Randominities

Sweet potato fries! Turkey! No, it's not Thanksgiving.

2012-01-12T20:41:00.001-06:00

A couple of really great articles that I happened to stumble upon:

Isn't it sweet of me to provide almost daily reading for you all? ;)

Kashi Cereal vs. the Incredible, Edible Egg
http://balancedbites.com/2010/10/kashi-cereal-vs-the-incredible-edible-egg-really.html

This article was actually linked to at the bottom of the first:

How to Keep Feces Out of Your Bloodstream (or Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days)
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/

I know, I know, I've been posting a lot of articles lately.. sometimes I consider taking a screenshot of my browser history for you all. I suppose I should just shut my mouth, but I've been devouring article after article about health and nutrition.

It's mind-boggling how these scientific facts and truths have been passed over for years and years, to the point where the average American knows nothing about how to fuel his or her body. And where do most people get their knowledge and information? From manufacturers' advertising and products or shows like Dr. Oz (who actually is a cardiologist, not even a nutritionist) who has their pockets padded by sponsorships from big corporations trying to, guess... sell their products!

Please start educating yourselves. And don't be scared of eggs. Or fat. Anyway, rant over for now.

Sweet Potato Fries!
On Facebook, I posted about my sweet potato fries yesterday evening... they were amazing. Fortunately I happened to take pictures as I went along... :)

These were the players. Your guess is as good as mine as far as amounts go. I think I've used my measuring spoons.. um, once or twice since I've had them? I like to live on the edge. ;)

The original recipe I followed didn't have the red pepper, but I like spicy things just as much as I like doing my own thing. Easy on that if you're the sensitive type.

Peelings on. 3 reasons:
1: I'm lazy.
2: Not sure where my peeler is. Or if I even have one. (Cooking newbie alert!)
3. The skin is usually where all the good stuff is!

Make sure they're coated! And then just align in a single row and pop it in a preheated 400* oven for about 20 minutes. Or charred to your level of liking. Mine were a little overdone. Can I blame Pinterest??

And remember my garlic turkey roast? Click here for the original post. Or just scroll down if you don't want to lose your place in this post.. I'm lazy like that. Actually, I usually just open up the link in a new tab to read for later. That's why I end up with 7+ tabs open at all times. Plus Pandora. Plus Photoshop and Bridge open. Plus my Quickbooks. Thank you, dual monitors. Thank you, fast computer. ;)

Anyway. I never took a picture of the final product. So, without further ado:

The best part is taking the netting off.

I take that back. The best part is actually cleaning up. ;)

Top 10 foods you thought were healthy: link

2012-01-09T14:03:00.003-06:00

I suppose I should post more than just articles... but I came across this one: http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2008/12/22/top-10-foods-you-thought-were-healthy/ ... and I actually agree with them all for once!

In other news, not a lot is happening.

The photog business is picking up pace a bit because of all the engaged couples looking for wedding photographers. I have a few consultations set up for this week already, and am excited to keep answering the inquiry emails as they roll in! I reeaallly need to get my rear in gear and get crackin' on some of the behind-the-scenes work that somehow keeps piling up in the business too. Sigh. I think I should find just one thing that I can outsource this year that would save me some time/stress.

Hubby was gone last week, so I'm super happy he's around now. :)

Pretty much it.

OH, and last week I got a 45-Olympic-bar Turkish Get Up for the first time. I did one each side and had help getting it down on my left side, which is my weakest. Here's a vid I found:

I love his grin after he gets it up... nothing like that feeling! I didn't have any extra weight on my bar like this guy, but .. it was fun anyway! And, if you've never done those and you're thinking that looks easy, try one or two get ups just holding a kettlebell above your head. Won't be laughing for long.. ;)

Good article!

2012-01-07T22:56:00.000-06:00

This is a super good read... :)

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_fat_loss_hierarchy

New blog! Plus food. :)

2012-01-05T20:29:00.001-06:00

Hey all!

This is my mom's new blog: http://naturallyinspiredcooking.blogspot.com/

She's going to be blogging about her amazing {mostly natural/alternative} cooking skills. She can take any recipe and create substitutions, get creative with additions, and make it taste even better. Talk about creativity!

All you foodies, please check it out and show some love. :)

Thanks!

Also, let me share my supper with you.

Except I devoured it in about 10 seconds flat, so there's definitely no sharing happening. Or after pics. *Urp.*

A little olive oil, lemon juice, lemon/pepper seasoning, and season salt. Easy peasy.

I popped it in the oven at 400* for 20 minutes. The fish was perfect, but I put the veggies back in on broil for a few minutes. These happened to be tilapia filets, which I got frozen. I can't wait to try the salmon and cod varieties also.

All good meals finish cooking with the smoke detector going off, right? ;)

My poor dog. Frightened easily, she's probably scarred for life by the beeping.

The seasonings were a little charred, but the veggies? Incredible. Perfection.

Talk about an easy meal... the hardest part was waiting to eat!

Required reading for all women

2012-01-02T16:10:00.000-06:00

Wow.

This sums up how I feel about exercise... and is an excellent read. I think all women should start to grasp an understanding of this too...

http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/

While I'm not actually a CrossFit member, my trainer has me do a CF-style WOD, or workout-of-the-day, nearly every day that's very similar to (or the same as) CrossFit's.

Please take the time to read it... and let me know your thoughts. :)

Baked turkey roast with fresh garlic

2011-12-26T22:38:00.000-06:00

I don't want to forget how I made this amazing delish turkey roast for supper this evening, so this is more of a note to self than anything. :)

I bought a 3-lb butterball turkey roast, with light and dark meat.

After it was thawed, I seasoned the turkey, top and bottom, with seasoning salt and onion powder and laid it on a bed of fresh garlic (5-6 cloves, cut up) and olive oil in a 8x8 glass baking dish. I drizzled some more olive oil on top, covered it with tinfoil, and put it in the oven at 325*. After an hour and a half at 325, the internal temp of the turkey was just about 170*, which I've read is standard for making sure it was done. After that, I took the tinfoil off, turned the oven up to 350, and left it in there another half hour.

The skin of the turkey got just a bit crispy, but the inside was still very moist and tender... perfect!

It honestly tasted like delicious fried chicken. Mmm.

The good thing was, we both chowed down (I believe we ate nearly half the 3-pound roast between the two of us!), so we both had stinky garlic breath. :)

Yum. Plenty of leftovers, too. I'll definitely be making that again! And then I'll take some pics too. hah.

Happy holidays!

2011-12-20T14:26:00.002-06:00

Nothing says happy holidays like a couple snapshots, right?? :)

Call it busy, lazy, or just plain un-motivated, we didn't get around to having a professional session. For the shot of us, photo credit belongs to my lovely mother-in-law, and the card was designed by yours truly.

I sent these out yesterday, so this post might be a bit premature. Oh well.

Enjoy!

Oh man.

2011-12-13T20:21:00.002-06:00

I need to make this.

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breakfastbrunch/pumpkin-breakfast-cake/

Chuckle.

2011-12-06T14:46:00.001-06:00

I got a few laughs out of this today:

****** 20 ADULT TRUTHS ******

Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers; I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

Taken from this great new blog I found: Iowa Girl Eats (http://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/08/10-ways-to-deal-with-stress/)

If you decide to head over there, you are hereby warned: it IS possible to spend 2+ hours on her blog. :)

Interesting video...

2011-12-05T14:07:00.003-06:00

We're all on a nutritional journey, I understand that. We find thoughts and ideas that make sense to us, until we stumble upon something different that opens up new ideas and thoughts.

Now some of you may have heard about the Paleo Diet, or the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, or primal-eating-something-or-other. I've been curiously delving into different websites, blogs, and Facebook pages of doctors, Cross Fit enthusiasts, and people who have turned to this lifestyle who have tried everything before landing on this.

I'm not sure yet where my stance is on everything, but it's exciting to research and learn about new things. I do seem to agree with many of the points, but think I'll just keep researching and reading for now.

With that being said, I might post some different links to articles or videos I find interesting, such as this one.

http://chriskresser.com/the-saturated-fat-myth-debunked-in-two-minutes-and-thirty-five-seconds

The concept that fat does NOT make you fat is still one I'm working my brain around. All the science makes sense, but we've been so ingrained to believe that the way to get healthy is to cut fat! We've also been so trained to believe that if you have high cholesterol, the last thing you want to do is eat fat.

This is another article about that very thing: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-skim-milk-will-make-you-fat-and/

Anyway, this is all still very new to me, but hopefully you'll bear with me as I share some of the things that I come across! :)

Almond flour recipes

2011-11-20T20:02:00.001-06:00

Okay, so this is more of a post for me. These are a few almond flour recipes from Mom, and I didn't want to lose them. :)

Almond Pancakes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup sparkling water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients and cook as you would other pancakes. Since there's no wheat flour, and thus no baking powder to leaven the wheat, they won't bubble on top the way regular pancakes do. Watch them closely and flip when the underside is lightly golden.

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Almond Quick Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups almond flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.

Hel. lo.

2011-11-16T23:25:00.001-06:00

Wowza.

Hormones and Cravings.
How do hormone changes affect food cravings? For women, these cravings can be more intense than for men. Hormonal changes tied to the menstrual cycle are often a cause of cravings. Immediately prior to the menstrual period, the body's estrogen level drops, as does the serotonin level in the brain.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter , or brain chemical, that plays a role in maintaining a relaxed feeling. When the level decreases, irritability and mood swings increase as does the craving for carbohydrate- and fat-rich foods such as chocolate, cookies, cake, potato chips, and roasted nuts. There is nothing wrong with eating a piece of chocolate, of course, but when chocolate and other craved foods become the mainstay of the diet and healthier choices get overlooked, then the cravings have gotten out of control and health may be compromised.

(http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Ca-De/Cravings.html)

Yeah. I'm feeling it. For the past few days... why else would a sane person eat straight up salsa with a spoon?? Argh!

Today.

2011-11-14T16:55:00.004-06:00

Today has been an interesting day...

Yesterday left me feeling discouraged in myself from a variety of different things. My negative conversation, my eating for the day (Red Lobster and Olive Garden in the same day plus a Starbucks and maybe even a teaspoon of ice cream with chocolate sauce.. insanity!), my emotions. Ugh. I was already thinking about being alone for the remainder of the week, with just my dog for company.

I woke up this morning, excited to see the sun shining. It quickly disappeared, though, and negative thoughts filled my brain. About yesterday, mostly.

But, we've heard a lot recently about our "daily task," and that thought crossed my mind as I got ready for the gym. I felt really strongly that my daily task for today was to feel thankful. Thankful.

So in the car, I began to make a mental list of all the things that I am thankful for. Yes. This sounds trite and overused. Especially in this month that's supposed to revolve around thankfulness.. or is it revolving around holiday preparation, retail sales, and crazy mall drivers?! Heh. Goodness.

After just 10 minutes of thinking about all that I was thankful for, my mood had changed. My complete mental status had changed. I became thankful for the fact that I was even privileged enough to get to spend time with my family/friends and being able to dine out at restaurants. I was grateful that my incredibly loving husband has a job that supports our little family well, and allows me to work from home. I was thankful for fellowship with such a wonderful group of people.

The list went on... the love and support from my family and my second family (otherwise known as in-laws :D), my health and strength, my business, my clients that have been soo supportive, and even things like the house we own and the cars we drive. Random little things that make me feel like I live a luxurious life (like my iPhone, my training sessions, the coffee I drink in the mornings).

I even was thankful for my dog, even though I found another intentional "accident" on the floor this morning. I suppose that's what I get for being home for a total of 10 minutes in 12 hours. :)

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a positive person. Determined, yes. Optimistic, no. However, I still can't get over how my entire day changed after adopting this attitude! My stop at Verizon (which by the way, the best time to visit is right after they open on a Monday morning), workout at the gym, short grocery stop, and everything after that has been... improved, I guess is a good word.

So, I've had a very productive day... mostly mentally. :)

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On a side note, I made up my lunches for the next... 2 weeks? I don't know if I've ever shared this on here, but this trick has been instrumental in keeping my food log decent.

I make my own "taco salad" every day. I make up turkey burger and brown rice ahead of time, and then warm up a bit of each every day. I add spinach, cottage cheese, and salsa, mix, and devour. ;)

Well, today I took some pics for ya'll.. I know. I'm sweet like that.

I like to make my own seasoning rather than use taco seasoning.. have you seen the salt and msg in those?! These are the ingredients I use... I like it super spicy, and I'm actually going to be phasing the salsa mix out, but using up a few packets that I have left. Ahh, cumin. I could live on it. You might remember my little love affair with "Mexican" style foods from this post about my amazing enchiladas.

I always start the brown rice first since it takes so long to cook. I use a mixture of long grain and short grain because I like the different textures. Honestly, I like the short grain better, but figure the long grain might have some better health benefits..? I don't really know.

A little trick I learned online... somewhat saute the spices, rice, and oil before adding water. Apparently this seals in some of the flavor. I typically use safflower or grapeseed oil. Just have your water ready to pour in, as it doesn't take long for the spices to burn.

When you pour in the water, you'll think that you've wrecked your pan forever. I haven't yet.

I always stir it after it gets to a boil again.. and then cover and simmer for 45-55 minutes. Apparently you're not supposed to stir it at all in between that time. I guess I over-anal, though, so I always give it a good stir at least once towards the middle of the time.

Meanwhile, I start the turkey burger (I buy the ground turkey breast vs. the regular ground turkey. I don't know why.) and get that cooked. Then I pretty much add the same spices to the turkey.

I usually add a little water to help the spices get evenly spread out, and then just cook the water off. That doesn't take long.

Then I separate that into a few dishes (one to freeze, one to refrigerate), wash dishes, drink my coffee, check my facebook, and then my rice is done!

A non-flash image of the rice.

Mm. I'm getting hungry again just looking at this. Then I separate that into freeze and refrigerate dishes, wash my pan (and my stove top... I don't profess to have tidy cooking skills!), and I'm good to go for about 2 weeks!

This has really helped me keep my lunches the same (which by the way, you have to really enjoy what you eat when you're not eating as much) and regulate my intake throughout the day.

These are a few random things that get me through the day, too... I just find I have to count out my serving before I start eating. ;)

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Anyway, this has been a long post. But one more random photo:

I'm starting to get some "guns" and muscle tone in my shoulders.. But I got a nasty bruise this morning from these hanging straps when I do a "toes-to-bar." You're supposed to hold onto the pullup bar and swing your legs up, while keeping them straight, to get your toes to the bar.

I've been doing these with straps, though, because my grip lasts about 8.7 seconds. So your elbows go in the straps, and you do it that way.

Guess I'll have to do them the real way from now on!! :P

This is what a toes-to-bar is supposed to look like:

2011-10-30T21:09:00.005-05:00

Last post... July 28. Hm. Wonder if anyone still checks this thing? :)

I've been busy. The summer flew by amid a flurry of photography, and well, photography. :) This last week was the week for consultations and booking weddings, and I'm happy to say next year is booking up!

The latest and most recent thing/milestone in my life has been weight loss...

These are some awful pictures from last Thanksgiving (2010). Shield your eyes. Leave them small.

Now, less than a year later (well, only since February), 40-lbs lighter, and 14% less body fat, this is me:

Everyone always wants to know what I'm doing... like losing weight is a big secret. It's not. It's the opposite of gaining weight: eating less, working out more, and hard work. I saw this on a bumper sticker last week: Winners find a way. Losers find excuses.

I attribute a lot of the credit to my trainer... lots of hours logged at the gym, 6 days a week. Plus a detailed food log.

Still struggling a little with where to go from here. I'd like to keep losing, but more than anything, I'd like to keep toning and trimming fat. I'd rather gain weight with muscle, so I can keep lifting. Hah, who'd ever think that would come out of my mouth! So my next short-term goal is another -5lbs, which I think is very do-able. Plus I have several lifting goals... one of which is to get some tougher calluses. :)

I firmly believe in rewards.. that don't include ice cream and chocolate! hah! For my -40, I got myself a pair of new boots (withOUT heels, since I'm still not wearing shoes with heels), a new purse, and some new workout clothes. Must have fit me better than my saggy baggy ones, because I had a comment from this sweet gal in the locker room about how great I looked. She's super nice, and I've talked to her a few different times since I've started going to the gym.

In other news, not too ecstatic about the coming of winter... It's getting colder, and the gray, rainy days get pretty long, even though they're short. I used to look forward to winter for a few reasons, but most of those were about eating... turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, apple cider. I guess leather boots don't really have anything to do with eating, thankfully.

However, I am looking forward to the "slow" season of photography... finally going to get caught up on all my album design! Plus, start preparing promo pieces and marketing efforts for next year, reviewing my workflow, and other little projects I've been saving on my master list.

Not a whole lot else going on, really... :)

------------------------

And a little note to self, just because I don't ever want to lose this recipe. These are delicious Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 5-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Whew.

2011-07-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

This is why you haven't seen me around here in a while.

Heh.

2011-07-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I told my trainer "You must hate my shoulders.... that's okay. The feeling is mutual."

:P

Hello?

2011-06-29T15:27:00.002-05:00

Don't know if anyone reads this blog anymore... I certainly don't give a person any reason to, that's for sure!

Anyway, just a quick story for today.

I usually train with my trainer on Thursdays, but it won't work out tomorrow. So we set up a time on Friday, and he told me to take tomorrow off. (I know, what?!)

I calculated this in my head. Thursday off, Friday on, Saturday off, Sunday off, Monday (hopefully) on. That's a lot of days off when I'm used to having only Sunday for a rest day.

So I told him the only way I would take BOTH Thursday and Saturday off would be if he promised me a workout on Friday so intense that it requires a day of rest before and after to prep and recover.

Heh. We'll see how Friday goes. And see if I'm still sore by Monday!

Since I always notice the little things, here's a few things that brightened my days this week:
-I can see daylight under my ring again... yay for skinny fingers!
-I caught a glimpse of my collarbone this morning... I thought for sure that was gone forever!
-After nearly a month off for my legs to heal, I completed my second day of running intervals today. Score!

And in news NOT related to me working out:
-I think we're settled on a car and will be picking it up this weekend. Lots of driving, but fortunately J and I have our best conversations while driving/riding. :) Road trip with the hubby... bring it on!
-Turbs has been especially cute lately. (What else is new?!)
-Business is picking up with the summer season FINALLY arriving. Hello, sun! Hello, 85*! Missed you!

Ps. There's a guy at the gym who I seriously double-take every time I see him. Why? He looks exactly like one of the main characters off of the show Prison Break, maybe a smidge less chiseled. If I was sure I could take a picture of him without being noticed, I would..

New York trip | June 2011

2011-06-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yes. No.

2011-05-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

Yes. I'm still here.

No. I don't ever really feel like I have much to say.

Yes. Business is going well. Enough, anyway. :)

No. Sometimes, I don't feel like doing anything. Still. Even though I have mounds of stuff to do.

Yes. I'm still working out.

No. This isn't supposed to make sense.

Yes. I'm excited for my first wedding of the season this coming weekend.

No. I don't have my calendar filled for the summer.

Yes. I'm thinking of offering a summer/fall wedding promotion for my open weekends. Should I? Isn't it better to shoot and get paid to cover only your expenses, rather than doing house/yard-work that Saturday? I suppose.

We'll see.

No. Hubby didn't end up going to New York for 2 weeks their emergency job this round. Maybe the next round.

Yes. I am beyond happy and overjoyed he's home, even though the $$ would be nice.

No. It's not warm outside.

But.

Yes. It is sunny!

I know.

2011-04-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

I've turned into one of "those" people.

But isn't she adorable? :)

Hmm.

2011-04-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

I'm addicted to listening to the hamster dance while working out. It's nearly perfect tempo for one of my elliptical machines I use.

Needless to say, I usually hide my phone screen so no one happens to see what I'm listening to. Heh.

Apparently I can't embed this one, so here's the link.

http://youtu.be/p3G5IXn0K7A

Sorry.

2011-04-18T21:02:00.001-05:00

Guess I haven't been too present on here lately.

Things have been.. okay, I guess. Seems like my mind is a dark and dreary place most days. Crazy how we can have days and days of feasting, and a person can still feel an emptiness inside.

I've had a few highlights though, like booking a few weddings for next year (happy dance) and meeting one of my short term weight goals. Now, if I can just leave the chocolate alone. Actually, I wish that was my only problem food. :)

Got my first of three senior photo mailings ready to go out in the mail tomorrow. Have a family-ish session Friday, which I'm super looking forward to. Will be nice to test out my new camera. 5D Mark II, anyone? :) Then I have another session on Saturday morning in a client's unique home that has a 14-foot textured, plaster willow tree on a wall. After the in-home consultation I had today with her, I'm convinced it really will be awesome. The tree is beautiful. We'll have the family up on scaffolding to get more of the tree in the images, and I'll, of course, be breaking out my lights again and having some fun. Posing a group of 10 on scaffolding? I'm terrified. Look for pics because you sure won't want to miss it.

Hubby got a bike recently... nothing fancy. I'm sure he's disappointed about how slow it is. However, it was cheap, and we'll be saving mega $$ in gas if the weather ever warms up for him to drive it to work.

And a random. I was in the sauna after my workout today... there was a lady in there dabbing herself with a towel and spritzing herself with perfume. Dab, spritz, dab, spritz. Hello. You're in a sauna. You're going to sweat. Get over it.

See you in.. a month? ;) Who knows. Goodness, I don't have motivation for anything.

I love vacation.

2011-03-28T13:32:00.001-05:00

But I love coming home.

Here's what was waiting for me:
1. My husband
2. My pupper
3. My amazing coffee and creamer

Sigh. And I've been enjoying all three. :)

Oh, also Baseman Studios, of course! The bridal show yesterday in Appleton was great! Met loads of wonderful brides, have 7 consultations scheduled this week, and can't wait to continue my marketing efforts.

Pics coming... uhm. soon. I guess. :)

Oh, and my trainer took a 'promotion' at a different branch of Gold's. Looks like I'll be switching gyms... and having my training sessions at 7 in the morning. Eep!

Yesterday.

2011-03-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

I got up from the couch where I was reading yesterday morning, to go talk to Joel quick. When I got back, my coffee had been drained a little! Crazy dog! Climbed up onto the end table from the couch and was helping herself.

Today's top stories.

2011-03-03T14:09:00.003-06:00

I, uhm, completely forgot where I put my stuff at the gym this morning... spent about 10 minutes looking through all the lockers for it.

About 10 minutes before that, I pulled a muscle. In my butt. Ouch! Must be the squatting during painting the last couple of days combined with the split squats I was doing at the time. It kills to go up stairs now.

I bought curtains last night for our bedroom in the clearance aisle at Walmart. Why now? Because I'd like my blankets/throws back now. ;)

Yesterday, I spent almost 2 hours trying to copy music onto my phone for working out. Worked with the sync, etc. Today, I got the great idea to simply take my media card out, plug it into the computer, and copy the songs on. Took 5 minutes. Heh.

Very excited for our new renter to move in next week. I've been cleaning and painting next door to get ready. Dubbed "rabbit girl" by us throughout the whole process, she's a 25-year old who's never called in sick to her job... that she's had since she graduated college. She came to the showing with her completed application and a folder of information. She's already signed the lease, paid the deposit, and first month's rent. LOVE it! I love it when people are more organized than I am! Which some days, doesn't take much. Still.

Excited for company Friday night. :) Glad for the ~~panic~~ motivation that helps me to get the house clean.

Also excited for a photo session Saturday... can't wait to give K some squeezes! Excited to get my camera out again too. It's been too long!

Now, off to do some more cleaning. And hip stretches... ow.

The Hidden Blessing

2011-02-23T21:00:00.001-06:00

I sat down to play some hymns before our Bible study tonight. As I was flipping through the pages, this title jumped out at me. 'The Hidden Blessing.'

Hadn't ever played that one before. I started to sight read through it, and it wasn't long before I was in tears, unable to play. What a beautiful message there is about the hidden blessing.

"When deep distress and sorrow weigh upon me,
My Savior gives me courage for to see;
In every thorn that's scattered o'er my pathway,
Some hidden blessing for eternity.

And when I wait upon the God of Heaven,
On eagle's wings I rise above it all;
Then I shall run and not be weak or weary,
I'll walk His way and neither faint nor fall.

--

The hour of pain and suffering oft produces,
What we would miss if all were calm and fair;
As spices left unbroken have no savour,
But crushed and bruised, their fragrance fills the air.

And in the mountain where the tempest rages,
Roots of the oak strike deeper to endure;
So shall the storms that beat across life's pathway,
Just help to set my purpose more secure.

--

Oh, Master, give me grace to bear the burden,
And not to shrink from suffering meant for me;
But grant the faith and patience for accepting,
Whate're it takes to bring me nearer Thee.

Could I but see that in the darkest hour,
There is a precious opportunity;
For that's the hour by graciously enduring,
My spirit can bring glory unto Thee."

This is a start.

2011-02-21T15:08:00.000-06:00

At least I've read through my followed blogs for the last, oh, month.

We'll see about posting later. Maybe if the dishes fairy stopped by.

This one's for Mary. :)

2011-01-20T20:46:00.001-06:00

Well, this is the most news-worthy thing I can think of that's happened recently.

Due to Joel smashing the front end on our old truck, we had to get a different one.

I'm just glad it wasn't a 4-wheeler accident, there weren't any helicopters, or $50,000 hospital stays. ;)

Good hair days.

2011-01-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

Hello, random!

I remember one day in Iowa having a super terrible migraine, but going to work anyway. Why? Because I was having a good hair day! They're not that common.... Don't like to waste 'em laying around in bed! My mistake was mentioning that to my supervisor, who then announced it at our sales meeting that morning. :P

So. Does anyone else do this? Take pics of your hair?

This is just a very slight few from the past 2-3 years. My entire collection is rather enormous.

Waterloo apartment.. yay!

Hellooo, weird face.

This was a fun one.

Normal one.

If it would stay like that, I'd wear it down more.

Another fun one... don't wear my glasses often, either.

My fatal flaw.

2011-01-06T11:45:00.000-06:00

Heh, as if I only have one. :)

I'm usually different around people than when it's just me or the hubby and I at home. There. I said it. It's like I have multiple personalities or something.

I've been thinking about this for awhile now, ever since an older worker came up to me at Marion last year and asked me if I was a happy person. I'm sure my puzzled look forced him to clarify. He said he took notice the first few days of convention that I was always smiling, laughing, and having a great time chatting between meetings. I think my exact words were, I guess! Plus, I love convention, so it's easy to be super happy there. :)

I grew up in a household where personalities were discussed quite a bit (thanks, Mom and Dad! :D), so I've been aware of different personalities for quite awhile... which drives Hubby nuts! Anyway, I guess I strive to come across to people as relaxed, laid-back, chatty, amiable, and super-friendly. Whatever goes..

Someone mentioned they were studying personality types a while back, so I asked them to analyze me. They had a name for it which I don't remember... but essentially, they thought I was the laid-back, have fun, social type. I believe I laughed in their face. Sorry, if you're reading this... and you recognize yourself. ;)

However, I see myself as detail-driven, slightly withdrawn, and not super-social. A perfectionist in some areas, and a realist in most things. I do enjoy being around people, but I definitely need my alone times. Thankfully, Hubby is more than welcome in my alone time. haha. In my own element, I'm fairly set in my ways, hate change or last-minute decisions, and am quite stubborn.

They say opposites attract, which turned out exactly true in my case. I intensely admire Hubby because he is the exact same around every single person.

I don't know how to do that.

On one hand, people might see this as "putting on a show" or being deceptive.

However, I guess that's how I am... and I look at it as a benefit in some ways. Admit it, no one likes being around those personality types like I actually am. That's why people like Hubby are the center of the party.

It's a huge plus for talking and chatting with clients.. and honestly, being with people draws me out of my little funk for awhile. I do love people, really. But when I hang up the phone or leave a consultation, I revert "back to myself."

It's great for this showing the duplex/rental process. I can be genuinely sweet, honest, and nice when they come to look at the plexer. Then when they leave, I can sit down, analyze things, and come to a realistic conclusion (obviously with Hubby).

It's also pretty nice for having company over... especially for workers. :) Honestly, it's such a joy to have people over, and I'm pretty relaxed about people in our home.

But get me out of my routine too long, and relaxed, care-free Mariah disappears pretty quickly.

Do I have a conclusion? Not really.

Just know that I'm not being fake, honestly. When I'm happy to see you, it's the real deal.

And, aren't I lucky to have Hubby?! :) Last-minute decisions? Spontaneous? Happy? Carefree (mostly)? Of course. He really is the ying to my yang. :)

2010 Wrap-up

2011-01-03T09:56:00.154-06:00

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Started an official business. Left my "office" job.

2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I usually don't make New Years resolutions.. it's a crutch people lean on. Rather, I do goal-setting throughout the year. heh.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, no sisters or sisters-in-law. Some ladies in the extended family did. :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Grandpa Baseman

5. What countries did you visit?
USA. Hah.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More self confidence in standing up for myself and my business.
Clients, in general. ;)

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1.4.10. The day of Joel's accident. Ironically, 1 year from today exactly. That's the first time in my life I've ever truly lost my appetite.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting my business up and running... including an official business plan. And my weddings. Looove my weddings. :)

9. What was your biggest failure?
Hard to say. I'm pretty tough on myself. This year has taught me a lot of lessons about planning ahead, planning for the unexpected, valuing myself, my talent, and the hard work it's taken to get where I am now.

On a lighter note, my addiction to coffee. :)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not me personally. Wait. I had that thing with the heart operation... WPW syndrome. I'm all good now.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Whooeee. My lens. 24-70mm 2.8L. Love it. Also my recent purchase of CS5, as well as all my computer upgrades this year. Totally worth it... I love Win7!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My cousin, Karlene. The relationship we've created over the last 10 months has by far exceeded what I've ever expected in a relative, friend, and client. Thank you from the bottom of my heart; you have no idea how much I appreciate you and our time together! You've been incredible to get to know! :)

Also, my husband. He lives with me every day and still loves me to death. :D

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Oh, you mean the situation that caused my heart to pound, sleep to fail me, and ruined my appetite for Annie's Organic mac'n'cheese? ;) We won't go there.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Sheesh. Everywhere. Bills, mostly. Loans. This year was big for medical bills.. Food, supplements, computer equipment/software/etc... My business. ;)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The surprise Joel planned for my birthday.
Business marketing and planning. Sad, but true.
Also, being able to tackle things head on, money-wise.
I get really excited about date nights with my hubby. :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Probably that Celtic Woman one, "Fields of Gold." Makes me think of Georgia, the lake house, being in the boat, and hanging out with Suz. :) Brings back happy memories.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, yet more realistic. Maybe stoic.
ii. thinner or fatter? Heh. I think about the same for once.
iii. richer or poorer? Feel richer, but as numbers go, I'm not sure. Maybe secure is a good word.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Reaching out to others.
Laughing.
Singing.
Breathing.
Preparing.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Whining.
Complaining.
Nagging.
Worrying.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
My family! Eating, playing games, and laughing, of course.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
It's funny. Seem to be deeper in love with every day passing... how does that work?! If it keeps getting better, being old must rock... love wise. :)

23. How many one-night stands?
365. With the same man. ;)

24. What was your favorite TV program?
The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Grey's, Private Practice

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Who actually "hates" people?

26. What was the best book you read?
I don't think I read a single book this year. How sad... I used to read 2-3 books a week!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Celtic Woman. Hands down. Plus I love that I found The Dimes and Wiretree through Animoto.

28. What did you want and get?
My business.
I'm a pretty determined person, though.. usually find a way to get things I want.

29. What did you want and not get?
Determined.. but satisfied. I can't really think of anything at the moment. Probably for dear hubby to not work out of town so much.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
That comedy guy, Gabriel Iglesias... that cracked me up.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
21, Joel planned a surprise weekend in LaCrosse with my mom and dad. It was gloriously fun!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
2 less accidents, a bazillion less medical bills, and working 14-hour days due to clients banging down my door.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Hah. Clearance racks. Random, bright color. Hair flowers. T-shirts. Hoodies. Double layer socks.

34. What kept you sane?
That certain someone and our pudder. Preferably together.
Music.
Retail therapy.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Me? Pay attention to celebrities or public figures? Pay attention to any current events at all? Hardly.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The elections this year. The health insurance thing rubs me the wrong way.

37. Who did you miss?
My Hawkeye buddies. :(

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Probably my best friend's boyfriend... because he makes her happy, and she deserves that. :)

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
Don't allow others to take advantage of you or perceive your expertise for less than it is.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Does it get any better than this?
We're into something beautiful.
Bein' with you's as good as it gets.
It doesn't get any better than this!"

Better Than This ~ Kimberley Locke

Mmm. Ahhh.

2010-12-15T11:00:00.000-06:00

Today's random thought.

2010-12-14T12:32:00.002-06:00

Maybe my motivation is hanging out with the dust bunnies....

Sure wasn't under the pile of dirty dishes!

Giveaway from MCP Actions!

2010-12-13T12:41:00.003-06:00

I'm shameless.

But it would rock to get $500 down on my $6100 purchase next spring.

Absolutely rock.

So here's my plug for the $500 Adorama gift card giveaway from MCP Actions.
Check it out yourself. :)

Weekend update.

2010-12-12T21:59:00.003-06:00

With someone not as funny as Seth Myers. ;)

This was an interesting week.

Monday:
I had an amaaazing wedding consultation on Monday evening.
Also a spell of high blood pressure, from what I can tell. Seemed to be in a fog, hyper yet not motivated, heart seemed to pound funny, dry mouth. Didn't get sick, so I don't really know. I just felt funny throughout the day.

Tuesday:
Turbo started out the day looking like this:

Ended the day looking like this:

Poor thing needed two sweaters to keep warm!

Wednesday was uneventful. The hubby had come home Tuesday night a bit unexpectedly, so that was pretty much awesome. :)

Thursday I had a really awesome session with a darling two-year-old. She's soo sweet! Then it snowed. :) I took some pics. Hubby hit a school bus. These things happen.

Friday, Hubby took my car to work, as the one he took home the night before didn't start. Weird to be stranded at home, even though some days I never leave unless I have errands. Guess it's just nice to have the choice. :) Hubby mentioned it was nice that I have a job where I can stay home in inclement weather... also said he appreciated me being home when he arrives home from work. (Pause for the "awwwww") I agree, sweetheart! :D I love hearing those touching thoughts of his. :)

I also showed the duplex for the first time. Good thing I went over there early... as I found dirty underwear on the bathroom floor and he probably hadn't swept in a year!

Saturday. Hm. A bit random. Included a trip to M&MJ's, and then a night in snuggling on the couch.. waiting for the snowstorm!

Sunday (today). Everyone's meeting was canceled. So we trekked up to M&MJ's for meeting. :) It was a bit hairy on the local roads, but other than that we were fine. Spent the day with them, and came home to this:

Darling Hubby did some shoveling, snowblowing, and made it possible for me to get out in the morning.

One last thing. I thought this series of pictures was adorable!! Our dog is such a bully!

Baily, content, chewing on her bone.

Turbs, on the prowl.

AAAIIIEEEEeeee!

Her indignant look after she's been yelled at.

Have a great new week! :)

What inspired me today.

2010-12-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Except we had a better accompanist when we sang it in HS. :)

Yum.

2010-12-06T21:38:00.000-06:00

Had to use up some potatoes... so last week I made baked potato wedges with fresh garlic. Yum!

Crazy.

2010-12-05T22:00:00.003-06:00

Well, how do you like this?

I thought I had made up the word "Randomities."

Apparently not.

Sometimes.

2010-12-04T23:16:00.001-06:00

You regret the things you do.

2010-12-03T17:51:00.002-06:00

2011 Baseman Studios Photography Budgets.

Check!

Fine.

2010-12-02T10:48:00.001-06:00

Bored with Facebook, blogs, email, and the billions of options the internet has to offer.

Bored with Photoshop, and nothing pressing to work on.

Fine. Guess I'll be forced into working in Quickbooks.

If I must.

2010-12-01T16:37:00.000-06:00

Know of anyone looking to rent half of a side-by-side duplex?

Check out the information here!

Things that make me happy.

2010-11-29T23:33:00.001-06:00

45-degree weather in late November.

4-day vacations filled with family, food, games, laughter, and visiting.

Stuffing.

Pumpkin pie.

Clients that remember what my favorite drink from Starbucks is... and bring it to me! :D

Getting caught up-to-date in my accounting software.

Snuggling. Dog or husband will do, but preferably both.

Spending nights at Muddy's when our husbands are out of town. ;)

When I wake up and DON'T remember my dreams.

Figured I should make up for my pessimistic list of pet peeves from earlier.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Maybe someday I'll get some pictures posted...

Ps. I just love newborns! Don't you?!

On a happier note.

2010-11-23T21:45:00.001-06:00

Today is the second day in a row that I've felt like "me..." for the first time in nearly a month. Talk about no-motivation central here.

This my friends, is cause for celebration.

Which happened to be KFC popcorn chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. And now I feel "ugh" again.

Haha, just kidding.

Two major pet peeves.

2010-11-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

Not that these happened to me today, but they've just been on my mind.

1. People that don't take me seriously. (This hits big... I switched accountants based solely on this.)

2. People that try to take advantage of me.

Oh, and 3. Drivers in general, but in particular those that a)are slow and b)don't know how to drive through round-a-bouts. Old man nearly broadsided me the other day.

Uh, duh!

2010-11-15T15:06:00.002-06:00

I lick my lips for the 5th time in a row.

Then I realize that I have chapstick at an arm's reach away.

And that the de-humidifier is still running.

Heh.

Spring.

2010-11-11T10:32:00.003-06:00

60 degrees, sunny, and a slight breeze.

It has to be spring, right?

tee hee.

2010-11-08T08:40:00.000-06:00

"Your kid may be an honor student, but your driving still sucks."

Love that bumper sticker.

Ack!

2010-11-05T15:31:00.000-05:00

The other night, hubby was downstairs while I was working.

He picked up this little Chevy emblem that was sitting on a speaker.

"Oh, cool! There's a Chevy emblem design in the dust!"

Sure. That's what I was going for.

Sisterly love.

2010-11-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

In one sense, I'm going to miss her.

But I'm so happy for her. And one thing's for sure: I love her to death.

And that's all I'll say... because she might issue a death warrant for me otherwise. ;)

Photog.

2010-11-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to say I love the photography business.

Read the article here.

Winter.

2010-10-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to accustom myself to the fact that we won't have 80-degree temps for another like 6 months. I still cry myself to sleep at night.

Hah. Just kidding.

However, I am trying really hard to find things that I do look forward to about winter.
Here's what I'm coming up with:

Boots, leather and otherwise
My pink fuzzy slippers
Food. Pumpkin pies, turkey, stuffing, chocolates, soup, need I say more?
Heated seats in the car
Being with family during the holidays
Hoodies (Pssst. Are you a Baseman Studios' fan on Facebook?)
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas tunes
Being able to take holidays off. (Heh. Sort of.)

Anyone else have one? Goodness knows, I'm having difficulty with this list.

Halloween

2010-10-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to get invited to a Halloween party/potluck, so that's pretty sweet. :)

However, I don't really feel like spending money on costumes.

Nor do I have creativity to think up something original that doesn't cost much.

Hm.

Any ideas?

Adorable, no?

2010-10-23T21:19:00.000-05:00

With any luck, when we have kids, they'll look like these munchkins!

Huh, what?

2010-10-18T16:13:00.005-05:00

Sorry, I'll explain that last post.

It's been a very frustrating last couple weeks in dealing with a last-minute commercial client. I've never done commercial work before (but the images turned out pretty sweet), and he had never used a professional photographer before.

Like I said, it was last minute. The model, which I had met at a wedding I was second-shooting at the Saturday before, called me at 3 in the afternoon on Monday for the shoot at 6pm that night. Their photographer's camera broke, apparently. I'm guessing that was his excuse to get off the hook for that job.

I thought things were fine and great. We met up a week (one week! that's a short time frame) after the shoot, and I gave him the disc.. 26 images, fully retouched and edited to perfection. He was expecting every single image from the shoot, edited and retouched, which was over 90.

Obviously, there were some massive errors and omissions in what was expected from both parties, mostly what he expected from me.

Long story short, he emailed me then, pressuring me to give him all the images, saying he'd invested a chunk of change into this venture (I was only paid 1/5 of that amount, so I'm assuming the other 4/5 went to the model...? Dumb.). So I carefully explained to him that for the number of hours I worked on his project, including shooting time, resulted in me getting paid $5.20/hour with no compensation at all for the images... the going rate for professional commercial images is $50-75.

Despite the fact it was my first official commercial job, I still expect to get paid to expand my portfolio, especially since the images were extremely well done.

I think he folded (HAH! His business deals with poker) since he was apologizing up and down. But I'm not really giving him an option.

Not just anyone gets to boss me around, and no one takes advantage of me unless I let them.

However, this isn't the first email war I've won. :)

(This was one of the images from the session.)

Fail.

2010-10-18T08:58:00.001-05:00

He failed, that is.

Don't even start an email war with me. I'll win. Every time.

Hooray!

2010-10-15T13:13:00.000-05:00

Got my tuition credit check finally!

This means Baseman Studios t-shirts and sweatshirts, meeting next week with the company to finalize things.

Post.

2010-10-14T22:16:00.002-05:00

Hah, Suzanne. I posted.

Actually, I've been really busy lately. But these are some of my highlights from today.

--A PBN with Turbs. (post-breakfast nap) I've been super tired lately. But I've not been busy lately, so there's no possible explanation.

--This article: http://www.ispwp.com/the-secret-life-of-wedding-photographers.html

--Posted a new ad on craigslist. In looking over the "competition," I managed to see a ad from a somewhat relative and friend photographer. I also found this webpage, complete with a dancing purple monkey:

(Don't mind all my links up on the browser; I'm just lazy. And isn't firefox awesome? I can make my browser pink!)

Suz stopped by for a bit tonight. Love that girl. :) Even though she forced me to play piano while she videoed from above me. Better not see that one on YouTube.

My aunt was in town with her co-worker the last couple nights, so they stayed with us... even cooked us supper Wed night. Roast in the crockpot all day, with scalloped potatoes, garden squash, and salad. Mmm.

Workers are coming for 2 (?) nights, tomorrow and Saturday, so that should be fun too! Any MSG-free ideas? I think I've got it covered, but it's nice to have some options.

I have a co-photographer session tomorrow, so expect an introduction to my second photographer next week, along with some new promo images of myself. Eeep. I would so much rather be in FRONT of the camera.

Did I ever let the blog world know that my business plan passed? The Small Business Development Center passed it awhile ago, which means I'm getting a nice fat tuition credit back... hello, Baseman Studios t-shirts and sweatshirts!!

Plus I should be wrapping up the deal with my car sign/sticker next week. Woo hoo for cheap marketing!

Oh, PS.

2010-10-05T20:42:00.001-05:00

Just in case you hadn't heard, last week we heard the final decision from the helicopter company in California.

They were able to see and understand that we had no money to pay them, so they wrote the entire amount off!

It was a little victory celebration here. :)

Pssst. Read the original (California) story here, a random whining post here, and a specific whining post here about their company. Or don't. I wouldn't wish that on you.

Happiness.

2010-10-05T20:34:00.003-05:00

...is finding you have 4 (!!) grape fruit snacks in your little pouch.

Or having a dog that's this stinkin' cute. :)

Laundry

2010-10-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

A little conversation this morning:

"Mariah, do these jeans look too small?"

"Mmm. A bit."

"Oh, well they're the last pair clean."

"Oops."

This ever happen to you?

Dangers of working in a bathroom.

2010-09-29T00:33:00.000-05:00

Heh.

2010-09-13T08:59:00.001-05:00

Our health insurance carrier proudly boasts:

"Health insurance carrier of the Green Bay Packers"

Do we want health insurance from the same company that has to shell out for a football team's injuries?

On the flip side, I suppose the Packers shell out big time for their premiums and carry the rest of us, so nevermind. :)

Tricky.

2010-09-10T11:06:00.001-05:00

For some reason, my anal brain is concerned about the number of "plays" each song gets in my iTunes.

(Probably the same feeling it has about the Genre category being filled in. Don't get me started.)

If I like the song, I wait for the song to play the whole way through so it records it as a "play."

If I sorta like the song, I often skip to the last 2 seconds of the song, so it still records it.

If I don't like the song, wouldn't you think I would delete it? Nope. Even if I listen to most of it, I will often quick jump to the next song without it recording the "play." Yup, I'm that tricky.

It was heartbreaking when I re-did my computer and all my "plays" were set back to zero. Sigh.

Hm. Does this go beyond random and plop me right down into the "weird" category?

Did I use too many quotation marks in this post?

Eeep. Thank goodness it's Friday.

Ameteurs.

2010-09-09T22:28:00.006-05:00

Sometimes they really bother me.

Especially when this is their (craigslist) ad:

"Why risk your big day with an amature. Your wedding day only happens once. Wedding photography is something you just can't jump into. You choose an amature you risk getting amature results, missing parts of your big day and having poor photo quality. Sure they are cheaper, but what if you could get award winning elite professional wedding photography for the price of the amatures?"

Phew. My spell check is going crazy right now. And my comma sense.

Heh. That sounds like "common sense."

Comma sense: possessing the common sense it takes to use commas correctly.
{RandominitiesOriginal}

Denial

2010-09-08T16:57:00.002-05:00

Summer is still here, right?

Random

2010-09-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

I know, 2 posts. 1 day.

BUT, the forecast this morning said 100% chance of showers at noon. Incidentally that's when I started seeing patches of blue sky.

Now? Full out glaring sunlight. Ahhh.

Love summer.

Ps. I had a wonderful convention last weekend, which included amazing thoughts, wisdom, advice, reuniting with old friends, a fun ride down with my in-laws, and a nasty head-cold.

Note to self #4782

2010-09-02T16:01:00.001-05:00

As I sit here squirming.

Why do I always wait until the utter last minute? You know, bursting point, where I can barely take the time to pause my music, pick up Turbs, and dash upstairs to the little ladies room?

Eeep.

Guess who's turning one?

2010-08-26T07:36:00.004-05:00

That's right! Today!

A few random facts:

She "plays" with her food while she's eating and starts getting full. All out, rolling in it, growling, etc. :)

We call her a lot of things aside from her name. Our favorites are Turbs, Turbsy, Turbo-doggie, and Pogs (puppy + doggie - gie + s). Sometimes Turbs-a-runity. If you know Joel, you'll understand. haha

We spank her when she's naughty. And guess what? She's pretty well behaved overall.

She also knows what "Do you want a spanking?" means. It's her last warning. heh

She still gets "sit" and (lay-)"down" mixed up sometimes.

She would go outside (for the bathroom) every 20 minutes if we let her. Mostly just to sniff around and see if any neighbors are out. This can be frustrating. :)

I always said I would never have a small dog, and be one of "those" people. But now, I completely am... and don't care! However, I draw the line at "Mommy" and "Daddy." Sorry, that thing didn't come out of me. Nor is it human. ;)

She's one of the few dogs I'm actually not allergic to. We all know the hubby wasn't going to go for a standard poodle.

If Joel's out of town, she starts getting antsy downstairs around 5. She knows he should be home by then. :)

She always perks up at vehicles... I swear she can pick out GMC/Chevy pickups from all the rest. haha

She is the absolute biggest cuddle-bug when she's tired. Love it. :)

She knows she has to sit on the couch while I'm working. Then she knows when the washer/dryer signals go off, she gets to go "help" me with laundry. Haha.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Mine will include a convention!

Whine. Sigh. Annoyance.

2010-08-25T12:21:00.001-05:00

Dealing with the helicopter company again.... do I ever sound like a broken record?

This time we're dealing one-on-one with them. No more insurance companies.

But, in order for us NOT to give them all a lump sum, we have to fill out a very detailed form and APPLY to get to pay in installments.

Hello. We're 22 years old. We own a house. And vehicles. And we (I) have student loans. And I'm still in start-up mode in my business.

Do you think we have $21,000 just sitting around? Especially to use for medical bills? Maybe in mappy-pappy land. Or in Palm Springs, where all the rich and famous (and the helicopter company, coincidentally) are located.

So meanwhile, I'm running around to get together last year's taxes, pay stubs, a couple months worth of checking and savings account statements, and business financial information. Just got done going through a personal financial statement... detailing out each bit of income, all our assets, and expenses (no place for liabilities... we have LOANS, people!).

Good news and bad news.
The bad news is our bottom line looks pretty grim.
The good? There's no way they can expect us to pay hardly anything for monthly payments.

PS. Would it feel weird to anyone else to pack up all this sensitive, personal information and ship it off to a medical provider in California?

PPS. Let's vote. Who here thinks we should enlist a lawyer's help? If nothing else, to at least explain to us our rights in this whole situation?

Hardware Upgrade v.1.06.87

2010-08-23T16:10:00.002-05:00

How to install new hardware in your computer:

1. Do NOT back anything up. No files, pictures, nothing.

2. Open the pretty shiny packages with your new stuff.

3. Call your tech support and put them on speaker for the next 5 hours.

4. With their help, put in the new hardware.

5. Start up the computer.

6. Do what your tech support tells you for a few hours.

7. Windows still doesn't load.

8. Start to realize you could potentially have to re-do all your books and lose all your image files since April.

9. Follow your tech support's great idea. Install NEW Windows to a different hard drive, then copy all the files from the old to the new.

10. Start computer. Boot to NEW Windows.

11. Old Windows boots up. What??

12. Jump up and down with glee.

13. Do a massive backup, which takes about 4 hours.

13.5 Dig out a fan for your poor, overheating external hard drive.

14. Put the hardware back in, wipe clean your drives, re-install Windows the right way.

15. Spend a full day's work putting programs back on and downloading drivers/updates/etc.

16. Thoroughly enjoy your fast programs and new Windows.

17. Remind your tech support you love them.

18. Buy your tech support a gift card. (Wait, my tech support doesn't read this, does he?)

19. Laugh with glee when your tech support still answers your calls.

20. Remind yourself to get an auto-backup system in place.

21. Prank call your tech support.

22. Resolve not to do another hardware upgrade for a looong time.

Pics!

2010-08-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

Found all these while looking for something else.

This is her typical traveling position.

"Helping" with laundry. Usually she just chews up my tennis balls that I keep in the dryer.

Bales and Turbs.

Suz and I wore our matching shoes (that we both wear like once every 6 months) on the same day. It was pretty epic.

I'm really drawn to this saying. I love it.

Georgia

2010-08-16T19:15:00.001-05:00

Georgia was really great. The lakehouse was amazing. Mark, Lauren and their gorgeous kiddos are the best. :)

Apparently the whole album should be viewable here.

Life.

2010-08-04T11:37:00.002-05:00

I love my job.

I love photographing with clients.

I love editing through hundreds and thousands of images.

I love images like this:

Don't you?

Makes everything else okay in life.

Like the final decision from the insurance/helicopter company. Yup, $21,058. Our baby. I could have told them that the insurance company wasn't going to budge anymore.

And the fact that we spent time and money to drive out to Iowa to get a motor for our car. And it's the wrong one. And the guy's a dumb moron. And on the way home, the other exhaust pipe on the truck broke. And now the car's sitting at the shop, waiting for Joel to rebuild the motor, plus the other motor that's now ours. And I'm driving a really loud truck. Wait, maybe that's okay. ;)

With the hesitation of sounding like a thirteen-year-old girl obsessing over her first crush, I will say this: photography (among other things) is truly my drug.

:P

Swimming.

2010-07-27T11:25:00.003-05:00

My eyes that is.

This has been my morning. And this is just the reference workbook. My actual financial worksheets are a lovely 10+ page workbook their own. :)

Oh, how I love Excel.

Fail.

2010-07-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday evening was fun.

We were invited along with K&R for some boating fun. I was somewhat badgered into attempting a water sport.

Let's back up and say that I have no arm strength. At all.

Knee-boarding earlier this summer was a fail. I just kind of cruised around laying on the knee-board. Just chillin'. Could have called it stomach-boarding.

So, I'm going to wakeboard. "Oh, don't worry. You don't have to do anything, the boat pulls you out. Just bend your knees and then tilt the board as soon as you start going." Sure. Right. I can do this.

As there were no cameras on board, I took the liberty of finding this image online to re-create my experience for you.

This was my position. The whole time. Each time. All 87 tries.

Sigh. Maybe next time.

Think I should add push-ups to my list of things I should do? I think so.

Last weekend.

2010-07-21T12:57:00.000-05:00

We had a good time with our company this weekend... Jennifer and Emmy were here for supper and the night, Saturday. Then we had the family over lunch on Sunday. Sadly, that was essentially my first time having some "major" company over. However, based upon our house size, it's probably the most we can have at once.

Be warned. If you stay here, the dog will wait for you while you're in the bathroom. She means well. ;)

Oh, glory be.

2010-07-20T08:02:00.003-05:00

I'm posting a recipe. Alert the press. Tell your friends. Call your grandma.

No final picture. References available upon request.

Proceed at your own risk.

(PS. 87% of the glory goes to my mother, who combed through three different enchilada recipes... and I didn't entirely use the one she came up with anyway. I wrote down what I did later, though, so this should be fairly accurate.)

Enchiladas. Amazing. Watch out, Solea.

Team Players: (PS. I apologize to all you non-Pick'n'Save shoppers. They just have the best selection for all of these types of things. I will definitely get this green taco sauce again. Probably the hot version, though. Some day when I don't have enough to do, I should count the varieties of organic olive oil they carry. I'd be there awhile.)

Cook:
1-lb hamburger meat (I used half ground turkey, half ground beef)

(Rinse), Add:
1-pkt taco seasoning
1/2-can refried beans

Mix with:
4-oz cream cheese
1 1/2-cups shredded (sharp cheddar) cheese
1-can mild green chiles
(For all of you with husbands that enjoy onions, feel free to chop some up in there.)

Mixture can be made up ahead of time and refrigerated. (Very convenient for Sunday mornings.. heh.)

Roll up in tortillas, seam side down, in a extremely well-greased 9x13 pan.
(Author note. It was not 12:52. And I doubled all this, hence the 1/2 this and that.)

Sauce:
1/2-can green enchilada sauce (never been a fan of the red stuff)
1/2-bottle mild green taco sauce
4-oz sour cream
Cumin, chilli powder to taste... about 1-2 teaspoons/ea is a good starting point.

Not appetizing looking at all, eh?

Pour over entire area of tortillas. (Unless you like crispy edges. Your call.)

Bake 60 min at 350.

Take out and sprinkle with shredded (sharp cheddar) cheese while you're waiting for the family to get up to the table. ;)

Haircut.

2010-07-19T18:59:00.005-05:00

This morning:

Now: (Look at the legs on this broad!)

It's a definite possibility that I might miss my scruffy dog. And I just called her a broad. *palm to the forehead*

Wow.

2010-07-19T16:07:00.007-05:00

So. Many thanks to Kyle Hodgeman for commenting on my last post.

I'm officially sold on this... really want to order it soon!

PS. I was told the French Press is a nasty mess of grounds afterwards. That's what I really was leaning towards originally. The "no-mess" part of this seems too good to be true!

Now, the next question is. Should I choose next-day or super-saver shipping? ;)

Coffee lovers. Help please!

2010-07-15T12:43:00.001-05:00

So. The time has come for me to stop pretending that I'm not addicted to coffee.

I've been drinking instant coffee that has a mixture of creamer, sugar, etc in it, and feeling like I'm cheating myself.

I'm not averse to regular coffee... as long as I can put my own stuff in it. Which is what I want to do. However, one of my biggest pet peeves in the world is cleaning out a regular coffee pot.

I have said "regular coffee pot." I can remember a time when the wet grounds dropped on the way to the garbage. It was gross.

So for myself, I'd like to get a little one/two cup press or machine or something. Something.

I was looking around on Amazon, where else, and found some different examples of things I could use.

Exhibit A: Coffee/Espresso percolator

Exhibit B: I'm not sure. Looks like something used for drugs in my opinion.

Exhibit C: French coffee press

Now, here's the specifications: I don't want to hand-grind my own coffee. I think it's cool, but there's no way I can run that before I have caffeine. Sorry.

It needs to be something I can use regular coffee grounds in (by regular, I mean store ground, we're not talking Folgers, here) and be easily cleaned.

So, professional opinions, please?

(Hm. I don't have a tag for coffee... maybe I should make one?)

Thought this day would never come.

2010-07-12T22:05:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen,

Presenting Joel and Mariah's wedding album. 2.5 years after the fact.

Amazing images by Christopher's Photography, album design by yours truly.

I'll be ordering this by the end of the week... so let me know if you have any tips or suggestions! I must say, I've probably re-done each page about 7-8 times, and am pretty happy with it now.

However, as I'm a perfectionist, there's always room for improvement, right? :)

Enjoy.

Walmart.

2010-07-08T23:54:00.002-05:00

Let's set the scene.

(PS. Use of the word "black" is for descriptive purposes only. So you know in what way I heard all this. In no way at all am I racist... but maybe there's a reason for some of the common stereotypes.)

Joel's in the car, ~~patiently~~ waiting for me to come out with groceries. He was so patiently waiting that he just had called me to see if I was ever going to escape that place.

Hung up the phone, swung down the next aisle, passed someone, and heard: mmm hmmm. You know, the way black people say that. It might have been that certain expletive they say like that too. The one that starts with D.

He was talking on the phone, nbd, probably was talking to them.

I keep walking. I hear "excuse me?"

I keep walking. I hear "excuse me?" again. Louder.

Uhm what? as I turn around.

How do I find a girl like you? (As he's checking me out up and down) You lookin' good! (Insert something that I can't remember about white hair...) You from here?

Not originally... Iowa.

Many black people in Iowa?

Not so much, no.

So... you probably wouldn't be open to carrying black babies?

(Internal gasp. Hel-lo. Hold up my left hand.) I'm married.

So am I. Don't matter.

Yeah, it does.

Oh, you're happily married?

Very.

Well, marriages break up all the time.

Oh do they? Not ours.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Oh, okay.

And he walks away.

He wasn't creepy, probably 23-25 years old, probably no taller than 5"8", was decent looking, and was dressed fairly nicely, in reality. But, really? You want me to carry your babies? And ask me three times if I'll give up my marriage?

Wow.

Is my ba-donk-a-donk that big that I'm attracting black guys? I think it's time to hang up the push-up bra and start doing some squats or something.

I was looking all over for my other experience with Walmart on my blog... apparently it happened PB.. pre-blog. Where those Postville (IA) meat-plant raids were happening and they were carting out illegals left and right. And storing them in an auditorium 3 blocks north of our apartment in Iowa. And it's sunny noon as I'm in the Waterloo Walmart. And this Hispanic guy with nasty teeth and a tracking leg-bracelet followed me out to my car. The one time I parked like a mile away. And wouldn't let me put my own potting soil in my trunk. And hardly let me shut the door. And walked my cart back to the store grinning and waving as I speed-locked my doors and flew out of the parking lot.

That one actually required shoe shopping to get past the queasy stomach feeling.

Ooo.

2010-07-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions as what to do with the little mirror plaques.. I think I'm actually going to do what I normally do.

That is, just let them sit around until I find something else to complete a wall arrangement.

What I really want to do is get some art canvases printed up with my photographs to go along with those. I was originally thinking 10x10 canvases... about 2 of them. However. Lab cost on those is still pricey.

With these new little mirror plaques, I'm thinking something a little different. They're about 6x6, just off the top of my head. I'm thinking smaller photo canvases and a larger arrangement.

We'll see.

Once I get some more ideas down I'll put up some pictures. :)

Help, please.

2010-07-02T21:35:00.001-05:00

I found these cute things at a sweet little antique/home furnishings shop in Greenville today.

They're mirrors with scroll overlays on them... they have hooks in each corner on the back.

Cute, huh?

So, now I need help deciding what to do with them. All you creative people *ahem, Stacey, cough* get working here.

I thought about this.

Or this.

Or, goodness gracious, this.

Whaddya think?

Gaga

2010-07-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

Hm. The "Lady Gaga" button in Photoshop... now, what would that one do?

(I know, two posts in one day.. don't get used to it. :D)

You know that poster...

2010-07-01T19:18:00.004-05:00

... that says, everything I need to know, I learned kindergarten?

I think they should make a new one: "Everything I need to know, I learned from a Google search."

Legit, don't you think?

::UPDATE::

Psst. Yes, I created these. But neither of the images were mine to start with. ;)

Incompetance.

2010-06-26T12:03:00.001-05:00

This is a rant. You were warned.

Joel got a call the other night from a collections agency. Something about a medical bill that wasn't paid. Hm. The usual stuff (I've been told) from a collections agency... bust your butt to try to get payment.

Of course, he was driving and couldn't whip out his wallet, not that he would anyway.

I went back through our big wad (by wad, I mean neatly organized file folder) of claim receipts from the insurance company and bills received. We never got the stupid bill!

So I start thinking (probably a good time for that, anyway). Let me get this straight: we work our rear-ends off to keep our credit in amazing standing (I think we've been late on a max of 3 payments in my entire life). We pay off our credit cards every month. We repay all debts, both official and not, and are as organized as we can possibly be with our payments. I file everything, we pay everything through our bill pay system so we have record, etc. (Ps. Lana, shhhh. That was $3 for girl scout cookies.)

And, how many claim receipts and bills did we receive from providers out in California from Joel's accident? Thousands. How many had the correct information, eg. phone, address? All of them. How many payments did we send out... usually only a day or two after we received the bill? All of them. Well. Except the helicopter bill yet. Anyone else have $21,000 sitting around for medical bills? Didn't think so. Plus the provider is still appealing with the insurance company. Another day for that story.

Now I'm mad. We have the some of the best credit for people our age. And, now this stupid little bill for $92 is trying to ruin everything! (Maybe Joel's right... I am a bit of a drama queen. heh.) And the worst part is, it's out of our control. We have no information from this bill aside from what was sent to us in the claim receipt.... thank goodness for those, by the way. How are we supposed to pay a bill when we don't get it?!

I just hate being out of control. ;)

So I hop on ~~google~~ (wait, is someone going to call google and tell them that I used their name on my blog?) "my default search engine" and try to find this company. Can't find it. Finally found a contact number off some website for them... which doesn't work.

So, I give our insurance a quick call.. ended up talking to someone from Appleton, and she was giving me advice about collections agencies, etc. Finally got some information on the provider, though.

Phew. Now, we're getting somewhere.

Let's take a little break here to explain this particular bill. Maybe someone can help me out with this. There was one ambulance provider to prep the ground for the helicopter, give Joel his neck brace, and charge us $1000. Then there was the helicopter to make jokes about Joel fitting into the rig, save his life during the 100-mile flight to the hospital, and charge us $26,900. Then there was this second ambulance provider to.. do what?! They only billed us $550 or something like that, which we only had to pay $92 of.. but still. I'd like to know why there needed to be two different ambulance providers. Was this second one based out of the hospital? Did they prep for the helicopter's return landing? This little bill screwing everything up is meaningless?

Whatever.

Finally, the anticipated call to the ambulance provider. The name on the automated line is different. Hm. Well, maybe it's a conglomerate out there. Get to talk to a person after 10 minutes.

Her: "What's your ticket number?"

Me: "See, we never got a bill."

Her: "What's your name?"

Me: "This is regarding my husband, Joel.. blah blah. We never got a bill so we don't have any information at all. blah blah"

Her: "I'm sorry, I don't think that's us. I don't think we have any providers under that name. And, I can't find his name."

This goes on for awhile. I'll spare you.

Turns out, they did have a group in Palm Springs under that name, and lo-and-behold, she was spelling our last name wrong. Have you heard our last name? Then you can spell it.

I explain to her that we never received a bill from them, and that it was now sent to collections.. and conveyed my anger to her. Decided not to bring up the question of what the heck they were doing there. She wasn't too bright.

She did nothing about it, but gave me an invalid ticket number and sent me to the insurance information part of collections. After being re-routed to the correct place, I learned that they had just acquired our account within the last week.

On the basis of credit protection, I paid via phone... violating my deep-rooted principles of using our bill pay for all our medical bills. She swore up and down that she would send us a receipt of our payment.. possibly at my threat of hunting her down and knocking her senseless. Heh, just kidding. Maybe.

Sigh. There's so much incompetence in the medical billing/insurance field. If they want true health care/insurance reform, don't give the insurance companies more power and support... make them actually reform and simplify their processes. Design a way for the billing and the insurance companies to work together for the same goal... which I'm assuming is money all around.

In this process, I found another claim receipt that we hadn't received a bill yet for either. Thankfully, this was a provider in Appleton for like $10. I didn't even ask them for a reason... just told them to send me the bill. It's so much easier to deal with people locally than in California. :p

It's a good thing Joel is worth all this. :)

Turbo.

2010-06-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

Hah. Made you look. She has been super cute lately though. Finally getting "sit" down.

Nothing much going on lately. I take that back, it's been busy... but the business is picking up a bit. I got all caught up with my accounting software, and can actually navigate through there. Now onto my business plan, which has been on the to-do list since, well, starting the Eseed class this last January. The biggest motivation there is a $750 tuition reimbursement for an accepted business plan... however, I've heard that's really hard to get it accepted by the Small Business Development office in Oshkosh. Worth a shot, anyway.

Sud is coming home Saturday... that will be great to have her around all the time again. :)

Ps. You're welcome for the quick nap.. I know, a very snooze post.

Red was an option.

2010-06-08T18:30:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend

2010-06-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Saturday, we painted the kitchen.

Sunday was Mary Jo's 60th birthday.

After supper that night, Lana and Suz had organized a surprise birthday party for her... she had no idea!

We were treated to some amazing cake... Love C. Pheifer's cakes!

Monday we went to Door county...

Organized? Or not?

2010-06-04T10:31:00.000-05:00

On my desk, there are 4 notepads.

Three have completely separate to-do lists on them.

The fourth is my grocery list.

Thank goodness there's quite a few things crossed off. :)

I heart google.

2010-06-02T23:08:00.001-05:00

... because Baseman Studios Photography shows up on page one of "neenah senior photographer" search, and page two of "neenah wedding photographer" search.

Mini-celebration for me. :)

Ps. Warm, fuzzy moment. Joel picked me flowers. :)

My younger brother is amazing, again.

2010-06-02T15:12:00.002-05:00

His barbershop group... he's the one 3rd from the left, singing melody.

My younger brother is amazing.

2010-06-02T13:35:00.005-05:00

This is just him... not the pic though.

This is him with one of his friends.

Wait, I have a blog?

2010-05-26T12:06:00.016-05:00

Sorry folks.

This May has really kept me busy... I haven't even looked at blogs for a couple weeks... sorry to all of you who depend on me to keep up with your lives... ;)

Here's May: bullet style.

I finished up my entrepreneurial class on the 10th. We had a mini "graduation" type ceremony. We have until July to turn in our finished business plans.. so of course, mine isn't done yet. I have all the preliminaries done to start working on my financial worksheets, however, that's just not happening yet.

The first week of May, Joel started working on our floor. And my really good friend, Cheree, came up from Missouri to experience the worst first week of May ever in Wisconsin history. Freezing cold, windy, rainy, and even snow.

I started working with an entrepreneurial assistance small business. They've help me set up QuickBooks so far, will train me farther how to use it, work with my taxes, teach me how to pull reports and decipher what's on them, etc... Basically taking the entrepreneurial class a step farther and holding my hand a bit longer. ;) It's nice to feel like someone's on your side, though.

I've been busy doing things like switching phones, attending sweet Neenah HS Orchestra concerts, taking Turbs to the vet... She has some sort of yeast in her ears, but if you ask me, the ear drops I'm giving her aren't helping, but are making her ears more itchy. She's also deadbeat... don't know if that's from the heat or what. She sleeps the entire day, and has no enthusiasm for anything.Acts like she's 8 years old instead of 8 months.

We camped out at Don and Karen's making cookies for Iron Bridge with Sarah, Mariah, Monica & Sheldon, and Adam.

We drove out to Iowa last weekend with Gma and Gpa K. for Blair's graduation. Lots of fun times, hot, muggy weather, and it was great to be with the family again!

As you probably know, Joel's Grandpa Richard Baseman passed away yesterday: Tuesday the 25th. Another faithful life called home to rest. He was greatly loved by his children, grand-children, and great-grand-children, as well as many friends, neighbors, and others in the community.

Wedding season begins for me this weekend, photography-wise! I'm so very sorry to miss Grandpa Baseman's funeral, but there's something to be said for sticking to a contract. One of my really good friends from high school is getting married back in Iowa this Friday evening, the 28th.

So that's about all for May that I can think of... it's been busy, and a little crazy without my kitchen! Finally got the stove back in Monday night, so it's been awesome to have that again. :)

Think twice.

2010-05-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

Read this, I know I did.

Teehee.

2010-04-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

Check these out!

One of made me think of Mir, can you guess which one?

Something "postable"....

2010-04-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Finally...

Sold the Buick a while back... we didn't steal a Bonneville, just the Buick's replacement, if you were wondering. Joel put it up on craigslist, got an email that night, and sold it the next morning. Sold to a guy who owns a junkyard, but better than nothing. (Sorry for the Bberry photo...)

These two are from the long weekend spent at Mom and Dad's when Joel put a floor in for them.. We took the cube truck out there.. Our shoulders is one of Turbs' favorite riding spots in a vehicle. My favorite riding spot was the cabin behind the seats. ;)

This was the other night... she only sat still enough for this shot. Absolutely cute. :)

Before today's haircut.... (I love her hair this way... however, I don't love "dingleberries," so the hair had to go.)

After the haircut. I always forget how long and tall she is. :)

In other news, we got the letter from the insurance company today about the big helicopter claim dispute. Big surprise, "our claim was processed correctly the first time." In fact, they said they even over paid the provider by over $2600.00, but they weren't going to re-claim the funds because then our responsibility would go up. Gee, thanks, you're throwing in $2600 extra on an almost $27,000 claim? How thoughtful. They also "sympathize with us and understand our frustration." Ooo. Just got warm fuzzies. However, it's out of their control because they "tried to contact the provider, but received no response," and it was processed according to our benefit plan/policy. I'm overwhelmed with their generosity.

Looks like we attack the helicopter company next. Or just give them $20/mo for the next 87 years. (Heh. 87.)

Joel brought some wood home from work... maybe we'll be getting new floors in our kitchen/hallway? :) That's the only part on the main floor besides the bathroom that's not wood.

I also have a flash that's supposed to be arriving today with some other accessories.. can't wait to experiment and get practiced up with that!

Turbs.

2010-04-20T23:31:00.001-05:00

This is from a few months back (Jan/Feb)... but I think it's hilarious. :)