Big (D)esign Conference 09

This weekend we went to the Big (D)esign Conference. I mostly photographed and Daniel mostly learned stuff. It was all a great success thanks to the fabulous organizers and volunteers.

The afterparty at Cohabitat was well lubricated and full of social goodness. Even the gnome had a good time. I ran the "photobooth" next to the "champagne room" and we left with the party still in full effect.

Everyone is saying good stuff. Cool things do happen in Dallas.

Click here for more photos.

No Baby Showers

I don't want a baby shower. I can't tell you why. Same reason, maybe, why walking down a long aisle in a big dress with everyone staring at me has always lived more in the nightmare category than in the fantasy. Oh the fuss! Over me? It's all too much attention. I'm not good with it.

So, no baby shower. Daniel suggested a "Meet Margot" party after she's born and I think that's a fantastic idea. Everyone can stare at her in real life instead of staring at her mothers ballooning belly.

But I know that for many of our friends and family, new babies must be greeted with presents so that they can better gauge how spoiled they will be. To fend off all of the "when is the shower" questions I'm just going to direct you to our registry on Amazon. I am grateful to all of you who have asked.

My father already found it and bestowed his new granddaughter with a beautiful moses basket and baby cubes for storing breast milk, baby food, toddler food, and daddy's lunch snacks. Thank you dad!

Mystery solved

For a couple of weeks we battled this bug in the living room only. I finally looked at Penn one day and said, "We have a mystery to solve!" I took this picture and posted it on the internet asking for identification help. I emailed it to the bug guy who just came and sprayed for ants+. Lots of people were almost right....but not exactly. The bug guy was way off. Then I remembered an old college friend who got his Masters in Entomology. (Go Larry!)

He correctly identified it as the Redheaded Ash Borer!

So then I told Penn we had to figure out where it was coming from. We inspected every piece of wood on the property. Found nothing. Then I took out the trash, passing the pile of firewood on the way to the gate and remembered----I have three measly pieces of that firewood in our living room. Sure enough, one log was full of holes where the borer had laid it's eggs. Then of course I brought them inside and now it's hatching time.

I took out the logs. No more bugs.

Our step by step process fascinated Penn who loves himself a process. Now he's is really into "mysteries."

Not Eggplant Parmesean

I love eggplant. I was going to make eggplant parmesan but that meant additional bake time and it was already getting late. But these were so good on their own!

I think the bonus flavor was using Panko instead of regular bread crumbs.

I also love Panko.

• 1 Eggplant, sliced
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• Enough Panko for covering
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Slice Eggplant to preferred thickness. Dip in beaten egg and coat in Panko. Fry in olive oil on both sides until golden. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

And I mean from the skillet to the table. They're irresistible freshly cooked. I served this with pasta and red sauce.

Ellen and Kelly

Ellen and Kelly were married in Waco, Texas last weekend! Great attention was paid to every detail. They shied away from mass market kind of purchases and headed down a more hand made and intimate road.

I met them in downtown Waco on a bridge. Kelly started at one end and Ellen at the other. Bride and groom saw one another in the fancy duds for the first time. I got to meet them in person for the first time! A quick portrait ensued and then on to the church.

The minister spoke about marriage, love, commitment and Star Trek and I was laughing so hard I had to remind myself I was working. They ceremoniously changed their status on Facebook and live streamed the wedding online for friends and family to watch.

It was a spectacular love-filled event, of course. It was my first time in Waco, Texas. And this is the last wedding I'll be dragging my big belly to this summer. (Work will commence, just not really long events.)

Congratulations Ellen and Kelly!

David and Jill

Congratulations David and Jill!

Betty Family Portrait

The Betty's are family, picture and fun loving people, but they haven't had an official family portrait in a while. So, the amazing Matthew and Keila (remember them?) gifted them portraits for Mothers Day! I'm in love with this family!

Unleashed

Last drizzly wet Sunday we took the pups to Unleashed, the fancy indoor dog park. The usual course of hilarity took place:

1. Pavlov worried me by nipping at two dogs while he was on the leash in line.
2. Ringo got nipped twice while he was on the leash in line. (Sadly my kid and dog are both magnets for meanies.)
   
3. We let the dogs go and they ran and sniffed with joyful canine abandon.
4. Pavlov pooped and peed twice on the fancy dog turf because I swear he poops more than any dog I've ever seen. I'd like to note here that the cleanup system is really nice!
   
5. Penn got clocked two tear producing times by a pack of running dogs.
   
6. Ringo got a free frozen yogurt treat that Pavlov was not interested in which is really odd as Pavlov loves all things given to him despite it's edibility.
7. We all came home tired and happy.

We stayed at this dog park longer than we've ever stayed at any other dog park. Often Pavlov and Ringo stick together and aren't too interested in playing with other dogs. They sniff, chase one another, than lay down beside us. But there is something about this place that really encourages the dogs to socialize. Although they kept tabs on us and one another, they most.....ran. :)

It's $5 per dog to get in and you must bring proof of all current vaccinations. Sadly they don't allow pitbulls. But it's perfect for a drizzly Sunday with a stir-crazy kid and dogs.

*note: these photos courtesy of my cell phone.

Future Rock*

Future Rock*, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

A "Just Because" photo of Penn. Because I love him. Because he is sweet and adorable and smart and unique and a gentleman and contagiously funny. Because his little cheeks are perfect targets for sinking kisses. Because he hasn't got himself all figured out yet, but darned if that's going to stop him. Because he's growing up and he can't wait to be a "fireman on the weekdays and a rock star on the weekend."

Chasity "After"

Remember Chasity's "Before" photos? We've finally got her "After" the charity head shave. I think it's lovely!

Click here for the set.

I see you...

Outtake, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

An outtake from some assignments this week. Look for photos by me of Stanley Korshak in an upcoming issue of Dallas Brides.

Mothers Day

After shooting a wedding on Saturday I came home to Daniel and Penn on the front porch holding a big bouquet of flowers. I got a big hug and a "Happy Mothers Day to the best mom ever."

They bought dinner and goodies from Central Market. Daniel and I had two options for the evening: A) Ultraviolet Benefit Rock Show or B) movie and gelato.

As much as we adore and support everyone involved in the Ultraviolet show....we opted for the more quiet and relaxed option B.

I like Mothers Day. I totally think we should get a day for letting a tiny human being ransack our bodies for nine months only to wreak havoc on our outside world for at least eighteen more years.

I talked to my mom and my grandmother today, both in different states. They are strong and quiet women with lucent lives and generous hearts. I don't talk to either of them often enough but my love and appreciation for them is greater than I can explain.

I said Happy Mothers Day to Mom Miller via Daniel because my gratitude for mothers is now extended to her for raising such a lovely man for me to spend my life with.

There are a lot of corny sayings out there about mothers, most of which make my eyes roll.

But the serious mind blowing thing is that mothers grow things. Physically and metaphorically, mothers are creatures who lead through unexpected and unpredictable ways. We feel everything and we feel it all the time. We feel it for ourselves and we feel it for you. We feel it before our children feel it so we may filter the good from the bad as much as possible. We are hormone-ridden, emotionally driven, powerhouses of beginning.

I feel a certain amount of pressure, carrying this 29 week old daughter inside me. A daughter.... A future mother.... There seems so much more pressure to get it right and be a good example of our species. There is still so much more to learn.

Being a mother is about more than I ever expected and more beautiful than I can describe.

Also, my book to Penn from 2005 was featured at Photopol.us!

Zucchini Fries

There are lots of fancy and complicated foods and recipes out there with pages of instructions and ingredients. As thrilling as it is to master one of these concoctions I have a family, business and household to tend and feed. I like simple and I like featuring simple, fresh ingredient food here.

Introducing Zucchini Fries! Probably not so healthy once you've deep fried them and then dipped them in blue cheese but you only live once. This also works with yellow squash or quartered mushrooms.

Ingredients:
zucchini
eggs
flour
seasoned salt
vegetable oil

Slice zucchini into fry shapes or slices. Dip into beaten egg then roll in flour. Deep fry in hot vegetable oil until crispy. Sprinkle with seasoned salt (or whatevers). Serve with a side of blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Margot Rose's Room (in progress)

We're in the home stretch. My body is full and stretched and cramped and there's nothing I can do about it. So I'm focusing on the the outside and building a place to put this child.

Penn was born into a small one bedroom apartment in Deep Ellum. He had a nook in the dining room that also served as an office. There just wasn't much to do.

Life is much more spacious now and it's hard to control myself when I HAVE AN ENTIRE ROOM TO DEDICATE TO A BABY!

The basics are done. I'm still brainstorming art for the walls. There is a lamp to hang. There are blinds to wash and closets to babify.

Nothing warms this swollen body more than to stop halfway down the hallway and just stand there and stare at the crib for a second imagining what it will be like to be woken up at 4 in the morning to sit in that chair and nurse a newborn back to sleep.

Daniel is bearing this whole nesting phase pretty well. And once the mind numbing logistics of assembly and organization are done he looks around and smiles in that really soft way with some sweet thought that he keeps to himself which is the whole reason we women keep having babies anyway.