Do you Believe in Soul Mates?

Do you Believe in Soul Mates? I do! Especially, since I am celebrating my 31st wedding anniversary today. Thirty-Six years total. I was only 17 and Russell was 19. Ok, stop it, don't do the math on how old we are. lol

I crashed a Terra Linda High School Party with two of my girlfriends and Russ was the first person I saw when I walked into the party. My heart did a fast pitter-patter. I thought he was so "foxy".  lol

We talked that night for a long time and I bought up how I use to own a horse and how much I missed horse backing riding. He casually asked if I would like to go horse back riding with him. That was our first date, and years later I found out how terribly afraid he was of horses. Poor guy. He put up a good front for me.

I thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane like I have done in the past for our kid's birthdays. I wish I had access to more photo's to publish but we are in New Hampshire and Boston this week celebrating our anniversary. So, I apologize for the iphone photo's.

Prom.

Halloween. 1979-1981 ish

June 19, 1982

Greek Orthodox Church, Ignacio Ca

What you can't tell from the picture is that Russ broke his ankle the weekend before the wedding and he is hopping around on one foot to get into the car. And yes, that means we got married with him on crutches.  He was a real trouper. You should have seen him trying to Greek Dance.

Strumming by the campfire. 1982-1983 ish

We would go camping and sit by the campfire and he would play guitar and sing to me. Russ taught me to love The Beatles. He still plays the guitar everyday and occasionally serenades me.

Sax Player for the band Common Men 83-85 ish

I photographed the band and also captured this one of just him. Always been one of my favorite photo's of him. I would guess 83-85' ish. Be sure to put the date on the back of your photographs. You think you will remember... but you won't.

One of our many trips to Lake Tahoe. 1983-86 ish

Russ also introduced me to the love of sailing. We eventually bought a 16' Hobie Cat Sailboat and towed it to Lake Tahoe to go sailing. So peaceful sailing on that gorgeous clear blue water. 

Lake Tahoe. 1983-1985 ish

My wonderful, sweet family. 2009

We are so blessed to have two amazing kids. I couldn't image our life without them. Love you more than you will ever know. My sweet kid's Cate and Conner.

The lion and the lion tamer. Halloween 2009.

Still singing. 2009

He's building shelfs for my new studio. Again. This is my third studio.
Thank you honey, you are the best. 2012

 

Family portrait 2012 with Zero and Zeus. Love those dogs!

Punta Cana 2012.

New Year's Day 2013

  I will have to add more photo's between the early 80's and 09.  Lots of fun and love between those years. We are so blessed to have grown in the same direction at the same time. We will visit an art gallery and always love the same piece. All of my memories include him.  I have been with him more than half my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you more than when we first got married. You are my love, my life. I look forward to many, many more.  You are my soul mate.                                 

Banana Oat Cookies...The Bomb!

You know how I love my healthy food and especially healthy cookies. Let's be honest everyone likes to snack on junk food, I just like mine to be healthy.  lol

I found this recipe on Facebook and made them today. Omg, they are the bomb. Here is the recipe:

As you can see there is no "how to" instructions on this recipe, so, this is what I discovered.

1 - I made it using my KitchenAid Automatic Mixer, well it mixed too well.
     So I added:
     1 additional cup of oats and I mixed quick and rolled. (3 cups total)
     3/4 cup Gluten Free Flour - probably 1/2 of cup would have been fine and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Again, I only added those two ingredients because it was too "mushy".  Perhaps, if I used a wooden spoon instead it would have been fine. But, I was glad i did, it produced more Cookies! 36 to be exact.

2 - I added 1/4 cup brown sugar and half a bag of Trader Joe's Chocolate Chips. Come on, it's a cookie and I only added half of the bag. And, I'm so glad that I did. It was the magic ingredient.

3 - I sprinkled Shredded Coconut on top.  I'm a sucker for Coconut and I add it to everything. Even my broccoli!

4 - I used an 1/8 cup as my scooper to put the mix on a greased cookie sheet and for the first batch I didn't pat down the batter and they were quite thick. For the second batch I squished it down with the bottom of the scooper and it was perfect.

5 - Mine cooked for 15-17 minutes.

I dare you to only eat one! So, delicious and healthy. Well, minus the Chocolate Chips and they are super healthy. Enjoy!

Kadena Tate - Dare to Prosper!

I'm so honored to call Kadena my friend. We were neighbors when we lived in Murphy and she was one of my first friends after our big move. I have watched her grow and prosper. She has taken me under her wing and has shared her knowledge with me over the years.

The biggest thing she has taught me is that you need to develop income that you don't have to work 9-5 to earn. What? Let me explain, investing in real estate and collecting those rent checks while you are on the beach or writing and selling the popular ebooks that you write once and collect monthly checks there after.

Sound interesting? This is only the top of the ice berg on what she will share with you.  She has organized this wonderful seminar called, "Dare to Prosper". If you would like help, insight to your business this would be a great opportunity for you to learn and grow.

Here is a snippet from her website:

I highly recommend checking our her website and her seminar. http://www.kadenatate.com  You might just thank me one day. 

Peek-A-Boo Avenue, Children's Boutique ~ Rockwall, Tx

I love to share when I find a rare gem, and something that I think my clients will love. I'm often asked,"where do you suggest I look for children's portrait clothing?" Well, I can now say Peek-A-Boo Avenue! It is a new children's boutique that opened up in old downtown Rockwall.  She previously was in another location in Rockwall and I'm so glad she decided to move to old town.

It is run by Cindy Weadon and her lovely daughter Kinzie. I would love to work with my daughter but we have different ideas. lol The first thing you will notice is how warm and inviting they both are the second you walk into the door. Aren't they adorable?

Cindy and Kinzie

 I love the non chain stores, the mom and pop places. I will always support them first. They have the cutest clothes for newborns and all the way up to 6x. Plus they have tutu's. Who doesn't want portraits of their little girl wearing a tutu? And, who can resist these clothes? I can't wait until I have grandkids!

Have you heard of BlaBla's? Well, they are the latest thing, and they are adorable. A soft washable doll or animal. Rockwall is so lucky she carries the line otherwise think beanie babies: hard to find or it just retired.  

BlaBla's

Here is their website: http://www.blablakids.com Am I too old to want the Mermaid and Licorice the Dog? So dang cute. You have to check out their website.

Cindy and I are talking about a joint venture of my photography and her store. We are brainstorming. So be on the look out for an announcement soon. You may like her page on Facebook to read all the latest news and to stay up to date. https://www.facebook.com/PeekABooAvenue

Happy Shopping!