Cyber-Site Tuesday

Guilty Pleasures.

We all have guilty pleasures that we indulge in every now and then – or maybe all the time!
Today’s Cyber-Site tour takes you to my top 10 Guilty Pleasures with a summer twist.

1. I love sitting by the pool or outside with a good book, with hours of uninterrupted time. It doesn’t happen too often, but when I get the opportunity I definitely take the time to enjoy it! With a trip to Miami just around the corner I need to load up on some good reading. Check out the LA Times list of Summer Reading.

2. Day Trips and fun finds. With gas being the price that it is now, we don’t do very many day trips like we used to. I love taking day trips to surrounding little Texas towns and exploring around or just enjoying the day. Kemah is a great day trip, but you better be ready to spend some money. Here is a list from Day Trips from Houston: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler.

3. Outdoor theater or watching movies outdoors. There is nothing nostalgic like a drive in theater. Last year we took Samantha and some of her friends to see Shriek at The Showboat in Hockley, TX. They thought it was so cool to watch a movie from our car.

4. Sketching and painting outside. I love to play with my art and I try to get in any opportunity possible. I love sitting underneath a tree, with pencil or paint in hand and painting a picture of the landscape around me, or coming up with my own creation.

5. Summer Foods-fattening but oooh so good! There is nothing that says summer like homemade ice cream, watermelon, lemonade, BBQ, hot dogs and hamburgers. I used to love to make homemade ice cream with my grandparents during the summer. Now it is so much easier to run to the local Baskin Robbins or HEB and buy it or. If you do not have an ice cream maker, here is another way to make it. Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag.

6. Summer Cocktails! I love a good summer refreshing cocktail when lounging by the pool or just hanging out. 30 Summer Cocktails & Drinks

7. Pedicures. I do not get a chance to have a pedicure very often, but when I do - my feet thank me! It’s always fun to have a cute design added to show off when wearing cute summer sandals.

8. Traveling can be anyone’s guilty pleasure, but if you ever are looking for a quick weekend getaway, Fredericksburg, TX is the place. I love visiting there. It has been a couple of years since we have been there. I think it is time to put it on the calendar. Things to do in Fredericksburg: Enchanted Rock, Wine Tours, Herb Farm, and Horse Back Riding.

9. Listening to nostalgic music. Preferrably music that reminds me of my youth.
Songs that remind me of a particular time in my life. The other day I heard Colour My World by Chicago. That song reminds me of every wedding first dance or graduation party I attended as a kid. I loved it then and still do. Even had it played at my own wedding.

10. A day to do whatever I want to do with no schedule.

Cyber-Site Tuesday - It's Back!

Last year I had a Tuesday feature on my blog titled Cyber-Site Tuesday. I would blog about sites that were of interest to me and ideas I had running through my head. I have decided to bring it back for the sake of my few readers and research for my personal use.

Today's feature is Summer Fun. For most parents finding something for your children to do during the summer is sometimes a hardship. When my daughter was younger I had her in Summer Camps. Sometimes she liked going and other days she did not. For at home moms you have to find entertainment for your kids while at home, otherwise you hear "I'm bored."

I remember as a kid my grandparents always having something for us to do in the Summer. It was not always fun, but it was something to do. Two of my favorite days were Wednesday's and Friday's. On Wednesday's my grandparents would go get bread and feed for their animals, which meant a visit to Mr. Monte's farm. It was like Willie Wonka's paradise. Mr. Monte had a feed/convenience store. He also had a vegetable and fruit farm which he sold fresh produce in his store. Mr. Monte used to let me and my cousins pick as much fruit or berries off his trees/vines for free, then he would give us bags of penny candy for 10 cents (maybe that was what it was worth, but we did not know better). Grandpa used to let us sit in the back of the truck and on the way home we would overload on all that sugar.

You are probably wondering what does this have to do with the Summer Fun. I told this story to show that you do not always have to spend money to show your child a good time. It is the memory that stays with the child. Create a fun jar or activity fun bag and have your kid(s) choose their fun activity for the day. See what family fun activites are in your neighborhood, google websites like this one Family Fun Houston.

Although, my daughter is bigger I am going to create a fun jar for her. My plans are to take a couple of Friday's off during the summer to enjoy some of those fun days with her.

Happy Summer Fun!

Graduation Time

I love photographing teens and seniors!

If I could focus on one area of photography that would be the niche I would choose. They are so easy to photograph. Girls love to model and guys just want to get the session over so they will do anything you tell them to do.

I photographed my first male senior about three weeks ago. I thought it was going to be a challenge but it was easy.

Below are some of my senior shots for Daniel.

A Tisket, A Tasket, What Is In Your Basket?

These pictures are a little late in posting, but at least I'm back to keeping up with my blog!

Samantha surprised me this year and decided she wanted to Easter egg hunt. We originally planned to make it a quiet day just lounging around the house. Easter Eve she tell's me "Mom I want to paint eggs and do a hunt tomorrow."
This is her Justin Beiber egg.

I did not buy any Easter egg dye and we improvised with the food color we had. Here are the outcome of our eggs.

Easter Sunday we went to the Co-Cathederal in downtown Houston. What a beautiful church! Growing up as a kid I remember buying a beautiful Easter dress to attend Easter mass. Well the last couple of years we had not been and I wanted to get back to that tradition.


After mass went to a nice brunch and came home to hide eggs for Ms. Sam. Just when you think they are grown up and do not want to do these things anymore they surprise you!

Overall we had a great family day!

Promises sometimes can't be kept

I made a promise to myself and all 2 of my readers to keep up with my blog this year and I haven't.

I blame Facebook! I choose not to post my whole life story on FB and I favor blogging as my only outlet. Blogging is also a great way to journal.

Well since my last post a lot has happened. I have been busy on the road a lot for work, but they is slowing down a bit. The family has been busy with Samantha's team sports and I have had a couple of photography shoots.

Back in February I took some pictures of Baby Cheyanne Carter. I had taken her parents wedding pictures back in September. Her Aunt Holli gave a portrait sitting to her parents as a baby shower gift. My success with baby portraits has not been great, so I had no idea what I was going to be able to deliver. I would have to say that this photo shoot was a 50/50 success. I was happy with only about half of them. That is when I realized that maybe baby portraits were just not for me. Below are some of Cheyanne's portraits that I am proud to claim I did.



I also, just completed a senior shoot. I am in the process of edits and will post sometime this week. This was my first boy senior shoot and again I was not sure what I would be able to deliver. I have done two girls and with girls you can glam up, but not so much with boys. I would have the client stand in a particular position that I was used to setting up girls with and then have to step back to see if it looked crazy for a boy to stand or sit that way. Overall I was happy with all the pictures and so was the mom. She even sent me an email and stated that there were so many good ones she did not know which to pick for his invitations.