Saturday, March 19, 2011
St. Patrick's With The Commons
St. Patrick's Day is a special time in our house. The husband and I are both Irish and we love all things Ireland! St. Patrick's brings out our favorite foods and, more times than not, an all day QVC marathon for me! Here's our St. Patrick's Day in a few photos.
The state of my kitchen.
Blueberry Scones for breakfast.
Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage
Irish Potato and Soda Bread
Dinner is served.
My shortbread pan.
This is the best the designs have ever turned out!
And there were but crumbs left.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Zoo!!!
If anyone has ever met me they know I love animals! I've been asked to share some photos of our little zoo. So here we go!
In the order of their appearance into our lives:
1. Harlequin Catherine, aka Harley Cat, aka Harley, aka Quinny, aka Fuzzy Britches, aka Big Kitty, aka - well you get it. Harley came into our life on May 9, 1999, my birthday. I asked Mike for a floppy eared bunny and what I got was an 8 week old ball of fire! She never sat still, she jumped on everything, and often knocked breakables to the floor! She clearly rules the roost and won't let any of us forget it!
2. Commons' Lil Recon Scout, aka Scout, aka Roo, aka Little Man - Scout joined us just a few short months after Harley in August 2009. Mike's grandma had bought him for her son and it was quickly evident that they were not going to be able to keep him. Scout the Basset Hound was the cutest puppy I have ever seen in my life! Unfortunately, all of these photos are of older Scout, but he is still cute!
2. Sasha Belle, aka Sashy, aka Squashy, aka Bug - Sasha showed up on our front porch in November 2001. She was so cute and came running right up to me when I called, "Come here Kitty, Kitty!" We thought she was preggars, but turns out she just has a Buddha Belly!
4. Sydney Sue, aka Syd Vicious, aka Sydie Roo - Sydney's momma had a litter kittens under our house and I found homes for all of them, but Syd's new home backed out. So, in June 2003 Sydney became our newest member. Now, there are 2 things you need to know about Sydney - 1. We kept her on the front porch in a cage until I could get her to the vet. She escaped one day and I was devastated. No need to worry, I easily caught her again when she went back in the cage to use the litter box! Silly cat! and 2. She named herself. True story. I was trying to think of different names and calling them out. When I said, "Hey Sydney," she came running right to me!
5. Augustus Storm Trooper, aka Storm, aka Stormy, aka Buckethead! - Mike's rottweiler, Rowdy, died in 2001 and we searched high and low for a new rotty. We just couldn't find the right one. I was at my parents' house and Mike called to tell me he had found him. Mike was on a call and there was a 7 month old Rotty tied to a boat trailer. The puppy was going to be taken away and Mike was able to take him. I thought I was coming home to a puppy - well I did, but he was 95 lbs skin and bone!!! He's a beast, but a total sweetheart!
6. Boglin, aka Boggy, aka Bog Monster, aka Boggy Tater, aka Bagheera - Mike's mom asked me to come get a litter of kittens from her house and take them to the pound. When I got there I found 4 kittens that fit in the palm of my hand. Their eyes were not even open yet. I tried to take them to the pound, but because they were so young and the pound was already fostering a litter they were going to be put to sleep. Well, you know I wasn't going to let that happen. So, with the help of my vet I set out to hand raise four kittens. And I did just that! Every 3 hours I was up feeding those kittens with an eye dropper and wiping their little bottoms so they could go potty. All of my kittens made it and we found homes for all of them but Boglin. Love her, she's so cute!
7. Romulus, aka Rommy, aka Ramen Noodle - Belgian Malinois - I lost my dear sweet Renegade in January of 2007. It was so hard for me. Six months later, I came home one day to find a young black dog running around our yard. It was clear he had been hanging out there awhile because our dogs paid him no attention. He was really sweet and immediately started loving on me, but boy was he covered in fleas! I waited a week to see if he was still hanging around and when he was I took him to the vet and kept him! He reminds me so much of Renegade and either Renny sent him to me or he is Renegade reincarnated!
8. Sargent Major, aka Sarge, aka Noodle Noggin, aka Monkey, aka Tater Head - Miniature Schnauzer - In the fall of 2008 my family was looking to get my grandfather a puppy for Christmas. I ended up finding miniature Schnauzers close to me. When I went to look at them there were 3 pups, though I don't think the 3rd was from the same litter. I decided immediately that I was getting one for Paw and one for Mike! Sarge has been a total joy, become Mike's best friend, and the best traveling partner!
9. The Outside Cats - 2009 - We had a male and female cat outside, that I of course began feeding, that led to 3 kittens. One of the kittens didn't make it, but we still have momma cat, Cobb, poppa cat, Brimstone, female kitten, Tink (the grey tabby pictured), and one male kitten, Blue (the Orange pictured)
*A note about the collages - I just downloaded this program with the collages, and I have to say, eh. Adding my photos to the collages decreased the quality of my photos. I decided to move forward with them to get more shots of the pets in, but I don't know if I will use them in the future.
In the order of their appearance into our lives:
1. Harlequin Catherine, aka Harley Cat, aka Harley, aka Quinny, aka Fuzzy Britches, aka Big Kitty, aka - well you get it. Harley came into our life on May 9, 1999, my birthday. I asked Mike for a floppy eared bunny and what I got was an 8 week old ball of fire! She never sat still, she jumped on everything, and often knocked breakables to the floor! She clearly rules the roost and won't let any of us forget it!
2. Commons' Lil Recon Scout, aka Scout, aka Roo, aka Little Man - Scout joined us just a few short months after Harley in August 2009. Mike's grandma had bought him for her son and it was quickly evident that they were not going to be able to keep him. Scout the Basset Hound was the cutest puppy I have ever seen in my life! Unfortunately, all of these photos are of older Scout, but he is still cute!
2. Sasha Belle, aka Sashy, aka Squashy, aka Bug - Sasha showed up on our front porch in November 2001. She was so cute and came running right up to me when I called, "Come here Kitty, Kitty!" We thought she was preggars, but turns out she just has a Buddha Belly!
4. Sydney Sue, aka Syd Vicious, aka Sydie Roo - Sydney's momma had a litter kittens under our house and I found homes for all of them, but Syd's new home backed out. So, in June 2003 Sydney became our newest member. Now, there are 2 things you need to know about Sydney - 1. We kept her on the front porch in a cage until I could get her to the vet. She escaped one day and I was devastated. No need to worry, I easily caught her again when she went back in the cage to use the litter box! Silly cat! and 2. She named herself. True story. I was trying to think of different names and calling them out. When I said, "Hey Sydney," she came running right to me!
5. Augustus Storm Trooper, aka Storm, aka Stormy, aka Buckethead! - Mike's rottweiler, Rowdy, died in 2001 and we searched high and low for a new rotty. We just couldn't find the right one. I was at my parents' house and Mike called to tell me he had found him. Mike was on a call and there was a 7 month old Rotty tied to a boat trailer. The puppy was going to be taken away and Mike was able to take him. I thought I was coming home to a puppy - well I did, but he was 95 lbs skin and bone!!! He's a beast, but a total sweetheart!
6. Boglin, aka Boggy, aka Bog Monster, aka Boggy Tater, aka Bagheera - Mike's mom asked me to come get a litter of kittens from her house and take them to the pound. When I got there I found 4 kittens that fit in the palm of my hand. Their eyes were not even open yet. I tried to take them to the pound, but because they were so young and the pound was already fostering a litter they were going to be put to sleep. Well, you know I wasn't going to let that happen. So, with the help of my vet I set out to hand raise four kittens. And I did just that! Every 3 hours I was up feeding those kittens with an eye dropper and wiping their little bottoms so they could go potty. All of my kittens made it and we found homes for all of them but Boglin. Love her, she's so cute!
7. Romulus, aka Rommy, aka Ramen Noodle - Belgian Malinois - I lost my dear sweet Renegade in January of 2007. It was so hard for me. Six months later, I came home one day to find a young black dog running around our yard. It was clear he had been hanging out there awhile because our dogs paid him no attention. He was really sweet and immediately started loving on me, but boy was he covered in fleas! I waited a week to see if he was still hanging around and when he was I took him to the vet and kept him! He reminds me so much of Renegade and either Renny sent him to me or he is Renegade reincarnated!
8. Sargent Major, aka Sarge, aka Noodle Noggin, aka Monkey, aka Tater Head - Miniature Schnauzer - In the fall of 2008 my family was looking to get my grandfather a puppy for Christmas. I ended up finding miniature Schnauzers close to me. When I went to look at them there were 3 pups, though I don't think the 3rd was from the same litter. I decided immediately that I was getting one for Paw and one for Mike! Sarge has been a total joy, become Mike's best friend, and the best traveling partner!
9. The Outside Cats - 2009 - We had a male and female cat outside, that I of course began feeding, that led to 3 kittens. One of the kittens didn't make it, but we still have momma cat, Cobb, poppa cat, Brimstone, female kitten, Tink (the grey tabby pictured), and one male kitten, Blue (the Orange pictured)
*A note about the collages - I just downloaded this program with the collages, and I have to say, eh. Adding my photos to the collages decreased the quality of my photos. I decided to move forward with them to get more shots of the pets in, but I don't know if I will use them in the future.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Flat Stanley's Adventure Through Tennessee
My friend was sent a Flat Stanley from her friend's daughter in Michigan. If you don't know the Flat Stanley story you can check it out here. When we first started thinking about where we would take Stanley we had good ideas, but nothing was great. Then we made the mistake of looking at The Flat Stanley Gallery, and that was kind of intimidating. Did you know he has been to space and on TV shows? Crazy. Well, as we started playing around our corner of Tennessee we got some great pictures of Stanley. Here's a snapshot of Stanley's adventures.
First, Stanley thought it would be fun to hike the Appalachian Trail. So, we took him to the local outdoors store to get the right equipment.
First, Stanley thought it would be fun to hike the Appalachian Trail. So, we took him to the local outdoors store to get the right equipment.
Stanley even made it all the way to Laurel Falls! Go Stanley! But had to side-step a black bear!! Run Stanley Run!!
After his hike, Stanley wanted to visit the oldest town in Tennessee - Jonesborough! He visited an old, log, cabin, the Chester Inn - home of the International Storytelling Festival, got in a bit of trouble for sticking himself to a monument and ended up in the stocks!
After finally being released from the stocks Stanley just wanted to take in a beautiful view of the mountains.
We took Stanley to visit my alma mater - East Tennessee State University - which is celebrating its 100 year anniversary.
I think that Stanley had the most fun when we took him to Bristol Motor Speedway. He got to ride in the official pace car for the March 2011 Food City 500, and he even made it down on to the track!
Flat Stanley had so much fun in Tennessee! But now he is tired and has decided to return home to Michigan!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Self-Portrait
My Self-Portrait via my Droid - Retro Camera App - Pinhole Camera . . .
Entered in the iheartfaces weekly photo challenge.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Abby's Basketball Game
I am truly blessed to have friends that allow me to share in their lives. Saturday, I attended Abby's 2nd basketball game of the season. I saw her first game and she did great, but she really stepped it up this week. She even got her first basket!! (I missed that one, I was too busy cheering her on and yelling, "Shoot! Shoot!") Here are a couple of pictures of Abby in action.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Mistakes that work
Normally, when I am out on a shoot I know when I have captured a good photo. I know when my lighting is right, I know when my subject is posed well, and I know if our setting is good. Knowing all that I continue to take tons of photos. Why? Because I am looking for that photo that just stands out. I am looking to capture the "real" moments, the "real" facial expressions. And them sometimes you get a gem . . .
I love what happened with this photo. This is not a special effect, it is exactly as it was taken. The only thing I know for sure - I was moving. But I have no idea how I moved or what I did to get "Matthew's 1st Christmas" to be in focus and the rest to be a swirl, but I love it!
I love what happened with this photo. This is not a special effect, it is exactly as it was taken. The only thing I know for sure - I was moving. But I have no idea how I moved or what I did to get "Matthew's 1st Christmas" to be in focus and the rest to be a swirl, but I love it!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Schoondyke Christmas 2010
This year for their Christmas Portraits the Schoondykes wanted to do something a little bit different - Fall Photos! I LOVE FALL! So, I was very happy to oblige! The tree colors were not full blown, but I think we got some great photos anyway! Here's their sneak peek!
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