One girl, one camera, one world

YARD SALE TIME!!!

2009-09-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

I'm having a co-yard sale this weekend with a friend. It's on Schofield across from the Porter Community Center. All prices are negotiable unless otherwise stated. I will be posting LOTS more items...

Stand-up pool. Or whatever it's called when you have to fill it up with water for the sides to stay up. $10

Mag trainer for a bike. I used this a few times a week for a couple of months. It has three levels of resistance. It turns a regular bike into a stationary bike. Originally $125
$80

REI Piggyback Carrier. Doesn't include backpack. Has a place for a water bladder. Originally $180 without rain/shade cover. Cover was an additional $35
$125 FIRM

Straw fencing. 48" tall and 98" wide. Two pieces. Was orignally used around an upstairs balcony for privacy. Can be hung off overhang for shade.
$15 for both

Graco Car Seat Swing. Car seat snaps onto it. There is music and vibration. VERY convenient. I built it and NEVER used it. Originally $60.
$40

Sun Stop'r Kwik Cabana. Bottom is approximately 45"x46". Comes with carrying bag. Very easy up and down. Front zips close. Originally paid $50
$25

Bottle drying rack
$5

Family size George Forman Grill. Fits six burgers. Some of the non-stick coating has flaked off inside, but it still works well.
$25

Baby food freezer trays. Makes perfect 1oz portions of food. I would freeze, pop them out, and store in ziplocs. Each tray holds 6 portions.
$5 for all 7

Electric food steamer. Has two baskets and a rice insert (never used and not sure how to use it). The water reservoir has some discoloration from steaming and cooling spinach in it. Great for making baby food since food isn't cooked directly in liquids.
$25

Silverware set with metal carrying basket. Has clear plastic handles. Missing one tablespoon.
$10
Portable baby food grinder. Works great for when you're on the go. Top part is large enough to use as a bowl to feed from
$5

Decorative basket. Intersting bead work and metal base.
$5

4 Liter Electric Deep Fryer. Has some grease buildup on the heating coils which is to be expected from use overtime. Originally $60
$25

Knife Set. Includes wooden block with metal utensil basket attached.
$20

Egg plates. Great for Easter (jello eggs or rice krispie eggs) or deviled eggs.
$15 for both

Four person china service. As you can see one of the smallest plates is broken at the edge, but the pieces are all there. Originally paid $60
$40

Banana Cake Time!!!

2009-09-03T00:20:00.001-07:00

Yummy!! This is one of my "signature" recipes. Banana Cake with Pecan-Crumb Topping is a recipe I found in Good Housekeeping. I modified the recipe by adding pecans to the batter so the cake has a bit more texture to it. I also double the crumb topping so it actually covers the entire cake instead of just part of it. Here is the recipe with my amounts I use for the topping. I cook it on 350* for closer to 35 minutes. I like the topping to get nice and browned so when it cooks it's kind of crunchy :)

Pecan-Crumb Topping

2/3 cup(s) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
4 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine, cold
1 cu cup(s) pecans, chopped

Banana Cake

1 1/3 cup(s) (about 4 medium) fully ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/8 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
Salt
1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Prepare Pecan-Crumb Topping: In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 13" by 9" metal baking pan.
Prepare Banana Cake: In small bowl, mix bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla. On waxed paper, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugars until light and creamy, 5 minutes, scraping bowl often. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, alternately add flour and banana mixtures, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat until smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack.

Fro Yo Fo Sho!

2009-07-30T02:25:00.001-07:00

In the words of Rachel Ray YUM-O! Even before this made it into the ice cream maker I was excited by the flavor. This was the first time we FINALLY cracked open our ice cream maker (only 4 months after we got it). My kids can thank the Almost-Famous Frozen Yogurt recipe in Food Network Magazine for that! Every month they make a restaurant fav and Pinkberry fro yo was this months option. Did not disappoint at all! Those are the ingredients I used. I'm sure you'll notice I didn't have non-fat yogurt. I SWEAR I grabbed some in the store, but obviously I was wrong haha. I sprayed my measuring spoon with the Pam so the corn syrup rolled right off. Definitely using this recipe as the base for some yummyness!

Fruity Desserts

2009-07-30T02:16:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the banana brown betty recipe from All You Magazine? Crispy delicious crust, rummy bananas, and a smooth custard. Would be awesome with nuts inside, but I'm not complaining!

This is a DELICIOUS recipe that I got from All You Magazine. It's really easy to make. Kind of like a lemon bar with blueberries. Being the inspired chef that I am I made this with strawberries and orange (very subtle and light). I also made raspberries and lime (SUPER tart, but tasty). My next endeavor will be attempting a tropical version. I'm thinking pineapple instead of citrus and coconut.

Tasty Treats!

2009-06-01T11:20:00.001-07:00

This is a delicious Apricot Cherry Clafouti. I modified the apricot-almond clafouti recipe in Eating Well Magazine. I used half the apricots and added sliced frozen sweet cherries. I didn't have any amaretto so I used hazelnut Kahlua. No lemon, so I used orange zest. It turned out AWESOME!!

Another recipe I used as inspiration was Ingrid Hoffman's chicken tamales in Food Network Magazine. I REALLY modified this one! I was making enough for my family and my mom to take to work. I poached 5 chicken breast in green enchilada sauce and another 5 in red enchilada sauce. When I could easily shred them I took them out, shredded them, and added them back to the sauce until it was thickened. I used a small can of corn, small can of black beans, 1/2 a bunch of cilantro, and a bit of spices. I used the same amount of self-rising cornmeal that Ingrid's recipe called for. Well, I couldn't find it so I made my own. Just use 3tbsp flour, 1tbsp baking powder, and enough cornmeal to make one cup. These aren't the usual enchiladas where the filling is wrapped in the cornmeal. They still turned out DELICIOUS topped with cream (mexican sour cream), avocado, and red cabbage.

This was the only recipe I used exactly as it was printed. This is the Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes from Food Network Magazine. Absolutely divine!

Long Beach Civil War Re-Enactment

2009-05-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today I took the boys to El Dorado Park for the 2nd Annual Long Beach Civil War Re-Enactment. I'm not a history buff, but I thought this would be a great opportunity to snap some pictures. It was a really overcast day so I did some post-shoot editing to adjust the contrast since most of the pictures were really light.

This is a video I shot of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. You'll have to excuse the shake. I didn't bring a tripod so I was holding the camera the whole time!

My little goof balls

2009-05-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Riley is my youngest goofy kid. He really enjoyed crawling around with this t-ball bat trying to eat it. I think he thought it was a giant turkey leg!! I got him to stand up for this fun shot.

Maybe it's just the new camera that he likes, but Ryan really likes me to take his picture now. He smiled for this one while enjoying some yummy strawberries.

My mom changed Riley on laundry day so he ended up in one of my nieces outfits. I couldn't resist adding the flower for a funny picture. Catching him yawning was the icing on the cake!

I think Jr has a future as a model. He was saying, "Cheese! Cheese!", with his hands on his hips.

If you want a good laugh, just ask Jr what a dinosaur says. You'll get a big roar complete with hands and a great facial expression. The Nikon D90 takes such quick pictures that I was able to capture the moment.

Legoland Adventure

2009-05-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today I lost my mind. In my state of insanity I thought it would be a good idea to take my kids to Legoland with my dad and younger sister. It went pretty well and I got lots of great shots. It was really cool to see all the different things they had made of Legos. Here you'll find lots of pictures of displays.

It's that time of year again...

2009-05-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Prom time that is! I took a few pictures of my younger sister before she headed off to a friend's prom.

Hanging with Grandpa

2009-05-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

Today we headed over to my dad's house for a little quality time. Riley enjoyed opening cupboards to peek inside and both boys had fun just hanging with papa...

Chompers

2009-05-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

Riley was less than enthused about me digging around in his mouth, but a first tooth is a monumental milestone. Anyone who knows my youngest understands how much he LOVES to eat. This just paves the way to an emptier wallet and a bigger bill at Costco as I fill his stomach, haha. If you look in the top picture on the left you can see the tip top of the white of his tooth. The one next to it feels like it's going to burst anyday now. The other two pictures are his reaction to being woken up.

Wildlife

2009-05-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Since these pictures are mostly of my mom's turtles the title fits. I took these on May 20th, but went to see Terminator at midnight so I didn't get a chance to upload last night :)

Jr helping Riley out on the swings.

Tree in bloom...

Coming out to play...

All your turtles in a row...

Turtles in the front...

Enjoying some nice fresh grass...

Fatherly advice...

See!

Can't hold him on my own...

Little shell detail...

Big shell detail...

California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard

2009-05-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

May 17th we went to the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. Normally food festivals have TONS of different foods and crafts centered around their theme. This festival had some of the usual fair food, but was disappointing in other aspects. There were NO homemade goodies to take home and none of the crafts had anything to do with strawberries. Most disappointing to Jr is that the kids area had height requirements for their rides and he was too short for them all...

He still enjoyed some juicy berries.

My mom and I had strawberry nachos.

My cousin had a giant turkey leg.

My mom and aunt had strawberry beer that tasted like Budweiser :-(

Even Riley had a taste!

Riley and a tortoise.

2009-05-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is my little fighter. I love the look on his face here :)

Hmm, what do you mean I can't read through my stomach?

The "mommy told me no" face

The outfit says it all!

This is a super cool series of shots. Shows just how quickly the D90 can snap photos.

Random Shots...

2009-05-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

I am planning on updating my blog regularly with new pictures. Since I just thought of this today I'll upload some of my favorite pictures over the last couple of weeks ...

This is a panoramic view of Long Beach from the top of Signal Hill, CA.

Just a simple word on the side of the telescope on SH, but something many of us take for granted.

This is an awesome sculpture on top of Signal Hill, CA. It pays homage to the oil pipeline workers.

I took my boys to the playground where they had one of those awesome dome shaped jungle gyms. Here's the really cool shadow from that.

This is my new favorite picture of myself and my baby Riley.

My mom loves to bake and Jr loves to help. Here they are making oatmeal cookies.

Jr was drinking milk from a cup with a straw handle. He started to blow bubbles in it and milk shot out the little hole on the lid. He thought it was hilarious!

Don't look at me!

2009-05-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

A hilarious series of pictures of my little guys. I was telling them to look at the camera, but Riley is totally fascinated by Ryan Jr. Jr was telling him no look at mommy and camera, haha...

How We Met

2009-05-16T23:38:00.000-07:00

I have been the proud owner of a Nikon D90 since Monday May 11th. I finally got over the worries that I would be wasting my money. I figure that if I'm so dense that I can't figure out how to use it to it's full potential I can always sell it! And I still have my point-and-shoot Sony Cybershot. I've been searching online everywhere to find the best deal. A search on Ebay revealed some awesome steals. You know the saying "If it's too good to be true it probably is"? Well, that is most definitely true. The majority of the camera shops selling these great Nikon packages aren't even authorized dealers. They're selling grey market products. I didn't want to spend all this money and not have a serviceable warranty, so off I went to Best Buy with a bunch of stuff I printed off the internet.

Best Buy has a great price matching policy and I was able to haggle down the price. I immediately told the salesman that I was looking at prices other places and found them for much cheaper. I also told him I would be getting accessories and an additional lens besides the kit so I wanted to see what he could do for me. He knocked a couple hundred off the camera and the lens that I bought. I got filters, a bag, a memory card, and a tripod. All togehter I was a very happy camper. I immediately took the boys to the park so I could get some shooting out of my system.