A Few More Pics from the Weekend

What a Great Weekend!

All of the sports reprints are FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!! :0)

Well, I did get some shopping done on Friday and had a bite out. I didn't realize how long it's been since I've clothes shopped (somewhere other than Goodwill, anyway *sheepish grin*). I am WAY out of touch with the latest--and by latest I mean within 3 years--fashions. I mean, I'm still wearing pants that are not low waisted or cropped or anything. What a nerd I am.
Anyhoo, got that all taken care of: low rise capris; cropped, colorful denims, layered tanks....yeh, I'm back in style. I hope none of that stuff goes back OUT of style in the next 3 years, 'cause that seems to be my average time between REAL clothes shopping trips. You know, I mean besides Walmart and the Re-run shops, HAHA!

FF to Saturday. I had to deliver Bridal portrait proofs and belatedly realized I was missing some. Scramble, scramble, scramble to get them printed and delivered. From there, it was on to cleaning my house---at least enough that I wouldn't be embarassed for the dogsitter to see it while I was gone. Packed for the weekend (in a papersack, actually, no lie!) and headed off to the Beach house.

Mom and Dad were there waiting, refreshingly cool beverages in hand. Melissa and the kids arrived shortly thereafter, and we enjoyed an evening of conversation and laughter, while the kids swam in the river.

Fathers Day was filled with cooking and eating and swimming and tree climbing (I can still climb with the best of 'em) and swimming and fishing and watermelon consumption and gift opening and laughter. It was a great day. I may come back to it in more detail in a later blog
( I'm too beat for details right now---I was up at 4:30AM this morning driving back from the beach for my 8:00AM root canal appointment. Oh joy.) In the meantime, here's a few images from the weekend:



IS there anything more fun than catching bubbles? I don't know what it would be!


Dad opening gifts with Q's help


The Walkman Cometh!


A really good one of Mom


I have more, but I'm too tired to post them. I'll try to catch up tomorrow. Goodnight all!

It's been a whirlwind week of researching, ordering and familiarizing myself with new equipment,finalizing trip details and paperwork and printing sports reprints and portrait proofs (I'm up to my ears in them!!). The sports stuff is almost done and so are the bridal proofs.

Tomorrow will consist of more portrait proofs, delivery of proof books, equipment testing, vet appointment and the thorough cleaning of this filthy, scary house. I'm supposed to do a little shopping and then grab a bite with a friend, later tomorrow evening. We'll see if that happens or not---it's going to be a full day!

Here're a few shots taken with my new camera the past couple of days.



Note the new outbuilding :0)


Oh, yeh my tooth still hurts (that was just for you, Melissa!HAHAHA!)

Well, Friday evening the tooth went full-blown abscess despite the prescribed antibiotics 6pm Friday to 6am Saturday morning it was very, very bad. Saturday was spent in a combo of napping, working and eating soft,soft foods. By that evening, I was feeling considerably better and had actually accomplished a good bit of work,too.

As an early b-day treat, a friend took me out to my new favorite restaurant--Milano's. Excellent Italian food(nice, soft eggplant parmigiano) and good wine,too. A glass of Pino Gris finished off the evening nicely.

Sunday morning at breakfast, I received a call from Em. She and her fam were in town and invited me over to their in-laws to pick up my b-day gift. We spent an hour or two talking with the adults and playing with the boys. The boys are SO adorable: W is just talking up a storm and Q is still just smart as a tack. They were both cracking me up with their antics. They're such good kids--and getting SO big (small tear in my eye). I let Q open and present my gift to me: a bracelet, picture frame and wallet, all fashioned after the style of "the islands" and in my favorite color. Very thoughtful gifts, indeed. It was good to see everyone!

On the way home, I got a call from a customer and realized I owed her some sports images. She HAD to have them delivered by 5pm. SO. That took care of the afternoon! But, I got them finished in plenty of time. I took the dogs out for a romp in the field and did some more work, online.

This morning, I called the St Lucian Embassy, in D.C. to get a few passport questions answered and then proceeded to work online and field various birthday well-wishing phone calls. That's one of the great things about a b-day; all of the nice calls and emails from friends and fam--THANKS EVERYONE! :0)

I met for coffee and a Q&A session with my St Lucia bride and then headed over to the dentist to make an appointment for the morrow.

The rest of today has just been a blur of internet research, ordering supplies, walking dogs, cropping images, etc. And feeling very,very old. Birthdays, after 30, just seem less exciting somehow.*sigh*

Oh, big news: I got my mega-enormous-top-of-the-line-professional-digital-camera on Friday! I am, quite frankly, a little scared of her at this point. But I am slowly getting to know her and make her my good friend. I must learn her personality and capabilities inside and out before I head off to my big island wedding adventure.

Yes, we shall become very close, she and I. ;0)

Alright, I've got some more work to do before I hit the old sackaroo. 'night all!

Crazy busy day

Whew. I am one tired gal.

The day began with my usual coffee and a little something to eat (and a toothache).
I checked my Ebay bids, blog and email and caught up on the news. From there I washed clothes and prepared to run my errands, which included getting a cashier's check. I ended up on the phone arguing with the bank and emailing and calling the guy in Chicago I'm trying to buy a camera from (and I still had a toothache). Mom and Dad, bless their hearts, came to my rescue (again) and finally got it all straight for me. The check was overnighted and the camera will be her tomorrow.WHOOHOO!
I tanned again and went to the dump and worked on digital images. Then I loaded up my car with all my gear and prepared to head over to my on-location bridal portrait session--and I still had a toothache. So. I stopped what I was doing and called a dentist. And then another. And then another...13 more times! NO ONE would see me! Not one dentist's office would give me an appointment for tomorrow. Most said it would be at least a week. I'm in PAIN, folks. I kinda thought that might take priority as it very obviously indicates an infection. So, in desperation, I'm heading to the M.D. in the morning and begging for antibiotics to kill what is obviously the beginning of an abcess. I'm hoping this will catch it soon enough to stave off the 3-day pain-fest which normally accompanies an abcessed tooth. God help the poor M.D. if he doesn't give me the meds. I'm kidding (well, kinda).

Anyhoo, it was sunny with ominous clouds rolling in when I left home for the session. As I was pulling into the session location, the heavens opened up and it poured. The poor bride-to-be had just had her hair and makeup all professionally fixed--so we just sat there in our cars. Eventually we made it into the house and did an almost 2 hour session. I just finished downloading the images and they're great.I'm very pleased with them.

On the way home I stopped at the drugstore and picked up some toothache meds and then went for a long walk with the dogs. They have played, non-stop, since I got home this evening. They're good dogs.

Alrighty, folks I'm heading off to the sack very shortly. Goodnight all!

Quickie

Alright, it's late and I've another busy day tomorrow, so it's gonna be a quickie:

Good Stuff:
Finally feeling a little better
My new outbuilding arrived
Tons of business stuff to keep me busy
Started going to the tanning booth
Started back working-out
St. Lucia prep progressing fairly smooth
Parental visit over the weekend--very enjoyable
Savannah's ballet performance in the "Petrushka" was just splendid
Austin played a most impressive game on Sat.
Long motorcycle ride with a friend on Sunday
Enjoyable dinner out with Melissa
I've lost 12lbs!!!!!!!!!!!

Not-as-Good Stuff:
Toothache that must be remedied SOON!
Hilda seems to have taken about 3 steps backwards in her house training
Having a hard time finding time to organize all my junk to get it into the outbuilding
Tons of sports images to get printed and delivered to impatient parents
The ticks are out in force in my work-out area
The humidity (the "curse of summertime" as I like to call it) is back
I need to lose another 20 lbs in the next 2 weeks(I know, I know, it ain'ta gonna happen)

So, there you have it. I could write about all of these things in a lot more detail(especially the work-related stuff), but I'm bushed.
Hope everyone is well. Goodnight! :0)

An Eventful Weekend

A special thanks to all who prayed for my unspoken request. It has been answered with a resounding "Yes!" All is well. Praise God from whom all blessing s flow.


Friday found me running around like a madwoman trying to get all of my errands run before I was due at the baseball field at 4:45pm. I got most everything accomplished (except hauling trash and cleaning my car). I was at the team shoot for 5 hours and shot two teams worth of posed and action shots and collected a very healthy amount of dough for my trouble.YESSS!

Saturday, I was packed and on the road by 12:30. It was a long trip and I was tired. When I made it to the farm, I tried to lay down for a few minutes but little Hilda has decided she's a watchdog now and barks furiously at any little noise. I didn't get much sleep Friday night for that very reason--she kept waking up and seeing her reflection in the mirror and ruffing viciously at that strange dog who had slipped in whilst she slept. I couldn't be mad because it was just so ridiculously funny.

Anyhoo, I walked the dogs and then headed over to Em's for babysitting detail. The boys were very excited and energetic and cute! The Dude was racing around getting together all the bits and pieces of his Hulk Hogan costume and enlisted me to inscribe "the Hulkster" on a torn t-shirt and do-rag.Then he headed out to the big 80's party. W had a bad runny nose and was a bit grumpy, but was really very well-behaved despite not feeling great.Many cars and choo-choo's traveled the "beltway" that night. And Q was a little ball of energy, swinging and kicking the ball around and laughing hysterically because I called Stella "Pootus". He informed me on Monday that she was called that because she was "full of poots, ha!ha!ha!". What a comedian! :0) They were both incredibly well-behaved and fun to babysit. I camped out on the couch with the baby monitor until the next morning.

I went back to the farm and took care of the dogs and laid down for a little while. Later, I walked the dogs and set up a portrait session at my friend J's house for that evening. It's about an hour's drive to the beach house, where Mom and Dad have been working tirelessly this past week to get things all fixed up. And wow does it show! The place looks great! I don't know why I didn't think to take some pics of it(Duh!).

I got the dogs settled in and chatted with Mom and Dad for a bit, then headed over to J's. Mom came along,too to see the kids and J's flower garden. The garden was absolutely beautiful! Her whole yard is just a sea of roses and various other multi-hued perennials and cultivated greenery. Just lovely! It was really nice to see her and her fam. The kids are growing like weeds and little A.G. is so cute and just hilarious--she's one of those kids that keeps you guessing as to what she might say next. Little A was in a very good mood and smiled and laughed right on cue for the camera. She was adorable in her little pink, smocked dress. The pictures are awesome! I can't wait to post them! (I have to show them to J first--it's only fair!).

Dad had the grill fired up when we arrived back at the beach house and steaks and baked potato and corn were on the table soon after we arrived. I can't begin to describe the joy that was that steak. I bow in reverence to both the butcher dept. at Hall's grocery and my Dad's abilities on the grill. Can I get uh Amen, people?

The next morning I awoke early with a nasty sore throat and watched the sunrise with Mom.
It was gorgeous coming up over the water.


As the day progressed I became more and more ill. Em and her crew arrived around 1pm and the boys headed straight to the water. Q is quite the little fish! We grilled hot dogs and burgers and by 3;30 we had crabs on the table and the picking began. MMMMM! Mom's shell pile was, of course, 3 times the size of everyone else's by the time the feasting was winding down. I think Mom and Dad both really enjoyed their anniversary feast (the only thing that could have made it better was if Mel and her gang could've been there.) :0)

By 5pm I was camped out on a blanket in the yard with a fever and aches and chills and runny nose, etc. Em and the Dude and Q did some fishing and W played in the sand and in the yard. W's very independent and fearless--he would head right out into the yard towards the beach without a second thought! I even fetched him out of the neighbors yard at one point. He's such a character! :0)


When Em and the boys left, I slept for a while and then sat down and had a long conversation with Dad about business prospects. I will save the contents of that discussion for another blog, but suffice it to say that I believe there are some big, exciting changes in the future for me and my business. ;-)

I didn't sleep well that night and woke up the next morning with all the same symptoms and completely congested,too. Mom and Dad headed back to the farm and I stayed one more night to get over the worst part of "the sick" before I drove home. I pretty much just slept that whole day.

Feeling better today (finally!) and thank goodness, because I have a ton of work to accomplish.
I still have my cigarette-and-whiskey voice(always makes me want to break out my guitar and belt out some old blues ballads) and my 3-pack-a-day laugh, but the fever's gone and I'm on the mend in general.

The dogs have worn themselves completely out playing tug-of-war with Hilda's collar (note to self: buy new collar for Hilda) and are curled up together in the floor. They're very cute.

Alright, I'm all blogged out and have things to do in the real world(as opposed to the world of blog, where I've spent the last hour!).

Ho-hum...

Well, I just don't have a darn thing of interest to say.

I've been researching for a new camera equipment purchase. Turns out Ed (my wedding helper) is researching the same camera. We swapped info tonight over the phone. Every time I talk with him I get all pumped up about the St. Lucia trip!

The last few days have been busy. Lots of proof printing and retouching and some framing and a sports team shoot and house cleaning and shopping and about a million miscellaneous errands. And I wonder why I'm so tired by 10pm?

I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I'm babysitting Em's boys on Saturday and on Monday we'll all go to the beach house and eat crabs to celebrate Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary. I think I may have a portrait session thrown in there sometime, too.

Tomorrow I have to deliver a proof album, run a bunch of errands, haul trash, print image packages, shoot
two sports teams and a game and color my hair(I found a gray one the other day. AAAHHH!).

I was SO hoping to see Revenge of the Sith this week. Not gonna happen. Well, unless I do it late tomorrow night. It's possible, I suppose. We'll see.

Alrighty, off to watch another "24", first season, DVD and wash dishes. That poor Bauer family--when will that awful day end?

Tah-tah!

Hilda-rator, Hilda-stani, Hilda-gaard, the Fabulous Miss H,...

What am I going to do with little Hilda?????

Pros:
*adorably cute
*bursting with hilarious puppy personality
*intelligent and easy to train
*Elvis plays with her non-stop during the day--good for him to have the companionship and exercise
*I love her (can't help it, tried not to)


Cons:
*I'm living in a rental house
*I'm living in a very small rental house
*Extra expenses-dog food, vet, pet sitter, rawhides (holy cow, the rawhides they've gone through!)
*I can't haul Hilda about like I do the Big E, when I travel
*My fam and friends think I've gone quite mad

I think I could let her go if I found someone who would take care of her the way that I have, ie.
regular vet trips, sleeps in my bed, long outdoor romps in the country, companionship with other dogs, lots of playtime, tons of attention,not just allowed to run around the neighborhood loose and be a nuisance (like EVERY other dog in my area), etc.

I'm thinking seriously about asking my pet sitter if she might be interested. She's the first possibly interested person I've met(with the exception of Dy and her crew) to whom I might be comfortable giving my little Hilda away. I've had a couple of people in my "neighborhood" offer to take her, but I see the way they treat the pack of yard dogs they already have and there's NO way!

I keep being advised to put it in the paper-FREE PUPPY- or put up signs, but I don't have time for the extended screening process that would be required of potential new Hilda owners. And I'm thinking that when I ask about their previous pet-owning history, in written form with documentation and try to schedule a time to visit their home and meet their kids, it might put some folks off, anyway, heh-heh. That's a joke. Sorta.

Alright, I'll have to go. They've snagged a sock out of the hamper and are tug-of-warring like there's no tomorrow. Gotta go break it up.

Another short one

I was up until 4am finishing a proof album that was due this morning. I completed the album and slept for a few hours and then got up and started cleaning house and working on a slideshow DVD project. The wedding album consultation was at 11 am and the couple was very pleased with their images. The DVD I was trying to get together for them didn't get finished in time due to technical difficulties, but it was going to be a surprise for them anyway, so it was no big deal.

The rest of the day consisted mainly of cleaning house and rearranging furniture and filling my big terrracotta planters with herbs and tomato plants. I filched some dirt from the freshly and potently fertilized cornfield next door to ensure myself a robust crop of herbs and 'maters.

Alrighty, I'm beat. Hittin the hay. Will blog more after sleep.
For your viewing pleasure, here're a few images from the last week or two. Goodnight!



Pic from the weekend at the beach house


A gorgeous view of the James River--a few miles from my place


Holy cow! I don't know how this could possibly look anymore like Pa-paw! It cracks me up!


Puppies and kids--is there any cuter combination on the planet? I think not.

Quick weekend review

Well, I'm too busy for a full blog, so I'll do a blog lite.
After much labor, I completed the things I had to accomplish last Friday and packed up the muts and headed off to the Colonial beach house to sort through and hall home some junk I left there when I moved out. Mom and Dad came on Sunday and we all talked and walked on the beach. Me and Mom picked up shells and played with the dogs. We considered getting some steamed crabs, but Dad was ready to hit the road, before long. We'll do that another time.
I stayed Monday and organized and packed some more stuff. It's so nice there by the water. It was funny how happy Elvis was when we first walked into our old abode on Friday (E and I lived in that house for 2 years). He definitely remembered the place! It was cute. He and Hilda played together non-stop all weekend.

Alright, gotta run. Oh and PLEASE don't forget that prayer request from my last blog. I really appreciate your prayers folks. Thanks.

G'night!

Busy,Busy,Busy

The last few days have been full but semi-productive, through no fault of my own.
I was on a roll getting reprints and enlargements and sports images printed, when the printer decided to act up. This led to placing an order with a supply company, which led to the discovery of a problem with an order purchased from a different company which led to a most disconcerting problem with my bank account. After much time spent on hold with banks and supply companies, the problem was resolved in a 3-way phone call initiated by the bank. I am very proud of myself for not losing my temper throughout the whole debacle--at least not to a point that I unleashed it on some poor sap on the other end of the line. I've been known to do that on occasion when I feel like I'm being "messed with".

Today's problem was a moronic Fed-ex driver causing the delivery of my much needed overnight package to be held up until tomorrow. So now I'm a full two days behind on accomplishing what I needed to this week. Kinda irritating. Kinda frustrating

I had an art lesson with Savannah this morning, using our newly purchased charcoals. She really loves and excels at that particular medium. After the lesson was finished, we picked a nice bouquet of flowers for my living room and walked the puppy . Lunch was Sonic(low-cal chicken wrap--pretty tasty; I mean not like burger and tots tasty, but pretty good) with Melissa and the kids, sans Austin who was apparently pretty exhausted from all of his sports activities and opted to stay home.

I went WAY off my diet for several days. It was bad, folks.
Monday saw the return of calorie counting.*sigh*
The St.Lucia job is looming on my horizon like some shadowy menace instead of a trip to a sunny island paradise. Gotta lose weight, gotta do it. Time is short. Must be thin and tan. Must. Will be uninhibited enough to SCUBA dive and snorkel. And parasail. Will bask on the beach in (dare I even think it?) a two-piece while sipping a tropical beverage. Oh, yeh, and take some wedding pics, too, heh-heh.

Business, in general, has picked up. I have on-location, fine art portrait sessions and more sports team shoots lined up in the coming weeks. The gal I did a session for on Sat. is opening up a fancy-schmancy boutique in a new and happening "money" part of town and has asked me to do runway style images of models wearing her merchandise. These images will be prominently displayed throughout the store, with my name on them. THAT is excellent exposure for my business to the moneyed peoples I'm so desperately seeking to attract. The blessings just keep pouring in, my friends!

BBBS will be hooking me up with a kid in August. Apparently, nothing popped up in my background check. Shew! LOL! ;0)
I start volunteer work at a local soup kitchen/homeless shelter next week. Should be interesting. I've never done anything like that before. I'm looking forward to it.

I have a favor to ask. I have an unspoken prayer request. It's not for me, but for someone I care for very much. Thanks!

Well, I need to hit the hay. It's another busy day tomorrow.

Goodnight, all.

Highlights

You know, once you get this far behind it's practically impossible to catch up in any detail.

So. A few highlights:


*Celtic festival in the mountains-lots of neat music and people and scenery



*3 trips to Mom and Dad's house--much fishing and ball playing with the niece and nephews. Also, the rediscovery of old but still functional lapidary equipment from my childhood "workshop". Cool.



*Spending a weekend "babysitting" Austin and getting him to his game while Mel and Troy were in Miami. We had a great time. He's so helpful and easy going. And hilarious in the way that only teenage boys can be--sarcastic and clever and silly.


*I did 2 sport team sessions and a glamour shoot. My friend T was finally able to come and spend the night with me and be my hair and makeup artist for the glam session. It was great to spend time with her and the session went wonderfully (as you can see below!)!


* I acquired a fish. A beta, with the tank and heater and filter and everything(thanks Aunt D!). At Q's behest, he is named "American". According to Q, the fish's red, white and blue colors indicate that this would be the perfect name. :0)


*I acquired a puppy. Yeh, you heard right. I named her Hilda and am terribly attached to her, though I've only had her for a week. She wandered into my yard, all scared and skinny and adorably cute--obviously just dropped off by some inhumane person. Everyone thinks I should get rid of her and I have made a number of inquiries for a "good home" for her, but without success, thus far. I still have some feelers out.
Surprisingly,Elvis is starting to like her. Not sure what to do here. Do you go with your heart or your head? Hmm.



Well that's the general outline of occurrences since I last blogged. I'll try not to let myself get so far behind again! I have an insanely busy week ahead of me, so I'm going to try to get some shut-eye.
Happy Mother's Day to the Moms reading this, and most especially to my own Mom!

Spot uh catchin' up

Okay, I'm not even going to try to play catch-up for the weekend, at this point. I'll do that in a later post. I'll just start with yesterday(Monday)

I slept in on Monday because I had not been feeling too well Sunday evening--pollen and a touch of a tummy bug. As a reward for this indulgence, my body gave me an enormous amount of energy to work with when I got up. I accomplished a lot!
Taxes, business emails, fine art enlargements, bridal consultation preparation(the chick was a no-show), 2 DMV trips, hung my hummingbird feeder outside my office window(just what I need--one more reason to stare out the window,LOL!), bought paint for my living room and front door, painted my front door(looks SO good!), scrubbed carpets(Elvis is sick-yuck!), had a good/hard workout, packed my stuff for Mom and Dad's, hung my pots and pans on from the kitchen shelf with some newly purchased hardware, and miscellaneous little tasks that I won't even bother to list. A good, productive day, it was (read that as Yoda).


Tuesday, I was up early and out the door to the DMV. I got my name and address changed, a shiny new driver's license and registered my car in my county. I feel so official.
And, through careful preparation--including a bit of extra mirror time that morning and practicing facial expressions on the drive to the DMV--- was able to get a remarkably not too frightening DL photo.

The drive to Mom and Dad's was good. Em and the boys were there when I arrived so I got to see W walking all over the place and Q picking flowers. It's always good to see those little critters.

I made a few business calls and then headed into the woods to scout for turkey sign. It was VERY enjoyable. Elvis and I both had a good long walk.

From there, I took Elvis for his vet appointment. He has a minor infection and we left with some antibiotics and many compliments on what a handsome and well-behaved fellow he is :-D
No worries, mate.

Supper was a fat juicy steak, Montreal seasoned(which I did NOT finish all of, only through sheer willpower) and a baked potato. Yuu-um.

I talked with Mom and Dad for a while and prepared a lab order to go in the mail on Wednesday.

And pretty much, that was the day. :0)

Springtime at my place


The azalea bush is about to burst forth into beautimous blooms any moment!
It does seem to smell a little weird, though (at least I think that's where that smell is coming from?????). Is it normal for azaleas stink?

Gooood day, suuunshine

It was a great day. I was up early(ish) and studying-up for Savannah's art lesson and prepping for my afternoon session and sucking back coffee. Melissa dropped off the kids around 10:30am. Austin slaved under the hot sun mowing my overgrown lawn while Savannah and I had a very productive art lesson--an introduction to watercolors--very enjoyable! Melissa and Jack came back by with lunch around 1pm and we all enjoyed a quick bite under the shade of my lilac bush on my freshly hewn lawn. Austin then completed the mowing and Melissa broke out her spiffy new weedeater and trimmed around my bushes (she bought my lunch and trimmed my weeds--whata gal!). I was busy finishing my last minute preparations for the session and ironing my work clothes.
The session went wonderfully, despite the guy throwing me a curve ball (figuratively speaking) before we even got started. He needed some unusual cropping which required a bit of quick rearranging on my part. But, it was no problem. The headshots are great. I expect that this guy will send more business my way when he sees his images!

While waiting for my images to download, I ran a couple of errands in town. I booked another bridal consultation, as well.

Supper was "Grilled Chicken of Many Flavor"(oriental style) prepared on the charcoal grill. Small baked potato, spinach salad. YUM!

The remainder of the day was spent tearing down and putting away my studio equipment, cropping and retouching the headshot images (love doing that!), continuing preparation of the enlargements to hang in the Bistro and practicing my watercolor techniques. I didn't workout today because my landlord is feverishly spreading cow manure all over his fields--where I usually do my workouts! I guess E and I will be heading over to "our" National Forest trail for a workout, tomorrow.

I did sit out on the deck, with Elvis, and just enjoy the ambience of the evening for a little while. It's so nice out here.

Now, I may be wrong here. It may just be wishful trying-on-of-pants. But, I think I may have lost a smidgeon of weight--I THINK! I wore some pants today that I am reasonably sure I couldn't get into last month. Gosh, I hope so. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, here, with the whole weight loss deal.

I would so love to feel uninhibited enough in a swimsuit that I could comfortably take full advantage of all the water realted activities that St. Lucia has to offer--snorkeling, scuba, parasailing(maybe-maybe not on that last one; I've laughed myself into a coma at one too many parasailing AFV clips!)

But, anyhoo. A good day and I'm thankful for it. The day was rounded off by a conversation with Melissa that left my stomach aching from laughter. Without going into any details, we were discussing the string of good looking gentleman that have been parading in and out my studio lately for headshot sessions. We decided it could make a very funny movie, if properly embellished ;0D!! Funny stuff!

Alright, folks, I'm uh hittin the hay. G'night!

Spring images and a relatively boring Blog

My lilac bush is in full bloom and it is SO gorgeous and sweet smelling! The butterflies can't keep their little probosci (that means butterfly mouths) off of it.


The Dogwood in my yard is blooming--Spring has indeed sprung!


Well, the missing wedding check arrived in the mail today. Whew! I needed that.

I almost forgot about the wedding consultation I had booked for this morning, so I was up scurrying around and getting things ready, first thing. It went smoothly. The bride-to-be was very sweet and very indecisive. We'll see if I get a call back on that one or not!

The afternoon was spent working on three sports packages that had to be mailed today, without fail. Right as I was trying to get out the door, my landlady stopped by AND the pushy phone book lady called. I ended up making it to the P.O. just in time to get the packages mailed before 5pm.*shew*

I discovered that the lab where I was going to be sending my wedding film is not really the "pro" operation that it claims to be on it's website. A phone call to confirm a few details before I shipped them my film was enough to convince me that I would NOT be trusting these folks with any of my precious wedding images.

I've sent out a couple of emails to some other promising labs and hope to hear back from them tomorrow. It's always a little scary to deal with a new outfit.

I finished a lot of the editing on the digital images from this past weekend's wedding. I'm pretty pleased with the results, so far.

I retouched and printed a couple of enlargements that I may hang in the Bistro. I want to get a second opinion on it, though, before I frame them.

Me and Elvis went for a run this evening and I did some ab-but-pec work as well. Felt pretty good, except for my aching shins(how the heck do you spell THAT?). I think I'm going to have to scrape together some funds for a new pair of running shoes.

Tomorrow, Savannah's coming over in the morning for her art lesson and Austin's going to mow the grass for me. Then I have a Headshot session at 2pm. I've already set up the studio for it, so I don't have to be rushed in the morning.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a dentist's appointment very soon. I have a toothache. Every since the disconcerting abscess tooth incident from a few years ago, I have this horrible dread of getting another one. It REALLY hurt and I REALLY don't like pain. SO. Off to the dentist I go. SOON!

What a boring blog. Oh, well, they can't all be riveting, right? :0)

Alright, folks. Sweet dreams.

The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament showeth His handywork

Yesterday's sunset was particularly stunning. I was walking Elvis in back of the field by my house when I snapped this. I'm thinking about making a few postcards or something out of it.

Some weekend!

Wow. I didn't realize it'd been so long since I blogged!

Thursday was spent working on taxes and running errands and printing pictures. I picked Savannah and Jack up from their ballet and martial arts and dropped them at Austin's b-ball game. The game was fun to watch. Austin was much more relaxed and was having a great time. He loves The Game SO much!
I got some pretty good shots of him, too.

Friday? I don't even remember Friday. Running errands, frantically trying to figure out my taxes (nothing quite as exciting as waiting 'til the last minute,eh?), being doubled over in pain a few times(cramps) and prepping camera equipment.

Saturday was busy. Up early, quick breakfast and then a whir of cleaning house, loading camera bags, cleaning lenses, ironing work clothes, etc.
Ed arrived right on time and I got him all settled in and acclimated to my house. We then loaded up and headed off to the wedding.

The B&G were both really late getting there and that threw everything out of wack as far as the picture schedule goes. So it was rushed. I was almost run over by the stretch Hummer that served as their limo and then tripped running up the stairs of the reception hall carrying all 30lbs or so of equipment strapped about my body. That hurt. Still hurts a little today.
But we got some great shots. And that's all that matters!

Unfortunately, the B&G forgot to bring my check. They promised to mail it out. I sure hope they do, cause I'm still really broke.

It's really awesome how well Ed and I work together. It took us about an hour to really get back into our rhythmn but once we did it was smooth as glass.I can't wait to see the pictures.
I am so thankful to God to have an assistant like Ed!

One other remarkable event at the reception I shall report on: there was a car wreck at the end of the driveway. Some guy rolled his Grand Cherokee about 4 times and came to an upside down stop right in front of the reception hall. He was alright and it made for an interesting story.

My friend met us at the Bistro for supper afterwards. There was a great live blues/rock band playing and I treated Ed to the Bistro's phenomenal crabcakes and Heffenweisen (I pushed away before I finished!). We all talked and laughed and made fun of the sideshow antics of this 60's-throwback-pothead-type guy who was making quite the spectacle of himself while getting his groove on to the tunes (this fellow had obviously enjoyed some "herbal" entertainment prior to the show!) It was alot of fun.

We then went to my friend's house and checked out his Harley (I have just got to figure out a way to get myself a bike one of these days)and watched some drag racing on TV. We didn't stay long, though, cause I was beat.

I want to send out another word of thanks to my friend T who so generously gave me her futon for my living room. It is PERFECT for when guests stay over! Thanks again, girl!

Anyhoo, Sunday morning, Ed was all up and showered and bright-eyed before my alarm even went off. I don't understand morning people, I really don't. We all went out and enjoyed a long leisurely breakfast with Ed and I scheming about our upcoming St. Lucia wedding.

Ed took off around noon and I downloaded my wedding images and organized the film.

Supper was Mexican food and then me and Elvis went for a hike. It was a really nice day.

Makin fun of a "Bad Day"

I tried to pawn my ring today and was spat upon(figuratively speaking).

The telephone book folks finally called me about all of the misprints they made in my ad and as consolation for their errors offered me...nothing.

In an attempt to complete my ever-more-convoluted tax paperwork, I unsuccessfully tried to find last year's taxes and discovered what MUST be a dead mouse in my junk closet. It smells. Really bad.

Oh wait. It gets worse. "Worse than spit, dead mice and taxes?" you query. That's right, friends and neighbors.

I realized that I have misplaced a reprint order sheet( duh!) and will have to call the customer and meekly, apologetically request that they repeat their order to me.

I was working at the computer, feeling kinda down (PPW) and look up to see the remains of a gorgeous sunset outside my office window. So, hoping to share it with my fellow bloggers I grab my camera and step outside just in time to catch the final rays and.....the battery in my camera dies.

That was the final straw. I stopped what I was doing, drew a hot bath and brewed a nice cup of Earl Grey, hot----the good stuff---Taylor's of Harrogate.

It helped. I went on with the day, renewed.


On the positive side of the day, Em sent me Q's shoolpics and they are just adorable!
It's so nice to get something besides bills in the mail once in a while. I managed to send a few little gifts in the mail, myself, to 3 unsuspecting young'uns ;0)--you'll see who!(Q, W & A). I didn't do too badly with my eating today--pretty low-cal. The cold rainy skies cleared off and there was a beautiful sunset(just because I couldn't capture it doesn't mean I didn't appreciate it!). I managed to locate my missing tax paperwork a short while ago and will get it via fax on the morrow. On a financial note, I have taken positive steps to reclaim something that was mine and has been unfairly denied me.

Other positive things about the day: I'm healthy, I have food and water in abundance, I live in a free country, I have most excellent family and friends, my dog adores me, I have a home in the mountains,etc, etc, etc.

The minor problems of days like today are just nothing. They can be made devoid of all their power by seeing the humor in them. That's why I have written this blog. I'm making fun of my silly little problems thereby effectively robbing them of their potential potency.

It works, I feel better.

I shall do this more often on "bad days". Try to bear with me, folks.

G'night!