tom & jess...

hey there everyone...happy saturday to you.
woke up at tom's house on lake minnetonka
this morning which for me was breaking
a resolution that i made nearly 7 years
ago to never have to stay over at someone's
home...but, we had a great time and i
guess i wouldn't have done anything
different if given the chance.

so, that said... we loaded up tom's
ski boat with champagne, strawberries and
some yummy cheeses from trader joe's,
a really great collection of red wines and
hit the lake. sunset, 70, puttering along,
it was a gorgeous night to be out on the
lake. we drank the last bottle of korbel
from the san fransico trip a few years ago.
they had to go and empty out the strait
jacket before the sale and there was one
left so they saved it for our cruise last
night!! :)











here we go with the wacky blogger
photo stuff again! i have NO idea what's up
with that but i'll check into it cuz it's
making me crazy!!












thanks tom & jess for a great night!
we are now planning a dive trip! :)
have a spendid day!

(welcome home june & garrick)

oh, and welcome to the USA, simon.
hope to see you tonight! (nicki's brother)

i'm going to blog about owen's cooking
class tomorrow.

dean and lois are on their way!

the sun is out!

turned off the air, opened the
windows and let the sun shine in!
the sun has been hidden beneath
low clouds for 1 solid week. yuck!
can't even begin to tell you how
happy this makes me. now, i'm not
a sun worshiper but i'm certainly
not a cloud worshiper either!
this will make our boat outing with
tom & jess a bit nicer.

we're going to head over to their
house on minnetonka around 6:30
and boat over to excelsior to
bayside for dinner. looking forward
to seeing them. they are always gone.
oh, tom finally sold his yacht, the
"strait jacket"...
we were privileged to have joined them
on 2 separate occasions. once to
st. maarten and st. barths and once to
san fransico for our anniversary.
this was an amazing ship and we will
miss it very much.



this is tom & jess...

john & diana were in on the
st. maarten trip too. and that's
gary behind all my hair!


blogger is a mess again today, sorry
for the jumbled blog.
enjoy this gorgeous day!!

june & garrick...

we had a great send off-visit last
night over at anne & pete's for
nicki's mum & stepdad.
they head back over the big pond
later today. i promised them that
the next time i saw them it would
be in jolly old england. nicki and
are a planning a trip over. i haven't
been since scott and nicki's wedding
and that's almost 19 years! wow!

here's june & garrick....




and here's mum & daughter...



okay, blogger has gone wacko!
today it's really acting up.
first, it won't allow me to
select from all the folders on my
desk top and now that i put these
photos into a different one so it
would...it places them side by side.
weird.

good to see everyone last night!

lots of hair today.
photographing baby gavin tomorrow and
then a boat ride to dinner tomorrow
evening with friends.

i'll be photographing owen's final
cooking class on saturday moring.
yea, a cooking class...with his dad.
and yes, he's 2. how cute is that!?
i can't wait...he's sooo funny!!

dean and lois begin their trip up
on saturday as well and should arrive
by tuesday. say, do you two want to
go to the fair?? (kidding!).

our state fair begins today and runs
through labor day...yay!!!
corn dogs...oh, sorry "pronto pups",
sweet martha's choc. chip cookies,
tom thumb mini doughnuts, cows and
sweaty kids tethered to their parents
with bungy cords..what's with that!?

enjoy...

defending bella pictures...

i got an e-mail from lesa musatto,
vp of marketing at bella pictures
last night. it seems some very
hungry photographers are suffering
from "i wish i'd have thought of it
first" syndrome.

i own and operate a wedding, portrait
photography business and i shoot for
bella pictures on the side. i love
to shoot when ever i can. therefore,
if i'm asked, by bella, to photograph a
wedding i jump at the chance (when i'm
available). i've been treated fairly,
paid promptly and i have met some really
talented people along the way.
i don't understand the fuss, really.
i mean, i'm no idiot, i understand that
bella gets the credit. but, it's images
i wouldn't have, it's money i wouldn't
have made and a wedding i wouldn't have shot.
what's the harm. market yourself however
you wish...if it's unlawful, you'll have to
answer to the Big Guy!.
one last thought...marketing is marketing.
you either do it or...someone else will!
'nough said.

got a call from my coach (bob) today.
he likes my work. i was relieved. not that
i didn't think i did a great job, it's
just that, well, being critiqued can be
tough sometimes. he had lots of positives
and suggestions as well. i'm excited to
move forward to the 9/8 wedding.
i'm going to do a sample graphi album
of the 8/11 wedding.

i'm so ready for the sun to come back.
haven't seen it in 5 days...it's such
a downer to have the clouds and rain
hanging around for so long when we have
been experiencing such warm, sunny weather
all summer..
sorry for the late post, blogger must
have been down this morning and i got
swamped the rest of the day.

more tomorrow.

some great people...

pressing some fare trade java this
morning (from dunn bros.)..yum, and
checking out bob and dawn davis' blog.
i subscribe, so i get update information
sent to me automatically, it's nice.
i love to see what they are up to.
they are my "bar". these are real
people with a real passion and those
are folks i care to align myself with.

my next bella pictures wedding is
september 8th and i am working with
a bella coach to review my 8/11 wedding.
this is becoming a really terrific experience.
i won't ever be one to say that i know
it all or that i've done it all cuz
i don't and i haven't. i never want to
stop pursuing more in the field of
photography. and besides, it changes everyday!


next, i wanted to share some of the fun
from the "after party" for the triathlon.
greg and mary sumner hosted a fabulous
bash! here they are in the kitchen...




here's jennifer mixin' up the smoothies..



here's joe and jennifer cox, owners of
cornerstone grill~divine grilling & catering.
this meal was outstanding! i recognized them
from church...westwood community church.
if you have an event coming up PLEASE call them.
(612) 618-5653...this will be the best call you
ever made for catering your next party!!!



here' the sumners other girls...
bella & tess. aren't they gorgeous?!



tony schiller (race director), becky chepokas,
mitch's mom, mary and another guest (?)...



i brought along my laptop to run a slide show
of the day, it was nice to have the rainy afternoon
to put that together and share it at the party!

it's getting steamy here again. time to shut
the windows and turn on the air!

jacquie, i put you down at 5pm on thursday.

oh, i forgot to mention that my shootsac arrived
saturday. i'm looking forward to putting it
to use soon! yes, it's kinda spendy but you
should see what i bought that cost nearly
the same. i returned that one and will now be
sporting my new, stylish shootsac by jessica claire.

this humidity is KILLING me!!!!!

comcast down again...

technology is both a blessing and a
curse. we hear that all the time, right?
well, yesterday i actually got to church
a half hour early due to the fact that my
internet was down. :) got to visit a lot.
the conrads were there so i got to see
christy and find out how her birthday
party went and how she's doing with her
new do. here's some shots from friday...









christy's gone hollywood!!



saturday, at the miraclekids triathlon, things
got pretty wet...well, soaked really...





the day did not start rainy but by the time
the athletes were lined up it began to sprinkle
and it never really stopped.

these kids, ages 7 to 17, managed to
become energized by the rain and push
through to the finish line...all but 2.
not bad considering there were about 800
entrants!





my niece emily was there and finished!
yay emily, i'm so proud of you!!!







this was the 4th annual and i am
beginning to recognize faces of the
kids racing (for kids who can't).

everyone got a medal...







and i'm certain that there is something
special in the works for jordan dahlke...
he raised over $21,000 for the event!!
nice job jordan!



here's jordan with lexi (l) and karen (r)



oh and thanks to the sumner family for
hosting the post party at their home.

alright, i'm off to the gym now...
there are 52 monday's in a year and
i'm going to use this one to get in gear!!

miraclekids triathlon...

this'll be short.
i'm heading out at 6:00am today
to lake ann in chanhassen to cover
the miraclekids triathlon.

this is the 3rd year that i will
be involved with this fabulous event!
wait...is it the 4th???
well, i've been there since the
beginning anyway. i lose track.

over 800 kids expected to participate
in this year's event!! soooo cool!
anyway, the forecast is for rain and
i just won't have it!
(altho' i'm packing my golf~rain gear
just in case).

i'll post more tomorrow (sunday).
but here's some shots from last year...







the minnesota miracle families were
awesome and soooo grateful!
kudos to the hilton for another great job!
i actually toured the kitchen this time.
paul the souse chef gave me and julie
(one of the mom's) a grand tour and it
was pretty incredible! (eric is off
visiting his family and was not in for
this weekend's event).

my lens is completely and utterly every-
thing i expected and more!
i'll post images tomorrow so check back.

after the hilton visit i met gary at
ciao bella for dinner...jimbo, as many
of you know is gary's best friend, was
there for a couple of beers and then left
us alone to enjoy our "date night"....

gary and i had another bon fire last night
and just soaked up the silence!
a lovely evening...

LOVE my new lens...
check back sunday for triathlon images and
hilton family shots as well.

i LOVE my job!! :)

hooray for anne!

okay, i am the first person to admit
when you quit smoking, although you
think you are going to get support from
others, you really don't. people don't
remember that you quit until you mention
it and THEN they say "oh, yea that's right,
good for you, how are you doing?"
blah~blah~blah. i quit over 4 years ago
(yay me!). my sister quit 5 months ago.
YESTERDAY!! i totally let this anniversary
slip! bad sister, BAD SISTER!!!
anne, i am so sorry that i didn't call
or anything! i am so proud of you!
i love you.

my lens arrives today...sooooo excited!

a former neighbor of mine is bringing
her daughter over for a birthday haircut.
this will be no ordinary haircut as
christy is donating her hair to locks
of love...the little sweetheart!
i think she's like 13. she's been waiting
a verrry long time for this. i look
forward to seeing them.
i'll see if it's okay that i post some
before and afters for tomorrow.

2 minnesota miracle hilton families today.
and the big, long awaited, much
anticipated MIRACLEKIDS triathlon is
tomorrow in chanhassen at lake ann park.
PLEASE pray that the rain will hold off
for all involved. altho' it's a "rain or
shine" type of event...no one wants
to swim, bike or run in the rain. :(

things have really cooled off around
here too lately. gary and i actually
had a little fire last night out front.
man that was nice. so quiet and peaceful.
i needed that. life has been quick
lately and i needed some slow time.
the high tomorrow will only be like 72.
opened all the windows last night...
it was glORious!

i JUST got my shipment from whitehouse.
i ordered images yesterday at noon.
these are from the demise i photographed
on wednesday evening.
thank you whitehouse custom colour for
getting them to me so quickly!
this family will be forever grateful.

have a wonderful day.

another angel goes home...

kathleen smith is the new NILMDTS coordinator
for fairview riverside (u of m) hospital.
she called yesterday afternoon to see
if i could get there to photograph twin boys
born at 32 weeks (2 weeks ago).
i'll be completely honest, this was a real
tough one for me.
you see, one twin was not strong enough.
they kept him on his ventilator until i
could get there. mom, dad and 2 sisters
ages 7 & nearly 2 were present when i arrived.
i quickly got to work shooting and switching
lenses faster than if i were at a wedding.

this was very different from all the others.

i was present to witness a miracle in reverse.

i swelled with emotion right along with the
family. i stepped out so they could be alone.

i returned to the room only to see that the
color was fading in this little angels face
so quickly so i took a few last images and
quietly exited.

i don't know her name, but one of the head
nurses on this case saw me come out,
turned to me and gave me a big hug...
she could see that i was terribly moved.
thank you for your overwhelming kindness.



pray for this family as they welcome
one twin and grieve the loss of the other.

and as for me? all i ask is that you
understand that the reason i do this is
so that, somehow, my work can aide in the
healing process of these broken families.

thank~you.

fabulous flowers...

here's a slide show of some of the floral
arrangements from my bella wedding on 8/11.
these were all prepared by one of the groom's
sisters (kada goalen)! when she contacts me
i'll pass on her contact information.

backing up a bit to my trouble with
david jay's "showit effects" program that
i mentioned a week ago or so....
FINALLY, forest carlisle and i got together
over some "fog creek copilot" program that
connects our computers (he's in santa barbara!)
so that he can see my screen.
well, mystery solved! yay! i could NOT get
that sucker installed on my CS2 or CS3 to
save my soul and it turns out it wasn't anything
i was doing or NOT doing (made me feel better!)

"showit effects" is a program of actions that
will allow me to (on the fly) take images and
quickly edit them for viewing at a reception.
i'm so anxious to do a slide show at a wedding
reception so that guests can view my work
right away! i'm sooo happy to have that working!
thanks forest! you're the best in the business!

i'm sorry, i totally forgot to mention that
my PUG (pictage users group) was having a family
picnic meeting last night in a nearby park.
what fun! we should do that all summer!
bbq, games, kids, cameras...super casual and fun!
we all got to see jason's legs! (i may never
recover from that!)
thanks jason for being the grill master all night!
here's nora...erin's daughter.





just got word last night that gary's
dad & lois are planning a trip up here!
they thought that they were done making
the long drives up here but it sounds like
they're gonna take a run at it again!
i can't wait to see them! we were down there
(arizona) last january so it's been awhile.
keep us in the loop, you two so we know the
date that you will be arriving.
safe travels!

my new lens will be here friday!!!!

weather or not...

um, yea...that would be weather.
we got hit, yet again, with another
doozy of a storm. that makes for
3 in 3 days! we didn't lose power or
anything like that (many more folks
did, however) and this time it came
through at a "reasonable" hour!
we turned all the lights off and
lit candles in the living room and
sat on the sofa and watched it come in.
(a bottle of cabernet would have been nice!)
SO electric! the sky was lit like
daylight through most of the storm.
all is well. however, gary was shouting
"c'mon storm, daddy needs new siding!"

jessica strickland. what can i say?
wow! she said that she doesn't like it
when people say that she talks a lot.
so let me just say that jessica had
a lot of information to share. and respectfully
i must add that the room was hot (the air
was out in that end of the building) and
what she had prepared to share...seriously,
i wanted to hear....so i was thankful that
she was there to speak, had much to share and
in a warm room where it would have been
too easy to doze off in the back row,
i sat front and center and she held my
attention the entire day/evening!
thanks again jessica for taking the time
to come and speak to our group.
this was her very first speaking engagement~
you'd have never known had she not
divulged that information!

she spoke about a gadget that she uses
to tote around her lenses (designed by
jessica claire) called the shootsac.
something that i decided i needed to have.
i'm sick and tired of trying to locate a
safe place to lay my big bag with my lenses
in it. i'll tell you more about it when
it arrives...i also purchased a new lens.
so i'm excited for fedex to get here this week!!
i feel a little like a junkie at my computer.

hilton families on friday and the big
miraclekids triathlon in chanhassen is saturday!

gotta run....

kathryn...

(sorry i missed yesterday. i just
could NOT get to it!)

first things first...
this is kathryn from sunday morning.

she calls me "aunt sue"...i love that.
like i mentioned earlier, i've been photographing
kathryn since she was 5 months old!
she's gotten quite used to me which makes
our outings even more fun.

sunday morning her mom called and left
me a message that kathryn was sick and
that she needed to reschedule but
kathryn was set on having her photos taken~
so like a real model, she decided to
buck up and get to the shoot! i'm so glad!
she's heading off to first grade this fall.
she's really growing up fast!!
oh, and that's my reflector that she's holding
in one of the shots...she wanted to help! :)
thanks gerri & kathryn for a lovely day and
a delicious lunch!

okay, i was in desperate need of a day off
so i didn't really want to sit down to my
computer sunday. i only did so that i could
burn the Bella cds and get the cards in the
mail and back to Bella first thing today.

i really enjoyed meeting and working with
hung vu...or "vu" as he calls himself.
the 2 of us sweat off about 10 pounds on saturday!
it was a hot one! ceremony was outside on
a hill on the farm property and the reception
took place right there as well in the barn.
make no mistake, this was not your ordinary
wedding...they really pulled out all the stops
and one of the groom's sister is such a talent
with the flowers..holy cow! i gave her my card
so that she could contact me with her information.
i know people that need to know about her
talent with flowers!! inCREDible! when i get
a chance, i'm going to post a slide show
and list her contact information, she is
truly amazing! okay, i'll stop now....
okay, here's one image, i love how she took
all the gold petals out of a sunflower to
keep the green & brown theme! i know, it's
probably been done, but i just thought with
all the other flowers in the arrangement
that it all just looked stunning together!
what do YOU think?



more on the wedding when i have a bit
more time to spare...

i'm off to see jessica strickland today
for my tcppa meeting. i'm REALLY excited
to finally meet her!

gary's getting to play at hazeltine national
today (home to the PGA in 2009).
HE'S really pumped about that!!

gotta run. have a great week!

got power?

56,000 homes in the west metro are out
of power from last nights storm.
much needed rain came by way of high
winds, hail,lightening and crashing thunder.
unfortunately, all at about 3:30am.

i can't sleep when storms come in the
middle of the night. once it wakes me,
i turn on the television and then i pace.
we had up to 70 mile an hour winds here in
eden prairie and i was worried about trees,
windows...i'm a woman and gary was up north
so when you pile on the fact that i was
alone...well, you get the picture.

we have skylights in both bathrooms
upstairs and i had to "go" but all i
could think of was "what if i get struck
by lightening while i'm on the toilet~
i have a big wedding today!"
well, the good Lord spared me once again!
i survived the night..or should i say
the "wee" hours! (i know, that was bad!)

so, today is my big Bella Pictures debut.
i'm very excited! it's been a long time
since i have been a 2nd shooter and i plan
to have a really terrific time with that!
(i hope the bride was able to sleep last night
the storm was even worse heading towards
ramsey county! i pray that everything is
alright and that she is not in a panic.)

hey, huge news...
i received an e-mail yesterday from areina seay
with the starkey foundation. she sent me a
list of about 9 weeks of missions trips through
the end of this year that they have planned
and she is looking for my availability.
i, of course, wrote back immediately with
nearly all of them checked with my approval.
i know that i will need to do some juggling to
make some of them happen but i am thrilled
to be apart of the team and pray that this is
what i am supposed to be doing and God wants
me there to tell the story of folks getting
the gift of hearing.

still waiting for my sister to call about "spice".
she's due to have kittens any day now and
in preparation, i went toyou tube and
searched for "kitten births" and found myself
watching for about 20 minutes!!! crazy!

make the most of your saturday!

my own makeover...

i'm going to deephaven to see my friend
dee @ metropolis spa & salon at noon today.
i've had it with my non~committal medium
length hair. within an inch or 2 it's been
the same for quite some time and honestly,
i'm bored with it! so, off it goes!
i'll be sure to post a new photo!

my lab pack arrived yesterday from Bella.
Wow! this is some serious stuff.
10 cf cards...10 cds and a sheet for
all the information contained on each card
and a pack to send it all back in.
the wedding is up in north oaks and we
will begin shooting at the home and move
a couple of miles for the ceremony and
reception at the family farm...sounds
warm & wonderful doesn't it? not to mention
that it's supposed to be in the 90s again!
i'm pretty jazzed about this first Bella Pictures
wedding. hung (my lead) is going to meet
me at the home and we'll go from there.
dawn davis is looking forward to seeing
some of my images from the day so i'll be
sure to post some at some point on sunday.

still working on lauren's senior portraits.
i just love them and i'm having so much fun!
very little to do in that she is so beautiful
and mac did such a lovely job with her makeup!
it was as if i did a shoot for a major
magazine layout or something!! :)

no minnesota miracle family today...
bella wedding tomorrow, and oh, i'm
photographing kathryn tomorrow out at the
arboretum in chanhassen. this will be for
her 6th birthday. i've been photographing her
every year since she was 5 months old!
here she is at age 3...



here she is at age 4...



lastly today, i forgot to mention that
june (nicki's mum) and garrick are finally
here from the uk! can't wait to see them!
they are all heading up to lutsen for a week
then back here so gary and i can take garrick
to the air show here in eden prairie.
they were here last back in november for
thanksgiving...it's always nice to have them here!





cheers!