Happy 2010!

Well, Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful and merry Christmas! I know we did, even down to the blizzard that shut down a major part of the Midwest. But then, I love snow and blizzards and white Christmases.

So we're finally dug out here and now I'll be able to post again. Actually, I lie. We've been dug out for a week now. And our internet was never down. I've just been plumb lazy over the Christmas break.

Of course, this being Baby G's first Christmas, we had so much fun! First gifts!

And we learned the futility of giving an almost-one-year-old more than one gift. Because once they're done opening that first gift, they want to play with the paper and the toy itself and they don't expect anything more. They really don't care to be interrupted to open yet another gift.

Case in point. G is perplexed and Hubby is gleeful.

Particularly because this is a man child's kind of toy. For he-man, tough little boys and their daddies.
Hubby and his gift- a nice multi tool. Oh, get this, between his parents and I we got him the multi tool, a set of bits and attachments for the multi tool, and a Mini Mag flashlight. All of which have their own little case that he can wear on his belt. And he does. He looks something like skinny Barney Fife and all the little cop cases he had on his belt. Hubby now carries the above on his belt, plus his ever-faithful-never-leave-his-side Vise Grip. Plus an extra pocketknife in his pocket. He gets teased about it, but he claims that he's been saved more than once from a field-to-shop run, simply to get a little thingeymabobber.

Our backyard toward the end of the blizzard.

Digging out on Sunday morning, the day after the blizzard ended.

Snowy, Main Street Christmas.

There were 4 huge piles of snow down through the length of Main Street, all the snow pushed together.

And, of course, I need to post something about my dear Baby G's birthday! Born a couple of days after Christmas '08, I have a feeling that Christmas seasons over the coming years will be lots and lots of fun! Obviously, I want to try and keep Christmas and birthday separate for G's sake, but he'll be lucky as there will be much more of a chance that we will be gathered with family over his birthday. Grandparents! Cousins! A bajillion aunts and uncles! Fun!

So here he is with his first birthday cupcake, doing it the way it's meant to be done.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Happy Birthday, Baby G! Happy, happy, happy! Happy 2010!

Looking back on 50/50/50- and ahead too!

Yep, now that I've finished {FINISHED!} the 50/50/50 challenge I'll definitely be delving into some more of these kinds of projects (photo credited to The Pioneer Woman). Mmmmm! Chocolate!

And, of course, I'll be hanging out with my favorite guys in the world. This is G's first Christmas (he was born 3 days after Christmas last year) and I'm so excited! Even though I know he's too young to get what's going on or even to remember it, it just puts all those Christmas traditions in a whole new light.

And, maybe I'll even be doing more of this too!

I can seriously not believe that Christmas is 9 days away! Wooohooo! I'm hoping to have the Hubby home for the entire weekend, for once. Happy, happy!

And the day after Christmas, I'm making a trip to the mall to go shopping for some much needed clothes. Personally, the after-Christmas sales are the absolute best- even better than Black Friday. But that's my secret. Forget I said that. I don't want the mall to be totally jam packed while I'm there. I want all the sales to myself, thank-you very much! Yeah right, very funny.

As far as future photography plans go, around Day 25 of the 50/50/50, I remember saying something to the Hubby about taking the 365 challenge (1 photo, every day, for a year). He wisely (and because he knows me too well) suggested I finish the 50/50/50 challenge before I decide on anything new. Well, I've finished now and I'm pretty certain I won't be doing the 365. Maybe someday, but not in the year 2010.

But I am considering the 52 photowalk/drive challenge. 1 photowalk (or perhaps, photodrive, in my case), every week, for a year. I think that sounds a little more doable. Plus, what a great way to get exercise!

You may ask, "What's up with the sudden obsession with photography challenges? Why not just shoot?" Well, I like challenges because they force me to get out there and shoot, even when I don't feel like it. I learn new things, see things from a different angle and, overall, just helps my photography skills. Yeah, I know, I've got skills- you know like, nunchuk skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Sorry, couldn't resist the Napoleon Dynamite skills quote.

But, back to the point, photo challenges are just plain good for me and my camera. Eventually, when (if) I ever have my own photography business and have the regular challenge of shooting for other people, I don't think I'll need to set them for myself anymore. If that makes any sense.

I'll let you know. I'll be back here blogging in a little while, but for now, I'm going to take a few days off. A few days without touching my camera (maybe) and without trying to think up new blog posts. Maybe I'll be back before Christmas, maybe after, depending on if I manage to stay away from camera or not.

So, if I don't see you before then, have a very blessed and merry Christmas!

Day 46 (t-minus 4 days!)

Hubby told me last night that if I keep it up, I'll run out Christmas-themed things to shoot before Christmas gets here. I told him that I only have 5 (now 4) shots to take yet before I'm done with my challenge and, with the weather being so frightful and cold and wonderful, I haven't been getting out of the house much. So I have to be creative with what I have. Not that I mind the cold so much. I just mind getting G all bundled up and making sure he stays warm. Much easier just to stay inside and let him play his little heart out.

Day 45 (t-minus 5 days)

I think I could do a whole weeks worth of shots with just Christmas lights! They're so much fun and have so many possibilities! And look at the amazing bokeh they create in the background! Yep, fun, fun.

Today's shot is also the introduction of my new black backdrop,aka the black king size duvet set I scored on Amazon's Cyber Monday sale for $30, so yay me and yay that I finally have something I can use as a backdrop! Overall I'm pretty tickled with it. It does have one problem- it's extremely static-prone! Not sure what I'm gonna do about that- I don't really picture myself peeling kids off of it during a portrait shoot. Don't think their parents would be too impressed.

Anyone have any suggestions? Do I spray it with a little water or something?

Day 43

I know- how cliche is this shot. Oh well, I love it. I love just because I'm childish and I love presents. Especially presents wrapped in pretty paper. Please ignore my Christmas wrapping paper that doesn't look like Christmas. It was Hallmark paper that I picked up for cheap at a discount store. And I love Hallmark wrapping paper for one reason- the graph/lines on the back of it. Yup, I'm so anal I can't stand paper that's been cut crooked or looks like it's been choppity-chopped. Those Hallmark lines fill my need for straight, orderly wrapping paper cuts.

But back to the whole wrapped presents thing. You will find that I very rarely throw a gift in a bag with some tissue paper. The only way that ever happens is if I am in an extreme hurry. I love the process of wrapping presents and the way they look afterwards. If I don't wrap gifts, I present them with some other creative adornments. Baskets, ribbons, pretty jars. When getting wedding gifts ready, I've been known to go out and buy ribbon that coordinates with the couple's wedding colors/theme. Never mind that idea hasn't followed me home and led me to buy coordinating Christmas wrapping paper. Yet. Maybe next year, After I've used up all the random stuff.

And the gifts in the picture? Yeah, I'm not finished with them yet. I need to tie some raffia around them and add some tags. The only reason I shot them before I was completely finished was because the light was fading very quickly. And I'd rather have decent looking presents and good light than totally awesome presents and no or artificial light.

Yes, giving and receiving gifts is one of my love languages and giving a gift that looks cool is more gratifying than receiving a gift. For me, to give is definitely more blessed than it is to receive. And I guess that's what Christmas is all about!

Day 34

Yes, here is our turkey! It turned out wonderfully, if I do say so my self. Told you this was the only way I've ever really enjoyed eating turkey!

Seriously, *pats self on back* I out did myself today. This morning I woke up and baked a pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and crescent rolls. I made the pie crusts on Monday, so they were waiting and ready in the fridge. But all my baked items turned out great! I was so happy- nothing flopped! The pumpkin and pecan pie recipes are definitely keepers- easy and yummy.

Then I put the turkey in to roast. Within an hour of it being in the oven, delicious, herby smells were taking over the house and I was so hungry. And that was a good 5 hours before we actually ate!

And did I mention I outdid myself? Yeah, besides the turkey, pies, and crescent rolls, I cooked and mashed potatoes, cooked sweet potatoes and green beans, made gravy from the the turkey juices, and made stuffing. All from scratch. Yeah. I did good today. Trust me, this is not a normal cooking/baking day for me. But that's fine. I'm happy that for once, everything turned out splendidly tasty and nothing really flopped. Yay, yay, yaaaaaaay!

And this is what that proud beautiful turkey was reduced to it. Carnage. A mere carcass. And lots of leftovers. Yippee!

Oh yeah, I was going to share that turkey rub recipe, wasn't I? Well here it is:

Cajun Turkey Rub

1/2 tsp. salt per pound

2 tbsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. sage

2 tsp. curry powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. dried parsley

2 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. allspice

3-4 crumbled bay leaves

Combine spices. Rub bird well with oil. Make pockets in bird with a sharp knife and fill with ingredients. Cover whole bird with mix. Refrigerate 24 hours before roasting. Roast according to time and temperature directions on packaging. Or else google how long and hot hot you should roast a turkey that weighs that much. Oh, and roast it breast side down. This is a trick I learned from my Grandma and it really does work to keep the breast nice and moist.

See? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. And did I mention how yummy?

Day 33

Yep, these are the stars of the show tonight. These are the various spices used in my favorite turkey rub recipe.

I thought I would try something a little different for today and tomorrow. Yes, we already had one turkey dinner that I had nothing to do with said production. But since I love (love) Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm making our own Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow evening. We may have some other friends over, we may not. Regardless, we'll have some glorious leftovers. I purchased a 15.36 lb. turkey today and it is now resting in the fridge, having been massaged with Cajun Turkey Rub. So these are the spices, plus salt and pepper, that are used in the rub. Tomorrow I'll do a picture of the roasted turkey. We'll see how it turns out- this is the very first turkey I've ever roasted all by myself.

But back to the point- the recipe. You see, I have to confess, I am not a fan of turkey. Never have been. At least, not unless it's been roasted with this rub. A turkey done following this recipe is the only turkey I have ever liked. Period. I know, how very unAmerican of me to admit to disliking turkey. Side note: The turkey, had Ben Franklin had his way, would have become our national bird. Not sure why it lost out to the bald eagle, but it did. Can you imagine how different our Thanksgiving dinners would be today if it had been the other way around? We probably wouldn't be eating turkey, that's for sure. Who knows- we may have been eating bald eagle.

So yeah, this is pretty much the best turkey ever. I'll post the recipe and some tips handed down to me by my Grandma tomorrow when I post the photo of the end result.

Anyone else out there who is not particularly fond of turkey? Is there any way of preparing it that makes it palatable to you? If there isn't, definitely bookmark this recipe for next year!

Day 32

Mmmmm! Stuffing, my absolute favorite part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, particularly when doused in gravy and sided by mashed potatoes. Yummmmy! I didn't get enough of it yesterday, so I am going to have to make my own one of these days. Preferably at the same time I roast my discount turkey that I hope to get today. And then we shall have that most wonderful blessing- Thanksgiving leftovers!

Hubby, Baby G, and I had a splendid Thanksgiving celebration at the home of friends about an hour and a half's drive from our house. Lots of laughter, sarcasm, good food, and fun games. Such a good reminder that we have so much to be grateful for! Thank-you Father!

So, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to you my loyal readers! Hope it was a wonderful day for you as well!

Day 23

Ok, I kinda promised myself that I wouldn't post any Christmasey pictures until after Thanksgiving, but, yeah... I rounded a corner at the store last evening and this is what I saw. And I couldn't help myself. The colors. The pictures. The boxes. Yeah, kinda like I have a thing for olive oil and glass jars (glass of any kind, actually), I have this thing for pretty boxes. I love these boxes! And even though I love wrapping gifts and opening wrapped gifts, packaging a gift in one of these boxes would also be super fun! I'm actually thinking about buying a few, just for decorational purposes. I don't have very many Christmas decorations (mostly because I don't allow myself to spend the money on nice ones) and these are cheap and could be used any way, anywhere, so they just might fit the bill. Plus, they're pretty, colorful, Christmas boxes- what's not to like?