Nicole Neff

We’re back from Hawaii, but tomorrow is going to be a big day for me. I’m getting two wisdom teeth removed, so I have to be up early. Really, I should be in bed already. But I wanted to share this picture of me and Tyler at the BE-A-U-TIFUL North Shore in Oahu, Hawaii…

for this in Hawaii. Be jealous. I would be if I were you. ; )

Wed May 21		Partly Cloudy	85°/73°	20 %
Thu May 22		Mostly Sunny	85°/73°	20 %
Fri May 23		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Sat May 24		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Sun May 25		Sunny	86°/74°	20 %
Mon May 26		Mostly Sunny	86°/74°	10 %
Tue May 27		Sunny	86°/74°	10 %
Wed May 28		Mostly Sunny	85°/74°	0 %

Today, I had the honor of photographing a wonderful family from my church, the Moormans. Unfortunately for us, they are moving to the Indy area soon, so this was our last weekend with them since we are leaving for Hawaii for vacation. I offered to do their family portraits for them, so we went down to the riverfront in Newburgh after church. Since it was about 1 p.m. when we took the pictures, the light was very bright and directly overhead; not ideal for pictures or a baby’s sensitive eyes, but we did what we could.

She just laughs and laughs when daddy throws her in the air…

But also loves a gentle kiss from mom.

To Rusty, Rachel and little Claire: you are an amazing family and you will be missed so much. I pray that God will surround you with people who can encourage you and help you raise baby Claire into the wonderful woman I know she’s destined to be.

Last night, Cassidy Hodges and Meridian performed at The Clay Pot in Boonville. It was a great show with a lot of originals as well as some covers thrown in.

Here’s Cassidy singing one of her songs. I’m a big fan of her music, but last night her vocals were dead-on.

Next, Meridian took the stage:

Daniel on bass and vocals; Dane on accoustic rhythm guitar and vocals; BJ on lead guitar, mandolin (emphasis on “man”) and vocals; and my Tyler on drums.

It was such a fun night. Both bands brought something unique and interesting to the show. Unfortunately, it’s Cassidy’s only show of the summer. But Meridian can be seen later this summer at Godstock and Raise the Praise. Check out their MySpace page for the details.

Tuesday night, I spent part of the evening photographing a friend and great musician, Cassidy Hodges. Cassidy is originally from Boonville, but now attends Belmont University where she is with some of the best musicians. She and my husband’s band Meridian have a show tonight, so Cassidy spent Tuesday night practicing and I was there to capture some of it with my camera.

This one just really represents Cassie, in my opinion. As long as I can remember, she’s had these really cool aviator sunglasses, and I’ve also always loved the lyrics of her songs, which she always captures in this book underneath the sunglasses.

This next one is of Lisa Lance, Cassie’s best friend’s mom (didn’t confuse you, did I?). Lisa will be playing the violin in some of Cassie’s songs tonight. I just love the framing of this one with the bow.

I love the depth of field in this image.

Finally, I love how an open shutter can show movement, like this one does while Cassidy is playing the guitar. Cassidy likes to call them ghost hands, I call it cool…

Cassidy and Meridian play tonight at The Clay Pot in Boonville, with Cassidy starting at 7:30 p.m. and Meridian going on about 9.

I should be sleeping, but while it’s still Mother’s Day, I wanted to post a picture of me and my momma.

She came down this weekend to visit me and my sister (who happens to live just one town away) because she said the best gift was to get to spend time with us. That’s just a glimpse of how giving my mom is because truly, we should travel to see her on her big day. She also tried to pay for our lunch today, and that didn’t happen, but also demonstrates her generosity.

Most of all, I’m thankful for the generosity of her love, time, and patience. I wasn’t always an easy kid…I was moody, rebelious, and independent. There were times when I’m sure she wanted to give up on me, but she didn’t.

Mom, thank you for always being there for me, and for making me who I am today. I love you!

As part of our entry to the 500 Festival Mini Marathon, you receive a free ticket to opening day at the Indianapolis 500. I had never been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before (other than the run the previous day) so Jaimie and I decided to head out to the track. We were able to park on the lawn within the track, which I thought was pretty cool. You never know how big that old oval is until a) you run on it for 2.5 miles or b) you try to find your way around it and then figure out how to get back; it ain’t easy!

The opening day is really just rookie day. All of the rookies try to qualify for the actual Indianapolis 500. We sat on the bleachers in absolutely perfect weather just watching these newbies fly around the track. One rookie that Jaimie and I were particularly fond of is Will Power. I kid you not, his name is Will Power (throw your fist in the air and say his name…it’s exhilerating!). Other than having a cool name, apparently he’s pretty good because he posted the fastest times of the day.

We also got up close to some driver whose name we never figured out, so if you know who it is, leave me a comment and let me know:

The Unsers were also there to give a talk and sign autographs. I know they’re a pretty big name in racing, but I could care less. I just thought it would be cool to get a picture of someone famous:

We had a great time just laughing, talking and learning the panning technique for photography (you get a pretty cool effect, especially with the race cars driving so fast!). After that, we went to Carmel to do some shopping. The entire weekend was a great time catching up with an old friend. I have a feeling it won’t be the last time we get together and hang out! (Please excuse my absolutely frizzy hair)

(All of these images taken with a Canon SD 1000 point and shoot)

I’m having a hard time right now and just needed to vent. Tyler was such an amazing support this weekend and did a great job at being so vocal at how proud of me he was for how I did in the Mini Marathon yesterday. More than that, he fit right in with my friend Jaimie and we’ve all had a blast all weekend laughing, watching tv and lounging around.

As great as all of that was, all I can focus on right now is that he left to go back home so he can be at church-band practice and then church. I have to be at work in the Indy office for a couple more days, so I won’t be able to go back home until the middle of this week. It’s so difficult after being married nearly three years to be apart like this. I know I’m being a big baby, but I just feel like a part of me is missing when he’s not around. It was all I could do to not pack up my stuff and go home with him…

Excuse me while I go cry a little…

Today, I ran my first — and probably not last — 500 Festival Mini Marathon. It was the perfect morning for a run…overcast, cool and dry. I ran with my friend Jaimie, who ran it last year. We got up at 5:45 and were out the door by 6:20 a.m. We quickly found parking at the race and then waited in line at the port-o-johns. If you know anything about running, they are a popular place before a race. We weren’t as early as we could have been, so waiting in the lines made us a bit nervous. But luckily, we were able to make it to our corrall just in time for the start.

Tyler went to the start line to wait for us to make our way up. We started in corral K, which took only about 15 minutes to reach the start. It was estimated that corral Z would take 30 minutes to make it to the start, if that tells you anything. Even with 35,000 runners, the race coordinators find a way to make it a very seamless start.

The race was a blast. I’ve run the Evansville Half Marathon twice, but it is nothing like the Mini Marathon. There were people every step of the race cheering us on as well as musical and dance groups entertaining us. I think I was smiling most of the race. I felt good running, but more than that I was having fun. I decided that having fun was going to be the most important factor for me. In the past, I’ve put too much pressure on myself to do well. It was great to have Jaimie there running with me and keep me pumped.

My goal for the race, other than to have fun, was to run it in less than two hours. I’ve not been able to make that goal the past two races, so I was determined. I felt great and was on pace the entire first half. I started to get a side stitch at mile 11, so that was the only time I stopped to walk. I ended up running it off and was able to continue a good pace. I am happy to report that I made my goal and finished with a time of 1:58:44, or a 9:04-mile pace. I finished 494th in my 20-25 age group, 1947 out of women finishers, and 7425 overall.

Thanks to everyone, especially Jaimie, who encouraged me for this race. And a HUUUUGE thanks goes out to Tyler, who came all the way from Evansville just to see me race. Well, really he saw me at the starting line and then wait for over two hours until I made it back. He wins Husband of the Year award for sure.