The Big E

I made the trek up to the Big E one Wednesday night. I had only been there once before - sometime in middle school or high school. My dad was charged with bringing his three daughters for the day. It was the last thing he wanted to do and he was in a most foul mood. I remember seeing the butter sculpture, eating a hot dog (which Dad absolutely didn't want to buy) and going home - fun day!

So I just wasn't sure what to expect. I did a little online research - knew I needed to try the Big E cream puff - after that I had no clue. I expected it to be more agriculturally based - farm animals etc.. I was so surprised to see people walking back to their cars with bags full of things they had bought - the guy selling mops was making a killing!! Over all I found the experience overwhelming. So much food that I didn't know what to pick, people everywhere of all sizes and ages, lights and games galore. Glad I went - incredible people watching and what a place to get lost in the crowd!


The Cream Puff - it was huge and delicious!



It was Agawam day - orange shirts filled the park. This was during the Agawam Parade.



A corner of the park looking back towards the rides.



Some of the amazing amounts of candies and goodies - seriously the place must run on sugar!









Going up I knew I wanted to try and play with some of the lights at night - here is some of what I saw.















And then this caught my eye and all I could think is - how unappealing! Am I wrong?

Family Fun Week

The Sjursen girls and their families all spend a week at my parents in the summer. It's a lot of people (11) going in a lot of different directions at the same time! This year my Aunt Jane, her husband David and cousin Sanna (not to be confused with baby Sanna) were here as well. We ended the week celebrating Gram's 93rd birthday.


First up Kai




His brother Cooper




The indomitable Dorrie




And her sister baby Sanna




These two are exactly 11 months apart and adore each other - so funny to watch them interact!




So while the ladies were all out getting pedicures the Dads got to work. They taped a hose to the top of the slide, added a kiddy pool to the bottom and then a tube - so you could slide out of the pool and onto the tube - boys loved it!




Dorrie took a little more time to warm up to the idea - here she is contemplating the journey - she took it. :)




Sanna hanging on the swing with her mom while all the action happens around her.




It was a busy busy week- beaches, boating, dinners at the beach, hallmark's ice cream - oh and little fishing trip. I also realized the curse of having the swing set right outside my window. Seriously - who would have thought swings at 7am would be such a big attraction!

Gone Fishin'

Recently I, Chip, Matt, Owen and Dad went on a 1/2 day fishing trip with Southbound Charters out of Waterford, CT. My dad, Matt and I had done this once before - it was painful, exhausting and fun :)!! It was just as fun and a lot less tiring with the two more people. We were going for Strip Bass and Bluefish. Last time I didn't take a single picture - made sure to remedy that this time!!

Our first mate Eric working with our first catch.


Dad and Owen working as a team - Owen is helping to guide the line back on the reel as Dad cranks in a fish.


Eric explain the how to use the next rig.


Matt and Owen chillin!


The boys at work.


Chip showing them how it's done.


Hooks in waiting.


Eric getting ready to filet our keepers - all Blues.


Filleting the fish - I remember doing this with Dad in the driveway as a kid.


Little Bird feeding.


The Boys - Matt, Owen, Chip and Dad

Chchch Changes..

I've avoided putting this out for quite some time. I wanted to be really sure of my decision before I made any announcement. For those of you who don't know, I moved my headquarters back to Old Lyme this past winter. It was a tough decision but one I knew had to be done. I still work in the Wilton, Ridgefield, Westport area - I'm just not there full time anymore. This leads me to the next change. For the time being I will no longer be accepting weddings. I am going to exclusively focus on my children's location portraiture. Keep a look out for some changes in that area and hopefully a new website too. In the meantime I have images from Elise's wedding this winter cominig up (she's been patient and deserves a little of the spot light!) and some other projects I've been working on. Stay Tuned!

See You in January

Tomorrow I leave to spend Christmas Eve with my family and then I'm off for 3 weeks to New Zealand. I was an exchange student to NZ 20 years ago and will be spending my time catching up with family and friends. I get back at the god awful time of 12:05 am at Logan Airport on January 17th. Best way to reach me will be by email at jennie@jsjursen.com - I can't promise a quick reply, just that I'll try. So see you in Jan - hopefully with a nice summer glow!

Sanna Makes an Appearance

I am an Auntie again. Last night Sanna (more recently known as Cletus the Fetus) was born! She was 6lbs 11oz with dark hair. I won't get to meet her until Christmas eve and then I'm sure she'll be smothered with family. I can only imagine what her older sister Dorrie is thinking!

Let Snow!

I'm so excited it's going to snow today. Today is my birthday and I never have snow for my birthday. All growing up I would hope and hope for snow. It is December. My family would tease me and hint at possibly having seen a flake or two. At best I would get a dusting. To add insult to injury my sister Katie with her March birthday almost always seemed to have snow. Well today we are forecasted to get a real snow storm and it's my birthday - only had to wait 36 years!

In Honor of My Birthday

a little funny..

You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.
- George Burns

Looking for an Erg

To be more specific I'm looking for a Concept 2 Model D erg. Here's why - I've been involved with rowing for over 20+ years - shocking I know - but I have never ever raced a single. I have talked about racing a single for 10+ years, but honestly would rather race a double. So I've had a lot of time to think lately and have come to this conclusion - one of the things I least want to do but always talk about is racing a single. Which means it something I really have to do. So in that vein I am trying to get ready to race in 2008 (God help me!). So I'm looking for an erg to help train and develop my aerobic base, if anyone has a lead out there for me I'd appreciate it!

Things I am Most Thankful For

I am very grateful to have crossed paths with someone I meet this summer. They helped me to rediscover myself and dreams and feelings I had long put aside or had forgotten. They were truly who I was meant to meet when I met them - I'll always be grateful and have a soft spot in my heart for them.

I am thankful for my family and friends - my life has and is going through a lot of transistion and they are there to keep me strong. They send me things in the mail to let me know they are thinking of me. They email me small jokes and they just keep me bolsterd up. They listen to me talk on for hours (anyone who knows me knows that I can too!). I am grateful to have them in my life and to be loved by them all.

I am also thankful for the small joys in life - the way the sun lights up the hillside of fall leaves to make it look on fire. The peace of walking through the woods and watching and listening to the nature that crosses my path. For the way that my dogs just love me - I am thankful.

New Zealand Here I Come!

I'm so excited! On Christmas day I am go to New Zealand for 3 weeks! I'll be photographing my sister Elise's wedding and catching up with friends. The really neat part about this all (and a little scary - where did the time go?) is that this is also the 20th anniversery of the first time I went to NZ. I was a bright eyed 16 year old looking for adventure! I still think I'm 16 and looking for adventure - just not sure I'm as able to keep going like I use to... So excited to see everyone and meet my niece and nephews - along with my best friend Alan's boys! I'll be busy!

I've Been Tagged!

There is this blog tag going around for awhile and I only found out last night I was tagged (sorry Sam!) The game is to tell 8 things most people don't know about you.

- I have my grandmother's feet - I loved my grandmother - hated her feet - ugly ugly things that they are.

- I'm a dog whisper in reverse. For what ever reason dogs get so excited to see me they have brain farts and can't think straight. I get jumped on, sat on, kissed, licked and nuzzled - good thing I like dogs.

- I've never been able to say the word linoleum - I have to stop concentrate and sound it out in my head before I can say it.

- Speedy Gonzalas I'm not. No fast twitch muscles here. When I was on the swim team coach loved my back stroke form - wanted to use me as an example of how to do the stroke - but never won a race. Having said that I can pace myself and keep going like the stinken pink bunny.

- I don't like when the food on my plate touches the other food - the peas and the mash potatoes can't touch. Doesn't matter that they all go to the same place - can't happen. Further more I eat one thing and then move on to the next - usually saving my favorite thing on the plate for last.

- I like to sit in the dark at night (maybe have one dim light on for walking around purposes). My family thinks it's the weirdest thing ever and always know when I'm home because the only light on in the house comes from the tv.

- I once got seriously lost on a hike by myself - missed a switch back. Got teary eyed and panicky - finally dropped myself into some poor bugger's backyard after sliding down a huge hill on my butt (don't know who was more surprised). I was miles from home. Went to the train station got on the train to my home stop. Magically got home before anyone else - showered and washed my clothes and never said a word to anyone.

- I once partied in a sheep paddock - where the price of admission was a couple of pieces of fire wood for the bonfire. Paddock was high on a hill - someone was standing on the highest point - slipped and rolled down the steep end. As it was pitch black we had no idea how far he'd gone - all of a sudden he popped back up - really funny - but one of those things you have to be there for.


I know I'm suppose to pass this on - but right now I can't think of anybody who hasn't been tagged! I think about it and come back.

Welcome Sam!

So my best friend in the whole world - Alan (and maybe it's because he lives to far away for me to run off!) - welcomed his second son into the world the other day. I'm so excited for him but also a little sad as I still haven't met his 1st son Jack yet... It'll happen. In the meantime I'll have to be content with emailed jpgs.

So here's a quick look at Jack meeting Sam - looks like it went ok...

Crushing on My New Bag

Is it possible to have a crush on a handbag? I had this bag custom made for me a few weeks ago. It arrived this past weekend - just in time for Mother's Day. I'm loving it! Maybe I'm biased - that cute adorable face is my niece almost exactly one year ago - look at those cheeks! I can't wait to show it off to the family at large and the world this coming Memorial Day weekend.

Show the World YOUR Beautiful

I've been doing a lot of self discovery over the last year. One of the ways that I've gone about that is to do The Artist Way. It's a book about self discovery and unblocking your creativity. I'm really learning a lot and one of those things that I have learned is that everyone has something all their own that is beautiful. It can be their smile, the sparkle in their eyes, a dimple etc... So with that in mind I've added the new tag line "Show the World Your Beautiful". I know it's not grammatically correct but I want to know what it is that make you shine.

I love my eyes (other people who know me will say it's my laugh - but that's not visual!) So here is a self portrait of my eyes - not the easiest thing I've done - I'm wearing glasses over contacts, but you get the point.



Share with me what your beautiful is.

Pina Colada's Here I Come!

I'm really excited - tomorrow I'm leaving for a week long trip to Aruba! I expect lots of fun, sun and swimming - plus a pina colada or two. I figure pina's are a bit of a cheesy drink but when your in the islands it's a must - you can't get them better anywhere else! So here's to hoping I won't be crispy but plenty relaxed when I get back.

Down Time

So people ask what I like to do in my down time. I like to paint - mostly children's things. I've done some 20x24 canvases of Paddington Bear for my newphews and each of my newphews and niece has a floor to ceiling wall mural. This is my latest work for my niece - her mom asked for a growth chart with a Paris flare!

An Old Favorite

I've been scanning and looking through some old film lately. I came across this old favorite of mine. It was taken on the north island of New Zealand literally seconds before it started to pour! Then I was shocked to realize that I took this image 19 years ago with an old point and shoot and slide film. I don't often feel that much older than the 16 year old who took this - where did the time go?

Angie's List

Ooh I'm a blogging fool today but I just had to pass this on. My sister has been telling me about Angie's list for about a year now. It's an online resource for just about any service you can think of - from handyman to babysitting agency. The only way to be a referred vendor is to have a past client refer you - ie I can't put myself on but one of my brides could. They even have a dog house and mediation area so you know who to avoid. Well they've just started a New York - Fairfield County area list and I'm really excited. I signed up the other day - I've been trying to find a drycleaner forever! Check them out at Angie's List

Getting to Know Spidey

Well I did something this past weekend that I never thought I'd do. I decorated a Spider Man cake. In the intrest of honesty - this was not something I planned to do - my mother was suppose to. My newphew Kai's 4th birthday was yesterday and my mom promised him she would make him a Spider Man cake and then she freaked out! I just happened to be at her house when she planned to do the icing. At first I was told to stay in the kitchen as moral support - then I was asked to mix a little icing color - next could you just start it for me. Then suddenly "It looks great your doing a great job - I'm going to go take a nap." What?! So long story short I know Spider Man really well now. I think I did a pretty knock-up good job for my first attempt too!



and for an overall view

Baby It's Cold Outside (Inside Too!!)

I've lost a lot of weight since July. I haven't said much about it but if you haven't seen me in awhile it's hard to miss :) It's hard for me to believe and then again I don't want to dwell because I have more to go. The thing is nobody ever tells you that when you lose this much weight and it's winter - your FREEZING ALL THE TIME!!!! As I sit here the temp in the house is a brisk 71 degrees and I am wearing long underwear and several layers!!! My bed tells all - that is not 1 but 2 feather comforters.



I say it's the curse of my sister Katie. When we were kids she'd lose her glasses and be begging for help for someone to find them so she could see - I use to tease her unendingly about that. Now that I too have glasses I feel her pain! She was also the one at the bus stop with 57 layers in the middle of summer - couldn't let that slide either. Now it's all coming back to haunt me!

Note to self never tease sister - it will come back to bite you!

Oowww!

I fell down the stairs the other day- broke my toe, busted up my ankle and bruised my body . I was on my way down to my office to work on my new website (which I'm really excited about and will post here when it up). After an amazingly quick er visit (1 hour) I was back at the house with crutches and advice to stay off the foot for a week. I can't drive - this is my big toe and gas pedal foot! Of course now that I'm house bound I can think of several good reasons to get out of the house - one being I've run out of sugarfree vanilla pudding and bananas (a snack favorite). It has also not gone unnoticed that at the exact moment that I could have used a little aleve I found not one but TWO empty bottles! What's up with that? I've been looking for a little extra time to finish up projects in the office but this was definitely not the way I wanted to do it!

Coopie on Vacation

My newphew Cooper is a little devil - really makes my sister work! While here in Florida I caught this at dinner time. I think it shows him to a T!!

Dorrie's First Swim

I'm on vacation with the entire family (Parents, Siblings, Newphews and Niece) in sunny FLA. We rented a house with a pool and beach access for 2 weeks. After the first few days I can already tell the only ones coming out alive are the kids. Who would have thought a 3, 1 1/2 and 6 month old would totally take down 5 adults in 4 days! The reinforcements are coming this weekend (Brother-in-Laws)! I was primed and ready to get Dorrie's reaction for her first swim - little stella star gave a winner!

Looking for Spring

While waiting for my computer to finish burning backup dvd's this weekend I decided to pick up my camera and go searching for spring. Especially after the yucky cold sleet/rain weather we had this past weekend. I think I found a reason to hope that the warm weather is coming!

More Ball Images

a couple more

Clock Strikes Midnight

The ball is finally over!! I was chair of this year's Commodore's Ball at the Saugatuck Rowing Club. It took up most of my free time and sanity. The theme was Mardi Gras and we pulled out all the stops - mask, beads, coins etc.. I'm so proud of the "Norwalk 8" - we did a great job. The overall buzz is this was one of the best events ever at the club - yeah us!! I have a few images of set up (for reference this is in a boathouse - the tables are set up under the boats that are in the rafters for winter storage).