Football...

has begun. Trevor's first game is tomorrow morning and I'm so exciting to be able to see it. I have missed so many games over the years because I shoot weddings almost every Saturday. Well, tomorrow I'm shooting at the Cleveland Botanical Garden tomorrow and the wedding doesn't start until 6:00. We are doing all of the photos before hand but it's still a relatively late day. It should be a beautiful day to have a wedding at the Gardens!!! Congratulations, Karen & James!!

Kitty...

The kitty is making HUGE progress. He is eating like a horse now (finally) and he is actually playing with Noodle. It's been so rewarding. I have to say to all of my clients that have been patient with me, THANK YOU!! Tomorrow will be non-stop getting caught back up. If you're getting anxious for your work and you haven't heard from me, feel free to call anytime.

I Wish I Could...

post the pics from today. It was such an amazing experience. When the judge asked if there was anyone else that had anything to add to the adoption hearing, it was all I could do to jump up and down and add how grateful I was to just be present to witness (and photograph) such an amazing family. My job is not a job...it's a gift. I was too busy wiping my tears...must be PMS.

It's a White Box on Wheels

Well, after 8 hours I found a car. I feel like I'm 1 step away from being institutionalized. I have my 20 minute presentation that I haven't begun to prepare for tomorrow morning and I am late on my sales tax. OOPS!! I'm too tired now so I'm signing off...there's always tomorrow.

The Kitty's Still Alive...

The van, not so much. I knew I should have gone back to bed today when I poured the coffee grounds into the Cuisenart before I put the basket in. 45 minutes later and a tablespoon of grounds in the bottom of my cup, I started to wake up.

I was going to spend the whole day enhancing Christen & Drew's wedding pics to post online when my sister called to let me know we better do her maternity pics. She was having strong contractions about 10 minutes apart. I fed the kitty, showered and met with a new bride. While fueling up the van (thankfully only a few gallons) I read a text from her that said to hurry up, the contractions were now 5 minutes apart. She even called to say she was in so much pain, never mind. She would just have George snap a quick shot so baby #3 doesn't feel cheated (like that won't happen anyway). I told her to just wait and I would be there in 10 minutes. We had a 3 minute session and flew out the door.

The nurse checked her, told her to walk the halls for an hour and she'd recheck her. She was 75% effaced and 2 cm dilated. NO LUCK! She said to go home where she's more comfortable and come back when she couldn't take it anymore. I think every pregnant women should experience that for at least one of their pregnancies. I did and it wasn't fun!

Anyhoo...on the way to the hospital my transmission started slipping and I knew I was in trouble. On the way home, I had to pull over and leave it in a church parking lot. I was just telling the boys the other day that I was going to drive that thing until the wheels fall off. Little did I know it would be the next day. After 190,000 miles and a 2 transmissions I think I should let it go...

Which brings me to tomorrow. I have no idea what it has in store for me but I'm hoping to either have a new baby niece, a new vehicle ($4,500 off MSRP), or Christen and Drew's pics posted online....oh and a much healthier kitty!!!

Hurry up Sophia, Evelyn or whatever your name is! I can't wait to see you!!!

Doreen & Mitch

What a busy weekend! I just want to say how much I love Doreen & Mitch and their families. Doreen's family flew in from Germany. They spoke VERY little English. I have to say it was quite challenging getting them to pose, in a hurry, how I wanted. I really hope they don't think everyone in America just pushes (literally pushes) people around like that. Maybe I should send them some sort of apology that Doreen could interpret for them. Now that I think about it, her mom smiled at everyone but me...lol!

I'll post pics from their fabulous wedding in a few days!

Thank you guys for picking me...I love you!!

Yikes!!!

I almost forgot to post. This is just about the discipline for me so even though it's technically Saturday, it counts. I am just going to share a picture that made me smile the other day.

I was driving down the road and my allergies were KILLING me...I mean, I should NOT have been driving. I'm sure many accidents have been caused by people driving like that. You leave the air conditioning of your house, drive to your destination. By the time you get there, you're feeling your eyes itch and you start sneezing just a bit. Then, like me, you take a portrait session outdoors with ragweed in the air so thick that you'd swear you had a $75 filter over your lense. I'm not really sure how I got home but I do know that about 1/2 mile away I saw these flowers along side of the road and between sneezes and the tears, I managed to turn around and snap a few shots.

I love flowers...

3 Days in a Row

Yay! 3 days of postings in a row! This will be super short as I am very sleep deprived. I'm in the process of editing Christen & Drew's wedding pics from July 27th. These are just a few of my favorite images from their wedding. They were so stinkin' cute and VERY cooperative to try a few new places off the beaten path.

BTW...the kitty is doing well. He seemed to be drooling earlier and Trevor said he thought it had rabies. He went online and read all of the symptoms and "Warrior" seems to have almost all of them. I think they are also symptom of an extremely mal-nourished kitty. We're going to wait it out and see...

Trevor's Big Heart

Wow! I never thought I would be here yesterday when I was writing this blog. About 5:00 yesterday when Trevor came home from Alex's to get ready for football practice, he had the most desperate look on his face I had ever seen. Alex had found this kitty on the side of the road and he was begging me to take it to the vet. He said it was just laying there with flies all around it. Toby warned me not to even look at it but I had to. Trevor is so loving toward Noodle and I really want to nurture his compassionate heart.

When I went down there, the kitty was in a cardboard box crying hysterically. Tonya and I got on our phones and made calls with no luck to different shelters. Thank God for Facebook because a friend (Judy Litten) answered my plea for help and had me bring the kitty over. She showed me how to bottle-feed it and stimulate it to go potty (who knew?).

I checked online and since it has teeth, I would guess it's at least 4 weeks but it only weighs 8 oz., the average size of a 2 week old. It's flea infested...I mean INFESTED! When I gave it a bath, the fleas ran to the only dry spot left, it's face! Such a pitiful sight. I probably picked 50 fleas off of it and there are plenty more to keep us busy for days.

I do have a total saint that might be interested in taking the kitty (Danielle Linden) but I'm not sure what would be best for "Trevor's Big Heart"...

What a Summer!!

It's pretty sad when you remove the "Happy New Year" heading halfway through the month of August. I'm actually not sure it's so bad since it means I've been extremely busy. I am forever thankful for that and for all of my clients/friends that entrust me with their capturing their life's milestones in pictures! It's an honor that I will never take for granted...

I did take a break the other evening to go see "Julie & Julia" with my sister, cousin and aunt. If you haven't seen the movie, it all started with a girl who kept a blog. It did inspire me to start up again. Since Facebook has sucked me in to it's sticky, tangly web, I have not been to my own blog since May.

I am making it a goal to post everyday. It may not be much but I will at least post a "photo of the day" (some of which will be just for me). It may be a wedding, high school senior, baby, my boys, my dog or just a photo of the moldy bread sitting on my counter. Whatever fits my "bi-polar" mood for the day!! One day it might be a shot that just makes me smile on the inside and the next day it might be ...well, you get the idea.

Anyhow, this first picture had me lol as soon as I looked at the back of my camera! Is she not adorable?!?! This is from Erin & Bret Kuhn's wedding. They were the wedding that "almost didn't happen" because the minister saw Erin holding a beer in her hand before the wedding (might I add that Erin doesn't even drink beer) and refused to perform the ceremony. I will save that story for tomorrow's blog...

Anyhow, I'm going to book club this evening (which should be interesting since I haven't completed a book in 7 years...since Photoshop stole my soul). I'll let you know how that goes...

Forever Friends Dock Dogs

This Saturday I had the opportunity to photograph a super cool event out at (Forever Friends) in Grafton. It was the Buckeye Dock Dogs and Open House. These dogs were so much fun to watch! Some of the big dogs couldn't make the leap and then there was this little one that jumped in numerous times. I love the look in her eyes!

Benefit / Fundraiser

A friend of mine (Tonya Kessler) is having a fundraiser for her brother, Kenny Lindsey Jr., who has had to have 2 brain surgeries in the last few months. Anyone interested should contact me or the #s below. It's a great way to help out those in need and have a good time in the process!!!


June 12, 2009 7:00 pm -9:00 pm

Aces Grill 32650 Lorain Road, North Ridgeville

$12.50 donation includes meal, draft beer and/or soft drinks

50/50 and other raffles!!!

The band Disco Inferno will be playing at 10:00 pm

Please call 440-315-3148 or 440-829-9321 for tickets

My Attempt at Nature Photography...

I can't wait to see flowers again!!

For Women By Women

By Women For Women invites all local women for an afternoon of free fun, food, pampering and prizes. Feel free to call Becky For more information. 216-973-0156. No reservations needed...just show up!!

So much more...

When I first have contact with a bride and groom concerning their wedding, the thing it seems they are most interested in is the dvd of images. I completely understand why and I do sell the dvd, but the reason I hate to do that is because your wedding photography is so much more than that. It's kind of like having your wedding at Windows on the River and serving McDonald's food. It might also be compared to wearing a $10,000 designer gown down the isle and having your bridesmaids walk down the isle in blue jeans. It just doesn't make sense.

As a photographer and artist, I go into every wedding trying to out-do myself on the last one. If you don't showcase those images in an album for your friends, family and children someday to enjoy, you're basically ripping yourself off (unless Uncle Tom is photographing your day and you might not want to show those to anyone).

Here a a few samples of wedding album pages, and remember,"bad pictures aren't a good deal at any cost".

The Art of the Cake

This weekend I had the privelage of photographing a cake decorating contest. Wow...these cakes were OFF THE HOOK! There was a special category called "tasting cakes". Of course when we photographed these, it was very important that the slice for the shot was "clean". Needless to say, we had to make a clean cut and...ummm...eat the slice. YUMM-O!

Becky Rink from About The Cake even let me take home the fish cake for my boys!

Show Enlargements

Yea...I finally ordered my 24x30's for the show this weekend. Better late than never!

Ouch!

Well, at age 39.8 I am constantly fighting getting old. When the boys wanted to go sledding at Cascade Park yesterday I have to admit I thought "maybe your dad could take you...". I have always loved sledding but for some reason it seems like something I can pass on the older I get.

As soon as we arrived at the park, the boys jumped out and hit the hill without even looking back to see if I had gotten out of the van. I thought "awesome...they said they wanted me to go but maybe I'm off the hook". As I sat in the van answering e-mails on my blackberry I fought intense feelings of guilt. I swore I would never be one of "those" moms. Finally after about 20 minutes Taylor started heading to the van and said he was done...."WHAT? I haven't even gone down yet!!! (trying to sound all like the cool mom)." So as soon as Trevor made it up the hill I said, "let's race", Taylor on one sled and Trevor and I on the one pictured here.

It seemed like all was going well until I realized Trevor was dragging one foot on the ground which proceeded to spin us 180 degrees until we were going down backwards. No problem...I've done that before. What I didn't realize is that some IDIOT had left HALF OF A TRUCK BED LINER they were using to sled down the hill on right at the bottom of the hill.

What I have illustrated in the diagram here is what a normal girl might tatoo on her back (commenly known as a "tramp stamp"). On the other is my new tatoo!!!

I think I'll just accept growing old...

Vivers 10 Months

She's so big!!

Colorful Cookies and Monopoly

I love snow days...I mean "cold" days. I guess snow is better than cold because you can sled or ski but we made due with cookies and Monopoly. 5 HOURS OF MONOPOLY...