If I just lay here...

Last night as I was falling asleep I thought of a really clever opening paragraph for my blog.  I also thought I should get up and write it down.  And I sure wish I had followed that second thought. Instead you'll have to suffer with a just okay opening paragraph. 

Last weekend was a whirlwind of adventure and excitement. Pookie even felt obligated to be awake for more than an hour a day.

Saturday was the birthday party gig at Canlis.  I had been concerned about whether I'd do okay at shooting this party or not...then I got hooked on the fact it was going to be a "Canlis" - which for those out of towners is an EXTREMELY high end restaurant here in Seattle. Easily $150 a person for dinner...easily.

Anyhow, I went with BeagleBabe early to help set up some and to get a feel of the place.  We had a nice room that had a nice long table in it for all the guests.  The room, while light during the day, I knew would be darker that night - ambiance and all.  The new flash worked well. It took several shots for me to figure out the right setting, but eventually I had it down to a fine art.

Before the guests arrived I dinked around and got the lighting, shots, flash, all set up. I was impressed with the staff at Canlis at how exact they had the settings.  Prior to the guests getting there, no less than three different people came in to check the settings. 

I haven't officially looked at all the photos from that night. A part of me is afraid I didn't capture what BeagleBabe was hoping and also afraid that the photos, in general, aren't good.  I know myself well enough to know that I'm sure there are plenty of fine photos.   Candids were hard for me and even though I tried to push myself out of my comfort zone this party, I'm not sure I did it successfully. We shall see.

Sunday was the 3Day Sunday dinner.  All my 3Day buddies in one room ... what a blast! I've never laughed so hard and tried to hold back tears so hard. At one point I sat looking around the room and marveled at the fact I was sitting in a room with people full of strength, commitment, and courage - I felt a bit overwhelmed by them all. And I thought I'm a lucky girl to be in the presence of such greatness.

Yah...did I say greatness?
Left To Right: BigBro, Little Erin, Erin, Packing Laurie, Princess Lori, Blueberry, Suzanne, Seattle Sister in Law, and yours truly.

We ate well. I made my famous Pasta Da Vinci...and if you've ordered a cookbook it's in there. I had a buttload of food left over though. I forget that people aren't eating JUST pasta...instead they had roasted vegetables (thanks Packing Laurie), delicious garlic bread (thanks Blueberry) and appetizers before (thanks Princess Lori and BigBro/Seattle SIL).  Still, even though we were all full, we managed to find room for cake. Let. Them. Eat. Cake!



And last, but certainly not least, I officially signed off on the cover art for the cookbook. It looks beautiful and I can hardly wait to have them in my hot little hands. I am on schedule and should get the books shipped by April 25th.  If you want one and haven't told me yet, let me know and I'll get you on the preorder list!