I’m starting a new tradition and posting every Thursday about three things that I am thankful for. Sometimes life goes by so fast that we forget everything that is so wonderful in our lives. So this is my way of showing my appreciation for the good things in my life. So here goes…my first Three Things to Be Thankful for Thursday:

1) The guys (and gals) that created the internet – where would we be without it today.
2) Reece Cups – The most wonderful food combination ever imagined, chocolate & peanut butter.
3) Quickbooks – It has been a huge lifesaver. I’d be buried in small pieces of receipt paper if I couldn’t rely on this wonderful program.

I hope all of you enjoyed the snow yesterday as much as I did. It’s something we don’t get to see around here very often. I’m not complaining because I’m not a big fan of the cold weather. But it was so beautiful. We had a wonderful time having snowball fights (even though I caught a couple in the face!!). Here are a few images from our Snow Day.

I thought this was a really cute commercial. I love stuff like this. Happy Monday!!

Congrats to all of you newly engaged couples out there. The next few months will be filled with lots of questions and lots of information for you to sift through. I wanted to share a really cool website filled with helpful hints and tips for your Carolina wedding. Enjoy!!

http://www.carolinabride.com/

So, we had our first basketball practice last night. Needless to say, Daniel took the wheel and thank God for that. I would have had no idea what to do. But now that I have a sense of what they are supposed to be doing, it won’t be that bad. The girls, all eight of them, had a great time and asked us if we could practice longer. The girls range in age from 5 to 9 so we have a couple of little girls. They are so cute. Of course some of them have never played before so we will all be learning together. I just hope the parents are patient with me. Our first game is next weekend so we’ll see how far we progress by then. The girls are having fun and that’s what it’s all about.

It’s time again for Third Thursday at Cafe Florentine. It’s always so much fun to talk with everyone that comes out and enjoy the delicious food that Cafe Florentine provides for FREE. Yes, you can enjoy free appetizers which are more like a meal and you get half-off drink specials. There will be door prize drawings also. Last time, there were drawings for earrings from Gallaway and Mosley Jewelers, wine and gift certificates from Cafe Florentine and we gave away a Free Love Story Session. Come out and enjoy the great times with great friends and great food. See you there!

This weekend was completely exhausting but it was so worth it. The 2009 Wedding Showcase went so well and we had the opportunity to meet some really great people. Plus we got to visit with some old friends. You can’t get much better than that. The show had a really great turnout. Thanks to all of the brides and grooms (and moms and best friends!!) that took the time to come out and visit with us. It was such a pleasure talking with each and every one of you about your wedding. That’s what we love so much about photography. We get to share in all of the excitement with you.

We had all of the brides that stopped by our booth register for a Free Engagement Session that we were going to draw for. We drew the winner last night and the winner is Kimberly Elliott of Pawley’s Island. She wins a Love Story Session (A $250 Value) which includes a $100 Print Credit. This is a great way to start off their love story.

I just wanted to say Thank You to all of the wonderful vendors that we got to talk to yesterday. Here are some links for you to check out:

K&B Productions – Professional Digital Videography Service

Music on the Strand – DJ Entertainment

Bravo! – Event and Party Rentals

Cain Photography – Professional Photography

David’s Bridal – Wedding Attire

The Pampered Chef - Culinary Tools

Nicole Alexandra Photography – Super cool Photography

Here are a few photos from the day. Thanks again to everyone for making it such a great day for us.

Guests checking out our samples.

Gotta love a full booth.

Me and Mom looking fabulous!!

My favorite thing about our booth. I decided

to display our business cards in coffee beans.

It was really different and it smelled fantastic!!

This is our booth. I think it turned out great.

Our registration table.

Another picture of the coffee beans. I just loved it!

Me taking a break. Not really! My feet

were hurting so I was leaning while I had a chance.

Well, write this down because I never in a million years thought that I would ever be able to tell anyone what I’m about to say. Yes, I am the new Coach for my daughter’s basketball team. That’s right!! Me, who before about a year ago didn’t know what a double dribble was. This is going to be an adventure so I will keep all of you posted as to how it goes. Luckily, I have my son and my wonderful boyfriend to help me through it. Daniel has managed to make a basketball player out of Gage so we’ll see if he can make a coach out of me.

Keep your fingers crossed for me (and the 7 little girls that have to deal with me learning along with them). I’m sure there will be plenty of pictures and stories to share with you throughout the season. Happy Friday to everyone!!

If you are planning a wedding (or helping plan a wedding…moms), the Wedding Showcase 2009 is where you want to be on Sunday, January 11th. That’s this Sunday!! The show starts at 1pm but you definitely want to be there early to register. Vendors from all over the Pee Dee area will be there for you to talk to and to give you lots of helpful information and to help you plan the your Perfect Wedding. Here are just a few of the area vendors that will be there:

BRAVO!! Event and Party Rental
Carolina Entertainment
David’s Bridal
Jenelle’s Bridal Consulting
Music on the Strand
Osbourne’s
The Pampered Chef

And of course, we will be there to help you with all of your wedding photography questions. We will have samples of albums, preview books, portraits all lots more. And we also will be having a drawing for a Free Engagement Session which will include a 16×20 Portrait Print. The print alone is a $270 Value.

My favorite part of the show is all of the samples. Cake designers and caterers will have lots of samples of cakes and treats for you to try. There will also be really great fashion shows to show off the new bridal and bridesmaids dress designs as well as tuxedos. Come early to get a good seat. Last year it was standing room only for all of the fashion shows.

We are really looking forward to the show this year and we hope that all of you brides will come out and have a great time with us. Here is a link to the Wedding Showcase 2009 Website for further information www.theweddingshowcase.com/florence

Even though I ended up having to do Andrea and Bobby’s session at dusk when the lighting is not optimal, their images turned out great. We did a short mini-session on New Year’s Eve because Bobby is getting ready to head off to boot camp for 4 months and they wanted some photos of the two of them together before he left. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to spend some more time with these two when we better lighting…and when it’s not so cold.