An ugly ornament exchange

Several times a year we get together to do a girls night out which always includes lots of yummy food and wine. This is the 2nd year we did an ugly ornament exchange. The goal is to try and find the ugliest/hideous ornament to exchange with whoever your "secret" person is. We have so much fun and enjoy catching up with each other. I am really blessed to have such wonderful friends.

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Goodbye Grandma

Miriam Johnson

11/3/1923 – 11/23/2016

We had the funeral for my grandmother this afternoon. Just one day shy of what would have been her 93rd birthday. It's never easy to say a final goodbye to someone you love but it is something that is inevitable and you will have to eventually face. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to talk about the memories I had of my grandma standing behind a lectern in front of a crowd but somehow I managed to do it. She was a gift to us from God & I am happy that she was a part of my life.  

Here (below) is what I read at my grandmothers funeral service 

'Grandmother in the dictionary is defined in 2 ways. The first is ‘the mother of one’s father or mother’ the second is ‘a female ancestor’. Well I must say that although these definitions may be correct they do not describe MY grandmother. Throughout all my life I never lived close to grandma, the closest was about 200 miles apart so our visits were not frequent. I do have lots of fond memories of the times we did share. The grandmother I knew loved to write & send letters. I loved getting mail from Grandma and reading her letters. I have a few of them saved in a box. Grandma was also an avid reader, whenever we’d visit she always had a book or had just finished reading one. She was a loyal baseball fan, I remember I spent the night at her condo when she lived in Greenbriar and she was sitting in her Lazyboy chair trying to explain to me about which team was in what division. I remember just listening to her and thinking to myself how is it that she could spend all afternoon watching baseball on TV and not be bored. Obviously I didn’t appreciate baseball at the time. She was a crossword expert (at least in my eyes). I sat at the table with her once and tried to do one of them and it seemed like for every 5 I would manage to figure out I’d have to ask her to give me the answer to the next one. Of course she knew all the answers so there was no point in having the answers in the back of the book. It was actually quite handy to have my human answering machine sitting right across from me.  She also liked to quilt. I will always cherish the beautiful handmade quilt she made for Sara. I have kept it all these years & it is still in mint condition. She was one of those kind souls who had a love our furry 4 legged friends. I remember she would tell me all about Casey & how much joy and happiness Casey brought to her.  These are just a few of the great memories I have of Grandma. I know this is a sad moment in time for us but we should celebrate her life and remember the good times we shared together.
Life. Like one big running race. The horn signals the start and everyone takes off, on their journey, and not everyone has the same pace. She started the race before me but I eventually caught up to her & we shared a few good miles together. She picked up her pace and ran ahead of me and has already crossed the finish line. Well, I’m halfway through my race but I know when I cross the finish line she will be there waiting to greet me.'

family post funeral get together

Happy 4th Birthday MRTT Woodbridge/Manassas

WOW! 4 years already?? I cannot believe its been 4 years since I agreed to co-lead this wonderful group. It doesn't seem that long ago when I remember we only had 18 ladies and it seemed like a struggle to recruit & get new members. Now we currently have 1350+ members and get a handful of requests to join daily. At times, I miss the "closeness" of having a smaller group. Having a small group is definitely a lot easier to remember names and faces.

In the previous years we had our birthday party at the local VA Runner store but due to the number of RSVP's we had to find a bigger location. I haven't been as active with running this year as I would have liked, I am still happy to be a part of MRTT.

It was a night of fun games, good friends, yummy food, wine and raffle prizes.

A Fall Hike @ Prince William Forest

It was such a beautiful day for a hike in the forest.

56mm f/1.2

Saturday I was supposed to take some Fall portraits of a friend and her family but we had to reschedule for another date. My plan was to rent the 56mm lens to do photoshoot so I had called the camera store that morning, to see if they had the 56mm available to rent but (as usual) it wasn't available. The guy on the phone mentioned that there was a promotion until the 19th offering discounts on certain lenses and the 56mm was one of them. I asked him much? when he said that there was a $200 discount that was all I needed to hear. I went to the shop that afternoon and purchased it.

Later that afternoon we met up with some friends and did some shopping and had dinner. I brought my new "toy" with me and took some tester shots of their little one.

This shot (above) was taken while going down I95 going 60+ mph as 2 motorcyclist went cruising past. Amazing low light capability of this lens.

decisions decisions

R.I.P Dakota 2003-2016

We had to say goodbye to our beloved Dakota. In 2006 we welcomed her into our house as a "temporary home" until my brother could find a permanent home for her. Well needless to say, she grew on us and we decided to keep her. Over the years, we had our share of emotional ups and downs and boy did she know how to test our patience. She was a popular neighborhood runaway who was also a frequent overnight guest at the Prince William Animal Shelter. I'll never forget on one of her last escape adventures, she made the choice to try and befriend a skunk. She reminded us of this for several weeks even after half a dozen baths. I used to call her my little shadow because everywhere I'd go she would be right there behind me. The only time she'd bark was for the doorbell or when Family Feud was on the TV. We would laugh so hard whenever Family Feud was on because every time she'd hear the "ding" sound from where they'd reveal the answer, she would bark thinking someone was at the door. We were blessed to have shared 10+ years of memorable moments with her. She will always be remembered most for the unconditional love, joy and happiness that she brought to our family. 
Until we meet again sweet furry friend.

The W family Fall pictures

My love of photography tends to reignite only from October through January. Maybe it's because spring training gets started after January or I just lose interest? Not sure why, but it just seems to be that way.
Earlier this month a friend asked if I could take some Fall portraits of her family. I was planning on renting the 56mm portrait lens but when I called the camera shop they did not have it available for rent so I just used the  lenses I had. The portraits turned out nice but I still wanted to rent it & test it out.