I have a moment to post something.. before I scoot out the door and do another Senior ( last minute) portraits for someone!
How was your Thanksgiving?.. ours was uneventful. Since working I was very tired and glad that I didn't have to cook much... Black Friday came and went... but yesterday... I took all the fall decorations down and put up the Christmas ones! It's kind of getting me into the spirit of Christmas... something I think I was lacking last year!




Cruising through my Christmas CD's yesterday I forgot that this song existed! I absolutely love it.. it's not your traditional jingle bells... but there is a line on there that stands out to me... "Baby Jesus, do you know you’ll die for all our sins?
Don’t be afraid, for in 3 days, you will rise again." It's simple yet speaks a lot!

I am so unprepared gift wise for the holidays.. I'm finding this year that my children are so much more harder to buy for and they are NOT providing lists either! It's been a guessing game. What are you buying your kiddos?? and what ages are they?

I'm off to do a little bloggy reading... something I've been neglecting for a long time.. but it's quiet here... and it's that time of the year where I like to spend my Sundays... early in the morning... snuggled up and reading what others are doing for the holidays and the new year!!!

I promise.. I'm going to post... VERY soon... I have so much to share.. but I started a new job a month ago.. and I'm trying to get adjusted to it!! I'm still baking.. still reading.. and still snapping photos and can't wait to share them with you again!!! I miss all of you... I find that I come to the computer.. open up a couple sites and then get bored... even though there is so much out there... So I need to spend more time with YOU and read more about YOU as well!!

I'm THANKFUL for all of YOU!!

I'm in LOVE... it's TRUE love... I'm in love with Bakerella .... A couple weeks ago she posted a recipe for Mini Chocolate Chip Maple Muffins.... OH.. these are HEAVEN!! They did NOT even last an hour.... Click on her blog to get the recipe and TRY them yourself...I had a friend who used regular pancake mix... although that sounds pretty good... I'm not so sure that it could beat the original recipe she shared... With Fall REALLY coming in quickly.. these make a nice morning breakfast with REAL maple syrup....
Again with Fall HERE... that means more books are to be read...I'm a library girl... LOVE the Library.. you know you're an addict when the bag full of books you've just taken out of the library and thrown in the passengers seat set the passengers seatbelt light to trigger on...

However... once a week I've been stopping in at an amazing thrift store.. and I grab a few books that I think I would like to read.. for only .75cents each.... I can't pass that up.. I have a hard.. VERY HARD time paying $10 plus for a book that I'll read once and pass along...so this thrift store is an answer to my prayers... along with the library...
Here are a few of my books waiting to be read....
These are the ones that have been sitting downstairs... I have another pile upstairs.. I can't WAIT to read the new Yada Yada book!!!!! I've read quite a few this summer and I apologize for not sharing what I've read.... I will try and be better with that...

So.. since I've been unemployed.. and my house has been picked up... and I've been job hunting in between... I've noticed my dog has been sad lately...Poor girl... BUT.. you wouldn't believe WHAT I caught her doing....
She has been writing letters to my daughter in college and POSTING them to her FACEBOOK!!
Check it out...CRAZY DOG!!
Not a long post today.. my house is full of boys.. once again... so I think I'm going to sit in the sun we have and read... read.. and read some more!!

My daughter came home this weekend.. it started off really GOOD!! and ended VERY SADLY.... ( more to come on that)...

We decided that we would go and try to grab a few last of the year yardsales... you just NEVER know what a college student could find to use in their dorm room!!! We hit a few and didn't find much... but we hit one that was way off the road path.. and deep in the woods... to my surprise it had a bunch of JUNK!!! That is UNTIL I walked a bit more and found cookbooks!! OLD Cookbooks... Some of them were just TO 70's for me... I'm sorry.. the 70's were NOT a time that recipes seemed to be appealing to me... or maybe... maybe.. it's the outfits they are wearing in the books???? hmmm you decide....

Anyway.. I found two little cookbooks.. ADORABLE OLD cookbooks...
The one on the left is from an old Bread Company... or maybe there are still in existence? If they are I haven't seen them in my neck of the woods....I'm not sure of the year this came out.. but I bet you it was roughly late 40's early 50's....
Here's the back of the mini cookbook....Oh.. the days when the bread delivery man came to your house..... That must have been HEAVEN for many women!!! Although.. I have to say.. my hubby makes a GREAT delivery man on many products.. so I can't complain!!
Hey.. how about one of them recipes from the old Bread cookbook.. perhaps a good Kidney Loaf.. nothing like a good old fashioned Kidney to replace your burger in your meatloaf!!! I know for a FACT that I will NOT be trying this recipe anytime soon!!! But those little cartoon gals look like they are having a BALL mix that stuff up together!!
Here is a peek inside the Glenwood cookbook!! again.. I LOVE the graphics... and this recipe here stood out ....
Gingerbread!!! MMMMM.. I wasn't too keen on a whole loaf... I knew that muffins/cupcakes would get eaten quicker... AND... what goes best with a cupcake?????? FROSTING!! I added frosting to mine!!!

Not bad for a 1933 publication eh??? I believe this little goody was a book that came with your brand spanking NEW Glenwood Range ( stove as we call it here in NH)....
Hey.. even that scarecrow was eying those cupcakes...... Can't say as I blame him!!!
Another Oldie but goody... My son is going to take German next Semester.. and what's better than a book with pictures??? and conversation???
Will he use it?? Perhaps not.. but for the price ( FREE) I couldn't pass it up.. they were going to recycle what they didn't sell.. recycle... that means.. tear it up.. it would no longer exist.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? These little books are beauties to me!!!!
These are my other treasures.... see the prices on them... DIDN'T pay that.. they were all free.. free.. free.. to some.. these may look like junk.. to to a crazy girl who loves to bake..these were a treasure... and I couldn't pass up the photography book... always learning new things... I actually can't wait til my pictures come out CRISP and Breath taking... some day... ahhh a girl can dream... but for now... I'll leave the perfection dept for the baking!!

Fall... it's around the corner... and here in NH it has been FREEZING!! as the weather forecast said "Growing Season is OVER"... and waking up this morning.. I feel that it really is!

One of my favorite bloggers ( okay.. you really are ALL my favorites.. Ü) is Susanne at Living to the the Story. She has been doing a fabulous thing each week with photography.. you all KNOW I love photography and actually have been dipping my nose in many books , blogs, and web-sites lately to learn more. I can't THANK the professionals ENOUGH for sharing their secrets with those of us who haven't the first CLUE what photography is all about. After "shooting" pictures for 10 plus years... I still feel as if I'm an infant in the photography world. I know that amateur photographers can really annoy the professionals... so again.. I can't say THANK YOU enough! So here is what Susanne has been up to at Photo Hunters. Many of you might already be involved and if you are.. PLEASE let me know and I will check yours out!



This week we are to post a picture of something upside down. I don't know about your, but normally upside down things really don't appeal to me to be photographed. So... I decided to dig through my photo's thinking.. THERE IS NO WAY I would find one... but.. surprising even myself.. I DID!! and here is the photo!! This was taken almost three years ago... This is when our beautiful foreign exchange student from Spain got to experience Christmas in America for the first time!! She absolutely loved it!

Do you have one to share? If so.. again.. send me a link and I would love to see it!

The past couple of days I've really have laid it on my heart to step back a bit from facebook. As much as I LOVE my friends and family.. sometimes your feelings can get hurt if you mull over things to long concerning facebook. For the past two to three weeks I've really WANTED to put some MEAN things up on my facebook... and I've been biting my "fingers" not to write it. To make a long story short... it's hard to watch some family members boast about themselves... and how they love God.. and how they are sharing their lives for the love of Christ... and so on... on the most part I would be proud of my friends and family whom do this... but it's hard for me to lay it at the feet of Jesus.. and let HIM deal with my feelings... it's hard for me to see family members spread the love of God to others.. when they can't acknowledge their niece and nephew... a graduation has gone by for my daughter.. and not a congratulations was muttered.. my son turned 14 and not even a Happy Birthday was muttered.... BUT... in the same breath.. they make sure you KNOW that their children have made achievements.....

Long story short.. I've just wanted to post "It's painful to me to see some see my children as OBLIGATIONS and not who they really are"... but then again.. that would be a lie too.. because they haven't felt obligated to praise their own niece of nephew....

Okay.. there is my little facebook rant.. you may pass over it and continue on.. I NEEDED to write it out somewhere.. I felt this was the safest place for me... Ü

What have I been up to lately? Well...
1) I'm unemployed and have been trying to find a job in hopes that we can keep paying our mortgage.. it hasn't been easy.. but God has been good for the past 6 weeks...
2) I've had more time to read...
3) more time to bake...
4) more time to think.. <---- That gets me in trouble.. Ü And I've taken a few more random photo's here and there...
Do you remember the movie Jumanji??? If you've never seen it.. you have to.. I think it's a really cute movie... Several years ago I was working in Keene NH and during that time the production of Jumanji came to town to shoot some scenes. The then crew.. painted this sign on one of the old factory buildings to go along with the movies.. if you remember.. young Alan's dad owned and ran The Parrish Shoe factory ( actually factory shots were done in Maine)... The sign is still displayed today in Keene NH.
And just a couple random photo's of my pre-fall walk in the park last week...




I just bought this album.. I know it isn't NEW.. but I've been LOVING the songs on here.. and jamming to them doing housework.. I pity my poor neighbors who've had to hear the same songs over and over... along with my angelic....( ha ha ha) voice!

The summer is almost over.. and I can't believe it!
This summer has been different for me .. for many different reasons.

I had no fresh air child :(
I worked this whole summer
It rained a little over half the summer
I had no desire to can anything
I even neglected my house cleaning duties .. not like me...
but this summer I've learned a lot...

That the time you have with you children goes by fast... and that sometimes a messy home IS a good thing.. because the time you have spent cleaning and fussing means... it's less time you've spent with your growing children...

Next week I face bringing my oldest to college... I don't know how easy it's going to be to drop her off and leave her there.... actually the word easy doesn't even come to mind....

And then my youngest.... the day after I drop him off in front of highschool.. where I know the next four years are going to fly by faster than the last 4 years.... I Have to BRACE myself....both my kids will be grown by the time I'm 40.... I'm not ready for this... but life isn't going to wait for me to be ready...

In the mean time.. again.. I've done LOTS and LOTS of photographing this summer of different things in the area in which I live.. so I thought I would share a few with you...


Random Farm in Woodstock Vermont... BEAUTIFUL VT area!!!

Found this on the side of the road... I HAD to take a picture.. how sweet is this!!??

This is a Quaker Meeting House built in 1802.. this is nestled in the back woods of Unity New Hampshire... the door was opened when I went there so I snuck inside and took pictures as well...

Another Covered Bridge.. I probably captured about 20 this summer... This one is in Taftsville Vermont...

And the birth of a new baby in the family.. just last week...

I know that the summer has flown by.. but I am anticipating the fall.. I love that time of year where the colors POP out for such a small time... I've been blessed to have been asked to do two Senior Photo "shoots" for year books and I've been contemplating doing FREE photo's for seniors who can't afford the expensive photo's that the area offers... don't get me wrong.. I know and understand why photographers charge what they do.. but I live in an area that there are many people who just can't afford them... so I would like to see these kids have at least one or two good pictures of their last year in highschool.

So I've still been hanging out at Facebook.. I love that place.. BUT I've also have spent quite a bit of time this summer between rain showers taking LOTS and LOTS of pictures.. I first wanted to hit Covered Bridges in NH.. and along the way.. I noticed MORE and MORE history... So that led to more and more car rides and "adventures"...

So.. I thought I would share a few pictures with you... and what I've been up to so far this summer...
I met up with a dear friend for the first time in 15 years... THANKS to facebook!!! We decided to hit Boston and visit the Tall Ships... they come in every 10 years.. and I couldn't pass up this opportunity to meet up with her and take a TON of photographs!!

While in Boston.. they had the MOST AMAZING HUGE Market... We took the T into Boston so we could only grab a few things... otherwise.. I think we would have loaded up on fruits and veggies...

Radishes from the Market...

Along the way to seeking out Covered Bridges we found a few other gems like I said...this being one of them...

This is a Glacial Pothole.. the sign said it's been used for many many years especially for the Native Americans.. I've lived in this area now for 16 years and never knew this existed until we stumbled upon it.. look at old barns to photograph as well...

This is one of the old barns that we found.. I love the sign because it says it all!!!

This is an old Mill Called Blow Me Down Mill... I've searched on the history of it.. and just not sure exactly WHAT the Mill was used for.... but it's beautiful and deserved to be photographed at different angles...


I sure hope NONE ever tried going out that side door.. ha ha!! that's quite the drop.. but then again.. I'm sure there was some sort of different structure there in the past...

This is the Windsor VT/Cornish NH covered bridge.. this bridge joins the two states together over the Connecticut River.. This is the worlds longest two car wide bridge in the world and the longest bridge in the Northern Hemisphere.. and when you ride across it with your windows down .. you can still smell the wood... as if it were built yesterday...

This is the Birth Place of VT.. Windsor.. This is the Constitution House.. The first constitution to prohibit slavery and to establish universal manhood suffrage.

Windsor also had a Prison at one time... this is photo of an old prison cell that now is exposed to the outside world that is storing this kind of machinery in it.. what it is??? I don't know.. but the color and shapes caught my eye....

An Old Barn.. again in Windsor.. it reminds me of some sort of fairy tale story... especially with the strange door in the upper left hand corner.... this barn could tell a lot of stories I believe!!

Broken down saw horse.... with a nest!!! it's amazing how the nest blends into the color of the old wood...

This was seriously.. a drive by "click" shooting... I loved the three silo's and I happened to roll down the window and snap.. and kept driving..... I gave them a black and white effect due to the blurriness of the tree's I caught in the photo...

My other time consumer... BASEBALL!!! Our last game is Wednesday.. the Championship Game... The little men have done AMAZING this year.. they are 12-2..

How is your summer going so far? And great pictures or stories to tell.. tell me about them so I can peek and read them on your blog!!

About a month ago we brought our son to a Pediatric Endocrinologist for some special testing due to his weight. Long story short our entire family has taken on the path to eating right and exercising even more. I'm very proud of my hubby and son for doing just that! They have lost a great amount of weight just this past month! And my son has added 500 calories to burn.. if not more.. to his exercise program. With in this first month people have already complimented him!

So I'm trying to be creative in our menu's.. trying to buy very LITTLE boxed items... and more fresh produce or frozen veggies... it's been hard.. my coupon days are pretty much over when it comes to food... BUT.. I'm okay with that.. if I have to sacrifice more for my food budget now.. than medical bills later... I'll be okay knowing that my family is maintaining a healthy life style.

I won't lie.. it hasn't been super easy.. but manageable enough that the three of us have become a great support system.. and it hasn't bothered me that I've lost 12lbs myself!! Ü

So.. here is a dish I made last night that was OUTSTANDING! And I thought I would share!




Triple Cheese-Spinach Manicotti

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup finely shredded fresh parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped --I omitted
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 ( 15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained,and squeezed dry
1 large egg
12 manicotti shells, cooked without salt or fat
cooking spray
1 ( 26-ounce ) jar fire-roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce ( such as Classico)-- I used what I had on hand

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well, and set aside
3. Spoon cheese mixture evenly into cooked manicotti, and arrange in a 13-X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour pasta sauce over stuffed manicotti; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yields 6 servings WW points 8 points/serving.. however I kept out the pine nuts and if you check all the points for your items.. I believe you'll find that the point value is less... A green salad would compliment this dish!

Hope everyone had an AMAZING 4th of JULY!! Happy Birthday U.S. of A!

I've been addicted to facebook!
Seriously!
But I sit here and wonder why? I mean.. I post little snippets daily and maybe one or two people respond... which is fine.. I understand.. but what am I really accomplishing? Am I liking the fact that I can be nosey in other peoples worlds? or am I looking for ways to find fault and annoyance in people?
I'm learning my time might just be more productive reading blogs and writing in my own!

So what have I been up to ... so much... still wondering when my tomorrow's became yesterdays... and how every days usually seems the same until one day out of the blue it doesn't!

So this past month...
My son graduated from 8th grade is going to be a freshman!
He joined BabeRuth Baseball
He's losing weight.. and doing a GREAT job at it..
My daughter Graduated highschool
Got scholarships that we didn't expect
is taking a trip solo for the first time
and is working hard
We also had a visit from my friends daughter... and I got to do some of her senior pics.. I was really excited to help out

Here are a bunch of pictures with her friends BEFORE graduation!!


Here she is with the Valedictorian.. they have been great friends since 3rd grade!


And here she is with the Salutatorian.. they have been friends since 1st grade and still going strong!

SHE GRADUATED!!!

After the graduation..and three hours of sitting!!!

It was a good night... we had some family here and around 10pm all the grads get together for one last night and celebrate...

Later on in the weeks.. we decided to go strawberry picking.. due to the TONS of amounts of rain that we are getting it was HARD to find ripe berries..

But we did find some amazing asparagus!!!


and because my time is running short already this morning.. I'll throw in a few pictures I did for my friends daughter... where they live there are no mountains or views like NH.. so she asked me to help her out.. and of course I said "sure"...

I tried to encourage her to wear other outfits... but she was dead set with these...