. . . Happy Birfday to you, Happy Birfday to you, Happy Birfday dear Daa-eee, Happy Birfday to you.
Thanks for filling our lives with joy.
We yub you.
Love,
us.
ps thank you for not being embarrassed when I dragged that ridiculous lens out at the crowded pool to shoot these shots.
xo
. . . Couldn’t leave for Ocean City without providing you with some Friday tunes! To put you in the spirit of being at the beach with us, I put together a few of my favorite summer songs. They don’t all talk about summer, they just remind me of driving with the windows or top down, the energy of a sunny morning, and the invigorating feeling of walking out in the early am in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops – don’t know why, just something about these tunes that make me think of summer’s warmth.
It’s game time on the blog (we haven’t had one in a while) so listen up! One of these songs was MY FAVORITE song of “that” summer when it came out. I must have listened to that cassette tape (hint, hint) over and over and over again – I’m sure I wore it out. (another hint coming) I remember that it was the first tape that I bought, after getting my driver’s license and I played it over and over and over again – that summer before my senior year.
Leave a comment with your guess (after you listen to the tunes) and a random winner (with the right answer) wins a $25 GAP giftcard that is burning a hole in my wallet. I will do the random “drawing” on Tuesday when I am officially back in the office.
And, speaking of beach – dates will be forthcoming about beach sessions at the Delaware/Maryland beaches later in the season – trying to find some openings in my schedule!
. . . if you are not from “Merlin” this might not make sense to you, but if you are a MD resident then you know it means we are off to OC! Yippee. It is ridiculous how excited I am about our trip to the beach. You would think we are going for the summer – I am so giddy – but nope. One night. John was able to take a little time off and I didn’t have clients scheduled so off we go! My husband thinks I am some kind of a nut because I started packing and getting ready to go three days ago, and I’ve been talking about it since I booked the hotel. It’s funny to me too because this time three years ago (pre-wee one) we were just returning with a group of a wonderful friends from a resort on a teeny weeny island off of the coast of South Sulawesi. (If any of my dive buddies are reading this, I miss you guys). Our trip began in Bali with a few days exploring and touring, and then 10 days at Wakatobi, and then our last night back in Bali at the Ritz Carlton, before heading on to Singapore. O.M.G. It was so over-the-top I can’t even describe it. We had our own private pool for goodness sakes, and our villa was larger than my first apartment. Um, ok, I just looked at their site to get the link and THAT was our room.
The reason that I bring all of this up is because I wouldn’t trade my up coming two-days-and-one-night-in-Ocean-City WITH my family for a month at the Ritz Carlton Bali without them. My passport is safely tucked away and will be dusted off in due time, I’m sure. We can’t wait to show our little girl the world as we’ve seen it, and to visit new places along the way. There’s no education, in my opinion, like traveling and experiencing the culture, history and people of other Countries and spending time together while doing so.
In the meantime though, we’ll be here in Merlin, just a couple of hours south, Down the Ocean, ‘hon.
Please note that I am leaving my computer at home, so I will not have access to email while I’m gone. Yes, really honey, I am. I promise. I’m not bringing it. If you REALLY need to reach me by phone, you can do so, but I may not be able to answer because I might be covered in powdered sugar with my mouth stuffed with funnel cake, or I might be chasing my own toddler on the beach, with my camera.
When I get back from the trip – I PROMISE I will have dates for beach shoots later in the summer. Part of my to-do list while I am sitting in the sand 
(Oh, and really quick, for those of you who received your galleries after the proofing marathon that has been happening in my office for the past few days…thank you :blush: I will take your sweet comments on vacation with me.
. . . music to my ears! SEVERAL client galleries are being delivered today – thanks to all of them for their patience! Sending all of these “your gallery is ready” emails today reminded me of back in the day, when I would drop my FILM off at the grocery store (yes, the grocery store) to have it developed and then eagerly await the phone call that it was ready to pick up. I couldn’t even get to the check-out stand without pulling my pictures out of the envelope to see them. Funny that this was especially true at “big times” like prom (ha) and birthday parties, and so on. So much fun to walk down memory lane. I still love film, but I am an instant gratification girl so digital is right up my alley.
Here’s a pic from one of the galleries being delivered today that I just love. Just a sweet, simple image from childhood, complete with freeze-pop drips all over her little shirt
. . . for a VERY patient Dad who can’t wait to see his family’s portrait gallery! I promise..it’s coming soon! In the meantime, how could I deprive him of this? Hope it brings a little smile in the middle of his workday?
. . . 
Aimee – you had to know that we couldn’t NOT send a shamrock! Thought an electronic one would be a little easier THANK YOU for such a nice afternoon – we both had a great time!
Many of you may remember MAC from this blog post. Mac is a wonderful little boy suffering from MLD and I had the joy of photographing his family a couple of months ago. Mac’s home is full of shamrocks like this one, where people have sent him messages of love and support. Feel free to leave Mac a little “shamrock love” here in the comments section, or visit his website www.macsteam.org to sign his caringbridge journal. I know the Murrays get strength from messages of love and support, even from those they haven’t met before.
ps – For those of you who don’t know HOW to leave comments (sorry) at the bottom of the post there is some text show/add comments – click that and the little box will pop up!
. . . Can I just tell you how much fun making these little mix tapes for you is for me? I sure hope that this mix of danc-y tunes from this way-back-when-era will bring about some be-bopping for those of you sitting at a desk this morning. Something’s got to give you a little perk when your morning cup of caffeine wears off, right? It’s hard for me to imagine ANYONE listening all the way through, not having at least a LITTLE sway or shoulder shimmy. Me – I’m singing out loud, and it’s not pretty.
Since this decade of disco is very familiar for many of my readers (who lived through it) I’m sure you can imagine it was tough to choose my favorites. Wedding “anthems” like Celebration, Play that Funky Music White Boy, and YMCA of course come to mind, but after living for nearly 10 years across the street from the USNA Officer’s Club, where there were weddings EVERY Saturday, those songs make me want to beat my head on my desk are just a little too overplayed for me.
I have received SO many emails about these little music mixes – just for fun this week – leave a comment with YOUR favorite 70’s tune! If you have trouble thinking of one, close your eyes and think “all skate” – that HAS to bring back some memories!
. . . is there anything cooler than a brilliant, beautiful, athletic, nice, overachieving woman? Yes. TWO of them. I’m well into preparing this gallery and I just had to share this pic and brag about these two for a second. (I would imagine that their sweet Moms do the same, but hey, it’ll just take a minute
Stunning Navy ENSIGN on the left is the winner of the Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword, which was presented to her for excelling in athletics during her years at USNA on the Varsity Rowing Team. It’s a big deal. You can read all about this prestigious award here. She rowed in the Varsity boat Every. Single. Race. for four years.
Beautiful blue-eyed Marine Corps 2nd Lt. on the right, was awarded the Coaches Award, for the leadership she showed as Captain of the women’s basketball team. Another big deal.
Can you just imagine what their high school transcripts must have looked like? Yikes – talk about the head of the class
I know you have heard me say it time and time again but I am SO LUCKY! It’s not just that I get to spend my time photographing beautiful people, but what means most to me is getting to meet them, know them, and be part of their memories, even if just for a little bit of time.
Congratulations ladies!
. . . It’s hard to believe, but my first born turned 11 today. I still remember the day I brought him home – his Daddy had just “gotten” a muskrat moments before I arrived in St. Michael’s to pick him up. Sadly, moving to the big city meant no muskrat chasing for him, but he has spent many an afternoon plotting how to take down his arch rival, the squirrel. or rabbit. or small squeaky toy. This little guy loves to chase a ball (or anything you might throw for that matter) and while his face is turning VERY gray, and he is not quite as spry as he once was, his spirit is still as much of a puppy as the day that he became part of my family. Long before Caroline, and well before I even met John for that matter, Buster has been a companion, watchdog, pain in the butt at times, but most of all a little buddy to me. I think there are times when the little girl in the family drives him nuts, but that being said, he’s never too far away from her. He naps a lot more than he used to (usually on a piece of furniture he’s not allowed on), but he’s more than ready when John picks up a tennis ball, or he hears the word “walk.” We are so lucky to have him and his antics still keep us laughing, 11 years later.
Happy Birthday Buster!
. . . After showing you the fab display that my client did with her 16″ x 16″ square museum mounts, I thought I would show a few pics of a canvas that I just received. I took this picture last summer, while on vacation and it has been on my to do list to print. This is a gallery wrapped canvas – it’s 20″ x 30″, and the canvas is wrapped around a 1 1/2″ stretcher frame and I am in LOVE! The vendor that I use does an amazing job with color and their printing is spot on, and the level of detail is incredible. These are quick snapshots, so you can’t get the full effect, but in a word it’s beautiful! The back is finished off nicely with tyvek paper and hardware for hanging, so when it arrives it’s ready to go up on the wall! Framing is a nice option, but I am all about the instant gratification that I get when I opened this box. A picture hanger, a hammer, and 2 minutes and it was on display!
happy Wednesday
