Great Escapes

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s newest book, The Lacuna. The book is an autobiography of the fictional William Harrison Shepherd, a Mexican-American cook turned writer. The book is masterfully done. I was pulled in immediately by Kingsolver’s sharp prose, engaging characters, and a storyline that twists and dances its way through the history of two countries and leaves you guessing until the very end.

But what captured me most about the book was the title. Though it sounds Spanish, fitting with the setting of the book, lacuna is actually an English word, meaning a gap, an empty space, or a missing part. The lacuna in the story is an underwater cave Shepherd discovers as a boy. When the tide is right, Shepherd can swim all the way through the cave, emerging in a totally new place. This imagery of a secret passageway through time and space becomes the metaphor on which the entire plot turns.

I didn’t do a lot of pleasure reading in seminary, but right around the last couple weeks of the semester, I always found myself picking up a book. Usually Harry Potter or something else light, familiar, and well worn; I am the sort of person who reads books over and over again, delighting at the familiarity. Books were my lacuna, secret passageways out of the end-of-semester stress and into a new world. On internship when everything is so unfamiliar, books offer the same gift, a way to disappear from this life and spend some time with old friends. And so I offer a prayer of thanksgiving for books and the people who write them. Entire worlds that fit in the space of my bookshelf, offering no end of escapes and adventures if only for a few hours.

Thanksgiving Pastoral Care

My uncle is a once a year or a couple of years relative, and I always look forward to his visits, which have always been over Thanksgiving. From the look of it, you may not know it, but my uncle is one of the most thoughtful people in the world. He always knows what everyone does and wants, whether someone needs something in a meal, or inquiring about people’s interests and experiences. He never really sees us, but he seems to know so much about us, or at least seems to ask the questions that make us feel like in the small window of days that we see him, we matter so much. As I went through the week and saw how everyone was reacting to this, whether family, friends, or random strangers, they all seemed to leave with a smile, or at least a peaceful look. I walk away from this past weekend, hoping that I work to have that ability to exist for the person in front of me. I talk about what pastoral care is in classes and I understand it, and I know I have experienced it, but I think this weekend, showed me how amazing it can be, and what a gift it truly is. And since we are family, I can only hope to have this gift as well. What a great Thanksgiving, and time to be refreshed, now it is back to the books for two long and fast paced weeks!

Practicing Acts of Kindness

Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you have been kind to someone else?  That is the reward that we receive when we do for others.  When ever I have done something kind for anyone else, I think I have felt better than they did.  The giver is always receives the most.

It makes me wonder why we are not all out there 24/7 doing kind things for others since we are the beneficiary of feeling good from it.  You would think that feeling good would be an incentive for practicing acts of kindness where ever we go, but many people just don't get it.

Practicing acts of kindness can be as simple as letting someone go in front of you in the grocery line who has just a couple of items.  It could be holding the door open for a stranger, or saying hello to someone you don't know.  There are endless ways to practice kindness all during your day.

Every time I am kind, I feel good about myself, which is always good.  Being kind has been proven in studies to reduce stress, enhance your immune system, increases your joy, and gives you a better sense of self worth and optimism.

On the other hand, being rude, self centered, and mean, lowers your immune system, raises stress levels, lowers your feeling of well being, and increases negative thoughts.  Pretty obvious which one of these behaviors is better to practice.

We live in a society that is driven by what we have, and not who we are.  It is more important for many people to drive a luxury car, or have designer clothes, than it is to be a kind and giving  person.  It is more important to try and be famous for any reason at all, than it is to be known for doing something good.  

It is clear when you see which television shows are the most successful.  Many of the reality shows stars are classless, obnoxious, and lack any moral fiber at all.  Being famous today does not mean you that you have talent or have done something phenomenal, but it could mean that you are gross and stupid and making a lot of money.  The quality of someones character is not the goal anymore.

Kindness is a great way to lift yourself up.  It will make someone else feel good, while you feel great and receive wonderful health benefits as well.  What's not to like about that?  If you haven't practiced your acts of kindness, what are you waiting for?

Seriously give it a try.  Make a point of doing at least five acts of kindness in a day, and notice how you feel afterward. Then raise it up to doing ten acts of kindness....soon you will be addicted to being kind because of how good you feel.  I love doing it, and love when it is done to me.  

Get healthy with kindness....pay it forward....you will be better for it!

Till Thursday,
Queenie

Return.

I went home for the first "real" time, since starting seminary, for Thanksgiving last week.  I say it's the first "real" time, because I did stop at my house for about 45 minutes to drop off my dog on our way to Luther Bowl in Gettysburg.  I slept, ate, shopped, watched crappy television and spent quality time with my family.

The weirdest thing about being home though was knowing what I was coming back to, here in Chicago.  I remember leaving my house to come to seminary.  I packed up my car, put my dog in the front seat, hugged my mom and brother goodbye, then drove down our driveway.  I started to cry a little, realizing that I didn't know what I was getting myself into.  What classes would I take?  What would my professors be like?  Would I be prepared academically for seminary?  What would my apartment and roommate be like?

Yesterday, after I packed my car and put Steve in the front seat, I hugged my mom and said that I'll be home soon.  I also said, "It's fine, Mom.  I know where I'm going now."  It was pretty cool to know what I was returning to this time.

Congrats, Here's One Plate

Hey there Hive, I'd like your input on this one.  Allow me to elaborate...We have friends who are celebrating their engagement with a fairly fancy-schmancy party (whoohoo, I love fancy parties!) in a few weeks.  Great, grand, wonderful, right? Right, but I want everyone's opinions on something-the gift for the party.

I was browsing their registries yesterday (one was at Crate and Barrel and the other was at Bloomingdale's) and couldn't quite come up with a suitable present (I'm mega-weird about presents. Don't ask.) While the stuff at Crate and Barrel was nice, it lacked a certain j'ne sais quoi. I guess I think presents should be special, something splurge-worthy, and nothing from C and B really jumped out screaming to me as the perfect gift.

Which leaves the Bloomingdale's registry.  Suh-weeeet! Well, here's the thing:They registered (as many couples do) for a set of fine china for twelve.  Beautiful stuff (from Bernadaud. Yum) but fairly expensive for a plate.

Source

See? Suuuuuper pretty plates! The bride has excellent taste (at least, I'm assuming the bride is the one who picked these out although I suppose I could be wrong on that.)

First off, let me be explicitly clear and say that in no way am I judging the couple for their pricey registry choices.  If anything, all it's making me do is wish we had registered for fine china (and about a million other things.  Damn me and my principled, anti-presents, pre-wedding self!) but we didn't.

Since it's an engagement party and not the actual wedding, I'd like to keep our gift in the $100 price range.  And as I mentioned before, I prefer to give presents that are something the receiver would not buy for themselves instead of just a random kitchen item or whatever.  In short, I'd like to get them some of their fine china, because I know if I had registered for it, I'd be hella excited to actually start receiving pieces.

So here's my question: Is it weird to gift the couple with...one plate? See, it sounds strange, right? I mean, they registered for a service for twelve, so most likely everything's going to come in bits and pieces and not as a whole (unless they have extremely generous wedding guests, in which case I will be very, very jealous.  Don't judge me, I like presents and shiny new toys. Shush.) I could also do, um, three bread plates or two coffee cups.

What do you think? Would you think it was bizarre to receive a single plate as a present, even if said plate did  reach the gift-giver's generous budget? Or should I just suck it up and pick out a few things from good ol' Crate and Barrel? If you registered for fine china, I'd be especially curious to hear your opinion on the matter!

Has anyone else had this conundrum before? What did you do, buy the single plate or look for something else?

Congrats, Here's One Plate

Hey there Hive, I'd like your input on this one.  Allow me to elaborate...We have friends who are celebrating their engagement with a fairly fancy-schmancy party (whoohoo, I love fancy parties!) in a few weeks.  Great, grand, wonderful, right? Right, but I want everyone's opinions on something-the gift for the party.

I was browsing their registries yesterday (one was at Crate and Barrel and the other was at Bloomingdale's) and couldn't quite come up with a suitable present (I'm mega-weird about presents. Don't ask.) While the stuff at Crate and Barrel was nice, it lacked a certain j'ne sais quoi. I guess I think presents should be special, something splurge-worthy, and nothing from C and B really jumped out screaming to me as the perfect gift.

Which leaves the Bloomingdale's registry.  Suh-weeeet! Well, here's the thing:They registered (as many couples do) for a set of fine china for twelve.  Beautiful stuff (from Bernadaud. Yum) but fairly expensive for a plate.

Source

See? Suuuuuper pretty plates! The bride has excellent taste (at least, I'm assuming the bride is the one who picked these out although I suppose I could be wrong on that.)

First off, let me be explicitly clear and say that in no way am I judging the couple for their pricey registry choices.  If anything, all it's making me do is wish we had registered for fine china (and about a million other things.  Damn me and my principled, anti-presents, pre-wedding self!) but we didn't.

Since it's an engagement party and not the actual wedding, I'd like to keep our gift in the $100 price range.  And as I mentioned before, I prefer to give presents that are something the receiver would not buy for themselves instead of just a random kitchen item or whatever.  In short, I'd like to get them some of their fine china, because I know if I had registered for it, I'd be hella excited to actually start receiving pieces.

So here's my question: Is it weird to gift the couple with...one plate? See, it sounds strange, right? I mean, they registered for a service for twelve, so most likely everything's going to come in bits and pieces and not as a whole (unless they have extremely generous wedding guests, in which case I will be very, very jealous.  Don't judge me, I like presents and shiny new toys. Shush.) I could also do, um, three bread plates or two coffee cups.

What do you think? Would you think it was bizarre to receive a single plate as a present, even if said plate did  reach the gift-giver's generous budget? Or should I just suck it up and pick out a few things from good ol' Crate and Barrel? If you registered for fine china, I'd be especially curious to hear your opinion on the matter!

Has anyone else had this conundrum before? What did you do, buy the single plate or look for something else?

Sexy England Celebriti Photos in yahoo version

Queen of England

Keeley Hazell

Jessica Jane Clement

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer England

Gery Halliwell

Elle Macpherson

See also The sexy england celebrity in google version

Social Media Marketing: Driving Growth for Small Industries

Today when we talk about social media marketing the first thing which strikes us is Facebook. I need not explain what Facebook is. This social networking website has over 500 million active users worldwide in over 180 countries. Everyday atleast 50 percent of user’s login to this website at least once to make new friends, update status, post pictures or post comments on wall. The Small businesses realized the importance of social network. Small companies now use this network to drive their businesses and market their products.

In the past Large businesses had advantage over small businesses because of the large marketing budgets and marketing teams. Large businesses used their money in outbound marketing techniques TV commercials, Market Research, Promotions and Print media and Advertising. Small business cannot compete with these large businesses and need some alternate business strategy. With Social media they found a new tool which can help small businesses to promote their products and goods. Small business can use this tool for inbound marketing techniques and decrease usage of outbound advertising  like Newspapers , yellow pages, Ad campaigns and promotional videos on cable TVs.

Social media marketing if used effectively can have more penetration and reach wide array of audience with no marketing cost. Small companies are leveraging this tool to create their marketing strategy. They have dedicated teams which post their products on social networks. Companies can Interact with customers on one to one basis and understand their needs. Small companies also use this network to gather information and data for market analysis. They conduct anonymous polls and surveys to gather information. Customers can post their concerns and companies respond to these concerns with appropriate solution. This marketing medium is more effective than conventional medium where companies just post their products on websites, magazines or make ad campaigns with hot celebrities bragging about the products.  Some companies for example Triumvirate Environmental which works with clients to deal with environmental issues like waste management and disposal. Triumvirate Environmental were able to generate 1.2 million dollars using social media. They used social media like twitter, Google ad word and LinkedIn to support their generation efforts. They also used variety business blog for their diverse portfolios. Each blog was for different topic and different purpose. This helped Triumvirate Environmental to generate search traffic and gain large market share in their domain. Another good example would be River Pool Spa which took advantage of social media marketing to become market leaders in pools and spas.

Finally, as said by Mr. Mark Suborn "Your success in life isn't based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business". I believe Social media networking has potential to become a next generation marketing medium. The sooner you realize it better it is for you and your firm.

Reference : Small Business Social Media

 

Fashion Jewelry For Fadz

Costume jewelry is also called “Fashion Jewelry” as it is used mainly for the purpose of fashions. Everything that glitters is not made of gold. Costume jewelry is that which is made of less valuable materials like plastic, base metals, synthetic stones and glass. Basically, in jewelry expensive materials like gems, metals are used but in costume jewelry expensive materials are replaced by the inexpensive materials.
It is an asset for those who use jewelry for fashion purposes. It is so called “costume jewelry” because it is used frequently for stage costume.
Gold over silver and silver over brass are the best combinations. Crystals are also having their own importance in the fashion jewelry. Ivory is mostly used in the preparation of jewelry for men. Acrylic and plastic are involved in the manufacturing of low value jewelry. Most of the products of costume jewelry are handcrafted.
Bracelets, Rings, chains, earrings, necklaces and pendants are most renowned items of costume jewelry. Gems like amber, aquamarine, and garnet, opal, freshwater pearl and amethyst are used in crafting of costume jewelry.
However, care should be taken of the costume jewelry to preserve the shiny appearance of it. You must wipe out the costume jewelry with a soft cloth since its shininess will be lost due to the sweat produced by the body. They must be preserved in smooth pouches and velvet boxes so that they may not become dull and its originality remains same. Dipping this jewelry in some strong solutions may disturb the glowing outlook of the jewelry. It may alter the color of stones on it and sprays, perfumes must be used before the wearing of this costume jewelry. They need some periodical maintenance like they should be rewashed in gold or silver. Dull gems in the costume jewelry are replaced by brighter and new gems to get brighter look.


Fashion Jewelry
Fashion Jewelry
Fashion Jewelry
Fashion Jewelry
Fashion Jewelry

Walls

Three months into my internship and the facade starts to fall. I am not always on time, always together, or always crafting great sermons. I've made mistakes, missed appointments, hidden out when things got a bit scary, and forgotten plenty. People are finding out my flaws, my cracks, and seeing my warts all the way from the pews.

During supervision last week, my supervisor looked at me and said, "It's going to be an uncomfortable year. I'm not saying it won't be good, too, but it will uncomfortable." I couldn't say much after that so I just nodded.

Don't let anyone fool you - seminary is a difficult process. One that breaks down all notions of what ministry is and what being a pastor looks and feels like. It isn't all sunshine and smiles.

The truth is that your carefully crafted notions about life and ministry collapse around you. The good news is that sturdy strong walls of faithful living are coming up layer by layer, too. Some days it seems barely a brick has been laid on this faithful foundation but every time I look, I am more surprised at how strong and tall this wall is.

Seminary and internship are nothing like I thought they'd be. But like the beautiful analogy of the garden in "The Shack," God is creating space for something more amazing than what was there before.

Take heart when you see your walls come down - the Carpenter knows how to build skillfully.

Motorbike.. :D

Hai plend" tercinta..

Kembali age saya ingin berceritera dlm bloggy.. :P

wkwkwk..

Ari ini aq akn berceritera ttg prtma x eke isa nae mtor.. xDD senengnya luar & dlm.. :D

Khan aq pnjam mtor tman q iank brnama Jessica, terus aq prtma tkud" gtu nae'a, skli ngegas lgsng jln, teriak" waaah..

wkwkwkwk..

Tpi akhr'a isa seimbangkan uga..

oohhhh myyy gooosssh, sng'a !!!!!

Then co q uga ad ajrin aq mtor manual, tpi, mpe skr lom isa ngontrol n lom isa msuk gi", malu'a saya.. :P

Hmm, skr saia akn mncritakan gosip-gosip iank ad d'Pontianak.. :)

Iank baru aja eke denger tdi dri kekasih eke, kwkwkwkwkwkwkwk..

D'temukan seorang anak SMP 3 mati, wiw, tragis bnged dhee..

serem eke.. :(

The story begin here, ada s'org siswi SMP klas 3, org iank sngad pendiam, dy pu na hpe, tpi jrg bnged d'gnakan. Suatu hari, dy smsan terus, heran dunx, yaa iaaa lhaaa, gw aj iank klo jdi tmnnya psti heran, pstinya, ortu'a uga heran, then her dad ask her, tnya siapa iank dy smsin mpe mzn trus gtu, dy cmn jwb 'my plend pa..', yoda, nyntai aj gtu pa"nya, bbrp hari kmudian, dy kluar umah, mpe jm 9 mlm gtu blum plg, pa"nya telp dy tny dy lagi dmn, dy jwab 'iaa pa, bntr lagi plg', jdi pa"nya ngguin dy dhee d'dpan gg, ud jm 10 anak ini lom plg uga, yud pa"nya plg aj k'umah, tpi msh ngguin anaqnya plg gtu, tpi ga plg", mpe jm 3 pagy tb" d'gg mrk thuu ad iank rbud" gtu, mua'a pda blg ad ktmu mayat gtu dhee, so mayat it d'bwa k'RS bayangkaraya, pa" dari anak ini penasaran spa org iank mnggal it, y pa"nya nengok dhee k'RSnya.. Skli d'tengok, trnyta anaknya iank mnggal.. ckckck..

Mayatnya d'temukan dgn keadaan :

1. Bajunya terbuka smpai d'ats payudara.

2. Celananya terbuka smpai d'selutut.

3. Celana dlamnya terdpat darah

4. Tali sepatunya copot 1 & d'temukan d'leher..

Ga slah age psti kena perkosa.. :(

Mknya, ce", bae" jaga diri y !! :)

ok smpe sni dlu..

tha"..

Gbu..

for my belove one, I love you !!

Walking or Hiking off Your Holiday Meal

It is the day after Thanksgiving, and I am still full from all of the great food that my daughter made for our celebration. My digestive system is not used to dealing with so much food at one time, not to mention all the different types of food that I put into my stomach in one sitting. Proteins, carbs, sugars, fats, all dumped in together during a span of a few hours, makes digestion much more difficult.



The day before Thanksgiving my class of girls and I hiked up Refugio Mt. to the top. After nearly three hours of hiking, we made it up and down that mountain. I told the girls that we were burning off at least half of what we were going to be eating the next day. It was a great hike, and the girls did a fabulous job of getting up and down that mountain.




Today I will be going for a five mile walk with my brother to help lose that full and bloated feeling and get back to feeling normal. I will be burning another five hundred calories with the walk today. Added to the 1,200 or more calories that were burned on the hike, I am feeling better about all that I ate.


It is all about calories in, and calories out, if you want to keep yourself lean and healthy. Walking and Hiking are a great way to lose those unwanted calories that we over eat during our holiday meals. Hiking is usually done in areas where the terrain can be hilly. Walking, although it can be done where there are hills, may be done anywhere for exercise, even in a city.





How many calories you burn while walking or hiking depends on your body weight, the more you weigh, the more you burn. It also depends on how much energy and out put you are willing to give. Is your heart rate up into your aerobic zone, or are you keeping your heart rate low to stay more comfortable. These things will make a difference in your caloric burn.




Wearing a heart monitor is a great way to keep in your zone, and burn the maximum amount of calories that you desire. I have talked about this in several past blogs about the importance of knowing your heart rate zone. Remember to minus your age from 220. That will give you your maximum heart rate. The place you want to be is within 65 to 85% of that maximum number. This is where you will burn more fat, and strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system.


Not being in your zone, whether it is too high or too low, will not give you the best results. If you are going to invest your time and effort into exercise, isn't it smart to get the best results out of it that you can?


So if you are feeling a little overly stuffed from your holiday meal.....take a walk or a hike to get you back to feeling better. As I stated in last Monday's blog, our average holiday meal packs a whopping 3,000 calories into our system. That is a day and a half's worth of calories, and nearly three days worth of fat.





It is a beautiful fall day where I live. Many of the trees are turning gold, orange, and red. There is a bit of a nip in the air, and the sky is a magnificent blue. I am looking forward to walking and seeing all of the fall colors, the horses, donkeys, vineyards, and others that are out enjoying this wonderful day.





I hope that your Thanksgiving was a happy one, and that you are out walking or hiking off your fullness too. Enjoy this day!




Till Monday,
Queenie

Black Friday Madness

Yesterday, peace on earth reigned as many of us gathered in our homes and gave thanks for the many blessings, our families and friends in our lives.

However, the madness started around midnight as people flocked to malls and stores everywhere attempting to snag the perfect gift, bargin or deal to impress those same family and friends. Why? What has seeped into the human psyche that a materialistic present will pacifiy their children or outshine anyone else's offering in this Advent season?

Although I understand the attraction and the draw of the prospect of Black Friday especially in these hard economic times, what I despise is the false advertising, the chaos and unfortunately in some cases, the death that has occured making this truly a dark time of the year.

During the Thanksgiving celebrations yesterday as I was entertaining a couple of my fellow Seminarian brothers and sisters with dinner that we had prepared, I received a text from a Pastor friend who had attended my childhood home congregation for services yesterday with that started with these words: "Your Mama gave thanks for YOU this morning in church..."

For me, those words of love, of graciousness, of acknowledgement and of humility will carry me through my spiritual journey and it is those simple acts of kindness that our Creator continues to teach us, whether in a new birth or rebirth or whether guiding our own ways to reach out and bless, help or comfort another.

Heavenly Creator, breathing life into our beating human hearts you brought us out of the darkness of chaos and into the Light. Free our spirits and guide our spirits to open our homes, and our homes of worship to those who are forgotten or neglected so that we truly give the gift that is everlasting; through your Son, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Happy Eucharistia

Family and friends gathering together. Skilled hands preparing food, drink, and festive space. Collective memory recalling old stories – sacred stories. Prayer. Giving thanks. The breaking of bread and the sharing of food. The pouring of good wine. Time spent in joyful community. Mutual service. Connections made with the earth, with one another, and with God.

Thanksgiving, more than just in name, can be a Eucharistic holiday. In many ways it is an extended time of Holy Communion. Holy people gathering together to share food, wine, and communion with one another – sometimes with people you don’t see on a regular basis. And what a lovely time for such a holiday in the liturgical calendar. A giving thanks for God’s abundant faithfulness as our final, worshipful act before beginning a new journey in Advent.

May your Eucharistia be a blessed celebration.

All My Love, All My Life: Strike A Pose

I last left off with our joyful recessional, set to The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love."

As we finished our walk down the aisle and came to the entryway of the Tannery, we stopped short. Much to our dismay, it was raining (I know, I can't shut up about the rain.  Sorry.)  And not just a light sprinkle, either, but full-on raining. 

Before the ceremony, our photographer had instructed us to book it out of the Tannery as soon as we walked down the aisle otherwise we'd be mobbed by well-wishing guests and an impromptu receiving line would form (something we were looking to avoid.)

So with Kelly's advice still in our heads, the sound of rain drops ringing in our ears and the realization that our bridal party was quickly moving down the aisle, we made a panicked, split-second decision to grab an umbrella and get outta there! 

Now, here's the funny coda to this story- During the cocktail hour, Mr Trail Mix was talking with a few buddies from college and one them exclaimed,

"Some a$$hole stole our umbrella! Can you believe that? It was a good one too, it was huge!"

Busted! Mr Trail Mix instantly knew that we were the ones who had pilfered the umbrella, a fear that was confirmed when he asked his friend if it was green.

"Yes, have you seen it?"

"Um, sorry, Dude, that was us."

Luckily, his friend had a sense of humor about the whole thing and they shared a good laugh over the mix-up but it was pretty funny.  Anyways, here's the infamous, green umbrella in action!

This is the first picture taken of us after we exited the Tannery.  I think we were so caught up in the moment that we didn't know what to do with ourselves.

Closed Circle Photography

Our photographer instructed us to smooch, which we happily obliged.

Closed Circle Photography

We stopped in front of this pretty doorway, since it matched our umbrella perfectly.

Closed Circle Photography

From there, Kelly spotted this fire escape and up we climbed.  You'd think we were in an urban, city landscape with this next shot and while it doesn't really fit in with the vibe of the rest of the wedding, I still think it's mad cool.

Closed Circle Photography

Mr Trail Mix totally slipped on his way down the fire escape, which made me laugh hysterically, although he was kind of ticked since he got rust on his suit.  Oh well.

Since the rain was picking up, we posed outside the Darrow School's library before heading in.

Closed Circle Photography

Once inside, we found a huge, small-paned window to take some photos by and in spite of the rain, we had some beautiful lighting from it.

Here's my one and only "bridal shot." I refused to waste any time taking pictures of just myself because seriously, what was I going to do with a whole bunch of photos of just me? So there's only this one (but I like how it came out!)

Closed Circle Photography

Here's the window I was talking about.  Isn't it beautiful?

Closed Circle Photography

Alright, I guess I kinda lied since this one is mostly just me (although Mr TM is in the photo, so it's not really a bridal portrait.)

Closed Circle Photography

Our rings! Note the placement of them on the map, directly above Venezuela (where we honeymooned.) So clever of Kelly.

Closed Circle Photography

Finally, the rain let up enough for us to head outside and get a few more pics of us together.  This is the only "normal" shot of the two of us from the entire day and I actually (ironically, after all my BS about only wanting artsy, photojournalist shots) like it.  Kinda wish we'd taken a few more of us just posed happily next to each other but the next series makes up for the lack of those.

Closed Circle Photography

We made sure to get a photo with my "Thank You" sign for our cards.  

Closed Circle Photography

Then Kelly directed us back to the grey rock wall that had served as the backdrop for all our family portraits and she got some of my absolute favorite shots from the entire day.

Closed Circle Photography

Closed Circle Photography

Closed Circle Photography

This last one is the photo, the one that I feel most perfectly defines us and our wedding.  There is an 8' x 10' print framed on our living room wall and I'll never get tired of looking at it. *Love-filled siiiiiiigh....So happy...

Closed Circle Photography

And with that, we were released from our model duties and given free reign to join the cocktail hour (these photos took about 30 minutes, so we still had another 45 or so left to get in on the party!)

It was time to eat, drink and be merry!

Follow along, if ya want!

All My Love, All My Life: Ceremony, Part Deux

All My Love, All My Life: Ceremony, Part 1

All My Love, All My Life: Before The Ceremony

All My Love, All My Life: Portraits

All My Love, All My Life: Fancy Meetin' You Here!

All My Love, All My Life: Commence Panic!

All My Love, All My Life: Get My Pretty One

All My Love, All My Life: Post-Dinner Partyin', Yo!

All My Love, All My Life: Rehearsal's Done, Let's Feast!

All My Love, All My Life: We Rehearse