Who Are You Giveaway

Please note: To sign up for the drawing, you have to become an actual "follower" of the blog. You can do this by clicking the word "Follow" under Cool Peeps in the column on the right. ----->

We've been checking out our hit counter recently, and we average about 75 hits a day. We've realized that we only know who about 25 of you are. So, we're having another fun giveaway. Sign up to "follow" this blog between now and next Monday (April 6th) and we'll put you in a drawing for a Dawn Durell Bag (we'll include you homies that are already following of course). And if you're a guy, and don't want a bag for your hot sweetie, we'll have to make you an awesome mix CD or get you into a Neon Trees show or something like that. So sign up! And let the coolness start.

Photo Class Spring 2009

It's phun photo class time again. I still have 2 spots left in my Wed. night class and 5 spots left in my Tues. afternoon class. It is a 4 week course (once a week) and the cost is $50. Here is the schedule if you're interested:

Wednesday Evening class:
April 1 - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
April 8 - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
April 15 - NO CLASS/SPRING BREAK
April 22 - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
April 29 - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday Afternoon class:
March 31 - 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
April 7 - 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
April 14 - NO CLASS/SPRING BREAK
April 21 - 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
April 28 - 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

We will cover-
Week 1:
Film speed
Camera controls
Fstops & shutter speed

Week 2:
Fstops & shutter speed
White balance
Shutter & aperture priority
Output size

Week 3:
Metering
Lighting techniques
Using your built-in flash
Composition

Week 4:
Specific questions & how to's
Work critique

Neon Trees

I forgot to post some of my favorite pics from the NT show in ID. I guess I was too frazzled by our run-in with the law.

Jackie Cakes

I had so much fun shooting Jackie's bridals on Saturday. And she's so hot, I just don't know what to do.

Sourdough

I'm so loving Camille right now 'cause she gave me some of her sourdough starter. I'm now the proud owner of a MOTHER SPONGE. I've been feeding it, caressing it, and talking sweetly to it and it produces BABY SPONGES for me to cook. We can have hot sourdough bread as often as we want, and it's actually sour!! It's the perfect texture and I'm addicted to it. And the fact that it has no oil, eggs and only takes 4 cups of flour is blowing my mind. Thanks, Camille!!

Elle & Emme

Here is another awesome creative endeavor by some of my lovely lady friends. Lisa V., Candace S., and Meredith L. are the creators of Elle & Emme Fragrance for children. They are absolutely delicious! I especially love the boys' fragrance. I use on Baby Connor all the time (and on myself too). It smells like sagebrush and bristlecone pine wet after desert rain, being dried in the summer Nevada sun when you're hiking on Mt. Charleston. It's seriously one of my most favorite smells in the world. And every time I put it on Connor, I can't keep my mouth off him!

The places to buy are limited, so you should email them on their contact page and tell them to get some to where you live.

Pink Fig Patterns

I can't believe I've never posted about Chelsea! She is the creator of Vintage Chic Boutique and Pink Fig Patterns. Her work is AMAZING and she's also part of my second family so my love for her and her creativity runs extra deep :)

You can buy her patterns and clothes at her etsy shops (you can link to those from the links above) and also at many quilt shops around the US and Canada - they are listed on the Pink Fig Patterns site. Just look at her stuff:


Also, some of the fabric that Chelsea uses is designed by Aunt Lila Tueller. More amazing talent from the second fam. You can find Lila's fabrics all over the place but a list of where to buy is also on her site. Lila is the creator of two of my favorite things in the whole wide world:
The Funked Out Peasant Blouse:

And The Snazzy Bag:

Breakin' The Law

Oh Internet, have I got a story that needs to be told.

Friday night, I had the pleasure of accompanying Bdog, Tyler, Chris and Andrew to the Neon Trees show in Rexburg, ID. Show was great, lots of new fans, good pictures...all that. After the show, we packed up and stopped for gas before getting on the freeway. As we pulled out of the gas station, we made a turn toward the freeway (going quite slowly, I might add). A police car had followed us out of the gas station, then pulled us over right after the turn. He said we were speeding...which was totally impossible. Anyway, he asked where we were going, what were we doing in Rexburg, why we're trying to drive in the middle of the night, what kind of music they play and a slew of other invasive and unnecessary questions. All the while, Andrew is hiding under a blanket, under my legs, as he's nervous that we're violating the seat belt law and may get in trouble. Yes, this is the extent of our law breaking...the seat belt law.

So, the cop asked to see all of our ID's then took them back to his car for a while. When he returned, he asked Chris to step out of the van for a few questions. He left Chris outside, then asked Tyler to step out of the van for a few questions. He then came back and opened the back door to talk to Bdog and me. He was shining his light all around the inside, looking for something to bust us on, and never realized there was a human body under my feet. He asked if Branden and I were married. We said yes, and that we were in a hurry to get home to our kids that were at the neighbors. He said "I understand. I just need to know there's nothing illegal in here that I should be worried about." We told him there wasn't so much as a cup of coffee in the car and that we were super squeaky clean. I wonder if he really thought we were hiding anything, or if he believed us...as Tyler had confessed when handing over his ID, "I look Iranian in my photo, but I'm not."

He let us all back in, then explained that on average he arrests a band every weekend for drugs or drunk driving. Chris assured him that we were all "returned missionaries" and there was none of that going on. In the end, he wasn't too big of a jerk. But wait...

We then got on the freeway, and not 15 minutes later, we got pulled over AGAIN! This guy wanted to know where we were going? Why were we in Idaho? What kind of music they play? Why are Chris' eyes so red? What beverages do we have inside? Why are we driving in the middle of the night? How did they book a show in Idaho? Where do they usually stay when touring? All the while shining the light around inside the van looking for something to bust us on. It was a little nuts. Again, he wanted to see ID's and took them back to the car. Andrew was once again, hiding under my legs and really nervous. He must have thought that if he got caught with no seat belt that we'd have to leave him in the bitter Idaho wind on the side of the freeway. While the cop was running our info, I said, "Andrew, can you breathe?" All he could say was "I don't know!" I totally got the prayer giggles and could not stop laughing at this totally ridiculous situation. If the cop only knew we had babies at home we wanted to get to, and a ward activity at our house that night, he'd know why we were in such a hurry to get home. I felt like we should have given him our temple recommends along with our ID's. That might have got him off our backs a little faster.

He brought back the ID's and again asked why Chris' eyes were so red. He had to explain that they had a show 2 nights before in Hollywood, and had driven all the way to SLC right after that show, then to Idaho the next day, and were currently trying to drive back to SLC, so he was a little tired. The cop said, "Hollywood, California?" As if it were a far away country. Right then it felt like a far away country.

He finally let us go and told us to slow down. It was pretty funny that we were the target of blatant profiling. We were just happy to be a van full of molly mormons so that we truly had nothing to hide. I'm feeling like I might just be a little old for this rock 'n roll biz.

Neon Trees

TONIGHT - Club Moscow w/The Brobecks- 1652 N. Cherokee - Hollywood, CA

Fri. March 6 - Westwood Theatre w/Von Bondies - 2 E. Main St.- Rexburg, ID

Fri. March 13 - Velour w/Shark Speed - 135 N. University Ave - Provo, UT

Room For Two

A writer friend from my mission, Abel Keogh, was kind enough to send me a copy of his book, Room For Two. This is Abel's own true story about his wife's suicide when she was 7 months pregnant, and their preemie baby girl that died 9 days later. Most of the book takes place in the year following this tragedy as he picked up the pieces and found happiness again {which was miraculous to say the least}. As most people know, this is a subject that is extremely near and dear to me. I read this in less than 24 hrs. Besides the great writing and imagery, I just got a little addicted to seeing the ride through to the end. It was very close to home for me. I recommend it to everyone.

And The Winner Is...

Here are the five names that Katie drew....

Congrats! And sorry if you didn't win. We'll just have to do this again sometime. Winners, email me your address so I can ship them out. Hope you like!