From the kitchen of Brenda Sharp

We had our friends Laurie and Ben over for dinner a few nights ago, and I made fried green tomatoes for the first time (my moms recipe, of course). Well, my sister Andie just mentioned to me that she hasn't had those in a very long time and she's craving them. Here's the recipe, Andie. Mine turned out great.


You need:
3 or 4 Green tomatoes
About a cup of corn meal
2 egg whites + 1 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. flour

Mix flour & cornmeal in shallow bow. In separate bowl, beat egg whites & water.

Dip tomato slices in egg whites, coating both sides, then coat well with cornmeal mixture. Fry in batches in medium hot oil until golden brown.


Place on plates with paper towels between layers. Season with salt to taste.
Serve immediately and bask in the glory.

Happy Birthday Garrett!

Today my son is 5 years old, and tomorrow he will start kindergarden. I'm all choked up! Here are a few photos from his ice skating party yesterday:










The rest of the images are here.

Boat Floatin'

We FINALLY had a chance to go to the lake yesterday for some fun in the sun. I can't believe it took us the entire summer to have a free weekend, but it was worth the wait.

This is Devon and her friend Anna-Maria getting ready to go.

Here are my sister and brother-in-law trying to hitch a ride. We ended up letting them come along since they brought the food.

Chris must be laughing at something I said. I'm pretty funny.
Devon and Justin just about to go swimming!
It kills me that this photo is so blurry, but I had to post it anyway. See, when Devon ski's, she sings at the top of her lungs the ENTIRE time because she knows that no one can hear her, and when she really gets into it she dances. I wonder where she gets that?
Oh, well, yeah, thats me dancing.

I have so many more that I could post because it really was a great day, but blogspot isn't cooperating very well, so I'll just post them tomorrow on my website. For now I'll leave you with one of my VERY few landscapes. This is how the sky looked as we were pulling the boat out at the end of the day.

Hey, Jude!

I had a very special shoot recently with my friend Judi and her family. We have the kind of friendship that has stood the test of time because we've always been able to pick up right where we left off, even if its been years. I would have liked for the photos to have been better, but I made a mistake when we were planning the appointment.

I like to do my shoots about an hour and a half before the sun sets, but I didn't count on how DARK it would be on the RiverWalk at that time. The tall buildings and low level of the river really made it gloomy fast, and to make things worse, I was having problems getting one of my lenses to focus. It had been dropped, and that might have been the problem.

Even so, I did get a few keepers-mostly because of the sparkly personality of Michael, Judi's son. What a ham! All I had to do was say, "Michael, laugh." And he would do it on cue. Perfect! I couldn't go wrong with this kid.


The relationship between father and son is exactly how it looks.


I didn't have to prompt this silliness. It's natural for them!



I got a lot out of this shoot. I learned some more about lighting, got to hang out with my friend, and I got to watch her with her family-and these people know how to have fun and just BE. Too cool.

Why I stay in Texas

Well, one of the biggest reasons why I will never leave is Sunday Dinner at my parent's house. I'm talkin'comfort food, baby! Tonight we had all of my favorites, Pot Roast, fresh green beans, FRIED OKRA and chocolate cake! I think my mom cooked all day, and I'm telling you she sets the most beautiful table for us. We even ate in the formal dining room (we never do that at my house!).


Just look at this cake, my mom even added peaches to make it more special.

So, I just want to say to my sister, who lives really really far away and can't be here for dinner"Na-na-na-na-na-na!"

Just kidding, Andie! I'm actually keeping my fingers crossed that you will be moving back very soon. I'll share a bottle of wine with you at Mom's house when you do!

Hot Spot

I got to go to one of the most popular spots in town last night!

As we walked in the door this amazingly good-looking guy greeted us, he HAD to be a model. In fact, everyone who worked there looked like they were sent there by the Ford Modeling Agency. And the walls are decorated with ENORMOUS and very sexy photos of models.

The music was so good that I wanted to dance the minute I got through the door, and loud enough that we had to yell in each others ears to have a conversation. The lights were turned way down, but after my eyes adjusted I could see that we were definitely in the right place. It was PACKED! I could barely get Morgan's stroller through the crowd.

I started to wonder why on earth I ever brought a baby to a place like this, but I couldn't get Devon to go anywhere else. Little wonder, she saw two of her friends soon after we arrived.

We were at the MALL, in a TEEN CLOTHING STORE! Back-to-school shopping sure isn't the same as it was when I was in Jr. High School.

Saturday Night at Judson Class of '86 Reunion

There are just no words to describe how fun last night was. I'm exhausted, and can hardly think, but the pictures speak for themselves. I could have stayed hours longer!
Here are the rest of the pictures.

Last Night...

I had the best time at my 20th (gulp) Reunion! Now, I've been looking forward to this weekend WAY more than I ought to admit, and last night did not dissappoint. It is so, SO GOOD to see my old friends. And let me just say that everyone looks fantastic.

There were lots of people that I didn't get to see, and I'm hoping that tonight they will come. I can't even begin to try to list the names-I wish the reunion was mandatory for everyone!

Well, enough rambling. Here are some of my favorite photos, and the link to the entire gallery is here.

Don't watch this...

unless you can handle a good cry right now. Very inspirational.

The Hoyts.

And here is their website, if you want to know more about this amazing father/son team: TeamHoyt.com

I bawled. Out loud.

Dressy Casual?

A few months ago the details for my high school reunion were sent out. Apparently things are a little more casual this time than they were at our 10 year reunion, as the dress code is going to be "dressy casual," and the venue is Sunset Station, a club-like place downtown.

Now that seemed simple enough at the time. But as my friends and I are starting to talk about what to wear, I'm getting more confused! According to one source that I googled, the definition says: Dressy Casual usually means no jeans or shorts. Similar to business casual, but a tad dressier.

Hmmm, I told my husband Chip to wear jeans with an untucked shirt, and a friend of mine was thinking of wearing jeans, too. Will they be too casual? Some of my other friends are wearing very nice sundresses with high heels, will they be too dressy?

Isn't the new, more casual style of dressing supposed to make things easier? It isn't! Maybe the invitation should just say exactly what they mean-no formals, no tuxedos, no jeans, no shorts, no t-shirts, no tennis shoes, no flip-flops. Now THAT I can understand!