Tampa, Florida

Just thought I'd share a few photos from beautiful downtown Tampa...

ABC's

A - Aphrodisiac. What turns you on? My husband when he wears Azzaro. Oh My..
B - BFF. Who’s your best friend? Kelli.. I don't spend nearly enough time with her.. must change that this year!
C - Celeb. Favorite? Matthew McConaughey Most annoying? David Letterman
D - Drink. What’s your poison? Diet Coke. I'm addicted horribly! I'm ashamed to admit it's the first thing I go for when I get up in the morning.
E - Everyday essentials. What do you use everyday? The computer, my cellphone and TIVO!
F - Fav. color. What’s your signature color? Blue!!
G - Groove. What music are you enjoying today? Keith Urban's new CD. LOVE IT!!
H - Hot! Who’s hot? Who’s not? Mmm-Matthew and Patrick Dempsey. Who’s not? Rosie and Donald
I - Indulgence. Dish about your guilty pleasure. I love to sleep in late.
J - {dream} Job. What would you do? Travel Photography for a Travel Magazine.
K - Kitchen Companion. Most used item in your kitchen? The icemaker.. I have to have ice filled to the brim in my cup!
L- Life is incomplete without. . . my family.
M - Mc. . . What would you "Mc"? I have no idea
N - Natural or dyed? dyed and highlighted
O - Outrageous Outfit. What’s hiding your closet that you’re dying to wear? A white linen summer outfit I bought two years ago. Need to lose a few pounds to get back in it.
P - Pet Peeve. What makes you absolutely crazy? When people don't look you in the eye when talking to you. When my kids have friends over and they don't say hello or goodbye.
Q - Quote. Share some inspiration. "Life is not about the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away."
R - Restaurant you give rave reviews Outback Steakhouse
S - Starbucks order. Usually a Cappuccino
T - Television. What keeps you glued to the couch? Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order.
U - Ultimate Vacation Destination - Germany!
V - Virtual Babe Name. What’s your online ID? ~gatorgirl65~
W - Wonder Woman. What woman leaves you in awe? My mother...she is my hero and and my inspiration.
X - eX - cited! The Gators won the National Championship!!
Y - Youth in a bottle. What keeps you feeling young at heart? Friends, Music and Laughter!
Z - Zodiac sign - Cancer

Just a few recent pictures...

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Safe New Year!

Happy Birthday to my neice Adele Star Carlton!!!

One more day of 2006 and we'll be ringing in 2007.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year and will be back to blogging again soon!

Merry Christmas!

Yumm!! Are you as full as I am??

Our Feast! It was awesome!
The Carlton and Lockhart Families
My Dad and My Aunt. Brother and Sister..Love them so much!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time again.. the beginning of the holidays and time to reflect on the things we are thankful for.

First and foremost I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends. I'm blessed with more than I deserve and am so thankful to have a healthy and happy family.

My photography business is thriving.. it's taken off way faster than I ever imagined. That's another thing to be thankful for.

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Gobble Gobble!

Missing In Action

Yes, I know I've been missing in action! It's been over a month since I last posted and even longer since I've actually scrapped!!

Life has been CRAZY!!! Between work, getting my photography business off the ground and my oldest child turning 18 and moving out.. life is certainly chaotic around the Lockhart household!

I made a date with my girlfriend April to scrap on November 3rd! I NEED TO SCRAP! I MISS IT so much.. it's very theraputic for me. We're probably going to go to Ruban Rouge to scrap the night away. Can't wait.

Hope all is well with you out there! I'll try to be a better blogger!

Peace!

Two Peas Blogger Challange- 9/18

I've really missed these challanges. My life has been so busy lately, but I decided last night I've got to get back to scrapping. I love it to much!

So....here's today's question: If you became a scrapbooker-for-hire, who would you want to work for and scrap their life story? Why? This can be a distant relative, friend, celebrity, or historical figure...living or not.

I would want to scrapbook Garth Brooks' life. He is such a wonderful person inside and out and has accomplished so many things in his short life. From becoming an overnight sensation, to the biggest selling solo artist, to retiring for the sake of his kids and all the charity work he does. I'd be busy for years trying to scrap it all.

Cool challange!!

I'm a Bad Blogger!

Life has been insanely (is that a word?) busy lately...

I don't even know where to start.. but I'll try.

We said our goodbye's to Kevin on Labor Day. It was bittersweet, but knowing we'll see him in 13 weeks is something to look forward to. I miss him like crazy. Things just aren't the same without him here. We got a few letters from him last week and he sound very upbeat and positive so that is GOOD NEWS!!

I haven't had much time for scrapping lately, but I did get 3 layouts finished last weekend. I've got to take pictures of them and post them. I'll try to do that this week.

My photography business is starting to take off. I've got quite a few sessions booked and am really looking forward to them. I'm still trying to book some babies and family sessions. I have lots of High School Seniors books and I'm really loving working with the teens! They are so much fun.

I may be doing a wedding next May. That scares the HELL out of me.

Check out my new website. I have it up and running now.

www.creativeimagesbymonica.com

6 days and counting...

Until this young man above leaves for Parris Island, SC.. home of the USMC Recruit Training Depot. It hit me today. As I was sitting at my desk working on a big accounting mess, my mind wondered to Kevin. He leaves in 6 days. For 13 weeks, he'll train, sweat, run, drill, and go through many emotional situations to become a United States Marine.

I thought about how much I have grown to love him. Not just as my daughters boyfriend, but as a second son. I've seen him almost every day for the past two years. He's spent holidays with our family, joined us for our family beach vacation each year and attended church with us almost every Sunday. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better guy for my daughter to date. There's nothing I don't like about him. He's a hard worker, respectful, funny, has a wonderful personality and gets along with everyone.

Yes, I worry about Kristina and how she'll handle him being gone. It's not like he's going away to college, where she can talk to him on the phone every night. She won't hear his voice or see his face for 13 weeks. Only letters will get her through this.

I'm so sad that he's leaving, but I'm so proud of the road he's chosen to take. As a mother, no-one wants their son or daughter to enter the military in this day and age. There's no telling what is in store for Kevin after boot camp. He may go overseas to fight for our country. He may not. But wherever his path takes him, he'll give his all, and he do well at whatever he does. I have faith in him.

I'll pray for his safety and health everyday. I'll pray for God to keep him safe. I'll pray for Kristina to stay strong and help him get through this. I'll pray for Debbie and Bob and his family to have peace. This is going to be a new phase of life we'll all be going through when he leaves.

I always remember.. God never gives us more than we can handle.

Kevin if you read this... I love you and I am proud of you. You will always be my favorite Marine! We'll be there on December 1st to watch you march across the parade deck on Graduation Day.

Do you ever have one of those days..weeks, months.. years??

Life has been a rollercoaster lately. Well for the past 3 months at the least. Summer is finally over here.. that doesn't mean weather wise, it means the kids are back in school! Whew.. this is the last year for Eric. He's a senior and Kristina is a junior. If I can survive to get Eric on to graduation.. I'll know that God does answer prayers! He's been a struggle. So far so good, but this is only the 2nd week of school coming up.

I found out on Monday that I'm losing my job. My job is being moved up to the home office in Ohio, and since I'm not willing to relocate, (which honestly wasn't even offered, but the boss knew I wouldn't pack up and move) I have to find another method of income. I'll have 3 more weeks of working, then a severance package which was atleast nice.

After alot of thinking, praying and soul searching, I've decided I'm going to start my own photography business doing portraiture. Children, Family and Senior (high school) portraits.
I've got my business name picked out.. " Creative Images by Monica" and went to the CPA last week for a consult on what I need to do to get this business off the ground. I'm really excited and nervous and the same time. I've created a blog for the business until I get my website up and running. You can check out my photos and specials I'm running by visiting:
http://creativeimagesbymonica.blogspot.com/

I have my first photo session tomorrow evening with complete strangers! I'll be taking family portraits for a family of 3.. from Riverview... and am looking forward to it.

Just wanted to pop in and let you know what I've been up to. Haven't had a minute to scrapbook lately. I need to get some pages done!

Till next time... Have a great weekend!

Catching Up Time

Just thought I'd share a few random photos... The top photo is my daughter who so kindly posed for me a little while on Saturday so I can practice with my new camera. Max our dog was being cooperative too ! Next is my cat Jasmine.. love this shot I got of her.. she's such a sweet cat!

The flowers are from my Crype Myrtle. I love how the sun was shining on it. Cool photo.

Last but not least, here's my daughter with her new car! She got it today.. so happy for her. She totally deserved it. Daddy got his little girl a good dependable car. She's in hog heaven.. can you tell?

Chow.. 

Three New Layouts

Love this one.. a funny LO about my hubby
This was for a challange for the School of Scrap
A LO of my DD and her two friends.

It felt really good to scrap tonight! I got three LO' s completed. I've been focusing so much on learning my new camera, I haven't scrapped in over a week. I like how all three LO's turned out! Tomorrow is my birthday! Another year older... but I'm still just 39! LOL

 

Two New Layouts

Well, I've been super busy this past week, just getting back from vacation. I did manage to create two layouts. One using some of the pictures I took during our vacation to the beach.

Both LO's are using Basic Grey Paper and I'm so totally loving that line! Love the funky colors and inspiration it gives me.

A friend of mine has opened a new scrapping message board. Come check us out! It's a nice little community of scrappers. We share LO's, ideas, motivation, photography tips.. stamping techniques..

http://schoolofscrap.proboards102.com/index.cgi Lisa, the owner of the site is such a sweetheart and an awesome scrapper and photographer!

I'm gonna try to scrap some tonight! I'll post my work later tonight. 

Tuesday's Blogger Challange from 2Peas

What is your favorite summer BBQ recipe?

My favorite recipe to BBQ in the summer is Pork Tenderloin marinated overnight in Italian Dressing. I poke holes with a fork all in the tenderloins on both sides and put in a marinating dish. Pour an entire bottle of Italian Dressing over the loins and refrigerate. Turn them every few hours.

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the grill folding the sides up to make a bowl effect. Place the loins on the aluminum foil and then pour the italian dressing on top to baste the meat while grilling. Cook for about 45 - 60 minutes on med heat turning frequently.

YUMM!!!!! Serve with Cheese Mash Potatoes and fresh grilled veggies of your choice!

I'm Back... Did you miss me??

Well I just got home yesterday afternoon from my family beach vacation which was a total blast! I had so much fun playing with my new camera, soaking up the sun, spending time with my family and friends and relaxing! The highlight of my trip was watching the Space Shuttle launch from the beach on the 4th of July. It was amazing!

The weather was beautiful the entire week until Friday when it was overcast and rainy. I'm really thankful for the time we all spent together. I reflected alot on how important family and friends are and cherrished the memories we made this year and all the previous years. This is our 6th year going to New Smyrna Beach with the Diamond Family. Every year it's a blast. My children and the Diamond children are best friends. Eric and Chris and Kristina and Mallory. I look at how much they've grown in the last 6 years and how they are almost grown and soon to be on their own. Chris just turned 18, Eric will be 18 in October and Kristina and Mallory are both still 16.

Here's a picture of the entire group together, including my dear friend Vickie who came to spend a couple of days with me this year. Vickie,Chris, Mallory, Steve, DeeDee, Briana, Bennie,Eric,Adele,Kristina, Kevin and Monica

Snapshots from Wednesday

Can you tell I am totally LOVING this new camera? I spent hours last night online looking for digital photography lessons. I found one here: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php

I'm really having a lot of fun trying different techniques, learning different settings on my camera and luckily I have willing photo subjects! My daughter and her best friend had a ball yesterday taking photos.

I'm getting ready for our annual beach vacation. We leave on Saturday morning for New Symrna Beach for a week of fun and sun. I always look forward to this vacation every year. We've been going for the last 6 years and go with Kristina's bestfriend and her family. It's always a fun time and we all enjoy spending time together, playing bocce ball, horsehoes, basking in the sun and of course surfing.

2 Peas Blogger Challenge

Today's challange is to list 5 things I like about myself:

1. I am an optimist.
2. I cherish family and friends
3. I'm funny and have a great sense of humor
4. I don't let people intimidate me or let them make me feel inferior
5. Just got a new hairdo... cut and highlights.. and I love it even if my hubby doesn't! ( He's one of the typical males who like women to have long hair.)

My daughter took this photo of me this morning at Tampa International Airport with my new camera! Having lots of fun with it today! Check out my photo blog for some great nature shots I took this morning.

New Camera! I've gone Digital SLR

I took the plunge tonight and purchased the Nikon D50. I really was undecided on whether to get the Canon Rebel XT or the Nikon. I did lots of research and thought I was going to go with the Canon since my other Digital is a Canon and I LOVE LOVE that camera.

But, after making the trip to Costco and going through all the features and accessories, the Nikon was definately the better deal for me and what I wanted.

I really can't wait to get up tomorrow and take some photos in the daylight outside. I took about 100 pictures tonight inside and the camera definately takes awesome pictures. I'm going to sign up for a photography class and learn more about this camera and the more advanced techniques.

The beach photos will be awesome this year.. :-)

Check out my photoblog at http://timelesstreasuresphotoblog.blogspot.com/
I'll be posting lots of pics there that I take with the new camera!

Ciao