Project 52 (9)

There's nothing super special about this photo at first glance. It's just a leaf in the grass after the sprinklers did their thing. But if you look closer...

...there are lots of cool patterns that I was able to focus in on (thanks, in part, to a coworker showing me a feature on my camera I didn't know about :P).

Have a great weekend!

Food Friday

I didn't manage to get a thankful post up yesterday for various reasons including busyness and just not feeling all that thankful (which, of course, is all the more reason to do it). But here's some food and a thankful mixed in...


Chicken chimichangas.


Broccoli beef (no, I didn't make it).


Chicken tacos/burritos/whatevs. I was working through some tortillas, can you tell?


Fish sans chips.


And a thankful! Lunch with T at delicious Padington's. Doesn't she look cute? And I was able to redeem a free pizza with my full punch card (thanks, in part, to others who contributed their pizza purchases to it)!

July books, links, etc.

It's a little late, but happy August!

In July, I listened to these two audiobooks:

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover - Ally Carter (6 disks)
Third book in the Gallagher Girls series, a YA story about teens going to spy school. The audio of these books has its annoyances, and they really shined in this book (sorry, author!). Dania and I listened to it when we went to Seattle and we often made fun of the silliness. The main character is such a drama queen about some things, or maybe it's just the reader. I don't know, but I was tired of it by the end. The story idea is cute, though, and eventually I'll read the fourth book.

Juliet - Anne Fortier (16 disks)
Julie's aunt (who raised her) dies, and leaves her a key to her late mother's safe deposit box in Sienna, Italy. Julie goes to Italy to embark on a sort of treasure hunt combined with discovering the history behind the story of Romeo and Juliet. This book was pretty long, and there were moments when I was slightly bored or annoyed (the main character is a little annoying). But overall it's very good and interesting.

Books for 2011: 18

I also finished a puzzle!



But it was used, so it was missing one piece. :/



I tried two different photo management programs and ended up preferring Picasa. It's better with the face recognition.

And I found some links that might be of interest:

Cutest Foods - I came across this through Pinterest (see below). They post a cute/clever food picture each day. Check it out, it's pretty fun!

Brown Eyed Baker - A cooking blog that has some yummy recipes without overloading me with pictures of EVERY step.

Princess Hairstyles - A blog with lots of unique and (some crazy) hairstyles meant for young girls. If any of you moms have extra time on your hands ;) you might want to check it out. No, seriously, some of them aren't too complicated.

Also, I joined Pinterest. I haven't used it all that much, mostly because I can tell it's addictive and I haven't wanted to let myself get too involved.

It's a free service that's basically like a virtual bulletin board for ideas and inspiration. You can "pin" anything you find online onto your various "boards" and it'll link back to the site so you know where to go later. The funnest part is just going through friends' and strangers' boards to see what they have pinned, and then you can repin anything to your board or comment on them.

People have found some really awesome, clever and funny things online. Like this hedgehog! People pin everything from yummy recipes, to beautiful photos and locations around the world, to ideas for kids crafts or home decor. I have some invites left, so if you want to try it, let me know and I'll send you one.

Have a great August!

Comment responses

Hi again! I keep meaning to remind you all of something.

I try to go back and respond to many/most of the comments left for me here, but you won't know that I have responded unless you physically re-check the blog entry or subscribe to the comments. Subscribing just sends all future comments on that entry to your email.

If you are unsure how to subscribe to comments, it's as easy as clicking on a link when you're in the commenting area. You can click it before or after you have commented. It will use the email address you have connected with whatever account you're commenting with.

Here's a visual aid provided from my recent comment on Brenda's blog:



If you are commenting anonymously, I don't think it'll let you subscribe unless you sign in with one of your accounts. If you don't have one, you'll just have to come back to the post later to check on the followup comments (if you care about them).

>> If you're still not sure how to comment, here are some instructions.

I hope this was helpful!

Taco Seasoning

I have no problem purchasing packets of taco seasoning, but I've run out enough times that I have tried a few recipes and made it myself. It's fun!

There are a lot of recipes out there, and I don't think I've ever made one exactly as directed since I rarely have all of the ingredients. The following is an easy one I found online that has worked well for me and has a lot of basic stuff you probably have in your cupboards. The red ingredients are ones I haven't added because I didn't have them on hand (and it still tasted great). I never remember to buy oregano, of all things!

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Just mix all those spices together! I think they make about one packet's worth.

The best part is how pretty it looks when you're making it:



Okay, now that you have some taco seasoning go make some Salsa Chicken!