My friend Heather was in charge of Programs for our group in 2009 and she did an amazing job ... even with our last event being our Christmas party. We had it at a venue that a lot of us have photographed Weddings at before so we knew how amazing it was as a space for parties.
Artisan Works is a HUGE gallery of sculpture, paintings, photography, and history! I feel really lucky to be a part of such an amazing group of people ... We don't have regular jobs that we go to like most people so when we do get together as a team, it's very much appreciated. The help, guidance, and connection we share is such a huge benefit to our work and business...and it's a lot of FUN too!
:)
Here's a few pictures of my buds from the party.







I'm in charge of the Programs for 2010 and have already heard that people are excited about them and I'm looking forward to providing the education and benefits for all of us.

What a beautiful Fall we had...we got to go biking for so long into the season because it was so warm. First, we had a photo group gathering to say goodbye to our dear friend Jenn who bravely left Rochester to start a new in Chicago! She will be missed more than I know as I write this not, but we will all be keeping in touch through Facebook. She accomplished so much this year and I'm so excited for everything that's in store for her. Bye Jenn!





This is the last bike ride for 2009...for me anyways. With the baby starting to show at this point, it makes me nervous to ride any longer. But it's early November and that's pretty good seeing as we started in May! I am so lucky for the friends I've made this year and the support and excitement we have for our baby. Hooray 2009!





Bob and I worked on the nursery late into the Fall too and since it was so warm, we were able to still have the windows open while painting and working. I'm going to post our before pictures, and the finished nursery too ...even though we JUST finished it in February while we waited for the furniture delivery. Here it is; Under the Sea theme! :) (you can click on the pictures to see them bigger too)






























My dad came to visit for Thanksgiving too which was really nice! We had dinner out with dad and our friends visiting here from Atlanta, Jim and Alissa the first night. It was their first time seeing me pregnant so there was a lot of catching up and excitement.
:)







We made the traditional turkey dinner the next night ... Bob's brother Sam joined us too ... we played a lot of Wii ...dad got really really good at it! He was so intense as he played, funny.

We took dad to see "A Christmas Carol" - Disney ... in 3D at the IMAX theatre which was a real treat. The visit went really fast. :(

I took a new picture of dad for his Facebook profile page ... he's wearing an authentic Irish cap that I gave him for Christmas one year...lookin' good dad!
:)



I got all my Weddings edited by Thanksgiving, and moved on to albums...so I will have the end of December, and all of January to work on the business side of things, as well as preparing for the baby, and the showers. Then come mid February ... our lives will drastically change; for the better. Wish us luck ~ we're gonna need it!

;)

I went on a LOT of biking trips this summer ... mainly with my friend Heather who is also a professional photographer. We're so lucky to be able to work, and then schedule time in our day to get together for an hour or two to ride. Most of my pictures are posted to my Facebook page, but here's one I really like because it was on one of my favorite trails.
I won't be skiing this year because of the pregnancy, so I got in as much biking as I could. Our last ride was mid November...an unexpected warm day that we took advantage of.

Back in August, I volunteered my services photographing a model for the Rochester Wedding Magazine. There were about 20 photographers that participated and a handful of models dressed in bridal couture as the magazine was looking for images for their book. I went more for the experience in photographing a model and to practice posing brides since I tend to be more on the candid, catch it as it happens kind of photographer. I love being able to anticipate what might happen through the lens, but there are definitely circumstances that insist on you being able to direct a person to reveal a better image. So, I worked with my model for about an hour...ducking in and out of the shade which was tricky since we had to shoot in the middle of the afternoon, sun high in the sky, with limited places to hide out. I posted a lot of them earlier in the blog...back in August if you want to see what I submitted.

Luck was on my side that day because I recently found out that one of my images was chosen for the November cover!!

Jayda was simply stunning, and I am honored to have won this privilege! Thank you Rochester Wedding Magazine
Here's the new cover!

The more we look at pink themed rooms, the more we don't like them very much...it's overwhelming.

We keep coming back to the sea life themes...they're so cute, and we love the soothing color themes too.

Here's the pattern we've decided on...we love the muted colors in it ... it doesn't look so great in the demo against the pale yellow wall...but our walls are similar to the blue green color in the blanket so it will look a lot better. We've also chosen dark wood for the crib and dresser as shown below in the dresser. 'Cappuccino'







Fun!
:)

We've also pretty much completed our registry ... wow, that was stressful. A HUGE thank you to my friend Carrie for providing a list of things we'd need, and there's no way I would have gotten through selecting everything without my amazing friend and mom Sue by my side to help me.



Sue, you're my angel. I had another panic attack while I was in the store and she calmed me right down and helped me to have fun with it.

We're registered at:

BabiesRus

and

Target

(Sue Egan-Mongiovi, and Bob Mongiovi)
Wait til you see all the sea life stuff...really cute :)