Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Tasty Tuesday #2 | Beef, Tomatoes and Noodles

As I mentioned in my first Tasty Tuesday post. I love to cook. Always have. I got my first crock pot for Christmas in '09. I have to admit, I had only used it eh, once or twice because it was a 7qt and with just me and Kevin, we don't need that much food. I recently went and bought a 4qt and let me tell you, I have a new found love! My aunt and uncle got me a cookbook strictly full of crock pot recipes for Christmas this year! I couldn't tell you how excited I was =). And I am almost just as excited to be sharing this recipe with you. It was fantastic!

What you need:
1.5 lbs stewing beef, cubed
1/4 cup flour
2 cans stewed tomatoes {if you like tomato chunks, this is what I used- Del Monte with added flavoring}, or 2 cans crushed tomatoes {if you prefer a smoother gravy}
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 medium onion, chopped {optional}
water


1) Combine meat and flour until cubes are coated. Place in slow cooker.
2) Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and onion. Add water to cover.
3) Cover. Simmer on Low for 8 hours.
Serve over cooked noodles.


It was oh so yummy and juicy! Enjoy!

Monday, January 24, 2011

I Heart Faces | Innocent Wonder

Innocent
free
from moral wrong; without sin; pure

+

Wonder
to
be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel

=


Head on over to I Heart Faces and check out more Innocent Wonders!


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Tasty Tuesday #1 | Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I have always enjoyed cooking so when I saw that Amy was doing Tasty Tuesday's on her blog, I wasn't hesitant to joining in! For my first Tasty Tuesday, I decided to share what I made for dinner tonight: Chicken Alfredo Pizza. I shared this recipe on my personal 365 blog in '09, but since it's a new year, a new blog and hopefully, new viewers, I decided I would share this again!

This is a family favorite. Tiny is our first family dog who we had to give away back in August because our second baby boy, Troy, was born allergic. He even enjoyed this pizza! The very first time I made it, I was so proud and excited that once it was done and our plates were prepared, I ran straight to eat and forgot to put the left overs away. FYI, Tiny was a Bernese Mountain Dog, weighed over 100 pounds and didn't even really have to jump up to get onto our counters. Well, if you haven't pictured it in your mind already, when I went back for seconds (because this pizza is finger lickin' good), both platters were completely GONE. Tiny had never jumped on our kitchen counters before for any other dinners I had made so I was very upset he decided to do it the one time I had actually cooked something this delicious! I turned around and who did I see? Tiny, licking his chops with a bit of Alfredo sauce on his nose.

As I started preparing this tonight, I thought of old Tiny and how much I missed him. Then, as I kept thinking about the time he ate all of the leftovers, I thought of the day we had to give him away. It was, and will probably always be one of the hardest days of my life. He was Dallas' best friend, my safety net and pretty much, another child to us! As Tiny's new owners packed him away in their car, I turned my head and started to cry. I couldn't watch him go so instead, I walked around our house, through the back door, upstairs into my kitchen where I was before that moment and started chopping up chicken... Guess what I was chopping chicken up for? Chicken Alfredo Pizza!

I hope you enjoy this pizza as much as good ol' Tiny did and I hope you enjoy cooking it as much as I do especially now, since I'll more than likely think of my Tiny dog as I do =).

What you need:
1 envelope Zesty Herb marinade
+ vinegar, vegetable oil and water for mixing
3-4 chicken breasts
1 package of Italian pizza crust (comes with two)
1 jar of Alfredo sauce (or home made, whichever you prefer)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
1-2 packs shredded Pizza blend cheese
Green Pepper and/or other pizza toppings (if desired)


1) Mix your marinade in a bowl, add chicken and mixture to a baggy and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2) Bake chicken on 450* for 30-40 minutes.
3) Cut chicken into bite size pieces as you heat your Alfredo sauce on the stove.
4) Spread Alfredo sauce onto crust.
5) Sprinkle crust with Grated Parmesan Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder and shredded Pizza blend cheese.
6) Add chicken and other toppings.
7) Top with more shredded Pizza blend cheese and bake 10-15 minutes on 450*.
8) Cool, cut and serve.
ENJOY!


Even more proof that it's Tasty...


Head on over to Amy McMaster's blog and check out some more Tasty Tuesday entries!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Welcome: Tasty Tuesdays!

In order to keep up with my blogging, I plan to participate in the I Heart Faces challenge every week. And my fellow friend and photographer, Amy Beth McMaster, is going to start a Tasty Tuesday post on her 365 project. She and other photographers, including myself, will post photos of tasty things such as food, drinks and anything you think is tasty! So come back tomorrow for photos and the recipe to one of my most favorite dinners!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Best of 2010.

Hello 2011!

Lets begin, my resolution for 2011 is to blog more! I decided to start it off by joining in the fun and was going to enter into the I Heart Faces Best Face Photo of 2010 but some how, missed it. That's okay, here's my post any way!





For the past couple days, I've thought about the photo I'd love to use for this, and decided... Instead of looking through every.single.photo I have taken, why not look through the photos I took for my clients in 2010. Keep in mind, the photo I choose is not based on the client themselves, it is based on the shot and the FACES within' the shot. I decided to go in depth, use one of my Maternity couples because when you look at this portrait... The expression on their FACES are the best I feel I captured in 2010.

It was hard narrowing this down to one couple, one shot but I believe these FACES show depth, love, fun, devotion and they're just so darn cute. See for yourself:


Head on over to I Heart Faces, check out the entries and VOTE for YOUR favorite. Remember, you can only vote once, so please, choose wisely :).

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

TML giveaway!

The Maternal Lens is giving away a baby photo prop sling courtesy of Keri Meyers Photography! Check it out and enter to win! Good luck!


-Michelle

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I Heart Faces | Week 17 - "Smiles"


This is my beautiful friend, Angela. This is one of her Senior Portraits that I took of her. One of our favorites!


Head on over to I ♥ Faces to see more beautiful smiles!





Friday, March 5, 2010

Inspired.

Welcome!

Last week, I read a blog post by Michelle Black and I thought it would be a good idea to use her post as insperation as my first post on my new blog!

She titled it "Inspiration Exercise: Breathe Life Into Your Work"

In her post, she asks a few questions.

What is your motivation?

This did take me a few days to come up with an answer. Instantly, I thought to myself "my motivation is my son." Yes, that is true but...

Last weekend, I kept thinking about this question, over and over, in my mind. My answer didn't really hit me until I was standing in line waiting to go down a water slide with my husband and brothers. We took a mini vacation to Great Wolf Lodge, which is an indoor water park.

I was a victim of a tragedy on August 24, 2006. While I was inside, my house exploded. Leaving me 70% burnt and 90% scarred. Picture me, standing in line with a one piece bathing suit on. Of course, if you saw me, you'd be curious too. Well, as always (when I'm just chilling out in my bathing suit, that I adore myself in, I must add), I seem to get a lot of people who glance at me. Only a few times have people glared. While we were waiting in line, there was another line right beside us waiting for a different slide. There were 4 17-20 year old girls and a boy. One of the girls glanced over and noticed my legs. As we walked up she began to notice the rest of my scars (back and arms, maybe even a little on my face). Expecting it, she pointed me out to her friends.
I've never minded the stares, I've ignored the glances and even some of the glares but I could not help but notice, as they all discovered my scarred body, how one of the girl's reacted. I don't know what to think of her reaction but she seemed as if she felt sorry for me but was also disgusted by me. They then pointed me out to the guy standing with them and he glanced back and loud enough for all to hear said "Daaamnnn." Then, they continued to snicker and laugh. I told my brothers and husband to cool it, they weren't the one's they were talking about and that it didn't matter.
We continued to see them through out our stay and even though I was bothered by them and they did make me feel very uncomfortable, I just walked by them with pride, ignoring the fact that they were even there.

The tragedy has left me with scars for all to see. They'll never go away and they'll always be there reminding me of the day that changed my life forever. But, it didn't change my life for the worst. I honestly believe it changed my life for the better. The tragedy has led me to the things I have today. A wonderful husband, a beautiful son, another bundle of joy on the way, an aspiring career... It changed my view on life.

So, there is more to my motivation than just my son. It's the life that has lead me to my son and where I am now.


Why do you take photographs?
(Or for those of you that don't, why do you do whatever it is you love to do?)

A photograph isn't just a piece of paper or a digital file... A photograph to me is a memory. One that shows emotion, it can make you smile or it can make you cry.

Before I had my son, I would simply take photographs for the beauty of it. To try and create a piece of art. Yes, I still do that now. But, my reasoning has changed. I take photographs to capture the memories I don't want my son, myself or my family to forget. I want us to be able to look at a photograph and remember how we felt, what we were doing, why it was taken. I want the photos I take of them to let them know how much I love them and how beautiful they are to me. I want them to be able to remember me and I want to be able to remember them, even if it is by looking at a simple photograph.

Not only do I want to do this for my son, myself or my family, but I want to do this for my clients and future clients as well. I want them to be able to remember the moment their photographs were taken, why they were taken and how they felt.

I simply take photographs to capture memories.

What makes you feel happy?
My son's smile. My son's laugh. His eyes. His voice. His kisses. His hugs. When he cuddles with me. Everything about him. Feeling my nugget (baby #2) kick me, the little butterflies he/she creates. My husband when he gets home. His kisses. His hugs. Pretty weather. Being able to go out on a walk or to the park. Being able to take my camera outside! Compliments, about anything that has to do with me and any part of my life. When people say they're jealous of my family life, may sound conceited or snarky but it reassures me that this is a good life. My fat orange kitty cat named Twinky. Road trips. Cleanliness. My camera. Capturing a great photo, one I can't wait to share. Lightroom (hehe, seriously.) My LightScoop ;). Getting phone calls or random texts. The phrase "I love you." Children. My family, the few that I consider my family. God, when I talk to Him.

What makes you feel sad?
How time flies, it goes too fast. Sad endings to a movie. Cloudy days (most of the time.) When I see a newborn on TV. When I realize my battery is low on my camera! When my son cries and I can't do anything about it. When people say they're jealous of my family life, because I wish everyone could enjoy/experience this the way I do. Money. My "burn book" of photos from when I was in the hospital and newspaper articles about me. Confrontation. Death. The thought of my loved ones not being around one day. When my husband cries. When I say things I don't mean. When I don't get what I want ;). Remembering all that I have lost especially the rememberance or photographs of my lost kitty cat, Salami. Sometimes, my skin/scars.

There are many more things that make me happy and sad but that's good enough for me to share before I start crying ;).

_______________________________________

Michelle asked us to read everything we had previously written out loud to ourselves. She asks if it is me? Am I really the one who is speaking? Yes. Yes, it is me. This took me a week and a half to come up with. Little by little, I'd sit down at the computer and type out my answers. But, I would think about them all day/week long until I finally wrote them down. And, after reading through that all... I was almost in tears. This means so much to me. Everything I have written is me and it is the truth. It's my life and I try and put these emotions and feelings into every photograph I take.

_______________________________________

When you see others succeeding, are you happy for them? Do you allow this to become a part of your motivation?

When I see others succeeding, I am envious of them because I want to get that far some day. I want to be known as a photographer and I want people to love my work. But, I don't hold this against those who are succeeding. I am very happy for them. I don't look at it as "I wish that were me" but as "hey, they started out where I am and look at them now. That could be me some day." I do allow this to become a part of my motivation. When I see other photographer's work, I'm inspired! I may not have the oppurtunities they have yet but I could and maybe some day I will.

If you set aside the need for recognition, how would that affect your productivity? Would you still love to do what you do if you knew for certain that you would never achieve some sort of status?

I have set aside the need for recognition right now. I know that this is going to take time and I want to know what I am doing before I put myself out there. I have had a few clients and I may have a few more before I try to go into full business but right now, I'm experiencing. I'm trying to find my own style and self. I'm trying to learn more about my camera and more of the technical aspects. I have thought about this and sometimes it brought me down but even if I do try to succeed and never achieve some sort of status, I will still love what I do. Because, I'm doing this for me. This is what I want to do. I will keep learning and taking photographs to capture memories for my son, myself and my family whether I achieve some sort of status or not.

Thank you for reading :).

-Michelle

Epiphanie Give-Away!

Visit Epiphanie Bag's Blog and check out the awesome give-away they have going on!

They are giving away a brand new CANON 5D MARK II OR a $2,500 Gift Certificate to Southwest Airlines!

Good luck to all those who enter!