what's this you say?

only what's been written down already, thousands of years ago, now coming into play.

results

the food was rather good. 

it took forever to make.

but on the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce, i got the same compliment: these were the BEST (insert whatever) that i have EVER eaten. 

my, what a compliment.

now im going to go downtown, with an old group of friends.

phil, liz, sherry, mike, and john daniel. 

that's like, back when i was in 9th grade, when we used to hang out..

my recipes for thanksgiving

so in the spirt of thanksgiving, i thought i might share all the recipes that i am personally using this year; i hope you enjoy, and let me know if you end up using any of them!

Brandied Orange and Cranberry Sauce

• 1-2/3 cups orange zest
• 5 cups water
• 5 cups white sugar
• 1-2/3 cups orange juice
• 2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 7-1/2 cups cranberries
• 2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons brandy
• 
  
• 
  
• In a small pan over medium heat, combine the orange zest and water. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving zest and 1/3 cup liquid.

1. To the reserved liquid, add the sugar, orange juice and lemon juice. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes uncovered, stirring often.
2. Add cranberries; increase heat to medium-high and boil for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries have popped and a small spoonful of sauce sets on a cold plate.
3. Remove from heat, stir in brandy. Pour into 4 1/2 pint jars leaving 1/2 inch space from top. Place lids onto jars, and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Jazzy Green Bean Casserole

• 4-1/2 (14.5 ounce) cans green beans, drained
• 2-1/4 (15.25 ounce) cans white corn, drained
• 2-1/4 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
• 4-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• 2-1/4 (6 ounce) cans French-fried onions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl combine green beans, corn, mushroom soup, onion flakes, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle fried onions on top and bake for a few minutes more, until onions brown.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

• 12-1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic, or to taste
• 7-1/2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2-1/2 (8 ounce) containers sour cream
• 2-1/2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/4 cups butter
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the potatoes, garlic, and bouillon until potatoes are tender but firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving water. In a bowl, mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.
2. Transfer the potato mixture to a slow cooker, cover, and cook on Low for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For gravy

• 1 large onion
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 4 cups turkey stock, plus additional for thinning gravy
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (x2, for each ingredient)

Finely chop onion. Skim fat from reserved pan juices and reserve 1/2 cup fat (for sautéing onions, below, and for stuffing). On top of stove deglaze pan with wine over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits, and boil mixture until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add 4 cups stock and bring to a simmer. Pour wine mixture through a sieve into a saucepan.

In a large, heavy skillet sauté onion in 1/4 cup reserved fat over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Bring wine mixture to a simmer. Add hot wine mixture to roux in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in additional stock to thin gravy to desired consistency. Season gravy with salt and pepper and transfer to a heated sauceboat.

Awesome Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing

• 1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
• 3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
• 1 pound ground turkey sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup turkey stock
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.

repaired

my camera was repaired!

after a brief hiatus of my camera working, it is not in tip-top shape, thanks to the hottie at havel cameras. 

oh, how i hope she calls my number on that card. 

ha.

in other news...

i am not happy with my life. 

ha.

no, i am not depressed, or suicidal.

avid readers, chill.

i am just tired of being out of school.

i was supposed to be starting school in january; january 9, of 2009. 

but noooooooooo. my dad doesn't' want me to be so far away from home, and understandably so. 

but still. since im not going to be going to california now, i won't be going to school till april, at the earliest. 

i am tired of not being in school! again.

i feel lazy, and useless. 

-_-

i want to do something amazing with my life, and that's not happening as long as i am out of school; the sooner i can get out of here and be in school, the sooner i can feel like i am not just taking up space, and that i am doing something important with my life. 

i don't care for money.

i just care for things.

actually, that's a lie. money would be nice.

i think i told y'all i sold my car?

i did.

now im looking to buy TWO cars, and keep one and sell the other. 

maybe i should be a car salesman. pah. ha. yeah right.

no.

buying cars every once in a while and selling them will be better. 

in other news around the world..

my camera broke during the bell wedding.

i was upset.

$216 is what it's supposed to cost to fix it; however im trying to flirt my way to a half off discount with the young lady at the desk, who just happens to be the daughter of the owner...and grandmother of two. at 35 years old! seriously! 35 years old and mother of five, daughter of two. insane.

well, im trying to trade my services (photography) for their services. 

hopefully we can come to some sort of nice agreement. 

and hopefully it can be ready by tomorrow, wednesday!

i have a few shoots lined up for this week, and next. 

and then the abandon/the listening concert is next week.

mwitt wants me to photograph a concert for him the second week of december, as well.

i like that guy; i think he likes me a little, and likes my work more so. that makes me exceedingly happy, that such a guy of fame and renown appreciate, acknowledge, and admire my work. he even wants to order prints of a few pictures i got of him and his granddaughter!

thursday is thanksgiving.

i am actually putting off a shower i need right now, writing this blog.

after i shower, im off to HEB to buy a ton of stuff for thanksgiving.

im going to be cooking all the food for 20 people.

oooh, well, almost everything, minus the turkey, thankfully.

now i must go. 

peace.

keaggy

so out of all the people in the world, i talked to ian keaggy today, son of phil keaggy.

how ironic is that.

anyways.

here's the story.

i went to a concert, a casetta concert - the lead singer is an old friend/acquaintance from waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day. he asked me to come out and take some pictures of his band while they played, and i quickly agreed, excited at the idea to take some more concert photography.

anyways, before casetta (and vedera, the main band) was a band called hot chelle rae. 

i had never heard of them, but needless to say, i really, really, really liked their music.

i thought it was pretty cool. obviously im not going to be a jerk, so i snapped off a bunch of each band member. 

after their gig - and before casetta - i stopped the lead singer and asked him for a card, so i could get the pictures to them.

anyways, casetta comes on, and im taking pictures - a bit disappointed in the images, to be honest (the lighting was HORRIBLE), but what could i do? the images were coming out OK, i just had to shoot at ISO 6400 - definitely not my favorite ISO. i'd much rather shoot at ISO 3200, but whatever.

anyways, during the last song, i headed towards the back, to get some distance shots, and the bassist of hot chelle rae stopped me and asked me what i was shooting.

i told him my new d700, and he was throughly impressed, to say the least. we chit chatted - i found out he shoots nikon as well, a d200; and he introduced himself as ian, and i did the same, except david. i bid my farewell, and he told me he couldn't wait to get the images.

so i get home, and decide to add this band on myspace.

i go to their page, look up the band members, and realize that their bassist is named ian. ian keaggy. 

odd, i thought. keaggy isn't too popular a name, but i didn't think it could be what i was thinking it could be - if that makes sense. 

so i decide to look up phil keaggy. by the way, if you don't know who phil keaggy is, he is widely considered the greatest guitarist in the world, by clapton, hendrix, and others. 

wikipedia tells me this: in 87, phil has his first son, ian.

-_- i was just speechless.

i go over to hot chelle rae's page, find ian's page, and go to his pictures.

wow - the sixth photo in? "picture with the pops!" reads the caption. 

guess who it is - phil keaggy. 

just thought that was pretty cool...

Christmas family portraits

I have decided to offer family Christmas portraits at a low price - $55. 

That $55 will include a one hour session at the location of your choice (within San Antonio), and two unframed 8x10's.  

Extra prints can easily be purchased at these prices:

8x10 = $12 

11x14 = $18 

16x20 = $25 

20x24 = $30  

20x30 = $40 

24x36 = 60  

Considering what one would normally pay at a studio, and then the prices of the actual prints, I would say my rates are rather fair.  

Here is an example of what I am talking about: http://www.woodstockgraphicsstudio.com/print_price.html  

With many templates to choose from, I can also do your greeting cards for you, and at $.80 a card, both you and your wallet will be happy.  

Please let me know if I can be assistance to you, or if you know anyone looking for Christmas portraits this season.  

Thanks, 

-David 

www.davidteran.com 

david@davidteran.com

bridal shoot

copeland, lovedrug, lydia, and lights

were all awesome last night.

lights is actually a hottie!!

anyways.

new pictures up.

you know where to find them. 

if not, www.davidteran.com.

lovedrug even put some pictures up!

downtown with the d700

enjoy. :)

concert time!

all you avid readers out there, bring all your friends and family!

i am trying to make this thing HUGE.

well, at least 200 people.

so bring people you know!

car auction

i am off to the car auction today.

with a gentleman from my church.

i have $6000 in hand, and a few cars in mind.

mazda 6 with less than 60K miles.

any kinda of VW that is not a beetle; not going that route this time.

a toyota tunda, or tacoma.

PT cruiser.

yaris.

any nice bmw or audi with LOW miles - definitely less than 60K.

a honda fit. ha.

pull-up bar

i made a pull-up bar today.

it's super easy.

and it's nice that it's out in the backyard.

i can't wait till i have sexy abs.

like marlon.

three months from now, yeah?

it came

the d700 has arrived.

and i cannot be any happier.

praise Jesus.

the proof is in the pudding, er, picture. :P

whatacamera

seriously, look at this beast go.

wow.

tomorrow, it arrives!!

yeah, i need to get that battery grip ($300).

usaa

i am on my way to the usaa bank, to deposit the check i have received for $7,500, for the sale of my car.

i am so excited.

now im driving my parent's old van, as they just purchased a newer van.

wednesday, i will be going to the san antonio car auction and seeing what i can buy with this much money! 

woops.

im excited!

19th birthday

today/yesterday was my 19th birthday.

i feel older.

but 19 is such a weird year.

it's not 16, where you can drive, not 18 where you can vote, not 20, the beginning of the 20s, not 21, where i can get a gun: just 19, a weird year.

anyways; i got a bunch of calls and texts and stuff on facebook/myspace about my birthday.

thank you all! :) it really did make me feel special, even though some made me feel more special than others. haha.

it was actually 46 in all; wow! 

wednesday  (5th), marisa texted me and asked me if my birthday was the 21st. i was like, are you kidding me?!

but then she got it right; so she offered to take me out to eat - and that we did.

we went to texas land and cattle, and boy, did i have a good time.

we have not just chilled in SO long. that has made me sad.

i mean, it has really helped me get over her, and i don't like her AT ALL anymore; but i do miss her so much, just being with her as a friend. 

i had some kind of steak and garlic mashed potatoes; and for dessert we had this AMAZING chocolate chip and vanilla ice cream delight. 

one thing that totally made my day was this: 

buzzz​zzzz. *​pause​*​ buzzz​zzzz *​pause​*​ buzzz​zzzz
me: hello​?​
cassa​ndra:​ hi alex!​ happy​ birth​day!​
me: *big smile​ :)* thank​ you cassa​ndra!​
cassa​ndra:​ how old are you?
me: guess​!​
cassa​ndra:​ 30?
me: WHAT?​!​
cassa​ndra:​ just kiddi​ng!​ i meant​ 26.
me: * -_- silen​ce *
cassa​ndra:​ hello​?​
me: what do you want?​
cassa​ndra:​ ok, how about​ 20?
me: im 19 cassa​ndra.​
cassa​ndra:​ *​burst​s out laugh​ing*​ oops,​ i was wrong​ by a littl​e i guess​.​
cassa​ndra,​ 9 years​ old

____________

anyways, back in the day, marisa and i used to be a thing; everyone knew that.

and we used to write notes to each other almost EVERY school day - it was definitely the cutest thing. we used to always talk about how we would save them, and when we are old and married, we'd read them to each other. 

well, we never got married, obviously - but she did put them in order (we had a numbering system) and put them in  a folder and gave them to me.

i just finished reading them all, each and every single one of them.

they were just the cutest things, i swear. sometimes i miss marisa more than i should. ha.

and than zoe. wow. we used to have an AMAZING friendship. i miss her, too. i wish there were not certain things in our way to keep us from  having a good friendship. oh well. i called her today, and talked to her for about two minutes. it was really nice hearing her voice. i remember when we used to talk every night, for an hour or so. i remember that one time when she called me at like two in the morning, woke me up, and then we talked till six am - on a saturday night/sunday morning. those were the good times. 

haha. me and women. they are silly.

i signed up to model mayham again, and this time i got approved.

so i have a few shoots scheduled next week with my soon-to-arrive-nikon-d700!

well, the first person im going to shoot is tara, DUH. she's like, my favorite person to take pictures of, but we've already gone over that.

the listening and abandon are booked!

december 4th is the date.

$5 a head, so be there.

my goal is to get 200 people at that concert.

uh oh.

i need to kick things into high gear!

a list for me

so, three avid readers, disregard this list - it's just a mental note.

birthday well-wishers.

melissa cashen. (surprise!)

karen montague.

marlon gutierrez.

bethany bernal.

mark bell.

tio trino nuno.

vanessa wentz.

vanessa (ben's cousin)

andy cook.

EMILY DEGRASSI. :)

sherry gutierrez.

david espinoza.

michael beadles.

yoli teran.

priscilla teran.

mother.

father.

grandmother.

michael gutierrez.

amy luz.

sofia perez.

sandra espinoza.

doug pitman.

david sanchez.

tara yates.

christina hansen.

marisa rogers.

diana diaz de leon.

andrew hubbard.

john daniel gongora.

carolann morgan.

joe rohrs.

kristen pate.

joshua davilla.

cassandra espinoza.

benjamin gongora.

jose nuno.

jessica nuno.

jessica rogers. (obama)

zoe rokovich.

angie pitman.

stevan vela.

mg blankenship.

stephanie j?

daniela de la garza.

liz hansen.

isaiah teran.

brianna (marlon's friend).

naomi hansen.

today..

is my 19th birthday, and i think 19 years is far too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable Friends. 

i don't know half of you half as well as i should like, and i like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

i am honestly scared

of the next four years.

oh well.

in God we trust, for He uses evil men and Godly men alike to get His will done.

election day

today is possibly the biggest presidential election of my life.

mccain needs to win; he is NOT bush, and he is NOT hussein. 

we don't need a president pushing socialistic principles on this country; mini lenins and hitlers are not what this country needs. 

here's to mccain/palin.

finally!

i ordered my d700 today.

i am so excited about it coming in!!

hopefully it'll be in by wednesday, thursday (my birthday), or friday.

we'll see.

i can't wait to go out and test it on my favorite subject, tara. ;)

who, by the way, is oh so willing to help me out whenever and for whatever.

i think, once i get really big, and if she is still willing, ill add her to my staff. ha. 

yes, she would be a good, permanent addition. 

(1) texas vs (7) texas tech

im usually not one to watch games, but dang, i gotta tell you - that was a CRAZY game.

i was obviously cheering for  texas, and hoping that they'd  escape with a victory, but lo and behold, texas tech came through and scored on a last second play. 

oh well.

im sick and tired

of seeing awesome shots, looking at the exif meta, and realizing they are all taken off of canons.

where are my awesome nikon users?

one thing, i will admit, that i have always loved about canon's bokeh, is just how amazing they look, and how 'pastelish' it looks.

the author of that photograph, though, stated that it is a result of a full frame, and not the canon lens; if that is true, then i am so excited to be getting this d700.