15 years. So much has been missed.

    I remember as early as 5 asking my parents not to smoke (not just because they also did it on a roadtrip with my two sisters and myself in the back of the Dodge Coronet station wagon with all the windows rolled

up, although looking back, that in itself is an excellent reason!)

  The tactic of asking never worked. Not even close. I tried marking their cigarettes with a line 1/3 up from

the filter and asked them to stop there (with the intentions of moving it up gradually as this project progressed). It never progressed.

  My mother died in 15 years ago today in 1999 at the age of 64 of inoperable lung cancer/breast cancer.
It was a horrible death with extreme sickness, pain and loss of dignity at times.

There is so much she missed being a part of and we missed having her experience with us.

  Some of the things she missed by leaving us too soon are:

• Seeing the calendar change to the year 2000 (Not a great big deal now but in '99 it was a milestone)
• Six of my grandchildren
• Two of my sister's grandchildren
• Gladiator with Russell Crowe (She'd have loved that!)
• My sister's success as a producer on 'Say Yes to the Dress'
• My older sister's marriage
• My increasing successes as a photographer
• Words with Friends (She was a wordsmith)
• FaceTime
• 10 Wimbledon titles by either Venus or Serena Williams and 7 by Roger Federer

....and so much more. You get the point.

  They say (you know who they are, don't you) if you are going to quit smoking you have to do it for yourself. I disagree. Do it for those who love you and want to share as much life as they can with you.

  Before you light up again look at your kids. Now imagine their lives without you.
Besides, think of all the money you will save! Over $2,000 per year if you are a pack a day smoker.

It says on her marker "Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die."
We keep the ones we lose alive with stories, memories and photos.

On my mother's birthday, June 27, I celebrate her with happy stories and a short list of motherly quirks.
On this day I will go the other way in the hopes of getting someone to change their potentially life ending habits.

  If you have someone in your life that loves you please think about them before you light up and maybe take a day off. Perhaps that day off can parlay into another day off of smoking tomorrow too.
If you don't have anyone in your life that loves you then smoke away.
Dying of lung cancer is obviously not going to be your biggest mistake in life.

Portrait made at age 16

She was petite even with heels.

Giving a bonus for Habitat for Humanity

It really is an honor to be asked to be a part of something. It means even more when asked for a third consecutive year. 

Habitat for Humanity of Martin county's Studfinder event, contrary to some opinions is NOT a bachelor auction. It is the most fun you will EVER have at an auction for services that you can use or regift to someone you love all while benefitting the McIntyre family and their new home through Habitat's Women Build program. 

The family is already contributing to Habitat’s sweat equity requirement of 300 volunteer hours. They will purchase the home with a no-profit loan and their monthly mortgage payments will be used to build more Habitat homes.

There will be some amazing STUDS with a lot to offer this year. Auctioneer Elliot Paul will serve as master of ceremonies, introducing Habitat for Humanity of Martin County’s “Stud Finders.” The 2014 lineup includes Martin County Firefighters James Ferrara, Derek Hartman and Justin Angel; Peter Jones of StarStruck Academy and Theatre; Chef Adam Fatigate of Chef’s Table; Chef Taylor Wilson of The Gafford; Piper’s Landing Yacht and Country Club tennis pro, Cullen de Windt; Winston Owen of the Racquet Club of Tesoro; Fred Newhart, captain of the Schooner Lily and Treasure Coast Sailing Adventures; John Meskauskas of The Flying Fish Paddle Sports; Michael Flaugh, landscape architect; chiropractor Dr. Leo Hart; and representatives from Abbey of London and the Martin County Sheriff’s Department.

The event takes place Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. at an elegant new venue, Willoughby Golf Club, 3001 S.E. Doubleton Drive in Stuart. Guests will enjoy cocktails, heavy hors d’ oeuvres, a silent auction, and the main event: a live auction at 7 p.m.

I will be offering a great location photo package (and maybe some bonus perks) valued at about $500.

One perk you can get right now is that I have 3 pairs of tickets to sell for the event at $75 for each ticket. 

I will throw in a smaller version of the photoshoot to anyone who buys the tickets from me for the event that will take place on Thursday evening on January 30 at Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart.

So call me at 772-260-5612 and lets make the arrangements. The only rule is that you can't just buy the ticket for the shoot. You MUST attend the event!

Get ready for the most fun you will EVER have at a live auction and get ready to let your inner rowdy out for an evening.

For more information visit the Habitat site here: http://www.habitatmartin.org/news/detail/pid/94/id/91