hey everyone-

As you may or may not know, Mokena school district 159 is in the running for the Pepsi Challenge Grant this month. We are poised to receive $50,000 which would make a huge difference to the schools and help subsidize a percentage of the funding lost through dramatic state cutbacks. Every school district in the state is experiencing loss this year, so it goes without saying that if you're a person who likes to see kids have every opportunity a school and its community can offer, please do what you can to lend your support as these schools reach out to you. It could be one of the best teachable moments these kids will experience - - families, friends and communities working together for a great and important cause - school!

PLEASE help us get this grant by logging on and voting for Mokena 159 everyday. It takes less than a minute. Additionally, the committee has discovered that when groups partner with other groups, the votes and chances of winning drastically increase. So while you're logged on, please take the extra four seconds and vote for all the groups contained in this link. Mokena 159 is 3rd down but all the groups listed here are our partners.

So log on below, register if you're not registered already (it's quick and painless) and vote.

http://pep.si/Mokena3

You can also text your vote for Mokena 159 to Pepsi at 73774 and enter the following codes (must be done w/ separate texts):

100518

and then our partners codes (one at a time):
100857 100216 100511 102340 102320 100505 100847 100843 100506

thank you from the bottom of my heart,
jean

i'm sure gonna miss the guy.

I was eight years old when Richard J. Daley passed away on a cold Tuesday. I was in Kelly Farrey's station wagon riding home from Brownies when Mrs. Farrey told us that Mayor Daley had died. I remember being sad. And how I just knew at once the moment was significant.

It would be years before I would understand that significance, and the scope of Chicago politics. Bilandic and Byrne, Vrdolyak and Epton and Washington. The Council Wars. The Machine.

This past week, I knew it was big. The entire newsroom stopped to listen to the radio as Richard M. announced he would not run for re-election this spring. Surreal and significant. Again.

He was my first assignment as a Sun-Times photographer.

I have never tired of seeing him in action. The happy, cat-who-ate-a-canary Mayor. The red-faced, sputtering Mayor. The guy who is Chicago.

It should be an interesting few months here in the greatest city in the world. Not that it isn't always. Politics keep the paper in business. I like the politics.

Mayor Daley has always kept it interesting. A regular news assignment takes on a sometimes strange and wonderful appeal with him in charge.

Being in his company always made me feel like I was still a Chicagoan, long after I moved to the 'burbs. Like most everyone else, I expected he would be in office until he ceased to exist, just like his dad.

My days might just be a little less interesting without his regular appearance in them. I appreciate what he brought to the city and even more so what he brought to my camera.

Yes, indeed. I will miss the guy.

when the greatest job in the world, isn't.

I had one of those days.

Walking back and forth from Monroe to Balbo along the lake and Columbus for five long hours, dragging my equipment in the blazing hot sun trying my best to cover the Chicago Triathlon. It's an event that I have had the pleasure of participating in as a swimmer in years past.

Don't think I didn't want to dump my gear and hop into the water along with the rest of the swimmers. Instead, I was relegated to the sidelines photographing them.

I logged about five miles walking, I figure.
And not to say it wasn't a wonderful event, because it always has been.

But a crazy jealous streak rose up and turned to resentment as I sweated and hustled and tried to cover an event that spans about 30 miles.

It kinda sucked.

Yes, I do believe I have the best job in the world. And yes, I am eternally grateful for employment. And yes, I do indeed get paid for this.

But next year, I am gonna be the girl hopping in the water.

No doubt.

i'mmm back.

Wow! Long hiatus and I am missing the blogging on photos, the paper and life.

Business is very good for jean lachat photography. I have been doing regular gigs, and this time of year seems to be the best for senior portraits and family portraits, with calls coming in all week long!

The weather is perfect; early evening sun makes outdoor photos beautiful.

My photo love workshops are getting lots of attention, and we have had so much fun. I am really proud of my students for the strides they have made in their personal photography. Check out this photo taken by Dianna Smoljan in my home studio!



I am checking on my daughter's soccer schedule and then will be planning a fall session. We generally meet on Tuesday nights and it's a ball. Check out the details on my FB page:

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=141332561715#!/note.php?note_id=464823125306


On a personal note, I have met a wonderful guy, Rick Mahoney. He entered my life quite quietly and we have been inseparable ever since. He brings a happiness and peace to me and my girls that we have not enjoyed for such a very long time. What a blessing!

I am working on some great projects for my biz, and will be posting them here on a regular basis.

My deal-of-the-day is a contest for Chicago-area brides. You can win an all-inclusive planning service or a wedding planner for your special day. It's free to enter:

http://www.chekie.com/contest


Please tell them I sent you!

Enjoy my favorite season!

me n' betty.

I walk into an Oak Lawn steakhouse last week, where I met up with Michael Sneed, one of my all-time favorite reporters, who was sitting down with Betty Loren-Maltese at a high wooden booth.

Yep. That Betty.

Betty looks at me, smiles, and says, "You look familiar. Have I met you before?

"Were you in prison?"

We both start laughing... not nervous giggles, but big genuine laughter and I am immediately at ease.

I tell her I didn't meet her in prison, but I did chase her down at the courthouse a few times.

For the next hour and a half, I sit as Mike asks questions, Betty answers, and I listen. And laugh. A lot.

Along with being a convicted felon and a former Federal prisoner, she is a real person. Her stories are sincere, highly entertaining and give a real look into what life's been like for the past eight years.

You can read Mike's stories here.

She does a much better job than I ever could at providing insight into this complex public figure.

I don't live in Cicero, and never have. All I knew of Betty is what I have read.

But I now know she has pretty much experienced a hell that she may or may not have deserved. She's a devoted mom, and has a wonderful sense of humor.

She's real, like it or not.

She looks good, and like many other women I know, she's trying to put her life back together to resemble "normal."

The interview was fascinating. During it, I tried to capture her personality in the few minutes of shooting I was able to have. I think it worked.

I am aligned.

That is according to Dr. Kickass.

He told me that a few weeks ago.

I believe him.

After a several long, and sometimes painful and frightening weeks where I just wasn't totally sure I would ever feel right again, I feel really great.

I am energized. I am confident. I am healthy. And it feels that way inside and out.

The weather has had everything to do with it. It is easy to face a day when you are greeted by the 6AM chorus resting in trees that are on the verge of turning pink, white and red for the spring.

One by one, my doctors have said, "See you later, alligator." Or at least, "I don't need to see you for a year."

I had a lot of time to practice gratitude when I was home watching Oprah and The View and contemplating my next moves in life.

Once I was ready to head back to reality, I was truly ready.

I've had quite an amazing six weeks post-sick time.

An aardvark CT. Two massively huge front pages. A walk with Jesus. An invitation for cocktails from Betty Loren Maltese. The fans at the Sox opener.

Life doesn't get any better.

And in the center of it all, the Easter season. A time of renewal and hope and an assurance that life indeed is not meant to be handled alone.

I could say it's a coincidence that so many pieces are falling back into place for me.

But I know differently.

His plan is infinitely more exquisite and exciting than I could ever imagine.

And I am good to go.

sacrificing.

I was thinking about Lenten sacrifices I talked about last night with friends.

I was reminded about something from way back in my CCD days, where I was told that the sacrifices are meant to assist in remembering Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. Not to punish, or to make us crabby, or to break us down, but to actually have an acute awareness of what Jesus did for each one of us!

I admire the intent to honor that during the Lenten season, especially as we approach Easter. I think that we can also achieve that same connection by working on exactly what PT talked about for the past month... our personal "junk," addictions, and character flaws that do not honor God.

Maybe make a commitment to NOT beating yourself up for the next few weeks. To talk nicely to yourself. To concentrate on not being nasty to someone in your life you don't like, but absolutely have to get along with!

To get the exercise your body needs.

To nourish your spirit by reading the Bible each day.

I read Hebrews 13 this morning, and before even opening the book, I prayed for some strength in my spirit and soul because I have been weak physically and emotionally this week.

To put it mildly, I got an earful!!!

I thought it might help my "Grace" friends, and anyone who is struggling with junk, like me.

And I would just like to share it with those I love.

spinning.

It freaks me out, but happens so often, it's impossible to ignore.

Dr. Kickass and Pastor Tim were reading from the same manual this week.

Dealing with my junk. Thinking I can handle everything on my own.

KA called it "sitting and spinning."
PT called it the "spin cycle."

Either way, the cycle of spinning on something that is not healthy for you, or not right in the eyes of God detracts from the life that was truly meant for you.

I spin a lot. About all sorts of things, none of which make me particularly proud or content. I argued this week that slowing down the spin was progress. The good doctor begged to differ.

PT said that when you regularly and systematically engage in anything that goes against God and runs your life... any addiction at all... it sucks your time, your energy and your spirit dry.

So this week, as I find myself with extra time to slow down, relax and contemplate, I am taking their words to heart, and turning to the one place that can and will respond.

Help.

this is the year.

I feel a huge wave of change ahead.

I am not even sure of what all will happen. But I am certain it's going to be big.

The year is off to a great start. I've reconnected with old friends and met some new ones. There's the occasional running, which clears my head and strengthens my body. I finally can breathe outward about many challenges that consumed way too much time and energy in my life. I have new challenges that all fall in the W column, regardless of the outcome.

I haven't felt this positive in a very long time.

And the weirdest thing about all this is I am actually seeing opportunities as they arrive. They are numerous and crystal clear.

I'm not looking at them, fuzzy and out of focus, in a rear-view mirror. I'm not spending time second-guessing and worrying about which path to take.

I am doing.

Really, really wonderful things happen when you are able to open you eyes, your ears, your mind and your heart. When you ask God to make the path clear so that you know where you are headed.

I don't expect that this year will be free of roadblocks both small and large.

But I finally feel free to know that it will be all good. In good time.

the love project.

1 Corinthians 13

"1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails."

Visit www.1C13.org for a project that takes 14 weeks to complete.

The project's creator, a friend of PT's daughter, is a new believer who is absorbing the Bible for the first time. He decided to put faith into action by concentrating on one aspect of love from Corinthians 1:13 each week for 14 weeks. Parkview is encouraging us to do the same: making God the center of your world and experience His immense love for each of us.

I think this is a wonderful project. It takes a concept and breaks it down into pieces that are relative and do-able. It's a tangible way to experience the intangible.

It's patience week this week. If you are anything like me, opportunities to practice patience are abound.

But most importantly, I have to have patience with God. Part of living a full life is surrendering the control you think you have over your life (you really have none) and passing it on to the guy who has the roadmap. His travel plans may be different than mine.

I want to accept that.

Patience.