erinLphoto

NEW BLOG!

2010-07-12T13:45:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm SUPER EXCITED to annouce my NEW BLOG!

You can now visit my blog, erinLphotobLog,

as I'll be posting from there.

Be sure to update your Bookmarks and your RSS Feeds to stay updated!

www.blog.erinlphoto.com

See you there!

Preview: Erica + Chris!

2010-07-01T11:14:00.002-06:00

They did it!

Chris & Erica are gettin' hitched!

We had a fun morning cruising around downtown

taking engagement pictures!

Aren't they adorable??

Erica is beaming.

Just the way she should be!

There are a lot more pictures in progress,

so stay tuned for more!

Thanks for looking!

Remembering

2010-06-30T07:26:00.009-06:00

I recently returned from a month-long trip up to Idaho.

It was a long time to be away, especially with the new baby.

At the same time, it was necessary and rewarding.

My Dad passed away the day after Christmas this year.

He didn't like funerals.

We asked him if he would like us to have a Memorial Roping out at his place instead.

He said yes.

We told him we would give away one of the saddles he had won as the top prize.

He teared up.

We knew this is what he wanted, and that made it all worth it.

Here's Dad, years ago, winning a saddle at Garwood Arena:

We set up his truck that he bought new and drove for 20 years

with pictures of him throughout his life.

We had a guest book and candles for friends and family to light in his memory.

One of his great friends, George Richmond, led us in paying honor to his memory.

Then, we all took turns telling funny stories about him.

He was a pretty entertaining guy!

Then, his Grandsons each took a lap around his arena on their motorcycles.

He loved watching them ride.

My Brother did a burn-out in one of his old Camaros...

And then my Sister led a horse around with his saddle he had made by hand,

with his boots in the stirrups backwards,

and his dress up coat that he loved so much hanging from the horn.

While I followed her spreading his ashes.

We also turned out the first steer alone,

nobody following it,

just for him.

Then, it was time to have fun - his way...

with about 300 of his friends from all walks of life.

Here's my Sister enjoying herself after a fast run down the arena:

Jim being silly:

I even made some runs.

This is with Wayne.

He was Dad's Best Friend since before I was born.

At the end of the day,

we awarded his old saddle - now stamped with

"Hippie John Memorial Roping 2010" -

and a breast collar stamped the same,

to the high-money winners.

We were sure to hold a beer in the picture - just like him.

It was a day of remembering,

laughing,

roping,

enjoying old friends,

and making new ones.

We'll miss you, Dad.

Lookin' Up!

2010-06-29T17:29:00.006-06:00

It's official,

Creston can hold his head up!

He'll be 3 months exactly tomorrow,

and I can't even believe it.

He is so engaging and fun!!

And, THEEE sweetest smile that lights up his face while melting our hearts...

'Scuse me, I gotta run, gotta go hold my baby boy!

Brian + Tricia: Engaged!

2010-06-20T06:49:00.004-06:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again!

Brian and Tricia are adorable!

They are two of the nicest people you will ever meet,

and they are so in love!

I looove the intensity in their eyes wen they look at each other!

It made me swoon just being with them!

Did I mention that they're fun too?

We had a great time with lots of laughing!

Love this!

LOVE!

and, CAN-NOT get over how perfect Tricia's smile is!

Brian is awesome at helping her bring it out:

And, how cool are they?

Snuggers!

There's that look again!

It's like he has never seen a creature as amazing as Tricia!

They're pretty stoked about getting married!

and, I'm stoked for them!

Brian & Tricia,

You are going to have the most amazing, love-filled Wedding Day,

and the rest of your lives will follow in it's footsteps!

Love You Guys!

Creston!

2010-06-17T10:09:00.003-06:00

Hi Friends!

OK, OK, So I haven't blogged about having a baby yet!

I've written this blog twice, then deleted it twice.

How can you put words to this experience??

I just can't.

So, without further ado, fuss or muss,

here is our beautiful Son,

Creston Victor Langevin

Born April 7, 2010

8lb 8oz 22.5 inches

Within an hour of being born:

About 5 hours after being born:

1 week

On our 8th Anniversary
Creston was almost 2 weeks old:

More to come as we go!

Brian + Tricia: Engaged!

2010-05-20T15:15:00.002-06:00

Brian & Tricia are ENGAGED!

They are SO adorable together.

I can't even tell you how sweet they are to each other,

and the way they look at each other is enough to make you want to fall in love RIGHT NOW.

Here is a preview from our session on Saturday.

We had a BLAST!

You two are SO CUTE!

More to come soon!!

Showered!

2010-04-01T09:29:00.006-06:00

As I am waiting to bring our new little boy into this world,

I'm thinking about all the wonderful women who surround me in my life.

There are so many, I feel truly fortunate beyond compare!

Almost two months ago,

my dear friends Janna & Kristen hosted a baby shower for me.

Many of the sweet, beautiful women in my life came to bless & support me on this journey.

I am grateful to all of them.

I am also grateful to all the friends who couldn't come, and have still sent their love to me.

I'm grateful to my wonderful family, who even across state lines, make sure I know I'm loved.

Thank you all, I love you, and truly would be a MESS without you!

Here are a few fabulous pictures from the Shower, thank you Kristen!

The table filled with fabulous brunch goodies.

">
Adorable Antiques and fabulous fabrics decorated my living room...

Janna made banners and all kinds of decorations from these fabulous fabrics,

that I now have to use to decorate our boy's room.

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I asked for friends to write wishes, prayers or wisdom for us to have and read to our boy.

Here is one from Janna helping set a festive scene.

">

The living room filled with lovely ladies.

As I looked around the room, I was totally overwhelmed by it.

It's a rare occasion when you can fill a room with people you are 100% comfortable around,

100% supported by, and 110% grateful for.

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Some of the ladies chose to read their blessing as I opened their gift...

Thank you Shelley!

">

Ooooooh, and the gifts!!

I am still AMAZED that my nursery is full of everything we need.

His drawers are full of outfits and rattles and teethers and things he can't even use for a while!

His shelf is full of books and blankets and stuffed animals and gadgets!

Thank you ALL, it truly takes a village!

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A diaper cake (full of goodies inside too), sent from Arizona for the special occasion!

Thank you Kelley & Clay!

">

And a special thanks to Kristen (left) and Janna (right),

who are both "with child",

spent their time, and resources, and love to make the day special.

Love you Girls!

2010-03-10T11:04:00.003-07:00

It's been really difficult to get back to posting lately.

I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and have started to really get tired and 'swollen'.

All my creativity has been sucked into the final growth spurt of this Baby Boy!

Alas, I must get this finished so I'm not thinking about it in the middle of the night...

Where was I?

I used to work for a company called Liberty Financial Group.

It was a terrific mortgage company that truly wanted to make a difference,

and BE different than other companies.

They made a 5-year commitment to support the village of Batzchocola

through Agros - www.Agros.com .

The 5-year commitment would take this amazing group of people from

the very first shovel of dirt to start their new village

all the way to self-sustainability.

A few of the Executive Team went for the ground-breaking in the village,

and it was an amazing experience.

They wrote a commitment letter like a contract to the village pledging their

financial and spiritual commitment to seeing them through the process.

My trip was the 5-year trip to see how far they have come and celebrate all that has been done.

The People of the village honored us with a beautiful ceremony

to thank Liberty Financial Group

for all the support they had given over the years.

This is a banner they weaved on looms in the village for us.

It hangs in the office at Liberty to this day.

Being involved in the establishment of this village was SO life-giving
to the culture of the company.
Their pictures hung on our walls.
Annual trips brought regular Employees to the village to experience their love.

We used the analogy of the village all the time in comparison to working as a team.

Everyone looked forward to updates on how the village was progressing.

At the ceremony, the most common saying was
"Liberty is Batzchocola and Batzchocola is Liberty".

They loved to acknowledge how they would not be where they are without Liberty,

but also understood the powerful impact they had on Liberty's culture as well.

I have to say, it was the longest ceremony of my life!

3 hours!

Everything had to be spoken in their native language,

then translated to Spanish, then again translated to English.

They wanted to introduce us to every Committee Member and Leader in the village.

One of the most touching moments was meeting the 3 women who make up the

Banking Committee.

Yes, a Banking Committee.

The village had started giving Macro-Loans to individuals who wanted to start

their own businesses.

The most common were women who would weave and then take

their goods to town to sell them.

This is a HUGE step to becoming a self-sustaining village.

They decorated the room for our event by covering the floor with pine needles!

The smell was intoxicatingly good!

I asked why the pine needles and if it had special meaning...

No, they said, it just adds color and makes the moment feel more special!

I guess that's what one does when there are no helium balloons to be had!

There was a lot of prayer at the meeting.

It was just awesome, I have to say!

They prayed in their native language and except for this one opening prayer,

ever time they pray - everybody prays all at once!

It gets really loud and you can really feel the atmosphere in the room change,

everyone is so intent and praying so fervently.

It's something I will never forget.

One of the next big steps in village development is building latrines...

There were a few in the village already,

but this is the newest one, and they are only used by one family each.

Can you believe - this latrine was finished for THREE WEEKS before our visit,

and they didn't use it because they knew we were coming and wanted to

have a proper latrine-blessing ceremony!?!?

We had even been in the village for 2 days before the ceremony,

and they still waited patiently!

Just going off in the woods like they have for years,

waiting for their new latrine to be blessed...

I have so much to learn from them...
Ribbon cutting ceremony:

On the last day, we spent hours playing with all the kids.

They are so full of life and ZIP!

Here, I'm blowing up a balloon to set loose flying about where they all try to catch it!

They just CANNOT wait!

Don't you LOVE the intensity and joy on their faces?

Then, it's MANIA!

The balloon goes whizzing through the air,

the kids run manically to be the ONE to catch the balloon.

They would tuck them right into a pocket to play with later...

What a special time.

I'm so so grateful for the opportunity to go,

and for the change that happened in my heart while I was there.

Batzchocola is a truly special, remarkable, and blessed place.

Heeeeeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy!

2010-02-25T09:01:00.005-07:00

Hi!
I just have to post this picture because it's bringing me great joy right now...

I miiiiisssssss fishing. Crazy, I know.
Haven't gone since September.

This picture is being pursued by a fly fishing company to use on their products,
and that makes me a proud mama.

It's the tail of a massive 34" Dolly Varden - or Bull Trout - turns out,
you can't tell the difference but they ARE two different species.
(Now that I'm boring you to death, let me post the pic - QUICK!)

Tomorrow, I'll get back to thinking about the village.
Today, I'm thinking about rivers, trees, flies, wading, fish and photography...

Cwoffe Twalk.

2010-02-22T13:27:00.010-07:00

Coffee is the main income source for Batzchocola.

When Agros http://www.agros.org/ helped them get started on rebuilding a life,

creating income for the village was one of the most important aspects.

Teaching the people of the village how to cultivate their land

is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty.

It gives them income for generations to come!

Here is a mature coffee plant with coffee beans almost ripe enough to pick!

When they turn red, they are ready to be harvested.

Our Guide and Interprter from Agros, Nancy, was a Godsend.

The coffee plants are started from seedlings in the village.

I think they are BEAUTIFUL and just shout out LIFE!

(yes, I'm a sentimental sap.)

The seedlings are too delicate to be out in the elements.

They are started under a protective roof made of ferns from the jungle.

There are hundreds of seedlings sprouting up under this one shed!

In the beginning, all crops were owned by each adult member of the village equally.
As time has progressed,
individuals have chosen to purchase and cultivate crops on their own parcel of land
that their home sits on.

As part of the poverty-breaking cycle,
each family owns a parcel of land surrounding their home.
The rest of the common areas of the village are co-owned by all members of the village.

These coffee sprouts belong to Pedro Chavez

(the Cell Phone Charging Man from the previous post),

and we were more than happy to help 'weed' them by removing

anything uninvited that was growing in each sprout's container.

Once the seedlings are resilient enough to brave a little sun and wind,

they are planted in rows on the hillside amongst young banana trees.

It takes a few years for the coffee plants to produce a crop,

the same amount of time it takes for a banana tree to grow up and shade it!

INGENIOUS!

Bananas provide food for the village,

while shading the producing coffee plants,

capturing rain water and diverting it to the base of the coffee plants,

and helping prevent erosion from the hillside.

Talk about SUSTAINABILITY!

Here you can see the small sprouts planted with the young banana trees.

While just up the trail, there are more mature trees producing fruit and coffee.

Mmmmmm...

Bananas fresh from the tree!!

If you look closely,

you can see some coffee plant leaves among the base of the banana trees...

Once the beans are fully ripe, red, and ready for harvesting,

they are shucked out of that round red shell.

This is what a green coffee bean looks like fresh from the field.

The beans are placed in sunning containers for a few days to dry out.

They are stirred around by hand multiple times each day to keep them rotating in the sun.

Miguel has large concrete sunning areas in front of his home.

That's A LOTTA BEANS!!

You can see how proud he is to show them to us.

Once they are dried out, the beans are SO HARD.

If you chomped on one, you would break a tooth!

They soften back up slightly through the roasting process.

Miguel's daughter is barely taller than the bags of beans ready for travel!

These bags will go to Nebaj, the closest town,

then be transported to the US for roasting and resale.

They will end up in a store, or coffee shop near you!

I have to say, the coffee I've had from this village is the best I've tasted in my life.

It is very robust, has a pungent earthy scent, but is as smooth as buttah!

No bite, No bitterness!

The next time you have Organic Guatemalan coffee,

I hope you think of the village of Batzchocola and how those beans

you are sipping up came to be.

How those beans helped a village of people re-establish their lives.

How those beans were cared for from tiny seedlings,

through hand-stirring in the sun to dry them out.

I can't find an importer that's selling coffee identified as from Batzchocola right now,

but you can purchase coffee from the next village over - Trapichitos

(Frappucino from my previous post)

that is made from similar beans, with a similar mission...

http://www.atlascoffee.com/products.html

Thanks for joining me for some cwofee twalk.

Touring the Village

2010-02-19T10:53:00.008-07:00

Let's start with a tour of the Village!

The village was established with the help of Agros http://www.agros.org/.

Agros negotiated with the Guatemalan Government on behalf of the remnant of

people from Batzchocola for a patch of land deep in the jungle.

They received the land from the government at a verrrrry discounted price

to help make up for the travesties that occurred during their civil war.

They had received the land just 5 years prior to my visit.

At that time, it was simply raw jungle land on the side of a mountain.

Wait till you see all the work they've put into it!

This is a view of the hillside that the people of the village farm.

Have you ever had Organic Shade-Grown Guatemalan Coffee?

It could've been from Batzchocola!

Batch of Chocolate

2010-02-16T12:17:00.005-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years, this month,
since I visited the village of Batzchocola, Guatemala.

Batzchocola (prounounced similar to "Batch Chocolate")
is a village of 250 people.

Almost all of the adults in the village experienced many horrific tragedies
during the 90's in the Guatemalan Civil War.

They were forced out of their village,
which was located within a couple miles of their current village,
and traveled throughout the jungle for about four years.

FOUR YEARS.

Of hiding in the jungle.
Of sleeping in trees so you can't be found at night.
Of eating verrrrry little, and only once per day,
before sunrise - so Guerillas can't see the smoke from your fire.
Of wearing out your clothes and resigning to wearing a trash bag to cover yourself.
Of watching those you love: young, old and in between -
die because of starvation, brutality, untreated sickness, and many other things.

I'm going to spend the next couple days telling you about their lives now.
They are inspiring.
They are loving.
They are overcomers.
They'll make you smile.

Here are some of the faces that have stories to tell.
The pain you could once see has been replaced with joy.

This is Miguel.

He is the Director of Commerce for the village.

At the Town Hall Meeting, everyone got a good laugh about something!

This is one of the eldest women in the village.

She endured, without a doubt, many of the worst tragedies during the war.

You would NEVER know it!

She is the smiley-est, huggy-est, touchy-est, lovely-est lady...

Here she is shucking the bark off sugar cane with a machete.

She had just cut it out of the jungle about 10 feet away from us,

and thought we'd want some for a snack.

She was right!

This is her "new" husband Jorge.

He is one of the eldest men in the village.

He works harder and carries heavier loads than any of us could even attempt!

This is Juana.

She is the Mayor's wife, and is baking fresh bread in celebration of our visit.

Need I say more?

As I'll share with you,

their village has been made possible by a Non-Profit Group called Agros.

They are the BEST example of creating sustainable living,

and breaking the cycle of poverty for those in need,

that I have yet to hear of.

http://www.agros.com/

An interesting side note is that the neighboring village is called Trappachitos -
which was easy to prounounce when we thought of "Frappucino".

Great, Frappucino and Batch of Chocolate.

Could we BE any more AmeriCAN?

Nugget.

2010-02-12T09:56:00.003-07:00

Nugget.

It's not his name, but it's what I call him the most.

His name is Belay.

Like the rock climbing device.

You know:

Belay on!

On Belay.

Climbing.

Climb away!

Anyhoo.

Belay is a snuggler.

He is sooo snuggly, that I just have to baby talk him when he's snuggling.

So, I started calling him Snuggler.

Snuggler got baby-talked to 'Nuggler.

Nuggler got sport-ified to Nugget.

Hence, I have a dog named Nugget.

Doesn't he look 'nuggly?

Other nick names (used so often that he acutally responds to them) include;

Olay!

Olllllay, Olay Olay Olay! (like the soccer chant)

Odinay!

Ah Nay!

Onay!

Onadies!

Ol Ladies!

I can only imagine the nick names my child will have.

Lord, please help me.

Adventures in Textures

2010-02-08T14:54:00.003-07:00

I've been learning about textures.

Textures are a picture of a pattern or something like concrete or leather

to lay over a picture that add, well... texture!

I have admired photographers who use textures for a long time,

and think it's high time I get going with it!

Here are a few samples of my first swipes at it...

This is a gorgeous home I took pictures of in December for a Client.

I selected a texture that look likes the wallpaper that would be found in a home of this vintage.

See the viney trumpety shadows in the sky?

Love it!

On this one, I wanted to add something elegant, and current.

With a sweet little saying,

I love how it turned out!

These two love antiques.

I wanted to add something vintage-y they could place next to a cool antique.

LOVE IT!

Now, if I can work through about 101 more of these,

I should be able to find my style and then build on it!

Hope you like!

Metaphorically Speaking.

2010-01-22T09:26:00.003-07:00

Warning:

This blog post contains something reflective, and quite possibly sad.

Do not, I repeat,

do not continue reading if you are only interested in happy thoughts and light-hearted things.

Yesterday, I heard a great metaphor for how I'm feeling right now.

When my friend had recently lost her Mom,

she was driving down an icy road and her car started sliding.

The car slid sideways, and continued down the road,

but wasn't in any danger of hitting anything.

"This is like my life", she thought.

I'm progressing forward.

Time is moving forward.

My life is going on.

But, it's not straight.

I'm not in control.

It's not dangerous, but things just aren't right.

They're a little sideways.

Wow. This really struck me as she said it.

It's exactly how I feel right now.

I'm trying to get things straight after losing my Dad.

I'm making corrections - some slight, some drastic, trying to do my 'normal' things...

I'm pumping the brakes, that doesn't work.

I give it some gas, that doesn't work.

I'm progressing. Moving down the road. Moving forward in time.

But, things are sideways.

I recognize that everyone has a different grief process,

and you can't know how you will handle something until you are going through it.

I know to give myself grace through the process.

I'm just getting a little impatient with this sideways slide and want my car to go STRAIGHT.

Magazine Cover!

2010-01-14T10:42:00.004-07:00

How proud can one Sister be?

I could not be MORE proud!

I am SO proud to share that one of my Sister's pictures was selected as the

COVER SHOT

for this month's Sooper Looper (Team Roping) Magazine!

She is officially a Published Photographer!

The picture is also being used as the HEADER on the USTRC website!

Click Here to See: http://www.ustrc.com

Way To Go, Brenda!!

I am sooooo excited for you!

Christmas Cookies & Friends

2010-01-13T14:48:00.006-07:00

I know, I know, it's January!
I shouldn't be blogging about Christmas!
Well, I have a good reason.
Over Christmas, I got waylayed for a couple weeks and never had a chance to blog about this.
It was so fun, and I have such good pictures of it that I just can't skip it!

Every year, in December, my friends April & Beth make hundreds of Christmas Cookies.
They don't mess around.
On their own they would make hundreds.
Over the past couple years, they have teamed up to divide and conquer all these cookies.
This was the first year I was able to join them and pitch in.

Did I pitch in supplies, ingredients, cookie cutters, champagne, ANYTHING?
No.
I only pitched in man-power.
But, it was LOTS of manpower!
It counts, it does!

These pro-cookie-makers have some serious cookie cutters.

There were over 50, really.

From reallllly reallllly BIG to teeeeny eeeeny small...

April officially has THE VERY BEST sugar cookie recipe on the planet.

No, seriously.

If you've had them, you know.

Here are some of the BIGGUNS cooking:

and the teeensie ones:

Here's my manpower applied...

I don't mess around with decorating.

YES, of COURSE Frosty needs holly on his hat and a pipe in his mouth. Helllooo...

What train is complete without red hot hubcaps and brown wheels?

Decorate that tree!

The entire dining table was covered by the time we were done!

Sugar cookies were not the only thing on the task list of the day.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES!!

Here they are, drying...

They had to dry out so they can get a little white blanket of goop.

Well, it doesn't start as goop, it turns into goop after 10 days of refrigeration.

And, it's that delicious goop around that little delicious cherry...

Here's Beth applying the not yet gooped goop:

YES, that's CRISCO in the background.

There is no such thing as delicious Christmas Cookies without Crisco.

I learned this principle from April.

Gooped cherries:

Then, the gooped cherries get dunked into chocolate.

Mmmmmmm.

Then, they just have to sit and look pretty for 10 days.

Kind of like me for 9 months waiting for this baby to come.

Sit & look pretty.

Check.

Then, there is the mother of all Christmas goodies.

Reindeer Food.

I've also heard it called Puppy Chow.

It's Chex cereal with melted chocolate & peanut butter shaken up,

then coated in powdered sugar.

Yessssssss.

It's the most delicious thing ever. No joke.

I hope you enjoyed making Christmas cookies,

or eating Christmas cookies,

or just looking at Christmas cookies since you were dieting,

this Christmas season.

Happy New Year!

Events!

2010-01-07T12:28:00.010-07:00

You've heard me proclaim my affection for one of my dear friends, Nicole.
She is one of THE VERY sweetest people you will ever meet.
No, really, honey actuall drips off her wherever she goes. Really.
You may remember her from the shoot with her sweetie-girl, Pazzo:
http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/pazzo-laday.html

Nicole is an incredible Event Planner.
Ever heard of the Blues n Brews Festival?
It's her baby.
Ever heard of it's cousin, Bluegrass n Brews Festival?
Also her baby. Wait, that makes it a brother, not cousin...I digress.
Ever heard of the Pearl Street or Highlands Farmer's Markets?
Also her babies.

She also plans private events: Weddings, Engagement Parties, You Name It.
She is one of the most elegant women you will ever meet, and it comes through in every event.

Nicole has asked me to shoot a few of her events in recent months, and I was happy to help!

It's given me a focus during the Fall & Winter months, and I'm loving it!

Fresh Flowers at Pearl Street Farmer's Market

Fresh Apples in the Fall at the Highlands Farmer's Market

Mini-Doughnuts from scratch, made fresh to pop in your mouth!

Highlands Farmer's Market

A touch of her elegance at an Engagement Party

Did I mention she is incredible at arranging flowers?

WinterFest on Pearl Street was a blast...

There were hay rides for all

Santa delighted everyone!

The place was packed,

people had hot totties to keep them warm

and live music went late into the night...

If you are looking for any help with planning an event, no matter the size.

Look up Nicole at HobNob Events:

http://www.hobnobevents.com/

P.S. This is a new blog layout that will allow me to post larger pictures.

OK, I KNOW these pictures are a little toooooooo large.

I'm still learning.

Once I figure out how to make them a better size, you'll see another post!

What a Year!

2010-01-04T04:52:00.019-07:00

2009 has been a momentous year for me.

There have been major changes, terrible tragedies, and unspeakable joys.

In Fall of 2008, JJ and I started to ponder what other occupation I could have that would

afford us a better quality of life.

We prayed for a change and direction to come by the following Spring.

In December, on our trip to my Sister's home in Arizona for Christmas,

we started to seriously consider photography as an option.

I have loved it since I took my first class at age 13.

Do what you love, and you'll love what you do - so they say!

I decided to test myself.

I went out into the stalls at Brenda's place with my little point and shoot PowerShot.

Could I take pictures I could be proud of, passiontate about, and lovvvvve?

I passed my test:

We went home and promptly started calling friends who are currently photographers,

and bought the gear they recommended, while taking every ounce of advice they offered.

By the end of January, I was outfitted.

But, something terrible and tragic happened first.

My Sister, Brenda, had a riding accident where a horse fell on her.

She broke her leg severely, and we did not know if she would be able to keep her foot.

Miraculously, the main vein/artery was not damaged, and she was able to.

It is a long road to recovery.

There were months of keeping ALL weight off of it.

The process has been more difficult for them than words can express.

Today, she is doing some walking, with pain...and a cane.

She is also riding, and doing a little roping again.

Her progress has been AH-MA-ZING, and the Doctors could not be happier with how well

she has been recovering.

Soon, we all hope and look forward to her walking without pain or help.

This is us, Christmas 2008, having a blast roping on a rainy day:

February rolled around, and it was time to test out my new camera gear.

The Denver Dog Show lasts for days and days,

and I spent all of them taking literally thousands of pictures and handing out business cards.

It was a blast and a success!

Shane, one of Mom & Brenda's poodles, won a 1st in the Non-Sporting Group,

and went to the Best in Show ring.

We were elated, and full of tears since Brenda couldn't be there after her accident.

It was bittersweet.

Shane:

Spring came.

I worked and worked on my photography skills.

Then:

My "position was eliminated" at work.

JJ and I knew that very day that our prayers had been answerd.

This was the opportunity to dive head-long into building photography into my full time business.

It has been the gift of a lifetime that has afforded me more freedom and time than I ever

could have anticipated. See my Thanksgiving Blog for that story: http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/11/simple-thanksgiving-eats.html

It was a new start.

After making a couple long hauls to dog shows to help Mom,

take pictures, and build clientele,

I took a trip up North.

JJ was working in Pullman, Washington for a couple months,

and I could now spend time near there visiting family & friends.

My first stop on the way was in Nampa, Idaho.

After a few years of being out of touch, my oldest friend, Tricia and I got to reconnect.

I stayed with her and her FIANCE, Boone, for four days.

We had a blast, caught up, and it has been like we haven't missed a day.

Don't you just LOVE friends like that?

Here is Trish with her Nephew, Grady, enjoying a lift.

I spent a few days with JJ's family in Kettle Falls, Washington.

Pops, Mama Rita, Neice Havilah, Sister-In-Law Lisa with her FIANCE Jerry.

They make a fine group, and it was my first stay without JJ there. It was a blast!

We made Mama Rita's specialty - homemade Raviolis

http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/raviolis-that-feed-soul.html

For nearly three weeks,

I stayed with my Brother Judd, Sister-In-Law Shelby & Nephew Cameron

and kicked around the Coeur d'Alene area:

http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/home-is-where-heart-is.html

We had a great time visiting a lot, and had a photo shoot with Cam.

http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/cam-r-oni.html

He is a very serious flat-track racer and won his division for the year!

This is his "I'm gonna whup you" competition face:

When it was time to head for home, JJ & I went through Montana to see Dan!

Here he is giving us a map to the stash of all stashes for fising in Dillon, Montana.

You know it's a good spot when you get a map on a napkin!

It was a great stash, there is no doubt.

I officially counted 7 fish in the wake behind me while standing in the river fishing.

Too bad I couldn't catch a single one of them. Of course, J did.

Then, joy unspeakable happened on the 4th of July

when my Dear and Lovely Friend Kendra got married to Joe.

She was a beautiful bride and I was so honored to be part of their day:

Back at home, weekend after weekend was spent fishing at the cabin.
I had my best day ever when I had 11 fish on, and landed 9 in one seam!
For the day, I ended up with 14 landed.
Finally, finally, I am getting better at this!

My Darling and Beloved Cousin came to visit us in Denver.
This is monumental.
I think she is actually my FIRST family member to come stay to visit with us in 6 years!
We had a great time earlier in the year, up in Sandpoint:
http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/apamazen.html
We had a blast, too many laughs, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Then, Whoa Nelly of all Whoa Nellies.
We are having a baby.

The combination of excitement and anticipation of a total life-overhaul
just cannot be put into words.

In September, it was time for a trip back up to the Northwest again...
JJ's Sister Lisa married Jerry.
It was a terrific day, and they are a wonderful couple.
I was honored to capture their day for them!

We had a great time monkeying around and helping get ready for the wedding.

We extended our trip to include a jaunt up to Nelson, BC.

Our honeymoon was in Nelson 7 years ago. (Thank you Uncle Jay & Aunt Evy)

This time, we stayed with our friend Gray's family - the Beauchamps!

They have a cabin on Kootenay Lake and the view from our room could not be better:

I wish this picture was lighter, so you could see how warm and wonderful they are.

We made new friends for a lifetime:

On our trip, we caught some serious lunkers on our fly rods.

Dolly Varden had come up from the lake to spawn in the river.

These were fish of a lifetime and I was proud to land this lovely lady:

Come October, it was time for another visit to the Northwest, and another wedding.

This time, for Tricia & Boone.

I am overloaded with joy for them,

and so very grateful they chose me to capture their day:

And, well, I started to show.

This is the mid-point, 4.5 months along...

At which time, we got to find out we are having a BOY!

Here is a profile shot:

Thanksgiving was subdued, but so unusual that it must be included in the year's recap.

The pre-packaged Thanksgiving:

http://erinlphoto.blogspot.com/2009/11/thankful.html

I love seeing my RichardBerg and we had a great day hanging together.

Then, momentous of all momentous events came the week of Christmas.
My Brother called and was taking Dad to the hospital.
My Sister, Nephew and I flew in - it was serious.
We were able to spend time with him, talking with him, holding his hand, telling stories.
He deteriorated fairly quickly after that, and we lost him the day after Christmas.

We are all still trying to sort out how to move forward,
what this means to us,
what he has meant to us,
how to work together and love each other well.

He built houses for years, and always had this dry spot in the middle of his palms.
Carpenter's Hands, he called them.
It was from swinging a hammer too much, he said.
He'd put bag balm on them all the time, but it never seemed to get better...
Here is a shot from the hospital of those Carpenter Hands:

This Summer, we spent 5 days in a row together - quite a feat for us.
We had breakfast every day, then Dad would take me to show me his favorite places on the lake.
He wanted to show me all the options for Tricia's upcoming wedding.
Little did I know how much I would later treasure this time with him.
A few of the days, we followed our lake-viewing with a visit to one of his car buddies.
They would talk engines and cars, and I would try to grasp every other word and piece together
what they were talking about.

For me, it was like listening to Spanish in Mexico.

Here he is enjoying the Spokane River that feeds Lake Coeur d'Alene
at Corbin Park in Post Falls.
He's fished and swam here, picnic'd and played here,
even got a truck stuck in the water once here.
This spot just off the lake is his official favorite spot of them all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for hanging in there through this long post.

Thank you for sharing in 2009 with me.

Even if you're not listed here, you are still very special to me,

and I am grateful for you in my life.

Here's to 2010!

May it bring us all new wonders and monumental events that shape our life

for the better.

XO!

Sapicay Meat-a Ball-a!

2009-12-18T08:17:00.005-07:00

Our friend Dominic swung by to visit and let our pooches play together.

I was cooking meatballs in a spicy marinara sauce for dinner.

You know, cause I wan-na have-a sapicay meat-a ball-a!

We invited Dom to stay for dinner, and he agreed... how could he not??

Well, it was not even 6pm yet, still pretty early.

Soooo, I thought - why not make our own spaghetti?

What else do we have to do?

Out came the pasta maker:

and lotttssss of flour!

We passed the panels of pasta through the roller a few times,

gotta get it just the right thickness!

Then, at last, the skinny panel gets made into little lovely noodles!

We made piles of spaghetti, it looked like a lot by the time we were done.

Cooking only took about 5 minutes! And it was the perfect amount for 3!

The meatballs were ready!

And, the finished product!

Beautiful!

Yummy!

You know it's good when you're 2 segments into your favorite TV show and none of us

have really heard a word of it because we're too busy saying,

"Mmmmmm" with every bite!

I think we'll be making home made pasta a lot more often!

P.S.

Happy Hannukah!

We had my Grandmother's Menorah going, and said our prayers!

All pictures in this post by JJ.

My hands were covered in flour,

and I wasn't ABOUT to stand aside for someone else to have that much fun!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-16T10:46:00.004-07:00

I love Christmas Cards.

LOVE.

They are such a treat!

I *just* picked mine out and got them printed - after WEEKS of trying to make my own in Photoshop, I realized I don't know how to do that kind of thing in Photoshop - annnnd, I'm not going to learn now - apparently.

So, the old standby - Walgreens.

Yep, I said it.

We have been getting our Christmas Card Pics done at Walgreens for FOUR years now.

This year, I was hoping to be all snazzy and smart and Photographer-ey and make my own beautiful, hip cards, have them printed in matte from my printer, and send them off each kissed with love.

But, NO.

Walgreens.

The one I picked is so-so. Not even close to what I was hoping to create on my own.

The picture is of the ultrasound - not some great shot of us from this year - cause we have none. How did that happen? Anyway, I digress.

The point I am trying to make here, but failing miserably at, is that

I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS - With Pictures.

I fawn over them.

JJ asks if he can open them because I am the one who MUST open every card so I can get the initial OOOHHH and AAAHHH surprise!

Do you know that I literally had every picture card we received in my kitchen window until about JULY this year?

Did you know, after I whittled them down to 4 pictures in July,

I still had them in my window sill until NOVEMBER this year?

In November, I finally relented and cut the pictures out from their Christmas backgrounds,

then moved them to my new office so I can see them every day right here and don't have to be embarrassed when people come over and see LAST YEAR'S Christmas Pics in my kitchen.

Here is a picture of my Filing Cabinet - in the closet - of our now Guest Room/Office.

It's complete with pics from my Loved One's Christmas Card Photos who live in other parts of the country.

Now, 'scuse me, I need to go pick up my photocards from Walgreens and get addresssing,

I'm really LATE getting these out from trying to make my own for way too long!

Looking forward to getting your card!

Hmmmmm...

2009-12-13T08:05:00.003-07:00

Well, I just don't know what to write about.

It isn't that things aren't happening, they are!
I just don't have fabulous footage of all of it...which inhibits my blogging.
Blogging from pictures is my thing, not blogging with pictures.

hmmmm...

Well, I do have one really neat picture that tells a story -

It's a boy!

If I gotta explain it, this will go to an X-Rated blog in 2.8 seconds.

Use your imagination and guess what the letters stand for!

EEEEK! So excited!

Pre-Packaged Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T13:53:00.014-07:00

WHAT are we going to do for Thanksgiving? I asked.

Oh!

Of course!

We are going to have TV dinners.

Yah, that's it!

Everything must be pre-prepared, let's Keep it Simple!

My husband had conspired with my step-dad to have a TV dinner Thanksgiving.

Not that I minded.

I've done the whole shabang of a dinner three times, just for the three of us.

Mom is usually travelling this time of year, so us three get together and eat a WHOLE

Thanksgiving meal made from scratch by yours truly.

Not going to happen this year.

We had planned on going out to a swanky place,

but that all got reversed on some phone call I was not privvy to...

So, here's how the blessed event turned out:

Appetizers

Not carrots, celery, radishes, olives with dips and deviled eggs..

A tub of Alouette garlic herb spreadable cheese on some black pepper Triscuits.

DELISH.

Drinks

Not Hot apple cider mulling all day with a spike of bourbon...

Margaritas! With pre-made mix!

There were no fresh squeezed limes allowed.

That takes work.

Drink for me, my current fav:

Grande, Decaf, Non-Fat, No-Whip, Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ah, the joys of pregggggers.

The Main Course
Not Turkey that's been cooking since 7 am, wild rice stuffing, green beans with bacon,
hand-mashed cheesey garlic red potatoes...

A Marie Callender's TV DINNER!!
Complete with stuffing, green beans, mashers AND gravy!
Ok, so you can always have MORE gravy,
so in my first ambitious moment of the day,
I added water *gasp* to a turkey gravy mix from a packet!
Wha Lha. Gravy. No drippings necessary.

Was it good you ask?
Well, Mr. Berg was pleased.
He commented on the flavors being darn near the same as home made. (argh)
AND, that it was the perfect portion size.
We were definitely not stuffed when done.

And, the husband test?
"Of course it isn't nearly as good as when my wife spends 9 hours
making everything from scratch! But, it does the trick... and saves
you from being on your feet all morning, darling mother of my child."

Atta good boy.

Here's a peek at my meal. Complete with my special-er beverage of the day.

What do I think?
Not half bad.
Would I do it again?
Only if I'm preggers and really do not want to spend hours cooking from scratch.
Seriously, we were bored half the day!
What ELSE is there for me to do on Thanksgiving!?

Dishes
Not hours of soaking, scrubbing and swearing...

It was a snap.
3 forks.
One small sauce pan.
One wisk.
Done.

Dessert
Not pumpkin and apple pies made from scratch with wholesome ingredients...

Pumpkin Pie from Costco.
Now, this I had heard of before.
If my psycho-everything-must-be-from-scratch-self
can get over it next year, I will get one of these again.
It's pumpkin-heaven in a crust.
Tastes JUST like a pumpkin pie should taste.
Perfection.

I was NOT about to put Cool Whip on top, I just couldn't take it anymore.
So, I whipped up some home-made whip cream,
you know, using my talents where they are most valued...

mmmmm...
Turns out, the smaller portion for dinner
left more room for a HUGE piece of pie!
(notice the paper plate)

Dinner
Not re-heated left-overs...

Cup-O-Noodles.
Duh.
I couldn't consent to that quality of food,
so as the boys slurped their noodles,
I enjoyed left-over P.F. Changs from dinner the night before.
(Sorry, no picture, I ate it too fast.)

We had a great time giggling about how silly we were being,
spending hours surfing the web,
watching movies,
and Skyping family.

I hope your Thanksgiving was just as delightful!

Thankful.

2009-11-25T11:43:00.022-07:00

It's Thanksgiving.

and I'm grateful.

for so much.

Words don't express.

Pictures are worth 1000 words.

Maybe they can get close to expressing.

Things I'm grateful for:

My new photography gig.

It allows me the freedom to spend precious time with loved ones, friends and family.

That is priceless, and the single solitary thing I am MOST grateful for this year.

This was a fun project, and I still love this picture Ms. Brookie took.

I am grateful for my husband.

He loves me like crazy.

I am grateful for my sweet Belay Boy.

He's the snuggliest snuggler, fun loving, fishing, fetching, bark-machine of a poodle.

I am grateful that we are expecting a baby.

This is what he looked like at 4 weeks:

I'm so grateful to be able to see my brother, Judd, his wife Shelby, and their son Cameron.

I spent about 3 weeks staying at their house, and they were so gracious to have me.

It was so nice to be able to see them so much and re-connect.

I only wish I had a picture with all three of them.

This is what Judd looks like when something tickles him. It tickles me.

I'm grateful for the time I've had to reconnect with friends!

I made a road trip from Denver to Utah, to Idaho, to Washington, to Montana,

to Albuquerque, to Arizona, and back to Denver.

It made for a GREAT time of visiting with long time friends.

A week long trip to New York to see Ms. Kristen and celebrate Janna's 30th Birthday.

We had more fun and got along better than should ever be legal!

Dinner with Michael.

Dinner on the patio with April & Jeff.

Tricia's Wedding...

My cousin, Tiffany.

I spent a lot of time with her, and her daughter Hannah on my Idaho Extravaganza.

She returned the favor by visiting me!

I still can't believe we didn't bust the tree swing in my front yard!

She brings so many laughs, so much joy, and great conversations everywhere she goes...

Brunch with the best Neighbor money can buy.

Ms. Suz.

I am thankful that I was able to do an obscene amount of fishing this year.

My skills really increased, and I can see a huge difference...

mainly in the fish I catch!

35" Dolly Varden. Whoa Nelly. I mean Dolly. Whoa Dolly.

Having friends monkey around with us at the cabin.

Typical shenanegans going on...

Dom entertaining Will... well, trying to anyways!

JJ's 35th Birthday.

14 friends for dinner - all you can eat crab.

He was a happy man.

Sailing.

For the first time.

Ahhhhh....

Road trip this Fall to Nelson, BC from Washington.

A few days with the Beauchamps, the most generous people ever.

It was a wonderful time and so many good memories.

Being able to see my Mom a lot more.

Here she is with her friend, KB.

So grateful for the chance to have breakfast with them in the middle of the week!

Family...and flinging hair.

This is from a ride last Winter with my nephew Taylor.

What's not to love about life??

I'm thankful for so many things this year.

Not the least of which is YOU, for reading this blog.

Thank you, I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Walking Contradictions

2009-11-20T11:06:00.004-07:00

What is it about horses?

Even if you haven't had one, or spent much time with one,

there is something that is still enchanting & magical about them.

They are strong & solid, gentle but wild, have depth yet still fear.

They can be rebellious, and still want to please.

They are a walking contradiction.

They suck me in.

I heart them.

Here are a few shots from my Sister yesterday.

This is her newest addition.

He is gorgeous.

Pics by Brenda Wood

I'm so proud of her.

Editing by yours truly (not that it matters, but it soooo does.)

Inspired.

2009-11-18T13:37:00.006-07:00

Right now, I am inspired.

Spent this morning praying with a friend and resting in peace.

Talked to my mom and soaked up some of her love.

Talked to my sister and shared our excitement over photography. She gets to take the pictures I really want to take every day. She doesn't know how to edit, though, so she is sending them to me to edit. Can I call them mine then? She has horses and cattle and I need to go visit her to get my camera on... Her pictures knock my socks off and I want to fill my home and an art gallery with them.

Spent some time on Julie Harris' blog: www.julieharrisphotography.com/blog - a Denver Photographer who has been inspiring me for years, and it just doesn't stop. I am always wondering how she gets the shots she does. Love her.

Getting ready to go see my Midwife, who is going to 'balance' me. Thank God for her.

Get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl soon, and just CAN NOT WAIIITTT!!

What is inspiring you?

I hope it is goodness and delight for your soul.

Here is one of my Sister's shots that rock my world. Hope you love it. Hope it inspires you.

Married! Boone + Tricia

2009-11-09T12:16:00.029-07:00

Boone & Tricia Seal

chose Coeur d'Alene as the place to get married.

It is one of the most beautiful places on the planet - and my hometown - aren't I lucky?!

Anytime you see this little tree on the island off that hill, you can know it's Coeur d'Alene Lake.

A great spot to ponder and dream about Happily Ever After...

Her dress was so beautiful.

A Perfect Fit!

The Rings are STUNNING.

They're inscribed on the sides & just gorgeous from every angle.

Boone made a very handsome groom, and we had fun trying to orchestrate the perfect moment for him to see his Bride for the first time...

Ummmm, Hello Gorgeous!!

So, right before the ceremony, after the guests had left for the beach,

it started to POUR. Not a sprinkle, a POUR.

Look at the rain drops pounding down behind Trish

as she calls the beach to check their weather.

Turns out, the rain skipped the beach!

As the limo pulled up, the clouds broke loose & the sun poured down on us...

It was Kismet!

I love this little sly smile...

Look at the love in those eyes! Fantastic!

Awww, cry time...

YES! We're Married!!

We spent the evening toasting, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.

Congratulations Boone & Trish!

You are perfect together!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, well, since we have been dear friends since we were about eight years old,

I can't finish this post without a picture of us together.

Love it!

Sneek Peek: Dirk + Bree

2009-10-29T16:15:00.008-06:00

Bree & Dirk met many moons ago.

They lived on opposite ends of the street in Boulder.

Now they live in their new home together in Denver.

They are so sweet & tender with each other, it's moving to see.

They are full of laughs - BIG laughs!

Take a peek into their love, LOTS more to follow!

Congratulations Bree & Dirk!

Can't wait for the BIG DAY!

Sneek Peek: Boone + Trish

2009-10-22T14:51:00.005-06:00

Saturday was an amazing day!

Boone and Tricia were married on Sanders (now called Jewett) Beach in Coeur d'Alene.

It was supposed to rain, and it did - on and off all day!

Minutes before the ceremony, after all the guests had been shuttled to the beach,

it started a downpour. An official downpour while the sun was shining!

We all decided to just trust that it would stop, since the sun was promising us that it would.

As the limo pulled up to the beach, the clouds literally parted and the sun beamed down!

It was a beautiful ceremony in the sun, on the lake shore.

There is more story to tell, but I'll save that for the rest of the pictures.

This is just the sneak peak, ya know?!

Congratulations from the depths of my heart, Trish & Boone!

Beautiful Baby Beckett!

2009-10-20T12:21:00.005-06:00

Beckett Daniel Hsin

Words can't express, so I won't try...

Enjoy!

Thank you, John & Christy, for having me photograph your beautiful baby boy!

To see a gallery of Mr. Beckett's pictures, check the galleries on my site: http://www.erinlphoto.com/

Pazzo, the Laday.

2009-10-15T19:39:00.007-06:00

What is there to say about Pazzo??

Well, she is full of cantankerous fun!

She might scare you when you meet her,

then win your heart over with her sweet waggy tail.

She likes giving little kisses,

and chomping on big big bones.

She is elegant, for a 'big' girl,

and can run faster than any other pooch I have ever seen in the water!

Here's a close-up of that kissable mug. I WUB IT!

The only thing I love better than her wicked-fast running through the water,

is that her eyes are shut! See, she is a lady! Can't mess up the mascara!

A little rest was needed after the big run around.

Mastiff-thinking.

shhhhh.

Pazzo's Mommy Nicole is an absolute beauty and in the

Top 5 of the sweeeetest people I know.

She leaves spots of honey on the sidewalk as she walks down the street...

Nicole's favorite colors are black & white & red, together.

Classic.

This shot was edited special for her...

To see Pazzo's featured gallery, check out the galleries page on my site!

www.erinLphoto.com

Sneek Peek::Wedding::Jerry & Lisa

2009-10-02T12:55:00.006-06:00

It was Jerry & Lisa's day. Well, it was Havilah's too. Havilah is Lisa's 12 year old daughter, who was excited to have Jerry as her new Step-Dad. All three of them are the perfect fit for each other!

It was a cowboy wedding in a beautiful setting in the woods of Northeastern Washington. As I'm working on editing the photos, here is a little sneak peek of what's to come:

Congratulations Jerry, Lisa & Havilah!

Colorado LOVE!

2009-09-29T14:16:00.007-06:00

This past week, I had the honor of photographing Raan & Lindsay Parton (aka - Par-T-On) at their Colorado reception! They were married in Santa Barbara in August, and it was a beeeee-u-tiful wedding. This was their chance to celebrate with Lindsay's Colorado Friends & Family who couldn't attend the Santa Barbara Extravaganza.

It was a *perfect* Colorado evening at the Boat House in Wash Park! The weather couldn't have been better, nor could the evening. It was perfect. Complete with a bagpipe entrance, loads of friends and family that stretched over (and before) Lindsay's lifetime, dancing, retro desserts, toasts and a slideshow - it was SO FUN!

Here is a sneek peek of their evening:

OK, I looooooovvvvveeee this picture! Raan could not be more in love with his beautiful bride, and the man knows how to have some fun and ENJOY her!

What would the evening be without a re-enactment of the Father-Daughter dance? The love was tangible in the room, and we were all eating it up!

Of course we had mini-Root Beer floats! How could we not? They were adorable!

Raan, Lindsay, Greg & Gail: Thank you for choosing me to capture your evening! I loved every minute.

Beauty: Inside & Out!

2009-09-09T06:17:00.014-06:00

I am totally taken, smitten, woooooed - by beautiful, enchanting, sweet, bubbly, brilliant Shelley. How are people like this even possible?

Now that we have the professional, take-me-serious picture out of the way, check out these beauties:

Knock-OUT!

Can you get over those eyes??

And those curls?!?

Adorable!

Thank you Shelley! For a great time adventuring around downtown, and these scrumptious images of your absolute darlingness!

If you want to see more, check out the featured gallery on my site on the galleries page! www.erinLphoto.com

Open the Door!

2009-08-25T12:41:00.008-06:00

Last week, I did an architectural shoot of a home that has spent a little more than the last year being remodeled. Well, really - rebuilt. It is now an absolutely stunning and architecturally intelligent home. I loved it!

One of the special details they focused on was to save a number of the old doors in the home. Here you have this all new house, but still many old touches are there to remind you of the old home.

Gets me thinking about life and how we can truly always start over in our lives, rebuild our lives, remake it into what you want it to be, heck, even do just a little remodel of what's around us. I have had the joy of a new start in my life this year, and I am so grateful for the old hardware that's stuck around - family, old friends, faith, my work ethic.

A sweet friend of mine sent me a sign for my birthday. It reads, "Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life." She said she bought it for me sometime last winter when I was so busy making a living that my life was being crippled. Now, while I enjoy making a life, I am truly thankful for the new door that stood in front of me this spring. The door knob may have looked old and rusty, but the joy on the other side of the door has radically changed my life for the better.

May you also recognize when a new beginning is before you, may you choose to swing that door open wide, and may you soak up the joy of a that new season in your life.

Birthday Boy!

2009-08-12T06:38:00.001-06:00

Although today is my birthday, it's time I shared what we did for J's birthday... we had a crab feed. Not just any crab feed, an all-you-can-eat-till-you-are-sick-to-yer-stomach crab feed!

J decided he wanted a small dinner party with some of his close friends, and an all you can eat good time! We ended up with 14 people and 25 pounds of crab!

The places were set with a seafood cracker as a gift for each person...

Butchy made the most scrumptious Olathe Sweet Corn paprika/chili powder Coblets. YUM!

It's not often you get to see 25 pounds of king crab legs! This is Casey taking a closer look.

We had to cook them in a Turkey Fryer, OF COURSE! What else can fit that much crab?? We cooked in batches of about 5 pounds each, and delivered rounds of fresh outta the pot crab every 20 minutes or so. Thanks Gray for the Turkey Fryer!

With 25 pounds of crab comes 7 pounds of butter! Gray spent a couple days clarifying the butter so it would be ever so perfect for our evening. It looked good, but not so good that I'd take a bite out of it!

We lined up three tables through our living room & dining room so we could all sit at one long table, which makes for lottts more fun! Thanks Christen for the picture - I was not getting up from the table as my butter-coma had already kicked in!

I love how each end of the table in this pic has a gun show going on!

Christen baked JJ a wheatless chocolate cake that was like eating the inside of a truffle - mmm mmm good!! I loovvveeedd the little J stencils on the top!

To say he was happy would be an understatement!

He had to proceed to give a speech about how much he loves his friends and how much they mean to him and yadda yadda love yadda. This is him toasting everyone with the cake - oh yes he did!

Happy Birthday! Here's to the big 3-5!

Tiffany!

2009-08-11T08:41:00.005-06:00

Tiffany is such a fun person! She has experienced a lot in this life and of this world, and laughed her way through it. She has a contagious laugh. It's the kind of laugh that comes from yer guts and travels for miles! It cracks me up and I laugh louder and harder with her than just about any person on this planet.
We had a blast taking pictures, and it's all I can do not to post 101 pictures of her brilliant laugh! (Turns out - she's pretty nice to look at without the laugh, too!)

Wedding Love!

2009-08-06T13:35:00.007-06:00

Joe & Kendra's wedding was on the 4th of July. On a cruise ship. In the Seattle Harbor. Does it get any more fun?!

It was the most terrific day, filled with love, laughter and close friends. There are too many pictures to post here, so I'll keep it to the tiny details in this post.

Enjoy!

Beautiful little details from Kendra's Dress:

DA Rings!

It WAS a cruise ship, flip flops were the REQUIRED wedding shoes!

So pretty!

Tantalizing little candy dishes! I didn't take mine with me. BOO. I was craving those little jelly beans and hearts for the rest of the afternoon!!

Kendra's nieces were her flower girls. They had matching tights and shoes on. ADORABLE!

Tree Graveyard

2009-08-05T10:26:00.012-06:00

Hi Blog-Reading Friends! (If you weren't before, you are now!)

I've been travelling for the last month back and forth to Seattle every Monday - Thursday. It was worth it, but soaked up all my time to be writing creative things and showing you new pictures! Grrrrrr... I don' lika whena maya creativa buga isa squashada! SO, I'm BACK! Ha! Take that creative-bug-squashers!

Almost every weekend this Summer has been spent up at the property fishing, fishing, playing gin rummy, and more fishing. After four years of fishing the same river, we found something NEW! Well, not new to the river, just new to us. A TREE GRAVEYARD! What? I know, sounds odd, but it really is just that!

The water was really high in early Summer, which made for some fishing off the beaten path. Look at what we stumbled upon! In the midst of pine tree after pine tree, you can see about 25 dead tree tops poking up! When we got to the middle of them, we realized that almost all their trunks were in standing water. We're thinking that must be the reason they died? Maybe they were in too much water? Regardless, they are truly breathtaking to behold:

Groovin & Fishin

2009-07-26T07:29:00.007-06:00

When is the last time you heard music that just made you have to boogie-woogie it out?? It's happening right now for me...

I have been grooving to James Morrison this morning. No, not Jim Morrison. JAMES Morrison. Wow. My friend Dom introduced me to his music last year. Last weekend, he gave me a couple of his albums. This guy has more soul in his little toe than most artists today have altogether!

Check him out here: www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com - just listen to the first sample in the player - you won't regret it.

Dom came to the cabin a few weeks ago and we all got our fish on. It was a beeeeeeeeutiful weekend! The water was still a little high, but we all caught fish and had a terrific time!

Here's Dom on a cool stretch of the river-

Here are Dom & J sharing a section.

Yup, it's too bad it's so ugly up there.

If you could hear me in this one, I'm saying "Heeeeeeere fishy fishy fishy fishy"

J trying to be artistic...

I actually kinda like it!

Back in the boggy section, there were these little bitty pine trees coming up. They were no more than three inches tall! So precious!

Dom & J recapping fish stories from the day, an absolute essential to the art of fishing!

After taking the above picture, I turned around and took this of the beginning of one stellar sunset. Gosh, I dunno why it's gotta be so ugly up there...

Piggly Wigglies

2009-07-21T19:46:00.010-06:00

I ♥ Faces is a really terrific site that runs photo contests and shares great tips with us photo-lovers.

This week, their contest is for the best feet picture.

I recently took this shot shooting sweet Baby Jack. I LOVE the way his lil' tosies are poking out from his crib!

He was totally asleep and had no idea I was gooooshing over how cute they were!

Turns out, I ♥ Feet !

Go check 'em out!

Home Is Where The Heart Is

2009-07-15T20:34:00.002-06:00

Where is home for you?

For me, it is Coeur d'Alene. No, Denver. No, Coeur d'Alene. No, no, Denver. Yes, Denver. Noooo, Coeur d'Alene! Argh.

I grew up splitting my time between Colorado and Northern Idaho. Literally spending my Summers in Idaho and the rest of the year in Colorado. It made this weird transitory thing in me... When I'm in one place, the other is home. Neither and Both are actually home, yet they both are.

Growing up, I didn't see any of my school friends during the Summer, and then I didn't see my Summer friends for the rest of the year. So, even though I went to the same school with the same group of people from 9th grade to 12th grade, I don't have that same tight-knit relationship that most do. Sometimes I still wonder if I hold the friends I do have a little too loosely because of it...

Part way into my Senior year in High School, I moved to Coeur d'Alene to finish out the year. I stayed for a number of years and made it my 'home'. Until I got in trouble, and needed to move 'home'. To Colorado.

To this day, I have moved back and forth a few times as it seems the other place is always beckoning me...

It was a real treat to drive up to Coeur d'Alene in late Spring and stay for a full month. Who gets to do that?? I got to see friends, family, and all the places I love that fill my soul. After a couple weeks of pondering this dual-home catch 22 of mine, I decided that in the end, I really am fortunate to be able to call two places home, and wouldn't change it for anything.

Here are some pictures from my journey. It's hard to explain, but when I see these landscapes and views, I always feel like I'm going home...

A lake between Boise & McCall... Can't remember the name of it, but it almost doesn't matter because they all look about the same in those parts: STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL

Farmland up ahead! There are a couple hours worth of farmland to drive through, and I LOVE the rolling hills of green shoots with mountains and forests peeking up behind them...

You know you're in REAL farmland when there is a sign of all the names of people that live in the entire VALLEY. Not their address or phone number, just their name. Yep, the Gordon's live here and if you'd like to see em, just ask the next person driving down the road... they could probably point you in the right direction... What really cracks me up is the SAME SIGN is another 25 minutes down the road with the SAME NAMES. There must be one on each side of the Benewah Valley, just in case you missed the first one!

Across the street from the sign... A stunning set of silos and towers working hard for their farmers to make a living.

And then, just out of farmland, you hit the south end of the lake. Wow, it's always breathtaking. I was just in time to get a shot of a boat heading out from harbor...

The rocks along the lakeshore are truly unique to this part of the world.

When I finally hit the city, the first mandatory thing, every time, is to take a tour around the dyke road (yes, it's really called that, but it doesn't mean that) to see the river and pylons, and remember my college days here. This time, I saw THE biggest family of baby geese I've ever seen down there. I had to go get their picture...

Look at all those cute little gosling tookeses!

A parting note...

Although the grass may always SEEM greener, it really rarely ever is. Home is where your heart is, if you let it be there.

Yes, I've just been waiting for a post that I could use these 'grass is greener' pics!

p.s. Special Thanks to Trish, for being my friend every summer since we were about 8, and the rest of the year now that we're all growed up. I heart you.

Sailing on the Sound

2009-07-07T20:08:00.015-06:00

Guess what? I got to go SAILING!!!

Saaaaaaaaiiiiiillllllllllliiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg, takes me away to where I'm goin tooooo-oooooooo...

I hope you can hear the music because I would embarrass my self and annoy you by typing out the phonetic sounds of the music to go with this song (or any other). So, if you didn't hear the music while reading that, start back at the beginning until you get it.

On the 4th of July, after the wedding, JJ and I traveled down to the piers in Seattle to enjoy the water, people, sights and sounds.
There was a booth set up to go sailing in the Puget Sound for an hour and a half at a very reasonable price.

After much capitulation about if I should go sailing with a skirt on or not, and figuring out how I could hold my skirt down with all the wind, and how if this was truly being modest or not, and how I WAS wearing bathing suit bottoms anyways, so did it really matter? We decided to GO!

I am so glad we did.

I've never been sailing before and was fascinated by the maneuvering, engineering, physics, or whatever that is (I got a D in Physics AND Geometry). Here is the First Mate on the boat getting the sails ready...

I took one hundred and one pictures of the city from the boat. It was definitely the best view in town!

It was AWESOME to just sit with the wind off the water, cruising in absolute tranquility.

There was an adorable family in the middle of the boat who ended up in just about every picture I have looking back at the boat. I love this one. It shows the truly joyous smile that we all had. You couldn't wipe mine off my face for the rest of the day!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...

If I took one hundred and one pictures of the city, I definitely took one hundred and TWO pictures of the sails! Here are a couple neat ones:

Although I look serene here, I was really thinking, "I'm SAILLLING! I'm SAAIIILLLIIINNNGGG!!!" Like Bob in What About Bob?

If you EVER have the chance to get yerself on a sailboat, do NOT skip the opportunity.

Sneeeek a Peeeeeek!

2009-07-06T21:50:00.005-06:00

Saturday, on the 4th of July, I had the ultimate pleasure of photographing my dear friend Kendra's wedding to Mr. Joe Weitz.

Mr. Joe and his entire family are THE most fortunate people this side of the Mississippi! They have just inherited one of the most amazing, tender, smart, funny, responsible and wise women on this very planet. Words just cannot do justice to the woman and friend that Kendra is. That's why there's pictures - if they're worth a thousand words, then maybe we can get close here...

The Weitz's are currently sailing to Alaska for their honeymoon, so I can only share a SNEEEEEEK peek here - they have to be the first to see their pics - call me old fashioned! That's fine, so long as I'm half the friend to Kendra that she's been to me.

Here are a few little details that make me smile...

Joe's shirt had some seriously stellar swirly details:

Katie, Kendra's Maid of Honor, has a shoe-thang. OK, well, it's really an all-out love affair with them! These were the perfect shoes for the occasion, the dress, and the stage:

Ahhhhhhh, the cake! It was beeeeutiful. I love this shot with Kendra in the background:

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Weitz ~ and to both of your families for the wonderful additions you just received. May your years and lives be blessed all the love and joy you can handle!

Brunch & Facebook

2009-06-30T12:28:00.011-06:00

Friday mornings are a delightful time to have a Girlie Brunch!

My fabulous Neighbor, Suz had the loveliest lil' Summer Brunch on Friday morning.

It was a perfectly sunny morning, and we were greeted with beautiful sights and smells:

The hit of the morning were these scrumptous little sandwiches inspired by The Squeaky Bean Restaurant - Cashew Butter, Bananas and Honey done Panini-Style. Mmmmmm mmm good!

Brunch wouldn't be the same without a mimosa in hand! I'll give you one guess as to which four-letter word was coming out of Ms. Amy's mouth when the champagne decided to explode in the kitchen:

Fresh fruit with an incredible little white sauce by Jeni was also on the menu! Here's Irish Dishin up:

We had three things to toast, and toast we did!

After brunch, there was a mission to be accomplished - get Suz on Facebook.

She has been holding out, while we've all been peer pressuring her with no holds barred.

We had given her a deadline of Father's Day, which quietly sneaked by. Well, there was no more sneaking by allowed! Irish and Jeni sneakily went and signed her up while she wasn't looking!

She was not real pleased, but quickly got over it... Don't Irish & Jeni look SO happy and devious?? Love it!

We uploaded her picture and created her profile, so go on, ask her to be your Friend!

Mission Accomplished. I wonder if she'll ever invite us over for brunch again?

Rhubarb Time!

2009-06-25T17:27:00.011-06:00

I made my first ever pie - from scratch!
It was a Rhubarb Strawberry Pie made from Mama Rita's recipe.
The Rhubarb was grown in my very own garden, which I'm very proud of :)

It was a deeeelicious pie! Although slightly jelly-textured, I am told that is correct for fruit pie.

Here's the perfect recipe:
Preheat to 325, then bake the pie crust for 10 minutes to pre-cook it.
Cook 4c Rhubarb with 1 cup water in a teflon, large frying pan until the water thickens.
Add 1/3 cup Tapioca
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 t. Cinnamon
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup sliced Strawberries
Cook until thick, then pour into the pie crust.
Sprinkle the top with Brown Sugar, then bake until browned - about 35 - 45 minutes.

Cooking up the rhubarb, strawberry and pie-filling until it thickened up

Pre-cooking the crust so the pie filling doesn't over cook, while the crust can brown up

Filling in, brown sugar on top, ready to pop in the oven! Isn't it pretty??

Fresh out of the oven - if it's wiggly, put it back in for a while!

After setting up - it sunk back into the crust and was ever so delicious!

I took the pie to April & Jeff Andrews' for a dinner surprise. Last Summer, April made J a Rhubarb pie just for a treat - so sweet! I had to pay her back :)

Look what April made for dinner - homemade roast beef pot pies of course!

So cute, she put our name's letter on the top of each one!

This one was for Jeff - the Hubby of one year. Of course, he should have a heart on his!

My plate - mmmmmm good!

The Chef, who will ever be my culinary hero:

Coco!

2009-06-25T17:25:00.002-06:00

April's little girl, Ms. Coco -

She's a beauty!

Havilah

2009-06-23T11:57:00.003-06:00

While in Washington, I also got to do a little shoot with my Niece, Havilah.

Last Summer, she came and stayed with us in Denver and was all full of angst and everything that stinks about being 13. This Summer, she has really come into her own A LOT more. She went to a conference for teenagers called "Acquire the Fire" and it turned her right around! I recommend it to ANYONE.

Now, she is only slightly punk-rock styled and she is full of laughs, jokes and sweetness.

These are her two favorite pictures from her shoot, she was so amp'd about them, she made me save them to her computer RIGHT NOW so she could get a new profile pic up on MySpace - RIGHT NOW Aunt Erin!! Love it! :)

Raviolis That Feed the Soul

2009-06-22T14:52:00.011-06:00

During my trip up North, I was able to spend a little time with "Mama Rita"!

As the youngest of 16 children in an Italian Immigrant family, she has A LOT of stories to share!

One of her favorite things to do for special occasions is make raviolis from scratch.

This was my second lesson on how to make the delicious little devils, so I got to be a lot more involved. It was a terrific time of pasta-making, listening to stories, and sipping a little White Zin in little Italian glasses! I know my wine-loving friends are throwing up, just a little bit right now, but hey ~ it was that or no wine at all! I chose correctly :)

Isn't she adorable? She looks like the little Ragu lady from the 1980s Ragu commercials!

After the Raviolis were done, we moved on to Rhubarb Strawberry Pie from scratch! MMMMM. I'm making my own for the first time tonight, wish me luck!

Stop & Smell ALL the Flowers!

2009-06-19T08:48:00.016-06:00

It's official!! I'm a Perennial Gardener!

When I first visited Mrs. Ginger Angone's home in 1999, I fell in absolute LOVE with flower gardening. She has THE MOST BEAUTIFUL flower garden that I, and many others, have ever seen. She is an incredible teacher and has learned so many life and spiritual lessons from gardening that she weaved them into a teaching series called The Garden Talks. We had Garden Talks weekly, and monthly over the course of a couple of Summers and I learned so very much from her.

Two Summers ago, she gave me some starters for my garden from hers. Phlox, Creeping Phlox, Chives, Daisies, and Day Lilies. This Spring, they are all coming in so strongly that I am giving some away! I've given away two chive plants and multiple daisies just this week!

After a few years of consistent planting and tending, my garden is POPPING! Multiple flowers are in bloom, and I'm in love with them all. I make bouquets all Summer long from the garden. It brings me so much joy to see the same plants come back each year, and even more joy when I get to share them with others through bouquets!

With all the blossoms popping right now, and a multitude of plants coming in strong, I feel as though I can finally say - I'm a Perennial Gardener! Yay! Goal Achieved. Thank you for the inspiration, Ginger!

Here are a few peeks of what's blooming this morning:

Some of the first blooms of the Shasta Daisies are popping up

Not sure of the type, but these are the most wonderful smelling pink roses that have lived on our lot for at least 16 years (according to the neighbors). Right now, I have bouquets of these in almost every room in the house.

I really like Salvia. I have a couple purple ones in bloom as well, but they were in the shade this morning, so you only get a peek at the white...

Fresh Lavender, mmmmmmm, the Lavender plant is really blooming right now. The fragrance is so pungent, you almost slip into sheer peace and calm simply by clipping a few flowers for a bouquet...

I have no idea what these are - never seen them before, but they are welcome nonetheless! Pretty cute little fellas! The ball of flowers below is about 4 inches in diameter!

Shasta Daisies - Snow Lady - shorter and stalkier than the other Shastas, and they don't continuously bloom throughout the Summer. They are still pretty glorious, though!

Ahhh, Columbine. Our State Flower. Most of them have already bloomed in my garden, these are some of the last blooms hanging on. There's nothing like a Columbine.

Last, but most certainly not least...

While I was taking pictures of my flowers this morning, a couple of squirrels were chasing each other up our Mulberry tree. One jumped from the tree to the roof of the house, so I figured the next one would follow accordingly... I was right and caught the shot:

It's just too bad I had my short lens on instead of my big zoomer! Oh well, it's still pretty cute!

Have a GREAT day! Be sure to stop and smell the flowers!

TTV Part 2

2009-06-18T16:43:00.012-06:00

When I showed JJ my project for the cabin - see TTV (prior blog post) - his first response was "I want one of those in our HOUSE!" YAY! I was hoping he'd like it.

Since then, I've been scouring our pictures to pick out the perfect shots for our home and the rest of the shots for the cabin.

In our home, I wanted to put up a few pictures of things we love about our house or yard, but I don't think I can get all our family in the pictures PLUS pics of the house.

Here's what I have so far, hope you like:

Belay doing his job, which is making people smile!

Dan! (no further comment)

The Langevin Ladies...

My Mother, on a horse! With a Rope!! WHAT??!! A rare moment caught on film on Christmas Day at Brenda's.

Mom had to get her own picture, since she took this one and wouldn't get in it:

Judd & Shelbs - My favorite pick of them. Maybe a little racey for the dining room! :)

Now, I just have to figure out a couple pics with our Dads and Nephews in them and we will be all set!!

I've also been looking for more cabin pictures. So far, I really only have GOOD pictures that are winter-ey. Maybe we'll go up there next weekend and take more pics. You know, that IS my priority when I'm there! HA!

I love how Suz is looking so dreamily at Pat in this picture:

This was after one of the funnest days skiing this season. When do you EVER get to ride with 8 of your friends?? When Brookie comes to town for the weekend, that's when!

and, finally, the rocking chair that Mrs. Jude Aiello rocked baby Dom to sleep in...

TTV!

2009-06-17T08:49:00.007-06:00

I am in love. With TTV.

TTV stands for "Through the Viewfinder" and it reflects pictures taken through a Twin Lens Reflex Camera. I don't have one, so I'm applying the TTV in the Digital Darkroom. Here are samples on Flikr of TTV pics: http://www.flickr.com/groups/throughtheviewfinder/

My Darling Photographer Friend, Kristen (http://www.ournylife.blogspot.com/) sent a link to a blog with a TERRIFIC IDEA!!

She is printing 9 Square Images - quite large size - and hanging them in a series on the wall. I know that it's been done before, yah yah yah. BUT, this time, I GET IT! Check it out here: http://tarawhitney.com/justbeblogged/2008/06/opam-may-08-photo-wall-in-living-room-after/

I am working on images to put in the Cabin - I want them to reflect our lives as it relates to the cabin - fishing, skiing, hiking, chilling, family, friends.

Here are the shots I've started with. I have a pile to pick from and haven't decided on the final 9 yet.

Don't you just love it???

Not in Kansas!

2009-06-15T20:41:00.006-06:00

Soooooo, yesterday, there was a tornado warning in downtown Denver... Sirens were going off, TVs and Radios were blaring the National Weather Service Alert noise, the whole nine-yards... The sirens have gone off here before, but we've never actually seen a funnel cloud.

All that changed yesterday.

The sky REALLY WAS green & kind of purple in one area, then as we looked over our house to the South, sure enough - THERE'S A FUNNEL CLOUD!

Some of the tail ends of the clouds were reallllllly low. The tornado never touched down and wasn't nearly as big as others on the news, etc... BUT, it was most certainly OVER MY HOUSE!!
AHHHHH!!!

Apamazen

2009-06-13T11:42:00.015-06:00

I've officially ended my month-long road trip that was preceded by weekend road-trips for the prior 3 weekends! I've had enough of every song on my iPod to last 10 years, and enough sunflower seeds to last a lifetime!

It's been a while since I have been able to post since I wasn't online for a full week! Wow, that's a record. The next few posts just HAVE to be of my travels, fun and love encountered in the past few weeks. Hope you enjoy!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

One of the best afternoons I had on my trip was with my Cousin, Tiffany and her new friend, Phyllis - aka Babs.
Babs lives at The Seasons in Sandpoint on the lake. It is a beautiful location and has a pool that sits lakeside, of course!
When I arrived, the Ladies had created a new drink and I was challenged to come up with a name for the drink... it was a combination of iced Tazo Zen green tea and Pama liquor. After much deliberation, the best I came up with was Pamataza. They had already come up with a better name that stuck: Apamazen. Doesn't the name just make you want to try it??
If it doesn't, this picture should!

Babs, is a DELIGHT! Full of charm, intelligence and humor, she is a Coach for Automotive Dealers. I think her hands are full right now :)

We had so many laugh out loud moments, the people sitting next to us were starting to eavesdrop and then chime in!! Between the three of us, it was a good ol' fashion laugh-fest!

You couldn't ask for a better spot to soak in some rays and enjoy Girlfriends:

After we were done basking, we went back up to Babs' place to peek at the view and take in a few pictures from the Lost in the 50's Car Rally.

Here's the view from her patio and a couple shots of some beautiful flowers she has blooming:

Babs and Tiffany kept telling me about this cherry blossom tree in town that just HAD to get it's picture taken... Of course, we had to stop and see it! It was in full bloom and just stunning!!

After basking in the sun all afternoon and swimming, we were not the quintissential picture of beauty, but I still love our pictures under the tree:

On another night when I stayed with Tiffany & Hannah, my 2nd cousin & Tiffany's daughter, we were about THE silliest girls you have ever seen. Hannah's friend, Mariah was staying the night too and we had a little Charlie's Angel's shoot. Well, it started that way...

Hannah was making the most awful faces in nearly every picture just to make us take another one...

Mariah was straight out of America's Next Top Model with a perfect pose in every shot!!

I'll spare you the other dozen pictures that should never see the light of day and leave you with these fun shots:

Oh no, we weren't having any fun AT ALL!

Hannah, Mariah and I all tried to sleep in Hannah's bed for a real slumber party, but it was too hot in the house and my 1 foot strip of bed wasn't going to cut it for me! I moved to the living room and had a great night's sleep.

Thanks for the fun Ladies!! Love you!

A Peek

2009-06-05T14:57:00.005-06:00

One of my closest, longest (it just does not seem right to call anyone your "oldest" friend when they aren't OLD) friends is getting married! OK, actually, two of them are!

I have 3 closest-longest friends, and I feel immeasurably blessed to have that many! They are Kendra, Kristy & Tricia. Kendra and Tricia are both getting married this year, and Kristy is having a baby!! I am honored to photography both Kendra & Tricia's weddings :) If Kristy didn't live nine states away, I would have my camera all up in her tummy!

This week, Kendra's dress came in!! She ordered it without seeing it in white, so it was her first time actually seeing the dress look just as it will on her wedding day. It is a beautiful, very simple, yet elegant dress. I love it! More importantly, SHE loves it!

Kendra loves Sepia toned pictures, and her fiance, Joe, loves Black & Whites with an old feel to them. So, nearly all their pictures will look that way if I can help it!!

Here are a couple shots that still leave a lot to the imagination of what's to come:

Kiki Kitty!

2009-06-03T12:11:00.004-06:00

Doesn't she just NEED to be petted? So pretty...

Cam-R-Oni

2009-06-01T13:34:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, I did a shoot with my Nephew, Cameron. He is getting ready to say goodbye to his Honda 50 that he has been riding for the past few years. He is a flat-track Super-Star, winning #1 in just about every regional race on that bike. We needed to get some pictures before they sell the 50.

This season, he is riding a 65 and last weekend, he was cruising at a whopping 87 mph on the race track! His lap time was 26 seconds and the grown men on Harley Racing Cycles were at 24 seconds. That's pretty amazing, since he's 10.

Anyhow, here is one of my favorite pictures we took yesterday...
Love his freckles, eyes, hair, nose, emotion, everything... Love him!

I Heart Faces

2009-06-01T11:29:00.005-06:00

This week, the I ♥ Faces blog (www.iheartfaces.com) is having a pet contest! SOOO up my alley!

It was hard to pick only one picture to enter! After much self-deliberation, Duke HAD to be the pick!

Duke is a 4 year old Bassett Hound and he is a super sweet boy. He loves attention, doesn't bark much, and likes to monkey-wrench on classic cars with his Daddy, Jerry.

I love this picture because his eyes are just emitting sweetness and love while his ears are tossing about like a model's hair in a fashion mag! I promise, I wasn't using a fan to blow them around! Ha!

He's shouting it out - "Pick Me! Pick Me! I'm the Winner!"

It's Called Fishing, Not Catching...

2009-05-26T16:06:00.011-06:00

Last week, as I drove from Pullman to Coeur d'Alene, I couldn't help but take a detour to fish one of the most beautiful rivers in the country. The St. Joe.

I know it's a BIG statement to say that it's one of the most beautiful rivers, but it's even designated as a Wild & Scenic River, so lots of people agree! Definition here: http://www.rivers.gov/

The first (and only other) Wild & Scenic River I have fished is the Flathead River. This doesn't QUITE compare with the Flathead, but it was still beautiful. Here's a good shot of a great fishing hole on the Flathead from last Summer:

OK, back to the St. Joe - Well, this was my first time fishing by myself. It didn't seem like anything out of my capabilities: Get a Fishing License, Rig up Flies, Read the River, Cast. I can do that!

My adventure started at the local Conoco in St. Maries. The St. Joe Sport Shop. Yes, it's a Conoco Gas Station and Sporting Goods Store - this is Idaho, what do you expect?? You can fill up yer tank, get a fishin license, buy a gun and a Red Bull, then head to the mountains! Not to mention the Lady working behind the counter is, of course, the nicest person you have ever met in your life!

After getting my license, a Kokanee and some chips, I headed up the river. I was thankful to have gotten a Regulations Book because it told me that none of the tributaries were open until the Saturday of Memorial Weekend. OF COURSE I was 2 days early. Sheesh.

The river was exceptionally high. It took a good hour to get up to fishing territory, and even then, the water was way bigger than anything I've ever fished. It was all I could do to not drive around the "Road Closed" sign that went up next to the North Fork of the St. Joe. Why do I have to be such a Rule-Follower??

Eventually, I found the slowest looking spot I'd seen in an hour and decided to rig up. Here's Mr. Belay waiting patiently for me as I suit up and rig up:

I'd read a blog before heading up the river that told me to use a Stimmy on the top with a wet Muddler Minnow on the bottom - size 10 -12, or a weighted Emerger. Great! I know what those flies are! Well out of cell phone range, I realized I didn't know what a size 10-12 is, how to make a Muddler Minnow "wet", nor how to "weight" an Emerger!

So much for fishing on my own!

I did my best to pick the biggest Stimmy & Muddler Minnow I could find in my gear and toss it on out into the water. Which was BIG:

It was beautiful - nice and green. But, big. I only went out to about my shins in depth because it was moving so fast. If I'd have gone much deeper, it could have pulled me down, for certain! After about a half hour of chucking my fly as far as I could get it, only to have it not sink, and whiz by me at record speeds, I decided to go further up-river. There had to be a smaller, slower section!

Well, at least I had my one Kokanee in nature's cooler back on the bank of the river.

I packed up the dog, popped my rod in my handy-dandy short-distance rod-holder...

...and headed for a better spot:

The water was much slower here, but I wasn't fishing any better. After about 40 minutes of untangling line, no bites, STILL not sinking my Muddler Minnow, I decided to call it a day.

Just in case I saw one good spot on the drive back, though, I kept my waders and boots on for the drive. It was wishful thinking - had I found one good spot, I probably still couldn't fish it!

Note to Self: Next time, bring a Mentor.

Sweet Pits.

2009-05-23T13:48:00.004-06:00

This morning, Ms. Carly was basking in the sun on the front porch. She was soooo cute just soaking it in, I had to go snap a couple pics of her.

My brother and sister-in-law adopted Carly from the Humane Society. She is a sweetheart!

Pit Bull's have a major stigma attached to them, and I think it's a bad wrap. I hear of a lot of folks who are afraid of rottweilers too, and their fear is just misplaced. It is definitely in the owner. I had two roommates during college that had Pits - Ziggy and Ruger. They were terrific dogs. Smart, funny, sociable, protective, loving, and absolute characters. They broke the ice for me with Pits and now I have a soft place in my heart for them.

Ms. Carly is no exception. She was a little wild when I met her last Summer. She had only been with them for a little over a month. She was wildly playing in the yard and ran towards me then leaped. While flying through the air, she took a jaw smacking snap right in front of my face. That took me back a little bit, for sure. I was nervous to introduce her to my Poodle this year, but she has mellowed out and settled in to home life. She is a doll...

I hope you enjoy these pics.

The Usual and A Bowl of Soul

2009-05-22T13:14:00.006-06:00

I'm at my favorite coffee shop in the world. Java on Sherman. It's on the main street in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I can't even remember when I started coming here. I used to come here to do my homework when I was going to school at NIC at 18 years old...

I'm so grateful it's still open and going strong. Whenever I come back through Cd'A, I come to visit Java. I'm always terrified that I'll look at this adorable corner spot and it'll be replaced with some tourist shop.

How can something so simple as a coffee shop fill up some deep places in you? It's like seeing an old friend, or a cousin that you haven't seen in years. It makes me so happy to be here...

My standard order: A Bowl of Soul and the Usual.

The Usual is just fun to order in the first place because it's called "the Usual"... "Yah, I'll have the usual..." Where do you get to say that?? It's an onion bagel with plain cream cheese, slices of tomatoes and fresh cracked pepper. DELISH.

A Bowl of Soul is the most terrific thing that could ever caress your taste buds. It's like a latte - but thicker and richer, with Mexican Chocolate, a dollop of hand made whip cream on top, and cinnamon sprinkled on top. This description does NOT do it justice. If you've had one, you know that it truly is indescribable.
It's served in a hand made bowl with a little divot on it for where to put yer mouth... If you've ever been to my house at any time we are serving food, the odds are that you've seen one of them. I have a few and use them for pretty much every single meal I prepare. If we're not eating out of them, the lettuce, or salsa, or cheese, or SOMETHING is in them. That's because I love them! They remind me of Java and the Bowl of Soul:

Here's a shot of their sign - I love it - WAKE UP AND LIVE!! YES! LET'S! (too bad the windows need cleaning - and I don't know how to clean a window in photoshop yet...)

Meanie Beanie the Weenie

2009-05-20T09:30:00.007-06:00

My friends, Trish & Boone, have a Weenie dog - Daschund, to be proper. His name is Bean. He's super cute! Not too obsessive, like some I've met. He is, however, a bully. Yes, a bully.

He wasn't real sure about Belay when they first met, so I held Belay back, made him lay down and stay put so Beanie wouldn't feel threatened. Belay is at least 5 times as big as Beanie.

Within a couple hours, Beanie was barking at Belay whenever he walked by - AFTER he walked by. It was like he was saying "And don't come back!" Belay got the hint. At one point, Belay was hunkered down in the bathroom and wouldn't come out when I called him from down the hall. Turns out, Beanie was right outside the door and Belay was afraid to walk out!

Beanie continued to push the big Poodle around for a few days, until the last night they were together, when he finally brought down his guard, and there was great fun to be had by all. Beanie found out that Belay just wanted to play after all, and he didn't need to be so insecure as to bully him around.

A lesson we could all learn now and again, I suppose...

Here are some cute pics of the Meanie Weenie, Beanie:

Flying Cowgirls!

2009-05-19T15:55:00.009-06:00

The past week was spent travelling to Nampa, Idaho, and visiting with my oldest friend, Trish. I'm not sure exactly when we met, but it was somewhere between the ages of 8 & 11. We were BFFs until somewhere after high school and over the years, we've drifted, then come back together, then drifted, and come back together again. It's a wonderful mystery to me how years can go by, but a friendship can stay right where you left it. Don't ever think it's been too long since you talked to that old friend... just pick up the phone.

One of my all-time favorite quotes is "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." (there's nothing like 'em!)

Trish was putting on a Women's Timed Event at the Hungry Mosquito Arena, which was a BEAUTIFUL site for the event. There was grass for the spectators, a cook shack so we could feed our hungry bellies, and a great arena ready for a lottttta fun!

The Women at this event were all great competitors! They were all strong in each event, and had a great attitude with a lot of fun! I'll be posting some fun pictures from the weekend here over the next couple days.

Have you heard George Strait's new song about Cowgirls? Well, it could use a line in there somewhere about them flying off the backs of horses to tie down goats!! (sorry, George, I still love you...) These Cowgirls were totally awesome!

Look at them literally FLYING off their RUNNING horse!

These chicks make me proud!

"How good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete?"

- Unknown Author

6th Sense

2009-05-13T10:35:00.004-06:00

How do dogs know when we're sad?

Have you ever been brokenhearted or upset to the point of crying? If you have a dog, I bet you had a furry friend putting their head on your lap, didn't you?

I wonder if it's something to do with our energy/spirit... I am a HUGE fan of Ceasar Milan, The Dog Whisperer, on National Geographic channel. He is constantly teaching people that the energy they are projecting to their dog is causing a lot of it's behavior issues. I wonder if it's possible that we project some type of 'sad energy'.

There is nothing better than having a soft-n-furry four-legged pooch comfort you when you're upset. All I know is that I am so very happy they DO know when we're sad...

Here is Taterpup's more reflective side...

Heading on another road trip tomorrow for a few days... Will post again soon!

Floating Readerboard

2009-05-11T18:02:00.005-06:00

Why can't dogs have a reader board over their heads that constantly scrolls what their thinking?

You know, the black boards with the scrolling red text... Wouldn't it be nice to be able to read their thoughts?

When they're meeting a new dog-friend, a new human friend, barking incessantly, staring at you for no apparent reason, staring at the floor, rolling in the grass, dreaming - what are they thinking??

There are a few funny dogblogs where people actually write from the dog's 'voice'. I wonder how accurate they really are. Check them out for a giggle:
http://www.1000goldens.com/
http://mary-margaretsdiary.blogspot.com/
http://www.toaireisdivine.com/blog/

I know for certain what my dog is thinking during a few common moments:

When I put shoes on: "She's getting ready to leave again, I wonder if I get to go this time? Well, if not, at least I get a good chew bone."

When we're driving down the road to my parent's house: "Almost to Grammy's! Almost to Grammy's! YIPPPEEEE!! I hope they don't take me to that 'alien abudction' room again where I get washed, poked and prodded."

When he's staring at the floor (someday I will get a picture of this and post it... it's hilarious!): "I wonder if a piece of popcorn will come up now. How bout now? What about now? No? Maybe over here, one will spring up. How bout now? What about now? No? Maybe over here..."
Yah, and you thought poodles were smart. Hmmm...

This lil French Bulldog was looking at me this weekend at the dog show. If he had a readerboard, it would say "What is that big black thing attached to your face? Why do you keep pointing it at me? Is it a nose extension? Stop pointing it at me!"

When Wind becomes Wind

2009-05-07T07:17:00.002-06:00

Why do dogs like to hang their head out the car window, but they hate it when you blow on their face?

I have never met a dog that likes it when you blow on their face. However, most dogs love to hang their head out the window and soak in the sights and smells.

What exactly is the difference?
Is it the smell of our breath that makes it bad?
Is it the velocity? Or, the circumference isn't large enough?
Will we ever know the answer to this most pressing question??

Here's Ms. Jada creating a little wind of her own with some wild-mongoose running:

She makes me smile!

Doggie Sun-Dials

2009-05-06T10:10:00.006-06:00

How do dogs know the time of day you are going to walk in the door?

If you're someone who gets home at a regular time daily, you know what I'm talking about.

Our ol' boy, Pazi, knew when it was 6:30ish. He'd go to the door and wait for me to open it. J could be home, or Pazi could have been by himself. Either way, when time was nearing, he would head to the door and wait patiently.

What kind of internal-clock do they have to know? Do they know how many hours typically pass when you're gone on a week-day? Or, do they know the actual time of day by the way the sun is moving across the sky? What is it??

I don't know the answer, but I sure am glad they have it. It's one of my favorite things about these wonder-full critters.

This is Taterpup watching on the deck of the cabin. Not sure what he was watching or looking for, maybe he was checking the time by the angle of the sun!

p.s. miss you Dommer.

Bark Back!

2009-05-05T09:13:00.005-06:00

Last night, I was inspired by the movie "Marley & Me" to write nearly two pages of questions in my journal about doggies. Over the next couple weeks, I'll be sharing some of the questions that came up for me and my attempt to sort out the answers...

First Question: Why does my dog react to some barking on TV, but not all barking?

As Belay & I were watching the movie, he couldn't help but bark back at the puppy crying and yelping noises. He couldn't care less about the rest of the barks for the entire movie. Why??

Was the puppy truly distressed and he could tell what it was saying, while the other dogs were trained to just 'bark on cue' and they weren't saying anything important?

What was Belay saying back to the puppy when he barked back at the TV?

Why am I answering this question with more questions? Is this a normal way to figure things out?

What are dogs saying when they bark? Are there actual words, or just intonations and intensity levels that convey their thoughts to other dogs?

Four Legs x 800

2009-05-04T11:15:00.013-06:00

The last five days have been spent with hundreds of pooches in South Jordan (between Provo & Salt Lake City) at the Bee Hive Cluster Dog Show! The variety of breeds at the shows never ceases to amaze me. There are SO MANY different breeds, and so many different colors and styles within each breed, it is truly a wonder.

There were big & small, furry & smooth, curly & straight, black & white, sweet & ferocious. Here's a peek at some of the variety:

LangeCabin

2009-04-28T13:48:00.004-06:00

We are working on figuring out a name for the Cabin, and it's not as easy as I thought it would be. It will end up naming itself eventually, but for now, we either call it the LangeCabin or the Cabino (pron. Cabeeno - as in a small cabin spoken in Spanglish). Any ideas for a name?? Please share!
Here are a couple glimpses of some details at the Cabino:

Beeee-runch!

2009-04-27T19:38:00.009-06:00

Today, my Lovely Neighbor, Suz had a little brunch for the girls. She had the day off work, and the rest of us are, well... SELF-employed. :)
She made the most amazing ricotta berry pancakes with a honey syrup from scratch AND bagels with Lox. The ricotta in the pancakes gave them a rich flavor and perfect texture. It was Giada DiLaurentis' recipe. Giada is amazing. That woman CANNOT actually eat what she cooks. Here is the recipe for this FANTASTIC breakfast: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ricotta-pancakes-recipe/index.html
What a great time with the girls! Thanks Suz! You are the BESTEST.

This is Suz making her fabulous pancakes...

Berry-riffic!

Amy + Mimosa = big smiles

mmmmm bagels!

Jeni - after having Lox for the first time. I was thinking I might get a yicky-face, but she really liked it!

What a terrific way to start the day!

Horsey Show

2009-04-26T10:49:00.004-06:00

I haven't been to a horse show since I was a teenager. The sights, sounds and smells took me right back. It was a wonderful experience!

If you have never been to a horse show, I highly recommend going to one! At least for an hour or two... they are usually free, and the announcers do a good job of explaining what's going on.

Here are a couple shots from the day, and more will follow! Enjoy!

Spring is Sprung!

2009-04-24T14:08:00.005-06:00

Tulips are my favorite flower. They are starting to pop up all around the city, and particularly in my friend Janna's back yard. Here are her kiddos having a ton of fun playing in the sun, grass and tulips. Jack must have demolished 5 or more of them, and tasted 3!

Although it looks like he is smelling this tulip, oh nooo, this is a taste!

Quote of the Day!

2009-04-23T14:05:00.001-06:00

I love quotes... yes, I do love a lot of things, but I guess I would rather that than the alternative!

This one came from my Uncle today and is very timely for me, hope it encourages you too:

There is only one you...
Don't you dare change
just because you're outnumbered!
- Charles Swindoll

Babies!

2009-04-22T20:04:00.007-06:00

Today, I was able to spend time with my dear friend Janna and her two kiddos Jack & Anne. It was a terrific time of catching up, and enjoying the babies.

Here is a little preview of pics to come:

Buh-Bye Ski Season!

2009-04-21T16:08:00.016-06:00

This was the last weekend to ski at Copper Mountain, and it was a doozy! The wicked storm that rolled through Denver dropped 12" on Thursday and 9" on Friday at Copper before shutting down the city and highway! I-70 was closed until about 11:00 on Saturday, which prevented the droves of people wanting to ride fresh powder, come to closing weekend, and see DJ Magic Mike at Sunsation. Weren't we fortunate to go to the cabin on Friday night so we could make it to the mountain on Saturday?? There were NO lines and lots of fresh turns to be had!

Our Neighbors, Dawn & Gary with their pooch Lucy, came up with us on Friday night. It took 1.5 hours longer than usual to make it to the cabin, but our great conversation made the ride fly by! Saturday morning, we slept in, had a great breakfast, then headed to Copper. The snow was deep, and pretty heavy - there is a difference between "powder" and "fresh snow" and this did not constitute the priveledge of being called powder.

We had a great time, clocked in 9 runs before our legs started to give out, and headed for the base of the mountain to listen to great music and enjoy the Sunsational weather.

After returning to the cabin on Saturday night to find the power was out for miles around, we regretfully headed back to town out of fear of freezing overnight at the cabin. We didn't have candles and figured our headlamps weren't going to cut it as an alternative source of heat!

It was a great, short, weekend with a lot of laughter, deep conversation and snow-fun!

We were in such a hurry to leave the power-less cabin that I left my point-n-shoot camera at the cabin :(

So, until I get the new pics from this year, here's a shot of Dawn & Gary from last winter, plus some of my favorite pics of skiing from this season:

Brookie took this pic, I think it may need to be our Christmas Card shot for this year, love it!

Brookie gettin' a good brekkie in! This one just makes me laugh!

Content, Captivating, Courageous, Contemplative & Cheerful Christen

Dom & Gisela enjoying the sun and some fabulous company :)

Casey & Brookie rippin down the bowl after launching the cornice

Butchy getting a great laugh in - and some sun

A Mascot - there were HUNDREDS of Mascots skiing this day! They do a trip once/year and it is pretty surreal to see all kinds of human-size animals skiing down the mountain.

Apres model Brookie - wind in hair and all - she learned this skill in Steamboat, of course!

Hangin' in the lot - The most fun day of the year - riding with 7 of our great friends all together!

Cheers until next Season!

Patterns & Shapes

2009-04-20T12:02:00.028-06:00

I truly enjoy photographing patterns of all makes and kinds. Purl Soho is an amazing fabric shop in Soho that provided more colorful patterns that I could hope for!

It was my Girlfriend Janna's Birthday Wish to go to Purl and shop for hours, which we did and loved every minute of it! She came with her list of projects and found more unique and truly beautiful fabrics than you could find anywhere in Denver.

These were pieces of felt! FELT! Who knew that felt could be so pretty, and came in strips this big? Not me...

Another fantastic store that my Girlfriends loved is M&J Trim in NYC. If you are looking for a button, ribbon, or flair - this is the place for you!

It was inspiring to parouse this store knowing all the New York Designers & Design Students that have come through the store ahead of us. It even made me want to learn how to sew! Now THAT is inspiring!

Snow Banks n Flies

2009-04-17T09:23:00.011-06:00

Fishing in the Spring is a new experience for me. I have been a fair-weather fish-ette up to this point... You know what's amazing about fising in the Spring? Snow banks. There are huge snow banks that cover the river! They crack, creak, pop and clunk - loudly. The first time I heard a snow bank clunk, I was fishing by myself. JJ was a couple bends up the river. The clunk came from behind me. I turned, looked... nothing. Um, I was a little sceeered and somewhat-quickly trotted in my waders back to JJ's bend in the river so he could protect me against clunks, creaks, cracks and pops!
Here are some of my favorite shots from Wednesday:

Neibs!

2009-04-16T13:44:00.020-06:00

I honestly believe we have the very best Neighbors that exist on the planet. Well, they are the very best for us, anyways... I heart Pat n Suz. They came up to the cabin for the weekend, we played cards, rode at Copper, stopped at a dive bar, had snacks for dinner, cooked a whopper breakfast, took the long way home through the woods, and finished at sushi with John & Jeni for dinner on Sunday night. Phew! What a weekend!

These are their "Ready to go Ride!" smiles...

Hanging in the parking lot...

Spring is here! I love this little flower coming up out of nowhere... and this tree growing out of the rocks, how does that happen anyways? I need to do a series on trees at some point, I am in awe of them on a regular basis.

and, of course, puppy play in the snow!

Ponies!

2009-04-16T13:13:00.012-06:00

On our way back from fishing, we came across some PONIES, as I like to call them, that were right by the fence. I just HAD to spend a little time scratching their necks, talking to them, and taking some pics of their fun faces. Oh, how I love the Ponies, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face for hours...