Shining Star

Happy Valentine's Day! This morning I got invited to the Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public School's All School Community Meeting to receive an appreciation certificate for my support. What a delight it was. I used to love going to all school meetings at my daughter's elementary school and I felt the same way about going to this one. The children were adorable, mostly dressed in reds and pinks to celebrate Valentine's, singing their opening song, sharing their community service projects, and then finishing energetically with their school song. Can't think of a better way to spend a part of my morning!! I was impressed by their projects, the kindergartners collected mittens, the first graders pennies, the second graders books so that each student could start their own libraries at home and the third graders made fleecey hats for the babies at the Baby Center. The third graders were wearing their fleecey creations, they looked fabulous, and so, so proud. Ms. Cantelmo, the Principal, spoke of them learning to have heart so that they too could give back to their communities, and anyone can see they are definitely being taught well. I am proud to be a community supporter of BCHMCPS. They are indeed Shining Stars in our community.

Happy Earth Day!

Do something good for the earth today... Maybe try to stop using plastic water bottles, or find a greener alternative for a green lawn, or simply pick up some of that trash that's littering our planet...

Good morning sunshine...

I was on the phone yesterday morning at the studio when I walked out to the front, & I was greeted by 'HI' in the sunshine... What a delight! So instead of 'Good morning, starshine, the earth says hello' it was 'good morning sunshine, the earth says... hi'!!!

With full disclosure, I didn't retouch any of the sunlight anywhere, but I did do a little virtual vacuuming!!!

2011

May 2011 be full of love, peace, happiness, prosperity, good health, joy, and lots and lots of laughter.

(& a lot of smiles too!)

Many good things are in store here at the Studio by the Sea for this year, fingers crossed I get them out of my head!!!! lol Stay tuned...

isn't it time for your family portrait?

the Governor

Adriana had a fairly exciting week, on Sunday she met Rachael Ray, on Thursday she met the Governor... not bad for a 9 almost 10 year old... not bad for her mom who also got to meet them, and add them to her list of cool people photographed! Governor Patrick was lovely, he had missed a flag ceremony by local Boy/Girl Scouts in his honor at the Jefferson Jackson dinner because it was the same night as the big water main break in Boston. When he knew he'd be back in town he rescheduled the photo op with the Scouts.

During his speech that night, he said his main motivation was gratitude, and he wanted every resident to have the same opportunities he was given... I think the world would be a way better place if more of our motivation was gratitude...

Happy Earth Day...

So although I'm very political, and very opinionated *insert wry smile here*, I try to stay very mellow on my blog... but today's Earth day and I have something I need to share.

Everywhere I walk throughout my neighborhood, and everywhere I drive across the Cape, I see hundreds of little yellow signs that tell me to keep me, my dog and my child off the grass.

There are 100 million pounds of pesticides used every year on lawns.

I just want to share a couple of facts with you. A child that lives in a household that uses pesticides on their lawn faces an almost 7 times greater risk of leukemia, a dog in that house faces an almost double chance of lymphoma. Of the 36 common lawn pesticides, 14 are detected in groundwater, 6 have the potential to leach, 11 are toxic to birds, 21 are toxic to fish & aquatic organisms and 12 are toxic to bees. My house is the one all the birds hang out at, no wonder really!

One of the scariest to me, is a study done by the EPA which found 23 pesticides in dust and air inside homes, many of which had never even used pesticides on their yards! Another study found 26 different chemicals in the dust and 19 in the air in Cape Cod homes. So although I don't, would never, can't conceive of, using pesticides on my lawn, I bet if we tested the air in my home they would find these toxins because most of my neighbors (who live here 2 months out of the year) do.

I think we should focus more on a green earth than a green lawn.

Do something good for the planet today.

1000 greatest places in Massachusetts

The office of tourism is having a contest for the 1000 top places in Massachusetts, Historic, Cultural, Natural and doesn't quite fit into one of those categories... Got me to thinking how many great places we have here in this state, how many are on the Cape... the National Seashore should certainly make the list, as should the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Heritage Plantation, Sandy Neck, Provincetown (the whole town should just be one entity...),so many places come to mind... it's amazing how many very cool places we have right here...

Voting is only open until April 1st, so pick your favorite spot in Mass. and share it. Vote here!

(My Brownies have Peace flags that we started a couple of years back, and added to at tonight's meeting, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, and the one that adorns my flag made today. "We must be the change we wish to see in the world" - Gandhi)

Earth Hour

The passage of time is a fairly freaky thing, I've got to admit! So here we are, getting ready to promote Earth Hour again... unbelievable.

March 27th is the day, 8:30pm. The Studio will be dark. My home will be dark. My dear friend Joe's house will be dark. Join us. Make a statement. Love our planet.

Climate change is happening all around us and its pace is accelerating. From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, climate change is already impacting life on Earth.

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. local time, The Studio by the Sea will be taking part in what promises to be an amazing and inspiring event in the fight against climate change: Earth Hour. Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour asks individuals, businesses, government leaders and others to turn out all non-essential lighting for one hour as a bold statement of collective concern about climate change.

Earth Hour is the largest event of its kind in the world. In 2009, nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries turned out their lights, as well as international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids, and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv.

We’d like to encourage you to join us in this important effort. Participation is free and easy:

1. Sign up at EarthHour.org
Show your support, find out what Earth Hour events are happening near you and get tips on organizing fun events in your community.
2. Spread the Word
Invite your friends and family to join the movement, become a fan on Facebook and post a link to EarthHour.org on your profile page.
3. Turn off the Lights
Turn off your non-essential lighting at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 27.
To get a better sense of the magnitude of the effort, please take a moment to watch WWF’s video about Earth Hour: www.myearthhour.org/news/media.

Our company has long believed in operating our business responsibly. In the weeks leading up to Earth Hour, we will take an even closer look at actions we can take throughout the organization to operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce our environmental footprint—not only in our own business, but throughout our supply chain.

Please join us as we turn out and take action!

a great gift idea!

Searching for that last minute gift? How about a gift certificate for a portrait that will be treasured forever? Gift Certificates are available in any amount, and from now until December 21st, your gift gives more, every Gift Certificate purchased this week will get you double the amount you spend! That's right, buy a $50. GC, give a $100. to your recipient! The Gift Card will be for the total amount, so your lucky recipient won't know...

For every Gift Card over $100. (value of $200. with this promotion!), I'll also make a donation in your name to the World Wildlife Fund to save our precious planet!

(The photo is from a really fun session at the Hyannis Harbour this summer, Laura, Marcia, David & Kim are such fun, been photographing them forever... They're all graduated now, so fingers crossed they keep agreeing to having the portrait made for the Christmas cards! It's a tradition for Marcia to give me a hard time, I'd miss it if it didn't happen!)

love the earth

Today is Earth Day. We need to love our planet - there are so many simple ways, but it needs all of us... Here are easy things you could do today: bring your own bags shopping, change a standard lightbulb for a flourescent one, turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth - doing the dishes - whenever, collect rainwater to water your plants, pick up litter around your neighborhood, turn off your computer when you're not using it, make your own cards - preferably on recycled paper, wrap your presents in material, or reuse the gift bags your presents come in, worry more about a green earth than a green lawn, use both sides of a piece of paper, recycle all of your plastics/glass/aluminum/paper/magazines/catalogs, pick up after your dog, unplug your chargers when they're not in use, use rechargeable batteries in everything, eat locally grown food, eat organically grown, local food, shop local too, reuse packaging material, write letters to your leaders on behalf of the environment, teach someone else to love the earth, do all of your errands at one time to save gas, or better yet - walk or ride your bike, compost all of your organic matter, hang your laundry out to dry instead of using the dryer, use the backs of all of those masses amounts of paper we get everyday from school/junk mail/ etc. for scrap paper, buy recycled whenever possible, use teatowels/cloth napkins instead of paper towels/napkins...

and that's without even thinking about it - imagine the difference we could make if everyone just cares...

remember Earth Day is everyday....

thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving to you all...

Yesterday, as I was leaving the studio, I hugged Jess, my fab assistant, goodbye with wishes for a lovely Thanksgiving... One of my great clients was with her, and asked for a hug too (which if you know me, you know of course I happily did!)... My daughter was with me, and the past few times she's been with me at the studio, she's commented on how I sure get a lot of hugs from my clients, and I told her how incredibly lucky I am... So of course, she commented again on this phenomenon...

...so today, I am grateful for my beautiful family stretching as far as it goes, my amazing friends, and all of the blessings I receive in this life. I'm also extremely grateful that what I do touches lives, and I'm thankful for such wonderful clients... Thanks for all of those fantastic hugs!

I wish you all happiness on this day of Thanksgiving.

Relay for Life

Adriana and I will once again be walking in the Relay for Life to raise funds for the American Cancer Society on June 20th and 21st. We walk in memory of Bill Clarke, a friend, and the former owner of the studio. I worked with him for many years... We walk for Cappers and Nanna, my dear grandmothers, for Uncle Ray and Aunt Betty, for my nephew's grandmother, Tootie, and for my dad... We walk in sadness, in hope, in love, in remembrance...

Please consider making a donation on our home page. If you'd like to purchase a Luminaria to be lit on Friday night, please make a donation of at least $5.00, and you can email me (through my website) with the name of the person in who's memory, or in honor of their fight, you'd like on the bag.

Thank you for your kind support...

Earth day every day...

Happy Earth Day! Do something to save, embrace, love, take care of, or otherwise protect the Earth today... I'm a big believer in Earth Day every day, it's easy to do small things which will add up to a big difference... and in this case, 1 person really can make a difference... Teach your children well...
how amazing our Earth is, how very much we have to lose...

Earth Hour revisited

Wow. I hope that you joined me in turning off the lights on the 29th, I know one of my wedding couples, Jennifer and Tom did... We played one of our favorite family games, Blokus, followed by a crazy game of Agitation (the British version of Trouble). We also talked about what each of us could do to save the earth's resources. Adriana enjoyed it so much, she asked if we could do it every day! I think we'll definately incorporate an earth hour into our lives on a regular basis... go take a quick peek at the photos, entire cities in near darkness... One person really can make a difference, and one person working with thousands of others... what a world we can save... Visit Earth Hours' blog for the photos...

Earth Hour

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 29th, people all around the world will be turning off their lights for one hour from 8-9pm. I will be counted among them. Both my studio and my home will be dark from 8-9 tomorrow night.
At home, we might play a game, the last time the power went out, we played a great game of Operation, or maybe we'll play a game by candlelight... maybe we'll go for a moonlight walk... I know we'll have fun whatever it is we do...

A tiny thing to save the planet, turn your lights off from 8-9pm tomorrow night. For more information please visit Earth Hour

Make every day Earth day...

feed the world (literally...)

My fabulous sister, Marla, sent me the link to this wonderful site... Free Rice
Improve your vocabulary & the United Nations World Food program will donate free rice to those in need through sponsors... In just a few minutes I learned my vocabulary was not too bad (but why can't I remember any words when I'm playing Scrabble?) and I donated 1000 grains of rice...

CORRECT!
quahog = round clam (living on the Cape, how easy was that one?)
ameliorate means:
improve
wander
dwell
snip

(it's improve, I got it wrong!) Go play for yourself, it's quite addictive!!

gifts that give back

(photo from Oxfam's site)

As you're preparing for the holidays and buying gifts for everyone, I wanted to share one of my favorite gifts I received last year. My dear friends, Mouse & Dave, bought us the gift of planted trees. They may have been fruit or avocado trees, or trees that provided shade for coffee plantations, or maybe they were planted to stop erosion...

There are many wonderful organizations that offer gifts that give back, I wanted to share some sites you can purchase these gifts. Oxfam offers items like school uniforms & desks, planted trees, and shares in a fair trade coffee cooperative. At the Heifer Project you can buy a heifer, or a goat, a flock of chicks, or honeybees to help a family support themselves. (There's a fabulous book you should share with your children, Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier and Lori Lohstoeter, about a poor Ugandan girl who's able to go to school because of receiving a goat from the Heifer project. Prior to having the goat, they couldn't afford the school uniform, and she wasn't able to attend school without one! It's a beautiful story that shows you what a big difference these gifts make.) There's also Seva Foundation which provides gifts of service, the gift of sight, or medical care...

These are wonderful gifts for the person you don't know what to get, or the person who has everything, because they share with those who have nothing, what better gift could there be?

Relay for Life

My daughter and I walked and walked and walked this weekend to raise money for cancer research in the Relay for Life. The DY Relay raised $315,000 so far, how amazing that is, how proud I am to have been a part. There were a lot of tears shed, but there was also laughter... The luminaries on one side of the bleachers said "HOPE" and I have hope... Thank you to all who supported us in our walk.

Locks for Love

Well, I kept talking about it, and finally, I've cut my hair to donate to Locks for Love. I donated 12 inches of my wild, crazy, mane of hair...

If you'd like to find out more, please visit http://www.locksoflove.org/.

If you're thinking of donating hair, call the studio, I'd love to create before and after portraits for you as a gift... (by appointment only please!) I can also refer you to a couple of great hairdressers.

Save the Tiger!

World Wildlife Fund, along with other tiger conservation groups, launched this fabulous campaign to save the tiger. They are having supporters of tiger conservation upload their photo which they are making into a photomosaic of a tiger. They will then send this photomosaic to the leaders in China, to ask them to continue to support the ban on the trade of tiger skin and parts... I have proudly submitted my photo and my daughter's photo to show our support. Learn more, or upload your photo, at http://www.worldwildlife.org/tigermosaic/?enews=enews0407t

Let me know if you add your photo, I'd love to see it! If you want to use one I've taken for you, let me know, I'll gladly post it for you!

(photo taken from WWF website)