Since I know ....

.... tomorrow will involve LOTS of football, thought I'd share a quick photo of something football-related that amused me.

Check it out .... they put the name of the game beneath the screen!!!!


I was in Denver a few months ago on a training for a non-profit I volunteer for ... and we were grabbing lunch (I had the best Monte Cristo sandwich on the PLANET!!!!), and there were games on the TVs. Par for the course, but what amused me was that they labeled each game.

Seriously!?!?!???

Crazy.

Tea Party!

When the cookie backing concluded, we had a tea party. :)


Robin let people select cups from Mom's collection.


This uber-cool snowflake was our festive decoration. Robin made it and I'd love to learn how to do so because it's pretty darn cool looking.


Teacups.


The tea cup I used.

On a completely side note, sometimes friends ask if they need to get a bigger, fancier camera for stuff. Often, my answer is NO. I used my little point and shoot for all of these photos. While not award-winning, they're perfectly fine. But you HAVE to know how to work your camera. For example, on this one, you can see the window in the background. I knew if I used the camera on automatic, the teacup would be dark. So I forced the flash to go off, making the teacup light enough to see.


The insides even had decorative flourishes on them ....


A few snack-a-roos.


Robin and I brought tea to combine with Mom's, so there were plenty of options!


Yeah, do some work, Robin!!!!


Another pretty teacup.


And an up-close photo.

Another photo aside, I used my point and shoot for this, folks! There's a function called "macro" ... so if you want to take a photo up really close, consider that option. Because I hate seeing out of focus photos of things like engagement rings and the like. ;)


Festive headgear was, of course, encouraged.


Cheers!


Another macro photo. :)


Susie showing Kristine good party manners. ;)


And Robin making the table not wiggle. Every once in awhile, the glass table is good for an amusing photo.

Cookie party!

Yikes! Somehow I got behind on blogging. Let's get caught up.

Growing up, Christmas cookies were a big deal for us. Probably because with 3 diabetics in the house, it was the only time we really got to have cookies around. ;)

Since we've gone to college, etc, the cookie tradition has become less formal. But this year, Robin decided we'd make an official party. Now, I think she's had unofficial parties in the past. Heck, they might have even been official, but I wasn't a player in them.

So here goes.


Some of the cookie cutters were a gift from the ring bearer + flower girl at our wedding. :)


Mom always says the Christmas Tree cookies taste the best, so we are sure to make LOTS of them.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was not around for the baking. I saw the first few cookies go into the oven, but had a bridal consult, so I missed a portion of the festivities.


Sometimes cookies get decorated before they go into the oven.


Here, Miss Susie gets her groove on. I think she's adding green hair ....


Kristine, Susie and Robin in production!

Happy anniversary, sis

Yikes, did my little sister really get married 2 years ago?!?!??!?

Well, I'm still thrilled, despite my expression in the photo.


;)~

Merry Christmas

May today fill your hearts with grace and peace.

Is that a tradition I smell?

Last year, I told my family if they wanted to see me for Christmas, THEY would have to come to ME.

Dinner was simple: pot roast, mashed potatoes and some simple veggies.

Well, once again, I have a roast in the crockpot. Never would I have guessed I would do this two years running. Probably because it's so easy. ;)

Cheers.

Art is all around

As a photographer, I'm a *little* picky about photos. ;) Or a lot.

Erik and I have some original art on our walls. Photos from pros and lesser known photographers. Eventually, I think we'd both like to see this collection grow.


(I borrowed this image from Shawn's blog ... I suspect you're reading this, Shawn .... HI! If you want to slap my wrist, feel free to do so).

And one person whose work is DEFINITELY on my list is Shawn Reeder. His nature photography BLOWS MY MIND. I've actually blogged about Shawn before. But boy, was that one disjointed blog post.

Anyhow, culling through his nature galleries .... it's nearly impossible to choose a favorite one or two photos!!!

Saturday night, I was commenting to my friends how I sort of use this blog as my brian. If I can't remember a recipe, I just come on here and look. It's handy. Maybe I should do the same for art I'm interested in?

In that case, another artist we'd love to have on our walls is Kathleen Kuchar. She's a local Hays artist, and on one of our first dates, Erik saw a piece of hers at the Hays Arts Center and very much liked it.


As a matter of fact, shortly after being engaged, I surprised Erik and took him to her residential studio. Not all of her work is as abstract as this one, but you sort of get a feel for it.

How to cut a pineapple

Since moving to Salina, I've tried all sorts of interesting culinary adventures. This week, I saw whole pineapples on sale at the store. Hmmm .... why not, I figured. But then I got home and had NO CLUE how to cut the darn thing.

Thank goodness for YouTube!


Fortunately, I picked a rip pineapple from the start!

But I really would have liked some tips on how to set a pineapple UPSIDE DOWN in the fridge .... because it was no easy task.

A fly ...

Ahem.

Today's blog post is going to be a crowd pleaser. I know because I previewed the topic with Erik and Coop ... and they both laughed really hard about today's topic: A fly in the urinal. Yes, I said URINAL on our blog. ;)


And now I've posted a photo.

Yesterday morning, I was listening to NPR as I was working on photos and our new Heartland Web site ... and heard a story on NPR about how urinals with flies (or other "targets" in them) had less spillage than those without. Really. The story is HERE. Um .... I spent most of the time laughing, but I guess I can see how this might apply in life ... I have plenty of friends, many of whom have little boys. The story said males like to have something to aim at.


So, mommies, feel free to get your sharpies out and draw something in your toilet bowl!

The Infinite Frog

Erik and I were talking last night, and I mentioned that perhaps we should pray to the Infant of Prague.


Erik's response was "Is that a cousin of Kermit?"


HUUUUH!?!???!? I thought.

"You know, the infinite frog .... is he Kermit the Frog's cousin?" Erik persisted.

Groan.

So, as you see, while Erik is becoming more versed in the Catholic faith, there are certainly gaps, such as "The Infinite Frog."