Washington D.C. 2010 — pt. 2

My first morning, I had time to burn, so I figured I'd head to Arlington.


It was kind of a crazy/wicked trip. I was really booking it to make it, but I'm glad I did!


It's so beautiful ... but also sad, too.









I bet the guard has about a million photos/day taken of them!


This archway seemed especially beautiful to me.


I was bummed I missed all of the cherry blossoms, but thought they were beautiful on the ground here.


There were some beautiful headstones.


A little framing action of the American Flag.




I don't know any "Sawtelle" family personally, but have you read The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle??? It's a LONG book, but an incredible read (ok, so I listened to it on CD, but you get the idea).


More flag action.


And of course ....

Washington, D.C. 2010 — pt. 1

It's been MONTHS since I went to DC, but I'm just getting around to sharing photos. Here we go! A few random ones to start us off.


I enjoy the subway in DC A_LOT. It's clean and really nice. But the ride down .... sort of makes me feel like the earth is swallowing me. For.real.


Saw this little guy while waiting for a train. Just nice pattern/color. Nothing else.

Random rambling

• I'm listening to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" on CD. The unabridged version. I now know why things become abridged. But the lengthy architecture descriptions aside, the book's pretty good so far.

• Recently I signed on some meeting/consultation space here in Salina for Heartland. Yay! :) I spent several days painting and repainting. Color-matching at Lowe's is not as successful or "easy" as they make it sound. Don't be fooled. Tomorrow, I'll have my first client, Andrea, come and meet me in the space. We'll jam about albums and while there is still progress to be made, it is fit for clients. :) I promise, photos to come.

• We went to the new water park in Salina. Believe me, a full review is in the works.

• Esse has puking issues. Seriously. About once a month, the cat needs to barf. On the carpet. Sigh. She didn't do this in Hays.

• I love guacamole. Seriously, have made it almost a dozen times this summer. And can eat one bowl (containing 2 avacadoes) in 1 sitting. All by myself.

• My brother-in-law got me a dress from his travels in Ghana a few months ago. I wore it this week, and while it's a bold orange color, it's amazing on!

• Erik has long legs. I have long legs. God bless any children we spawn. Pant purchasing shan't be pleasant for them.

Making yogurt

About a month ago, my mom said something about making yogurt. WHAAAT??? How is this possible? I never knew! So I did some research and asking around, and now I've successfully made homemade yogurt. Several times.

Last week, I was able to score some raw milk, and I've been using that instead of 2% milk. The yogurt is much thicker and way yummie!

I'm updating this on 9/6/11 with my recipe, so it's hopefully easy to find + follow!

Ingredients:
• 1 quart milk (1/4 gallon)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk (optional) -- I use 1/2 cup b/c I like thick yogurt
• 2 tablespoons existing yogurt with live cultures
(or you can use freeze-dried bacteria instead)

You will need:
• Quart pan
• Wire whisk
• Candy (or other) thermometer
• heating pad (the older the better)
• shoe box w/ lid
• Rectangular tupperware container w/ lid

Directions:
1) Set out existing yogurt (starter) … this will warm while you cook the milk.
2) Heat the milk to 185ºF (85ºC). STIR CONSTANTLY with a whisk. It will get really foamy
3) Cool to 110ºF via a cool/cold water bath; stir occasionally.
(If you are using milk from the store, you can omit steps #2,3&4. This is essentially pasteurizing your milk).
4) Add the starter. Add 2 tablespoons of the existing yogurt.
5) Add non-fat dry milk; stir in. Add salt if desired.
6) Put the mixture in containers. Pour the milk into a clean container or containers. Cover each one tightly with a lid.
7) Allow the yogurt bacteria to incubate. Keep the yogurt warm and still to encourage bacterial growth, while keeping the temperature as close to 100ºF (38ºC) as possible. Cook 8-12 hours (I let it cook overnight).

To cook my yogurt, I place a heating pad in a shoe box, wrap it around the 2 long sides and the bottom. Place the tupperware container inside the little cave you've made. Place the container lid + shoebox lid on. I'm not sure if the newer heating pads have automatic shut-offs, but you might want to check to be sure it'll run for 7+ hours.

The longer you let it sit beyond seven hours, the thicker and tangier it will become.

8) Mix the watery stuff on top into the thicker custard substance on the bottom; refrigerate.
9) Enjoy!

Since my life is dull, I'm not able to add honey or any nice sweetners to it. But once in awhile, I'll make a fruit smoothie or eat it with frozen fruit, as a treat. :)

Photo tip #2

From time to time, someone will e-mail me, asking for help with their camera/photography.

My biggest response to people is: READ YOUR MANUAL!!!!! Seriously. We were on our way back from Chicago, and I saw a woman reading a camera manual, and I went up and told her what a smart move it was! Yes, I'm nuts.

But a lot of photos I share here are from my point and shoot, so there are a few tricks.

Tip 1: Force Flash (scroll down to the bottom of the post)

Here's my second one: The MACRO function.


This is from our trip to Chicago. Often you'll see a setting that's a flower (looks like a tulip). It is meant to take pictures UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!!!!

This is a great tip, because sometimes you want to get close to something, but the photo looks blurry. Maybe baby's fingers or toes? Well, turn on your Macro function, then get CLOSE! Like less than a foot away close. The trick with this, though, is that if your flash goes off, it will "blow everything out" or make your photo look all white. So be sure to turn your flash off.

Cloth diapering wisdom?

I put this out onto the Internet because I know a few of our blog readers do cloth diapering.


My sis and her husband are wanting to wade a little into the world of cloth diapers whilst at home ... and she has a friend who uses them and loves them. So she's curious where a good place to start is ... ladies, please share links to your own blogs or your favorite products ... what works best for YOU????

What is your favorite diaper cover? The wool ones? LET'S SHARE ALL!!!!! :)

A question I had was I was under the impression cloth dipey-doos had to be washed with a special detergent. Is this true? Am I misled?


Conversely, what have you tried, but found to be a waste of your time/money????

Chicago 2010 — pt. 9

HOLD ON TO YOUR SHORTS!!!! There are a ton of photos in this post.


Since Chicago is considered "Little Warsaw," and since I'm 1/2 Polish, when I realized we were staying within blocks of the Polish Museum of America, of COURSE we had to go!


Everything was really ornate.


A lot of "skis" on the board ... I felt right at home (for those of you who are thinking: "there's no "ski" in your maiden name, Karen, you're only half right. Dad's last name was shortened when he was in school. Prior to that time, there was a "ski" in Mikols. Plus about 5 other letters, too!).


These were some sort of theme/seal/symbol.


Really popular. No idea what they mean.


I thought this was a beautiful drawing/painting. Really loved it.


"Pulaski at Savannah" is a large painting there .... I first heard about Casimir Pulaski on NPR. He's a Polish dude, and the City of Chicago still celebrates his day. As in people get out of work/off of school. How cool is that?

From the Chicago Sun-Times: Pulaski Day / puh LAS key day / n. The first Monday of March in Illinois -- and a day off for Chicago Public Schools kids as well as City of Chicago and Cook County workers. Other school districts throughout the state also recognize the day. It honors Polish-born Brigadier Gen. Casimir Pulaski, a famed cavalry officer in Poland before joining the American Revolution and becoming a hero here -- and a source of great pride for Polish Americans. New York and Philadelphia also hold Pulaski parades, although they are in October.

I'm considering this as a personal holiday from now on, too! ;)


Who knew the Polish people were involved in the Civil War? Not me!


Some Polish writing. Really beautiful.

Funny but true story: When we were little and would spend a weekend at my dad's parents house, if they wanted to talk about something but not have us understand, my grandparents would start speaking in Polish. True story! Sometimes, Grandpa Benny just looks at me and starts talking in Polish. Um ... I just smile and nod. Because I have no idea what he's saying.


I thought this was pretty.


Who knew the first Polish Parish was in Texas? Not me! I would've guessed Chicago.


Probably one of the most well-known Polish peeps.


A little more.


This amused me. I saw this cart of "extra" books for sale. Most of them were on Polish stuff. But then there was America 24/7. I actually was one of the photographers contracted for that book. And have a photo or two in it. Just made me smile. :)


I'm not sure who this is ... some famous composer. I don't remember now. Anyone want to help us out? Manda? Famous Polish Composer????

Chicago 2010 — pt. 8

We went to this great art gallery in Chicago. I seriously loved it!


As you can see, so did Erik ... ;)


And he brings out the ham ....


These door handles were pretty cool, too. Sorry to be a dork, but I dug them!

Chicago 2010 — pt. 7 (Photo tip #1)

Just a nice, graphical photo. I like it.


A different take.


We went up in the Hancock building to view the Sears Tower. :)


Erik looking goofy.


Me looking goofy.

Sheesh.

Oh, and here's a tip for you camera geeks out there. This was all taken with my point and shoot. We watched someone else try to get a photo of them with the skyline in the background, and they couldn't do it. They were all dark/black, and the skyline looked great.

Here's why: The camera's meter saw the sky and said "There's enough light here" so it thought there was no need for a flash.

Many cameras have the option to force your flash to fire. What that did was put light on me and Erik, and still show the stuff in the background. It's not the same as a pro camera, but does a better job than letting your camera do all of the thinking!

This tip also applies to SUNSETS. If you want the sun to look great behind you,but also be able to see you, force your flash to go.

Example below:

Chicago 2010 — pt. 6

Just one photo is needed for this post. And it summarizes our experience at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. If you're in Chicago, you MUST go to this place!

On a similar note, I made a snarky comment that there should be a pizza tour of Chicago .... and there IS one! You go to several places and have a slice of pie at each. We didn't go this time, but it'll be on the list for next time. :)

Chicago 2010 — pt. 5

We also made it to a Cubs game!

With a 2-ish hour rain delay, it was a late start.

Erik thinks I have a little rain cloud that has been following me to MLB games this season. And he has a valid point. It rained in KC, and in Washington and in Chicago. Sheesh!


Matt, our awesome host.


Erik with Mr. Woo-Woo.


Us with him ... see me "woo-woo-ing"? (I didn't ask questions about that sequenced glove).


Aaaand, finally us. Me looking like a drowned rat b/c I had an engagement session. In the rain. In Chicago. It was a great session, but let's just say I looked like I'd been hit by a bus when it was all over.