you know a song is BIG when...

your brother (who's on a mission) has somehow become aware of it and is obsessed with it.

we jammed to this at zumba today.

and have been waka wakaing around the house ever since.

sometimes, i want to be shakira.

yeah... i'd be cool with that.

bon voyage.

i'm off to boise in the morning to spend some quality time with some of my favorite people on earth.

i'm so grateful that my fantastic extended family was able to book me some shoots so that i can afford a nice little visit!

good thing i like potatoes.

stacie: i'll keep my eyes peeled for an idaho farmer boy for you :)

cake & love.

so maybe sometimes i shoot a backyard wedding with one of my best friends as my assistant.

and then she comes along to assist a high school friend's engagement shoot.

and then we make a wimbledon cake to cheer up a sad, broken-wristed 12 year old.

and she makes andy roddick out of blueberries and his babolat out of a rice chex.

friends are the best, aren't they?

this time of year means...

wimbledon.

i've been eating strawberries & cream (frozen yogurt) in honor of it all.

did anyone else see the INSANE match today? 59-59 in the FIFTH set, and they're STILL playing... come on, isner!

stumped.

this weekend was fairly dramatic at the gleave house.

at roughly 1:00 a.m. on friday night, i was beckoned by my father to come help him.

i found it a bit odd that he needed help at such an hour, but my car had just broken down, so i thought he had a question about that, or something.

but when the words "jakey's really hurt" were spoken, my heart sunk.

i ran downstairs to find drops of blood all over the hard wood and a very, very sad dog in my dad's arms.

jacoba had stopped in front of my dad as he was going down the stairs, and he stepped on his tail.

so we rushed him to the doggy ER, where we found out that he had a fractured tail.

the vet showed me where the tail was broken (you could see the nerves and everything) and said that his tail would have to be partially amputated.

so we left a very nervous pooch at the vet around 3 a.m. and crossed our fingers for the best.

jacoba came home the next morning, very delirious (he stumbled around like a drunk person, running into everything with his cone), and we spent the rest of the weekend pampering the little doggie.

his tail is considerably shorter... named ever-so-endearingly his "stump" or "nub".

and it is especially adorable when he wags it straight up in the air.

nonetheless, little stumpy is in a lot of pain still.

poor lil' fella.

i am just happy he's okay... and am hoping for a speedy, canine recovery!

para ti, mi padre.

i truly believe that i have the best father in the world.

ten reasons why no one else could be as perfect of a father for me as he is:

1. he is incredibly kind, thoughtful, and loving.

2. he shares my obsession with the ocean.

3. he will always eat mexican food with me. always.

4. he dropped everything and flew out to utah the day he found out i was in the hospital, just like that.

5. we can hate on the lakers together... often.

6. he holds the priesthood and uses it to bless our home.

7. he is the only person who will listen to a whole maná album with me and be excited about it.

8. he is extremely hard working (and brilliant), but he is the most humble man i know.

9. he is full of support and encouragement for me and our family.

10. he always stays up late with me, working on projects and talking.

11. he is an amazing example of patience and service & is always sacrificing for others.

okay, well, maybe i made myself stop at number eleven... because i could go on and on. seriously, he's one good man. and i am so lucky to call him my father.

feliz día del padres, faj! te quiero mucho.

i love my job.

ah... what a lucky girl i am!

i just booked a wedding here, for the end of july!

yes, that's right... i'm headed out to WASHINGTON D.C. to shoot a wedding, & i am beyond excited!

we do have a bit of down time on our little excursion out east, so does anyone have any (inexpensive) suggestion for things to do in DC?

my thoughts in photos.

so i was looking through some old photos, and came across these little gems.

prague had some magical powers on that hair of mine. why doesn't colorado/utah have that same effect? maybe it had something to do with the fact that i was rubbing the lucky statue of st. john nepomuk?

ben and i should be (reen)actors. we nailed every scene that was given to us (whether it be via building... statute... shield...) clearly, we were the dead deer.

p.s. my parents are the coolest.

'tis the season.

the world cup seems to be what everyone's talking about these days.

and thanks to this little book, i know why.

this is a highly-recommended read.

i ventured my way through it last summer, and it really does offer a fascinating explanation of the world & globalization.

soccer means a great deal more to the rest of the world than it does to most americans.

at parts, it is a wee bit slow-moving, but i promise, it is well worth it in the end.

so czech it out!

also: please note that i am writing this on my brand new macbook pro.

yes, it is beautiful.

caught red handed.

so i just may have been craving gf cake for the last four days.

i tried to be strong and avoid indulgence, but i just needed that darn cake.

so i broke down and bought the mix.

in the near future, with the help of señora crocker, my tummy will be very happy.

nice little surprises.

i woke up this morning, feeling awful gloomy.

the last few days have really been horrendous... and i figured that today would be no different.

i expected the back pain to join me & the sadness to come, yet again.

but i can say that i have been very pleasantly surprised with the way that today turned out.

my suture removal, combined with an afternoon at the mall and visiting an old friends' family with my mama started the day off right.

a successful babysitting job, involving a homemade fort in front of the tv, snacks, and alice in wonderland made the evening fly by.

thank goodness for a bit of grace & good fortune.

maybe tomorrow will be surprisingly nice, too?

you lookin' at me?

there's a 2893849% chance that i live in one of the cooler places in the world.

so happy to spend the summer here.

my summer jam.

oh hey mr. harper, sing me through summer!

how does dr. house do it?

house pops vicodin upon vicodin every day... and still diagnoses insane, rare diseases like mad.

i take one vicodin, and am loopy and comatose for hours.

zee proof:

my day has looked like...

interview @ zee apple store.

long, long nap time.

little errand at the bank.

an afternoon in bed watching movies with some little sour patch kiddos.

a happy, happy grade on my physiological & developmental biology final... i have finally finished my fall '09 classes! freeeedom! i am terribly grateful.

oh yeah, and a four-inch incision on my back with eleven stitches... no big deal.

ouchhhhh. time for some vicodin.