Look who made it out to a concert last night! What is this? 2011?But seriously, I had forgotten that I put in a request to shoot this show with a local publication until about 4 pm yesterday. I am completely sick with this cold and it was -4 when I left the house, but I'm still glad I went. It was just good to be out shooting rock'n'roll again. I loved being surrounded by people with my same passion -- I know that sounds weird, but while I do adore being surrounded by my family as of late (seriously, they are the best), getting back to my roots does something wonderful for the soul. Even when you're sick.You can see a full gallery of my photos here on City Pages site. Or here on my own pretty site :).And who knew what happened to all those gold fish that parents get rid of?! I had no idea -- a truly fascinating request. And it tells you of the best way to euthanize a fish. Apparently the toilet flush is the wrong answer.And how about these stunning images from the New York Times? We haven't hit 0 degrees hardly at all in the last four days, and these photos make me want to visit Greenland. WUT.
What a week it has been.Ezra was home sick on Monday and Tuesday, then he went back to daycare on Wednesday -- otherwise known as the day I came down with his symptoms. I've now had this cold for six days with it barely easing up. Ezra has the energy of a tsunami, but his nose is still runny (and chapped), and Jamie came down with a much milder version yesterday. And did you hear? It hasn't gotten above zero for about the last two days here.But, as you can imagine, we are a bit itchy with cabin fever due to all the illness. So this weekend we went out on short, easy trips. And then we came home, collapsed and ate tons of soup and watched a lot of TV. Below are some images of our time in, and some of our time out. If you are healthy right now, do not take it for granted. My god, the illnesses just keep hitting us hard this winter.
Distraction No. 1? Puzzles.
Distraction No. 2? Hiding in the curtains.
Distraction No. 3? Snacks. This was yogurt and sausages. In case you can't tell by all that grime stuck to his face. (ew) And yes, his nose is scabbed over. Poor kid. (And yes, it's also covered in vaseline as we try to get it to heal.)
We went to the mall on Sunday morning so we could sip coffee and let Ezra run around inside. Instead? He slept.
Then he woke up and started making out with the window displays. As you do.Can't imagine why we're sick, can you?
Adorable, but pretty crusty. The battles that have gone on in this household in an attempt to get that nose clean are legendary. And we are losing this war.
On Sunday I opted for Distraction No. 5: Baking a cake with Ezra. He kept going back to the oven to check and see if it was done yet. Yeah, he's probably kissing that just like the window display.
On Monday, we opted for Distraction No. 6 by taking him to the aquarium. On our way in, he sat down and refused to get up.Toddlers are fun like that.
But don't worry! We got him up, and he had a wonderful time!
And lastly, just a shot of these shoes. We actually got these free at a clothing swap at our daycare, and I have LOVED THEM. They are so easy to get on and off, and they are warm enough for this cold. Now, if it snows more, we'll switch to the winter boots we got him, but for now these are perfect.For your internet share, I kept seeing 
This is Jäger! He is the dog at my local hardware store, and I've been harboring a crush on him for a while now. Me AND Magda, that is.Jäger is a 
For your internet share of the day, I loved 
Hi there!Yup, those are my feet. Why, you ask? Because today, for the first time in ... 9 months, I painted my toenails.See, I caught this cold of Ezra's. And I'm congested and exhausted and I'm trying to "take it easy." Let me tell you a secret: I am terrible at "taking it easy." So today I decided, after dealing with email for the first 2 hours of the day, that I would shower and shave and attempt to at least look better if I did not necessarily *feel* better. And then after my shower, I was drying off my feet and thought of how nice it would be to get a pedicure.But let's be clear, there will be no leaving the house today. Even though I suck at "taking it easy," I do realize my limitations. So I set out to find some polish, and here we are.And I think that's about the most I'll accomplish today, as I'm now heading back to bed. Hopefully I can breathe through my nose tomorrow as I'm back to shooting again. Wish me luck.For your internet share today, I squealed when I saw the photos of 
Hello lovelies!Today I'm going to post some of my favorite wedding photos as I tell you about a special deal I'm offering this year. In case you haven't picked up on it, I am just really in love with black and white photography these days. Sure, sure, sure, I love color as well. But something about restricting myself to black and white is just so inspiring, and as I've mentioned before, one of my huge goals for 2016 is to be more inspired and to really up my game creatively.So one goal I have is to photograph an entire wedding in black and white.No color. At all. (Deep breaths.)I know that it would take a very special bride and groom to hop on this crazy train with me, so I'm offering an incentive. You'll get $500 off an 8-hour wedding package if you say you want the whole shebang in black and white.Yup. Five hundred smackaroos. See? I want to do this thing baaaaaad.So! If you are getting married or you know anyone who is (who appreciates the classic look of old photography), please spread the word! I think the photos would be stunning and classic and besides, you have your entire guestlist there with their cell phones, so who needs color anyway?!But really. Wouldn't this be awesome?
Wow, winter has officially arrived. When I woke up this morning, it was -19 outside my kitchen window.I am gonna be honest, it arrived on Sunday. But I didn't leave the house on Sunday, or on Monday because 1) Why on earth would I? and 2) Ezra was home sick yesterday and we stayed inside (obviously). Today, Jamie worked from home for several hours so I could get some work done, and when I finished a little early, I used my time to head over to the Mississippi River. I wanted to see if I could capture some images that visually communicated the cold. Honestly, I think I failed a little.I mean, these look cold. Maybe chilly. But not as cold as it was when I shot them (-3 degrees and windy).
I also wanted to head over to the water falls to capture some of the ice, but I just didn't have time. So I'll have to save that one for later :)Anyway, I know many of my readers are from Minnesota / Wisconsin, but I also know many of you are not (hello Californians!). So I wanted to try to tell you what it's like to live in weather this cold. Now, I want to be clear. I am not complaining.These frigid temperatures are what keep my housing prices down and let me live in this amazing city at a fabulous lifestyle. But. That said, there are some weird things that happen when the temps dip this low that maybe you haven't thought about. Like:• All your nose hairs freeze when you step outside• The garage door stops working sometimes. Sometimes not. You never know.• We can't use our dishwasher (the plumbing is on an exterior wall) until 3 pm or so, when we hit a "warm spell" above 5 degrees ensuring the pipes aren't close to freezing.• The dog begins standing on 3 legs when she pees (rotating which paws have to touch the ground).• Windows near the humidifiers (a must in these winters) get frost on the inside.• Your sunglasses get foggy from your breath when you're bundled up to your nose, but then the frost freezes.• Same thing with the camera. When shooting those images up there, my breath frosted the viewfinder on my camera which then froze. Had to scrape it free to see.• My car stereo starts sounding "tinny." This goes away when it warms up. I have no idea what causes it.Do you also live here in the tundra? What are some things that the cold changes for you? Tell me in the comments -- this stuff fascinates me!
For your internet shares of the day, Jamie and I binge watched 
Yesterday morning I was making the coffee and I glanced at the thermometer outside. It was -18 out there. Yikes!Needless to say, we all hunkered down and stayed inside having soups most of the weekend. We also taught Ezra how to play some cards (War). He didn't really understand because... you know... counting. But he sure loved slapping down the cards. And he liked watching us shuffle.
I remember just last month when he couldn't reach the railing. Look at him now!
We had a birthday party to attend on Saturday morning, and Ezra loved the blue iced cake pops.
Curled up so tight that her tail covers her eyes. What a sweetie.
