It’s a Holiday in New England

I woke up this morning, earlier than on a normal Sunday. My first thought was that it was game day. It was then I realized that NFL Playoff Sundays in New England are comparable to Christmas. On Christmas, you sit down with your family, eat a well thought out and hearty dinner, laugh, tell stories, open gifts, and follow traditions.  Days like today, when the New England Patriots are facing their division rival in the playoffs, we, as New England sports nuts,  act in a similar way.  We get together with friends, eat extremely unhealthy but irresistible food, yell, shout, swear, and hope Tom and his sidekicks open a good old fashioned can of whoop - ass.  Our whole day has been spent in preparation; where are we going to watch it?  What are we going to eat?  What kind of beer do we want to drink?  Should I wear my Tedy jersey? Or is it time I retire it to a safe and final resting place ? Even the girl at the WalMart check out was talking us up about the game, and we all know how talkative they can be.  And as you can see below, even our girls are pumped up for some rough and tumble.  So put on your jerseys folks and let’s get ready for somNew England football!

Simple Things

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."  ~Confucius

Who knew the best part of my long weekend would be the walk Matt, Lucy, Piper and I went on this morning.  It wasn’t a hike on a trail we’ve never been on and we didn’t see things we don’t drive by every day.  But on this walk, I took the time to look around me and feel.  It’s amazing how when you are living your life at full speed you forget to feel.  And you forget to appreciate how lucky you may be.  It’s simple moments such as this morning that make me the happiest and that provide the most calm photos. 

All About the Resolutions

It's new year's Day, 2011. I started the year off with a bang...I slept in until 10AM and then took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Not to mention Matt and I fell asleep on the couch last night around 10PM watching Harry Potter after passing up many par-tay invites. Not the most exciting or eventful New Year's, but my goodness, I jumped on the chance for some relaxation and quality time with my husband. Move over everyone, the cool kids are in the house.

2010 proved to be an year full of life changing events; Matt and I bought a house, I started going back to school, we got a puppy, my brother Brandon got married and joined the Army, and I decided I want a future in photography.  Of course, these are only the highlights in our very fast paced lives.  I tend to be an over-packer, not only in the literal sense, but in the sense that I tend to commit myself to things and pile things into my suitcase until the zippers pops.  And then, I realize I have a whole lot of dirty laundry to take care of.

So, in normal tradition, I am jumping back on the New Year’s resolution bandwagon. I could fill pages and pages with details of what I want to accomplish and what I want my ideal crystal ball to reveal.  But, I can also sum it up in the following sentences:

I want to enjoy each day and realize what is around me by putting the time and effort into what and who I love.  

I want to use my time and energy to produce things I am proud of and that I can proudly say are mine.

I want to learn to love all that is around me and no longer take the life I have been given for granted.

I want to live in my passion for photography and become the best I can be.

So why blog some of you may ask?  

First, you can refer to “resolution” one.  I want to put time and effort into what I love.  I love to write.  Many of you reading this may have no idea. Point proven.  I also want to create a written path of accomplishments as I reach my photography goals, and what better way to do so then by blogging.  Last but not least, I have many family and friends who unfortunately are not able to be with us all the time.  This is a perfect way of bringing them back into our lives. Who know where my blogs will take me, what I will talk about, what I will find, or if I even make it past the first week.  But to anyone reading, I hope you enjoy.

Love , Crystal

P.S. If the Richard Simmons fairy would like to visit, I would also be more than open to losing a good 30 lbs.  Talk about a cliche resolution.