body { background: #ffffff; background-image: url(https://drive.google.com/open?id=c1IWZkP_UvP4yD7Nl1P8KBXwO_oZRCSD9U); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; width: 100%; margin: 0; }

Friday, May 30, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

What is going on with me?

I have so much to catch up on with EVERYTHING, but one thing I was able to catch up this week was my TV shows thanks to my new handy dandy DVR! I'm lovin' it! I finally watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy that I taped last week. I didn't really know a whole lot of what was going on with the show but I thought the ending was so cute with Meredith in the field of candles! For you non-watchers, Derek was going to sell his piece of land where he originally was going to build a house for the two of them in an effort to try to get over her. She finally went to therapy to get over some of her issues and she made a blueprint of their home on the land with candles! Very cute.
I am also very excited for the Lost season finale tomorrow night! I was able to catch up on some episodes so I am ready to watch tomorrow. There are about 4 or 5 episodes from the middle of the season so I'm missing a lot but I think I'm in a good position to understand what's going on. It's so weird, I hardly watch any TV anymore but there are just some things that I just can't miss!

On a sad note, it's been a really tough week for my mom. Her sister in the Philippines died last Friday. She was hoping to make it there to see her before she died, but it didn't end up working out for anyone. A huge chunk of my family is out there right now to celebrate my uncle's 70th birthday and now to attend her funeral. My mom planned to make the trip herself, but couldn't due to her health condition. She is scheduled to have hip replacement surgery on Friday so hopefully things will be better for her vs. the constant pain she is in now. She also had to put her beloved cat to sleep yesterday because he had cancer. It's just been so hard for her suddenly and it breaks my heart.

My big boy Owen is turning 6 on Friday! I just can't believe it. We're celebrating on Saturday with a party and we also had a pre-celebration at a hotel earlier this week. I'm so proud of him and am so excited to create some truly happy birthday memories for him.



I'm working hard to get back on track with editing and at the same time trying to balance personal life because there's so much going on there too! I don't think I've gone to bed earlier than 3 am since I've been back from Mexico so tonight I'm going to try. (It's 2:41 am :)) Thanks for reading!

p.s. I had to make myself some guac since I've been back... I miss it so much! I brought those bowls back with me, aren't they cute?

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Valerie and Shane

Valerie and Shane were married on Sunday, May 25th in Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College. Shane wanted to see Valerie for the first time walking to him down the aisle which I thought was so sweet! Not seeing each other before the wedding is kind of like not finding out the sex of your baby. Not many people do it anymore these days but those who choose it have that awesome moment to remember forever. Valerie and Shane had most of their friends and family members travel from far away so it was like one giant happy reunion!
















Monday, May 26, 2008

Gina!

Here are my shots of Gina... see below posts for more details...





Riu and his friends

Melissa and Ryan's friend Ann and her husband became the Mexican wild dog advocates while we were there. These wild dogs lived on the beach and after every meal, Ann would gather everyone's scraps and they would go feed the dogs. They nicknamed one of them Riu, after the resort, and he was one of the sweetest.





Me!

This shoot is something I will never forget! It was the last day of our trip and Gina and I wanted to do some pictures of each other. We spotted this awesome spot, waaaay down the beach with huge rocks and saw how the waves crashed up against them so perfectly. We decided to buy some cowboy hats and make the trek down with only an hour and a half before we had to check out of our hotel to leave for home. It was about 95˚ of heat and lots of sand to walk through toting along our huge cameras. There were several moments where I didn't think I was going to make it and thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion... but we made it and IT WAS SO AMAZING! We started shooting and out of nowhere, this Mexican man appeared and tried to help us climb the big rocks. He was really nice but it was a little creepy because anything could have happened to us and there was nobody else around for miles. He said he wanted to watch us, which he did for a little while. Then he jumped into the ocean and I honestly don't know where he went after that!

Gina shot these of me... and I tweaked them in Photoshop. She did such an AMAZING job because I am so bad in front of the camera! I usually have the deer in headlights look but something in me just let loose and had fun with it! I will post hers that I shot soon.











Thanks Gina! xoxo

Melissa and Ryan

What an awesome experience! I just shot my first destination wedding and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I can't wait for you to scroll down and see the images! A few things didn't go as planned, but that can be said regarding just about any wedding. Melissa had booked a wedding package that included a resort photographer. The photographer was supposed to show up and shoot the ceremony and give her 12 shots. He ended up showing up half and hour into me and Gina's formals and apologized for being late and his excuse was "he had an appointment." Photography down there is a joke! An additional hour (12 more shots) can be purchased for $450. IF- they decide to show up that is! If you're planning a destination wedding, bringing your own photographer is the way to go! Start times are just a guideline... they're on their own clock down there, it's crazy!

Melissa was an amazing bride! She completely trusted us and let us do whatever we wanted. She's also a natural poser! I kept telling her that and she just kept saying that she was having so much fun. I think it shows! I was so honored to be a part of all of this and it was an amazing experience. Gina and I had a blast and I couldn't have asked for better company. Thanks Gina! I got in at 1:30 am on Saturday night (Sunday morning) and had a wedding in MN at noon on Sunday. I've just been in a whirlwind of activity during the past week and I look forward to slowing things down this week.

On to the pictures! I still have tons to go through, but as I was uploading my cards these were my favorite. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these! I will always think of Cabo when I see a cowboy hat from now on. They sell them everywhere and after being inspired by Melissa's cowgirl photos, Gina and I shot some of our own of each other which I will post soon. We trekked through about 2 miles of desert sand and 95˚ heat to find the oasis which was the most amazing photo spot of the entire trip. Stay tuned!