Pink Grapefruit = Cookies!

Had some extra grapefruit the other day....

No, let me correct that, I had A WHOLE LOTTA grapefruit!

(My folks have a ton of gorgeous and abundant fruit trees.  

So every time we see them this time of year, we're treated to a bag of yumminess!)

Since it was too many to just plain ole EAT,  I asked Uncle Google if anyone had a 

recipe that used pink grapefruit.

And it turns out that Martha Stewart had given Pink Grapefruit cookies a try.  HERE 

So I set to work.

First zest, then juice one beautiful grapefruit.  Then mix the zest with some sugar and mix up some batter.

And while I'm thinking of it, I have to show you the super fun whisk that Matt got me for Christmas. 

 King kong stays in there helping me whisk with a smile on my face!

Here's where Martha and I parted ways....she wanted me to roll out the dough and cut with a round cookie cutter.  I say "No thanks" I rolled it into a log and sliced it instead.

Martha made them into sandwich cookies, but I thought single cookies with frosting sounded better....

(Just call me a RECIPE REBEL!)

The verdict?

Delish!  A little zesty, a little sweet -- just perfect!

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”

 Robert Fulghum

Watson Family: Daddy's Homecoming San Diego, MCAS Miramar Military Homecoming Photographer

Well, it's a great day for this little cutie pie....after 8 long months, daddy is coming home.

This is the second homecoming I've captured for this sweet, sweet family - so I feel like I really know them and felt the excitement the same as them!

After the fly over, the excitement builds and builds and it just seems like it takes FOREVER

 for the plane doors to open....

And then, with the Patriot Guard standing in greeting, the marines head into the waiting arms of their family....

The part that was a little bit unusual this time, is that daddy thought his wife and kids were 

back home in Utah and no one would be here to greet him.

So of course, being the gentleman he is, he let EVERYONE else exit the plane before him 

(after all, why should he hurry off the plane?)

But then he was THERE wrapped in the loving arms of his wife....

And little girls....

And they were interviewed by the TV News crews too....

If you'd like to see their amazing photo show with video clips added in, you can see it here.

“America's finest - our men and women in uniform, are a force for good throughout the world” 
― Sarah Palin

Wild Cucumber a.k.a. Man Root

Wild cucumber is a climbing and trailing perennial that grows all over out hillsides in the winter.

The root can weigh much as 100lbs. WOW!

It is because of this root that it is sometimes called manroot, and also that it is one of the first plants to reseed after a fire 

I love the little curls and wisps of vine that stretch out to anchor the vine...so soft and graceful...

Wild cucumber smells and tastes like a garden cucumber, but will cause stomach upset and diarrhea. DON’T EAT THIS PLANT! 

Natural Medicinal Herbs states, “The pulverized root of the wild cucumber is used as a poultice for headaches. A very bitter tea brewed from the roots is analgesic and is also used as a love potion. It is used as a bitter tonic for alleviating stomach troubles, kidney ailments, rheumatism, chills, fevers etc.” 

Um...no thanks.  I'll just grab a tylenol....

A Veggie New Age Song:

Peas would rule the planets, 

and love would clear the bars. 

It was the dawning of the Age of Asparagus.

The Age of Asparagus.

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad! San Diego Family Reunion Couples Photographer

Well that's a first.  Me featuring a wedding I didn't attend and didn't photograph!  

The wedding of my parents - 50 years ago!

Well, to honor the occasion of their anniversary, we got together for a little 

"Happy 50th Anniversary Portrait Session"

And did I mention we had fun?

What started out as a gift for them....somehow magically, turned into a gift to me.

And before I sign off, I have to show you the portrait they chose to have printed on canvas 

and hang in their home:

The beautiful thing about having a photograph printed on canvas is you don't need

glass - so there's no glare.

(It's definitely my first choice in displaying art)

"A golden aura surrounds you two, a couple representing all thats right about marriage, a pair who have triumphed over time, over challenges, over all, and continue to bond, serve and love. A golden aura symbolizes unselfishness, generosity, and happy compromise out of love for each other. You are an extraordinary duo, and we wish you comfort, peace, and happiness all the years of your lives." Johanna Fuchs

Nicola: Class of 2013 San Diego Balboa Park High School Senior Portraits Photographer for Del Norte High School

Time for the Class of 2013 to be getting ready to turn in their text books, clean out their lockers, 

plan their parties and 

send out Graduation Announcements!

Nicola and her family wanted to capture her senior memories in a beautiful outdoor park 

and I was so happy one of my clients, Sheri, suggested they give me a call.

If you are looking for some unique graduation announcements - or party invitation, thank you card or even want to order a single custom Father's Day card, make sure you take a look 

HERE at my favorite card making website Tiny Prints.

"Education is not filling a pail, but lighting a fire." (William Butler Yeats)

Flat Stanley Visits San Diego

Hi, I'm Flat Stanley and I've taken over today's blog.  

If you don't know who I am, I'll let you know that I'm the star of a childrens' book about a little boy who had a bulletin board fall on him and squish him flat. (Yikes!)

 I have many different adventures in my book, but  I also discover that the
good thing about being flat is I can be mailed to people.

Well, speaking of being mailed, my friend Jay, who is in first grade and lives in Pennsylvania, drew a picture of me in school and then mailed me to his Aunt Pam in San Diego.

He asked her to take me on some adventures here in San Diego and then mail back a little story.

Well, since Aunt Pam is a photographer, he's getting a lot of photos of my adventures too.

We went to the Safari Park and the Zoo...

And I got to walk on the beach,  touch seaweed and look in a tidepool...

I tried to meet a new friend, but he was scared of me!

I dipped my toes in the water....

And then a wave came and got me and Aunt Pam really wet!

So I dried off in the sun....

Other things I discovered during my visit to San Diego:

I like nachos....

And I don't like cactus plants - they are dangerous!

Thanks for letting me stay with you Aunt Pam - I'm ready to head back home to Jay now along with a "San Diego" t-shirt I helped you pick out for Jay, and a handful of sea shells we found at the beach!

The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has accompanied them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project.



The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who have signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. They create paper "Flat Stanleys" (representative drawings of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. Each student's Flat Stanley and its respective journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time. The project has many similarities to the travelling gnome prank except, of course, for the Flat Stanley Project's focus on literacy.


Students may find it fun to plot Flat Stanley's travels on maps and share the contents of the journal. Often, a Flat Stanley returns with a photo or postcard from his visit. Some teachers prefer to use e-mail for its quicker travel time.


In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project


According to the February 26, 2009 broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Flat Stanley was on board US Airways Flight 1549 which landed safely in the Hudson River. He was carried to safety in the briefcase of his traveling companion.


In early 2010, Darren Haas, a huge Flat Stanley advocate and applications architect, approached Dale Hubert with the idea of turning the Flat Stanley Project concept into an app for the iPhone.