Valerie and Bryan

NEW BLOG - See below!

2011-04-02T18:22:00.001-05:00

This blog is CLOSED - I will no longer be updating it.

Please change your bookmarks to:

www.lightwavefoto.com

You will find us there!

Thanks,

Summer Grades / Fall Semester / & Phi Theta Kappa

2010-09-17T17:46:00.003-05:00

I just realized that I hadn't mentioned how the summer semester went... It was great! I had enrolled for 9 hours (3 classes) and all of those were done via distance learning. I completed both GOVT 2305 & 2306 (US Government & State/Local Government) and PSYC 2301 (Intro to Psychology). I'm happy to report that I made A's in both Government classes and a B in the Psychology class.

The Fall semester started four weeks ago. I am enrolled for 15 hours (which is 4 classes). I actually go to the campus (ACC-Northridge) for 3 of my classes on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and the other class is via distance learning.

My school days are really long but at least I do have some breaks in between classes. Macroeconomics from Noon to 1:20; Spanish I from 2:50 to 5:05; and Physical Geology from 7:00 to 9:45. My distance learning class is English Comp 2 (Analyzing Short Stories).

I am really enjoying all of my classes!

Tonight at 7:00 I am headed over to the campus for a Phi Theta Kappa induction ceremony. I'm already a member of PTK (honor society) from my previously community college work at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas.. about 10 years ago. But since I did so well this summer with my GPA, I got invited to the Austin Community College chapter of PTK. It'll be a great networking and leadership group as well as opening doors to more scholarships and funds for school.

Our Body - The Universe Within - AMAZING!

2010-09-17T17:30:00.002-05:00

I have been hearing about this exhibit at the University of Texas Stark Center for a while now. There are billboards all over town about it, especially near the campus and along I-35. Last week while we were down at the Harry Ransom Center for an exhibit with a couple of other board of directors (of APPA), I mentioned it during dinner. Our Chairman of the Board, Tracey, (I guess she's really "Chairwoman"), said that she would love to see it too. So, she and I made a date to go this morning since this coming Sunday is the last day.

We headed downtown to the campus early so that we could get there shortly after the opening at 10:00 a.m. This was the first time we had been to the Stark Center which is located in the North End Zone Building (Red McCombs Red Zone) at the Darrell K Royall Memorial Stadium. This is where the Longhorns play football of course. It's really a beautiful place.

Of course, no cameras were allowed inside the center but that doesn't matter. I wouldn't have wanted to photograph this anyway.

It was absolutely fascinating to see the human body in this way. I mean every single part, organ by organ, muscle by muscle, bone by bone, sliced in slivers 0.5 inches each horizontally from head to toe, sliced in slivers 1 inch each vertically, the fetus from 2-3 months and up, every thing. This exhibit was not for the squeamish by any means. It was amazing! All I kept saying was WOW!

I am really glad that I went to see this. It was extremely educational and enlightening.

Go read all about it at http://www.ourbodytheuniversewithin.com/

Our 4th Anniversary (09/16/2010)

2010-09-17T17:23:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary yesterday.. well, sort of! With him working all day and me being at school until 10:00 p.m., there wasn't a whole lot of celebrating. But we did enjoy some time in the hot tub just relaxing and talking.

Bryan had these really beautiful stargazer lillies sent to me and it made me cry when I got them. He is so sweet and thoughtful. I am such a lucky woman.

Well what do you get the guy who really has everything he could need... gourmet items to put on a homemade pizza! I couldn't think of anything else. And he loved the idea! Bryan makes a really awesome homemade pizza and since he loves to cook, we'll have a really yummy pizza next week when our schedules are a little more flexible!

P.S. This picture sucks! I took it with my Blackberry! NOT exactly pro quality by any means! LOL

Mom's 61st Birthday

2010-08-07T21:36:00.005-05:00

My Mom with my niece Meredith (Jarrod's daughter) for those of you that were at our wedding, you will remember her as the flower girl who lost her hoop skirt!!

L to R: Me, sis-in-law Caroline (Barrett's wife), sis-in-law Kim (Jarrod's wife)

L to R: Bryan, my brothers: Jarrod & Barrett

L to R: my Mom (Evelyn), Bryan, Me, nephew Gabriel, neice Emma (Barrett's children)

We had all of my immediate family here at our house today to celebrate my mom's 61st birthday. Tomorrow is actually her birthday but Saturday was the best day to get together. We had a great spread of chicken & beef fajitas, rice, beans, tortillas, and all of the fixings. We had yummy chocolate cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes from our bakery friend, Anji, at Blue Note Bakery. We had a great time visiting!

Orchids from Bryan!

2010-08-07T21:34:00.003-05:00

On Friday, Bryan had these beautiful Dendrobian Orchids delivered from ProFlowers! Aren't they gorgeous? I love the color and it is always so nice to have fresh flowers in the house. Thanks honey - I love you too!

My favorite Dunahoo aunts!

2010-07-29T17:26:00.004-05:00

1975

07-24-2010

Last Saturday, Bryan and I attended my cousin Krystin's wedding in Temple, Texas. While at the reception, my other cousin, Shaila, and I were sitting across the table from our two aunts, Brenda & Marsey. We were laughing about this old photo of the four of us from 1975 and thought it would be fun to take an updated photo. So, 35 years later, here's what we all look like!

L to R: Brenda Dunahoo Marshall, Shaila Woods Butler, Marsey Dunahoo Raushenberg, & ME!

Brenda & Marsey are my dad's two baby sisters. When grandpa & grandma Dunahoo passed away (1974 & 1975), Brenda & Marsey were still in high school and came to live with my dad & mom and me & my brother. Brenda got married and moved out on her own a while later but Marsey was with us through graduation. We have always been very close. These are two of the most fun aunts a girl could have! My cousin Shaila is dad's other sister, Judy's, daughter and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding.

It was just fun to all get together and visit.

Bryan's Artwork - Janice & Kenny's Patio

2010-07-17T17:42:00.002-05:00

For Father's Day, Janice (Bryan's mom), asked us to have this metal print made for their patio as a gift to Kenny (Bryan's dad). Bryan took this photo at night with the fish eye lens out in front of our house in the cul-de-sac. You can see our house on the right. The colors are really pretty and Kenny really liked it when Bryan showed him on the computer. So, secretly, Janice had us order this as a surprise. The artwork is about a 20x30 but it looks small in this picture. I think it looks really nice on their enclosed patio! I really enjoy our visits to their house - it's sort of like a vacation to get away and the patio is really peaceful and serene.

BLT Popovers - Delicious!

2010-07-17T17:37:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Bryan and I were watching a show on Food Network about the best appetizers in the country. The BLT Steak house in NYC apparantly makes these wonderful delights! We googled the recipe and Bryan baked them up. He's a much better baker than I am - I have heard many stories about him helping his Mamaw with baking bread and other yummy things. So, this was right up his alley. They were really wonderful. Here's a link to the recipe and some photos. Oh, they are topped with Gruyere cheese!

Anybody Want to Buy My Scrapbooking Stuff?

2010-07-16T13:00:00.010-05:00

I've tried to put this on Craigslist a couple of times and I haven't had any takers yet. Basically I have been cleaning out closets and nooks & crannies. I don't do any scrapbooking and I haven't in several years. Alot of this stuff is new and hasn't been opened. If you know of anyone who may be interested, I'll entertain all reasonable offers. I had it listed for $125 for everything. I just want it out of my hair!!

Hedwig McLeod (1927-2010)

2010-06-29T10:18:00.003-05:00

Please take a moment to read my Grandmother's obituary. Thanks.

Catch Up!

2010-06-29T09:50:00.002-05:00

Wow, I've really been falling down on the whole "blogging" process. I just haven't worked it into my schedule. There's been a lot of changes going on around here that is for sure. Let me see if I can sum it up and get everyone caught up that might not already know..

January - work work and work... some photography - a wedding to photograph.. a reception to attend.. and a bridal show to exhibit at.. we won best booth award.. it was massive.. you can see it here.

February - work work and work... more photography - mostly consultations with new brides, open houses at a couple of venues, and album design like crazy.. and we celebrated 3 years in our new house.. my job as an escrow officer got increasingly worse - that is more work, less hours (30 per week - cut since Dec 1) and poor management.. can we just say an abundance of stress? But the best part of the month was that I was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Austin Professional Photographers Association!

March - work work and work... more stress... back to 40 hours per week - only because I had to beg for it. By the end of the month I was completely exhausted and brain dead - so much so that I called in sick on the last day of the month (busy time and I've never done that before) and I went to the doctor.

April - no work for me.. on leave for the entire month - due to the stress. While I was out I went ahead and had my left foot surgery done - double bunionectomy. Might as well kill too birds with one stone. Also while I had 4 1/2 weeks off, I had a lot of time to do some thinking about what I really want to do. After some long discussions with Bryan and weighing the pros and cons of everything under the moon, I decided to go back to college and finish a degree. Bryan is behind me 100%. I enrolled for the upcoming Summer term at Austin Community College for 9 hours. My plan is to complete a two year Associate degree in Business Administration and then transfer to The University of Texas at Austin for a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in International Business. The IB program at the McCombs School of Business at UT is one of the best in the country.

May - I worked only four and a half days and turned in my resignation - it was just too much - not for me and the stress was still there. Time to make a drastic change. I won't go into the details but this was a long time coming. I spent the month taking care of me for a change - mentally and physically. I started going to the gym every morning and working out - I feel great. I breathe more and listen to the birds outside. I am at peace in my world. My grandmother suffered a heart attack on the 20th. Her daughter (my aunt) passed away after a long illness on the 25th. Granny got out of the ICU and was back home two days before my aunt's services, only to have to be lifeflighted back after 24 hours. She remained in ICU, sedated, and unconscious throughtout the end of the month.

June - Bryan has been working a tremendous amount of overtime the last couple of months while he can and while it's available. I have warned him not to burn out.. if he wants to work six days a week for two weeks in a row, then he must take off his 3 days on the 3rd week. He's doing great! The summer term at ACC started and so far so good for me. I'm enjoying it and I've spent alot of time studying. It's not my first time in college - I already at about 64 hours of credit but not all will apply to this degree. It has been a long while since I took this much at one time - but I can do it! Granny remained in ICU for a few weeks and was moved to a rehab center next door to the hospital. She was there two days when she went into insulin shock and was taken back to the ICU at the hospital. That was on the 17th. She was never alert after that and was on a ventilator for almost a week. She had no signs of any brain activity and on the 23rd at 3pm, my mother made the decision to disconnect her so she would not suffer like that any longer. She lived for about 45 minutes to an hour and quietly and peacefully went to be with Jesus. We buried her this passed Saturday the 26th and Bryan was one of the pallbearers. I'll post her obiturary in a seperate posting - take some time to read it, she lived through some pretty interesting times. I'll miss her a lot but I know she is with the Lord now.

So, you're all caught up on what's been happening around the Morrison household! Hugs to everyone!

My New Teeth!

2009-12-21T21:13:00.001-06:00

Hey check out my new teeth that I got today! Whoo Hoo!!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T17:05:00.002-06:00

Bryan worked on Thanksgiving Day and the Day After so I drove down to Janice & Kenny's to spend the day with them. We had a great time and the food was awesome as always! I took a little care package back to Bryan that evening and we had Thanksgiving for dinner together.

Rome, Italy - September 2009

2009-11-29T16:49:00.006-06:00

Rome was huge and crowded. Our hotel was located at the Trevi Fountain but our room was actually in the Annex building a couple of blocks away. At first we were a little peeved by this but after we saw how crowded the Trevi Fountain area was all through the day and evening, we were glad to be in the Annex.

We road the subway system alot to get around. It was easy and we had passes for the time we were in Rome so that saved money.

We enjoyed an afternoon of going through the Roman Forum ruins and climbing to the top of Palatine Hill. The views were wonderful of the Colosseum and the Victor Emmanual Memorial. After finishing up at the Roman Forum, we walked down the Via Sacra and over to the Colosseum. The whole time I was in complete awe over the fact that I was walking on the same stones that Julius Caesar walked on.

The Colosseum is a site for sure. What was funny were the guys outside dressed as gladiators who would try to get tourists to pose with them for photos. But watch out, they would want a hefty price for doing it. They are known to be dangerous and sometimes not so nice to unsuspecting tourists. Bryan and I had no problems on our whole trip. We would have been the perfect two to attack considering the shear amount of expensive gear we carried with us. But, let me tell you, we both would have beat the living daylights out of anyone who even tried to snatch something. We were some heavy packing tripod armed people for sure!

We pulled another butt crack of dawn photo shoot at the Trevi Fountain and me in my dress. It was alot of fun and I'm glad that we did it.

Our last day there we mostly stayed at our room and slept. We were exhausted and ready to come home.

We had accomplished what we set out to do on this trip and that was to do a little recon work.. shoot a ton of textures & overlay images that we can use in our business.. see the tip of the iceberg of some different parts of the world.. and figure out what we would like to go back and explore further the next time.

All in all it was an awesome trip and we will see what 2010 brings our way.

Florence, Italy - September 2009

2009-11-29T16:37:00.004-06:00

We took the Eurostar train from Venice to Florence. That was an experience in itself since we made friends with the "Six Witches of Uraguay" along the way! That would be referring to six sisters from Uraguay who were traveling together for a month all over Europe. Four of them sat next to us and the other two were a little further down in the coach but they were all so funny. We had a great time visiting with them. This was a first for me.. riding a train like that. So it was fun.

We got into Florence and only had to walk a couple of blocks to our hotel, the Grand Hotel Minerva in Santa Maria Novella Square. This was by far the best hotel yet! The service was awesome. They even steamed my wedding dress one evening and had it back in the room by the time we returned from dinner. That was great and the price was very reasonable.

It was rainy both days that we were in Florence so we had to be very careful with the camera equipment. I really think we shot the fewest number of images here and because of the rain, I didn't want to go outside in my dress. It was our 3rd anniversary and I wanted to do something really cool. Oh well, we still had Rome.

We enjoyed a couple of nice dinners while in Florence and I had my fill of black truffles. One of my favorite foods in the world but so very expensive and hard to find.

We enjoyed walking the streets and looking at all of the buildings and the people. The architecture is amazing and to thing about how old these cities are is just mind boggling to me. We ventured down to the Arno River and camped out a spot right in the center of a bridge just north of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. We did this two nights in a row to get what we were looking for. While Bryan was doing all of the technical stuff, I was pretty much just sitting on the edge of the bridge watching the people walk by and in awe of the whole place. I never thought in a million years I would ever see the likes of what I had seen in the last 10 days.. and what I still had left to see in the next 4.

Strangers would stop and ask me to take their pictures with their cameras so that the Ponte Vecchio bridge would be in the background. I think I did this about 10 or 12 times. Afterwards I realized that had I charged 5 Euro for each time, I could have had about $75 USD back in my pocket. Oh well.

Venice Italy - September 2009

2009-11-29T16:26:00.004-06:00

After spending the first week in Greece (read the post a few months ago!).. we flew over to Italy for the second week of our trip. By the time we arrived in Venice, it was almost sunset. We made our way from the airport over to the island and took the public boat right down the Grand Canal. After finding our hotel (Hotel Kette) and getting settled in, we managed to find a quick bite to eat and a liter of wine. Sleep was the main thing in store that first night so we crashed pretty quickly.

The next morning, we got up early, made our way back up the Grand Canal, hopped a bus to the train station on the mainland, rented a car, and drove an hour to the Italian Alps. We visited one of our wedding album manufacturer's facility in Arba/Sequals. It was a beautiful drive and we have a great time getting there. Coming back was another story since I missed the exit for Venezia off the A4 Autostrada and had to continue on for quite a ways until the next exit. All of a sudden, I was a little turned around and a lot out of control. I had a meltdown. Poor Bryan had to witness it. We finally made it back to the train station to return the car and back to the island we went.

We did as much as we could that evening and the next morning because we had to leave that second day around noon to go to Florence. So, I definitely want to go back to Venice so we can spend a little more time there exploring. Here are a few images from our trip. Those of you that are on Facebook can see these plus a few more on my Facebook page.

Been A Long Time!

2009-11-29T16:24:00.001-06:00

Well sorry folks that it's been forever since I've posted. I'm not really good at this whole blogging thing it seems.. but i'm going to try to get caught up on some things soon. So, here goes...

We Are Home!

2009-09-21T13:57:00.001-05:00

home safe and sound. jet lagged, but home.
i'll try to do a little ditty about the 2nd week of our trip in a couple of days.

First Trip Update (Athens to Thessaloniki, and in between)

2009-09-12T12:12:00.006-05:00

Mara & Nik

Nik hammering some nails.

Me with Mara & Arthur

Me & Bryan hanging out (self portrait)

one of the monasteries - would have to look up the name.. not sure right now.

Our Hotel in Athens - Hotel Electra Palace

Bryan setting up a shot in front of the Parthenon

Mara & Arthur's house at the bottom of the rocks.

Bryan, an accidental self portrait mis-fire at the monastery!

Look! the Greek's invented Legos! (on top of the Acropolis)

Fresh coconut in Athens

The Acropolis from our hotel

Well I am finally sitting down to take a break to write about our trip so far. It's been interesting to say the least. No hiccups really just one last minute change of plans. I wouldn't say that it's been a cultural shock.. but it's been an eye opener for sure. My eyes have really always been open to just how good we Americans have it in the states. We are fatter, more boisterous, and apparantly there's only a few things that are important in life to us.. house, car, and money. But hey isn't that the American dream after all?

We landed in Athens on Tuesday and I was so glad to get off of the airplane. The flight was uneventful and as pleasant as any 10 hour flight could be. Before boarding in Newark, the asian boarding agent announced that we would all be boarding for "Continental Fright 104" in just a few moments. "Fright" !! Do we really want to get on this plane?! All of our bags made it without any problems so after gathering up, we headed outside to the public transport ticket office. No need to drop 40 or 50 Euros on a cab ride at a minimum. Two bus tickets for the X95 to Syntagma Square was less than 7 Euros. Not a bad deal. We could have paid full price, but why waste our money on that. We didn't skimp on our lodging but certainly weren't coming here to spend everything we had either. After a short walk from the bus stop to our hotel, mostly downhill - LOL, we checked in at the Hotel Electra Palace. I must say, I loved this hotel, except the bed was way too hard! It was beautiful and the staff was so friendly, well, except for the bugged-eye guy at the reception desk on our 2nd day.. he reminded me of Telly Savalas! I just googled him and I didn't even realize he was born to Greek parents in NYC! LOL. I swear this guy must have been a relative. He was just a little too rude on the second morning (Wednesday) when I asked about the train timetable to Kalambaka. He finally looked it up and told us there was only one train at 8:20 a.m. the next morning.

Tuesday evening we just walked around the Plaka area and found a great little hole in the wall joint that had cheap Gyros. They were awesome too! Lots of street vendors and tons of suvenior stands - all of which we just passed on. Don't anyone think we are bring back a bunch of cheap crap! LOL - we can do really awesome photos but not the typical suveniors. Sorry!

Wednesday we spent the entire day out. We hit most of the sites that we intended too and had a really good dinner on our way down from the Acropolis. We were pooped when we got back to the hotel and decided there was no way we were going to get up at the butt crack of dawn, take the metro to the train station, buy a ticket and get on the train by 8:20! It was about 3:30 p.m. back home so I just picked up my cell phone and called up my travel agent. He immediately reserved us a car to pick up at the airport by noon the next day and return it on Saturday in Thessaloniki. It cost a little more than it would have to have taken the train but I am so glad that we did it. Even though I had to drive this little tin can for over 5 hours from Athens to Kalambaka, it was still the best choice.

After breakfast on Thursday we hiked back up to Syntagma Square and caught the same bus back to the airport. We had a little confusion finding which car rental company to go to but it didn't take long to figure it out when they were all side by side. After making a quick call to let Mara & Arthur know we were not coming by train, we loaded up in the little car and off we went. It was about 12:15 p.m.

I have never driven in a foreign country. I cannot speak nor read the language here but the signs are pretty self explanatory. Bryan was the navigator and the GPS on our Blackberry was right on target. I also haven't driven a standard on a regular basis in almost 10 years but it's like riding a bicycle. I certainly miss the power behind the 5.7L DOHC 32V i-Force V8 engine of the Toyota Tundra at home. That's 381 horsepower to be exact! Much better than the Chevrolet Matiz I was sitting behind the wheel of. Oh well, I knew it would be tiny and there would be no place to park a big truck - this is Europe after all.

I guess it was about 5:30 in the evening when we made it to the Koka Roka. We pretty much drove right up to it. It was really nice to finally meet Mara & Arthur, and of course, Nik. He is really a cute little boy. I split a beer or two with Arthur and chatted about this that and the other.

On Friday, Bryan and I drove up into the Meteora. We didn't visit any of the monasteries specifically. That is, we didn't go inside them. Not really our thing. But we did enjoy driving up the rocks and photographing some really cool stuff. It was really starting to get crowded around Noon - there were tons of tour buses everywhere. Time to head back down for a late lunch and a much needed nap. We took a little walk down into the town later in the evening and turned in relatively early.

Rain was the wake up call this morning. We left Kalambaka about 9:30'ish and headed toward Thessaloniki. I don't even remember what time we got here. It rained most of the way. The weather is really nice here. It's probably 70-something. The drive was pretty interesting since the road tunneled through many mountains. We again took the public bus from the airport to our hotel just off the harbour and Aristotaleous Square. We are spending tonight at the Hotel Le Palace. We have an awesome room on the corner of the building with a great view of the streets and intersection below.

After settling in, we took a walk for a few hours around the area and had some great pizza at Locanda. Of course we are back in the room and Bryan has been photographing with the fish eye lens out the balcony. He just went down to this little bakery on the corner and came back with some to die for chocolate! Guess I had better go enjoy it!

Here's some pics from the first week. Tomorrow (Sunday) we fly out to Venice, Italy!

Mostly Packed & Ready to Go!

2009-09-04T21:18:00.001-05:00

Well, it's Friday night and I made through the week at work. Bryan has been off since Wednesday. We are super excited about our trip. I wish we were leaving tomorrow morning but we don't fly until Monday morning. Stay tuned as I will try to blog during the trip from time to time!
Love you all!
~V

Another Blue Ribbon for Lightwave Foto!

2009-08-21T08:42:00.002-05:00

On Monday night I attended the monthly meeting/seminar for Austin Professional Photographers of America. As a member, you may bring one 16x20 print to enter in our monthly Print Competition. All members are eligible to vote for first, second, and third places.

I took in my "Rhapsody" print from our June 6th wedding and brought home the Blue Ribbon! Several of the more experienced photographers, the masters, literally they have the designation of Master Craftsman from PPA, all commented on what a stunning image it was. Talk about a boost of confidence! They have been encouraging me for months to continue to enter my prints and compete because it just makes you a better photographer.

The cool thing is that now on the Austin PPA website, my print is featured for a month. So go check it out! You can click on the print and read the story behind it. Also, by clicking on Print Winners, you can click August 2009 and see a picture of me with the print and the 2nd & 3rd place winners. Oh, you'll also find me in May 2009 too if you haven't seen those.

And of course, everyone knows that I could not have done it if it weren't for Bryan! He held the reflector for me in this shot! It takes the both of us - and we are a team! Sometimes it's his concept, sometimes it's mine.

Enjoy!

Late Poster

2009-07-19T14:47:00.002-05:00

Man, I'm getting worse and worse at this keeping up with the blogging business.. We had a great 4th of July weekend. And, we've been busy ever since. Weddings and bridal shoots. It looks like our mid-summer will come to a crawl until the end of August - which is fine by us considering how stinkin' hot it is outside! Next wedding is 8/29. Then well shoot 9/5 & 9/6.. and then the big trip across the pond the very next day. It's going to be hectic but alot of fun.

I finally have some closure on the boob lump.. apparently it's nothing. Report from the MRI said that there were no lesions, no secondary signs of malignancy, yadda yadda yadda. I'm getting old and since I've never been pregnant, my boobs haven't functioned for the reasons they were given to me - so over time, they start to get dense. I guess better for them to get dense than my head - but who knows that might be next!

Same old same old here. Work and Weddings. I'm converting images right now from the 7/10 wedding and when I finish those, I am going to work on an album design. Bryan is working of course.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Val

Vacation!

2009-07-01T11:27:00.002-05:00

Well, we are officially on vacation... at least until Monday! This morning we loaded up and headed down to San Antonio to Janice & Kenny's. And, right now, I'm in charge of stirring the infamous "Cheesy Poblano Pepper Soup" while Bryan and his mom went to the store; Kenny's at physical therapy; and Julie's at work. I thought this would also be a good time to read up on what everyone else has been up to and do some work on the laptop. There is no end to that.

We are looking forward to meeting up with Tim & Rhonda and I think Jon & Kelly too, for dinner tonight in New Braunfels. We haven't seen them in a long time so it will be nice to visit.

Tomorrow we are grillin' and chillin' !!! That's why Bryan went to the store with Janice - he doesn't think she will get the steaks that he wants to grill LOL.. he's so picky.

On Friday, Bryan and I will be headed down to McAllen for a couple of days. We have some friends there that we will be doing some maternity photos for... so you can bet we've got all the camera gear and the studio lights all packed up with us today. We're going to stay Friday night and Saturday night at the Embassy Suites there so we can take advantage of the pool and relax a bit.

Then it'll be back to the daily grind on Monday.. but the days are counting down until the big trip across the pond. Can't wait! I'll post some pics and stuff later.

love to you all!!
~V&B

a recent wedding

2009-06-15T23:05:00.002-05:00

from the other blog.. the business side.. this is my favorite from June 6th... for a better look, go to www.lightwavefoto.com/blog

this reminds me of something out of 1940's gangster movie...

Check out Lightwave Foto's New Look!

2009-06-03T19:19:00.002-05:00

I've had a few hours to work on our website this evening and have updated it with the new Main Logo and the branding for each line. Lots of stuff is on the horizon for us and we are working really hard to move forward on several projects.

Our recent renovation of the upstairs studio/office space turned out excellente! I'll try to snap some pics and post soon.

We have 12 weddings booked for 2009 so far and several already for 2010. That's a huge jump for us in comparison to all the previous years. We believe that 2009 is going to be an exciting year and we are certainly looking forward to the remaining 6 months. If 2009 is any indicator of things to come, then I hope 2010 will be twice as good!

Tomorrow evening, Bryan and I will celebrate 3 years of marriage with many many more to come. That's the legal anniversary in case any of you are wondering. We'll celebrate again in September (16th) while we're in Italy. I could not ask for anyone better than Bryan as my loving husband, loyal best friend, secret confidant, and the only person I know that can truly put up with my IED issues (intermittent explosive disorder). Fortunately, we are one in the same!

Love to everyone - have a great week and I'll try to update more often!

Oh one other thing. On Monday, they did not do the needle core biopsy that was planned. After the breast surgeon did an examination he determined that it is not a cyst that has any fluid in it so it would not make sense to stick me! Yah! Instead, we are waiting to schedule an MRI. He said that if there is any abnormality or cancerous stuff, the MRI should pick it up. That's the non-evasive choice right now which is ok with me. The other two choices were either Surgical Biopsy of the tissue or "do nothing". I didn't really like either of those two choices so I went with the MRI. I'll keep everyone updated as I find out anything new. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. My spirits are high and I'm not worried about it right now. Just taking it one step at a time.

Website & Server problems

2009-05-28T18:27:00.002-05:00

geez.. we've had some weird problems.. i posted two sneak peak weddings up last night on the Expressions blog and today our webhost did an upgrade.. apparantly they pulled a backup and i lost what i had posted.. but, luckily, I'm able to repost it.

So, if you have not had a chance to visit the Expressions by Lightwave Foto blog then please do!

Also, we hope you like the new logo. Each line of photography now has it's own unique brand and logo; and, the main Lightwave Foto logo got a facelift too!

We'll introduce them to you little by little.

New Stuff

2009-05-27T23:22:00.002-05:00

not much going on but weddings...

check out www.lightwavefoto.com/blog

for a few images

Austin PPA Annual Print Competition

2009-05-21T19:25:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, I attended the annual print competition for our local PPA guild and am proud to announce that I brought home for Lightwave Foto one First Place, a Second Place (both in the Wedding Category) and a Judge's Choice award.

They just got these results and photos published on their site today and they have me at 1st & 3rd - actually me & Carroll tied for 2nd so there wasn't a third place. But no big deal!

Go to this link for a better look! May 2009 Winners

Bad Luck & Weird Things Come in 3's

2009-05-06T22:04:00.004-05:00

I came home yesterday evening to a green lizard perched inside the front window by the door. I suppose he was waiting to greet me after a long day of work. Unfortunately for him, I don't like lizards and he had to go. He did take a little trek across the dining room floor before I carried him outside on the leg of a dining room chair.

Then, later the same evening, I had a couple leaving that had just booked us for their wedding and there was a snake on the front porch.

If you are wondering what the sign in the window says, well it goes like this:

CAUTION

No Soliciting

Video Surveillance in use

Insured & Protected by Smith & Wesson

We GUARANTEE you will be caught

And now you ask, what's the reason for the sign. Let me tell you! Last Thursday, my next door neighbor's house was broken into sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Bryan was home and said he heard some banging around next to us where their side door to their garage is but figured it was just the man putting something in his garbage can. Little did he know, the thugs were back. They've hit several houses within a few blocks of us in the last couple of months. Now they are hitting in our cul-de-sac. It's a little too close for comfort but what can you really do? We're arming our alarm all the time, got the gun handy, and ain't taking no crap off any strangers.

Oh and to top off the evening last night, we experienced a pretty serious computer crash. Luckily we had our images from the wedding we shot last Saturday backed up to the server. I do that immediately. But all of my initial editing, color correction, cropping, rating, and culling of 997 images went POOF! So I get to do those 8 hours of work all over again. And we have another wedding this Saturday so I'm about to be doubled up quick. Something corrupted the RAID5 array and Bryan had to totally wipe the hard drives... man that sucks!

Update on the Lump

2009-05-06T21:56:00.003-05:00

I had the diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound on Monday. Radiologist says it just looks like thickening of the breast tissue. And that message was relayed to me via the rookie ultrasound operator. I'm waiting a few days until the report and scans get over to my ob/gyn to review. Then I'm considering a needle aspiration to have it tested to make sure. I've read far too many accounts of mammogram and ultrasound bogus conclusions and I'd rather not be caught with my britches down, or rather my bra off. So we'll just wait and see what's next. No news is good news right?

Lovely Lady Humps / Lumps

2009-04-24T20:01:00.003-05:00

Not sure if many of you would even know what that means.. LOL just a few words from a silly song a few years ago.
Well lovely lady lumps.. that's right lumps.. one really large one in my right breast was found yesterday by my OB/GYN.. it's been a little more than a year since I had my first mammogram that turned out just fine. So guess what? We get to do another one! Yippee, I'm so excited and cannot wait to have my boobs squashed between two metal plates. I also get to do an ultrasound at the same appointment.
I'm set for May 11th but I'm on a cancellation call list just in case the imaging center has an opening.
I'm hoping that it's just a cyst from too much caffeine or something like that. But I'm prepared as well as I can be in my mind for the worst. People always say, "ah, don't worry about it. It'll be nothing." You hope it will be nothing but truth be told, I'd rather know for sure really quickly. Let's get it dealt with and get it over it. We'll keep you posted as we find out anything. In the meantime, don't worry, I'm a tough old gal.
~V

Pirates !!

2009-04-14T22:13:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned before on my blog that my good old brother, Jarrod, is a merchant marine and has been for almost 20 years. He's first engineer or second dog in charge of the engine room and all of the mechanical stuff on one of these merchant ships. He's been a Maersk contractor in the past and sailed many a high sea in his young 40 years.
Tonight, he emailed me this first hand account from one of the crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama. I thought I would share this with you all. Some of the acronyms they use are defined as: E/R = engine room; MOB = man over board; 3/M = 3rd mate or 3rd officer; AB = able bodied seaman; ECR = engine control room; C/M = chief mate; EDG = emergency diesel generator.
______________
This is a copy of an email floating around, some of you have already seen this. This is a first hand from one of the crewmembers on The Alabama. For those of us on ships this is interesting info and you should put yourself in their shoes and think about what you would do. For those of you not on ships, this may not make any sense to you, but you may enjoy a version you will not see on TV. RED (my brother!)
______________
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 1:58 PM
To: Maersk Arkansas - 1st Engineer
Subject: from Matt Fisher

Hey Greg
Everyone on here is okay. We're on our way to Mombasa with Navy Protection on board. Captain Phillips is still hostage in the lifeboat with the 4 pirates. I hear they're flying out reliefs for everyone, but I'm not sure what all's going to happen once we get to Mombasa.
Supposedly the FBI is coming out to investigate the crime. Maybe we'll be on the next CSI Somalia.

I wanted to let you know some of the lessons we learned so you guys can better prepare yourselves for something similar.

The only guys actually captured by the pirates were on the bridge: Capt, 3/M,and 2 AB's. I don't really know why they stayed on the bridge until the pirates got up there. Then they had keys to everything and were able to unlock everyone's rooms. The pirates got up to the bridge very quickly once they were onboard. We had a locked cage door over the ladder well from main deck, but it only took a second for them to shoot it off. They then got to the bridge up the outside ladders. By that time we had taken control of the engine and steering down below. Mike stayed in the ECR and the C/M was out on deck tracking the pirates' movement. We kept swinging the rudder side to side.
The pirates' boat capsized, though I'm not sure exactly when or what caused it. After about 20 minutes the engine was killed, I don't know
by whom. At that point I shut off the air bottles and Mike killed power. He was also able to get outside and trip the fuel shutoff for the EDG. I
think this was critical. The pirates were very reluctant to go into the dark. We will be looking at a way to shut off the EDG from the ECR in the future. All the crew had been mustered and secured in the steering gear. Our Pirates didn't have any grenades, so they would have never been able to break in there. The previous day we had welded a pad-eye on the inside of the hatch to the fantail so it was secured from the inside. The only problem with the steering gear was the heat and the shortage of water. In the future we will store food and water in various spots for emergency usage. I think we will also run a fresh water line into the steering gear. We were able to make a run from the steering gear to the E/R water fountain and fill up some empty oil sample bottles we had back there. The C/M was also able to get some fruit and sodas from the galley and drop them down the line standpipe. The pirates sent the 3/M unescorted to go look for crewmembers, so he was able to get away. One of the pirates then went with an AB down to the E/R to look for people. Mike was able to jump him in the dark and we
took him prisoner in the steering gear. No one else came down into the E/R. As the day went on the pirates became desperate to get out of there. Their boat was sunk, and they couldn't get our ship moving. The Captain talked them into taking the MOB boat. The three remaining pirates went down in the MOB boat with Phillips. We were then able to negotiate with them over the radio. We dropped some food, water and diesel to them. We started getting the plant back on line. Unfortunately, the MOB boat wouldn't start. A couple of guys got in the lifeboat and dropped it. They motored over and traded the lifeboat for the MOB boat. We were supposed to
exchange their guy for the Captain, but they ended up keeping him. They motored off in the lifeboat. They had no way of getting back aboard, so we followed them. The Navy showed up a few hours later. We stayed close by for some time, but then the Navy asked us to head out. I heard that several other pirate vessels were heading our way and the Navy wanted us out of the way. That's about it. I'll give you all the details some other time. Just to reiterate the most important points:
1. Have a well fortified location with food and water supply.
2. Kill all the lights.
3. Leave the alarms going, the noise helped cover our movements through the house.
4. Flashlights and radios are very handy, as well as the sound-powered phone.

Anyway, it was a pretty stressful situation. I have to say I am impressed with how the entire crew responded. We didn't have anybody who
wanted to give up. I'm pretty confident that Phillips will end up ok. They have to know that if they kill him they'll be done.

I assume the company will be forced into taking some kind of action to assure our security
from now on.
Hope everything is going well there. I'll talk to you later.
Matt

Travel Plans - Greece & Italy !!

2009-04-10T16:56:00.002-05:00

Well besides the fact that Mara knows we are coming for a visit, I don't think we've told too many folks. In September we will spend 14 days between Greece & Italy. Losing a day of travel in the beginning, we will arrive in Athens, Greece on Tuesday September 8th.

We will spend two nights at the Electra Hotel located in the heart of Athens facing the Greek Parliament. This hotel is within walking distance from the Acropolis.
On Thursday afternoon we will catch the train to Kalambaka! Mara says it's about a 4 hour trip.

I've already checked the availability at the Koka Roka and am told by the innkeeper that if there are no rooms available we will have to bunk up at their house! Not a problem. I'm really looking forward to finally meeting Mara for the first time and Arthur & Nik too of course. We will be in Kalambaka until Sunday September 13th.

We aren't sure of our flight times yet for the 13th.. but the idea is to get from Kalambaka to Thessoliniki so we can catch a flight to Venice, Italy.

Once we arrive in Venice on the 13th, we will be staying at Hotel Kette which is a two minute stroll to Saint Mark's Square. It's away from the heavy tourist area and off a beaten path I guess.

On the 15th we will take a quick train ride to Florence. Our home away from home will be the Grand Hotel Minerva. I am sure that we will be more than comfortable for the two nights we are there.

On Thursday the 17th we will take another train ride to Rome - the end of our whirlwind trip. We will stay until the 20th at the Relais Fontana di Trevi which is located overlooking the Trevi Fountain.

Enough for now since dinner's ready and I've gotta go.

My new bench

2009-04-10T16:47:00.003-05:00

This is a cool bench that I found at a local store. I was able to bargain the price down about $50 off of the tag price. In this picture it is sitting in the living room behind the couch but it has since been moved upstairs in front of a window in the studio.

I really got used to having it behind the couch and now I'm thinking I might need to find something else to put there! Oh, shopping!

The Goal has been Met!

2009-04-10T16:40:00.002-05:00

Actually last Saturday, we booked two more weddings for 2009. That put us up to 11 !!! We are so excited and had no idea that things would take off they way that they have. We've already shot the first one for the year (March 28th) and still have 10 more scheduled. I have consultations set up for this Sunday afternoon and another for Monday evening.

We've been making alot of improvements in our processes and upgrades to our software and equipment. Not to mention the improvements to the studio space/office. The wall is gone and the carpet all put back. We have not decided completely on our decor for the space yet.. but it's coming along.

We have also changed the seating in the media/projection room to match the same sleek modern look of the consultation room. It's amazing what cool stuff Ikea has!

The Wall is Gone!

2009-03-16T21:11:00.004-05:00

We thought we would sleep in a bit on Saturday morning but at 9 a.m. the guys were here to really make a dent in things. We headed out for a fun day around 10 and left them to do their handy work. This is what we came back to.

They were able to remove most of the wall itself and installed beams up above to support the weight of the roof. We only have a small portion of the wall that remains along the exterior side.

The picture really doesn't do well in showing the space. I'll get a better one once we are completely finished.

This week they will come back to do the drywall and stretch the carpet back together. Bryan and I will handle the paint.

Goals

2009-03-09T21:02:00.002-05:00

Going into 2009 we decided that our goal for booked weddings would be 10. With the 10th week of the year already behind us, we are happy to report that we are only 1 away from our goal!

So far our batting average has been 1000... meaning, we have booked every single couple that has walked through our door this year for a consultation and one-on-one. I've got two couples that I met with just recently and I feel very confident that they will book as well.

This is going to be an awesome year and it's only beginning. The momentum is great and I believe it will snow-ball from here! Wish us luck! First wedding of the new year is in two weeks!

Bringing Down The Wall

2009-03-09T20:52:00.002-05:00

By the time I came back downstairs to write this post, the sheetrock on the opposite side had been removed. This is our newest project. After a week of waiting for the contractor to get started with the demo portion, Bryan decided to take matters into his own hands! We are having this one wall removed that is currently located upstairs between what would be a gameroom type area and a bedroom. We have been using the gameroom area as studio space and this particular bedroom as our office. After moving everything out of these two rooms last Sunday in hopes that everthing would get started, we are anxious to get the ball rolling. The idea here is to remove the wall to make the space of course larger (longer) in a sense of shooting distance for the studio backdrops and lighting. We will also be putting in new workspace areas for our computers. I'll post pics as we move along. Worst part of all of this, it's a load bearing wall! Which we knew before Bryan removed the sheetrock. The framer will be putting in a beam up in the attic and who knows what else to make sure that everything remains structurally sound.

The Ponytail Palm

2009-03-09T20:23:00.005-05:00

This is the cutest little plant. Bryan picked it out to go in this new pot by the front door. And just tonight, he added the colored marbles! I really like it because it's different. Look closely and you can see the red dice. Anyone up for a game of marbles?

Consultation Room - Complete

2009-03-09T20:13:00.009-05:00

This room is finally "complete" - at least in our minds it is. A little over a week ago, Bryan put the cabinets in and we purchased the two chairs and small table for the bay window area. I really like having a place for all of our sample albums and printed stuff. The room is now very functional when I am meeting with new clients. And, I've been doing alot of that lately!

The First 12 Days...

2009-02-12T08:39:00.005-06:00

...of February.

We've been busy and I should be ashamed that I haven't posted in so long - but here's what's been happening "the first 12 days"...

2/3 - Bryan and I were invited to display at the Doubletree Hotel's wedding tasting from 6p - 8p. I really enjoy these smaller shows because you have more time to visit with potential brides and they are qualified leads to begin with. From just those 2 hours, I have booked 5 personal studio consultations. That's out of only about 10 total brides.

2/4 - While at work around 10:30 in the morning, a moving company that had been contracted to remove some copiers from our office backed into our truck while it was parked and did about $2,000 worth of damage to it. We received custom racing stripes, a busted tail light, and a bent bumper. Luckily, they are reputable and insured and their name was not "two men and a wagon movers". They have been cooperating and the truck was at the dealership the very next day. I'm in a rental and it should be ready either tomorrow or early next week.

2/7 - We had a visit at our house from my mom, my step-dad, and my grandmother. It was nice to have them over and they stayed for dinner. Bryan grilled fajitas and I had all the trimmings ready. They have not been to our house in almost two years so alot had changed. It's hard to believe that in a couple of weeks we will have been in the new house for two years.

2/8 - Bryan started a new work schedule. He is now working Sunday through Wednesday (4, 10 hour days). I had an afternoon consultation with a bride & groom. They booked us for their wedding!

2/9 - I attended the monthly member meeting for Austin PPA (Professional Photographers of America). The speaker was Ross Benton from San Antonio. He is a whiz and a phenomenal photographer. His presentation was about the Photoshop WOW Factor. I learned some more tricks and some shortcuts to make my workflow faster and easier. It was well worth spending my evening there and not getting home until 10:30p.

2/10 - My mom & step-dad celebrated their 30th anniversary. Wow, what a milestone.

2/11 - Bryan and I received tickets from Time Warner to attend the UT vs. Kansas women's basketball game at the Frank Erwin Center. We only stayed through halftime and then left to get some dinner at Austin Java.

2/12 - I'm trying to catch up on some blogging!

Where Have We Been?

2009-01-19T20:01:00.002-06:00

Working.. That's where. I've been at home today and off of work. Our offices closed for MLK day only because we had to take two mandatory days off without pay this month - so they chose this as one of them. It's been nice for me to have a 3 day weekend. I've had time to get alot of chores taken care of around the house. Bryan has been working alot of OT lately mainly to keep us in the "black" per se. Stock pile it now while we can. There really isn't much else going on around here so not much to report.
If I can find something interesting, I will post. I didn't get any comments on my last post so I guess it wasn't too funny.

Happy Birthday to Me - and The Geography of Women

2009-01-12T20:02:00.002-06:00

Here's a good one that my friend from work sent me today: (i fall into the 36 to 40 range)

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa, half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful!

Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe, well developed and open to trade, especially for someone with cash.

Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain, very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece, gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain, with a glorious and all conquering past.

Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through war and doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.

After 70, she becomes Tibet, wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages. . . only those with an adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge visit there.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN

Between 1 and 70, a man is like Iran, ruled by Nuts. ...

Happy New Year - 2009

2009-01-07T10:05:00.003-06:00

Bryan and I would like to wish all of our friends and family a very happy and prosperous new year! We've been busy the last couple of weeks since my last post. So I'm warning you, this is a long one!

After Christmas of course I had the typical "end of month" issues at my job. I have noticed an increase in the number refinances that are coming into our office. Just yesterday, I had four new orders for borrowers wanting to refinance their existing mortgages. The rates are really good right now and hopefully they will stay like this for a while! It's definitely helping my order count.

We didn't do anything special for New Year's Eve - just hung out at home and relaxed after both having a long day at work. I hit the ground running though on New Year's Day. While Bryan worked a normal shift for TWC, I was out hitting the stores for specific things for our show booth. Within one area I hit the Garden Ridge Pottery, Hobby Lobby, Pier 1 Imports, Michael's, Wal-Mart, Target, and I'm probably leaving something out. By the time I got home that afternoon, I was wore out.

We had dinner with my friend, Tiffany, and her son, Jake, at Casa Chapala - but I was overcome with a horrible sinus/allergy headache that rendered me the most uninteresting conversationalist award for 2009. I had to excuse myself after three bites to lay down in the back seat of the truck while they finished the yummy stuff. Tiffany was sweet and did pack me up a to go box!

Friday yielded a few more errands and taking care of last minute details for the show and some packing. We had a special dinner reservation at Asti Trattoria at 7pm - just the two of us. Ironically, we ran into my Ob/Gyn and her husband as we were seated at a table right next to them! It's a small world, even in Austin.

Saturday was the big pack it all up and head down to the brand new Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel and Convention Center. The place is really awesome. We got there a little early and were able to get unloaded and set up within a couple of hours. Bryan's mom & dad drove up from Universal City to meet us and have dinner. We had a good visit with them and Janice was able to take the very first edition of the new 2009 Jan/Feb Austin Wedding Day magazine home with her. Bryan and I had our Trash The Dress photos spread over a 3 page article for the 2nd year in a row. I'll post some links and photos later tonight.

The bridal show was awesome - there was a wonderful turn out and lots of brides. It was fun to wash them dig for diamonds in the cakes and to see the reaction on the face of the young bride that won the drawing for a $42,000 Ultimate Wedding Giveaway. Bryan and I will be photographing that wedding in September.

~V

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T11:53:00.006-06:00

Bryan and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve because today he is working a full shift for TWC. Since our original plans of having everyone over to our house for Christmas sort of got nixed, he just decided to volunteer to work - what the heck, huh? The pay is triple time.

We closed our offices at 2pm so I was able to get home much earlier than I had expected. Bryan was off yesterday so it worked out perfectly. We ate a late lunch of quesadillas and baja fish tacos from our favorite mexican grill - I just stopped on the way home and got it to go. Traffic didn't look so bad for mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve until I got onto Hwy 290 East and it came to a stop. The freeway was completely shut down on the East bound side due to a fatality accident. Luckily, I was able to get off and take an alternate route that didn't cause too much delay. I just took the scenic route home and was happy that I made it home without any incidents of my own.

We decided, after enjoying the food, to go ahead and open our gifts from each other. Like most families, we put a limit on the amount we would spend - $50 to $60. Nothing extravagant, just something thoughtful or useful.

From me, he received a battery operated cocktail shaker (kind of a joke between us), a new cocktail drink recipe book (i've already pointed out a few i'd like to try), a new silk red tie (it will look nice for our date night on jan 2nd), a Columbia travel bag for his toiletries (his current shaving bag is worse for wear), and a Kenneth Cole leather wallet - which he needed desperately!

From Bryan, I received a nice bath set (shower gels, bath soaps, fizz balls, etc), a gift card for iTunes (this is great because i love to download songs), and a Monopoly electronic dealer board game (way cool! no more paper money! just plastic!).

I was totally happy with what we had done for each other. And we've really gotten alot this past year and our needs are completely met so there is really not anything inparticular that either one of us "wanted". Or so I thought...

Bryan then announces that we should celebrate and pulls out a bottle of Berringer sparkling wine all iced down in the champagne bucket. He asked me to get a couple of glasses out of the buffet cabinet. Here's how one track minded I was.. I opened the cabinet, reach down into the lowest left corner and pulled out two glasses, closed the door, and stood up. Bryan's looking at me from the kitchen and says, "uh, excuse me, I think you missed something." I'm dumbfounded, uh, no I didn't - I'm holding two glasses - the puzzled look on my face told him right away that I had no idea what he was talking about. He told me to open the cabinet again. So I did...

On the bottom shelf, no more than three inches from where the glasses where, was a wrapped gift with a silver bow on it. The box was about the size of a box of Kleenex. How I missed it, I have no idea. Bryan then tells me that he sort of went over the budget but not really. See, he had these gifts cards that he had gotten from work and I totally forgot that he had them. When he pooled them all together, he was able to buy me a new pocket size Olympus FE-360 digital camera for my purse. It's really a sweet little camera and I am so excited about it.

For months, I have said that I wished I had a little camera that I can use for taking quick photos for blogging and just simple stuff. Granted, we have three or four pro-grade $3K each cameras but they are not very practical when you just want to pop out a camera and go "snap, snap, snap".

So now I feel a little bad because I stuck to the budget and Bryan got creative. He says not to think this way because I do so much for him all year long anyways. It doesn't matter to him. He wrote me a cute little note in a card that said all he really wanted for Christmas was me anyways. Well, honey, my only comment to that is... Ditto!

Merry Christmas everyone!

p.s. i got the black one.

Gentlemen! Stay Out of The Dog House this Christmas!

2008-12-22T22:38:00.003-06:00

All of the men in our lives may want to review this training video. This is exactly where Bryan will be if I find a "chia pet" or "the clapper" under our tree this year! He's been warned! Just two more days until we put the cookies and milk out for Santa!

The cool thing about this is that we can even put people in the doghouse! Just look at the bottom of the screen once you get in. Click on Who's in the Doghouse? and oh my goodness - you should read some of the reasons these guys are in hot water!

Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T22:22:00.004-06:00

Well here it is.. the black tree again! We put it in the front bay window instead of the high ledge in the living room. This year I used reds and kept with the silvers. I have to admit, it looks rather naked with no gifts under it yet. I guess I had better get to wrapping this weekend.

Rockin' Christmas Party

2008-12-09T23:30:00.005-06:00

Yes, you heard right. A Rockin' Christmas Party. With so many companies struggling to make it these days and the economy in the toilet, Time Warner Cable decided that instead of spending a fortune on a company Christmas party for their employees, they would host a private show at the Zach Theatre of a Rockin' Christmas Party. Neither of us had seen this show previously so we really didn't know what to expect. It was loads of fun and the theatre is very small and quaint so not a bad seat in the house. Oh, the cool part was that your name had to be drawn at random to even get a pair of tickets. Bryan was lucky so we dressed up and had a great evening.

Even though the cedar fever is really kicking me in the "you know what" right now, I still managed to make myself look somewhat presentable. Puffy eyes, crooked smile, Rudolph's nose, and scratchy throat. This yo-yo weather is killing me too. At lunch time today it was 80 degrees and warm. By 5 o'clock, it was 56 degrees and the wind was coming out of the north in these ferocious gusts. By 10 pm as we were leaving the theatre, it was sleeting heavily and 36 degrees. Good thing I wore my velvet cloak over my dress.

Bad Joke of The Day

2008-12-04T09:21:00.002-06:00

Three buddies die in a train crash, and they find themselves at the pearly gates.

They are all asked, "When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"

The first guy says, "I would like to hear them say that I was the greatest doctor of my time, and a great family man."

The second guy says, "I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow."

The last guy replies, "I would like to hear them say... LOOK!!! HE'S MOVING!!!!!"

Thanksgiving Aftermath

2008-12-03T12:02:00.002-06:00

You might be wondering why I'm posting at noon on a workday - well, I'm sitting at the coffee shop doing a little work on the laptop. And, I'm thrilled to report that I also weighed in at WW about 15 minutes ago and I LOST 0.4 pounds. Doesn't sound like much but it put me officially at the 25 pound mark! I received a really neat charm to add to my WW keychain and the satisfaction of knowing that Thanksgiving didn't kick my butt! I kicked it's butt!
I still have 13.6 pounds to go before I reach my goal weight. I'm already wearing a size 10 pants (which is down from mostly size 16 pants in my closet). I am pretty positive that I can get to a size 8 because I don't think it's that far away for me. But I'm not too sure if I would actually drop any smaller than that. I was a size 8 when I graduated from high school in 1990. I can do it!
I hope everyone is having a great week - happy hump day!
~V

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T21:16:00.003-06:00

By now most of you are probably exhausted from this day of yummy feasting and visiting with family & friends. Well, so are we! We've had a great day today and I hope that everyone else has had a wonderful holiday. Our table at Janice & Kenny's was loaded with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, italian green beans, roasted cauliflower, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, and homemade rolls. We won't even mention dessert! There are several pies to pick from.

Personally, I would like to give thanks to God for blessing me with this wonderful man that is my husband, Bryan. Without him, I cannot imagine what life would be like right now. He is my rock, my knight, my handyman, my shoulder to lean on, my friend, my confidant, and my biggest fan. This is our third Thanksgiving together and I hope I'm still blogging after our thirtieth Thanksgiving. When I married Bryan, I not only found this wonderful man, but I also now have the coolest family. They have always welcomed me with open arms and it's like I've always been here. They have a way of really making a person feel welcome and it's genuine. So a time when I cannot remember having a Thanksgiving meal with my own parents at the same time, all together, like we did today, I am most thankful for all of them. Circumstances in life sometimes pull families apart but this one has managed to stay close together. I admire them and treasure them as true role models. With that being said, thank you, Janice & Kenny, Leah & Josh, and Julie; but mostly Bryan, for allowing me to become a part of your wonderful family. It is and always will be my honour. Happy Thanksgiving!

How The Bail Out Plan Works

2008-11-26T20:32:00.003-06:00

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a Donkey from a farmer for $100.

The farmer agreed to deliver the Donkey the next day.

The next day the farmer drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.'

Chuck replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.'

The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.'

Chuck said, 'Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey.'

The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him?

Chuck said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.'

The farmer said You can't raffle off a dead donkey!'

Chuck said, 'Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.'

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?'

Chuck said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.'

The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?'

Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.'

Chuck now works for the Goldman Sachs.

Chuck used to work for Lehman Brothers

Hijack a ship? It can happen!

2008-11-25T10:31:00.005-06:00

This is an interesting article and situation recently with the hijacking of an oil tanker by Somali pirates. My brother is a merchant marine who has been sailing for almost 20 years and has been a crew member of both an LNG carrier and several container ships, not to mention several I probably never knew about. To say that these oil tankers and LNG carriers are floating bombs is certainly stating the obvious if the circumstances are there for detonation. My brother has also sailed several actual loads of "bombs" over to the Kuwait area for the war. Under government contracts, these merchant ships are used to move military supplies and ammunition between ports and in doing so, are placed under extremely heavy security. Most of the time, US Marines accompany them on these trips. There are so many ways that "pirates" and / or terrorists can do damage and cause destruction to all of us. This is just another example of how vulnerable we can be.

Here's the link to the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081125/wl_nm/us_somalia_piracy_terrorism_sb

I am thankful that my brother has been able to sail for these many years with no harm done to him or his crew members. For Thanksgiving, as with many holidays over the years, he will be on his ship. Luckily, he's just down in Houston in the Ship Channel, waiting for orders. So, his family will be spending the holiday with him on the ship. It will be a first for my niece. She is very excited about getting to board her daddy's giant ship and all of her friends don't believe her when she tells them she'll be on a ship for Thanksgiving. Wishing all three of them a happy, safe, and wonderful Thanksgiving - together - instead of apart!

Urine or You're Out!

2008-11-23T21:48:00.003-06:00

(Whoever wrote this one deserves a HUGE pat on the back!)

"Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their A--, doing drugs, while I work. . . . Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? I guess we could title this program, 'Urine or You're Out'."

Email Forwards...

2008-11-23T10:17:00.003-06:00

One thing that bugs me more than anything is receiving an email that has been forwarded a bazillion times. And on top of that, the information is either incomplete, out-dated, rumour, or just completely false.
I post my comments and thoughts on this blog so my friends and family can read them if they want and comment back. Or, they can read them, laugh at me, and move on. I'm not cluttering up everyone in my contact lists email inboxes with junk. And you all know that these are my opinions and views, rants and raves, silly and serious stuff, etc.
Have a great day and Happy Thanksgiving!

Good News & Bad News

2008-11-19T22:37:00.004-06:00

Which would you want first? Let's get the Bad News out of the way first.

Yesterday at my job, they layed off 15 more people. There are not thousands of people that work for my company; more like about 150 I think. This was probably 10% of the head count. Not to mention we lost 9 people just 6 weeks ago. I wonder if they will do it again right before Christmas. All I can do is just pray and keep my head down and do the best I can. Luckily, this time, our builder units were not affected. However, we might not be so lucky the next time if the new construction sales don't pick up.. there's not much to close right now. So last night was pretty depressing when one of my good friends that was just out to our home over the weekend for dinner was one of the 15. I feel especially bad for her because she is a single mom and the sole provider for her household. It will be tough for her to make her mortgage payments now unless she is able to find another job ASAP. The problem with that is that noone is hiring in the real estate or title industries right now.

And, please don't ask me today what my thoughts are on the Big 3 automakers bail out issue! If anyone were to come up to me right now and try to pursuade me that it's a good idea and that we have to help preserve the back bone of our economy, I would tell them the same thing I told a barista at the coffee shop one morning, "Dude! Get your head out of your ass!" There is no reason to bail out the automakers. Let them fail like every other business in the country would have to. Let them file for bankruptcy like every other business in the country would have to. Let those 3 fat cat CEO's give up some of their bonuses, salaries, perks, private jets, Armani suits, expense accounts, etc. It's business and sometimes business fails. The government and the taxpayers cannot be everybody's "Lord and Savour" all of the time.

Oh, pardon me, it's a loan program. Get out of here! Are you serious? Chances are, if the government loans it to them, and then they still fail and default, what the heck is the government going to get as repayment? It just doesn't make any sense to me at all and it's just my two cents worth. I read today that the Bush Administration strongly opposes it - well good for them! And all of the rest of the Senate and Congress need to squash it too. Who's going to bailout all of my friends that just lost their jobs? Or who's going to bail me out? NOBODY - because most of us were raised to stand on our own two feet, get our asses up off the couch, work and earn a living to support ourselves. There is money to be made in any economy, you just have to get a little creative sometimes. It's not the end of the world.

Now for the Good News... I neither gained nor lost any weight this week so that in itself = good news. Oh, and gas is down to $1.89/gallon in my neck of the woods.

PS - Why do you think I drive a Toyota?

A Great Week for Weight Loss!

2008-11-12T18:57:00.003-06:00

After one week with no loss/no gain, followed by one week with a gain of 0.6 and another week with a gain of 0.8, I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with my motivation and efforts. The past week I've tried really hard to stick to my plan the best that I could and it paid off tonight with a Loss of 2.6 pounds. So, I've left the 170s behind and weighed in at 169 pounds. It still sounds like a lot but when you factor in that I started at 196 - boy this is a milestone! Just 14 pounds to go until I reach my goal weight!
Thanks to all of my friends and family for your support of me and especially to my handsome husband, Bryan, for never letting me give up on myself. You are awesome and I love you!
~V

Halloween Close Up

2008-11-06T18:46:00.003-06:00

Here's a close up of my makeup and the wig that I wore for Halloween. I am happy to report that our office won a company wide contest for Best Office/Team. We had the most creative theme and we all carried it through quite well. In the previous post we are all standing behind our reception table. We had wedding cake, punch, nuts, mints, a guest sign in book, flowers, bridal portraits (thanks to my handsome husband, Bryan), and favors. We had a great time and are looking forward to next year's contest. It's going to be hard to top this one.

Halloween!

2008-10-31T19:21:00.002-05:00

Can you find Valerie?

Wedding Dress Props

2008-10-21T21:43:00.003-05:00

I received a comment on my previous post asking for details about my wedding dress that is too big now. I'm flattered that another photographer would want to use my dress but I am not ready to part with it! Bryan and I still have some plans in store for me & that dress!

However, I can offer some hints to my fellow photographer friends out there... if you are looking for wedding dresses for props or for use with a model, the best place to find them is at the second hand stores or the upscale consignment stores. You're more likely to find newer dresses at the boutique type consignment stores. It also helps to check the stores in the affluant neighborhoods.

I've been lucky and have been dealing with the same store multiple times. The owner knows me and when she sees me walk into her shop, she knows in an instance what I'm there for. And that would be anywhere from four to six dresses at a time. She knows I'm a big sale and she takes very good care of me.

Good luck in the hunt for wedding dresses!
~V

Wedding Dress Problem

2008-10-21T07:05:00.003-05:00

And I know what most of you are thinking... How/Why does Valerie have a wedding dress problem? It's simple, IT DOESN'T FIT ANYMORE! But most people can't fit in their dresses either after a few years, right? Because it's too small. My problem is different - IT'S TOO BIG!

So I can't help it that I'm elated to say it is too big. And your next question is Why do I even care? Well, Halloween is coming up and I have to wear a wedding dress to my office for a really cool theme that we are doing. So, luckily, with all of the other dresses I have for photography props, I was able to comfortably fit into a smaller one.

This makes me want to walk down the aisle again just to do it all over!!

Friday Night Fun

2008-10-18T12:03:00.006-05:00

Last night, Bryan and I ventured downtown to the Warehouse District for dinner and a show. One must understand that I have never been to this area at night for anything. I have always tried to stay away from the 4th street and 6th street areas because of the crowds of people and I don't have patience enough to find parking and then walk for blocks, blah blah blah.

A friend of mine knows the band and told me about this show earlier in the week, so we decided, "Oh what the heck, it'll be fun!" And it was a blast!

We started out just after 7pm at Saba Blue Water Cafe' for some appetizers and dinner. For appetizers, we had the Cilantro Pork and Shrimp Potstickers with Ponzu Dipping Sauce for $7 and the Plantain Crusted Shrimp with Mango Ginger Mojo for $8. On the menu, they call these "Shareable Plates"; but rest assured, if you're really hungry, don't count on one of these to fill you up! Once we realized that this just wouldn't do the trick to fight our hunger, we decided to order an entree and share it. We picked the Shrimp Enchiladas with Ranchero Cream, Avocado Salsa, Cilantro & Black Bean Rice for $14. They happily divided it for us and at first we thought they had given us two orders. We had to confirm with the waitress just to be sure. Now, this was plenty!

Right next door to Saba is the Cedar Street Courtyard. Cedar Street Courtyard is (according to their website) "an urban indoor/outdoor martini nightclub located in the heart of the Warehouse District in downtown Austin, TX. Here you'll find a fine selection of cigars and specialty martinis and drinks. You can kick back at one of the indoor lounge areas inside or grab a cool beverage and hit the courtyard to enjoy live music seven nights a week."

We were able to snag a table in the middle of the second row while the opening band was still playing and we were waiting on our friends to arrive. We were also able to walk in just after 8pm without paying a cover charge. A few songs later this opening act was packing up and moving out to make room for Les and The Funk Mob. It didn't take long for us to notice that the narrow courtyard area was going to fill up fast. On each side of the courtyard area there is a bar and there is a mezzanine bar up above the stage area. At night, it's lighted with candles on the tables and little lights in the trees. The courtyard is actually between two buildings and below street level - so it's like sitting in what was once probably a basement of the building that was there.

The Austin Film Festival is going on this weekend and UT takes on Missouri tonight at Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium, so the city is crawling with more than the usual folks. Anyways, last night was filled with great food, good conversations, cold beer, live funk music, and booty shakin' dancin' - all combined making one great date night!

The New Me!

2008-10-15T20:23:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted any pics of me lately after the 23.4 pounds I have lost. So, I decided to pop off a few of myself this evening after work and here's a fun one! Bryan will be sure to point out that my lighting is not exactly "right on" - but I didn't too much care. So, please pardon the shadows on my face! I really love this dress too. A friend of mine gave it to me recently and today I wore it with knee high boots. Bryan says the pattern makes him dizzy.

Still Hangin' On

2008-10-15T19:52:00.003-05:00

I failed to mention in my previous post that our company let 13 more people go on Thursday of last week. Fortunately, I was not one of them. They also implemented mandatory days off (two) each month without pay from now until at least the end of the year. Again, fortunately, my office and one other location will not be affected. I can remember times when we complained about just closing new construction but right now I'm glad that's our office's primary source of business. I have dodged the bullet yet again and I will continue to pray that I remain out of the firing line, literally.

On a happier note, it's been raining! A nice thunderstorm rolled in late yesterday and it rained off and on all night. Today has not been much different. It's so nice for the temperature to drop also. Now there is a nice crock pot full of homemade garlic potatoe pepper soup cooking away on the counter! Yum..

Happy Birthday Bryan!

2008-10-12T22:45:00.004-05:00

Today is Bryan's 33rd birthday. He's celebrated, or relaxed, all week with vacation days to burn. He found a set of gas logs for our fireplace; discovered we had no gas coming out of the fireplace gas pipe; planted flowers and bushes in the yard; and extended a rock path on the edge of the driveway.

I was able to take a day off of work on Friday so we had breakfast at home together. The plumber came to fix the gas problem and luckily the problem was only in the attic - the pipe wasn't connected. Now we have gas to the fireplace! Friday evening we went out to a club and had some fun dancing.

On Saturday we went down to San Antonio to spend the rest of the weekend with Bryan's parents. We always have a nice time there; it is so relaxing to just get away. Bryan's mom made yummy egg rolls; and no, she isn't Chinese!

Today we woke up to the smell of fresh baked Bishop's Bread. Oh my goodness, this stuff is to die for. Anyone else in Bryan's family knows what I'm talking about. We played some games and hung out until about 6:30 before heading home to Austin.

Oh, and we topped off the gas tank for $2.63 a gallon in New Braunfels! It's getting cheaper! It's been a very nice weekend.

So, happy birthday to my honey bear! You're the best thing I could have asked for in my life. And, I hope that we enjoy many more birthdays just like this one. I love you!
~V

Strawberry Shortcake Look-A-Like

2008-10-05T18:17:00.003-05:00

I grew up with Strawberry Shortcake - not this one though! She's only 7 months old! This is my niece, Emma Grace. I think she looks alot like Strawberry Shortcake, especially wearing Aunt Valerie's cute hat. We had a great time visiting last night at my mom & stepdad's house. We got to see my brother, Barrett & his wife, Caroline; and of course, Emma & Gabriel. Bryan took this picture of Emma while she was playing in the floor. The camera was about 4 inches from her face and he used the fish-eye lense. It gives somewhat of a distorted look but it's interesting. So, she's our little Strawberry Shortcake and I'll have to say, she is just sweet as sugar!

A Funny Joke

2008-10-05T17:45:00.001-05:00

Three men were standing in line at the pearly gates for admittance to heaven. St. Peter told them whoever had the best story could go in first.

The first man walked up and said, “I have a great story. I knew my wife was cheating on me, so I came home early from work to catch her, but I couldn’t find the guy anywhere. Finally, I saw him hanging off the balcony outside our apartment, so I threw him off, but he didn’t die, so I dragged the refrigerator out of the kitchen and threw it down on top of him. The cord wrapped around my foot, unfortunately, and I fell down, too and died.”

“Wow! That’s pretty good. Next!” said St. Peter.

The second man walked up and said, “My story is incredible. My cat was walking on the window ledge outside my apartment, and I crawled out to rescue her, but I fell and ended up hanging from the balcony one floor below me. I thought I was saved, but then this crazy guy ran out, threw me off, and then threw a refrigerator on top of me!”

“That is incredible!” said St. Peter. “Next!”

The third man walked up and said, “Okay, imagine me, naked inside a refrigerator…”

Uncle Bryan's Helper

2008-10-05T15:14:00.005-05:00

This is just a really cute picture of Emma helping Uncle Bryan with some work on the laptop!

What's Been Happening This Week?

2008-10-03T09:18:00.004-05:00

Well, I survived through the end of the month at work! Yesterday was the first day in at least 3 weeks that I actually got off work at 5:00 p.m. It was awesome! Yesterday was also weigh-in day for me at WW. I neither gained nor lost - so I will call that a successful week!

Last night we joined some friends for a comedy performance at the Frank Erwin Center by Jeff Dunham. We had such a wonderful time - it was hilarious! I have not laughed that hard in such a long time. You have got to check this guy out! The show kept us laughing and engaged the entire time. After a late night snack at Trudy's, we were home and crawling in the bed at 2:00 a.m. this morning.

I'm a little sluggish today and thankfully there is not much work to be done today. Bryan is off and was still sleeping when I left this morning. Now, I can't wait for 5:00 because it's the Weekend Baby!

We'll be heading up to my mom's house tomorrow morning to visit and see my family. I'll take pics of the cute little kids that my brother & his wife have produced! And who knows, there might be one or two of me thrown in there!!

Happy Friday!!!
~V

Living in Hell or Going to Hell - What's Your Choice

2008-09-25T22:39:00.003-05:00

Have any of you seen the bizarre obituary of Dolores Aguilar? Maybe some of our family members in California have heard of it. I guess the daughter of the deceased woman won't go to Hell for writing it since she and her siblings actually lived in Hell while this woman was alive.

Nonetheless, I think this is a good example of just what could happen when we fail to "do unto others as you would have done unto you". This will make you stop and think for a moment at how you treat your children, grandchildren, siblings, friends, neighbors, and everyone else.

I have often wondered what my own obituary will say. Survivors will be few but I sure hope whoever writes it says some nice things about me.

Week 18 Weigh In

2008-09-25T22:18:00.003-05:00

Even after a long stressful week I weighed in at 1.6 pounds LESS than I did last week. No, I didn't wear lighter clothes! I wore the exact same thing. My loss is now up to 23.2 pounds! I cannot believe how well I have been doing. I have really tried hard to watch what I eat and be conscious of the foods I choose. It seems to be paying off. I hope all of my other WW friends and family members are having great success. If I can do it, so can you! Thanks Shaila for being my weekly weigh in phone call gal! Cousins gotta stick together on stuff like this!
Well, after another long day, I'm off to bed now! Thank God tomorrow is Friday!
~V

Financial Crisis & New Best Friends

2008-09-24T23:02:00.004-05:00

For any of you that know or understand what my 9-5 job is, then you might also realize how this "Financial Crisis" that our country faces actually affects my job and/or my industry. In case you don't know, I am an escrow officer that closes real estate transactions for two different custom/volume homebuilders.

Over the last two years we have seen the changes in the real estate / mortgage markets take significant turns for the worse, mostly due to the fall out of the sub-prime mortgage lending industry. As a result, lenders across the country tightened their lending guidelines; but not enough in my opinion. Several title companies went out of business and shut their doors completely. Fortunately, mine is the oldest title company in Texas and has a solid financial backing. We did, however, experience a couple of rounds of layoffs last year and have, for the most part, been under a "hiring freeze" ever since.

Recently, within the last six weeks, I have taken on the responsibilities of closing a second builder. Last October when our company layed off the first time, I lost my assistant, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing at the time. The closing volume had already dropped significantly and there were major performance and attendance issues with the assistant. In the long run, I was better off functioning alone. With the addition of the new builder unit to my responsibilities, my monthly closings have almost quadrupled. I went from averaging only six to eight closings a month to being on target for almost thirty-five.

That is an extreme amount of work for one person who now actually does what four people used to handle. I'm working over 60 hours a week now and the company says it's cheaper to pay me the overtime at my salary than to bring on another employee and add to the headcount. I can certainly see their logic in this and will enjoy all of the extra money that lands in my pocket as a result. I suppose that with the economy the way it is, and the fact that I may never see a dime of any retirement fund, social security, etc.; I might as well work all I can now, enjoy my life, and hope I die quietly in my sleep.

Where am I going with this? I have no idea. These are just my rambling thoughts after a 13 hour day of crunching numbers, dealing with idiot lenders, educating realtors on things they should know, and trying to console borrowers who are upset because their lender cannot seem to provide me with loan documents in a timely manner. The best part of my job is the fact that I am the last person the borrower deals with and nine times out of ten, when they sit down with me at the closing table, they are just relieved that I am smiling back at them and helping them close on their new home.

I had a borrower this evening tell me that if I was taking applications for new best friends, then he and his wife would like to apply. How cool is that? They are the reason I put up with what I do. So I'll leave this post with a question for everyone: No matter how stressful your jobs are, How many new best friends have you made along the way?

~V

YES - We are still Alive!

2008-09-22T10:38:00.004-05:00

Many of you have been wondering why we haven't posted in over a month. Well, it's not because we fell off the face of the earth; although, it feels that way sometimes! Actually, we have been extremely busy with our 9-5 jobs the last two weeks since returning from Jamaica. Hurricane Ike did not affect the Austin area directly, but let me tell you, if certainly affected both of our jobs indirectly. We have both been working many hours of overtime and have been getting home late each evening; hence the reason, no blogging!
We had a great time in Jamaica from 8/30 until 9/6. We both wish we were still there. This was a week of simple relaxation & recovery! Photos? You want to see photos? Come on, we normally take a ton of photos but this time there are less than 40! There comes a point when picking up the camera just isn't fun when you're on your own vacation and you don't have to photograph anything. We never left the resort the entire week. Each morning we were up at the crack of dawn and some of the first people in the main dining area for breakfast. I feasted on a yummy omelete made right there to my specs and a plate of fruit every morning. At lunch time, we were in the pool and didn't have to get out to eat since the pool grill & bar were swim up! Dinner was a great variety of authentic Jamaican food and some other fare. Drinks were free-flowing all week and the sun was shining every day! We dodged Hurricane Gustav to get there and we were trying to get home before Hurricane Hannah & Ike made their appearances. All of this lovely weather made the humidity so high it was like a sauna most of the time. That would be the reason we remained in the cool pool for 6 or so hours a day. We met alot of great people from all over the world and made some new friends.
The best part about returning home was that I didn't gain any weight! I actually lost another 2.2 pounds. And last week's weigh in yielded another 1.8 gone! So my total so far is 21.6 pounds.
Yesterday, I went to Dressbarn to check out the clearance sale and guess what? I bought a size 10 skirt and I'm wearing it proudly today. I have not been able to wear a 10 in well over 15 years - so, you can just imagine my excitement!
Bryan says I look great and he's certainly enjoying the new me!
Until later,
~V

GO USA OLYMPIC TEAM!

2008-08-11T22:02:00.004-05:00

I'm addicted to the Swimming!! Michael Phelps and Aaron Piersol and all the other guys, go Team! Bryan thinks I'm crazy and that I just enjoy seeing how "ripped" they are. Well, that's not far from the truth! I've enjoyed watching the competitions and it gives me great pride in our American athletes representing our country.

Photography Food For Thought

2008-08-06T22:26:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I happen to be very proud of the images that we create from any photo session. Those images, beginning with the moment the shutter is opened, are our artwork. As an artist, would Leonardo de Vinci or Picasso have handed you their palettes and a blank canvas and told you to "have at it"? I don't think so. Do you think that once you finished your painting that you could honestly call it a de Vinci or a Picasso? I don't think so. Would it seriously fetch a huge sum of cash at the latest Sotheby's auction? Again, I don't think so. Well, our pieces may never fetch huge sums at art auctions and we may never be as well known as these masters; however, we still believe that every portrait that comes out of our studio is a reflection on us and we will continue to uphold a standard of quality second to none. No matter how soft the economy has become, we will not lower our standards and sacrifice our reputation and quality in the process. Our service is focused on you, our client, and we will continue to excite, inspire, and awe you!

Quick Update on Weight Loss

2008-07-31T09:46:00.002-05:00

I haven't talked about this too much lately but I'm still on track and doing fairly well. I weighed in this morning and Lost 2.2 pounds! So my total so far after 10 weeks is 16.2 pounds! Maybe I can buy a new bikini for the trip to Jamaica. My only issue is why didn't I do this sooner? Oh well, I'm doing it now!
~V

New Spotlight Article

2008-07-15T18:27:00.001-05:00

Go check out our recently updated Spotlight Article on Austin Wedding Day's website!

This Week's Loss & Travel Plans

2008-07-09T21:54:00.003-05:00

Just a short post to let those that are cheering me on know what the loss was this week: 1.6 pounds! So, now I'm up to a total of 13.6
I feel great and I'm certainly still motivated to keep going. This is really easier than I thought it would be and I'm really not killing myself. I mean, I haven't been walking or doing much specific exercise. However, I haven't been just sitting around either. Plus, I've been eating healthier than before and every bit helps!
Now, for the travel plans... Bryan and I have been trying to figure out where to go, what to do for the first week of September. Well, Saturday afternoon, Bryan looked at me from across the couch and asked, "Hey, do you want to go back to Jamaica?" Well, can you imagine what my answer was? "Well, of course I do! As long as you can figure out a way to go cheap!" And, leave it to my genious husband to do just that.
Two round trip tickets and seven nights ocean view in the all-inclusive superclub - all for less than $1800. Bryan ROCKS!
So, 51 days and counting until we are back on the island drinking humminbirds, rum, and bob marleys. Right now I have the DIF! That's the "dreaded island fever!"

Shadows of Love

2008-07-06T15:31:00.001-05:00

From last night...

Fonda San Miguel

2008-07-05T12:30:00.003-05:00

From this morning...

One More From Today

2008-07-04T17:59:00.002-05:00

Before We Trashed...

2008-07-04T17:29:00.001-05:00

... It looked like this!

Oops, We Did It Again!

2008-07-04T17:25:00.003-05:00

Here's how we spent our Fourth of July morning!

Roaring 20's

2008-07-02T23:08:00.002-05:00

The Tally So Far

2008-07-02T21:26:00.001-05:00

is 12 pounds... I haven't talked about it much lately but I'm still doing well on Weight Watchers. I have had consistent losses over the last 6 weeks. So, I'm proud to report that at the end of the 6th week, I have lost a total of 12 pounds.
~V

Rub A Dub Dub - One Bride In A Tub!

2008-06-28T19:37:00.003-05:00

This is the latest image in a series of Trash the Dress shoots that we are doing the next couple of weeks. As photographers, we find this to be a very artistic way of expressing oneself. It's also really fun! Ladies seem to love it and it makes for some very interesting artwork. Hope you enjoy it - and if you would like to trash a dress, just let us know!

Sunflower

2008-06-28T19:34:00.001-05:00

Sunflowers are in full bloom at the back of our subdivision. There is a new section going in and lots of construction. Bryan ventured back there and found this cute sunflower! Enjoy.

Walmart, Texspresso, & Bryan on TV

2008-06-25T08:11:00.003-05:00

Click the pic for the video.

There has been alot of opposition to the re-development of the Northcross Mall near my office and our favorite coffee shop, Texspresso. Walmart had plans to build a 100,000+ square foot facility; complete with a parking garage. Neighborhood activists seemed to think that it would only cause more congestion along the already very busy Anderson Lane. But really, what looks better? ... An almost abandoned out-dated mall? ... OR ... ... An updated urbin sleek looking Walmart? I am all for it of course. I love Walmart and it will be so convenient to my office when I need to purchase something, it's right around the corner. The news revealed yesterday that Walmart has changed its plans and reduce the size of the structure to about half of its original planned size. That's still ok with me but now all of the neighborhood activists think they have won; and, of course, they will be shopping there! A local television station interviewed our friend and owner of Texspresso, David Hall, to get his thoughts on the project and how he feels it will affect his small business. Watch the video and you'll see what he had to say - and you'll see Bryan getting his daily fix!

Fun Weekend

2008-06-22T11:35:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I made plans for Friday evening with a friend of mine from work (Tiffany) and her boyfriend (Tay). We all met up for dinner at Cheddar's and then we went over to Main Event to do a little bowling. Now, we are by no means good bowlers but we certainly had a great time. Both of our legs and arms are a little sore but we'll get over it! On Saturday, we made a stop in the coffee shop and then had an early lunch (11 am) at Phil's Ice House. After that, we went to the Arbor Walk shopping center. I found a few new blouses and a skirt at Dressbarn and Bryan picked up a couple of pairs of new shoes at DSW. Our shopping trip continued over to the Arboretum with a stop at Sephora. Janice (Bryan's mom) had given me a really cool fragrance sampler for Christmas. Inside of it, there was a voucher for a free full size bottle of whichever one I liked the most. I finally remembered to take it with me, so I was able to redeem it. I chose the Givenchy Very Irresistible Sensual. I love it! Thanks Janice! We also got a little bit of a rain storm later in the afternoon. It was nice to just watch the rain pour down. Then, around 7 pm, we were off for dinner again with Tiffany & Tay. This time, we hit Pappadeaux's! No crawfish for Bryan - it's out of season right now I guess. So we split the Grilled Tilapia Lafayette - so I stayed on my plan with that. Bryan and I went dancing afterwards and now our legs are really sore! But it was great exercise! Today, we are just chilling out at home! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Fathers Day - a Few Days Late

2008-06-18T22:06:00.002-05:00

Well, I didn't post anything on Fathers Day because it is a rough day for me still. It's only the 2nd Fathers Day that I haven't had my Daddy around and things are just still a little fresh. I didn't even remember that it was Fathers Day on Sunday until about 3:00 in the afternoon. Bryan and I were hanging out in the living room, the NASCAR race had just started, and the announcer made a comment about it being Fathers Day. Bryan perked up and said, "Oh, yea, I need to call my dad." Well, that just did me in. I boo hoo'd a minute and let it out. It wasn't anything that Bryan did; it was just the fact that I wish I could pick up the phone and call my Daddy. I can hear him answering the phone. I know exactly what he would say. But, what would I say? Well, the usual wishes for a happy day and thanks for being my dad.

But if I could call him right this second here's what I would tell him: "Daddy, I love you and I miss you very much. I wish you could come visit. I think you would really like our new house. There's room enough for you to spend the night. You don't have to leave so soon. You can stay as long as you like. I'd like for you to just come and hang out - maybe we can watch the race together or go fly some planes. I'll cook up some brawts on the grill and I'll be sure to slice the onions really thin just like you like them."

One Fathers Day about 5 years ago, I put together a photo album for him that had old pictures of him, his dad, me, and Jarrod in it and it was really cool. I cried when i put it together and I think I almost cried when I gave it to him. He really liked it and he showed it to a bunch of his friends. He carried it with him for a while on his trips. It had a special place on his book shelf. When died and we were packing up his stuff, I came across it and brought it home with me. Now it sits on my book shelf. It's a reminder to me of how I touched his heart that year just by letting him know how wonderful a dad he was to us. He was always fairly stern but he was consistant and he loved us - all the way to very end when he took his last breath as he looked at me. And I held his hand and told him it was ok to leave us. No matter how bad it hurt to see his eyes that blue and then the life just came right out of them; I know that he is always looking over me and he sees everything.

So everyday when the skies are that bright beautiful blue, I just look up and see Daddy's eyes. Every day is his day now.

Twelve more days and you will have been gone two years. Sometimes, it seems like it was just yesterday; and other times it feels like decades.

I'm sure that there are computers and the internet up in heaven so I hope you get a chance to read this soon. I love you. Happy Fathers Day.

Week 4 - Well What Can I Say?

2008-06-18T21:47:00.002-05:00

After a week of not being very motivated and going through the normal things us woman have to deal with, I was somewhat afraid to stand on the scales this afternoon at Weight Watchers. But my leader commented that I had a good week. I asked her how so? And her response was that I had lost 4.4 pounds. Yes, you heard me correctly, 4.4 pounds! Yippee! I could not believe it but it was true. Wow, now I'm motivated. I think that's plenty of flour for the pound cake recipe and at the very least it's another sack of sugar and four more eggs! I have lost over 10 pounds in my first full month.

P.S. Mara, you are correct about the Almond Milk - it's awesome!

Here a Bike, There a Bike, Everywhere a Bike Bike!

2008-06-13T18:44:00.003-05:00

Yesterday kicked off the beginning of the 14th annual R.O.T. Biker Rally here in Austin. It just so happens that the Travis County Expo Center is about 5 miles from our house off of Hwy 290 East. So, you can imagine how traffic has been coming home from work the last couple of days! The rally runs through Sunday afternoon and there are motorcyclists everywhere! Of course, I've found myself drooling at a lot of them. I get all excited and want to just jump on and drive. Oh, if I had a bike right now that's where I'd be, out on the open road. But, not this year. Maybe next year!

Canteloupe

2008-06-12T20:11:00.000-05:00

Canteloupe - it's so yummy and sweet!

Add Four Eggs to the Recipe in Progress...

2008-06-12T12:07:00.002-05:00

that's the weight loss recipe that I'm working on. You know, the pound cake that I'm slowly but surely taking off of my body. Well, weigh in was last night and I lost another 0.4 pounds! That would be 4 eggs. So, remember, so far we have in our recipe a 4 pound bag of sugar, 8 sticks of butter, and now 4 eggs! We'll work on the flour for this week. I was so afraid that I would have gained this last week because we have been really busy and the weekend was so crazy. I felt a little out of my normal routine and I didn't get my exercise in as much. Back on schedule though this week so we'll see what happens.

Remember that trip to Whole Foods...

2008-06-09T21:36:00.004-05:00

...well, one item that was purchased, as a test, has now been tested. Hemp Bliss Chocolate Milk! It's organic and a great source of alot of things. However, it tastes like a plant - a marijuana plant! A plant that isn't legal in the U.S. but it is in Canada.

We found out really quickly that this just isn't the "new" milk for us. The company's website has a "Commitment of Quality from Seed to Shelf!" LOL You have got to be kidding. I guess their plants are all grown to exact specifications and they probably use Miracle Grow too.

Here's an interesting article about it that I found on the web.

You know most of the stuff in Whole Foods is great stuff and I am sure that there are people who really like this type of product. However, I believe the Morrison household will be back shopping at H-E-B this weekend.

I'm sticking to good old cow's milk from now on!

End of a Long Day! Whew!

2008-06-08T20:33:00.003-05:00

After being the 3rd vehicle into the loading dock this morning at around 8:20 a.m., Bryan and I unpacked and set up our booth for the big show. We were completely ready by about 10 a.m. and once the show got started, it was none stop! We had a great time with a lot of traffic into our booth with much more serious interests than the last show. It was great to have several brides that we have already met come through and bring their families. I also think that we made a star out of Lisa today - she's the bride that we shot in Jamaica and the Suitcase Full of Dreams image. Lisa is the Event Manager at the Doubletree Hotel and was in attendance at her booth an aisle over from ours. She visited us several times throughout the show and was a living, breathing, wonderful testimonial to potential prospects. So, thanks Lisa for being the positive upbeat gracious person that you are! We appreciate you!

We're both exhausted from all of the excitement! Here's an image from our booth setup prior to the show.

Gotham City?

2008-06-08T07:42:00.001-05:00

Gotham City? No, wait that's the lastest Austin skyline!

Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Jr. - aka "The Bat"

2008-06-08T07:30:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I enjoyed a fun evening at the beautiful new 2400 seat Long Center for Performing Arts last night. Sitting from the 5th row we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed a parody of sorts, all things Austin. The show was an adaptation of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Jr. The sets were great and the cast was "weird" to say the least. You can read a little about the show and watch a short video here.

Farmers Market

2008-06-07T17:07:00.003-05:00

Wow, we've been busy today taking care of last minute errands and getting ready for tomorrow's Bridal Extravaganza show. We are really excited about this show as it is the largest show in our area. Realizing that our day will be totally consumed tomorrow with the show, we really needed to make a grocery run for fresh fruits and vegatables.

We decided to try the farmers market that is in downtown Austin. We found some really nice looking tomatoes that, of course, aren't contaminated like all the ones in the stores! We also picked up red onions. There really wasn't much else there that we wanted. We don't eat alot of peppers, which seemed to be plentiful. And it seemed that there were more craft type booths than anything... except the wild boar cooking on a grill. We tried it and it just tastes like brisket.

Since there were no fruits at all, we went to Whole Foods at 5th & Lamar. This was the first time that I have ever been there. It's really amazing all the great items that they have. We will definitely being going back there again!