New Adventures of Almost Thirty Christine: 2012

Monday, August 13, 2012

Savages

Yesterday I had alot of ambition.... Ambition to get some cleaning done around the house, and all the laundry done. I didnt do much of either....

Instead, I went to Davids Bridal and helped the beautiful bride to be try on some dresses (She narrowed it down to two :)) and the awesome bridesmaids pick out dresses (Flo had already picked them out we just had to try them on). It was def a fun time had by all!

When I got home, I wanted nothing more than to relax a bit, and I did that by watching the new movie, Savages. The movie is about two buddies, who go into the pot business together, and share the same girl. It had a really good cast, Benicio Del Toro, Blake Lively, and Salma Hayeck. The movie was pretty gruesome but overall, I really like it. A must see for sure.

After the movie was done, I picked back up the new book that I started, Cemetery Girl. Once I started reading it, I knew I was not going to like the book. But it wasnt very big, and I managed to finish it up as I watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Any book about a missing or abused child, is definetly not one Im going to enjoy. Lesson learned there.

But the closing ceremonies for the Olympics were awesome. The USA won big, in overall medals and gold medals. This was the first Olympics that I really watched and was into, and both the opening and closing ceremonies were awesome in my opinion. My favorite part of the closing ceremony was the David Bowie tribute that showed all his different looks and styles from the past decades. David Bowie is my guilty pleasure. Love.That.Man.

Time to finish up some work, and then head to the Y for a workout. :)

Smell ya later.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

New Adventures of Old Christine

So Ive decided that I am going to make this blog more of a diary.... I will still be posting my pictures now and then, but I want something that I can look back on and remember my thoughts and what was going on at the time.

So today, I will rename the blog, and start a new....

I have, and always will be, an Amazon.com freak! Love love love it. I am a super book nerd, and this week alone, I put three novels to rest. I had been scouring the "Best Books of 2011" and made a couple choices. Three out of four of them are now done, and all I can say is wow. Just wow. I picked some really messed up, but extremely good books.

The first one I read, was "Before I Go to Sleep" by SJ Watson. It was a book about a girl named Christine, who was in accident and lost all her memories. She woke up every day not knowing who she was. Kinda like the movie fifty first dates. But instead of a caring, overprotective father and brother looking out for her, Christine isnt even sure if she can trust the man who claims to be her husband. The book had me captivated from the moment I started it. Christine was meeting with a doctor secretly who was having her write down her memories day to day, and he would call her every morning when he knew her "husband" was at work and remind her to read the diary. The agony this woman had to go through day after day, was heart wrenching. And the twists and turns kept me wanting to read more. I dont want to ruin these books for anyone, so I wont give away the endings, but this book was definetly a 4 out of 5 star for me.

The next book I read was, "The NIght Strangers" by Chris Bohjalian. This book first caught my attention because it was about a plane crash on Lake Champlain. The pilot was lifting off when a flock of geese came at the plane causing the engines to fail. The plane had 43 people on it, and 39 died, the pilot was one of the few survivors. It switched around from the pilots inner thoughts, to his wife's, to his two twin daughters. They had uprooted their lives in Vermont and moved to a new state to try to start a new life. But what they found in this new place, was a strange community, a strange door with 39 bolts on it in the basement, and all sorts of other weird things. The book was good, but at times I wanted to set it down and move onto another. Im glad I didnt though, because once the story picked up, it moved at a fast past, and I was left in shock at the end. I'd only give it a 3.5 because of slow parts, but absolutely a good read overall.

This morning I finished my third book of the week, which was "The Devil All the Time" by Donald Ray Pollack. All I can say about this one, is O.M.G. This was one of the sickest, more twisted books I have ever read. Every chance you thought someone might get a strock of luck, ten more twisted things happened. It was like a non stop punch in the gut. I read it in less than 24 hours. Brilliant writing and storytelling, switching inbetween three or four different story lines and bringing them all together beautifully in the end. This book was savage and unruley, and as a result, I couldnt put it down. My guess, Im going to have nightmares tonight. I give this a 4.5 out of 5. Just amazing.

Today I will start my last book from this order, "Cemetery Girl" then I will await my next shipment of books from amazon which should be here in a couple days.

Im going to try on dresses at Davids Bridal now, for my friend Flo's wedding, in which I am the matron of honor. Her wedding is a destination wedding, happening down in the Florida Keys! Im so exciting, I cant wait for June 2013 to be here!!!

Thats it for now! Talk to you soon! :)

Friday, June 1, 2012

Old Orchard Adventures, Part 2

In continuing with our Old Orchard Adventures, this adventure happened with my girl Tallmeyer, her puppy Aiko and my puppy Oscar! We had a great Cinco DeMayo weekend with our pups at a nearly deserted beach all weekend :)

Happy Birthday Baby Bean!!!!!!

Wow, one year already. Last year, I was sitting in the hospital, with my cousin Courtney, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Laurie & Kristine with a K. We'd already been at the hospital for about six hours at this point, and it would be another 12 hours before we got to meet the baby bean. Thats a moment that I will never forget, watching a baby come into the world. Both horrifying and beautiful. And now a year later, the Baby Bean is standing on her own, walking with the help of a steady hand, crawling all over the place, eating all new things, and just making us smile and laugh everytime she is around! I love this little girl with all my heart and am honored that she can call me Godmother, Auntie and someday friend. Love you Shayla Baby, and I hope your first year was an amazing year!

Here is a look at the Baby Beans first year, thru pictures!

One Day To Go!

This past Saturday was the Godbean's very first birthday party! It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Baby Bean's family and friends all came out to show her how much we all love her! Of course, there were pictures to take and so without further adu....

Birthday Party Time!!!!!!!!!

Baby Bean :)

Today's Baby Bean post comes with just four days left till birthday! Which only means one thing, Mama Bean, you are getting old girl!!!!! ;)

Cousins visiting from the South

We are five days away from the big 1st birthday! Today's post is from when Baby Bean's Uncle Matty, Aunt Vonie and three of the cutest little girls ever came up to meet her for the first time!!!

Tired lil baby

Godbeans First Family Outing

When the Godbean was just a week old, we had our annual Memorial Day picnic at Nan's house. This was Baby Bean's first time meeting some of her Uncles, Aunts & Cousins.

This girl has alot of good guys watching over her

Alive @ 5's of 2011

Alive @ 5 is the sure sign that Summer is on and popping in Albany. Although I dont go to many Alive @ 5's, I did make it to a couple last year, and here are some pics to prove it ;)

Countdown to the Godbean's Birthday

This time last year, we were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Bean's baby Bean! In honor of her first year, there will be a post a day featuring my Godbean until her big first Birthday!!!!

Shayla, lil Angel

Honeymoon, Part Three: LA Woman to Venice Beach

Well I just got in to town about an hour ago,

Took a look around, see which way the wind blows....

After leaving Santa Monica we drove straight to Los Angeles. This part of the trip was mostly centered around my obsession with Jim Morrison and his life. Of course we took in the tourist sights too ;)

The Alta Cienega Motel, was Jim Morrison's favorite place to stay, and was his home for many years. The window that you see next to the sign, is the room in which he stayed.

Christmas Eve: Reynolds Edition

Sure its May, but lets do a little backtracking and play catch up. This blog is new, and I have alot of stuff that I want to share, so before I can post on a timely manner, I have to get some older stuff up! Not that Im complaining ;)

Christmas eve we had my father's family down for breakfast!

The Reynolds Men

Honeymoon, Part Two: Monterey to Santa Monica Pier

While San Fran was fun, it was time to head down the coast. So we jumped on the 1 and started to head down. First stop was Monterey and the 17 mile drive thru Pebble Beach.

Dedicating the Greg Therien Batting Cages

A few years back, prior to my new Nikon, I was honored to take pictures for the dedication of the Colonie Little League batting cages. They were being named after my friend Patricia's husband Greg, who had been a big part of the Little League program.

Heres Greg & Patricia

Honeymoon, Part 1: San Fran

The husband and I were just recently married. For our Honeymoon, we flew into California, traveled down the coast, and then thru the dessert to Las Vegas! It was a great time, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Here are some of the shots from San Fran!

You feel like you are driving on a constant roller coaster!

Old Orchard Adventures

Old Orchard Beach holds special meaning for both my husband and I. It was where we both traveled with our family as children, and it is one of our favorite places to go now that we are a family. Soon we are headed up to Old Orchard again, this time renting a house of our own. So in honor of our upcoming vacation, I will be posting some of my favorite shots from Old Orchard beach. Today's batch are from my Husband and my first vacation together with his family.

The rides on the boardwalk

Run for Parkinson's to Support the Brian Grant Foundation

April 29th, my cousin Mark put together a run/walk for the Brian Grant foundation to help research cures for Parkinson's disease. It was a great day for the walk, and was very impressive for the first event. I can only see it growing and getting bigger as the years pass. Here are some shots from the day:

Lil Shayla getting ready for the walk

Nature's Beauty: Flowers

In Honor of Mother's day, this post is about Nature's very own beauty, flowers. Flowers and Mothers Day go hand in hand. While shopping over the weekend, you see people rushing around with different pots of flowers to bring home to that special woman. Here are some of my favorite shots of Nature's Beauty.

Halloween Party: Photobooth Style

This year, for our annual Halloween Party, I decided to add a little photobooth style set up to the studio. Worked out great, and got a bunch of great shots!

My little Bean, the Lady Bug

Studio Shots: Alexis, Jonathan & Joanna

Alexis, Jonathan and Joanna are all getting ready to be baptised!! We decided to do a little studio session prior to the big day and came out with some great shots!

First up is Alexis:

Love that smile!!!

Your photographer

I was always a ham....

From when I was little, I was constantly putting on my best smile and jumping in front of any camera I could! Pushing my little brother out of the way and waiting for my Mom to snap the picture. Ah those were the days. My parents, fearing their little boy was going to be hurt from constantly being pushed out of pictures, decided to buy me my own camera, and my love affair with photography officially began.

My first camera was rectangular and only had a few buttons on it. The flash popped out of the side. I wish I had a picture of that old thing now, but thanks to the internet, I was able to find one similar:

Easter Part 2: The Remingtons

This post has pictures over the course of two days. The first are from Easter Sunday, the rest happened the next day, where the kids were put back in their Easter best for a little photoshoot!

The Remington Family, via tripod

Out and About: J Flo

J Flo is a singer in the Capital District. This shoot was done for his new album, "Actions Speak Louder Words".

Studio shots: The Nephews & Niece

These kids are just so much fun!!! We decided to get the kids together and get a nice shot for their Grandmother, as a surprise! The pictures came out great, and these kids are so muh fun! :)

Easter Part 1: Nan's

Easter at Nan's is has been a family tradition for me since I was just a little baby. With Nan having passed in January, and the children preparing to sell the house, we took advantage of one more Easter at Nan's, egg hunt and all. Love and Miss you Nan.

Hi Shayla!!!

Group shot (gotta love the tripod)

Out and About: Amanda

Albany is a beautiful area with lots of history and great locations for pictures. Here are a couple from Amanda's shoot in April.

Shayla's 1st Halloween

Shayla is my God-daughter (Godbean) and one of my favorite people to take pictures of. She makes the cutest little faces and her giggles make you smile youself.

This was Shayla's 1st Halloween

Holiday Photoshoots: Nick, Morgan & Aiden

Early December I started to do some Holiday Photoshoots for people's Christmas cards and Christmas gifts. Here is a peak at some of my favorites from Nick, Morgan and Aiden's Christmas shoot! (Note: All photo's are unedited and unphotoshopped, unless otherwise noted)