This morning....

-I'm thinking of the stuffed zucchini recipe that I made for dinner last night. I was inspired by this awesome recipe from Annie's Eats:

Source: annies-eats.com via Meredith on Pinterest

But I was running short on time and ingredients, and so I just combined ground beef, pasta sauce, and sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese on top (and baked in a water bath). They were delicious. I think Justin ate 3 of them. So, I can't even imagine how much more delicious the Annie's Eats version would be!

-I'm nervous about my skin cancer follow-up appointment tomorrow afternoon, even though I don't have any reason to think that I should be.

-I'm beyond irritated with OHSU, who handled the skin cancer fiasco, and who also sent me a letter that we received yesterday saying that they'd be sending us to collections as of today for non-payment.

Only? According to my records and my bank account, we last made a payment on 6/11/12 over the phone...so I have no idea what this "non-payment" crap is about. Literally, every month since the procedure in January, there has been some sort of issue with OHSU, and I'm tired of spending time each month on the phone with them trying to explain how they've messed up...again. I've done my share of paying on medical bills in my life, and literally no one has handled it as poorly as OHSU.

-I'm excited about the raspberry freezer jam that I made yesterday. If you've ever wanted to make jam, you should check out this photo tutorial that I did last year, because it literally takes 30 minutes and is the easiest and best thing in the world. And there's no cooking or baking involved whatsoever. 

-I'm loving this photo that Kaitlin snapped of Lizzy last Monday while we were all berry picking. I totally stole it off Facebook. Speaking of berry picking...I really probably should, you know, WASH the blueberries that we picked a week ago, and actually do something with them.

-I'm excited about this stack of books that I got at the library for $1, total. Love their fill-a-bag sales!

-I'm still laughing about the shirt that I got for Justin (bottom photo) on clearance for $3 for himwhile he and the other Justin tried their hand at making beer for the first time this past weekend. They've totally decided that their first batch of beer will be the BEST! BEER! EVER! (even if it doesn't turn out), just because they made it. I think they're probably right! 

The Home Organization Binder

I'm not a naturally organized person, and I REALLY hate spending money when it comes to organizing things. Organization doesn't come easy to me, and I'm definitely not an expert at it. That said, the Home Organization Binder that we made at Mom's Group a few weeks ago has been a big help to me, and so I wanted to talk about it here.

I'd seen similar binders all over Pinterest, but hadn't actually made one because (a) I hadn't seen one configured in a way that I thought I'd actually use, (b) I hate spending money on that sort of thing and (c) I don't have a lot of craft supplies, so it would probably end up being very expensive for me to buy scrapbook paper and all those other goodies necessary in order to create a binder that I wouldn't mind having just sit out on a day-to-day basis. That's the beauty of my Mom's Group--you pay annual "dues" and part of that dues money goes towards providing all the materials needed to do the craft of the day. It's awesome.

Anyway, we were instructed to decorate the outside of the binder however we wanted. Again, my goal was to have something that I wouldn't mind sitting out on the desk all the time. Then, on the inside, we were supposed to create divided sections based on something called a "brain dump" that they had done the previous session. I missed that one, but from what I gather, you basically take a blank piece of paper, give yourself an allotted amount of time, and then just write down everything on your mind until the time is up. The suggestion was that you then review your brain dump and see if there are any themes or categories that might help you decide what your divided sections should be. Here's what I ended up with:

1. Finances: Included in this section are two zippered pouches--one for receipts that need to be entered into our budget, and one for receipts from the month that already have been entered. We enter most of our financial info directly into an Excel spreadsheet, but I also printed out a copy of our monthly budget for easy access. It might also be a good place to keep track of due dates for various bills, interest rates for credit cards/student loans, and that sort of thing.



2. Prayer: I mentioned the Inspired to Action website a few days ago, which includes some great e-books that include monthly calendars for praying for your kids and spouse. I have them printed out and in sheet protectors in this section. I also added lined notebook paper so that when I hear about prayer requests, I can jot them down and (hopefully) actually follow through later.

3. To Do Today: Exactly as it sounds. It's a section of lined paper. I fold each piece of paper vertically, and write two days worth of to-do's on each side. Another great option is the Weekly Overview (again from Inspired to Action) which allows space to write your Bible Study plans, a menu, and a to-do list.

4. To Do Later: This section is also filled with lined paper and is for things that I want to remember, but don't necessarily need to do that day. I also have a few sheet protectors for fliers/brochures, and my brain dump is also here. I really liked the brain dump and I think I may do it more often.

5. Meal Plan: My plan was to print our my meal plan and keep it here, along with a master list of the recipes that I can cook. That said, I'm finding that I actually end up looking on the computer (I keep the meal plan in a Word document and also look on Pinterest a lot) than in the binder, so this category may turn into something else.

6. Toddler Activities: Awhile back, when I was venting about the parenting/cleaning balance, Emily commented that she tries to do three activities with Thomas each day. I really liked that idea, and have implemented it a lot with Lizzy with my own little spin. I keep a list of activities to do with Lizzy in this section. This isn't anything fancy...typically I just take toys that we already have, and couple them with developmental stuff. So, one activity might be to play with Legos with Lizzy, with me focusing on counting as we're playing (or colors). It isn't anything structured--just while we're playing, I make an effort to count the Legos as we stack. Sometimes, the activities are just going to the library or to the park...but the key for me is that it helps me to be more present and to really feel like I have some freedom to clean, or read, or whatever doing the day because I know Lizzy is getting some quality time. And as a bonus, it helps me remember to rotate in books and toys that we haven't read or used in awhile. This would also be a good section to keep lists of free things to do in your area, printouts from places like www.icanteachmychild.com and more.

7. Notes/Other Info: Since the binder typically sits next to the computer, I like to just have lined paper where I can scratch notes as necessary. Justin's been working on an inventory of our DVD collection, so that may eventually go here, as may schedules for baseball/softball, etc.

8. Emergency Info: This will probably just be a place to store phone numbers of our doctors, Justin's work, our insurance agent, etc. Phone numbers that I may need quickly, but probably don't know by heart or necessarily want/need in my phone 24/7.

Other ideas for divider sections that I've seen are things like cleaning, take-out menus, sports schedules, etc. The bottom line is to do what works for you...do the brain dump, identify what is stressing you out, and do what you can to make yourself a bit more organized in those areas. I know, it sounds so simple, right? Well, it's not that simple, and you won't do it perfectly (I don't anyway), but doing something is better than doing nothing I figure!

I know this post is getting long, but I also have to mention that our mail is stored elsewhere (in the living room post, I showed you the inside of the flowered box--it's in there). We have sections in that box for incoming bills, things to be filed, cards/notes, etc. But, all of those categories would probably also work in a Home Binder if you think that would work best for you--I just already had a system going for that and figured there's no sense in messing with what's already working.


Also, does it drive anyone else crazy that when you put things in sheet protectors, you can no longer see the divider tabs?! No? Just me? Okay then....  :)

Snippets & Living Room Photos!

-So, while our living room is still far from being "complete", I finally took some photos to share with y'all!

I must have driven to 5 different thrift stores yesterday looking for a chair to paint for the computer desk. I couldn't find one anywhere that wasn't under $30. Sorry, not paying $30 for a basic wooden chair that I'm going to repaint to have what I want anyway. So anyway, picture the above setup with a white chair at the desk. 

This little Photoshop DIY is my favorite addition to the shelves...I love me some Matt Maher!

Sorry for the blurriness of this, but I wanted to show you the inside of the box on the bottom right--it's from Target, and I LOVE it for filing things temporarily until I move them to the bigger file box every three months or so.

At Mom's Group a few weeks ago, we made home organization binders...the binder almost deserves an entire post of its own, but it has really helped me when it comes to keeping things organized--especially these zippered pouches that I added to the front for our receipts to enter to our budget and receipts that have already been entered.

But I'm getting off track. Here's another view of the living room...you can see that I still haven't painted the fourth wall. Eventually, I swear. Anyway, even though the color isn't that different, I feel like the undertones make a BIG difference, especially when it's overcast or cloudy outside--now, it still feels happy to me instead of feeling dreary. Also, I made Justin re-hang the curtains about 6 inches higher (a bit wider too), and I'm really glad I did. And yeah, I know the fuzzy pillows are probably not "in style", but they are so comfy and I love them:

Lizzy still has her own little corner, which works great for us.

So there you have it--there's still a lot left to do *COUGH* TRIM AROUND DOOR JUSTIN *COUGH*, but I'm liking where we're heading :)

-Lizzy totally does not understand what the word "maybe" means. I think her understanding of it is 'the word I say when my mom says no, but I'm trying to convince her otherwise'--as in:

Lizzy: I have candy? 

Me: Not today sweetheart. 

Lizzy: Maybe!?

-This video? I DIED laughing.



 

-Since early January, I have been participating in the Hello Mornings challenge with Kat at Inspired to Action. Basically, the premise of the challenge is to get up in the mornings before your kiddos to (a) have quiet time with God (b) plan your day, and (c) exercise (or at least make a plan for when you're going to)... I don't particularly enjoy getting up early and will admit that I have majorly slacked in the past few weeks, but I can also admit that I find that when I do get up and get a few things accomplished before Lizzy wakes, my day feels a lot more productive overall. I'm thankful for the opportunity and for all my #hmc2 ladies on Twitter for accountability and support!

-I don't know if you guys are familiar with a story that's been in the news here in the PacNW of Josh Powell killing his kids in Graham, WA over the weekend. I really don't want to talk about him or what he did--the pure unbridled evil that he displayed was and is horrific, and he does not deserve to be written about. But what I wanted to say is about the social worker who was there to supervise the visitation between Powell and his sons, and I feel like I have to give some back-story to make it all make sense--Powell shut the door after the kids came in the home and wouldn't let the social worker in the home. She smelled gas and immediately called 911 explaining that the father had recently lost a custody case (not to mention he's a person of interest in the alleged murder of the boys' mother) and that she was afraid for the boys' lives--the dispatcher told her that the authorities had to attend to other life-threatening calls first. So, while she was attempting to convey that she smelled gas and was scared for the boys, she witnessed their father blow up the house while he and the boys were inside.Ugh. It's really terrible to type that all out. It literally makes me sick to my stomach.

The social worker, Elizabeth Griffin-Hall, has been on my mind constantly since hearing the story. What an awful thing to witness and experience. It feels a little strange to throw this in with all the other happy snippets, but it's been on my heart today to ask those of you who pray to lift her up in your prayers, and I just don't want to ignore that gut feeling. I just don't want her to be overlooked.

Linking up to: 

and hopefully (if I remember):

Big Old (Painting) Mess

Our house is in a state of complete chaos...because I'm painting the living room. We'd picked up a ton of paint samples and taped them up to the wall, moving them around and checking them out in different light. Justin and I had differing favorites, but both also loved a third swatch by Glidden, which I was planning to see if I could have color matched to Behr. I've never used Glidden, but knew I liked Behr, so I figured why mess with a good thing. I had been holding off though because the nearest Home Depot is a bit of a trek from us, and it didn't seem worth it to drive out there just for paint--I'd wait til Justin got paid next, and we were out in that direction.

And then yesterday I was at Wal-Mart and remembered that Better Homes & Gardens has paint now, and it's made by Glidden. I had the swatch in my purse, so I headed to the counter, and sure enough, they could mix me up a gallon. I knew we could probably shuffle a few things around in our budget to make it work to buy one gallon and get started, so I went for it.

I'm not sure that I love it right now--it's definitely not quite as saturated of a blue as the photos I had for inspiration. But, it was definitely one of our favorites of the swatches when we saw it in all the different types of light and all the different walls (the wall on the right in the photo above seems to always be significantly darker than the rest of the room--probably because we don't have any overhead lights), so I'm pretty sure we'll like it once it's all painted and our stuff is back as usual. It's a lot less dreary and depressing than the gray (which my dad totally warned me about when we painted initially, but I didn't listen), so that's a plus.

Also, the paint is okay. I don't like it as much as Behr--it feels a little thinner, and I feel like I have to stir it more often while I'm painting. But, it's not a bad paint for the price point.

I've decided that painting when you have to shuffle around furniture, play kitchens, and a gazillion books is 856 times (rough estimate) more difficult than painting an empty house. I can't wait to be finished! In the meantime, I think we'll have a few Dora filled days around here.

PS- I mentioned that I want to do floating shelves on that wall as part of the wall gallery. Before, our floating shelves were espresso. They might still be usable, but got pretty banged up in the garage, so we may end up buying more anyway. If we do, would you buy white, or espresso? Our couches and bookshelves are espresso, but our desk (which the shelves will be above), a bench, the trim, and a few other pieces of furniture in this room are white...and then there's the hutch that is more cherry and doesn't match anything else in the room. Not sure which direction to go, and would love some advice.

DIY Knit Kindle Case {A Tutorial}

So, I've been on the lookout for a case for my Kindle pretty much since it was given to me on my birthday back in August since it obviously isn't the best idea to have it just rattling around in my purse. However, I'm pretty frugal cheap, and had yet to find one that I liked but would also be willing to use my precious budgeted pennies on (more on that at a later date). So, I decided to make one over the weekend.

I knit a lined, envelope-style case using the Horizontal Herringbone stitch. Since it's a woven stitch, it tends to be a bit thicker than a lot of knit stitches, which I thought would lend itself to this project nicely. I also used the standard Red Heart yarn, but knit two strands together to make it a bit thicker. I cast on 22 stitches on size 13 needles. HOWEVER, please note that the newer Kindles/other e-Readers have different dimensions. The important thing is that you make your strip just slightly wider than your e-Reader, and twice as long plus 2-4inches. Here's some photos to show you scale:

Then, you need to decide if you want to line your case, and if so, where you want the lining to go. The scrap of fabric that I wanted to use wasn't long enough to span the entire knit surface, so I decided just to line where the Kindle would actually sit, and not the flap that folded over. Then, I just whip-stitched the fabric to the wrong side of my knit piece, using thread that was roughly the same color as my yarn. It doesn't have to be perfect by any means.

Once the fabric strip is tacked on where you'd like it, use a very large needle (I think this is an upholstery needle) to thread your yarn through the needle. Thread a much longer piece of yarn than you anticipate you need to sew up the sides, 'cause it's kind of a pain to get the yarn threaded.

Then, you'll just fold the knit piece so that you form a pocket deep enough to hold your e-Reader and stitch up the sides. I stitched my sides up in-side out (so the fabric was facing out rather than in). Once I stitched up both sides and tied off the ends, I just did a basic whip stitch around the fabric to clean things up a bit.

You can probably see that I chose to whip stitch around the entire edge on the left and right sides, but only around the fabric across the top. This pulled in the left and right edges a bit and created "tabs" of sorts for my buttons. I also whip stitched around the fabric only on the very front inner pocket. {If your fabric reaches the edge of your knit piece, I recommend whip stitching all the way around just for reinforcement and to make it look pretty.}

I decided that I wanted my buttons to be in the back--I was nervous about them resting on the screen itself. So, I just sewed a couple of buttons on the back. I didn't knit button-holes--I found it pretty easy just to slip the button through the knit stitch. BUT, keep in mind that if you line your knit piece all the way to the edges, you'll have to come up with some other way to fasten your buttons since there will be fabric in the way. I have no ideas there, but if anyone else does, let me know!

Finished, from the front:

Fabric Scrap Tu-Tu Tutorial

Last night, I was supposed to be making fabric flowers for our church's annual Christmas bazaar. But then, I saw Lizzy wearing one of the stretchy headbands around her waist, and I had an idea--why not tie the strips of fabric onto a headband and make her a tu-tu? So I did. I didn't follow any particular tutorial, though they are ALL OVER Pinterest. I just did what made sense to me, and I think it worked.

I tried to get a totally cute picture of Lizzy wearing her tu-tu, but she was so excited to see it when she woke up that all I got was a lot of this:

So, these are REALLY simple, if not time-consuming to make. Here's how you do it and what you need:

1. Either elastic, or one of those stretchy headbands that we all use for running/working-out. Lizzy wears both 24months and 2T clothing, and the headband is a little big on her as a tu-tu.
2. 55-60 strips of fabric--about 1 inch wide, and 20-22 inches long. I didn't worry about the edges, but you could cut them with fancy (bunting?) scissors to give the edges a pattern.

First, take a strip of fabric, and fold it in half. Next, you'll knot the strip of fabric around the headband by taking the looped end of the strip under the headband, and then pulling the free ends of fabric over the headband and through the loop.

Continue knotting fabric all the way around the waistband, but try not to pull your knots too tight or the elastic may twist. And TA-DA, you're done. I kept to a pink/purple/turquoise scheme for the most part because that's mostly what I had...but I think these would be really cute even using non-matching fabric.

I keep debating about whether or not to make a few of these to sell at the bazaar as well, but they're just kind of time intensive, and I'm not sure that I could sell them for the $15-$20 that I'd want to in order to feel like my time was worth it. Maybe I'll just make one and see if it sells...

Happy Monday everyone!

Decorating for Seasons

In the time that Justin and I have been married, I've never really decorated for seasons. Except Christmas, but even then, it's pretty much just been a Christmas tree and a miniature nativity set. For one, we just haven't ever had a mantel or any place that made sense to decorate seasonally. Second, seasonal decor was just an extra expense that we didn't need.

That said, over the weekend, we moved the buffet that matches our hutch inside from the garage. We've never had it inside before because the three different colorings of wood between the buffet, our table, and the cabinets drove me crazy. Plus, we had "inherited" the table from when Justin and his siblings were growing up, and it was already pretty big for the space. I've always hated that table even more than I hated the buffet/hutch, but Justin loves/loved it. He did agree to let me paint it, but it still didn't solve the problem of not being the right size or shape for the space. Also, the table is just starting to fall apart--the chairs are losing their support spindles, and the finish is totally worn down.

After the cabinets were painted, we talked a lot about the kitchen/dining area, and I suggested to Justin that if we had a long rectangular table, I thought the buffet would fit inside and free up some garage space for him. And then, I suggested building a farmhouse table. And after a few months, I think Justin is down for that plan, so we brought the buffet inside over the weekend.

And now, I also have the perfect spot for seasonal decor. The only problem was that we're on a tight budget (as always), and I didn't really have much in terms of a base to start from. But yesterday, I made it my mission to decorate the buffet for fall for less than $30. Here's what I came up with:

I'd still like to add something that says "Give Thanks", but haven't found quite what I'm looking for yet. It's kind of funny though--in real life, I almost feel like there's too much going on already, but it doesn't look that way in the photo at all! Anyway, I spent $5 on two yards of muslin for the runner, $5 for the blue and turquoise "bouquet", $10 for the candle holder, and $4 for spray paint to paint the wine bottles. I also made a fabric flower bouquet out of fabric that I already had.

They are so easy to make--you just cut out large circles of fabric, and then use a needle and thread to stitch all the way around the perimeter of the circle. Pull the two ends of the string together, knot, and cut the ends. And, TA-DA, you have a flat flower disc. Then, I just put some hot glue on the back of each flower disc and attached a stick to each. If you want a cleaner look, you can also hot glue buttons/pearls to the center of each flower. I think I may make it my goal to do a new fabric flower bouquet for each season.

And for the table, here's what I'm thinking, but with white benches that could be pushed underneath for more room:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book Giveaway!

When I was contacted recently about reviewing the Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book, I could hardly say yes fast enough. Since we bought our house in 2008, I've come to love Better Homes & Gardens magazine--I think their decorating suggestions often feel really do-able, whereas sometimes in other publications, I find myself thinking "Yeah, that looks pretty nice there, but could never translate into MY home."

The book arrived on our doorstep yesterday afternoon, and you can bet your booty I spent a block of time checking it out right then and there!

 

The book is split up into three sections. The first, "Room Views" is just like it sounds--lots of beautiful full-color photos of specific types of rooms in a variety of different styles. Each type of room (i.e. entry way, kitchen, living room) begins with "10 Design Basics" specific to that room. I love how they are real and practical suggestions, such as "direct traffic around and behind TV viewers" for the family room. I mean, how many times have we all seen decorating books and magazines that seem to pretend that no one has a TV in their home at all? Most of us do, so it's refreshing to see suggestions with how to handle it in our decor. I don't want to give it all away, but I do want to give a couple of glances at some of the great ideas this book contains. I especially love this feature, which shows the same vanity styled three different ways: 

The second section, "House Tours" showcases entire homes in a variety of styles--Modern Cottage, Open Plan, Classic Bungalow, Savvy Remodel, Today's Farmhouse, Small Space, Fresh Traditional, Personal Mix, Artistic Cottage, and Scandinavian Modern. Again, there are lots of beautiful full color photos that really allow you to understand how the family carried their style through their entire home. This section is my favorite, and I really wish that we had this book before we moved into our home, because I think it would have helped us identify a style that we both love more quickly. Sometimes men are more visual, and need to see a reference photo when we tell them that we'd like our house to be "comfy cottage with pops of color", and this section would be very helpful with that.

The third section, "Workroom" offers tons (and I mean TONS) of practical advice. From sample floor plans, to all types of gallery wall suggestions, this section really allows us to take what we see on the pages and implement it in our own homes.

The "Workroom" also includes lighting diagrams, diagrams of different sofa and chair styles, a grid of different types of flooring and their advantages/disadvantages, and suggested closet configurations. And that's just the beginning. There's seriously a wealth of information in this book, and I feel like it's the type of book that I could look at every week for a year, and find something new that I love each and every time.

And guess what? I'm blessed to be able to give away a copy of this incredible 300+ page book to one of you!

Did I mention that the book comes with a card you can tear out and drop in the mail for a year subscription to Better Homes & Gardens?! Seriously you guys, I am so excited about this, especially since I originally "met" many of you on the Decorating & Renovating board on The Nest. Shout out to my D&R nesties! Anyway, I hope you're as excited about this giveaway as I am! Here's what you need to do to be entered: 

1. Leave a comment on this post. Just for fun, tell me what the next decorating/renovation project you'd take on if money were no object. No, you aren't required to "follow" me to enter, though if you'd like to, I wouldn't object ;) Just please make sure that you have an email address linked to your account or that I have some way to contact you if you are the winner!

For additional entries (and please leave a separate comment for each additional entry): 

2. Like the Better Homes & Gardens Facebook page.

3. Follow @WileyCraft on Twitter. Wiley is the publishing company that publishes the Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book, but they also have lots of other decorating and craft books on the market, as well as an awesome website (click on the image below to go there) that offers tutorials from many of their different books. Following WileyCraft on Twitter is a great way to keep up to date on all they have to offer!

Have a great Thursday everyone!

The small print: The giveaway will close on Tuesday, September 27th at 5pm PST. A winner will be chosen through Random.org, and notified shortly thereafter. I was provided with a copy of Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book for review (and one to giveaway), but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All comments are my own, as always.

Lens Flare/ Backlit Photo Tutorial

Several people asked if I could explain how to achieve the back-lit/sunflare look from the photos I posted of our tripod mini-session. I'm going to give it my best shot, but to be honest, this is one area of photography that I think instincts trump "rules". Further, every lens produces a different type of flare/sunburst, so my best advice is to spend quite a bit of time playing around with your own equipment.

Other than that, here are my tips:

1. Shoot either just before sunset or just after sunrise.
My preference is to shoot before sunset--I personally find that sunset often tends to give a warmer cast to the photos and sunrise tends to give a cooler effect.

(Shot shortly after sunrise)

(Shot shortly before sunset)

Of course, there's quite a lot that you can do with coloring in post-processing...but when I have the flexibility to do so, I try to shoot at the time of day that will be more likely to give me the coloring that I'm looking for. Also, it's important to remember that the light will bounce off your surroundings--so a field with yellow weeds will give you a warmer image than shooting near a river or green trees. 

2. Position the sun behind your subject. 

This is one area of shooting for back-light that may take some practice. Sometimes, you'll want to shoot with the sun directly behind your subject. Sometimes, you'll want to shoot with the sun behind and to the left or right of your subject. 

(sun almost directly behind subject)

(sun behind and to the right of the subject--produced mostly lens flare rather than the backlit sunburst)

3. Learn your camera settings.

In a lot of ways, shooting photos that are back-lit go against most of what your camera instinctively tries to do. Due to this, many people will tell you that you need to shoot in full manual in order to get proper back-lit photos. It is unquestionably helpful to shoot in manual mode because you'll have a much higher degree of control. HOWEVER, I shot all of our mini-session in P mode for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to) the fact that we don't have a shutter remote, so Justin and I were both hopping up to do a quick re-focus and to hit the shutter button to start the self-timer. You don't have to be a pro to shoot amazing back-lit photos--even if you're still shooting in full auto, you can give this a try. Personally, I find that the most important thing is to have a fundamental knowledge of exposure and light coupled with a basic degree of knowledge about your camera (specifically including the different metering modes and what they do) in order to know how to troubleshoot if you start seeing silhouettes and other such things when you don't want to.

Now, if you are comfortable shooting in manual, one thing that you should know is that a higher f/stop will often produce more of a sunburst and more of the funky lens flair than a lower f/stop. In my experience, you can still get the sunburst at a lower f-stop, but it may not be quite as defined, or you may just have more of a "glow".

F Stop: 10 | Shutter Speed: 1/160 | ISO: 200 | Exposure: +.3

F Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed 1/400 | ISO: 200 | Exposure: +.3

See how that first photos (with the higher f/stop) has quite a few more lens flares and the rays of the sunburst itself are a bit more defined? Yep, that's it. But again, remember that each lens will produce a different type of flare, so you may have to play around with shooting your specific lens both at high and low f/stops to see what your lens is capable of.

4. Either manually focus, or use your hand to temporarily block the sun in auto-focus.
In most instances, it is harder to nail your focus when you're shooting these types of photos. To some degree, I say embrace it. But either manually focusing or using your hand to block the sun while using auto-focus is a big help.

5. Shoot in RAW. 

When it comes to shooting back-lit photos, I always, always, ALWAYS recommend shooting in RAW. 

Check out this photo:

But here's what it looked like Straight Out Of The Camera:

Pretty washed out, no? But by shooting in RAW, I can bring back some of the shadows and contrast in post-processing. Here's what my sliders looked like upon opening up the image:

(you can click to enlarge if you want to see specifics)

First, I took up the shadows slider quite a bit, from 5 to 62:

Doing so brought back a lot of detail, but it was then a little too orange for my taste. I tweaked the exposure and temperature tabs just slightly and then bumped the shadows up just a hair more until I ended up with my final image:

Are you convinced to shoot in RAW yet? 

6. Be flexible. 
One of the fun parts of shooting these types of photos is that it's hard to know exactly how they'll turn out. I admit that sometimes I drive myself crazy trying to get that flare in exactly the right place that I imagined. Instead, try to go with the flow and be a little bit flexible--sometimes it's okay if you can't see the whole face, or if you WAY over-exposed. For me, the bottom line is whether or not that photo causes you to go weak in the knees--if it does, it's right, whether or not all the technical aspects are.

Did I miss anything friends?