Miscellaneous Pictures

Christmas is around the corner! Doug & I put up our Christmas tree. I got an ornament for us to put on the tree to start our new memories together. Doug loves Christmas and I do, too. I've been shopping for gifts for awhile now and gathering little things here & there for him. I just have to think of something extra special to get for him! ;-) I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and I'm thankful that I managed and did so well! I had my finals today and I was so nervous I made myself sick! It's over now.....tests are done, I've sold my books, and I've signed up for classes for next semester. I have 2 classes that I'm signed up for now. 3D design and computers & art. I need to sign up for 2 more. I'm so thankful that Doug supports me and my endeavors. I got my final project back from art class and I got an A! I will have to photograph some of my works and post it on my blog. I won't be able to post my final project because an ex of mine may find it offensive because he'll assume it's about him (oye vay!) but my class did get a good kick out of it! ;-) I'll have to post it next spring. I did get an A on it, though! My instructor wrote this: This drawing is very ambitious and very successful! Good intergration of various elements - well constructed. Good use of materials! What I did-I bought a huge piece of matte board. I spray painted it with chalk board paint. I then drew my outlines with chalk and did the rest of it in conte crayon, charcoal, chalk & pastels. It was a huge mess but I enjoyed drawing it out. It's awesome! My instructor thought it was good.
Well Doug and I are still on the hunt for a house. We've been everywhere from Bella Vista to Fayetteville. Bella Vista & Rogers look promising as far as housing.....Fayetteville is grossly overpriced. We made an offer on a house in Rogers but the seller was stubborn. The seller bought the house last year for $120K (totally remodeled gorgeous 2 story victorian) and he was trying to sell for $153K but made zero improvements on the place - not to justify the price jump. He had it for one year and didn't want to budge. I'm not about to give away money for something he paid only $120K for last year! No way! So Doug & I moved on. I swear I have seen one too many houses. Our realtors are so sweet! Some of my friends have suggested we wait until after Christmas because more houses will come on the market. It's all about patience!!! I just want to get in our 1st home with a house payment on something we own!!!! What a concept! ;-)


Amelia on the square.

Lena & Doug! My husband is so handsome! These are my favorite kind of photos! Holding the camera up myself and smiling!

Amelia as a cheerleader for Halloween!

Amelia riding the camel on the square.

Lena & Doug on the square.

Senior Pictures!

Pictures of Sherrie. She needed senior photos done. We went to Springdale and used the wonderful orange wall that is located downtown.

NWA Roller Girls

I had to choose 2 lovely ladies from the NWA Roller Girls to photograph for a calendar. I chose Sin & Nixin. I think they photograph so well! These are 2 of the many 100's of photos I shot on Sunday.

Christmas on the Square

I am doing Christmas portraits on the square! I've had several families come out to get some fun family photos to use in their Christmas cards. I charge $75 for the shoot and I burn you a CD of about 50 images to choose from. I give you rights to make prints for your Christmas cards! If you're interested in doing this, now is the time!

The Brain Died :-(

"The Brain" died this morning at about 10am. Doug took him to the vet and while he was there he passed away. Poor little guy. He was the sweetest cat and I claimed him when he moved in when Doug & I got married. His brother "Pinky" is alive & kicking, though. So no more Pinky & The Brain. We only have Pinky now. It has been a sad day. I am really going to miss "The Brain." He was such a nice cool mellow cat. He died of some kind of heart failure.......I was really dreading telling Amelia. I didn't want to. When we got home today I told her and she was sad but then she said "well, momma....at least we now only have one cat to clean up after in the litterbox!" I just love the way she makes the negative into a positive.

RIP - "The Brain"

Updates

Oh goodness.....my website is down......It's a big mess. The company that I bought the domain name from wants the last 4 digits of the credit card I used to set it up. Well....that was about 2 years ago & my ex is not going to give me the digits - he probably can't remember them either! Soooo.... now it is a waiting game to do a bunch of different paperwork. It's so crazy! Well, in the meantime I am taking the dreamweaver workshops from Eve at the university. (dreamweaver is what I use to build my website) I've learned some good useful things such as tables, layers, how to make a template, and adding pop-up menus to a webpage. I think the next workshop will be on how to do galleries and other fun little things on the website. I've learned so much already. I even learned some stuff in fireworks as well! It's very interesting stuff. I'm really enjoying my work study job on campus at the multi media resource center. This semester is almost over and I'm so happy about that. I am going down to part-time next semester and re-focusing myself on wedding photography. I'm going back to shooting weddings and I can't wait for the semester to be over so I can start marketing and delving back into the fun job of photographing weddings!

Well Doug & I have been married for over a month and it has been amazing! It took about 2 weeks to adjust to our likes/dislikes but now that we understand each others quirks, it makes sense. It is simply amazing to have someone who wants to do things with you. While I cook dinner, Doug is in the kitchen cleaning the dishes I have used to cook with. We do laundry together and fold laundry together, it's a pretty "hot" thing to do ;-) he he he he! We share in everything and it's awesome. He takes so much interest in what Amelia & I do. He's always supporting us and talking to us, he doesn't ignore us which is wonderful! I never dreamed in a million years that I would be this happy. Amelia & Doug get along so awesome, too. It is absolutely amazing being married to someone so awesome. Doug & I talk for hours and are always cuddling. Amelia is always yelling "hey! make room for 3!!"

Doug & I are buying a house!!!! We got approved for a home loan so we have been looking around at homes. I am running around with the realtor tomorrow to look at about 15 different homes. Goodness....I hope I can remember all of them!

I haven't updated my blog in forever! Thanksgiving is around the corner. Doug & I are going to Little Rock to visit tons of family & his friends and go to the LSU/Razorback game! I can't wait to cozy up to my sexy husband under a blanket and scream for the hogs! He's got me watching football and really....it's not that bad! It's a little more exciting than I thought.

We got our Christmas cards done. Now I need to type up addresses and mail them out after Thanksgiving........hopefully we'll be in a new house before Christmas - we'll see!

Another picture from the wedding....

Shawn sent me this photo that she took with her little digital camera and I just love it!!!! I had to share! :-)

I am married!!!!!!!

I am married!!!! I married the man of my dreams. The love of my life! The most romantic sweetest man I have ever met is now my husband! I feel like the luckiest woman on this planet. He treats Amelia & I with so much love & respect. It's a wonderful feeling to be loved and cherished.

Here are some photos from the wedding: http://www.lenaregina.com/wedding01.html There may be some typos but I was typing fast and I was exhausted when I made the pages. My little brother Victor took the photos with my camera.

We got married at the 5th annual shimmyfest.....you can visit that site at: www.shimmyfest.com It was such a fun party and there wasn't a dry eye in the audience! It was the wedding of my dreams and I couldn't have asked for a better wedding!!!

The rumors are true ;-)

I am getting married this Saturday October 7th at the Radisson during shimmyfest!!! Doug said I'd be surrounded by what I love most! Amelia, Doug, family, friends & of course - belly dance! It was his idea to be married in my "mess" of mad belly dance and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. We have cheesecake and carrot cake ready to go. Our wedding will be simple but an outrageous party as well. Princess Farhana is setting up the zeffa for the wedding.....I have the centerpieces bought, my dress is ROCKIN - holy cow - the color is amazing, oh the heels rock, too and the marriage license. What more do we need? Just love, friends, and fun! I don't want a big wedding but I do want to be surrounded by everyone that is awesome. Doug & I are saying our vows to each other. We've been "practicing" our kiss - it's gonna be hot! ;-) Everytime Doug is telling me what he's thinking of saying for our vows he starts to tear up. I can already tell that there won't be a dry eye at the ceremony. I'm already tearing up thinking of what he will say. He's also going to do something special for Amelia. It's gonna be so sweet!

SHIMMYFEST!!!!!

Rome

So I went to the 1st meeting in the art department about going to Rome in the summer. I can't imagine being there & just immersing myself in art and drawing. Taking pictures and drawing some more! The trip includes Venice & Florence. I saw the art displays from last years trip and it is just amazing! I spoke to one of the guys that went on the trip last year and he was telling me it was a chance of a lifetime. I told my art instructor today that I was still VERY interested in going. I have a special savings account set up just for this. YAY!

New Look, New things happening ....

Well I decided to change the whole look of my website. I only have the 1st page up - the front page - but it's a start! The links work but each link will change dramatically in the next couple of weeks. I decided to lean towards photography on my website. Enough sitting around and twiddling my thumbs, wondering what I should do. For now, I'm going to continue shooting weddings. I have fun at weddings and I really love being part of the fun day that brides plan for themselves. It's fun to see the whole process and to watch a wedding unfold before my eyes. I won't be doing 50 weddings each year but I'd like to book about 20 weddings throughout the year. Since I am going to school full-time, I'd like to devote as much time to my daughter as I can plus study and devote time to brides. If I shoot too many weddings then how can I put 100% focus on each bride? Yeah, I think 20 will be good for next year! So if you're engaged - call or e-mail me! My prices are super awesome (so I have heard) and I'm really relaxed and easy to get along with. ;-) I include negatives with the package and I'm very flexible with the needs of my brides!
I'm also focusing on boudoir photography. I am shooting a boudoir session this Sunday! YAY! I love photographing boudoir/lingerie/nudes, etc. They are so much fun and I since I am a woman, I know exactly how we feel! So if you are feeling a bit daring and want to do something fun and different - contact me!
And of course I am still teaching belly dance on Sundays at 5pm. I love all my students and we have such a good time in class.
I guess you could say I like being well rounded!

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!