flowers

I am married to the most considerate, thoughtful, man I know. But, though he is exceedingly generous, he just doesn’t ever think to buy flowers or jewelry. We started dating in the fall of 1970 and got married in the spring of 1974. In all those years he has never, ever sent me flowers. Truly. NEVER! He has never forgotten a birthday or anniversary. He just doesn’t buy flowers – until yesterday, that is. And his first effort at giving me flowers was such a fiasco that I had to photograph them since they are probably the last I’ll ever get.

Valentine’s Day started out like any other – and I didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It was a normal work day, except that I had a doctor’s appointment so I left school at 2:50. As I was walking into my cardiologist’s office, my cell phone rang. It was my coworker, Cindy, calling to tell me I had just received flowers. My first response was, “No, not me . . . really?” And then I wondered who they were from. Cindy, of course, thought they had to be from Rusty, but I told her no, Rusty never sends flowers – ever. So I had her open the card. And sure enough – they were from Rusty. I was SHOCKED – but pleased. But, I was in a quandry. I had the doctor’s appointment – then I had to rush to Pender Pines Nursery to pick up the tree I was giving Rusty for Valentine’s, and there was no time to spare. So, it appeared that I wouldn’t actually see my flowers until Friday. After my appointment, I called home to check messages, but Rusty answered. In the course of our conversation I thanked him for the flowers that I had yet to see. He was surprised to hear that they had been delivered because he had talked to my secretary who told him that they weren’t there yet. She never saw the delivery person since Cindy intercepted him in the hallway. So, Rusty had gone to the florist and picked up another arrangement. Now, the person who has never sent me flowers has not one, but two, arrangements for me. He decided to keep the 2nd arrangement and deliver it to Liberty Commons, the assisted living facility where his mother had lived the last 5 years of her life. Then, he went across town to the college to pick up my flowers. Of course by then there was nobody in our department to let him in my office. He was finally able to locate a security officer who happened to know him, so he retrieved my flowers and personally delivered them to me.

The flowers are gorgeous. And I’m still in shock. This just proves that there can still be surprises after nearly 34 years of marriage!

And about that tree . . . that’s another whole blog article. But let’s suffice it to say that when it took a fork lift and three grown men to get a tree into the truck, I probably should have assumed that Rusty and I would have a little difficulty getting it out!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and were able to spend time with someone you love.

share the love

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching – and that means I’m nearly a month and a half behind in cleaning out my 2007 portrait files. At the beginning of each year, I delete the previous year’s sessions from my hard drive to prepare for a new year. But, I’ve been busy this year and never got it done.

So, I decided to share the love with my 2007 clients. For one week only, your portrait gallery has been reactivated. If you would like to purchase more pictures from your gallery – use the discount code 214 (for February 14 – Valentines Day – get it?) and you will receive a 25% discount on my current portrait prices. This sale applies only to prints – from wallet size to large wall portraits. The sale does not apply to canvas gallery wraps, press printed products, or other merchandise. And, the sale is only for 2007 clients who purchased and paid their minimum order when the gallery was originally posted.

Your username and password are the same as they were when the gallery was originally posted. If you can’t remember, e-mail me and I’ll send it to you. If, for some reason, your gallery doesn’t appear – contact me. I tried to reactivate all the galleries – but may have missed a few. Be sure to share your username and password with anyone who might be interested in ordering prints.

And remember, the sale expires at midnight on Valentine’s Day. As promised, I will retain your files for one year from the date of your session. However, since the files will be deleted from my computer, I will have to charge a $35 fee to reactivate your gallery to place an order.

After you place your order, send your check made out to Elise Beall to the address on the invoice that will be e-mailed to you. I must receive all payments by February 22. On February 23^rd, I will delete all invoices that have not been paid and the sale prices will no longer apply.

And don’t forget to put the discount code 214 on your order! You’ll see the spot for it when you check out.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

mallory + chaz

Meet Mallory.

I’ve known Mallory for quite some time. Her sister, Emily, was one of my students several years ago. And in June, Mallory was Maid-of-Honor is one of my weddings. In August, Mallory became one of my students. And poor thing, I call her Emily about half the time. She and Emily are NOTHING alike – other than they are both a pleasure to know. But since I knew Emily first, Mallory gets called Emily a lot. Thankfully she takes it very well. She just smiles and say, “Mallory.”

When Mallory got engaged to Chaz, she asked me if I would shoot her wedding. Since I do very few weddings these days, I had to really think about it. But knowing Mallory and Emily, I knew it would be lots of fun and not too stressful, so I agreed. When we discussed her engagement pictures, I asked what she and Chaz enjoyed doing together. She said, “We race.” Hmmm, sounded like a golden opportunity to take some really different pictures – and pictures that would be meaningful to both Mallory and Chaz. When Mallory broached the subject with Chaz – he agreed that it was a great idea. The only problem was weather. As dry as it has been in eastern NC for the past year, it rained on three different days that we scheduled a shoot. But yesterday was gorgeous. Not too cool and very sunny. So, we met at the race track.

I’ll admit I am very ignorant about racing. Other than going to the drag strip in Kinston over 35 years ago when I was dating my husband – and seeing Nascar while flipping through the channels, racing is foreign to me. I didn’t know whether Chaz did stock car racing – or drag racing. I was so surprised when I saw Chaz’s car! It’s a beauty – but all of my ideas went right out the window when I saw it. Luckily, my friend and assistant, Karen, was with me and she helped me think of shots to take.

Notice the 11.8 in the last picture? That’s the date that Chaz and Mallory are getting married. How sweet is that! One of the reasons I really like shooting engagement portraits is that I get the opportunity to get the know my couples before their wedding day. Chaz was so easy to get along with. He moved the car wherever I wanted, got in and out of the car quite a few times, and smiled all afternoon. Now I understand completely why Mallory fell in love with Chaz. And watching them together made me so excited to shoot their wedding.

Here are a few more of Mallory and Chaz.

Karen and I had a great time with Mallory and Chaz – and I learned a little about racing. Enough to make me want to go actually watch Chaz race one day. I want to smell the burning rubber and feel the excitement in the air.

A special thanks to Ronnie Humphrey of Coastal Plains Dragway for allowing us to use the track!