Urban Ventures shoot

This morning I will be heading to
Minneapolis to shoot some images for
Urban Venture's upcoming print media
needs. I'll be hitting the Colin Powell
Center, the Hub and Cristo Rey.
I'm pretty pumped about this assignment.
(Thanks Jacquie)! I'll post some
images tomorrow.
Here's some from last year...






Then, later today, I will be back at
the Airport Hilton welcoming a cancer
family for their free weekend compliments
of the Miracle of Mitch Foundation,
the Airport Hilton, The Mall of America
and supporters too many to mention!

Okay...to my surprise, which is actually
the Baker's surprise. They caved in and
got a puppy. He was flown in yesterday
and they piled in the car and drove to
the airport to pick him up around 11am.
I made sure that they stopped here on
their way so I could meet him.
His is so darling. A designer, cockapoo.
Funny, cuz when I was a kid, a cockapoo
was really just a mutt but now folks are
breeding the craziest things. AND getting
TOP DOLLAR!!
He's buff in color and has the sweetest eyes.
I have no photos yet, sorry and he has no
name as of yet that I'm aware of.
But who am I to judge? Took me two weeks to
come up with "BOO"! ;D

I visited with Jane at the House of Fun & Fur
last night for a few hours. I delivered some
cards that she'd ordered and we just hung
out in her yard and had a nice cold beer!

I'm soooo not worthy!

I have not locked my keys in my car
for a couple of dozen years I think.
Last night, I was on my way home from
visiting my mom at the rehab center
(another night of Big Brother..I think
I shouldn't go at night anymore or dare
I say I might get hooked....NOT!)anyway,
I digress.....
So, as I walk to my car, I decide a nice
glass of wine is in my future so I drive
to the Cheers Liquor store in Bloomington.
I whip in, I whip out....WHAT?? Where
are my keys!? NOT in my hand. NOT in the
liquor store. NOT on the ground outside
my car and as far as I can see with their
flashlight, NOT in my car! MAN!
NOW what? I call Gary, "hey, hon, will you
grab my valet key in the garage and bring
it to me?" In the 20 minutes it took for
him to get there (couldn't locate the key)
I thought..hmmm...should I go in and get
a bottle opener? 'Spose they might have
a glass I could borrow? Then I thought,
"no, I'm a big girl and I can wait." 'Cuz,
drinking out of the bottle in a brown bag
outside a liquor store next to the closed dry
cleaners and abandoned Mr. Movies would
look mighty sad and desperate for a Wednesday
night, right?!

Okay, we drive home and leave my car there
because I am certain that I know where the
valet key is. Nope. Not there. I call Kip~
(Eden Prairie Firefighter!) He will save me,
he knows all the appropriate people that can
help me. "Sorry, your car is in Bloomington,
Eden Prairie won't help you." So I go to the
next guy on my list, Donny. He's a Bloomington
Police officer, he can tell me who can help me.
Nope. "Bloomington doesn't do lock-outs anymore."
WHAT!!!??? Are you kidding me!?
I resorted to calling "Chief's" towing in
Bloomington and Bob came to my rescue.
$60 bucks and a nano second later, I was in!
Drove home and finally had that long awaited
glass of wine. Wheeeew.
Moral? Um, yea. Never, NEVER have all the keys
you own for your vehicle IN the vehicle.
And the sick thing is that Bob told me that the
whole keys locked in the car thing...comes in
THREES!! I'll keep you posted.


I have a surprise for tomorrow.

Sol y Luna

It's been said that you rarely get
the opportunity to see both the
sun and the moon in the sky
at the same time.
Last night, as I pulled out of the
St. Gertrude's parking lot (after enduring
watching Big Brother with my mom in
her bed!), I noticed that the GORgeous sun
set was joined by the nearly FULL, rising moon.
That was both cool and beautiful in that
the skies were clear. Wished I'd have had
a fish eye lens along.

My visit with mom was another great one.
She's eating better, looks fabulous and
sounds more like herself from way back
before any of the pain started. I'm so
very proud of her. She's working hard at
both her physical and occupational therapy.
She says that everyday someone remarks on
her youth and ability. Nice to know that
I have those genes! : )

I feel all I have left to do with her,now, is
convince her that now is the perfect
time to ditch the cigs and all that goes
with them. She seems ready, yet i sense
her reluctance. I think that secretly,
she is looking forward to getting out so
she can A.) get back to some action at
Mystic Lake Casino and B.) smoke. I'm going
to ask for everyone's help in the smoking
department. I would love to start a prayer
chain that she realize how silly starting
back up would be and how much it would,
indeed, effect her recovery not to mention
her overall health etc. etc....
I am not one of those ex-smokers
that is trying to save the human race but if
I could impress upon my mother the importance
of sticking around a little longer....well,
is that so wrong? So, thanks in advance for your
prayers!

I wanted to post a couple of images of my
newest niece, Reese and her brother, Owen.
I shot these last week when i was over there
helping out with some questions that kiki had
regarding her new CS3 program.










Um, yea...Owen got the eyelashes. Boys.
Reese's are coming in (finally), but I fear
at the expense of her HAIR!!! ; ) Love her!

Hey Jill T., Sooooooo great to hear from you!
Thank you for the lovely compliment. Let's
get together before summer is gone!
Jill is taking me up on my model offer from
yesterday.....anyone else!?? Just comment
or shoot me an e-mail! C'mon, what are you
waiting for? The price of gas to go down?? :\

Stillwater Shoot 2008

Okay, first of all I must mention that it
was indeed NOT the Mississippi (even tho'
it's fun to spell!), after the shoot we
headed out aboard the Jubilee II on the
St. Croix river. I have NO idea what I was
thinking when I posted the Mississippi
but I just wanted to get that "blonde
moment" out of the way. You know, St. Croix,
Mississipi...220, 221, whatever it takes...
There.

No matter, we had the best day to shoot
around Stillwater. First we worked our
magic on the rooftop of the Public Library
then we moved to a park near by and the Museum
with a pretty cool wall and like this old, round,
gunnery thing with some mighty great lighting.
Thanks to Mark Kiefer for arranging for and
leading this model shoot.
Here are some shots from yesterday...
















It was really fun to go out and just shoot.
I would love to go soon and do it again!
Any takers!? Contact me via e-mail.

Shooting in Stillwater

Stillwater

I'm heading up to Stillwater in a few
minutes for the day. Shooting with colleagues
from my TCPPA group and then heading out
on a boat cruise on the Mississippi.
I'll be gone most of the day but I'm looking
forward to getting out of town and shooting
for fun. I rarely get the opportunity.

Better leave time to fill the tank!!

Have a blessed Monday.
Mom's manicure looks awesome and so does she!!

Bernadette & Michael

Wow! Another stellar day! Gorgeous blue skies,
the humidity gone, a cool breeze, one of the
most darling country churches you'll find
anywhere and a sweet, sweet couple that are now
Mr. & Mrs. Bruzek!
Congratulations to Bernadette & Michael!
(click on the "view all images" button
to see a larger slide show)

Check out the Church!

St. Mary of Czestochowa. Just outside Delano, Minnesota

Taken with my iPhone.

Taken from my NILMDTS post

(I posted this yesterday and I wanted to
place it here as well. Hope you don't mind)


I got a call from Jessica this morning.
She asked if I knew who was on call in the
West today?..."no one." I said.
So I ran down there.

I entered the PICU (watch for TONS of construction
around the Mpls. Children's block. It's bad!),
Mother, Father and Daughter...sitting on
a love seat behind the curtain that surrounded
M's bed. Already in her parent's arms, I layed
my bag on the floor, and started right in.
When I left, other family members were arriving.




As I was leaving I looked to my right and saw
some familiar faces. Sadly, The Family whose
twin daughter I photographed in January and whose
other twin I photographed the homecoming for a
couple of months ago was back at PICU.
Seems Danza has gotten sick. I asked if I could
come over and say "hi" and they motioned me over.
I got up close to Danza and said a get well prayer
for her and the parents told me that they would
keep me in the know. I'm so glad I took this session!
Here's Danza from her homecoming session!




Please pray for both these families.
____________________________________________________


I have a wedding out in Delano today. Thank
goodness the storms are out of here and they
took the heat and humidity with them!
We are all breathing a sigh of relief!

Here's a shot out my mom's hospital window
the other day...



I walked down to the end of the hall
and introduced myself to the hospital's
President, Mike Baumgartner to tell him
what a fabulous staff he has!



Later, on my way to Excelsior I snapped
this shot out my car window! WOW!



Gotta run.
Enjoy today!

Long, Hot, CRAZY day.

Took a session at Mpls Children's
this morning. A 4 year old girl.



I have to write more later...
My day got away from me.
I'll tell you more on Saturday.

Moved my Mom today from St. Francis
to St. Gertrudes! YAY!!!
Then a meeting with Urban Ventures,
Then a bout with the weather....again.

Mom's great!!

I've got a wedding all day tomorrow.
I'll post more on Sunday!

Peace.

S.

Mom is moving on Friday!

Just found out, while I was waiting out
the storm at St. Francis with her today,
that they are moving her to St. Gertrude's
tomorrow! YAY! This is HUGE! She can now
begin to rehab her back and get back on
her feet without that darn walker or IVs!

the storm was crazy! I took some shot but
I have to save them for tomorrow cuz I need
to get my act together to get to Excelsior
for the big "chick night"!
Meet us at Haskell's at 6:30.

Girls Night Out in Excelsior!

Every Thursday is Girl's Night Out in
Excelsior. This week is even better
because it's "CRAZY DAYZ" too so there
are tons of special and deals up and down
Water Street! Like buy one get one wine
at Jake O'Connors! Drawings and % off
clothing in all the stores...it's fun.
I'm sure I'll be Twittering from Excelsior
tonight with the all the gals.

I stopped out to see my mom last night
after dinner (thanks Gary! DE-LI-CIOUS
pork tenderloin, garlic toast & red grapes!).
My brother, Mike showed up shortly after
with gorgeous hydrangeas and tabloid mags
for her..so thoughtful!

She seemed a bit out of it. Still hasn't
eaten much but they took the catheter out
(again) which is good and they put her back
on IV nutrients and fats...oh, how I wish
I could be hooked up to a fat IV drip! I just can't
seem to keep my fats up! ;)

Well, we sillied around a bit and then
broke the code on the computer in her
room ("for STAFF USE ONLY") next to her bed
and went to FREE SLOTS.COM
and my mom TOTALLY came alive!
She starts in...."Go to Mystical Wizzard..."
It was sooo funny.
We kids think that Mystic Lake Casino should
be sending my mom flowers or a line of
credit or something! :)

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.

Friends at last!

Hobie is finally playing with Boo. They like the new tower.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

First things first...today is my brother, Tim's
FIFTIETH birthday and that even, officially, means
that I am old as well! YIKES! I mean, really,
parents are 50 not siblings, right?

Next, it's my blog's 2nd birthday today.
Let me see if I can find my first post....
Yep, here it is.

Funny how time flies. Well, not so much funny
as it is scary, really.

I visited my mom yesterday and when I arrived
Kiki, Owen & Reese were there in the room.
Owen had come down to have the staples
removed from the back of his head (he lost a
battle with a rock at a campfire a week or so
ago when his chair tipped backwards). We all
walked with mom down the hall to a seating
area where we sat for about a 1/2 hour and visited.
Then we all walked back to the room and at
that point Reese decided that she'd had enough
so the 3 of them left and I stayed and ordered
mom some lunch, consolidated her flowers and
trimmed her bangs. She looks like a new person
but now she needs more flowers (if you are heading
down to see her!).

She's not eating much these days and if she wants
to get to the rehab facility she needs to get off
the "TPN" (nutrition in an IV bag). They keep
her hooked up to that because she needs her
nutrition to get stronger and altho' she's
getting up more and walking further, she still
needs to EAT!!!!! We should all have that problem!
I managed to eat all of the chicken in her
chicken/penne pasta! When I left I told her not
to lie to the nurses or the aides!

Oh, funny thing....my mom will kill me.
I didn't want to leave my camera in the car the
other day so I brought it in, right?
Then I decided to snap a few shots of my mom
as she was awaiting her CT scan. This is the
final shot in a sequence of 2...hmmm, just 2?



2 steps forward, 1 step back.
I'll keep you in formed of mom's progress.
Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers & cards.
Bonnie, I'll deliver yours later today.

Cory Barton is coming by today. I'm so excited!
She's my web designer and we have been working
a ton on updating my site. I've been dragging my
feet due to all that's been going on but I assure
you all that it will be completed very soon.

Have a great day!

Fun on the Fourth!

Here's a slice of my fourth of July fun
with my family & friends at Anne & Pete's
home. By far, the most fun I've had on
the fourth of July (in this country) ever!

Lazy Sunday.

I was at the hospital late last night waiting
for my mom to go down for another CT scan.
I got home around midnight. Problem was that
I was all set to take a much needed nap when
I got the call to go down and sit with mom.
So, today...I rolled out of bed just in time
to see Rafal Nedal win Wimbledon and the Twins
sweep whoever it was they were playing.
Bottom line, I slept for about 15 hours.
I have not had a Rip Van Winkle day in a very
long time...it felt good.

Mom's good. I think they will be making a
decision to move her very soon.
I'll post some 4th shots later. It was amazing!

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend.

Kurt Jorgensen Band.

Baker's 4th BASH!

Boo sunning himself!

Happy Independence Day!

Gary left for Cannon Falls this morning.
He and his buddies have a standing ritual
every year that includes an early morning
round of golf, the Cannon Falls Parade and
a shot of Blackberry Brandy in honor of
Jimbo's dad.

This year, however, a change was instituted.
The gentleman decided to move the round of
golf to tomorrow morning~that way they could
make a later t-time. In the past, the t-time
needed to be early enough to ensure that they
could get the golf in and still procure a prime
viewing spot for the noon start of the parade!
Boys are silly.

I, on the other hand, have decided to stay back,
lounge around and make my way over to my sister's
& Pete's 1st annual 4th of July bash.

They hired the Kurt Jorgensen band to play from
6 to 10. Yes, I made certain that she contacted
the city of Chanhassen to get a permit so we're
all set to go!

I saw my mom yesterday for a few hours.
The took the catheter out, stopped the dilaudid
and she was up and walking around (with the walker)!
This, my friends, is the best I've seen her since
before the surgery! We are looking into a couple
of interim care facilities near by that she can
go to for her rehabilitation. One is right by me
the other is on the St. Francis campus. Both are
wonderful and she could go as early as Monday!!
YAY!!!!

I'm on call for NILMDTS today. I elected to take
the holiday because I thought trying to make
phone calls to 30 people on the 4th of July
would most likely yield no one so I just took
it for myself. I'll have my phone at my side all day!

Last night, we had an impromptu gathering in front
of our house...the street actually. Many of
our neighbors had fireworks and we started
blowing them off in the middle of the street
(we just had our driveway seal coated!).
I ran to Costco at the last minute last night
and bought one of their giant packs of lovely
"Minnesota Issue" fireworks...that's sort of
CODE for "nothing goes in the air". So, mostly
color and noise with no real "wow" factor.
The kids had a blast and the adults, well, we
had a blast too!

Jacquie, thanks for sticking around and talking
with me by the fire after everyone had gone in.
I love you! Our friendship means the world to me!



Have a safe and gratitude filled day!

Burgers for tomorrow!

Jennifer & Chris' slideshow

I thought I would compile a slide show
for Jennifer & Chris from last weekend.
Here it is. Enjoy.

Mom's on the mend.

Quick update.
I went to sit with mom for a few hours
last night and was soon joined by my
brother, Mike & my sister, Anne.
Boy did we have some laughs! Our mother
is clearly on the mend because she's
getting her sense of humor back not to
mention the fact that she is still on
Dilaudid but even that is being reduced
as I type so that's another positive!

I witnessed the removal of the NG tube tube.
Gross and cool at the same time.
My mom now loves nurse Jenny!!! She wanted
to kiss her! So, no more tubes in my mom's
face! yay! She's now allowed to have clear
liquids. Today, perhaps even a shower!
We'er looking at a few more days...gotta
get her up and moving on her own~in and
out of chairs, bed etc and of course the
usuals...pass gass & poop (I know, TMI).

All great news, she's on the mend! We want
her home and moving on to rehabbing her back.

Thanks all of your prayers and support through
all of this. It's meant so much to so many!

Mom's new room.

Good news...
My mom is in her new room. They moved her yesterday.
I will go and see her later today. Tim, Mike & Pete
went to see her yesterday. So we finally have her
out of ICU and are looking forward to getting her off
of all the wacky drugs and back to earth.

Bad news might be...
The set back that she'll have in rehabbing her back.
She would have been full on into that by now and
instead she's flat on her back. Pray that she is tough
enough to get into it when the time comes!

I guess I'll take my own advice and "not borrow trouble".
God has his plan for everyone involved here and it's
not my business to muck that up.

Things are finally feeling like summer around here.
It'll be in the upper 80's all week and the 4th is
looking nice. The whole weekend is looking nice, actually!

On a sad note...my sister had to get rid of Spice.
Spice is Boo's mom. Pete brought her up to the vet.
First, Sugar (their other Birman) started peeing everywhere
so they found a home for her~then last night, while the
whole family was sitting, peacefully, watching a movie,
Spice crawled right up next to Anne and peed right there
on the sofa. The NEW sofa! Anne says she's out of
the cat business. Of course, she's sad. She rather still
have both cats but can you blame her? I couldn't
handle a cat that just peed on stuff all the time either.
I'm sorry Anne. Now you can enjoy your salt water tank!
oh, wait, didn't one of the gobie's jump out and die on
your carpet recently?? That's kind of funny, really.

Everyone is good here at the Austin house.
Hobie and Katie tolerate Boo a little bit more with each
passing day. The lawn is flawless, the garden is
blooming and colorful and Gary and I still talk about
what to do for our upcoming 10th anniversary.
The jury is still out.

I have a wedding free week this week and will start
back up on the 12th. I'm sure that my sister's bash
will feel like a wedding tho'. She and Pete are throwing
a huge party at their home on the 4th.

To any of you who have never commented here on my blog,
I challenge you to do so this week.
Oh, and Jenny's "Dutch Word of the Day" blog is back
up and running again via Holland! :)

Keep my mom in your prayers, thanks!