And this is what I know....

1)I am grateful for my health, my children, my family and my dear husband.
2)It is amazing what one small thing can do to change a person's life.  Mine and others.


So wow, two months since my last post....hum...how did that happen?  Well, there was the Blue Ribbon Pepfest at school that I was the chair of, there was the cocktail party, Thanksgiving, 6 Seniors that needed pictures, Christmas prep, a work trip to San Francisco and well, playing in the snow, snuggling, and fun times with friends and fam. 

So one of the seniors I took photos of said I could use them on my blog/website.  Name withheld, this gal was so spirited, so good with her body and her poses, such a blast to work with.

And then there are just the random everyday adventures we partake in...you know things like rock climbing, fossil hunting, alligator petting, snowball fights,"Star of the Week", piano recitals....the good stuff.

Wishing you the best in 2013.  The blog may go to the wayside because I have lots of things keeping me busy these days. 

Did I mention.....

I have a thing for Willie Nelson?  Seriously.

This week has just been extraordinary.  Just trying to keep a level head, breathe, plow through, raise money for MDA, be glad I have healthy children and an understanding husband and thankful I have found a hobby that might actually do some good.   It is amazing what you can see from behind a camera lens.  Albeit I hold back tears a lot and sometimes they don't stay in very well.  

Sunday I spent the day photographing five high school seniors that couldn't afford to have pictures done.  It was my idea. I talked to someone at the high school and within in two days, I had five appointments booked.  (I kind of want this idea to explode....like big time.)  One girl's mom came with us and I begged her to get in to a photo.  She told me she had never had her photo taken before.  Really.  She is in immigrant working in the US, the night shift, her daughter is at home every night by herself. Living in low income housing.  This is America.  She was so shy in front of the camera but her love for her daughter was so immense, you could see it the way she looked at her.  That is beauty. 

Two of the other seniors, were twins, they had just moved here from the middle east and told me about the struggles of dealing with the kids at the school not being nice to them. They were just grateful they had their twin to hang out with.   When I showed them some of the photos, they literally squealled with excitement. 

Then Tuesday, in a very very last minute proposition, the MDA asked me to help out with photography at their Muscle event.  Again, really, how can you say no?  These kids, all wheelchair bound, so excited to meet their favorite sports stars and their parents looking only at "victories" not the "problems", it sure puts things in perspective for you.  Enjoy this great song.  Breathe.  Be grateful. 

Today:

“Be yourself, don’t take anyone’s shit, and never let them take you alive.” 

Why yes I do like rap music!

I have been watching this(it might partially be due to my love for thrift stores)...but Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are awesome.  It was like two years ago, they played a small bar in Minnesota.  A few months later, they sold out First Avenue.  November 2012, they have two sold out shows at First Avenue.  Oh and did I mention they support Gay Marriage (how cool are they??)

Update

*alert. new photos on the sugar jets blog*

Just blurting this out

Nothing is sacred anymore, is it?  We have to go in, tear up, destroy, make new, plasticize, disintegrate and THINK LATER.  Everyday I get a notice about all of the FDA food recalls and let me tell, there are sometimes 3 per day. (Should you like to get on that list, it can be found here.  Since 9/24, there have been 10 recalls, in 3 days.)  Yes, we need to eat but what are we doing???  We are making food faster, with more weird stuff, making people sicker, not monitoring as carefully, all the while spurning farmers, and raw milk providers and organic farms.  Where are priorities?

We are using reclaimed sewage water to ski on.  So we can SKI!  God forbid that a huge infection breaks out or that people get seriously ill (possibly die), just as long as we can pipe in our shitty water and ski (all the while tearing up a beautiful mountain), that is all that matters.  Again, nothing is sacred. 

We don't need that oil on that untouched land....we need that land. 

We don't need all those weird Barbie doll creatures....we just need kids to play.

I guess I am just getting more old-fashioned as I get older.  And no, I am not perfect, but I just long for a time when things were simpler.

For Birdie

Aren't these amazing????  Lettered birdhouses.

 They can be found here.

Pinterest.HA!

Austria, September 2012

I had the good fortune of getting to go to Vienna for work.  First off, "Jet Lag" it is real.  I thought it was just a term for being tired but it is really this very odd sensation of feeling just off, tired, smudgy...so after about two days, I was back to my old self.

Anyways, my first night there, I stayed at this boutique hotel near the airport.  They had a little bar in the place with a limited menu.  So with my hotel room, I got a free glass of white wine.  This wine is called Gruner Vetliner and MY GOD...it is delicious and cheap.  I asked for another glass and it was 1.90E, which is like $2.50US.  That is unheard of in US restaurants.  If I wasn't so jet lagged I probably would have just bought a bottle.  For dinner I got a tomato bisque and some sausage....all super delicious and tasty.  The whole meal with wine, about $11USD.  There is a lot to be said about the presentation of food and the meal here that we don't see as much of in the US.  I mean, I was at a little tiny bar and the barmaid would be bring me a sprig of fresh grapes with each glass of wine and a fresh napkin.

Then for breakfast, seriously, it was heaven.  I don't remember the price, I think like $12USD.

A ton of breads.  A ton of different cheeses. Smoked trout and salmon.  Yogurts and muesli and NUTELLA.  I really can't figure out how I got to the age of 37 and never tried nutella.  I ate it on croissant and it was like time stood still.  And so begins my obsession with nutella (side note: did you on Pinterest there are all these recipes for making and using nutella?)

So off to the big city of Vienna I went as we cabbed over (in a smoky cab, yak!) the Danube River, riffed with graffiti, which is something I kind of like.

My hotel, The Levante Parliament, I found it on a website called Tablet Hotels which specializes in boutique and luxury hotels.  I was a able to get a 25% discount for booking more than 3 nights and I got to stay at this hip little place for less than what it would have cost to stay at one of the branded hotels  (oh and they had cute little Ritter chocolates on the bed and a rainfall shower).

The city of Vienna is amazing.  It is beautiful and old but yet very sophisticated and it is very obvious that it has held through the recession tide because there were a ton of high end luxury stores (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes, etc.) I love that you can walk a block and find a massive fountain or statue and then another block and find a museum or see a horse drawn carriage.  I adore how worldly and culturally diverse it was.  Lastly, the transportation was amazing, small fuel efficient cars, bicycles, trains and scooters were everywhere.

Fun things to note:

1)People still actively wear lederhosen and it is not very cheap to purchase a pair. (A shop over by the conference had them for 250E).  It was fantastic to see that tradition has not died out there.

2)The Naschmarkt is a spice/food/trinket market and it was amazing.  So much variety, so many good smells, I wish I could have sat and ate there all day.

2)Two scoops of Nutella ice cream is only 2Euros and yes I did eat it every single day and yes I did gain at least five pounds while there. Oh and I did I mention I want to start my own portable ice cream cart business?

3)Loved all the graffiti and signs in German (Auchtung!).

4) I got see the Klimt collection, as in the "The Kiss" and it was awe-inspiring.(no photos allowed at the Belvedere.)

Lastly, I thought this trip would appease the travel bug but it was just a starter drug...and now I am hooked.  Up next:  Tuscany, Greece, Thailand, Malaysia, Costa Rica (HA!  I wish.) But definitely Florida in the spring, Glacier next summer...but there has to be a passport-using trip in there somewhere.

WHAT IS ON YOUR LIST????

Apostle Islands, Lake Superior