Its me again...

I'm taking a much-needed few minutes to log in and say hi. I'm not sure that anyone is still out there - I wouldn't blame you if you weren't. It feels like I've been gone forever and I miss blogging so much more than I thought I would.

Things have been good here. I photographed my first maternity shoot - a childhood friend and his wife. They are so adorable together! I had been soooo excited in the months leading up to the shoot. I was ready, prepared, motivated....and then I woke up that morning not able to breathe. I thought it was just a chest cold, like my husband had just got over, but I was SO wrong.

I met them at the Japanese stroll garden in Springfield (beautiful!) and felt fine until we started to walk. I couldn't breathe and I was trying to hide it from them, which made it worse. Amazingly I made it through 97 photos, 3 locations and a full setup and tear-down of my studio equipment at their home.
But I paid for it later. Turns out, I had pnuemonia. All this was on saturday, the 20th - I didn't go to the hospital until wednesday. That doctor said it was just bronchitis and that she wouldn't do an x-ray to save me money (since we don't have insurance). Apparently that was a big mistake. On friday night I was in the ER and then again on Sunday night. The doctor then wanted to admit me, but admissions woudn't let them. I wasn't 'critical' enough.

So, I paid $100 for 7 antibiotic pills that have worked...but I'm still nowhere near back to normal. I cough a LOT and can't walk more than a few feet without feeling like I'm going to pass out. BUT I'm making it.

Good news: I have not had a cigarette in 10 days!! 4th of July was hard. There were a lot of smokers there and my husband had these great smelling cigs - I begged a puff off of him, but that was it. At the moment I'm scared to smoke so its easy to stay away. Keep me in your thoughts for when I feel 100% again and really want one. I want to keep saying no.

Storm

Friday was a really nasty day here in Missouri. I woke up and it was dark and windy outside - then the rain started...and then the wind. OMG the wind! I've never seen it blow like that here, it was insane!

We have a large building here in town that now has a gaping hole in the back and a few cars that were parked back there have now been totalled with cinder blocks. There were at least 2 buildings that I saw that were demolished by trees and there was also a very nice red Camaro at the college that was taken out 'movie style'. This giant tree had come down horizontally across the hood and top - completely crushed it.

Our power went out halfway through the storms and I'm assuming the tornado sirens weren't working for some reason - they used emergency vehicle sirens to alert the town to danger. I will say that I'm thankful our building has a brick wall on one side. The girls and I hid in the bathroom while I heard sirens going off - and the dog just slept on the couch.

We are looking at storms tomorrow too - I just hope they are mild...tomorrow is my photo shoot :) Wish me luck and be safe.

Time Flies

I'm sitting in my BF's house on the computer. She's upstairs painting.

What?

My paint clothes are at home....What?

Yeah...I live right across the street...what of it?

Uh...Uh....they are in the washing machine....yeah, that's it.

Seriously though, I'm getting sick of painting. We primed this room the other day - all I wanted was to be rid of the lime green that covered the walls for the last 3 or so years. Lime Green! LIME! Who does that?
My eyes bled every time I saw it...and I could see it from my front door. *shivers*
I promise she is not the one who put it there...or the orange that was in her dining room (painted it 3 weeks ago). She had this crazy step-mom...seriously...she was certifiable.

Now that I think about it, it was more of a flourescent green than lime. Ugh.

As for me, I'm gearing up to do the Hooter's shoot at Harley in Springfield on wednesday. I'm nervous but super excited. Then, on the 17th, we are having the MDA Ozark Mountain Freedom ride. They are mixing things up this year. It will start in Springfield and end in Branson at the new store - I've been wanting to go there since it opened. It sits right on the river. *sigh*

If things go well I should have internet back at home in July. The sooner the better but Sean and I are trying to be a little more responsible - breaking the cycle and all that :).

2 Weeks

So I've gotten this lovely notification e-mail from BlogHer remiding me I haven't posted in two weeks. First, I've got to say that I think its the most awesome idea to send those out. Sometimes I just need a kick in the butt and its like, "Hey, dork, do you realize its been 2 weeks??" And I'm all "Crap!!"

So here I am.

Been going through some crappy stuff the last week and a half. Went a day without power, ok, almost 2 days...so we decided to shut off our internet and cable. We knew we had a problem when we realized that we payed that dang internet bill every flippin' month and our electric bill was grossly overdue. Sooo....yeah. I'm not sure how long we'll be without it, but I'll update when I can from my BF's computer. She loves me so she'll put up with me moochin' off her every now and then.

Got a call yesterday from the Harley dealership my hubby works for. I've been asked to photograph the MDA and HOGS 4 Dogs rides...for the third awesome year in a row. Also - they were setting up promotional flyers and asked me if I'd like to do a photo shoot with the Hooter's girls (women? Ladies? what do I call them? you know, without demeaning them...) and a bunch of animals from the CARE shelter.

I said, "Hell Yeah!!" I'm super excited...and scared...but mostly excited beyond all reason. I'll post about it when the time comes.

Also, I will hopefully be meeting LA (from Freckled Nest) and Elsie (Red Velvet Art) tomorrow. EEEEKK!! I'm crazy excited about that too :).

I Want To Be Stuck In An Elevator With:

Michael Shanks
That's Dr. Jackson on Stargate SG1. I'd love to pick his brain.

Ah, hell, who am I kidding. I want to do things to him that would make a sailor blush :). Could we please be stuck in there for a while??

My BF Jennifer
Though, I wouldn't want her there the same time as Michael. It would be a tad awkward...for her. I wouldn't even know she existed :)

My Sister, Monique
Monique and Jennifer stuck in there with me? Awesome insanity.
We would be laughing to hard to care about where we were.