Picture of the Day

Sometimes love can make you do the most random things.

Happy Saturday!!

Paul's First Cake

Yesterday I was out all day with Paul's sister, Anna, who also happens to be my favorite neighbor. We were down in KC doing all kinds of errands. It was a fun day but we both were tired on the way home. Once we reached Anna's house I called Paul and asked him to come pick me up. He said yes but we would have to hurry back home. Hmmmm......I wondered what was up.

A few minutes later I see a green Jetta coming down the dirt road. Ah....my husband!! He drove up grinning from ear to ear as if he hadn't seen me in a week. Pulling me into a big hug he again stressed the need to hurry. Ok, what is it? He said he couldn't tell me and that it was a surprise.

Now Paul can't keep a surprise to save his life. He gets all excited about it and always manages to tell me about it beforehand or show me what he has before he should. I got all my birthday presents the night before because he couldn't wait! Well, this time was no different. Before we had gone 100 feet down the road he blurted out, I made you a cake!! Really?! I was quite impressed. I asked him for details. He went on to explain how he had seperated the whites from the eggs and beat them till they were stiff. They looked just like how you make them...I was so proud of myself. He elaborated on how the batter looked too wet so he added more flour. I asked him what pan he had cooked it in. A pie dish. By this time I was eager to see the finished product. He informed me that he had put the cake in the oven just before leaving and it would be done by the time we got home.

Walking in the door I was greeted with a chocolate smell. Good so far! Paul pulled the cake out of the oven. Upon sticking a knife in the middle I proclaimed it done. It was quite a flat cake and not at all bad looking. Paul was so excited for me to try it. I made him wait until I got some pictures and then we cut into it. The cake stayed together very well. Too well. Uh oh.....it had fallen pretty badly. I tasted it. MMMM.....chocolate....and....flour! Paul's face fell in disappointment as he too tried it. This is terrible Mary! I planted a kiss on his cheek and assured him that I liked it and it was a good cake. You gotta love him! :) To read Paul's rendition on Facebook go to this LINK.


Here is the the recipe he followed. Its an Italian dessert.

My wonderful little baker with his creation..


Good job Paul! I love you.

This and That

Just a couple pictures of the last few days.

Anna (my favorite neighbor) stopped by our house on Monday. Addie had a cute hat on and was dressed in all pink. She was adorable.



We are down in KC now. Last night we had coffee and played some games at Starbucks. Here is one picture from that.

Hair and Wind

I recently ran across an article on the DPS website about hair and wind. It was titled "Add Interest and Movement into Your Shots with Wind". I was really inspired to try my hand at it. My sister-in-law, Mary, was visiting us over the weekend and I thought we could try it out.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Lighting Kit

This weekend Paul and I were in KC. While rummaging through the attic in his family's house we found Paul's old lighting kit. I had just been reading up on pictures you can take with a lighting kit so I was super excited. I stuffed all the gear in our trunk eager to try it out.

Sunday I set up the lights and tried a few different items. Here are the ones I liked the best....








Look out for more pictures....I love these lights!! :)

Helpful Photography Website

Recently a friend from London recommended a website to me. It is called Digital Photography School. Here is their description:


"Discover how to use your digital camera with our Digital Photography Tips. We are a community of photographers of all experience levels who come together to learn, share and grow in our understanding of photography."

It is a wonderful site for the beginner to advanced photographer or anyone who has a camera and wants to learn more about it. There are three main sections:

-Photography Tips and Tutorial
-Camera and Equipment
-Post Production

Each section has a number of articles and at the bottom of each are suggested articles in the same vein. I found that super helpful because you don't have to search out the whole website to look for similar material.

You can share your photos and get the feed back of thousands of people. There is also weekly assignments that you can share in. Its a great way to improve your photography and gain the much needed head knowledge about your camera and its accessories.

The website is simply: digitalphotographyschool.com

Check it out!

Currently Reading

I got this book from the library a few days ago. It really jumped out at me on the shelf. I liked the mystery of the title. Upon reading the first few chapters I found that not only was it a gripping true story but it also gave an in-depth description of Germany and America during the early 1800's. I am hooked.

NEW BLOG LOOK!!!

After searching through hundreds of blogger templates I finally find this one. I was super excited and loved it. I thought it perfectly says who I am......girly but a little tomboy showing through! :)

Tell me what you guys think!!

MR

~Random~

Happy Friday!!

Bruschette With Tomato and Basil

I received the cook book "Italianissimo" from Paul's grandparents for my wedding shower.
It has over 600 recipes from every region of Italy. I LOVE IT!

Being over half Italian I really think its in my blood to cook with tomatoes, garlic, olives, oregano, and basil. I actually go through red sauce withdrawals if I don't have it at least once a week. I am obsessed with Italian and enjoy cooking it immensely. Just ask my dad. I make one mean Eggplant Parmesan.

Today I decided to make "Bruschette With Tomato and Basil". I needed something extra to go with lunch and I knew these would be perfect. Using olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil I knew they would be tasty.

Here are pictures of the final product....they were excellent.





Tried to get a little creative here... :)

Aunt Jill's 50th Birthday

This past weekend we made our way once again down to Kansas City. This time it was for a surprise birthday party. Paul's Aunt Jill was turning 50 years old on Friday and we were all going to give her a big to-do.

Everyone pitched in and the house looked wonderful. Here are a couple pictures of the marvelous job......


Dayna made a delicious Tiramisu for the birthday cake....YUM!


I got some candid pictures as we waited for Aunt Jill to arrive. I married into such a good looking family!! :)










Me and the father-in-law..... he is awesome!





Addie and Grammy Donnell...






Aunt Jill got there a little after 7:00. Her friend, Rachel, was in on the plan and they were on their way to "dinner" and decided to "stop by the Rogers to say hi".......












We all had a great time. Happy Birthday Aunt Jill!! Here's to many more wonderful years!!