My blog has moved....

Check it out at .....http://cassieshorttphotography.wordpress.com/

Admin Dinner at Cajun Queen

Since I recently told you that I'm only a block from work, I decided to include some pictures of my delightful co-workers. I have two bosses at Sherpa, Robin is the administrative team manager and Greg is the marketing manager. I help out the administrative team occassionally by answering phones and filling in as receptionist when the other admins are either on vacation or out sick.

From Left to Right: Stephanie, Kaitlin, and  Me
Back row: Erica

My 1:00 lunch buddies.... I miss you Kait and Joy

Robin is in the middle in gray suit.. She's one of my bosses.

From left to right: Stephanie, Kaitlin, me, and my boss Greg

Top 10 Workout Songs

I recently created my all time favorite workout mix. I decided to share it with you in case you're feeling discouraged by your workouts. I kid you not, this playlist gets me excited to jump on the eliptical or run the "booty loop" in Charlotte.

Critical note: The songs are in a specific order- do not change them. In their current order, I believe the songs give you the appropriate boost right when you want to give up. But don't take my word for it, try it out for yourself.

My Top 10 Workout Songs:

1. Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling
2. Adam Lambert- Whataya Want from Me
3. Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg- California Gurls
4. John Mayer- Say
5. Ke$ha- Your Love is My Drug
6. Rihanna- Don't Stop the Music
7. Black Eyed Peas- Pump It
8. Mute Math- Spotlight
9. John Mayer featuring Taylor Swift- Half of My Heart
10. Miley Cyrus- Can't Wait to See Me Again

Now that you have seen the list,  you may be thinking I hate those songs. Trust me, there is nothing like a good booty shakin' song to perk up your workout.

Good luck and remember, I'm expecting feedback.

Pink Petals in Pinehurst

Andy and I went to Pinehurst to visit my grandparents, aunts, and cousins in late April. My cousin Zelda found this tree with these beautiful pink petals beneath it that made it look like fresh pink snow. It was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Obviously this is where we chose for our family photo op.

My dad and his sisters Kattrin and Patty

My parents

My cousins Wyatt and Zelda. Yes, they are 10+ years younger and Zelda is already about 4 inches taller than me and it's only a matter of time before Wyatt passes me.

My hubby Andy and our baby Chip.

Zelda laying in the pink snow.

New apartment.....

Andy and I moved to our new apartment in the beginning of April and these pictures were taken shortly after. I've added a few details you can't see in the pics, so I guess you'll just have to visit and see them for yourself.
Before we moved in we painted three accent walls- light gray in the kitchen, sage green in the bedroom, and pale blue in the bathroom.

Our apartment is about 690 square feet but it works for the two of us and Chip. Our couch folds out to make a bed for our overnight guests and allows us to recline while watching TV. We got it from IKEA and it's easily our favorite piece of furniture.

Our neighborhood is called South End....there are lots of art galleries and restaurants within walking distance. We take the light rail to Bobcats game or any other time we want to go uptown. I also walk on the same sidewalk to get to my office about 2 blocks away. The YMCA (our 6 story gym) we belong to is another 2 minutes away and directly down the block from my office.  My favorite class since joining is Helen's pilates class on Wednesdays...I hate missing it. She has the cutest personality and kicks your butt at the same time.

Entryway/Kitchen

Our new couch =)

Charlotte's Light Rail (Lynx)

Uptown.

Writer's Block...

Hello fellow bloggers....it's me, Cass...your long forgotten blog roller. As you may have realized, after everything that's happened this year I seem to have writer's block. I am a pretty private person so I haven't felt comfortable discussing all of the emotions I've been trekking through.

I've decided to try a photo blog instead. I will take you through the past months with a photo or photos and include commentary so you can tag along with me and my memories.

I hope you will enjoy the shift in focus and will stay tuned for all to come.

Philippians 4:7

My last post was written in January and as most of you know a lot has changed in the past few months. I've started a new job, moved to a new apartment, and experienced a tragedy in my new family.

My husband Andy is the oldest of three brothers. I first met Daniel (youngest brother) my freshman year of college in 2006. Back then he was a punk skateboarder who wore skinny jeans. He was extremely tall for 13 and apparently coming out of a short chubby stage. I saw other pictures around the Shortt home in Richmond and couldn't believe pictures from just 6 months ago could be the same child before me.

Daniel immediately welcomed me into the family, even when others were a little hesistant at the new stranger in their home. Even at such a young age he had this amazing gift as a storyteller and comic. I always looked forward to visiting Andy's family because I knew time with Daniel was guaranteed to be entertaining.

The family's move to Charlotte allowed Daniel to make a huge impact on the Union Co. community in only three years. During his time here, he was involved with band, ice hockey, volunteer fire department, soccer, football, sheriff's explorers, church youth band, and Young Life. Daniel also spent most of his free time helping people with construction or any other sort of task that needed an extra hand. He grew up from the gangly skateboarder to a true Southern boy with a suped-up white pickup and Carharts. Daniel had a servant's heart and always accepted everyone for who they were.

Daniel passed away on April 3, 2010, just four days shy of his 17th birthday. My mother-in-law Kathy wants us to continue to celebrate his birthday each year in his remembrance. This year we (Mike, Kathy, Matt, Andy, and I) bought a balloon to release at his gravesite and each signed it. Ten minutes after we released it and were driving down the road, there was a tiny rainbow poking through a small cloud in the sky. It hadn't rained that day and it was a very small rainbow - the kind you only notice if you were really looking. I believe Daniel wanted us to know he was safe in God's arms and had received his birthday balloon.

I am so blessed to call the Shortt family my own. Never in a million years would I have thought something so tragic would touch this wonderful family. Daniel lived everyday as if it were his last and I'm sure he left his temporary home with no regrets.

At this point, I wake up each day and pray for God's strength and mercy as He watches over us in this time of mourning. I will remember Daniel for the brave, fun-loving, and kind-hearted guy that he was and honor him by taking things a little less seriously to have some fun.

Below are some pictures of Daniel with the family:

Daniel, though our time with you was too short, it was an honor to have known you. You will be in our hearts and minds forever. I can't wait to hear your stories again when I join you in heaven. We love you always.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ  Jesus.  

                                                                                                                                                                                             

Coming out of hibernation...

You may have been wondering where I've been hiding for the past few months. Well the answer is that I have been devouring books as well as enjoying the holidays. I realized last night that in the past year I have read over 31 books (a personal record for me), fifteen of which were read in the past 5 weeks. I consider this to be impressive since I was also working, eating, sleeping, traveling, etc. You see I was still a functioning human being but I just stopped writing blogs and watching TV. However, I do apologize to my audience since I let you down. I promise not to leave you for so long in the future.

More importantly, isn't it awesome when you can get completely wrapped up in a hobby? It doesn't happen often. At least for me it doesn't. I was so enthralled with two books series that I completely put TV and other activities on hold for a while. If you know me very well, you would know that Tivo is one of my favorite items in my home, therefore, turning off the TV for over a month is kind of a big deal.

It was a beautiful five weeks. The apartment was decorated, the tree was lit, the candles were glowing, and it was absolutely peaceful because Andy and I were both reading. I strongly encourage you to find something for you to get excited about in this new year! It doesn't have to be reading- I realize it's not for everyone and slightly nerdy. But it should be something you are passionate about and enjoy doing.

Just find something. For me it was escaping to other worlds while in the comfort of my own living room. What will it be for you in 2010?

And You Think Your Family is Pretty Wacky...:)

Most people might think they have a pretty wacky family but I have proof with these pictures of my Dad's family on Halloween. For the first time since I can remember, I spent Halloween at my grandparents' house this year. My Uncle Sonny and Aunt Linda were in Pinehurst, NC from Wyoming so I decided to come down and visit everyone. It ended up being one of the funniest/best Halloween's that I have had in years. They had like 100+ trick or treaters so it was amazing. But my family definitely overwhelmed them because we were all dressed up too!


Here are some pictures from our day of fright:

Uncle Sonny:








Aunt Linda:





To be fair, I should show you what they look like normally. :)









Good 'ol Pops... do you think he'll be Ms. December?







My Granddad and Cousin Zelda casually sitting around in their masks. :)







Doesn't my Granny make the most precious lamb you've ever seen?









My cousin Wyatt.









Don't be fooled...we had a mask for everyone in the family....

The cutest pumpkin on the planet!!


Is it really questionable why Chip likes Andy more than me? Andy would've never let me put that costume on Chip if he had been there with me.



My Cousin Zelda and I when I first arrived.

My parents and I.

Book and Movie Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

All summer long, I highly anticipated the release of "The Time Traveler's Wife" in theaters. I absolutely love Rachel McAdams and could not wait to see her latest flick. I saw the movie the night it came out in theaters and cried through the last half of the movie. Her performance was fantastic. It made me realize that it wasn't "The Notebook's" story that I loved so much, it was the way she was able to fully embody her character. I was captivated by the movie and would recommend it to anyone. I saw it twice in theaters and for whatever reason, haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Early last week I bought the book and couldn't put it down. I read it after work for hours and finished it on Sunday. Like most books made into movies, the book is very different from the movie. However, this might be the first time I've ever agreed with the changes. I definitely felt they cleaned up the story line of the book to make the movie appeal to a larger audience. Henry in the movie is actually a much more likable character than the Henry in the book. Regardless,

if you haven't seen the movie or read the book, I highly recommend them both. They will definitely leave you wanting more...

Pumpkin Carving

As we all know, carved pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns are considered a friendly greeting to children who are trick or treating on Halloween. After discussing pumpkins for weeks, Andy and I finally went out to get one last night after dinner. Confession: I haven't been to pick out a real pumpkin in years, seriously I can't remember the last time. There were so many choices and they all came in different shapes and sizes. We ended up buying two pumpkins: a cute petite shiny one for our front door and a larger one to carve for our patio.

Since I haven't picked out a pumpkin in years, it should be obvious that I haven't carved one in at least ten years. I didn't even remember how yucky and slimy the insides of the pumpkins are until we started preparing it for our artistry. Seriously, I pulled out orange nastiness for at least an hour until I believed we had completely gutted our pumpkin.

After googling "how to carve a pumpkin" we felt pretty confident we finished our project successfully. I asked Andy to draw the face and I helped carve an eye and the nose. He worked very diligently on the mouth, paying special attention while carving some teeth. We saw pictures of other carved pumpkins online and were very impressed with what these pumpkin artists could come up with. We decided we would try to be more ambitious with our design next year. So for this year, its just your basic and ordinary jack-o-lantern.

But we're proud of our first pumpkin carving experience as a couple, so here are some of our pics:

The beginning stages....

Chip was very skeptical of our pumpkin carving. He decided it was safer to lay in his bed.

The finished project....

I had to include the beautiful trees in our neighborhood. I have NEVER seen a tree that orange in my life. It's absolutely gorgeous.

13 Love Confessions about Fall

Today is a cold, rainy, and what some may say is a yucky fall day but I think it's beautiful. I happen to love the fall so to celebrate, here are my 13 love confessions:

1. Costume Shop Workers.

Halloween costume shop workers are hilarious when they stand on street corners holding signs. They look ridiculous and I'm sure they feel ridiculous because they are standing at insanely crowded intersections dressed as 'monsters'.

2. Colorful Scarves. Enough said.

Photo credit: dallas753 on Flickr

3. Fire Chief Pumpkins.

I can walk into Harris Teeter and see an adorable, painted face "Fire Chief" pumpkin with a plastic hat [thank you China]. It was precious and any small child will want it.

4. UGG Boots.

That's right, I just spoke the unforgiveable. I happen to own three pairs of UGG's and everyday I thank UGG for making it socially acceptable for women to wear shoes more comfortable than bedroom slippers out in public.

Photo credit: AlexandraBaldwin

5. Football Season.

Don't tell my husband, but I do enjoy watching the men get excited about something once in a while. Plus the food at tailgates always taste better because you're breaking bread with friends and family.

6. Baking Brownies.

When the weather outside is less than appealing, it just makes me want to bake. For the past two weeks I have been looking for any excuse to make brownies.

Photo credit: SonicWalker

7. Countdown to Christmas.

It is socially acceptable to start thinking about the holidays and Christmas.

8. Mountains of Leaves.

One of my favorite memories is when my grandma and grandpa made piles and piles of leaves for me to jump in after school. It was one of the best days of my life and I will always remember it.

Photo credit: TheNixer

9. Pumpkin Spice Latte.

It doesn't officially feel like fall to me until I've had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. Some days there is just nothing better than going to Starbucks and sipping on that delicious foamy latte.

Photo credit: KatColorado

10. Rainy Days.

I love rainy days that forces me to snuggle up on the couch, light a candle, and put on a good movie, read a good book, or watch NCIS.

11. Vibrant Leaves.

God's creation is so beautiful when the leaves change color and fall on the ground. Everything looks so magical and the scenery makes fantastic photographs.

12. Cozy Sweaters and Sweatshirts.

Pulling out the box that has been hiding my sweaters and sweatshirts all summer. Seeing them again just excites me about the comfort I will feel wearing them.

13. Peacock Tutu Costume.

And.....finally, the cutest halloween costume I have ever seen was a peacock costume from Pottery Barn Kids and I swear it made me want to be a mother on the spot. [Side note: For those of you who know me well, I do not say this lightly.]

Photo credit: Pottery Barn Kids