a year in review...

Well, I guess it's the time of year to look back on all of my 2008 shenanigans!

Let's see...

- Spent a month in Australia with friends

(Ben, me, Sarah, Irwin the koala bear, Katie, Jaime - check out my awesome sunburned face, it was early on in the trip...)

(rafting on the Tully river)

(note the huge hat to shield my sunburned face, haha)

- Immediately followed by 12 days in New Zealand

(on our way to Paradise - we saw it on the map and thought it was a good idea... and that van is way more comfortable than it looks - I should know, Heidi and I slept in it one night when we didn't like the looks of a hostel in Dunedin!)

(...and that would be Paradise)

- Turned 25 (quarter century, watch out!)

- Went to Vegas for WPPI, where I got a free upgrade to a pretty huge (nearly 2,000 sq ft) room

- Went to Berkeley for a photography workshop, then spent some time in San Francisco and Napa Valley

- Vermont/NYC trip w/ TJ for a wedding

(mmmm, trash in times square)

(yeah this is on top of the Empire State building, you can see tj in my glasses. It wasn't a well documented trip... lol)

- Suzy came to Oregon for 10 days to shoot weddings w/ me - and get into other trouble on the side :)

(at the rodeo in... oh I can't remember)

- Went to Maui for Kyla & James' wedding, and stuck around for a few days to do touristy things

(Haleakala crater)

(pit stop on the road to Hana)

- Went to Seattle to watch my cousin Danny FINALLY get married ;)

- Spent some time in Austin, TX for Suzy's birthday



- A few shorter camping/coast/Bend/Sunriver trips sprinkled throughout the year

All in all, I was away on trips 82 days (about 12 weeks) of this year. No wonder my mom calls me a gypsy...

Giving is Awesome (better late than never!)

So far 469 photographers nationwide are giving away $499,095 worth of custom photography nationwide thru www.givingisawesome.com - I just checked the map and there isn't anyone representing the Willamette Valley... and someone has to push the total over the half mil mark :)

So without further adieu, the copy/pasted verbage from the site w/ my info thrown in, because I'm just not that eloquent. Most importantly, the winner will be chosen on New Year's Eve instead of Christmas Eve like everyone else, because... I said so. :)

----

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $2550 worth, to be exact. The winner will receive a session with me, a custom-designed album, and the final images on DVD with personal printing rights.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $255 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Oregon. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : kacy@kacyjo.com.

The winner will be announced on New Year's Eve -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

Happy Holidays!

Kacy Jo

Kristin & Matt on Deal or No Deal, Christmas Day!

If your Christmas day festivities have wound down by evening and you need something to do, be sure to check out the Deal or No Deal Christmas special on NBC to see Kristin and Matt, Corvallis locals, try to win the big bucks!

They skipped their honeymoon to shoot the show just a few days after their wedding, so let's hope they at least win enough for an awesome belated honeymoon :)

The 2-hour special starts at 8pm on the 25th and features 2 contestants, they'll be the second half.



The show sent a videographer up to the wedding with strict orders to make them re-enact their vows saying "deal!" instead of "I do," - I'm not sure what it'll look like, but for the record that's not how the actual ceremony went, haha! :)

Snow!

For those of you who aren't in the Northwest, we've been having some snow storms lately... Usually in the Willamette Valley we get a bit here and there, and it melts away pretty fast. Not this time!

These were all taken on Monday -

First I wandered around my neighborhood and successfully froze my face pretty well for an hour or so:

Then my friend Ben convinced a group of us to head up to Mary's Peak for a Christmas tree, which turned into quite the adventure.

Not long into the trip we came across an F350 on HWY 34 that was in a bit of a pickle - The photo would be a lot more dramatic if I had slid my way across the highway for a better angle, but that's a steep 40-foot drop that the front driver's side tire was hanging over (nice work purple truck dude). That'd be my friend Jon's truck behind it, about to pull it out. If I didn't drive a Ford truck myself I would appreciate the Dodge/Ford truck humor in it a little more...

After that debacle, we were off of the highway and headed up the mountain. Not more than 10 minutes in we came across a 4Runner stuck in the snow. Their friends in the Jeep were definitely no help, so Jon got to put his towing skills to work again...

When all was said and done, what we thought would be a 2 hour trip took around 6 hours. I guess buying a tree off of a lot is easier, but it doesn't make that good of a story! :)

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm!

Tanner & Auston w/ Duke

This is what a super-tired, 5-week-old boxer puppy looks like:





This was a quick shoot for my friend's Christmas cards, I think poor Duke was a bit confused as to why he'd been taken away from his nap and thrown into the cold weather! :)