Holy canoli, where have I been?  It's been a while hasn't it, all four of you who read these ramblings that I call my blog.  So - quickly in a nutshell:  work, home, work, home, work, home, Arizona, home, work.  Don't be too jealous of me now, the scowling is giving you lines in your foreheads.

I was lucky enough to have a smart husband who opened up a Starwood Rewards credit card about a year ago, and I was lucky enough that he loves me so much that he transferred his miles over to me so that I could use them for a ticket to Laurie's baby shower.  Without the points - no trip, sad Stacey, mad Laurie.  With points - the trip, fun, revelry, lunching, shopping, seeing my figurative third sister, an unplanned catch up with an old friend, baby shower, family, laughter.  But alas, I'm home now.  And everyone was glad to see me return, which is always a good thing.

So.....are we going to ignore the giant white elephant in the room a little longer??  Or shall I expand on my little announcement in my last blog? Ok - here it goes....

What is this???, I hear some of you say.  As most of you know, Scott and I have a construction company.  While we enjoy our work greatly, and I believe we are pretty darn good at it, Scott has always had a pull elsewhere.  He's thought and thought for years, is this all that I want?  Is this all that I can do?

About a year and a half ago, he announced to me that he traded some spare aftermarket four wheeler parts for a camera.  Super, I thought.  We needed a new camera.  I assumed it was a cute little point and shoot, maybe something that he would actually allow me to use once in a while.  (In the past, I have referred to Scott as the camera ninja because he never ever allows me to use the camera.  And when he does, and I put it on the counter when I'm through, in less than three seconds the camera is swooped up, cased up, and put up.  Never for me to find again.)  A few days later he tells me that he's meeting the acquaintance to make the swap.  He comes home with a Nikon D300.  It must weigh 45 pounds.  It's a real, live CAMERA.  And the guy included a few lenses.  Turns out the acquaintance was a wedding photographer that Scott met and this camera was his back up camera.  It is in pristine shape and works perfectly.  I believe it retails for about $2250, and that's with one lense.  Not something we could have ever afforded - but what in the world did you trade for it, honey???  Sheesh!!  Anyway, one look at all of the buttons and dials and I knew instantly that I would never learn to turn the thing on, much less take a picture that's worth a crap.  But Scott, being Scott, smothered himself with everything that had to do with a Nikon D300.  He joined forums, he purchased and read books, and he started taking pictures.  Hundreds and hundreds of pictures.  Two weeks after he got the camera, he took this photo of a spinning firework being set off on the Fourth of July:

He entered his first photography contest and won it, just two weeks after he got the camera. 

Since then he's always with the camera.  He stops on roadsides, he snaps countless photos of the kids, plays with angles, light, flash, exposure, aperture speed.  He spends endless hours reading, teaching himself, posting to forums, trying suggestions. 

Then about a month ago he came to me.   He was nervous, I could tell.  Then he started talking, and he didn't stop for almost 45 minutes.  He wants to do this.  For real.  He thinks he can.  He wants to start building a photography business.  Portraits, formals, candids, weddings.  He wants to do it all.  So, my dear friends, this is the announcement.  Over the next year or so, Scott will begin to transition.  He has already set up a studio here at the office, complete with back drops, lighting umbrellas, etc.   He has a plan of how he's going to do this, and he's steadily checking off his to-do list.

I threw together a little blog of a few photos, click HERE, if you will.  He of course has hundreds more, but I only had a few hours to spare.  Leigh - being the rockin bff that she is, instantly offered her creative services and made him a banner for the blog.  The blog is far from being "open to the public", so bear with us as we add to it, change it, make it look better.  Eventually his official web site will be up and running, so I'll keep you guys posted.