Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Whirlwind anniversary

Three years ago today I married my best friend! Happy Anniversary to my awesome husband! Here's a photo from our wedding day many moons ago...the time sure does fly by...
As a special anniversary gift this evening, we were granted with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes instead of cake and dinner. After leaving early from work, I rushed home and converted the hall closet under the staircase (computer graveyard at the moment) into our storm shelter/fraidy hole. I frantically lugged vacuums and about five broken computers out of the closet (yes, five and no, none of them work - the joys of being married to a software developer), gathered all our important documents and grabbed some bottled water and whatever food I could find (which happened to be bananas, baked chips, FiberOne bars and dog food for our pup - um yeah, those were our survival foods...not so sure a banana would fare too well in a tornado). 

The hubs was still not home yet when the sirens started wailing, and the tornado looked like it was on a clear path headed our way. Growing up in Oklahoma, you become somewhat accustomed to the tornado sirens, but it is still a little unnerving when the local weathermen start to become overly animated and throw out words like "supercell", "deadly" and "hook echo". Finally, my husband made it home with a few minutes to spare before the tornado was projected to tear through our area. He decided we needed a few more supplies for our storm closet, so he scurried around in the garage and comes inside with a saw, crowbar, bicycle helmets and a Maglite. Hmmm, obviously I don't think like a man...he naturally thought about protecting us and digging us out if he had to. I feel so grateful and blessed to have a husband who is concerned about our physical safety and well-being on this anniversary day. Today was not exactly what I had in mind for our three-year anniversary, but we will try to make up for it this weekend. More details and photos to come in future posts next week. 


A verse that really spoke to me earlier today was Romans 12:10-12, which appeared in a couple of devotionals I received in my e-mail inbox today. It was very appropriate for today and is the next memory verse. "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Download the free 4x6 printable here or click one the image to the right to save it as your iPhone wallpaper or click here if you have the iPhone 4.

Well, thankfully the tornado headed more north and missed us altogether. However, some parts of our state were hit hard and a few people have even lost their lives. Please be in prayer for all those affected by the storms and for those picking up the pieces after losing their homes. Also, continue to pray for the all the other tornado-stricken areas across the country. 

Friday, May 13, 2011

Eat your heart out

Since we have been on the topic of food lately, let’s just continue the trend today in preparation for Friday’s food photography workshop. I find the greatest culinary inspiration online from some of the most talented and innovative food bloggers. Who are some of these people? Well, I’m glad you asked or at least wondered in your head. Below is my next list of 30 cooking/food blogs that will whet your appetite.

30 Cooking/Food Blogs to Whet Your Appetite

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Have some class

Are you looking for some FREE, online photography workshops and courses? I discovered a site a while ago that offers free online classes called creativeLIVE. The only catch is that you have to attend the live session in order for it to be free. Recordings of the courses are available for purchase after the live event has taken place.

The next upcoming class is this weekend - Friday, May 13, to Sunday, May 15, so you still have time to sign up to attend. The topic: Food + Culture Photography by award-winning photographer Penny De Los Santos. If you're interested, check out the schedule (note: these are Pacific Time) and sign up here. A little video preview of her class is below...



The Power of Food Photography from Penny De Los Santos on Vimeo.

Whenever I came across this Food & Culture Photography course, I began to consider the strong correlation between the two and how food really does influence society. Just think, how many parties have you attended with no food? Probably not many. Food is an integral component to relationships. It was even demonstrated during Jesus’ time with the breaking of bread at the Last Supper. Food can also define a culture for some people – what some people know about a certain culture is purely based on the food (Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc.). Just take a look at some of these photos by Penny De Los Santos and be inspired...

This one was taken at Hamburger Inn in El Reno, Oklahoma

It's here

The wait is over...the long awaited day has arrived...the Pinterest iPhone app is here! For all you Pinterest pals pining patiently for this particular iPhone app (I wanted to see how many 'p' words I could use just then), today is the day to download the app to your phone. Ever since I became addicted to this virtual pinboard site, I've wondered when the day would come that there would be a Pinterest iPhone app. I was excited to open up my e-mail and find this announcement below. Download your very own Pinterest app here.