I Love Thunderstorms

I think a lot of people enjoy thunderstorms, others not so much. But for those that do...there is something very alluring about them. Perhaps its because we have no real control over them and they can be very overpowering...all we can do is just sit, watch and listen.
I also LOVE clouds...big, fat poofy ones! So, the day BEFORE the storm this week - I grabbed some pictures and as the storm got closer took some more...I know..random. But that's me.
Of course, with taking pictures of nature I always feel like there is a disclaimer: It was SO much better in real life! The photograph doesn't do it justice. So, with that disclaimer...here goes the storm:
























in coming!

This wasn't even sunset..this was just how quickly the sky darkened.

And this was cool because it was like the suns last hope to shine!

Generations....

Four generation of fabulous strawberry pickers :) (and eaters)






Proud graduate of Kindergarten

Playin' around at a park in Colonie :) Just for fun.

Love You!

The hand sign for I love you has become a regular sign in our family. No, none of us need sign language to communicate, but we use it. It started after Joshua's accident when we DID need some sign language to communicate. My mom began signing to him "I love you" so he could visually understand what we were saying and eventually he was able to sign it back.
However, now its something my mom has taught my boys and now that my three-year-old has the hang of it, he uses it all of the time. Both boys sign when I drive away to go somewhere and they both sign it before they fall asleep at night. Yes, we SAY I love you as well, but something so cute about those little fingers trying to get into place to sign it. It's become more widespread as I use it with some close friends and definitley the fam! It's so simple, but yesterday I realized how something so little means so much to me! So, thanks mom! Three fingers and they say so much!

A writers quote

I read this quote somewhere and I cannot remember who it was said by, but it was cute.

"When I was little people called me a liar, now that I am a grown up, they call me a writer."

It made me smile especially now that I am immersed in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I have a new appreciation for how vast someones imagination can be. I enjoy it and I find it very entertaining. My goal is to have the series read by the end of the summer. I blew through the Twilight series in like a month last year, but I am thinking this series MAY take me a slight bit longer. Hobbits are more complicated than vampires;) But then my dear friend "ice" as I call her, went and told me about a great book she read...and of course, how can I say no to a good book (nerd alert). So, my trilogy expedition may get interrupted by a romance or suspense novel. We shall see.

Feelin Froggy

It’s the new/old phrase for trying something new, something challenging, something you wouldn’t otherwise do. You see it works like this. The battle in your mind tells you that you want to do something, but there is hesitancy. In your mind you decide you are up for the challenge and you muster up the courage to just go for it and with the gusto of strength you say to yourself "Let do this, I am feelin’ froggy".
Try it. Say it out loud. You may laugh, but I bet you will find several situations that the froggy in you will appreciate your emphatic verbosity in its use.
I only say this because the phrase was used last week in a situation that only left me in a fit of laughter. I am not sure if I had heard it used prior to this event. Now, I know it doesn’t take much to amuse me so perhaps its simplicity is where I find its humor.
I will not use names to protect the innocent…awww. I have always wanted to use that phrase.
After a bridal shower it was girls night out with the brides mom navigating the evening. Myself, the bride her sister and her mom… it was a car ride immersed in family dynamics (awesome for me!) I like to observe;)
Anyway, after an evening full of laughter and fun we were to meet the bride’s fiance’…since we were already in downtown Albany he chose to meet us on Lark Street. Not a big deal until you could find no parking, it was dark and well, we were not a formidable foursome. Though it was no where near a dangerous situation we still sat in the car for several minutes deciding our next course of action. Get out of the car and walk? Wait for him to find our car? Just drive safely home and get to bed? The intensity of the situation swelled with fits of laughter as we remained IN the car conjuring up all sorts of situations. However, it was time to make the move as what to do….
So, mama of the bride took control and as if she were James Bond she looks back and states : "Let go guys, I’m feeling froggy."
Now tell me that isn’t a line in a suspense thriller as the guy is about to break in and save the girl? Now, I know the humor may not translate well in writing, but it put me in giggles for the rest of the evening…and I will say, I have used that phrase several times over the past week.
I’m thinking t-shirts, license plates, bumper stickers, coffee mugs and screen savers… "I’m feeling froggy" ;)

My First Photographing Injury

You know...I thought perhaps once high school and college sports were through, I MIGHT escape serious athletic induced injuries. I figured I had served my time with an ACL tear in high school and then another one during my sophomore soccer season at college, throw in a rolled ankle and a few shin splints...and I should be all set. But, somehow I just couldn't avoid getting hurt while PHOTOGRAPHING a championship title game tonight. There were hundreds of people there, but I somehow was the ONLY one that managed to get hit with the baseball. A long hard throw to the first baseman...did not quite make it to the first baseman. I was flipping through the pictures I had already taken...when BAM...Mr. Baseball met my shin. Now I could have acted like it didn't hurt and just move out of the way, but with the swelling and grotesque bruising that followed, that was not an option or I could have just burst out in tears which was the more likely option. However, I did neither and just kind of stepped back and tried not to make a scene. But THAT sucker hurt! Five photographers lined the first baseline...but the ball hit ME. I don't even have a cool injury story - like I scored the winning goal, made the lay up or SOMETHING better than.."so I was photographing this game."
Oh well.