Playing Leapfrog with Unicorns

joy of love – day 9 ~ passions and hobbies

froghousephotography — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:49:38 +0000

My youngest son, Jack, has a passion for making his own games on paper. Not board games, but more like ‘Dungeons and Dragons’.

He comes up with these characters, loosely based on his friends, gives them a power level, a weapon or three, a mission with a map…you get the picture.

He will sit for hours in his room drawing all this out, HE knows exactly what is going on, I don’t have a clue what he is talking about. He comes to me with and idea and within minutes he is back at it, drawing his little heart out!

When he gets together with his friends, they play these games. He kinda orchestrates the whole thing….it is fascinating to listen to them play.

His room is kind of becoming the hubbub of all things fantasy. He has pictures tacked up on the wall of his friend’s characters with their arsenal all around them. Of course, what is a good fantasy game without a boss(bad guy) and his minions.

I totally love the fact that he spends so much time working on these projects, using his imagination, and entertaining his friends. Most of all it gets his creative juices flowing and his drawing has improved tremendously.

He is not too keen on me photographing him much anymore…..’you done yet, Mom??’

Filed under: joy of love Tagged: bad guys, boss, characters, drawing, dungeons and dragons, fantasy games, friends, son

joy of love – day 8 ~ gift from the heart

froghousephotography — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:43:14 +0000

This is the wedding cake topper my husband and I had on our cake when we were married 28 years ago, this March.

It was given to us for a wedding present by his oldest brother, Steve, and his wife, Wendy. They had it made for us.

They even had our year and names painted on the bottom. I had my cake decorated to match the little flowers on the basket. It is so unique, I love it.

Our daughter, Lessie, is getting married this June. We are hosting the wedding reception here, at Froghouse, our home. The two ‘little people’ who sat in the basket

on top of our cake so many years ago will sit on top of Lessie and Micah’s this June.

I am thrilled to have these two represent Lessie and Micah. We are even going to put their names on the bottom as well, kinda to start a new tradition in the Schrider family. Wouldn’t

it be cool to have our gran-daughter, or great gran-daughter use them as well? I think so.

Filed under: joy of love, Uncategorized Tagged: cake, daughter, froghouse, home, joy of love, love, reception, topper, tradition, wedding

Joy of Love – Day 7 ~ Generations

froghousephotography — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:34:09 +0000

I decided to dedicate this assignment to my mother, Clarice, and my grandmothers, Santa Bellucci and Lessie Mae Cooley.

In this image there is a photograph of my mother that I took one year to the day before she died. I’ll never forget the amazing spiritual experience her

death was for all of my family. She brought us all together for the first time in many years, we cried together, laughed together, drank together and grew

together, thanks Mama, you were and still are truly the ‘Dearest of the Dear’!

Hanging on the right edge of the frame is her chapel veil, I cherish the fact that my father knew how much it would mean to me to have it.

I so remember her wearing the lovely rhinestone necklace on the left, it has always been one of my favorites of hers…she gave it to me years before she passed.

The pearls belonged to HER mother (and were given to her by my parents), not sure how I ended up with them, but I love them.

The vintage hankies belonged to my Nana Cooley, whom my daughter, Lessie Mae, is named after. I found them and the lovely little linen colored envelope amongst

my mother’s things a few years after she died.

The medals are a representation of me, and my Catholic heritage, given to me by my mother. I wear them ALWAYS.I so enjoyed putting this still life together. Feeling the texture of the lace veil, smelling the hankies and getting a slight hint of my mother’s perfume, and looking into the face of the woman I called Mama. I grew to

love and respect her more and more as I got older and had children of my own and dealt with the joys and pains of motherhood.

Filed under: joy of love Tagged: generations, hankies, joy of love, mother, pearls, vintage

Benjamin’s Wear it Again Upscale Resale!!

froghousephotography — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:28:06 +0000

I had such a great time working with all these women for a ‘Fashionista’ shoot with Nancy Benjamin of ‘Benjamin’s Wear it Again’!!

The day was lovely and and all the ladies were so excited and nervous to have their pictures taken. The time went quickly and the

flow of one woman to the next was superb…I can only say that a good time was had by all, especially me!

Check it out click the link directly below:

Benjamin’s Wear it Again!

Filed under: Personal Projects, Special Occasion Shoots, Uncategorized Tagged: benjamin's wear it again, brick, consignment, dresses, fashion, formal, girls, md, photographer, resale, salisbury, semi-formal, seniors, tina schrider, upscale, women

Across America

froghousephotography — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:33:08 +0000

My father, Spade, as we all affectionately call him, called me yesterday. He asked me, “Do you know what today is??”. I scrambled in my brain to remember…he said, “It’s the one year anniversary of the day we left for our train trip…we were eating dinner somewhere around Point of Rocks, MD at this time!” Funny enough I had thought about it yesterday at some point and had said to myself what a wonderful trip it had been. We took the Amtrak “Westbound Capital Limited” from DC to Chicago and then the “Southwest Chief” from Chicago to LA, it was the most wonderful trip I have ever taken! Dad and I called it … Spade and Tina’s Excellent Adventure..yeah I know, corny:) My brother-in-law is a train enthusiast and wrote an 11 page guide as to how to ‘ride the rails’…it helped me so much just in knowing where we were when, what I should be looking for to photograph, where the most beautiful stops we take are…etc. Thanks Phil!

Capital Limited

Mountains in Maryland/WVA

This image of the mountains is one of my b-i-l’s favorites, he said it was a shot that was very hard to get, he was very happy I did!

Every year I make a calendar for my family for Christmas with images that I have taken over the past year….nothing new, I am sure a lot of photogs/people do that. When I made this year’s calendar I used quite a few images from our train trip. I have been enjoying July so much because I made a simple collage for the month and called it “Across America”. Actually, as we traveled I continually would comment to Spade that we were so blessed to see the backyards of America…not what you would normally see traveling on a highway for sure. This is one of my favorite images from the trip, I took it from the observation car(ALL windows), going 90mph, cool!

Off Tracks

The trip took 3 nights, we had one of those sleeper cars, we ate and ate and ate the fabulous food! Sleeping was interesting, and taking a shower was hilarious…I laughed so hard the whole time I took my first one….and enjoyed the experience tremendously. One of my favorite things was strolling around Chicago for a few hours while we waited for the ‘Chief”. Union Station is just blocks from the Sears Tower, so touring Chicago was quite easy. I did not get to go to the top of the tower, but really enjoyed the farmer’s market right at the base, and bought my favorite thing in the whole world, Michigan cherries….yummmmmm!

Yummy

I LOVED Chicago! It was such a beautiful city, and there was live music being played right in the middle of town where the water was, fun.

Market Sunflowers

In-between

I spent as much time there as I could, until I had to get back to catch the train….and the adventure continued………

Filed under: My Family, Ponderings Tagged: Amtrak, Chicago, cross country, DC, Father, LA, Point of Rocks, Train

Leaning Tower of Bee~za

froghousephotography — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:52:08 +0000

We’re Beekeepers! We’ll my husband is the REAL beekeeper, I just help and photograph the happenings when something cool is going on…like checking out what is going on in

the ‘Leaning Tower of Bee~za’. That’s the nickname I have given our one hive that survived this past winter, we lost the other two we had.

But these ladies have been working, working day and night and have racked up their hive to 8 supers!!!

The ‘girls’ as we affectionately call them, have been stuffing the comb from the other two hives with nectar and pollen and have been drying it to a perfect temperature and capping it off when

it is just right for the past 2-3 months and we are almost ready to ‘rob’ the bees!

Our good friend Karole (a beekeeper of many years) came over to help Phil determine the readiness of our honey.

Karole LOVES the bees (even though she says she has bad bee chi) they did not seem to mind her coming to meet the ‘Queen’, and of course she was dressed for it, jewelry and all!

You must look nice when you meet the ‘Queen’.

Getting Ready

Dressed to meet the 'Queen'!

We learned so much that day, and really enjoyed being amongst the bees, having them all around us, checking us out, and tasting the honey…YUMMMMM!

In order to look inside, we had to use the smoke pot to make sure most of the ‘girls’ went down to the bottom of the hive….Karole LIKES the smoker…and the burlap Phil uses to keep it burning,

no matter what, when she pumped it, the smoke would start up again and keep those babies calm…we were able to go all the way to the bottom super!!

And boy were those suckers heavy, the ‘umph’ factor was quite high according to Phil….’umph’ meaning how much he needed to lift the honey filled super…YEAH!!

Starting and using the smoker!

Next we moved around the frames inside the supers to make sure that all the top ones were the ones STUFFED with honey.

Then we also made sure the was enough for the bees to continue

to raise brood(babies) feed the queen, draw more comb(for more honey),

and work the hive for the rest of the summer….this is soooo cool!!!

: Frame FILLED with honey and capped and ready to go!!

: Happy bee~keepers!

: Smoke them babies!!

We did make it all the way down to the bottom super, which was filled with brood(remember…larva/babies),patterns that were healthy, and pollen and honey…everything you need to keep things going!

We even found the ‘Queen’, who according to our mentor, has a nice full abdomen and lots of good egg laying ahead of her…needless to say we were very excited.

: Frames inside the super, with comb and honey..mmmmmm!

Oh, did I mention that we all got to taste some of the honey and chew on some comb…DELISH!!!

Of course Karole got a chunk with a bee on it, who promptly stung her before she could do anything about it…ouch:)

We are not the only ones who were tasting the honey, this young lady was enjoying it as well, do you blame her???

: “Mmmmmmmmmmmm”

Filed under: Life @ Froghouse Tagged: beekeeping, bees, brood, froghouse happenings, honey, life, mentor, photograph, queen bee, smoker

Big Things in a Small World!

froghousephotography — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:13:36 +0000

I shot a First Holy Communion a few weeks ago, and low and behold I ended up with an picture of a FB friend of mine’s daughter in one of my images, too weird. I saw her picture of her daughter and kept saying to myself, “man, she looks familiar”, and went looking!

I found it!

Smiley – on the left

The young lady on the left is the one I was hired to take pictures of on her special day, and the one looking like she is

wondering about something, is the daughter of the FB friend from high school. Small world!

“J” is a delightful girl, the second oldest of a family with six children…who are all very special, funny, smart, and unique in their own way. We had a great time together. The big smile on her face is actually for me…lol! I went over to meet the children the night before, so that they would be familiar with me, it was a good idea. As soon as she saw me that morning after Mass she was all smiles…and happy to see me!

Hi, MissTina!!

We walked back to the family’s home, but stopped at a couple places to make sure we captured some key images…

Same expression as Mary

Beautiful girl!

I love the St. Francis statue in the background…we kinda snuck(is that a word?) into the rectory garden for this one.

I had the privilege of photographing all the children and spent some time getting to know this wonderful home schooling family, it was a very special day for me as well. As I drove back to my sisters a few blocks away, I couldn’t help but smile…I have been blessed once more through my photography.

Beautiful children!!

Weeee!

Sweet boy

Heavenly!

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Filed under: Special Occasion Shoots

“Don’t forget your sisters!”

froghousephotography — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:42:35 +0000

Beauty

I know so many women now that are struggling with the day to day part of their lives. Our lives. We somehow feel that the meaning of it all is passing us by, that we know we could see it if it weren’t for the dishes to be done, the mail to be sorted, the meals to be cooked, the laundry to be folded, the noses to be wiped, the arguments to settle, the bills to keep track of, the life we live in our cars besides all the rest….not that we don’t love our families, this is our vocation. We have made the choices that have led us to where we are right now.

Yet, where is the beauty? There is beauty, actually, in all that I have named above, believe it or not. It is in the vocation of “womanhood”. And no matter where we are on our Journey in this life, our fellow women are there/here in our lives to share the experience…to hash out our issues, to help us over the eggshells, to give us the boots if we need them to get through the muck, to smile and nod their heads in knowing what we are living at the time.

Sisters

I love all my sisters, that come in so many forms…family, friends, daughter, daughter-in-law, their friends, and so on, and so on….the easy ones and the difficult, the happy and the sad, the zappers and the sappers, the close now and the ones who were close at another time in my life…what would I do without them, every one has a place in my heart. I love you!

The following are not my words, but a piece a dear friend sent to me via email, read and reflect and share, if you so wish. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone. Someone is thinking about you right now, somewhere, and how you have touched their womanly journey….

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

” Don’t forget your Sisters,’ she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. ‘They’ll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.

‘Remember that ‘Sisters’ means ALL the women… your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. ‘You’ll need other women. Women always do..What a funny piece of advice!’ the young woman thought. Haven’t I just gotten married? Haven’t I just joined the couple-world?I’m now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!’

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about.

As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,here is what I’ve learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don’t do what they’re supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT………

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles arebetween you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you…Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn’t be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

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Filed under: Ponderings Tagged: children, families, friends, girlfriends, help, husband, journey, laundry, life, love, mother, sisters, vocation, wife, womanhood

Maternity Pics

froghousephotography — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:15:00 +0000

Soft

Had a great time taking these pics of my niece, Amanda….who has posted some of the images on FB, just thought I would post some of my favorites…Thanks for a great time!

Silhouette

Rest

I love the calmness of this one, she is so at peace.

Amanda, you took direction so well. The light coming in to the room was so beautiful…you would never know she had a moose head or something like that over her…it was a hoot making sure none of the “animals” showed up in the pics:)

I so love this image, there is nothing like a woman carrying new life out in the forest, on the beach, wherever there is nature, it is just so “real”!

Pre-jeans!

Sapling

What a beautiful pregnant woman in a beautiful place, “Sapling” means so many thing to me in this image, there are so many ways to look at an image and get lost in it somehow. That’s what happens to me with this one.

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Filed under: Maternity, My Family

Happy Birthday “get schooled”!!!

froghousephotography — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:23:22 +0000

Fellow photogs check this out::

Get Schooled Photo is having a birthday party! Over a $1000 in gifts from amazing vendors! visit the blog 4 YOUR gift http://bit.ly/awjv26

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Filed under: Photog Talk