New Watermark

    So, I've gotten somewhat tired of the watermark I have now, and I thought it would be fun to change it around a bit.
    I've come up with four different ones, and I've decided to let you all decide.
    Here they are, just plain:

    And here they are on pictures:

    So, vote away! I'm going to leave it open until January 5, midnight.

Farmgirl Giveaway

Jenna at Feminine Farmgirl is having a giveaway!

My New Toy

    First of all, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas; I know my family and I did. 

    Second, I wanted to tell you about my new toy!

    I've been wanting an external flash for a while now, and with my birthday and Christmas money, I was finally able to by it!

    Meet my Nikon Speedlight SB-600!

    Oh, and did I mention I'm loving it?

    Here are some comparisons of it compared to the in-camera flash; the captions tell which are which. 

In-Camera Flash

External Flash

In-Camera Flash

External Flash; I know this isn't exactly the same as the other one, but he would not
stay still!

In-Camera Flash

External Flash

In-Camera Flash

External Flash

    For the record, all of the sets were taken in the exact same lighting conditions. Isn't it amazing? Also, I didn't edit any of the pictures. 

    Nikon has no clue who I am. They are not paying me for this, and it's posted strictly on my own experiences with the flash. 

Marshmellows

    Every year at Christmas, there are a few "big" things that our family values doing together:
    One, we always read our Christmas cards together.
    Two, we always decorate cookies on Christmas Eve together.
    And three, we always put up the tree together; which, by the way, has gotten a lot more fun to do with each other since we got the tree where the branches just fold down, instead of the one where it's color and number coded (tension tended to run a little high).
    Anyway, when we put up the Christmas tree together, we always talk about the ornaments, when, and on occasion, why we bought them.
    While I have many favorites, the marsh-mellows are my all time favorites.

My parents; I love the way the composition turned out! (If I do say so myself!)

However, the Star Trek ones rank right up there too! 

Icicle

I've been waiting for AGES for us to get icicles at our house. There was a really pretty array...but they were at the very tip top of our roof. Arrgh.....Anyway, we a got a few "melty" ones on our barn today, and I thought this picture was really cool where you could see the tiny drop falling.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Here are my entries!


1. Winter

2. Black and White with selective coloring

My grandmother has a cabinet that's nothing but clown
figurines. I love this one! 

3. The Wind

I know you can't really see the wind in this one,
but it was our first big snow, and boy was it blowing!

4. Framed

I love the way the green stems frame the flower!

5. Remember When

This was one of my very first photos on this blog.

Decorating for Christmas

So, I'm going to try something new! I've seen a lot of people do this, and I thought it would be fun! I know it's a day late, but I'm still in time for the deadline!

1. Holiday Colors

What's better than peppermint color?
2. Winter/Holiday Icon

A snowman is classic!
3. A Tree

(Our tree lights in bokeh)

4. Quiet

I was looking for something for quiet, and when I saw our manger set, I knew it was perfect!
5. Your Favorite Color

A Photo Contest

Rachel and Raquel are hosting a photo contest! The theme is Timeless Wonders, which means anything. Here are my five entries;

Signs

I follow this blog that gives weekly assignments, and when I read it, I knew I had the perfect picture!

Here's the link to the photo weekly contest.

First Snow!!

     We had our first snow this morning!! It didn't last long, but it was beautiful!! I can't wait for it to really stick; then I'll be able to get some really good pictures!

I really like this one!

Flexi-8 Giveaway

I found this wonderful giveaway! The Modest Mom is giving away a fexi-8 clip here.

New Contest

So, I was thinking of having another photo contest, and I have a few ideas for the theme, but I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions?

Pamela Topping Giveaway

Pamela is giving away one of these adorable hats! I would love to have one for photo shoots!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our grandpa always carves the turkey on Thanksgiving, and this year our dog, Murphy, practically started holes through him, watching to make sure that he didn't miss anything.

Clarification...

    Ok, I realize I need to clarify the last post's photos a little more.
    The exact moment when I realized it was when I showed the last three photos to my parents, and they said,   "What's that big chocolate thing on top of the icing?"
    So, just to explain those photos a little more, I took a spoon and scooped up some of the icing on it, and then sprinkled it with red and white sprinkles.
    Sorry for any confusion!

Peppermint Cupcakes

         So, I know it's not even past Thanksgiving yet, but I was really in the mood to make something "Christmasy". But when I found this King Arthur Flour Peppermint Cupcake recipe, I knew I wanted to make it, and since we're having some homeschool friends over, it was perfect excuse for me to make these!

      It was actually a toss up between this and their Gingersnaps recipe, but these looked so good, I just couldn't resist! The gingersnaps will have to be later.

     Also, while I was waiting for the cake part to finish baking, I decided to take some pictures of the icing. I think they turned out pretty festive, don't you?

     I couldn't get the red quite right in these pictures. Any suggestions on what settings to use so it doesn't make the red so harsh?