Friday, April 23rd was an awesome day...an amazing day as my teenaged son would say! This past week, I have managed to switch my shift from second to first and it has not been easy. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I wake constantly and therefore most mornings I feel more tired than I did before I went to sleep. I am grouchy and irritable, but I am really trying to get to bed earlier.

Most of my work buddies at the Press are just like me, night owls! I am not sure if they are grouchy and irritable in the morning like me. Office conversations will often include "Last night... I went to sleep at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 a.m." Since we live by deadline, it takes hours to calm down. It's crazy I tell ya, crazy!

Last night, I had another Sleep Study at Middlesex Hospital. Wires, wires everywhere. This will be my third time and I the plan was to sleep part of the night with a CPAP, which I tried and it lasted all of one about one minute.

Oh yah, about my amazing day... I met Ann Sisti, a first grade teacher at Edna C. Stevens School in Cromwell. Ann is the Cromwell Teacher of the Year and boy did I get a kick out of her class! Before I had arrived, the students were divided into groups and assigned to make an Earth Day poster. They were in the middle of presenting their posters when I arrived and I got the biggest kick out of watching these little people talk about recycling and water conservation. At the end of each presentation, Ann would ask the rest of the class to vote using a Ricter Scale, one being the lowest, four the highest. Everyone got a four, but at the end of the final presentation, and using their fingers to vote, the students tried to give the final group a million on the Sisti Ricter Scale. Ahh, to be a first grader again...this is an absolutely cool class, way to go Edna C. Stevens!

Last Thursday night, my husband and I attended the Junior Ring Ceremony at Xavier. Our son Andrew and 143 of his classmates were decked out in their blue blazers, definitely dressed to impress. Following a beautiful mass, each name was called and the boys walked across the stage to receive their ring from Bishop Michael Cote. At the start of the ceremony, they were instructed to pose for a picture with the Bishop.

The only problem, Ted Milardo, from Images Photography of Glastonbury, the school photographer was really only prepared to shoot candids that night. It takes a lot of planning and coordination to shoot 144 pictures consecutively and usually a photographer would bring an assistant to shoot every other. There is a certain amount of time you need between shots for your flash to recycle.

At about half way through the alphabet, Ted's flash ran out of battery power. I saw my son, who happened to be sitting in the front row, make a mad dash to Ted's camera bag to retrieve more batteries. Andrew is a pretty capable shooter and knows the routine.

I decided Ted needed my help, it's what photogs do, most are always willing to help eachother out. So, I headed out to the Jeep to grab my camera equipment and ran back as fast as I could. Completely out of breath, I walked down the side isle and I could see Ted for the most part had things under control. He flagged me over and whispered, " I cover this every year and only shoot candids, I don't think we talked about this." I knew he still needed candids and could not photograph students receiving rings and candids at the same time, so told him, "I got your back!"

Ted and I go way back and is a nice guy! His twin sons, Chris and Dan are the same age as my son and attended Xavier freshmen year. His wife, Lizz is a Mercy grad and some years ago, I helped them out with a prom or two.

Ted, I am so glad I had my camera following the ceremony. If it weren't for the "situation" I would not have had the opportunity to shoot these images of my son and his classmates having fun in St. Joseph's Hall. So here's to you Ted...thank you!

Remember a few weeks ago when the mercury tipped in at 90 degrees, not your typical April weather, right? I had the ultimate warm weather assignment and looked forward to photographing students at Korn School in Durham. A couple of third grade classes have been raising trout with help from two wonderful Durham fishermen. The retired gents from Trout Unlimited are regulars in the Trout in the Classroom program which teaches kids the process of raising trout. Since I am a member of a "catch and release fly fishing family" I was pretty excited!

I could not believe the amount of kids who brought their Flip cameras and other portable video devices to document the event. I took a quick break from shooting to catch these third graders in action. Parents, rest assured, they were all very careful.

I realized the best angle would have been from across the stream, but I really didn't have time to hike around, so my only option was to wade across to the other side.

And then it happened...the chain reaction! Right about now, I bet you're thinking the kids began to take off their shoes ... wrong! This group took one look at me barefoot making a sorry attemptt to walk on a bed of sharp and pointy rocks when all of a sudden about a dozen kids insisted I put my shoes back on. I think they thought I was crazy. Well, I was not about to take on an agry group of third graders and although my feet were wet I managed to get my socks and shoes back on.

One mom actually offered her canvas sneakers to me. Her older daughter Sara and my son Andrew are good friends, but I felt kind of funny sending her home in wet sneakers. And then, it was like a brick hit me. Since my LL Bean suede loafer style shoes were about a half size to big, maybe if they got wet they just might shrink. So, I rolled up my pants, sort of, and crossed the stream this time with my socks and shoes on.

Unfortunately, this drew even more attention but I knew the better image would be better from the other side. I realized about half way across, that if I fell, my camera would also take a dive, but I have been asking the Press for a new camera and this might just work to my advantage either way. Fall, get a new camera, or make it across, get a better image.

Although the water was pretty cold, it was actually refreshing. I got to the other side, found a fairly comfortable position, although the bank was kind of steep and since I was wet, I was getting pretty dirty, I had a grand old time just shooting away!

Quote of the day. “If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” – Jay Maisel

Just thought you should know, I am writing this post while listening to Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole 'IZ' version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

A couple of weeks ago, I walked in to St. Joseph's Hall, the cafeteria at Xavier to photograph Haiti Awareness Night. A slide show depicting graphic images of Haiti was set for a continuous run. The lights in the room were dim and the images were very powerful. I watched them over and over, probably a dozen times while eating a bowl of chicken broth and rice.

On January 2oth, Connecticut schools, public and private, banded together to help the children of Haiti.

From Governor Rell's web site:

“Thousands of Haitian children are suffering because of the devastating earthquake. Some have lost one or both parents. Many have had their homes and schools destroyed and face an uncertain and terrifying future. Schoolchildren in Connecticut have an opportunity to make a difference by supporting efforts that will help rebuild schools and restore hope for the Haitian children. If we can provide some measure of comfort during this terrifying time in their young lives, we should,” Governor Rell said. “They desperately need our help more than ever,” Governor Rell said. “Through their tears and cries, they have to know that there is hope, that the world cares.”

Keigwin Middle School Hearts for Haiti and Xavier Haiti Awareness Night are wonderful examples of children helping children. Connecticut children had already raised well over $50,000 for Haiti.

Do you read the comments people leave on MiddletownPress.com? Why are people so venomous... is it so painful to act civil, so difficult to band together?

I think before you are going to leave a nasty comment, turn on Ole IZ and listen to his version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Seriously....

Check out Ole IZ : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ltAGuuru7Q

Quote for the day -  "Everybody has that thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that's what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw." - Diane Arbus