My next woman to showcase on the list of amazing women in my life is my Granny. She's the most Godly woman I know and I'm so proud of her. She's 87 years old and just as spunky as ever! She's been such a good role model for me. She's also one of the most unselfish people I know. She's lived her life with no regrets, she works very hard, and has cared for many of the people in her life who have already passed on. She has a huge garden every year, which she works all by herself, and she loves to cook vegetables from it when we all go home to visit. She's very independent. I have a lot of independent women in my life as role models. I'm very blessed. She's also one of the most conservative women I know, but I'm always enlightening her to the ways of the world.....not that she listens!

Okay, it's obvious that my mom has to be the next person I showcase in my series of positive women who've influenced me in my life. I could say a ton about her, but I will try to be brief. I know I'm a little biased, but I think she's the best mom anyone could have. I thank her for always being the support I need in my life. I don't even have to tell her most of the time, she just knows when I need her. Thank you mom, for being you. I couldn't have picked a better mother if I had chosen you myself. God blessed me with not only a cool mom, but also a great friend! Doesn't she look young?

My sweet friend Lily (who I call my daughter) came over today and was hanging out with me. She's attending dental school at UAB and I'm so proud of her. So she studies a lot!!! I always enjoy when she comes over because I don't have to entertain her. I feel like she's coming "home" when she's here. I hope she feels like she's at home too.

This weekend, it was my honor to photograph the wedding of my great friends Kate Klepper and Carl Cole. It was a beautiful ceremony! I will have pictures available later, but I wanted to share a couple of my personal favorites. I even got my picture made with the lovely Kate by one of her bridesmaids, Emily, a photographer with the Decatur Daily. Thanks Emily! The bride was gorgeous in her Nicole Miller gown (bridesmaids wore Vera Wang), and I loved her custom-made veil! The talented Billy Speegle perfected her hair and makeup. Friends Scott Willis and Kathy Gray did the flowers, which were awesome! The entire theme of the wedding was "old Hollywood." Everyone had a wonderful time, as you can see, and it was apparent the bride and groom had been taking some dancing lessons! I hope they have a great time wherever they are on their honeymoon. As of last night, Kate still didn't know where they were going!
I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to David Higginbotham, a great photographer who helped me take pictures, and my sweet friend Suzanne Savage (also a great wedding caterer), who assisted and hung out with me at the reception. Thanks so much!!!

My little friend CJ got to meet his hero, Jorge Posada, of the New York Yankees! Recently, Jorge was inducted into the Alabama Community College Hall of Fame. Being that I work at Calhoun, they asked me to help photograph a luncheon in Jorge's honor. Well this was my opportunity to "hook CJ up!" He and his dad (his other hero) got to meet Jorge and Gary Reedus (another pro baseball player) and got their autographs on several items he brought with him. CJ has a shrine of Jorge in his room and has been his biggest fan ever since he started playing baseball. He even uses Jorge's number and owns practically every Jorge Posada baseball card ever made! It made me so happy to see CJ's dream come true. His little sister Katie was a little jealous, but she got to do something special with mom that day - they rode horses!

What can I say about Oprah that hasn't already been said? I guess all I can share is how she's affected my life in so many positive ways. First of all, I'm one of her biggest fans! I would love to meet her one day (I'm ordering it, I WILL meet her one day)! I've been recording Oprah every day for probably 15 years now. Sometimes I fast forward through the re-runs, but I always watch the new shows! I've become a better person to myself and those around me through watching her. I know it's not Oprah, the woman, that I idolize, it's the many things she's taught me about the world I live in, that I would have most likely never known otherwise. It's the "secrets" she's shared with me to a happy, healthy and prosperous life, and the many ways she's enlightened me to live a fulfilling life. I try to pass it on to others because of her example. I could go on and on, but I will try to be brief.
THANK YOU Oprah, for encouraging us all to be better, and for giving me this great idea to pay tribute to the wonderful women who have inspired me!

Stay tuned for next week's wonderful woman!

Okay, I'm about to take on a big project. Since I got this idea from my admiration and obsession of the amazing Oprah Winfrey, she will be the first of many wonderful woman I am going to pay tribute to in a (hopefully) weekly, possibly bi-weekly (depending on how busy I get), post to my blog. She had this "Legends Ball" and invited all the inspirational women in her life. Maybe one day, I will have a "Legends Ball" and give all the significant women in my life a pair of really huge diamond earrings, but in the meantime, this is my way of paying homage to them for the many positive ways they have impacted my life. Here goes......

I forgot to share that the Italy photography workshop I did resulted in my first one-woman art show.
Calhoun Community College, where I work my day job, hosted the show of approximately 60 images in their Fine Arts Gallery. It was great! My face was hurting from smiling so much because I was so excited. All the most important people in my life were there to support me. I'm so lucky! I thought it was fitting that my first show happened to be at Calhoun, because my family there has been so supportive of me in all my outside endeavors. I'm grateful to have such great friends at work. A lot of them are now my clients!
Check out this article that was in the Decatur Daily about my show.

I helped my friend Carole shoot the Athens/Limestone Hospital Gala this weekend. We had a great time shooting these people having lots of fun. Check out this one dude (I think he's a doctor) having a great time dancing with all the girls!

Hey, I love this new campaign that Dove is promoting. Check out these short videos I happened across in another blog I was reading. I know through my experience working at a college that a lot of young girls who are beautiful and smart don't have enough self-esteem. I hate to see young women have to go through many trials and tribulations before they see their true self-worth, like I did. Spread the word to women around the world!

I watched the Oprah Show the other day, as I do every day, and was so inspired by the topic. It was about "the Secret," to the laws and principles of the universe. I've ordered the DVD, and I can't wait to get it to start viewing it. After the show, I immediately started writing down all the things I want to do in my life over the next several years. I WILL do all these things and I will certainly check them off as I accomplish them. I wanted to share "the Secret," with everyone I know!

I just got back from a girl's getaway retreat down in Rosemary Beach, FL. It was so much fun! I stayed with my friends Carole & Claire (the twins), Eileen, and Marsha. We were blessed to stay in this huge, gorgeous home too. We had a great time just hanging out and walking around town. We took some fun pix too, of course.

A while back, I was honored to take part in a project close to my heart. I worked with Lee Nabors, a wonderfully talented artist who donated her time and talent to sketch all the animals showcased in this calendar, by taking photos of all her paintings so they could be printed in a calendar. The calendars are being sold as a fundraiser to build a new animal shelter in Decatur. The calendars were debuted at the annual Walk Your Paws. Lucky's story was so inspirational that it made national news! He sure is a lucky dog! He now has a home with his new owner, the vet who saved his life - Dr. Osborne, here in Decatur (who is also my cat Ceasar's vet). If you would like to purchase a calendar for a good cause, go here.

Back in September, my mom and I were fortunate enough to visit Italy for the first time. It was a great trip! It was a photography workshop I found out about through Italyworkshops.com. Drake Busath conducts these workshops and he is another one of my favorite photographers. My mom was my "non-photographer" partner and by the end of the trip she though all us photogs were a bunch of freaks! Her question every day was, "Don't you think you got that picture the first ten times you took it?"

Since this is my first time to post on my new blog, I thought I needed to play a little "catch up." So, here goes.

I'll start by sharing that I recently got to meet one of my all-time favorite photographers at a photo convention in Texas. Joe Buissink is my idol when it comes to wedding photography. I liked him so much, I even quoted him on this blog. Here's a picture of us together. He's so nice!
I was also fortunate enough to get to attend one of his "Road Show" presentations in Atlanta, GA. He and Marcus Bell, another great photographer who is from Australia, are traveling across the United States sharing their knowledge about photography and what has worked for them in their businesses. It was awesome!

I like Joe so much, I quoted him on this blog.