Reese's are my Kryptonite...

Missouri Photo Workshop

The Missouri Photo Workshop, started in 1949, is an opportunity for photographers to hone their craft by capturing a story in small Missouri town under the direction of well-known and well-respected professionals in their field. They have a week and a limited number of frames to find a story, develop a relationship of trust with their subjects and capture moments that tell the story. At night, the photographers go over the day's shoot with their mentors and learn from praise, suggestions and criticism. It really is a baptism by fire. Photographers have to be good to be accepted to the workshop, and they always leave better. One of these days I want to be one of those photographers.

Original by Oliver

I just got the best birthday present ever: an original by Oliver.

Wii would like to play!

We got the Dr. Mario game so I could practice and not be decimated in games against the Meneelys, Kerrs and Maurers. However, Jason determined that I needed to take frequent breaks from gaming, and he often enforced this idea by stealing the remote and taking control of the game. Always looking out for me...

Love and Theft

The last couple of weeks a group called Love and Theft has been getting some significant air play on the country stations that I listen to with their first single, "Runaway." I'm pretty excited for them because I like their music AND they were super-nice to me and Flat Jason when they played Columbia around my birthday last year.
Check out their blog from the road.

Oktoberfest and the weekend

I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed in Oktoberfest. Unbelievably disappointed. I had been looking forward to it for weeks, literally. I imagined crisp autumn air, leaves changing colors in the sunshine and the streets of a small German town teeming with visitors shopping, eating, drinking, dancing.

Instead, much to my dismay, the one and only real booth outside was the Hermann Lions Club, who couldn't even get three brats cooked all at the same time to sell to multiple customers. This was the art walk weekend, but the art was not on the street; it was the usual art that can be found in the shops on most days in Hermann. Plus, you'd think that a town and festival known for drinking would have drink specials...not so much...and you had to go into all the little restaurants and pubs to figure out what was available.

The only redeeming part of the festival was the Hermannhof Festhalle, a beautiful old stone and wood hall with a stage and a dance floor. An ompa band was playing German music for the afternoon. Visitors and costumed locals whirled around the floor to the polkas the band played. It was like Lawrence Welk on steroids!


At one point the bandleader stopped the band, and all the costumed men came down to join the women for some traditional dances, including a dance about sausages which you can see in the photo. The group is called the Rhineland Wurstjaegers and has been around for nearly 60 years. The sausage dance dates back to the Faschnacht celebration, the night before Lent began, that was held in Rhineland, a neighboring town of Hermann, when the townspeople did their own butchering. During the butchering time, a large sausage was made specifically for the dancers. The men would go from door to door and ask for sausage in song. They hung the sausages on a pole and sang and danced through the streets. The men would end up at the town hall where the women cooked the sausage and their favorite German dishes for a big community supper. After supper everyone danced German dances until midnight when the festivities ceased because no dancing was permitted during Lent. The dancers also fasted during the Lenten season.


We stopped by the Tin Mill Brewing Company and shared a beer on their terrace. Jason spied on people drinking on Hermannhof's hill before an old friend found us. Lucas used to work at Wal-Mart, but now he is a chef at Jina Yoo's in Columbia.



We left the festival pretty early so we caught the new Michael Moore film, Capitalism: A Love Story, which I would recommend. While I didn't agree with the entire film, Moore did make a few good points and seemed to be pretty politically unbiased where he laid the blame. We also went to the Ragtag to see It Might Get Loud, a film about three musicians, Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page. It's their biographies, musical experiences, hopes, dreams, ideas. I only knew of Jack White from the White Stripes, but it was really interesting. Another must-see.

And finally, I must mention our hospitable hosts for the weekend. We stayed at the Hotel de Maurer. There was much gaming of the board and video variety, plus some eating and fish watching on the side. We had a great time. Thank you!

For more photos, click here.

It's the small things that make up a life together

The other day Jason came home with flowers for no particular reason. Another time, he stayed late at the office to finish a bracelet he made to surprise me. And every morning I wake up with kisses. I love being told "I love you" in these ways.

Congrats to Jamie and Dustin!

The weekend

I spent the weekend with my sister...on her dormroom floor. Ahhh...college life. We stayed up late, shot a wedding, went dancing, ate breakfast at 1:30 a.m. at IHOP, crashed and burned, spent a ridiculous amount of time at the laundromat, and made a trip to the mall. We never made it to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. Maybe next year...

Singing in the Rain

Singing in the Rain is my all-time favorite movie and, in my opinion, one of the best musicals there is. When I was younger, I watched it over and over until I could recite it and imitate some of the dance moves. So, you could imagine how excited I was when JabbaWockeeZ danced to the movie's title song on Dancing with the Stars. Considering his athleticism, innovative dancing and creativity, I think Gene Kelly would really have appreciated what they did with it.

Farm Aid from the Media Tent and the Photo Pit

Apple Festival festivities

Mom and I went to the Apple Festival play on Friday night. It was "Annie." The next day, Lauren and I went to the parade, walked around, hit the corn maze outside of Columbia and had dinner and fun with Erin Ross. It was a full 24 hours.

Denim Day - One day, one cause, one cure

Denim Day is tomorrow, Oct. 2. What began as a movement among Lee employees in 1996, has grown to one of the nation's largest single-day fundraising events for breast cancer. The idea was for people to "go casual for a cause." Employees were invited to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation. To date, Lee National Denim Day has raised more than $75 million.

This is very encouraging to me. Cancer is one illness that has definitely had an effect on my family. On more than one occasion, we've gathered to say goodbye to someone special because of the disease. So, I'll have my jeans on. Will you?