Thursday, December 19, 2013

Montly blog circle - Holiday's.


Our theme - and very fitting for December - is Holiday's!
I did a holiday card photo shoot fundraiser for our local MOPS group this fall, I wish I could share ALL the families! It was such a fun experience.

My great grandpa Glenn made the little red chairs - I have many memories of sitting in them when I was little!








Now check out Kristi William's Photography holiday post!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Monthly blog circle - NIGHT


Our challenge this month was NIGHT. In the middle of moving, I didn't have time to dig out my tripod and take some fresh, new shots, but I had a few from the last year to share.




Our little town sits down in a "hole". I shot this on my way home from Walmart one evening, it was neat capturing the storm blow in!
  
I captured this one on a cold and foggy night in January, straight from my front porch. 
 
Now go check out the rest of the blog circle, starting with Livie Tess Photography!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Self Portrait

Our blog circle theme this month is Self Portrait. I've taken these from time to time over the years, with some success, and I figured it was about time for an updated one.
  But today was our first day back to school, and every year I have gotten the tripod out and taken a picture of each (school age) child with me. Some years they turn out great, some years they are a little more fuzzy and out of focus... and so it goes.
We continued the tradition today and I decided I would use these for my blog post. 
  
  Each year I look at the kids' "back to school" pictures, and end of year pictures, and it's easy to see how much they have grown and changed.
  I wonder when I look at these pictures of me with the kids - has there been growth? Has there been change? Have the days made me a little kinder? More compassionate? More ready to listen and less ready to judge? Have they helped me see the urgency in teaching these things to my Children?
  Some days I'm not so sure, and then once in awhile I see one of them being kind, helping one another, and it makes my heart smile.







Now go check out Dalayna McKnight Photography (also my lovely Sister!) and see how she mastered her Self Portrait!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

April Showers...


Our blog circle theme this month is April Showers, and if you've been to western Nebraska this year, you can imagine that I was prepared to pull the garden hose out to make my own April Showers! Thankfully, we have gotten some rain, and lots of snow, (glad I shot these when I had the chance, because it has been cold ever since!)
so now I give you my take on April Showers!

 


Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
 

It's about learning to dance in the rain 



Don't forget to check out Valerie Wicks Photography and see if she's found any April Showers!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Happy go LUCKY

Several months ago, I started "participating" in a blog circle with some other great photographers. And by "participating" I mean "I started with good intentions but always let the month get away from me and ran out of time to participate"! We choose a theme each month and this time MY theme (LUCKY) was chosen so I HAD to get it in gear this month!
   It's great to see each photographer's interpretation of the theme, so be sure to check out the link at the bottom of this post!

I had a hard time sticking with one subject, but when it comes to LUCKY this little guy is where it's at! Maybe it's because we waited a long time for him, and were almost ready to give up about the time I got pregnant, or maybe it's because he is so calm, easy going and happy go LUCKY!
I hope you love these pictures of Carter as much as I do!




Thanks for stopping by, now head over to Valerie Wicks Photography and see what Lucky means to her!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Autumn Comfort Foods



It's my favorite time of year again. I was remembering this post and thinking about the delicious stuffed mushrooms that I had pictured without a recipe! And since I promised to share it with a few people lately, here it is!


Remember, when I cook, everything is approximate!
Cheese 'N' Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms
20 mushrooms (1 small package); washed, dried and with the stems removed so there is a 'cup' inside.
1 pkg of softened cream cheese, 
4 or so slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 green onions, chopped 
a handful or so of mixed white cheeses. (I like mixing provolone with an Italian mixture.)
1/2 t. garlic salt
Add a few dashes of fresh ground pepper.
 
You can chop a few mushroom stems and add to the cheese mixture as well, if you REALLY like mushrooms.
 
Melt 2T. or so butter in glass baking dish, stuff cheese mixture equally into mushroom caps, bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until it's sizzling. Serve hot out of the oven.

  Even if you don't care for mushrooms (I'm not a fan), you've got to try these! 
  ENJOY!


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Frosty the Snowman Re-Visited (aka: the overacheiving cookie decorator)

There's just something about this time of year that makes me want to bake - usually unhealthy stuff, of course!

  I made these adorable little "Melting Snowmen" last year for Kyrie's class party - I signed up to bring treats again this year and after searching Pinterest for the "perfect" treat idea, Kyrie decided she needed "melting snowmen" again this year!

  Come along and make them with me!

It all starts with a great recipe - which you will find at the end of this post ;)

After the cookies have baked and cooled completely,  it's time to add the icing - er - melted snow. What I love about this icing, is it spreads nicely, dries fairly quick, (don't wait too long to set the marshmallows in!) and it smooths out SO nice! I used a decorator bag and a #12 round icing tip.


But you can also spread it on with a spatula. (I recommend an angled spatula.)


Stick the marshmallows in, toward the back of the cookie. Then draw faces on the marshmallows with a food coloring pen (I HIGHLY recommend this AmeriColor brand writer!) When the "melted snow" icing is firm enough, draw stick hands (only light pressure is needed.) in the melted snow.


Using Buttercream icing OR mini M&M's, add some buttons. Last time I used buttercream but this time I decided it would save me a little time filling icing bags if I just used mini M&M's! Press them down in the "melted snow".


Using buttercream icing and a # 16 icing tip, wrap some scarves around their necks. String licorice would work fine too, unless you too live in a small town and string licorice is unheard of!
Then pipe noses on with buttercream icing and a #3 icing tip. Don't be like me and do this BEFORE you pipe the scarves on - you might knock the noses off! (I didn't, but I had to stick my tongue out and tip my head just right to avoid them!)


Seperate oreo cookies and scrape the icing off. Break a few in the process, so you will have to eat them. Dab a bit of buttercream on the marshmallow head (there's an insult for you!), and stick the oreos on.


If you want to make them "TOP" hats, bake up a batch of brownies, and after they are cooled use circle cutters to cut them out. Stick the brownie circles on to the oreo's with a dab of buttercream.


Do this, and you too can be an overachiever like me. (Ka-Chwo!) (oops, guess there's been a little too much "Cars 1" going on around here lately!)

NO FAIL SUGAR COOKIES
This recipe is GREAT when using complex cookie cutters. The dough holds its' shape and won't spread during baking. Make sure you let your oven preheat for at least 1/2 hour before baking these or any other cookies.


5 1/4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or see Hint below)

roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet (I cover the cookie sheets with parchment paper) at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.

HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess -- Rather than wait for your cookie dough to chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator. Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all. By the time you are finished, the first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut. Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process! An added bonus is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies


Toba Garrett's Glace' Icing

1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup light corn syrup
flavoring as desired (peppermint oil and vanilla are my new favorite!)

Add more milk if it needs thinning.

In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar and milk first. Add corn syrup just until combined.
**HINT** Cover your mixer with a damp towel to keep your whole kitchen from being covered in powdered sugar!!!
Divide to flavor and add color. (if you don't want it all white.) If it's too runny, add powdered sugar to get it so you could spoon it on the cookies without it running all over the place! I also add some popcorn salt (because it's super fine) and use Creme Bouquet and Vanilla for flavorings. (but see my note above about peppermint oil!)


Friday, December 16, 2011

She will be loved

Here is a small preview of the birth I just attended - I got to be Doula AND Photographer!
My newest niece Bethany Dawn arrived Friday Dec 16th at 2:53am.

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