More picture experiments

Here are some more of my favorites. The other girl is Mark's girlfriend Meagan, and then the rest of us :) You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

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Weekend to Carrollton, Photography Experiment

We went to Carrollton, TX this past weekend for Blake to sing and we got to see my family, which is always a huge plus :) I love visiting and it's always so hard to leave. My mom has been into photography lately and she upgraded her camera...so Blake and I got to have her old one!! We all (me, Blake, Mom, Dad, and Mark and his gf Meagan) went to experiment with our cameras on Saturday at a greenbelt area. Here are some pics I took of Blake:

Mom took this last one :)

And then Blake sang a full concert at my home church. I was still getting the hang of that new camera, so they're blurry. But I'll get better at it.







Here are some landscapes Blake and I took that I then tried to edit. I'd really like to learn Photoshop. But these I just did with a little picture program called picasa:

I like these of my Dad

I think it will be fun for Blake and I to wander around and take pictures together. :)

Dinner

Okay, after 3 straight nights of cereal for dinner, I'm starting to feel guilty. This is what we're going to have tonight, Blake's actually going to make it for me!!!

Enchilada Chicken Chili

UPDATE: I did NOT like this, Blake liked it. I give it 2 stars, Blake said it was the best chili he's ever had. I might have liked it better had I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts. But I used frozen wings (that I mistook for breasts) and I now know for sure I do not like dark meat. The flavors of the chili weren't bad.

Book club success

I had a great weekend. Friday night Blake and I went to see the Mark Trammell Quartet in concert and they did a great job. The concert was farther away than we thought, so the drive home was kind of miserable because we were so sleepy, but it was totally worth it. Then on Saturday Blake went to help his brother take home some exercise equipment, and I cleaned the house. I love when our house is clean and picked up, it's a great feeling. Blake came home around 1:30 and we had a late lunch of huge sandwiches. I really wanted chips and we didn't have any, so I experimented and made some Sweet Potato Chips. I sliced up a sweet potato and drizzled olive oil on them and tossed them with cinnamon and cumin and salt. I then put them in the oven at 425 for about 15 minutes. I'd probably do this differently next time, maybe on 400 for 30 minutes or something? I had some chips that almost burned and still some chips that were limp, but the seasonings were really good. You can google different recipes for them.

Still, the chips tasted really good, and they were healthy, so what more can you ask for? The ones that kind of burned actually tasted like a "campfire" so they were my favorite.

Then we kinda bummed around the house a bit and Blake left for another concert to attend while I stayed home and made the appetizers for Book Club. I made: Spinach Pinwheels, Brie Bites, Perogies, and no-bake chocolate cookies. All the appetizers were really good, but the spinach ones and the perogies were my favorite. I didn't get a picture of my perogies, unfortunately, but I just bought them frozen from Target.

It's mashed potatoes wrapped in dough, pretty much, like a potsticker.

Here are the Brie Bites. I really like the idea of these - but I noticed I had the most leftover of these. Everything else was polished off. So, I would say just make double spinach pinwheels. :)


Also on Saturday I tried the recipe for Cocoa Pie...and...don't bother. Didn't do anything for me. Blake thought it was okay, but he eats everything. It was like crystallized, chewy chocolate sugar wrapped in dough. I will say, it was definitely better the next day instead of right after it was made.


If you're going to stir around chocolate sugar in a pot, you might as well make no-bake chocolate cookies. :) My favorite!!
So, a pretty successful little book club. I had sparkling water provided for drinks, but most everyone arrived with their own drinks, so that was easy. I can't wait for the next book club!! It's very fun to get with a bunch of girls who share a similar interest. I didn't know all the girls, but that made it even more fun in a way.

Plans for the weekend

We had a fun weekend last weekend with the many plans we made. I will say that Monday came around and I was doing okay until about 1:00!! After that I was so sleepy. I went home at 5 and just watched TV until it was time to go to bed. Real productive day :)

This weekend our plans consist of:

A Concert to attend

and:

and Bookclub at MY HOUSE!!! I will be making several appetizers and will share which ones were worth it.

Then on Sunday we don't have many plans except church and lunch at a friend's house. I love weekends without many plans :)

Quick Appetizer - Spinach Pinwheels

I tested out an appetizer last night that I want to make for my bookclub meeting on Saturday and it was really good! I confess, it was dinner for Blake and me. :)

Spinach Pinwheels
makes about 20 little rolls
1 (8 oz) tube of crescent rolls
1/2 of a 7 oz tub of Garlic Herb Cream Cheese
5 oz of fresh baby spinach (or 5oz of frozen spinach, thawed and drained)

1. Set oven per crescent roll directions
2. Split crescent dough in half along center perforation. Flatten one rectangle, pinching the perforations. Spread on liberally with cream cheese spread and top with spinach. Starting with long side, roll dough up. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Arrange the slices one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve immediately


Blake and I really liked these. You can also put ham deli meat in the rolls, too.