Merry Christmas!

Rodney and I wish you all a very merry Christmas! What is a merry Christmas anyways? I think I would wish that inspite of the busyness of preparations and events, the stresses and emotion that often accompany family life, and the possibility that you may even be dealing with loss or loneliness this Christmas, that you can take a few moments and give thanks for what you have, make the effort to really look around you and drink in the beauty that is there (in the countryside as you're driving or in the faces of those around you), and savour good food and hopefully a few good laughs. More...

Sing. Light candles. Watch the snow fall. Lay on the couch and get mesmerized by the Christmas lights. Read a good book. Listen to music. Party. Watch a classic Christmas show. Make soup. Eat chocolate. Hold a warm drink in your hands and let it soothe you. Take a little extra care with one or two presents and make them a work of art. Use a little extra colour or glimmer as you set your table.

For me, I also hope to take a little time to reflect on the experience of Mary, on the wonder of that night, on the unusual ordinary-ness of a King born among animals and adored by sheep herders, and on the love that brought this story to life.

Maybe merry isn't the best word. Perhaps "wonder-filled" is better. The one conjures up red and green, deck the halls, ho ho ho, and let your heart be light (things I still enjoy). The other brings to my mind starry nights, the intricacies of nature, the faces of children, and a depth of feeling in both joy and sorrow. You can choose. May love, joy, peace, and hope fill your heart this Christmas.

The Brauns

Shopping Local for fun Gifts

If you're looking for beautiful, unique gifts, I have three ideas for you today.

Cornelia Bean on 417 Academy Road has a great selection of teas, coffees, teapots, the amazing BrewT (loose leaf tea made easy), honey infusions (so you can get your lemon and honey at the same time) and so much more. Their staff is friendly and helpful and their store is just fun to visit. Warm someone's heart and insides with a gift from Cornelia Bean!

Orange Poppy Feng Shui Gifts & Decor, 1 – 433 River Avenue, is having an inventory clear-out as they are shifting their focus away from retail and completely onto feng shui consulting/classes. Last I heard, they still have some really beautiful wrapping paper and cards as well as lots of gift ideas...all up to 60% off.

If you have someone who's hard to buy for, is looking for "un-stuff" and is female, check out the LifeStyle Pass. Created by Sam (Stephanie) Manchulenko to help women in Winnipeg and area find new ways of adding healthy and enriching experiences to their lives, the lifestyle pass is like a passport to amazing Winnipeg businesses and is chock-full of great deals. Only $40. Available online and various locations.

And of course, Eve Studios has gift certificates available. So if you'd like to come in for a session, why not put it on your wish list?! We donate $25 from every $200 gift certificate to Alpha House, protective living for women leaving abuse, so you'll be giving and receiving a gift all at the same time! By the way, have you checked out Rodney's fine art photography? It's a little late to order a piece for Christmas, but a gift certificate could also cover something for hubby or parents, too! Check out the link at sidebar. He's done some really amazing work!

Tips for the Holidays

Two things I thought I'd pass along to you as the holidays are approaching.

As I attend more and more business functions and get out in the world, I'm meeting fabulous people. One of them is Trisha Sveistrup. She has begun coaching women through the process of body transformation without dieting. If you'd like to receive a free e-mail newsletter than can help you through the holidays without weight gain and without deprivation, click here. There is a sign-up in the top right-hand corner of her web-site.

Second, if you're looking for an up-do for a Christmas party, I would have to suggest Sandy Turner at First Impressions (an Aveda concept salon) on St. Mary's Rd. It's her favorite thing to do and she's really good at it! You can call 255-3599 to book your appointment.


My hair after a quick up-do at a trade-show. Sandy is really personable, fun to work with, and has a knack for contemporary, natural-looking up-do's.

Events Today

Zealous Medi Spa Grand Opening tonight (27th)

Wine & Cheese

Exclusive Barefoot Wines

5pm - 9pm

Enjoy Complementary Wellness Exhibits

and Pampering Treatments.

Receive a Gift Swag Bag Value over $150

Limited Space

204 415 3159

390K Provencher Blvd

(Des Meurons & Provencher by the subway)

Jessica LoRusso is the owner of Zealous Medi Spa and has been an avid fan and promoter of Eve Studios.

Women's "Get Your Groove On"

A time and place to dance out your bliss,

just for the fun of it!

7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

(call Kim's cell 797-7933 for late entry)

St. Matthew's Anglican Church

corner of St. Matthew's and Maryland

(side entrance on McGee St.)

basement Assembly Hall

(follow the sound of music)

What to bring:

a suggested donation of $3-$5 for custodial costs

water bottle

comfortable clothing

indoor non-marking shoes or barefoot

Babes-in-arms-or-bellies are welcome.

Expect an opening and closing meditation--

Part of this is about feeding our souls

and meeting the Sacred--whatever you believe that to be.

"Get Your Groove On" is a favorite of Sonya's

Well made

This last week has been a week of hearing about death; a woman that I photographed two months ago passed away last week and then I got a call this week from my parents that a cousin of mine died this week, she was in her mid thirties.

My In laws were here visiting us this last week; first I would really like to dispel a myth that's out there that in laws are bad, I happen to love my in laws and feel blessed to have them in my life. Anyway my father in law suggested we watch a movie and being one who loves watching movies I jumped at the thought. We rented "Expelled - No intelligence allowed" a movie made by Ben Stein. This movie is a must see as it speaks with some of the worlds top scientist and captures their theories as to the origins of life here on earth.

Wow, Rodney is really very random today is he not?? Well the reason that I am hopping around as much as I am is simply that all of this caused me to stop for a few moments and ask some very deep questions; is there enough evidence for intelligent design in our world, my thinking is yes. If your answer is maybe or yes then the next question we have to ask is who may have designed our world or the life within it? This is where it all gets a little on the tricky side; you see this has to followed up by the question does the creator have any expectations of us and if so, what might that be??

The wonderful thing about death is that it makes me ask questions about the opposite - LIFE. A question that I ask when I face the loss of someone is this, am I ready to meet my creator?? Does my creator have any expectations of me?? Am I living up to these expectations??

Generally when I am forced to ask questions like this the answers demand some sort of changes in life; if you have never taken the time to ask these simple questions of yourself take the time before they are motivated by the death of someone you love or worst case scenario you have to ask them live, one on one in the presence of your creator as your demise forces us to ask these questions.

Life is precious, I want to take a moment to wish you the very best in Love, Life and Laughter.

God Bless you.
Rodney

Image Night November 18th

We're putting on an "Image Night" for business women this month. It's a chance to get a new headshot, network a little, and eat yummy food.

Here are the details:

date: Tuesday, November 18th
time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
place: 354 Selkirk Ave. (red door at the side)

cost: $49 plus tax OR
donate: $79 to Alpha House OR

bring: 5 keywords that describe you (creative, trustworthy, friendly...)
wear: clothing that fits your description (solids best)

After your mini-shoot, you will choose your shot, it will be retouched slightly and emailed to you the following day (1 hi-res and 1 low-res). Extra shots are $49 each. We accept cash, cheque, Visa, MasterCard, and debit.

There are only ten spots available, so contact Sonya at 582-8365 or sonya@evestudios.ca as soon as you can! It should be a fun evening...

This morning has started with a bang. I headed over to our studio at 8:30 to get a headshot done. I was reminded why people love having my husband take their photos. It was fun! And in an hour or so, I should get to see them! When I got back, I decided to discard all of the science experiments in my fridge. I would make an amazing researcher...if I just knew what I was growing! After snack-time, it was downstairs to the basement for my Core-Secrets ball workout. I love my videos. They're the only ones I've ever actually enjoyed and been able to stick with. I still haven't done three/week, but I've gone up from just one to two in the average week. I'm looking forward to being stronger and even a bit sculpted. My shoulders and back are the weakest and they get a good work-out.

On the business front, I continue to learn. The good news is, we still have "Dreamscape" available for order, and you can still get it for $300. The bad news is (obviously), that we haven't sold one yet. This is disappointing at first glance, but I thought about it and realized, "Who wants to buy a piece of art that they haven't seen in real life, hanging on a wall in front of them, so that they can connect with it, visualize how it would look in their home or business, and fall in love with it?" Exactly. No one.

To fix that problem, we have one coming into the studio this week. If you come in for a session, you will have the opportunity to see it. If you really want, you can call to make an appointment just to see it! (How can you tell I love it?!) And when we have our celebration of Rod's accomplishments/wrap-up of November promotions beginning of December (date to be confirmed), it will be on display and available for order in time for Christmas.

That's it for now! Have a great Monday!

Promos for November

Here it is (finally). The line-up of promotions for November:

• Week 1 (November 3-7) 50% off Family/Kids Sessions
• Week 2 and 3 (November 10-21) 50% off Eve Sessions
• Week 3 (November 18 only) a business promo details TBA
• Week 4 (November 25 only) Our 2-for-1 Tuesday...Two friends. One hour. $100. And November 29 is shaping up to be some kind of photography seminar...

Please note: Saturdays are not included in the promotions, although there should be availability one Saturday for shooting in November.

More on our Family Week: it's a good time to create a family photo to send out for Christmas, or kids' portraits for Grandma & Grandpa. We have lots of fun places in the studio to use...even a bed, a trampoline, a swing, and a bright red claw-foot tub (complete with bubble bath!)

Don't miss out! Call Rodney today at 221-8413 and find a time that works for you.

Dreamscape on Sale Now

Dreamscape

"Dreamscape" is a prairie cloud study, an expansive sky scape. Moody monochrome blues with sharply contrasted, swirling edges make this a great conversation piece
or simply a point of contemplation.

This image won "Best in Fine Art Category" at the Professional Photographers Association of Canada national print salon. It is part of PPOC's travelling Loan Collection for 2008-2009, a collection of 40 outstanding images chosen from all across Canada for their impact, inspiration, and innovation.

Commenting on this piece, Rodney is extremely grateful. "It was a gift, really. God was the true artist in all of this. I was just privileged to be on the road at the time and stopped to appreciate it."

In celebration of Rodney's recent achievements, we have decided to print a run of limited edition, numbered 24x36 canvases. No more than 12 will be made and will not be available again in this format.

Special pricing is as follows:

first one - $ 300
next two - $ 600
next three - $ 900
next four - $1200 (taxes not included)

We have reserved two to be auctioned for charity. If we sell eight before November 3rd, we will donate half of the proceeds. If we sell all ten before then, we will donate 100% of the proceeds. The charities are two organizations we believe in as they serve those who are most vulnerable.

One is Alpha House, which provides protective living for women leaving abuse. We're just getting to know them and so far are very impressed with the work they do in order to help women get safe shelter and life/career skills. Their new campaign for awareness is called "Live Life Empowered" and is being launched at their Annual Fundraising Dinner on Thursday, November 6th at the Fort Garry Hotel.

The other organization is Siloam Mission and we have been involved with them since before their expansion. They serve as "a connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg's less fortunate", providing meals, emergency shelter, health care, arts expression and employment training for those in need. Their Annual Gala Dinner is being held at the Victoria Inn on Friday, November 7th and will be focusing on their arts program with David Asper speaking.

We expect these to sell fast, so call today: 221-8413 or email studio@evestudios.ca to get yours.

We will keep careful record of when you leave your message, whether it be by phone or email in order to ensure you get the best possible price. Payment must be made at time of order confirmation by credit card or before November 3rd in studio.

Everyone who purchases one of these fine canvas prints will also receive a fact sheet containing a description of the art and a short bio of the artist.

Wow!!

Well last night was the night of the Cancer Care Manitoba "Guardian Angels" banquet. In August I was able to be part of the evening by photographing 9 woman who are cancer survivors, it was so amazing and inspiring to be part of this event and to get to know these women, they are even more beautiful in real life than I could portray in the images. I marvel at the strength that it takes to overcome a foe like cancer and the damage that it does to your body; I was however reminded by the women that it can't steal your spirit.

Thanks ladies for letting me be a part of your story, it was truly an honour!