NEW BLOG LAUNCH!!!! (#95...check!)

Ok---don't waste any more time looking at this post. Go DIRECTLY to my brand new blog!!

www.melissajill.net

#55....check!

55. Go camping

I just got back from an awesome weekend camping up in the Show Low area. I grew up camping quite a bit in Minnesota and some in Florida but I think the last time I was camping was back in college in Ensenada, Mexico. So I put this goal on my 101 in 1001 list because I really enjoy getting away and soaking in nature.

Some of my close friends--Erik & Marisa Spletter--who have 3 kids just got some camping equipment and are planning to do a lot of family vacationing camping-style. And they invited me along! I was excited because not only was I going camping and spending some time with friends, but I also got the chance to cheer Erik on as he did an Olympic triathlon (quarter of the length of an Iron Man). But I'll get to that in a minute.

The top photo is the view from our campsite. Can you believe how beautiful it was!? Erik & Marisa just brought along their five-year-old, Karina, and left the other kids with grandpa and grandma.


Karina is quite the rock climber for her age!


Marisa enjoying the view:


Erik and Karina checking out the sunset:


This is what it looked like from where they were standing:


On Saturday, Erik did his triathlon and it was super-fun cheering him on and documenting the race. He completed the 1500 meter swim, 20-some mile bike and 8-some mile run in under 3 hours! I can't even imagine trying this but he's done it a number of times!

I love this shot of the race starting:


And this was total luck, but I caught Erik giving us a thumbs up as he swam past!


Here he is heading out on the bike:


And starting the run:


And finally crossing the finish line:


A congratulatory hug from Marisa afterwards:


Way to go Erik! You're amazing!!

The only bummer about the three nights we spent out there was that there was a fire restriction in effect and we were only able to have a campfire one night :(. So I felt a little jipped about that. But we kept ourselves busy with some fun games most of the time:


And I turned my camera over to Erik for one fun shot of me and Marisa:


Thanks so much for the fun time guys!! I can't wait to do it again sometime!

In other news, my email is back up and I have a bunch of emails waiting for me in my inbox from when I was gone. I'm not sure if I'm missing any so if you don't hear back from me in the next day or two, try resending. Thanks for your patience!!

Disaster Update

So...the website is back up and so is the blog. Let me know if you click on any links that don't work somewhere or find any photos missing where they should appear--just leave a comment here so I can get all my bases covered.

But email is still down. No telling when that will be fixed. Feel free to email me at melissajill@mac.com in the meantime or communicate through the comments on my blog.

Tomorrow I'm heading out of town AGAIN to take care of #55 on my list -- Go camping! I'm excited to get out of the heat and head up to northern Arizona once again. It's going to be weird, though, going a full 3 days without any contact with the outer world via email or the internet. I'm sure I'll go through some hard core withdrawals. I guess if my email is going to be down, this is a good time since I won't be able to check it the next couple days anyways. But I'm very sorry to those of you who I haven't gotten back to. Please be patient with me! Things are going to slow down and I'll be able to get on top of everything again soon.

#64...check!

64. Be on "Simple Photo Minute"


I'm so excited! My friend, Dane Sanders, a wedding photographer in OC that started his business up around the same time as me and helped found OSP (Open Source Forum) has this great thing for photographers called "Simple Photo Minute." He puts together short videos that are educational and seek to help wedding photographers simplify their lives and businesses. It's great and I've been watching the weekly podcasts for over a year now.

When I made my list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days, I put this one on there. About a month ago, I filmed a segment of myself walking through how I run my client meetings and Dane used it! Click here to view my 1st Simple Photo Minute!

The Puppy's Name Is....

Dixie!

I decided to name my new puppy Dixie. It's a fun name that fits her personality, I like the south and she's tiny like a dixie cup. I don't have any deeper reasons for picking the name. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the decision. It definitely helped me a lot to have so many ideas pouring in!

I caught this video of Dixie tonight finding the "other dog" in my office. It's hilarious.





Isn't she SOOOO cute!? Now if I could just get her potty trained and get some work done....

#4....check!

4. Get a dog

I did it! I finally got a dog!! Isn't she CUTE?

Today started out like any normal day. I helped my sister bring my nephews to the doctor and then we stopped at the mall to pick up a mother's day and birthday present for my mom. We stopped by the pet store in the mall and I honestly didn't plan on getting a dog--just oohing and ahhing at all the cuteness. But they had the most adorable little minature schnauzers! I've grown up with these dogs--they are perfect cuddling size, don't shed, and are super-cute. So I spent some time with three different dogs and ended up falling in love with this little sweetie. She's only 2 months old and very tiny. She has a really calm disposition and snuggles right up to you instantly. And she wants to be as close as possible to you. Right now she's asleep on my lap as I'm typing.

As of yet she has no name yet. So if you have any ideas, please comment! I don't really like people names for dogs and no food items or typical dog names. But I need to come up with something soon! Right now she's just "sweetie" or "puppy."

Off to search the internet for name ideas....

I feel like I just had a baby or something :).

#67....check!

67. Find good legal music to use on slideshows


I'm still working away on my list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days. It's going pretty well but I'm working on some bigger goals that are taking me a little longer to complete. For instance--running 3 consecutive 10 minute miles--I'm realizing that is a BIT of a stretch for me. But I'm going to eventually get there.

When I was at WPPI in March I came across Triple Scoop Music -- a new company that is working to bring musicians and photographers together. For photographers, finding good music that is legal to use is tough. Everything is copyrighted and we could be sued hundreds of thousands of dollars for using a song without permission. But large music labels and famous artists don't tend to respond to our emails about wanting to use their songs on our small business websites. They're selling the rights to the songs to people who are making movies for thousands of dollars. We're chump change. So it's a dilemma. We want good music but it's nearly impossible to get the permission to use it legally.

So I made a goal to find some good legal music to use. There's a lot of royalty free music sites but the songs are generally pretty cheesy. But thankfully I found Triple Scoop Music at WPPI and had them put together a custom CD for me with 10 songs I picked off their website. They have some decent stuff. I still think there's a ways to go in bridging the gap between musicians and photographers but this is a good start.

Check back on my website soon to see some fresh intro slideshows with some of the new music. I will also be using the new songs on my upcoming wedding slideshows that I link to on my blog. I'm sure you're all getting tired of the old stuff :).

#45....check!

45. See Brian Regan, the comedian, live

Last night I went with three friends--Julie, Scott & Sarah--down to Tucson to see my favorite comedian. (Sorry I had to use the one where you were talking, Sarah, the other one was blurry. :)) This guy is HILARIOUS. It was so much fun laughing all night. He does the best voices and facial expressions, to the point where, it doesn't even matter if what he's saying is funny--he's just funny to watch and listen to. And one of the best things about him is that he's clean, which is something that is hard to come by in comedians these days.

Here's a fun video of one of his bits:




Fun times!

#88....check!

88. Watch the movie "Born into Brothels"

Last night I had Liene Stevens of Blue Orchid Designs over. I've gotten to know her a little and we are becoming fast friends. She brought Philippino food and I gave her a little crochet lesson. Here's Liene starting a baby blanket:


She's going to be done with that in no time :).

We also watched the movie "Born into Brothels." I first heard about this movie by reading Liene's blog and it peaked my interest. So I put it on my list to make sure I didn't forget I wanted to watch it. I know it's an easy goal to complete, but I wanted to make sure I was intentional.


The movie was about a young photographer, Zana Briski, who spent a few years living in the red light district of Calcutta, India. She got to know many of the women who make their living through prostitution as well as their children who live in some of the worst conditions I've ever seen. She got all of the children cameras and film and began to teach them about photography. It's amazing everything she poured into them -- even working tirelessly to get many of them accepted into boarding schools so they could escape their bleak fate in the brothels. This movie is definitely a "must see." I'm going to watch it one more time before returning it to the video store just to try to take more of it in.

Thanks Liene for a fun night! Can't wait to do it again!

#11....check!

11. Order pens for my business

This is one of those things I've had on my list of things to do FOREVER--something that would be good to do but is easy to put off and never get around to. So I put it on my 101 in 1001 list and I got it done! I feel so official now having pens with my logo on them :).

At receptions I put out little forms for people to write their email addresses on if they want to be able to view all the photos online. So it's great to have these pens to put out with them. And if people take one home with them--great! I have 500. :)

#3....check!

3. Blog every day for a month


It feels good to check this one off my list because it's a big one. I can't believe I did it! Every single day since February 6th I have blogged. When I started my blog last April I couldn't imagine coming up with something worthwhile to say a couple times a week let alone every day. But this last month has stretched me and helped me to think outside the box with blogging. I think it will help me going forward to make my blog interersting and keep it consistent--even if I'm not posting every day.

Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane for the Carolinas. I will be shooting a wedding in SC on Saturday and visiting friends in both the Carolinas the rest of the time I'm there--a week total. So it should be fun! I will be available by email and phone but it's hard to say what internet connection will be like so I'll try to blog a couple times. Hope you have a great week!

Duh...#75....check!

So I was just looking over my 101 in 1001 list and realized that #75 is Upgrade my 17" laptop. I did that! Fun to check off another one without even realizing it :).

Thanks for all your comments on my blog guys! I love reading them. I still can't believe how cute my parents are...

Hope you have a fabulous day!

#78....check!

78. Take photos of my parents


Yesterday my mom came over to hang out with me during the day a little. She had just had her hair done that morning and looked so cute. So I said we should do a photo shoot with her and my dad on one of the days she gets her hair done and she said, "How about today?" So we did it! It was a little sad though cause it was SO windy so I don't think you get the full effect of the hair-cuteness. But look how cute my parents are together!! They are some of my favorite people in the world and this August will celebrate 33 years together. I'm proud of them for sticking through some tough times. They know the meaning of their vows, "in sickness & in health." My dad nearly died of a brain aneurysm 5 years ago and his recovery has been a long one. But he's doing well and we are SO thankful to be able to still have him with us.

We had fun taking some photos with my dad and both of his babies:


He loves his motorcycle. Yes, my dad is a hard core biker-dude.

Those of you who know him are laughing right now. He's a gentle-spirited electrical engineer nerd in real life but I think the motorcyle helps him feel like he's a little more on the cool side :).

He had so much fun with these photos:




Then we took some shots around Freestone park.





And finally ended up in old town Gilbert where we ate at the new Oregano's there--yumm! But we took a couple shots while waiting for our table.



Love you mom and dad! Thanks for everything you've done to bless me and impact my life!!

#50....check!

50. Solve the Rubik's Cube

When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I had a Rubik's cube and was in awe of my older cousin who could solve it. It blew my mind. It's always been one of those challenges that seemed impossible. So I thought it would be fun to figure out the mystery... and I have conquered! I know--I'm a big nerd for spending my time on this. I've always been a little nerdy--got a minor in math in college. But it's fun to be able to solve it and have that sense of accomplishment.

#38....check!

38. Spend a whole day with Jess out at her place


So today I was supposed to have an engagement shoot but the couple had to postpone last minute so I took my whole Saturday off to spend time with my good friend Jessica which just so happened to be on my list. Now you may wonder why spending time with a friend would be considered a legitimate goal. Jessica has been my friend for a long time. She has two kids--Sydney is 8 and Grant is 5. I've been friends with Jess long before she had Sydney and we've been through a lot together. Last year she got remarried and she now lives out in the boonies beyond the limits of Queen Creek -- about a 45 minute drive from me. And our relationship has changed a bit this year. I don't get to see her nearly as much and have only made the trip out to her house once. Isn't that sad? So I decided I needed some quality time with her and would make the effort to go her way.

But we didn't spend the whole day out at her house. We started the day at Grant's little league game. Which was a lot of fun. Here's a great shot I got of one of the little leaguers at bat:


Here's Sydney playing with her most cherished toy--an American Girl Doll. I haven't seen Sydney in months and she is getting so big and seriously talks like a grown up.


This little guy is playing the outfield and is totally prepared for any fly ball that may come his way:


I love this shot of the team as they wait their turn up to bat:


After the game and lunch we made the trek back to Jess & Daniel's house. They live off a dirt road and burn their own trash and they don't even really have a city name to call their own. Right now they're "borrowing" "Queen Creek" for their address even though their house is 10 miles beyond the edge of town. I give them a hard time for living so far out. Here's their house:


We went next door to my friend Lindsay's house. Lindsay is also Jessica's sister-in-law. She is pregnant and I got this great shot of her:


She was watching some cute dogs. Check out these ears:


We hung out for awhile working on a school project with Syndey. Here's Sydney--I can't believe how gorgeous she is!


To wrap up the fun-filled day, we went ice skating! Sydney made the honor roll so this was her reward. It was the first time ever skating for both Sydney & Grant!

Getting laced up:


The whole fam:


Now mind you, all of the following shots were taken while I myself was on skates on the ice. Pretty impressive, I know :).

Grant was really tentative at first and either held onto mom or the side:




But then he got this walker-looking-thing that helped him not fall and gain confidence. It was really cute:


I caught this action shot of him wiping it even with the walker:


But then he got rid of the walker and was wizzing around the rink on his own. He had a blast!


I got some cute shots of Jess & Daniel as well--still newlyweds :).






What a fun day! Thanks guys for hanging out! I hope it's not too long before we do it again :).