Her Home Away from Home

Pardon me while I sob a little....after typing that title. Oiy to the vay! Where is the summer going? And why does it feel the need to go by so quickly???

We've been getting our Rachel ready for her "Home Away from Home." Can you believe it? There is so much to do. Thankfully, she was blessed with a lot of gift cards for graduation. They have really come in handy. I had forgotten how many things a girl needs when she is going off to college. I think adding her mother would be the perfect accessory, don't you? Okay, okay, not really...but a mother can dream.

This is our first stop down the dorm/home away from home check list:

It's all about the bedding...a girl has to have a cute room. I was worried that if we waited any longer, Rachel wouldn't have as many choices. I saw this comforter set online and instantly thought of Rachel  who loved it too...and our local Bed, Bath, and Beyond (what is beyond anyway???) store had it. Delight!

She texted her roommate after her purchase to find that her roommate had bought a similar black and white comforter set too. Yippee!

So I need to know:  What was the one thing you couldn't live without in your dorm?  I don't want to foget a single thing....but I think I can definitely leave off the mega-popcorn air popper like I had back in the dark ages when I was at Baylor...apparently they now come in simple-easy-to-use-don't-have-to-burn-yourself-with-hot-popcorn-oil-and-metal-parts-microwave bags~how boring!

My Nikon Lens on my Iphone~What?!

Buy the The iPhone SLR Mount at the Photojojo Store!

Apparently, I can now do my photo shoots with my IPhone?  What?!  Seriously, I giggled out loud when I saw this.  What's coming next....an IPhone tripod?  Don't get me wrong, I really like my IPhone...a lot!  But, I can't shoot pictures with my iPhone like I shoot with my BGC (Big Girl Camera).  I like my IPhone for quick mobile uploads, but that's about it. 

What do you think?  Are DSLR camera's (Big Girl Cameras) about to become extinct?  Would you carry around your IPhone and a honkin' lens.  I can just see myself next to the other photojournalists taking high school football pictures on the sidelines....carrying my IPhone and a monster lens.  Ha!!!!

Fun at the Laundry Mat

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge is "Props".  I instantly thought of Sarah's recent Senior Photo Shoot.  We did part of her fun photo shoot at the local laundry mat...really we did and it was a blast!  Here she is sitting in one of the laundry baskets~love it!  Props don't have to be expensive, just use what you find and be creative!

A Quick And Refreshing Dessert

It is H-O-T in our part of Texas! Hottest summer on record. You can fry an egg on the concrete in less than 15 seconds, not that I've ever tried that before or anything...well, okay, that was my 8th grade Science Fair project many years ago. What a mess!

Anyway, if you are looking for a fun and easy summer dessert, try this one. Except don't ask your daughters to do it because you might just receive a phone call while you are with your husband at a company party from a frantic daughter telling you, "Momma! There is black smoke coming out of the oven and we had to open the doors because it smells like smoke. What do we do?"

Yes, really this happened. I've been a momma now for 18 years, so I calmly listened to my frantic child...and then I laughed out loud. Yes, yes I did! I think I asked her if they were okay and did they turn the oven off? Which ticked her off! She replied, "Yes! We turned the oven off, but now the dessert is ruined and your oven is a mess. And Rachel won't stop laughing!"

Apparently, they had used both rolls of sugar cookie dough (older sister thought she knew best) for the crust instead of one and Mt. Vesuvius exploded in my oven. Happy, happy, joy, joy, joy! I don't like to clean my oven. Who likes to clean their oven and when can you come over?!

After I quit giggling, I calmly replied that everything would be fine, just turn off the oven, take out the pan, and we would be home later. Hannah's sweet voice replied, "But, what about the dessert?" Ha!

Needless to say, my man and I stopped at the HEB on the way home to pick up some more cookie dough. When we got home, the house did smell like a burning inferno of burnt cookie dough~delightful smell! Oiy!

But, we managed to clean it up (Hannah had most of it already cleaned up before we got home-love her!) and start again. Wouldn't you like the easy recipe? Ha!

All you need is ONE roll of sugar cookie dough (you could make it yourself, you know, if you are Martha Stewart or something).
One block of cream cheese at room temp.
1/2 C sugar
Fruit (we used fresh strawberries sliced and sprinkled with a little Splenda and blueberries)

Carefully roll out your cookie dough into a pizza circle and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. After the cookie cools, mix together your cream cheese with sugar and add a dash of vanilla (or almond extract-I was out of vanilla), and cream. Layer the frosting on top of the cookie and then arrange your fruit. Chill it and serve! Delicious!

We Have a New Addition:

With beautiful brown eyes and blond-ish hair...and huge horns!  Please, welcome "Audie" the Aoudad to our family:

 Last week, my man proudly came through the door after a long day of work.  He was smiling from ear to ear and carrying something.  The "something" was his much anticipated Aoudad that he hunted back in the fall.  He has been counting the days until his treasure was ready.  It didn't take five minutes for him to find the perfect spot in our "Texas" family room. 

No, I'm not a hunter/huntress unless you count shopping as a sport, but I love my man, and Audie is pretty cool!

Rachel was taking a little nap when her daddy came home so she missed all of the festivities of hanging Audie on the wall.  When she woke up from her nap, she walked to the family room, sat on the couch, turned on the TV, noticed something different on the wall and started screaming, "Hannah!  Get in here!" 

Hannah giggled, apparently, Rachel had met Audie.  Surprise!

Looking Over my Back Fence

Mr. Incredible saw this.  He had just come in from his School Board Meeting and he told me to grab my camera.  I grabbed my camera, praying it wasn't a nasty rattlesnake he wanted me to see.  Much to my delight, it was this little gal:

She was calling to her man...but her man wasn't listening. Hmmm??? Sound familiar? Ha! So, in true female style, she got a little closer and called to him again:

But, he must have been watching the big game or something, because he didn't respond. I betcha he had to sleep on a different tree branch last night. Ha!

Pink Pentas

My sweet hubby surprised me with a Lensbaby Composer a few months ago. It was a wonderfully thoughtful gift...but the Lensbaby and I are having a hard time getting to know one another. Do you have a lensbaby for your camera?  A Lensbaby is a manual lens that helps you find, "Creative freedom designed to bend the rules back in your creative favor to help you reframe possibilities and confound expectation."  Sounds easy enough.  But, it's really not easy at all, it is challenging at best.  So, with this week's texture challenge I thought I would try using my Lensbaby one more time...and this time I am quite somewhat pleased with the results.

For all you Photoshoppers, here is the recipe for my photo:
I have some beautiful pink Pentas just waiting to be planted in my garden, but first I snapped a few pictures using my Lensbaby Composer.  Next, I used KK's Canvas Back texture in soft light mode, duplicated the texture layer again but this time used Multiply mode and left it at 100% opacity (Just ignore my instructions if this is all Greek to you).  I then added a postcard background, and used KK's new texture Aurora over the top of my image (I liked the textured writings on the sides).  Thank you for the free textures, Kim. You are so talented.


And lastly, I added Isaiah 40:8 in a new text layer. Because it's H-O-T in our part of Texas, these beautiful flowers will wither and fade no matter how much I water them or even if they manage to get fertilized.  I am so thankful that the Word of God never withers or fades, rather it endures forever! 

(I'm linking this post with Texture Tuesdays my 4boybarians, and Word-filled Wednesdays).

July Makes Me Think of....

Christmas!  I know! I know!  But, just visit your local Hobby Lobby (cue the hallelujah music) and you will see Christmas decorations everywhere.  It makes my heart pitter-patter a bit.  Last summer, I launched my photography business...and while I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to dedicate a lot of time and effort into that launch, it left me without one single Christmas present purchased in July. 

I'll let you in on a little secret that you might not know about me:  I like to finish my Christmas shopping by the start of school every year....except for last year.  With all of the wonderful last minute family photo shoots for clients, custom designed Christmas cards, and print orders, I was swamped and purchased my last Christmas present for my family the week of Christmas.  I know, like most normal people do....or like my hubby does!  But, it stressed me out!

So, chalking it up to memory, I've got some Christmas shopping and crafting to do.  Anyone else with me?  Did you stop reading my blog on the first sighting of the word "Christmas" in my first sentence?  Hello???? Anyone still reading this?

So, visions of sugar plums are dancing in my head especially after my dad brought home the Christmas Snow-Girl blanket I made my for Grandmother so many years ago.  Back before I was teaching school, I had lots of time to craft and bake....and you know, cook dinner!  Ha!  I'm going to try to make a few weeks worth of meals before the crazy routine of school begins again in August. That is on my To-Do list too.

Anyway, back to Christmas. Does July make you want to get started too?  Any fabulous ideas you want to share with me?  I better run, my Gooseberry Patch Christmas books are calling....I better get them dusted off and get crackin!

My Dog Has a Mohawk!

Seriously, my beautiful Bichon Frise has....a Mohawk! Before we left town for the wedding and youth camp, I had a bazillion errands to run.  While, I was out running my errands, Mr. Incredible and his two sidekicks were busy giving the dogs a little haircut.  Uh-huh.

You can image my surprise when I walked in the door and saw Tinkerbell's haircut:

(Please, excuse the quality of the picture~I was so stunned, I grabbed my IPhone instead of my camera and snapped this)

Can you see the Mohawk (I don't even know if I'm spelling the word Mohawk correctly or not....I just googled it, apparently it's correct).  Oiy!

The good news is:  Tinkerbell looks wicked cool, she is much cooler, and now bangs her head back and forth when we play our music...like a real rocker.  Ha! 

So, that's what my family does when I am out running errands! 

And that's my random Friday photo.  Do you have one you would like to share?

Grandmother's Fostoria

I can't believe that next month we would have celebrated my Grandmother's 96th birthday.  If I remember correctly, she never expected to make it to her 95th birthday, but when she did, she smiled and told my dad she thought she could make it to 100. 

I am thankful that her Heavenly Father knew the quality of life she was recently experiencing and had mercy on her...and took her home...home where so many people were waiting for her...especially her blessed Savior. 

A few years ago, she made the move from her hometown of Wichita, Kansas (where I was born and raised until the middle of my 7th grade year) to Tulsa, Oklahoma to live in an assisted living retirement community.  Can you imagine moving in your 90's?  Me neither.  Grandmother was brave and made the move "beautifully" as she would later say.

While helping her get packed for the big move, she asked me to take six of her beautiful Fostoria glasses home to Texas with me.  I couldn't possibly imagine why until she explained that she really wanted me to have her Fostoria collection one day, but for now she wanted me to have the six glasses. 

I enjoyed those six glasses for three years...and last week, I was blessed with the rest of her collection.

It is all placed carefully on my dining room table where I can see it daily.  I'll make room in my china cabinet soon.  I'm thankful to have my Grandmother's Fostoria...and that she wanted me to have it too.

Oh, and the stocking?  She made that for me many, many years ago when I was just a child.  She made one for all of her grandchildren.  When my dad was in Tulsa going through her things, he asked me for a wish list.  I asked him for a piece of her sheet music (Grandmother loved to sing and play the piano and the organ), one of her thimbles (she was a beautiful seamstress and quilter), the green ring she let me play with as a child (someone else already has it), and my childhood stocking she made for me.  Dad was able to bring home a piece of her sheet music, one of her thimbles, the Fostoria, a snow girl blanket I had made for her years ago, a hat box I made for her many years ago, things my girls had made for their great-grandmother, and my stocking.  What treasures to have!  Thank you Dad!

Hello New Coffee Lover!

Ya'll know that I adore strong Starbucks coffee...right?  Love it!  The stronger the better.  In the hot, Texas summers like we are experiencing now...I think we have broken the record for the longest number of 100 degree + days....I don't like to drink hot coffee in the morning.

So, I normally just skip it. It's too hot, ya'll.  When I am out running errands, like to the grocery store (I think I just heard Mr. Incredible chuckle-shame on him!) I normally stop and treat myself to a little frappucino from Starbucks...delicious and refreshing! Yes, me and Starbucks had quite a thing going for a while....

 that is until I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog.  Goodbye Starbucks!!!  Hello new fave!

 Oh my goodness!!!! It's one of my most favorite things about going to bed at night now....'cause I know I have a cup of PW's Iced Coffee waiting for me in the morning.

And girl!  This stuff will kick start your morning. 

Before you know it, you will have done 5 loads of laundry, washed the dog, vacuumed the car, replied to emails, edited 100's of photos and so much more....and all of that before lunch time. It is g-o-o-d stuff I tell you!!!!  (above cowgirl image courtesy of PW's blog~although she doesn't know me and has no clue about my little corner of the world). 

What are you waiting for???  Go! Grab the recipe!  Cold brew it tonight and be ready for an amazing coffee experience in the morning.  You can thank me later....really you should thank PW....thank you Pioneer Woman!!!!!

P.S. Don't throw away those used coffee grinds (dregs?).  You can put them in your garden and even make a facial with them.  Who knew?! 

Been at the Fuge

After enjoying all the wedding festivities of the weekend, it was time to make the five hour drive home, unpack, do some laundry, re-pack (is that a word?), and make our way to the church by 7:00 AM....less than twelve hours after getting home.  Whew!

We drove straight to beautiful Glorietta, New Mexico (took us ten hours to drive there).  Where cooler temperatures, gorgeous mountain ranges, green grass, and a week emerged in God's Word and tons of fun awaited. 

Naturally, I took my camera along for the journey.  On the third day of camp, we had an extra long free time; our group drove into Santa Fe for some putt-putt and authentic Mexican food:

We normally go to Student Life Camps, so this was our first experience with Centrifuge...or Fuge as they now call it.  If you've been, you have taken part in the Mega Relay.  Crazy fun!

And there are afternoon fun tracks that the youth sign up to do.  Hannah liked basketball, hiking, and stackers:

Rachel and her boyfriend Caleb enjoyed hiking and learning how to paddle boat.  The best part was learning to canoe!  Rachel has always adored anything Pocahontas.  You can see Poco and John Smith getting the hang of canoing.  They paddled over to me singing, "Just Around the River Bend."

Hannah found four other girls who were willing to play in the Basketball 3 on 3 tourney.  They were the only all girl team.  They won the first round!!!  But, got beat in the second round.  They were fun to watch.  The guys didn't know what to do.  Hannah said, one of the guys bumped into her just a little bit and quickly apologized.  I think she laughed and said, "Don't be sorry!" as she dribbled the ball around him and scored.  Ha!  She doesn't look very happy in this picture, but I wanted to post it to remember the day anyway.  She was tired from playing two very high energy games, and she doesn't like to lose.  Wonder where she gets that?  Ha!

Our youth made several decisions for the Lord this week; I was thankful to get to be there with all of them and to see all that God had in store for them.

Happy 4th of July!

What blessings are ours to call the United States of America home!

May GOD BLESS AMERICA WITH...

PEACE for all who are troubled;


GRACE for all who are needy;


COURAGE for all who fear;


STRENGTH for all who are weary;


FAITH for all who are seeking;


HOPE for all who are uncertain;


PROTECTION for all who serve;


WISDOM for all who lead.

---Roy Lessin


May you have a blessed 4th of July.

A Random Friday Photo

We had to make a quick trip to Wichita, Kansas this week for my Grandmother's funeral but while we were trying to make our way back to the hotel we passed this little shop.

Something about the banner tickled my funny bone.  How about yours?  Could they have chosen a better name for their business or what?!  Ha!!!!!

And, no!  We did not stop and go in!  But, thank you for asking.  Ya'll have a great weekend.  It's Friday. Woo hoo!!!!

P.S.  I'm thinking about starting a random Friday Photo weekly meme.  Anyone game???