Maine is such a beautiful state!

(This last picture was taken from a restaurant window on a floating boat we were having dinner on. The light was like that for a bout 4 minutes!) Michael and I were blown away with the beauty of Maine. It was everything that I hoped for and more! We were told that we the best place to visit in Maine is Cape Porpoise but we didn't have time to stop in unfortunately. But we did visit the light house in Portland ME as well as their harbor area. Also the leaves are turning right now so it was such a beautiful drive in! The Portland ME PUG was great! Evidently, this was the biggest PUG meeting yet! Yay! Stacey Kane is the PUG leader and did a great job. She is really down to earth and fun to hang out with! We also connected with people that we normally see at events but haven't necessarily connected with - so that was great too! After the PUG a few of us went out from some dinner/dessert. Its so fun to have the time to really get to know everyone. I think that Michael and I will definitely have to vacation in Maine (Cape Porpoise!) in the future. SO beautiful!

Niagara Falls and beautiful NY State...

First of all, Michael and I have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off! Once we left the safe haven of our cousin (Scott & Kaye's) home in Pittsburgh we feel like we've really been through the ringer. But is all been good! I wanted to blog about our last two days of seeing sights in NY State. We are actually in Boston right now, and just drove here from Maine (where we had an awesome PUG meeting). But I wanted to blog about Niagara and NY State first! So this is what was cool about Niagara falls. We went on the "Maid of the Mist" tour and which basically drives right into the falls and you can't see anything and it feels like your in a rain storm! Of course they give you little plastic poncho's so that you don't get too wet. But my favorite thing at Niagara Falls was the "Cave of the Wind" tour. Basically they built these stairs that go right underneath the American Falls so you can actually stand underneath part of the waterfall as it completely drenches you! It was SO fun! Its was quite the adventure! The next day we were able to go to Palmyra NY and saw a lot of amazing historical sites. This time of year the fall leaves are coming out, so it was a really picturesque! We were able to see the Hill Cumorah, The Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove. It was great! Very inspiring. So, like I said we are in Boston right now! But I'll update on the Maine PUG tomorrow. :)

Pittsburgh - Great City!

When Michael and I turned a bend on the freeway and got our first glimpse of Pittsburgh we were very surprised and in awe of its beauty. Pittsburgh looks a lot like Portland Oregon with its bridges and beautiful rivers and lush trees. We had heard that Pittsburgh used to be a town that had a cloud of haze over it from all the factories. But those factories have long since left, and now its beautiful and pristine! Joanne Bartone is the amazing PUG leader in Pittsburgh. We had the privilege of meeting Joanne in Chicago at the Pictage Partner Conference there in 2007. So it was great reunion! The Pittsburgh Puggers were great and we really had fabulous time. David Burke hosted the event at his awesome studio - thanks David! After the PUG a few of us went to this restaurant on the very top of the hill overlooking Pittsburgh and enjoyed the amazing view! It was the perfect end to a great day!

Baltimore & Washington DC PUG's - RADICAL!

(Above images are courtesy of Geoff of MBK Photography!) (Image of Michael courtesy of my trusty iphone!) Baltimore and the DC PUG came together for this months meeting and we had the privilege of presenting for both groups last night. Geoff and Michael of MBK Photography hosted the event in their amazing studio. The first thing that I loved about this PUG is that a totally cute girl named Deborah walked into the meeting and was wearing almost the exact same shirt that I was wearing! It was hot pink and totally cute! At that point, I knew I'd love this group! (I'm only half kidding! :) There were tons of great questions and I'm super stoked to connect with everyone again at the next Pictage Partner Conference and WPPI! Also, it was great to see our friend and AMAZING photographer Armin De Fiesta who we met last year at WPPI and is an avid member of photoforthepeople.com! Today, Michael and I went into DC and saw all the sites. We took one of those touristy trolleys that takes you around the city and tells you all the history. It was way fun, and we got off to see the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. I feel so blessed that Michael and I have been able to see so much of our country lately! Its been a really amazing experience!! Thanks to Pictage, Fuji Film & Queensberry for making this happen!

We Soaked Up Philly Like a Sponge

Above photo's taken by Ole Hongvanthong. Thanks Ole! (Picture inside Independance Hall where the Declaration of Independance was signed. The tour guide was very interesting!) Philadelphia is an awesome city. The people are great and the history and old world charm is very enticing! The Philly Pug meets during the day which was great for a change. Our friend Jason Groupp came all the way from NYC (okay, its only like an hour away, but still...) and we met a ton new friends! That is what I absolutely love about doing this tour - we get to personally meet so many people that we wouldn't have otherwise. And we normally go out afterwards for dinner (in this case, lunch) where we get to get to know everyone that much better! Philly was great, although I should have known not to wear heels! The sidewalks are really old and uneven - and half of it is cobblestone so I was hurting after walking to the restaurant! But it was tons of fun and thanks to Laura Eaton and Sophia Negron for hosting the PUG. Some important sites we were able to see was Independance Hall, where the Declaration of Independance was written & signed. Also we saw the Liberty Bell which was cool. And we took a horse drawn carriage tour around the city and got a lot of history from the driver. (We are finding this a great way to get information about the city without spending a ton of time!) Since we are vegetarians we obviously didn't get a philly cheesesteak sandwich, but I did get a philly CHEESE sandwhich from a cart on the street. It tasted like Subway sandwhich on a little better of a roll....I guess the "steak" part is intrical to the sandwich!! In other news, my sister had her baby!! They named her Elliot Dee Walker. I can't WAIT to her in November when we go up to WA to see them!! Yay!!

Pictage Partner Conference 2008!

Michael and I were able to go to the Pictage Partner Conference in Los Angeles this year. It was SO fun to reconnect with friends and see friends that we recently met on our PUG tour! There were also some really amazing presenters like Chris & Katie Humphreys as well as Millie Holloman and Davina Fear to name a few! It was also really fun to connect with Mike Colon over dinner along with Sara France, Lauren Hillary and Jim Hicks (CEO of the amazing charity Thirst Relief). Such cool photographers!! What I love most about the photography industry is the people. I feel that we have SO many friends all over the country because photographers are generally nice, giving people. It was so great to see Amber Holritz in Chattanooga TN two weeks ago - and then see her again two days ago in LA! Same goes for many other photographers! I love it!

crazy busy!!

(Thought the above cartoon was cute!) Who isn't, right? What are your de-stressing techniques? I love to take long baths and read (okay, I'll confess!) "Breaking Dawn" the sequel to the Young Adult Ficiton "Twilight." Okay, I know that's totally embarrassing, but I can't read business books when I'm trying to unwind otherwise I'll not sleep! And of course I've read all the Harry Potter books twice. Hmmmm....Let's see, I also like watching "Lost" but I'm cutting down on that lately since it can be quite addicting. I once asked my Mom what she did when we were growing up to de-stress since I have no doubt that she was stressed. (5 kids - Yikes!) She said she used to go into our guest bathroom, lay on the floor and listen to ceiling fan. Crazy, right? What are de-stressing tips??

6th 7th & 8th Stop in the South! Chattanooga, Nashville & Kentucky!!

(Kickin' with the Chattanooga crowd! above) (Laughing it up with the Nashville PUG!)

(iphone picture of us out to dinner with the Nashville PUG)

(Kentucky PUG!!)

The final 3! (for now at least!) Michael and I had such a blast visiting these last 3 cities on our PUG Tour South.

  Nathan & Amber Holritz are the amazing PUG leaders in Chattanooga. I remember going to see them speak at the Chicago Partner Conference in 2007, and they showed pictures of their home office and living room area. So it was really a surreal experience for me to actually go to it since at the time I never imagined I'd be visiting Chattanooga! I love Nathan and Amber. They are so fun and down to earth. It was so fun hanging out with them at the PUG and then afterwards everyone went out to dinner. I can't wait to hang out next week at Pictage Partner Conference in LA! 

I totally have to give it up the the Nashville PUG! They won the album competition that Pictage had and so Joe Buissink is coming to speak to their PUG! Wow! It probably had something to do with their awesome PUG leaders - Peter & Whitney Carlson... These guys were super organized and even had a blog specifically for their PUG! How cool is that? It was super fun to go out with everyone afterward and get some yummy Nashville food! We were sad because we didn't get any time at all to see Nashville... (I guess we'll have to come back!)

Louisville, Kentucky. Michael and I spent the entire time trying to figure out how to actually say "Louisville" correctly. There they pronounce it something like "Loo-vulle." We had fun practicing, but I don't think we ever got it right! The PUG leader in Louisville (Angela Anderson) has an amazing studio that we presented in! We projected our keynote onto this gigantic white backdrop so I literally felt like how actors must feel when they see their big mug on the silver screen. (Kind of embarrassing actually since we show a few videos of ourselves in our presentation!) Anyway, it was our last stop but we had a blast going to dinner afterward and getting a chance to hang out and chat ever more with the awesome photographers there. Angela is a super talented artist and so it was amazing to get to meet her and her PUG members! 

This tour has been really amazing so far. We can't believe what a great experience it has been and we can't wait for September when we are visiting the East Coast and Mid West!!