Odds 'N' Ends

It's been bugging me that I haven't blogged all week.  It's just been one of those weeks.  I've been frantically trying to catch up from everything that fell by the wayside when the kids were on Fall Break.  Two and a half weeks is TOO long.  It feels just right if you are planning some kind of vacay, but when you are stuck at home the whole time, it feels like an eternity! 

I've got projects and things I want to do piling up... and right now we are dog sitting for my mom and dad.  Charlie is staying with us while they visit D.C.  It's going to be an eye-opening experience.  I'm not used to little dogs.  I like everything about them, except two things.  (So far, it's only two...)  First, they run FAST, and it's no fun chasing them around the house when they are determined not to be caught.  Second, they have ear piercing yappy barks.  Everytime this dog barks, I jump out of my skin.  But you can't deny how cute he is.  I mean, he is seriously soooo cute!

One of my projects is to make an I-spy quilt.  Click here to see the inspiration.  Sweet Connie used to be in my ward and still lives nearby, so I took the time to drop my fabrics off in person so I could see her gorgeous quilt in person.  Isn't it awesome?  I really love it framed in white, but I'm terrified to actually do that.  With my kids, I know it would be a dingy mess in no time.  I won't have the time to dedicate to this project for at least a couple weeks, so I have some time to mull it over and make a decision.  But today my quilt squares arrived in the mail - aren't they super cute?

Today I spent the day camped out on the couch, watching some old stuff back logged on the DVR and downloading new Photoshop Elements Actions from this website.  (Thanks, Lindsey, for the heads-up!)The thing I love the most about this blog is that she gives a tutorial with each action so you can learn how to do things without hours and hours of trial and error.  It seriously took me all day and I'm still not done yet.  I still haven't uploaded them into PSE.  Hopefully I will have time for that tomorrow.  I could never justify that much "couch time" normally, but I'm nursing a sore shoulder.  On Monday morning, I noticed some stiffness and soreness in my right shoulder.  I ignored it, continued to exercise and live life in my normal routine, and by Monday night, it was worse.  Tuesday it was even worse when I woke up.  I was careful with it all day yesterday and it's still not any better today.  You don't realize how important certain muscle groups are until you get hurt.  The worst part about it is that I don't even know what I did that caused this.  I have an appointment with a sports medicine doctor in the morning to find out how serious it is, and more importantly if it's going to ruin my plans to do a triathlon on November 6.  As I sit right now, there's no way on earth I can do the swim.  Hopefully he'll have good news for me tomorrow!  Please keep your fingers crossed... I've already shelled out the money for the tri and I want that t-shirt, bad.  And you don't get the shirt until you cross the finish line.  I will be really mad if I have to pull out.  Right now it's time for me to test the power of positive thinking, no?  I mean, yes?

It's All About the Actions....

So, I am going to attempt to explain how I learned what I did to edit the family photos we took last week.  First let me start off by telling you what I have to work with.  My computer runs on Windows 7 and I have Photoshop Elements 8 installed on it.  I took the photos with my Nikon D90 using my 50mm f1.8 lens.  This lens is a must have for portraits... I can't tell you how much I love it.  And it's affordable... for either the Nikon or the Canon the lens is less than $125.  A professional photographer recommended the 50mm f1.4 lens, which I imagine is way, way, WAY better, but it costs 3 times a much as this one, so I will wait a while to upgrade.   If you don't want or need to know how to do this, just skip the reading and scroll down to see the before and afters.



Brayden (before)



Brayden (after)

 So the first Photoshop tutorial I read came from this website/blog.   I can't remember how I first found this blog, but I love it.  She covers all kinds of fun and creative things... photography, photoshop, simple sewing, crafting, recipes, and she makes fonts out of real people's handwriting.  How cool is that?   The exact article can be found here.  Unfortunately for me, Amanda works in the full version of photoshop, so not all the commands are the same for PSE.   Amanda gets her "actions" from the Pioneer Woman Blog/Website.  I will admit, I've heard of Pioneer Woman, but never really visited her page.  Holy crap, have I been missing out! 



Ian (before)



Ian (after)

 Okay, so now you should click on over to the Pioneer Woman website following this link.  You'll find a page with lots of links on it depending on what type of operating system you have and what version of PSE you have.  I downloaded both sets of actions that work with my computer and then clicked on over to another article to get the instructions on how to install the "actions".   I watched the video tutorial on how to install the actions into PSE, followed the instructions, and it worked perfectly.


Megan (before)



Megan  (after)

Once you've installed the actions in PSE it's play time.  They should show up on the right side "effects" listing.  You can pull up your photo in the editing pane, create a duplicate layer, and click on the different actions to see what they do.  There is one for starting over, which takes your picture back to the original, and one to flatten the image so it can be saved as a jpeg. 

Okay, if you are still with me, this is the big one.   The edit that made me go "WOW"!   The worst part about it, is that I can't remember how I did it.  This is the first photo I played around with.  I was so in love with this pose of Taylor but the picture was so washed out and dull.  It was so disappointing.  So I felt like I had nothing to lose and starting layering action upon action upon action... and I started over a few times too... but in the end this is what I came up with.  I LOVE it.  I mean, I really, really LOVE it.


Taylor (before)




Taylor (after)

 So, there you have it.  Everything I know about PSE actions, (which really is very, very little).  Over the next few weeks I'll probably be scouring the internet looking for more websites with different actions I can download.  I know I've just scratched the surface with this stuff, but I'm itching for more!   The next time I can spend an hour on the computer together with my brother-in-law Matt, I plan to pick his brain like crazy... he's fresh out of Graphic Design school and will definately be a pro at this kind of stuff!  Watch out Matt!  ;-)

Can you Say "Break Through"?

Last week, I took the fam to a local gated community to borrow the gorgeous landscaping for some "family photos".   They are getting better about this... they know the more they cooperate, the quicker the process will be and the shorter they have to put up with me.  I'd already scoped out this great location a few days before, but when we got there, guess what?  They had just watered the lawn.  Everything was wet, the grass, the rocks, everything!  So some of my pose plans went out the window, because I'm not mean enough to make them lay in wet grass.  Oh well... anyway, the above shot was the best of the group shot I took of the four kids together.  The rock was cool that they were sitting on, but the sun was behind them, low in the sky, and it left all the lovely sun streaks across the picture.  Once I got home and looked at them on the computer screen, I was sure I was going to have to do a re-shoot. 

But in a sheer moment of desperation, I went to a blog/website that I know has had photoshop tutorials in the past.  I don't have full blown photoshop, but I was hoping I could glean enough info from the tutorial to make a difference in this photo using my lower grade, but still awesome, Photoshop Elements.

I was reading through the post, and enough things were different about the program, that I was starting to think there was no way this would ever help me, when I discovered a note at the bottom of the post.  Some wonderful bloggers took it upon themselves to do some creative work and convert photoshop "actions" to work in PSE. 

So a few clicks later, a few articles later, and one video tutorial later, I was editing my photos in ways I'd never dreamed possible.  Seriously... take a look at the after of the above shot:

Talk about taking a negative and turning it into a positive.... before I hated the sun streaks, now I think they look cool.   Here's one more before and after, taken with my tri-pod... yay... my kids are all old enough now to know where to look for a picture with a tri-pod.  How awesome is that?  And honestly, the before picture I think is pretty good.  But the after picture is so much better.  The colors are so vibrant and rich.  I love it!

I know you are going to be dying to know how I figured all this out, so over the next day or two, I'm going to write a post with links to each blog and or website I found information on.   And I will reveal my favorite edit of them all... which is funny that it's my favorite, because I can't remember how I did it, so I wasn't able to duplicate the effects on the rest of the shots.  I've decided I need to keep a notebook for photoshop projects so that I  can write down each step of the editing process so if I want to duplicate that look on another photo, I know what to do.   Stay tuned for more and exciting info to come very soon!

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

 Since moving to the desert, it's been hard to find a good way to have a fun pumpkin patch experience.  The first summer we were here, I found a local pumpkin patch, and we melted through the whole experience.  It was hot, dusty, and miserable... and did I say HOT?

Since then, I haven't even attempted the pumpkin patch here.  But, being the fall lover that I am, I was ready to give it another go this fall.  I got on the Internet and searched far and wide, looking for a promising place that would be cool enough to be comfortable and fun.  I almost drove 130 miles up to the mountains to get the ideal pumpkin patch experience, but then I found this place nearby, and decided to give it a try.

 The pedal carts were indeed the highlight of the experience.  Every time I turned around, Taylor was back in the track, doing more laps and power slides.  Seriously, he had such a good time! 

 Brayden got to ride the barrel train, which he LOVED, and while he was on his train adventure, the big kids were riding the pedal carts.   And while the big kids couldn't get enough of the pedal carts, Brayden couldn't get enough of this bounce house.  Every time I turned around, he was back in here jumping.

They got to learn how to milk a cow...

Ring the bell...

and conk the crows.

In addition to all the cool games, they had a pretty extensive collection of animals to pet.  I had uploaded some animal photos, but they have mysteriously disappeared, and I am too lazy to hunt them down and put them back into this post.  But it was fun to watch the kids around a real cow and real pigs. 

The main reason I picked this place is because their pumpkin patch is open until 9 p.m.  They encourage you to come try their 10 acre corn maze in the dark with flashlights!  It ended up being a really fun evening and because we didn't get to the patch until after 5 p.m., we didn't melt in the noon day sun.  All in all, it was a great way to spend an evening!

 Megan and Ian LOVED solving the mystery in the corn maze.  We we definitely be making this one an annual tradition!

Autumn is in the Air

You know it's fall in Phoenix when it falls below 80 degrees before midnight and the tap water is cool once again.  Oh, and I can walk into my garage any time, day or night, without melting.  Huzzah!



A few weeks ago I got out the fall decor.  Probably my earliest decorating year ever.  I've been craving fall this year more than usual.  Summer is so over-rated. 

How I love fall.  It's my favorite season.  We don't get much of it here in the desert.  Fall comes, but it has very subtle nuances, which have taken me years to recognize and appreciate. But I still miss a more traditional fall. 

I think that General Conference weekend is my official fall kick-off.  Two days of sitting around the house, listening to wise men and women bear testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and eating, eating, eating.  Food is a big part of Conference for me.  Over the summer when I was at my sickest with the lactose intolerance issue, I lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks.  (It wasn't a pleasant way to lose 5 pounds, and I wouldn't choose to do it that way again, but once it was gone and I felt good again, I was happy about it!)  I think I gained back that 5 pounds over Conference weekend. 

October is a big baking month for me.  I crave baked goods in October more than any other month I think!  I've already baked some of my favorites in the last few weeks - Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars, Berry Cobbler, Snickerdoodles, Halloween shaped sugar cookies, Cocoa Rice Krispy Treats... and the candy I've already consumed is ghastly.

Eric and I were at Sam's together the other day and he asked me if we needed to pick up our Halloween Candy.  Oh no... I've learned the hard way, if it's in the house, I will eat it.  I have no will power once it's inside the house.  I can resist buying it, but once I've bought it, I can't resist eating it.  So, I will go out at the very last second to purchase Halloween candy, in the hopes that I will be able to resist opening the bag until that night and can send it all home with other people's kids!

And if I show up at your door step with baked goods in the next few weeks, hopefully you'll forgive me for having  more than one motive for bringing you my excess treats!  ;-)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

This picture has nothing to do with the post... I just like it!

This morning I was on my bed reading the Book of Mormon with all four kiddos.  This rarely happens anymore because Taylor has to be out the door on school days at 6:15 a.m., but we are on our 2 week fall break, so we all get to be a bit more lazy than normal and spend lots of time together!

Anyway, after the 3 older kids and I had all taken a turn reading, I was helping Brayden read the last couple verses of 2 Nephi, chapter 4.  I was helping him with the very last verse, when he said the funniest thing... it went like this:

Me:  "....therefore, I will lift...."
Brayden:  "therefore I will lift"

M: "...up my voice unto thee...."
B:  "up my voice unto thee"

M:  "....yea, I will cry unto thee, my God..."
B:  "yea, I will cry unto.... wait, did it just say cry?  That's lame... why did they put that in there?"
 
So, we had to interrupt what we were reading to quiet the laughter, and explain that when they say they will "Cry unto God" in the scriptures, that's a fancy way of saying that they are praying unto God. 

At least I know he was paying attention, right?

Givin' Some Recipe Love

Snickerdoodles

For cookies:

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 sticks margarine

2 eggs

2 3/4 c. flour

2 t. cream of tarter

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

For coating:

1/4 c. sugar

1 T. cinnamon

Using your mixer, cream the margarine, sugar and eggs.

Add flour, soda, salt and cream of tarter. 

(Cream of Tarter is the secret ingredient that gives it that amazing flavor!)

Mix well, and refrigerate dough until cold and firm. 

(Usually 2 hours.)

Now mix the 1/4 c. sugar and 1 T. cinnamon and put it in a small bowl.

Scoop the dough, roll into balls and coat in the cinn-sugar mix.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, pat them a little flat, and bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. 

Let cool for 10 minutes and remove to finish cooling. 

I like to put mine on a paper towel, Eric prefers a cooling rack. 

(Each to his own, right?)

Now be ready to guard them with your life because they will disappear right before your eyes!