It’s hard to believe that I’m halfway through my food photography online class. During the first three weeks, we tackled learning the online platform and did a little meet ‘n greet with the other students, learned about lighting and simple styling, and learned about photo editing using Pixlr (free online photo editing program). We dealt with several technical issues that seem to come with being the first guinea pig class. Changes/adjustments are being made as we go to help insure future classes will run a bit smoother.

I’ve picked a couple of new skills and techniques for my photos. More importantly, I’ve received some valuable feedback from other students in the class. Photography is something that is personal. Not everyone agrees on what makes a picture good or bad. We all have our personal preferences on what looks best. Some people love rustic looking pictures while others enjoy a more clean, modern style. No matter what the preference, receiving constructive criticism helps me learn to have a more critical eye when it comes to my pictures, and hopefully, in turn, helps me create more pleasing pictures overall. Obviously, when certain items come up multiple times when it comes to my shots, I need to really focus on those particular areas. (I really need to pay more attention to lines, shadows, and corners as these can be distracting as is seen in the sandwich picture below.)

When it comes to pictures, I strive to not have to do lots of editing. I want the editing to just enhance the pictures and not remake the pictures. Sometimes that happens, and other times – well – not so much. lol! I’ve been enjoying the editing techniques that I’ve been learning in the class. My favorite technique, which I had not used prior to this class, is the unsharp mask. This technique is fantastic for making certain aspects of the food pop such as making the detail on the bread crust of the sandwich really come to life or making the ice crystals on the popsicle really stand out against the red of the strawberry popsicle.

Going into the second half of the course, we’re going to be learning some camera techniques to bring pictures to life and be more pleasing to the eye. I’m rather looking forward to this portion of the class. We’ll be putting all of our new skills together and creating our own food photography portfolio. We’ll continue to critique each other’s photos and encourage each other to produce high quality images. Hopefully, for our professor’s sake, the technical issues are finished, so he’s able to enjoy the class as well instead of being concerned about all the little details.

As I enter into this final half of the course, I hope to be able to stretch my skills and create pictures that will truly inspire my family, friends, readers… to want to try some of the recipes that I’m posting. The dream of actually being able to create a recipe book with beautiful food pictures is starting to seem like more of a possibility. We’ll see if that door is opened after I complete this class.

PHOT-001: Food Photography by Sony Mid-Term is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

You may also like:

1. Introduction to PHOT-001: Food Photography by Sony

My dogs are a little crazy. In many households, one dog will have some crazy quirk, but it’s not shared by his canine companions. That is not the case at our house.

Our two pups share almost all of their crazy quirks. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that they feed off each other’s quirks which ultimately makes it appear like they’re trying to out do each other. Did I mention they’re a little crazy? Today, they were fighting over a cardboard tube (you know from toilet paper or paper towels?). They kept snagging the tube from each other until the tube was no more. Now, I need to say that they don’t just rip up the tubes. Nope, they eat the tubes. Apparently, they need more ruffage? I don’t know.

We have to put the tissues boxes where they can’t get to them because they’ll individually pull out tissue after tissue. They only pause in between tissues to eat them. If one of them grabs a tissue, the other has to try to get that tissue away from him. This often leads to chases around the house (or outside) and wrestling sessions. Like I said… crazy…

Toilet Paper? Normally, they’re just after the cardboard tubes, but they’ve been known to grab the end of the toilet paper and take off running – a trail of toilet paper streaming after them. Wyatt is usually the one who starts this as he likes to slip into the bathroom behind you when you’re not looking. Wiley’s a little too big to do that, and he’s not all that fond of following us into the bathroom. lol! Once Wyatt gets the toilet paper, Wiley is in on the game. If I snag it from Wyatt, Wiley will go behind me and snatch up a different portion of the toilet paper.  Unlike the tissues, they don’t seem intent on eating the toilet paper as much as playing with it. I have a suspicion that it’s all about getting that empty cardboard tube.

There is never a dull moment around our house when these two are involved. I feel like I have toddlers in the house because they have to be closely watched are they’ll get into way too much. If they’re separated (one upstairs, one downstairs), they’re not nearly as much trouble.  Together… well, they’re just crazy… entertaining… a handful… adorable… our dogs. Thankfully, we do get a reprieve from the craziness in the afternoon as they love their siestas. **grin**

Tissues, Toilet Paper, and Cardboard Tubes? is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

Great for God by David Shibley

Book Description:

Inspiring true stories of the courageous faith of 23 missionaries who boldly lived for God and not themselves.

With bold faith, obedience to God, and love for others, missionaries attempt great things for God. Great for God: Missionaries Who Changed the World shares the biographies of twenty three missionaries. Each chapter highlights the amazing truths of God’s power at work through the lives of those willing to live for the applause of heaven.

Their great accomplishments for God challenge believers to continue to “attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God,” as William Carey once stated. Author and Global Advance founder David Shibley offers Great for God to inspire every Christian, small group, and family devotion time. Teachers will find it a powerful supplement to world history and religious studies.

It only takes one courageous life in Christ to bring hope to millions! It could be yours.

My Thoughts:

I’ve always been interested in reading stories of the great missionaries of our nation. I think part of my fascination started due to having missionaries in my family. It’s not an easy life, and it definitely takes a special person with a calling from the Lord to go to some of these foreign lands. It takes a lot of sacrifice. It also takes a delicate balance of serving others and serving your family. I appreciated that Shibley pointed out that several of the men failed to find this balance and in turn failed their families. All too often these great missionaries are put on pedestals. This quote stood out to me: “The object of reading biography… is not imitation, but inspiration.” It’s very important that we remember this as we read.

Great for God highlights the lives of 18 missionaries that have gone to be with their Lord, their Savior. Each of these men and women have left behind a legacy to be remembered. I enjoyed the brief overviews at the beginning of each biography. The quotes were wonderful and poignant.

“I see tonight that in spiritual work, if nowhere else, the character of the worker decides the quality of the work…. No wonder so much work in the Kingdom today is shoddy — look at the moral character of the worker.” – Jim Elliot. Ouch! Yet, it’s so true. I found myself really reflecting on many of the quotes contained in the chapters, and definitely felt convicted on more that one occasion.

Overall, I enjoyed the collection of biographies contained in the book. Obviously, with only 23 biographies, this is only a sampling of some of the wonderful missionaries from days gone by. (He chose to only use missionaries who were no longer with us.)

Book Details:

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: New Leaf Press (May 18, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 089221709X
ISBN-13: 978-0892217090
Also available in e-book format

About the Author:

David Shibley is the founder and president of Global Advance, has pastored churches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, is the author of over 20 books, and has a bachelor’s degree from John Brown University, and a master’s from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I received an e-book edition to help facilitate the writing of a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. A positive review is not guaranteed.

Book Review: Great for God is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

You may also like:

1. Book Review: Titanic Warning
2. Review: Big Book of History (Timeline)
3. Review: If Animals Could Talk

As Munchkin travels through her homeschooling journey, we constantly find ourselves needing to adjust her subjects and schooling style. Often, these adjustments lead to changes in our homeschool area(s) and homeschool book/supply organization. Recently, we found that our previous setup was no longer working for us. We weren’t really utilizing the separate space as we have started schooling in the living room rather than upstairs. Munchkin was keeping her supplies in a basket, but this looked cluttered and took up too much space. It was also hard to keep the books looking nice when they were being stored in the basket. I knew it was time for an update.

I decided that I wanted to move the cubby system that D had built for me downstairs, but it wouldn’t look all that great because I had never gotten around to painting the mdf cubbies. So, I set aside some time to do lots of painting. (Since I had several cubbies that had never been painted, I wanted to try to get it all done at once. Less clean-up is always a plus in my book.) Once painted, we did some rearranging of the various cubbies and bookcases to create our new homeschool storage space. (Pictured above: dvd storage cases that look like books. It allows me to consolidate the dvds, so they don’t take up as much space. Plus, these storage cases look nice on the shelf.)

Along the wall, we now have cubbies/bookcases. The first bookcase contains all of our most used resources as well as our homeschool curriculum. (My teacher’s guides are in the next bookcase which also houses cookbooks and home economics resources.) The bookcase at the furthest end contains baskets which hold various electronics, gaming items, exercise things… And no, these bookcases do not house all of our books – not even close. lol! It’s just a way to keep all of the most used, currently used books within easy reach.

Because I didn’t want paperwork to get lost or start to get out of control (you know that happens all too easily), I used a wooden tray that I had for all of the paperwork (to do, to be graded, graded…). Once Munchkin has looked over the graded paperwork, it will be filed. Periodically, I go through and sort through the paperwork to decide what to keep and what to do toss. With regular moves, I can not hang on to everything she does. For now, this system is working for us. I love how organized everything feels, and it makes sense for our current space.

Updating Our Homeschool Space is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

Free America The Beautiful Pass – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for active duty military.

You must purchase the pass in person and show a military id or DD Form 1173. If the military member is deployed, immediate family members are able to take advantage of the offer. Good for 1 year after the date of purchase – pass expires the last day of the month. The pass covers entrance to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service sites that charge entrance fees, and standard amenity fees at Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation sites.

As you know, we love visiting our National Parks which means we’ll definitely be taking advantage of this offer. The pass is normally $80, so this is a great deal.

Free National Park Pass for Military Members is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

Playing and talking shortly before the goodbyes started.

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
~author unknown~

Munchkin enjoyed spending some quality time with her friend on Friday before they said their goodbyes. It was an extremely tear filled goodbye, and it broke this mama’s heart to see the girls hurting so much. Daddy and I took it upon ourselves to side track Munchkin by having a family movie night. Unfortunately, when we headed out to grab the movie and snacks, I ended up missing my opportunity to say goodbye to my friend. **sigh** Thankfully, the internet and cell phones make it easier to stay in touch.

Our weekend consisted of us keeping Munchkin’s mind of her sadness. We even allowed her to get an upgraded cell phone that has the option to send text messages. This was a huge step for me as it means that my baby is truly growing up. Yes, she has a cell phone previously, but we had the text feature blocked. She’s proven herself responsible with the inexpensive cell phone, so we decided that she could upgrade to something with a keyboard to make texting a bit easier. Thankfully, they were having a special, so we didn’t have to pay out of pocket for the phone. (I dislike contracts, but it ended up being a good way to go.)

First time at the pool for the season.

It’s going to take some time to get over not having our friends living right next door. It’s weird seeing the house empty and not hearing the kids playing. While it’s only been a couple of days, they are already missed. Soon, new neighbors will move in next door – neighbors with 2 little boys. That’s going to be a drastic change. We don’t know who will be moving in on the other side of us. Guess we’ll find out soon enough. The turn-over here is usually fairly quick.

I think as we get older and Munchkin gets older our desire to settle down gets a bit stronger. From what I can tell, this is true for many military families. Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy the many different places we get to live, the adventures we get to experience, and the people we get to meet. It’s just that, with the passing of time, that enjoyment gets tempered with the need to put down roots. One day… yes, one day… we’ll get to start our homestead and look back fondly at the different individuals who have left footprints in our hearts.

Footprints in Your Heart is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

What’s so exciting?

We enjoy shopping at our local Sam’s Club store because we’re able to get some great products in bulk sizes at affordable prices. I know not everyone likes buying in bulk because storing things can be an issue. Cheerios understands this concern, so they changed their club packaging. The new 2 box Cheerios contains two individual boxes, making them easier to store and easier to pour!

Other benefits include…

• Reducing the amount of air in each individual bag which means that these enhanced containers fit 10% more cereal than before and use less packaging
• Reducing packaging material by over 200,000 lbs, means saving 1,000 trees and taking 130 Cheerios trucks of the road, decreasing CO2 emissions

So, not only are you getting more bang for your buck with these new easier to store and pour packages, but you’re also being more environmentally friendly in the process.

Are you a big Cheerios fan? You can enter to win your own 2 box Cheerios prize pack (4 boxes total) and/or head over to your local club store to purchase. Rafflecopter giveaway is open to US residents and ends 5/30. Winner will be announced on this post.

2 box Cheerios Rafflecopter giveaway

Cheerios® cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Super Sized Cheerios Giveaway is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

Munchkin and Her Best Friend

It’s turned into a huge school zone around our house. Munchkin is working on her classwork. I’m working on my photography classwork. Daddy is working on his military classwork. It’s weird having all of us working on different classes, but it’s also a wee bit funny to see us all trying to focus on the task at hand. With Munchkin’s best friend and her family moving this week, staying focused has been much more difficult. She wants to spend as much time with her as possible before they say goodbye on Friday. For this reason, I gave her today off from school. They were both up early and ready to play.

Paleontologists of the Future?

One of their new favorite things to do is act like they are paleontologists. They bury dinosaurs in the ground for each other and then excavate them. After they’ve been excavated, they need to be carefully cleaned. Really, I totally enjoy the fact that Munchkin is 13 and her friend is 14, yet, they love to play these types of things together. The Lord knew what he was doing when He brought these two together. Sometimes, A’s brother and sister also join in on the fun which makes for lots of laughter and an occasional argument or two. lol!

A sad, sad day...

The neighbors on the other side of us moved earlier this week, so it’s apparent that moving season is starting. Over the next couple of months, we’ll see a huge turn over in our neighborhood as quite a few families will be gone by the end of July. New families will come in and the entire dynamics of the neighborhood will once again change. Munchkin has decided that she wants to move as it would be easier than staying after her dear friend leaves. We thought that would be happening – a fresh start in a new location, but alas, that is not to be at this point in time. Instead, we’ll carry on here and pray that the Lord brings another friend into Munchkin’s life and/or that He gives her the peace and comfort that she needs as all these various changes take place in her life.

Trying to Stay Focused is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

No related posts.

Disciplines of a Godly Young Man

Book Description:

Point blank, this is a punchy, no-holds-barred book for young men. Laying out the challenge to be disciplined, godly, and sold-out for Jesus, the authors talk about purity in your thought-life, cultural pressure, and perseverance as a Christian. Let father and son Kent and Carey Hughes help you live a life of integrity and become the man God is calling you to be.

My Thoughts:

I need to preface this review with the following disclaimer. I don’t have a son, so my approach to this book was more from the viewpoint of a mom with a daughter who will one day be looking for a godly husband. My husband and I pray that the Lord will protect and guide the young man who will one day be our son-in-law. Many of the habits that are learned now will guide his actions in the future.

The 16 topics covered in this book include:

1. Discipline is Everything!
2. Discipline for Godliness
3. Discipline of Purity
4. Discipline of Friendship
5. Discipline of Mind, I: Refusal
6. Discipline of Mind, II: Filling
7. Discipline of Devotion
8. Discipline of Prayer
9. Discipline of Tongue
10. Discipline of Work
11. Discipline of Perseverance
12. Discipline of Church
13. Discipline of Giving
14. Discipline of Witness
15. Discipline of Ministry
16. Grace of Discipline

Each chapter addresses a specific area of discipline while continually tying the various disciplines together. The chapters conclude with Food for Thought questions and an application/response section where individuals can apply the concepts they learned from the chapter.

I like that this book doesn’t take a soft approach to tough issues. It addresses the issues head-on in a practical way. It encourages young men to start their prayer/devotional life on a smaller scale and work up to something bigger as a way to set themselves up for success rather than failure.

This is the type of book that I’d love for a future son-in-law to read. If the Biblical principles/guidance talked upon within the pages of the book were followed, he would be a godly man who would know the dangers and pitfalls of this world. It would equip him with tools to use to help him overcome temptations, to battle the evils of the world and the evils that come from within. We need more godly men in this world. We need leaders who follow Biblical principles in our homes, in our churches, in our workplaces… Embracing the Biblical truths at a young age will lay a strong foundation for the future.

About the Authors:

R. KENT HUGHES (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. He has authored numerous books for Crossway, including Disciplines of a Godly Man, and is the series editor and a contributor to the popular Preaching the Word series. Hughes now lives in Washington state with his wife, Barbara, and is the father of four and grandfather of an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

CAREY HUGHES (MTh, Moore College, Sydney) is senior pastor of Christ the Redeemer Church in Spokane, Washington, and former Junior High director at College Church in Wheaton.

Book Details:

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (January 11, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433526026
• ISBN-13: 978-1433526022
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches

I received a copy of this book as a member of the Crossway Homeschool Book Review Program to help facilitate the writing of a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Disciplines of a Godly Young Man is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

You may also like:

1. Review: The Church History ABCs

The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky

Book Description:

Explore the night sky, identify stars, constellations, and even planets. Stargaze with a telescope, binoculars, or even your naked eye.  Allow Dr. Jason Lisle, a research scientist with a masters and PhD in astrophysics, to guide you in examining the beauty of God’s Creation.

Lisle designed Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky for everyone from young students to amateur astronomers. In it you will:

• Learn the best ways and optimal times to observe planets and stars
• Discover how to choose the best telescope for you
• Find 150 stunning, full-color star-charts and other easy to use illustrations for success

“How do phases of the moon work?  When will the next solar eclipse take place?  What is that bright star setting in the west?  How do I find Saturn?  What sorts of objects can be seen with binoculars?”  These questions and many more are easily answered with the helpful tips and basic understanding of astronomy presented in this book.

Create or expand the hobby of stargazing; an outdoor, educational hobby to enjoy with friends or family. Regardless of your circumstances and the economy, you will always be able to marvel at the beauty of our night sky.

My Thoughts:

The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky is an in-depth look into astronomy. It digs into not only celestial bodies and where they are located in the sky, but also into how the human eye works, what telescopes are best and why, how to track celestial bodies, and much, much more. I was seriously blown away by the depth of the information covered in this book. It will be a great resource for the casual observer to those serious about astronomy. It’s in-depth enough that you could create a homeschool curriculum around this book.

While there are many aspects of this book that are rather technical, it does give you a great deal of practical information. The charts and diagrams are numerous and helpful. The beautiful full-color images make you want to get out there and start gazing at the stars.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters:

• Motions in the Sky – Basic
• Motions in the Sky – Advanced
• Understanding the Eye
• Astronomy with the Unaided Eye
• Celestial Events
• Telescope Basics
• Telescope Observing Sessions
• The Moon and the Sun
• The Planets
• Star Classification and Telescope Viewing
• Deep Sky Objects
• Astrophotography

The book concludes with a brief message from Dr. Lisle where he explains that, unlike many of his other books, this is not an apologetics book. He is extremely passionate about astronomy, and this passion shines through in this book. It’s not always an easy read as there is a good bit of technical information included in each chapter, but it’s worth it to get a better understanding of the universe around us. As I previously stated, this really would make a wonderful core book for an astronomy class. If you want to add in some apologetics, you can add in Dr. Lisle’s other astronomy book, Taking Back Astronomy.

I admit that due to my photography hobby the chapter on astrophotography was one of my favorite chapters. It was fun to see a chapter like that included to round out the book. Overall, I enjoyed this book even when some of the information was more in-depth than I personally needed for my interest level.

About the Author:

Dr. Jason Lisle is a research scientist, speaker, and planetarium director for Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum. He holds bachelor of science degrees in physics and astronomy from Ohio Wesleyan University, as well as a master’s and PhD in Astro-physics from the University of Colorado in Boulder. As a creation scientist Dr. Lisle effectively communicates  a broad range of topics from in-depth presentations of distant starlight, Einstein’s relativity, and problems with the big bang to topics from astronomy and general science to apologetics and dinosaurs. Dr. Lisle has authored a number of books which include: Taking Back Astronomy, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial, and his brand new title releasing in April 2012 The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky.

Book Details:

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group (March 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890516413
• ISBN-13: 978-0890516416
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches

I received a copy of this book from New Leaf Publishing/Master Books to help facilitate the writing of a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky is a post from: Marine Corps Nomads

Share/Bookmark

You may also like:

1. Review: Taking Back Astronomy
2. Your Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
3. The World of Animals