Officially Time for the Change

Hey blog readers, time to change those bookmarks and links!! Cause I know you all have me bookmarked at least 3 times for easy access. Click HERE for the new blog or go to www.stacienicoleblog.blogspot.com.

Old friends and zipper flaps

This past Saturday I attended the funeral of my friend, Charlotte's, grandmother. She was such an amazing woman who lived a great life, and it was truly touching just to be there. I had not seen Granny in years and years, but of course, I went for the support of Charlotte and her family. She is one of those old, old friends - well, she was one of my very first friends. She is in my memories for as far back as I can remember. She tattled on me for drawing on the wall with crayons for goodness' sake! I mean who does that?!? : ) Anyway, Charlotte and her sister, Katie, spoke at the service. And it brought back a flood of memories. Her grandparents had a little greenhouse in the yard that was the 'flower house.' We played out there for hours and hours. There were real pots and pans, so we would 'cook' with real vegetables and play house. We convinced Katie that life was much better outside of the flower house. Hehe. We were so mean to her, but she wasn't an angel herself. I had not thought about those times for years, so it was good to remember. I did not expect to cry, but geez louise - I was a basketcase. Old friends really are the best, because most of the time your friendship just never changes. It's always special.

So this will (surprisingly) lead me into my LAUGH for the day.
First of all, I must give a shout out and THANK GOD for ZIPPER FLAPS! I hope this has happened to someone, so you will know what I'm talking about. For some reason, it happens to me far too often. I came home that day and was about to put my blue jeans back on to go outside...when suddenly I realized that my zipper had been down during the entire funeral. Yes, I am SERIOUS. Really...what can you do? I just shook my head. Add another embarrassing moment to my bank. Then I truly thanked God for those flaps of fabric that are attached to the side of the zipper (you know - they lay under the front of your pants.) Their purpose is to protect people like me from the world seeing your underwear! GENIUS!

Shannon & James at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Last weekend (as I mentioned in a post below), I shot some engagement pictures of Shannon, James and Alec (Shannon's son.) We went to Birmingham Botanical Gardens - sooo beautiful this time of year. I am seriously in love with the red bridge in the Japanese Gardens. It took a while for us to find it, but we finally figured it out.

I will be shooting their wedding in May up in Athens right on the river. Doesn't that sound fabulous? I think it's neat that they are getting married near the river, because they actually met on the lake while both of them were hanging out on boats. They have a boat and are still out on the lake as much as they can be. Alec is a master wakeboarder, of course. But I'm sure they would be impressed to see my own wakeboarding skills. Well, not really....cause I've never actually been. But I bet I would be pretty good at it...ha. I'm pretty excited about the wedding, because they are very relaxed when it comes to pictures and laugh so easily. Those are such great combinations.

So here are a few pictures from their session along with a link to a slideshow at the end. And yes, I probably include too many pictures on the slideshow, but it's hard for me to take them out!!

If you would like to see more pics, click HERE! And just in case you're wondering - yes, my website has changed names but I have not transferred my blog yet.


TODAY'S LAUGH includes a conversation between Reba and me at work sitting in the kitchen eating lunch from Panera.
Stacie: I am really liking these black olives in my salad right now, and I don't usually like olives.
Reba: I don't like green olives, because of that red thing they put in them. Whose bright idea was that anyway?
Stacie: uh...I don't know...God's??
Reba: (super confused look in my direction) I don't think God is the one who pit the olive and put a pimento in it!
Stacie: what? haha...oh...I thought they came that way.
Reba: No, but it might have been God's idea that He gave someone to do that...but they don't naturally come that way.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Hello all. First, I would like to announce that YES I am an Aunt of two beautiful babies that were amazingly born on the same day. It was crrrrrazy. Lily was born on Monday at 2:15pm and Sophie came in right behind her at 6:12pm. They were in the same hospital just down the hall from each other. They are both absolutely precious, and I will post pictures soon.

If you have ventured to my website today, it is currently offline due to domain changes. I am changing the name of my photography business. I like Sozo, but I really just want to be comfortable with the name. So I'm using myself this time - Stacie Nicole. I think it is more appropriate and more identifiable. It just makes more sense to me. Not much is changing, but I will have a new link to my blog and will share that soon. So maybe this will be the last time for a while that you will have to link elsewhere. I think this is like the 3rd time I've changed blogs! Sorry people. One day I'll be settled.

What's the Big Idea?

I can't remember who it was but a child of one of my friends would say this. "What's the big idea?" And I think that is so cute. Kinda like hey what's the big deal?

Anyway, the big deal is this: I am going to be an AUNT! And that would be x2 because 2 babies will become my nieces within a week. My stepsis and sister-in-law are due just days apart, and it's looking like the big day could be this weekend. We'll see. I will just flip out (as will my family) if they have them on the same day! Little Lily and Sophie will be celebrating their birthdays together for all their lives! ....Hmmm...will this be a good thing? I guess it will just have to be. As the time draws near, I am getting much more excited.

And just in case you're wondering - my South Beach diet has drastically improved. I have been quite successful in Phase 2. No more cucumbers and eggs...thank God. And seriously - didn't He create wheat for a reason?? BREAD helps the world go 'round, people.

My LAUGH for today happens a lot. I think it about it often for some reason but only hear it every now and then (and say it as well.) I think we have created a new word in the English language. And that would be "a-whole-nother." It's embedded so much that you probably don't notice it at all. But once you notice, you'll always hear it. "Can you believe I ate a-whole-nother piece of pie?" - "Man, it took me a-whole-nother day to finish that book." Is this a Southern thing or what? I just heard a lady say it on the cel phone in the grocery store.

Weekend Update

Hello there super fabulous blog readers. Are you serious in telling me that the weekend is already over? Geez. It was a lovely one though. I ended it tonight with one of our 'friend dinners' in Cullman, and they are always so enjoyable. We try to schedule them once a month, but this one came together due to 2 more 30th birthdays. That number 30 is shootin 'em down like nobody's business. It's weird when you have a group like us who have grown up together, are all the same age, and it happens to each one in just a year. I've got a LOOONNNGG way to go though...second to the last - WAAAYYY in September. I knew that 'youngest' factor would come in handy one day. Hehehe.

Anyway, here is a brief summary of my activities this weekend, because I know you are just dying to find out. *Friday: tornado weather. Yuck. *Saturday: Clear skies and beautiful. In the morning, I shot some engagement pictures of Shannon and James at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Shannon's precious son, Alec, came for the shoot as well and made it even more fun. I'll be shooting the wedding in May, and I'm so excited about it. Engagement pictures are such a great way to get to know the couple and what they are like together. Shannon, James and Alec were so relaxed, upbeat and better yet - goofy. I loved it. I haven't edited the pics yet, but here is one of my favorites. I love love love catching people in a moment like this:



*Sunday: Headed north for some pictures of one of my favorite babies (who just turned 1): Anna Hampton. I have had the privilege of shooting her portraits since the week she was born! She gets cuter everyday and smiles like you would never believe. This was a favorite today:




And last but certainly not least. My dad asked if I would take a picture of him for his business card. He owns part of a barbecue business but does real estate on the side. If you are looking for a realtor in Cullman, give him a call! He's one of the best. But of course, I'm biased. He is one of the most outstanding dads a person could ask for...as well as a genuine, lively, all around excellent, loving, talented man with the best personality imaginable. I mean - how do you think I turned out like I did? Geez...seriously. So I have to post a picture of him!




TODAY'S LAUGH: Everytime I have thought of this moment over the weekend, it makes me laugh. So it's got to go down in history. Friday during the bad weather, I was at work. We could have gone home early but there were still 4 of us there. Drew was watching outside and yelled back that it was hailing. Well, I just freaked out because when I looked out the window, the trees were swirling like I have never seen. The rain/hail was sideways, hitting the windows, and it was just a pretty terrifying sight. You know when you're in a panic and you just end up standing or running around like you don't know what the heck is going on? I was there...yelling what are you doing? what are you doing?!?! But what cracks me up the most is when Drew yelled something I didn't understand. It sounded liked "Kejlskrejsij CAR!!!" And he was like a vapor who vanished in the wind. He ran through that office faster than Speedy Gonzalez and was GONE. He didn't give a rip about the tornado but wanted to move his car away from hail damage. The front door stopped him though when it got caught in the wind. Well, and then it stopped hailing. Maybe you should have just been there, but I can't stop laughing about this!

Torture Update

Disclaimer: Please don't let my personal opinions stray you away if you are considering the South Beach Diet. It is truly a wonderful, healthy way to lose weight. And Tracie, you should stop reading this right now.

But.....here's the thing. I'm already ready to quit this horrific diet, and it's only day 2. SERIOUSLY...I'm such a wimp. When I'm sitting there eating my 87th bite of cucumber, I think "am I this set on losing weight?" "Why not just exercise? That is really what you need to do." I'm a pretty healthy eater most of the time anyway...I guess. Yes, this plan is great, but I'm just not as excited as I was. Understandably.

I made my eggs differently this morning and used canadian bacon and cheese. I drove to work with my fork and bowl and ate them along the way. Nice and safe, yes. I was so excited about making these vegetable quiche cups, so that I could take one right out of the freezer and pop in the microwave to eat on-the-go. Nope. They'd probably be good on another day with all that spinach. I'm so hungry right now, because I don't want to eat anything that I can eat. I don't think this is the way it's supposed to be. I'm going to bed!

I think I might just start on Phase 2 after 2 days instead of 2 weeks. I've had enough!

Won't you be my neighbor?

I'm happy to say that my beach trip was fantastic. The weather was ok on Friday, yuck on Saturday, beautiful on Sunday. My Dad and Ann had to leave town early Saturday, because they had some serious damage from the tornado (or whatever it was) in Cullman on Friday. Ten trees fell all throughout their yard! I'm talking up-rooted, landing just feet from the house...but certainly not ignoring the back deck that was badly messed up. Geesh. I'm so grateful nothing actually hit the house.

Anyway, that means I had all day Saturday and Sunday to myself. It was nice to do nothing. I took my camera but didn't take one single picture.

Also, I officially started the South Beach Diet today. I don't know if I fully realized until just a while ago that I have committed to not eat bread or sugar for two full weeks....Hmmmm...I'm wondering how this is going to go. It is otherwise great. Very practical and pretty easy. You can still eat good food (and drink coffee & tea - which is highly important.) I'm looking forward to my wardrobe expanding (instead of me! har har...) There are quite a few pairs of pants that I'd still like to wear - I'm not done with them yet - but they aren't working with me, you know?

And in case you are wondering - no, there is really no topic or pattern to this post. It's just been a while since I blogged, and I wanted to update.

Moving on...
I have always wanted to go through some pictures I took while playing Rook with my family. So I decided to post a couple of them that I liked. If you play Rook, you would know that I was pretty excited about getting this STELLAR hand......




And here is an action shot of my dad dealing......



TODAY'S LAUGH: This actually happened on Sunday. I was trying to hang out on the beach until the very last second before making the 4-5 hour drive home. While sitting in my chair with my ipod, I noticed these two older women walking out onto the sand with bags and beach chairs. They stood for a moment as if waiting for someone else and tried to decide where to sit. As they unfolded their chairs, the older woman (probably 60-70 yrs old) sat in her chair and immediately fell back - head to the ground, feet up in the air right in the middle of the beach! The other woman quickly helped pull her chair back down to the ground. Just as they couldn't stop laughing, neither could I! She was okay and knew that people saw her...just a bit embarrassed. It still makes me laugh just thinking about it right now. Oh it was absolutely hysterical!

It's that time again...

Well, the last hour of my life has been transforming...really! I said GOODBYE to my winter clothes (sayonara suckers...good riddance big bulky sweaters...au revoir itchy wool pants...) And it didn't take me long at all. I wasn't sad a bit. It was quite a refreshing moment that I've been looking forward to for weeks. What a reunion my summer clothes and I had when I released them from their storage bins. Woooooo...

So anyway, the main reason I had to changeover is because I'm headed to the BEACH tomorrow - oh yeah, I am. It's the first official trip of the season. I haven't been since November. And really I don't care if it rains the whole time. I just want to wear flip flops and see the sand. Well...and get my book and ipod and umbrella and a huggie with a good refreshing drink in it. Then sit there all day long and maybe fall asleep. Ahhhhh...

Speaking of ipods: I have to give a shout out to mine, because my ipod and I have such a quality relationship...amazingly loyal. I have a 'mini' that I don't think are produced anymore. It's probably at least 3 years old. I haven't used it in about 8 months. I dusted it off and tried to charge it. Well, it had some issues. But I gave it a little pep talk and some time. And that little puppy started right back up like old times!

TODAY'S LAUGH is regarding my above references to personal relations with inanimate items. What the heck??

In honor of my beach trip, I will post some pictures I took last time I was there. These were just for fun...


A Palm Tree...




A Road Sign...




Free Advertising...




The view of a sunset from a pier...if you were an ant...

Mary and Michael in Nashville

I hope you are having a lovely Tuesday.
I think I have set an editing record for myself. I am finished with Mary and Michael's engagement pictures from Sunday. We had so many different backgrounds in downtown Nashville...it is definitely not lacking with color or uniqueness. So here are a few of my favorite shots and a link to the slideshow at the end. (And I still don't know why the pictures are pixel-y when I post them on here. If you click on them, they are much clearer. Maybe one day I'll figure it out.) .......














Aren't they so cute? It's easy to edit when your subjects are naturals! Haha..
Click HERE to see the slideshow.

And I don't know if my life is just not funny anymore or WHAT but I don't have a big LAUGH for today. I suppose I can count last night when I played Guitar Hero for the first time. Watching my friend, Lori, was hysterical. She would do well until you started talking to her or distracting her...then it was all downhill. Or our messed up plug would come out of the back of the TV causing it to go black in the middle of a song. Then all heck broke loose.