Michelle is the Bride!

I love to shoot people with my camera. My absolute favorite subject is a bride in love. They just sparkle. I'm not so old that I don't remember those giddy feelings, when the future is so bright and unknown. My second favorite subject is the groom who loves his bride. Here are some pictures, tell me what you think....

When shooting brides, it's the most fun when you use the appropriate props, like flowers and shoes, and veils and good sense of adventure.

Yes, a bride and groom that are so happy to be together are the absolute most fun to "shoot".

Congratulations!!! Michelle and Matt!!! And you want to know what makes Michelle one of my most absolute favorite brides? She interrupted my work-out when she came to pick up her proofs. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ;D

Consistancy

So as part of http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/ 's writing prompt, I'm writing about what I miss most about the school year. What I miss most is the consistancy. I miss having my house to myself for 7 hours a day. I miss early bed times so I can still have moments in the late evening to accomplish something. I'd love to say I miss the smell of paper and the chore of vacuuming up eraser shavings but it's just not so.

I miss the sweetness of this 5 year old who was so anxious to be old enough to go to school all day. He was much easier to entertain, he ate less and hugged more.

I miss a floor littered with legos, the kind that you step on in the night and want to say bad words.

I miss being young enough to be his mother, because after all if he ages, don't I? When I have to think about another school year, and homemade lunches and homework and schedules, I guess I also miss a house full of children getting ready for school, now that I'm down to just one. Aaah, but those 7 quiet hours are calling my name. What about you?

Arrgh! Computer illiteracy bites...

Okay, I really do have value. If your heart stops I know what to do. (It's not look the other way, or call for help). But my self-esteem plummets everytime I attempt to think outside the box while sitting at the computer. See I have this grand idea to combine all of my blogs about my adventures at sea and put them behind a single tab so they are easier to locate. In case, any of you just want to get to know the ship better and are not really interested in my daily rants.
Enter my friend, Melissa. Check out her blog at http://www.melissajcunningham.blogspot.com/. She is soon to be a famous write so get to know her now so you can say you knew her before she was famous. In any case, she helped me create some pages and adjust the widths and in general begin a makeover of my current blog.
Then guess what I found out? A page is static, you can't add to it, once you create it it sits there and grows cobwebs until you delete and replace it. Not the perfect storage area for my 28 days at sea.
So all you amazing I.T. people out there need to help me out. It will be a fair trade, if your heart stops I'll do my best to get it started again.
And while we are on the topic of changes, what do you think about the whole playlist thing? Has it served it's purpose? Do you have your own music you would rather listen to while checking out my blog? Do you want me to change the playlist? Don't be shy, let me know how you really feel.
Change is inevitable, you can't hide from it, fight it or prevent it. Let's make this a good change.

Excuse me, while I go check out some bright and shiny things.

Pictures and more....

Remember my groom who took a header during our photo session, well here he is with his bride to be after a little touch-up work in photoshop. I'm apologizing for my lack of posts in recent weeks. I'm a firm believer that I can either blog about my life or have a life. I haven't quite figured out how to do both.

What I really love to do is take pictures. It's so easy to make already great looking people look even better.

I'm not quite sure what our motivation was to include these cows. But after they went to so much trouble to form a line, they were just irresistable. If we tack on corsages and boutineers they would look like the bride and grooms attendants. The perfect picture is the one that evokes the memory. I think Matt and Michelle will always remember the day we played at the barn.

It's common now for many of the couples to create their own photo announcements. Request that your photographer take a few shots with you off to the side to allow for words etc. Almost everyone has an uncle, cousin, friend who is well versed in photoshop so creating an announcement that says exactly what you want it to say is no trouble at all.

Congratulations Michelle and Matt!!!

I live in this AMAZING place....

I feel really blessed to call Pleasant View my home. My home is nestled in at the foot of Ben Lomond, I have amazing views (thus the name) and even more amazing neighbors. I've captured some images from our recent 4th of July parade. We appreciate the simple, basic joys in our lives....

This parade was a combined effort with the cities of North Ogden, and Harrisville. Only here can you sit on the back of a 67 Bonneville convertible and wave just because you have a pretty smile. No tiara or sash required.

We all show up in our festive red, white and blue and wave. Even when we don't have any idea who we are waving at.

And sometimes when we do. The parade route is lined with children and adults, the children hopeful for the candy that is tossed and the adults because they are hopeful the children will share.

It may appear that we lack for other entertainment options. Being a small town and all. We make up for the small town part with our big hearts. We really enjoy it here. So if you yearn for simpler times, troll the neighborhoods you are bound to find someone to share a little front porch sittin' with.

It doesn't get anymore Americana than this.

10 TV shows that should make a comeback...

I'm following the writing prompts from http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/. Check out all the other opinions there. First off, let me report that I think this may be a sneaky way to identify just how old I am, as a couple of my favorites are in black and white.
1) I dream of Jeannie. Remember when her exposed midriff was the major scandal on television? I just love that she didn't have to have a six pack to pull that look off. Can we bring back that fashion statement? And can we return to covering up our bodies just a little bit? Really, there are NOT that many people who can pull off a thong in public, I'm just saying.
2) Gilligan's Island. No matter what disaster they faced each week, no matter their education or their money, they just couldn't get off that island. But they were sure positive about it.
3) The A-team. Doesn't everyone root for the under dog? Explosions are always entertaining.
4) Remington Steele; THis is early Pierce Brosnan, the man of mystery. Telling for the time that women were just creating their own space in the work force. And proof positive that they were doing a good job.
5) The Adams Family. This was show that reminded you that odd could be good, could be okay. I think they put the original fun in dysfunctional family.
6) Bewitched; Who can't get behind a woman with other-worldly powers? She was ahead of her time with all the current vampires etc. following in her wake.
7) Wonder Woman. She did have the best accessories. Who can't support a woman wearing spandex, gold bracelets and red boots, especially when she has an invisible airplane?
8) Dukes of Hazzard; This was cheesy and over the top, but such fine entertainment. At a time when all entertainment had to do was be fun. I miss that simpler time when television was still fun and not a political statement.
9) M.A.S.H. It was gritty. It made fun of things that weren't really funny. It created a family atmosphere from all the displaced people serving in a war. But what I miss most about M.A.S.H. is hearing my father's laughter with each episode.
10) Gilmore Girls; It's all about the memories. I watched all the seasons with my daughters who are now grown and busy with their own lives.
And the best part about bringing back these television shows? Maybe, I'd get my 25 inch waist and 14 inch thighs back at the same time. I'm so much thinner, taller and prettier in my own re-runs as well. What about you? Do you have a favorite show that should make a come-back?

Happy 4th of July.....

I'd like to take this opportunity to post some of my most patriotic photographs and thoughts. As you may or may not know I'm an Army brat, my father retired from active duty service when I was in High School. So I grew up the Army way, I traveled, made new friends, experianced a variety of things and then I moved again and again and again. In the process of joining my father overseas when I was in 4th grade I had the opportunity to attend 4 different schools, most of them english speaking. My father served in Viet Nam. I understand sacricfice and independence. I'm wise enough to never take either for granted.

Having recently served alongside the men and women of the armed forces aboard the USNS Comfort, I want to send them a special shout out on this independence day. While currently, they are not serving in any dangerous conflict areas they are all serving away from their families and their loved ones. I'm hoping they have an amazing day and get at least one pat on the back for serving their country.

And I want to take this last moment to recognize that freedom is NOT free. Many have given some and some have give ALL  for the freedoms that I now enjoy. THANK YOU!