Courtney, over at Click it up a Notch has a weekly feature where we can link up and post something we learned this week. Earlier in the week she had a post about how to photograph Christmas lights. I read that post, got my camera out and started practicing! This week I learned how to photograph lights! Here is the shot I like the best. 1/13 shutter speed, f/4.5 and ISO 800. I'm limited by my kit lens on the aperture setting, but hopefully Santa will buy me that new lens I asked for. :) Suggestions? Should I have increased my ISO and increased my shutter speed or doesn't that matter? (Click image to enlarge)

I feel like such a domestic goddess (let's ignore the fact that I have someone who cleans for me, and the fact that I sometimes burn grilled cheeses) because I made wheat bread from scratch. And it turned out really yummy! I followed this recipe exactly, except that my yeast was "rapid rise" yeast (it was all I had) and I followed the "new breadmaker" tips suggested by the third commenter "bizzybrandi". The house smelled SO good too. Let me know if you try it or if you have a bread recipe that you love!

Well, I started a new "diet" last week and have been doing it for a week...so far it has been going well. I'm not necessarily cutting calories or starving myself...gotta keep that milk production up, but have been eating MUCH healthier. I found a magazine called Clean Eating and read it and thought "Yes!" this is how I should be eating! Healthy food, fruits, veggies, whole grains...and the best part is they had a 2 week meal plan in it. All meals and snacks are outlined for me and there is a grocery list too! I follow it almost exactly except I add calories with my coffee and creamer (cant skip THAT!), an Odwalla bar, and one Dove Dark Chocolate. Maybe one more healthy snack after dinner too if I'm still hungry. Also, we have TONS of social events here that always involve food, so at least I'm eating healthier the rest of the week when we don't have those! I feel really good and have already noticed some of my cravings changing. I didn't expect that to happen so soon. I used to have a half a can of C0ke in the afternoon to wake up a little...well two days ago I popped one open in the afternoon and took a couple of sips...and it was WAY too sweet for me! CRAZY! I didn't even drink it! I also found myself craving some grapes, where usually all I crave is chocolate. Hopefully I can continue to make some healthier choices! I feel great so far!

Hey Y'all--

Wow...I know I'm a totally horrible blogger, but didn't realize I hadn't posted since November. Good thing a newborn provides a good excuse (that I will be using as long as possible for many, many things).