A lot has happened in my life since the day the following picture was taken.
I have had two full time office jobs.
I quit office jobs for good.
I got married.
I almost drowned shortly after getting married.
I drove cross country twice.
I ran a 5k.
I photographed 31 weddings.
But this day, I had known Bret for about 3 and a half months. It was still a very new thing. We were still getting to know each other. We had no idea what was in front of us.
This day will forever live in my mind. We talked about getting married, the future and all kinds of things you wouldn’t expect two people who knew each other for so little time to talk about. But there we were. I had no idea what a crazy adventure was ahead of us….as Bret would say, this crazy dance. I wouldn’t change a minute of it.
I love you Bret.
I can’t believe it’s been four years since your wedding Brian and Melinda!!! I still remember how the rain stopped after the ceremony so we could take pictures outside! Have a wonderful day!
See all of their pictures here!
Being born and raised in Maryland, Old Bay is always in our house. I’m so glad Bret likes it too. He’s not as into crabs, but Old Bay….oh baby!
Tonight I made scrambled eggs with onions, peppers, cheese, turkey AND a TON of Old Bay. In a nice wrap…little watery, so my wrap was falling apart by the end, but delish all the same!
I got the idea from the marriage video I posted on Day 1035. If you didn’t watch it, the couple has a board in their home filled with post it notes with handwritten things they’re thankful for. Since God has been so overwhelmingly good to us, we wanted to do the same!
Here is the “yet to be filled” board of thankfulness and the materials to fill it!
Today I was testing out my photography skills with a bunch of wild animals….and Shawna and her daughter at Catoctin Wildlife Preserve & Zoo.
It was a really fun zoo with lots of neat animals! Enjoy!
And this is why I love Shawna….
Shawna’s daughter was SO good! I was seriously impressed! She didn’t cry all day…..that is until we were watching TV later and I laughed SO hard and SO loud, it scared her and she cried. It was very funny, but I felt so bad! Ah well. Here’s the cutie pie!
If you know Shawna, you know this is a “her face.” I laugh every time her daughter makes faces because she looks JUST like her mom! 
Today I was formatting some of my Compact Flash cards…my process is double checking I have the files saved in two spots (on the computer and an external hard drive) before I format the card (to the wedding/portrait clients, I TRIPLE backup my originals!). But the images on these cards were mostly for this blog and for my church.
So! While I was checking, I realized I totally missed a few pictures for the blog! What follows is one of the coolest birthday cards. My family got it for Bret. My mom added names to each of the characters.
Gretchen is the dog.
Oh silly family.
Last night, I made something I’ve been meaning to make for a while. We had a HUGE bag of Kale and I knew I had to use it soon or it would all go bad. Unfortunately, I was all out of salad materials, so I wasn’t eating it (I was also a little saladed out). I went to trusty Google to find some recipes. I ended up making Kale Chips. VERY easy and mostly tasty. My only complaint was the bitter aftertaste. The next time I make it, I think I’ll add a little honey to counter that.
So, you just put oil and apple cider vinegar in a bowl, whisk to mix.
Mix in Kale until it’s coated.
Lay the kale out a cooking sheet…the recipe I found said to put it on parchment paper, but I just coated the pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle salt over kale.
Cook about 10-15 minutes at 400, until crispy. I think I over cooked the first batch and the second was just a little under. It will take a bit of testing to figure out the best cooking time.
It doesn’t look pretty, but we ate all of it….last night….go us for making food last!
Tonight, I went crazy at the store….just crazy. A ton of veggies, frozen fruit, fresh fruit, tuna, canned veggies, beans. Whew! I spent way more than I’d like, but I think it will last a while (minus fresh stuff). I mostly went crazy because we’ve been getting tired of the same thing….salads for me, tuna for both, and peanut butter sandwiches for Bret. So tired of it! I was so thankful for “past Jennilyn” who Pinned a few great recipes on my Foods to Try board…I ended up trying the Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup. It took a long time to make….but I was busy cutting up other veggies and cooking other things while it was simmering.
Here’s the finished product!
Whew! You should have seen my kitchen last night! Thankful for a hubby who does the dishes!
You know I love all the shots from the style shoot and every set I love in a different way. Overall, I loved being able to do crazy, over the top edits to the pictures. It was awesome to let my creative juices flow! I can’t stop looking at how blue these are! Ah! Love it!!!
I LOVE the multiple pearl necklaces here. Looks so good!
