"the worst Halloween ever!"

I must say, I was quite surprised to wake up this morning and NOT see snow. I mean, come on...it can't be Halloween without snow. Well folks it is, and although there is no sign of the powdery fluff yet, there are gale force winds trying to push some off the mountains for us. Thanks Mother Nature! What would I do without you?

My daughter declared this "the worst Halloween ever!" in a very dramatic tone this morning and it wasn't even 9:00 a.m. Wonder if it's because there's no snow? Like it somehow has thrown off the Universe and so now Halloween is ruined? She may be on to something here. Given the fact that technically, for her, Halloween had just started it seems unlikely she could've already proclaimed it as "the worst Halloween ever!" but maybe she's psychic? Wonder how old you have to be to work as a telephone psychic. I think she'd be good at that.

Ring, Ring
"Hello?"
"Yeah, this is Bob. I want to know what's in my fewcha."
"What's a fewcha?"
"Aren't ya 'sposed to be seyekick or sumpin?"
"No, I'm not. I'm the mother of the psychic. Let me ask her." (aside) "Honey, Bob wants to know what's in his fewcha."--"It's the worst Halloween ever!!" (said in only the way she can--a.k.a. very dramatic)
"Did ya hear that Bob? The almighty seeing one says it will be the worst Halloween ever. Maybe you should stock up on PayDay's and Reese's cups."
"Wow. Okay, thanks!"

This could work...

For now I do know it will be "the worst Halloween ever!" if my son's "Ghastly Goul with Red Light-up Eyes" costume doesn't get here today. Damn Lillian Vernon. I ordered this thing on Oct. 20th thinking there was more than enough time for it to process, ship, and arrive. Oh ho, not so, says the little fly. Apparently if you order the HALLOWEEN costume on Oct. 20th it's guaranteed to get to you in Nov. Great...this should be a fun Thanksgiving. So now my true to the saying Virgo son is about to have a major freak out/bum out session if that costume doesn't show up on my doorstep before the school Halloween party and I'm worried that this will indeed be "the worst Halloween ever!" for all parties involved. Not only will I have miss Drama Queen telling everyone she meets how much this day sucks, but my son will eagerly be nodding and lamenting about how Lillian Vernon is a hack who can't follow through. All the while my head will be spinning from the constant chatter and "ding, dong" of the door bell. I wonder if this is why my husband seems to "hide" from people. All this time I just thought he was anti-social. Maybe he's smart. ssshhh...don't tell him I said that.

R.I.P. Bosco

Wasn't he gorgeous?!

I just heard from a favorite client of mine that their beloved Bernese Mountain Dog, Bosco, passed away last week. I had the privilege of photographing him at their wedding on Sept. 24th (which will be featured here soon) and fell in love with the guy. He was gorgeous and very sweet. During the ceremony he helped Jamie walk down the aisle and made sure that Blythe knew that if she was marrying Jamie, she was marrying him too. My heart goes out to Jamie & Blythe as it is never easy loosing a pet. They just find their way into your heart and never let go.

Jamie & Blythe, you have my utmost sympathies!

Ink

I did it. Two weeks ago today I went to Oxygen Tattoo and got my custom piece for Toli done. April took pics of the entire process which you can see below. Honestly, it barely hurt. A couple of spots made me wince a little bit but nothing like what I had built up in my head. It went by so fast that I was very glad I had pictures to look back at. The healing process was probably the worst of it, but even that was way easier than I anticipated. I am already planning my next one and hope to have it done within the next week or two.

On to the pics...

Waiting in the chair

Being shaved

Stencil has been applied First line

Neil hard at work

Outline is done

Black shading is completed

First line of color going on--no, that's not blood, that's the ink

Checking out the finished ink

"I'm officially an inked woman!!" Here's a close-up of my tattoo. It was right after I removed the bandage and before I washed it, so it doesn't look it's best but you get the idea. Look close...the stone looks beveled--just like the jewel in Toli's dog tag.

I need to have another pic taken of it now that it's healed. The jewel looks even more realistic now. I couldn't be happier with it! Even my kids thought it was pretty.

Chris & Darcy

I love it when my couples want to play. Granted, I do tout myself as a "photojournalist" and freely admit I suck at posing people. But when I get a couple who feels comfortable in front of the lens and wants to go play, I am secretly in heaven. Both Chris and Darcy are genuinely nice people which isn't surprising given their families are just as sweet as can be, too.



You can view the rest at: Chris & Darcy

The Art Hop

I want to thank those of you that got to come down to the Art Hop on Friday night and view not only my work, but Angel Kisses. They really do have some awesome stuff that even I was eyeing. And no, I'm not pregnant. ;o) Gwendy said it went really well and they passed out quite a few of my business cards. Hopefully I'll get some leads out of it.

Today my beloved Dolphins play so I'll be parked on the couch watching and rooting them on. I'll also be working on my first AsukaBook album for Jonas & Amanda. I've already done one page thus far (last week was insanely hectic as you already know) and discovered that this will be a very intense, long process as I am a stickler for graphic design. I want it to be perfect and have devised a process to hopefully make the layout easier to do. Since I recently found out that the AsukaBooks have a set page limit, this has made designing it even more difficult. I like a free-flow option where I can design to make it look good--not just for a set number of pages. Too constricting to me but I'll make do. And the album will rock--of this I will be sure because I really want Jonas and Amanda to love it.

Tonight, one of my best friends (April) is coming over from the Valley (a.k.a. Springfield) and will be crashing at our place for at least one night, maybe two. On Monday I will be popping my ink cherry as I get my first tattoo. I am thoroughly excited--not about the pain, mind you, but just to see the end result. I have wanted one for a long time and finally decided that of the 3 designs I wanted, this was the time to get the first. It will be a memorial piece for my dog Toli. The main element will be the bottom part of his dogtag and the top and bottom will have something as well to give movement to the ink. My artist, Neil at Oxygen Tattoos, is drawing up some sketches and I can't wait to see what he comes up with. I drew something up myself and despite the crappiness of the quality (I drew it on the computer) I like it. I'm interested to see what he comes up with. Hopefully I'll see it before tomorrow however it doesn't seem likely at this point.

TGIF

Oh I am sooo ready for the weekend. Ever since I found out I was going to be in the Art Hop I have been running, working, buying, and stressing my little head off. I had to order pictures for the show, order an easel, and hope like mad they would get here on time. I had to design and have printed some business cards and postcards. Unfortunately I wasn't as thrilled with these as I had expected to be. The color was off and they were all cut funky. They said it was my fault, despite the fact that 1.) I followed their directions to a "t", and 2.) I've never had that problem before and have designed several cards in my day. This was the first time I have had them printed locally and only did so because of the time crunch. While they were nice people and got my order done quickly, I hate to say it but I won't be back. I ended up spending what precious time I did have yesterday afternoon trimming the postcards down so that the card looked like how I designed them. Ah well... Thankfully both the prints and the easel arrived yesterday as well. This led me to calling David at Art on the Go Thursday afternoon and begging him to frame my two 16x20's and a couple of 11x14's. He is awesome and while I ended up not framing the 11x14's (only because the frame that he and I both loved wasn't in stock), I can't wait to see the other two today. So far this morning I bought frames from Target (that look really cheap but what's a girl to do), picked up my other 11x14 from our local lab, dropped off what I had at Angel Kisses (their store looks AMAZING!), and dropped off my kids' fundraiser packets for school. I am now home eating and patiently waiting for the time where I can go pick up the big prints and get them over to Angel Kisses. Although there isn't much room to really showcase my stuff, I still think it will be good advertising. I have promised to take pics of the set-up and will do so tonight. I am also thinking that on my last trip to Angel Kisses it would be a perfect excuse to drop in to Balay and get some Bubble Tea.

My biggest pick-me-up of the day was when I dropped off the packets at the kids' school. My daughter's classroom is right by the front doors to the school and the 1 window they have in that room looks right outside where people walk in and out of. As I was leaving, I couldn't resist looking and seeing where my daughter sits. And even though I was far away from the window, she saw me. Her eyes lit up, she waved enthusiastically, and I blew her a kiss...which was promptly returned. I swear, I must have smiled for 5 mins. after I left. Nothing beats your kids' eyes lighting up when they see you. I hope that never goes away...it may fade some, but so long as it's still there to a degree that's all that matters.

Art Hop

Gwendy, from Angel Kisses, has invited me to be their sponsored artist for the annual Art Hop downtown. I'll be showcasing mainly maternity pics, but I'll also probably have some kid and wedding stuff as well (depending on how much space is available). This will be my first exhibit so I'm pretty excited about it. Feel free to stop by and check out not only my stuff but the new Angel Kisses as well. They have gorgeous maternity clothes and everything you could need for your pregnancy. The Art Hop begins at 5 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. this Friday Oct. 7.

I'm also proud to announce that I am now carrying the Gina Alexander handbag line. Although I haven't seen these bags in person yet, I have heard nothing but great things about them. I can't wait to get my samples in.

Manna in a cup

I love coffee. I love choosing which coffee hut to go to, the smell of it, the warmth in the palms of my hands as I hold the cup, and most of all...drinking it. Of course, I have to have decaf as I have Hypoglycemia so caffeine and I just don't mix, but I still love me some coffee.

Today's manna was from the "Good Karma" coffee hut by Wal-Mart. I went for a 12 ozs. decaf Peppermint Mocha. It was pretty tasty though a little heavy on the syrup. Good Karma is one of my favorite coffee huts. Usually you can taste the coffee even if you get a flavored one...unlike other coffee places (not that I'm knocking the 'bucks mind you...I have a special place in my heart for them too!). Good Karma is also one of my husband's favorite. He always, and I mean always, gets the biggest mocha he can--no matter where he goes--with at least 3 shots of espresso, if not more. This may explain the loud "throw it to HOLT!!" shouts he's been doing for the past hour as we watch our beloved Sunday Football. Or...maybe it has less to do with the gazillion mgs. of caffeine and more to do with Fantasy Football. His other favorite thing to watch on Sunday. I think I'm throwing him off as I am writing this on the laptop and he can't see his scores. So he keeps running back and forth between the living room and my studio--where the "big" computer is. Good thing he had all those extra shots of caffeine. It's good for him.

Other killer coffee places around Bend include Dutch Brothers (my buddy Jeff adores coffee too but he hates going to these huts as 9 times out of 10 there are hot GUYS working there...he prefers the more feminine coffee hut baristas); Sunrise Espresso (I think it is--it's right down the street from me); Bellatazza (not a hut, but still good--and check out the killer "artwork" they make in the foam); Sisters Coffee Company (also not a hut but damn good coffee); and Balay--now, I haven't had their coffee but their Bubble Tea is uber good (see below). It goes without saying that I have to mention Starbucks as like I said, I do have a special place in my heart for them. I adore their Pumpkin Spice Lattes and their Iced Caramel Macchiatos. mmmmmm....... Plus their bakery stuff is quite tasty.

Now Bubble Tea is a whole 'nother ballgame but since I'm discussing yummy things to drink I have to mention it. I first saw an ad for them in my favorite local alternative newspaper, The Source. After doing some research I decided I had to try this. My first experience was that I learned to ask them to make it with Green Tea (some places always make it with Green Tea, but Balay offers both Green and Black Teas) and that Honeydew is a very tasty choice for Bubble Tea. They give you a huge straw so that you can suck up the Bubbles (large pearls of black tapioca) which are chewy and have a taste all their own. They do not taste like the tapioca you eat in tapioca pudding. Personally, I love 'em, but not everyone does. When I saw my dad after getting the Bubble Tea I made him taste it as he too is a Honeydew lover. It was not for him. My daughter, who adores anything "gummy" can only eat so many and then she doesn't like them anymore, whereas my son would probably prefer more bubbles and less tea. :o) When I went back the second time I took my kiddos with me so they could partake of this interesting and delightful drink. My daughter went for the Strawberry one (if memory serves) while my son went for (no surprise here) the Chocolate one. I chose Mango. Not my favorite. It wasn't bad, however Bubble Tea typically has some sort of cream in it and it just didn't mesh well with the Mango flavoring. Either way, it's still a big hit here except that DH refuses to try it. He has no desire to suck up a big ole sphere of tapioca. Pansy. I highly suggest that if you have the chance to try Bubble Tea, do it. You may hate it but you may love it.