Kitty photo by E

Erik grabbed this photo of our "fur baby" snoozing on the back of the couch.

Just thought you guys might want a break from my professional drabble.

Crossover — Nephew Theo

Name: Theodore
Age: 11 days
Hobbies: eating and sleeping

Just one photo on the Heartland Blog ... so far.

I've got a ton of editing I've been working on. Seriously crazy times! But listening to books on CD while editing/working on photos totally keeps me sane.

Cheers.

Crossover — Ashley + Tyson's wedding

If you asked me to recall a time before I knew Courtney and her family, I'd have to wrinkle my nose and think hard. I mean, I guess I met her in second grade or something ... but kindergarden is all a blur for me. As is much of first grade.

And with no kids on my block that were really my age, the fact that Courtney lived 2 blocks away was just fantastic!

We've grown, parted, reunited, been in the same social circles, been in other circles. But just always sort of been. If not in the same circle, at least in the peripheral.

Part of the peripheral was Ashley, Courtney's little sister. It just seems like she was always there. At swim team. In journalism. Just always there.

So when I received an e-mail in December from Ashley ... little Ashley who would goof off during swim team practice, telling me she was getting married and wanted us to shoot her wedding photos .... well, I felt honored. And old. ;)


Couldn't have asked for a more stunning bride, though. It would be a physical impossibility.

Here's a fun tidbit: after meeting with Ashley, Tyson and Ashley's mom to talk about wedding photos, the girls invited me along to do some wedding dress shopping. I was way tickled to go!


Full preview is on the Heartland Blog.

I'm going to embrace it

It'll be awhile before I get any personal catching up done. Sorry, all.

Big wedding in Lawrence over the weekend. Plus 2 family sessions the day before.


For the forseeable future, all of the action will be going on over on the Heartland Blog.

I'm really hoping Erik doesn't bean me for posting a photo that has *ahem* that funny looking bird. Maybe he won't notice?

Getting creative in the kitchen!

So my crazy life without sugar or yeast has helped me to be more creative in the kitchen!

Here's the latest: Most things like mayo and mustard, catsup and other condiments have vinegar/sugar in them, they're out like last season's shoes.

I was visiting with a friend about a month ago who makes her own yogurt and she was telling me she uses it in place of sour cream. Hmm....I got to thinking. How might I be able to use yogurt in other things?

My list so far is short, but one area I want to try is using it in place of cream of mushroom soup. Maybe in casserole this winter? Or with chicken in the oven? I'll report back on that (but if you have any success/wisdom, I'll sure take it!).

But here's what I did yesterday: I took canned chicken (we were out of tuna, or I would have used tuna), and mixed in about 2 spoons of yogurt. I then sliced a tomato from our garden (juicy!) and ate the chicken salad on top of tomato slices for lunch!

I'm pretty excited about this! It doesn't exactly taste like mayo, but this opens the door to my tuna eating! I can add other stuff like celery and onions .... and Erik suggested eating it atop Triscuits. Yummie!

Oh, another idea is to make a veggie dip. I have plenty of frozen dill, so I'll cut that up, and .... well, I'm looking for suggestions of stuff to add. I'm not able to add a Ranch packet or anything (or I don't *think* I am able. I'll have to look! -- Just looked, Ranch packet has MSG, so it's out. Rats.).

In case you missed it, HERE is the yogurt recipe. And I now do not have to strain it. I use RAW milk, and then once it's finished cooking (10 hours or so), I just mix it all together. The consistency is just velvety!!!!

Little Laws is here! :)

Ok, so I know I need to post baby shower pix, but c'mon, the arrival of my nephew is the main event right now! :)


Yesterday morning, he was ready to make his debut.


At 6 lbs, 12 oz, he was a cute little tyke. And as a trivia note, Erik's thumb is bigger than Theo's footprint.


Grandpa Wayne.


Granma Carol (Chris' mom).


This is dark and moody, but I like it. Theo would sort of pull his hand over his face to block the light as he slept. Pretty stinkin' cute.


And Auntie Teresa was also on the scene. :)


Last photo.

Deacon Jeremy's Slideshow

Ok, so my buddy Jeremy was ordained eons ago, and I'm just getting around to putting together his slideshow. Slacker, I know.

I have an ordination and First Mass show to put up on the Heartland side, but since I don't have a ton of "religious" music, the songs duplicate. And I don't want to show a bunch of shows with duplicate music, however appropriate to the event it is.


SO, I'm going to share his here. CLICK HERE and enjoy. :)

Random update

Sorry guys.

I was all hot to trot to finish my DC-area trip. But life has been crazy.

One of my childhood friends was killed in an accident on Tuesday. I found out Wednesday and have been in a bit of a funk.

I photographed the ordination here in Salina this morning. It was a technically challenging assignment, but there are some good photos. I'll share them on the Heartland Blog .... probably Thursday afternoon.

I have spent a lot of energy waiting for it to rain. Pitiful, right? The zucchini plants have basically tanked. The peppers are pitiful. Our cantaloupe is hanging on by a thread. I am too proud to water the dang garden from the tap. But rain keeps promising to come ... so I keep "waiting in joyful hope" ... but if I were honest, it is more like "waiting in anxious impatience."

Yogurt making success! A lot of times, I drain it b/c there's liquid on the top. But I didn't today, and oh goodness .... is it heavenly!

Washington D.C. 2010 — pt. 4

So I tromped around DC with my friend, Deacon Jeremy. We had a great time, except I forgot to charge my camera and the battery died part of the way through. :( Oh well.


We originally wanted to go to the Holocaust museum, but it closes at 5 p.m. or something like that. So we just walked around. And stopped in one of the gardens.


Showing the Deacon how to work the macro function. But y'all are pros at that now, right?

If I manage to get some of the photos from Deacon J, I'll share those. But this is it for now. The rest of my photos will be from my trip up to the Sem. And they'll come in another few posts.

Sneak Peek — Robin's Baby Shower

Yesterday was my sister, Robin's, baby shower. It was TONS of fun.

I promise to blog/share more photos and such later. But just a quick teaser here. I was REALLY excited because I envisioned this little flag/banner and mom helped me to do it ... and it looks JUST Like I wanted! And the same for the balloons.

Fun fact: 3 dozen fully inflated balloons will fit into my Nissan Alatima, but only barely. And driving is tricky. But balloons are my new favorite way to decorate. Seriously, excellent, fun, festive and really reasonably priced! :)

Photo tips: Why I'm doing this

Ok troopers. I'm getting some nice feedback on the photo tips. And I appreciate knowing they're helpful.

PSA: This post won't contain a tip, per se. Just a bit of explaining. So don't get your hopes up.

The reason I started doing these tips was just to help people get to know their point and shoot camera a bit better. I've had friends say to me "I need a better camera" when in fact their camera was perfectly functional, they just needed to learn how to use what they have.

There are others who have spent more time explaining f/stops (which is the same thing as aperture, Michelle) and shutter speeds. I don't believe I can control those on my point and shoot camera, so I'm not going to go into it here. Sorry to disappoint.

In fact, another photo friend of mine has recently commented that she's getting "swamped" with questions from people who get a nice camera, then basically want her to teach them how to use it. I'll be frank: I don't have that kind of time to explain to everyone how to use their camera.

But, I am willing to point you in the direction of resources. You can check out some great tips HERE. I admit I'm a *little* uncomfortable posting this because she basically encourages everyone to become a photographer. I'm afraid this will eventually put me out of a job because the mommies with a camera will eventually see no need for me. :(


But there are good tips. And many of the photos she shows are made with professional quality lenses. As in the lens costs between $400-$1,500 (prices for lenses with f/2.8, f/1.4 or f/1.2). Basically, a lower "f-stop" means the background will be more blurry/out of focus and make the subject of the photo "pop out" more (see above photo).

But if you want to learn how to better photograph your kids, there are some really great photo tips like this. And if you have a SLR (camera where you can remove the lens and attach other lenses), you might want to ask for something from here for your birthday, Christmas or Mother's Day. If you only want to get one, I'd suggest "beyond the green box" which basically refers to the green box which means the camera will do all of the thinking and selecting for you.

I will end by saying just because someone has a flashy camera does NOT make them a good photographer. Being a good photographer is about the "eye" and the "vision." Honestly, some people are what I call "visual people" and others are not. And that's OK.

What I AM saying, though, is a visual person doesn't necessarily need to break the bank to make fantastic images. In fact, the image below was made with my little point and shoot camera:


I will also say that even if you have a great eye, I would still encourage you to think about having professional photos taken every year or so. This is because if YOU are the one taking the photos, you will be conspicuously absent from them. And, if you don't want to drop more than $400 on a really good lens, take at least half of that and invest it into quality family portraits.

Oh, and one last comment, PLEASE DO NOT TEACH YOUR KIDS TO SAY CHEESE!!!!!!!!!! Because 1) they end up making a bit of a strange face and look like they're gritting their teeth at you when they smile (I promise they do, just look at little 5 year old boys who smile. They look pained). and because 2) it's annoying. I was once photographing a family with 5 little kids. The "cheeeeeese" chorus was like fingernails on a blackboard. So JUST SAY NO TO CHEESE!!!!!! Seriously. Please. I beg of you.

Guacamole recipe

I now interrupt these vacation/travel posts to bring you my guacamole recipe. Erin asked how I made mine, and I think I have it to a fine art ... so I'll share.

Guacamole ingredients:
2 avocados
1/4 of an onion
1 small roma tomato
lime juice
sea salt

Here's how I start. I take the avocado and cut it on open. I squeeze out the green goodness into a small bowl.


Then (before adding anything else), I mash it up. I squeeze in some lime juice during this time. I mash it and mix it. It basically becomes a paste.


Let me take a brief second to say I use a Rada knife to do the job .... and I LOOOOOVE my Rada knife. It seriously is the most amazing knife I've EVER used. I think it was a gift. I'm not sure who gave it to me, but I LOVE my Rada set. The smooth blades slice through an avocado like a hot knife through butter. Oooooh, I'm in love!

IMPORTANT TIP: Save the avocado pit/seed. You will want/need it later.


Next, I cut up about 1/4 of an onion into very fine pieces. If you want to use a sweet Videlia onion, go ahead! Whatever you want to use. The Rada knife rocks out onion chopping, too!

I add that to the pasty avocados.

Then, I use a serrated knife (sadly, I don't own a serrated Rada knife, because if I did, I'd surely use it!) to cut up my tomato, and toss it in, too.

I then salt to taste with sea salt. At this time if you want, you may add more lime juice for extra zing. ;) Some people add cilantro to their guac ... and if you want to, by all means, go ahead and do so!


Ok, back to the avocado pit. I toss them into the guacamole. Why? Well, somewhere along the way, I picked up that if you do this, your guacamole won't go bad/turn brown as quickly. It seems to work ... of course, I can eat this entire recipe in one sitting, so it's not like guacamole lives in our house long enough for me to find out .... Erik is annoyed with the pits/seeds because he says it gets in the way of his dipping. Dude, man up! ;)

I seriously have made this half a dozen times this summer! I can't get enough of it!

Here's the thing that shocked me about avocados, though: they're FULL of fat. But a good fat (as read in book below).


They also are chalk-full of awesome vitamins: Vitamin A, C, D, E, B6, B12 and so many more.

Seriously, after writing this post, I think I need to go make another batch!

Washington, D.C. 2010 — pt. 3 (Photo tip #3)

When I was in Arlington National Cemetery, there was a great example of something for a photo tip: the headstones.

The photo on the left is the way my camera wanted to take it: dark. That is because the camera saw the light sky and thought "there's plenty of light" ... not so. I wanted the grave stones to have light on them.


So I went into the MANUAL mode and made it "overexpose" about 1 stop (+1). That means I was allowing more light in than the camera thought I needed.


I went 1 step further, though. I overexposed it 2 stops (+2) so that I could more clearly see the writing on the stones. On the right photo, there's very little detail in the sky, but there wasn't a lot in the first one, so I am OK with that.

Another way to get light onto the object in the front of my picture (also called the foreground) would be to force the flash as in Tip #1. But the gravestones were pretty far away, and my flash wouldn't go that far, so this was a better option.

Does this make sense? Is this something you guys want/care to read on here? Yes? No? Too technical?

Republicans and conservatives and smear campaigns, OH MY!

Is there an election going on or something? ;)

Ok, just KIDDING!!!!

I tell you what, this morning I picked up a sample ballot so I can spend this afternoon researching the people and finding the best candidates. I'm excited to have some familiar names on the ballot: Derek Schmidt (Attorney General) and Jerry Moran (Senate).

I knew Derek in my days living in Independence. He was our state senator and seriously has the best name/face recall EVER. I bet if I ran into him, I wouldn't have to reintroduce myself to him. He's that scary-good with names.

But the race that's received the bulk of the limelight is the U.S. Senate race. Seriously. I think I received 2 automated calls in the last 24 hours — one of them from Sarah Palin (Erik doubts it was actually Palin, but I digress...).

Since the last Presidential election, I've S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D with taking endorsements from groups for granted. I've been doing my own candidate research and even though Kansans for Life might endorse someone, it doesn't mean they are 100% in line with the Catholic Church's teachings on life issues.

I was actually STUNNED because I thought they were in league with the church. Nope. Not the case. Boy was I mad when I learned that. I felt like the wool had been pulled over my eyes. In fact, while some of their endorsements might have a pro-life (pro-birth) attitude, they are pro-death penalty. I'm puzzled by all of this, but we haven't the time for me to wade through it, right?

I've been a Jerry Moran girl for a long time. He's been our representative in the "Big First" district and I respect the way he stays connected with us. He visits every single county (FYI, there are 69 of them) every year. He still lives in his home in Hays. His family lives there. He comes home every weekend to connect with his family and those he represents.

I have to admit, i've been saddened and really disappointed at all of the smear campaigns that have been going on. Really disappointed. It just is so .... childish, for lack of a better word.

But with all of the "Jerry Moran does not uphold and respect the value of life" flying around, I was stumped. And many I know feel that just because a group endorses one candidate, they will vote for them. But why? Why follow blindly?

So, off to research I went ... and what did I find? "Moran's two departures from the National Right to Life Committee's stances in 90 votes in the U.S. House monitored by the group since 1997 came on bills dealing with federal prescription drug benefits for seniors." -- from an article in the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Wow.

For the most part on our personal blog, we don't talk too much about politics. Erik and I don't share a party affiliation, but we both very much believe in thinking for ourselves, doing some research and finding the best candidate. (On my bizzzness blog, if we mention politics, it's because we covered a political event as a photojournalistic assignment and are blogging about it; that blog is solely for showcasing photographic work and visual content).

I'm not appealing for a vote in favor or against any candidate .... I just ask, friends, that you really do some research. If you want to look at endorsements, by all means do so. But if you hear allegations, please know that one campaign is taking a small sliver of truth and (gasp) might not be showing you the entire picture. I urge you to really look into things and make an informed decision.

Recently a friend of mine sent me an "article" that was actually a news release from a campaign. When you're looking for info on a candidate, I suggest you stick to major news sites. News organizations (generally) have a code of conduct/ethics. If it says "commentary" or "column" it is likely an opinion, not fact.

These are a few sites that seem pretty decent:
On the Issues
Kansas Catholic Conference

The following is an OPINION PIECE, not gospel fact. But it's an interesting point to reflect upon. Check it out HERE.

If anyone is a crazy geek like me and likes to see who is financially backing these people, check out this site.

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week

Well, NFP awareness week concluded. No big celebrations around here, but I did go to a speaker last night at our parish. As anticipated, I was the only spouse-less person in the room. Well, except for Fr. Peter. ;)

Information wasn't really new, but it is certainly nice to hear it being talked about in an open forum. In fact, last week I heard (for the first time I can EVER remember) a priest talk about NFP during his homily. I was slack-jawed, but it was so well done (kudos to Fr. Ben at St. Thomas!).

I was tweeting about being solo at a sort of "couples/family" event last night and stumbled upon a blog I think some of my fellow blog readers will enjoy ... which is why I'm blogging about last night. Because it'd be strange to just post a blog link with nothing else, right?

So anyway, I landed on THIS page. The different parts in her series are really great, so feel free to go poke around.

One quick note, I know there are some non-Catholic readers out there (sup, Gatsby Girl?), and I just want to say you do NOT have to be Catholic to use NFP. I have some friends who are decidedly not religious, but are sick of extra chemicals and hormones in their bodies who are giving it a whirl.

On a sort of related note ... I'm trying to decide if I should go to the Family Life weekend/convention here in Salina. I simply can't deciiiiiide. I listened one of Christopher West's tapes and was underwhelmed. But I'd read JPII's Theology of the Body prior to hearing West's tape. And I heard it was one of his first tapes out ... and that he's tamed down his "the average person shouldn't read Theology of the Body because it's too complex for them to understand" message.


Maybe there would be new/additional insight in a live presentation? Heck, if anyone wants to trek to town for the event, I'd gladly go along!