Starfruit

My friend, Joel, was in Florida training at E.C.H.O. Farms for a few weeks and Paul & I had the opportunity to visit him Saturday. He is preparing to spend a year in Africa helping the locals take advantage of their natural food and farming resources. He took us on a tour of the Farm and shared his vast knowledge he has picked up on all the plants and the many purposes that each has. He also shared some absolutely mouthwatering good fruit with us. In the picture we are chomping on some fresh starfruit that we handpicked off the tree. Joel is on the right and my hubbie is the one snickering in the background.

Joel is one of my good friends that I met while I spent a semester in College living downtown Chicago. Joel and two other guys lived in one apartment, while I lived with two other girls in another. The six of us were pretty much inseperable the entire time we were in Chicago. Great memories and we've managed to stay in touch over the years. Lifelong friends are such a blessing!! Best wishes to you, Joel, as you embark on this journey!

Birds Eye View

Picture on the way to Michigan - beautiful sunset in the sky.

So I'm flying back from Michigan in my window seat and the plane turns over the west coast of Florida and heads to the Tampa Airport. I look down and see some familiar landmarks and decided it might be fun to try and find my house, thinking what are the chances I will actually see it, right? I FOUND IT! Being the dork that I am I HAD to have a picture of my house from the sky... I mean who gets these? So I pull out my new compact camera and snap a few pictures. The guy next to me says "So are you here on vacation?"
"No, I live here"
"Oh, you just looked like a tourist"
laugh, "I found my house!"
"Ohh.."

Here's the picture...

If you're familiar with Tarpon Springs, you can see Fred Howard Beach in this photo.

Rachel & Craig's Wedding - 07.29.06

Rachel and Craig had the most amazingly beautiful day!! They were married on Honeymoon Island - I highly recommend this gorgeous spot. And the dress! Love the dress. I am normally a huge black and white fan, however, the colors that Rachel chose made the photos pop so I left quite a bit color. Love the colors. Craig and Rachel are wonderful people and I very much enjoyed being a part of their day. Rachel is such a sweetheart and they are so in love!

Rachel & Craig - Thank you so much for including me in your day. It was truly an honor to be able to capture your wedding moments for you. Congratulations!

To view their story click here for the slideshow.