super bowl festivities

^^^ apparently the boys enjoyed the commercials ^^^

^^^ intense moment in the game??? nope, beyonce. ^^^

our super bowl sunday was so much fun. we kept it pretty low key with just a few friends & some delicious food. the menu consisted of chips & dip, BBQ pulled pork, homemade rolls and french fries. maryclaire worked her baking magic & pulled off some AMAZING rolls. it was also nice to have mark in the kitchen with the ladies for a bit while he made all of the fries! {yes, we have a deep frier...don't judge} we had planned on making some healthier sides to balance all of our carbs as well as a tasty dessert, but after all of the snacking we decided we were too full to do much of anything. this was kind of a big deal...skipping dessert is unheard of in this group. i'm just saying! :)

>> i would also like to point out that i realize maryclaire is in many of my posts. we are good friends {not sisters} & so are our husbands, so we get together at least once a week. i do have to say, it is so nice having a cooking buddy & a willing model whenever i want to take pictures!

life lately {iphone edition}

 life lately has been full of freezing temps, too much food & some new york lovin!!!

cheers to the last day of january! february, i've been waiting for you :)

bright lights, big city

i am beyond excited right now! i just booked my ticket to go to NYC in two weeks! AHH! for those that don't know, i am obsessed with new york. it is my dream to live there, but i'll settle for a weekend visit in the mean time :)

the reason for this trip is to attend a fashion shoot. my uncle's niece has a fashion line based in new york & we are going to hang out behind the scenes of the shoot all day sunday. i typically work with natural light when i take pictures, so going to a studio shoot will be really new for me. i am excited to learn as much as i can & watch some legit fashion photographers work!

i'm bummed mark won't be coming with me, but we may take another trip out there this summer because he really wants to visit the big apple & see what it is all about. i can't say i'm mad about that ;) cheers!!

troubled times

as i came to work today i heard of the terrible tradegy that took place in newtown, conneticut. i think that are few things more scary to me than a public shooting. i feel so heart broken that this particular shooting took place at an elementary school & my prayers are with the families of those who lost a loved one today. 

whenever terrible things like this happen the issue of guns tends to be highlighted & highly debated. i can't say that i agree one way or the other necessarily {perhaps slightly due to my lack of a solid opinion about guns at the moment}, but i know that this is bigger than simply the weapons that were used. we are living in troubled & complicated times. not that times prior haven't had their fair share of trials...but today is so much more, well...complicated, for lack of a better word. the internet & technology lends a huge hand in this i think. i also think that families are not as solid as they once were. this may sound weird to apply to this situation but i think the way kids are brought up, what they see & how much they feel loved plays a huge role in their self esteem, their views of the world & who they become as an adult or young person.

i don't have a solution for this problem or know of a way to solve the issue of public shootings, but i'm not sure that taking away guns from the public would solve the issue.

this was a bit of a vent session for me & to just throw out some of my thoughts at this particular moment. my apologies if it is scrambled & doesn't make much sense.

but overall i am sad. the man who did this MUST have had things going on in his life...none of which begin to excuse what he did, but i am also sad for him. sad that he somehow felt that this was the only way to be heard or whatever his reason may have been.

i just hope everyone has someone that they can confide in. someone that they know loves them & something wonderful that is worth living for. i hope that couples, families & friends can be honest with one another & express problems, concerns & ask for help. i think that we all need to feel loved & to love others for this life to be worth living.

i know i have love for my husband, family, friends & God. i love life & that the sun rises every day. there are so many things to be thankful for & times like this really help me to realize i have so much. i also am reminded that people you don't know are often going through tough times & to be kind to everyone you meet. you never know the struggles someone is dealing with & what you can do with a simple smile or "hello" to turn their day around.

let us all be happy, healthy & safe.

politics & the public

i thought that once the election was finished i would be happy because all of the silly & overbearing campaign commerials would be done with, but i only find myself more annoyed by all of the comments i am seeing all over my facebook & twitter feed. i can respect that people are frustrated & annoyed that their preferred candidate did not win & some people are beyond upset because they think obama is not the right man for the position, but i am SO tired of the rude, hateful & disrespectful statuses.

i'm honestly not surprised that people lose friends over politics. politics & other controversial topics can bring out the worst in people. their ignorance, hatefulness & stupidity. 

it is one thing to be concerned for our country, but purposely stirring up hateful emotions in others with the things that you write is so unnecessary.

i can't say that i voted for obama, but i also don't think the world is going to come to an end because he was re-elected. & finally, i don't believe that romney would have necessarily been able to repair everything in our country that obama has caused or hasn't yet fixed. these things take TIME & the although the president has a lot of power, he cannot do any & everything he wants. checks & balances, my friends. {but i won't get into all of that because this post isn't about my political opinions}

perhaps i should just avoid facebook & twitter for the next few days, but really all this election has reinforced within me is the fact that i hate politics.