When in doubt, smile.

A few weeks ago I photographed a little girl name Winnie, short for Winifred, which is my maternal Grandmother’s name. Tonight I booked a shoot for a brother & sister, named William and Virginia (my parent’s names)!

Crazy right?

Now, if a family contacts me with 3 daughters named Erica, Elizabeth and Ella .. then I’d really freak out

From Angelle I’ve done 89 of these

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower - on Grandma’s lawn
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it - all the time
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise - many many times, so worth it.
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - heck yeah
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - of course!
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales - whale watches are awesome
39. Gone rock climbing - summer camp
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach - living in FL has its advantages
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabatized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume - can’t forget the black cat
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day - I probably do this too often
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - to see Higher Learning, what an experience.
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - actually started 3
58. Taken a martial arts class - in college
59. Been in a movie - filmed at the video store
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch - heh
62. Won first prize in a costume contest - A unicorn at my dad’s company picnic
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did - my ancestor fell off the Mayflower (but was pulled back on)
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - CA
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job - once, unfortunately
76. Won money - a few times
77. Broken a bone - toes 
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph - bad Erica, bad!
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi - I keep trying, still dont like it
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - I’ve been in it personally and an image I shot has been published.
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad - I think so .. but I don’t remember it .. might’ve been the Odyssey 
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch - a few i guess 
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play - I have, but not on broadway
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco - by disco, I’m guessing they mean any club?
118. Played in a band - does middle school band count?
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum - in boston
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train - through MA
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar - had to try it once
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need - do infomercials count?
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant - elephant at a carnival
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt - check!
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating - Went just last Feb!
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class - it’s lovely 
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite - again, lovely
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment - took me awhile to learn this, but so glad I did.
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox - who hasn’t??
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous - a response from the white house, something I had to write for school
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing - well I think so ..
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives - yes! At the house in GVille, the heat came on for the first time and I totally broke out, must’ve been a bad dust allergy.
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

Last night was a total blast if you couldn’t tell by my posts throughout the night Nikki, Keri and I celebrated my 30th birthday in Orlando .. and they spoiled me rotten with gifts, dinner and a great time. We started out at Cheesecake Factory, then we met up with Megan at Rising Star at CityWalk. Rising Star is a karaoke bar, except instead of singing with pop songs with the lead vocals ripped out, you’re singing in front of a full band, complete with backup singers. They finally brought Megan up on stage during their 3rd set, and she ROCKED! It was seriously so much fun. When we were making plans this week I really thought we would only be there for an hour or so and head back home around midnight, but we actually stayed until almost 2am, which is when the place closed. Its been a long time since I’ve done that So far I’ve had a really great start to my 30s.

Thank you so much, again, Nikki, Keri & Megan!!

Busy week ahead, hopefully you wont see much from me this week as I have an entire house to scrub before the family heads up here for the 4th. We’re also having a little party for Ella’s birthday on Saturday .. so there’s alot of stuff to do around here.

I’m sorry and I love you

Dinner at Cheesecake with Nik & Keri then onto karoake with Megan. Tonight its ladies night!

I’ve narrowed down my favorites .. 

Chelsie & Mark
Katee & Joshua
Kherington & Twitch
with honorable mention going to Jessica & Will  

I love Chelsea, but I really dont like her partner, and this week I think she did a poor job. Also Comfort and Chris, I think its time for Chris to go .. 

Love this show! Who are your favorites and who would you like to see gone?

We’re having quite the lightning show out back tonight .. 

Ah its nice to be home again This weekend we headed down to South FL to spend my birthday weekend with my family (and a belated fathers day). We ended up spending the night last night because of the storms rolling in, plus I was exhausted because I got up at 5am for that photoshoot (well woke up at 5am and couldn’t fall back asleep), and I wasn’t able to take a nap the rest of the day.

So Ella still blows my mind with her conversations .. when we first got there and I held her while watching the dogs play in the backyard she asked me ‘Erica is that your necklace?’, after I replied yes she said ‘Erica, did Sean give you the necklace?’ .. omg she’s so cute! .. no, Sean didn’t give me the necklace, can you tell me what shape its in? ‘A heart!’ very good Ella. Its amazing how she’s moved on from the ‘What’s that’ question constantly, to forming full questions. 

Saturday night we went to Las Vegas, a yummy cuban restaurant. I really miss having Cuban food close by. Then the family surprised me with a cake from Coldstone, filled with my favorite coffee ice cream, oreos and waffle cone smashed up in it, though the waffle cone didn’t stay crispy like the girl at the store said it would. That concoction was in between layers of moist chocolate cake and the whole thing was covered in butter cream icing. It was delicious! 

Sunday I met a family for a photoshoot at the beach first thing in the morning. Then I hung out with Ella, watched her swimming lesson (she did so good, even though she cried the entire time, she kicked, she jumped in, she did everything Kerri asked her). And I got to catch up a little bit with Kerri. We had another feast that night, though I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep before dinner was done, and couldn’t make myself wakeup for food. Oh well, it smelled delicious

The dogs had a bit of a rough time this visit. Mom and dad have a new puppy, who is the queen of the castle so to speak. Her mom rejected her puppies at an early age, so her real dog socialization has come from Rocky, who’s a bit of a spaz. She’s slightly aggressive, but still a puppy, so my dogs didn’t know what to make of it. Big Boy was curling his lips and taking lunges at her a few times, but he calmed down eventually, until he tried to take a bone that Nia had abandoned, then Nia just went after him, and of course he fought back. Daisy though .. Daisy was amazing. At the dog park she has a tendency to jump in the middle of other dogs playing to break it up .. so it didn’t surprise me when she’d step between Nia and Rocky when she thought they were getting too rough. But at the dog park she barks at the dogs and gets loud to stop things. In the house, with Nia, she totally would walk right up to Nia and stand in front of her, Daisy’s side to Nia’s face. Just like Caesar Milan’s dog in the Dog Whisperer. She was trying to teach Nia the right way to behave, she even tried playing with Nia, but eventually Nia even got on Daisy’s nerves this morning. They’re really happy to be home and sleeping in their bed (by their bed I mean the master bed, they’ve been there all afternoon)

Alright .. time to find some lunch!