BRRRRRR!

Virginia certainly has gotten cold. As of today! We have had a real fall this year with lovely days in the 60s and 70s - it has made what I consider the best time of the year even more optimal! This week the temps plunged to the 50s with a little rain. It feels like actual winter. I even wore socks to bed one night, which I never do! I think they are Michael's - maybe hunting socks? They are a little hideous, but I love them!

One week down - many to go...

Yesterday marked one week since Michael sailed away for his first deployment in the 2 and almost a half years that we have been dating. It's a short "cruise" as the Navy so breezily refers to it. Just takin' a cruise in a dangerous far away place away from loved ones and the comfort of anything for an approximately 3 month period. It is no fun for us at home, but of course this is why we appreciate our military men and women so much because it's not at all breezy and it is just that sacrificial. And I might add that I am being kind of a winey heiny since Michael's deployment is a relatively short one.

Before he left our families - my parents and his parents - got to go out on the pier and check out his ship which was both really cool, and also really helpful to have a mental image of where he is day in and day out. Here are a few little pics. We showed up on the pier at the most convenient time of day, light-wise! (I didn't spruce these pics up at all and they are a little dark - my apologies).

Normally my weeks fly by with my busy job and schedule, but this one really felt so long without my nightly call from Michael and my one and only weekend date:(. I cannot wait til he comes home!!!!

I am a notoriously negligent blogger, but posting pics here are easier for Michael (and anyone else reading to see) rather than sending him them in my nightly email where they take up a lot of space. Also, if you have any interest in contacting Michael, please let me know, and I will send you his contact information by email. Any prayers, greetings or words of well-wishing will surely bring a smile to his face!

Wedding Season!!!

Ok not really - but it seems that way this year! Two weeks ago, I attended and photographed my second cousin Josh's wedding to his new wife Ashlee. I think that went pretty well, but I am still learning! Here are a few sneak peaks:

In October one of my oldest friends Steven is getting married, as is a good friend Amy. November will bring THREE weddings - my dear friend Melanie (whose I am coordinating), my youngest cousin Kelly (photographing), and another wedding that I am photographing (first non-family client) for Bryanne!

I LOVE weddings!! All the many beautiful details involved is what gets me, and the more creative you can be the better! If I hear that anyone is getting married I start itching to get involved. I read the blogs obsessively. Each issue of Martha Stewart Weddings speaks to me from the grocery store shelf, and I buy it, each time!

Can you imagine what I will be like when I get to actually plan my own!?! Poor Michael :)

Reprising the blog! And other updates on life...

It is an obvious fact that I am a neglectful, non-committal blogger - maybe a non-blogger is better! I started one because Melissa started one, and then I never really committed.

Michael will be sent away to sail the high seas in another month, and while away he cannot check any personal email, no Facebook, no Myspace. He can however check my blog link! So I will be posting random life adventures and photos on here for his enjoyment (and others as well). I so admire my friend and diligent blogger Devon for her regular blog posting - thanks for the inspiration Devon!

In other news it seems that this Fall is wedding season (normally reserved for the Spring of the year). This past weekend I attended my second cousin Josh's wedding. They asked me to do the photography since I dabble in it on the side. It was my first wedding, and it was soooo much fun! I posted some sneak peeks on Facebook, but with over a thousand photos it will be awhile before I process them all. I appreciated them letting me help out. My youngest cousin Kelly is getting hitched in a little less than 3 months. She has asked me to help out with engagement photos and covering her November wedding. She picked an awesome locale - I am so excited. I am attending two additional weddings in October and one in November. Phew - so busy, but I am glad since Michael will be away.

Lastly, I seem to be having vicious sinus issues. I am trying to decide at what point to go see a doc...

worst ... blogger ... EVER

i am so busy that i never blog anymore, ever.

since it crossed my mind enough to post this, i may just write a real post sometime maybe soon.

maybe.

Check me out!

I got my first haircut, and now look somewhat (but not too much) like my smoothie sisters!

Top Gun

What a great movie! Oh to go back in time when Tom Cruise was hot and sane! I honestly had forgotten how wonderful it was until it came on Bravo Sunday night and tonight. I watched both nights. Props to the Bravo network for continuing to be wonderful with their programming choices.

A couple of observations about the movie (based solely on my own opinions of course):

• Tom Cruise is at his best. He looks great, and I love a man in uniform, so that probably helps. He makes riding a motorcycle without a helmet look ok. His arrogance is delish! I honestly think he's been on a downhill slide ever since.


• Kelly McGillis was a strange choice for the female lead. I think she's very unnattractive, but yet I can't think of who would be a better fit.


• So many elements of a great drama - love, death, sadness, some comedy.


• "Take My Breath Away" - enough said.

It has been 23 years since its release - can you believe that? If you haven't seen the film in awhile, I recommend you revisit it.

A Breed to Michael's Liking

While not my favorite breed, I have slowly come around to the idea of a beagle. It is Michael's favorite, which can simply be explained by telling you that they use them to hunt. Michael is an avid hunter, and they use beagles to "run the deer," or rather scare the bejesus out of them so they run and can then be shot - lovely huh?

Besides their gift for tracking prey, they are also known for their "even temper, and lack of inherited health problems" - yay! Good family dogs as well.

I have come around to the idea of them because they are undeniably cute! I found this pic on one of the best websites ever: http://www.dailypuppy.com/. I want this little girl!

Sigh

Just looking at the Westie picture in the post below makes me wistful.

I think I am going to get one in the not too distant future!

Breed of the Whenever I Feel Like It!

To be honest, I do not have the time, or the will for that matter, for this blog. But, I am not a quitter, so I shall try to carry on. I am making no promises on either timeliness or quality of work.

So anyhow, I love doggies a lot. I remind Michael of this daily, whether talking incessantly about my parent's brood or cooing over every one that crosses my path. (He LOVES this, trust me ;]).

Don't get me wrong, he likes dogs too, but probably how a normal person likes them. Not like my family who treat them like little people.

After dachsies, I have always been intrigued by these little fellas:

The West Highland White Terrier, or Westies. I have loved them even before they starred in the Cesar dog food commercial! I want to know someone who owns one, so I can play with it. I have seen one in passing before, and it was the most delightful little doggie - breathtaking really. The moment is seered into my memory. The fact that Vanessa's gay neighborman was walking the dog does not help support my case in obtaining a Westie, so I have left that part out when sharing with Michael. (Now let's see if he reads my blog!)

I hear they are headstrong and need lots of discipline, which makes me wonder if they would be the dog for me. Could you really tell that little face no??

Just Because

I always thought I was a really nice person, until I met Michael. My boyfriend is the most generous and genuine person I have ever met, and if you have ever met him, you would immediately know it too. So I am still nice, but nothing approaching how he is.

Case in point. This weekend I was visiting him in Virginia Beach, and he complimented my shirt, almost as if he had never seen it before. Offhandedly I thanked him and said to myself, "He doesn't even remember that he was with me when I bought it." In fact, he picked it out!! Then he says but I think it would look better with a necklace or something. So out of his pocket comes this!

Oh he was so cute and so very pleased with himself! I thought he did a great job. Then he says something like, and "I think you need this to go with it!"

This is the only time I have ever received jewelry from a man except for the wonderful string of pearls my dad gave me for my 21st birthday.So needless to say this was very exciting. And what might you ask, was the occasion? Just because! :)

Beatle/RockBand Mania

I heard the exciting news the other day that Rock Band is coming out with a new edition featuring the ENTIRE Beatles catalogue "before the end of 2009!" This takes my new found Guitar Hero talent to other worldly levels - so excited! Michael and I will surely be adding to our, well his, 2 guitar collection so that we can rock out to Abbey Road!

Beautiful Blue Lamps!

When I make a purchase that is not on sale (this is rare), it has got to be something that I LOVE. I was perusing Pier 1 right at about Christmas time and I found this gorgeous blue silk shade lamp - and I paid full price for it. Is $60 too much for a lamp? I didn't think so but then Michael told me he paid 12 bucks for the one on his nightstand - oh well! I loved this lamp so much that I then dragged my good friend Kate to another Pier 1 in Richmond to pick up the other one that I had called around searching for.

So now I have one on each side of my bed. The color French blue, the drum shape of the lamp shade, the silver shiny bubbly contour of the base - oh they are great! My problem is, the bed doesn't have a headboard so something must go on the wall between the lamp shades. I was thinking two small shelves, side by side with fun things on them? Or 3 matching picture frames with different photos? I just don't know - suggestions please!

Breed of the Week!

If you know me at all, you know that I love puppies more than most other things in the world. Hence, the Breed of the Week post! For the first post of it's kind, I am featuring - what else? The Dachshund! The dogbreedinfo.com website lists them as "Lively and affectionate; proud, bold, and clownish. Curious and clever, can appear to be mischievous."

Our family loves dachshunds - my mother grew up with them, and then my parents adopted their oldest Tina from my mother's mother. Their brood has now stretched to 3 with the addition of Lola who we adopted as a puppy, and Hannah who we rescued as a stray. They are full of personality, each with their own distinct one. See their portraits below.

Blog Envy, and the Weekend.

I have blog-envy. All of my friends have an interesting reason why they have a blog - they have children, or they live in an exotic locale. I don't really have a great reason but so be it. Also, Melissa's blogs have really fun creative names, so I am going to work towards that as well.

This weekend was completely full, as most are. Friday began with work running until 8:30 PM. A friend at work at his first art show at First Friday's in Richmond, and I was so sad to miss it! Michael and I tried this new BBQ spot called Sibley's in Chester, which we will definitely revisit - we are trying all the local spots, and we have strong opinions of each :). More on that later. Saturday began with manicures and pedicures with Vanessa, momma to be. We had a lovely lunch with her husband's aunt. Then Michael and I attended an engagement party of two good friends and work folks, Melanie and Michael. We spent an evening at a smoky bar to see one of my college friends. It vastly increased my appreciation of the newly signed smoking bill here in Virginia! Sunday was lots of family time. We (being Michael and I) began with church at St. Paul's Episcopalian Church in Petersburg, lunch with my parents and my aunt who was in town, bike riding, and dinner again with my parents. Thats the quick version, with no fun photos! With so many weekends like this we are vowing to take it a little easier:)

Post Numero Uno

I have succumbed to the world of blogging :) My sister's is so much fun, I thought I would try it. I do not fancy myself a fantastic writer, but I will try to update it with lots of pictures, travel stories, and day to day ponderings. That is all I hope to achieve with my blog - if you set the bar low, you can't fail!