GOING PRIVATE IN January

 My BLOG will be going

P.R.I.V.A.T.E.  

by the end of January.

"If" you would like to continue to follow,

please leave a comment with your email address and I will add you to the list.

I haven't been very consistent in the last little while

but have plans on changing that for 2013.  

Thanks to you all.

Hugs!

(2) PHOTO PROJECTS - UNDERWAY / PHOTOGRAPHY UPDATES

-8 below zero this morning / no school closures because (0) mph wind - "if" wind was blowing school would be cancelled. It must be -20 degrees for school to be cancelled!

Disclaimer:  The below post is in no way meant to 'brag' - but to document progress made for the year 2012 as I did not blog about them - I'm pretty shy about this and don't talk about it very often!

 

HEMMING VILLAGE:
Back in October 2012, Hemming Village contacted me about purchasing some photos to put in The Willows apartment complex. The owner, Alice Hemming (lives back east) contacted me personally after the college recommended me as a 'local' photographer.  I hooked her up with my Flickr account and she got back with me - she loved what I had and we have been negotiating ever since!  They put the project on 'hold' until after the holidays.  SO, yesterday the lab called me and said they were ready to get started  printing on canvas - 30x40!  They are printing up (3) photos and presenting them to Hemming Village to see if they're satisfactory to put in the living rooms of The Willows.  I didn't exactly agree with a few of her choices - but I'm not the boss (haha).

The guy who owns the lab/framing in Idaho Falls would like to be 'my' lab, frame the photos and carry them in their gallery.  He said they price the photos to help make the artist some money!  I was all for that idea as camera equipment is seriously expensive!

DESERET BOOK:
I was contacted by one of the buyers of Deseret Book back in October as well.  He's originally from Rexburg, Dallan Wright, and now buys art for Deseret Book.  We are 'friends' on Facebook and one day he wrote me and wanted me to get him thumb nails of ALL my photos!!!!!  He liked my work and wanted to buy (3) photos.  This is where the 'misunderstanding' began!  I thought he wanted to purchase them to hang in the store - like the college did when they purchased (40) photos!  After talking with the lab/framer, I found out that they wanted them to SELL in the store!  Yikes, such an honor.  The last time I heard, a friend who works for Deseret corporate offices said he saw them hanging in the corporate offices - where they decide how much to charge for them!  At first they wanted to get them out in time for Christmas - but now I think they will bring them in after the New Year - which means anytime now!  The only thing I can say about this experience is I won't get rich!  The exposure will be 'enough' and, like I said, will be an honor!

DESERET BOOK PHOTO CONTEST:
In the summer of 2012, I entered a photo contest for Deseret Book on Facebook.  With all my friends HELP, we were able to WIN!  In the fall, we received $60 in gift certificates to the store and (2) free calendars where the photo that won appeared as "September" in the Deseret Book calendar.  How FUN is that?

IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE:
The publisher of an Idaho Falls Magazine invited me to submit some photos for their photo contest which I did.  It took a long, long time to find out but, I WON "Editor's Choice" for one photo and Honorable Mention for several others!  They will be displayed at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center this coming February in their gallery. 

MADISON COUNTY FAIR:
Entered (5) photos in the county fair and did really well!  They 'all' won something but (3) photos won money prizes - we went out for ice cream ! ! !  

    

NEW YEARS DAY - 2013

3.9 degrees as I write this / snowy / sunshine and ice crystals gently falling.

A FRESH start - a New Year!

Take a DEEP breath!  Now, doesn't that feel good?  Yeah, it's cold outside but just wanted you to feel how good it feels to be alive and moving toward the future - new experiences, new relationships, NEW EVERYTHING!  

I've been absent for some time - I've missed writing about my (our) life, family and such.  Lost interest when a family 'loss' derailed me and I just needed time to forget.  I like to be positive in everything I think and write and didn't want that experience to change me and sour me - so decided to keep things to myself for a little while!

We're 'weird' about New Years - maybe a better word is 'simple' - we love being together, staying home (for the most part), and enjoying family, food and fireplace!  For several years we've gone to see a good movie on New Years Eve but this year we kept it really simple and watched TV and the happenings in New York.  I made a phone call to mom to make sure she was okay - she wasn't feeling that great to come out and stay up late and she seemed fine with that.  I texted all the kids to wish them a Happy New Year - things were quiet and calm all night and 2013 slipped right in at the right time.

Watched Rose Parade on TV from Pasadena, California.  Loved it - we would go every year when I was a kid living in California.  My aunt lived right off the parade route and we would stay up all night to get a good place to see the floats roll past, bands play - excitement to the max.  It's very sentimental to me!  

I asked Bob what his New Year's resolution(s) were this year - and he said, "That's a good question!"  I'm not sure if he's ever made a resolution!  It made him think - he did say he had to read some books - but actually he needed to do that for school.  The ONLY one I thought I really needed to work on was to eliminate SUGAR from my life - forever!  Well, that lasted about 4 hours!  Haha!  I am serious about that - but it's going to take one step at a time and little by little over the year.  So, I guess that's my one and only resolution - too many resolutions are a drag.  But I am going to try and IMPROVE my life - do better at many things - they don't necessarily have to be resolutions but they will be in my planner and on my mind so I can make improvements.  Specifics?  I'm still planning and deciding on some but will list them to make them a reality for 2013.