Cheers to TGIF

It's been quite a busy week at work while we "work" to have fun for our United Way campaign. One of the fundraisers was "Send a beer and a smile" so people could give someone a Point Rootbeer and smiley cookie.

Two very nice people sent me beers and smiles. So I got a tasty cookie for breakfast yesterday! Feeling the love.

Speaking of love... after worked I raced down to Rapids so I shoot some pictures of our Lady Royals tennis team. It was Senior Night so I got there in time for that anyway, and the first love-love serve! 

From there I headed down to the Lake Camelot area to take some senior pictures. This handsome young man also happens to be on the Shermalot Waterski Show Team I photograph. So it was no surprise that after a few "land shots," we were in the boat!

That was so fun to see him show off his bare-footing skills! Fun. 

I even got a bare-footing father-son duo photo!

I think ON THE WATER is my favorite new photo shoot location. Just sayin'!

Maybe we all be in for some this weekend!

Tis the Senior Season

After a rain delay last night, I officially kicked off the 2025 Senior Portrait Season this evening. 

While I love shooting sports, it's always fun to do these. I enjoy the challenge of making reluctant boys smile. And love when I can shine my favorite people in a bright light! 

It's always interesting when I don't know the future graduate at all. God bless word of mouth for that. The inaugural session tonight was just that. The family and I had mutual friends who I adore, so I'm glad they recommended me. Per usual, the mom insists her child probably won't cooperate. But I had the young man trained within 3 minutes and we whipped through 5 locations in about an hour!

And when I don't know them personally, I figure out a way to match their personality with a location. The result?

I know a secret graffiti wall in town to go perfectly with that Pink Floyd vibe! Fun!

Full disclosure: I am about to promote my own photo business... If you haven't scheduled your child's senior pictures yet, I do have a few openings. I promise, I am easy to work with and will make your soon-to-be-senior feel like a super model.

It's just my personality. It's just what I do. 😊📸

Frozen Fun

With a wakeup call below zero, it was so hard to get out of bed! But I managed to bundle up and head to Stevens Point, where is was probably one degree colder.

My challenge actually came after work when I headed to the Pacelli-Assumption-etc Co-op team play hockey. I definitely warmed up my car several minutes before leaving the parking garage. Thank goodness for covered parking even though there was no snow this time!

Even though it was senior night, it was a small crowd due to the sub-freezing temperatures, I'm sure!

I still managed to bond with Mr. Zamboni between periods 1 and 2. But after 2, I left. My lovely cold for the past several days couldn't tolerate the cold air. We were tied 1-1 when I left. But have since found out we lost 3-1.  Now I'm really glad I could be there for the beginning parts.

And glad me and my health are surviving this Polar Vortex so far. Good luck to you, too!

Color Us Happy

Since one of our work teammates was in town this week, we scheduled a volunteer event for all of our team. We went to a nursing home in Stevens Point and helped them color Thanksgiving pictures with either colored pencils or fine-tipped markers. Whatever worked best with their motor skills.

In my group, we had a few ladies earnestly coloring a picture they could hang on their door.

Some were simple and some (like this one) were more complex. But they enjoyed the quiet time visiting with us.

Naturally, we had to color along with them so the conversation flowed more naturally. Here's my co-worker Tom's finished product who the one nursing home resident called "undercooked turkey." LOL.

And here's what I putzed away at. You can't tell, but there is some purple and yellow in there! Hey, it's fall and football season!

I'm grateful to work for a company that gives us "volunteer time off" so we can support the communities where we work and live. We help others and bond as a team.

Be super grateful if you can say the same! 

Is This Really Happening?

I'm pretty sure today was the first day since my birthday that I admitted out loud that I'm 55. I was in a snarky mood at work – which happens sometimes – and I said, "I'm 55 now. I have no filter. Not that I had much of one before!"

And then, just like that, the world acknowledged I'm eligible for Senior Discounts. What the actual hell?

Seriously, I got home and bam! Walgreens has an email pointing out my advantages of shopping on Senior Day. Oh crap. I am so not embracing this yet!

Unless I get a good deal of course. I never had to pay attention before. I mean I apologize to my older sister for ever mocking her for living in a "Community of Friends Over 55." I mean, dang, I could live there now. Sorry, Rayna!

I might just have to do some research on this. I mean even Goodwill has Senior Day. They're my source for books when I'm too lazy or busy to stop at 10 garage sales on a weekend. I guess this could be a good thing – other than being old enough to be just about everyone's mother on my work team. Gah. Please believe I still have all, er most, of my faculties.

I'll just have to get past my ego and pay more attention to good deals!

Hello, Senior Citizen Discounts. Ouch!

Counting Down to Cap and Gown Replacing Bat and Glove

It was a busy night last night spending time with our senior baseball and softball players. When we had so many gloomy, cold days after that brief "summer" in April, I'm finding it hard to believe we are nearing the end of our regular seasons and (gasp) graduation!

Let's start with those boys. What a talented group of all-around athletes. Most of them have stolen the stage in football and basketball – not just baseball. This is an athletic class and I'll miss these guys!

As for the girls... well my heart is breaking knowing I won't get to see them anymore. Some of these girls – that's you, Ava and Sadie lady – I've been watching since before middle school. I loved watching them in volleyball, in basketball, and especially in softball, where they won that state championship last year. That would help me not miss you if you won that again. Just sayin'.

Tonight should have been another round of games for both, but Mother Nature decided our grass needed watering. Baseball was called off. I think both softball and girls soccer were still on, but after coughing and dealing with allergies all week, we decided to stay in for the night.

As for the weekend... partly cloudy with a chance of softball. Maybe golf? I don't know. 

It's Mother's Day weekend. May we all be in charge of our own happiness!

And demand it!

Just Keeps Getting Beautiful-ler

I'm loving all the gorgeous photos of fall colors this season – and seeing them all in person, too. I snapped this photo during my final senior photo shoot of the year this evening. I did not use a filter here but you can see there is some honest to goodness purple by the yellow in the setting sun!

Well I guess because...

Hey. We may lose the next dozen games but we have this today. And it's beautiful. And we actually got to watch our team squeak by with a win since the Pack played on TV earlier. I should say I sat and watched while hubby gathered leaves with the lawn mower and did a little push mowing too.

I was saving my strength for my photo shoot. I assumed there might be some walking. Ha. 

And we did hike around the gorgeous Sand Valley golf course a bit. Just waiting for the sun to start setting for this last and best photo of the season...

OK, to be fair, there's a been a ton of great photos this year. But ending like this inspires me to keep doing this because I love bringing out smiles and capturing them! 

I'm going to have to take some time to capture some more fall colors, too, before they're gone. Gotta listen to my inner John Wayne: "Get moving. We're burning daylight!"

Have a peaceful and colorful week, everyone!

Penultimate Pix

Had my penultimate – or second to last – senior photo session of the year tonight. The reason I don't like waiting this long in the year is that it was in the 50s and breezy and downright chilly for the poor girl! But she was a trooper! 

She goes to Wausau East so I went up there after work and discovered a gem I didn't know existed. Monk Gardens. If you've been there – especially in summer, I imagine – you know it's pretty darn cool. And I can't wait to get back there at the height of bloom. There were still a few colorful plants around plus neat trails, bridges, and a lake. So we made it work.

Of course, just like I did when Carter got his senior pictures taken years ago, the mom takes pictures of the photographer taking pictures. There's been a lot of that this year. Ha. That's how I knew I needed to go on a diet. And am also realizing I need a new pair of pants!

If you care, this is the picture I was capturing here...

It's been fun discovering new places this year and new people! Never met this girl before but I'll never forget her dimples!

Find joy in the little things, folks. And don't be afraid to try new things, either!

(Unless it's gross food that has onions or mayo in it. Had to sneak that in there.)

Final Sunbathing Days

 

Sunday is a day of rest. And also the last Sunday of summer. Technically. So after church and after I posted tennis pictures from yesterday, kitty and I commenced to resting and sunbathing.

I'll share her picture but you can't pay me enough to share a picture of me on Mr. Deck Chair! Probably for the last time this season. 

I sat out listening to an audio book for a bit, then called my mom to chit-chat. She said it was so nice  when her children call. I told her I knew exactly what she meant. That message must have traveled over the plains and the mountains because lo and behold, my baby boy called tonight! And yes, Mom, it does do the heart good!

This evening I also had one of my last senior photo shoots of the season. By that time, it had clouded up and was picture perfect.

And my model was picture perfect, too! Makes the job so much easier, ha. Seriously, all my kiddos this year have been beautiful inside and out. Just neat kids. It's been a fun season.

I look forward to a few days of rest, though. They'll arrive just in time with fall colors. No rush, though, says Sylvester, me, and Mr. Deck Chair!

Goodbye, August

This month was a blur. Literally, ha! I purposely blurred out my calendar for privacy, but you get the idea. I was booked. And now I'm bushed.

Managed to knock off 19 of my 23 non-blurry senior photo shoots! Now that is an accomplishment! And what a fun time. I still have 4 more to go in September and have flash drives of photos to deliver, but I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with the turn of the calendar page.

You know what else I'm seeing?

Ope! I meant to give you a spoiler alert! I'm not ready to capture that image either!

I hope Mother Nature will at least give us a full long weekend of summer as we approach Labor Day. I'm also not ready for that. Time just flies and we keep plugging along.

Hope you did something you enjoyed this summer! And remember... it's not too late! Summer still technically here 3 more weeks. Own it!

She says, looking her tee time September 1st.

Goodbye, my blurry August!  

Such Language

I can't believe we're deep into August – known anecdotally for its hot nights – and the weather dudes are using words like "cold front." Not good. Not good. Do not like that four-letter word!

Although I really was cold today. After church it was chilly with all the rain. Put a sweatshirt on and warmed up. While Mother Nature was simultaneously having a hot flash.

When I got out of my car for a senior photo shoot later, I was immediately sweating. So muggy!!! Ditched the heavy layer and proceeded to have a very nice shoot. I captured at least a dozen action shots of this kiddo during the football game Friday...

But it's always nice to see the handsomeness under the helmet too...

Yes, if you were asking, it IS a prerequisite to be a GQ model to play football around here. At least according to my senior photo shoots this season! All great kids too.

Glad we had enough time to get our session in before Mother Nature turns the A/C on. I can't keep up with her moods. 

And you know me. My electric mattress pad is ON anyway!

Have a great week!

Smile and Say Rain Delay

Now that my golfing marathon is done, I'm back to my senior photo shoot marathon. With no room in my schedule for rain delays. Yet here we are again!

I managed to get a shoot done last night and was done with things late so skipped blogging. Tonight I was an hour into the shoot and it was sprinkling. The senior's mom held my treasured Prince Purple Rain umbrella over my head so I could shoot her son's baseball pictures without getting my precious camera wet.

But then it moved beyond sprinkling! 

And one look at the weather apps on our phones told us we were done for the night. So now I hopefully can squeeze in two rain delay shoots on SUN-day along with a regularly scheduled shoot that evening.

Sorry to be selfish, farmers and fish and whoever else needs water! It was just momentarily inconvenient.

Probably good to be home one night where I can't go out anyway. I have plenty of things to catch up on around here. Haven't even gotten a chance to look through my golf scramble swag from Monday! And I heard I won two raffle baskets and a gift card as well. So the sun is still shining on some parts of life! 

It always is.

Find your sun – externally, internally, or both – and have a great rest of your week!

Friday Focal Points

My mind has been out in the weeds this week like this old car blooming with the wildflowers north of Rapids. My schedule remains busy with photo shoots and all those golf outings (sorry, nor sorry). And today I needed to squeeze in a senior session and the remains of another.

All before the rain.

Mission accomplished! 

Got one full session done and finished another one that just needed sunflower pictures. About the time I got home, it was starting to rain down in Necedah, where our Royals started their football season tonight. They called the game just before halftime and we'll take the W since we had a 35-0 lead. Yay, Royals.

The two young ladies I was photographing tonight are also winners. One is coming up on 10 years cancer-free after beating childhood leukemia. The other suffers from Friedreich Ataxia, which attacks the nervous system and requires wheelchair use. Such horrible diseases but both of these girls smiled and laughed. 

They laughed!

How inspiring. May your focal point this Friday and every day be to find the blessings – no matter how small – that can make you smile and even laugh. Here's their pictures for inspiration!

Keep fighting, girls. And shining. I count it a blessing to know you.

Have a good weekend, everyone! 

Horsing Around?

After a serious start to the day – going to church then a funeral visitation way up in Stetsonville for our friends' dad – if was good to horse around a bit. And by horsing around, I mean an impromptu stop to get delicious ice cream on the way home from Stetsonville and shooting pictures of this Mustang.

Who also had a senior attached.

It belongs to his father, actually, but every teenager gets to drive his dad's car once in awhile, don't they? And every photographer gets to sit in it after their shoot, don't they? I did!!

It was a perfectly cloudy day so I got to stay on schedule and get one of my seniors done! 

Nicholas has gorgeous blue eyes and has always been such a cutie! Had a great time this afternoon and evening. All these handsome boys and awesome cars. It's a tough job!

Glad I'm the somebody who gets to do it!

 

Sunday Day of Rest (Mostly)

Wasn't too buzzy or busy of a Sunday. Had a nice relaxing day with my sister. Pretty much. I mean we went to church, then scouted a few senior photo shoot locations.

She was my designated senior (citizen, that is). Beautiful, right?

Since it was a gorgeous day – not too hot or muggy thanks to a breeze – we headed out to Anchor Bay to enjoy lunch by the river. Yummy food per usual and nice scenery!

And breezy! Did I mention that?

After lunch we relaxed around the house and the neighborhood – visiting the ones Rayna's met before – and it was after 6:30 p.m. when we both realized we forgot to do something very important during her visit.

Yup. Go to King Cone!! How that slipped our minds, I'll never know. But we got there before it closed and tried to resist eating it on the way home since Jim was bringing us supper. Spoiler alert: We didn't completely resist. But did enjoy some pizza for supper and had room for the rest of our dessert!

Priorities!

Rayna heads out tomorrow on her way to another sister's house in Minnesota for a few days. I'll still get to see her again in a few weeks before she heads back to Arizona. Was awesome having her here even though it seems like the weekend flew! 

Guess we'll have to visit her in the desert. Sometime when it's 10 degrees here and ice cream honestly is the last thing on my mind!

Busy with Beautiful Things

Who says the Walmart parking lot can't be beautiful? Walked outside tonight and I wasn't the only one snapping pictures. What gorgeous skies! The foreground – not so much. But I knew the color and light show would be over before I got to a nicer setting.

And it was only my 1,200th photo in 2 days.

OK, not really exaggerating there. I'm in senior portrait mode. One session Wednesday night and one tonight and one tomorrow. Of course I can say they're going well. My subject matters are super models in the making. Not really exaggerating there either!

Last night... Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome!

And tonight... Move over, Brad Pitt!!

Yup, it's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it! Three down, 13 to go. It's going to be a fun month. Might not blog much, but just know you don't have to worry about me. I may be saying Uff Da a lot.

But definitely in a good way. 

Sweet dreams!

Thursday Brief

 Too much going on, yet nothing at the same time. I gotta catch some ZZZZs so my Thursday in brief...

A co-worker was leaving today so I let her request her Goodbye Trifle. She wanted something with caramel and chocolate. So here is the Roll A Rolo To A Friend Trifle! Layers are cake, white chocolate pudding with caramel mixed in, and crushed caramel cookies. Plus a Rolo here and there and everywhere.

I think it was gone in record time!

Had golf league after work. Simply gorgeous evening! Little breezy at times but I don't hit my ball high enough in the air for it to matter! We thought we should name our trio so we called ourselves T-Bar and the Nice Misses since Nancy and I had some accidentally good shots with our nice misses!

Home at a decent time and finally went through my senior pictures from last night. Some pretty nice ones. Now I'm really excited to do the other dozen sessions on my calendar! Let the season begin!

Family Trees

I was excited that my first senior photo shoot of the summer was for a girl I have a longtime connection to. Her grandparents were the ones who basically helped raise Carter – babysitting him after school from first grade on. They also watched their baby granddaughter Hailey when she entered the world around not long after that.

Since the babysitters operate a Christmas tree farm as well, Hailey wanted to step back into her roots and have a few pictures at the farm. I mean it is a family affair after all.

And since her grandma is regular blog reader, I figured I better share a few pictures here! What a cutie! Can't wait to look through all of them from our adventures around town this evening. Definitely a great kickoff to the season.

Senior photo season, that is – not Christmas. Yet.

Field Work

I switched from back yard work to field work today. Baseball field, that is.

I was senior night so we got to honor Aaron, the lone senior for the Royals baseball team. Then it was game time against Nekoosa. Neither team has many victories this season so it was a close one as they battled for hits and runs. 

Got to witness my first high schooler over-the-fence home run at Witter Field. Unless I saw one years ago, but this is the first under the Ryan-Jim-Greg coaching regime. Then Nekoosa answered with one of their own. Lots of runs and rallying, but we ended up losing 13-8.

Just got done with photos so I'm going to bed. This is the banner I designed for Aaron. I like how it turned out and wished there were more seniors. But he's a great kid – who I've watched grow up – and he deserves his time in the spotlight.

That'll be it for me for sports shooting this week. I think everyone's away now. Or I am!

Have a good week, everyone!

The Deet-tails on Them Skeeters

At some point you knew the mosquitoes had to come out. We honestly got by over half the summer without them. Now, they're out in full force.

I wouldn't have noticed them except for spending a few hours outdoors on a photo shoot. Thanks to the mom for carrying bug spray in her van. I always have mine in my golf bag in my vehicle. But since hubby needed my vehicle tonight, I was driving his big truck. No repellent in there but I felt like I ruled the world, barreling down the highway like a bad-ass, sitting on two pillows to see over the dash.

Even with the blood-suckers out, we had a great shoot in the Rudolph area. Sort of.

It was awesome to have the mom and daughter have props all figured out. 

Including suitcases on the railroad tracks...

And laying in the middle of the road with her music and cello. That's correct. There's no traffic in Rudolph!

I'll have to trust the rest turned out. I am ready for ice cream and bed. And probably a de-DEET-ing shower. 

Dang skeeters!