What do green beans and old photos have in common?

I'm having a little contest of sorts at my photography blog.  I will email the winner with the answer closest to mine a scrapbook page that I designed.  If you get a second - go there for a quick visit -and leave a comment of course.

Finally updated

I finally updated my PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG! I know - don't faint - please.  For those of you who want info on my upcoming classes - that's the link to check out.  Also, I have some eye candy from a recent wedding that Tyler photographed.  He always does an amazing job. Here's just a sample!

Click on the images to see them larger!

Check out my photography blog for more fun photos!

Bits & Pieces of the 2010 county fair

The ferris wheel ... I could have gone on this ride all day long.  I can still feel the cool breeze and the shade  when I think of this favorite ride.  And can you believe it?  Last year was the first time I ever stepped foot onto a Ferris Wheel. 

Anyway, I'll just let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Happy Anniversary to us!

I LOVE gifts that keep on giving.  These are the plants we purchased on the Saturday after our Anniversary.  It's that time of year when everything is 25 to 50% off.  I love it. And now we'll have a little shade against the west side of the house, along with a few pretties.

The back of our Jeep packed with new plants.

Echinacea Maui Sunrise

And the kids love this one. Echinacea Hot Lava!

County Fair 2010 - Big Winners!

I was really nervous about this apron, but I figured because she was in the youth category that they'd be nice.  As we were walking out with it on Monday one of the judges said that many parents bring their kids things in and they are not very well done BUT your daughter's apron was VERY WELL DONE. My daughter just beamed.  I was very grateful for this experience - mostly the mommy daughter time and for the fun matching aprons we now have to enjoy at home.

She won BEST OF SHOW for the youth category this year - again! Two years in a row.  We are hoping that she can enter it in the PTA reflections contest this year too (save on printing costs) - anyone know the theme yet?

And she also received first place for her color photo even though it was an 8x8 and not an 8x10.

And my cross stitch received 1st place in the Linen cross stitch Category. 

On the judges notes it said, "Beautiful!"

And all three of my photos received 2nd place in the Professional Photography category.

I entered them mainly so I could advertise my TWO upcoming classes at ReneePearson.com

#1 - Photo Preserves - old photo restoration - a two week class in October

#2 - Photo First Aid - retouching and enhancing digital photos - Oct 27th to Nov 23

All of my little papers were gone by the time the fair ended - hopefully not in the trash.

I printed this as a 16x20 for my wall.  I LOVE how it turned out.

I took some fun detail photos of the fair for our scrapbook but I'll share those when I get a minute. Right now I am working on written guides for my Photo Preserves class, PTA stuff, Primary secretary stuff, canning, gardening, etc. 

Busy Summer - I'm ready to sleep for a week straight but my kids will not let me.

We had our first garage sale - ever.  We drove to my parents house about an hour away to have it there.  We got a little rain.  But we missed the terrible storm back home.  One of the widows at church lost three 45 foot trees in her yard.

We celebrated our anniversary.  11 years ago we were married in this temple. It was fun to go back.  And the long quiet drive gave us time to talk.  I love to talk.  And it was wonderful that my husband made it possible for us to take the time to go. I've been floating on air ever since.

Just a side note - I've been working out with the 30 day shred 4 to 5 days a week. It's only 20 minutes but it's a butt kicker.  It's  been about 4 months now and I am starting to see some definition, especially in my arms.  Makes me happy and it makes my heart happy.

Anyway, MOM - this is for YOU! 

I just happened to have my camera sitting in my passenger seat in my car and saw this when we stopped at the stop sign. I picked up my camera and snapped without even looking so I'm lucky I got this.  It just made me laugh!

Green Beans - finally!

I've really been looking forward to these all year.  On Monday I harvested the beans you see in the first photo.  On Wednesday I harvested the beans in the second photo. WOW! Most of them have been blanched, placed in quart size ziploc freezer bags and placed them in the freezer. The rest will end up being canned.

Monday:

Wednesday:

And my kiddos even helped.  My son even joined in because he saw his sister hard at work and he can't be out done! 

The same day I also harvested onions and the last of the garlic.  Some tips on garlic - the larger the clove, the larger bulb it will grow into.  Keep that in mind.  I had the space so I just planted everything I had - big and little.  

This photo just doesn't do this justice.  This yellow onion is HUGE! The red onion is an average size red onion. Anyway, fresh salsa is on the way ... well, if the tomatoes would ripen!

Life is better ...

Sometimes I get downright cranky - usually when I haven't had enough sun.  I was thinking this morning, "What is the key to happiness?" For me it's GRATITUDE. It's about searching out all those little things in my life that  have made me happy and reflecting on them with a grateful heart and trying to do that OFTEN.  Sometimes I get bogged down in the fact that I thought after chemo and radiation things would be so much better.  It's taken a lot longer to recover than I thought.  That 5 year mark - well, they are serious about it. Along the way I've learned a few things.  Things I'm grateful for.

I recently went to a 'lung' doctor. He diagnosed me with reactive airways - exercise and allergy induced asthma.  This incredible but expensive inhaler that I use twice a day has been a gift from God.  My energy levels are amazing.  I can exercise the full 20 minutes of the 30 Day Shred without that horrible pinch in my chest that makes me hunch over in pain.   He also sent me to have an ECHO done.  Well the only problem was that it's taking my heart longer to fill up than it should (common after chemo), sometimes almost twice as long. It doesn't happen every time. Only every other or every third time.  So - I now have an explanation of why I am tired frequently.  And that is a gift too - because now I know it's not just in my head.  I can relax and press forward slowly.  It's also something that can  get better - 'give it 5 or 10 years' he's said. I can do that. I've also been thinking about all the things I've been able to do since chemo and radiation that I haven't done before. I'm working on that list and will share soon.

Also, Marne - I'm only using that steamer canner for PEACHES.  My husband loves them. We are going to put away 4 quart cases this year.  We need the speed. I'm also going to get a pressure cooker canner for things like tomatoes and green beans.  I'll post a photo when I get that thing too. Thanks for your info and for sharing that link. Appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Canning

I guess canning is the hot new thing for domestic divas to conquer.  Hmm ... well it's just a coincidence that I got this. I started canning peached for my husband last year.

I had to take a photo of it shiny and new!

He needed to feel included

So I went to JoAnns and bought 1 yard of fabric and a few more D rings and here is the finished product.

Wild Flower Photos by my daughter

We took these photos while we were up at that high mountain lake.  These are the photos my daughter took.

 Wild roses

Fireweed

And Tyler took this wild flower photo with one of my favorite parts of the cliffs behind it.  He is so talented with the camera it takes my breath away. He just knows how to photograph a scene.

Wild Flower Photographs 2010

And here are the flowers that I photographed.

wild geranium

wild geranium in pink

even the thistle looked pretty

Can't wait to find out the name on this one - looks like we are due for a trip to the library

even the tiniest wildflowers added to the beauty of the area

These were by far the most prominent

These tiny flowers had a very strong scent.

These had the prettiest scent but were the 2nd smallest in size.

As you can see we really enjoyed our walk around the lake. 

Time to check out the wildflower books at the library again.