Happy Halloween!

Sadly, K is super sick on her first Halloween.  I spent part of last week and the weekend down at my parents house, and my sister snapped a few pictures of K in her costume!

This morning we went to the doctor and got some ammoxicillin.  When I was a kid I had so many ear infections I'd drink it right out of the bottle!  Anyway,  at the pharmacy they gave me one of those syringes (not like with a needle, just the plunger kind).  We use the same types of syringes to give horses medicine.  So when it came time to give K her medicine, I just pulled back the side of her mouth and just kind of shot it to the back of her throat.  It worked okay, I'll probably just go a little slower next time!!  : )

Happy Halloween!

Anticipation

So many people complain that fall is rushed into Christmas, and stores put up Christmas stuff to early, and blah blah....  pretty grinchy if you ask me.  I LOVE seeing Christmas stuff put up in stores, christmas commercials on tv, and forecasts for snow.   And I'll tell you why.

Besides completely loving the entire Christmas season, and having an infatuation for pine candles, I love the anticipation of it all.

Think about it, would weddings be as fun if you didn't have that engagement time to prepare and plan your wedding?  Would a vacation be as awesome if you didn't plan what you would do, where you would go, and other fun things that are totally different from your everyday life?  And I know for a fact, having a baby wouldn't be as amazing if you didn't have the nine months leading up to it to prepare, shop, and dream about your baby.  

I love getting ready for Christmas.  I love decorating, and looking for new decorations.  I love baking Christmas cookies and planning out with my mom and jenny what we'll make for Christmas eve and Christmas day.  i love listening to Christmas music because you only get to listen to it for one season a year!  Note, when I was pregnant last September I was listening to Josh Groban Noel CD and decided to have K's middle name be Noel.  I love the memories I make with my family and friends:  The Nutcracker with Brent, Lavender Lane shopping with my mom and Jen, cookie exchanges with friends, and wrapping presents and knowing you got the perfect gift for someone.

So, in October when I walk past an area of a store with Christmas stuff, I smile because I think of how great this season will be.  I make sure to enjoy each day, and have fun at Halloween and cook up a storm for Thanksgiving, but I do look forward to Christmas.   I'm actually a little jealous of New Jersey right now because they're getting the big storm, and it's sunny here.   So, I'm lighting a pine candle, listening to a Christmas cd, and later on, my mom and Jenny and I are going to bake Wishing Cookies.  More on that later.

my photography bucket list

So, I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I kinda like taking pictures.  For the past few months I've been collecting ideas in my head- pictures I want to take before.... well, before I die sounds too morbid, so instead I'll give myself a deadline... before I'm 72.
I want to:
1. Take an amazing picture of a very old man with lots of wrinkles : )
2.  Take a picture of lightning
3.  Take a picture of a tornado
4.  Take an amazing sunset picture, possibly on a beach in California?
5.  To take pictures as someone proposes. *as in, hide, but have the propose-er know I'm there
6.  To take pictures at the hospital of one of my siblings children soon after the babe is born (no one is pregnant, I'm just saying someday!)
7.  To take a picture of horses running in the snow
8.  To take a picture at a wedding that takes my breath away (not as the wedding photographer, just as a guest)
9. To photograph newborn twins or triplets
10.  To take a picture of a musician, from like, behind or to the side... up close : )


I know a few of these that are going to happen in the next year or so, and I'm sure I'll be adding to the list!

Brent's Favorite Sandwich

When Brent and I got married, it was like he had never eaten up until that point.  Bananas, cereal and milk, and peanut butter sandwiches were pretty much all he ate.  Oh, and apples.   Yes, he was quite in shape, but he looked hungry.  So, I cooked for him.  No amazing meals, just casseroles, pasta dishes, the occasional oatmeal cookie, just normal stuff.  But man could he (and still can) EAT!  He used to put away half a 9 x 13 sized hot dish in one sitting.  I know Brent likes a lot of things I make, but one sandwich in particular is his favorite!  And it's really pretty easy, and actually has many health benefits.  Here is it!  (a warning: the photos are horrible.  It was getting dark, K is sick, and I just kind of rushed in taking them.   I didn't use a flash, but it almost came to that!)

Brent's Favorite Sandwich:  Salmon, Guacamole, mixed greens on french bread panini

Mash two avocados and mix with guac seasoning packet. 

Pat salmon dry, and sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt.  I use pam to coat my skillet, but you could use a little olive oil too.  Cook til done, turning once.

Slice up some bread.  You could pretty much use any kind.  We had this leftover from the weekend when I forgot to serve it at a meal!

Assemble sandwich spreading guac on both sides of bread, a piece of salmon, and the mixed greens.  You could add lots of other things:tomatoes, sauteed peppers, CHEESE, but I didn't.



Smash the two sides together, and put into panini press for 3-4 minutes, just until everything is all heated through!

Trust me, it tastes WAY better than these pictures look!

too much tv

K developed a pretty bad cold in the last day or so, and was up a lot last night.

and today when she was napping, I dozed off too.  I must have been partially conscious and listening to the soap opera that was on tv because when I woke up I was SURE there was someone inside my house.  Weird. 

And at a surprise baby shower over the weekend, we played a game where you had a certain amount of time to match the baby names with their celebrity mothers.

I knew EVERY SINGLE ONE.   We don't even have cable... I'm not sure how I knew them.  Anyway, the baby shower was lots of fun, and the mama to be Casie was surprised!

We played games, chatted, and had delicious cupcakes!

The rest of today, and probably tomorrow will be spent cudding my litle girl... and watching tv.  Castle is on tonight : )

what being drunk can do to you

We've lived in our house for almost a year now, and once in awhile a bird will fly into a window.  No big deal.  But on Sunday, my sister and I were in my living room editing pictures.  We heard a bird hit the window- hard.  I thought it was no big deal.

Until we heard another one hit, and another, an another!  My mom walked in with K and said, The birds are drunk from eating your berries.  She was very matter of fact about the statement.   In the past, she hasn't been so calm about the welfare of birds.  One time during a sudden spring snowstorm my mom exclaimed, "it's like Katrina (meaning the hurricane) for the birds!!!"

Anyway, I didn't know and birds had been  actually harmed until yesterday when I saw dead birds in the rocks in front of our window.  Here's a picture... see how many you can find!

4!  Hopefully Brent will pick them up soon.  Thankfully our specially bred professionally trained bird dog doesn't even notice them, much less try to pick them up!

Here are the berries...

pretty, but apparently intoxicating to birds!

busy

The last week or so has been quite busy.  K is on the move too, exploring, cralwing, pulling up on everything... and knockin' her head on things.  It's exciting, but it makes me a little nervous.

I've taken A LOT of pictures lately.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Whew!  Lots of fun moments with fun people.

Today: redoing a bread box and key holder.  Wish me luck!

how it's gonna be, bella

Two things to note:
Yes, two blog posts in one day.
Yes, she is wearing a baby's first Halloween onesie... gotta use onesies while they fit!

The following needs no explanation.

the way I see things...

So, I've been pretty sick the last several days.  I went from the worst cold in my life directly into a horrible flu/possible food poisoning thing.  I'm still feelin' pretty rough.  Funny that I've barely gotten really sick in the last few years and the one year I'm not teaching and surrounded by lovely germy kids I get so sick.  But laying there in coma like states, I've just thought about things a little more than I usually do.

I'm so thankful for my continually developing love for photography.  I see things so much differently.  Fall colors look brighter, golden light has become and addiction, and even two year old who do NOT want to sit and smile with her family are adorable.  Life in general is just... brighter.

I am also so thankful for my family and friends who have encouraged me and helped me with all of this "photography stuff".

  Thanks : )

my friend Jen

On the day I had Kira, my friends Jen and Sadie came to visit us at the hospital.  I didn't know it at the time, but Jen had just found out she was pregnant.   She got a little emotional visiting us, and later, when she told us she was pregnant, I understood why.  Babies are amazing things.  It was fun to see Jen's belly grow..

And we showered them with gift, love, and advice.  Jen seemed to have the easiest pregnancy ever.  No sickness, she still looked adorable, and she never looked exhausted!   I was kind of nervous the actual birth process would be hard on her since she had such an easy pregnancy. 

Around 10 on Monday morning, Jen texted me that she was going to the hospital!  I was more excited to learn the baby's name than anything.  We knew it would be a girl, but that's all we got.

It drove me nuts.  I just wanted to know.

Regan was born right before midnight last night.  Yup, they were in the hospital that long before she was born.  Going to the hospital today I thought Jen would look ROUGH.  That's a long time to be in labor, and a c section?  I was a little worried for them.  The last two mamas I saw in the hospital that had had c sections were puking like there was no tomorrow!  Then I saw Jen.

Hours after she had had a c section, and after all she had been through.... it looked like she was about to start doing jumping jacks.  She looked rested, happy, and in no kind of discomfort.  She was up, walking around, happy to have her baby in her arms, and absolutely beaming.

We love you guys and I can't wait for our little girls to be friends!

sauce and seniors

Here's a quick apple cranberry sauce!
Quarter apples and throw them in a large stockpot with 1-2 cups apple cider and one small bag of cranberries.

Let it cook down til its all real mushy.  Transfer it a cup or two at a time to this thing over another pot and strain all of the sauce through.

After all of the sauce has been strained through, add 1 cup sugar and 2 tbs. cinnamon and slowly simmer until the sauce is the thickness you like!

Yum.

Last night I took a few more senior pictures for Avrie (see older post) with her horses.  After we did a few with Av and the horses, I took her boyfriend Jared's senior pictures!  It was a beautiful night and it was a lot of fun!

It's kind of funny how I absolutely LOVE certain pictures.  They aren't always pictures I think I'll love, and I don't know if anyone else loves them like I do because they're kind of "quirky," but here are a few from last night that just make me happy.