In early April I met my sister and her family in San Francisco.  Much of my time was spent babysitting, but we did get out and do a little sightseeing.  The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was in bloom and so beautiful.

I went to Arizona twice this winter ~ once to visit with my college girlfriends and families and once to run the P.F. Chang’s half-marathon.  Both trips were a great escape from the cold.

I also returned to Colorado for a few ski trips this winter.  We got really lucky with snow conditions on both of my visits to Summit County!  I took the photo below with point-and-shoot camera.  Someday I’ll take the d700 with me on the slopes.

For the last three years, I’ve trained with the Minneapolis chapter of Team in Training for a July triathlon.  This year I’m back at it, “tri-ing” for more.  This year, I’m trying to raise $2,407.37 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  That add number will bring my three-year total to $7000 to benefit the LLS.  So far, I’m one-third of the way to my goal, and I could really use your help!

Why do I train? I started this journey three years ago to improve my physical fitness and see if I could even cross the finish line. But  I continue training because as I’ve trained with TNT these last three years, I’ve heard the stories of the impact of leukemia and lymphoma on my teammates’ lives. Many of my teammates have lost sisters, husbands, and parents to these diseases, or struggled to help family members through treatment and recovery.  Several of my inspiring teammates are cancer survivors themselves, helped by the very drugs the LLS donations funded.  I’ve also heard from you, my donors and support network, about the ways that cancer has affected you.  I am more motivated than ever to do what I can to stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

So I will keep training, in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers.  Charities like the LLS need our help now more than ever. Despite the advances in research, the statistics are grim: Every ten minutes, a child or adult is expected to die from leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma — that is nearly 145 people each day, or six people every hour. But our donations to the LLS help make a difference! Since its inception in 1954, the LLS has invested more than $600 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. And here in Minnesota, the LLS funds $4.79 million in research at the University of Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic.  Beyond research, the LLS provides financial aid to blood cancer patients, offers family support groups, and many other patient services.

Beyond research, the LLS provides financial aid to blood cancer patients, offers family support groups, and many other patient services.  Please help by making a donation of any size.

We parked our golf cart right next to this chicken that posed so nicely for me!

The boats in the harbor were so weathered and beautiful.

Our hotel was across that wooden bridge from the rest of the island. It was nice to have a sheltered area for swimming and fishing. That night was the last street festival of the season.  We ate some elote (corn) and these delicious marquesitas, which are like a rolled crepe.  Yum.

We spent the rest of the trip in a resort south of Playa del Carmen.  We made a couple trips into Playa for shopping (and photographing).  You just don’t find this color in Minnesota! 

I always have the hardest time deciding which camera lenses to bring on vacation.  I want to bring them all, but it’s just too much to pack (I only travel with a carry-on) and I worry about my equipment being stolen or damaged.  One lens that I played around with was a super cheap ($35!) Diana lens.  It’s a plastic toy lens that doesn’t really focus ~ and that’s the point!  It created some dreamy images like the ones above and below.  What a fun effect! 

I snapped so many photos of the textures.

We went on a sunset birdwatching tour through the Sian Ken biosphere reserve near Tulum.  We cruised around as the sunset and then waited for all of these birds to flock to one magical island.  It was incredible!    We saw so many different species: Roseated spoonbills, egrets (reddish, snowy, and great), herons (little blue, great blue, great white, boat bill, tri-colored and wurderman’s), anhingas, royal terns, frigatebirds, goldenfront woodpeckers, and as you can see in the photo above, an American crocodile (one of several we saw!).

Calling all 2010 (and 2011) brides!  Have you heard about the upcoming Something New: Independent Wedding Fair?  It’s taking place this February 6 at the fabulous Five Event Center in Minneapolis.  And I’ll be there as a a vendor, in great company with lots of other amazing local vendors.

The event is meant to showcase a group of hand-selected vendors that are all locally owned and independently minded. Tickets are now available, and I will post more updates in the coming months.

Since February, I’ve been training for the Minneapolis Lifetime Fitness Triathlon with Team in Training.  Our team bikes, swims, and runs together one time per week, and then I do my best to fit in a couple extra workouts each week.  I’ve seen marked improvement in my fitness from last year!

Last year, you helped me raise over $2100 to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and I competed in the sprint-distance triathlon (that’s me approaching the finish line last year).    This year, I am trying to top that amount and raise $2500.  I’m also pushing myself physically and will be competing in the Olympic-distance tri (that’s twice as far as last year!)   Only two months remains until the triathlon (July 11), and I’m very close to reaching my goals!

I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to my friends and family who supported me last year and those who have donated this year.  But if you have not already donated, I could really use your help!  Please consider supporting me and making a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The money raised for LLS helps blood cancer patients and their families by funding research to find cures and better therapies, and provide information and support so that they have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience.

Since 1949, LLS has invesed more than $550 million in research.  LLS-funded research has directly contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments including chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, and new, targeted oral therapies sucha s Gleevec ™, that might never have happened without the kinds of research funded by the LLS.

Last year, our team raised over $315,000 for this incredible organization!  No donation is too small ~ please help us continue this great work.  And if you’re in town on July 11, I’d love to see you along the course (PDF)!

Fondly,

Sarah
http://pages.teamintraining.org/mn/lifetri09/smcgee

Lunch in St. Louis Park at Yum!

Walking around Lake Harriet.  I think all of Minnesota was out by the lakes on this beautiful Saturday:

A walk through Prospect Park and the Witch’s Hat water tower.  I love how this lens can make people look miniature (second photo from left):

I saw this photo on flickr and just had to go find these skis.  There were lots of other cool things nearby.

Then I stopped to catch a few pictures of one of my favorite sign, the Ideal Diner:

And then I drove home to St. Paul through nordeast:

And dinkytown:

Lots of blue, turquoise and yellow:

January found me  . . .  skiing in Colorado.

Enjoying Cupcake Saturday

and taking a winning photo in the Punch Pizza photography contest.

Then in February, I started training with Team in Training for the Lifetime Triathlon.

I traveled to Keiv, Ukraine

and to Israel

Winter was still in full force in March in Minnesota.   I watched a Polar Bear Plunge on Lake Calhoun:

And made another trip out to Colorado to ski some more.

April wasn’t very eventful!  I found some cute client photos that were pre-blog:

I also got a scanner and scanned one of my all-time favorite photos, from a rafting trip down the Arkansas river a decade ago.

And then on the first nice day of the year, I went on a photowalk with other flickr photographers in Loring park, and happened on a group of guys doing all sorts of cool tricks on their bikes:

May started wedding season and heavy training for the triathlon, so my personal photos are few and far between.   Here’s a roast beef sandwich  from Maverick’s in Roseville.  Delicious.

And an awesome wedding workshop with David Beckstead.  Check out these bridal shots!

June included a family reunion out in Summit County, Colorado.  I brought my camera on a bike ride down Vail pass!

And hiking up Mayflower gulch:

July meant it was finally time for the triathlon!  One of our last Team in Training Practices:

And that’s me during the race, taken by my friend Kyle!

August involved some travel for my day job up to Grand Rapids.

And of course, the state fair!

September was my busiest month for weddings by far.   I got some great aerial pictures of Minneapolis as I flew back from one of them:

In October, I flew out to NYC to  surprise my sister for her 30th birthday.

And I enjoyed the beautiful fall colors in my St. Paul back yard:

November included a trip out to Arizona for my dad’s 60th birthday.

And election day, (although the photo was taken during the state fair).

Home to the Quad Cities for our traditional thanksgiving beef tenderloin, yum!

This December has been so snowy and cold, but even still I’ve been out shooting, at night in uptown Minneapolis.

and an evening stroll through Rice Park, St. Paul:

And finally, a wonderful & relaxing trip to Mexico (for which I have a whole blog post coming).

Happy new year and thanks for following along!

Merry Christmas

I’m going on vacation . . .

I’ll be back in 2009 with a New Year’s day family session!