Last week Moira (my amigo since age 5) and I braved the insane crowds and rowdy fans and headed to the Mets/Yankees game at CitiField for some good ole American Pastime fun.  Since going to a major league baseball game was one of the items on my 30 in 365 list - I brought my camera along to document.

CitiField is super modern and sleek....but it ain't no Shea Stadium.

Paralleling my fear of teenagers is a fear of rowdy/mean sports fans.  Luckily, we picked the right section!  Everyone cheered on their own teams and everything was cool-de-la.

The skies opened up right before the 9th inning and all the weaklings ran for shelter, but it ain't over til it's over.  

We stayed to watch the Mets lose :-(  But it was worth it.  I don't get to hang with Moira enough these days, 'twas fun and lonngggg overdue!

I got to hang with an adorable family this morning on a BEAUTIFUL day for frolicking in the park!  I have officially decided that these laid-back lifestyle portrait sessions are my absolute favorite thing to shoot.  I feel so lucky to be invited into people's lives and spend an hour or so capturing them in their element.  

I know I've said this before, but I had a really REALLY hard time narrowing down 10 or so shots for the blog.  There were so many "favorites," I didn't know where to start.  How bout right HERE!  Some fun family time in the grass....

I LOVE this.

Here are some solo shots of Claire.  I'm developing a serious collection of images of adorable little girls named Claire :-)

And here's big brother JJ.  He pretends to be quiet sometimes but once you mention "poopie" or "mawwwaiige" he drops the whole "shy" thing.

Sillies!

Quick-change and some more family time.

I've made a major change in my life and it hasn't gone without controversy so I've decided to take to the blog to do some 'splainin and dispel a few rumors.  I am going to take every precaution to avoid bombarding you with propaganda or preachiness.

Here goes:  Joe and I have been eating a strict Vegan diet for 2 weeks.   Gassspppp.  

I believe my Mom's exact response to the news that I was now a Vegan was "a what!???"  So lets first get the definition out of the way.  No I'm not a lesbian, a pagan or a devil-worshiper.

Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients.

Now I won't speak for Joe (hey Joe...start your own blog why don't you) but my reasons for choosing this diet are:

1)  Health - Many people assume that eliminating meat and dairy from the diet will leave one starved, deficient and deprived.  This is simply not true.  In fact, researches have shown over and over that a plant-based diet all but eliminates many of the health problems plaguing Americans today (heart disease, obesity, diabetes, yada yada yada).  Plenty of foods besides processed meats are rich in protein (beans, tofu etc....yes I eat beans and tofu now).  There is actually an entire school of thought that presents a pretty compelling argument against the accepted-assumption that humans are designed to eat and digest meat at all.  But I won't go there.  Basically, getting control over my weight and general health has been a longtime goal of mine and after careful research I've decided that I have nothing to lose (except 35 lbs BA-DUM-SHISHHH).

2) Animal Rights - Okay...I'm treading very carefully here.  I won't go into a whole big thing but as far as I'm concerned the way animals are being grown in cages, pumped full of steroids and slaughtered by the billions is...kind of not really okay with me.  And I've barely seen what goes on.  Most of the crazy PETA people videos are too graphic for me to watch without having nightmares but I've had a teeny peek into the way these living things are being treated and I'm pretty much traumatized for life.  After all, if we're such "carnivores" why aren't we out in the woods killing our prey with our instincts and bare hands the way all other carnivores on this planet do?

"So like....if you can't eat meat...or eggs or ANYTHING with meat and eggs IN it....dude...what can you eat?"

Why thank you sarcastic commenter...I'm so glad you asked that question!  To help with my answer I snapped a picture of my fabulous dinner (courtesy of chef-boy-are-JOE) from tonight....

Organic bowtie pasta with garlic&oil, spinach, broccoli and a nice heap of rosemary-roasted taters.  Welcome to Yumtown, population me.

No Gillies is NOT a Vegan.  Anyway...let me quickly tackle some more FAQ's.  YES I miss cheese.  Cheese was a big part of my life.  It's practically my business tagline.  But so far, I've had so much fun trying a bunch of different foods that I have barely had time to mourn the loss of pizza, cheeseburgers, milk and all the other things I was eating wayyyy too much of.

That brings me to my next point:  I am awarding myself credit for Item #29 on my 30 in 365 list.  Beans, broccoli, brussell sprouts, tofu, seitan, carrots, celery, peppers.  These are just a few of the things I have eaten for the first time in the past two weeks.  No, I had never eaten a carrot before.            In.  my.  life.            Take a minute to let that soak in.

Another FAQ - No I will not throw red paint at you and scream "meat is murder" if you order a steak next time we go out to eat.  Live and let live!  I have no plans of picketing outside the supermarket or posting obnoxious facebook updates about animal rights.  Rest assured.  This blog is as public or outgoing as my new diet is going to get.

Alright.  This entry is getting way to long.  Cue the "wrap it up music."  

I spent my morning with sweet little Natalie, who I haven't seen since I took Maternity shots for her Mom Stephanie.  She is just about 6 months old and full of personality and funny faces.  Seriously folks, this could be my favorite session to date so I'm gonna skip the formalities and just start bombarding you with images.  Away we go!

Happy girl.

You know, just some Sunday morning reading.

I see you!

And here's Natalie and her g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s. Mom Stephanie.  After hanging in the house for a while - we headed outside for some fun in the sun.

Weeee!!!

Can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.  Natalie, Stephanie, so good seeing you guys!!

Joe's Grandmother (Claudia Perri) owns a dancing school and this year was it's 30th!  I snuck backstage during the recital (I'm VIP) and had some fun shooting something totally different.  Enjoy!

And here's the woman behind it all.  One of a kind. <3.  Just be wonderful!

I know Father's Day isn't until this weekend, so this post is technically early, but this is my blog and I can write whatever I feel like so BACK OFF.

Since my Dad goes away on his baseball trip (20+ guys from Floral Park storming the beaches of an unsuspecting baseball town in costumes and who knows what else) each year on Father's Day, we don't ever seem to do much in the way of celebrating.  This year I decided to have my own little tribute right here on the blog by sharing a story about my Dad.

You know those fleeting early childhood memories?  Sometimes they come in flashes or fragmented pieces?  Well...one of my earliest memories with my Dad was after a random game he had driven me to...could have been soccer...could have been softball...could have been lacrosse (I'll save the story on how I was continually Marla Hooched as a child - forced on more than one occasion to play on all boys sports teams - for another time) we stopped at McD's on the way home for some fries and a thickshake (SCORE!).  Sitting in the old blue Cutlass, sipping my chocolate milkshake, my Dad asked me (I don't know why) if I knew who the president was.

Me:  "George Bush"
Dad:  "That's right."
Me:  "Dad...is the president always a boy?"
Dad:  "Well, yes...so far...but you could be the president if you want to."
Me:  "But I'm a girl..."
Dad:  "That doesn't matter...if you work really hard....you can be anything you want to be....even the president...you could be President Dunbar...the first female President."

I don't know why I can remember this conversation but nothing that happened before or after it.  But I love that I do.  There is this awesome time period as a child where, if your Dad says something, obbviioussslllyyy it's true.  Even though my teachers, friends and social studies textbook said differently...I, at that moment, knew I could be the president if I felt like it.

As a kid in a generation of broken homes, absentee Fathers, single parents and insane divorce rates I was so amazingly, blissfully ignorant of how lucky I was to have my parents.  Especially my Dad.  He busted his butt working shift-work and going to night school to get his college degree - and it all went to us.  Every cent.  Hockey sticks, food, school trips, clothes...all multiplied by five.  And he never complained.

I never did become president (I don't know where to start when it comes to reasons why me being president is probably the worst idea ever), but I have continually seen things I wanted in life, and worked hard to get them. 

So yeah, as far as Fathers and role-models go, I pretty much hit the jackpot.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!!! I love you!

Hey hey HEYYYY there hello!  I am back from Vegas, FINALLY back on New York time and have some reallyyyyy cute pictures of Joe's cousin Rob and his girlfriend Della all gussied up before their prom to share.


Rob is just about the nicest 17 year old guy I know and Della is equal parts sweet and frigggginnn gorgeous.

Glitter girl.

Dapper dude.

Proud Mama.

This was Della's first time pinning on a boutonniere...Rob totally trusted her not to pierce any major arteries?

HAPPY PROM ROB AND DELLA!!!!!!!!!

Annnddd for no reason at all, here's my favorite model Rebecca keeping me company while the grownups and teenagers talked.

WHEW!  I've got so much to say.  

First of all - greetings from Las Vegas!!!  I'm here in sin city for work but I've been editing tirelessly in my hotel room each night because the anticipation of sharing some of my favorite images from Julie and Jim's wedding has been too much to bear (or is it "bare?"...damn those problem words).

Second of all - I'm going to try not to get too weird but I just wanted to publicly thank Julie and Jim for allowing me to be part of their wedding day.  Hiring a wedding photographer is a BFD.  Can't be taken lightly my friends.  The cake gets eaten, the guests go home, the dress gets packed away and all that remains is the images.  It was my honor to be there to capture it all go down.

Okay...enough of that heavy mushy gushy stuff, lets dive right in!

Here's Julie, her sister and her nieces all dolled up:

S.T.U.N.N.I.N.G.  the end.

Meanwhile, across town, my girl Tricia was with Jim and the groomsdudes...

Abbey Road of course!

This, my friends, is a "first look."  All the rave.  Basically the bride and groom throw tradition to the wind and carve out time before the ceremony to see each other for the first time in private (in private with your photographer, naturally) and get most of the pictures out of the way so they can attend cocktail hour. Me likey.

The gang's all here!  See that adorable little flower girl?  She's not through with you yet....

WEEEE!  Big BIG thanks to Tara, Julie's MOH, for bringing these balloons.  Wow, do they make for fun pictures.  I had such a hard time choosing one or two for the blog.

pinwheel American Gothic.

Julie walked down the aisle to the massively underrated "Real Love" by the Beatles.  Glad these are in focus because I was crying like a fool, as usual.

Julie and Jim wrote their own vows.  My fave line?  "In a world full of horses, you are a zebra" courtesy of Jim.  Tears again.  These guys are so genuine.  Nothing about them is contrived.  I know every photographer says this about their couples, but I REALLY mean it!  They are so perfect together.  Within 5 minutes of hanging around them, it is clear.

MARRIED!!!

LOVE this shot of Julie nieces.  Beautiful girls.

First dance.

PARTY!!!!!

Forgot to mention that Julie and I went to high school together so it was really really fun for me to see some of the old crew, many for the first time in 10 years.  Speaking of which, I know them!!!

I'm going to end with Julie and Jim awesoming all over the dance floor.  Much love, you guys are amazing - congratulations!!!!