Allana’s totally rad 80′s outfit for Decade Day complete with an authentic Culture Club concert t-shirt.
Like, Totally Radical
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Monthly Archives: March 2010
I Heart Faces: Dramatic Black & White Photo Challenge
Ever since the day Emmalynn was born, Allana has been the best big sister a little sister could ever ask for. When Emmalynn was a baby, she would want to hold her and cuddle her constantly. Five years later, she still loves to hold and cuddle her little sister. Allana enjoys playing Mother Hen and taking care of Emmalynn in such a tender way that would warm any mama’s heart.
When I see the expression of love caught in this old photo, it comforts me like a cozy blanket. With a new baby brother on the way, I know Allana will gaze at her baby brother with this same loving look and once again, she will want to hold and cuddle our new baby every moment she can. I just hope Emmalynn will share that same feeling towards her baby brother.
I hope I can capture a photo of two big sisters gazing lovingly at their baby brother.
Proudly submitted at
Red Light
A traffic light has been erected at the front of our housing development and I couldn’t be happier, although many of my local Facebook friends don’t seem to share my enthusiasm. Many commuters see it as another delay in already long drive to work.
I see it as a sigh of relief. When leaving our development you needed a prayer and a very heavy foot just to cross four lanes of traffic in the early morning hours or early evening hours.
Is another traffic light the right solution? If people drove the speed limit… if people adhered to basic traffic regulations…if people just practiced common courtesy when driving…if the county spent money on better infrastructure, then then maybe a traffic light wouldn’t be necessary.
Until that all happens, commuters will just have to except this eyesore forcing them to slow down stop.
They might have a revelation while sitting at a red light.
Preserving Brooker Creek Preserve
One of our favorite family pastimes is visiting Brooker Creek Preserve for its hikes, story time and hands-on education center.
While visiting the center the other day, I heard some heartbreaking news. Brooker Creek Preserve faces closure due to budget cuts. Pinellas county commissioners have drastically reduced the staff and the operating hours of the center despite the facility already relying heavily volunteers to run its programs.
As a resident of a neighboring county, I would gladly pay an entrance fees to keep the gates of Brooker Creek Preserve and Weedon Island open to support these invaluable resources and the many lessons taught there.
Both centers offer wonderful lessons of our delicate ecosystems and local history.
I would rather share with my children lessons of conservation rather than sad stories of bureaucrats not seeing the beauty and educational value in such wonderful places.
Since Pinellas residents already pay significant taxes to support these centers, county officials should promote both centers as points of interest to tourists and draw revenue from its visitors and residents outside of Pinellas rather than closing its gates permanently.
If you live in the Tampa Bay area, I urge to support these centers by asking Pinellas County Commissioners to reconsider their position or contact The Friends of Brooker Creek and The Friends of Weedon Island to learn how you can help.
From the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve website:
The Friends will continue to provide as much support as possible for programs and other needs at Brooker Creek Preserve. We are in the process of finding ways to raise funds to that end. To succeed, we need YOU! We are looking for ideas, event planning assistance, and some energized hands. If you are interested in joining us in this important mission, please contact us at 727-934-2680 or info@friendsofbrookercreekpreserve.org.
Allana’s Crazy Hair Day
TOOT for Being a Featured Blogger!
I recently became acquainted with a new “running partner”, Lisa of Little Writer Momma, and we’ve become fast bloggie friends. After visiting each other blogs and corresponding via e-mail, we learned that we share similar running stories. Lisa appreciated my encouraging comments, novice knowledge and mommy runner support and then she asked if I would be willing to write a guest post to help other moms hurdle over some struggles they may be experiencing as a beginner runner. Of course, I was happy to oblige.
On Monday, my guest post, Run Like a Mother, was featured on Lisa’s blog. I would love for you visit Little Writer Momma to read my post and please leave a comment letting Lisa know I sent you.
Thanks in advance for your love and support! 
I Heart Faces: Focusing on Angles
Having an uber talented photographer friend, like Kelly, has helped cultivate and grow my photography skills tremendously. When Kelly introduced me to the idea of angles and off-centered shots, I began clicking away trying to give it my best shot. I soon discovered angles actually work really well when trying to capture a photo of Emmalynn. She never sits still long enough to snap a portrait and if she does, she usually makes some silly face.
Like I said, when just trying to snap a quick photo - any photo of Emmalynn – angle shots work really well and the results are usually fun stunning pretty darn good for an amateur with a point-and-click camera like me.
Proudly submitted at
The Lost Boy
Until the recent death of Corey Haim, I hadn’t given much thought to the two Coreys in nearly twenty years. As the media uncovers more and more stories and photos of Corey Haim in the last days before his untimely death, it breaks my heart to see yet another Hollywood star burn out too soon. Somewhere deep inside a broken and destitute nearly 40 year old man, hid the young Corey Haim that so many girls from my teen days loved and although I never had a teen crush on either of the two Coreys (Corey Feldman and Corey Haim), I prefer to remember them as they were back in their heyday.
Most girls back in the 80s crushed over the two Coreys in License to Drive, but my favorite films featuring them were The Lost Boys and Dream Little Dream. The Lost Boys, an iconic 80s film, had teen girls swooning over sexy vampires well before Edward, but Dream a Little Dream, haunted me for years far greater than The Lost Boys ever could. Dream a Little Dream introduced me to a unique fantasy plot and a story line that I have since seen played over many times again in other films and novels, but since that first introduction, these twisted, body switching, time traveling tales attracted my attention into my adult years.
More than creating a love for fantasy genre, both films also reinforced my love for movie soundtracks. (As I mentioned in earlier posts, I’ve always loved movie soundtracks, thanks to John Hughes and other directors making careful consideration when selecting music to match scenes.) Echo and the Bunnymen’s version of People are Strange from The Lost Boys opened my music world to The Doors.
But I attribute Dream a Little Dream bringing me Into the Mystic and discovering the world of Van Morrison’s music. Until Corey Haim passed away, I had completely forgotten about this movie, which is where I first heard Into the Mystic and the song how moved me way back when.
As the news agencies delve deeper into the reasons behind Corey Haim’s death, an uncanny irony unfolds as we learn how this poor soul became a true lost boy who got caught up in the crazy world of drug addiction. Although we may never know the root of Corey Haim’s addiction, Hollywood and its walking undead resembles the town of Santa Carla more and more.
Simone and Matt’s Wedding
My sister and her husband celebrated their first anniversary this week.
Simone asked me to be her Matron of Honor and for my daughters to be her flower girls. I was honored to be part of her special day, but I was truly touched that she wanted to include my girls.
Weeks before the ceremony, I had some very intimate conversations with my sister due to her cold feet. Although I never experienced cold feet before my wedding day, I tried my best to understand her anxiousness. In a feeble attempt to comfort Simone, I reminded that her Matt was a perfect match for her. I told her that a wedding is simply a dog-and-pony show. It’s the people that make the marriage and from the unconditional love I saw displayed so often, I knew they could go the distance to endure all the ups and downs of marriage.
On the way to the church, I snapped a photo of Simone in the limo. She threatened begged me not to post it on Facebook and I had to promise to only post it after the ceremony. I upheld my end of the deal. I love this picture because it shows her death threat look how nervous and anxious she felt before the “I Do’s”.
Simone has always been beautiful inside and out and her wedding was no exception. From the feathers in hair to the retro art deco style of the wedding to the stunning bridesmaids’ dresses to the accessories she chose for each of us, her flare for fashion was evident in every little detail.
Since I remember crying like a faucet on my wedding day, I wanted to prevent our beautiful bride from looking like Tammy Faye Baker. With a stroke of genius, her bridesmaids and I decided to pack some tissues in our handbags, but then it dawned on us that we wouldn’t be carrying our handbags down the aisle. Thinking quick on our feet, we began stuffing tissues down our tops. This would be one day were we would be proud to stuff our bras! Of course during the ceremony, the tears began flowing but thankfully, I had my tissue to save my damsel in distress a bride’s dress.
I believe Simone’s cold feet were simply a case of performance anxiety or more likely a fear of the unknown. Once the formality of the ceremony was behind her, she could really let her hair down, so to speak.
The wedding party entered the hall to Bittersweet Symphony. At this point, my feet were killing me. Simone may have always had a flare for fashion, but not for comfort and like an idiot a serious fashion faux pas, I bought shoes the wrong size. Since my feet were so sore, the best man and I sprinted into the hall. You can take the runner out the running shoes, but you can’t take the running out of the runner. I also cleverly stashed a pair of flip-flops under the banquet table for later.
The newly wedded couple first danced to Lay, Lady, Lay, which was followed by a father-daughter dance to Landslide . Then, Matt danced with his mother. Unfortunately, no one remembers the song a year later.
After all the dances, the Best Man and I played Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who would give their toast first. I lost and had to do the deed first, but then he regretted following me. At least I warmed up the crowd for him.
The wedding reception was a blast and a non-stop party thanks to a fun bunch of friends and family, an open bar and a fantastic local band, Stick Martin.
And Simone’s marital fears slipped away once she slipped into a more comfortable dress.
Even the old folks parents couldn’t stay off the dance floor…
…but watching my dad rap and dance to Ludacris’ Move Bitch had me in stitches.
The party continued until late into the night.
And a year later, we are still celebrating this fun, beautiful, loving couple.
Happy First Anniversary, Simone and Matt!
xox
Hosted by Cecily
Still No Luck with Leprechauns
Tuesday night, the girls built three traps in a desperate attempt to catch a leprechaun again this year. Allana decided to create two completely different traps than she had built in previous years since those traps were so unsuccessful. Using some of the ideas presented in the children’s book, The Night Before St. Patricks Day, Allana began devising a new plan.
With a hole cut into a shoebox, Emmalynn kept her design simple. She used a Lincoln Log train track as a ladder to lure the leprechaun into the hole and placed a chocolate gold coin on top of the box. Inside the box, she added yellow Legos as more bait. Hopefully, the leprechaun would mistake the Legos as gold bricks and greedily fall into her trap.
Allana built a tower of Legos with a Lincoln train track for a ladder and taped a toilet paper roll covered in green paper at the top. She carefully placed a Chuck E. Cheese token at the end of the tube and strategically placed a tin can wrapped in green paper below the tube. This contraption would entice the leprechaun up the Lego tower where he would find a gold coin and climb through the tube to steal it. He would then plummet into the tin can and be trapped.
For the third trap, she covered a shoebox in white paper and decorated with shamrock stickers. She laid a sheet of green paper across the top and carefully placed a gold rock (her own version of fool’s gold) in the center. Once the leprechaun grabbed the gold rock, he would fall into the shoebox and be trapped by the green paper.
The girls set their traps around the family room before they went to bed. The next morning, the girls sprang out of bed and ran into the room to see which trap caught a leprechaun. They hoped all three would catch a different leprechaun.
Much to their disappointment, they found no leprechauns. Instead, they did discover a pile of green and gold goodies and treats in each trap.
Not only did not catch a leprechaun again this year, some tricky leprechaun stole all their gold coins but left the fool’s gold behind.
