Thursday, July 31, 2008

I feel like a 14-year old teenage girl right now!

I've been stuck in bed now for pushing 2 weeks now. Most of the time too sick to care about anything else.... except these stupid books! I am officially hooked on the Twilight Series of books. Written specifically for 14-year old teenage girls, it's pretty much the story of love blooming between an ordinary 17-year old girl and the 90-year old vampire she meets in high school. In later books, the story delves deeper into the love triangle she ensnares herself in when a young werewolf catches her eye and she must make a decision between mythical creatures.

Do you get the sarcasm I have???

I may sound sarcastic... but I started reading Twilight, the first of the series, last Tuesday after a bunch of photographer friends where all talking about it. I saw it on sale at Target and though "What the heck... good light summer reading."

Next morning, at 8 am and after staying up until 1:00 am reading, I ran out to Target to get the second book, New Moon.

That afternoon, I was at my hair appointment, realized I would finish the second book that night, so I stopped next door at Barnes and Noble so I could pick up book #3, Eclipse, before going home. Oh oh oh... but I had to, you guessed it, pre-order book #4, Breaking Dawn which, lucky for me, comes out at midnight tomorrow!!

So three books, three days. Obsessive yes, but not totally unheard of (especially if you know how much I love to read and how quickly I devour books). However, since I had nothing better to do when I got really really sick over the weekend, I started back again with book #1 and just finished reading #3 for the second time. Now I've read the entire series, twice, in one week.

It's sick!!

But the sickness gets worse (and we're not talking Tonsillitis here anymore)....
The movie comes out in December!!
I feel like a 14-year old girl right now, giddy with excitement and butterflies!!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Still Recovering...

The illness got worse.... to say the least!
Sunday marked the second ER visit over the weekend when my airway started to close due to the infection I had raging throughout my body. However, a quick thinking doctor injected me with some antibiotics that evening, and finally, my recovery started.

Since then, I've seen my regular doctor (again) and a specialist, Ear Nose & Throat doctor, who both informed me that the worst of the illness is over, recovery has begun and I'm not needing surgery! YAY!! However, if I have another flare up, I will most likely have to go in and get my tonsils out. Yuck.... doctor's have told me that while it's not a big surgery for little kids, for adults, it's on the scale of having your appendix out. Neither sound good.... so let's just hope that they stay right where they are currently placed!

Thanks to all my family and friends who have sent their warm get well wishes. And a huge thank you to both my mother and my husband, both who have sacrificed so much over the last 12 days to help nurse me back into health! It has made me truly appreciate my usual good health so much more!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

A Trip to the Emergency Room

I mentioned I was sick.... Yeah... I guess I'm REALLY sick!
Yesterday, Jason had to work his shift, so my mom, dad and brother came down to take Maggie to the zoo and give me some time to rest. By the evening, when they had returned, I realized I wasn't going to be able to take care of Maggie on my own, so my mom decided to stay the night.

At 12:30, while checking on me, her "Mommy Instincts" roared to life and she knew something was really wrong. So she called Jason and work and told him that she was taking me to the emergency room. Luckily, considering it was a Friday night and right after midnight, we happened to be the only patient in the entire ER! They took my temperature and found it to be 104.1, which is right below seizure at 105 degrees. After pumping me full of drugs to make me feel better (well, actually to just feel NO PAIN) and reduce my fever I was sent home with a diagnosis of Tonsillitis. I didn't realize it was such a nasty virus... but it has officially put me on my butt. Other than the time I had my ankle surgery, this is the sickest and most pain I've ever been in!

I've slept the majority of the day away today; completely knocked out with all the pain relievers and fever reducers. The ER doctor said I should be up and going again in about 2-3 days.

To my family and friends... I will survive! Just please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Maggie is pretty upset about her mommy being sick. I'm too weak to pick her up or hold her much right now, but she is getting a lot of extra lovin' from grandma, both grandpa's, her uncle and her daddy.

To my clients.... don't worry, all your orders and and appointments are still good. I have Steve working hard on getting all those orders complete and there should be no delays in your orders. And the doctor assured me I will be good to go for Tina & Brian's wedding next Saturday!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Never a good time.

There is never a good time to be sick. But I really hate being sick during the summer. So here I am on a beautiful 80 degree summer day, laying in bed, miserable, shaking and weak from fever. My head pounds. My body aches. My throat is on fire.
Never a good time to be sick... but I think it's worse to be sick during the summer. Luckily, grandma and grandpa were free today and took little Mabster to the zoo so her mommy could rest!

To make myself feel better though I thought I'd finally get back online and post some more pictures of the model shoot in Spokane from last week. Enjoy! Maybe looking at these will make me feel better... Here is Haley!













Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Spokane - Trash the Dress Session Part II

Here is Trina... she was an awesome sport because that fountain WAS NOT warm!!!











Monday, July 21, 2008

Spokane - Trash the Dress Session Part I

This is the first post of my Spokane Trash the Dress session. Here is Alissa!

We started in a warehouse area...










Followed by a beautiful park called Manitob....




Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cool Things

We have returned from out little outing over to Spokane, WA and let me tell you... we had a GREAT TIME!! So onto the story of our little trip...

Maggie and I packed up the car on Wednesday morning and got onto the road at 9:00 am. Luckily, I figured out a way of rigging the little portable DVD player on the back of my driver's seat so Maggie could watch movies. Boy, did she ever like that little development. I think she is officially and forever addicted to watching The Little Mermaid where ever we now go! We got to Cle Elm at 11 in the morning, where we met up with Jason. Boy was that awesome! I was so happy to see him. After quickly stashing all of his firefighting gear into the back of the car (along with all my photography equipment), grabbing some quick sandwiches for the road at Safeway, we were off. Luckily we made awesome time and got to Spokane around 3:00 pm.

We grabbed an early dinner and drink at the Northern Lights Brew Pub and then headed back to our bed and breakfast, The EJ Robert's Mansion. This place was phenomenal! I highly suggest staying at this place in the future to anyone traveling to Spokane. not only was it simply gorgeous, but Mary Moltke, the owner, was a delight! She renovated the entire place herself, along with her family, and it was truly a sight to behold. We loved everything about the place, our room, the decor, the food, and the location. A definite stop on future Spokane outings in my opinion. Oh... and if you are a Spokane bride, you HAVE to check this place out. Then call me to photograph your wedding there. You won't be disappointed!

On Thursday, we slept in a bit, had a wonderful breakfast and headed out to do a little shopping and walking around town. Maggie got tired and we headed back to the B&B to nap. While she napped, Jason ran across the street to another great find, the Elk Public House. Good beer, GREAT food; he was in heaven.

The bulk of what brought us to Spokane was later that afternoon. I met up with two of my most favorite photographer friends, Jaidean Baker and Keri Doolittle for a trash-the-dress model shoot. Jaidean is an amazing children's photographer in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas. If you haven't seen her work, you've gotta check out her website and give her a call. Not only is her photography beautiful, but she is the nicest person in the world! Keri, who is originally from Spokane but now lives in Pheonix, AZ, is the biggest rising star in Phoenix wedding photography. Her work is funky, hip, totally cool and totally hot. She is just a wonderful spirit and I just love spending time with her. All in all, I couldn't ask for a better group to hang out with on a Thursday night in Spokane!

We had a quick dinner together and then we went off; we had 3 different models and went around the streets of Spokane shooting and trashing some old wedding dresses. We just had an amazing time!

I have a lot of photos to share in the upcoming days... so be on the look out. In the meantime, here is just one of hold you over until the rest of them are done!


We returned, safe and sound, last night. Not only was this a wonderful get-a-way for me, but it was also a creatively inspired trip. I've been doing a lot of reading lately on reining your creativity, and one of the tips is to keep constantly in motion. Keep going out, doing things, traveling and see things, interacting with people. These things will keep your mind active and in a creative direction. It is just so true in so many different ways. Sights, smells, textures, and people really gave me a creative boost this week!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Off to Spokane!

Maggie and I are packing up this morning and heading out for the 5-hour drive to Spokane!

Jason is being released from his fire this morning and, luckily enough, his crew volunteered to drop him in Ellensburg so we can meet up with him there and continue on our journey! We are headed over there for a little family get-a-way and staying at the beautiful EJ Robert's Mansion.

On Thursday evening, I'm doing a model-shoot throughout downtown Spokane. So if you are in that vicinity, and you see a lot of wacky photographers, with a bunch of women in wedding dresses, well, you stumbled upon our project!

Jason, Maggie and I will be back on Friday afternoon! Expect to see some pictures from our adventures next week!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Evelyn & Jason - Olympia Engagement Session

Sit back and relax people... this is a picture heavy post!

So on Saturday night I went out with Evelyn and Jason for their engagement session. They won a free session with me at the Nordstrom Bridal Show back in February, but we had to wait awhile... since neither of them live around here!! Evelyn is in the Veterinary Medicine program at Washington State University (I almost had to hold that against her... with me being a UW grad and all... but when I met her, I couldn't! She is just too sweet!) and Jason is a Doctoral student of Physics at UC Santa Barbara.

The second I met them I felt like I'd known them forever and we were old chums. They are so open, loving, funny and kind. Not to mention they have so much personality!! I loved it!! Jason was a wonderful muse and loved hamming it up for the camera.



And Evelyn... well, she is a photographers dream! Drop dead gorgeous with a beautiful and warm smile.



These two have been together now for 8 years; met when Evelyn showed up at school one day at 16 years old. Been together ever since. Such a wonderful story they share!

They are getting married next June at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, WA.

Evelyn & Jason - Thank you for such a wonderful outing on Saturday. Your openness and love is apparent in everything you do! I hope to work with you guys again soon!











They really do love each other!! I just loved their interactions and playfulness with one another!






















Glasses? No glasses? I say either/or. Jason looks great either way!






Labels:

Friday, July 11, 2008

Jason on a Washington Wildfire

Please keep Jason in your thoughts over the course of the next few days. Yesterday, he was deployed to the Brown's Canyon fire right outside of Orondo, WA. While he thinks this particular fire will soon be under control, the other fires are far from controlled and chances are great he will be moved to some of the more dangerous areas.

He loves what he does though, and to him, this is the chance to exercise his skills, knowledge and training while doing something he truly loves. Just keep him in your thoughts while he's out there! Maggie and I miss him quite a bit!

On a related note... I've been playing with the built-in-camera feature on the new Mac so I can e-mail Jason videos of Maggie while he is away. Here is a little clip of the Mabster!


Monday, July 7, 2008

Amber & Andy - Practice Session in Lacey

The lovely Amber and wonderful Andy came out last night... all dressed up and ready for a show... to sit with me during a practice session. I had a few things I wanted to practice and just needed the comfort of an easy going session to bring out some of my more creative stuff. Steve joined me on the shoot and we collaborated; something we don't often have the opportunity to do. It was relaxed and totally fun.

Amber and Andy got into the whole shoot. Though it took some honks from cars, waves, an invitation to a lake-front property, and a few feelings of 'oddness' to start to relax into the session. I don't see the issue... bride on the side of the road in Lacey? Totally normal... nothing going on here!!

Here are a few images we got last night right before sunset.







Saturday, July 5, 2008

Just a little something to make you smile!

A friend sent me this link tonight and I wanted to share.... She said it made her smile, and I do have to agree, because it made both me and Jason both smile while watching it!

Check out the story behind the video. Funny enough, Jason and I could tell immediately he was from Seattle. Something about him (and the project) just screamed SEATTLE to us!

Friday, July 4, 2008

New Blog - You gotta check it out!

My business partner and graphic designer, Steve Ellison, has got his new blog up (finally) up and running! He was blogging years ago, before I ever heard of it, but has been a little lazy on the coding of his site. Finally, he finished it up and got it up and running. Check it out... he'll have lots of stuff about photography and graphic design tips!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Heather & Bill - Engagement Session in Olympia

On Sunday night I met up with Bill and Heather for their engagement session. One of the greatest pleasures of my job is my awesome clients. I have so much fun getting to know people and then capturing their special moments. This shoot was no exception! It was really quite a perfect evening to go out for our session. It had been as hot as can be all day long, but all of a sudden a thin layer of clouds came over the sky; enough to diffuse any harsh light and cast a soft sunset glow all over town. Plus it gave us an awesome opportunity at a sunset shot!

Heather and Bill have been together for years and are one of the smartest, wittiest, and interesting couples I've met. They are a little reserved, but once you get them going... totally funny and absolutely fascinating to talk with! We started out at the Capitol Campus (one of my favorite places in Olympia to shoot!) and then headed down to a little Olympia waterfront area.












Heather & Bill - Thank you for the wonderful Sunday evening spent with you guys. I absolutely ADORE you guys and hope you like this little sneak peak!! I cannot wait until your wedding in August!