Monthly Archives: October 2008

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Whole Foods Coming Our Way!

Making my routine trips to Office Depot for my office supplies I couldn’t resist photographing a very special place that I know will quickly become my “backyard”… Whole Foods Market!

Being that I have a strong conviction on eating organic fruits and vegetables, I can’t wait till Whole Foods opens up here in Jacksonville! ¬†Yes I know such wholesome food costs more than regular foods at places like Publix; however, what you put into your bodies is so important to the well being of your health and the longevity of your life! ¬†

I could never imagine sitting down for dinner and instead of sprinkling salt on my food, I put a dash of Acetamipridl, Bifenazate, Chlorfenapyr, Dinotefuran, Metofluthrin, Pyridalyl, Tetraconazole, and Spinsosads on instead!  

Would you ever put chemicals on your food????

Yet most people buy their produce this way! ¬†Just because you can’t see these chemicals doesn’t mean they are not there! ¬†THEY ARE! ¬†Just like you’d never down water with rat poison in it why would you buy non-organic foods? ¬†

The way I see it is like this:

- You’re at the grocery store and you ask the produce man, “Hey can you pack my cart with tomatoes and just so I can save some money, would you mind injecting it with harmful chemicals so I can get it cheaper?” ¬†Yet that’s what most people do when they make the choice to buy “cheaper” produce!

 

From the Environmental Working Group, here is a list of the fruits and vegetables that are ranked highest and lowest in pesticide content. You can see from the list that generally, it is the produce with the thinner skins that rank high. You should always try to buy organic but it is vital to at least buy the produce that ranks high in organic form especially for women that are pregnant and for young children. At the bottom of this post there is a link to a down-loadable wallet guide so that you can have the list readily available when shopping.

Highest in Pesticides

These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides ‚Äî buy these organic, but of course ALL fruits and vegetables all have pesticides so it’s up to you whether you want a little poison or a lot in your stomach!

• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach

• Strawberries 

I hope you will protect you and your family with clean, nutritious foods that are beneficial not harmful to your bodies.

Ok now that I’ve gotten out my “motherly” senses, I hope that I have brought some good to you all. ¬†Sometimes it JUST DOESN’T PAY to save money… at least not in this situation.

2008 Halloween Kids Party

As a little girl I remember my dad and my step-mom gave us a Halloween party that I’ll never forget! ¬†It was the only party my family put together and I remember it so clearly that it feels just like yesterday that I and my friend Nicole Pete were all dressed up walking through the spooky dark lit house. ¬†Wanting my kids to remember their own Halloween party, I threw them one last night! ¬†

Besides wearing our costumes, we also decorated pumpkins, designed our own Halloween cookies, watched Halloween movies, and when it got dark out, the kids told scary stories beneath a candle outside! ¬†We also ate tons of TREATS and had a TRICK…

 

And here’s the TRICK…

The kids got to touch EYE BALLS and WORMS!

Thanks to my very good friend, Eileen, for all her help in making this a great Halloween for our kids!  Eileen I love you dearly, the shooting star that we saw and both wished upon last night, WILL COME TRUE!!!  Many kisses to you sweetie!

Danette, Nick & their four legged “daughters”

Boy am I on a roll or what with blogging! ¬†Could be because this week I am childless so I actually have time to get things done. ¬†Tomorrow morning I get to meet with my fellow photographer friend, Scarlett Lillian, to go running together for the first time. ¬†We’ll see how I do being that I can’t run like I use to. ¬†Then tomorrow evening I’ll be making my way to Veteran’s Park for a VERY SPECIAL family photo shoot! ¬†I became certified as a yoga instructor through a very good friend and yoga mentor, Alyson through the Yoga-Den! ¬†I can’t wait to meet her family and I am sure I will have fun photographing her two boys, hmmm, but will THEY have fun!!! ¬†Now that’s the question for the night! ¬†

Anyway, after I taught my yoga class today, I had to rush like mad to get all the way from Mandarin to the Casa Marina Hotel at Jax Beach, to meet up with Danette and Nick to take their family photos.  Danette and Nick were married in Arizona in May.  They have known each other since the 1st grade!!!!  Can you believe that!  How endearing is that!  Nick is in the military while Danette is a professional hair stylist.  They brought along their dogs, Trixie and their VERY NEW puppy, Baci!  This family of four is definitely one adorable family!

 

Erin and Billy Jenkins

So here are those photos I promised you all. ¬†Erin and Billy got married on October 11th in Vero Beach, FL. ¬†Now I have to tell you about Billy’s strong pursuit of Erin because it is too sweet to leave out! ¬†

So Billy met Erin and was blown away by her beauty, personality and presence. ¬†While I did their engagement session he continued to tell me that the first day he met her, he knew something was special about Erin. ¬†He was taken back by her and knew from that moment on that she was the one. ¬†But she left and he didn’t have her number to contact her with. ¬†If I am correct, she left before he knew she was leaving so he didn’t have the chance to get all her information. ¬†Sad, right! ¬†I know! ¬†Fearing that he was going to lose her he decided to find her. ¬†He didn’t have her phone number, no email address, and didn’t know any of her friends to get her information from, so he did the unthinkable… he went to the mall EVERY weekend (I know right, a man going to the mall!!!) because he knew she would eventually show up there! ¬†WOW right! ¬†Sitting at the mall for hours on hours, no luck. ¬†No Erin. ¬†He continued to go back to the mall determined to not give up. ¬†He also decided to see if he could find her on Myspace, but Erin was not on Myspace. ¬†Then he went to Facebook and to his enormous gratitude, he found her!!!! ¬†Feeling so nervous about what to say to her he sat several days on a letter he had written to her before sending it. ¬†He wanted it to be just right and perfect before he sent it to her. ¬†

And we all know if whether Billy’s efforts to win her over worked or not…. and he’s got photos to prove it! ¬†: )

His love for her has not died out with time either. ¬†It is even stronger now. ¬†Their wedding was just blow away. ¬†I’ll never forget the morning of their wedding. ¬†Stacy and I were in our hotel room with 20 minutes left before we had to walk over to Billy’s room to do his “getting ready” shots. ¬†

A knock on my door caught our attention, it was Billy all bright eyed and cheery! ¬†He gave me this huge tight hug all happy and excited about this special day in his life. ¬†He was marrying the woman of his dreams. ¬†I couldn’t help but smile none stop from there on out! ¬†

Ladies, you will melt when you continue to read on… if you think this is romantic you just wait to see what else Billy did on his wedding day for his new bride… scroll down to find out more….

 

Here is Erin’s dad walking in the room to see his daughter for the first time in her wedding gown. ¬†Isn’t this sweet!

  

Often times when I am photographing the bride or groom getting ready, we are all cramped into a small bathroom with not much room for me to maneuver in. ¬†When you’re in the bathroom it’s hard to find good looking angels and lighting too so what I typically do is stand right next to the the bride or groom and shoot into the mirror bouncing my flash to avoid a reflection. ¬†This technique works really well!!

 

  

Engagement Signature Guest Sign-In Books are always a HUGE hit at weddings!  The guests love it!!!

  

 

 

 

Ok, so Billy surprised Erin at the reception! ¬†Billy plays the guitar, as you can see, and he wrote a song just for her and sang out his heart for everyone to hear. ¬†He expressed their first kiss that happened on the beach and how he felt about her. ¬†Both young and old, single and married, all the women in the room were spilled over with joy for Erin. ¬†You could tell what all the women were thinking, “why can’t my man do this for me?” ¬†And by the looks on all the men’s faces you could hear them saying, “oh great, thanks Billy!” ¬†HA HA.

 

This next part of the reception was just fantastic. ¬†The DJ, Fredrick, with Sophisticated Gents, got all the men in the room on the dance floor to which they all sang, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. ¬†Every time I hear that song it reminds me of when I was a little girl watching Top Gun where Tom Cruise sings this song to the woman in the bar, such a great scene!!! ¬†How could a woman resist that! ¬†

We all couldn’t stop smiling when all the boys sang this song to Erin! ¬†It was a great moment!

 Congratulations Erin and Billy!  I wish you many happy years together!


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