Uncle Paul

A few weeks ago, everyone was in Wichita for family portraits. Including Paul. Who met his nephew for the first time. :)


Cute, aren't they?

It's in the genes!

Over the summer, we celebrated Grandpa's 90th birthday! Crazy talk!!!!


The whole gang. Gramps, Erik and I, my parents and some close friends of the family. :)


Me and my old man. :)

Strawberry patch

LOOK!!!!! I found this in the garden just last week! I was stunned. Especially since our strawberry patch was mostly flattened this summer.


Shocking.

Now, this could be the last strawberry action in the patch for awhile .... because, well, the utility company had to dig up part of my garden so it could take care of stuff. :( But there are some entertaining photos to come from that.

A few more kitty photos

Our cat has a knack for losing her collar. Granted, it's a "break away" collar. And it means she didn't get strangled when she got caught up, but a few times every year, we have to get her a new one.


Erik came with me to the pet store to get the tag ... and decided she needed a little Powercat love to go with her purple collar (which I get at Dillon's, because they seem to be cheapest there).

Just no one tell her it's in the shape of a bone, ok?


Kitty likes our new bedside tables. She fits under the one on Erik's side of the bed. She seems to like to hide out. Like we can't see her if she's under there. Sheesh.


Last one is a nice, graphical photo of a cat nap in the afternoon sun

A little kitchen decor

More than a week ago, I was in Hobby Lobby and decided I was going to add some photos to the kitchen.


TA-DA!!!! :)

It was such a narrow little strip of wall, and I figured a vertical arrangement would be good.

Just some 4x6 photos that have been hanging out on our fridge for years. Maybe things will stop falling off the fridge now! The photos aren't art, but they're us. Our families. Our life. So why not display it?


An artistic addition isn't really "new" to the kitchen. A few years ago, I found this print in an art show. We purchased it, and for a lack of anywhere else to put it, I hung it in the kitchen. Because I like it. And I like being in the kitchen. Does a girl need a better reason?

9 months ... you are what you eat

Nine months ago yesterday, I embarked on this crazy journey. One that involved no yeast, sugar, honey, artificial sweetener, mushrooms, and a host of other things. Some of the most bizarre include raspberry, basil, pomegranates and pumpkin.

Yes, I said pumpkin. With Halloween bearing down upon us and Thanksgiving right around the corner, no pumpkin. This includes pumpkin pie blizzards (well, there IS sugar in that anyway, so even sans pumpkin, I should stay away), no pumpkin spiced latte-ish drinks (but again with the sugar), and most assuredly NO PUMPKIN PIE.

I'll admit. I'm a bit of a cheater. In all of the 9 months, I've probably spent about 1 month being a cheater, eating things I shouldn't, going on binges. Because my taste buds needed a little somethin' somethin ... ya know?

Raspberry, basil, pomegranates and pumpkin are all things my body really freaks out over, so in the interest of a pleasant holiday season, I'll really have to stand strong.

On the flip side of all of this, there are certainly some positive sides to these last 9 months. I've learned how to make homemade yogurt, been introduced to couscous, began cooking with more beans, actually made a recipe involving lentils and fallen in love with quinoa.

But NINE MONTHS????!?!?!?! Has it really been that long? It seems as if I've been doing this nutty food thing forever and at the same time that I just started.

The bottom line is that when I avoid things my body doesn't process well, I FEEL AMAZING!!!! So yeah, some days it really stinks-o-rama. My taste buds get bored sometimes, but on most of days ... it's pretty darn good.

Upcoming ...

Photos to be posted on the Heartland blog later this week and next week.

I have a new previewing/proofing system for portraits here in Salina, and don't post previews on the Heartland Blog until we've proofed them. But I am just loving these photos! :)

Do you see what I see?

Do you see it?


See it now?

The neighborhood rabbits have taken a liking to our patio. I don't blame them, but they are audacious little boogers.

Erik even directly hit one with a seed pod the other day, and it just sat there. They basically don't have much fear of us. Little vixens boogers.

Random summer kitty

I'm not sure why our cat likes to sleep with her face on the window opener. It doesn't look particularly comfortable.


A few days it was nice enough to eat outside this summer, though. :) Usually we have the table cover on. And usually Esse isn't on dining tables. But it's outside and there was no food yet, so we were a bit lax.

hot, hot, hot

Check out how warm it read on our thermometer this summer!!!! Erik thinks it wasn't exactly accurate, but regardless, I don't like seeing those numbers.