Photos for a cause......

I am a photography hobbyist with a point and shoot camera..... but yesterday I got the chance to put my hobby to good use!  I donated a couple hours of my time to go around with a pro photographer and take pictures of animals in need of adoption at the Joplin Humane Society!  It was challenging, difficult, messy, wonderful, inspiring, add all the great adverbs you can to this list because I could go on forever! below are a few of the adoptable pets that melted my heart!   if you are around Joplin go see these fur faces..... they would love you forever!

Duncan loves R and D!

YUP my dog definitely has a love affair with my niece and nephew...... he follows them everywhere and keeps tabs on their every move when they are around!  I can't hardly stand the cuteness! :)

One last nod to summer

As you all may or may not know, Fall is my favorite season. The changing leaves and crisp air just inspire me!  But before I just jump head first into fall, I want to give one last nod to the beautiful summer that I had by showing you some of the summer flowers in my Dad's garden back home. (he has quite the green thumb, me .... not so much.

Pow Wow

I have a very mixed heritage. I have Scottish ancestry which is a very strong source of pride on my moms side, German ancestry from my moms side as well, and other European decent that I have no clue about because somehow it has gotten lost in translation through the years. However my Great Grandmother was full blooded Cherokee and my grandpa has always been proud of that fact. He did family history research and looked up old Indian records so that my cousins, sisters, and I could actually claim this Native American heritage. I have sat at my grandpas feet and listened to him talk about the past, and my great grandmother and have always always always been proud when I heard the stories.  With this being said, I have NEVER EVER been to a pow wow.  So this last weekend I remedied that fact and attended my very first one!

 I  enjoyed the fancy pants dresses worn by the indian princesses (yes they had pow wow princesses)

and the elaborate warrior dances!

sorry its blurry but they just danced so FAST :)

The women were the most lady-like example of beauty and strength I have ever seen, and the men were true manly warriors! I can tell that this is a group of  proud people and I was honored to be able to spend an evening with them! The amount of respect at these dances was the most amazing part of it all. They treasured family, tradition, and togetherness. The Drum beat and chants echoed  the emotion of each song with voices getting louder and softer with every beat!

The trouble with Cupcakes

I  love to bake. I am the girl who on a lazy weekend will look up a new recipe or try something new. I have mastered the chocolate souffle, I have conquered the creme brulee (I even have a chef's torch) and I happen to make some pretty darn good cookies!( Scott's co-workers beg for them all the time) but I must admit there is one enemy that I have trouble defeating....... that enemy my friends is cake batter!   I can follow a recipe to the letter, use every tip in the book and yet when I try to make a cake from scratch it always comes out heavy, dense, and slightly dry.   Sadly when asked to make cupcakes for my BIL's birthday celebration while he visited I had to admit defeat and I used cake mix.... what really makes me mad was that they turned out PERFECT!!!  They were moist and fluffy and delish!!  Oh well I guess  a cake mix is easier anyway and I still put my own spin on things and made my own frosting.

German Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter whipped frosting and a reeses cup on top!

Note:  I may have lost the battle but the war wages on,  one day I WILL make good cake from scratch!

Farmers Market

My latest finds at the farmers market:

• Sweet Onions
• Corn
• Raw Honey
• Two different types of squash

 I also am enjoying the last of the fresh basil my dad sent with me the last time I was home to visit

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!   

Dog Days of Summer

Just over 2 years ago (August 28th to be exact)  we adopted Duncan from our local Humane Society where he was a shy sweet 5 month old puppy mill rescue.  We are so lucky to have him in our lives... he has been there with smiles every day!   Well the Humane society teamed up with the local aquatic center to put on a fundraiser called the Dog Days of Summer. The last day of the season, after the aquatic center was closed to the public they held a Dog swim where for 2 dollars and a donation you could bring your dog to the pool for some fun :) 

We saw big dogs

We saw small dogs

We even saw Dogs in Bikinis!!!

Duncan had a great time!

 A good time was had by all and after all was said and done.... Duncan got a taste of being a beach dog for the day!