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It’s no big secret that I love food.  That fact became very apparent when at a young age my way of retelling the story for any vacation we had taken had more to do with the types, amounts, and quality of the meals eaten than anything else.  Truly that is still my way of talking about trips that we take.  I remember the sites now and take photo’s just don’t expect me to talk about them very much.  Ask me the best meal I had or where to find good chocolate or pastries and my eyes will light up and I could go on for ages.

The holidays are my favorite time of year.  I used to say it was the joy and good will people seemed to have or the shopping and wrapping of presents.  And  I can’t wait until November to start listening to my vast and ever growing collection of holiday music.  I am listening to some very nice music put out by Victoria’s Secret years ago. 

I have finally come to realize that what it is about the holidays that excite me so much apart from the music, spending thime with friends and family and the mezmerizing lights (a story for another post) is the food.  I love the pies, cakes, breads, soups, cookies, all of it.  Some of my best memories growing up were of making cookies with my Mom.  When I had kids I made sure that we made cookies every year to give to friends and family.

The kitchen the dinning room table everything would be covered in flour by the time we were done.  But the laughs and the good times we shared are priceless.  They enjoyed those nights so much that as they grew to be teenagers they invited their friends and took over the whole thing.  All I had to do was answer questions and then feast on the goods.  Who wouldn’t be in food heaven.  Christmas parties with all sorts of mouth-watering goodies, baskets full of tempting tidbits, pot-luck dinners with soups and cookies.  I am thrilled at this time of the year.   Do I need it no but that dosen’t stop me from wanting it.  And so I shall becuase I know come January and the new year I will go back to my sensible and healthy eating plan.  But until then let the good times roll…………………

 

 

Today I am posting a letter that an officiant has written for brides.  I found it through Wedding Wire which is a great resource for wedding planning and networking with other brides and vendors. 

And yes this blog post does count for the Cans for Comments promotion so be sure to leave a comment.

Planning and budgeting for your wedding is a LOT like planning and paying for your starter home. The obvious similarities? It is a huge purchase. It is an expression, perhaps, the first, of your couple style. AND you will be spending a lot of money in a situation where you may not feel that you’re informed enough to feel totally comfortable.

So many factors can contribute to your decision, but perhaps the most important (or close) is your budget. Every couple has one, sparse or generous. While it may not be the only thing on your mind, it certainly looms large. No one wants to walk away from such an important purchase with buyers’ remorse, fearing that they have made an expensive purchase that wasn’t the right choice. In the case of your wedding, those multiple expensive purchases contribute to a day that cannot be done over; it truly is a “once in a lifetime” experience.

Decisions based solely on price can cause regrettable (and avoidable) disasters on your wedding day. Like the classic joke, “The food was terrible, and the portions were so small!”, five hours of an obnoxious DJ or an out of tune band will ruin your reception, no matter how many mirrored balls, inflatable guitars or ‘dance motivators’ they throw in for “free”. Five thousand photos that are carelessly shot, amateurishly lit or cropped and delivered late are not going to capture your wedding day in a better way than 500 artistically created pictures that really tell your story. (And there is just no way to know what great shots were missed.) A cake no one eats is well, a cake no one eats……and a ceremony everyone yawns through is a terrible way to start this precious moment in history; yours, your friends’ and your families’.

When you buy a house, a common phrase is, Location location location! Buy the most house you can afford in the best neighborhood, not the most expensive house in a less than desireable neighborhood. How does this translate to your wedding? Easily. Instead of finding the cheapest professional in any category, strive to put together a team of the people that you truly want to create your wedding, and then work with them to see just how that can happen.

“Every wedding professional who truly is that, a professional, wants to work with the couples that want to work with us. We want you to understand why we charge what we do, how we are uniquely qualified to be a part of your wedding, and how we might work together to stay within your budget. Your photographer might suggest a shorter period of coverage (maybe just before the ceremony and then part of the reception, rather than spanning the entire day, from makeup to the last crumb of cake). Your invitation artist might deliver your wedding stationary in components, ready for your bridal party to assemble. Your officiant, (that would be me!!), might offer to do a quick run through of your processional before the wedding rather than on a separate day. (I also offer a printable, decorative copy of the ceremony readings that some of my couples have used instead of favors.) All of these are invisible ways to include the vendors who will truly enhance your days.

None of us want our couples leaving their reception thinking that their day was vastly more expensive than they hoped; that is not the memory we are striving to create. Great, experienced, enthusiastic wedding partners are worth every penny that you’ll spend on them, and they’ll help you spend it wisely. That is our wedding gift to you. ”

Written by Celia Milton Celebrant

It’s raining and it’s getting chilly out.  I actually like this kind of weather makes me wanna curl up with a good book and mug of hot tea.  Reading and napping throughout the day just seems like such an awesome way to spend the day.But I have a lot of work to do so I guess I will have to put that off until tomorrow.

Here is a picture that makes me think nice chilly thoughts as winter starts to arrive here in Florida.  I took this as ICE last year.  Haven’t decided if I am ging to go see it again this year or not.  I’ll let you know when I know.

Be sure to leave a comment to do your part for the cans for comments drive.  You can read more about that here.

This is your chance to easily do something for a family in need.  I heard about this great program called Cans For Comments.   What is this you may be asking yourself?  Well basically it’s a way for Photographers to give back to their community.  Simple as that.

What do I do?  How do I participate?  That’s easy all you do is leave a little blog love, a comment short or long between now and Dec. 22 (My Mom’s Birthday) on any post.  We will add up all the comments and donate one can for each comment.  That’s it, easy as pie.  All donations will be made to the Second Harvest Food Bank  in Orlando Fl.

This is our first year participating but we are excited to be doing it.  You can even leave a comment on other photographer’s blogs who are also participating.  Here’s a few of them: One+One Images, Andrea Blair, Brooke Dainty, Courtney Paris, and Cortney Reece.

If you are interested in participating yourself send an eamil to cansforcomments@gmail.com for more information.  You can also follow on twitter at http://twitter.com/cansforcomments. 

Be sure to check back in for pictures of all the cans and us delivering them so you know we have really done it.  Now what are you waiting for leave some blog love and help someone out.

To cantact me click here.  To view my portfolio click here or to follow me on twitter click here.

I remember in the early 90′s hearing that everyone had been affected by the HIV/AIDS virus and I thought, no not me.  A weeks later I discovered that a family member had been infected.

It is estimated that 33.4 million are living with HIV in the world including 2.1 millon children.   Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25.   Those numbers scare me when you consider that this is something that can be prevented.

I know in the late 80′s when this disease first became known they tried to educate us in school about it and we assumed it was just a gay disease and we didn’t need to pay attention.  After all at 17 you don’t think you can get anything.  Fastforward to 2009 and it would appear that things have not changed all that much. 

So on this day if you have never been tested because you think it can’t happen to you know that it can and go get tested.  If you want to do something but don’t know what to do you can go to Starbucks and buy (RED) to help out.  Alicia Keys is giving a free concert on You Tube tonight at 8pm.  If you want to read stories from other bloggers check out Bloggers Unite!  To simply learn more or educate yourself you can visit npr, Avert or The Body.

Whatever you do please do something.  If you are not infected or affected than help someone who is.   Help make it possible that someday we might not need to have a day set aside to bring attention to HIV/AIDS.