The Earthquake Cake

The 8th graders at my daughter's school had a project for Science this weekend & the task was to bake an Earthquake cake & take pictures of the process. My daughter & her partner did their project at my house today & let me document the process. They're using other pictures for their project, but I liked these.

Teamwork

Helping Hands

The Finished Product

There was a bit that spilled over the edge onto the cookie sheet, so I got a small taste... it was GOOD! My husband didn't like that they had to take it to school, instead of letting us taste test. :-)  Google earthquake cake if you're interested in the recipe. 

Feeding An Addiction

Over the Christmas holiday, my husband & daughter got me hooked on Showtime's Dexter. I was quickly sucked in and the three of us went back & watched all episodes starting with Season 1 to the end of the current Season 5 (oh Lumen!).

With their birthday's being in January, I still had Dexter on the brain. I happened to come across a blog featuring pictures of cakes people made to celebrate the beginning of Season 5 and with that... my mind was set. Since her 1st birthday, we've always had some sort of theme for the cake. Here's the cake that we had to celebrate her turning 14.

For Dexter fans, you know I had to be as accurate as I possibly could:

Luckily the friend's that were over that night are just as sick as we are. :-)

Note: Wow... in true Dexter form, I just made the same mistake John Lithgow made when accepting the Emmy for his role on Dexter in Season 4. He thanked HBO... before I added the link above to the show, I also said "HBO's Dexter". OOPS!

Reflections

I know this picture is technically upside down, but I love reflections like this. This day was super windy, as you can tell by the ripples in the water. This is a fountain outside of the Clinton Library that is extremely shallow, but water constantly runs over the edges. That's why you can see the tiled bottom so clearly.

One more good snow...

No, we haven't had another good snow, I'm just wanting one more. We're supposed to get to 60 degrees this weekend, which will be nice, but I still need one more good snow before we forget about winter all together. 

I really like the way the green stands out in this picture too.

Wishful thinking

No matter how old we get, we all still like to make wishes.

Summer Nights

Just a fun evening, following a fun day. No matter what I originally plan to shoot, I always end up with my favorite subject.

Sleepovers

One of the fun things about having a daughter is when she has sleep overs. I love all the giggles - well, until I go to bed. They're not so cute at 3 a.m. ;-)  Luckily I'm a deep sleeper.
My daughter & her friend have always been creative so I actually got to play photographer for them. Within a 2 hour span, they went from Ballerina Barbies to Geishas to Goths and then back to themselves. I think I may have had as much fun as they did!

Mini Me

You know those days where you don't do anything really out of the ordinary, but it's just a good day overall and you feel warm & fuzzy inside? I've had one of those. I spent the day with my daughter today - just us girls. :-)

Hanging Out

Today was a gorgeous, sunny day and we spent it at my Mother-in-Laws. She had the family over for lunch and then we spent a lot of time outside. Well, the kids & I did.  This is my niece in her new hammock. She loved being able to twist around. I couldn't quit laughing and had to snap her picture, of course. I like how it turned out - cute and her eyes really show up next to the blue of the hammock.

The Entourage

What a site - seeing the entire bridal party pile out of a limo and walk up to the church. I loved that I was in the right place, at the right time, to get a picture like this.

We interrupt this blog to bring you the following message...

I had planned to continue posting some of the pictures I took over the weekend. AND - I planned to never repost a picture. Well... I'm straying from my original plan.

As you may know, I've been taking a photography class for the last 6 weeks and each week we have to submit a picture as "homework". This week was the last class and the "final big" homework assignment. I had trouble deciding which picture to submit (as always), but ended up going with a picture I took earlier on (and posted here).

Well, guess what? My photo was voted unanimously by the class and the staff as the best picture of the week! And with it being the "final big assignment", I won $100 gift card! I was so proud and excited - so yes, I think I should get to post it again AND use unnecessary quotes. I've earned that right for at least 24 hours, right?

On a side note, I now have a new macro lens that I can't wait to play with! That extra $100 sure came in handy!

Another view

This a better shot of the pond in the previous picture. The Koi are all hibernating right now.

"You make me smile"

I've had this song by Uncle Cracker stuck in my head lately and I thought it was a perfect title to this post.

This is another shot taken in my late Father-in-Law's back yard. This fountain was his pride and joy.  During the summer, it was always surrounded by lush greenery & colorful flowers. As gorgeous as it was, he always added a touch of his quirkiness - this pagoda being a good example. It was always tasteful and complimented the rest of the garden, but it's another thing that makes me smile when I see it.

I'm also smiling because I made some minor tweaks to the site today. They're subtle enough that my daughter asked "What changed?", but I think it looks better.

Flying High

Last Friday marked the 1 year anniversary that we lost my Father-in-Law. We visited over the weekend and I took a few pictures around the yard - it was his pride & joy.  I liked how this picture turned out (depth of field FINALLY!) and it just reminds me of him and his love for planes.