good times | nappanee photographer

have i told you that i'm diving into the archives and sorting, organizing, and - gasp! deleting (oh, how i love deleting!) many of my photo files?

it's a task that begs doing... especially since the hard drive and the external hard drive are nearing the red line, so to speak.

tonight i found this moment below.
instantly, i remember exactly what was going on here.

people are uncooperative.
mother is getting irritated.

the neighbors are wondering just how is it that this woman can possibly take other people's photos when her own family doesn't listen to a word she says.

while i'm pleading for just one decent photo of the three of them, the father of my children is giving out these instructions...

"on the count of three... we'll all turn around and moon her!"



real nice... very mature dad! ☺

makes for a good story though, doesn't it?

i'm motivated | nappanee photographer

as the sun tries to pull itself out from under another dreary indiana winter, i find myself motivated to do many things.

my house is unusually clean right now.
i am so thinking spring clean... my walls are yearning to be dust mopped☺

my hard drive is almost full... again.

there's going to be a lot of sorting, deleting, and then deleting some more.
it must be done!

picture frames, oh... they are calling my name.

i feel a project coming on & it involves spray paint.

i'm just itching to get started.

and... i can safely say the most exciting purchase i made last week was a package of new clothes pins & a clothes pin bag to hang on the line.

i am sooo ready!

being that this is a relatively new year, i'm still trying to figure out my goals, but i think it's all just sort of falling in line.

{well, some of it anyways}

the whole meal planning thing... grrrr!
i was so organized last year, but i've let it slide.
i'm being lazy and it's not flowing very smoothly these days, but i'm about to wrangle it up.

and i'm still searching for a nutritious hot cereal option that #4 can stomach.

recently we tried a new recipe. maybe someone at your house will love it.
it's a rice pudding of sorts.

check out the recipe here.

so, are you motivated?
do you have some goals in the works?
what are your success stories?

i love a good list.
a list of goals is even better.
and achieving those goals... now that's the best.

i love being able to look back & know that there is proof - i've lived some of my life with intention.

psalms & skies | nappanee photographer

sunset, march 14, 2011 7:10 pm

your love, o lord, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

o lord, you preserve both man and beast.

how priceless is your unfailing love!

both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

psalm 36:5-7 (niv)

musical men part 2 : the composer | nappanee photographer

my youngest child is a composer. in my head, i always think of him as "the maestro".

he just loves to make music.

and i think it's especially delightful that he goes at it, all decked out in his red, plushy, "like rich people wear" robe.

somehow, it just works for him. ☺

at any given time, he can be found at the piano, experimenting, putting new tunes together.

and when he gets really serious, out comes the staff paper

i'm glad that he enjoys this part of music. while i have never even considered writing music, it just streams out of some people naturally... what a blessing that must be!

musical men part 1 : the guitarist | nappanee photographer

my house is full of musical men... uh... boys.

both of the guys are in their 4th year of piano lessons & this winter we got the big boy a guitar for christmas.

now, he didn't particularly want a guitar for christmas, but sometimes mom has a vision and children need a little fire lit beneath them.

the guitar is totally new territory for me.

i can safely say i know nothing about guitar.

so i called up uncle brad (who's been playing "for forty years") and asked if he could help get the boy going.

i had no idea how different guitar would be from other musical instruments (my experience being with the piano & clarinet).

i had no idea that pain & calluses were involved!

but i think it's safe to say that the boy is enjoying his lessons & getting to know a lot about his uncle brad all at the same time ☺

so now we have a guitarist in the house & i can't wait to see where he goes with it!

cinnamon rolls | nappanee photographer

i ask you this: can one exist on cinnamon rolls alone?
this is something i've been pondering lately.
not really, of course☺

before christmas, i started experimenting with cinnamon rolls.
i've been baking practically all my life, but i've never come across a cinnamon roll recipe that i though was awesome enough to jot down in "the book". (my favorites gathered over the years)

so i picked a random recipe and tried it out.

my apologies to those who endured that first batch.

they were dull.
they were dry.
not to mention overcooked.
and their filling was crystalized in the bottom of the pan.

i do not do flops well. at all.
so i was on a mission... the search was on for a good cinnamon roll recipe.

i found this one.
and i scanned through the reviews for those secret tips that make all the difference.

i made several dozen of these for christmas gifts.
last week i made some more.

fresh out of the oven... come to mama...

the frosting is not perfect yet... i like carmel, but i 'm still working on getting the consistency right...

i'll admit i had a bite before realizing that i needed one more photo...


my frosting recipe:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

combine butter, brown sugar & milk in small saucepan, heat to boiling for 1 minute stirring constantly, add powdered sugar & vanilla to consistency. pour/spread on rolls while warm.

things i've learned from baking cinnamon rolls:

1. even though this recipe calls for it, you don't need a bread maker. i have one but i'm too lazy to get it out and i like my bread better when it's made the old fashioned way. just mix your ingredients like any other bread recipe, then knead the dough with mixer & dough hook as instructed or knead by hand for several minutes.

2. use bread flour instead of regular all purpose. it will make a difference & you won't look back.

3. i use white sugar instead of brown sugar in my filling. it seems to make a difference in what happens after cooking. it doesn't run down into the bottom of the pan, and the rolls come out of the pan perfectly.

4. don't skimp on the filling ingredients. pour that stuff on and when it looks like you've probably put on a little too much, sprinkle on a little more. you will not regret it.

5. if you can't raise them and bake them right away, raise your dough, roll it out, add the filling, cut out the rolls, put them in the pans and put them in the fridge overnight. all you need to do in the morning is put them in a cold oven and bake. you may raise them a bit before chilling but it's not necessary. they'll be fine☺

6. don't over-bake. my oven tends to get the corners a little toastier than anywere else. that irritates me. and my jpegs above are a little bit warmer here than the real thing was, so don't let them fool you. if the centers of the rolls are a little soft, they're probably just right.

so... if you're looking for something to do... try your hand at cinnamon rolls. and enjoy!

i ♥ faces challenge "innocent wonder" | nappanee photographer

trying to pull myself out of a non-blogging, non-photographing slump, i opened my emails today and saw that
the i ♥ faces photography challenge this week is "innocent wonder". i immediately knew where the perfect photo was.

little miss girl was here several days ago & i snapped a few quick photos. she likes to go up to my table with the photo frames and check out the familiar faces, pointing out who's who, naming them all.

i love how she rests her little 2 year old chin over the top of the table.

and... i'm especially a sucker for a profile & the added bonus of a her sweet reflection☺