You better believe that I miss myself!  I knew when I started this program that it was going to be very fast and incredibly intense. I was aware that I was going to clearing my social calendar until May 2010. However, I was not prepared for being so exhausted and overwhelmed, nor did I realize that I’d always feel so guilty. I not only miss my friends, but I also miss my family! Mike has become Mr. Mom. He takes the kiddos to daycare and picks them up on most days as well.  He cooks dinner, bathes them and puts them to bed. I feel like I’ve been having an affair with my books! I made it through my first semester with flying colors. 3 b’s and an impossible-to-get- A from Mr. Cooper in clinicals. I was super happy. Now that this semester has begun, I feel that all the air has been deflated from my motivation balloon. It’s a struggle to open my books and accompolish any effective studying!  (Case in point - I’m writing this post instead of studying!) Just so my followers can have an idea for what I’m doing, I’m attaching my the syllabus for each of my classes this semester. I’m on campus M & F for lectures all day long and in the hospital T&W.  On Friday, I have 6 hours of Med-Surg Lectures - I’m pretty sure that qualifies for cruel-and-unusual punishment! And see all of the highlight on those schedules? Those are exams! I have one almost every Monday in Pharmacology! So, now you will know what I’m up to when I disappear for weeks at a time. I will still be accepting photography appointments, but they will be on a very limited basis. So, if you know now that you want a session, please don’t wait until the last minute to schedule. Keep watch for information about Mini sessions specifically for holiday cards! My holiday dead-line will likely be the end of October this year to help avoid adding gobs of stress to my life And as always, I appreciate the prayers and support. Right now it feels almost like the end of the world, but I know when Mother’s Day gets here next year, it will all be worth it!!

I was invited out on this past week to photograph a local volunteer fire department’s training exercise - definitely a first for me! The home being used for training belonged to the grandmother-in-law of one of the firemen. She had been very active in giving to the local volunteer department and requested that her daughter and granddaughter do the same after she passed. Well, I’d say they were giving alright. They were letting the firemen do training burns in her condemd home. I was asked to photograph all of this so that the family would have something of the grandmother’s to hold on to (I believe the home was built in the 30’s?) It was a fascinating night - albeit very HOT!! At one point, the fire chief pulled me closer to the house and told me to watch the devils dance - it was beautiful to see. The next thing I knew, he had me INSIDE that house! My heart was racing - I’m not sure my pulse has ever been that high before. I was worried that my camera would melt into my hands. That’s the first picture that you see… The Dancing Devils are on the left and the shot of the fireman was from inside the burning home. I only had a split second to shoot due to the intense heat. I had no more gotten in and squatted before they pulled me back out. My eyes and lungs hurt the rest of the night!!

I think this was my favorite shot of the entire evening. The Chief had just stepped out of the house and was walking across the lawn. The smoke was so thick that it created a perfect silhouette against the flood lights.

I knew that photography would be tricky that night but I wasn’t prepared for how much my camera would struggle to focus. I finally had to operate in manual focus - which isn’t so bad, until you know that I had to take my contact lenses out. It was like the blind leading the blind!

This little guy was there with his dad. It gave me warm-fuzzies to watch them interact. You could tell how much he loves his Daddy and how proud he is that his dad is a FIREMAN! Once the training was completed, he was able to use the hose! It was quiet a site!! Check out his concentration!!

My mom always told me that it was more important to be pretty on the inside than pretty on the outside. Well, this girl has the best of both! I’ve known Ms. Chelsea for the last 16 years - she is still as beautiful now on the inside and outside as she was in elementary school when she and my little brother were “going out”. Her dad has always been one of my favorite teachers. In fact, he liked my class so much that he just moved up grades as we did. I had him every year, begining with 6th grade social studies thru Senior Government & Economics! The year after I graduated from HS her family moved to the Houston area. I was thrilled that she asked me to take some pictures for her this summer! Her boyfriend is at the Naval Accademy and she wanted to send him something special! I was happy to oblige! Here’s a small peek from our session yesterday! It was a hot, miserable day in downtown, but we still had fun! I hope you enjoy these Chelsea and I can’t wait to do our night session!!