{rodin+lenny} sneak peek

Yesterday was a long day.

I may or may not have resembled a beached whale trying to roll out of bed this morning. My back aches, I'm a wee bit sunburnt and with each step I take, my toes are squealing.

It was hot. It was rocky. It was void of electricity. And there may or may not have been compost buckets for toilets.

It was a long, loooooong day.

But there was also love. And friends. And tears. And there may or may not have been an accordion.

Yes... an accordion.

It was worth every minute. Even my toes say so.

Sneak Peek: {rodin+lenny}

ps... huge props to Kimberly Creagan of Twin Satori Photography for rockin' it out with me the entire 13 hours. I couldn't have done it without you!

{travel recap} san di-aaaahhhhh-go

I had a dream last night.


Not in the "I have a dream!" sense of the phrase, but more like the shock me awake and then lie there, wide-eyed, for 45 minutes type of dream.


There was this huge truck. A Dodge Ram, actually. It was towing a very, very full trailer. Not a car, horse or flatbed trailer, but one of those smallest-size-that-uHaul-offers sized guys. The only reason I could tell that the trailer was very, very full was because I was driving this humongous truck up a really, really, really steep hill. And we were struggling, definitely struggling. And I had this passenger... this really annoying passenger that kept telling me how ridiculous it was to try and tow this trailer, and drive this truck, up this gigantic hill.


But I kept driving. I dropped it into second and chugged up that damned hill. Because I knew the truck could do it. I knew that that bad-ass truck and the little ol' trailer could do it. Every time I felt like the incline was about to toss that truck backward, I just kept grinding up the hill. And you know what? As I was nearing the top, that annoying passenger bailed. Like, tuck and rolled out of that thing. And then that passenger, that annoying girl who just wouldn't shut up with the "why's?" and "this is a dumb idea"... she sat there, in the dirt. She sat in the rocks and watched as that Ram kept chugging, onward and upward, like Thomas the Tank Engine. And guess what?


The truck never reached the top. 


Wait, what? That's right. There was no end, no summit. There was no ceiling nor limits to how far I could tug that trailer.


And then I woke up.


So much of success is believing in yourself, in what you do. You have to believe that you are capable of doing more than what you think you can do. You believe in your mission, no matter what that mission may entail. So many of us are told constantly that we don't live up to our potential. That we don't, we didn't, we haven't, we aren't. And I ask them, what's with all the "n't"s?!


Three weeks ago, I had the fabulous opportunity to spend a week with the equally as fabulous Justin & Mary (and J2!). As I mentioned before, a lot of their workshop is focused on the why of it all. Why do we, as photographers, do what we do? Why photography? Why do you want to succeed? Why not? Why are you fearful? The list goes on and on and on. Always, always, ask "why?"


My dream last night is my why. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I'm not living up to my potential, that I could do more, be more, succeed more. And you know what I tell those people? 


Screw you. 


This is what I do. This is what I love. I'm good at this. Edit that: I'm great at it. This is what I will succeed in, and I don't need you to tell me I could "do more" anymore. My "why" is because for the first time in a long time, I'm not miserable at the end of the day. I'm excited to "go" to work. I wake up, wide-eyed, in the middle of the night because I have ideas that I can't push out of my head - and thank God for that! I'm happy. I'm full of energy. I'm doing more, living more, loving more, and laughing more.


And you know what? Those "mores" I'll take.


Enjoy.


{ps} That's right, it's an Anchorman reference. Live it, love it, embrace it.

 

Tucson Photographer ~ Family Fotos for the Flinns

Phew! The craziness has eased somewhat, so let me get started on blogging all of the wonderfulness from the last two weeks ...

The Flinn family was a last-minute booking, which I don't mind at all! I just happened to be coming to Tucson, and Dad just happened to be in town, and the family just happened to need their Christmas photos done and ta-da! Match made in heaven. We went over to the Arizona Inn by the U of A campus and just wandered around. The adobe walls and yellow chairs and adorable pergolas wrapped in white Christmas lights - I was in photog heaven. I definitely plan on visiting again. Thanks guys for the intro to such a great location!

Without further ado, here are the Flinns:

{as always, click on an image to make it bigger}

and my fave ... daddy and baby ...

Cheers!

~di

Tucson Photographer ~ Sneaky Peeky Numero Dos!

Starting last Thursday, my schedule has been packed! And I'm loving it!

It started out with a nice little photo-shoot with my friend Lacee as guinea pig. More to come on that one.

Then Saturday the Griz beat the Lumberjacks for a trip to the semifinals (next game to be aired on ESPN2 Saturday December 12th) ... and covered by yours truly. I am attending with camera in tow!

I also shot this great little family this past weekend:

Next up: Missoula, Montana below zero degrees AND an engagement shoot AND Griz under the lights AND my own personal venue previews for my own big day ... stay tuned!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookie Goodness

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Gluten-Free Pantry – Beth’s gluten-free all-purpose flour, it has guar gum which eliminates the need to add 1/4 tsp. of guar or xantham)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (or 3 tsp. of GF baking powder)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon guar gum OR xanthan gum (If you are using a mix that contains xanthan or guar gum OMIT adding more gum)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter OR Spectrum All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree (do not use premade pumpkin mix)
• 1/3 cup milk OR your favorite dairy free milk substitute
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk OR dairy free milk substitute (1 tbsp wasn’t enough, added more as needed for frosting-like consistency)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8-ish teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:


Preheat oven to 375F / 190C

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, silicone pads or lightly grease.

In a medium mixing bowl combine gluten-free flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and guar OR xanthan gum (if your mix does NOT contain gum.) Whisk until thoroughly combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla; beat until combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Drop cookies by generous rounded teaspoons on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes in preheated oven.

While cookies are baking prepare glaze by beating confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl until smooth and glossy –  may have to add more milk as needed for a smoother consistency.

Cool cookies for 1-2 minutes. Spoon, drop or brush glaze on cookies.

Yield- About 3 dozen cookies

For larger cookies drop cookies on prepared baking sheet by using a rounded tablespoon and bake an addition 2-3 minutes or until the cookies are done.  

First {official} dolli photo blog post!

So, I guess the best way to start out a new blog is with good news ...

I'm engaged!

So to satiate all of your curious oohs and aaahs, here are some ring pictures. I do love me some ring pictures. Yum!