Great Companies

Holly and I are SO grateful whenever happy customers tell others about our photography business and services, so I make a point to tell others about things I'm excited about when I think about it. Here are a few that I was thinking about this morning...

Interstate brand batteries are awesome. I'm talking about car batteries. Oh, and a little known fact is that you can buy blemished Interstate batteries for like $30. Call any store and ask where you can buy a "blem" as they call it.

Also, BG engine treatments are amazing! My buddy Guy treats all my vehicles with BG stuff and it definitely makes a noticeable difference. The induction treatment costs $100 but saves an average of $300 in fuel per year.

And if you ever need anything electronic and cellular or car or home related, check out Petra for amazing prices. We buy all of our cellular accessories there, like car chargers for $0.99 each and new batteries for like $8 each. They have the 10 commandments posted behind the will call desk. You have to have a tax number in order to buy from them, but you can use your SS#, I believe.

Mom's Blog

Did you all know that my own mother has started blogging? Those of you who know her and would like to keep up with her latest, check out her blog here. If you don't know her but you enjoy good art/paintings, then you can check it out, too. =) I'll add it to my list of links on the right hand side.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas. It's been fun to just relax for a few days and hang with the fam.

Duct Tape Feats

Well, it turns out my diaper duct-tape modification wasn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of duct tape feats. I have since seen entire costumes and outfits made of duct tape (mostly from college friends going to Halloween parties) and then I was sent this jewel. This is wrong in more than a few ways, but it's still so funny.


No, that's not Addie. I don't know who she is, but she doesn't look upset at all. That's more than we can say for her dead duck friend who got it around the neck. =)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas is Almost Here

Well, it's almost Christmas and we're already at Holly's parents' place hanging out, watching movies and having a generally good time. John Wayne's "The Green Berets" is on TV and I'm catching up on blog posts that are long overdue. We've been a bit behind since we had so much fun during my parents' visit relaxing and enjoying their company.

We actually got a lot done while they were here. We moved a light fixture in the kitchen (that was installed about a foot out of place and in the way of tall heads) and installed a couple of ceiling fans in the bedrooms, too! Dad sure is handy to have around. We planted a bunch of evergreen ivy, too. Hope it takes off, because it sure is pretty on Mom and Dad's house up in PA. Dad, here's a pic of the finished product. You did a great job of the ceiling patch! It took 3 heavy coats of paint to get it all covered, but it looks great!


One of the simple pleasures of living in OKC is the crosses on the tallest buildings downtown. I took this photo while driving, without a flash and from about a mile or two from downtown (on the highway), so it's not perfect, but you can still see the crosses. Pretty neat, huh?


Here's a funny photo. Blockbuster puts out computers with a screen displayed for customers to use to get a free trial of their online services. The computers are locked down -- there's no navigation bar, you can't right-click, there's no start menu and many of the keys are disabled in a noble attempt to keep the computers on their own web page. Micah, sneaky guy that he is, figures out a way to navigate to Netflix's "Free Trial" page in about 4 seconds. and I just had to get a photo. =)

0-8 Loss

Well, turns out we were missing several of our key players due to Christmas break, so we ended up losing pretty bad out there tonight. It was fun, though. I play defense, but came pretty close to scoring twice.

Here's a bad picture of the T-shirts we got for making it to the Finals.


Well, it's late and I have a big day tomorrow. It's our office's Holiday Open House at Senior Care Services and I have to figure something to bring between now and 8AM. Was going to make pull-apart bread, but with the game tonight, I don't think I have enough energy to do it. Going to hit the sack.

Championship Game Tonight

We've done it, folks. The Crippled Squirrel Football Club has made it to the championship game and we're playing tonight! It's at 9:30 at the Hat Trick Indoor Soccer complex near NW 122nd and Meridian and we'd love to have spectators if any of you are interested. I know this is late notice, sorry!

And sorry for the sparse posts of late. I took a week off for my birthday and relaxed with the fam from PA. Was a great time! Catching up now. =)

Birthday Cake 2006

Well, it's time for my birthday again! 33 years old this year. Every year Hol asks what kind of cake or cookie (or whatever) I would like for my birthday. This year, I couldn't think of anything that really tickled my fancy. Until they come out with a good recipe for Starburst or Skittle cake, there aren't that many great cake options out there. This year, I opted for Rum Cake.

We had some last year at Christmas and it was great! I found a good recipe online that included custard in the recipe, so it should be really moist. I love a good, moist, custardy cake. Holly actually made the cake and I poked a bunch of holes into the top with long skewers so the rum icing could get down inside it and make it even more moist. Mmmm!





Well, tomorrow I'll have to let y'all know how good it is. They say it tastes better with age and some people actually leave it for weeks to age before eating it. Not me. We'll dig in tomorrow and maybe make french toast out of the leftovers if there are any. =)

We're going out to eat tomorrow for my birthday and then to Hol's parents' place for dessert where we'll dig into this beauty. Holly's trying to get some curtains finished before my parents come visit next week and Holly's mom has some really nice sewing equipment, so we'll go down there instead of having dessert at our place.

Well, it's late and I have a few pics to post of Addie's latest catastrophe, so I should run. Thanks for stopping by!

Email from God RE: Christmas

I received the following email (forward) from a 2nd cousin of mine living in Dallas. How does one go about getting on God's email forward list? =) Anyway... What a great message! Here it is:

"Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

"How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

"I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth just, GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that let Me go on.

"If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santa's and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

"Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can and may remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgot that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

"If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose several or all of them:

"1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

"2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

"3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

"4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

"5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

"6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile it could make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local Hot-Line: they talk with people like that every day.

"7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on the Sabbath. If the store didn't make so much money on My day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

"8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary, especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name. You may already know someone like that.

"9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them (and I suspect you don't) buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Marines or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

"10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

"P.S ~ Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; TIME IS SHORT. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember. I LOVE YOU!"

I particularly appreciate the sentence in the third paragraph in all caps. "If you want to celebrate My birth just, GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER." Man, that message needs to go out to everyone fighting for a place in line to check out of the busy retailers this month! I purposely avoid all retailers this month unless I can hit them when they're not busy, like during a snowstorm or before work. =)

Personality Type

I remember doing these personality tests in Chicago with my staff, but I forget what I came up with up there. I know it wasn't the same as this one came up with. Has my personality changed? Probably it has. I think I was an ENTJ, but I don't remember. Can't find any notes on it, either.

You Are An ESFP

The Performer You are a natural performer and happiest when you're entertaining others. A great friend, you are generous, fun-loving and optimistic. You love to laugh - and you like almost all people equally. You accept life as it is, and you do your best to make each day fantastic. You would make a good actor, designer, or counselor.

What's Your Personality Type?

I can't argue with what this came up with for me. I like it, so I'm not going to argue with hit. =) It actually does sound like me. I think all that responsibility in Chicago made me adapt my personality just to survive up there in that high-pressure, stressful environment. I hope I wasn't too terrible to work with. =)

Okay, now you're getting carried away...

Enough is enough! I gotta take the trash out! You can quit snowing now! We're all impressed!

Seriously, this is just crazy! I just took the trash out and had to basically plow through like 2 feet of snow. And it's going to snow for like 8 more hours. Good night! Well, I just hope the trash truck comes by tomorrow to pick up our trash, because I forgot to take it out last week and both our bins are totally full and I put 2 bags out, too.

Check it out... here's what greeted me when I opened the garage side door.

You can hardly see our John Deere tractor!!

Yeah, that's a lot of snow.

The side door.

I know what you're thinking. Nice stock photography from somewhere in Nova Scotia or Alaska. No siree, this is Edmond, Oklahoma. Today. Guess I shoulda got today's newspaper in the picture somewhere...

More Pictures!

Okay, Old Man Winter, you got the last laugh... My sarcastic entry earlier today about how much snow we had received was met with a blast of snow for 11 straight hours and it's not letting up. I stepped off the back porch to get some more firewood and my foot went down into about a foot of snow... So much that it went up my pants and all the way over my white-with-two-red-stripes tube socks. (Remember those, Mom?! Funny, the red ones were cool, but the green and yellow ones were SO uncool.)

Thought I'd brave the blizzard to take a few more pictures outside. Here I'm standing just in front of our mailbox and you can see that it's covered in ice. That's the precipitation of choice here in Oklahoma. It's very convenient. We get a good layer of ice and then the snow falls. The ice allows the snow to really drift nicely and not stick too badly on your driveway or sidewalks. No need for shovels here! Just sweep it away and then bring out a scraper to get the ice up. Presto! Quicker'n you can say antidisestablishmentarianism.


There are a couple of cute girls looking out this window. It's snowing a little bit here, so it's hard to see them.

There they are!

Isn't that the prettiest garland around the front door? Lights and all! I'm actually under the covered front porch here and you can still see a lot of snow!

Then back inside to the very warm living room, complete with crackling fire! We had quite the fire last night. In fact, it was still red-hot this morning, so all I had to do was add a new log and it started right up. Isn't that tree amazing? Hol does an awesome job decorating the tree. Looks like it should be in Nordstrom's. She even has poinsettias in there!


I can hear Dad reading this, "What!? You call that a fire?" (Dad's fireplace is big enough for a hibernating bear to sleep in. In fact, we once put a Yule log so big in there that it burned for like 3 days. Isn't that right, Dad? It really is an awesome fireplace. Okay, back to MY story and MY fireplace.) The deal is... I just put 2 more logs on. And they're covered in snow. You can still see some snow on them in the cracks in the bark. So there!

Snowed In! (so to speak)

Yep, it's official. We've been snowed in. There's at least 2 or 3 inches of snow on the ground and nobody's going anywhere!

This is the first time in 5 years that I've been out in the snow and haven't had my little rear-wheel drive roadster. The Toyota Avalon did really well in the now. No squirrely fun or sliding at all! It even has antilock brakes, so I don't slide through intersections any more. Woo hoo!

What a really wonderful day it's been! We went to bed early since Addie and I weren't feeling great. So we got up early to enjoy the snowfall from a nice cozy living room with fireplace roaring. Good thing I got that cord of wood delivered early this year! I could probably sell firewood to all my neighbors. =) I had to run a couple of errands like any real man would on a day like today, so I ran to Blockbuster, the post office, the grocery store, Happily Everlasting studio to see my good friend Rodrick, and finally the local bookstore to find a "Men's Journal" magazine. I did find the magazine after reading an entire "American Handgunners" mag first. What a great way to spend a couple of hours! I sat in the cafe part of the bookstore and flipped through page after adventurous page of great photos, fun facts and manly stories. Our pastor, Jason Gilbow, is an avid Men's Journal reader and I'm always impressed with his manly interest in adventures, etc. I used to be more like that. What happened to me? I guess I haven't fully recovered from getting married and sitting on the couch watching movies and snuggling for our first year of marriage. =) Not that I'd change that, it's just interesting to see how people change with significant circumstances of life. It's probably good that we change with our major life events, but it will be fun to at least keep in touch with the adventurous side of life, even if it's just reading about it every month.

After reading, I braved the wind and driving snow once again to find my car and head home just in time for Hol and Addie to wake up from their naps. What a great way to spend an afternoon! Wish I could do this every day. Or even once a week would be cool... Maybe I'll just schedule it and do that. =) I feel recharged.

Time to put another log on the fire and download some pics of the house and snow.


You can actually see the snow flying in this picture. Pretty cool for Oklahoma! It's going pretty much sideways due to the Oklahoma wind. =) Click on the pics to see larger versions where you can actually see details.

Storm of the Century, Celebrity Look-Alikes

It's snowing in Oklahoma! We got SO much snow, that the schools are closed all day and many government offices are closed! So far, we have a whopping 1/2 inch! In some places, it's drifted 2 or 3 inches deep!! I know, it's amazing. You can just barely see the grass through all the snow!!!

The emergency earth-moving equipment has been called out to scrape the streets with graders, dozers and backhoes. What an amazing storm to live through! Check back for updates later on... It's still snowing, so we might get more before the day is through!

In other news today... Thought y'all might get a kick out of this. =)

My Throat, my throat, my throat is on fire

It's that time of year. The weather's cooling down, we've eaten all kinds of candy and desserts for the last week and we're sleep-deprived from visiting family. Time for a cold or flu or something. =)

Pop quiz: Sore throat, mild headache and swollen glands are the symptoms of ___________ ? (You may use the back side of this page if you need more space.) Please turn your answers in within 24 hours so I know how to treat this.

In the mean time, I think I'm going to put on a turtleneck and lie down again.

My Girls, Part 2

Sometimes, when we're on a photo shoot, I just can't resist taking pictures of Holly. =) She was setting up a pose for a family, showing them where to stand and how to face, etc. when I snapped this beauty. Talk about a beautiful picture! I think I'm in love...

Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

My Girls

Isn't this a great picture? I'm sure it means more to me than to any of you because I know that Addie is NOT a snuggler. At all. Only when she's really sick or has been awaken in the middle of the night. =) Check out how she's crossed her legs even.


Thanks for catching our father/daughter moment, Hol! I sure love my girls... soon to be 3 girls! What a lucky guy I am... Oh, and I should have told you, we were watching football in this picture!

Here For A Reason!

We've been fellowshipping with a new church plant here in Edmond and it's really been awesome! I've met with the pastor (Jason Gilbow) several times over coffee and really relate to and appreciate his vision for the "church" and "followers of Christ." Here's what was written on the back of our very first church bulletin 2 weeks ago:

"Here for a reason!"

"Your life counts! For the first 300 years of Christianity there were no church buildings, no paid or “professional” clergy. There were simply believers-those that embraced Jesus Christ as their life and mission. We are certain that there is no such thing as “secular.” There is absolutely no dividing line between clergy and laity. We are all called with one calling and no man or woman is to ever be elevated above another so as to create a division between secular and sacred. There are no professional believers!

"Christianity has become a civilized religion that promises comfort, abundance and safety. I am convinced that perhaps the most dangerous place to be is in the center of God’s will! I am convinced that Jesus did not come to simply bring convenience but to bring His kingdom through the broken, humbled and even the struggling.

"I believe that believers should be compelled by Christ and not by religious expectation, manipulation, guilt or shame. I believe our identity is in our birth as children of God and not simply our performance. I believe that God’s grace is determined by His character and not ours. We are hear to live out these truths.

"I am certain that Jesus’ death wasn’t to free us from dying, but to free us from the fear of death. I believe that Christ calls us to die up front so that we might truly begin to live. Now.

"I believe that Jesus is not simply the answer to the death question, but also to the life question. I believe that the redeemed are called to passionately embrace both the nature and mission of Jesus Christ.

"I believe we are here for a reason and that every believer is called to a life of service, studying the scriptures and investing the resources and gifts that God has given them.

"I believe we can touch the world by touching the person next to us. To the glory of God, we are here for a reason.

"Know that you are loved by God and the people of this body. Let me know if I can ever help or be a friend in any way. You matter to me!"

Because He Lives,
Jason Gilbow
Pastor

It's been really refreshing to fellowship with other believers in a loving, non-judgmental environment. These are people who are serious about their relationship with God, and serious about loving others as Jesus did. What an inspiration and encouragement to be around!

Here's the logo for the church. Titus designed it. Pretty cool, huh?
On the home front...

I think Holly's love language just may be firewood. =) We got 2 ricks of wood delivered recently in preparation for the colder weather. We've already had two fires and I think the fireplace is still warm from the one we had last night. We got a great deal on it, too! About 1/2 price, delivered and stacked from a fireman way down South who is clearing a lot and has a lot of green wood. We got about 1/2 and 1/2 green and seasoned, so we'll just burn the seasoned stuff this year and the green stuff next year (or after the fire's already going well =).

Can't wait for Thanksgiving!! And I found out my parents are coming for a surprise visit on my birthday. Fun times!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I can hardly believe that it's Thanksgiving week already. Don't you just love this time of year with the weather cold and crisp and eggnog (ice cream even) starting to show up in grocery stores everywhere. I love Braum's egg nog (and ice cream, for that matter). One of my favorite Fall things to do is make egg nog lattes instead of my regular coffee in the morning. Mmm... Let the warm fuzzies begin!


We will be spending the holidays in OK this year. With Holly so far along in her pregnancy, it would be really tough to enjoy traveling. We're looking forward to seeing the Sangree grandparents, though, in January and February when they roll across the US in their nice mobile home. (Here's a picture they just sent us!)

They're getting good with Photoshop, eh? =) If you can't tell, that's my Mom in the window, waving.

Also, it's that time of the year when we renegotiate our cell phone contract and get new phones. (This doesn't fit in the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year.") It's usually none too soon, either, because these confounded electronics are only warranted for 1 year and they self-destruct on day 366. When we finally figured out what handsets everyone wanted and got them ordered, I got widespread reports that handsets were failing left and right, and, by and large, misbehaving in strange ways. It's like they knew they were about to be replaced. Strange...

So, anyway, after using my trusty cell phone for a year without any trouble, I upgraded to this tasty new Nokia flip phone. Lots of cool features and certainly a better programmed phone than the Motorola I had previously, but the flimsy plastic back blew apart on me the first day I brought it home. It's a good thing a Nokia rep didn't come to visit me that night or we'd have definitely had words. =) Here's what my phone now looks like. I can't believe I'm going to have to use this for a year now. What a bummer. I bought a case, so at least it will stay together now and hide my pretty duct taping job. Lesson learned: don't fix an adhesive knob to the back of cell phones with flimsy plastic backs.

Hope you all have a really great Thanksgiving!

Busy, busy!

It's been SO busy around here. Shuffling cars, paperwork, pregnancy, photography, marketing, gardening, organizing, cleaning, etc. I was telling Holly last night that I don't think I can remember when I last felt so inadequate. It's been a long time since I consciously thought, "It would be just GREAT if Jesus came back tonight to call it a wrap." I guess that feeling is actually a good thing, though it's not enjoyable for me. I'm used to being good at what I do, being competent, organized, ready for anything. I just haven't been able to keep it all up lately and it's been discouraging and kinda depressing for me, I guess. Just taking the time to think it through enough to write about it does kinda give it all a little meaning, being able to see how these times do draw me closer to God and help me to remember my dependence on Him. I've been through times like these before and I'm guessing we all have them. Seasons of life...

Well, today I was able to knock out a few things including firewood for the winter, putting the red Explorer up for sale, new cell phones for the office, and figure out new maintenance schedules for the new cars. Yesterday I planted ornamental grasses in our yard to hide utilities and various things. Planted some ivy, too, that I hope will grow up our mailbox. I have ivy from my parents' place in PA growing up the house, too. I hope it all survives the winter and grows nicely next year. If it does, we'll have quite the beautiful house.

Gardening has been a really nice stress-relief.

Miracles Never Cease

One of the really enjoyable things about a notebook computer is being able to take it with you and work while at the coffee shop, etc. One of the really bad things about notebook computers is that if you spill coffee on the keyboard, you don't just mess up your keyboard, you mess up your computer. You already know what happened to me this weekend, don't you?!

Yeah, so Saturday morning is our one morning to get up late, enjoy fresh bagels from Panera and fresh coffee from PrimaCafe (the best coffee roaster I've ever experienced, located here in OKC!). Holly had just come back with the bagels, I had just finished making coffee and I carefully placed my notebook computer on the table... Safely placed between my bagel and my coffee. What was I thinking?!? You guessed it. My finger hooked my coffee after taking a sip and over it went. Not quite all the way, but enough for a few tablespoons of coffee to spill out over onto the keyboard and into the speakers.

I immediately threw a napkin on it, shut it down and took out the battery and powercord. No sizzling sounds, smoke or other scary symptoms. So far so good. Actually, I skipped a step. Somewhere in between throwing a napkin on it and shutting it down, I was crying out for God's mercy on this poor computer and to somehow protect it from frying.

A visit to a "do it yourself" computer repair site and I determined opening it up myself was a bad idea. This isn't my old Dell. A call to the Apple store confirmed that they should probably take a look at it for me before anything else is done and especially before it's turned back on or even plugged back in.

A day later and the Apple store called me up and told me everything looks fine. There apparently was very little coffee actually down past the keyboard. They tested it and all's well. Talk about a huge releif. And an answer to prayer.

It's amazing how often we pray about things and take for granted the outcomes. We used to keep a journal of answers to prayer, but since we moved into our new home, we haven't unpacked it or something, so it's been off our minds. Maybe my blog would be a good way to journal answers to prayer so it's a faith-booster not just to us, but to our friends and family, too.

Nice Eyes!

As some of you know, I lost an eye when I was a child in a bike accident. My good friend Jeremiah Stonge and I were racing down a beautiful hill and I had a most unfortunate speed-wobble right at the bottom. My treasured glass eye was in my shirt pocket and I never did find it despite searching and bleeding all over the place.

My Mom's side of the family are opticians and ophthalmologists, so I soon got another glass eye to play with and freak people out with. =)

Here's a beautiful self-portrait as I get ready for a wedding photography gig tonight. Handsome devil...

Ant Attack!

So this afternoon hit 88 degrees here in beautiful, sunny OKC. I actually changed into shorts and flip-flops before leaving the office. Holly came by and picked me up and we did a photo shoot downtown for a really nice young couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversary.

Does anybody know the Chinese calendar and whether this is the year of the ant? I never thought of ants as mean before moving to Oklahoma. I mean, we had some huge black ants growing up in the Northeast, but I never knew anyone to be bit by them. Man, these tiny little Okie ants have major attitudes. For starters, they build huge nests underground in all the best places for photographs. Unsuspecting photographers wearing flip-flops regularly get taught nasty lessons by the entire colony.

Today I had the great misfortune to #1 be wearing flip-flops, #2 be wearing shorts, #3 kneel down in one of those well-placed colonies. They're called fire ants for a reason. When the burning sensation finally reached my brain, I looked down to see my leg covered in ants. I guess they somehow all got on and then bit all around the same time. I have no idea how I didn't feel them crawl onto my leg.

So I did a little jig and after some whole-hearted leg-slapping I got all the little buggers I could see. Then I was reminded of a rhyme from my childhood days... Something about "ants in your pants that make you dance all the way to France." You get the idea.

So, I'm having a hard time falling asleep. I have bite marks all over my legs and they itch and burn like the dickens. ("The Dickens," by the way, would be a great name for a band, don't you think? I mean, so many things are "like the dickens." Who wants to be the real "dickens?" And worse yet, I keep thinking I feel a stray ant or two wandering around uncharted territories and private property, if you catch my drift. Doesn't matter how much I tell myself it's ridiculous, there's no ant there.

Here's to a newfound respect for one of the world's tiniest critters. I'm buying ant killer this weekend.

Colorful Stickers on Cars, Meaning What?

For probably two or three years, I've been seeing these bumper-stickers with green, and yellow and red vertical stripes/bars and I've been wondering what the significance and meaning is. I've asked people who I thought might know, I've even looked it up on websites that sort symbols and their meanings, but to no avail.

You've probably seen it... Looks like this:Then, out of the blue, today I follow two separate cars with that sticker/symbol and the words "Vietnam Veteran" directly under the symbol on the sticker. Now, why didn't they think to tell us years ago? Apparently, it's designed based on what the service medal looks like for those who served in Vietnam.

It's nice to have finally figured that out. =)

My Princess

Waiting for a customer to show up, I captured this picture of Holly. She wasn't posing for it, obviously, and she's not smiling or anything, but I love the lighting, background and that it shows her little growing belly. =) Isn't that sun-flare awesome?

It's Fall in Oklahoma!

Last Ride on the Aprilia

Well, today being Halloween, we thought it prudent to take my bike off the street so it wouldn't get egg'd or TP'd or pranked in some other way. It gave us a good deadline for putting it up for sale and cleaning the bike stuff out of the garage. We've been waiting for a nice day to get a few pictures on the bike before selling it and even though we had a cold day today, my good friend Rodrick agreed to help shoot some super-cool shots of my last ride so I'd at least have some cool memories and pictures of the bike.

This is my favorite corner, 2 miles from home.
I love the motion blur and action in this photo.

The Aprilia has a 1:5 power-to-weight ratio. Lots of torque!

This isn't a view that many people see for long. =)

Thanks for the great pictures, Rodrick! Can't wait to enlarge a few and hang them in the house. Or the garage, at least! =)

Goodbye Li'l Red

Well, a doctor in Norman, OK is the new happy owner of my '97 Miata AKA Li'l Red. I didn't realize how many cool little things I'd done to it until I had to explain everything to the new owner. I hope I don't miss her too much.

Going to get some pictures on the Aprilia tomorrow morning and then run it down to Guy's shop to sell it, too. All the pricey toys are going. I'm a responsible adult now. Baby #2 is on the way and it's time to knuckle down and put in some hard time doing my best to provide for a family. There'll be lots of other fun things besides vehicles to look forward to and enjoy.

Guy did a great job selling the car for me. The cost of his commission was easily paid for by the totally stress-free negotiation and transaction for me. He took care of all of the paperwork and dealing with the buyer and I'd highly recommend him to broker/sell your car if you have one to sell in the OKC area. I'm sure he got more for it than I'd have got on my own.

Anyway, that's the skinny on today.

Beauty is Deceitful

Wow... I'm still a bit stunned from what I just saw. I love time-lapsed transformations, but I've never seen anything like this. And what a powerful message.

Sean's Blog

It's my pleasure to announce that my brother, Sean, has a blog! If you know Sean, or, for you ladies out there who would like to know Sean, check out flibbydibby.blogspot.com. "Why 'Flibby Dibby'?" you ask? I believe that's his intimidating, long-time player-name for Xbox and internet cafe chess... Or, it could just be one of those fun, meaningless expressions that come out at random times when you hang with Sean and he gets excited about something. Either way, it's not your place to question.

Sheesh! Lighten up, people! =)

Car and Worm Update

Never before have so many cars been owned by so few. Well, okay, that's probably not true, but it's true for us. We have three vehicles officially for sale now! The red Miata, the red Explorer and the red Aprilia!

Yesterday, I helped Holly's aunt Dixie pick up her new Ford Freestyle and finally really decided to buy her older Explorer from her instead of letting her trade it in. We paid her the same as she would have been paid trading it in, so it didn't put her out at all but it was a pretty good deal for us. It's the nicest and most expensive car we've ever owned, so we really thought long and hard before spending that much money. The fact that it's quite a bit safer than the '99 Explorer that Holly currently drives was pretty much the deciding factor.

Here's a picture of our newest "fleet" member. Welcome, big blue! It sure drives nice!

Oh, and here's the update on the worm picture I took the other day in my "Rain-inspired photography" blog. Sorry about that.

Rain-Inspired Photography

Here are a few pictures I took in the rain while I was waiting to head out to the wedding we photographed yesterday. I love the unusual effect rain has on pictures. One of these days, we're going to do a photo session in the rain just for the fun of it. =)

Click on these pictures to see more detail in the larger versions.



Okay, I'll bet these seem kind of random. The macro shots of the grass and flower because of the rain droplets clinging to both. The narrow depth of field is always cool on macros, too, and with the blowing wind, it was actually a bit of a challenge to capture the image at just the right moment when it was focused how I wanted it to be.

The crippled worm was my mistake. Stepped on the poor guy when I backed up from shooting the flower and grass. You know how smells can transport you back to a distant time and place? Well, dying worms give a very faint smell that can instantly take me back to riding a school bus through the rain back in high-school. Don't ask me how to describe the smell... My family is strange about smells. I have an aunt who can smell ants. I can smell snakes and dying worms. My mom can smell mold from like 36 miles away. All on the Ferreira side of the family, I might add. =)


And finally, the brick shot I like because it's high-contrast. I used an infra-red filter on this one to get the effect it has. I just thought it looks cool. I have it in a big enough picture that it's now one of my favorite desk top wall-papers. My Mac changes wall-papers every 15 minutes or so and is rotating through some cool black and white photos that I've been collecting.

Rain

We're enjoying a really nice steady rain today! Started around 3AM and it's still going.


As a kid, I really didn't like rain. It cramped my outdoors style and seemed like we always got more than we needed. I rarely saw neighbors watering their lawns.

Holly absolutely loves rain. Living in Oklahoma, you learn to really appreciate it when it rains. I think we had 3 months of basically no rain (just a trace) this summer with temps in the 100's for most of that time. Unless you water every day that's over 100 degrees, your grass turns yellow or brown and starts to shrivel up just to save the roots.

It's such a nice feeling to be sipping a hot cuppa in my leather chair, typing on a Mac notebook and being warm and dry. Ah the simple contentments of life!

The Aussie Room

I don't think we've told everyone about our study/studio/office yet. Well, we've probably told almost everyone, but didn't include cool pictures yet. So, here's one. Actually, I put a few up on our Prints Charming Photography blog, so if you haven't seen them, click on the link to that blog on the right hand side of this page and then check out the entry called "Where the Magic Happens."


Holly is not going to be thrilled with this picture since she's 6 months' pregnant, has a growing headache and was ready to go to bed about 2 hrs ago so you'd better cut her some slack or she'll make me yank this picture. Sheesh, people! How about a little discretion and consideration! =)

Okay, there are a couple of cool things in this picture that should be pointed out. First is the skin on the back of the chair Holly is sitting in. It's a kangaroo skin and every single chair in that entire room has one just like it. Okay, so that's only two chairs, but I'm willing to bet that most of you don't have even one.

Second, the alligator skin on the wall. Ignore that walnut-sized hole where the back legs and tail meet. Holly's grandfather shot that gator somewhere in Louisianna and had the foresight to save it for our Australia-themed room. It came with two or three little baby gator skins, too. Not sure what foresight included those, or how they were "harvested" so we didn't display them. I believe they're in North Carolina now, actually, at Aunt Jonnie's.

Okay, third is the sweet leather chair with ottoman that you can't see. Some of y'all might remember the gray leather couches I was given in Chicago by a friend who lives downtown. I think they were like 20 years old when I got them and I've had them for 6 or 7 years. Well, they're well worn in, but still holding up remarkably well. That's pretty much sold us on leather furniture and so when we needed a club chair for our study, we found a deal on this one and gave it a loving home. It's been great and we're now looking/hoping for a couch, love-seat, chair deal for our living room to replace the 70's couches we have currently. Our old couches will make a really great addition to either Guy's garage (Shepherd Automotive) or a college hangout room at church or something like that.

Fourth, there's probably not a need to mention the PowerBook G4 notebook on Holly's lap. Titus and Benjamin now have one and I'm doing my best to talk my parents into getting a Mac so we can video chat. Not sure why we're having trouble, but they can't seem to connect with us over AIM video chat and iChat. They would just LOVE to see Addie over that video chat and it would be so easy to talk with them every day like that. Oh well... Hopefully the'll get it figured out.

I guess that's about it. I need to get some things done. Until next time...

Thanks for reading!

Red River Rivalry continued...

Okay, here's how serious the UT fans are...

On a bumper sticker seen in Texas near the stadium last weekend: "Bob Stoops hates puppies and Jesus."

(Mom, Bob Stoops is the head coach of the OU football team. And he really does love Jesus, of course.)

Wow, that's just plain mean and dirty down here in the Bible belt.

The Red River Rivalry (OU-Texas)

Unless you've lived here, you may not understand how big a deal the Red River Rivalry is every year. The Red River is more or less the border between much of Oklahoma and Texas and every year UT come up from Austin, TX and OU goes down from Norman, OK to fight it out during the Texas State Fair. This year was the 101st year of the rivalry and I saw no lack of enthusiasm from either side.

To make a painful story short, OU lost and I heard today from a friend who works in the Emergency Room about one really great related story.

One OU fan, clad in his OU pajamas, showed up at the Emergency Room on Saturday evening shortly after the game. He drove himself there with a very seriously bleeding hand. He told the attending staff that he was so upset about the game that he punched right through his TV. That's right. My friend (the Dr.) said it looked like he had filleted his hand! He had lost so much blood that they had to give him blood and take him into emergency surgery to put it all back together.

Man, some people really take this game seriously. This guy could have easily got local TV news coverage over it. Maybe he was embarrassed after the fact. Or too sedated. =

Mom & Dad Sangree are going to be selling their home in PA soon. I keep telling them they could buy an RV and travel a little before building their next home. Sean is in CA now, practicing law, so they could drive to OK, then on to CA, then back. Holly and I found this beauty on wheels the other day and we both immediately thought of my parents. I think it would look so fitting on old Route 66, all the way to SoCal!

Hot Mama

A day or two ago, we showed up downtown 30 minutes too early for a shoot, so we decided to take the opportunity to shoot a few pictures of each other. It's been a long time since we took pictures of each other and it was a lot of fun. Thought you might enjoy seeing a few.

I should say as a disclaimer that we haven't retouched these pictures in Photoshop at all, just uploaded them for friends and family! Holly is almost 6 months pregnant in these... Doesn't she look amazing?

Thanks for reading!

Buying a Camera

Well, you'd think that since we're photographers buying a camera would be an easy thing. =) Not the case, at all. Ever since Addie was born 2 years ago, Holly especially has been wishing we had a video camera. I wish we had a simple point-and-shoot camera. The answer? One that will do both: The Canon SD800 IS. =)

You might feel like you're reading the script from a TV commercial, but that's how passionate we are about cameras! I did a bit of research today and I think that's the one we want to go with. We'll have to do a little bit of shopping and "holding" the cameras, I'm sure, but just looking at the specs and features, I like this camera. It can shoot video at up to 60 fps, so even though video will not be it's strongest point, it will be adequate for our primary video need: Sharing cute clips online with out-of-town family.

You might be asking yourself, "Why has it taken 2 years to make this decision?" Well, mainly because I didn't want to make a quick decision. =) I really didn't want to buy a video camera that would just amass hundreds of old tapes for us that we'd never have time to watch. With this new camera, we should be able to put the video clips on DVD and watch them either on the computer directly or with a DVD player on TV. I've seen my brother's camera take some really amazing video and so I'm pretty confident that we'll be in good shape. Plus, we have Mac's so we can make cool movies/videos in iMovie, right? We'll have to try that out sometime and post some for you to check out.

Thanks for reading!

Punk Senior Pictures

If you haven't seen our Prints Charming Photography blog in a couple of days, check it out. We did senior pictures for Grant, a very cool kid with a mohawk and punk style! It was really an eye-opening experience for us and we got some really cool pictures to capture the moments...

Here's one of my favorites:

Check the rest our blog about it here and follow the link to the rest of the proofs if you like.

Thanks for reading!

October and All's Well

Can you believe it's already October? The 10th month of the year 2006? Amazing... Time is really flying. I have a theory about why time goes faster the older you get: Time moves at a rate relative to how long you've already lived. It's like a ratio. When you're 10, one year is a long time because it's 1/10th of your life. By the time you're 30, a year is only 1/30th of your life, so it's a much shorter time-frame, relatively speaking. Oh, and I have an analogy about it, too. It's like a tethered rope swinging around a pole, wrapping itself up until it's completely wrapped around the pole. The first few revolutions (like years) take the longest, but as the rope shortens, the revolutions pick up speed and the RPMs increase significantly. There you go... Deep thoughts, by Christian Sangree. =)

We had a great weekend. Holly's birthday was Thursday the 28th and she turned 29 for the 2nd time. =) I worked from home all day to spend the day with her and we had a great time. We decided to make Friday the big date night for her birthday and we went out to eat at Carrabba's and then out to the movies to see "The Guardian." I didn't realize the Coast Guard was so heroic. I have friends in the Coast Guard and have a new respect for what they do. When the Navy and others come in to harbor to escape hurricanes and storms, the Coast Guard heads out to save lives. We really enjoyed the movie. Hooray for grandparents who live nearby and love to have Addie over for the night!

Then, after the movie, we went to a grand opening at a friend's photography studio (qmyersstudios.com). He does some really amazing fashion and modeling photography. Nothing like what we do, but he's good at what he does. We went to support him and his new venture and were really impressed at his cool old place that he's made into a really hip studio.

After all that, I had to get up at like 6AM to market for Senior Care at a fundraiser walk downtown to help fight Alzheimer's. Grabbed a nice nap after that and then headed to Stillwater to photograph a wedding up there on the OSU campus. Wow, what a great campus for a wedding! It was beautiful weather and the couple was great to work with.

The only problems we had were with the three videographers who were like papparazi! Man, we could hardly get a shot without them setting up right in front of us or leaning a shoulder in our picture. It was really ridiculous and we even heard guests complaining because they were in front of everyone all the time, blocking the best views of everything. Rod and I felt so bad that we shot from our knees whenever we could to try to make some room for people to see what was going on. If you know anyone who's going to be married soon, they should really tell the videographers to take a back seat and not get in everyone's way, especially the photographers! People typically spend four times as much on photography than they do on videography, so you'd think the videographers would get the hint about priorities... Ah well. They left before we did and finally felt unencumbered to roam about and get some really great shots. Rod should have several up soon on his blog to give a little taste of what we did.

Vehicle Changes Pending

Looks like we have at least 2, if not 3 vehicle changes coming up in the near future. My '97 Miata is no longer practical, despite being the most fun vehicle I've ever driven. Holly's '99 Explorer XLT has more seats than my Miata and my Aprilia motorcycle put together. =) With baby #2 on the way, priorities are changing and safety is more of an issue than ever before.

That said, we'll probably sell the Miata for something 4 door, quiet and nice enough to wear a suit in. =) We'll probably sell the Aprilia to help pay for a newer '04 Explorer that we're going to be buying in a couple of weeks. Holly's Aunt is buying a new car and she always gives the rest of the family first dibs on buying her older vehicle for whatever the dealer would offer for trade-in value on it. It's more than we've ever spent on a vehicle before, but we're excited at the prospect of an '04 with leather and better safety features than the '99 we have currently.

Anybody interested in a tricked out Miata for a good deal? Or an '01 Aprilia RST 1000? =)

Facebook

How cool is Facebook? If you haven't used it, you wouldn't know, but it really is cool. I'm used to MySpace and Blogger now, but Facebook in just one short day has outdone the other two easily. What a great networking tool! You can tell how you know each of your friends... You can see in one place a little news feed of what all of your friends are up to. You can invite friends to events and keep up with who's coming, who's not and the "maybes" even.

Up until now, it's just been for college students, and they've been telling us how much better it is than anything the rest of us have. =) Well, they just decided to open it up to the general public and it really is cool. Check it out at http://www.facebook.com and see for yourself!

Popular Oklahoma Joke

Holly and I got a good laugh this morning when we read this. If you're a Longhorn fan, you need read no further. Let the trash-talk begin!


A first grade teacher explains to her class that she is a Texas Longhorn fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Texas fans too. Not really knowing what a Texas fan was, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands fly into the air. There is, however, one exception.

A little girl named Janet has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. "Because I'm not Texas fan" she reports.

"Then," asks the teacher, "what are you?"

"I'm a proud Oklahoma University Boomer Sooner fan," boasts the little girl.

The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Janet why she is an Oklahoma fan.

"Well, my Dad and Mom are Sooner fans, so I'm a Sooner fan too," she responds.

The teacher is angry now. "That's no reason," she says loudly. "What if your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot? What would you be then?"

Janet smiles and says, "Then I'd be a Texas fan."

Boomer Sooner!

Pastor Paul Sangree

I thought this was unusual... How many Pastor Paul Sangree's could there possibly be? That's my grandfather's name and he was a pastor for years and years. And yet, here's another by the very same name and title: http://www.bethanychurch.org/spiritual_gifts.html

It was so hot...

...that it took 3 weeks to get our digital pictures back! =) Here's one of us trying to act like we can't take the heat:

And here's one where we're just being our happy, fun selves.

As you can see, I took it with my camera-phone. Not too bad!