I lived! Seriously, I had such an amazingly fantastic time teaching this workshop! I was both flattered AND nervous when I was invited to be an instructor there (the other instructors all had such rock-star resumes!) BUT, they asked me, so I figured they wanted me :) How (pleasantly!) surprised was I to find out that my class was SOLD OUT!!?? Um…pressure :) WOW. Just wow.

…and now on to my list of THANK YOUs… (this is going to be wordy, so please bear with me!)

…to my students - you all were SO awesome! Thanks for making my 2 1/2 days of talking, shooting, rolling around in the grass and clicking around in photoshop such a positive experience! Your energy and enthusiasm carried me through the days (which I needed since Lisa and I were up slaving all night!) I think I might have learned as much from y’all as you **hopefully** learned from me!

…speaking of Lisa :) I am So lucky, SO fortunate, SO happy to have such an amazing friend as my good buddy (and crazy-talented photographer!!) Lisa Maksoudian.{{{click on her site right now!! you’ll fall in love with her!}}} Lisa is the ultimate superhero - she knew I had some mini-anxieties about rambling on for days and she VOLUNTEERED to come help out! (leaving her own work and family behind!) If that isn’t the definition of a great friend, I don’t know what is! She stayed up with me each night working on the presentation, she provided moral support AND chips and salsa and best of all, she was such a great *gift with purchase* surprise for the students! They got to hear from *two* photographers instead of just me :) I know they loved her (as do I!) So - thank you, Lisa!! I owe you big time!!!

…GGS people! Thanks for making us feel welcome (and I’m bummed I missed the instructor’s dinner!) I met my new best buddy :) Kim Sayre as soon as I arrived on campus! You know those people you meet and you just know you’ll be friends forever??? That’s how I felt when we met!! (and that was BEFORE I knew that I had her to thank for the referral!) So - thanks KIM! (and she let me try out her killer lightroom presets and templates which are super-awesomeand can be found at Cottage Industry Designs. My *official GGS-designated* trustee was the talented Jonathan Mandel. Jonathan helped keep the class on track and ensured that everyting ran smoothly. I **loved** his gorgeous photos and was blown away when I looked at his portfolio, he has such a great eye for composition and his work was just gorgeous! Lastly, I was flattered to have the President of the PPGBA in my class!! Jeanne DePolo is already a super-successful portrait and wedding photographer, so I was so flattered to have her attend my class. I know I learned a lot from her (and hopefully she learned from me as well!) and look forward to hanging out again in the future! Her award-winning image of a bride and groom locked in passionate embrace was smokin’ hot - I loved viewing her work!

I regret that I did not get an opportunity to socialize/ hang out with the other GGS instructors and staff. Next year!! I will be more prepared and spend my evenings having fun instead of slaving away!

I had lots of help on the homefront leading up to this crazy week, and my hubby not only managed the kids for 4 days without me, I came home to a clean house with all the laundry done!! Petty cool, huh? My friends Jenn, Lori and kay;a are awesome! Jenn helped me learn a new software program and she and her cousin Renee helped with goodie bag stuffing! Her hubby Scott even got in on the fun and helped sort out some computer issues! So - thanks guys! I am lucky to have such generous friends…

One final comment! I had some VERY GENEROUS vendors step up and offer marketing materials, discounts and give-aways for my class. I know they appreciated it and so do I! So - a big shout out to the following peeps:

Jie at J Lee Albums, Patrick at Simply Canvas(he even came and brought goodies in PERSON!), the fabulous Jamie Schultz, my super-inspiring *hello* buddy Marie Cox of Phreckles Photography, the always impressive Lena Hyde at Design Aglow, my new friend (and up-and-coming rockstar photographer) Kate Parker, world-famous Jinky and Dawn at IttyBitty Actions, CB & Roxanne at Pixel2Canvas, the oh-so-stylish marketing gurus at Bellagraficaand the team at Big Folio

**gasp** (must breathe!)
Kevin Kubota for not only his support and gifties with his EVERY-PHOTOGRAPHER-MUST-HAVE action sets, but also with ASUKAbook discounts and giveaways. Plus, I learned so much at Kevin’s Digital Photography BootCamp in April, he totally changed my workflow and made me a *more-organized* photographer!

Jeff and Caitlin at ProDPI(my fabulous lab!) If you are a photographer and are reading this, you should check them out RIGHT NOW! They have such great quality AND outstanding customer service - you will be THANKING me if you make the switch!

Whew. I think I’m done with the *writing* part - now this post needs some images! Some of my students have emailed me photos, I will add them here ASAP.

Meanwhile….good night!

You know how you feel when you LOVE something SO much? That’s how my little Ali-bug feels about pink puppy - and I feel like the worst mommy in the world - because somehow, somewhere, pink puppy has been lost. it’s been nearly three weeks now, and not a day goes by that Ali doesn’t ask about her…”mommy? you find pink puppy?” as her eyes well up with tears…I KNOW this is trivial - I KNOW that there are much more important things out there to be dealt with - but I love my baby girl and want her to be happy - so I’m going to TRY to leverage the *power of the internet* to bring pink puppy home.

MISSING: one slightly tattered, well-loved stuffed puppy dog. fur white, nose pink, ears pink. Pink puppy was a Target Valentine’s puppy (why, oh why couldn’t Ali have fallen in love wiith some GUND who could be replaced year round at ToysRUs??) I KNOW someone out there has this puppy sitting on a bookshelf. (not OUR pink puppy, but an identical one) I’ve scoured through listings on eBay, I’ve retraced our steps a hundred times - now I’m asking for your help. There will be some sort of fabulous prize to the person who helps me find pink puppy!! PLease forward this blogpost on to any moms you know! Someone out there can help!

A random sampling of pink puppy photos so you can identify her..

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Thank you SO SO SO much if you can help!

jen :)

So cute! I photographed the CUTEST party here in the Santa Clarita Valley today - put on by the fabulous Donna Collins of Party Wishes- OH MY GOSH!!! If you are planning a party for one of your munchkins you just MUST call her! It was SO cute! The theme was Mary Poppins, and Donna (aka party planner extraordinaire) thinks of everything- no detail is left unattended! The girls had a great time - they were such proper little ladies :) You can visit Donna’s website at www.partywishesscv.com - she does an amazing job - you won’t be sorry! I’ve seen a bunch of her themes and they are ALL fab! (think pirates, poodles, puppies, princesses, spa-girls…)

Okay - and now for some photos - the scene setter:

the decorations were great, the activites were so much fun, and the little hostess dressed up as Mary Poppins was just adorable!!

oh, and did i mention the food??? Catered by Lady Di’s Cookies and The Tea Garden - yum!!

…and just how easy was my job photographing THESE adorable little party-goers??? Could they be more beautiful??

group shot!!

Hey peeps - I saw a cool link online link that I thought I’d pass along - its to some great wall display layouts on Pottery Barn’s *style house* site - check it out:

Pottery Barn photo displays

My client Lori (and now my friend!) has a great wall with photos I shot of her girls at the beach - she loves her wall!