7 months

... from today I'll be in Provence, France taking pictures with a National Geogrphic photographer. Yep... you read that right!!!!!!!!!!!!! National Geographic does expeditions around the world, a handful of them being devoted to photography. And I'm going. In October. 2 weeks before my 30th birthday. And I could NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

God has orchestrated this entire thing and I'm just dumbfounded. A couple of months ago I got online to do a search to see if there was any way that I could work with a photographer in France. I know, it's a broad search, but I was curious. I was thinking the newer version of the movie Sabrina and was willing to do anything - including grab belts for the models in the shoot. Of course I would know what a "centure" was so I'd be able to pick out the belt :) Anyway, I digress...

This past Sunday as I was flying home from an Upward Leadership Training Conference in Toronto, I was flipping through the February issue (even though it was already March) of Delta's Sky Magazine to find the feature article, She'll Always Have Paris. This is where I "met" Catherine Karnow for the first time. I was in love with her work and with her job.

On Tuesday, I had decided earlier in the day that with my 30th birthday looming just 7 short months away that I was going to take a trip to the south of France with a bag of clothes and my camera. I'm a big girl, I can totally do a trip like that!

Well, I had some time after work on Tuesday so, I looked Catherine Karnow up online and found that she does one-day workshops about travel photography. PERFECT! That's what I need! Well, after a few more clicks and a little more surfing... I landed on National Geographic's homepage and that's when I discovered that they conduct Photography Expeditions around the world. Seriously? And do I see... no way. Is that a picture of... wait a minute! That's Provence. That's a photographer's dream. Did I just fall into a dream? For real? Please, pinch me.

Well, I see the cost of THIS excursion and realize that I don't have that kind of money just laying around in the bank. But, I call my mom to tell her about this amazing trip I had found. I was grinning like a fool... I had to tell someone about this!! So, she looks it up online and is as amazed as I was. I mean, wow. Just wow. So, we get off the phone and I go and meet my cousin for dinner to celebrate her birthday. When I get in the car, I return the voicemail my mom had left and the conversation went like this:

Mom: are you sitting down?
Me: Well, I'm driving home, so yes.
Mom: You may want to pull over.
Me: Why?
Mom: You're [family] is going to send you on that trip for your birthday.
Me: OH! MY! GOSH! OHMYGOSH!!!! HOLY COW! OHMYGOSH! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?

This went on for about 5 minutes. I seriously had no other words. God is so good and I can't believe the things He is laying in place for stuff like this to happen. I'm SSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited.

No one is going to be able to stand me for the next 7 months... ;) WOOHOO!!!!!