Monday, May 19, 2008

a mish mash

We are blasting the air today. This morning I went on a good walk with some pals. It was so hot by 9am, I felt like I needed an 80s sweat band. It was such a nice weekend, we just hung out at home on Saturday. Our highlights were homemade pizza, a new kiddie pool that the dog very hopefully will not destroy, and we put some mulch down in the garden and we have happy little plants now. We are most proud of our little pumpkins that sprouted some sweet little leaves the other day. They get bigger and more daring each day, reaching out to the nearly desert-like sun.


Sunday was great too. We had a stellar morning in which there was minimal stress getting in the car and making the trek to church. Besides James' diaper quitting on us and me having to go and administer a change during Liturgy, all went well. I think the kids like taking Communion. James is starting to freak out a little less around Fr. Josiah (after his baptism). After Liturgy we jetted out to have brunch with Jason's family for his brother's birthday. It was a shmorgasborg (is that a real word?). You know - prime rib, ham, omelets, chocolate mousse. All that and more. After we rolled ourselves out of there, we spent the rest of our day at home, watching half of Into the Wild while Hannah napped. I'm not completely in love with the film. Neither is Jason, and if we don't ever get around to finishing it, I think we'll be OK. Parts of it are quite amusing, however, it wasn't what either of us thought it would be. Also, I think it might be a bit heavy on the Vedder for Jason and I. Surprisingly, we both adored a movie called Broken English with Parker Posey. It's basically a love story involving depressed well-to-do people whom drink too heavily and do stupid things with their lives, which normally I don't ever like, but this was done really well and it's kinda funny too.

So, I realize this post is a mish mash but on my mind lately, is the desire for a new camera. I have an old clunker Jason and I got when we first got married. It's a slow dinosaur. Then I have another camera that takes better pictures, which my mom graciously handed down to me (although this came after her frustration with it after going whale watching in Alaska, in which each time she snapped a shot of a whale's tail, all she got was a few bubbles on the surface of a frigid Alaskan sea.) I'm currently feeling her pain. So I'm shopping around, feeling rather discouraged. I had no idea how bleeping expensive decent cameras are! I'd really LOVE to be able to play with the lens a little, but the digitals that offer such capabilities are way out of my price range. Any ideas for me? Am I destined for a point and shoot that does all the work for me? Are my visions of crystal clear photos of sweet children's faces and a blurry background out of reach? Or is there, perhaps, some awesome website with large discounts that I don't know about?

One more thing, I have about a half a pound of ground turkey all thawed and ready to cook for dinner. What would you do with it? I was thinking tacos but I don't have much for fixin's, and I am NOT going to the store today. I have some orzo, some potatoes, stuff for salads. Help me out! I need some inspiration.

9 Comments:

Blogger Xenia Kathryn said...

turkey burgers?

meatloaf?

spaghetti with meat sauce?

homemade hamburger helper (a mishmash of noodles/orzo, spices, throw in some corn, tomatoe sauce, plain yogurt, cheese... whatever!)

stroganoff?

Taco salad? Cook the meat in some taco seasoning/ similar spices or salsa. Add corn. Put on top of salad and top with tomatoes, cheese, etc. Serve with crushed tortilla chips.

Sometimes when I have an ingredient that I don't know what to do with, I do a search on "Allrecipes.com" and some good options usually come up. It always provides a nice range of options, from difficult to easy, or from fancy to minimal ingredients.

3:09 PM  
Blogger Thomas Ham said...

Maria wants a point and click, which we can afford right now. But, I refuse to buy her one! I need a Digital SLR and just like you guys, it's out of our price range. I hope I can get some OT to get her one before we go to Alaska in September.

5:22 PM  
Blogger Mrs. Ham said...

No actually I don't want a "point and click" I want a nikon with an awesome lens. But since that too is out of our price range, I figure I'll just settle for a stupid ashton cutcher camera. I think that would be better than mac photo booth, which is awkward, and fuzzy, and has to face whatever you are taking a picture of. I hope we can scrape up for one before alaska too!
I feel your moms pain, I have the same pictures of whale bubbles from cabo.

11:08 PM  
Blogger Lauren S. said...

"stupid ashton kutcher camera"

i LOLed.

And if anyone would care to know, I made a meat sauce for some tortellini that I found in the cupboard. XK, you were most helpful, I almsot made taco salad but I had no tomato. Thank you. :)

8:55 AM  
Blogger Mimi said...

I think your post is a lovely smorgasboard!

10:15 AM  
Blogger jenny baker said...

michael and i went all out and bought the big nikon D40 last year because we knew we wouldn't always be able to afford a camera like that. we wanted it so we could take it on our vacations but also to take cute pictures of our future kids, (i personally wanted the camera to capture each little baby eyelash!)

as far as ashton kutcher cameras, i have no idea really. :) i'm sure you could probably find a good deal if you shopped around though.

4:06 PM  
Blogger b said...

oh neat-o, thanks! do i know you? i go to church with m. :)

ps: i am a photographer so i could help you with camera questions:) i have used everything from disposable to what i am doing now... a view camera.. you know those accordion looking ones that you go under a blanket to focus (as seen on dr. quinn).

if you would like that "blurred" background look.. you are not looking for a point and shoot because you would like something that you could manually control the aperture/depth of field. in this case you may want to experiment with single lens reflex cameras.

i am very happy with my nikon slrs. i have a digital and a 2 35mms... you should try craigslist... there are tons of photographers upgrading all of the time and you can very easily find a used body in good condition... however, be prepared to spend a bit on the lenses! you can very easily spend over $1,000 on a good lens, while the body may only cost you at least 3-400. i like nikon.. maybe because i wish i was japanese.. anyways! you should not start out with a d300 or anything insane like that.. get the cheapest digital body to get the swing of things and keep it if you like or if you want to be all crazy and professional and do studio or commercial or fashion photography you could always upgrade to a different body and keep your lenses as they will work with any camera! i even use my 35mm lenses on my digital its wonderful! also! keep in mind lenses are nice to buy new so that they have no damage... + usually even if you find a great one that is used on ebay or craigslist..good lenses don't really go down in value so you might as well get a new one unless you find a pot of gold and you are at the right place at the right time.

7:15 PM  
Blogger b said...

pps: oh ok you know jenny too? i just read her comment... nikon d40 or d40x s are excellent beginner cameras and you can get a great deal on them at costco.... and a STEAL on craigslist. however! it also depends where you live LA craigslist is an absolute GOLD-MINE for cameras/ lenses etc. .. inland empire not so great... so keep that in mind.

7:21 PM  
Blogger Monica said...

Realize I am waaaaayyyyyy late here, but couldn't help it.

Just read a recipe for kabobs using balls of seasoned turkey, plum sections (or whatever fruit), and 2 inch sections of green onion scewered on bamboo and grilled or roasted in oven. Sounded so yum...

I'll let you know how it turns out if I try it.

9:21 PM  

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