Give Me Your Best Shot, New Year!

Happy New Year!

I've been sitting here pondering deep thoughts to share with you for the new year, but I'm afraid today is not a day for deep thoughts from me. Maybe Monday. ;)

I do, however, have a favorite photo for you. This picture was taken on Christmas day, on the beach in Florida. Necco was looking out at the ocean, and I glanced over at her and noticed that the other kids were reflected in her new sunglasses. I had to capture the scene.

What have you been photographing this week? Did you catch any good Christmas photos? Have you tried anything new? Read to find out more about Give Me Your Best Shot....And come back to leave the link to your best shot below (please link to your actual Give Me Your Best Shot post). And grab my button on my sidebar menu or link to me so that we can get more people to stop by!

PS--if anyone can solve the mystery of why the GMYBS button can't be posted within a post without messing up the code, I'd be forever grateful!

Home Again, Home Again!

We made it back home from Florida safely, and now I am faced with not only the horrible task of unpacking, but also the overwhelming task of packing away all of the Christmas decorations. My house is a mess. In fact, it doesn't look too different than my in-laws' house looked on Christmas morning, which (since you asked) was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation, and the kids couldn't have dreamed up a better Christmas.

Now that we're back home and trying to get back into the swing of things, I have some winners to announce! I apologize for being a few days late on the announcement, but it was not easy to get on my computer at the beach. So without further ado, the two winners of my Walmart Giftcard giveaway are

Carol at http://ceeceeblogger.blogspot.com/

and

LisaLisa at http://nighthelper.blogspot.com/

Come back tomorrow for Give Me Your Best Shot! I took a ton of pictures in Florida, and can't wait to share! And I am SURE each of you has at least one picture from Christmas that you could link up.

A Good Friend

We are on our way home today, but in the mean time my good friend, Safire, has a guest post for you. Safire is as good a friend as she describes below. :) She will be the first person I call when I get back home.

And, can I just say....I'll be very happy when I can sleep in my own bed again?

 

What words would you describe a good friend? Trust, loyalty, support, fun, comfort. These are just a few of the words I would use to describe a good friend, and all of them I use to describe Lolli. Lolli and I met because we go to the same church. I don't remember the exact moment we were introduced, but I do remember the first time we talked and I wanted to get to know her better. We were sitting in the couches in the foyer. I was pregnant with my first baby, she was pregnant with her last. She and I compaired due dates and realized that we were due only a few days apart. I was new to the area and had very few friends. I thought she would be a great person to get to know, if only because our kids would be similar in age.

After our babies were born, we spent a lot of time in the nursing mother's lounge during church. (Remember, our church is 3 hours long.) She was gracious and answered my questions and let me gush about my beautiful little Butterfly-girl. She mentioned she liked to scrap book. So did I! We soon set up a weekly scrapbooking "date" and talked more and more.

Butterfly and AJ have grown up having to play together their entire lives. This year they are even doing school together. She baby sits my twins and takes awesome pictures of our family. She always inspires me to be a better Mom. I can always count on her to go on an adventure with me, or know where the good adventures are! I am so glad that our babies are only 8 days apart so that we were able to become such good friends.

I'll leave you all with an anonymous poem about friends.

Simple vs. Real Friend

Anyone can stand by you when you are right.
But a friend will stand by you even when you are wrong.

A simple friend identifies himself when he calls.
A real friend doesn’t have to.

A simple friend opens a conversation with a full news bulletin on his/her life
A real friend says, “What’s new with you?”

A simple friend thinks the problems you whine about are recent
A real friend says, You’ve been whining about this for years. !?&$*#!! Do smth about it!

A simple friend has never seen you cry
A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears

A simple friend doesn’t know your parents’ names
A real friend has their phone numbers in her address book

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party
A real friend comes early to help and stays late to help you clean

A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history
A real friend could blackmail you with it

A simple friend when visiting acts like a guest
A real friend opens your fridge and helps herself

A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument
A real friend knows that it’s not a friendship until after you’ve had a fight

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them
A real friend expects to always be there for you!

I hope you all have a good friend like Lolli in your life!

Safire

Meet the Photographers Behind Bloggography

I love that blogging has introduced me to so many incredible people that I never would have had the chance to get to know otherwise. Manic Mother is one of those people. I recently had the opportunity to ask Manic Mother a few questions in preparation for our upcoming Bloggography series. Here's what I found out:

--Tell me a little about yourself for my readers:

I am a stay at home mom to two boys, Ezra is 2.5 , and Rowan is 5, I also have an amazingly supportive husband. I have been blogging a little over a year; Lolli’s blog was one of the first I started reading that inspired me to become a better photographer and blogger.


My son Ezra was diagnosed with Leukemia in May of 2009, and shortly after that my husband was laid off. I brainstormed ways to generate extra income for our family, and that is when I decided to turn my hobby into a business. In September of 2009, I opened Manic Mother Photography. I absolutely adore what I do, and can only hope my business will continue to grow!

--Tell me about your journey to becoming a photographer. Did you always have an interest in taking pictures, or was this a more recent hobby you picked up?


Besides, my high school photography class, I wouldn’t say I always had an interest in photography. I have always been a really manic creative person though, and seem to dabble a little in many art forms, so photography was bound to happen sooner or later.
I didn’t start taking pictures with a DSLR until about a year ago, so I am still always learning and teaching myself new things. I never tire of attaining new photography knowledge.

--What is your biggest challenge when you are taking pictures?

I am with Lolli on this one, light is always the biggest challenge, finding it, how to use it, etc.
Second to that would be knowing what buttons to use to get the look and exposure I want.


--What is your favorite subject to shoot?

Babies. Hands down. No matter what they do, they look adorable. So you can’t really go wrong. And if they can’t yet crawl its and added bonus, since you don’t have to chase after them.
I really enjoy photographing kids of all ages, but babies are my favorite.

--What has been the tool that has helped you progress the most?

Books. Lots of them. I bought as many used books as I could afford on Amazon, and immersed myself in them. And read them, and then reread them.

Also Flickr has been a new favorite source of knowledge. I love getting on there and looking at all the different groups for inspiration, and seeing how people have processed their photos. I love editing pictures as much, if not more than taking them!


And of course lots, and lots, of practice.

**Speaking of Flickr, please go join the Bloggography group! Upload 8 of your favorite pictures (max per day). Amateurs and pros are welcome!

Flickr is a great way for all of us to share our work in one place, ask for critique and help. And of course shower each other in comment love!

And now that you've learned all about Manic Mother, go visit her blog to read my interview!

Christmas Photo Outtakes

Capturing a decent family picture is a tricky business. It's hard enough when you're working with a photographer. But add the additional element of tripod and timer and it's an adventure, to say the least. I was looking through last year's Christmas-season pictures in preparation for I Heart Faces' Hilarious Outtakes theme this week. I found this series of photos from the night we decorated our Christmas tree last year. I had the brilliant idea to take a family picture in front of the tree. I set the camera up on a tripod and got this photo on my first try:

I should have quit right there, but I thought we'd be able to get something better if we tried a few more times. It only got worse the more photos we tried.

Things got a little goofy, so we tried to tone things down and be a little more serious. Didn't work.

Two fake smiles and some closed eyes. Darn! Let's try again!

I give up. That first picture is looking better and better.

Guess what?! I was asked to be one of the guest fan judges this week, so I will be making my way through all of the links (or as many as I can!). I am currently accepting bribes in the form of money and chocolate. Just kidding! I can't wait to see everyone's hilarious outtakes. Pictures really are worth a thousand words, don't you think?

Chocolate Crinkles From the Trenches of Motherhood!

It's Christmas week, and my family and I are enjoying some warmer weather and time with family in sunny Florida. My friend, Mandy, from The Trenches of Motherhood shared a cookie recipe recently that made my mouth water instantly. She graciously agreed to share it with all of you, too! Enjoy (and as Mandy said, try not to gain too much weight by looking too hard at the pictures!)

(note: I have tried to fix the formatting, but ended up finally having to delete most of the pictures from the post. If you'd like to see step by step photos instructions, click on the title below.)

Chocolate Crinkles



Gather the following ingredients:

• 4 Cups Sugar


• 1 Cup Oil


• 4 tsp Vanilla Extract


• 8 oz Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bars


• 8 Eggs (Preferably not frozen!)


• 5 & 1/2 Cups Flour


• 4 tsp Baking Powder


• 1 tsp Salt


• 2 Cups Confectioner Sugar


• 2 Bags of Candy Cane Kisses

 

Place all 8 baking bars into a small sauce pan and melt on low to medium heat.

In a mixing bowl add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and the melted baking chocolate.  Mix together well.

Add the 8 eggs and mix.  Then add the salt and baking powder and mix again.

Add and mix in the flour until dough is smooth and creamy.  Then pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until the dough is stiff.

A few hours later, pull the dough out and let it soften.  Meanwhile, unwrap the two bags of Candy Cane Kisses and put them in a bowl.  Pour some of the 2 cups confectioner sugar in a separate bowl, too. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Scoop out small balls of dough – I use the smallest Pampered Chef Cookie Scoop – and roll into balls.  Then roll them in the bowl of confectioner sugar until well covered.

Place them on a baking sheet or baking stone and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.  When the begin to “crack” and look only slightly gooey they are done.  Pull them out and top each one with a candy kiss.  Let them set for 4 minutes before removing from pan.



And…Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!  You now can enjoy your own batch of Trench Mommy’s favorite Christmas cookies! 

– Mandy the Trench Mommy

Merry Christmas from Florida!

I hope each of you are having a wonderfully peaceful and joyous Christmas today. I am enjoying the day with my family in sunny Florida.  Except for the fact that rain is on the forecast for today. We'll enjoy it anyway. We already are.

Merry Christmas!