The Real Blackberry

My little blackberry honey-hole is ripening up!!

and one for the road...

Happy Monday!

Trevor & Ashley - Sneak Peek

Yesterday was a photographer’s d.r.e.a.m. day. Bright over cast sky, beautiful bride, handsome groom, and a wicked fun, and I mean F-U-N wedding party!!! I have only just begun going through the hundreds of images from their day, but here are a few that immediately caught my eye.

Congratulations Trevor & Ashley and thank you for letting me capture your day.

Wedding Prep

Gearing up for the Davis Goforth wedding tomorrow!

THAT 1st Time Mom

One of my best friends in the entire world delivered a bouncing baby boy two days ago.  Yesterday I left work early and couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough to see her and meet him for the very first time. During my 20 minute drive I engaged myself in a little pep talk that went a little something like this… “Amy you are not going to leave there thinking you are going to want another baby, you’re NOT! But if I was to get pregnant now, they would be almost two years apart. You can’t have another baby right now, my lord, think about it. Baby E is eating real-people food now, and I don’t have to buy her formula anymore, I don’t care how cute he is, how good he smells, how adorable this little fingers and toes will be, you are not having another one right now”. Yeah, this went on for 20 minutes…


Once I got to the hospital and saw him for the first time, he was everything I knew he would be. Perfect! He had a perfect little round head, precious little hands and feet, and when you picked him up, his little legs curled under his body making him into this teeny tiny ball of human. And then I got a flash back!!

Flash backs of being totally and completely clueless, questioning my every decision and move! To give a pacifier or not to give a pacifier (trust me, that was a HUGE source of anxiety for me), the late nights, will she sleep for two hours or four, do I wake her up if she sleeps longer than four? Should I take a shower now, or wait till someone can come over and watch her? I had an orange for breakfast do you think it was too acidic and that is why she keeps spitting up (I breast fed)? Is it against the law to let you baby sleep in a swing? What if it is the ONLY place she will nap? She doesn’t like to cuddle, does that mean I am not nurturing her enough… I will stop there as I can feel my face getting red and my body starting to shake. Trust me; I was THAT 1st time Mom…

Everyone says that the second one is ‘so much easier’, labor wise and Mommy wise; as in you sort of have an idea what to expect and what you are doing, and I buy into that to a degree. During my Mommy journey thus far, I have found it to be the most rewarding, challenging, empowering, helpless, heart-warming, heart-wrenching, independent, dependent, assuring, and confusing adventure I have ever been on. And maybe with our next one that journey will have more pavement and less potholes, but I just don’t think we are ready for that next trip quite yet,  we are just having way too much fun with the one we are on right now.

And because posts are better with pictures, here are some pictures I found the other day of my baby nephew who is now two and half, boy how fast time flies.

 
 
“Pssst, But Amy I think you are ready for that next one" – there is that damn voice again…

The Turner Clan

Sunday I had fun shooting some busy little bodies. Trying to coheres a 2 ½ year old, a 16 month old, and a 1 month old into sitting in one location and look in the same direction can be a challenge! Luckily, I had a lot of help from two Mommies and one Meme.


Here are a few of my favorites!

Walk With Me

A while ago one of my favorite bloggers, Carolina Ellis from The Muse of the Day, created a post she called “Walk With Me”, check it out. The post was simple and sweet, Carolina brought her camera along for a walk around her property and documented what she saw. This post inspired me to bring along my camera the next time baby E and I went for a walk. I was amazed at what you can see when you are looking! In the next few photos, I invite you to sit back and take a Walk With Me.

Walk with me past the water where boats nestled in their lifts enjoy a much needed rest Monday- Friday

Old trees which have served as an Insect Diner to Woodpeckers summer after summer after summer...

A bush of blackberries, (note to self: location of these berries of deliciousness)

Camps, I would sacrifice my right pinkie for, sit abandoned 51 weeks out of the year

Sand barrels, placed here decades ago now sit rusted and rotting into the soil

I tried to get a closer look at the advertising on the barrel to see if I could find a date, then I remembered it has been a while since I had a tetanus shot and moved along

During our one mile walk I saw many things I have never noticed before, some ancient, some products of natures beauty, but my favorite sight was with me the entire time.

Happy Sunday!

Headbands

I have been feeling crafty lately. I have all these ideas that are brewing, but for some reason the only place they are percolating is in my head.  Actually, I know exactly why they aren't pouring out , it's called T.I.M.E., as in I don't have enough. Between working a full-time job, trying to be the best Mom and wife I can be, there is just not enough time in the day to do all that my brain wants me to do. So I have decided to create a little notebook where I will jot down ideas and when I get a spare moment or two, I will work on one.

Today, was one of those days where I was able to bring one of those ideas to life! A while ago, I saw this cute as a button, little girl wearing a flowered headband. It was a simple headband, with artificial flowers attached to the side. The first two words that popped in my head were 1) SO 2) CUTE, immediately followed by, "I could make those!".  So today, on my lunch break, I drove down to A.C. Moore and purchased some materials.

Not knowing exactly what to buy, I browsed the store and ended up with a three bundles of headbands, one bundle having a thicker width than the others (I was thinking I could wrap these ones with ribbon), hence the ribbon, rhinestone brads, fabric glue, and a package of pre-cut flowers. (notice the clearance tags; since this is my first run, I decided to buy cheap in preparation of frustration and never wanting to do this again).

As soon as I got home, I dumped everything out on the table and let the creative juices flow:

It started with one flower:

Not too bad, so one flower turned into three flowers:

And three flowers turned into a lot of flowers:

So then I tried adhering a few of my favorite flowers to a headband. I selected one of the thinnest headbands hoping I could wrap the brad around the band, but the band was still a little too thick, but I was able to make it work for one picture.

Not bad for my first try. I have some kinks to work out, but I think some of my favorite little nieces and cousins will be getting a few adorable little headbands for Christmas.

You Big Dip - Why thank you, thank you very much!

Dip. Wikipedia offers five definitions of the word:

• Dip (Catalan myth), an evil demonic dog that drinks people's blood
• Dip (dance move), a partner dance move
• Dip (mistake), an act of clumsiness
• Dip (exercise), a type of strength training exercise
• Dip (food), a type of sauce into which food is dipped

Although all fascinating, I prefer the last definition, the kind you eat.

I love a good dip; mix anything with a block of cream cheese, tub of sour cream, or jar of mayonnaise - I will dip a chip and eat it. A while ago at work we hosted a Dip Off! The rules were pretty simple, bring in your favorite dip (homemade), something to dip in it, people would partake in the dippage, anonymously vote for their favorite and the connoisseur behind the winning recipe would be crowned “The Big Dip”. This was one occasion where people were competing to be called a “Dip”.

Well me, a self-certified Dipaholic, thought I had it in the bag, having prepared a scrup-dil-i-oso BLT dip, was devastated when the “The Big Dip” award went to a co-worker for his Buffalo Chicken Dip – wtf!?!

Yeah, I was disappointed, but I have to admit it was gooooood. I love to share a good recipe, so I am posting the recipe for the buffalo chicken dip which is guaranteed to be a hit at your next football party, nascar party, birthday party, pitty party – what ever.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 2 (10 ounce) cans of chunk chicken, drained
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup hot sauce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in softened cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, stir until melted together. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and place in the microwave (or oven) until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or celery.

And because I thought of these while typing this post, I offer you Three Reasons you may be a Dipaholic:

1) You ask your husband if he wants to get “Frito Laid”
2) You name your daughter Salsa
3) You dip a raw vegetable and eat it

(Side Note: who knew Dip was a mythological evil demonic dog that drank human blood – yikes!)

Happy Wednesday!

2010 Flower Garden

It is a gloomy Saturday here in Maine; over cast skies, huuuumid with periods of thunder accompanied by torrential down pours. But before the rain came and washed out my driveway (again), I took advantage of the amazing light outside and photographed some of my flowers. Next to BBQ's and boat rides, flowers are one of my favorite parts of summer.

I know this is not a flower, but this has to be the coolest picture of a pea pod ~Ever~

Three Reasons...

I write this in hopes of getting the word out on appropriate summer/age clothing. You may ask ‘Amy, what credentials do you have to offer in the arena of fashion,’ to which I will respond: I sporadically watch “What Not to Wear”, my subscription to Cosmo ran out years ago, I have never purchased a Vanity Fair magazine, but I have a friend who went to Fashion Week in NYC a couple times... and there you have it!

Although my credentials fall short, you don’t need a PH. D. to know that micro mini-skirts over the age of 30 is pushing it, 35 you are right on the edge, 40 seriously?! NO DON’T DO IT! It doesn’t look good, I don’t care if your husband says you look hot, YOU DON’T, he is only saying that because he wants you to grab him another beer. And if you have grand babies and dare to step off your deck in a mini-skirt AND bikini top to jaunt around public, good luck!

Three reasons you should not wear a micro-mini skirt:

1. Your underwear cover more of your behind than your skirt
2. The back of your legs, look like a road map of Boston (post Big Dig)
3. You have to ask yourself – “Is this too short”

 Let’s move on. There is a lady who I see from time to time who recently lost a bunch of weight, like 40 pounds and looks great! I was standing behind her in the cafeteria the other day and heard her talking with someone about losing the weight and how she was so excited to finally reach her goal she went out and spent an entire paycheck on new clothes... at Deb’s – what?! Deb’s, are you kidding me? She said her and her daughter went and she let her daughter (who is a freshman in high school) pick out a bunch of new clothes for her. The last time I went into Deb’s I was 17 and looking for a prom dress. Perhaps their inventory has matured in the last 11 years, but I doubt it, no I know it hasn’t. Sigh... now I know we don’t have a lot of options around here, but may I suggest Kohl's, Christopher Banks, even Sears. You worked your a$$ off, literally, for 6 months and you reward yourself with some cropped tees and bedazzled capri’s?

 Three reasons you should not shop at Deb’s

1. You have a driver’s license
2. You don’t get carded when buying alcohol at Hannaford (side note: they card everyone!)
3. You still think Barry Gibb is the cutest Bee Gee

Then it got me wondering if she is related to the lady I was behind at Hannaford the other day that had a High School Musical purse. At first I moved my cart to the side anticipating her 8 year old daughter would come running up with the gallon of milk she forgot and then take back her High School Musical purse. So imagine my surprise when the cashier gave her the total and she pulled out her check book!!

Three reasons not to use a High School Musical Purse:

1. Your age is in the double digits
2. You have a check book with real checks that are drawn off a legitimate bank
3. You are doing groceries

Happy Tuesday!

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.

Growing up, the 4th of July always meant camping. Camping with my parents, brothers, and more Aunts, Uncles, and cousins than you could shake a marshmallow stick at. The morning we were to leave my parents would drop us off at daycare and promise to pick us up by noon. I remember us asking our daycare lady a million times, “what time is it?”, “is it noon yet?”, eventually she would get sick of us asking and send us to wait outside (yeah, we had some sketchy daycare ladies). My brothers and I would sit on the lawn, engage in a stare down with the end of the road anxiously waiting for that maroon 1976 Dodge van to pull in the road. Once we saw it, we would hop up, run to the van, open the door and have our seat belts buckled before my Dad could even take his foot off the big foot gas peddle (oh yeah, it had one).


As the years went by, camping wasn’t so cool anymore. Eventually we stopped going with my parents or my parents stopped taking us, I can’t quite remember, and the 4th of July meant driving three hours to OOB to see  fireworks with friends or partying at the home of whoever's parents were camping that weekend (Mom, I swear I never had a 4th of July party at the house).

Then I met my husband and over the years we have developed our own 4th of July tradition. A day or two before or after the 4th, we go to Young’s Lobster Pound and enjoy some of the best seafood Maine’s coast has to offer. On the day of the 4th we partake in the Annual Three-Mile Pond Boat Parade. We, along with dozens of others, decorate our boats, circle the lake and then dock at my parent’s lot where we enjoy a huge BBQ with more family and friends than plastic surgery incisions on Heidi Montag's face.

I wonder if everyone has a 4th of July tradition. If you don’t, I challenge you to create one this year. Whether it is making flag pancakes for your kids, going to see fireworks, or just blaring R.O.C.K in the U.S.A. by John Cougar Mellencamp on your ipod as loud as you can – start a tradition this year!

July 4th has always been and still is my favorite day of the year. Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July Everyone!!