Finagle A Foto #14: Winners

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in this week's challenge of  Finagle A Foto!
All of your photos were great!! 

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We have 3 winners for the "Best of the Week" challenge.  It was very hard to decide, but here's who came out on top:

Becky, via Finding My Creativity

We all loved this photo.  Such a precious capture of this little one in her cute garb.  The brightness & clarity of the shot captured our attention!  Thank you for sharing this with us, Becky! 

Elena, via Cropped Stories

 This shot was of Elena's little one also caught our attention--simply beautiful.  You could write a story to accompany this picture.  Thanks, Elena!

Mrs. Claus, via Like Christmas Everyday

Mrs. Claus shared this picture and we're so happy she did.  The black & white gives it a timeless look and the light reflecting off of the water really brightens it up.  A classic look!

Winners can grab a button and celebrate!

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Again, thank you to everyone who participated in the challenge. 

And now to announce our next challenge...

Finagle a Foto Challenge #15: 

Best of the Week

We'll have the link open tomorrow (Sunday) thru Friday.

Prayer

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. "

-Oswald Chambers

Some of the pictures from Uganda that have touched my heart the most, are pictures of the children praying.  They really make my heart happy.

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I've also decided to jump back in with the Edit Me Challenge.  Oh, how I've missed this challenge!  This week's judge is host, Branson, from My Reflection of Things.  The cutie in the picture is her niece--what a perfect summer pic!

Here's my after:

 Here's what I did:  

I cropped it so more of the focus would be on the little one.

I sharpened it and added some detail, color, and vibrance. 

I decreased the exposure but really increased the recovery and fill light to keep it nice and bright

I added some blacks, clarity,  & contrast to show more details. 

Here's a look at the before shot:

What do you think?  What would you have done differently? 

Beginnings

Hey Everyone!  I hope you all had wonderful weekends.  Our weekend was very nice.  Scott's grandfather came to visit and we've had the chance to spend the past 6 days with him.  We hardly ever get visitors, so it was nice to entertain a new guest and show them around the first town we claim as home since becoming husband and wife. 

I was just thinking about that the other day, actually.  I was thinking about how we'll always look back at our time here in North Carolina and the apartment we lived in and this will be where we began our journey as husband and wife.  Our current kitchen will always be the first kitchen I used to cook Scott his first meal as his wife--so many sweet memories. 

I'm not sure when we'll be moving next, or even where we'll be moving, but being in the Army, we know it's inevitable that we'll move on at some point.  But it's nice to think about all of the memories we've made in our home thus far.  I'm sure we'll have some more great ones before we move on.  

As the Roman Philosopher, Seneca, once said "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."  One thing's for sure, I'm blessed to be able to start each new beginning with Scott--so very blessed.

Finagle A Foto #14: Best of the Week

Welcome to

Finagle A Foto Challenge #14
Theme: {Best of Week}

I'm still working on getting back on track & thankfully, my Finagle a Foto Co-hosts have been gracious enough to help me out this week...
No special themes or focal points to focus on. 
You can link up your Favorite/best shot(s) from the week

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I'm still in the process of editing all of my pictures from Uganda, and here are some of my favorite shots I edited this week:  

Preschool students at Rock of Ages

Students praying before school starts

A neighborhood boy looking at the school children playing

Some of the girls at Rock of Ages School playing

Jaja- A grandmother and caretaker of some of the students at Rock of Ages

Simple Challenge Rules:

1. Have Fun!! 
2. Link only your own photos.  Although the word "finagle" is used in the name of this link-up party, we don't permit or encourage imagery theft or plagiarism in any way shape or form.  Let's keep this fun and share what rightfully belongs to us.  
3. Follow HERE and co-hosts Marylin and Melanie
4. Display a button or a link back at the bottom of your post for The Foreign Domestic, The ArtsyGirl Connection, and Happy Jax
5. Link to a specific post and not your blog's url
6. Help us pick a winner by liking your favorite photos
7. The winner will help us choose a challenge theme!
8. It wouldn't be a party if you didn't mingle a little bit.  Spread the love and visit fellow challengers!

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I can't wait to see your challenge Foto!

When you've completed the challenge, be sure to link back here.  

Happy Snapping!

Counting Down To Mother's Day. Finagle A Foto #13: *Mother's Day Photo Inspirations*

No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a

mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man

faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its

quenchless fidelity like a star. ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

FINAGLE A FOTO #13

* A MOTHER'S LOVE*

Welcome To A Very Special

Countdown To Mother's Day Photo Link Up Session..

This series is dedicated to motherhood,

maternity, and simply everything depicting what that

special meaning of "MOM" is to you.
....................................

We will be sharing all your links on Sunday per our usual Finagle A Foto linky series.

However, please feel free to link all week long until then. You can link anything

from photo series, to posts pertaining to mother's day, and or motherhood.

.........................................

Our special guest host will be Sarah Via This Is Me

...Snap Snap Away.. Looking forward to seeing all your beautiful photo series!

Link up ahead... We will be picking fun features to include in our posts on Sunday.. 

 Grab a Button & Spread the Word:

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..........Thanks SO much for sharing with us..

From Your Kitchen To Mine: Recipes 61-65

Hello Everyone!  I'm getting back on track on all things Foreign Domestic-related.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting back into a good pattern.  Well, I'm happy to share that I have 5 new recipes from 5 new blogs today.  I actually prepared all of these before leaving for Uganda, but they were all so delicious, I remember them vividly!

 As you may remember, my goal for the remaining recipes is to focus on healthy options.

Let's take a look!

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**If your recipe is featured today, feel free to grab my button and tell the world you were featured here!
I'd love it :)!**

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Check out the recipes!

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Baked Salmon Wrapped in Phyllo

This recipe came from Home Cooking in Montana.  After learning how to cook with phyllo dough thru this series, I love looking for new ways to use it in recipes.  When I saw Ellie's recipe, 2 things stood out.  1.  The recipe called for very few ingredients, 2. The recipe looked very easy.  This, my friends, is a winning combination in The Foreign Domestic's kitchen--of course taste matters too.  Guess what?  It was very tasty.  Scott and I loved this dish.  There was a lot of flavor and the salmon stayed moist and tender wrapped in the phyllo dough.  I think I'm going to try this one again soon!  Thank you, Ellie!

Click here for the recipe.

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Crispy Flounder

This recipe came from Chocolate & Carrots.  Okay, I know what you're thinking.  You're probably thinking something like this: "Umm...Kirsten, the title of this recipe says crispy flounder...yours doesn't look crispy at all!"  I know, it was a sad day in the kitchen when I attempted this recipe.  After all, my crispy flounder looks absolutely nothing like the beautiful picture Caroline has accompanying her recipe.  My flounder just fell apart--I don't think I dried it off well enough before cooking it.  Well, it was a sad day until Scott and I sat down and tasted it.  The appearance was lost, but the taste was still there.  I don't there's anything I can do to convince you of it, so you'll just have to try it and find out!  Thank you, Caroline, this was super tasty--and your pics are awesome :)!

 

Click here for the recipe.

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Mexican Stuffed Peppers 
with Quinoa & Black Beans

I actually found this recipe on Pinterest.  After my  "Must Try, Must Try" blinker went off, I traced the link back to Emily at One Lovely Life.  I love quinoa, I love peppers, and I love Mexican flavors--so you can't go wrong.  The recipe was very straight forward and easy to follow.  I decided to gut the peppers and leave them whole to fill them up, but if you check out Emily's recipe, you'll see a different way to do it.  Her way is probably makes consumption much easier.  This was a really tasty dish--next time, I'll cut my peppers like Emily.  Thanks, Emily!

Click here for the recipe.

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Sweet Potato Pizza 
with Kale and Carmelized Onions

This recipe came from Oh My Veggies.  My sister-in-law, Julie, found this recipe, tried it, loved it, and shared it with me--SO glad she did.  This pizza was A-mazing!  I have to admit, I was a little unsure about it before I made it--I've never used sweet potatoes on pizza, let alone replaced the pizza sauce with mashed sweet potatoes.  But WOW--there were some amazing flavor combinations on this pizza.  The night I made this pizza, I actually made a more traditional pizza to go along with it...just in case.  We hardly even touched the other pizza!  I'm definitely going to make this one again, and very soon.  Just looking at the pictures makes me want another taste.  Thanks, Kiersten!  P.S. Love your name ;)

Click here for the recipe.

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Curried Quinoa

The final recipe came from Lou at Living Lou.  As I mentioned earlier, I love quinoa.  The recipe was very easy and turned out to be really tasty as well.  The curried quinoa makes for a really nice side dish or, if you'd like a larger serving, it could be a main dish as well.  Scott and I both enjoyed it and we went back for seconds.  Thanks so much, Lou!

Click here for the recipe.

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Well, that's it for this week, I hope you all enjoyed the recipes  
~From Your Kitchen To Mine~!  

 65 Complete- 35 left

  I'll be back with 5 new recipes next week. See ya then!

If you're interested in having your recipe sampled and featured, click here for more information.  

48 Children

Students at Rock of Ages

48 children are still in need of a sponsor to go to school.

While I was in Uganda, I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with the children at Rock of Ages in Mbiko.  Their smiles were and still are infectious.  

I got to laugh and play with them, hold their hands, give them high-fives and a lot of hugs.  I traveled to Uganda with small gifts I could hand out to help bring smiles to those I came in contact with.  While I know my gifts won't last very long or significantly change any lives, I learned that education is just as important and significant in Uganda as it is anywhere else in the world.  A solid education can, essentially, change the course of a child's life. 

To receive an education in Uganda, even in primary school, there are fees required.  Mbiko is a very poor village and families cannot afford to pay school fees for their children--this is why sponsorship is so important.  Fees pay the teachers, fees pay for uniforms, and fees pay to purchase food.  Sadly, not every child receives a meal at home.  But, every child at Rock of Ages is guaranteed at least one meal; many times, the meal they eat at school is the only meal they consume each day. 

While spending time at Rock of Ages, I fell in love with a little girl named Martha.  I learned that Martha was one of many children still on the list waiting to be sponsored.  I also learned that Martha would celebrate her 4th birthday a few days after I returned home to the United States.  I gave Martha and her mother a few small gifts before I left on behalf of Scott and myself, but I believe the best gift Scott and I gave them was sponsorship.  We decided to sponsor Martha to ensure she receives a good education to help pave a better future.

Me with Martha & her mom

Me & Martha

Sponsoring a child guarantees a spot in the school for the sponsored child. $20 per month is all it takes to enable your child to receive an education by qualified teachers, one meal & juice each school day, and a school uniform.  If you're interested in sponsoring a child, click here to learn more.  

Students in Class at Rock of Ages

There are 48 children still in need of a sponsor. I saw and took pictures of each of the 48 children on this list.  They're real and their needs are real too. 

 

Finagle A Foto #12: Anything Goes

I'm back and I'm ready to Finagle some Fotos!! While I was away, Melanie and Marilyn carried on with the Finagle a Foto Challenges--I hope you joined them because it looked like they had a great time! 

The challenge for this week is *Anything Goes*

Before we get into the challenge, we have a guest host.  Please help us welcome Kelly-Marie from Our Footprints on The World!!

Name: Kelly-Marie

Blog name: Our Footprints On The World

Blog URL: http://ourfootprintsontheworld.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Describe yourself in three words:  

Laid-back (Is that one word .. I guess so), trustworthy and friendly.

What does photography mean to you: 

 I feel like all though school and things I have never picked up a hobby that I am good at or have enjoyed for more then a week. Then my little guy was born and I just couldn't help taking pictures of everything he did (not that he did a lot when he was first born). Then my sister came along with her fancy camera and took one picture of him which looked so awesome and it was then I knew I wanted a DSLR myself. Since then my love for photography grows more and more as I learn new tricks. For me I just love capturing my little guy.  

What are you working w/ {camera, lens's, fav editing tools, accessories}:  

I have a Nikon D3100 with a 50-200mm lens.
To organise and do some basic editing I use a free, yes FREE! programme called Photoscape. Then If I want some more fancy editing or text then I use things like Piccy.com.

What are a few items on your photography gear wish list:  

My poor hubby is always getting told what new lenses I want to get. I think my next buy will be a 50mm prime lens to get those sharp shots.

What is your most FAVorite photograph you've ever taken, & why:

Where would you like your photography journey to be in  a year:

What is your most FAVorite photograph you've ever taken, & why:  

Ok I have a few and yes they are all of Josh, he's my baby what can I say :D
Two of them really capture his eyes beautifully and the other is just the most cutest face ever.

Where would you like your photography journey to be in a year:  

Well I actually have a few people lined up wanting small photo sessions with me, so hopefully one day I would love to create a small photo business specailising in children's photography. With maybe an extra little one on the way in our little family to photograph ;)

So glad you to have you as a co-host this week, Kelly-Marie!!

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Well, I've gotten thru about 300 photos of 3,500+ photos from my trip to Uganda.  I've been having fun processing them, but I haven't had the chance to really snap any other photos this week.  So, I'll share some of my favorite photos that I worked on this week...anything goes, right?? Awesome!

Fishermen on the Nile River

Some of the young girls at Rock of Ages School wanted to see what I was taking pictures of inside

Some of my new friends holding my hand.  They loved my watch and learned how to use it pretty quickly.

Along the road in Mbiko, Uganda

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Simple Challenge Rules:

1. Have Fun!! 
2. Link only your own photos.  Although the word "finagle" is used in the name of this link-up party, we don't permit or encourage imagery theft or plagiarism in any way shape or form.  Let's keep this fun and share what rightfully belongs to us.  
3. Follow HERE and co-hosts The ArtsyGirl Connection and Happy Jax
4. Display a button or a link back at the bottom of your post for The Foreign Domestic, The ArtsyGirl Connection, and Happy Jax
5. Link to a specific post and not your blog's url
6. Help us pick a winner by liking your favorite photos
7. The winner will help us choose a challenge theme!
8. It wouldn't be a party if you didn't mingle a little bit.  Spread the love and visit fellow challengers!

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I can't wait to see your challenge Foto!

When you've completed the challenge, be sure to link back here.  

Happy Snapping!