Drum roll….
Congratulations to Naddez (Who said, “I would get the Pure Oxygen Whitener)! You are the winner of the $25 e-gift card to EcoStoreusa.com! You lucky lady, you.
I hate that there is just one prize. I will make it up to you with a few more giveaways coming to a computer screen near you.
With love,
It’s a very rare and special thing these days for my husband and I to get to go out on an old fashioned date- just the two of us. I texted some friends Don’t bug. I’m on a date with my man.
We were so happy to be alone it was ridiculous.
He drove, and I stretched out my legs and put my bare feet on the dashboard. We drove Pacific Coast Highway with the windows down while eating take-out fish and chips from our favorite beach shack restaurant.
We’re casual people.
Someone gave us tickets to Cirque du Soleil- Kooza. It was right on the beach and next to the pier. The show and its location were spectacular!
After the show, we strolled the pier and held hands… just like the good ol’ days. The pier was eclectic fun.
For $1.00 The Great Zoltar will predict your future in English- or Spanish. It was pretty eerie. He kept saying I know you're there. I can tell your future. Come closer.
No thanks. You are in my nightmares.
People, do you see what I have to deal with here? My husband is showing me that he has found his long lost twin.
More nightmares.
Some of our stops…
We made some new friends…
Enjoyed the Ferris wheel…
And hoped that the guy who took our picture with my camera didn’t run away with it while we had our backs turned.
It was the perfect date.
Friday night was my twelve year old’s last flag football game of the season. The afternoon before the game I decided to bake a dessert for everyone. I busted out the brownie mix and a football shaped cookie cutter. It was a simple dessert, but… it made me famous.
Famous?
Yes, famous.
Not the “your name in lights” type, but the more important kind.
I overheard my son telling the other players that I made the dessert they were enjoying. Then I’m sure I caught his smile from across the room. For some reason he felt proud. In that moment I mattered to him.
It made me feel, well… famous.
Since Beach Bunny and I have sensitive skin, I am always on the lookout for bath products that are gentle, high quality, really sudsy, and good for us. Eureka! I’ve found it. It’s called Baby Body Wash from Ecostore USA. I love it so much because it makes our skin incredibly soft.
In fact, truth be told, I gave her two baths yesterday and the body wash made her toddler legs feel baby soft all over again- my hands, too. You want to know the kicker? My husband used it (don’t tell anybody I’m telling you) and he was like, Hey, I like that new body wash. What’s it called?
Ecostore USA would like to offer a $25 e-gift certificate to one lucky reader. $25 goes a long way in their store! You can pick out whatever you’d like.
That’s pretty darn cool.
Here are some things that I’d love to try if I won:
How to enter? Just visit Ecostore USA, then come back and tell me what you would try if you won. That’s it! One winner will be chosen at random. Contest ends November 11, 2009.
I had so much fun this Halloween. We started out the night with 13 people over for dinner- just family. I made homemade pizza for the kids, and for the adults I made cornbread and put on a pot of homemade turkey chili. I love having people over with all their kids. It was wonderful chaos- babies and kids everywhere.
Here are a few scrapbook pages to commemorate the night.
Beach Bunny dressed as a ladybug. She loved her costume for most of the night. At one point she considered being a streaker instead. I was able to convince her to put her costume back on after I told her that all little children must wear clothes in order to go trick or treating.
Thankfully she complied.
This was the first year we let the boys be something scary. I’m still not convinced I like the idea. I guess they can’t be super heroes forever. Sigh.
I have to end on a not-so-scary note.
I am so excited to have completed fund raising with your help for a wonderful boy in our local foster care system. If you don’t remember his story, please click HERE.
To be totally honest, I was scared to death to hit “publish” when I first asked for your help to join me in helping Floyd. I was afraid no one would chip in, and I would be left hanging there. But I trusted the Lord. Now as I look back I believe God placed the number “500” in my heart, but in His unending love multiplied it. One of my boys tonight came to me with some money for Floyd, and now the total is $1000.50. Unbelievable.
This is what I know and need to remember…
What a privilege I have been given by God to be able to spend my life giving His love away.
Thank you for helping me help Floyd. I can’t wait to hand him his check and tell him that people from all over the country care for him. I pray that your kindness will reveal to him the heart of the heavenly Father who cares for his needs.
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Kathleen N. from California, your name was randomly picked from the list of all who “chipped in” with me. You are the winner!! I am excited to design a mini album just for you. Please email me at pineappleprincess777@gmail.com.
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Ok, so no post is complete without a picture, so here’s a peek at tomorrow’s post…
Encourage one another,
I had an “open call” for photos a few weeks ago, and you guys sent me some fun ones! A few of the photos were perfect as is, while others needed a lot of love (Ha!). I chose this picture from Jess because it was right smack in the middle. I also chose this one to show you that, with a little tweaking, you can salvage a photo and bring it a little more life with the “unsharp mask” tool.
Edited Version:
Original Below:
I am not a fan of overly Photoshopped edits. I wanted to keep this picture close to the original, yet give it some pop. These are the steps I took to clean up this adorable photo:
1. Imported picture into Photoshop Elements 7
2. Duplicated the layer in layers palette. Edited with soft light at 20% to add contrast
3. Selected only the irises of the eyes with lasso tool and upped the contrast to +7… then with the eyes already selected, I chose “unsharp mask” to sharpen the eyes (Doesn’t it seem weird to select “unsharp” when you need to sharpen? I’ll never get it).
4. Enhanced lashes with the “burn” tool (lashes are always my favorite part).
5. Cropped the picture just a little
6. Used the lasso tool on the left to select each face, then used “unsharp mask” (under “Enhance” at the top of the screen) to help get rid of some of the “fog” in the picture
Here’s a screen shot so you can see what this step looks like:
Total time spent was only about 10 minutes, maybe less if I didn’t have my two year old “helper” in my lap.
Sigh.
These girls just make me smile.
Encourage one another,
It’s something I’ve tried to hide for a long time. I’ve been known to bring out the smoke and mirrors from time to time. It’s my dirty little secret.
I’m …
a bad cook.
There.
I said it.
I’m a bad cook.
Bad cook. Bad cook. Bad cook.
But I want to be better. Sure, I do cook for my family most nights and offer them organic fruits and veggies, but when it comes right down to being creative in the kitchen- I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I know someone who is. She’s my neighbor. She’s got the gift, plus a cool kitchen and great pots and pans that make me giddy. She is so sweet to invite me over and teach me. I just follow everything she does and try very hard not to embarrass myself.
With our two year olds playing at our feet and tearing up the house, my friend decided I needed to learn this new recipe: Sweet Sausage and Bowtie Pasta. My first job was to grate fresh parmesan, chop onions and prepare the sausage. I was a sweaty mess.
She chopped the garlic…
…then poured boiling water over the tomatoes so they could be easily peeled.
Huh!
Who knew!
Yep, they’re done!
I peeled, seeded and chopped the tomatoes.
(This is real life here, friends. No Photoshop today… overly ripe banana, old sippy cup, and random potato. It’s how we roll.)
Then she got out her bad boy cast iron cookware, and I began to drool.
She calls them Le Creuset.
They are very expensive she tells me.
I tell her I’m considering selling a kidney. Do I even need two?
----------------------------------------------------
I learned an important cooking tip today. One I will use for a long time. If I have no idea what to make for dinner and my husband is just about to walk in the door, I should throw some onions and olive oil in a pot and start cooking. The aroma will confuse my husband and make him think I have something great planned for dinner. You should try it!
Next, we added the diced tomatoes to the onion and sausage mixture, along with the rest of the ingredients. Then my friend went out to her garden and got fresh parsley to add to our meal… and stopped to feed her chickens, too.
She is just like Pioneer Woman, except without a cookbook.
So by 10:30 am we both had dinner ready for our families that evening. All we had to do was heat and serve.
Here’s the recipe, if you’re interested…
but just don’t tell anyone my dirty little secret.
Sweet Sausage Bowties
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)
1 pound farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil (I used fresh parsley)
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream (or half and half). Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish Sprinkle with basil (or parsley). Don’t forget to serve with freshly grated parmesan!
So tell me…
What’s cookin’ at your house? If you would, please tell me what you’re loving to cook right now or a link to one of your own recipe blog posts. I need ideas!
Encourage one another,
So my sister in law wanted a very casual wedding on the beach. She didn’t want to hire a photographer, so she asked me to do her a favor and take some pictures. I said yes. Then, later I panicked when I realized that I have no earthly clue how to properly photograph a wedding. My only reference being my own wedding photos… my big hair… and those wacky teal satin bridesmaid dresses that I swore those girls would wear again.
The night before the wedding, I went to Flickr for some beach wedding photography inspiration. It gave me some good ideas, and some not so good ideas on how to pose a couple. I memorized everything I saw.
So below are a few of the pictures from the day… for better or for worse.
I kind of like how the picture below turned out. Their heads and the point at the bottom of her skirt form a heart. This photo is what I call a “happy accident”. Hey, If I ever start a photography business that’s what I’ll call it… Happy Accidents!
Kidding!
I love the bride’s wedding shoes. I couldn’t resist.
The cake tasted as good as it looked! I’m a sucker for a beach theme.
I discovered I could have used an assistant to help with the flower girls. They were over it!
I should have brought along a rodeo clown.
Next time.
And one last picture of the bride and groom walking off into the sunset/slash/fog.
Congratulations, L and J! Enjoy your honeymoon!
Man, I need a vacation!
This week I'm joining in on the fun at Me-Me and Monkey’s Big Adventure, and I'm posting some favorite photos from the week. The theme is “orange”, and I just happen to have a few pictures left from our trip to the pumpkin patch. In this picture, Beach Bunny is holding her favorite pumpkin. For some reason she’s in love with that little gourd! She begs to sleep with it in her crib. Is that normal to bond with a pumpkin? She may need therapy come December.
I tried and tried to get a good shot of the two of them. No luck, but I like this one of Goofy Foot. I’m not too proud to bribe my children. Let’s call it an “investment”. This shot cost me a pack of gum.
Have you tried organic apples this season? They’re insane! I just can’t get enough. Oh, I just can’t get enough.
One more trip down memory lane…
Edited to add: I am super honored to have one of my past “Your Photo- My Edit” photos featured on Pioneer Woman’s blog today (She's like the Martha Stewart of mom bloggers if you don't know who she is). If you’d like to take a peek, clickety HERE to go right to the post. It’s the 5th picture (girl with cowboy hat). Cheri is the very talented photographer who sent the photo to me. This is so fun! Also thanks, Hannah, for letting me know about this! Not in my wildest dreams!
Monday we took a trip to the farm and pumpkin patch.
I always put my big kids to work when they are around. Slave labor is cheap these days.
Don’t you just love this season? Puts me in a good mood.
I told Goofy Foot I would give him 50 bucks if he could lift that pumpkin.
I’m a mean mom.
Pumpkins are heavier than they look.
Beach Bunny was so proud of herself when she found her first ever “perfect pumpkin”. It was probably the smallest pumpkin in the whole patch, but it was perfect to her. She kept telling me, “Yook (look), Mama, my punkin. Not hebee (heavy)!”
Do dark clouds know that bright orange pumpkins chase the rain away?
Baking pumpkin seeds is an October tradition at our house. I’m eating them right now, in fact, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you.
Pumpkin Seed Recipe:
Clean and rinse pumpkin seeds.
Place in small pot of water.
Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
Drain seeds and place on baking sheet.
Season with olive oil, salt and garlic powder.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.
What do you love baking this time of year?
Edited to add: I am closing off comments for this post so I can get to editing your photos. You guys emailed me the cutest pictures, by the way!
If you want to send me a photo but didn’t get the chance, I will do another open call in the near future. Promise! :)
Do you have one of those photos that you just love, but it’s just a little dark or you wish you could give it some pop?
Maybe I can help.
I’m hosting an open call for “Your Photo- My Edit”. All you have to do is follow two easy steps:
1. Leave me a comment on this post- any old comment will do, but play nice. Ha!
2. Email ONE (family friendly) picture to me at . In the email, let me know if I can post your photo on my blog- with a link to you, of course!
I will choose one photo at random for an upcoming “Your Photo- My Edit” post, and save the rest for future posts.
Here is one of my favorite before and afters that I did for Kelly at http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/. She’s got the edited version in the rotating header of her blog, which makes me so happy!
Before:
After:
Ok, I’m off to the pumpkin patch with 2/3 of my kids. I love the fall!
Saturday means “soccer” for our family in the fall. I really love this sport. I enjoyed playing when I was a kid and even played a few games for fun while in college. It’s funny when I play now with the kids because my mind remembers how it “used to be”, but my poor body can’t get it going like the good ol’ days.
Can I get an ‘amen’ up in here?
So I thought I’d overwhelm your senses with a picture overload from Goofy Foot’s most recent game. Let me tell you right now… our team is all heart and extra enthusiasm, hold the talent. Shh! Don’t t
ell the guys… but we haven’t won a single game yet. But that’s cool… we have a rockin’ team banner and great after game snacks. And everybody knows that’s what it’s all about… at least that’s what our team thinks anyway.
I love at the end of the game everyone from the sidelines forms a tunnel and the kids run through as we cheer them on. It’s kinda funny, but the boys get a kick out of it. No one really cares who wins. I like it like that.
Here’s a picture of Goofy Foot playing goalie. Oh, the pressure… especially when your defenders are M.I.A. Goofy Foot was up for the challenge.
And he takes one for the team… fearlessly defending the goal with his body, or something like that.
Here are a couple of action shots…
Team meeting after the game…
Don’t they look like they are talking strategy, or how to be a fierce competitor, maybe secret plays? I kid you not, the coach was reminding them to say thank you to the snack mom.
That would be me.
I think I love this team!
Big Surf, who is a seventh grader, took a sick day from school today. I think he was more sick of studying for his history test than actually physically sick. Ancient Rome will just have to hold on another day or two.
It was so nice to spend the day with my biggest boy.
We went for a walk together. It was such a beautiful fall day… the kind of day that makes me want to cook soup and go buy a fuzzy scarf.
Beach Bunny loves to ride on her big brother’s shoulders. It’s a fun and wild ride sometimes! These two are buds, and I love to watch my super tough Jr. Higher obediently follow his sometimes bossy two-year-old baby sister’s every command.
I love “sick” days!
This is a love story between a daddy and his adopted daughter...
Supergirl without a cape. Only her heart flies higher than her body. In that airborne instant her only hope is her daddy. Fear she does not know, but her father she does. She trusts him. Sixteen months under the same roof have convinced her he is reliable. He is not superhuman, but he is strong.
And so she flies.
And so she soars.
And so he catches her…
…and the two celebrate the wedding of her trust and his faithfulness.
(words inspired by Max Lucado)
I was driving through Malibu and saw these gorgeous bougainvillea. I had my camera with me so I pulled over and snapped away! They were a dark color, but I saw in them such potential… soft feminine colors… dreamy retro feel… lightly textured.
Processed with Rebecca Lily preset "Dreamy" and Florabella Texture "Tea Stained" (screen) 10%.
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Don’t forget to check out my raffle. There is a button on the top of my left sidebar, or you can check it out when you clickety HERE. Thank you SO much to my friends who have already “chipped in”. Thank you! Thank you! I could hug you all!!
I seriously can’t wait to design the photo album and edit all the pictures for the winner… and help Floyd @ the same time! It’s a win-win in my book!!
Update: I’m almost 1/2 way to my goal. I’m freaking out!!! Yahoo! Go, God!
Here’s another cute sample page (My boys on Halloween 2007):
Encourage one another,
I’ve been a Christian my whole life, and one thing I am still learning is to say “yes” to God “whenever, whatever, wherever”. You see, I’m still learning to submit to Him daily. I hate that regretful feeling I get when I know He wanted me to do something and I just brushed it off and told God I was too busy. Dumb!
I recently found out about a boy who grew up in foster care in my area. He’s a leader, great student and very responsible. However, this December he will be aging out of his group home. With no family to speak of, he becomes an instant adult- with no one to fall back on. Thankfully, my husband’s non-profit has found mentors for him and he has a job and community college all lined up. The problem is that he will need a used car to get back and forth to work and school.
God spoke directly to my heart Sunday night and told me “500”. It took me a second and then I realized what “500” stood for… He wants me to raise $500 towards a car for Floyd. “Darn it, God.
” I thought. “I don’t have time.” I think He probably laughed at me. So I decided to suck it up and obediently gave my “yes” to God… remembering “whenever, whatever, wherever”.
“What can I possibly do to raise the money, God?” I asked Him this morning. “Offer to make something,” he told my heart.
So here is what I’m offering to you… up for raffle is one Autumn Blessings photo album (sample pages below and one above). I will design 10 pages with room for 14 of your pictures. The winner will email me pictures, and I will custom edit each to look their best. I will professionally print the pages and bind them with a metal ring and decorate with cute shabby ribbons… or I can email the pages to you to use on your blog. The choice is yours!
Every dollar you “chip in” is one entry. This raffle will run through October 29th, 2009. 100% of funds raised will go to help Floyd purchase his first used car. Just click the “Chip In” button on the widget below.
Please don’t feel any pressure to join in. I am fully trusting God to do His thing in His timing- whatever that may be!
Below are three sample pages (with pictures of my sister-in-law’s family) that I would be delighted to design for the winner:
My sister-in-law (last fall) eight months pregnant with twins.
Can you believe how good she looks? So not fair!
My bro-in-law with my niece and nephew
It would blow my mind to be able to hand Floyd a check and tell him that people from near and far have come to help him.
Encourage one another,
Pineapple Princess
First of all before this post really gets started, I wanted to say thank you for all the awesome insight and comments on the previous post. It’s encouraging to me to know there are others out there with a passion like mine to teach our children that character counts! That’s the truth!
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Ok, now onto business…
Goofy Foot just celebrated his ninth birthday. We always give our kids the option of a present from mom and dad or a small 
party with a few friends. This year he chose to go rock climbing with his best buds from school. It turned out to be really fun, and I didn’t even have to clean my house (Come on. Admit you know what I’m talking about). The boys climbed and climbed for an hour and a half. As each friend took turns to climb the walls, the others would shout encouraging words to keep the climber motivated, “You’re almost there!” … “Just a little further!”
I was pretty impressed with these little guys! They made it look easy, but it was seriously hard work!
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from his party:
I love you, Bud!
You Rock!
Happy ninth birthday!!!
Two years and two months is a funny age. She is an amusing mixture- part baby and part little girl. She has just discovered what feeling “pretty” means. I thing that down deep every girl wants to feel pretty one time or another. We’ve just noticed that when she hears daddy coming home, she will run to put something fancy in her hair or put on a nice, clean outfit. She always meets daddy at the door with such enthusiasm. He scoops her up and tells her, “Wow! You look pretty!” She, being two years old, always replies back, “Ya! I priiitty!”
As she’s growing up I think the tricky part is going to be to teach her that pretty on the “inside” is even more valuable than pretty on the “outside”. Sometimes it’s hard to live t
his because our culture and world are all about the outside. As I’m typing this, a verse from Samuel comes to mind… “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Do you agree or disagree with the importance of that verse? How in the world do we teach this to our girls (boys, too!) when every media outlet tells them the opposite?
My wonderful friend, Cheri, recently sent this picture to me of her beautiful little niece, Lauren Grace. I felt so honored to edit a picture for Cheri. I am enamored with her photography style, and I jumped at the chance to collaborate on this project with her.
Here are the basics on how I edited this image…
*Enhanced the natural light of this photo in Lightroom 2.3
*Imported image to Photoshop Elements 7 and desaturated the color
*Coffeeshop’s Powder Room 2 on her eyes
*Used four different textures from the Florabella texture collection
*Flattened image
*Duplicated background layer and made the layer copy “color burn” at 19%
Cheri, it was truly a blessing to work with you. Let’s do it again!!!
Big Kahuna and I have known each other since we were kids and have been married for almost 15 years. We are passionate about our family, travel and serving God. We love helping people and bringing them hope. We laugh ourselves to tears watching classic episodes of Saturday Night Live and The Office. Summer is our favorite season, and we live for warm evenings playing with the kids on the beach.
Big Surf is 12 years old. He's a voracious reader, focused, and spends hours building things. He is our resident techie and is also learning to play the violin. He loves to spend his free time playing baseball, flag football, or out on the trails by the house building his clubhouse.
Goofy Foot is 8 years old. He devours his free reading books like there is no tomorrow. He is also the family comedian. If you see him, ask him to tell you a joke! He is tender-hearted, social and compliant. When he is not outside riding his bike, you'll find him drawing or writing a funny book.
Beach Bunny is two years old. She is our sunshine! She joined our family through the unbelievable gift of adoption. Beach Bunny loves to snuggle with us and carefully takes care of her baby dolls. She is super silly and must say hi to everyone! One word that describes her is "joy".
