Wow! Post One.

Wow! I have 41 followers- how did that happen?! Last I checked, I only had 12... Thank you everyone! I hope my blog is worthy enough to subscribe to...I will try to make it that way :)

Alright, so these past two months I have been borrowing a friend's Canon 5D Mk 1, and I am in love. Its ability to capture low-light settings and its wonderful 24-105mm lens have dazzled my soul. So, I wanted to share a few photos with you to show you what I am enthralled by! [Plus, I just think they are neat pics. ;) ]

[I was going through my photos, and realized I have too many photos for just one post! So this is from the most recent backwards. Post one]

Daddy took me on my birthday date! He has done this every year since I was four, and we always go to the same place. I love it :)

Because I am trying to be a food photojournalist, of course I have more pictures of food than of people...

Muwah! I love my daddy so much. Dads, if its really the only thing you get out of this post: build an amazing relationship with your daughters. And create traditions with them. It is so important for us to know how much you love us!

Our annual picture, in front of the Swan Coach House. I love how much my father loves me!

Spent a few days with my sister and brother-in-law and their kids... Here are the three oldest [MP just wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good shot! ;) ]

Jess! We had a lot of fun painting.

'Nita! Sweetheart of the forest:)

Jaybird! Its so hard to realize she is already 9 - How has time gone so fast?

Preparing for a crazy game of Uno-never a dull moment in our family!

I went to my two cousins' birthdays: Eli's first birthday, and Jon's...birthday [sorry, Jon, I forgot how old you are now!]. [background: Jon is my first cousin, son of Wayne and Judy Rogers, also known as my uncle and aunt. :) Kathryn is Jon's wife, and she is amazing. Eli is their first child.]

Happy birthday Eli! He couldn't figure out why Mommy was letting him have sweets all the sudden. Its ok, buddy, it won't last.

Happy birthday Jon!!

Alright, check these out: Kathryn is an artist, and she MADE this cake and those cookies. You should hire her. As I said before, she's amazing! [and also, this cake was wheat-free. I know, right?! :D :D ]

Aren't they adorable?? And they tasted delicious as well [wheat free as well, I believe...].

Ok, the color looked a lot better on my computer. Sorry, folks. But its so beautiful at my house during this Fall season! It must be my favorite time of year :) Forget Christmas, I am always more excited about Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin! I love them - the continuous swirl that draws the eye to the cheery orange. Pumpkins might be one of my absolute favorite reasons to love Autumn.

Ok, doesn't this look HDR-ish to you? Its not, obviously, since I can't figure out HDR, but I really like this shot. A storm was coming, so I pulled over in my Publix parking lot and took some shots. Haha, some of those people thought I was insane. Oh well, maybe they are following my blog and now feel slightly relieved that Im not a total loon. ;)

The storm in front of my neighborhood.

At the front of my neighborhood... I love how the headlights add a different level of light in this photo.

The moon, at around 7:15 pm.

This is one of the coolest little boys you will ever meet. Meet my nephew Charlie! Here he is posing with a new cool hat of his :D

"All Aboard!" Charlie and I played trains for an hour the other day. Then I got to lay him down for his nap- sweet little boy :)

I can't believe how blessed I am that he lives near me! I need to make this trip more often.

"My train is goin' over the bridge...is your train stuck in the mud, Aunt Mercy?"

"No, Im just takin' a break, taking some pictures."

"Oh...Well, I'm still 'train'ing..."

I LOVE CHARLIE!

Peek-a-boo :) Here are a few shots from a photoshoot I had yesterday:

Family shoes!

If you ever need to learn to laugh, ask these two. 5 minutes didn't pass in which one of them wasn't laughing. :)

ahh! He is so precious! I love his quizzical looks. He gives them to me often ;)

Dinner tomorrow night!

Alright, so I don't know if you are taking my mom's webinar class, but if you are, then you will know that I am gathering recipes, and writing a few of my own and am creating a cookbook, complete with my own photos of the food, and if there is a big historical background to the food, a short paragraph. If you aren't a part of my mom's class, well...now you know. :) Therefore, if you have any recipes or such you want to share with me, then please email them to me! Im going to test them out, see if they meet my standard ;), take pictures of them, and if I ever get this project off the ground, then I will send you a discount coupon for the cookbook :) And yes, I will give credit where credit is due for each recipe :) [Which means, if you send me a recipe that isn't your own, please specify whose recipe it is, either your family's, or a friend's, or even if you got it off of google, which site. Thanks!]

Sunday is my birthday- yay! I will be twenty, what a strange idea... When I was younger, I was convinced that I would die before I turned eighteen. I don't know where I got that idea, but it stayed in the back of my mind. So for me to turn twenty is a pretty big step. I will no longer be a teenager! Wow! Thus, I am hosting a small dinner at my house Saturday evening. Nothing big, just a few close friends and family, but I am thrilled. I haven't thrown a dinner myself, ever. Do you want to know the menu?

Well....

Ok, sure, I can't resist sharing ;)

Here is the layout:

Appetizers

French loaf of bread

Dipping Oil

Cheese & Crackers

Soup

French Onion Soup

Salad

Autumn Salad, with apple slices, pistachios, and cheddar slices

Main Course

Flank Steak

Chicken Fried Rice

Some sort of greens [either broccoli, spinach or green beans]

bread

Dessert

either:

mini gingerbread cupcakes

or

Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing

or

A healthier version of chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse icing

'Special' Drinks

hot chocolate

hot apple cider

chai tea latte

What do you think? Does this sound yummy to you, or a course you would skip?

I hope you have a lovely day! I'll try and post some pictures on the go tomorrow :)