A photo shoot this weekend with my cousin Jenna and her friend Raha at The Lab in Costa Mesa.

We had so much fun chatting and hanging out. The girls were so excited about the pictures, but became more excited about coming back to The Lab for a shopping adventure.

Thank you Ladies!

July 2009 – After meeting up at about 9am Saturday morning, two separate caravans of women headed out in the direction of the Temecula Valley.

Advanced planning, headed up by Nicole,

yielded a booked tour on a trolley of four wineries in the Valley.

Stops included Bella Vista, Wilson Creek and Leonesse.

We braved the heat of the day and sampled upwards of 20 different wines.

Yes – that is champagne being poured into a chocolate shot glass!

A few rooms were booked at a local hotel, dinner at a wonderful little steakhouse was enjoyed, a local bar was visited and quickly walked out of, we slept, enjoyed a continental breakfast and headed home.

Along the way: our palates were refined, old friendships rekindled, new friendships forged and a great adventure was had by all!

I wish I could pull out some amazing tribute to the man who brought me the most awesome, inspiring, real-life films of my teenage years. I have read so much on-line , and relived so many memories of old friends and times gone by, that I am at a loss for the ability to pen anything truly fitting of my appreciation of his amazing talent.

So I will look to others:

An article in Rolling Stone… John Hughes ruled my teens

A friend linked to this post on Facebook. This is an amazing story…Sincerely, John Hughes

A look into John Hughes as a family man & father: The Real John Hughes

His impact on a teenager turned writer: John Hughes 1950-2009

A sampling of a current thread on Facebook:

“You mess with the bull young man, you get the horns”

I didn’t know your dad worked here?

Does Barry Manilow know you are wearing his clothes?

Uh – could you describe the ruckus, Sir?

2 hits: me hittin you, you hittin the floor

B-O-O-H-O-O
The doors far too heavy sir

Does Barry Manilow Know You That You Raid His Wardrobe?

Ohhh pretty pretty girlfriend!

Automobile? Lake. Big lake!

ferris bueller your my hero

When Cameron was in Egypt’s land…”let my Cameron go!”

He’ll keep calling me…ok… I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

Come give Daddy a kiss….So that’s how it is in that family!

oh and they are so PERKY

I predict several viewing parties in the next few weeks to include (but not be limited to) Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles (No more hanky my wanky, Donger need food), The Breakfast Club (too many to pick just one), Weird Science (He doesn’t even have a license, Lisa!), Some Kind of Wonderful (It’s better to be alone for the right reasons, than with someone for the wrong ones) and She’s Having A Baby (I got no quotes, but I love that movie). I will happily join in any of them.

Thank you, John Hughes, for giving me movies that represented the high school experience in more ways than just Animal House and Porky’s.

From The Boston Globe – news stories in photographs

Stories from Israel, Tanzania and Malaysia

Today, we have three shorter stories, from The Israel-Syria border, Tanzania and Malaysia. Each of these stories caught my eye over the past year, yet I never had enough photographs of each to run them as their own Big Picture entry. Today, I’m happy to share them with you in a single entry in three parts. Below, you will find the story of an Israeli Druze bride who traveled (by foot) north to Syria to wed – and to never return, because Syria and Israel do not have diplomatic ties. You’ll also see the faces of a hunted minority in Tanzania, albinos who live in fear of being murdered for their body parts, which will be used for talismans and luck potions. And we end with a visit to a clan of Bajau people, or “sea gypsies”, an indigenous group living a seaborne life in boats and huts on stilts, rarely coming ashore, off the coast of Malaysia. (31 photos total)

The phone rang Thursday morning at 7:15am. Luckily, for the caller, I had been awake for some time and was almost done with my coffee. When I answer, my sister asks, “can you have a family emergency this afternoon, at about 1ish?”. I am intrigued and check my work schedule – seems there might be some wiggle room for whatever the sister has in mind. Turns out there is a long-overdue hair appointment scheduled and a very strong need for a babysitter for the little ones. Auntie Keri has been called and, like the Wonder Woman I am, I make it work. After arriving at my source of income, the bossman quickly agrees that the best place for me to be that afternoon is presiding over the care of the girls while their momma get pampered. Yeah!

I arrive at about 1pm, lunch in hand ready for the latest bits of info the sister has in store for me. The sleeping beauty should be out for a while (which means that as soon as she leaves for her appointment, sleeping beauty will wake up, ready to play with Auntie). The first born has already begun reciting the itinerary of activities planned for the afternoon; all of which are contingent upon the sleeper continuing to sleep.

The door closes behind the beauty-seeker, and the fun begins with a tour of the playroom and a detailed introduction to all of the 187 ponies and dolls that live in the playroom.

Luckily, I was not given a test on the names.

Approximately 12 minutes later, noise begins upstairs and it is decided that nap-time is over. Covered in sweat and sporting some awesome hair, the child is ready to play.

The decision is made, unanimously, to head to the park.

Although it was not in the original plan, I think they had fun.

Then, back to the house to tackle the fruit that need to be sliced…and eaten.

MMM…watermelon

and some toe inspection.

Then, off to watch a video…

(the best blurry picture in my collection!)

and some bubbles.

It was an afternoon of fun…and momma’s hair looks great!

I have been trying to make the links between my sites a little better. After posting some pictures of the Bramble Fam, I spent some time re-tooling my Gallery pages on Shutterfly. Have a looksie

My Photos

My amazing friend Aimee asked me to take some pictures of her kids as a gift for Father’s Day. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige. Aimee & her husband, Chris have two beautiful children; Bailey and Greyson.

Aimee invited me over one Saturday afternoon and we all hung out for a few hours. Here are a few shots of the adorable kiddos.

Check them out on my SHUTTERFLY page.

A few new trailers that have caught my eye, and will help to keep me entertained through the summer. **There are hundreds of reviews of all of these movies all over the Internet. I have no interest in becoming #101. These movies are on my list of movies to choose from for the next few months.

The title of the first film is a great beginning of the summer film season.

500 Days of Summer

I like the tag for the movie: Boy meets Girl—Boy falls in love—Girl doesn’t. What else can you say about a postmodern love story? – not to mention the best use of a Hall & Oats song…um…ever…and possibly the greatest soundtrack of any of the summer flicks which, for me, is huge (uh, Garden State, hello)

Next up is the one (so far) from this list that I have seen:

Great cast, over-the-top characters, great scenery…loved it.

Next on the list is Moon – looking almost a little too creepy for my taste, but Sam Rockwell & Kevin Spacey…um..OK.

On a lighter note:

Gotta have a bromance, or it wouldn’t be summer, right? No trailer link for this one, but it will be easy to find, I’m sure.

So, there are plenty other films that I haven’t posted (Inglorious Basterds, Humpday, the latest Potter, The Informant) – but this is a good start for me for the summer.

More photographs from the Boston Globe’s amazing News Stories in Photographs section.

President Obama’s first 167 days

U.S. President Barack Obama has now been in office for 167 days, and it’s time for a look back. Why 167 days? Why not – it’s just as arbitrary a number as the usual “100 days”. In that time, President Obama has contended with stimulating the U.S. economy, reshaping U.S. policy abroad, and starting work on domestic issues such as health care reform. As he and his family arrive in Moscow today for an official visit, find here a look back at some of the first 167 days of the Obama administration. (38 photos total)

From 37′ Productions Weblog

Sean is keeping himself busy (as usual). His latest adventures in music and live shows are summed up here…copied straight from his (underused) blog, with some extra links added (by me) to the great MySpace pages of the local Boston artists that Sean has been working with.

On another note…his sister just gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl! Congrats on the ever-expanding family.