Braggin' on my bro

I know ... no posts for awhile. Sorry peeps, but I'm wicked busy right now!

BUT today I was forwarded something kinda cool ... the student paper at Paul's University wrote a story about his travels last semester. You can check it out by CLICKING HERE. :)

Recipes

This post is for you, Mary!

A friend of mine asked me to put my recipes all in one place. Well, I'm going to be lazy about it. ;) When I make a post, I apply a few labels/tags to it. So, here are my labels for recipes:

Recipes (this is a general, catch-all place). CLICK HERE to check them out.

Meatless Recipes (Erik and I eat meatless at least once a week. Sometimes it's rough to be creative. There are a lot of good ones here). CLICK HERE.

Drink Recipes. I actually was looking back through my recipes and saw I have a few drinks on there ... so CLICK HERE.

Also, during my 101 in 1001 project, I kept all of the recipes in one place. CLICK HERE. (My favorite peanut butter fudge recipe is in here!!!!)

My Favorite Things — Steel cut oats w/ frozen blueberries

Since embarking on this sugar and yeast free journey, I've had to make some major changes in my eating habits. I've also added some foods that ... let's face it, I would never have imagined. Steel cut oats is a great example. I'm not a genius about the reasons it's different from regular or old fashioned oats (they're not flat ... that's my only wisdom!).

When I first purchased steel cut oats at the health store, the lady told me you had to cook them for quite a while. "How long?" I asked. "About an hour" was her response. YIKES!!!!! But I've learned if I cook smaller quantities, it doesn't take *quite* that long. But it's no 5-minute oatmeal.

Honestly, I didn't anticipate really liking the stuff. But .... it's SO tasty! It has almost a nutty flavor to it. SO good! It's absolutely worth the wait time to watch it cook.

And when it's done, I toss some frozen blueberries in, mix it up and just gobble up the goodness. Oh, and when we have walnuts in the house, I toss those in, too!

Here's something kind of strange. I'm not really a big fresh blueberry fan. I don't really know why. Maybe because I didn't think they were very sweet? I don't really know. But let me say this: the frozen variety MAKE my steel cut oats amazing!

This food change has certainly been frustrating. Lord knows I've had my meltdown moments. But the last 10 weeks have really challenged me to grow and expand my culinary skills and palate. I would never have guessed how much I enjoy steel cut oats, but I do! I had no real reason to start eating couscous, but now it's our new favorite alternative to rice ...

I suppose it could sound strange, but I'm a bit thankful for these crazy food restrictions. They've forced me to get out of my comfort zone and experience worlds of new things!

Geeking out, Census style!

I'm probably a big, fat geek, but I have to say, I was rather excited about this whole census thing. Probably because it is the first time I've been considered "head" of household (ok, co "head" of household) to fill one out? Who knows, but I was pretty jazzed.

And when it arrived this week, I ripped it open, elbowed Erik out of the way, and attacked it with a pen. (ok, I gotta be honest. Erik didn't want to fill it out, so there was no war over who would get to do it).

I gotta say, it was a bit anti-climactic. A few quick questions about if we owned or rented, what our racial origin was (Erik, you're not Samoan, so get over it), and our names/ages. It truly took all of 3 minutes, IF that.

The thing that amused me was how many spaces there were for people living in the household. Something like 12. Interesting. Actually, I have some clients with 6 kids, so I certainly won't argue it's unneeded.

Oh, and I feel like I should add a quick blurb about why it's important to participate. One of the biggest reasons is for YOUR city. The numbers from the census help to calculate tax dollars, as well as if your city is eligible for certain types of grants (Salina has a BIG push to get everyone to return their census in hopes of reaching 50,000 residents). As a former city-government reporter, I can see the value in this.

And, one last comment. Someone who is on the Census committee here in Salina told me that if you don't have a mail box, you don't get a census form. They live in a loft downtown, and while they have an address, they don't have a physical mail box. So they might not get a census form! Which led me to wonder about people like my sis ... who is a grownup now, but living in "student" housing. I wonder how many people have a similar situation. But I also suppose the smart people behind this already thought that one through and there's an answer I just don't know about.

Happy Thursday!

I've graduated

From the 2" binder to the 4" binder for taxes. Bleh. I am plugging thru 2009 taxes, and my 2 inch binder is just exploding from all of the paper. SO when I was at the office supply store grabbing needed supplies, I took the plunge and got a 4 inch binder for 2010. If I fill that entire thing during this year .... well ..... let's not think about that right now, or I'll get overwhelmed.

Indoor Laundry Line!

Oh Goody Gumdrops!

I have a serious lack of indoor drying space, yet I hang dry most of my dress clothes, so where to put them?

Well, here's a "before and after" photo. The left was my before ... it was rickety and off kilter, plus it couldn't hold many clothes.


The after on the right is great! Tons more space to hang things. It's a bit shaky, but way less rickety than the previous one. :)


I screwed these hooks into the under side of the stair ... they were more of a closed loop than a hook. I tied a laundry line to them, and then stretched it across. I probably need to tighten the line some.


On the other end, I used some PVC pipe I was using from the original drier, and it worked well! The struggle was I intended for it to hang straight down. Well, when I put clothes on it, it started to draw the PVC pipe toward the middle. So we had to use some of those temporary hooks to anchor the chain in a bit more stable manner. It works pretty darn good. And uses previously awkward and unused space.


I had these hooks from last year when I was hanging a light down to grow my baby tomato plants. I have a different arrangement worked out this year, so the hooks were available for use!

His & Hers

Another painting project!


Before (above); After (below)


To make them better stand out on the blue wall, I spray painted them. :)


After much discussion, we decided to hang Erik's on his side of the bed and mine on my side. Yes, they're cute next to one another, but not as functional for us. I'm SO excited to have these up! Seriously great! Hopefully it will mean I hang my clothes here and not pile them on the floor.

Erik's comment? "Hey, there's an extra hook on yours."

My reply: "Some sexist person made these."

Bathroom accessory:

I've had this cross for awhile, but didn't quite have the place to put it. Then I decided the front bathroom would be the best place. Buuuuuuut, it wouldn't stand out on the wall, so I spray painted it white. :)


Sorry, I didn't rotate the photo.


Working on it!


Yay!


The cross made a bit of an interesting design on the paper.


And .... finally on the wall:


I'm happy with it, and even liked it enough to paint another wall article .... I'll show that in a bit.

BL#80 — Go visit Bobby Ann & Vern in their winter nest

As evidenced by all of the posts about Arizona, Erik and I went to see his parents in Arizona! :)

But, the whole spring game thing probably won't happen because some of the baseball teams are moving elsewhere for spring training. Oh well, half of this is good, right?

Bucket List

So, my Bucket List is a holdover from my 101 in 1001 list. And that's what the numbering is all about. (You can read about it HERE).

SO, I'm posting this because I have an item to check off, but want to have a good reference. So here is the list. I don't know if I intend to add to it until I get it complete. But we'll see!

3. Learn how to speak rudimentary Italian

4. Go on a vineyard tour in Italy

5. Learn to juggle

6. Earn as much from Heartland Photography in one year as I did from any previous job

7. Adopt a child internationally

8. Learn how to play (basic) piano

10. Develop a long-term documentary project

11. Attend WPPI in Vegas

12. Put 10% of my income into a retirement plan

13. Put another 10% of my income into investments

14. Play the stock market

15. Buy a share of stock in Apple Inc.

16. Travel in Africa (again)

17. Become a member of a wine club

20. Buy a gold coin

21. Eat veggies grown ONLY from my garden for one summer

22. Practice yoga 2 times/week for six months

24. Be interviewed on NPR

25. Go to Mt. Rushmore

27. Join a fantasy team

29. Fly first class

32. Book 20-24 weddings/year

33. Take a SCUBA diving class

34. Have something ELSE published in Better Homes & Gardens magazine

35. Have a wedding featured in a magazine

37. Visit the center of the continental U.S.

39. Finish one of my "in progress" quilts

40. Keep tax information current on a monthly basis (i.e. don't wait until the end of the year to get organized!)

41. Send birthday cards to everyone on my birthday calendar for one year

44. Replace all possible lights in house with more eco-friendly light bulbs

48. Take a dance class with ERB — DONE, Fall 2010

49. Learn to belly dance

50. Develop and implement a regular backup system for my computer

51. Volunteer as a classroom aid in a local school (to read to children)

52. Document the birth of a child — DONE, Fall 2010

53. Read "How to Win Friends & Influence People"

54. Participate in the Bike Across Kansas

56. See the northern lights

57. Go to Nicodemas, Kansas; learn a little about its history

58. Photograph Castle Rock at sunrise

61. Read pages 1&3 of the newspaper EVERY DAY for a MONTH

62. Take my vitamins every day for a month

64. Have a photo published on Trash The Dress Web site

67. Photograph a wedding in Hawaii

70. Go to groundhog day activities in PA!

73. Photograph a family for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep — DONE, April 2010

75. Get my 3 a day for an entire month!

76. Enter photos in a competition

78. Get large canvas prints made — DONE!!!! May 18, 2010

80. Go visit Bobby Ann & Vern in their winter nest, catch spring game while in Arizona. — DONE!!!!!!! December 2009

81. Go to the Salt Mines in Hutch — DONE!!!!!!! Aug 2011

84. Re-do the master suite in Erik's house (bedroom/closet/bath)

87. Have an article I write published in an industry magazine (wedding/portrait photography industry)

91. Blog stalk a blog COMPLETELY unrelated to photography for ONE MONTH. — DONE!!!! April/May 2011

96. Get 2008 wedding album designs completed/to the printer/binder before 2009 weddings begin.

- - - - - -

*** EDIT/ADD-ON: I've decided to add items at the bottom of the list, per this blog post. Because I'm adding them onto a 101 list, I'll start numbering them at 102. :)

102. Come up with a year-end thank you/Christmas gift for clients — DONE!!!! December 2010

103. Get signed up for a State of Kansas library card so I can download audio books w/o having to go to the library to get them. — DONE!!!! January 2011

104. Find a new and loving home for Erik's original couch/love seat/recliner — DONE!!!! April 2011

105. Have the hardwood floors in our house refinished/make the ugly tile in the kitchen go away. — DONE!!!! April 2012

106. Get some insulation installed in the crawl space under the master bedroom!!!!!!

107. Write down a "company manual" for the systems and order I do things ...

108. Vacuum the main living areas up and downstairs bi-monthly for 6 months (for those of you out there cringing, this is WAY more often than it's done now, hence a big improvement). — DONE!!!! June 2011

109. Add the lattice planters on the patio.

110. Have an attic fan installed (this will help in the spring/fall so we can use the attic fan and hopefully use less air conditioning!!!).

111. Grow lavender somewhere, just because I think it smells nice — DONE!!!! May 2011

112. Have a garage sale in 2010!!!! — DONE!!!! April 2011

113. Take a spring/summer trip to the Drive-In. Have an old fashioned good time. :) — DONE!!!! June 24, 2011

114. Cook a new recipe (2x a month) involving a new grain (bulgur, amaranth or something as such).

115. Install under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen. — DONE!!!! May 2011

116. Install a ceiling fan in our living room.

117. Have photos published on a wedding inspiration blog — DONE!!!! September 2011

118. Paint the trim on our house

119. Decide on a color; paint the middle bedroom. — DONE!!!! November 2011

120. Have couple's dinner once/quarter with a good friend(s)

121. See Garrison Keillor perform (again).

122. Go to Minnesota; see Garrison Keillor perform on his home stage before his retirement in 2013.

123. Install a gate on patio to contain the dog. — DONE!!!! December 2011