At the Lake

I traveled to the lake to see my sister's new lake house.  My intentions were to help paint, etc.., but of course, we had more fun "playing" than "working".  Thanks for letting me come to visit!  I had the best time....You'll see why when you see the pix of J and J below....

J sitting on he and his daddy's jetski...isn't he adorable! 

Aunt JuJu & J just having some fun....

M & D - just relaxing

Isn't she beautiful! 

I just love J's grin hidden behind this...

J and her mama

J & his daddy on the jetski

J & his mommy's toes hanging off the dock

Sunset at the dock

 

Just some fun pix from Berkley, MI today....

Dexter and I went out with the camera tonight to capture some portraits so that I could play around with them on photoshop...specifically, vintage looks and fading colors...  Dexter was also a very good model as he allowed me to get some fun pix of him too.  

The restaurant above, the Onion Roll Deli, has the best reuben sandwich in the world!   It's just down the block from our house.  I lived here for almost a year before I stopped in to try it.

We live on Princeton St.

Dexter being nosey...

Another one that I just love of Dex

And last but not least....The Blarney Stone.  This is our favorite dive bar.  It's only a block and a half away and they have the best ranch dressing ever!  

Photoshop Class

I came across this online photography site that is just awesome & free. If you have any questions, you want somebody to critique your photos, you need somebody to help you out with adjusting color or if you have questions on just about anything, you just post it on there and photographers from all over the world will post replies. Anyway, since I just joined this forum, I thought I'd take a photoshop class that was offered tonight over the web. It was great. For my project, I decided to use some of J's football gear since we all know it's almost the start of the football season. I wanted to play around with background/foreground colors and add color in certain areas, so here are a few of my before/after pix.


Just so you know....photoshop never ceases to amaze me. Anybody can look like a model with a little bit of editing with photoshop. So, if you ever want to look like a model, just send me a pic, and I'll work my magic!

Original picture

Changing the background color

Changing the picture to black/white and adding your own color.

Another Great Gift...

Check out this great new serving platter that we just received as a gift.  I was shocked when J(my fiance) actually made the comment that he really liked it because it was more modern looking!    The gift was from a boutique in Perrysburg, OH called, Fiddlestix Boutique.  I can't wait to go check out the store the next time I'm in town.  

Dexter & Haley

Our friends, R & K, came up to visit along with their gorgeous black lab, Haley.    The funny thing with Dexter is that he thinks that whenever somebody comes over to visit, they come to see him.  So, needless to say, he was quite thrilled when somebody actually did come to visit him! 

                                  Dex (L), Haley (R)




    Above is a picture of Dex after Haley left.  (he's been sleeping all day)                                     

K & K Relocation Consulting Inc

Whether you own a business and need the assistance with the relocation of your employee(s) or maybe you need somebody to manage your property or better yet, maybe you need somebody to assist you with the rental/purchasing/selling of a home or business, you need to check out K & K Relocation Consulting, Inc.  My best friend, K, (who you've seen pictures of in my previous blog posts) and her friend, K, (my friend, too) have this business and serve the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.  

Check out there website at:  www.kkrelocation.com

Just tell them Julie sent you....

The Weekend

This weekend J and I have some friends (R & K) coming up to visit from the Great Buckeye State.  K recently sent me two pix of the guys from a few years ago when both of our guys were still bachelors. 

If you can't tell, R's a huge Buckeye Fan.  I'm not certain why J has an OSU shirt on.  He claims to only love Pitt, but I think he's a closet Buckeyes fan.

The picture below is likely one that shows what they'll be doing this weekend.   We're looking forward to seeing them this weekend and hopefully we'll get some great pix together.  

New Professional website

Check out my new website currently under construction.

There will be more to come on this.  I'm also trying to decide if I will be moving my blog to this new site.

Thanks for looking.

www.juliemarieportraits.com 

The New Hammock

I went to the grocery store the other night to turn in our cans to get the deposit money back. (i hate having to do this in MI) I didn't really need to get any food except I did need to pick up some milk so JT (my fiance) could have his cereal for breakfast the next morning. After I checked out, I saw a sign for this hammock. It was on sale...and I mean on sale b/c it was very cheap and JT has wanted one all summer long. So, I picked it up and went back through the line and brought it home. The deal was that JT would have to help me put it together (my reasoning is that he needs to learn to how to do stuff), but he got saved b/c my neighbor, K, walked over and she helped me put it together. (Thanks K for the help!)

The end result....JT lounging in the hammock with his cute bike shorts on. :)

What would we do without Dad?

What would we do without Dad? That's hard to imagine, and I think/know that there are times when we forget how lucky we are to have him. (same goes for our mom, but that's a different day on the blog) He really can do anything, and he's never been afraid to try. He's not only the antique freak (as mentioned previously), but he is the master home improvement guy! He's redone a condo that I had down in Cinci, and he did everything over in the house that I have now. His next challenge is to help tackle my sister's new cottage/lake house that they just bought. The funny thing is is that dad gets so excited to help b/c he always has a vision of what something can look like. We're lucky that we inherited that from him as well!

Here's a picture of my dad repainting my guest room. (he painted the room a year ago, but of course, I decided that I didn't like the color, so he came back up to repaint it this summer)


Even though my Dad is great at everything mentioned above, the thing that I love most about him is that he has loved me unconditionally and always been there for my sister and I. I can't imagine having anybody else as my dad. He's always taught my sister and I right from wrong. (we may not have always listened, but I think we've done ok thoughout the years) And the one thing that I always remember from him is that you should never go to bed angry nor hold a grudge b/c you never know if that's the last time you will ever see that person again.

However, the most important thing that my dad does for us is that he always tells us how much he loves us and always means it. (never a doubt) So, Dad, thanks for everything that you do for J and I! I'm looking forward to having you walk me down the aisle next year when I get married! Luv ya!

"Kimukah"

So, I just got back from visiting my best friend in DC. It's her birthday today, so I went in for the weekend to help her celebrate "Kimukah" aka the week of celebration before K's bday. Only K has a celebration that lasts a week for her bday.

Yesterday, we rented some bikes and rode 20 miles. K and I did great, but her husband was not exactly thrilled to be riding a bike with us. We made it to Georgetown for lunch and sat out overlooking the river. It was a gorgeous day in Washington, DC. We ended the night with dinner and drinks in Old Town.

Thanks K for letting me come into visit. We always have the best time when we get together. Hope your birthday was a great one.

"Wiggies"

Last night, my mom, sister, nephew and niece came up to visit for the night b/c we had something special planned for J....We were going to see the Wiggles aka "Wiggies" as my nephew calls them. We had been telling J all along that we were going to see the Wiggles, but I don't think he really understood what that meant until we got there. He was so excited. He danced all night to the "wiggies" songs and got a t-shirt, a wiggies light and a dvd. The only disappointing thing was after the show was over and we were walking out to the car, J turned to me and said, "No JuJu...i want more wiggies" and pretended to hit me in the air. He couldn't understand why he couldn't see more and thought it was my fault. I, of course, just laughed it off and laughed at him while he continued to say that. Later that night when we got home, he went down to see Uncle J (my fiance) and layed on the couch for a while with him and told him all about the Wiggies. The picture above is of J and Uncle J. J wasn't in the mood to get his pix taken, so this is the best I could do. (also, i didn't take my camera with me to the show b/c my sis and I didn't think we'd be able to take it in. We should have listened to my mom b/c everybody had cameras there)

Grandpa...

When I look at the picture of my grandpa below (and the one from yesterday), it brings some sadness. You see...my grandma passed away in April, and while we know this is a part of life, for my grandpa, his whole life was my grandma and I can't help but think how lonely it can be. They were married for over 65 years. They owned a hardware, lawnmower shop and carpet store together in the smallest town ever (i think the population was 100 people). They also loved to travel all over the country in their airstream and were able to travel to many places around the world. Some of my fondest memories with my grandparents were going to their winter home in Ft Myers, FL to visit and taking trips in their airstream during the summer months. The one thing about my grandpa, though, that you should all know, is that he is probably the kindest and most patient person you could ever meet. He and my grandma had an amazing relationship, and there was never a doubt when it came to their love for each other. I can only hope that when I get married next year, I can have something as special as they did.

Ok..since I'm sure my mom is probably crying after reading the top part of this blog entry, I thought I'd lighten things up a bit.... This next picture is of my nephew, J, and my grandpa last month. The funny thing about this picture is that J's come a long way when it comes to his great grandpa. J use to cry and hide whenever he would see great grandpa (and as a matter of fact, he was also scared of his Papa (my dad) for quite some time). Nobody knew why, but one day, everything changed....all it took was my grandpa throwing a pillow from the chair and J picked it up and started throwing it back. J also started making a roaring noise b/c he thought it was scaring grandpa and grandpa played right along with it. Now, J gets so excited when he gets to go see great grandpa. Even yesterday at my grandpa's place, J got the pillow and started scaring great grandpa with it....too cute. (j's probably telling great grandpa about a tractor, digger, front loader, etc... in the picture below.) :)

"Oh my gosh" on our way to Grandpa's

Today, my sister, her kids and I set out to go meet my parents and grandpa for lunch and then the girls were going to meet with the wedding planner. On our trip to grandpa's, it was full of my nephew saying, "Oh my gosh....look at that digger, roller, front-loader, crane, etc...". We laughed the entire trip cuz that's all he would say and each time he said it, he was just excited as the time before. (the route we take is under construction so there are a ton of those all along the way) He just loves all kinds of tractors, diggers, rollers, front-loaders, etc.. In fact, I had to ask my sister how she, too, knew all of the names and she was like, "are you serious...we read about them all of the time and he points them out everywhere we go. " So, after our "oh my gosh" ride, we went to my grandpa's place to feed the fishy's.
Above is my grandpa sitting out at the pond watching the fish. He usually goes out there everyday at 4 to feed the fish.
4 generations...my grandpa, mom (J's nana), sister and nephew
J and his mommy...just watching the fishy's

My sis and her beautiful family

Here's J ... my nephew.  I just love him so much.  When I got to my sister's tonight, I took him and ran out to do some shopping and pick up dinner.  We had the best time.  We hit starbucks and he got to go to the lake and throw money in.  Then, we danced in the car with the music loud all the way home.  Boy does this boy have rhythm....i don't think he takes after his mama and daddy.

Meet my sis and her beautiful baby girl....
My sis's husband.  If you ever need a personal injury attorney in Ohio, let me know.  I can hook you up. 
I just love this picture.  J had fallen down and had some tears and here's his mama comforting him like nobody else can. 
Me and my niece...i just love her and if you could only hear her laugh...it's so contagious.

A Fun-Filled Saturday...

Meet G...the baby brother of E.  Isn't he handsome and I just love his little feet.

Meet E and her mommy...also holding my niece.  
Isn't she beautiful...
E, the future Mrs. to my nephew.  (i don't think my nephew is too sure of this) E's mom is my best friend and my sis's too.  She was up visiting for the day from Cincinnati.  We all think that my nephew and E will get married one day...or we're secretly hoping for this b/c they make such a cute couple. (I'm sure they'll appreciate this when they're older.)

Buckeye State

Well...I'm off to the great Buckeye state to see my niece and nephew. I can hardly wait. I will update more later and hopefully get some great pix of the kids. I'm also meeting with a wedding planner.... Wish me luck!

New Table and Chairs

Here's a picture of my new table and chairs. Actually...it came from my dad, the antique freak. He's always going to auctions, estate sales, etc... to find a treasure. We always complain about all of the "junk" that he buys but we secretly love it because we know he's going to get some "goodies" and it's always really cheap and most of the time it's "free" from dad. The other pic posted is one I couldn't resist taking a closeup on cuz Dext just looks so darn cute lying by the table.

Can't forget my nephew, too...

Meet my nephew. The picture of us is my absolute favorite. (my sis wishes it was her in that picture) I'm referred to as Aunt JuJu and I love it. Not too long ago my sister was hollering my name for me and he came running in saying my real name. He sometimes refers to me as my real name b/c he thinks it's funny but in the end, I'm Aunt JuJu.

My nephew loves his baby sister but sometimes the jealous side comes into play. I especially love this now b/c I tell my sister to let me talk to my niece on the phone and when he hears that, he comes running to the phone and says he wants to talk. He then proceeds to tell me about Trevor, the lawn guy b/c he's obsessed with lawmowers, blowers, grasshoppers, tractors, etc... We can't quite figure this out but you always know that he's going to tell you something about Trevor and it's usually, "trevor blows leaves". Gotta luv it.

My Niece...

I just love the top pic...beautiful little princess.

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