It was finals week in college. I had pulled an all-nighter scrambling to finish my final project for my Costume Design course. I had put my whole heart into my final project-and I loved how it turned out (in fact, I loved it so much that 10 years after college, I still have it!). The course didn’t require a presentation of our project-all we needed to do was turn it in before 10:00am that morning. And I.WAS.RUNNING.LATE.
I raced to campus in my car & parked right next to the building where my class was. All I needed to do was park, run inside, drop off my project & run like the wind back outside before I got a ticket. In my haste, I decided that I would just quickly park in the Faculty Parking Lot. There were signs EVERYWHERE that said that there was a $350 fine for anyone who parked there without a Faculty parking pass. I parked my car, ran as quickly as I could in my 3″ heels to the class & ran back to my car(side note that has nothing to do with the story: my 3″ heels were adorable). As I turned the corner, I saw the cop putting a ticket on my car. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” I screamed, as dramatically as possible (if you know me, you know that this is how I react to everything.) I pleaded with the cop, explaining my situation, that I was only parked there for 5 milliseconds & that I didn’t have $350 to pay for the ticket. I may or may not have tried to squeeze out a tear (unsuccessfully…crying on cue is really hard!!!) The stiff face on the cop let me know that I was NOT going to get out of this ticket.
BUT WAIT.
I had an idea.
It wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.
BUT it was worth a shot.
Earlier that day, I had purchased a jumbo sized bag of Tootsie Rolls. And as always, I had purchased this bag of candy to eat entirely by myself. And as always, I had this giant bag of Tootsie Rolls in my purse. I slowly reached for my purse & said to the cop, “Listen, if you don’t give me a ticket, I will give you this ENTIRE BAG OF TOOTSIE ROLLS.” He sat there for a second, looked at me as if I was crazy & finally shrugged his shoulders & said, “Ok. But don’t tell anyone.” And that, my friends is how I got out of a $350 ticket. True story.
I am obsessed with candy. I love sweets & candy more than anyone you’ll ever meet (trust me on this one). So when Wendy Paul told me she was coming out with a fourth cookbook that had to do with sweet, sweet ice cream, I was so excited! So excited, in fact, that she didn’t even need to bribe me with a jumbo sized bag of Tootsie Rolls. She is one crazy talented woman in the kitchen & her ice cream is AMAZING. Here are my favorites from the shoot for her cookbook, due this summer….
It’s a song we sing at church every once in awhile. And it’s a song that I simply cannot sing without crying. The words are so simple but there is so much beautiful powerful in them. And whether you believe in God or not, the words are so true because they apply to each & every one of us…
Because I have been given much, I too must give.
Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.
I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,
who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.
At this time of year, it’s easy to look around us and see how blessed we are. It’s also easy to look around at those around us & see that there are people who are struggling. Family illnesses, home foreclosures, people losing their jobs, those without the means to provide basic needs for their families. Life.is.HARD.
I am going to share a story with you about a family who needs some extra help at this particular time in their lives…
Cristian is a 7 year old boy-currently he’s in the second grade at school. On October 1st Cristian was complaining of pain in his right foot. As the days progressed his foot started hurting more and more, by Wednesday October 5th, Cristian woke up unable to walk & unable to use his right side. That morning his parents took him to his doctor for a check up. The Doctor sent him to the emergency room & later that day they diagnosed him with a brain tumor on his left side. They soon discovered that the tumor was the size of an orange. He was flown to the Oakland Children’s Hospital where he underwent an 8 hour surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery Cris recovered well….and as his family was eagerly waiting to hear from the doctor regarding the results from the tumor. On October 14, they were given the bad news that Cristian’s Tumor was malignant and that we would have to do Chemotherapy for four rounds along with a bone marrow transplant & radiation.
As if this wasn’t already a hard enough time for little Cris & his family, his father was laid off from his job at the same time. Their family has six children to care for along with heaps of medical bills.
I’m hoping that you can see all that you’ve been given in your life & recognize how much others can benefit from your small contribution. Because we have been given so much in our lives, I really believe that we need to give to others & help those who have needs greater than our own.
Although our lives & the trials we are given are uncertain, there is one thing that is for sure: that there are wonderful people out there who are willing to help…and I hope you are one of those types of people!
I am holding a fundraiser for sweet family-100% of the money raised will go to this family to help them in this time of their lives. Thanks to my friend Liz for donating the lovely merry-go-round photograph. The other photographs are ones I took while traveling in Europe. Each photograph that you purchase will be emailed to you in a high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use for Christmas cards, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph you are emailed will not have my watermark on the image. ALL the proceeds will go to Cris’ family to help pay for his medical bills & to help them get back on their feet.
Here’s hoping that you can see another’s need & share what YOU can with this family. Thanks in advance for helping this sweet family in their time of need. Merry Christmas to each of you!
I am hoping that the photographs will be purchased for $7 each, but I am leaving the amount blank so that you can donate as much or as little as you like. Donations will close on December 24th, 2011.
I had the pleasure of hosting a fun workshop in Nevada in October-it was a ton of fun & we covered everything from posing to lighting all the way down to interacting with your clients. I am lucky enough to have amazingly beautiful friends who were willing to model for the workshop! Thanks to everyone who came & a special thanks to Derek & KayLynne for being so gosh darn attractive! And thanks to my sweet dad who let us use his prized Corvette for the photos!
Here are my favorites from the workshop…
Holy smokes, KayLynne. You are beautiful!!!
I am open to admitting that I have a problem…a ginormous problem. I am obsessed with shoes. Is it horrible to admit to you that I think I have about 60+ pairs in my closet? I don’t think so. It’s better than having 600 pairs in my closet, right?
I guess it goes without saying that when I begin photographing a wedding that I start with the shoes!!! I love, LOVE fun, bright colored bridal shoes. It’s such a fun way to add color to your wedding day attire & I never, ever tire of seeing fun shoes on a bride. So without further adieu, here are my favorite shoes that some of my fabulous brides have worn! Happy Friday!
Pink stilettos + bows=rawr…
LOVED these shoes…so SO much.
Silver.Glitter. YES!!!
Any shoes with rhinestones are fine by me…
Baubles & gems-loooooooved these shoes…
Beautiful pop of color!!!
I almost cried when I saw these shoes. SO CUTE.
Ruffles? Feathers? Yes.Yes and YESSSSSS
Some of my favorites…I actually ordered the same shoes!
Which ones are your favorites?
I am sooooooooooooo excited to announce that I’ll be hosting not one but TWO!!! workshops this year. I can’t wait for all the fun to begin & to meet some new friends along the way. Get ready for some fabulousness, y’all.
Click on the envelope for more information on the workshops! Hope to see you there. I promise-it’s going to be fabulous.
