Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Thank you!



Today is a great day. No matter what side you support, today is a great day. Election day! I love the entire political process. (except the mud-slinging) The hype, the tradition, the grandness. Love it all! 

On our walk to vote today, Olympia and I talked about what we were doing. She was not as interested as I hoped, but I really wanted to impress on her the path taken to get there. Women had a long fight to get where we are now. I hope all of my fellow women out there on their way to the polls said a quiet "thank you" to those who did the work before us. 

That being said, I try to keep my politics to myself, but tonight, I am excited. I am excited to see the energy that was brought to this country by one man. I look forward to the future.





Thursday, October 23, 2008

almost famous

On Tuesday, I took a little trip to Omaha. Hillary Clinton was doing a rally for Barak Obama. I thought this is probably one of my only chances to be so close to seeing her. I went by myself, but quickly made two friends in the audience. (I had to go to the ladies room and they held my spot.) When I returned to my spot in the growing crowd, (5 or so rows deep) we started chatting about the people beginning to filter onto the risers behind the podium. I told my new friends that I was going to ask how you got up there. Wouldn't hurt to ask, right? I finally ran into the guy who gets to decide, he marked my ticket, and was nice enough to let me grab my new friends as well. Once we got to the risers, they said they wanted us to stand in front. We were so excited, we were shaking. Anywho, here is what it looked like:


That's me in the brown sweater just over her shoulder. This cute little lady next to me wearing a hat, kept saying things like "amen, sister" and "un-huh sister" to everything Hillary said. It was so awesome. Afterward, I got to shake Hillary's hand. She really is beautiful up close. 

I knew we would make the local news, since no one ever comes to Nebraska, but it must have been a slow day, because we made national news on ABC and Nightline. Of course they were talking about how Nebraska can split its electoral votes. To see the whole story on ABC news, click here. (look for me in the brown sweater.)

Two thumbs way up!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

warning: cuteness alert!

Last weekend, Olympia and I went out to Ravenna to photograph a family. We stayed at a friend's farm. Olympia got to go 4-wheeling. It was a blast. One of the boys took me into a shed and showed me this:





Yes. I tried to bring one home, but the hubby said no. We guessed them to be about 2 weeks old. Aren't they the cutest things you ever saw. The mom would lay there and nurse them, but as soon as someone got close, she would stand up and let all the babies fall off so she could try and get you to pet her. It was just great to watch. Being on the farm was a lot of fun. Olympia keeps asking when she gets to go back.

Thumbs up!

Monday, October 13, 2008

frost?

I would just like to replay the conversation I heard on my tv between the anchor(A) and the weatherman(W).

W: Hope you have the ice scraper in your car for tomorrow morning.
A: What?!?
W: You might need it.
A: GASP!!!!
W: I took her breath away. I haven't done that to a woman in decades. 

SERIOUSLY!!!! I don't want to know about your low self esteem. I want to know about the weather. I think someone should call the inappropriate police.

Two thumbs not up!


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

marriage

Here's the conversation that just took place at my house as we were getting ready for school.

Me: I need to buy you new pants that actually fit, since you are growing so fast.
O: I am growing up big. Soon I will be a mom.
Me: I suppose so.
O: And then I will be married. 
Me: I hope so.
O: When will I get married?
Me: When you find the right guy.
O: One that's someone else isn't using?
Me: (laugh) I hope so.

Isn't a 4 year olds mind great?

Saturday, September 27, 2008

round 2









Here are some more pics of Olympia modeling her urban wear.

Friday, September 26, 2008

quickie...


Here is one of the images from Olympia's 4 year photo shoot. There will be more when I finally have time to look at them all. They turned out great. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

nothing....

I just realized it has been over 3 weeks since my last post. And while it was a long post, I need to update. Here's the real problem. I've got nothing new. NOTHING!!!! So enjoy that thought and come back soon where I will outline some new changes to my life. (very soon.)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

were you wondering?

I read someone else's blog today. Okay, I read a lot of other people's blogs today. But one had a 100 things you didn't know about me. Some of you will know these, but I bet most of you won't. Just for fun and a time waster, here you go:

1. I was born in Colorado
2. My dad is an engineer by trade and photographer by hobby.
3. My dad taught me all I could ever need to know about photographing flowers, trees and nature. (his preference, not mine)
4. My mom once worked for a professional photographer as a retoucher. With real ink and all.
5. I have a brother who lives in St. Louis
6. I have lived in 6 different states.
7. This year, I will have lived in the same house the longest in one place in my life.
8. When I was a kid, my favorite toys were Barbies.
9. I often gave Barbie a makeover with fingernail polish.
10. I had rediculously big bangs in middle school.
11. We had a parakeet named Captain.
12. My brother and I wanted to name him Hot Lips.
13. We had a dog for a while named Oppenheimer. (the guy who invented the atomic bomb.)
14. My brother named the dog that.
15. My first true love was Neil Patrick Harris as Doogie Houser, MD.
16. I secretly wished the New Kids on the Block would move into the next door house when it was for sale.
17. I love to look at photographs of everything from the past.
18. My maternal grandfather loved to conduct orchestras from his living room chair.
19. He also had several college degrees.
20. Olympia's middle name is after him.
21. And a photographer.
22. My maternal grandparents always took us to museums and historical places.
23. We took them to see a Frank Lloyd Wright house, which I can remember most of the layout. I still love anything by him and the arts and crafts era.
24. My paternal grandpa took me to the gas station everyday to get candy when we visited.
25. I LOVE Wheel of Fortune!!!!!!
26. I can repeat the entire theme song to WoF.
27. My brother and I watched a lot of game shows at my grandparents house.
28. I wore lime green bell bottoms to my high school graduation. (they clashed the best with the scarlet red gowns.)
29. I bought those pants for 5 Marks in Germany at a department store.
30. I went to Germany to live with a family at 16.
31. Did I mention I was by myself?
32. I once was pretty fluent in German and often dreamt in German.
33. My first college major was International Relations with a minor in German.
34. The second was Theology.
35. The last was photography.
36. I did my first year at a Jesuit college.
37. In my theology class, the priest said the follow: "if a guy takes a girl out and pays for everything, at the end of the date, she should put out." Not joking. Still trying to figure out what it has to do with the book of John.
38. I decided to become a photographer because of an ad with a very sexy man for Aqua Di Gio. To this day, I keep a copy of the ad in my purse.
39. I wanted to attend a college in Colorado for photography, but my then boyfriend threw a fit and I found a photography school closer to his college.
40. My college mascot was the Mules! 
41. or Jennies! for the girls.
42. I graduated from college with a B.S. in photography in only 3 1/2 years. 
43. I took 21.5 hours each semester. 
44. No, photography classes aren't that easy either.
45. When I met my husband, we were both engaged to other people.
46. I ate lunch with my future hubby almost everyday his last semester.
47. My hubby has the best break up story of all time. (short version-flew girl down on valentines day, broke up with her immediately, turned around back to the airport, she said "my flight isn't until tomorrow." he said, "you're on stand by for the next plane." then drove like mad to go out with our friends for an anti Valentine's day.
48. Our first kiss was at 12:25 that night.
49. It was President's day.
50. He was wearing Doc Martin boots the day I met him.
51. I was wearing a red sweater, jeans, white shirt, green clogs, and green socks.
52. We were wearing matching socks!
53. I didn't know his last name for a long time. 
54. We went to San Fransisco together after dating only 3 weeks. 
55. My aunt we went to visit in SF said we were soulmates, because our names were very similar.
56. We went to go the Pez Museum. 
57. I currently have over 300 different Pez dispensers.
58. I fell in love with our house for the built in china hutch that displays my pez.
59. The hubby and I picked out my engagement ring diamond together.
60. He called me everynight to open and close the box on the phone to tease me.
61. I was still in college, he was here.
62. He proposed by locking me in the kitchen and then playing the hot/cold game with me to find the ring.
63. We got married in the winter. It was not cold at all on our wedding day.
64. We took our honeymoon to Lake Tahoe.
65. Our first dance was to At Last by Etta James.
66. Our goal is to go to all 50 state captial buildings. We currently have 13.
67. I don't have an appendix.
68. or a gallbladder.
69. I love music of all kinds. 
70. especially Japanese drumming.
71. I met my best friend 18 years ago yesterday.
72. We have only lived in the same city for 9 months.
73. I know an obsessive amount of random Beatles facts.
74. My friends and I recreated the Abby Road album on the same day they did the original, down to the time.
75. I was fired from a public library in high school. (the librarian's name was Mr. Read. hehehe)
76. I worked at the public pool as well, which has given me an unusual fear of public pools and cleanliness.
77. I didn't drink in college until I met one of my best friends. 
78. My favorite drink is either a real mojito or lemonade, raspberry vodka.
79. I love being outside. 
80. When I am stressed or having a hard time sleeping, I watch the realestate channel.
81. We only have 22 channels on our tv. (most of which are cspan and home shopping.)
82. If I could move anywhere, I think it would be to Maine or Santa Fe.
83. I love politics. I won't discuss it with you unless you share similar views.
84. I wanted to name Olympia if she was a boy Elway, after one of my other true loves.
85. I saw John Denver in concert in high school. 
86. I also saw U2. 
87. I also saw the first 2 songs of a Tina Turner concert, after seeing Chris Isaac.
88. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith bumped into me once in Kansas City. I thought it was a girl cutting in line.
89. I try to talk to my mom every day or so. 
90. Olympia was named by my hubby. She was unnamed for 17 hours while he decided.
91. His grandmother is greek, which is why she is named Olympia.
92. I wanted to name her Monarch and call her Mona.
93. My favorite drink in the whole world is fountain diet pepsi. I love it!!!!
94. Last week was my last time to work at the YMCA. I worked in the Child Watch for almost 4 years.
95. I am in a constant battle with myself over organization. Not my strong suit.
96. I hate using capital letters.
97. I also get distracted easily. (like reading blogs)
98. I love doing my job. I love meeting all the people and catching great moments in a kids life.
99. We love to eat out. (and especially trying out new restaurants.)
100. I am actually done. I think that is a record for getting something done in one night. 

Hope ya'll liked learning way too much about me. If you get bored, do one for your blog.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

third time is a charm

Okay. I will now try to actually write some substance instead of taking the easy road with pics. If you notice the time of these posts, just know that I am still working at all hours of the day, and I just ate half a box of nerds. (yes, I steal candy from my kid. Isn't that why you have kids?) Anywho, not sure where this post is headed, but thought it was time my following have something new to read while taking a break from their state job. (ahem!) These last few weeks have been very busy. I am feeling torn between loving both of my jobs and not finding a good balance. I love my actual work, and I think I would actually love it more if I could devote much more time to it. However, I am also parading around as a part time stay at home mom. Some of you know the demands of time to be the primary care giver. I am counting the days for preschool to start, so I can have at least a few more set times to be at home and return phone calls and actually have uninterrupted work time not after 9:00. 

Okay, crabby Jenny done with the complaining section on this blog. I am totally thankful that my business is growing at such a great speed. I love meeting the new people and seeing my regulars. What I love more is the ability to create images that will be looked at for years to come. 

Expect new things in the coming days. I have a great friend coming to help organize my house. I truly believe that I use so much energy on my creative side of business, it leaves me with no energy for organization or tidiness. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who cleans well, and moderately puts up with my clutter. But I have a goal to send all the unnecessary items out the door. Super excited!!!

And one last big exciting item...the hot hubby got a huge promotion. He is now a captain on the fire department. For those of you who don't know, he is a fireman. All big hose jokes aside, he loves his job. He was hired 7 1/2 years ago. You have to have 6 years on the job to take the captains test and just a year after taking the test, he is promoted. I am so happy for him. So if you live in Lincoln, and see a hot fireman in a grey shirt, just know you are looking at my husband, and he's mine. (yes, most firemen are hot, and they do know how to use the big hose.)

Two thumbs up! 
(especially if you actually made it thru that.) 

St. Louis rocks!

o and the festus cousins @ the arch

my fav pic. 
o and the o'fallon cousins @ the magic house
riding the pony at the zoo. yes she needs sunglasses. she didn't want the paparazzi to notice her.

Monday, July 28, 2008

catch up... not ketsup!



the 4th



1st trip to the eye doctor. everything is a-okay! dr. brightman is the best.

little eintsteins cake



Here is a fast overview of the last few weeks. Olympia turned 4! So far, 4 is not a good age for her, but more on that later. We had a rockin' Little Einsteins birthday party, went to St. Louis to see the family, and had some fun here.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

the final rose


Okay, only a few short hours until the final rose. I'm so excited. For once, I don't actually care who she picks. I hope she picks Jason, but wouldn't care if she picked Jesse. She actually has a head on her shoulders, and is smarter than I gave her credit for in my bracket. That said, I am the big loser of our brackets. There is no way to win now. (Way to go Leah, not a single X on her bracket!) So, here is my bracket. We will see soon. I'm so excited. (a little sad that I won't have a good excuse to sit at Anne's house and drink cosmos, but I think Tuesday is a great reason to do so.)

Two thumbs up!

Monday, June 23, 2008

olympia's pending birthday

Every year, we go thru a long and trying time. The 2 months leading up to Olympia's birthday, she will constantly change her mind about what time of party she would like. Her first birthday was easy. We decided for her.
Her second birthday was pretty easy for her to decide, since her main love was animals.
But last year, it was tough to pick one princess or even to decide on princesses. This year she started thinking about it in January. Every three days or so it would change. Finally, when push came to shove, she decided on Little Einsteins. (I'm a little surprised, but very happy with the choice.) The cake will be challenge, but we will figure that out later. I made the invitations, and were so pleased with them, thought I would share with you guys.


Thumbs up!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

i love morelli



On Wednesday, I spent 12 hours child free during the awake hours. I know, it's horrible that one would get so much alone time, but it was great. I happen to have had a doctors appointment. Afterward, I drove to Omaha to pick up a friend and her daughter. Her daughter (age 2) ran up to me like I was her long lost best friend. It was incredibly cute. They then drove me to Border's bookstore/the mall. I walked around a very boring mall for 30 minutes. Then walked to Border's to wait for 6:00. It was 3:00 when I got there. Why did I wait? Because, one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich was coming for a booksigning. I was so excited. Many of my friends and I have read all of her books. We love them!!!! One of my best friends and her mom met me there. We waited for over 2 hours to see her for 15 seconds. But whatever, I spent time with my friend, had kid free time and got my picture of Olympia wearing her I love Morelli picture signed. Super exciting. We then went out to eat and had cake for dessert, because Stephanie Plum (the main character) would have done that. Here is a picture of us with Janet Evanovich and the picture of Olympia.

Thumbs Up!!!!!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

bracket time


Once again, I am sucked into the reality tv world with the bachlorette. LOVE IT!!!! Some of my friends and I end up watching it either together or on the phone together to discuss all of it. I am ashamed to admit it, but I love it. So, we were going to bet which guy she picks, but instead decided to do a bracket instead. So for those of you who would like to play along, here it is. I will post my completed one later. Feel free to print this for yourself and play along at home.

two thumbs up!!!!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

where in the h-e-double hockey sticks have you been??

I know. What could possibily cause such a hiatus in blogging? I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. Just life going on, and me not wanting to face it on the blog. Please don't take me off your reads. I promise to blog a lot more.

Now a funny story. Olympia didn't take a nap yesterday. Sometimes, I think the naps are more for me than her, but she still will sleep for at least an hour, so I figure she needs them as well. But yesterday, she did fall asleep, so I let her get up. We decided to set the pool up. She played in it for at least an hour. It was very nice for me as well. I sat in the sun and returned phone calls. After she played, we came inside, where she pretty much went from Nice Olympia to Mean/Naughty Olympia in less than 30 seconds. I sent her to her room for a time out. She was yelling at me, so I said, "when you have been quiet for 1 minute, I will tell you to come out." After the minute or so, I called for her. No response. Called again. No response. I went into her room, to find her asleep on her bed. We let her sleep for 20 minutes and woke her up. She was very nice and happy then.

Funny story #2. Olympia can write her name. She is not a fan of writing, but she can. For that reason, she thinks every word is comprised of only letters found in her name. So she just writes those letters to "spell" words. She handed me a piece of paper with some letters on it. "what does this spell, mom?" Well, she actually spelled pop. Wow, a real word. So, I told her what it spelled. Pretty proud of herself, she went to work on another word. "I spelled pop a different way. Look." Well, she spelled poop. Of course, I told her what it spelled. She laughed and has gone on to only spell that word everywhere. Awesome. My kid writes poop. We have been trying to work out more words. But poop continues to be the favorite. Oh well.

Two thumbs UP!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

m.a.s.s. b.f.f.


I have the most wonderful friend. We became closer during the recent trip to Pearlington. She is the most kindred spirit out there. When I grow up I want to be just like her. Yesterday, I was having a horrific day. She saw me and immediately came to give me a hug. (she is a big hugger.) I think she knew I needed it before I could speak the words. It was possibly the best hug I had received in a long time. I wanted her to know how much that meant to me. I hope everyone has someone to give them a hug like that, if not call me and I will try to get one to you.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

part 3

Here are the rest of the pictures. I can't quite figure out how to get more on a post.


More from the Davis Memorial in Hiawatha, KS

The seeds that started this tree were taken to the moon and back literally. An astronaut took them with him on Apollo 14. At the International Forest of Friendship in Atchinson, KS. (also named for the only one day President)


An earthwork of Amelia Earheart. She was born in Atchinson, KS

The bank where the first daylight bank robbery took place. Jesse James and his gang took credit for it. Liberty, MO

Sunday, May 4, 2008

roadtrip part 2

So here are the rest of the roadtrip images. I know you have been on the edge of your seat waiting. I am so cruel making you wait like that.

A monument to the pig that inspired the piggy bank. White Cloud, KS

Lewis and Clark marker. Supposedly there is a rock with their names carved into it, where they slept. We did not see such a rock.

View of 4 states. Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

House of Junk. This is a monument to a mom. I think it looks like a lot of junk. Hiawatha, KS

Davis Memorial. This is a memorial a man built for his wife when she died before him. He did it back during the depression so his in-laws would not get his money when he died. It was probably the most impressive thing we saw.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

the long and winding road

One of my good friends from college, Krissy and I like to take roadtrips together. Now, this is not your typical Thelma and Louise roadtrip. We carefully plan out a route. We plan every stop along the way. This year was no different, except we had a long list of stops to try and make it to. What kind of stops you ask? Well...odd roadside attractions, of course! So here is the rundown with pictures. We made all 17 stops in about 24 hours. Pretty fun stuff.


The statue commerating Atchison. America's only one day President. He was President for one day until Taylor would take office. Taylor would not take office on a Sunday, so he delayed his oath until Monday. Well, Atchison took the office for one day. Plattsburg, MO

Woodhenge. It is suppose to be a monument like stonehenge, but it looked more like a run down fence. By far the most disappointing of the stops. Smithville, MO
The world's largest ball of string. Weston, MO

Krissy and I at the world's largest ball of string. Weston, MO

The proper roadtrip breakfast.

The tombstone of Prince Eric of Sunbeam. This angus cow sired thousands of calfs. He is an angus legend. St. Joseph, MO

The house where Jesse James was shot. You can actually see the bullet hole in the wall. Along with parts of his coffin and a cast of his skull. St. Joseph, MO

The Glore Psychiatric Museum. A history of psychiatric treatments over the years. This was a little freaky since it is in the old psychiatric ward of the hospital. St. Joseph, MO

An Indian monument by an artist named Toth. He is trying to make a sculputre in every state. This is 50 feet tall and was originally a tree. He carved it with only a chainsaw. Troy, Kansas

A statue of Liberty in Troy, Kansas.

I will do the part 2 soon. Come back to check it out.