase a few tickets
and he turned into this greedy bastard!
(not really).....

scott and nicki passed their 2nd black belt
screening! one more and then on to their
black belt test in march!!
great news!!! congrats you two!!

gary didn't hit even one # in all 5 of his
lottery tickets! guess he's stuck with me for now!

here's a couple of fight night shots from the
bonsante/vanda fight on the 12th....
you have to go sometime! it's pretty electric!
over 8000 attended this time..gues the word
is out! (1st one there was only 5K)





and here's gary, pete, anne & i (taken by our
bartender standing on the bar!!)

big lottery money today!

picture this....
i think the lottery is up to $208 million...
wow! what would YOU do with all that?
i would start with giving westwood a large
chunk, then i'd get all new camera equipment!
yes, in that order! :)
i don't really have any debt, so i guess i'd
like for gary and i to travel and then i would
also set aside funds for my nieces & nephews
for education. okay, so i might try a little
"restylane" and a little mini face lift! i mean,
let's be honest, right? we all want to do a little
something but it's too darn expensive!! :)

but the biggest thing would be what
nicki and i talked about yesterday for her
birthday visit (which, by the way DID turn into
another "3-hour tour"!!)
we want to open an art~spa facility in the southwest!
so i think i would like to fund that as well.
buy a chunk of property and throw a huge,
beautiful lodge on it with a barn for horses
and other animals for the guests to ride, feed etc..
art classes, photography classes...
day trips, spa services and fabulous food & wine
and a kitchy little gift shop! oh, and beds with
the highest thread count sheets ever made!!!
ahhhhhhhhh...okay, who wants to come!???
i think i'm there already!

nicki nad i had a 2 hour birthday coffee visit at
dunn brother's followed by a quickie lunch at
"jake o'connor's". this time i had the fish & chips..
another delicious dish! i just love that place!
it was PACKED!

here's what 43 looks like! pretty darn good!!




nicki & scott had another screening for their
black belts last night....should find out soon how
they did. they'll test in march if they passed this
screening and one more (to be fair, i should say
"when" they pass!!)

i'll dig up some images from the fight a week ago
and post them tomorrow!
have a great weekend!

happy birthday nicki !

picture this...
today is my sister-in-law nicki's birthday.
we are going to meet later this morning for
some "coffee talk" at one of the dunn brother's.
who knows, it may turn into another
3-hour tour!! feliz cupleanos, nicola!

okay, time to fill you in on what we did
on our visit to arizona....are ya ready?

we decided to stop off for a bite on the
way to suprise and we had never been
to an "in & out" before so we thought
we'd give it a go...pretty sure i won't hit
one of those ever again.
maybe because i didn't get the "double-
double"....everyone seemed to be ordering
that. we each got the #2 (cheeseburger, fries
& a medium drink...limited menu).
i didn't taste any meat and the fries were
like giant shoe string potatoes...not a fan.
here's an unsuspecting customer i shot while
we were eating....



got to dean and lois' and got settled at
their friend "feliz's" place a couple of blocks
away. feliz has this really great "casita"
attached to her home that she offered us.
it was really fun.




lois prepared a yummy dinner for us and
we just sat and talked the evening away.
here's dean...



and here's lois. we went up to the "white tank"
mountains for a bit of a "rock study" for lois...
she is an amazing artist and works with
watercolor and pastels.



this area is growing so fast. there are now plenty
of places to go near by...no more driving up bell
to the highway to get a bite or a glass of wine.
we found a really great sports bar "brookside" and
stopped in...shocker....it was happy hour, 2-6.
we split a small pizza and a couple of beers and
told chris (the bartenter) we'd be back the next day!






the next day we decided to hit some of the model
homes at Trilogy @ Veletcia, those images are on
gary's camera...i'll post some another day.
there are some really great shots of interiors.
really nice stuff, cool ideas. lots of color blocking
on the walls too.

we hit the new cardinals stadium, just missing
a tour (rats!) but i got some nice exterior shots....
this new stadium had a field with real grass
that rolls outside. very cool!! it still had the
florida and ohio state logos on it when we stopped.








that's enough for today...gotta get ready to
meet nicki.
have a great day!

heading home...

(some of the following was written on 1/17)

picture this....
i'm now officially detoxed from blogging!
but it won't take me long to get off that wagon!
i just spent the past 3 days without internet
service...if you can believe it!

minneapolis airport wants about 8 bucks a day
to connect to their network..nice.
couldn't log on at gary's dad's or felize's place.
i survived.
it's just that i have determined these past few
days that i really look forward to writing...
it's like therapy really.
even gary's dad mentioned that the other day
as i sat down to his computer to post something.
it took me about a half an hour to recall my
login information and when i finally got about
6 or 8 paragraphs in...blogger dropped my entire
post.....photos and all! i almost cried!
i had no choice but to just let it go.

so i'm sitting at the starbucks by our gate at the
sky harbor airport in phoenix...out flight is in
about an hour. 'spose they'll board in 30 minutes
or so.
gary's down the way at a bar in that starbucks
does not have a "vente" bud light in a bottle
and i can't get a tap cappuccino...
so we are separated for the first time this trip.

i'm afraid that due to the lack of time right now
that i will postpone some of the details from
our trip for tomorrow.

but what i can tell you is that while we were here
and you folks in minneapolis were getting dumped
on, the lovelyl residents of phoenix and "outlying
areas" (as lois puts it!) enjoyed a record 3-day stretch
of coldest temps EVER!
we told everyone that it would warm up as soon
as we got back on the plane!!

(1/18)
I'm having difficulties catching up with this blog.
I have many photos and not enough time at
any one stretch to post them so I will post them
along the way over the next couple of days.

tomorrow i plan to get everyone caught up!
we had a really nice time in Arizona visiting Dean & Lois.
we will stay longer next time and take in some
spring training games as the new ball fields
are nearly right across from there development!
golf in the morning and baseball in the afternoon.
the time went way too quickly....as always.
thank you Dean & Lois for everything!!

fight night!

picture this...
i just realized that it was helen's birthday
yesterday (my mom's mom).
she was born on 1/11/11.
she's been gone about 10 years now.
i remember whenever we went to my
grandparent's home, in golden valley,
i would always run to the kitchen
where joe (my grandfather) had installed
a small pull out drawer under the
cabinets...there was always some sort
of fun snack in there and i could reach it
so i would always help myself.
sometimes a cookie but mostly i remember
fig newtons........

okay, i thought it was cold yesterday.
this morning?? feels like the coldest in years!!
i had to pop out and place my "c'mon in!"
sign on the door (which i do when there's
in-climate weather and the door needs to stay
shut) to let my clients know that there's no
need to ring the doorbell or stand in the cold,
rain or heat!

i received a call from a bride to be yesterday.
she'd gotten my name from the great folks
out at the arboretum in chanhassen....a really
terrific facility! if you don't already have a
membership for the arboretum, i stongly
suggest it.
i have a "photographer" membership out there
which allows me more opportunities to get out
there and photograph anyone, anytime and in
large groups without my clients having to pay
the gate fee....it's nice. every season there is
something new to see and every year they
celebrate with different themes throughout
the grounds which really makes it new and
different every year.
so "memlia & sam" are getting married out there
in september and are shopping around for
photographers...i hope i can help her out.
she hadn't been to my website yet but planned to
and i hope she checks out my blog as well!
"hi melia! keep me posted on your plans!"

still working on the images from new years eve
at the minnesota miracle event.
we (board and volunteers) met last night to
discuss what we could do better next year!
watch out! big changes and you won't want to
miss it next year. tickets will be limited to 500
so get 'em early!

heading downtown tonight for the big rematch.
bringing the camera along......hope they let me
in with it! :)

kate and jeremie's 1st anniversary is next sunday.
here's some warm photos for the day from the
florida keys last year!








stay warm

brrrrrrr...

picture this...
we have had such a lovely fall and winter
thus far, it's actually crazy that it's nearly
the middle of january and i'm just beginning
to mention cold weather...single digits for
lows this weekend! yikes!

really not much to report here today other
than the wine and cheese at ron & diane's
tonight for all the volunteers of the "Minnesota
Miracle" event this past new years eve.
we're all getting together tonight to discuss
how it all went this year and what we should
change and what went well...that sort of stuff.

oh, that reminds me, i have a client (friend) that
is hosting a foreign exchange student from
germany and his favorite english word is "stuff"!
see how many time YOU use that word today
and how many different meanings it has....
it's pretty funny really! thanks carston for the
eye opening observation!

tomorrow is the big boxing rematch against
tony bonsante and matt vanda at the target
center! anne, pete, gary and i are going!
tony is the guy from shakopee that was on the
reality show "the contender" with sylvester stalone....
hey, does anyone ever name their kids sylvester
anymore???? a rather odd name, don't you think?
say it like 20 times....it's really weird then. :)

i'm hooking up a thing called "skype" on my laptop
so that i can make calls from anywhere in the world
for next to nothing. anne & pete used it when they
were in australia and figi this past summer.
they'd just use this voice over internet thing and it
was like they were in the next room..no delays
at all, it was really great so i thought i'd get it
ready for mexico.

i'm trying to hook up a couple of weddings while
i'm there...i just love that! working vacations!
nice way to pay for all the don julio! (kidding!)

anne, this is for you......hope it gets you through
the cold weekend! 3 & 1/2 months or so and you'll
be opening your "ool"

the new iphone is out!

picture this....
i've been patiently waiting for apple
to come out with their much anticipated
"iphone". well they announced it at
macworld yesterday in san francisco
finally. it'll be ready for purchase in june
of this year and set you back a cool 500 bucks!
it's sooooo coo!
the unfortunate part is that they have decided
to align themselves with (of all carriers) cingular!
well, that wait is over thank goodness.
i'll go forward with my other phone selection.

PUG meeting last night (pictage users group).
we worked on "branding" our work by
bringing samples of our work and have others
categorize by what comes to mind when you look
at the body of work of each of the photographers
in the group. a fun excersise.

here's jason, our gracious host of staja studios.
his wife, stacey, was away in florida for a wedding.



here's some of tanya's work that she brought along
for the exercise...she's really great and i'd love to
work with her someday.



this is bill, heidi (our newest member) and erika (blonde)
looking at some of jason & stacey's work on display



it was a smaller group this time but nonetheless
we always have a great time when we get together.
the group stays focused on the profession of
photography and it's realated topics,
the direction and growth of each of our businesses,
and the wellfare of our pug group as well.

i'm so glad that i discovered this group.
these are all really terrific people and fabulous photographers!

next month the spotlight studio will be "staja studios"..
jason and stacey will speak and share more of their work
and how they came into the business of photography.

stay warm...

jake o'connor's...

picture this...
a three hour lunch at jake o'connor's in excelsior...







never in my life have i indulged in
a 3 hour lunch...i mean, sit, order, eat,
talk, drink, talk, order desert, talk...
then the cappuccinos came and we talked
more so our waiter brought us more coffee
and at 1:30 we decided that we had to go
until 2 making it a 3 hour lunch so we talked
even more!! pretty certain that we solved all
the world's problems...funny, we ran out
of time to solve our own tho'....hmmmmmm.

first, a pint of "hoegaarden" a belgain beer..
super cold and crisp, very good. kind of like
blue moon, if you've ever had that one...



no "starters", just straight away to the main course.
i ordered the "beef and murphy's stout pie".
OMG!!! can't wait to have that again!



nicki ordered the chicken, ham & leek pie.



topped everything off with a flourless
chocolate baileys molten lava cake.
super "scrummy" as garrick in england would say!



jake o'connor's is presently taking off 15% of
your total food bill as an "'opening" discount.
please go there and indulge yourself in a little
irish pub encounter. i'll definitely be back!

thanks nicki!

oh, and i would like to wish two very terrific
people a happy birthday!! jacquie & dean!!

monday's with nicki...

picture this...
downtown excelsior has a brand new
pub called "jake o'connor's".
nicki and i are meeting for an early
lunch there today...i have not beeeen
but several folks i know and scott
& nicki have also already been in to
check it out. i'll bring my camera along.
it's rather new...less than a month i think.

church was fabulous! joel began
a new series on faith in the work place
as a new ministry begins at westwood
dealing with that very topic.
i have decided to have them e-mail me
weekly as a sort of charter member.
it's tough sometimes when you work
alone most of the time to share your faith
in that i don't have co-workers anymore.
i've got no one to cover for me when i wish
to go out and take in a class or meet
someone for a lunch. but what i will do
is simply make time to meet people
whenever i can...i love connecting with
people even out from behind my lens!

speaking of which, thank you pam (& co.)
for meeting yesterday afternoon for a
session of family shots...i had a terrific
time even tho' i think it was about 80 in there!







gary has an appointment today with his
physical therapist and his surgeon to see
why all the swelling is occurring in his shoulder.
he continues to do his exercises and i think
he should back off a bit...

bonsante vs vanda

picture this...
correction; the fight that i mentioned
yesterday is on FRIDAY night, not saturday.
it's friday the 12th! see you there.
we'll be in the 3rd row right by the ring!

nearing tax time, again!
seems i'm always mailing out taxes!
15th is quarterly and 5th of february, sales
and use tax is due for all you procrastinators
out there! yippee!

ordered a pocket wizard today. should be here
next week. i haven't felt the need to sync up
a slave thus far, but i'm in the mood to push a little
so there ya go...i'll be experimenting with that soon.
waiting on some new umbrella/flash mount brackets too.

yesterday i popped over to the complex where i'll be
shooting today. lower ceilings upstairs, higher ones
downstairs, a great staircase with some fabulous light.
deb assisted me there in that this is a senior complex
and has a security entrance and she (as my folks
would always say...) didn't know me from adam.
i mean, you can't just waltz in anywhere wielding a
camera these days and not arouse some sort of suspicion
ya know?
i handed deb my card and told her i'd see her sunday.

i've arranged to meet tanya villano (from my PUG group)
tomorrow evening at a TCPPA class at the Hennepin
Tech Center here in eden prairie...we meet the
2nd tuesday of every month for speakers, competitions
etc...i just love that it's close by!
this one is an awards ceremony for the print competition
from november and we get to meet the new president
of our association.

enjoy your sunday.

praise Him.

slept in...

picture this..
i slept 'til 10!
gary seriously thinks that i maybe
switching to the feline species!!
but noteworthy here is that i had
absolutely nowhere to be and the
thought of getting out of my warm,
cozy bed just wasn't a priority!

my meeting with scott yesterday
ran about 3 hours.
and altho' he and i talk often we
rarely get the opportunity to meet,
sit and talk. it's a connection of a
different level. and a nice one.
i highly suggest getting together
with a family member and setting
aside time one on one to talk.






scott owns and operates a family mediation
practice. he's married with 2 teenage daughters
(i know, yikes, right!), he's heavy into fitness,
loves the lord, recently gave up coffee (the whole-
the body is a temple thing) and i love him with
my whole heart~even tho' he is a dog person!
thanks for the coffee, scott~hope you enjoyed your chai!

i have a client whose hobbie is many forms
of pottery and here is a piece that i got from him...
he's very talented! (i have a lot of creative friends
and clients!!~birds of a feather, right!?)





gary got back from winner, south dakota yesterday.
he was pheasant hunting one last time.
well, not really hunting, cuz he can't (with the shoulder
and all) but he went along for a change of scenery
and it was something to do...he's been quite bored
with himself as he's been nursing his left shoulder.
he failed to bring along his camera (dope) so
all he could do is TELL me about the 2 MOUNTAIN
LIONS that they encountered and the COYOTE that they
had to shoot in order to save mike's hunting dog!!
gary said it was the best trip ever....50 sunny and no wind.

tomorrow i'm photographing pam, her mom and her
daughter..a generational shot of sorts so i'm going
to pop up and take a look around at the surroundings
and find a couple of nice spots for them.

oh, next saturday i'm heading to another boxing match!!
i told you, it's become my new guilty pleasure!
this time, i'm bringing my camera!!!!
have a great weekend!

today i celebrate...

picture this...
i have not had a cigarette in 44 months.
may 5th of 2007 will mark my 4th year
of not smoking! not bad!
i've been smoke free for: 1340 days
i've saved $26,818 (WOW!)
i've not smoked 5384 cigarettes (wow)
and i've added 6 months and 24 days to my life.
pretty impressive.

the only reason i know all of this is because
on the 5th of every month, "quit net" sends
me a "who's better than you today!?" e-mail
applauding my accomplishment. nice, right?
i can't remember when i stopped counting
the days, weeks or months but i think i will
always be conscious of the years!
years i've not smoked and years i have ahead
of me due to quitting! :)

my sister and i quit on the same day.
it didn't stick with her, unfortunately but
i know in her heart of hearts she'd much
rather be where i am than sitting in her
garage smoking while she reads this.
i love you anne!

addictions...what a bitch (sorry)...but they are.
no matter what yours is, you can change your
life any time...any day. every second that passes
is a missed opportunity to change.
look to the future...what do you see? who do you see?
where are you? who are you with? what are you doing?
are you still married? are you still sneaking food, cigs,
drugs, alcohol even sweets??
we all have the ability to stop, to quit to visualize
difference and make it stick.
now i know this is a time of making resolutions and
i'm not saying you have to do it today...
fear is what holds us to our addictions and hope is
what breaks us free.
in stead of saying "what if i start again?" "what if i
gain weight"....try saying "what if i live longer?"
"what if i like the new me?" "what if i CAN do it?!"
hmmmmmm......

i'll check back in a year......make a change.

meeting with my brother, scott, today to talk
about 2007 and our lives...gotta get going
and the cats are howling for food!! :)

make it a great day (as jacquie would say!)

new links...

picture this...
spice up your 2007 wardrobe with my
friend lisa's very fabulous belt buckles.
stylish, people stopping, eye popping,
swarofski crystal belt buckles!
here's a couple of mine...


(check out her link on my links list
for more styles colors and kids sizes too!)

i also added my brother scott's blog
address...he's a mediator and a darn good one!
he has a class coming up in february
(right after valentine's day!....hmmm!)
on resolving conflict!
like let's say that your sweetie gets you
some yummy little number from
victoria's secret and you feel fat so you get
mad at him for buying this skimpy thing
and then ask why he didn't get you flowers
and chocolate!
now that, my girlfriends, is an out and out conflict!
resolve to resolve early in 2007!!
huh..i just made that up..pretty good, huh!? :)

wrapped up my product shoot for jim.
very cool. not sure if "things" are easier than "people"!
i'll keep you posted. :)

new "earl" and "the office" tonight!
did you catch "friday night lights" last night???
i LOVE that show!!

swim suit countdown begins...

picture this....
how many of you have to cram into a
swimsuit in the next 7-12 weeks???
let's all sign a pact!
i think being accountable helps as does
the "duct tape" diet...you know...the one
where you duct tape your mouth shut! :)

i had to make some corrections and
retractions in yesterday's blog.
my apologies (thanks steve).

a rather quite week for hair (as is every year)
most everyone has had it done for the holiday season.
therefore i shot products for the better part
of the day today.
sunny, nearly 30 and the snow looks just wonderful!
a welcome site from all the dead grass and
leafless trees. finally a sign of winter.
not that any of us have really been complaining
it's just that we expect to see snow here in
minnesota in december and didn't get it until the
31st!!!

i have the honor of shooting a generational
portrait this sunday for a friend in my networking
group...got to meet her husband bob at the gala
on sunday night...that was fun!
i'll be photographing pam, her mother and pam's
daughter. i can't wait!

gotta give a shout out to gary's niece, machie, as
her alma mater USC won monday's big bowl game! yay!

happy new year 2007!!!

picture this...
count downs all over the world awaiting
what the new year will bring us...
health? happiness? a new job? new friends?
reunions with old ones? remission?

i spent the final day of 2006 with a great deal
of folks raising money for some relief for families
with kids who have cancer, many of whom i
hope to get to ring in 2008 with next year!

the miracles of mitch foundation (link on my blog)
has started another awesome event entitled
"the minnesota miracle" which took place yesterday.
i've written about it before.
the foundation was born of a pinky swear between a father
and son as mitch was dying of osteosarcoma coupled
with marfan's syndrome almost 3 years ago.
mitch wanted to help families suffer from trials of childhood
cancers cope and live while enduring such unthinkable
illnesses that children shouldn't be burdened with!

highlights from the event included
a visit to the minnesota valley wildlife refuge
where families could go on a scavenger hunt,
make origami animals & hear stories
of indians long ago.






no snow this year so they had to cancel
the snow shoe trek! :(


belinda jensen was the emcee for the evening
she brought her son tanner along and snow!



"temporary heros" were there again this year and
did another magnificent job of getting folks on the
dance floor and ringing in the new year!!




jon randle & his wife candace,attended this year!




there were about 21 families in attendance who
have been recipients of the minnesota miracle weekend
packages at the airport hilton in bloomington throughout
the year (total of 38 in 2006) and other families will
follow in the tradition in 2007 and into the future.
if you would like to donate to this unbelievably gracious
foundation or volunteer for events in 2007
contact shawn anderson at the airport hilton or
ron stanchfield (mitch's grandfather) at
rmsassoc@usinternet.com or go to the miracles of
mitch foundation site at the top of this page under my links!


today the nation buries a president.
rest in peace president gerald ford.......