TGFMKAM

Total bonus points for anyone that can figure out the title. I'll give away... oh wait I don't have giveaways on this blog. I don't think major kitchen appliance makers really go for blogs that 15 people read, every once in a while. I digress.

Not long ago, some of my great friends sent me a killer package to my new pad in NC. It had great music, some colorful notes from a wee one, snacks and some homemade soft pretzels. Now soft pretzels are an all time favorite snack. My friend Heather passed on the recipe she used:

http://annies-eats.com/2010/09/02/soft-pretzels/

I had a chance to make them last week and they were AMAZING fresh outta the oven- mmm mmm. You should try them.

Maybe I'll go pop some in and enjoy some dramatic project runway. Yes sir. TGFSP.

the things i love (well like)

My new camera bag I got on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/transaction/33227820) and I know it sort of looks like a diaper bag, but I don't care. It's really sturdy, yet cushy, it's super functional and the inside protects the camera and lens very well. I would highly recommend it and she does every bag custom, so you get to pick the fabric and the colors.

Next up: my camera strap! Okay, so it's hard to take a picture of your camera strap, so give me a break. Once again from etsy, different shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/denisehytonen?ref=seller_info). This was also custom made, and yes, I did make my strap and bag matchy matchy. The strap is comfy and has a cute lil pocket to put your lens cap in. And it's long enough to go across your body, so you don't just look like a tourist.

Side note: having an SLR camera around high school kids is kind of like having a puppy without all the maintenance and pee on the carpet. Kids love to have their picture taken and are obsessed with looking at them on facebook, and they also always want new technology, so if I have it with me, there is always something to talk about: yes and yes.


Random, un-camera related stuff: a fun chart that I got off some blog (e mail me if you want it, I have it in a pdf) that is "Really Good Stuff I Already Have", it's like a reverse shopping list. It has categories to list what you own, so you don't let food go bad or forgotten about. I laminated a copy with my handy dandy laminator and just use dry erase markers. Right below it are the cutest mini file folders that are MAGNETIC! They were so adorable at Office Depot that I had to get them, thinking about how to use them came later. I have put coupons in them, and for now they are just making the side of our fridge cuter than cute.

Can I get an AMEN?!

So last night we had our All County Club for Young Life. It was super fun- we had a great turn out, like 230 kids. I had the privilege to share with them a bit about Jesus meeting the disciples and how we can have really weird first impressions of people.

We had a new leader in the back of the room taking pictures during club for our facebook page. She snapped this one in what must have been a very passionate moment of mine. Or I was probably just referencing an embarrassing story from college.

It must have been so compelling, those high school boys talking in the picture were probably just digesting a morsel of wisdom I had just dealt out. Or they were talking about what they were going to order at Cookout after club.

Just call me Beth Moore.

Redneck Nightmare

I wish I knew how to re-order pics, but I can't on here. But above is our new living room. I know, it's not going to be featured on a blog (other than this lame one) or put in a magazine, but if you saw it before, it was like an episode of Hoarders, and the end result is at least orderly and doesn't have 28 dead cats hidden under the layers of trash. Okay, we never had dead cats. Yet.

Yes, the post title was also a t-shirt worn by our neighbor, John Boy (JB) today. We couldn't complain though, because he drove us in his big ol truck up 10 miles to a FURNITURE BLOW OUT BONANZA sale. There is something humbling about walking into an old Wal Mart to buy a cheap sectional, but we need extra seating in our giant, wood-paneled room, so we found the best piece of furniture in that place and hopped in the truck and bolted home (minus the stop at a car repair shop, for unknown reasons). As I was sitting in the back seat with the wind blowing in my hair, creating more frizz than I was comfortable with, listening to Kenny Chesney blaring on the radio, I thought where the heck am I? But I am in my new home, getting more and more comfortable with the country differences. It's fun.

Office pic: cute desk from ikea that my staff associate Peter labored long and hard over. Thanks :)

The pic above is of our dear JB. This was minus his cowboy hat and the snake skin boots are not in the picture. He was in our kitchen, being tutored by Janelle (middle school science teacher) because he is failing biology and he suddenly became Janelle's new project.