May...Yay!

So happy the weather is finally letting up a bit. The problem with working 8-5 this time of the year is that it's still cold when you get up and then you sit at your window all day watching it warm up when all you want to do is go out and sit in the sun. I've been having a hard time concentrating. I had planned to post this on May Day but I was too busy daydreaming about sitting in the sun. I'm getting spring fever for sure!

I've ordered my new camera and currently awaiting its arrival today. Yay! I decided upon a Canon S110. It appears to have all the bells and whistles I want in a small size. I would have liked to have gotten another Sony Cybershot but I need to use a coupon and points from Office Depot through my office to be able to afford a new one at all after buying the expensive Nikon J1 last fall. However, Office Depot doesn't sell Sony products. Let's hope I love it! There is one more lens available for my Nikon which I hope to get soon and then I'll have everything I want. I love my Nikon, it's just a bit too large to carry around all the time. I love that I can still stick it in my purse if I carry a larger one, though. I highly recommend it so far. All the photos on this post were taken with it. I'm anxious to take lots of beautiful photos this spring and summer when everything is so colorful and beautiful. I'm thrilled to be getting the hang of this digital picture taking thing ♥  

Have a great weekend everyone! I plan to get my hands dirty if the weather holds up :o)

Video: Sass Jordan - Make You A Believer (Official)

Think Pink

Things were looking up last week when these pictures were taken. The sun was shining and I had on my mauve shoes! 32 years beforehand I had given birth to a bouncing baby boy. All was good. This week has been an utter mess. Rainy and cold plus I've been having lots of trouble with machines. My car stopped on me yesterday. It was like it wasn't getting any gas when I first started it up. I made it up the road and it quit. I sat there a minute and started it back up and it ran fine after that. Art said it was probably the cheap gas I had been using but then later said I probably need some new spark plugs. I filled it full of some high test at lunch yesterday and so far so good, though. He'll have to take it in to get it worked on. My little Sony camera is now saying there is something wrong with the memory stick although I tried two. I know I am going to have to let it go and replace it. To top off my morning my tray for my keyboard broke on one side so I had to type with it laying sideways on my lap. I wore some jeans today and spent some time under my desk removing it. I moved my keyboard to my desktop which is going to take a little getting used to. Then to top it off the ladies' room toilet starting getting stuck so the top of the tank had to be removed to stop it after flushing. Of course, everything happened on a day when lots of clients were in the office so I had to run up and down the stairs in between typing sideways and worrying whether or not I was going to have to spend a fortune on my car. Yikes, feels like I should have stayed in bed with the covers pulled up. 

♥ Dress: Maggy London

♥ Sweater: American Living from JCPenney

♥ Belt:  Modcloth

♥ My Mauve Shoes: Kohl's

I purchased this pretty dress from eBay on the cheap. When I received it I loved the color but found the neckline a bit too low to suit me. I had purchased this sweater awhile back and found the color to match perfectly. I don't wear pink very often but on occasion I love it! When all else fails I say...think pink ♥ 

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup Recipe

Since the weather is still a bit cold and we are expecting rain all week I decided to make a pot of soup yesterday. It's actually a soup you could make year round. With fresh from the garden vegetables it can't be beat. It is so yummy! I'm not sure where the initial recipe came from but I've changed it around to make it my own over the years. Not much, just added more hamburger, less carrots, and dry parsley rather than fresh. I mean, who has fresh parsley laying around? It's certain you won't find any in my fridge. I have added corn to the mix at times so I'm sure if you wanted to throw in a cup of your favorite veggie no one would be the wiser.

Ingredients:

2 pounds hamburger

3 cups cabbage

1/2 cup carrots

3 cups red potatoes

1 cup onion

1 tablespoon dry parsley (if you use fresh use more)

6 cups water

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can of tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dry bay leaves

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

How-to:

Put your hamburger on to fry. I like my hamburger in chunks for soup rather than crumbled so in order to get your hamburger to clump you need to let it fry awhile before you turn it. When you turn it make sure you don't chop it too much. While your hamburger is frying chop your veggies and place in your pot. I'm not sure what size of dutch oven I have but it fits right over my biggest burner perfectly. Once you have everything chopped up add your spices, water and tomatoes. Stir and start cooking. Once your hamburger is done, drain and add it to your soup. Bring to a boil. Once your soup is good and hot, add a lid and simmer for about an hour. 

This soup is great with a peanut butter sandwich but for our dinner yesterday I made Jiffy corn muffins. Since my cupcake pan makes 12, I also made blueberry muffins for dessert. 

I also had a chance to play around with the Hipstamatic camera app awhile yesterday. I mentioned awhile back that I hadn't messed with it much and that I couldn't see that it did that much other than take a regular picture with a frame but after taking a couple hours to learn what it was all about I discovered that there are tons of different ways to use it. It's different than the other camera apps I have and I guess that's what was throwing me off but after a little effort of discovering what it was all about I really like it. I'll do a post later about it ♥