PINK

Pink is the color of the month.  Pink ribbons everywhere.  On clothing.  On TV.  On facebook.  Even NFL players are sporting THE color of the month.  It's Breast Cancer Awareness month.  (And yes, I realize I am writing this a little late in the month, but better late than never...right?!)  It seems as if everybody knows or knows of somebody who has had this cancer and or any other form of cancer for that matter.  It affects all of us in one way or another.

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (between 12 and 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.
• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2010.  Less that 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• About 39,840 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1991.  These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• In 2010, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.

These statistics were taken from BreastCancer.org

I am glad that this month is dedicated to reminding all of us the importance of this type of cancer and how much early detection is vital.  I love seeing this color everywhere.

I was speaking with my friend Mary from North Carolina this week, and at that time, she was headed to her oncologist for her yearly follow up visit.  Mary was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma earlier in her life.  If you missed reading about her amazing story, you can read about it on my blog post here.   This week, she is celebrating her 9th year of being cancer free.  9 years!  And as she was on her way to her doctor, she was expressing to me some of the feelings and thoughts she was having as she approaches this milestone in her life.  She was reflecting on her journey...from the very beginning to now.  It wasn't always an easy road for her.  At times, there were discouragement and sadness, but she stuck to her faith and had a wonderful husband and family to lend her support and she decided to fight this cancer.  Head on.  She was able to catch it just in time.  But as she reflected on her experience, I think she almost can't even believe that she has come this far.  I didn't know her during this time of her life, but I do know that she is one strong individual and she has a great spirit and love of life that is just plain contagious.  I am happy to know her and her story of living and of life.  Whether she believes it or not, I know that she has touched many lives by what she has gone thru and also by how she decided to handle this challenge in her life.  It's an inspiring story.  A story of fight...A story of survival...From this fast growing cancer inside of her.  She had faith in herself as she embraced life.
Thank you Mary, once again, for your story and most importantly, for sharing it with me and for allowing me to share it with others.  I admire you for your strength.  (And next year, for your 10th anniversary, we're throwing a big ol' party girl!)  ;)

In my last post, I shared the story of my recent surgery.  And it so happens that the University of Utah also has one, if not THE best, cancer hospitals in the county.  Well, their Burn Center sent me a PINK compression sock this month.  Yes, pink.  I'm not really a 'pink' kinda girl, but I remembered about what pink represents this month and I was happy to have that pink sock.  I was gonna wear it with pride in honor of breast cancer awareness.  I even thought of marketing this to the NFL, but I think they may wear enough pink already.. ;)  So, I'll leave them be.

THE SHORT VERSION... OF THE STORY. AND ITS SIMPLICITY.

We all have our challenges in life...some big, some small...that we can either learn and grow from, or let them set us back.  I have recently experienced one of those challenges.  It started with a certain motorcycle ride in Pensacola, Florida back in May.  Now, you might not think this is a challenge until I tell you that after the ride, I burned my leg on the exhaust.  Sure it hurt, but it wasn't THAT bad.  Or so I thought, at the time.  Three weeks went by and I was back in Salt Lake City.  After those few weeks of pain and sleepless nights, I finally took myself to the emergency room and it was there that they attempted to clean the 'hole' in my leg, as I called it.  I was then referred to the University of Utah's Burn Center.  One of THE best Burn Centers in the country.  I guess you could say I was lucky to live so close to such an outstanding hospital with its amazing nurses, doctors, and surgeons.  But, it was there that I learned this burn that I was living with was a 'deep' burn, as every single person I spoke with said so.  And that no matter of when I would've gone in, the outcome would've been the same.  I needed surgery.  A skin graft.  When I heard those words for about the 4th or 5th time, it pretty much hit me.  Surgery!  The burn was so deep that it couldn't heal on its own and the risk of infection was great.  The surgeon came in to talk with me about the procedure.  She would take the skin from my hip and put it on my leg.  There was no getting around it.  She comforted me as my eyes started to fill up with tears as the reality of it all was setting in.  My surgery was scheduled for a few days later.

The surgery has come and gone now.  The staples have been taken out.  (Yep, 7 of them!  I called my leg "frankenstein leg".)  The days of Lortab, ibuprofen, ginger ale, crackers, and crutches are done.  The surgery was a success! The graft took 100%, which I have learned, does not happen all the time.  I was definitely blessed.  But, the week, or 2 weeks, or even 3 weeks after my surgery were the hardest.  I had to learn to depend on others.  A lot.  I am used to being the one that others turn to for help.  But, it was my turn.  My turn to take this experience and make sense of it all.  In other words, this was all backwards for me.  It was not easy for me to be laid up in a bed, not being able to do anything for myself.  Except to go to the bathroom and I even needed crutches for that.  So needless to say, the surgery took a lot out of me.  More than what I expected. 

And as much as I hate to admit it, it was a depressing and discouraging and emotional time for me.  Why, or how, could a split second of my life turn into...well, this.  I am still, to this day, in the healing process.  Both my leg and my hip, where the donor site is.  I now wear a compression sock for the scarring process and will need to wear it for about a year or two.  I still 'baby' my graft to make sure I am doing everything I can to continue to heal properly.  I have done and am still doing all of what my doctors say that I need to do.  But, at times right after my surgery, at the most stressful times, I felt as if I was losing a part of my graft.  And I simply had lost hope, still wondering why I needed to go thru this.  But it was during these hard moments that I tried to just remember that it's out of my hands.  I was doing everything I knew how from what I was told, but I knew that I also needed something else.  Faith.  Faith that it will all be alright.  Many prayers were said.  By me and by my friends and family.  And I was comforted.  I knew that everything would be okay.  It may not be easy, but I knew, just knew, that everything would turn out the way that it should.  And whatever the outcome, I was going to be alright.  And every time I felt discouraged or down, I held on to that faith.  And it got me thru.  It is still getting me thru.  I am very grateful for the prayers and encouragement from family and friends and also the faith that I was able to rely on with my Heavenly Father above, who I know was watching over me and helping me in my time of need.  Without them, there is no way that I could've made it....that I would still be making it....thru this experience.  I have learned a lot about others and most importantly about myself.

We all have our challenges in life...some big, some small...that we can either learn and grow from, or let them set us back.  I am choosing to learn and grow... Not just from this experience, but from my every day to day experiences that may lie in my path.  

Life, to me, is simply all about the basics in what we believe.  And believing in ourselves.  And the simplicity of it all.  We can't do everything on our own.  And if we remember to have faith in ourselves and in each other, I believe that we will all become a better person and individual.  It is up to us.  And thru this, we will be able to overcome life's little challenges whether they be big or small.  

And as I write and read my own little story here, my eyes just want to fill up with tears again.  Like I said, it wasn't an easy time for me and it was definitely an emotional one for me as well.  But, most importantly, I know that I have been blessed.  Been blessed with a successful surgery and also with an amazing and supportive family and group of friends around me.

Here I am sporting my compression sock.  And yes, it's true, some people really think that I am trying to start a new fashion trend.  Really.  And the funny thing is, I actually think it's working!  ;)

I want to thank the University of Utah's Burn Center and all its people there.  You are all simply wonderful.  You have become a part of my family and your support has helped me greatly.  And I also want to thank my family, especially my Mom and Dad, and also my friends.  You have no idea how much your love and encouragement have helped me.  And is still helping me.

WELL... IT'S ABOUT TIME.

Yes, It's about time. That I quit putting all my focus on facebook and start blogging again!  Blogging was and still is my first love.  And it's true, as you all know, that I have neglected it lately.  And I'm sorry.  But, I am ready to blog once again.  And I only ask one little favor... To please be patient, as I do not know where to even begin.  I've been so busy lately, so there may be a random post here or there...meaning, I may go out of order a little.  So needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on.

With that being said, let me just explain what has been going on as of lately.  I made the decision to head South for a while.  Yes, back to my roots...New Orleans.  Home sweet Nola.  One of my most favorite places.  Not only because it's my home, where I was born and raised.  But also, because it's a place all its own.  Literally.  From the food, to the people, to the artists, to the music and musicians, to the French Quarter, to the swamps, and to the unique beauty of it all combining together as one to make this one very intriguing city.  How could I not love it.  I'm excited and ready to, well, be a southerner again!  Although, I have always been true to my Southern roots.  Promise.  Ask anybody.  ;)

And since I can't post without a photo or two... Here are a few images from my road trip from Salt Lake City to New Orleans.

Somewhere in Utah.

Rock Candy Mountain, Utah.

Lake Powell, Page, Arizona

'Cadillac Ranch'.  Somewhere in Texas.

The state line. ;) Bienvenue!!

IT'S A LITTLE THING CALLED....JEEP!

You all met Paul in my last post, so I just had to share one of our outings one day down south.  I wanted to shoot Paul with his Jeep...and we had, literally, like 15 minutes to shoot.  Yeah, we were squeezing this one in, but we made the most of it and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome! These were taken down in Louisiana when I was there a couple months ago. While I was outside of the jeep shooting Paul, he happen to notice a nice 'little' water moccasin right next to us...but no worries, he kept a close eye on him while I kept shooting. Did I mention that Paul was still inside of the jeep this whole time watching the snake?.. My hero! ;)  Although, I think Paul thought I was the crazy one for not getting back in the jeep.  But I really wanted to keep shooting...after all, I was on a time limit!  Well, we made out of there safe and sound and had some cool images from our quick little shoot.  So it was worth it!

Meet Paul's baby...

Yeah, he's a Louisiana boy... Gotta love it!

Thank you Paul!

PAUL : ANYTIME

New Orleans, my home.  My home where friends and family are.   I know New Orleans has a lot to offer, but Nola wouldn't be same without them.  And I absolutely love shooting in this amazing city.  So when I was there about a month or so ago, I asked my friend, Paul, if he would like to go shooting with me.  He was happy to do so.  And we had some fun the process, even in the hot, humid conditions that the South so graciously provides.  So a big Thank You goes out to YOU, Paul, for 'sweating' it out with me on our days of shooting..  ;)  You truly are the best!  And I am one lucky girl to know you and to have you as a friend, as would anybody.  And, if it isn't obvious enough...my camera loves you.

If you need more Paul.. His Jeep is coming soon... ;)

JUST SOME WEDDING FUN...

I love weddings!  I love being able to capture THE moment.  And every moment in-between, which are usually my favorite moments to capture.  The interaction, the randomness, the fun, the love, and the happiness between two people.  I've been going thru some of my images from some of my favorite weddings that I have had the opportunity to shoot.  And as I look at these, I can remember each day like it was yesterday!  And my favorite compliment that has been given to me:  "I love your style.  I love how fun you are and how easy you make this for everyone.  You're patient, relaxed, fun, and easy going.."

I just wanted to share a few of my favorites.