Keeping busy!

Wow, school might kick my butt....but I don't mind. I'm really enjoying it. It just feels so right to me. I'm really loving my art classes. I just can't get enough of the classes!

My friend Curtis has a big photography exhibit showing at the Union. On Thursday, Sept. 14th from 3-5pm, there will be a reception for him. I went and saw some of his work that he was hanging this week. He has some amazing stuff, great photography! A lot of his prints are for sale and start at $20 which is great because you can get an awesome piece of art for your home for only $20! I will have to see what he has because I think some of the works would make a great Christmas present.

So I have a busy schedule! Oh my! Tonight I go to the Jones Center to go thru my savings plan classes for single moms. I'm totally excited about that. Being a single mom can be a good thing because there are benefits to it! If you are a single mom, going to school - you should check this program out - I will be saving for a trip to Italy or somewhere else to study art. I go to Sedalia this weekend to teach a workshop on stage presence - I'm really excited about that! I also have a pretty big charity function my dance girls & I will be dancing at in Fayetteville later in the month. We performed this last Tuesday at the nursing home, it was a great time and we got gift bags full of goodies which was fun!

On October 6-8, I have Princess Farhana flying in to teach a bunch of dance workshops. Check it out: www.shimmyfest.com

Then on October 12th I have organized the 2nd annual wedding party to be held in Fayetteville. Check it out: www.nwawa.com - it's definitely a fun event to attend!

How do I do it all? I don't know!

What a sweetie!

What a sweetie pie!

Doug and I went to Brandi's wedding reception last night. We didn't stay too long because we were both starving and well....I am a vegetarian. The food looked great, but I couldn't eat it........So Doug took me out for Thai food. I had my favorite garlic tofu, I swear I could eat that ever day. After dinner, he drove me to the Radisson and had a room reserved on the 15th floor with a balcony. The view is so gorgeous from the top! It was such a sweet romantic evening. I am still on cloud 9!bAnyways, I'm still gushing with excitement from such a perfect night. Being in love is simply amazing. I didn't know that one person could love another so much. Flowers, dinner, room, and sweet whispers......what more could a girl ask for? He's my sweet pea.

Stuff

Doug asked me to re-draw one of his tattoos. He wants it covered. He has a tat that represents his cancer that he went thru.....it's not a nice tattoo - it's a skull head that looks angry and he said "I'm not that angry Cancer Doug anymore" - he is cancer free now......so I think I'm going to change it into a jokers head.

Doug & I are really looking into healthier eating. I would love to drop dairy products but I just love my cheese!!! I can do w/out milk & eggs but I just love sharp cheddar cheese. It's a weakness! And I love pizza. But I can do w/out ice cream and that sort of thing. I want to get on a more vegan style diet but I'm not sure I can pull it off. I've been vegetarian since 1982 and it's a way of life for me. Doug has started eating 12 raw almonds per day - they say it can help prevent cancer. He's also on 7 days of being smoke free! YAY and congrats to Doug! He's been putting $5 per day in his sock drawer......I told him to keep doing that and before long - we could go on a cruise or to some exotic location for a most romantical trip ever! Doug has more romance then I know what to do with! I think it's so sexy and sweet. I need to photograph the ring he got me. It's totally me. There is a center diamond with 2 sapphires next to it plus 6 diamonds on the side of the ring. It's hard to explain but it's so way cool. It's awesome bling. He calls me his diamond wearing his diamond.........yeah........I'm gushing..........

Well........I'm off to bed ........another day of school and meetings tomorrow. I'm a busy bee!

I got flowers ;-)

I got these 2 carnations at the University last week.....they were giving away all kinds of stuff on campus. I just love carnations......in fact I just love any flowers!


These roses are from Doug!

I am having a day today! I'm taking a mini break to check e-mails and enough time to post on my blog. School, homework, etc. etc.....is stressing me out! My house is a shambles but I'm getting laundry and dishes done as I type! I finally got my cases of water & lemonade put up in my fridge, too. So now I'll have a nice cold lemonade for tomorrow's lunch at school. I am working on editing a wedding for Lori, too because she is in Italy shooting a wedding! I have my other wedding from last weekend loaded on my computer at my work study job so I can edit while I work at my work study job. My ex took our daughter today so I could get a lot of work & homework done, so I appreciated that for sure. I'll be up late tonight working & studying.

I am really enjoying school. I love walking on campus and seeing everyone walk around. I love all my instructors. I really look forward to school every day. Today I had my fundamentals in drawing II. We are working on positive & negative drawings - it's a hard one! I used a photo of a bride (Cecille in Cozumel) and a picture of a wedding cake. So I have an image of Cecille's veil and part of her dress on top of a huge wedding cake. There's a lot of negative & positive spaces in the drawing. It's really neat.

So Doug knows that I was having a day today. He sent me a dozen roses to put a smile on my face. It really cheered me up and made me smile BIG! He's such a sweet romantic. It really made me feel so good. The flowers are gorgeous. Thank you Doug! ;-) xoxo

Photos from Missy & Andy's wedding 8-26-06

Missy & Andy got married 8-26-06 in an outdoor wedding at Magnolia Gardens in Springdale, AR. I love photographing weddings at Magnolia Gardens. Dennis is so easy to work with and the place makes a beautiful setting!

The Rings

Fun guests!

Lead singer of the band.

More fun wedding guests!

Missy looking in the mirror & fixing her hair -

Missy and her brother dancing

Missy & her dad walking her down the aisle

Missy & Andy seeing each other for the 1st time

The same pose they did for their engagement photos - we re-created it on the wedding day as well.

Missy - she's so sassy & pretty! Her dress is Pronovias from She Said Yes Bridal in Rogers.

This is Missy before she was to go down the aisle. Her dad is hidden by the tree.

The wedding party having a good time!

My trip to Cozumel - some personal photos

Natasha and I posing in Tulum - mayan ruins! Way cool to see! Look at the color of that water!

Picture of what the cave looked like that we were snorkeling in.


Stephanie took this photo of me working. Natasha was one of the wedding guests that was very interested in photography ... she helped me out a LOT! Thanks Natasha!

Snorkeling in a cave. My friend Stephanie took this. I am SCARED to death. One of my fears is snorkeling and doing that in a cave - even worse! But I conquered it!!! You can see the fear in my face and it's quite hilarious!! I just got in the water and it was COLD!

Looking at pics in my hard drive.......

From a recent wedding that I did for Hudson Photos.

I took this one in Cozumel.


I took this photo at the wedding in Cozumel.

And going thru some more photos......found this bridal I did over the summer. I just love the drama!!

These photos are by Brian at www.eyeworksphotography.com I went to Joplin and played dress up! I think his photos are just amazing! He did such a wonderful job capturing the essence of belly dance!

Cozumel

Cozumel is gorgeous!!! BREATHTAKING I may say! WOW! I did a wedding in Cozumel recently. The bride was so great and the scenery was beautiful!

THE divorce party of the YEAR!

Holy crap! Barbie is hosting a huge divorce party and I am the guest of honor! YEOW! She has invited over 300 people and I have over 100 people. There are 5 DJ's, security, guest list, and people directing traffic. The party has been featured on Power 105.7 by Tim & Jeff in the morning. I'm just shocked at how many people are attending. The guest list is HUGE!! I am way too excited! This is the party to make a clean break of the past and make a new beginning. This is what I need to signify the change in my life. So many people are supportive of this. I have an orange wedding cake with words of inspiration, I dyed my wedding dress orange, and I will be belly dancing at the party! YAY!

Pictures from the Dominican

I will post wedding photos soon. There are 1000's to go through. These photos are snapshots from my little camera. More to come soon!


Lena at one of the many sites at the resort.

A beautiful trail (shortcut) from VIP world to our room.

The building we stayed in - La Hacienda Resorts.

Lori & her Corona & chocolate cigar at Sosua beach.

At the beach at our resort.

Lena at Sosua beach having a chocolate cigar and a nice ice cold smirnoff ice.

One of the many beach shops in the Dominican.

Lena & Lori at the cigar factory having a chocolate cigar. I actually smoked!

Another street scene in Puerto Plata, Domincian Republic.

Lena at central park in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

One of the many scenes you would see in the streets of Puerto Plata.

Lena at the fort.

Picture from the Fort we visited on the tour.

Lena at Sosua beach. This band came along & played a beautiful song for a dollar.