Happy Birthday to ME!

Wow. I'm 25. A quarter century old. Wow. But a day that puts you a year older does have it's perks every once in awhile.

The day before my birthday was a pretty good one too. I started the 26th up in Buffalo for a Press Conference for work, then meant to meet a few friends to catch up on life. I met my best friend of 22 years for lunch, and had a great time. After that a few of my meetings with friends fell through and i was stuck in Buffalo at 1:00pm not knowing what to do. I had the whole night ahead of me free with nothing to do. So when you're stuck on a beautiful day with nothing to do....you guessed it...ROAD TRIP!

I hadn't seen my friend Rachel in awhile, and last year she forgot my birthday (but i'm over it) so i thought this year i'd make sure she COULDN'T forget and I'd start the day off with her!

Well after leaving Pittsburgh at 7:30am to get home for an 11:30am hair appointment, I was pretty tired, but there was no time to rest!

11:30am my mom and I went to the salon to get a cut and color, and since we needed to have a birthday party, we took some brownies and some Bailey's!

After 2 hours of chilling out my mom and I ran some errands and went home to rest before going to the Casino with my parents and my grandma and aunt.

We got to the Casino around 7, ate at the Buffet and then went into the floor to hit some slot machines. Well at my $21 mark....ding, ding, ding.....JACKPOT! I hit triple 7's and a 5x bonus and I decided to stop after putting $440 in my pocket!!! NICE!

After a great 30 minutes we were back home to have cake and open presents!

After Talking to friends and family it was time to hit the hay...another birthday here and gone...but a great one at that.

Here is a picture of my new hair color and all my winnings!

Still editing...

Wow...this is a lot of work. Taking 2,000 pictures and trying to whiddle them down to a fiesable number. I've been working for a week on them on and off and I'm down to 800. They are all so good....MAN! But it's a great learning process and I wouldn't mind it on any regular week but I've been exhausted going through 2 weeks of working almost 12-13 hours a day for soccer preseason and being out in the sun and all that other fun stuff!!!

Rachel, I told you I'd post some more, so here they are!

Here's one of my macro skill shots:

Here's a great intimate hand shot by Bec:

Sigrid and Isaac had a slammin' slide show, here's one great shot taken by Becca:

Another great detail shot by Becca...

Sigrid & Isaac

So my friend Sigrid got married this past Saturday to a great, Godly man named Isaac. It was one of the most Spirit filled weddings i have been to, and lately that's been a lot!

Becca helped me out, since it was my first time being the primary shooter, but to tell you the truth, she took most of the amazing shots that you will see in this blog! I couldn't have done this withough her, it's such a great time to photograph someone you care about with a best friend who is AMAZING.

Rach..you have been teaching her well...we definately have to do this for a living!

We had so much fun with these girls...here's everyone getting ready in the bathroom!

Here's a quick shot of their rings, very plain and simple but so effective! See everyone, it's not about the bling, but the meaning of the wedding ring!

This is a great shot from Becca, and I know that she was really excited about it! She not only got the beautiful and unique bouquet but also Sigrids Rings (we did the pictures before the ceremony so she doesn't have a wedding ring on yet) and Isaac's arm is also in there too...kudos to you Bec! I couldn't have done this without you!

Here are some more pics of the day...and a little taste of what the day was like if you weren't able to be there.

more pics...

Hey everyone...welcome once again to my blog. We'll start off with another picture taken by yours truly...this waterfall was taken at Letchworth State Park a few weekends ago at a Circle C Staff outing. It was a great time of fellowship, God's creation and Ultimate Frisbee!

After my last post God took a little break from teaching me many things, not that i haven't been learning but He's scaled it down a bit, maybe to one or two lessons a week and not 4 in one week. Here's what i've learned so far:

My last few years at home have made me very comfortable, too comfortable and content. I wasn't being spiritually challenged and my witnessing opportunities with my family had gone down the tube. Enter: camp. Not only am I surrounded with an amazing bunch of Christians, but I am being challenged physically, emotionally and spiritually, exactly what God knew I needed.

I've gotten into the Word more and more, actually comprehending a lot of what i read, i've been getting up early to do devotions so i have the whole day to think about them and apply them to my life. Not too shabby. Still working on the whole "memorizing verses" thing, but it's cool to come across verses that can be used in certain situations, if not for me for others around me.

I've also learned that talking things out with people isn't a bad thing. Yes it might show a sign of weakness, but afterall isn't that what Jesus wants? "For when we are weak, he is strong" Sometimes it takes that person that you're sharing things with to speak Jesus' words to you, and through that problems can be resolved in a matter of days instead of maybe the months or years it can take you to come to that realization just trying to hear God's voice in it all. My pride is knocked down a notch...only 999 notches to go.

I've started making some good friends at camp, some in the most unlikely of places, but it's great none-the-less. Some of the friendships I've wanted are slowly but surely developing, and I am careful not to push things. I have learned that the Lord puts you with the specific people for a specific purpose, so don't wish you were hanging out with someone else, because you might miss the opportunity of getting to know a great guy or girl.

I'm sure there are many many other things that i can share but i'll wrap it up for now. I'm more than halfway though the summer, and I can't wait to see what Jesus has in store for me in the next few weeks. Stay tuned....but until then check out some more pictures from Letchworth!

A not-so short update from the J-Dogg

So I like to start my blog off with a picture, even though this picture has nothing to do with what I have to say, seeing a pretty picture every now and then seems to brighten my day, so I hope it helps with yours. I would also like to add how amazing God is, and how He's worked in my life over these past few weeks.

For those of you who may not know, I am working 2 jobs (what else is new). My regular old day job that's low key but gives me great internet access so I can write and publish this blog, and Circle C Ranch. Now Circle C Ranch is a great Christian Ranch that I have worked at for 3 summers before this one. Since i'm doing the part time thing, it's a little more difficult than I thought, but Jesus did it that way for a reason. Here's a glimpse of what's been going on in my head for the past few weeks:

June 14-23: "Man, camp is awesome...there are a lot of new faces, and some old faces that I would like to get to know better....Jesus is making sure my motives are pure and provided me with no eligible bachelors this summer....I've been though all of this training before, nothing they can throw at me will challenge me any more than I've already experienced, I'll just be around to help those who are struggling....it was a great training week and a half, but i haven't made any great friends, but we still have 7 weeks of summer"

June 26-July 1: "Sweet, i get to lead worship, we have a keyboard player and a drummer, things should be good....oh man the girl keyboard player and the drummer like each other and are making it super duper hard to run through songs and focus for even 5 minutes....oh man they got in a fight, where are their hearts right now?....on Jesus?.....Lord, what am I going to do?.....

Well i'm around some days, I should help in the kitchen....wow these kids are pretty young....lets try showing them how to best be organized....what by the end of the week they still aren't getting it?....Lord, grant me patience....

July 1-July 2: My family is in town, I would like to spend time with them...but I should really be at camp, and I should probably do some work here or there...I can't please everyone, but i'll try my hardest...Lord, this is too much....I can't do everything.......

July 2 (evening): I finally swallowed my pride and talked with my friend Megan. She and I are very very similar, but she's got some great Christian knowledge that i'm lacking...she suggested that I quit trying to do so much and make sure that what I do, everything that I do is exactly what Jesus wants me to do and if i keep my focus on that then I will have more impact on people than I would if i was serving people for my gratification and to not miss anything. She's amazing, because that night........

We added a guitarist and Megan to the worship team. I am still using my gift of music but don't have the stress of leading worship. I was kicked out of the kitchen (but in a good way so the kids can learn for themselves) and am now "on call" instead of going in there every day.


July 3-today: I am now in a routine to get up, shower and do my devotions before breakfast. Go to work and do my thing, get back to camp and just fellowship with who i can find. Dinner then chapel where i'm trying my hardest just to sing for Jesus, we had troubles last night with the computer and not having a lot of practice so we were 100% relying on Jesus and he came through. Then it's games and spending some time with the campers and then lights out. I try and stay up a little longer to read some scripture and pray, and the amazing thing is that the scripture is starting to come alive for me again. Thank you Jesus!

I've learned a lot in the past few weeks, actions are great and can be a great witnessing tool and that's what i've relyed on for a few years, but if you don't have the knowledge and the scripture base to back it up then it's almost pointless. That's where i'm at, I've got a long road to go, but i've started my journey. Not too shabby.

Photo of the Day

So I'm working at Circle C Ranch in the evenings and my normal job during the day. Yesterday I had a couple meetings and phone conversations that had to get done so I took the time to go home, relax and work from there.

I open up my email and have all these random messages through Webshots.com that say "Nice Picture", "Congrats on Photo of the Day"...and i'm like..."What the Heck is going on?!?!"

So I check the Webshots homepage and wouldn't you know that one of the pictures I had taken last year and posted on Webshots Gallery was chosen as the Photo of the Day!!! How AMAZING is that!?! Quite the honor...

So for all my friends out there who didn't get a chance to see my photo of the day...here it is! I have to give props to my mom and dad because they technically gew these beautiful tulips!

Did someone say Road Trip!?!?

Here are some pictures of Missy's wedding in Vermont, and also the infamous road trip!

Don't we look HOT!?! Oh and I think Rachel forgot to mention that she left her dress in Allegany, so that is Becca's top, a sweater we bought for her THAT day, and her dress khakis...Becca is sporting her new black suit that she also bought THAT day because Rachel was wearing the outfit Becca brought, and I am wearing all my own cute stuff...too bad you can't see my shoes, they TOTALLY bring the outfit together! Not bad for dressing up for a whole 30 minutes!

This is Becca giving me her happy face and her "I feel horrible that Rachel is sick, but it's not going to ruin my attitude that Missy is getting married and I'm so happy we're in Vermont! Oh yeah...and don't I look HOT in my new black suit?"

Here's Rachel, the first one to get ready, sitting patiently waiting for Becca and I to finish getting ready so we can get her some hot tea!...What a trooper! Rachel, you totally deserve so much more credit than what Mike gives you and I think I have a new found respect for you to!...And PS...I washed my sweatpants this weekend, so we're all good!

Now here are some Ceremony Pics...not too many because even though we were in the front, all we saw was Jim's Back...nice looking back though!

There are definately many more pictures to be posted...but they won't all fit on this blog...Hopefully i'll load them on to a photo site soon and give you the link. Can i just tell you that there is about 30 pictures in succession of me trying to get a shot of Rachel's breath because it was SOOOOOO STINKIN COLD!!! Make sure you run though them in a fast slide show...it's like you're watching a movie!

And speaking of movie, the Roadtrip 2006 video will be on sale for $99.99 or 3 easy payments of $33.33. Leave a comment on my blog if you want a copy! Supplies are limited so get yours today!

Finally, Another post!

Hi all...I'm keeping up with the Joneses but ahead of the Shipmans and the Johnsons...

A lot has gone on since my last post...it's taken me awhile to post simply because i like to put fresh pictures up and as of about 2 weeks ago i didn't have any. Since those 2 weeks I've snapped some good pictures at my cousin Jeff's Wedding and also shot some good pics at the Christopher Hopper Band's latest gig at the Springville Methodist Church.

First the wedding...I went, even though i was told i didn't have to go...i fulfilled my daughter duties and flew to Tennessee with my parents. When we got there we were pleasantly suprised by my sister who had made up her mind not to come, only to change her mind the tuesday before a saturday wedding! Typical Katie, doesn't want to miss a beat! Here's a picture of us...don't we look HOT?!?!

I had come to the wedding prepared with 3 outfits...but thought that the specific outfit that I was going to wear to the wedding wasn't quite dressy enough, so Super Shopper Katie and I went to Marshalls, Ross and the Dress Barn where she found the most perfectest dress that already matched all my jewelry and the cutest shoes EVER!!! (sorry folks i don't have a picture of them!)

It was a long wedding, and the Priest forgot to say "You may now kiss the Bride"!!! How SAD!??!? But i guess everything is still official!

We had a great time at the reception, dancing and singing and eating...definately better than expected!


Yup 3 days with my family in separate hotel rooms is the way to go...it was a perfect amount of time to be together with plenty of room to get away if you wanted to. And there were people everywhere so if you wanted to escape it wasn't too obvious!

I'll post again in a couple of days (or this afternoon if i get bored) to show you some of my shots from the CH Band concert!

My Ode to ALIAS

Oh ALIAS...what will I do without you? My heart won't pound as fiercely, my breathing will no longer be irregular, my dreams will no longer be filled with missions and Michael Vartan. My Wednesday nights will be empty, lacking quirky one liners and action filled drama. My phone won't ring with familiar voices during commercials, or screaming voices at the credits. There will be no more car crashes, under cover costumes or accents or love affairs. I will have to settle for reruns.

Oh ALIAS...you've been good to me. Even though we didn't meet until just last year, you gave me the best years of your life. I know things about you that I never knew I could know, and things that no on else knows. You have made my friendships stronger, and yes, even made me appreciate knowing French and a bit of Spanish.

Oh ALIAS...thank you. I'll miss you...but you'll always be in my DVD player.

Syd and Vaughn...I hope you live a happy life together...we knew it would end Happily ever after.

Cherry Blossom Festival

This weekend was a great weekend. My mom and I went down to Virgina last Friday to visit my sister Katie and had planned on going to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC on Saturday. My mom LOVES flowers and we have started an annual trip to the various ones around the North East. Last year we went to the Lilac Festival in Rochester and had a great time and so this year it was time to see the Cherry Blossoms!

Friday we met Katie in Leesburg where she works, met her co-workers and hit the outlets. I found a Nike #9 jacket which is AMAZING, and my mom found a table for our kitchen that we're almost done re-doing...see photo!!

Saturday called for rain, but although the skies were overcast, the rain held off for us. I managed to get some great pictures, i probably could have gotten more if the sun was shining. We took the metro into the city so it made getting there and back a breeze, so we walked, talked, and took pictures...what a great day!!!

Sunday we got up, went to Brunch and then headed home. My mom and I were so busy talking we missed one of our exits and ended up going about an hour out of our way (See Rachel, it could happen to anyone) so we pulled out the Atlas and found our way back to Allegany just having lost one hour!!! Oh man, what a road trip!

Now it's back to reality but i wanted to leave you some of my pictures!
Oh yeah...and did i mention that we went to the FREER Gallery of Art which is part of the Smithsonian!! How funny!

Bec and Rach...I haven't talked to you in a while...hope you're still alive...by the way..what do you want for your Birthdays?

Also Bec...I'm going to be in Buffalo on April 19th...i was wondering if i could stop by for the evening, celebrate your birthday and watch the 2 hour ALIAS???? Just a thought.

Ta Daaaaaaaaaaaaa

So here it is...my masterpiece! This 3-D puzzle of Cinderella's Castle had 560 pieces and took about 12 hours to assemble. Was I crazy? Yup...but it was worth it.

Let's start from the beginning...I didn't think that I have had this puzzle for THAT long, but i also think that this might have been the one thing that put me over the top when it came to believing in Santa Clause. I unwrapped this gift, what i think i remember as this puzzle, still had the sticker price on it from Brand Names!! I kept that secret with me and finally told my mom yesterday! I tried putting it together but I soon figured out that i was over my head and put it up in my closet.

Lately i've been in a puzzle kind of mood. Whether my brain is starved for stimulation or i had a need for some sort of hard accomplishment, it had been going on for a couple weeks now.When i go and visit my grandpa at the nursing home they have all sorts of puzzles and stuff around, so i would put 100 piece puzzles together and was ready for a challenging 500 piece one. There was always some one in the room so i never got to start my 500 piece puzzle.I was cleaning my room on friday and found this puzzle. I started it Saturday night after our soccer tournament and dinner with mom, Aunt Mary Jo, and grammy. I worked on it saturday night for 6 hours, i was ready to give up but decided to go to bed and try it again on Sunday. I got back at it sunday afternoon around 1 and finally put the finishing touches on it at 7. My neck is stiff and my back hurts but i finally have a sense of accomplishment!!

So I had ALL ACCESS to the Casting Crowns Concert last night....

So last night, Sunday March 19th Casting Crowns, Nichole Nordeman, and Josh Bates were at St. Bonaventure for the Lifesong Tour. It was AMAZING! And since I work at Bona's, and there's got to be some sort of perks here or there...I got free tickets and an ALL ACCESS PASS!
I showed up at Bona's at about 2:00pm with plans to help set up a little (and earn my ticket), hear and experience sound check, and also do some actual work at Bona's. I had an in with the maintenence guys so they schmoosed one of the managers of the tour to get me in to the Meet & Greet session that Casting Crowns and Nichole Nordeman do before the concert, so I was able to get into that at about 7:00pm. I met all of the band members and shook their hands and held a conversation here or there, but i didn't get my picture taken with any of them because i'm a woose (is that how you spell it?) and didn't ask. I did, however, get all of Casting Crowns autographs!!

I actually got 2 free tickets, called a few people to see if they wanted the extra one, but oddly enough they didn't for one reason or another. That was fine though because I was prepared to use my all access pass for all it was worth and go here, there and everywhere! So I brought both tickets with me just incase i saw someone i knew.

At about 3:30, Mrs. Mac (my Kindergarted teacher and my second mother) called me and asked if the extra ticket was still available because there was another woman who needed some "spiritual guidance" and thought that the concert would be a good place to bring her. So I put my extra ticket at will call and met up with her at the concert.

The concert was awesome and Casting Crowns treated it like a worship service with the words in the background so everyone knew what they were singing about and could sing along. The Lifesong CD is a great one, i recommend it to anyone!

They also had a preacher named Tony something, that used humor when telling about his witnessing technique, and then gave an alter call where over 200 people dedicated their lives to the Lord...how amazing, and a lot of them were adults too! The best part about it was that the lady who went with Mrs. Mac's ticket dedicated her life to Jesus!!!! Everything has a reason for happening!

After the concert i stayed a little while helping fold up chairs and going back stage (cause i could!) and seeing Josh Bates and a couple of the Casting Crown band members again! It was a great experience, I wish you all could have been there!