Photography

I love photography.

No, I don't have a fancy DSR camera. No, it's not because I disaprove of them for some reason. Mostly it's because I have a perfectly decent camera (which I love, THANK YOU KEVIN), because I don't want to spend tons of cash on a camera (when I already have one), and because I assume they are darn heavy (I have flimsy little girl arms).

However of course, should something tradgic ever happen to my camera, we all know what kind of camera I will be drooling over in Ritz (or Target or Sear or anyplace that sells cameras really).

That said, I still take TONS of photos with my digital camera and like to read articles about new things try. One of the sites I check out for these articles is DPS (Digital Photography School).
My favorite article so far: 20 Examples of Low Angle Photography.

My favorite shots from this article:

(no, the photos are not mine. Copyright info is on the photos shown at DPS)

Bunnies and Dreams

So last week I had a dream that bunnies had overtaken our apartment and were everywhere. I kept wanting to be angry with them for getting into everything but then they looked up at me with their little noses and whiskers and big black eyes and I melted (dream me actually felt like I was melting into my bed. It was awesome and freaky at the same time). I suppose that's what happens when you look at 20 pages of the Daily Squee right before bed.

(no, it's not my photo. I borrowed it from Daily Squee for emphasis)

Christmas Program

Got to love it♥

Simple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies*

[adapted from Smitten Kitchen]
Made these for my mom.
I also lost about 4 cookies worth of batter in the process of making these because the batter is so darn delicious. It reminds me of the Quaker Oats pre-packaged cinammon raisin flavored oatmeals... only better.


INGREDIENTS:

½ cup butter softened (or 1 stick)
2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
1 egg
½ TEAspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup flour
½ TEAspoon baking soda
½ TEAspoon ground cinnamon
¼ TEAspoon salt**
1 and ½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven (350 F)
Cream butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla till smooth
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
Gradually stir this into the butter/sugar mixture
Stir in oats, raisins and walnuts

Now you can chill the dough (for thicker cookies)
Or back right away (for slightly less thick cookies)
Spoon them out about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet***
Bake 10 to 12 minutes (mine took about 15 to 17 actually)
Take them out when golden at the edges but still a little soft looking on top.
Let them cool thoroughly before packing.

*This is one of the simplest recipes I've ever tried. Everything can basically be contained to one bowl and there's no need for a mixer. Don't be afraid to tweak this. I did not measure the rasins. I just poured from the bag till it looked like enough. I messed with the amount of salt. I had clumps in the brown sugar. I probably won't add nuts next time. Don't worry. Baking isn't science. Make it your own.

**I actually used less salt than this. My mom’s doctor just told her to cut back her sodium intake so because of that, I used sea salt on only a small pinch or two.
***Yes I used a pizza pan. One of my cookie sheets was in the dishwasher and the other was keeping a really fat turkey from leaking raw thawing nastiness all over my fridge.

Homemade Marshmallows

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS
[adapted from Smitten Kitchen]


I wrapped about 5 of these up in some bags (bought 20 @ target for a buck in the bargan area) and had enough to give to each of my 15 co-workers, a large jar for my grandmother and 3 extra bags!

INGREDIENTS:

Medium bowl of powdered sugar (for dusting and coating the pan)

3 ½ envelopes (2 TABLEspoons plus 2 ½ TEAspoons) unflavored gelatin

½ cup light corn syrup

½ cup cold water

Another ½ cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

¼ TEAspoon salt

1 TABLEspoon vanilla extract*

2 large egg whites

DIRECTIONS:

Oil a pan (19x9)

Dust pan with powdered sugar

In a large bowl, sprinkle** gelatin over ½ cup cold water and let stand.

 

In a 3 quart saucepan (I usually eyeball it and pick my best pan), cook corn syrup, other ½ cup cold water, ¼ teaspoon salt over low heat, stirring in granulated sugar with a wooden spoon until dissolved. (it is dissolved when you can’t feel clumps of sugar anymore)

Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture WITHOUT stirring

Until a digital or candy thermometer registers 240 degrees F (about 12 minutes)***

Remove from heat

Pour over gelatin mixture

Stir (or beat with mixer) until gelatin is dissolved

Beat on high speed till white, tick and nearly tripled in volume (10 minutes, maybe more)

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites (with the whisk attachment) till they just hold stiff peaks.

Combine egg whites and vanilla with the sugar/ gelatin mixture till just combined.

By now my mixture was so stiff and fluffy that the bowl would spin with the mixer if I didn’t hold it still.

Pour complete mixture into oiled and powdered pan

DO NOT SCRAPE THE BOWL (it will stick to you and make a huge mess)

IF YOU WANT COLOR: drop a few drops of food coloring every few inches on the top of the mixture and use a fork to spread it around in designs

Sift a bit of powdered sugar over the top (I no longer have a sifter and had to sprinkle with my hands)

Chill uncovered, until firm (at least 3 hours, up to 1 day)

Run a thin knife around edges and flop onto a large surface (I covered my coffee table with aluminum foil for this).

Life up one corner of the pan, loosen marshmallow with fingers.

Trim edges (which may be crunchy and rather undesirable) and shape into cubes.

Roll newly shaped marshmallows in powdered sugar, shake off and pack.

They will keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1 week.

*The first time I ever made this recipe (2 days ago) I ran out of vanilla extract. I could barely squeeze a few drops out. After asking Google I decided to add some (off brand) maple syrup to taste. You can taste the difference. But they were still might tasty.

** The first time I made this recipe, my husband was helping (THANK YOU KEVIN!). However, he did not sprinkle. He just dumped. It did not look good. It was clumpy and nasty looking and I searched online for at least 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do (I couldn’t do it over, as I only bought one box of gelatin and there are only 4 packets in each box). In the end, I went on with the recipe and (thankfully!) it came together with just a bit of prompting from my hand mixer.


*** perhaps it is because my digital thermometer is broken and I don’t own a candy thermometer but I couldn’t get my boiling sugar mixture over 120 degrees F. I just boiled it for the 12 minutes (and then about 3 minutes more, just for good measure) before moving on.

Christmas Baskets 2010

Every year our church assembles several boxes of food for those in need in the congregation and neighborhood. Earlier this month, Martini assembled and delivered 25 baskets full of donated canned and boxed goods, gloves, hats, scarves and toys to families all over Baltimore and the surrounding areas.

A note: that handsome boy at the end here is my cousin's son, Thomas (the Third).

 

                                  

writing♥

Short life update:
- KEVIN GOT A JOB!!!! ^_^ It’s not the best in the world, and he’s already getting burnout from work and college but he’s so thrilled to be working again and the Christmas tree is deffinately going to see more gifts than we had planned on.

- I had Thanksgiving dinner at our house! I made the turkey, mashed potatoes, carmelized onions, and dinner rolls. Mom helped with the turkey, made stuffing and helped salvage my potatoes. Also, we had pie and let my Grandmother play our wii. She now wants one for Christmas.

- Finals! Both Kevin and I had our math finals yesterday. My English final was in the form of an essay due last week. Kevin’s Psych and English finals will be on Friday.



Also, I love to write.


Something about the way I disconnect from my world when I write is pure bliss to me. It’s like reading except that I create the world I fall into.



I’ve lately been trying to get back into writing (and by get back into I mean stare at a blank page/ screen for several hours before I actually begin to type/ write and then cannot stop for trivial things such as food and sleep) and it’s worked with the help of this amazing thing called a photo prompt. I will admit: such things are not my own and thus, the idea and inspiration is not mine. However, there are also those who say that original ideas are fiction, that there is no such thing as an original idea. There are also those who would say that creative peoples of today are exchanging imitation for inspiration (see this link) and that said, I do not suggest using these prompts as a basis for an original story that is written with the intent of being published. They are however great for when you just want to practice or need to escape a bit.



That said, here are some lovely photos for you:



Yes, all of these are inspired by fantasy. I have several dozens of art prompts stored on my computer separated into folders (settings, characters, and 2 other folders holding inspiration for my most current stories) and well, I like fantasy art… a lot. There are a few recurring artists, simply because there are some people who make me love everything they make. 

The above artists are from these respective artists:

1) Troll Hunter by kerembeyit
2) March 2 Doodles by B1nd1
3) The Saint by beowulf716

I find these photos through a couple different ways. As a self proclaimed geek and avid D&D player, I often read Wizards of the Coast forums and Giant in the Playground Forums and occasionally you will find a post titled “art that gets it right”, “Everybody loves cheesecake/beefcake” (as a precaution, consider these NSFW) and “character portraits”. Lots of these come from there. (If you haven’t already, go and read his Order of the Stick comic from the beginning, it’s great and even more hilarious for D&D players)


Another great place for inspiration art, Deviantart. I will sometimes search for a particular word (elf, scenery, fantasy, horse, wizard, bubbles, barbarian) but more often, I simply check out the latest art uploaded and their Daily Deviations. If I find something I like, I try to write down or tag that artist in my favs bar so that I can come back to check out the rest of their work.

And lastly, Google. If you have a particular story/character/setting in mind but can’t really picture it, type a few key words that come to mind when thinking of your idea and do an image search. It sometimes gives awesome results, sometimes not so much. fyi: Google’s child-safe/ work-safe filter is sorely lacking.

These are 2 prompts I’ve been working on lately:

1) I can’t remember where I found this image :-[ (if anyone recognizes it, please let me know).

2) Tall Trees by RalphHorsley

....................................................................................

There was a faint creak of wire on wood as she pulled back. Her breathing was deep and powerful, a trademark of her training. The arrow in her hand glowed golden with magic imbedded there by the elders of her land. She would not allow these men to betray her family home.

Unaware of the deadly weapon trained on them, several men stomped through the dense forest loudly. Birds fled from their homes and deer bolted away as the intruders neared. She could see and count them now. There were three of them. They all looked human. Clenching her jaw and planting her feet, the woman pulled her bow back as far as she could. Shifting her weight evenly to ensure a solid shot, a twig beneath her boots snapped. And with the soft sound, the man furthest from her froze. A sliver of fear pierced her chest. A human could not have heard that, he was still the length of a fallen tree away. And yet, impossible though it was, he threw out a hand to his companions, drawing them back.

“I heard something.” He said, craning his head around trees. The red haired man on his left merrily shrugged and laughed.

“You’re in the forest, man, expect to hear a lot of somethings!” he cried, loudly, perhaps drunkenly. The companion on his right nodded but still, his hand fell to the thin blade at his side.

“All the same. It wouldn’t be good to have someone sneak up on us.” The black haired man with the thin sword said, “Get your weapon out and try to sober up.” Still grinning the man wobbly pulled a large sword from the sheath on his belt. The light that pierced the thick forest gleamed off the sharp blade. She would have to take him down first. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she suddenly released her clenched fingers. Darting behind a nearby tree, she listened to the hum of the spelled arrow as it sliced through air towards its target. The man fell with a heavy thud and she could hear his companions rushing to his side, talking over one another.

Moving more carefully this time, she bent down and peeked at the men through a bush at her feet. She had succeeded in taking out their warrior but the other two had now drawn their own swords. The man with the golden hearing to match his golden hair bent over the sleeping form of his companion and turning to the friend pacing around them, sword drawn he rose up also.

“He’s asleep. Spelled or poisoned arrow.” The circling man nodded, holding his rapier before him. The other one drew a second weapon, now wielding two swords easily but he did not circle their friend as the other. He stood perfectly still – listening. Grinning she raised her bow again. He would not hear her this time.

The end (untill I update it at least).

And, is it just me, or did I get a little link-happy there?