Monday, April 26, 2010

Gimme' that Fish

Have you seen the McDonalds Filet of Fish of commercial? It gives me life (thanks Bre)

I sing this little jingle all the time.
And I sound like a fool when doing it.
Please watch this clip.

CLICK HERE.

Did you laugh? I am literally laughing out loud right now just thinking about it.
If the person who wrote this jingle reads my blog (which they obviously don't) I want to tell them "you are amazingly creative and your jingle rocks my world....love summer"

Gimme that fish.

Okay on to Atlanta Part Deux.

I have been visiting my college roommate LP in Atlanta for the past 8 years and it was this trip that I could tell we have really matured (aka: we are getting old). 8 years ago my ATL visit would have included staying out til 4am, dancing til our feet hurt, eating at the Waffle House in the middle of the night because our metabolism was amazing, looking at boys (sorry NT but it is true) and shopping for lots of clothes that I didn't need (well some things didn't change)

However, this trip we showed our age. We were in bed by midnight both nights and that was late. We did a nice dinner and a show and one night and a potluck dinner the other night (it was great btw), And we shopped for antiques. Now that point hits home so let me repeat....we shopped for antiques. Gulp. I remember when my parents FORCED me to go to auctions and now I would love to go. Weird. I am becoming my mother (which is a good thing!)

I will be 30 years old in two months. Gulp #2.

Biggar Antiques warmed my heart. Here are some pictures. No photos allowed inside so you only get to see the funkiness that was available outside.
Please click on the picture above and make it bigger so you can see the coolness of the A&W gal and the big cowboy man.
There was old stuff EVERYWHERE. Apparently they use a lot of this stuff for props in movies. They are currently supplying ALL the props for the new Harry Potter ride in Disneyworld.
Suitcase anyone? which one do you like? I LOVE the yellow ones with the brown handles.
In a way this Mickey is a bit creepy and in another way he reminds me of a very happy and very large PEZ dispenser.
LP is Jewish and wanted me to take this picture of the "Jewel" sign. I like the shadow of the tree in the background.
This sign was at the front of the building. I loved it. I didn't buy anything because I couldn't figure out how to fit a 1200 pound A&W root beer man on the top of LP's corolla but maybe next time.

.....switching subjects now.....

For you container gardening folks....oh ok.....no one? Well keep reading anyway. You may remember one of my first blog postings about my garden......well don't dwell on that because it is dead. But maybe I will try again....MAYBE.

And if I do try again, I will not germinate my seeds I will buy the plant like any sensible beginner gardener would do. And then I will plant my plants in super cute old crates like LP.

See below.
This is clever too.....herbs in a flour sifter. I like it. I even think it shows I am getting older in that I took pictures of veggies and herbs. Pictures from 8 years ago ATL trip would be hard to even decipher.

To come later this week....maternity photos of the Crims! Good Night.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

HEALTH NUGGETS IN ATLANTA

Last weekend I went to Atlanta to visit my friend LP. And there....I discovered my love for Kettle Korn (Korn is probably not spelled with a K but alliteration is so much fun). It was a special day at the Dogwood Festival. The sound of music in every corner, the breeze was nice and the smells of fattening foods surrounded us. Yum....but it was the Kettle K(C)orn that I could not escape from.

I really don't consider myself a "popcorn" fan. However, I do see where the chink in my dieting armor truly is......it is the sweets (and the salty but let's not dwell). Plain or buttered Popcorn....no thank you. Popcorn coated with honey and sugar (and possibly caramel).....you better get your own bag because I ain't sharing!!
Did you know they make flavors of Kettle K(c)orn? Like Blue Rasberry, Apple, and watermelon....however, I prefer the plain.
The dangerous point is that you can order this Kettle Corn and they will deliver it RIGHT to your house. DANGER!! MUCHO CALORIES IN YOUR MAILBOX!!
To order to your own house go to....Moose Head Kettle Corn....
I would like to point out the attire that Mr. Kettle Corn maker is wearing. Yes, protective goggles, a fireproof mask, and arm protectors. I need to get something like this for days that I cook. That or a welding vest says my dad....

Other health nuggets available at the Dogwood Festival....Sweet Potato Chips and Funnel Cakes (plus many other things but I didn't take pictures of those)

Don't judge me. I only ate the funnel cake.

Also at the Dogwood Festival I found some other fabulous finds that I probably would have purchased if I could buy things willy nilly without worrying about it showing up in my bank account then on quickbooks.....

For example: DANCING METAL STRUCTURES.
Though they are cute I am not sure where you quantify them in Quickbooks. They would not exactly fall into the essentials category such as food, toiletries, pet supplies.

Example #2: RANDOM BUCKET GUY
I am not sure why but I still love this little guy. Can someone make one of these for me for less than $225? Ridiculous huh?

Example #3: BIRD WEARING BOOTS PICTURE
The problem is that I purchased this one. I do not have a picture but you would love it if I did. Little turquoise birds with long legs wearing knee high boots (do birds have knees?) Anywho, it is cuter than it sounds.

I have more from the ATL trip including pictures from the antique scavenger hunt that LP and I went on plus her super cute gardening ideas (**however she did just tell me that her lettuce is dead so I am not sure if the ideas are practical but they are cute). Kettle Corn 4 life.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

CONGRATS TO SKIPPER AND ROB

As many of you know, I love my camera. And the television show Glee. (I only tell you that because I am watching the Madonna episode right now. Amazing.) And my dogs. And scrapbooking. And the smell of fresh cut grass.....oh, right....back to the point...

After a mini lifetime I am putting more of Skipper (yes the barbie doll) and Rob's engagement pictures up. Like I said in a previous post, when you let a beginning photographer take your pics you never know what you are in for. And for Skipper and Rob, that meant 1,248 hitchkicks and posing with a donkey. Here are a few of my favorites. (BTW, Dear Blogspot, Can you make it where my pictures are bigger? Love Summer)

Now for a few of the outtakes...so the hitchkicks. You know what I am talking about right? The heels click in the air a la Wizard of Oz. I have seen it on many photographers websites and per usual they make it look SO simple. IT's NOT. (Just ask Skip and Rob)

Here is an example shot from the fabulous Erin Gilmore (www.eringilmorephotography.com)
As you can see, it is all about timing and synchronization. And apparently keeping your hitchkick low (is that even what it is called?). But truthfully the best part about the hitchkick shot is how hard it made me laugh....I almost wet my pants with laughter watching Rob practically kick the sun he was so high.

Here are a few outtakes:
And you know what I really appreciate....the effort. Here are probably the thoughts of Skipper and Rob. "Okay summer.....we have traveled to two barns, been kissed by a donkey, stepped in cow patties, walked through 7 spider webs, kissed 5.2 million times and you want us to WHAT?" The truth is I really didn't know how to get the kicks at the same time....so we went for the old fashioned count to 3 method.

After 33 shots (no really....33) check out this synchronization (too bad I only go their feet in the shot ;-):
So after reading this post....you folks go ahead and let me know when you are ready for me to take your pics....just prepare for donkeys and kicks. And April....you already committed so you can't run now...Harris family here I come!

Friday, April 16, 2010

This and That.

I am in Atlanta visiting my friend LP so you can certainly expect many stories. I know I promised engagement pictures of my friend Skipper and Rob but due to my packed social schedule (ie: Project Runway Finale Part 1) I have not had time to edit them. So instead you get random pictures of some cute gals at church and pics of Mason's nose.

Let's start with Mason's nose. I recently got a new wide angle lens-Yay. So what did I do first? I took a picture of a my feet and my arm. It makes you look like you have go-go gadget arms. Kind of like when you used to go to the fun house with the silly looking mirrors.
So after pretending I had arms and legs like the "Incredibles"....I tortured the pets.
Check out Mason's nose...."the better to sniff you with"
MASON: "Seriously, Summer get that camera out of my face....oh....you said MilkBone....continue on then"
MASON: "Hey! That angle makes my butt look big"
MASON: "The celebrities would call this angle a crotch shot. Shout out to Britney"
And for you Chris....here is Hines in the wide angle lens. Ummm....is it me or does his beard look extremely long? No worries, I will also use the lens for landscapes, architectural details, etc....not just to make my dogs look like they have long noses.

Now to the cute gals at church...I have nominated myself to take pictures at church events and the other night we had a "Big Tent" service. These cuties were playing hide and seek and tag but they paused long enough for me to catch this picture.

Smiling for the random lady with the camera.
Mmmm....cute children feet. Love the pink boots.
Would it be odd if I asked this gal if I could borrow her cute red scarf/shaw?

More exciting blog postings to come. I promise no more dog noses (okay not really because it is my blog and I like to take pics of Mason's nose). You can however expect the conclusion of how to take engagement pictures with a donkey, how to plant a container garden, and my love for kettle corn. Good Night.

Monday, April 12, 2010

I'm Tired

Hey Friends. I am tired tonight--not sure why--I really haven't done that much. I guess that walk around the block really wore me out. Anywho, this post is just a tease for a posting I am going to do later this week!

Yesterday, I did engagement pictures for my beautiful friend Skipper and her superchill fiance Rob. Just to tell you how pretty she is, she got the nickname Skipper because she looked (and still does look) like Barbee's best friend by the same name. And I guess the nickname just stuck...Skipper it is.

I am definitely a "photographer in training" so you never really know what you will get with me. In the first hour, Skipper was almost ran over by a cow and Rob kissed by donkey. Then I realized I was standing in about a 4inch pile of cow droppings (are they called droppings? they were MUCH bigger than the word "dropping" would imply. more like cow boulders) Then came the portion where I made them do that little hitch kick thing where you hit your heels together...about 804 times....it was honestly hilarious....to me anyways.

How do they make that look so easy on Wizard of Oz? huh?

I have to say my friends are so fab to let me torture...I mean experiment....I mean photograph them for 3+ hours. The good news is we got some great pictures and I can't wait to share them with you later this week. We headed back out to the same barn I shot at last week and then we went to a a local Rock Quarry (that I barely knew existed) where I almost had a nervous breakdown because we were technically trespassing.

Here are just a SMALL handful of pics.

Below: Check out Skipper's bling---good job Rob. Good Job.
Above: I have stories about this picture....I had seen a shot with a horse standing between a bride and groom so I thought....why not a donkey? You will definitely here more about this one!
Now on the picture below it is a little hard to see the most important part of the shot....Skipper and Rob...but I love the lighting! For my photography friends, I finally ventured out of my safety zone called Automatic Settings ;-) and used all Manual. I am so proud.
Expect to see more pics later this week and read more about my love with lucy the donkey, standing in Cow poo while trying to get the "shot" and why hitch kick shots are not as easy as they look. (Skipper if you are reading this....please pre-forgive me for posting the outtakes of the heel kickin' shots...I can't help myself)