Marianne Elizabeth Photography

Neglect

2010-01-31T19:13:00.001-05:00

I must say that I have been neglecting my blog. It needs to stop! :) Lately, I have been so busy with working that I haven't really had anything exciting to post about. Mom left us and went back to Florida, the snow arrived yesterday, and we have just been hanging out around the house this weekend with Gracie. College football has been over now for a month almost, which is very difficult on Sam, he lives for football! Luckily for him, NASCAR will be starting up here shortly, so he can let those guys driving in circles occupy some of his time.

Friday night we went to a read-a-thon with Gracie at her school. The kids got to wear PJ's and listen to stories, while the parents got to listen about the importance of reading with and to your child. They (they - it is funny I think, because whoever they may be are always saying something) said that by the time your child reaches school age, you should have read to them about 1700 hours. WOW, let me say that I do not believe most kids get this amount of reading time.

I remember growing up, my parents always read to us. When I was younger mom always read to me, but when I got a bit older (I even think I could read by this time) Dad use to read to me (maybe I was being lazy and it was easier for him to read and me to listen). I would fall asleep and he would stop reading, which in turn would wake me up, and I would then proceed to tell him I had been awake the entire time, and I had NO IDEA why he was stopping (I was dead asleep 9 time out of 10)!

I love to read, and I think that it is so beneficial for people to develop their language/reading skills. I had read the entire Thoroughbred series of about 150 books, by fourth grade. I think if you find something you really enjoy, reading is a great pastime. It relaxes the body, and allows your mind to wander into a creative realm, that modern technology doesn't. With all the modern inventions, we become lazy and complacent with our ability to read and write without the help of spelling and grammar check. We can type a string of letters into google and it knows what we are talking about, even if it was nowhere near the actual word you meant. I think we need to realize how important it is to develop good language skills (how many errors I have in this short blog post!?). Anyways... I am going to get off that topic...

So, today, we decided to play a little in the snow, and luckily I had my camera in tow and snapped a couple that are decent!! Gracie is so darn cute, she makes it easy!

My New Website! Check it out

2010-01-11T21:40:00.001-05:00

http://www.marianneelizabethphotography.com/

2010

2010-01-09T12:15:00.013-05:00

First Entry of 2010

"A New Decade

We are a week into 2010. Wow, can someone tell me where does the time go? It snowed in my hometown of Dunnellon, Florida last night/today which is a bit crazy. I think it snowed one time in Florida over the last 25 years (do not quote me on that though). Perhaps the political global warming hoax is going to change into the global cooling --> and the government will start warning of an ice age.

Christmas came and went in no time at all. Mom, like usual, was sick over her birthday and Christmas. I cooked Christmas dinner for the family (Mom, Dad, Sam, Gracie, Melinda, Jason, Robby, Jacob, Valancy, Dad, Jon, Aunt Bev, and Nick). We had prime rib, taters, green beans, cauliflower with cheese sauce, rolls, and a few other things here and there! It was pretty good! I have to admit I was rather proud of myself. It is not that I do not like to cook, or that I cannot cook, I enjoy it sometimes and I am good at it, but after working anywhere from 10-14 hours per day, I really just do not feel like cooking or going to the grocery store. Going to the grocery store is the worst thing. It is always so busy and generally a pain. Lately, however, mom has been staying with us, and she does not seem to mind going to the grocery store or cooking. She has been spoiling my husband, delivering him his meals to him while he relaxes on the couch. This is something he had better not start to expect.

For Christmas, Sam got me an amazing lens for my camera. This should really come in handy this spring/summer as I assist David Robinson of Aspect Photography with weddings. I am very excited about that, cannot wait to get that baby out there and capture some great pictures! I got Sam a new laptop, since his old one pre-dated me and had completely died. Christmas morning he opened that bad boy up; turned it on... nothing... they had conveniently forgotten to install Windows 7 operating system on it. Therefore, needless to say, we had to go back on the day after Christmas and get a new one! The screen on his laptop is 18.3 inches, and we cannot find a bag that it fits in, other than that though, it seems to be working pretty good!

For the New Year, my in-laws came to visit. Sam's Brother Clay his wife Patty and son Travis came up to DC and spent a few days with us. Unfortunately, I worked the first two days they were here, and got sick for the next two with some stomach bug, so I missed all the sightseeing. I did get to spend some time with them though every evening. It was great to see them, and I hope they come back before another year and a half has gone by. We love to have family come visit, and since we are in DC, it is nice for people that have not visited this area before. There is so much history and interesting things to do in DC that it is a great place to visit!

With the recession, travel has decreased and occupancy at the hotel has been down. We have been doing a bit of a renovation project to get the rooms looking good for the busy season (hoping there is a busy season)! I have been spending a bunch of my time at work, and not been doing as much with photography, however I know I have a couple weddings I will be assisting with, and I might even be taking some engagement pictures for a few of my cousins. My cousin Jon and his fiancée Stacey are getting married in July, so I might do some pictures for them. Matt proposed to Andrea over the holiday season, and she said yes, so there is a wedding in their future too! Sam's cousin Mandy is also getting married in July. Heather and Jeremy are approaching the 1 year out mark for their wedding! I do not know of any others at this time, but it is definitely going to be a season of weddings!

I am available for photography gigs. If you know anyone that would like me to take some pictures for them or if you read this and you would like to get pictures of children, pets, you, your parents, etc please do not hesitate to leave me a comment with contact information or email me at saycheesedc@gmail.com, I would love to! Until next time, thank you for stopping by my blog!

Photo moment for sure

2009-12-27T11:26:00.004-05:00

Our First Snow and hard loss for the Gators

2009-12-06T16:13:00.007-05:00

December 5, 2009

Florida Gators vs Alabama Roll Tide

Yesterday the snow came with a vengeance. It began as rain, however around 9:00 am the rain turned to snow and kept snowing most of the day. We had a big football party planned for the SEC championship game against Alabama. Sam and my cousin Matthew had made a bet at the beginning of the season that Florida would go to the National Championship game. The bet was for dinner at outback for four. Needless to say, Sam will be buying. The game began poorly and continued to get worse. Our poor gator boys got womped and stomped. The crowd consisted of a Tennessee Volunteer couple, a South Carolina Gamecock couple, a split Florida State/Virginia couple, another Tennessee fan, and then Mom, Sam and myself rooting for Florida. Matthew, being the FSU fan and P-I-T-A that he is rooted for 'Bama loudly the entire game. If you are a true Alabama fan, congratulations on the win, if you are not GET OFF THE BAND WAGON. Don't just root for 'Bama because your team was too pathetic to beat Florida yourselves!

Florida just didn't play well all day yesterday. Our receivers couldn't seem to catch the ball and I am not sure our defense even showed up. It is sad it had to end this way, after such an amazing season, however I guess we should be glad for such a great year. We have been fortunate the last few years with all our championships. Timmy it has been great these past four years, you surely are a class act and will be missed on the Gators from now on out.

I guess we can now look forward to a great dinner with Matt and Andrea ( on Sam's dime) and a sugar bowl appearance for the Gators! Thanks to everyone for coming over and hanging out with us for the game.

Next weekend we have Air Force Christmas party at the Gaylord Center which should be a bunch of fun!! Until then...

-Marianne

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tre

2009-11-29T19:25:00.014-05:00

A Sunday Drive in the Country and a Christmas Tree

After a great Gator win yesterday over that other Florida team (FSU), we decided today to head out to Purcellville, Va to get a Christmas tree. This will be our first tree that we picked out together for our house. Last year was hectic due to a right before Christmas trip to Florida, and a negative interaction with a deer on highway 121 (I still argue that it ran into me) . Moral of the story we never managed to get a tree. Well early Christmas morning (about 3:30 am) I went over to the motel to get the gifts and stopped at Melinda's house (my sister) on the way home and stole her 3 ft artificial tree for us. Sam never realized I had even left, and so when he got up Christmas morning, he was pleasantly surprised.

Fast forward to this year. We were determined to have a tree the entire holiday season, so today we went to get ours. Sam wanted to just go over to the BX which is about a mile away and get a tree, however Mom and I wanted to make a day of it, so the hubby grudgingly agreed. (We have this little agreement, his weekend day is Saturday and we do what he wants and my day is Sunday and we do what I want). So with a little pushing from me, Sam agreed to go. Mom and Melinda had went to a Christmas tree farm a couple years ago to cut their own tree, however this farm didn't have the kind of trees they wanted, and so they headed over to a place called Loudoun Nursery. Mom recommended we head on out to this nursery for our very own tree. It wasn't too bad of a drive and that part of Virginia is so beautiful!!

Upon arriving, the gentlemen asked us if we wanted to cut our own tree, however he didn't have any Frasier firs available to be cut, so we decided to just choose one from the already cut trees. We needed one in the 7-8 foot range. It is funny, because normally Mom and I are very picky about our trees like they say on Christmas Vacation, "it was an ugly tree anyway" well we do not want one of those trees. So, the usual routine is to have the Christmas tree stand attendant open up about every tree they have to make sure it is perfect in every way. Straight trunk, very full, tall enough (but not too tall for the angel to fit, Clark), and soft so that we know it will last at least until March or April. With that said, the guy was a good tree salesman, and we didn't even open one tree, we just grabbed one in the right height requirement and loaded 'er up. Well, all I can say is- it better not be an ugly tree! With the tree tied very securely (thanks honey) on the car we headed on out.

Well mom was driving, and it has been my parents hobby since I was about 8 years old to look at real estate, so we had to see a few of her "houses" out here while we were "so close". My parents never buy a place, they just house hunt as a hobby. Over the years, we have looked at so many places, yet they have never actually bought anything. They keep saying they are going to eventually purchase one, however I am curious what they will spend their time doing if that actually happens. Anyways, while on our drive out in the country we stopped by a few of her new properties of interest, and then headed on home. Sam fell asleep in the backseat for much of the trip, but it was still fun!

Next blog entry will have to be our newly decorated tree :) Or perhaps when the Gators beat ALABAMA next weekend :)

Until then.. here are some pictures from the DAY!

He is scary!

We didn't have the correct saw to cut the bottom of the tree off to absorb water

Thanksgiving Day with the Doodles!

2009-11-26T13:56:00.007-05:00

Three Doodles and Turkey Day!

So we went out to my Aunt Bev's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. Stacy and Jared had flown in from Colorado and they brought their new "POOCH!" home with them. Yes, his name is POOCH! (with the exclamation point). We watched football and ate some seriously yummy food! I honestly think Thanksgiving dinner is probably one of my favorite foods (all of it, even the cranberries). Aunt Beverly insisted we bring Bella and we couldn't disappoint our hostess, so I got up early and bathed her and combed out her hair, and along she came. Well, as everyone knows, she is CRAZY, so she began the fun by bleeding on the cream colored carpet from some cut on the pad of her paw :(. Great! We ended up having to put her in her crate due to the bleeding the running around the house like a maniac.

About 4 months ago, Aunt Bev got Cooper, her own miniature Golden doodle. Cooper is much smaller than Bella and is also much redder in color. Cooper seems to be slightly more mellow than our doodle bug.

The doodle fever continued to catch on, and Stacy and Jared recently added POOCH! to their household. Well, being the camera junkie that I am, I had to take a few pictures (oh about 200) to document his cuteness, and boy is he ever cute!

Currently, I am stuck at work right now, and November is one of the slowest month's for hotel rooms in the Washington, D.C area, so if anyone would like to come and visit the Nation's Capital just let me know, I can hook ya up with a pretty decent deal on room :) (www.Americanahotel.com) With that said, I had enough time to update my blog, since it has been so long!!

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, and I am glad that I got to spend it with my hsuband, parents, brother, cousins, and canine family-- however Sam and I both missed all our family down in Florida and we hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We miss you all.

POOCH!

Here is a Picture of the other 2 doodles when they were cute pups like Pooch! The first is cooper and the second is Bella. She of course is the cutest of all (and no I am not biased :)

Cooper

Bella girl

A boat- 2 flights- and now Back to Reality.. But Reminiscing about a week in paradise

2009-10-19T21:35:00.011-04:00

Coming Home

We left St. John's Island at 11:00 am on Saturday. It was a sad day. Our flight took off out of St. Thomas about 3:45 and let me tell you how that went. I shall preface this with the fact that I dislike flying with a passion. It used to not bother me, and I am not sure exactly why it does now, but perhaps there is something about not having any power to protect myself if something was to go wrong that really just does not sit right with me. Okay. So, we go through Duty Free and buy 6 bottles of liquor, that we now have to carry on along with all are other bags, so we get to the gate and start the "boarding" process (I hate this process. Too many people in too small a space ALL trying to SHOVE that over sized ROLLER BAG in the over head compartment, because they are trying to not give the STUPID airline company more of their money with the newly implemented bag fees) Sam and I arrive at our seats 13 A and B, and there is two other people just sitting down in the seats. Well, their tickets and our tickets assign the four of us to those two seats, greeeeattttt. So, we have to make our way down the aisle to the back of the plane to alert the flight attendant of this situation. They boarded this plane from the back doors and the front doors, so of course everyone was trying to go the opposite way that we were trying to go with 2 lap tops, camera bag, pillow, purse, and 6 bottles of liquor, wonderful. To make matters worse, we were missing the gator game during the ordeal, and then there weren't two seats together. So, I am ticked off at this point, and the flight attendant goes, "it is a full flight" and I said okay, and again she said "it is a full flight". I don't really care. The reason I booked my tickets together, was perhaps so I could actually sit with my husband, not 7 rows away. Ugh. If we operated this way at the hotel, we would shortly run out of customers. Geez, why do airlines get to be so annoying.

We landed in Ft. Lauderdale after a bit of turbulence and began running to the airport bar to see if we can catch the tail end of the Gator game, which we have been informed via our electronic device (which I think was not approved for use at the point my gator fanatic husband started texting to get an update) that it was tied 13-13 and there were about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Well, rest assured, we rooted them on to a victory and caught the last leg of our flight into Washington.

They re-arranged our seats and we got to sit together so I was happier, because this flight was much more turbulent. We arrived, only to be rudely awakened by raining and 40 degrees. Can I go back to the islands, PLEASE?!

Yesterday, I enjoyed a relaxed birthday party that mom planned. My cousins and sister came over and we had some yummy lasagna and watched the worst team in the NFL (Redskins) lose once again. Ugh.... I will always be a fan, but these guys are really terrible (I blame their stupid owner, but that is another blog entry)

So, in closing, I am going to post some more pictures to remember our WONDERFUL week in paradise. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Westin @ St. John's Island, United States Virgin Islands

2009-10-13T19:12:00.011-04:00

Palace on Paradise Island

Saturday, October 10 2009 we left the Nation's Capital for St. John's Island in the Caribbean. We were meeting up with our cousin's Stacy and Jared who moved to Denver in March of 2009. Upon arrival to St. Thomas and after checking in at the Westin lounge we were notified of the fact that our 3 bedroom Villa was all ready for check in. Let me just say we did not reserve a 3 bedroom 3.5 bath 3000 square foot private pool private jacuzzi VILLA, but we were GLADLY TAKE IT. Our room price was $173.00 plus tax and resort charges per night, the normal rate on this villa is $2050.00 per night before those other fees. We basically have been upgraded to the best place ever!

This island is so amazingly gorgeous. Sam told me we are moving here when he gets out of the Air Force :) The ocean is crystal clear and the beaches are sandy white. There are mountains and iguanas and cool Caribbean music. The people are American, however they drive on the wrong side of the road, and let me tell you that takes some getting used to.

I just wanted to write a short update of our vacay down here, however, I will share more later. It is time for the room service to be arriving :)

Cavalia

2009-10-03T21:47:00.003-04:00

Cavalia Horse Production

The Cavalia show is currently in the greater Washington, D.C area, about a block from the Americana. The show coordinator booked about 300 room nights at the Hotel during the duration of the show. As part of this, we managed to get a few tickets to go see exactly what the show was all about. It was pretty cool for sure. Sam and I - Melinda and Robby all headed is over to the 3:00pm show today. They have over 60 horses in the Stable there, 28 being Stallions and the rest are geldings (which they defined as neutered males haha) . Just for the non-horse folk reading along, a gelding is properly refered to as a castrated male. You neuter dogs, you castrate horses. Anyways, I guess that is not super important, though I felt I needed to clarify. You are not suppose to take pictures during the show, so I only snuck a few (and without flash). Other people were also taking pictures, so I wasn't the only rule breaker.

Shots from around our wedding/Photoshop fun!

2009-09-30T21:47:00.001-04:00

Beach Photoshoot and Some Bridal Portraits
Photography by Kellee Whitehurst and Rebecca Rosin
Creative Editing by Marianne Elizabeth

Photoshop can be so much fun, and so time consuming. You can do such great things in it, however, I recently read an interesting quote somewhere that was discussing actions/textures "There is no action for bad photography". This is so true, you must start with a decent image, in order to achieve the best results in post processing.

~Marianne

My first wedding

2009-09-28T20:23:00.002-04:00

Assistant Shooter

This weekend I was lucky enough to be able to be an assistant shooter at a wedding in Lusby, Md! I was in charge of shooting the Groom and groomsmen before the wedding and then I assisted during and after the wedding. Let me preface this by saying I was super nervous going into the event. I got this opportunity through Sam. He works with a gentlemen at his job that is a professional photographer. That is, when he is not taking care of a specific air plane.

David Robinson from aspect-photography.com was gracious enough to allow me to assist him on this wedding! All week leading up to the wedding, he answered my NUMEROUS questions, as I tried to prepare for the event. I have much learning to do yet still, I think I took a couple decent pictures (if you take 1000 you should get 1 or 2 good ones, dontcha think?!) I am very thankful for the experience I will be gaining while working with David!

Pictures--etc

2009-09-12T16:58:00.007-04:00

Tooth Fairy Don't Forget Me!

2009-09-11T22:36:00.006-04:00

In this pocket you will find
A teensy, tiny tooth of mine.
So while I sleep where dreams are made,
Let's see if you can make a trade.
-author unknown

Gracie has been complaining to her Daddy about a loose tooth she had. She came over this evening to spend a fun filled weekend at our house, and we are starting it off right!

Let me give a little background. I loved loose teeth--loved yanking them out. As a kid, if I had a tooth that was even the TINIEST BIT loose, it was coming out that day, NO MATTER WHAT. Melinda felt very differently about her teeth. They could be hanging by a thread and she would leave them in there FOREVER. Well one night, I had a tooth I had been working on for about three hours, it was a tough one. At the very moment I popped that sucker out, it slipped out of hands and right down the drain. Needless to say, I felt devastated. All that hard work and energy wasted, because the tooth fairy certainly wouldn't come unless she would find a tooth under my pillow. Well, lucky for me, big sister Melinda had a bunch of teeth saved up, and so I cried around to my parents and they made her give me a tooth for under my pillow. Whew-- tragedy escaped!!!

Now, I will get back on track. Poor little Gracie has been suffering with this loose tooth for over a week now. That would have been tortuous for me, so I felt it only in her best interest to help her with this little issue, since Daddy didn't seem so inclined to pull that little sucker out. I told Gracie with a little wiggle here and there, it would be out, and the tooth fairy would be visiting our house tonight! She is quite the little trooper, let me tell you, we wiggled once or twice, she grimaced once or twice, and then one little tug and poof DONE! So if the tooth fairy is reading this blog, please know you have one little girl here that wants the "paper money" for all that pain and agony she endured oh so bravely. Oh, and we all know that the tooth fairy has quite a soft spot for this little girl :)

Tea Party Patriots

2009-09-10T19:39:00.003-04:00

09.12.2009

As a resident of the greater Washington, D.C metro area, I thought it my blogging duty to write an entry on the events taking place this coming weekend at the Nation's Capital. "Tea Party Patriots" are hosting an anti-BIG-government rally to show their upset and dissatisfaction with the recent bailouts, tax increases, big spending programs, and deficit spending. From the www.912dc.org website they listed some sign suggestions that I thought I might share.

Below is a good list of signs I’ve seen in pictures or at events:

You can’t spend your way out of debt.
Yes we can – stop the bailouts!
Money doesn’t grow on trees, some of us work for it.
Bailouts + Debt = fiscal child abuse
Stop Spending, Start Cutting
We Want Less
Why don’t you cut my taxes instead?
Promote responsibility, no more bailouts!
Let the markets work.
Stop rewarding failure.
Save the children – stop spending their money.
Stop Cap and Tax
Who will bail out the government?
I will not pay for someone else’s house.
I don’t want your debt.
Stop punishing success.
You can’t multiply wealth by dividing it.
Redistribution just means less for everyone.
Your pork broke my piggy bank.
We the people want our money back.
Freedom – a stimulus we can afford.
Let the failures fail.
From each according to the IRS …to Pelosi, Reid, and ACORN
Free markets, not free loaders
Don’t mortgage our future
Read the bills before you sign
The more you tax, the madder we get
Dead people may vote, but they don’t pay taxes
We’ll all be sick when health care is free
ObamaCare makes me sick
Socialism: trickle up poverty
Taxation cures incentive
Government is the problem, not the solution
Our wallets are not “shovel ready”
If you’re not mad, you don’t pay taxes
The best social program is a job
Give me liberty not debt

The message this group wishes to promote is: ENOUGH We’ve had enough of the out of control spending, the bailouts, the growth of big government and the soaring deficits. And we reject the future tax increases to pay for all of this spending and debt down the road. We are gathering on 9-12-2009 to deliver our message in person that we’ve had enough!

I wish this group the best of luck!! I hope they are successful in their endeavors this weekend and in the future. I believe that most American's have had enough of the government spending and it will only get worse if they pass that health care bill.

~Marianne

Softball and childhood memories

2009-09-03T20:58:00.009-04:00

Softball and stories of childhood memories

Growing up every spring I looked forward to one thing. Softball season. I started playing t-ball when I was 5 years old. At the time, we had recently moved to Dunnellon from Arlington. I started K-4, however I turned 5 years old almost immediately (which was the "magic t-ball number to get to play). I made friends with many of the kids in my class at Dunnellon Christian School. One of which is my best friend today. However, there was another kid in the class named Kayne, and his mom suggested we do t-ball.

Mom still tells the story today, how Ms. Martha told her she HAD to sign Melinda and I up for ball. It was just what you did. She was confused as to why this was such a good idea, but Ms. Martha talked her into it, and Kayne and I were signed up. Well it was all basically history from there. We were hooked. I played t-ball for two years, moved up to the minors, got drafted to the majors (where Melinda was), then played in the senior league, and a traveling team. I played on the traveling team during high school. All told, I played ball for about 13 years. I got to be pretty good, and I loved it so much, it is one of the things that I truly loved about my adolescent years.

While recently going though my pictures, I came across the top newspaper clipping above and thought it was blog worthy!

It is funny, the same mom who unenthusiastically signed us kids up for ball, proceeded to fall in love with it. She never missed a game. She shuttled us kids to three different practices (when Jason was old enough to play) to normally two practices per week each, at totally different locations, and then attended the games on different nights each week. Luckily for her, there were a couple times Melinda and I were on the same team, however more often then not, it was three different teams, one for each of us!

There were many a Saturday spent in the backyard at the "big house", as Jacob now calls it, learning to play. Melinda and I would practice together pretty well most of the time, however sometimes her crazy pitching or a bright idea of trampoline baseball led to her bloody noses and bruised shins. Dad even got me catcher gear to try and protect me from her pitching.

Many times Dad would be "catcher" for us. He would sit on a stool and tell us if we couldn't pitch well enough to hit his "strike zone" (which he said was about six foot arms reach) then obviously would be walking a lot of batters. And, not to mention, we had to chase the "wild" pitches, because he wasn't getting up off the stool!!! Those were such good times.

It was during my traveling team years, that I had my best season ever. We went on to the top team competition in the area. At one of the games in Crystal River, I pitched a no hitter, and hit two over the fence home runs. We shut out the opposing team 12-0. I definitely felt on top of the world after this game!

I encourage all parents to get their kids involved in sports. I played softball, soccer, basketball, and did horseback riding all through my childhood. I loved every minute of my sports and wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. Mom and Dad both deserve many thanks, if it wasn't for their willingness to drive me all over the place to participate in so many things, I never would have these wonderful memories. Thank you both for making it possible for me to get the chance to learn and love not only the game of softball, but also to develop some of the other passions/hobbies that I still have today! You both made it possible!

~Marianne

Bella's New hairdo

2009-09-02T21:43:00.007-04:00

I think we have a new dog

Yesterday we took Bella for a haircut. They say "Doodles" aren't suppose to shed. Tell me why I have hair tumbleweeds in my house then...She was scratching a lot lately and her hair had been having matting issues, so we decided to get her a little hair cut-- or might I say-- a big hair cut. She is now naked dog! She looks like a weimaraner or something. She definitely doesn't look like our bella dog anymore. Poor thing might freeze if that hair doesn't grow back for the fall/winter.

Montana- Big Sky Country

2009-08-30T21:48:00.010-04:00

Montana- remembering our honeymoon

Okay. Let's be honest. Montana. Not what you think of when you think of honeymoon now is it? When you think honeymoon, most people think somewhere with sand, ocean, sun, and warm weather. Maybe the Caribbean, maybe Hawaii (if that is how you roll), or Mexico. We have all seen the Sandals "romantic couples" ads. Number 1 honeymoon destination, so on and so forth. Let me just tell you, that wasn't us. After the wedding, we went to Kellee and Pug's condo in Daytona with Gracie for a week.

We soaked up some rays and enjoyed the ocean. It was wonderful. Really we got the best of both worlds. After that first week of honeymoon, we headed out for the wilderness of Montana.

Since Sam is in the Air Force, we got the best deal ever. We booked our week at Meadow Lake Golf Resort. It was $299.00 for the entire week. Two bedrooms and two baths, private outdoor Jacuzzi, grill, fireplace, full kitchen, and an indoor whirlpool tub. Our unit was on the ground level on the 9th green. The mountains were all around us and it was beautiful.

very good advice

I have always wanted to go to Montana. I figured when would I get another chance, so that is where we went. April is not the month to go to Montana. Skiing is finished for the winter and there is still enough ice and snow on the roads through the mountains to keep them closed. We didn't get to drive the "going to the sun road" that is famous for the Kalispell area.

There was only one negative thing I remember about the entire trip, and in hindsight, it wasn't that bad, and looking back at it, I laugh. Let me preface this story by saying the people of Montana are hard people. They live in a place where it is hard to make a living and the climate is tough.

Lot of snow and ice in the winter and a very short summer makes the outdoors a challenging place, and many Montanans make their living outdoors. So, when we found a few spiders crawling around our apartment unit, I got a little upset. There were about 5-6 little spiders in the bedroom. This did not make me happy. Well we called the office to alert them of this situation and they sent this woodsmen maintenance guy.

He showed up in his coveralls and boots, thick beard, and very rough around the edges attitude. He asked what the problem was, and when I told him I had seen spiders, he asked me to show him. Well, apparently, my idea of a spider and his idea were NOT THE SAME THING.

He was expecting something the size of a dinner plate I think, so when I showed him a spider the size of my pinky finger tip. He laughed. And then proceeded to tell us "WELCOME TO MONTANA" and hoped we enjoyed our stay. Okay, well that is all fine and good that he has seen some spiders that would carry me away, but any spiders in my sleeping location doesn't make me thrilled.

Well I survived, needless to say, and it was the only hiccup during the entire trip!! That was okay though. We hiked a lot, we ate so much amazing food. Everything in Montana is very fresh, probably because no one will deliver to those people in the middle of nowhere!

weeping willow

It was all very delicious though. There weren't chain restaurants really, everything was "mom and pop" unique and wonderful. It reminded me of upstate New York in a way.

The other thing that really is unique about Montana are the Casinos. There is a Casino in every gas station, mini mart, hair salon, deli, Wal-Mart, taco bell, and bowling alleys. The Casinos are small but there are so many of them. We spent al lot of our time at the various different ones. They gave you free snacks and beers while you played, what a deal! We really didn't win anything, but it was so much fun.

I would love to go back and experience some of the other parts of the state, such as Yellow Stone National Park- and get to actually drive the Going to the Sun road. I would like to go in the Summer! Maybe one day we will go back, but until then, I have so many pictures to remember the wonderful time we had in Montana.

Canada Day trip

I really do understand why they call it Big Sky country. The grandiose sky of Montana is unlike that of any other place I have ever been too. As you know the Adirondacks is my favorite place on earth, well if there had to be a second, Montana could be that place.

One of the many casinos in the area

The sky seems to continue on forever. I do not believe we could doubt that there is an almighty creator after experiencing the purple mountains majesty that Montana offers. It will take your breath away. In one word. Amazing.

-Marianne

Valancy Anne

2009-08-29T20:50:00.006-04:00

Pettiskirts and little girls

2009-08-28T20:34:00.004-04:00

A Sunday Afternoon

The other day after church Mom and me decided to head down to this little place called "Del Ray". Del Ray is a 100+ year old community within Alexandria, Virginia in the suburbs of Washington, DC. It has a main street (Mt. Vernon Ave) that runs north and south through the little community. There are many independent shops and restaurants. There is an ice cream and custard shop called "My Dairy Godmother" that has some seriously amazing deserts.

I need to put a little girl in this :)

After lunch at the evening star (which was pretty tasty I might say) I saw a children's boutique store with a fluffy white pettiskirt out front. I had to have it. I want to photography Valancy (my niece) in this so badly. If you go to a site called www.oopsydaisybaby.com you can see some of these skirts that are to die for!!! Oh my gosh the cuteness is just out of this world. Anyways, so I bought it, and due to a work week of about 68 hours, I have yet to put a kid in it!!!!!!!

While also down in Del Ray, I saw the perfect location for a photography studio. If I just was ready for that stage of my picture game, it would be perfect!

CREATIONS ETC...

2009-08-22T00:09:00.005-04:00

i {HEART} photoSHOP

I love trying to create new logo designs as you can probably tell. It seems that I never use a watermark or standard "copyright" logo on my pictures. I change it up all the time-- the more I learn-- the more it keeps changing. These are just some of the things I created this evening while my hubby is working nights. These last two weeks with him working nights, I will be honest, I have spent a little TOO MUCH time on my computer. I managed to catch a cold, probably due to lack of sleep..argh. I think that is it for tonight, might update this post a little later on :)

Cayce and Brian's blog

Heather and Jeremy

Some of Stacy and Jared's Wedding Photos

2009-08-19T10:55:00.004-04:00

Stacy and Jared
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Stacy and Jared got married last October in Cabo San Lucas. They were married at Dreams Los Cabos, it was a gorgeous wedding and so much fun. Here are just a few pictures I took from the day!!! She was quite the beautiful bride!

It has been 1 year today- Bella Smith!

2009-08-17T23:20:00.010-04:00

Bella's One Year Anniversary

I remember it like yesterday. It was a Sunday afternoon, Sam and I both were off from work. We decided to take a drive down toward Woodbridge. It is about 28 miles. No big deal. Well, I figured I might as well get a newspaper to see what kind of sales they might be having this Sunday. Unbeknownst to both of us at this point was what we were "buying" on this particular day!

We really hadn't been looking for a dog. Sometimes, I perused the ads in the Washington Post, just to see all the little doggie ads, the little faces-- all of which are oh so cute! On our way down to Woodbridge (which I might add is not in the particular direction of the ad I was about to read) I called about a litter of Golden doodles.

I had showed Sam so many pictures of doodle puppies-- he thought they were all mostly cute--then he would show me pictures of them all grown up--he thought they were mostly HORRIBLE! I told him once you fall in love with this little bundle of fluff and love, there will be no way you won't still love it when it grows up to be "ugly".

The lady on the phone told me that they had a runt of the litter, a female, and she probably wouldn't get much bigger than a large cocker spaniel (about 20-30lbs). I thought, hey that is perfect, just the size we need. So Sam agrees we can drive out there and "take a look" at the litter, since we hadn't seen any in person yet. We would have to start somewhere.

Front Royal is about 75 miles from our house, and we were already headed in the wrong direction ( I have a good husband), but Sam obligingly agreed to this, and off we went. Upon arriving to the farm, there was a fat fur ball underneath a tree in a play pen. As we got closer we both thought, "man if this is the run, I hate to see what the biggest puppy looks like". About this time a lady came out of the house holding a soaking wet little rat. Bella. It wasn't love at first sight, but let me tell you it was soon after. I looked at Sam and said "what do you think" he said "did you bring your check book?!". She will be both our birthday presents ( Sept & Oct), and we took her home.

Bella was like having a baby in the beginning. The first night she cried all night long (the crate was in the other bedroom-- straight out of the movie Lady and the Tramp because the next night her crate came into our room and hasn't left) We took her out to "potty" every two hours around the clock for the first month. We love her to death even though she is a biting crazy monster. Our own little wack job! This past year with Bella has been great. She has made two trips to Florida to meet her cousins (Cricket, Brewer, and Tebow) and one trip to New York. She is part of our family and we love her. I am glad that we made that trip, one year ago today, out to Front Royal, Virginia for the runt of the litter. Who, might I add, weighs in about 60lbs-- and is by no means -- a large cocker spaniel!

Photography Workshop and Timbuktu for Aunt Bev's Birthday!

2009-08-15T22:32:00.005-04:00

So today I had a few "blonde" moments. I was taking a photography workshop in Ballston (part of Arlington) that I had scheduled a couple weeks back. I had to work the night shift last night at the hotel (3-11), so that threw my schedule off, atleast that is where I am going to lay the blame. Anyways, so I had the workshop today, and there really wasn't anywhere to park, so my awesome hubby agreed to drop me off and pick me up (love ya babe). Well on the way there I realize that I cannot locate my bank card (this really isn't anything out of the ordinary), but I also had left my bank envelope at the hotel that contained my $$ for the class. Grreat, so Sam had his bank card and I was able to get my money to attend the class, well upon arrival to the class, I get out my camera, lenses, and flash-- turn on the camera-- NO SD CARD INSERTED. PERFECT. So, then I have to ask anyone if they have an extra. Luckily for me, they came prepared! After the class we were planning on going to dinner with the "Lancaster's and Winnicks" for Aunt Bev's birthday.

Timbuktu or Tim's

Stacy and Jared flew in from Denver Colorado this weekend for Aunt Bev's birthday. Tonight we decided to make a trek down to a little place on the Potomac River called Timbuktu (or Tim's for short). It is a seafood place that has open air seating overlooking the river, a band, a bar, tiki torches, and platefuls of blue crabs. Although Sam, Stacy, Mom, and myself decided to pass on the "work" some people call dinner-- Aunt Bev, Nick, and Jared put away 36 little crabbies!!!! The atmosphere was quite enjoyable, but I ate far too much fried food for my own good.

Some shots up at the lake

2009-08-13T22:49:00.006-04:00

Storyboard

2009-08-13T20:29:00.007-04:00

Here are some pictures of my niece and nephew. Besides dear little Gracie, they might be the closest I get to offspring of my own!!! Valancy Anne turned 1 in June, and my little bubby will be 6 in October. He should be starting kindergarten this year, and I hope his teacher is ready for a hand full!!!

"A week in the Adirondacks"

2009-08-10T22:12:00.013-04:00

"Memories that will last a lifetime"

the view from our cabin

Sometimes, you know, I wish we had a pause button in life.

Work

Traffic Jams

Rude City People

Starless nights

Dirty air

As I step back to reality, my mind wanders to our week in the Adirondacks, that in my opinion came to an abrupt end, far too soon. I hate to write two blogs on the same topic, but a place so gloriously majestic and undoubtedly alive as the Adirondacks, in particular Bull Point, warrants every bit of two entries.

Bull Point will always be a place I treasure in my heart. I really enjoyed sharing this place with Gracie and Sam this past week. We truly had a blast. Donnelly's ice creams, hiking to Deer Pong, Hazi, Go Fish, S'mores, Camp fires, Porch Dinners, Boating, Fishing (with a plastic butterfly), Bella, Swimming, Boat Rides, Knee Boarding, Attempted Skiing and Wake boarding, Deer, Family, Golf (for Sam!), Casino (for Me), and so many more things. I tried to find a quote about the Adirondacks that epitomized everything that 6 million acres embodies, however, I couldn't find one that really conveyed my feelings. It is paradise on earth.

Bull Point is rustic and old, it has seen many things over the years, if only the walls could talk, you better believe they would captivate any audience. The history of this Adirondack "camp" is very interesting. It was once owned by a very wealthy NY business man named Otto Kahn. It was quite an extraordinary place during its "hay day", however the peacefulness it offers its "guests" now; is what I love.

Leaving upstate is always hard, even more now then when I was a kid. Bull Point has attached itself to my heart strings over the years, and I will cherish the times spent there always. Each year when summer comes to a close and the cool autumn breeze picks up, I find that what lays so heavy on my heart is the uncertainties of not when I will return, but the ever foreboding IF. However, I pray that it remains exactly that, and the summer tradition of my generation is passed down to our children as it was for those before us, because it is truly the greatest place I have ever been.

~Marianne Elizabeth Smith ~

Bullpoint

2009-07-29T19:47:00.003-04:00

Sam, Gracie, Bella, and ME are heading up to UPSTATE New York on Friday!! I am so excited. This year would have been four years without visiting my favorite place in the world. Bullpoint is heaven on earth (with mosquitoes). Everything is so relaxing and beautiful. You really can get away from everything there... relax and unwind. I am very excited to share this special place with Sam and Gracie. Bullpoint will always mean the world to me. I not only spent every summer there since my mom was pregnant with me, but I truly believe the experiences and memories from there had an influence on the person I am today! So, with much enthusiasm, I can't wait to get to the Adirondacks this year!

Sam and Gracie @ Bolling Air Force Base

2009-07-29T14:13:00.000-04:00

Sam and Gracie Photoshoot at Bolling Air Force Base

2009-07-29T13:36:00.001-04:00

These are a few of the pictures that I recently took of Sam and Gracie while we were at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. We had a little picnic and a photo shoot. She is so easy to photograph because she is just so darn cute and LOVES the camera!!!! Not unlike her father :) She probably will get sick of me and the camera when she gets a little older so I am taking advantage of the opportunity!

2009-07-29T02:41:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Say Cheese D.C. Photography!!!!

So here is the deal, I probably am going to be the worst "blogger" ever. I do not have a way with words, I am not good at writing, and my life is not that exciting to warrant a blog. However, I felt that I would like to share some of my more interesting stories and some of my pictures. So I created "Say Cheese D.C" and I will see how it goes.