DISCO INFERNO

Do any of you remember when the fabulous band Disco Inferno used to perform at Storman's, and later The Venue? Well, they are still around, and this Saturday night (23rd) they will be performing at Gasoline Alley, which is now located at 14042 66th Street N in Largo. Pinellas County seems to lack good nightlife, and since Bricktown 54 closed I've been craving a disco fix, so I'm super excited about Saturday! AND if there is a good turn out, it may become a regular thing! CLICK HERE for more details on the event, and HERE to see more of what's happening around town. All of our good friends from Arthur Murray Clearwater will be there doin' the hustle and I would love to see more familiar faces there!

Tough as Nails

UPDATE 6/17 - HE'S OUT!! Finally! He's finally home and doing well. Still has a good bit of pain and lots of antibiotics to take, but he's so much happier to be dealing with it at home. Me too! :) It's funny how much I missed him even though I spent tons of time with him at the hospital. Soooo, now I just need to get caught up on all my work! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your patience. I have a little something special up my sleeve for all my wonderfully understanding clients who have been waiting on their images. I'm working as fast as I can and I'll contact each of you when I have your proofs.

UPDATE 6/12 - Well it's been 9 days and he's still in the hospital. They want to make sure they get all that nasty infection out of there before sending him home. Today they said it would be a couple of days, but he's thought he was getting out a couple of times now, so we'll see. Thank you to everyone who has called to check on him, and to all my understanding clients. I'm lucky to have you.

I'm not going to lie, I enjoy giving my husband a hard time about his quirks and strange ways. Our home is not short on sarcasm. One of his quirks is (or used to be...he'll correct me as soon as he reads this) that when he stubs a toe or bangs a knuckle, he exclaims "Ow! I think I broke my toe/finger/other body part!" I used to chalk it up to a low pain tolerance and chuckle or mock him. Well, those days are gone, here's why:

Last Tuesday he developed a stomach ache. It got worse the rest of the week, then better on Sunday and Monday, then worse on Tuesday. Yesterday I convinced him to see a doctor, so we scheduled an appointment for today, but by the time I got home from work yesterday, he needed to go to the hospital. The diagnosis? A ruptured appendix. The solution? Emergency surgery. Ummmm, what??? Not what we were expecting. So when the surgeon comes to see me after the surgery, the first thing he said was "He must be tough!" Apparently it looked like an M-80 went off in his abdomen (doc's words, not mine) and the abscess was quite large. I don't know when it ruptured, and I really don't know how he was functioning through the pain. I do know that he has to stay in the hospital for about five days, so that's where I'll be all weekend...with my Superman.

Here's my tough guy looking rather pitiful today.
I was going to take a picture of the battle wound, but I thought that might be a bit of an overshare. ;)

Love you bunches, babe.

Sorry for the delay

I have a few clients who are waiting for proofs or other products right now, so I want to apologize for the delay. I had a wonderful, unexpected visit from my two beautiful nieces. They decided to come down and stay for a couple of weeks, which was a rare opportunity to spend quality time with them since we only see them once every year or two. As my long-time clients know, I spend most of my nights and weekends working on my photography business, so I had to make a choice between getting that work done or making memories with "my girls". Since I encourage people to hire me because it's important to make and capture memories with your family, I figured I should take my own advice. Now that they are gone (sniff, sniff), I will be working diligently to catch up on all of my sessions. I see some late, late nights (even for me) in my future, but "K" and "A", it was so worth it...I wouldn't trade our fun and chats for anything. Love you both and miss you already. :(

This is "K", rockin' her new hair (when she arrived it was long, blonde and bangless). Doesn't it make her eyes pop? Gorgeous! She's the more glamorous of the two. Very sweet, kind of quiet, and oh my, I can't believe how grown up she looks here...I remember teaching her how to swim one summer, so cute how she'd nervously jump in and rush to me. She's now 20...sigh...

This is "A" in her all-natural beauty. She looks like the quiet one, but, ummm, no. Just as sweet as "K" and very outgoing; can't sit still. Although I can recall a time when she'd sit on my lap and whisper in my ear "I love you Aunt Niki", melting my heart. Now she's graduating high school...amazing how time flies.

And here they are together, two sisters...so different, but equally loved...

FROST!!!!

This is what most of Central Florida woke up to Thursday morning!! Finally, a little bit of cold weather. I'm definitely a Southern girl, I like my balmy days and mild winters, but sometimes we need a good chill in the air. December had some cold days, which was exciting. Of course Christmas day was warm, but I guess beggers can't be choosers. So I'll be happy with our cute little January frost.

Sad news

I will be out of town for the next few days. My Uncle Randy, who got married in August, lost his battle with cancer this week. He was one of four children, and my mom's "baby brother". He will be greatly missed. I want to remind all of you, especially at this time of year, to hold your loved ones close, enjoy the little things, and as I said before, say what you need to say.

Randy on the right, with his mom and siblings (my mom upper left):

My mom and Randy:

Randy and his new bride, Mary Jo, on their wedding day:

To the Love of my Life

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin

Well, if this is true, I can honestly say I haven't wasted a day since we found our way back to each other. You make me laugh everyday, even if it's just a "you're sooo ridiculous" chuckle, with your wit, charm and antics. You're quite funny (that's your thing, ya know) with your crazy, but dead-on, accents, synonym singing, and endless sarcasm. Oh, and then there's the boyish grin, the way you talk to the dogs when bathing them, and the goofy ways you declare your love for me. These make me giggle, but in a way that leaves me feeling so blessed.

We always had a deep connection. It was apparent in high school, and even though we were apart for 10 years, that connection was still there. The day we got married I felt like I was going home, to a place so familiar, somewhere I was meant to be. I love that I spend my life with someone who knows me to the core, who sees who I truly am, and loves me more because of it, or in spite of it. So on our fifth anniversary, what I thought to be true in high school, I now know with complete certainty...

Nothing compares to you, Darin. Nothing ever will.


Our beautiful wedding day, November 15, 2003, at the Belleview Biltmore.

Our amazing honeymoon on the island of Nevis, British West Indies.

Out of town

I will be out of town Thursday through Sunday, and unable to check my email. I'm going on my annual girls trip with two of my favorite friends, Sarah (middle)...who, by the way, is my fabulous card designer, and Stefanie...and she's fabulous too! ;) I will return all emails and phone calls on Monday. Have a great weekend!!