Today We Celebrate!

We gather today, rather...this MORNING, to celebrate
Owen's 4th birthday, which is actually tomorrow.
But no matter, I hope that he always remembers that
MY birthday is exactly one week later! And I'll be
4 too! Um...yea, scratch that, make that 4-seven :\
(The above photo is, of course, from last year!)

He, Owen, recently split his eye open...jumpin' on
the bed. Well, he was jumping INto bed but like the
saying goes..."one fell off and broke his head."
Off to the emergency room for several stitches.
Unlike the staples he got in the back of his head
about 7 months ago...this boo boo is on his right
eyebrow, right up front...just like his aunt Sue-Sue ;)


Enjoy this beautiful day!

Here we go....

Okay, so I have had a TON of people wonder
if I'm ever going to blog again. In person,
on the phone, on facebook etc...even my sister,
who hasn't blogged since the first snowfall
in early November, wants to know when I'm going
to blog again. The answer is "yes" and I will
make every attempt to back into the everyday
routine. I secretly missed doing it but truth be
told, I enjoyed the break.

My first wedding of the season is today.
JoAnn and Rick are getting married at
Murphy's Landing in Shakopee in, what will be, my
first ever "period" wedding. The wedding party
will be dressed to reflect the period and the
wedding party and guests were encouraged to do the
same. I can't wait!

Yesterday I finally met Owen. He is the newborn
son of Kelly and Jeff Read. They have been waiting
for his arrival and this joy for a long time.
You see, they lost Alliah a year ago, December 8th,
at 29 weeks gestation. I was called in to photograph
her for NILMDTS and that is how we met.
A bond was formed and I am certain that this family
will be a part of my life forever!
Interestingly enough, his full name is Owen Patrick.
He is exactly 3 years and 51 weeks younger than
our Owen Patrick (my nephew). Both Owens have their
grandfather's first name as their middle name.
As you can imagine, my mouth dropped open when she
said "Owen Patrick". :D

These are just a sample of his first, official
photo session...I just aDORE him!






Lastly, today I want to share the new basement.
The images that are propped up along the ledge
will come down as I have some giant images on
their way to go up in their place.




Thanks for your patience.
You may subscribe to my blog by clicking
on the "rss"feed tab at the top so that
when I post a new blog you will be notified.
That way, mom, you don't have to check
10 times a day to see if I've blogged.

Have a great day.

Playa Friends.

Returning to Mexico each year has become such a joyous
part of our lives, Gary and I, so when we run into other
folks that share our love of the country, culture, people,
sounds etc...it just simply puts the pico on the taco!

This year we ran into Peter, Jarka and Charlie from New York.
They stay at Casa de Gopala, a couple blocks in, but would
come to the beach for the day at the Mimi!
Charlie is 7 now and we decided that we met them, first,
when Charlie was 5. She is too darn cute and I'm not kidding.






Here's a shot that her mom, Jarka, took on a road
trip to Cancun this year...I just love the perspective
Nice shot, Jarka!! Kudos!



Charlie and I swam a bit one afternoon and on their
last full day at the beach I arranged for a little beach,
send off music for them.



I can still hear the harp! ;)





Scott and Nicki are going to stay at the same hotel.
Oddly, before I knew that Peter's family was staying
there, I spotted this hotel on a walk with Gary one day
and went in and got information for Scott & Nicki.

Gary and I finally got to see Nedi and his family towards
the end of the trip...REALLY good to see them and know
that they are all doing well.



Talisman (4)


Jose Maria (8)


Indiana (almost 13)


Indiana and I exchanged e-mail addresses so that
we can keep in touch year round! I love this family!
They are so special to us and always will be.
Nedi is still looking for work and his wife, Verana,
is still working as a taxi driver in the Playa area.
I have her # if you want to call her directly for a
ride somewhere while you're down there! Tell her that
Susan & Gary sent you! :)

Laughter IS the best Medicine!

I'm finally out of my funk, catching up on all
sorts of stuff. I apologize for not blogging.
I thought in the meantime, I'd share this bit
that my Uncle Don sent to me. I think that Louis CK
is FABulous! Check out this YouTube clip.
I laughed my ASS off! I only wish it were longer!

Thank you to everyone who has called and e-mailed
to check in on me....I'm finally feeling like
myself again!

Daylight Savings!

I Hope you remembered to turn your clocks ahead today.
Or perhaps this is one of those Sundays where you secretly
wanted to miss Church!
"They" say we lose an hour today...hmmm, I feel as though
I've lost, like, 4 days! Still trying to shake this bug.

Home. Sick.

I brought something nasty home with me from
Playa. I've been in bed for 2 days...nearly 3.
I decided that maybe I should peel myself
out of the "sick" sheets, wash them and throw
myself in the shower in the hopes that I might
feel a little better. The jury is still out.

Gary and I had a fabulous time! I dove 6 times
and I am now an official SCUBA diver!! I can't
wait to go diving again!
Here's a couple of shots that Stan (a diver from
Oklahoma) took on our 80 foot dive at Tortuga
just south of Playa.



This is Katie (rt), she's from Moscow. Katie works
at the Abyss and did the first 2 of my 4 check out dives
which I arranged for through the Abyss Dive Center
before I left Minnesota.
She has the most precious accent, speaks perfect
English and has what I'd like to refer to as the greatest
"tank-side" manner. Super calm, very patient and overall,
top notch skills! Kudos to Dave Tomlinson, owner of
the Abyss, for finding such a gem!



I flipped quite a bit and will sift through
all the footage and post some of the fun in the
days to come. As for photos, I mostly shot with
my phone in the event that I could pick up
wifi around town and send images to this blog...
that didn't happen.

Gary brought along his Canon SD1100 and we shot
with that a ton too.
I guess I could have left both the laptop and my
camera gear at home after all....good to know for
future reference!

I passed on 2nd shooting the wedding on the 28th.
Why? I don't know...just did.

Oh, I almost forgot! In the middle of 5th Ave.
I ran into Tasha Herrgott and Kristi Kienholz!
2 of my colleagues from Minneapolis. They were
in Playa shooting a wedding! So cool to see them
there amidst all the crazy, night time bustle that
is Playa del Carmen! I hope I get to see some of
their pix soon!

The only bummer of it all was the fact that for
some strange reason, I was not able to connect
to the internet down there, so I thank my sister,
Anne, for making a couple of plugs for me in my
absence.

I have to say that writing all of this has made
me exhausted so I'm gonna go lay down.
I HATE being sick!

Muchas Mas, luego....

TOOT-TOOT

Anne here, for another installment of
Sweet Queen Sister doing the blog!

Hey, can you hear that?
TOOT-TOOT!
There it was again!
Oh, wait that's just me tooting my own horn
about my sister! Is she not just the best?!
I love her dearly and was thinking about her
this morning while it's zero here and she is in
Playa enjoying the 80+ degrees. I was thinking,
can you all help me surprise her please?
She is still unable to get online so when she
gets home she will have to read all that I have done
on her blog in her absence.
So, lets cram up her comment box here on Blogger
with a fun memory of her, or kind word to make her day!
Whatever you want to say would be great! THANKS!

I'll start it out here by saying how
I LOVE the way you are with my kids.
They love you so much!
Thanks for being an awesome aunt and the
BEST Sweet Queen Sister in the world!

WAY to many memories to pick just one!
Cookies, Mexico, hair, kittens, 12:34.
See this fold in my shirt?.....

Oh, BTW...
Susan wanted me to say that she and Gary
found Nedi down in Playa. They had not
seen him yet when I talked with her last
but, had his number and knew where he was working.

Enjoy your weekend!
Peace.

Scuba Sue and Boo!

It's Anne again.
Susan is fully certified as a scuba diver!
She called tonight and was so excited!
She wanted me to say that Scott at Sea Ya Diving
did a great job teaching her, she used everything
that he taught her. Pete, my husband, was
instrumental in getting her into scuba diving
and is very proud of her. Good job Sue! Way to go!
We all love you BUCKETS!


Here is Pete, Susan and Benji in Cabo last March.

On to the Boo news.
Today is his birthday!
Happy 1st Birthday Boo Boy!

Peace.

Computer trouble, or maybe just user error

Hello to all of Susan's faithful followers.
This is Anne, Susan's Sweet Queen Sister.
For some strange reason things are not
working the way she would like with her computer
and/or her internet access so I have stepped in
to inform you all that Susan and Gary are safe
and sound in Playa. Loving every minute.
At 2 o'clock today Sue is doing her 1st of 4
check out dives to complete her scuba certification.

I hope everyone here in Minnesota is able to enjoy
the 40 plus degrees today!

Peace.

Playa, Playa, Playa, Playa....

Well, the time has come.
Gary and I head off to Mexico this morning.
We will be in Mexico by 2:00 today!
I will more than likely be uploading
some mobile images from my phone as well as
from my camera so feel free to check in
periodically each day for up to the minute
updates! This is going to be a good one!

Dean and Lois, we'll call you in a few days.

Abbey, thank you for staying with our boy, Boo.
This is such a wonderful thing to know that
you are there with him. He needs to play, a LOT!
Jacquie, can you remind Abbey that I am
expecting a package from whcc today, as well,
so it doesn't sit on my front step too long.
Gracias, Jacquie.

Will, if you happen to join you sister at
our home and help out, let me know by
commenting on my blog and Gary and I will be
certain to bring you home a little 'somthin'
somthin' too! :D

Peace.

MILK.

Gary and I saw the movie Milk last night. WOW!
True stories always seem to be favorites for me.
I will pray that Sean Penn receives the Oscar
for Best Actor! Amazing talent! We will be watching
the Oscars in Playa tomorrow night.

But first we have to clear all this snow
we got last night! What happened to 1-2
inches? Looks more like 5 to me. Sven...
At least it looks clean and, dare I say,
pretty outside again.

Brenda and Jorge are coming to pick us up
at the airport tomorrow! I can't wait to
see them, Vaughn, Judy, Alejandro and the
whole wild Mayan bunch!
When you are in Playa del Carmen, please
stop in and visit these wonderful folks at
their restaurant on 4th...1/2 block west of
the famous "5th Avenue". And bring your
dancin' shoes! They provide live music every
night at AJUA (pronounced ah-Hoo'-ah!)
Jorge will salsa the night away with you in
the street and their staff will entertain
you like no other restaurant in town!




My sister is coming over this morning and
we are going to hit the gym together!
I think she just wants to come and see Boo!

About Face(book).

This will be the last time I talk about Facebook.
Having been in the news a lot, recently, regarding
their "privacy policies" just seemed to tip the scale
for me. That said, I made the decision, on Wednseday night,
to yank my account for the last time. I mean, really,
I can get across everything I need to right here on my blog,
you know, the old fashioned way! ;) So, freedom once more!
If you need to know what projects I'm up to or planning,
just c'mon back here to my blog as I will attempt to
make a move in the direction of keeping this more about
my work than my life. With the wedding season just around
the corner, that should be easy!

I've also decided to give mobile me a go. It's totally
awesome! I've kind of been lurking around it for a year
or so but decided, Wednesday, to take it for a spin.
This will simplify everything for me as it magically
connects my laptop, my iPhone and my desktop computers
without docking my phone!
I enter a meeting in my phone and it goes to both of
my other computers and vise~versa. TOtally cool!
I mean, I rarely pulled up my iCal on my laptop because
it wouldn't be current...problem solved.
This is really a no brainer, I'll be signing up in 60 days.
Thanks Apple!

WPPI 2009.

Stands for Wedding & Portrait Photographers
International. It's the biggest trade show/party
in the industry and perhaps even on the planet!
Unfortunately, it seems to always comes on either the
heels or the toes of our annual vacation so I always
miss it. Sounds like everyone is there (according to my
facebook page), it's always tauted as the "who's who"
of my industry. There are always a TON of awesome speakers,
classes, location shoots, product releases and deals not to
mention the late night "networking"! ;)
Megan Bearder and I were talking last night and we think
it's high time she and I go...so NEXT year.
(btw, Sawer (aka "the Bear") was finally located and returned!)

The count down is at 4 today so that means that I'd better
find a suit SOON! Guys have it so easy...shorts, done, duh!



This is Nedi's home where we spent a couple of
long afternoons in front of the spanish/english-
english/spanish dictionaries and downed a LOT
of beer! Love these people...this is Nedi's new home.
WE bought them a new oscillating fan as a house
warming present (um yeah, we had to explain that
American tradition to them!)



This,of course, is Hotel Mimi del Mar!
Our room will be one of the two front end
rooms with the big balcony. LOVE it there!
SUPER laid back...if you stay there, please
tell them that Susan and Gary Austin sent you!



If you need a winter warm up, be sure to visit the
PLAYA BEACH CAM to the right under "check these out"!

I've been invited to join in on a wedding shoot on the
28th down in Playa, VERY honored and excited. I guess that
means I have to bring more equipment! oops, sorry Gary!
Here's a few from 2 years ago...





Oh, and my dives are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday!

Peace.

Always Pack A Camera.

Now, you might consider that it was a lofty
goal for me to even think that I wouldn't bring
my camera along on our trip~and you'd be right!
I am actually starting to feel beads of sweat
building up just thinking about it.
Therefore, I'm going to at least bring the 10D.
That then leads to packing the laptop as well!
Gary always says, "can we unplug on this trip?"
my response this year is, "only if we sit in the
shade and don't drink any beer!" :D
I think it sounds like a good compromise!

This is a shot that Anne took when we were in
Mexico a couple of years ago. The hotel lied
about having internet connections for guests.
Well, more like stretched the truth.
The day the girls got their braids, I found a
computer and they charged about a buck a minute!!



There's WiFi at the Mimi so it pains me not
to bring the laptop. And AT&T told me that
as long as there's WiFi I can get on my iPhone
and so I may even mobile upload shots to my
Facebook account! Trust me, this is how I relax.
Gary likes to read and float, I like to write!
However, I just write in the morning, he'll read
all afternoon. hmmmm
Thank goodness we both like the beach and buckets
of beer! :D

Again...me, relaxing!


...and Gary relaxing.



...me relaxing.



Gary relaxing.





Woops...here's Jimbo relaxing!



Gary's best friend, Jimbo, likes to
join us from time to time when we hit
Playa del Carmen...I'm certain this year
will be no different!

Good times. Noodle salad.

SCUBA Update.

Well, it's official!
I passed my written test and spent a few
hours in a pool yesterday brushing up on
my skills to prepare me for my 4 check out
dives in Playa! Ben, my nephew and I went
together and had a blast.
I am so ready for my open water testing!
Even whipped off my mask (under water),
put it back on and cleared it with no problemas!

Carpet's going in as I type and I'm anxious
for this whole mess to get "squared away", as
my dad would always say!

I have to say that the pregnancy shots I took
on Saturday are awesome, I just haven't been
able to work on them much...perhaps later today
when the carpet installer is gone.

Reggie.

On a very, very, sad note, our good friends
Ron & Cindy had to put Reggie down yesterday.
He was only 7. Typical for the Doberman breed
but so so sad. We toasted Reggie, Hobie, Katie
and Lucius with Champagne last night and just
sobbed! Pray for Ron & Cindy that they find
peace.

Valentine's Day 2009.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Today I get the very distinct pleasure
of photographing a couple that just over
a year ago experienced a horrific loss.
It was a NILMDTS session where their daughter,
Alliah went home to be with the Lord.

Today, I will be shooting a pregnancy
session for Kelly & Jeff (and their dog!).
They are expecting a boy very soon!

Later, a movie with my sweetie and for
dinner, an early hamburger with Gary and
his Mom! Her treat for V-Day! :)

Enjoy your day!

Carpet.

Our carpet came today!
However, the edge that is nearest the bar
requires some sort of puttsy process that we didn't
know about so we have to postpone the installation
to next week! waaaaaaaa! It's so close to being
completed that the setback is so very frustrating.
The lovely gents decided to go ahead and unload the
pad & carpet anyway, and why wouldn't you, right?
So I can at least stare at it and envision it complete!

Nonetheless, Nicki is venturing over to re-plaster
the bar (that's for YOU Sandi!) to remove some of
the gold shimmer. I decided that I liked it without.
Ordinarily, I'm not so HM but anytime I can get
re-plastered in a bar...right? Okay, I'm kidding ;)

I'm taking my SCUBA exam on Sunday and heading to
a pool for a review so that I can finish up my
certification in Playa...I am soooo pumped and I
NEVER use the word "pumped" so you know I'm excited!
You see, you have to finish with "Open Water" dives
which, in Minnesota in the winter, isn't possible.
So, I'll be diving in Mexico! Hi, how you doin'?! :)

We are into the "10 day" weather outlook on the web
and it's looking good. Not that we can do anything
about it but it's just fun to see.."85, feels like 92"

I think I haven't mentioned yet that we have recently
learned that Nedi is no longer working at the hotel that
we always stay at. Therefore, we have to ask around
and find out where he is so we can get together.
It just won't be the same without going to his home and
seeing his family. I miss them so much and it will just
be so different without that experience. :(

Woops, I just discovered that Gary ripped out my external
TB hard drive when he was measuring flooring last night.
CRAP! I gotta go...that's where ALL of my photo are!
More later.

Drizzly Tuesday.

If it rains in Minnesota in February,
it just means is warm...and I'll take it!

Back from the gym, Boo at my feet, a fresh
Vienna roast press and lots to blog about.

I'll start with Reese's birthday brunch that
took place on Sunday. She turned 1 on Wednesday.
She is so darn cute and at the tender age of
1 she is already fascinated with opening and
discovering gifts.
Owen helped a ton and I have to say that it
was remarkable how Owen didn't get the least
bit jealous...most kids do...he just helped!
Good job Owen!












Today is my sister and Pete's wedding
anniversary! 13 years?...wow! Congratulations!

Do you Clip?

I recently told Gary that I wanted to try
something different. I told him it had been
years since I had done it but I remember the
sensation and satisfaction being pretty
terrific. I also remember that it took a bit
of planning, preparation and on occasion, timing.
PEOPLE! Get your heads out of the gutter, I'm
talking about clipping COUPONS here!!!
(btw...do you say "Koo'-pon" or "Kyoo'-pon"?)

I guess after years of just running out and
picking up what we need all "willy nilly",
I thought that perhaps taking a stab at
saving some cash might be fun, addicting or
just plain smart, right?
Anyway, so I get up this morning, pour my
coffee, grab my "cheater/readers", a scissor
and I sit down to the kitchen counter.

I start with the ads to see where the stuff we
need is on sale then move to the coupons to see if
I can save anymore money. This proves to be
a total bust. If you don't eat cereal, drink
ensure, use disposable batteries, need diapers,
consume canned fruits-meats or veggies....
you simply can't save money. I laughed out loud.
Gary thinks that I'm crazy. I knew that already!

So after studying this weekends ads & coupons
today for about 45 minutes, I have come to the
conclusion that I am already in the red. :\

Happy Birthday to Stacey Thon! *<):-D