Congratulations Patrick & Michele!

I was given the opportunity to do something a little out of the ordinary yesterday. Our friend Patrick recently decided it was time to propose to his long time girlfriend, Michele. When he let us know of the news, he also thought it would be fun to capture the whole experience. I of course agreed, because, wel, who would pass up the chance to be a spy for a day! So the spot was the Oceanside Pier, and the time, approximately 5:30 p.m. Chad and I showed up about a half an hour early to scout the location and ensure we secured the best spot for their special moment.

Everything went off as planned, if not better than planned, and in the end SHE SAID YES (big sigh of relief). I was a bit nervous about ruining the surprise, but we were able to find a spot far enough away and behid a wall that we were out of the way....thank goodness for a long enough lens to get close! Anyway, as they would say, the rest was history...congrats to Patrick and Michele!

The Ring was in the pouch!


The Approach....She had no idea!


The Moment of Truth...


She said YES!


They spotted us after it was all said and done.


In case there was any question, they decided to shake on it.


Here they are walking back to the car...Patrick had planned a romantic dinner for them later in the evening.

Amazing Birds!

1. Hummingbirds flap their wings 50 to 200 times per second. Generally the faster time is in courtship.
2. They have the fastest wing beats of any bird and their hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute.
3. 30% of a hummingbird's weight consists of flight muscles.
4. In their non stop quest for fuel, Hummingbirds may visit 1,000 flowers per day.
5. Hummingbirds feed through a long, tube-like tongue that darts into the flower's corolla for nectar.
6. They can fly up, down, right, left, backwards, upside down and even loop-de-loops! Amazing really!
7. And finally, Do hummingbirds sing? Not really, but they do chirp and make deep-throated guttural sounds....If I could only make a deep-throated guttural sounds!

If you would like to learn more about hummingbirds, simply utilize your best friend Google and the you will find the list goes on and on....but my point here is that the hummingbird is by far one of God's coolest creations. I happended to stumble upon a hummingbird the other day and stopped to take these shots.

Cool Dogs

I was up in LA this weekend visiting some of my dear friends and we made a stop at a pet store. We spent some time with a cuuuute little cocker spaniel (seen in the picture below looking a bit possessed as she is playing tug-of-war with my camera strap). This has prompted me to share some photos of some really cool dogs...they really are a man's best friend!

In The Mood To Reminisce

So I'll admit, I'm just in a mushy mood tonight. Perhaps it is the two hours of sleep I got last night taking its course late in the day, but I want to share some pictures of our honeymoon in Mexico from May/June 2006. We're coming up on the big 10 month mark of marriage, and I was going through some of the photos of our trip and thought I would share. Looking back, we had such a fantastic time settling down and taking some time to relax after the wedding. I must say that I am a lucky woman to have the man that I do!

I hope you enjoy the sights from in and around Puerto Vallarta. In the words of somebody famous I'm sure, there were good times had by all!

Sunsets & Peace Rocks

So I did the whole New Year's resolution thing...I usually try to stay away from them, because, well its just fact that I'm setting myself up for failure! I'm sad to report that this year has been no different. I went with a different sort of resolution, not one to lose 10 pounds (although I DID do that), not to call my Mom once a week (although I call her AT LEAST twice a week), not to take up a new hobby (afterall, I already have too many), but I decided that I was going to take a picture of the sunset each and every day...yup, all 365 of them! So needless to say I have failed miserably at doing this, but I have some to show you that I have captured along the way. I love sunsets...they seem to take on a life of their own, and they're so different each day.

Oh yeah, as for the Peace Rock, I just kind of dug it.

Bring On The Daylight!

Happy, Merry Day Light Savings Time! Something about longer days just gets me in the mood for bbq's and summer time!

I enjoyed this day in about 80 degree weather by getting in my car and driving with no predetermined thought of a destination... eventually I ending up in Point Loma and downtown San Diego. If ever I have taken for granted just how beautiful Southern California is, I was reminded today. The weather and the mood today couldn't have been more perfect...enjoy a couple of the shots from my Sunday journey...and enjoy the daylight!

City Life

I love the city. There is just something majical about what goes on in the heart of the big cities of the world. One of my favorites, the beautiful Chi-Town, is featured here. I get to visit there quite often (although not as often as I would like), as my in-laws live there. My most recent visit was over Christmas as we took a day to enjoy the famous "Magnificant Mile". It was cool, yet warm (huh?) 60ish degrees on this day, and I would like to share a bit of it here.

Go Cubs!

The Lovable Losers

Kind of an oxymoron wouldn't you say? To the normal person yes, but to the Cubs fans of the world it is just a way of life. But hey, "this just may be the year". At least we can all hang on to the glimmer of hope that this statement may just be true...afterall, it is just the beginning of the best months of the year, where the boys of summer will take the field day in and day out from now through October.

This is when the anticipation of a baseball fan, and especially those who cheer for the boys on the Northside, is at its peak, when all is good, the grass is green, the sky is a deep blue, and the ivy on the wall at Wrigley Field is nicely groomed and awaiting fans come opening day.

I just returned from a trip to Arizona with my wonderful husband Chad, a true bleeder of the Cubbie Blue, an eternal optimist (or is the that pessimist), and the one responsible for me single handedly turning over my baseball heart to the Cubs...there, I said it! Its hard not to, and for those of you who don't understand, well, you just don't understand.

So for now, we will hang on to our seats, and hope that Sweet Lou can lead us home, and that in fact 2007 just may be our year. In the meantime, enjoy some of the moments I caught on the trip.