SmamPhoto

This was one of the best weekends of the entire year so far.  On Thursday two of my best friends in the world got married!

Seth and Becca Geib and myself.

Later in the day our long lost friend Jean came to town.  On Friday we all went out to dinner and soon after that the food comas began.

Becca collapsed into a food coma behind her new husband :)

The next day was my birthday party and even more out-of-town guests arrived.

Sometimes Carrie is easily distracted.....

The only reason I know this is Jean, is because her cup tells me so.

My younger brother Leo....not sure if that face is from the fact that he is sitting in a purple chair or not...

Thank you for everyone that came in for the weekend and everyone here for making it so memorable!  It was so much fun!  For more pictures of the weekend see flickr.com.

So the middle child is done with high school :).  Congrats Diane, I am very proud of you.  I so look forward to all your stories about college and other successes in the years to come.

You have many talents that have gotten you this far, including:

Being able to make a mirror out of anything.

Keeping us all on our toes by going against the grain.

Convincing us all to do things we may not want to by giving ‘the face’….you know which one I am talking about…..

And last but not least, captivating all of us with your smile and personality.

I love you little Sister!!!

It was a very proud day.

Below is what keeps me sane.

I’m so lucky to be able to see this every day and be near the water.

So I spent this weekend on the road.  On Friday I drove to Marion to meet my Mom for lunch, then drove back to Perrysburg.  After Perrysburg I drove up to Jackson, Michigan to see my favorite author!  Diana Gabaldon came for a book signing at the local library and it was packed!  There was probably around 300 peope there, and thankfully my chronic earliness got me to the front of the line!  Below are pictures from the reading that she did on the porch of the library.  Did I mention that it was a very racy reading and everyone in the block radius stopped to listen…:)  The whole thing was amazing!

The library itself was old and very beautiful.  All the details of the building were very distracting.

After the reading, I finally made it home and then hit the road first thing in the morning for Ashland.  My little brother (well younger brother, he is 6 foot 1, so I guess he is not that little any more), graduated from Ashland University on Saturday!  I’m so proud!

How cute are my parents!?!

Congrats Leo!!!

I was going through some pictures from my last visit to Newark and Columbus and had to share the pics of my nieces, Paige and Colleen.  Becca and I went on a short trip to Columbus for a concert and got to see Hillary, Matt and the babies , if only it could have been for longer!    They are getting so big so fast!  Hopefully  “Cool Aunt Sam” can come visit again soon.  (They can’t really talk yet, but hopefully in the future, they will call me cool Aunt Sam!)

This is a fun questionnaire that Amy from switz~art tagged me in, a nice break in my lame day!

What is your current obsession?

My newest obsession is really nothing new…getting back into shape.  I have started running again and my goal is to lose 10 lbs. in the month of May…(insert inspirational comment here).

Who was the last person you hugged?

My cat London…she is pretty adorable.

What’s your favorite dinner?

Crab cakes and a nice glass of wine….yummy!

What was the last movie you saw in a theater?

Honestly…Twilight

What was the last thing you bought? (to wear)

A green polka dot skirt, new flip flops, some tank tops and a green shirt with a patchwork turtle on it…I may have gone a little overboard at Oldnavy this week.

What are you listening to right now?

The travel channel is on in the background and my cat is wheezing in the couch next to me.

What is your favorite weather?

Well I have 2 favorites:  in the spring/fall when the temp. is between 65 and 75 degrees and it’s sunny and slightly windy.  My second favorite is a nice warm summer evening when everyone is outside and the birds sing until midnight.

Tea or Coffee?

I love both, but am currently on cup #3 of coffee for today so we will go with that.

What did you want to become as a child?

I wanted to become an actress and tried to be in all the school plays in elementary and middle school.  I blame it on the loud Anderson voice and the need to be the center of attention!

If you could go anywhere in the wold for the next hour, where would you go?

I would go to the Scottish Highlands for an amazing view and a dram of the good whiskey.

Who do you want to meet in person?

My favorite author, Diana Gabaldon, is coming to Jackson Michigan for a book signing next week and I cannot wait to go and meet her!  She wrote the ‘Outlander‘ series that has become a major part of my library.

What is your most challenging goal right now?

At some point this summer I want to get a good amount of my photography printed, enlarged and mounted and start selling locally.  I need to get my lazy behind motivated and start photographing this beautiful spring!

What is your weirdest obsession?

One day living somewhere that no snakes live.  And Ireland does not count, because they have legless lizards there, and lets face it that is as close to a snake as you can get!

Why did you start a blog?

I started smamphoto to get myself back into the photography world.  Nothing makes you really work on your stuff like putting it out there for other people to see.  It has been almost a relief to still be doing some photography, though my job has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with it.

Which blogs are you obsessed with at the moment?

I like checking:

switz~art

beccame

[daily dose of imagery]

A beautiful Mess

Le Love

What’s your blog about? (give me a 2-3 sentence elevator pitch)

Smamphoto is about my world through the eyes of my Canon.  I photograph and write about my day to day and the images that I come across that really strike and excite me.

What is your dream job? ( realistic or unrealistic)

Working for National Geographic as a wildlife and nature photographer.  It is a dream job that doesn’t have to be unrealisitc, but seem so much that way.

What is your favorite brand of jeans?

Any jeans that fit!!!  When you have a 27 inch inseam you take what you can get!

Who is your favorite designer at the moment?

I don’t really have a favorite, but I always enjoy the clean look of Ralph Lauren.  Not that my poor behind can afford it, but it’s nice to dream, right?

One thing you would snitch out of someone’s closet, with no regrets?

My little sister just had her Senior prom and her dress was so gorgeous!  If I had an actual fancy something to go to, I would steal that in a heartbeat!

Which designer piece of clothing would you most like to won? (new or vintage)

There was a t-shirt on Threadless that was a called “Robot dance contest“.  It sold out before I could buy it and I have needed it ever since!

Spring has sprung, well kind of.

These are the first real storm clouds of Spring in downtown Perrysburg.  The tornado sirens were going off during the taking of all of there photographs.  After this day the cold and rain have been a constant partner, except for a few hopeful days of sun and warmth.  Below are images of the waterfront in Perrysburg before the dock was put in this month.  This weekend it is supposed to be 80 and sunny…so fingers are crossed and hopefully in a few weeks these images will seem like a lifetime ago!

So far in March we have had cold weather, warm weather, tornado warnings and flooding.  My Dad always said “If you don’t like the weather in Ohio, wait a minute”.  And it is so very true.  These are all pictures of the river area near my apartment before the flooding and storms.  It was still pretty cold when these were taken, just the last touch of winter.  Hopefully.  There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel…at least weather wise anyways.

Along with the Spring weather returning, we also get the return of the birds.  It has been so great to hear them every morning and throughout the day.  It’s such a hopeful sound and if we could keep it all year round, that would be amazing!

Red week is over….so sad!  I want to thank Amy for hosting red week, you did a great job!  This was my first blog activity and it really kept me motivated and taking pictures all week long, and I definitely need it.  So as I’m putting red week to bed, I take my last few red pictures as I’m going to bed as well.  Below are my favorite RED sleep pants in the whole stinkin’ world!

Also as I was getting ready for bed (that’s right it is 8:45 and I’m spending Friday night old lady style), I noticed my cat giving me evil eyes and vibes!  When I don’t feed her right away fatty gives off the crazy RED mood waves!

So this week was a piece of my life (the red piece).  Who knows what next week will bring!

Cause and Effect.  So when making my yummy banana bread tonight, I used my lovely red heart spatula!  My Mom gave it to me for Valentines day a few years ago and it’s absolutely one of my favorites.  As a result, banana bread for breakfast tomorrow!  Also considering that I’m using baking/red week as my theme today, please see below for another red treat