Housewife (with Original Recipe!)

Well, as of yesterday, I officially became a stay-at-home Mama!  We looked into daycare for Rue, but were wait-listed, quoted insane rates, or given ultimatums about diapering & even told to have a bottle packed per feeding.  Going over our budget, adding in the cost of care, extra bottles, extra pumping supplies, disposable diapers, & things like gas to daycare, work, & home... I would have been making approximately $50 a week, tops.  And that was if we continued to eat all our meals at home.

Then we looked at how our time would be divided up & our overall quality of life.

Rue still wakes up in the middle of the night at least once, usually between 2-4 AM.  Then I would have to prep a slowcooker meal before work in the morning, so I would have to be up by 5 AM.  Then I would have to leave almost an hour earlier than I used to so I could drive in the opposite direction to drop off Rue all day.  Then I would go to work, where I would require 3 pumping breaks in the day to maintain supply & keep my freezer stocked with enough milk to keep Rue on breast milk exclusively at daycare.  At night, Rue can fight sleep until midnight, & often does, leaving next to NO sleep for Mama.  Basically, it was a big, expensive, exhaustive hassle.  And we wouldn't necessarily know who Rue was with all day, or what she was learning, or how much time was really spent with her.

Rue's face here says everything that needs to be said about how we felt about the situation:



So we decided to have me stay home.  But I am not giving up on bringing some income home!  I am working really hard on the photo business, & you can expect to see more client work popping up on here, as well as special offers & tutorials!  I am also taking my homemaker status very seriously.  While Ted is off bringing home the bacon (quite literally, we love bacon here), I am home cooking it.  And running endless loads of laundry.  And vacuuming.  And taking copious amounts of photos of my baby.




I have always had serious anxiety about cooking.  In my mind, I light a burner (& I mean light; we have a gas range) & my brain instantly begins to babble about fire hazards, singed eyebrows, & fume inhalation.  Electric stoves were not much better, with the ever-present possibility of a rodent gnawing through the wires JUST enough to expose the metal bits... & POOF!  There goes the insulation in the wall, & there goes the kitchen.  Microwaves leak radiation & refrigerators leak freon.  Common sense tells me I am being ridiculous.  Anxiety tells me these threats are not only very real, but are guaranteed to happen to me, specifically.  It's a real problem.  It was paralyzing sometimes.

Then I had your more average fears: I will burn dinner/ it will taste terrible/  I will start a meal & forget it.  I am happy to report that that has not happened.

I started by using Pinterest as a recipe generator.  It is incredible how useful that site is.  And sometimes not so much.  But mostly, pretty helpful!  But I almost always read recipes incorrectly & have to improvise... which has actually turned out pretty okay!

We had balsamic BBQ chicken breasts with green beans & salt & vinegar potatoes one night.  I never thought I would meet a potato I didn't like, but I learned that there is definitely such a thing as too much vinegar.  Ick.  We also had a steak dinner in a slow-cooker one night.  I substituted frozen baby carrots for the corn on the cob & used a roast cut of beef & as much A1 as we had in the house (which was 1/4 a tiny bottle brushed over the meat to create an even coat).  We also had a couple slices of Sunny Sourdough bread c/o Amber of SuperNaturale & Manna Organics!  It was delicious & I was incredibly proud!  We have breakfast for dinner at least once a week, & often have some sprouted breads with those!  We loved the Banana Walnut Hemp bread.  So delicious.



Ted suggested meatballs for dinner some night, & I knew I wanted some of those sweet & tangy meatballs that people make with jelly.  Notice the jelly jar in the above photo?  Yeah, I wanted to use that!

So I looked around online for recipes, & they all call for two ingredients: grape jelly & chili sauce.  Or ketchup as a base, jelly, & various spices.  Here's the thing: I cannot eat tomatoes.  I can have trace amount of tomato in things, like A1, or dipping sauces, when you use a small amount of that thing in proportion to a large amount of meat or whatever.  I haven't had a tomato in years (I really miss cherry & grape tomatoes... a lot).  When I eat one, my tongue gets itchy, which is a warning.  I have no idea what would happen beyond that; frankly, I am too chicken to play with fire.  Or at least food allergies.  Yikes.

Long story short, I would not be marinating my meal in tomatoes all day (or, as some friends like to call it, "Mary death-fruits".  I have the best, most serious friends!).  I found a recipe in our crock pot recipe book (the kind that is really more brochure than book & comes with the crock pot when you buy it. Ours is the "WalMart edition" crock pot.  Fancy!).  It was the kind that calls for a ketchup base.  I looked it over, said "that's what you think!" & set to work.  Making my own recipe.  I know, I know, pretty heavy stuff for a gal who is still getting over fear of common kitchen appliances.  But making dinner is now my job, & I always put 150% into my work.  Cooking not excluded.

Some of these ingredients are hard to come by, so I am including alternatives in parentheses.  Especially the jam I used, which we made ourselves using the fruit from the fig tree in our back yard.  I will post about canning some other time.  :)

SRIRACHA TERIYAKI MAPLE FIG MEATBALLS

(or Teriyaki Maple Jam Meatballs)

serves 4 

(or 2 really hungry people, or 1 person who really likes leftovers)

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup brown spicy mustard

* 1/3 cup Sriracha Teriyaki Sauce (or plain Teriyaki sauce)

* 1 cup soy sauce

* 3 TBSP fig jelly (or jelly of choice)

* 1 cup maple syrup

* 1 1/2 TSP ground allspice

* 1 TBSP minced garlic (optional or to taste)

* 1 pack frozen pre-cooked meatballs (22 oz)

* Combine ingredients sans meatballs in slow cooker.  Stir until well mixed.

* Turn on HIGH until obviously warm (the lid should fog up).

* Add in meatballs, stirring into sauce mixture.  Make sure each meatball is coated in sauce, & keep meatballs in a single layer in the mixture.

* Keep cooker on HIGH for 30 minutes.

* Stir & cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, covered.

* Stir before serving!

These come out of the cooker really soft & marinated through.  We enjoyed our over a bed of fluffy white rice with green beans & carrots on the side.  I also modified the recipe a bit; I originally used 1/2 cup of Sriracha Teriyaki sauce & 1/2 cup soy sauce, but found the mix a bit too intense for my taste.

Let me know if you try it!  I hope you like it!

A Crazy Weekend

On Saturday, we took my step-niece-in-law to a fairly local pumpkin patch and corn maze.  This place was HUGE!  We had a ton of fun winding through the maze, riding the "train" around the field and spotting geese, dragging ourselves through complicated-for-adults hay bale mazes intended for children (hey, I am an indulgent aunt, which results in an exhausted aunt eventually), and picking the perfect pumpkins.  The corn maze at this place was crazy, and from the air apparently it is the local baseball league's emblem and name!  From inside, it's just a whole lot of corn and rope and children.















(Psstt... did you see Lil' Man up there?  We randomly ran into Yseult and her family at the pumpkin patch!!!)

Then we had plans to go to MDRF on Sunday...and I may have learned i need help with my anger management!

Seriously, we head off to MDRF by 11am on Sunday, and managed to get there after 3pm due to intense traffic.  Then, the place was so packed, I wanted to turn around and leave, but we were there with the family, so we tried to locate everyone.  Of course, there was an overabundance of people on their cell phones, which resulted in dropped calls and unavailable airwaves.  An hour after getting to the faire (and a lot of angry cussing and glaring on my part) we finally found part of the group.  After another half hour, everyone was together again.  By this time, it was almost time for my step-niece-in-law to be taken to the drop off spot where her mom was coming to get her.  So the whole point in going was to spend some time with her at faire and get cute pictures, and we only managed to hang out with her for a half hour, and I barely took any photos (none of them are up yet, so maybe I'll share what I did get later... maybe).  So, after she left, and we figured out wedding glasses with Bear's parents, we decided, after two and a half hours of faire time, to get out before the big migration to the parking lot happened and we would be stuck in more traffic.  We got into the car an hour and a half before the closing cannon sounded, and left the parking lawn an hour after the cannon.  It took forever to leave!  At this point, I was hoping someone would burn the place down so I felt like there was some redemption in our miserable day.  Of course, the faire will live to see another day.  Meanwhile, I have no intention of going back this year (they have enough of our money), or maybe never again.

I know I have a ton of friends who live for the faire and will probably feel like this is a huge insult to their favorite place.  I just don't enjoy the place like some people do.  I have no ill will against the people who love it.  We just have different interests.  For one, I am the worst at paying attention to any live performance, as ironic as that is.  I don't like most plays, I have never liked Shakespeare, and I am not big on parody music (or live music, which annoys a lot of other people I know).  I never wear the garb I do buy, with the exception of a couple of staple pieces, and I never seem to wear any of the jewelry I have bought from the faire, either.  I feel the drinks and food are overpriced, and the atmosphere isn't really my thing, either.  I get irritated by the hollering vendors trying to sell pretzels, roses, cheesecakes on sticks, and nuts.  I just don't enjoy the whole scene anymore; the novelty has worn off, and the hassels for me outweigh the perks.

Granted, my last experience was really, really outrageously terrible and though it's usually not that bad, even on a good day I find I lack the enthusiasm of my friends.  I can only conclude it isn't my thing.

Actually, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I used to enjoy and no longer do.  I used to be into the theatre stuff, always in a show or helping out, loving conversations about all things theatrical.  Lately, the theatre also has lost it's charm on me.  I appreciate many of the people it has brought into my life, and I will cherish the good memories I have.  I'm just not that girl anymore.  Sure, I will still audition for a show or two in my future, I am sure, but gone are the days of juggling up to eight shows at once.  I just don't have the passion for it I once did.

Ren Fest is the same way.  Once, I was really into going, dressing up, making a full day of it with my friends.  Now?  I would rather get the cleaning done at the house that I never get around to doing during the week, or book more sittings, or go on a mini photo-safari.  Edit together a short film for fun.  Read a good book.  This is the new direction, I guess.  As life goes on, I have become a homebody.  I love being at home, working on things around the house.  I have to decorate for Halloween and the fall season in general, and I am really upset with myself for not having done that yet.

I have so much to do that I feel guilty about spending my money and time at places I can barely afford either for.  I guess it's the result of growing up and gaining responsibility.  Bills, groceries, rent, business expenses, insurance, phone, debts, internet costs, credit cards... it becomes hard to track and takes up a lot more time than it did five years ago!

Anybody else feel this way?  Like you've drastically changed in your interests and passions over the years?

Happy Monday!  xo

Hello again!

Hello all!

Thanks for putting up with my extended silence this past week.  Here's the low-down:  I had bronchitis with a side of head cold.  It was awesome.  I learned a lot about myself, such as; I can remember to take antibiotics three times a day, I can go through several boxes of tissues by myself, and I am needy when I feel ill.  Also, I had the most intense fever dream and couldn't feel my legs, which made it difficult to get to the bathroom to pee.  All of these things will, no doubt, help to form me into a better person in time.

Or not.  But I had to go through it anyway.



So I never got to do that Photobomb last week, and will do it this week instead.  I also had to find a replacement to shoot a friend's high school reunion last minute when the head cold added to the misery of the bronchitis and I knew I wouldn't be able to smile and shake hands and take photos until midnight on Saturday after all.  Fortunately, my friend is forgiving and my replacement worked out!  This weekend is super busy for my business, as I have a shoot Friday evening and Saturday morning, and then we are headed back to Ren Fest with Bear's family to order the traditional handmade glass champagne flutes.  Phew!

I am actually really excited about this weekend's shoots, though.  Lately I have done nothing but weddings, and while they are fun and wonderful, I was beginning to feel mechanical.  Sometimes you just need a little diversity, you know?  So, this weekend I have a shoot for a cheesecake-esque session for a surprise product (and I can't really say more than that, but maybe the client will let me share after the surprise), and another pet portrait session with an adorable pug and terrier!  The pet session is sort of REALLY exciting for me... and I am not sure why.



When I got into photography initially, I was interested in portraying people, finding all those facets of their personalities and creating an image of them that really exemplified who they were, more than what they looked like.  Now, I have done a ton of portraiture and the prospect of pet portraiture is like a whole new frontier.  Now, I photograph my own pets all the time (and there are a ton of them... I live on a farm with almost 40 cats alone, not counting the dogs, horses, goats, chickens...) but the idea of meeting a new animal and somehow managing to capture an image that not only looks like the pet itself, but reveals part of it's personality... that's really exciting for me.  Maybe I'm just geeking out on you.  It's possible.  But I've felt so completely unable to help myself when I was sick that this little challenge is the best medicine.

So I have been doing what I always do when I have a new challenge to face.  I research.  Shocker: nerdy library working photog blogger researches.  Yup.  I do.  And I love it.  For this challenge I have been reading Pet Photography Now! by Paul Walker, and looking up images on Flickr, of course.  Whenever I do anything I tend to end up on Flickr.  Then I ran across Brighton Dog Photography and went through her entire Flickr stream, favoriting like a madman!  Of course, where I live isn't NEARLY as picturesque, but seeing so many different angles and images of the same kinds of breeds I will be shooting is very helpful... like this one... love!



And, of course, Elsie of A Beautiful Mess has always had pug photos for inspiration!  Cute!

Are there any challenges in your near or distant future that you are looking forward to?

Workity Work

So today I arrived on campus two hours early... I was to be introduced to the Board of Directors, but to do that, I had to be introduced to my introducer.  So I went and met him at 2:30, and he reviewed my bio and asked more questions.  After that, I went off to wait in the library until 3:30 when the official meeting was.

The whole thing was really quick, like pulling off a bandaid.  I didn't even have to say anything... I just stood there like one of those dolls for sale on the shopping network, smiling while my stats were announced and I was appraised.  It was weird, but short, and then I went back to work.

Now, I really like my job a lot, and I have a lot of time to read, blog, and read blogs, aside from checking in Periodicals, shelving books, answering questions, and fixing computer issues... so it's really not bad at all.  I also LOVE the people I work with.  We're really laid back in my department, so I wore what I usually wear... a nice pair of slacks in some neutral color, today's pick is black, a nice top in a bright color, and comfortable shoes.  I usually wear my sneakers, which are purple leather Converse (the kind for Target, not Chuck Taylor's).  I fit in at work, but at this meeting I may as well have worn a printing t-shirt with something obnoxious written across it and ripped jeans.  Everyone lined up in the hall to be introduced had on fancy business suits, pencil skirts, high heels or loafers, and ties or delicate necklaces.  I definitely stood out.  But, I am trying to look at it this way: better to be in business casual that is just like what I wear every day, then wear something stuffy and boring that serves as a lie.  If the Board needs to see me in the future, they will know what I look like, faded pink hair and all.

Anyway, this leads into my collections... particularly the elephants.  My boss's wife travels to Africa a lot, and I guess works in a school there.  I don't know a lot about it, and I don't want to pry.  Anyway, she brought home these hand carved wooden elephants and my boss gifted me one (I have an elephant tattoo on the back of my neck, and for the longest time he called me "elephant girl", so he knew I would love it!).  He had me choose from three little guys, and I chose the smallest, because it was so generous of him, I didn't want to be greedy.  He offered me the other two for a small price.  Today I purchased two others off him for super cheap.  So I will have to bring them home to their baby!

Of course, I took a few pictures... so here is my (until today) newest edition to my elephant family!




I also set up my Instagram to post to my Tumblr, so that site is operating again, too!

Happy Thursday!  xo

Why I'm Weird...

Planning a wedding is something that many girls enjoy and have looked forward to a majority of their lives.  I am not one of them.  This makes me a little strange.  It's not that I don't want to get married, because I do.  I love Bear and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!  I'm just not wired to worry about dresses and color schemes and locations and fancy dinners.

Mostly, my excitement in this new phase of my life is the beginning of our little future family.  I have always loved kids.  Kids speak a language I totally understand.  Of course, then they become aliens known as teenagers, which I didn't even comprehend when I was one, but anyway... family.  I am very excited to have my own kids one day and photograph the heck out of them!

my future step-neice-in-law, with the camera pillow I made her last Christmas!

I realize that children are not little offshoots of us and instead are individuals.  They are not toys, dolls, little slaves for housework, or pets.  They are little human beings, full of their own insights, emotions, challenges, talents and life.  They are responsibilities that are reliant upon their parents almost entirely in their early years, and continue to need their parents throughout their lives (at least, I always think of some reason to call my parents!).

But I have to say, I can't wait to have the opportunity to stop time in my future kid's lives through such creative images as the ones I find on Flickr.  I am particularly inspired by the following members:

* gregariouspeach of course!  So full of color!  You can tell how much Georgia loves her kiddos in every shot.

* lauren {elycerose}.  So much emotion and complexity in each frame.  She reminds me of Sally Mann a bit in her compositional choices and the attitudes she captures.

* jwlphotography.  Each image tells a story and is very clever!  I love how involved the kids get!

* poppysmiles.  She's a pro photog in Australia, but she also has some pretty terrific, colorful portraits of her own kids, too!  So creative!

* reelgeek and dustindiaz.  Pro photog hubby and wife team who had their first baby!  They're strobists, so all the lighting is creative and set up, which makes for really dynamic images.  They don't have too many photos of the new edition up yet, but I am sure there will be more!

* This Flickr group, momshots, is super cute!

I am by no means baby-starved, and I don't want to have kids right off the bat, but I am excited for when that time comes!

Does anyone else feel the same way I do?  That somehow you missed out on the "wedding excitement" gene and jumped into "family" and "nesting" modes instead?!?!

I hope some of you check out the Flickr streams of the very talented mamas and papas I linked to!

Happy Thursday!

xo