Photo(s) of the Day - Ducks and Muskrats

2.3.12 - Photo of the Day

Meet Affie, the newest resident of Milestown Oak Lane. She (or he, I'm not really sure) likes to hang out on the pond at my parents house. Affie is very tame and most likely lost, but everyone has taken to her and enjoys bringing her bits or bread or corn.

2.4.12 - Photo of the Day

Now I'd like you to meet the Bushwood Muskrats! (From Left to Right) Adam Link, Marci Morris, Dan Simpson, Mindy Hill, Boyd Shoemaker, Adam Lyon, Bubba Hill and Adrian Hill, Sr.

A local store and bar in the 7th, Quade's, holds trivia once a month and last night we made an appearance and actually took home the gold! Ok, well we took home 4 shirts, two line green hats straight from the '80s and several beer koozies, but it still felt great to win. Way to go, Muskrats!

Photo of the Day - Football Sunday

Today was a great Sunday.  We had a small get-together to steam some shrimp and oysters and watch football.  First up was my team, the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans.  It wasn't the smooth sailing victory I was hoping for, but it was a Ravens win non-the-less.  Next up was the Greenbay Packers vs. the New York Giants. There were two very pleased Giants fans in the house tonight:

1.15.12 - Photo of the Day

A Giant Celebration.

Photo of the Day

It's only appropriate...

1.8.12 - Photo of the Day

Somehow the Denver Broncos just upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in the battle to get to the Super Bowl. Religious or not, it's hard not to love the spirit and passion of Tim Tebow.

My Resolutions

I hate making New Years Resolutions, because I never stick with them. I used to have so much self-discipline, but the older I get, the hard it becomes.  However, in the spirit of making it another year, I give you my 2012 Resolutions (that I will try my hardest to keep).

1. Photo of the Day challenge - As you can see in my previous posts, I have challenged myself to a "Photo of the Day" challenge.  My goal is to take a picture everyday in 2012, and post it here on my blog for the world to see.  I truly love photography, especially nature/outdoors shots, so expect to see a lot of those coming your way.

2. Reacquire my physical fitness - Stereotypical resolution alert! Everyone pledges to "lose 20 lbs" or "get back in shape" for the new year, and I suppose I'm no different.  However, I'm going to be taking a new and different approach (at least for myself) to get back in shape.  I don't want to diet, and I don't want to starve myself.  I simply want to mold my body back into the athletic stature that it used to be.  I've got a few health issues against me when it comes to dropping the weight (see PCOS), but I'm determined to eat proportionally and exercise regularly in the new year.

3. Rediscover my passion for fashion - Obviously I'm no fashionista, but ever since I had a co-worker tell me I looked like Pam from The Office, I went into somewhat of a panic.  She swears she meant it as a compliment, because she thinks Pam is pretty, which is fine, but I still think of Pam Beasely's wardrobe as "frumpy" at most.  I always subscribed to Vogue, Marie Claire, and other fashion magazines when I was younger and loved looking through all of the latest trends.  I used to take pride in my outfit choices, but now it's a good day when I simply put a necklace on.  I blame "growing up" and the "real world" for my downward spiral from fashion, along with a little weight gain. However, in 2012 I plan on rediscovering my fashion sense once again!

4. Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin said it best. This year I want to work on my happiness. There are so many things in the world to be thankful for. I want to take the time this year to recognize all I have and enjoy every second of it.  No more stressing over tedious things.

Well, those are my four solid resolutions for the new year. Will I stick to them? I really hope so.  Good luck to all of you out there in the blogosphere with resolutions of your own, I wish you the best!

My Twelfth Day of Thanks

That old husband of mine planned a manly, long weekend of hunting for he and his two brothers-in-law, freeing up my time.  Naturally, I did what I do on many Saturday mornings; Head to my mom's house around 6:30am, grab a cup of coffee and hit the local yard sales.  The saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," hold true, you really can find some great things at yard sales.  And it's economically friendly!  Reuse, baby. All you need is a creative eye, and you can take a worn-out piece of furniture and give it a totally new life.  My mom and I like to call this making it "ReFabulous".

It's November and the temperatures are finally starting to drop to where they should be, so I was more than happy to find our way inside of the Hollywood Fire Department.  This weekend they are hosting the, "Unique Boutique" which is a vendor show for local artists.  There were so many different and talented people selling their products there it's hard to pick just one favorite.  So I'm going to pick three...The first was, without a doubt, Miss Gerry Wood.  Her specialty was watercolor paintings of structures and landscapes.  One in particular that caught my eye was the Tobacco Barn with Daisy's. The next artisan I couldn't pull myself away from was a duo from Classic Glass Studios, Sherry Sonntag-Whorl and Steve Whorl.  They specialize in customized stained glass of all types.  All I could do was stare at the dangling sun-catchers and horizontal panels and think about how beautiful they'd look in my house.  Finally, the last artist that I just couldn't stop coming back to was Ellen Robinson and her crab pottery.  The never ending sea of turquoise, gold, brown and blue plates, bowls, dishes, ornaments (you name it, she had it) that were all dishwasher, oven and microwave safe had me in awe.  I definitely think I know what I'll be getting our favorite, water loving neighbors this Christmas!

I am thankful for local artists and all artists, really.  Today encouraged my to pick up my passion for photography again and do it because I love it. It's something that challenges me and satisfies me at the same time.  Oddly enough, I hadn't even been to the Unique Boutique yet when I snapped the photo below this morning. I was actually en route to a yard sale and thought it was pretty.  Looks like a sunny little piece of heaven on a blustery fall day, doesn't it? 

Day 10.

"You are what you read."

The company I work for, Spalding Consulting, Inc. sent my co-worker and I to a PRISM (Public Relations Individuals of Southern Maryland) workshop today.  And this short, but incredibly true quote is just one of the things I learned about public relations and marketing.  Granted, I did receive my bachelors degree from Towson University in Mass Communications, specifically tracking in Public Relations and Advertising so I'd heard the majority of the content before, but it never hurts to have a refresher.  Especially in such a technologically advanced world.  It was brought to my attention that during my freshman year of college, 2004-2005, I didn't have a facebook account yet because it was set up to where only certain Colleges and  Universities had networks.  When I transferred to Towson in 2005 was the first time I learned about facebook and even registered my account.  Back then it was mainly used for interacting with other students in my class or groups.  Now, about six years later, everyone and their mother (literally) has a facebook account and used by these folks on a daily basis.  Social networking has EXPLODED and I'm still on the fence about whether or not that is a good thing...

Anyway, I heard this quote, "You are what you read," today during the workshop and it hit home for me.  Reading is critical to the development of children and adults a like.  The more you read and educate yourself about the world you live in, the more doors will open for you.  Today I am thankful that I had a mother that encouraged reading my entire life, and still does.  Without her promoting books, magazines, articles, newspapers, or anything else that we could get our hands on, I probably wouldn't be the writer and reader that I am today.

3G Road Trippin'

Finally!!! I've found 15 minutes to sit down in front of my computer and blog about the fun things I did last weekend.  Several months ago my sister asked me if I'd go to a Hanson concert with her and I said, sure why not.  We decided to get tickets to the Virginia Beach show and make a weekend of it.  Our mom and grandmother decided to tag a long too, no, not for the concert, just to get away for the weekend and take in all of the sights Virginia had to offer.

Virginia really is such a beautiful state, especially in the Fall.  Typically my family likes to go for Saturday or Sunday drives to the mountains for hikes and picnics.  We haven't had the chance to get away for a trip like that just yet, so this mini-road trip to the beach was a great filler.  Here we go:

Since my mom and grandma weren't going to the concert and had to be back to work on Monday morning, they drove separately.  We followed them down the back roads of VA and made our way to our first stop, the Virginia Bazaar.  We found a few treasures, but not much...it was worth the drive just to see the beautiful horse farms and homes.

The next stop was Berkeley Plantation.  Absolutely gorgeous, I love old plantation homes.  There was a wedding taking place while we were there out on the lawn.  If I were a VA resident I totally would have looked into a having my wedding there!  Anyway, there is a lot of history in this old house; two Presidents have lived here, Taps was composed here, etc.  

The plantation is right on the James River.
Considering it was the third week of October, the weather was perfect!

We finally made it to our hotel on the beach!  We took a stroll around the town that night and woke up to a gorgeous sunrise, some porpoises close to the shore and then Marci and I went for a run on the boardwalk.  A great start to a great day...

We heard that there was a beer festival about 2 blocks from the hotel, so Sunday morning after our mom and grandma hit the road we hit the pavement.  The beer festival wasn't open yet, since it was only 12:30, so we headed 20 blocks away to a Fall Festival at a restaurant called Watermans. Upon closer inspection it wasn't so much of a festival as a "Crush Fest".  They were debuting their new "Orange Crush" drink called the "Ruby Red Grapefruit Crush".  Fresh squeezed, ice cold, heaven in a plastic cup.  There was also a DJ and live band playing...yeah, we never made it back to the beer festival.  We did, however, hike our way back to the hotel to get ready for the main event...

 The Hanson concert.  I can't lie, it was a great show!  I really wish people would forget about MMMBop and listen to their newer music.  These three young men are so talented, but don't get the credit they deserve.  Despite witnessing a fight (yes, a girl in front of us had to be escorted out) and having a slight  hangover from the Crush Fest several hours earlier, it was a lot of fun.  I bought Marci a shirt during the show and shoved it in my purse, planning to give it to her for Christmas, but that didn't happen.  Never in a million years did I expect her to get the opportunity to meet on of them, so of course it happened.  Zac, the youngest came out of the venue and put his things on their bus then came over and signed autographs and took pictures...I couldn't believe it, after 14 years of loving this band Marci finally got to meet one of them.  It may not have been the man of her dreams, Taylor (who by the way is GORGEOUS...without a doubt deserving of a sexiest man alive title), but she still can say she met one of them.  And I figured what the heck, I might as well get a picture too...

The next morning we hit the road, reminisced about the concert and made our way back to Maryland, stopping at a few thrift shops and a cracker barrel of course :) Mission road trip, accomplished.

Fall Forever

I wish it could be Fall year round.  Ok, well maybe that is a bold statement, but I do love the season of Fall.  The weather starts to cool down, the leaves start changing, and the pumpkins start growing! Let the decorating being.

Found this lovely fall wreath at Lowes

This is the first time we've put a Fall display out in the front yard.  Not much, but still cute. A pair of mums, dried corn, a pumpkin and a gord, all atop of a hay bail with a Mr. & Mrs. Scarecrow and a cornstalk background. Festive :)

Oh, and for a few giggles...I put this display out yesterday evening.  When I came home from work this afternoon I found this:

I'm going to guess the tailless Squirrel who lives in our backyard is to blame...

Built for Comfort

If the words of my brother-in-law, "My body is built for comfort, not speed."  Me and you both, Mike.  And it just so happens that we both married into a family that was entirely built for speed.  That and they may have a little bit more motivation than we do. Maybe...

Last weekend we packed up the Volvo and headed over to Ocean City, MD.  Several weeks ago, my sister-in-law Ashley suggested we all sign up for the Hidden Treasures 5K and run it as a family.  A little background for those of you who don't know:  Bubba has been running since he was a boy and went to college on a Cross Country scholarship to a Division 1 NCAA school and won his share of races which even includes 3 Big South Championships.  To simply call him a "runner" is an understatement.  His dad, Adrian, or as he is known to some, "Pop Pop-Pee Wee" was always Bub's personal trainer and running companion. His mom, Sheila, has the determination and build for running.  Ashley ran cross country in high school, and according to Bubba, could have been way better than he was.  His other sister, Sarah and her husband Adam are in great shape and actually enjoy running.

And then there was me.  The closest I'd been to a race was watching them run around the school during field hockey practice in high school, or nearly taking them out in my car during marathons, 5ks, etc. around town. There was a time when I could run up and down a basketball court or field hockey field for hours on end, and even then the thought of running a mile or multiple miles made me cringe.  And now that I'm out of shape, it not only makes me cringe, but sends me into somewhat of a panic.  Needless to say, I never agreed to run in the race, but I did agree to go and support the family.  And that is exactly what I did.  Poor Sarah was/is sick and ended up not being able to run, so she and the kids kept me company and showed me the ropes of a 5K/race.

The runners - and Mike - before the race started.

I think Bub was having second thoughts about running.  Did I mention he didn't even register for the race?  Proof that not EVERY race lets you register the day of...

My pretty little, race day buddy :)

And they are off! Adam and Bub (to the right) ran together the whole race and kept each other going up until the end when Bub had to veer off and come through the front door instead of the finish line since he wasn't registered.

Stretching it out after the race...Jakey wanted to stretch too! Adorable...

Sheila won the silver medal for her age group with a time of  36:56.8

Pee-Wee brought home the gold medal for his age group with a time of 27:02.2

Adam, far right, came in 3rd place for the entire race with a time of  23:28.2!

WINNING!

All the participants in the race!  Good job, guys!  

Sweet Septemeber

I've determined that September is a pretty popular month for weddings.  And why not?  The weather is starting to cool off but the beautiful days of summer are still trying to hang on.  I already shared with you my friend Erin's wedding that we attended on our own anniversary weekend.  And here are a few shots of our dear friend Adam's wedding the following weekend.  

Bubba and Adam have been friends ever since high school and I am so glad they have stayed close.  No matter what we're doing, we seem to have a good time if Adam is around.  He has become almost like a brother to us and we've recently learned, through ancestry.com that Adam is related to my dad about 5 different ways.  

Congratulations to Adam and his new wife, Becky.  You both looked wonderful and we wish you a life full of happiness!

Bursting at the Seams

Ok, so believe it or not, there is actually good reason for my blogging negligence. And even though it's not 100% up and running and ready to go, I just can't hold it in any longer.  In an attempt to turn a hobby into a business, my mom, sister, and myself are venturing into the wonderful world of Etsy and eBay.

Because my head is constantly filled with a marketing outlook on life, we've decided to take the branding I've bestowed upon myself, "Point Breeze Post" and expand it to our core venture: Etsy.  Our Etsy shop is going to be titled, "Point Breeze Cottage".  Here we will take our passion for yard sale-picking, estate sale-digging, and thrift shop-searching and offer it to you for your everyday home decor needs.

[Love our logo?  Be sure to check out ColorFiestaGraphics for your design needs!]

Our main focus is giving a new life to an old, vintage piece that has seen its better days.  We have coined this as "ReFabulous Furniture" and it will be our primary source of products.  We will also be offering unique, vintage glassware and other home decor items you won't find at HomeGoods or Marshalls.  Every piece is a certified "vintage" item, meaning it is at least 20 years or older.

And we aren't just posting things we find for cheap for a quick turnaround.  We are searching for items that tell a story, that bring a sense of adventure or history to your home.  Our write-ups also contain helpful decorating tips that coincide with each item.

So is the world ready for Point Breeze Cottage? You better be!  Here's a sneak peek at one of the first items we've made "ReFabulous" and is ready to be listed for sale:

Before:

After: