What are doing for the next couple of weekends? Got plans? I do! (part 2)

The month of October is zipping by, and lo and behold - the Pop Up Shop is just over two weeks away! I'm excited, are you?!

I wanted to connect with you with just a few details. As a reminder, the shop hours are from 9-1. The room we are in is called Club Prior, and is right next to the library.

If you are unfamiliar with the area, here are some directions: From the north or west Take 169 south to Cty Rd 18 Continue straight, which will turn into Cty Rd 21. Once you see the lake you'll know you're close - take a left at Arcadia, and a quick right will take you into the parking lot for the library.

From the east Take Cty Rd 42 West to 13 South Turn right on Cty Rd 21 Take the first right onto Main St. and a quick left will take you into the library parking lot.

Wondering if anyone is going? I'm not! Our event is being listed in Savvy MN, HerLife TC mag, l'etoilemagazine.com, Metro Mag, the Prior Lake American, and more! Postcards are being handed out to shoppers at every downtown Prior Lake boutique, and thousands more are being delivered to Prior Lake and Savage homes. I'll be shocked if we're not swamped with people.

If you haven't do so already, feel free to share the Facebook event page with all your friends! You can find it at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119127231522953

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

I reviewed my Personalized Strengths Report today and I was shocked!

My TOP 5Activator - I was most happy about this one because it totally sounds like a SUPER HERO! Love that! Relator - Yup. I like people. Individualization - I like to figure people out and help them get to where they want to go. Strategic - I have an opinion and reason why I do things a certain way. When my reasons change so do my strategies. Communication - I like to talk and heart to heart is always best.

Learning about these 5 Strengths and how they work together has really helped me as I plan for my business and what I want to invest my time in over the next year or two. Reading through my strengths has really helped me to understand why I love doing Workshops. I like to activate/equip/encourage others to accomplish their dreams. In short, I am a butt kicker!

I love to own and run my own business because I love being able to create, change course, say yes or no to different types of photography, and inspire others!

Here's what StrengthFinders had to say about me:

How your strengths show up in your life and work You bring a spark of energy to every sphere of influence: family, church and work. People might say you are passionate and while this may be true on certain issues mostly, you are about action. As someone who naturally self corrects when a route doesn’t seem expedient, it is difficult for you to be patient in understanding how someone would elect a lengthier course. This speaks to how innate your gifting’s are. Your deep friendships feed you as well as your coaching and mentoring of others and you are deeply satisfied when your work gives opportunity to take photos which are tailored to help capture the essence of who people are. Of course your ability to use words to inspire and motivate others through stories and exhortation give you a powerful voice.

Aspects of business where you will naturally excel Inspiring, Motivating, Communications, Strategic Planning, Customizing Product

Aspects of business where you should seek support Research and Development, Decision Making Strengths to seek in partnerships Empathy, Adaptability, Deliberative, Command

Activator constantly keeps your feet on the move and mercifully it is linked with Strategic to help keep you moving toward a longer term goal. You learn by doing and may have the  tendency to fire before you aim, this is where partnering with a deliberative or input might feed you relevant information and useful tactics to put into play. Your motivation work hard comes from your strengths in the assisting others category. The amount of needs you see may lead you to sometimes feel overwhelmed or lonely in your efforts to help others.

While the “Influencing Others” quadrant is defined by strengths which promote leadership, your position and powerful combination of strengths give you access and unique ability to inspire and motivate others—a very effective form of leadership.

To understand your own strengths and have someone coach you through with a Personalized Strengths Report please contact my coach and tell her I sent you!

Jen Miller Life Coach Furthered Intentions jen@furtheredintentions.com www.furtheredintentions.com 952.888.1225

I love the Vikings! And it's SOOO fun to cheer for them!

It truly is my pleasure to capture the Junior Viking Cheerleaders for the second year in a row! I love being a part of the game and supporting the team I love! Here's some priceless shots I got from the day!

Starting our day at 8:30am downtown. It was an early morning! Hair and make-up were required!

Coming down the the ground floor...girls and lovely parents!

Time to practice! The JVC ANGELS (3-5year olds) take the floor first!

After practice we went outside to the plaza and joined the fun!

Spending the whole day with just Adriah and Matt is special!

She loves to dance!

Drumline!

Back inside! It's almost halftime...and the girls are so excited to cheer for their fav team!

Go VIKES!

TOUCHDOWN!

i love watching her shine!

The Sweet Colleens - Family Fun at Monkey Dance Spooktacular!

SAVE THE DATE

THE SWEET COLLEENS SECOND ANNUAL

HALLOWEEN MONKEY DANCE SPOOKTACULAR

Hey folks! With Labor Day behind us, it's time to start thinking about... Halloween! And what better way to spookify your Halloween weekend than coming out to "The Sweet Colleens Second Annual Halloween Monkey Dance Spooktacular," a not-so-scary kids concert and dance party taking place the Saturday before Halloween (the 29th) at the fabulous Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, 11 a.m. to noon. If you made it last year, you will know what fun the Spooktacular was (see the pics, below). We will have...

The Sweet Colleens rockin' songs off their acclaimed kids CD, The Monkey Dance: All the Kids Are Doin' It! The Mini-Mosh Pit, with lots of room for kids to dance and move around Interactive musical fun for the whole family. A great chance for kids to give their Halloween costumes a "dry run" before the big night. Special musical guests the wonderful Madrigals choir from Field Middle School (who promise to show up in full trick-or-treating attire!) Special prizes.

Speaking of costumes, all guests, but especially kids, are invited to wear their Halloween costumes (although please no costumes that may be offensive to others).

Mark Your Calendars! The Monkey Dance Spooktacular will take place from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday October 29, 2010, at the Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave S. in Minneapolis (doors open at 10:30). Admission is $12, $7 for kids age 2-12, and free for kids under 2! For tickets or more info, call the Cedar Cultural Center Box Office at 612-338-2674, or visit www.thecedar.org.

If you haven't been to the Cedar before, it's a wonderful music venue. A warm, welcoming space with a great sound system. They also serve up some delicious refreshments. There's easy access. Parking is plentiful in the area, with street parking available and several ramps and lots close by. The Cedar's site has directions, a map, and parking tips.

Last year's Spooktacular was a near sellout, so reserve your tickets early! We'll see you there...and don't forget your monkey-dancing shoes! Stay tuned for more details. Sociable! --The Sweet Colleens

p.s. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this e-blast to anyone you know who might enjoy the Monkey Dance Spooktacular. And if you know any good places to put up a poster or two, let us know and we will get the posters to you. Thanks!

Hope to see you there!

The Sweet Colleens

http://www.sweetcolleens.com/

The Pop Up Shop with Wildruffle!

I'm so happy to be a part of this event...

It's going to be amazing! Have you heard about it yet? The idea behind a Pop Up Shop is exactly what you're thinking...a collection of businesses who may or may not have a shop of their own come together bringing their best for you (and me) to shop! Yes, I'll be a vendor too! But, I'm mostly excited to do tons of my Christmas shopping with local businesses with very little effort on my part...they are all going to be in one place. I love that!

My friend Cate from Wildruffle.com is pouring her heart into this event and I know it's going to be amazing. I personally want to invite you. I hope you can come!

Here's the details so PLEASE click over to your calendar and mark the date!

The First Day of School - Aspen Academy, Savage, MN

So I know this is long overdue...but, I have tons of clients waiting for pictures so I haven't posted this yet! But, enough is enough. You have to see these cute shots of Adriah (my tall 6 year old) and Avery (her friend from birth.) Just in case you were wondering they were so excited to go to school! Even though they won't be in the same class this year they are still great friends.

The Dalida Family Portraits - Prior Lake, Mn

Sara and I go back a long way...and we have a shared love for photography. She was one of my first clients that I actually saw print, frame and hang right after a shoot! I know that seems obvious but you'd be surprised at how often pictures get left on the CD - ahem, my summer photoshoot still hasn't been printed and displayed!

The Willcock Family Portraits - Part 2 (the adoption story)

As promised here's the second half of the portraits from the Willcock Family shoot. AND EVEN BETTER, Vicki talks about adoption in her own words, "I’ve always had a soft spot for adoption in my heart. It’s just a good thing. In the years leading up to 2010, adoption seemed to bounce into my thought life frequently. At the time I was maxed out with my three young children and trying my best to keep up with life. So why did adoption keep peeking at me around every corner? Well, I thought, maybe when our kids are grown up we can adopt.

Then I got an itch and started doing what I love to do – roaming around on blogs and looking in bookstores – this time, for information on adoption. I kept coming across families who adopted and were in a similar stage of life: small children, doubting they could add much more to their plates, the absence of a huge bank account, feeling a call from God. My heart began to swell. Maybe this wasn’t so crazy.

I felt like the Lord was opening my heart to desire to give up what I strived for since I became a mom – peace and quiet. J At the time my youngest was one. Oh and I forgot to add that the Lord asked me to home school the previous year. So it was going to get a lot crazier if we added another.

I had seen enough families who were radical and giving up every comfort to help children in need. Some adopting multiple children and those with special needs – and living in houses smaller than ours!

In a story that’s as dramatic and awesome, my husband was given the same heart for orphans. So we started to know that adoption would be in our future (when we had more money and had a better handle on our lives, of course). Then the earthquake in Haiti hit in January 2010 and our hearts about jumped out of our chests. This begged the question: would you adopt any of those children? Of course! Well, if you’d do that why wouldn’t you move forward with adoption otherwise? Doh! After wrestling with the Lord, we said yes.

We were moving forward now. Right away we got an egress window put in our basement to make another bedroom and started our homestudy in February 2010. We started the process of adopting a little girl from Rwanda in March. We were homestudy approved in July of 2010. We were approved by the Rwandan government in August 2011 and we currently wait (not so patiently) for our referral.

We have learned so much about the Lord’s heart for the poor and needy through this process. We have met so many people who are walking our His commandments in radical ways and it challenges us to live more sacrificially, intentionally, and simply.

I want to appeal to a few people right now:

*those whose hearts are beating a little faster right now - I know the feeling

*those who think they don’t have enough money

*those who don’t think they have enough room in their home

*those who are afraid their spouse will never agree to adoption – pray!

*those who feel weak (I promise I have you beat on this one) “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” I Corinthians 1:27-28

*those that feel you’re too old or too young

*those that think your children are too young or that you have enough already

*those who are just scared by the idea

I don’t think everyone should adopt, but I know there are people out there who have similar thoughts as I did and need a boost.

Here’s a list of blogs and online resources – most are ones that moved me personally :

http://thezoefoundation.com/ - Awesome foundation that has many adoption resources

http://weloveourlucy.blogspot.com/ - Blog of a family who adopted the cutest little girl. Watch her coming home video – you have to scroll down a bit. It moved me big time.

http://joiningthejourney.blogspot.com/ - Adoptive mom blogs their journey. Especially touching is their story about Josie who has HIV

http://www.projecthopeful.org/ - Blog advocating for HIV orphans and other waiting children

http://www.christianalliancefororphans.org/ - Christian Alliance for Orphans

http://www.safe-families.org/ - Safe Families – organization that finds temporary homes for children whose families need support for a short time.

Here's more pictures for their FAMILY PHOTO-SHOOT!

Advance or Retreat?

On most days I am an advancer! (and yes, I know that's not a word but if I was playing Scrabble with you right now I would take my changes and say that it means, "One who advances!") I love moving forward, starting new projects, and thinking creatively for how to do things faster, stronger, better. I use this talent every day all day! I happy doing that.

But even the fiercest of advancers needs to retreat to be able to advance well!

So, this weekend I'm going away. I'll be gone Friday noon to Sunday night. I'm retreating to breathe and rest so that I can come back ready to advance once again.

In order to do that I'm editing all the time...trying to get your your pictures! This will be a multiple blog posting day! Stay tuned.

I pray your weekend is restful too!

I am no green thumb...but everyone needs to step out of their comfort zone sometimes!

I love being challenged, seeing things change and grow before my eyes, eating things I KNOW are good for me and sharing the experience with my kids! That's why I planted a "raised bed garden" this year. I'm no green thumb but I'm getting closer! There's no turning back once you've tasted success in gardening. I get it now!

Kinda makes me feel grown-up.

Letting go but wanting to hold on.

My baby girl is not a baby anymore. She's 6 and starting the first grade tomorrow. This post is straight from the heart...I'm processing.

In so many ways I look at Adriah and I know she's ready. She is a beautiful kind-hearted child with a great head on her shoulders. She's ready, but am I? I look at her and I already miss her. I want to keep her all to myself. Kindergarten was okay because I had her all morning, but now she's gone all day. I  feel like I'm handing her over...giving her away.

I feel something I haven't felt before. The feeling of: have I done enough? Does she know who she is? and who she is not?

-I'm sad about missing all of her "ahhh, I get it!" moments.

-Seeing her push through on a project and shine when she does.

-Watching her help her siblings.

-Learn from her. Talk with her. Hold her...whenever I want!

A friend of mine came across something that is helping me process...It's from a book called "A Beautiful Offering" by Angela Thomas.

"When a woman has a kingdom heart, she has an active understanding of what matters most to the heart of God. She lives in the balance of passion and contentment. She learns to love well, give without regard to self, and forgive without hesitation. The woman with a kingdom heart may have a duffel bag full of possessions or enough treasures to fill a mansion, but she has learned to hold them with an open hand. Hold everything with open hands. I don't think we are ever allowed to grab hold of anything or anyone as though they matter more than the kingdom of heaven. When you hold relationships with open hands, then people come in and out of your life as gifts of grace to be cherished and enjoyed, not objects to be owned and manipulated. And then when you hold your dreams with open hands, you get to watch God resurrect what seemed dead and multiply what seemed small."

I have to trust that I have poured out my heart, values, thoughts into her and now she needs to walk it out. Of course I'll always be here. I'm going to be her biggest cheerleader for the rest of her life. We'll keep walking together. When she falls or gets pushed down...I will be there to pick her up. She's my baby. The first of my three precious gifts from the Lord!

Classic Cars - Lakefront Days, Prior Lake, MN

And the hits keep coming...more great shots from Lakefront Days, Prior Lake, MN

Lakefront Days - Prior Lake, MN

You've heard me say how much I love our little town/suburb Prior Lake, MN. It's adorable and as far as I'm concerned, the best place to live and raise kids! Every year we take advantage of Lakefront Days at Lakefront Park in Prior Lake AND WE HAVE A BLAST! This year we went to the Classic Car show AND I brought my camera along. You may not know this about me but I love old cars...love, love, LOVE old cars. I think they are...ummm curvy, shiny, lovely and worthy of being captured. Not to mention full of untold history!

First up is the "bee" car!

I am a Strength Finder. Have you taken the test yet?

Seriously. I have learned so much about myself and my husband and our marriage and our business and WOW...I'm so talking in run on sentences because that's how I feel. My number one strength is ACTIVATOR! I can not tell you how happy I was to hear that. It totally sounds like a SuperHero right? AND I've always loved anything to do with personality tests. I love to figure people out...turns out that's because my number 2 strength is RELATER. I wanted to learn more so I went to the MAGIC WAND COLLECTIVE Strength Finder evening get together and loved it. Thank you Rachel and Jen for putting that incredible night together. If you are a woman who loves connecting, learning and growing...this group is perfect for you!

here's some pics from the night!

The day of my perm!

I know I have been slack in getting these pictures to you but for those of you who have never had a perm let me explain... 1. You can't wash your hair for a good 48 hours afterwards.

2. Perms need to be groomed and gotten-used-to.

3. New product is a must and figuring out the right combination is not always easy.

So, I'm finally getting to the place where I've washed and defused a couple of times and I'm ready to show the world. But first, let's look back on the day of my perm.

I want to say a special thanks for KASIA Organic Salon for making this dream come true!

Pics of my hair before the perm. Flat ironed to show contrast.

Enough talk...I'm just going to do it!

I love change. I love risk. I love challenging myself in new ways and pushing myself to do things other people may think is crazy. This applies to every area of my life...including my hair. So, that being said, I'm getting a perm tomorrow. The appointment is set and I'm ready to go.

I won't be swayed.

I will be taking before and after pictures.

I can't wait!

Monday will be the day of the big reveal.

You never know, maybe you'll love my hair so much you'll be making your perm appointment this time next week!

Minnesota Vikings Junior Cheerleading

Got this in my inbox this morning! What a great way to start off my day! A picture of my beautiful girl cheering her heart out at last year's Viking's game...I had to share. I'm including info below for anyone interested in joining in on the fun!

Vikings fans....it's time to register your little one to become a Junior Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader! Girls age 3 -14 can perform at the Sept. 25th with the MVC, in official replica costumes, following a three day cheer camp! Get all the details at http://www.vikings.com/cheerleaders/junior-mvc.html   Register by Sept. 1st!  GO VIKES! Tami Krause Head Coach and Coordinator - MVC krauset@vikings.nfl.net

To Perm or not to Perm - that is the question?

I've had many perms in my life so it's not THAT crazy to be considering to do it again, but because I've done it before I know what's at risk! I need to weigh the pros and cons. I'll list the ones I've thought of so far and I'd love to hear your opinion! Pros

- Having hair that's totally different!

- Headbands! (always look better with curly hair)

- Quick styles! (shake and let dry or diffuse for more curl)

- It changes up my wardrobe! I always dress more girly with curly hair.

- Getting to buy new hair product!

- Perms are coming back in style...I'd be living on the edge with the trend setters!

Cons

- Frizz!

- Growing it out and it looking like an old perm (straight on top curly on bottom)...not good.

- Risky! It might not turn out how I picture it.

- I have bangs. How it that going to work with a perm?

- I have highlights - hope this isn't going to be to over-processed!

- Cost?

What do you think? Have you had a perm? Do you think I'm crazy? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

We interrupt this blog to say...

"Happy 40th Birthday AMY!" You are one of the most amazing people I've ever known.

I love you as a sister.

So thankful you're in my life.

Thank you for always listening and caring.

I love sharing my life with you.

My husband Matt has an incredible relationship with his sister...these pictures capture it!

My baby is 18 months old! Portrait Photography

Things are moving fast this summer...but I haven't forgotten Clara hitting a milestone! this little girl is beautiful. I love her so much. She has rockstar hair which is messy more then it's done nice...and she likes it that way! She has her own mind. She decided that she liked being carried more then walking...so she waiting until 2 weeks ago to start. She talks and sings all day. She is a wrestler - not scared to get in there! Clara you make me smile.