A thousand words

This picture is worth more than 1,000 words in my book. I LOVE IT!

Cutline: The Dalai Lama, left, looks on as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, of South Africa, does an impromptu dance move after remarking that his wireless microphone made him feel like pop star Michael Jackson, during an event Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at the University of Washington in Seattle. The event took place on the final day of a five-day visit by the Dalai Lama to Seattle centered around the theme of "Seeds of Compassion." (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

I simply ADORE Archbishop Desmond Tutu! And all this week, I have heard interviews with The Dali Lama on NPR, so I enjoyed this photo very much and wanted to share it with you guys.

BBC winner(s) announced

They chose THREE winners for the BBC scholarship.

I was not one of them, but being in the top five was a HUGE honor. Seriously. I am at a loss of why/how I ended up there.

The stories of the other finalists were compelling and just blew me away. They SO deserve the big boost this will give their businesses.

BUT it's not like I walked away empty-handed. I got a $500 gift certificate. I SO want to hole it up and go to the BBC, but am thinking about getting all of Liana's DVDs. They're on sale for $589 right now, so for a little out of pocket, BOTH Mike and I could benefit from them.

The selfish part of me wants to hang with Liana, and also see my best-good-friend, Sarah, in Atlanta....but I gotta be thinking of the business! Besides, we could have some good lessons before our big, busy wedding season this summer!

Recipe Exchange!

I normally don't do chains, and really don't like forwarding things to people who don't want them ... BUT I have a recipe exchange e-mail.

If you'd like 36 new recipes, shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment. I'll send it to you!

Thanks! Karen

Finalist for BBC scholarship!

EEEEEEEEEEK! Ok, so I'm TOTALLY jazzed right now. I'm one of five finalists for the Liana's Photo Business Boot Camp Scholarship.

Attending the BBC is #28 on my 101 in 1001 list, so when I read about the scholarship on Friday, I sent my family and Erik e-mails instructing them to nominate me. Yeah, you *could* nominate yourself, but I just didn't feel right about it.

Eventually, I got over that and put together a slideshow for my application. CLICK HERE to see the show, or check it out on the Bananas EDU blog.

In the interest of brevity, I didn't go into the Mike-Karen duo .... NOT because I don't adore Mike, though. Primarily because I'm the one pulling my hair out over business structure. Mike is in charge of making sure our photos look AWESOME, and he does a spectacular job of it! I've become the business junkie .... and it's an OBSESSION (just ask Erik!)

Wedding Accomodations

For our out of town guests, we have some excellent rates on block rooms.

More information is available on our wedding Web site.

A BIG thanks to Erik's mom, Bobby Ann, for tracking down all of the information and coordinating this aspect of the wedding. It was a HUGE help!

Flip flopper

It's official. I'm a flip flopper. Some have been accused of this in a negative way. But it would be impossible for me to NOT flop. Here's why: I believe it's important that as a reporter I am unaffiliated with any political party. SO I register as unaffiliated.

When did I flip? I became a Republican in Independence so I could vote in a local primary I felt VERY strongly about.

When did I flop? Right now, baby! I've just registered as a Democrat here in Hays to be able to sign a petition and vote in a primary for the Democrats I feel VERY strongly about. (Seriously, the most interesting political races in Hays/Ellis County are Democratic ... the Republicans around here are sedate).

SO ... what does this mean in the big picture? I was actually concerned my right-wing daddy-O would flip out when I told him. Instead (and to my GREAT surprise), he was all excited. Seems to think I'll help draw out the Hilary/Obama thing longer and give Republicans a better chance at the White House. Um ..... not my intention, but as long as he hasn't disinherited me, I'll take it. ;-)

What does the future hold? I'll wait until primaries are over, then re-register as unaffiliated. That simple.

Joe & Erin's clan

Friday, my friend Joe, his wife Erin, and their three adorable kiddos stopped in Hays to see me. In case you didn't know, I LOVE getting visitors in Hays. I enjoy showing off my little town, but Joe and Erin were on the highway with limited time for sightseeing, plus it was cold, windy and rainy, so we had fewer options than I'd like.

Anyhow, in the first photo is Isaac and Issy, and the second photo is Liam (careful girls, he's a TOTAL heart throb!) ps-check out how much Issy looks like her mom!


You could probably tell from the first photo, but we ended up at MickyD's. There was a playplace so little bodies could run around, which was the key attraction.


And of course, the awesome princess necklace Issy got with her meal. :-)

BUT c'mon, let's PLAY!



We watched the kids for awhile, but eventually Issy insisted I come on up. SO I ditched my shoes and hit the playplace!




View from the top: Hi Dad!




Joe and Erin, THANK YOU for stopping to see me! I LOVE company! I can hardly believe how BIG your kids are (yeah, I'm a slacker and this was my first time meeting Liam!)

Stop by any time! :-)

First Holy Communion

In 12 hours, our 2nd grade CCD class will begin Mass for First Holy Communion.

Miss Allison and I have taught CCD in Ellis for 3 years now. The first year, we taught 1st grade. The last two years, we've taught 2nd grade.

I LOVE it! These kids are bright, have loads of perspective and grasp so much more theology than some give them credit for.

Anyhow, here's our group photo from last week:


And of course, something silly (c'mon! We're talking about SECOND GRADERS here!)

Crossover

This is yet ANOTHER excellent time to cruise on over to the Heartland blog!

Last weekend, I did Baby Andrew's first portrait session. Boy, is he a CUTIE! I could have just taken him home with me ... except mom and dad (Amy & Arne) would probably not appreciate me running off with their first born. Maybe when baby No. 2 comes along .... ;-)



Also, be sure to eat up the yummmie slideshow.

Right now, we're in the process of switching our proofing around here at Heartland Photography. It's been time consuming, so I appreciate Erik and Esse's patience with me (basically neglecting them) so I can get this awesome new proofing system up and running. When I'm convinced it's ready to roll, I'll show it off here!

Pretty Picture — Shoot Sac

Just a pretty photo of the Baroque cover of my Shoot Sac.

Photographed at the Sheldon's house over Easter.