Birthday Special for August and September 2012

Here is the Birthday Special that was mentioned yesterday. The date will be August 30th at NSA Naples Support Site. Contact me to book yours today.

Upcoming Promotions and Giving Back....

Yes it has been awhile but I think things are settling down and I have a few moments to breathe. 
 
Since this post is about "giving back" I thought it would be good to start with a quote.

 “There’s always an opportunity to make a difference.”
~Michael Dell

Don’t miss out on these exciting upcoming sessions and promotions!

Birthday Sessions:
Attention September birthdays! We have a special just for you! Call for a free portrait session and 8 keepsake wallet-size portraits.

Senior Facebook Parties:
I am excited to host senior Facebook parties. The last 2 Wednesdays in October I will be celebrating my seniors and future senior clients with a complimentary mini portrait session, one portrait to use as a profile
picture, and of course a little music and fun. Profile pictures will be retouched and then posted to my studio
Facebook page, where you can tag yourself and update your profile quickly and easily. No purchase necessary, so come on down and bring your friends! Sessions are by appointment only between the hours of 3:30pm and 7pm (or dusk) on the last two Wednesdays in October, so be sure to RSVP today!

Home for the Holidays
There’s something special about gathering your family together in the warmth of your home. Celebrate that magic with our Home for the Holidays portrait sessions. Whether you have a gorgeous fireplace, staircase or back yard setting in mind, I will create the memory of your dreams. Sessions are available through November, but spots are booking up quickly! Call to
reserve your session today!

Santa Paws Charity Event
I am pleased to announce my first ever Santa Paws charity event! With your help, we are raising money and pet food donations for AWL (Animals witouth Limits). More details to come.

Together we can make a difference!

Availability for these exciting new sessions is limited, so call or email to reserve yours today!
+39-342-362-4584
Breezy@BreezyCranfordPhotography.com

16 years and counting.....

Hard to belive that Gary and I have been married for 16 years. We celebrated our Anniversary with a trip to Roccaraso in the Abruzzi region of Italy. We rented a little place just on the east side of the mountain in a little village ( I will update with the name and more photos). We went to ski, and had a fabulous time. It is a bit different than the skiing we have done in the Poconos but fun none the less. Here are some photos I took with the Canon underwater camera that I have. And it is a good thing that it is waterproof as it was burried in the snow a couple of times lol. You know a photographer can not leave home without some sort of camera haha. Hope you enjoy the photos. I will post more hopefully tomorrow.

The kids all bundled up. We were told we would freeze, but by the time we got to the top we were sweating lol. Maybe because we were so close to the sun?

Gary and I with about 5 layers of clothing haha.

In case you can't see the writing in 2nd photo, I circled the building and wrote that those are buildings. They look like little hills until you realize that the little black speck is a builing! These are the same photos.

Just another view from the top of the mountain.

I swear we paid for the view. And these photos don't do it justice. 

Let the skiing begin....

Gary and Sommer ready to hit the trail. And those are mountains in the bottom of the blue too.



Here is a video I put together quickly with just a few of my travel images. There will be more of these to come. If you see an image that you like and would like to order please contact me. I am working on getting some posted to either my current site or a new one. Hope you enjoy!

And remember if you like my work like me on facebook. And don't forget to share with your friends!
I have a contest running for the most referrals sent to my fb page.

Boudoir and Glamour

OK I have decided to make add a video with some of my clients boudoir and glamour images. I do not like posting individual photos to Facebook so videos of images it is.

I have been privileged enough to photograph some beautiful women over the years. These are just a few of the many. Many requested that I not use their images for advertising and such, and being a professional I will honor their requests.

 

If you are in the Naples Italy area and interested in tasteful, sexy images please contact me. I will be here until 2014!

I offer boudoir parties. You can earn your session for free! Just get your friends together have some food and wine and we can have a boudoir party! I also have a post a couple of years back that has great ideas of what to wear and what props to bring.

I hope you enjoy! I think my work speaks for its self.

If you like my work please like my facebook page here

Breezy Cranford Photography Facebook

or my website here

http://www.breezycranfordphotography.com

Send your friends my way! Prizes to be had :D

Today I reached 600 likes on my photography facebook page: Breezy Cranford Photography Facebook

Thanks to Chad Thompson, a hometown friend. He won a print from me from our trip to Paris. I just haven't decided which photo yet. Thanks again Chad!

Now I am offering another contest for my page. This time I have to get to 750 likes. This contest will be for the most referrals to my page. So if you like my photography and would like to win some of it, then please pass the link along to your friends. You can keep up with my blog from Facebook as it will let you know when I update the blog. So no need to subscribe or stalk my page lol.

If you refer a friend please have them post your name in a thread on my page so that I know who sent them.

I am sure it will take a little while to reach the 750 since we just broke the 600 mark earlier today. So if you are in Naples the prize could be anything. And for those of you in the states it could be just about anything too as I plan to be home mid Jan. 2013 for a couple of weeks. I will be in VA, NC and GA if all goes according to plan.

Start sharing my link now and get your name on my list.
They can go directly to my facebook page here

facebook

or

they can go to my website and get to the facebook link or back to here.

website

Thanks for all of the support!

I will announce the price the closer we get to the 750 and can also post the referals if you guys would like.

Just a few images from our trip to France.

Well I decided while I had a little time today that I would process a few images from our trip to France. I think they turned out great. They are just random photos from the coast line around Cherbourg France. There will be more to come.

This one is the river front in Cherbourg.

These 2 are both from the plane as we were leaving Naples, destination Paris.

Just a cool view of the water.

And those who know me know that I like to photography lighthouses :D

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

I borrowed this article from http://www.caughtonfilmphoto.com/costofphotography.html
It is a great article about WHY professional photographers charge what they do for the photos. I believe this sums it up well. And I felt the need to publish this link here after the discussion that was just had on Facebook.

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive? This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is published in the December 2009 edition of Professional Photographer Magazine.

In this digital age where everyone has cameras, scanners, and home "photo printers," we hear this all the time: How do professional (or personal) photographers charge $X for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the customer is not just paying for the actual photograph; they're paying for time and expertise.

The average one-hour portrait session

First, let's look at the actual work involved:

• Travel to the session
• Setup, preparation, talking to the client, etc.
• Shoot the photos
• Travel from the session
• Load images onto a computer
• Back up the files on an external drive
• 2 - 4 hours of Adobe® Photoshop® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, and backing up edited photographs. Proof photos are also ordered.
• 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment, and ship.
• Possibly meet clients at the studio to review photos and place order. Meeting and travel time average 2 hours.

You can see how a one-hour session easily turns into an eight-hour day or more from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging a $200 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them $200 per hour.

The eight-hour wedding

A wedding photographer typically meets with the bride and groom several times before and after the wedding. And it’s not uncommon to end up with 1,000 - 2,000 photos, much more than a portrait session. Many photographers spend 40-60 hours working on one eight-hour wedding if you look at the time that is truly involved. Again, when a wedding photographer charges $4,000 for eight hours of coverage, clients are NOT paying them $500 an hour!

(Don’t forget that the photographer runs the wedding day to some extent. A comfortable, confident wedding photographer can make a wedding day go more smoothly.)

The expertise and cost of doing business

Shooting professional photography is a skill acquired through years of experience. Even though a DSLR now costs under $1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most personal photographers take years to go from buying their first camera to making money with photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera, there is a mountain of other equipment and software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, rent, utilities, insurance, etc!

In addition to the financial investment, photographers actually have to have people skills to make subjects comfortable in front of the camera. Posing people to look their best is a skill by itself. You could argue that posing is a more important skill than actually knowing how to use the camera. A poorly exposed photo can be saved, but a badly posed photo cannot.

The chain store photo studio

Chain stores do have their place. For a very cheap price you can run in, shoot some quick photos, and be done with it. But you get what you pay for.

Consider the time and effort that a personal photographer puts into photographs, compared to a chain store. Store sessions last just a few minutes, while a personal photographer takes the time to get to know the people, makes them comfortable, makes them laugh. If a baby is crying at a chain store, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because everyone is in a hurry.

The truth is that many chain store studios lose money. In fact, Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios in 2007 because of the financial drain. What the chain stores bank on is a client coming in for quick, cheap photos…and while there, spending $200 on other items. They are there to get you in the door.

The real deal

Professional, personal photographers are just that—professionals. No different than a mechanic, dentist, doctor, or electrician. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.

Maybe we need to help clients look at it this way: A pair of scissors costs $1.50 at the drugstore. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair dresser to cut their hair.

The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs, created by a Personal Photographer are so expensive.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Shawn, Pamela and Gavin Richter - cofphoto@aol.com

Our website - Caught on Film Photography

Our photography fourm - Learning Digital Photography Together

What to wear for the Mini Valentines Day Sessions

I have had a couple of people ask me what to wear for the photography sessions I am offering on Jan. 14th 2012 at the Market Playce. They will be held at the Community Center onboard NSA Naples Support Site.

I was referred to a photographer that offers up these great templates by my friend Shakyra Canchaney who is also a photographer down at NSA Sigonella, Sicily.
I know the photo says November but I think it would work great for the Valentine photos here in Naples now that it is starting to get colder. Hopefully this gives you a few ideas and you can put your on twist on these. I would be happy to offer my opinion  as well.

Over View of what to wear for any session

All in all you should Coordinate outfits. That does not mean everyone in white shirts and khaki pants or black shirts with jeans for casual portraits. You want everyone to pop in the photo, not blend together like a blob with a few heads.

Colors and Patterns are a natural part of life. So use them to your advantage, but do not use every color of the rainbow. Again you want to make sure that you coordinate the colors together. Patterns are ok as long as they are not distracting and taking the attention away from YOU the SUBJECT. That would mean smaller ones and only use them sparingly. Just like with the colors, don't use competing patterns, it will only distract the viewer. Avoid large logos and graphics again too distracting. The best way to do this would be pick someones outfit first, usually the patterned person and then play off of it. Find everyone elses clothing by matching up the color schemes to the pattern. Just make sure that the color you choose for each person goes well with their complexion.

Layering is a great way to change up similar portraits. It provide a more visual interest, and it will allow a lot more variety in your shots and poses. Great ideas would be a scarf, hat, sweater, tie, belt etc.. The ideas are limitless.

At Breezy Cranford Photography I want your portraits to speak volumes about you and your family. Have a family meeting and discuss props that represent your family. It could be anything, I just want to capture YOUR family or childs personality in the portraits I take. Bring collective props for the family and also individuals for each family member. If you all enjoy your time at the beach or lake why not hold your session there? What about the snow and skiing? We can do that too.

MakeupLadies if you normally wear makeup then apply just a tad darker than you normally would. It will enhance your photo. Do not go overboard, don't apply it heavy like the models on the run way do. Just bump it up a notch. If you don't normally wear makeup then at least apply a little mascara, blush and lip gloss. A little goes a long way. And another tip for you ladies who don't wear much makeup, the ladies at the NEX makeup counters will gladly give you a "mini" makeover for Free! And then you don't have to worry about the makeup.

Changes of Clothing are allowed for all sessions minus the "mini" specials that I offer from time to time. And that is just because of time constraints. But normal family, newborn, boudoir, bridal sessions etc... all allow for clothing changes.

Plan accordingly. Give ample time to have everything in line before the session. You don't want to be rushing around last minute trying to get haircuts or coordinating outfits etc...

Most importantly is BE YOURSELF! Don't wear something just because someone else said to. Don't put your kids in uncomfortable clothes. If they are uncomfortable the portraits will not be as memorable as you had hoped. You want the express your personality or your families personality, not someone you aren't.

Remember what your home Decor is like. If it is very casual and "liveable" then you normally want that to be the style of your photos. If your house is very elegant and everything is in its rightful place then you may very well prefer a more elegant and glamorous session. On this note also think about where you have bare walls or where you want to hang your portraits. We can incorporate that into your session. Especially knowing you want a landscape orientation style portrait over a portrait orientation to fill the spot above the mantel etc... is very helpful.

Also for those of you who are interested in the boudoir sessions I am holding in a private location on Jan. 15th 2012 you can search boudoir here on my blog and I have a HUGE list of ideas for clothing and props!

These outfit ideas come from http://corinanielsen.com . Thanks for sharing your talent with fellow photographers!

Decided to play with this photo today while on break from my creativelive class and while waiting to hear back from a client about some birth announcements.
I took this image while in Sicily. We had just entered NAS Sigonella when it started storming. The light was bright and no rain yet so I jumped out of the car and started tracking the lightening. I was fortunate enough to catch one strike. Unfortunately within about 2 minutes of getting out of the car the bottom fell out. So it is nothing spectacular but I am happy that I finally captured some lightening. I have tried off and on for years. I hope with the rainy season upon us here in Naples that I can practice this even more.
So tell me what you think!

I had 2 photos picked in a contest for Italy

Just wanted to share for any of you who missed my share on Facebook yesterday. I entered a contest (was able to keep all rights to my photos etc...) never enter when you give up the copyright to your photos.

I had 2 of my 3 images submitted picked as a finalist in thecontest on Walks of Italy Blog. Unfortunately I didn't win the grand prize but that is ok. I won a discount code to use towards any of their tours. How cool is that? I am sure we will be able to take a couple of tours in our time left here and a discount makes it even better.
You can view all of the winning images along with my 2 here:

http://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/all-around-italy/announcing-the-winners-of-our-travel-photo-contest

This was the 3rd images I submitted. This is the view from Sorrento, Italy. Hope you enjoy.

Oh yes, yesterday at NSA Naples we had a Market Playce. Lots of vendors came out, I believe there were 16 of us and only in the second month! I think it is great that we can all represent our hobbies and businesses. I had great feed back about my photography, style and quality. Looking forward to working with some great people here in Naples!
So all in all yesterday was a great day!

1 Tequila, 2 Tequila, 3 Tequila, Floor....

The Navy paid for Darius Rucker to come out some of the Naval bases and put on a free concert. The kids and I got to go. Unfortunately, just like every other event, Gary had to work.

Darius put on a great show and we are thankful he took time out to come and play for us.
Thought I would share a few pics from the show.
Enjoy!

Family pics

So family members have been asking to see some photos of us. I decided to put a few up.

Yes they have grown a lot just since April. The boys are now taller than me, not that that is saying much lol. Sommer is right on their heels. She may catch them before it is over.

So here they are, a few from the trip to Pisa.

The kids in front of the leaning tower.

 The kids and Gary on the top of the tower.

 Gary and I on the top of the tower.

 The kids inside the Grotta Del Vento.

Snoopy goes to Pisa!

Gonna post a photo tonight of our 2 girls. The boys were in the Baptistry looking around while us girls waited outside. Since obviously Snoopy couldn't go in. The 2 were playing around and I decided to take a few shots. And as I snapped this one the wind picked up. Maybe we should call her Super Snoopy? lol.
Hope you enjoy.

One of the views

From our roof top terrace.

The mountains in the distance at sunset.

Yes that is smoggy fog at the base of the mountains. This was actually a good day!

I have more to come soon. Hoping to get them posted more frequently.

Our trip to Northern Tuscany

Well I haven't had much to say lately as there has been way too much going on for me to put it out here haha. But I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted us to get away for my birthday. It was perfect timing. The husband had a weekend off and would be going from days to nights so it gave us an extra 12 hours. I did tons of research and found lots of places but only a few I was willing to drop the money on. I can justify say Venice in Peak tourist season when I saw the difference in prices between Peek and off season. And Venice was my first choice. I lucked up and found a house that had a special for 30% off on bookings in July as they had had a cancellation. So I shot off an email inquiring about the house. It was available for the dates we were looking for and would be a total of less than $210 for 4 nights and that is Dollars not Euros! I snatched it up and told the hubs we were going. Did a little research of that part of Tuscany. And off we went.... with a few snags of course, it isn't the Navy life without something going wrong ha!

Thursday night the hubs gets home from work and off we go on what is supposed to be just under a 6 hour drive. GPS's can be your friend and they can be your enemy, Lola was our enemy that day. She took us into some town just north east of the Support Site. After adding 8 hours to our trip time we found our way out, no thanks to her. Finally on the A1 we were up to 6.5 hours of drive time. So instead of arriving just after 1am we are up to 130. We had about 500KM to go on the A1 so we were set. We stopped for gas twice since the Gas coupons are only good for AGIP and ESSO, not all take them, so we figured we were best getting it on the main highway. We learned that we have no clue what the speed limit is on the A1. Here around Naples it is posted to be 100. But the further North you go the less signs you see. At a couple of places we found out that there are speed cameras and they are set for different speeds. One is set for 130 and the other is at 110. And these 2 cameras are about 10sec apart if you are running 110. Still scratching my head on that one. The only reason I know it is at least 110 further north is because we hit construction and it said to slow down to 110 lol. So if you have driven the A1 often and know the real speed can you fill me in? I would really like to know.

Any way back to the trip, we paid our tolls and headed for the mountains. Following Lola again, wrong move, we should have followed the google map directions we printed off. She took us up a mountain and into a little town that only had alley ways like those of downtown Naples. We follow her directions and come to the end of the Alley way to find out we can't go any further. Thankfully we are in our "Naples Beater" and not the van, as it would have never made it down the alley let alone made the 20 point turn at 2am. We have no clue why we wound up in that little town as it wasn't the town we were staying in. So back down the mountain we go and I try to figure out where we are and where we need to go by the google directions, pretty hard when they take you in different directions lol. Along the way we almost hit a boar and porcupine (never seen one of those in the wild before). But we figured it out and wound up in the car park for Casabasciana at exactly 3am. We all jumped as the car stops and the husbands alarm on his cell phone goes off to tell him it is time to get up on a "working" day. Now we had to find the house. That was fun in the dark lol. We got everything inside and assigned beds to the kids and dog. We slepted until 1030. Got up and ready and headed out around noon. The google directions didn't print the names of the places I had researched so I just picked on and said I have no clue what we are going to see but we are going to see something. Off we went down the mountain, around more mountains and we wound up at Grotto Del Vento, The Wind Cave. It is a a beautiful system of caves and grottoes that wind underneath the Pania Secca. We took the one hour tour as we weren't sure if we would really enjoy it and with the language barrier, didn't really know the difference between the 1 hour, 2 hour and 3 hour tours other than you went deeper into the cave the longer the tour. It was pretty cool and the kids had fun. I do have pics but I haven't gotten to those yet. Sommer picked out a teal mineral rock and Codey picked out some sort of green rock as their souvenirs. Austin decided he would wait and see if he found something later. From there we headed back down to a little town that we had seen on the way up, got a few pictures of a little bridge and dam/waterfall. Heading back towards our house we stopped at another bridge. The name is not coming to me at the moment but I will post it when I get to those pictures. After walking around there for a bit, we try to find Devils Bridge, Lola can't find it. So we decide to head back and find some where to eat. We were in between opening times for most places, so we decided to try Villa Aurora, it was close to Casabasciana up in the mountains. We stood at the chalk board menu for a few minutes trying to figure out what it said with our Italian dictionary. That was interesting to say the least. We did figure out that there was trout of some sort, wild boar and some sort of kebab. We were seated outside on the patio, perfect weather. Luckily Aurora spoke a little bit of English and we speak a little bit of Italian, between the 2 we could get our points across. And the Menu was translated into vague English. Here we had our first real Italian meal since getting to Italy. We have had Italian food but never the full courses. We each ordered our pastas which were very good. I ordered the Large prawns, the hubs got the trout (head and all :D) Sommer ordered steak, Austin ordered a lemon pork lion and Codey ordered pork shops for our meats. We all had gelato for dessert, mine with fruits, hubs with a shot of Cafe, Codey and Sommer ordered something with chocolate and Austin got lemon gelato. Sorry no pictures as we were hungry and the first course was gone before I even thought about pics. That meal was 121Euros, or basically 200 dollars. It was good but for the price there could have been more food.

Back at our house we settled in early as we were still tired apparently from the long ride up. Saturday morning we got up at 6 and headed for Pisa. Didn't get there as early as I would have liked but not too bad. We were able to park just out side of the main entry. We got there about 830, and was able to purchase tickets for the tower for 1030. We also purchased tickets to go in the Catherdral, Baptistry, and the Monumental Cemetery. The tour alone was 15E each. For the 4 buildings we spent 115E or basically 185 dollars! That was almost as much as dinner! You only get 30 mins in the tower and that includes your climb up and down those 297 steps. The steps are worn and make you vear the way the tower is leaning. The climb if you are not in shape will kick your butt, it did mine :D. But it was totally worth it once you got to the top and saw the view. We took a few pictures up there and just looked around. We were able to spot the mountain that we came down to get to Pisa, which had a wonderful view over looking the city below. After the tour we visited the Cathedral and Baptistry, very pretty and touching. Sommer and I even got to hear the echo testing in the Baptistry while we were in there. 4 hours later and we head for the mountains. We found a few "brown" signs with things that looked interesting and took side trips on our way back, some of them we found, some were closed and some we haven't located yet lol. Sunday we had no clue where we were going we just got up and started to ride, found Devil's Bridge and took some photos of it. Then we headed towards the water. Once we got to Viareggio we decided the water was not a good idea as there was no parking any where in site. We found a few things that were one of the guide books from the house. But most of it we couldn't find in the GPS. Luckily they also had an Atlas. For the most part we just looked for the brown signs and tried to follow them. Still haven't found one Castle but we found another, toured it until we were kicked out because it was closed Ooops lol. Saw some gorgeous views of the ocean as we climbed the other side of the Apuan Alps. We saw a sign for a cave and decided we would check it out, that lead us to the Marble mountains and quarry. There we found another bridge that we had seen in the guide book. Also looked at the little museum there. We didn't do a tour this time as we had Snoopy with us and it was too warm to leave her in the car. We stopped at a little shop there and purchased a few things for us and a couple of gifts. There was some BEAUTIFUL items there for purchase. They helped us find a our way to Luni a Roman amphitheater form the 1st century I believe. It didn't look like the photo we had seen in the book but interesting none the less. The kids were free here, but it was only 2E PP any way. They are still excavating it so there are roofs over some of it. They have pulled out lots of things and are trying to put columns and such back together. After about an hour we headed for the house as there were major dark clouds heading towards us from the mountains. We got everything together for the trip back on Monday. And hit the road around 645am. Unfortunately the hubs listened to the GPS instead of me (typical lol) and it took us over an hour to get out of the winding mountain roads. By the time we got on the A56 we had added 20 minutes to the drive. Dang you Lola! We looked for gas stations and couldn't find any, we wound up getting off the freeway and headed for an Esso, they were closed. A little further down we found one that was open, but they didn't take the gas coupons. So I whip out 10E, that is about $15 for 1.75 gallons of gas! Back on the freeway we went keeping our eyes peeled for AGIPs, as we had passed several on the trip up. We found several on the wrong side of the road lol. We finally stopped at an Shell station, they didn't take the coupons either, 20E more later we are on the road again. We came to an AGIP some where way down the road. We filled up with 40liters the most we have ever gotten in the car and the light wasn't on. Makes me wonder just how much we can get in that little car lol. Any way we finally made it back to Naples at 2pm just in time for the hubs to go to work. It was a long trip but we enjoyed it just the same. And at this point it was a good thing the van is messed up as it would never have made the trip on some of those roads. So if we get it fixed we will have to save it for trips to Germany and beyond.....

This is the Baptistry in Pisa.

Cathedral with Tower in background.

The leaning tower of Pisa.

The Cathedral again but from the Baptistry.

 The view of the mountains from the town we stayed in. I took this photo. It was beautiful seeing the clouds so low in the mountains. Reminded me of the Great Smoky Mountains.

View from the mountians while hunting the "cave" over Carrara. The husband took this one while we stopped in the middle of the highway. True Italian style!

The cobblestone stairs in the town we stayed in. They say the people live to be atleast 100 that live here. I am positive I wouldn't be as fat as I am if I lived there lol. I took this photo with the Canon P&S.

The photos not specified were taken by the kids. I think I have some photographers on my hands. Gotta go ahead and teach them right. I will post more later and some that I took. Internet isn't cooperating and doesn't want to load the images here.
Hope you enjoy!

Where we will live for the next 3 years

After 58 days in TLA if all goes well this will be home. We have signed the precontract, and had 2 inspections. It passed the 2nd one. So we sign the final contract on the 26th. And then we move in June 3rd. These are just a few quick snaps of the house that I took while Gary was at work. As I went to see this house first without him. There will be much better pics to come once we are in it.

This is the front. It is a duplex and not a stand alone, but we are ok with that because of the perks. :D
It isn't the most beautiful house we saw nor is it the biggest by any means. Doesn't have the largest yard etc... But again we picked the house that we thought would work best for us.
One of the perks!!!

The pool! BTW it is clean now :D. If you look just over the fence you can see mountains. The views are just fabulous. We have the Med on oneside and mountians on the other 3. That is when the fog/haze isn't blocking it lol.

This is our wonderful "small" yard. We didnt want a large one as we didn't bring yard tools since we were told we would have to live on base (no yards) and with G's schedule I will more than likely get stuck mowing/weed eating any way.

Kitchen, again not the most beautiful one we saw, but it works and they added a dishwasher for us. We saw one that was a beautiful traditional italian kitchen but I can cook any where as long as I have space.

The foreground is the dining area and the the other is the living room. Under the arch is a bathroom and another room. Again not the prettiest staircase we saw, but who cares :D, because the rest of the house just seems to work best for us.

One of the 3 bathrooms. This is the only one with a window, the others have doors to the balconies.

And this is one of 5 bedrooms. All with walkout doors to the balconies.

The other perk is the roof top terrace, that I didn't get a picture of but will get once we move in. I will post pictures once we are out there and there is a clear day to get the Mediterranean Sea, the mountians and Mt. Vesuvius.
We can't wait to get our stuff and have a place to call "home" again. By the time we move in it will have been 7 months. That is a long time to not have a home to come back to.
Hope you like it. Tell me what you think.

Girls Life Magazine for only $12

Check out this link if you have tween girls.
Mamapedia deals


 It is a great deal 2 years for only $12 dollars and if you go here you can get a discount code of an additional 10% off.
http://www.thecouponchallenge.com/2011/05/mamapedia-0505-2-year-subscription-to-girl%e2%80%99s-life-magazine.html#comment-18639

Will be back soon to post more info about our new adventures here in Naples Italy. But wanted to get this out asap!

trying to see if this is going to

finally post to Facebook of if it is still blocked.
I hope to update here on Monday.
So much to talk about too late to do it tonight.

Oh man I am sitting here

reading a friend of mines blog about their experiences while moving to Japan. I am so greatful that ours hasn't been as rough as hers.
You can read about her here http://ourimperfectlife.blogspot.com/p/favorite-blog-posts.html.
I met Debra and her family while we were stationed at NAS Corpus Christi. After reading her entries I will have to post ours as things are finally done. Luckily for us our whole process is going more smoothly than hers I think mainly due to the fact that we have more time to get everything set up. When all is said and done there will be 13 months between the time we found out we were moving to Naples and the time we actually get there. That wasn't our choice btw....
I was reading her blog while backing up my External HD's to my portable HD's. After having and entire 1TB HD fail on me last year I don't want to take any chances with the move. So I am backing up images to and from CD's, to and from HD's. I am leaving the CD's and Externals in Storage here in the states and taking the (4) 1TB portables with me to Naples. I will buy more once there as needed.

On a side note it snowed again today. It was very pretty but not nearly as pretty as the "white" Christmas we had. It was very windy and cold today. I hope to venture out tomorrow and get some photos. Hopefully the ice we are expecting doesn't get too bad. I want to venture further out this time :D.
Guess I should get going gotta get some packing done as we are heading to the Great Wolf Lodge on Wednesday as long as the roads are passible. Then on Friday we are off to Gatlinburg TN for our 15 yr Anniversary. Yes we are taking the kids, lol we always take the kids. That is the sacrafice of being a military family some times.
Hopefully I get to update tomorrow with some new snow images.