While I continued to post these pictures to facebook, I stopped posting them on here due to the photo issue I seem to be having. It is driving me bonkers that the photos aren't clear. I'm working on solving it, but in the mean time, here are the remainder of the photos from the photo challenge I was doing. It was fun.
Day 10: anything goes
Day 11: Black and White (pictures from our anniversary)
Day 12: Bokeh
Day 13: A favorite photo edit
Day 14: eyes
Day 15: anything goes
Day 16: light trails
Day 17: this was supposed to be street lights, but this is what I posted. Yeah, it was late.
Day 18: A photo depicting emotion (from John's gig the night before)
Day 19: Landscape
Day 20: anything goes
Day 21: sunset
Day 22: the person I love
Day 23: a photo that reminds me of childhood
Day 24: color scheme
Day 25: anything goes
Day 26: shadows
Day 27: photo taken in daylight (my birthday)
Day 28: motion
Day 29: clouds
Day 30: anything goes. A project I worked on today.
This afternoon Daphne was asking me to make cinnamon rolls. To spare myself the headache of working with yeast, I offered to make oatmeal raisin cookies I stead. So, we whipped these up. They are SO yummy and I just used the recipe on my Quaker Oatmeal box.
Whip together: 14 tbsp softened butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add: 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla
Mix well. Add these combined ingredients: 1.5 cups flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt
Add these and mix well until combined: 3 cups oats 1 cup raisins
Scoop into 1 tbsp droplets onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
I snapped this photo in the early afternoon at PSU. Up in this tree, there are lots of little squares with messages on them. It's so random. And it makes me ask myself "why are these here and who put them there?" It's also a great representation of the randomness that occurs daily at PSU.
I especially liked using this square for my picture because of the message: "Surprise Yourself" (although 'surprise' is spelled wrong). I like this because I felt that I have experienced that a lot lately. I have been surprising myself at my ability to achieve a lot of things that I have set out as goals. And not only am I achieving it, I'm doing it really well. It makes me happy. I surprise myself often. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
So, this is a touchy subject. But I just wanted to share a little thought. You can read it, or skip it. I have noticed that there are these "I'm a Mormon" ads that seem to pop up in the most unsuspecting places. And you know what- that's fine. I think it's great for anyone to be able to say "I'm proud of who I am. This is me." Well, as it turns out, there is a lovely counterpart to these ads. I somehow stumbled upon these "I'm an Ex Mormon" ads. There's a whole slew of them. I think that if we can appreciate someone standing up for what they believe in and announce it to everyone, we can appreciate these ads as well. I love that they're non-controversial, they're matter of fact, and they are eye opening.
I especially love this one. Leaving Mormonism is such a personal journey. Those who are able to travel it alone might have it easier. Then there are those who are married. And the issue is now at a whole new level. Some who leave Mormonism and are married do it alone, and others leave together. I like this video, for obvious reasons like that it shows how great a marriage and family can be after Mormonism. But also because it shows how although these two individuals were married, they had their own personal journey.
I'm so happy and lucky that John and I have traveled this road together. This Saturday marks our six year anniversary. I would never have imagined that we would be here six years ago. But in my most "spiritual" times, I never imagined feeling a happiness and peace that we have now was ever possible either.
This is a two in one: photo of the day post and a recipe post!
Beer Crust Pizza. You guys, this was so good and easy that I don't think I'll ever make regular pizza crust again. Here's the recipe:
3 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp baking soda 12 ounces beer ( I used Pabst, of course)
Mix together dry ingredients. Mix in beer. Roll out on a board with extra flour for dusting. Top with sauce, cheese, etc... (artichoke hearts, spinach, tomatoes, and chicken on mine) Bake for 12-15 minutes at 450.
I kept my eye out for photo opportunities from high angles for a couple days. Those are harder to come by then I thought! Yesterday I snapped this at the park when I climbed to the top of the play structure. Daphne is always a great subject for picture taking. Don't ya think?
There were a lot of things I could take a picture of for this one. My house, my bed, ourdoors... But right now my favorite place to be is Portland State University.
The reason why I chose PSU was because it's the one place where I feel like I get to escape from all the stressors of my life. I don't have to think about bills, cleaning the house, or entertaining Daphne (although I love spending time with her). I get to shut all that out and just concentrate on learning. I get to people watch. I can sit and sip coffee in the morning while I study, sit in class and listen to a lecture, work on my homework, OR just totally turn my mind off and surf the web, or relax out in the park blocks on a warm day.
This is also the one place where I can be totally alone. Or socialize with a wide variety of people. Im here enough to appreciate it but not too much that i get sick of it. When I'm here I get to set aside about 6 hours to focus on my mental growth and health. I leave here feeling accomplished, motivated, and rejuvenated.
Sorry kids... 60 degrees + rain + 4 hours of class + final exam = casual sweat shirt and jeans day. Nothing fancy.
I had Daphne jump in the photo with me to hopefully add some pizazz. I feel that this photo largely represents Daphne and myself. Me- I'm casual and comfortable. I'd pick a sweatshirt and jeans outfit any day. I dress up here and there, but I like to keep my attire neutral and simple.
Daphne- she is so cool. John and I call her the little hipster. She typically doesn't really care what other people think of what she wears, but manages to look so awesome. She puts outfits together that I would never think of. She likes to be comfortable as well, and usually opts for leggings over jeans. She's not overly girly, but does gravitate towards pink, red, and skirts. All of which she is wearing today. I love her free spirit and goofy personality- which she is obviously depicting in this photo.
