One Busy Bee

That didn't take very long at all. I did touch base with UrLoved Photography but our schedules weren't working out. As stated in my recap of the Valdez wedding , they are excellent to work with, produce great photos and are quite reliable. However at this time, our schedules didn't work out. They were pretty booked! Get on it, Folks, and book your session with them. So what I did was post an ad on Craigslist for a TFCD (Trade For CD) of images: My time in exchange for a CD of photos, or back then, for prints (TFP). This is how I started modeling back in my early 20s for fun. I didn't start modeling because I thought I was hot stuff or had a unique look. I did it for fun and if something came out of it, great! But it was for the experience and I'm not shy in front of the camera at all. So why the hell not? I did get my photos on the cover of two books, a CD cover for a band, did fashion shows, was an extra in a few music videos (including Michael Jackson's ...

Christmas is just days away. A storm in the Bay Area has passed. Two holiday parties were a success. But these past 18 hours have been a whirlwind for sure. Yesterday evening, after dinner, in our home office discussing the home we are in process of purchasing, holding a gray box from The Shane Company , my boyfriend (wearing a black long sleeved shirt and his Adidas pants with white paint stains from painting the condo earlier this year, and I in jeans, my Toby Keith blue tank top from his Las Vegas “ I Love This Bar ” restaurant, my blue SFSU zipper up sweatshirt, and my brown childhood blanket draped over my lap) got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. “Yeah.” I hugged him tight and kissed him repeatedly. He was shaking and said “I can’t believe you said ‘yes.” I couldn’t stop smiling and crying and saying “I love you.” And I couldn’t help but laugh when I called him my fiancé for the first time. Wow, we’re really engaged! Since we were in the process of negotiati...

I was hired to work a July 2011 wedding in the Santa Clara/San Jose area last month. This was a referral from a fellow WIN colleague I met in our San Mateo training office. We met in the middle at a Starbucks after a discussion over the phone. I obtained as much information I could in terms of their needs and expectations. The wedding ceremony was to be held in a cathedral and for a full Catholic mass in Spanish. This would be my first ceremony in another language. The cathedral they had their eyes on was the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph ’s in San Jose, California. It could be challenging as the Event Planner to get detailed information from some churches. Some will not even release their availability or ballpark ‘donation’ or cost. They usually like to speak directly with the bride or groom. Though it may be deceitful, you may need to pose as either party to get more information. The Basilica was not difficult to deal with and I would have to say they were the most...

To go hand in hand with my “Merry Mass Appeal Giveaway” , I will be attending this workshop with friends and colleagues to kick off 2011. Please let me know if you’re interested in joining us! I personally know these four presenters and have the utmost respect for them. I am looking forward to enjoying this event and learning how to live a healthier life. Since Thanksgiving, I can honestly say that I have not been to the gym regularly, nor eating well. I KNOW I’m not alone. How about you?

I received a referral from a repeat client and great couple regarding a friend of theirs wanting to throw a holiday party the following weekend. In a week’s time and 10 hours of prep time in two days, a successful ’12 Drinks of Xmas’ holiday party came about in a one bedroom, Marina District apartment in San Francisco, with a very small kitchen space for me to prepare,store and heat items. I would estimate about 60 people were in attendance. There were 12 different stations for different drinks, paired up with hot or cold food such as Samosas, Popcorn Chicken, Shrimp Salad, Chips and Salsa, Fruit Salad, Cream Puffs and my favorite, vanilla Belgium waffles pieces drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The hallway was decked out in red, the bedroom in silver and blue with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer playing silently on the small television, the dining room had wine with a cheese, meat and cracker platter. The living room ceiling was wrapped like a present and ...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! If you missed the Black Friday code for a big discount on some great wellness products, here’s your chance to enter to WIN a product to begin using just in time to fulfill that New Year’s Resolution. TheWellnessShot.com will be giving away a month’s worth of MASS APPEAL (a $71.95 value.) Mass Appeal is our muscle-boosting product for men AND women. Just because there’s a ripped guy on the box, don’t think that only men use it. Read below for specifics as seen on TheWellnessShot.com HOW TO ENTER: Answer this question in a comment: What is your New Year’s Resolution and how do you plan on achieving it? Receive an additional entry by following me on Twitter (@bappletree) . Unfollows before this giveaway ends on December 25, 2010 will disqualify the entry earned for the initial follow. Receive TWO additional entries by ReTweeting promo tweets about this giveaway. ***BONUS*** After you’ve entered as instructed above, you’re on Twitter and you follow my fav...