Anyone have $450 handy?

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Doggies

I love dogs.
Good thing since I've been watching four of them!
So I used my brand new camera (!!!!) to get some photos this weekend!

This is Kody. Chris thinks he looks like he belongs on a Harley. : )

And this is Macy. She's a poser!

Biscuit was the only non poodle... and he's supposedly a poodle/chihuahua. He doesn't really look like either...

And then Molly. Molly is the hardest to get good photos of... I'm not sure if it's because she never wants to hold still for me or if it's because of her black fur. It's probably a combination of both.

Plus I need to get a flash other than the one built into my camera. It stinks. I need a bendy flash so I can eliminate that crazy glow that animals get in their eyes when the flash hits them.

I also want a macro lens because I love taking flower photos.

And I should probably get lens hoods because they, from what I've been reading, do a good job of protecting the lens.
This could get expensive. : )

I get headaches

when I cry.
And I just spent two hours laughing and then crying and then laughing and then crying.
P.S. I Love You
Very cute chick flick.
AND it makes me want to visit Ireland.
I have an old college buddy in Belfast (bonny Belfast according to her)... wonder if she'd like a visitor?
: )

The best gift!

Okay so I was going to post a lot of other holiday photos but first I have to share my excitement:

My parents got me a Canon EOS Rebel XT body for Christmas! And then Chris got me a zoom lens! Plus I still had the lens from my Canon film camera and they are interchangable...

I can't tell you how excited I am!! I am really looking forward to getting lots of use outta my new camera! I finally got a memory card (4 gig!!) last night... my parents got it for me as an early birthday gift... so I ran around the house taking photos of the dogs and cat. I think they are miserable that I got another camera... ha ha!
I also found a really neat forum for Canon users. Photography-on-the.net The people there are nice and helpful... plus they also have forums where you can post everything from photos of animals to sports photos. And I found, in the competitions forum, a thread where people post photos from travel and the others try to guess where they are!

So anyway, more photos from Christmas morning.
Chris with the giant black spiderman:

My dad with a book I got him in DC:
Chris with a FAUX fur blanket. We registered at Pottery Barn and silly me let Chris use the scanner thingie. This was one of his choices. So my parents got it for him. Bleh.
My mom's gift from dad... a rolex!! Wowsas!
This silicone pig pot holder was another of Chris' scans... from Bed, Bath and Beyond. You'd think I wouldn't have let him wield the scanner thingie after the faux fur scan!
I like this shot because Macy, a poodle that I'm dogsitting, was freaked out by the pig!
Woohoo! The ENTIRE series of SATC!! Chris hates the show but knows I love it and so he loves me enough to get it for me anyway!
And last but never least...
We tried to put a bow on Professor Plum... tee hee hee. And then we tried to put it on Apple but she kept shaking her head and it fell. We didn't put it over her face, I promise! Okay... done for now again. Hope you enjoy! I know we sure enjoyed the morning! : )

Appleina

Chris' brother and sister-in-law have a little doggie who has gained a bit of weight and therefore doesn't fit all her clothes anymore. I can relate to that!

But anyway, so they gave me a dress for Apple. I'd been teasing Chris for ages that Apple wanted a dress... and now she's a little ballerina!!

This was her second time ever wearing it. The first was when I was really sick and Chris was trying to cheer me up. This time it was so I could show my parents! : )
She actually doesn't seem to mind it so much. She has a couple sweaters that she wears when it gets cold(ish) out because we cut her fur short a lot... so I guess she's used to it.

Holiday Vacay

I'm 32 years old and I've never spent a Christmas away from my parents.
This was the first time I've spent it away from my 24 year old sister... but she got married in February so this year her and her husband stayed in KC with his family.
Since I knew Joni wasn't going home to see my parents, I invited the 'rents here!
And they came! Yay!
I have taken like 200 pictures since they arrived. That's a lot! I thought I'd share just a few.

One of the first outings we took was to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens! We had to go so my parents could see where Chris and I are having our wedding reception. And just to visit the animals of course.

I think flamingos are neat. These were especially talkative!

We also got to feed the lories. They were apparently very hungry!!


And I thought I did especially well getting a few of these shots considering I have a lil weinie camera.

Alright... that's it for now. I'll post more in a bit.

Hannah Montana

is coming to Jacksonville.
Chris and I wanted to get tickets for Hannah (his daughter who is 8 and loves Hannah Montana)...
Her birthday is January 11th and the show is January 30th. Perfect gift!!
The tickets went on sale Saturday at noon so we were trying... as were my sister and her husband. We figured they would be near impossible to get but we thought there might be a chance we would get lucky.
Yeah, right.

I would like to throw some hate on the people who joined the fan club just so they could then sell the tickets for thousands of dollars. People who don't give a rat's ass about seeing the show... people who just want the money.
There are those of us who actually wanted to take a CHILD to the show.
And we saw the tickets on ebay... before they even went on sale to the public. You people are jerks. With a capital J.
JERKS.

Professor

is not a poodle.
When Chris and I rescued him from Animal Control they told us he was a poodle. He looked a lot like a poodle... a funny looking poodle but still a poodle.
His main flaw?
His tail.
No big deal as we weren't planning on having a "show dog" anyway... but his tail is curly. Long and curly. It flips up over his back which is not considered good form for a poodle. Oh well.
But I'd also noticed his muzzle is shorter than most poodles.
And his body is a bit stockier.
However, I'm no poodle expert.
I dog sit for two families on occasion and one family has two poodles. The other has one poodle and a poodle mix.
I'd recently begun to wonder if perhaps Professor was a mix as well.


So Chris took Apple to the groomer on Friday and he saw a dog there with white curly fur. She had a haircut that Chris really liked and thought would look good on The Professor once his fur grows out a bit more. So he asked the owner if her dog was a poodle. Oh no. Not a poodle. A different dog.
Chris comes home and tells me about this dog's haircut and then goes online so he can show it to me because he wants to have Professor's hair like that.

This was one of the photos he found. The haircut is cute... well... other than that funny tail.
But look at him.
Chris had several shots pulled up on google. I just stared.

This is a bichon frise'.

So is this:

And this:

Oh geez! Professor Plum is a bichon frise'!!! He's very similar to a poodle because bichons were bred originally with a poodle and a water spaniel. But now they are their own breed.

Look at Professor and look at Rhett, who is a true poodle (thanks to Scarlett Lillian for taking photos of their playdate!):

And the final nail in the poodle coffin is... the bichon blitz! It's something that bichons do when they play. Chris found several videos of them on YouTube. It's crazy. Here's The Professor doing the EXACT same move (pardon the video... I took it with my point and shoot camera):

So now we know why Professor is a funny looking poodle. He's not!

: )

The Professor and Rhett

Scarlett Lillian and I share a love for animals. : )
Professor had a playdate with her poodle, Rhett, this weekend. They were quite funny together.
AND while I was there, Scarlett shared with me the new baby duckies that were born recently! They were the cutest lil things ever!
You can see all the pictures here:
Scarlett Lillian Photo Journal: Rhett's playdate with The Professor

ps. I found a new blog for anyone who is interested in our National Parks and what is going on in them. It's a really great site with a lot of information!

I almost peed a little...

.... I'm laughing so hard.
I scared the dog.
First, she ran over to see what was going on and then I let out such a guffaw (yes, literally) that she ran right out of the room!
Why?
Well, I got this link from Scarlett Lillian's blog...
I heart Sex & the City.

You Are Most Like Samantha!

For you, dating is the ultimate sport You're into guys with power, looks, or a lot of money. You rather have a great two weeks than a great forever. But even you fall victim to love from time to time. :-) Romantic prediction: You'll find love in the next few months... But you'll be the last one to realize it.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

Apparently, I'm Samantha... that's a RIOT!!

I'm not entirely sure why it came out that way. LOLLOLLOL!!
I can't stop laughing.

Blondie?

I just realized that my "tagline" is still "When blonde highlights sink in..."
And technically, I'm no longer very blonde.

Before (and I think there was a point where I was even MORE blonde):


Now:


So do I have to change my tagline? Because really... they did sink in... for years. Do they have to be sinking in CURRENTLY??

Sometimes

I go into avoidance mode. Right now, I don't want to do anything important. So I'll do this question thingie that Katie did... Katie did. Ha ha...
I amuse myself : p


1. DESCRIBE ONE OF YOUR SCARS. HOW DID YOU GET IT?
I have one on my leg... left leg... on the outside near my knee. It is skinny on one end and gets fatter on the other end. It's a bit wrinkly looking.
My dad has one that looks the same but on the top of one of his legs. I saw it once when he was wearing shorts and I think we were sitting at a baseball game.
I asked where he got his. He got it from a knife... trying to open a box or something and it slipped.
I got mine from a tree. A thorn tree. I was trying to climb it. I was a smart kid.
I slipped and a thorn caught my leg.
My dad cut down the tree.

It's my fault a tree died.

2. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
Really? Right now?
To crawl into bed. I'm tired.

3. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME OF DAY YOU WERE BORN?
Not off the top of my head. Is that bad?
I know it was the afternoon.
My sister was born in the middle of the night. I was almost 8 and I had to go to my neighbors' house. Who-who and Honey. Who-who collected owls... and she made cakes. She would give me ziploc bags full of "cake crumbs"... bits of cake and FROSTING! Honey... I don't know where he got his nickname but it was what Who-who called him.
Anyway, I went to their house and didn't sleep a wink. Honey was the loudest snorer on the planet. And I was down the hall from them! I don't know how his wife slept.


4. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
The back yard and my two dogs. Not really toys... but my best friends.


5. THE BEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED:
Uhhh...


6. THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO?
My coworker, Anne.


7. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
No.
But I probably would if I just watched a scary movie.
That's why I don't watch scary movies.


8. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Probably some stupid movie... I realize that's not exactly a person... but close enough.


9. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
Nada. I had them removed when I was in undergrad... I think I was like 21.
Now I have no wisdom.


10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOGNE / PERFUME?
I have some perfume I got in Denmark that smells nice.
And I like the raspberry body spray from Bath and Body Works.


11. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Nice hair, happy eyes.
Chris has dark brown hair/green eyes so I suppose that's what I like! : )


12. WOULD YOU RATHER BE SMART OR FUNNY?
I can't be both? I think you have to be smart to think of funny things to say.
Unless you are funny because you are stupid.
Or klutzy.
Hmm...


13. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS?
Eww...
I wouldn't sleep for a year.


14. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
My quesadillas. I'm craving one.


15. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD?
Probably Chris.


16. DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?
I used to speak French quite well. Don't ask me to do it now.


17. DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE?
Yes.


18. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
Where are they going? Can I go too? Is it somewhere cool?
Too bad I'm already in love.
Or good thing.
Depending on whether or not you like Florida.


19. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?Interpretive dance?
HA HA HA!! That was Katie's answer and it made me laugh until I almost peed a little. So I'm leaving it.
I do like to dance.


20. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
Surveys... ha ha.
No... really, bad drivers...
and people who talk on their cell phone at inappropriate times...
and parents who take their kids to adult movies and expect them to sit still and be quiet... and then do nothing about it when they don't.
And bad customer service.


21. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE U.S.?
Yep.
Sweden and Denmark.


22. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
I put too much on my plate sometimes... and then I stress out.
I'm a bit sensitive.


23. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Does that laser hair removal thing count? I've been saying I want to get rid of my armpit hair permanently since I was quite young. And now they really do it!!


24. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY?
So I could avoid doing anything else.


25. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
I wasn't. Now I don't need to.


26. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT THE MOST?
Lately? My fabulous engagement ring.
Seriously, random people compliment me on it all the time.


27. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
Nothing. I don't drink too often anyway. But I would miss nice cold beer.

28. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
I don't know.
I'm about to be a stepmother. To 1.
Maybe 1 or 2.
Maybe none.

29. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Nope.

30. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Hmm... I don't know. I can't remember.
I can't ever remember anything though.

31. ANY BAD HABITS?
Yes.

32. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Sure. I bake very well!

33. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE FAMOUS?
Ummm... no?

34. DO LOOKS MATTER?
Absolutely. Anyone who thinks differently is in denial. Or they're ugly.
That was Katie's answer again. It was too funny to remove!

35. HOW DO YOU RELEASE YOUR ANGER?
I throw things at Chris' head.

36. DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY?
Yes.
Some might say too easily.

37. FAVORITE THOUGHT PROVOKING SONG:
That would require me to think and I don't feel like it right now.

38. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
It changes from year to year.
Not a holiday but a day when something big happens. Or something comfortable. Or whatever.

39. FAVORITE EXPRESSION?
Argh... another one where I have to think?
Forget it.
: p

Last post of the evening...

I need to go wrap more presents.
But here's our tree. I won the artificial vs. real tree thing. I'm sure you can guess which I was all for getting!
The only time we ever had a real tree growing up was when we got one in a big silver wash basin thing. It had all it's roots! And we planted it after Christmas.
It was still there when my parents sold the house to move to Texas.

So anyway:

Here's a closeup. It looks pretty real.


And this was pre-decorating. It's huge. 7 1/2 feet! I can't wait til we have a house. It'll fit better. I hope.


And here it is with lights and decorations. I don't have a lot of ornaments just yet... I always had a little tree up until now. But it doesn't look too bad. I'm glad Chris and agreed on colored lights. And we also agree that we like the more homemade mish mash of ornaments look. No uniform trees with ornaments of all one color for us!!
Please note that Uni is under the tree... and the packages are not. Uni is a very naughty beast. I am attempting to put the gifts back under tonight. I've already had to chase her away from them a couple times. Grrr...
The best part is that Apple chases her for me now that she knows Uni isn't supposed to be messing with things over in that corner!

Two more photos and then I'm off to wrap some more...
These are my porcupine bows. I learned how to make them when I was a kid and I still love doing it! Aren't they neat??

Dog Park

We have several friends with dogs...
Toni and Scott have Honey, Wrigley, and Cubby.
Traci and Cole have Mr. Big.
Amanda and Jimmy have Chloe.
All lil doggies too!
So we go on mini adventures to the dog park once in awhile. This was our first trip with Professor Plum! And here are a few of my favorite shots... it was hard to get pictures with them all running around!! : )


The Professor and a random pup.


Apple doing her usual "I'm afraid of all the dogs" thing.


Honey after a very satisfying dig in the dirt pile.


Me being attacked by the tongue of a strange dog!


The whole group!


Our little poodle with a big poodle!

What fun we had!

I hate it when

I lose things.
I just spent ten panic-y minutes looking for the cord thingie that hooks into my camera and my computer... so I can upload the ten jillion photos that I'm behind on uploading.
I found it. It was on the floor under my desk hidden by all the other cords.
Whew.

I figured I better start posting some photos once in awhile or I will no longer be "fotogirlie".

Here's one I didn't take:
It's a leaf.
A leaf painted with silver stuff to make it into... a necklace!!

In fact, it's my WEDDING necklace!
Yay!
My friend Janine is making it. She's awesome!

And I picked the leaf myself from my backyard!!
Aren't you jealous?

InsideNPS

Thought for the Day:
The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away.
-D. Viscott


I tried to save a raccoon yesterday. Or actually my coworker and I tried to save him. She was notified by a visitor that there was an injured raccoon down at the trailhead... so she walked down to see what the situation was... and called me to come help her. He was alive but unable to walk. It appeared that perhaps he hurt his leg. He was just lying there and every once in awhile he would try to get up but go nowhere. He seemed pretty lethargic.
She first called fish and wildlife and they referred her to a wildlife rescue group. They told her they had an agreement with a vet that is actually just down the road and that the vet would take him from us. If he was able to be saved, the raccoon would then go to the rescue group where he would be rehabbed and returned to the wild if possible.
I grabbed an old sweater, a large cardboard box, and gloves and drove down.
The poor guy was beautiful! I've never been that close to a raccoon before. But you could tell he was pretty hurt. I really almost wonder if he had been run over. The area down there is gravel so it has more give than a regular road... he might have been hit and survived. There was no blood but the bugs were already coming for him.
He kept opening and closing his mouth like he was trying to tell us something.
I covered him gently with the sweater and talked to him while I swiftly picked him up and set him in the box. I even got a "pat on the back" from a visitor watching the whole ordeal for doing so well with the little guy.
We hopped in the van and I rode next to him, petting him through the sweater and talking to him the whole way. He kept looking at me with his brown eyes and he looked scared. I wanted him to know we were trying to help.
We got to the vet; I carried him in carefully where I continued to talk to him.
They send for someone over the intercom to come get the "wildlife dropoff". A younger girl comes out and takes the box from me. She proceeds to close off the top... maybe she was scared of him? She didn't even take a moment to look in!
Then she hoists him up on her hip like he's a basket of laundry!! And carries him out of the room at a horrifying angle. It couldn't have been okay for him... he was HURT!

This was 10 am.
We called to find out what had happened at 3 pm.
They hadn't looked at him yet!
FIVE HOURS!

So I called this morning.
He died when they tried to knock him out so they could assess him.

I know we did the right thing because it would have been worse for him to be eaten alive by bugs or attacked by a dog on the trails or even just to lie there in pain.
But the "care" he got from the vet's office irks me immensely.
I realize he wasn't someone's pet. I realize they probably weren't going to make any money by helping him... I don't know if the rescue group defrays costs. They might.
However, they had the agreement with the group to take injured wildlife. They could have said no if they weren't willing to help.
He was a living animal who was injured or sick. And they let him sit for at least five hours... and probably much more.
I think the rescue group should reconsider their partnership with them.

I'm sad because he was so beautiful. I always wanted a pet raccoon.

Chris calls me Mother Nature.
Animals love me.
He swears I could hug a grizzly bear and he wouldn't hurt me.
Chris' mom says animals know when you are trying to help... they know if you have malicious intent.
I agree.
And I love them.
Maybe I should look into wildlife rehabilitation. You know, for when Chris and I live in a house with 50 acres... ha ha!
Maybe it's the gift I need to give away.

One less thing...

My sister says I don't need napkins for the cake... she says the zoo should provide them. I'll have to make sure...
Yes, I said zoo.
We are having our reception at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. In the Range of the Jaguar. At night.
Woohoo!
AND we are paying extra to have the carousel on!
Everyone thinks that's so great since there are going to be about a billion kids there...
KIDS?!?! Man! I can't wait to have OUR photos taken on the carousel!

So on another note:
I found this woman who makes cake toppers. Her name is Debbie Garrity... and she makes them out of polymer clay. They are very cute...
And the best is that she can make animals. So we'll have the bride and groom... as people... but we'll be surrounded by ZOO animals!
I'm really excited about it because it'll be something neat to have in our house after the wedding as a cute memento of the wedding.
Now I just gotta figure out which animals we want...
I know we have to have a monkey.
And I'd like to have a lion.
She mentioned a hippo which I think is hilarious.
NO GIRAFFES.
: )

Off to think about something else. I think I'll go watch Because I Said So. It's on HBO OnDemand.

Memories

How do you make sure you don't forget anything... leave something important out... when you are planning a wedding?!?! Why isn't there some magical list of things to remember??? I can't even remember things from last week... I'm old and my brain is going fah fah away. I have a giant wedding planner book and I have a file holder thingie with papers and lists galore everywhere... not to mention the spreadsheets on my computer (the ones that Chris sees open and runs out of the office, screaming)...
I'm not worried about remembering the big things... I have my dress and the locations are nailed down... and we have flowers; I won't forget the cake... yum! But what about all the little details?? Argh!
I suppose in the end as long as we get married... that's what people are there for. If I forget the paper napkins for the cake table... ah well. It'll all work out...
But none of that makes me less stressed now.
Ha!

Flowas!!

Okay... so planning a wedding is a lot of work. A lot of work.
I wish I was crazy loaded so I could hire someone else to do all of it for me.
But then again, I kinda like coming up with the little detail ideas...

I met with a local florist about a month or so ago. They were very nice and had lots of neat suggestions for my flowers. I was very excited about it.
And then I got the estimate.
Mind you, the estimate came much later than they promised... and I had to call once and email once to finally get it. So that was a bit of a turn off already.
And then I saw the total.
$1500 in flowers. And just bouquets and the such. Not my centerpieces or the church decorations. I'm doing those myself... with plants. Don't want to kill too many flowers if I can help it.
$1500?!?!

Some things are very important to me as far as the wedding goes... and I'm willing to spend more money on them. Other things die when the wedding is over. Maybe they shouldn't be quite as expensive.
So I did some more research.
ProFlowers.
It's an online florist.
I read about them... online... on some wedding site or another.
And my friend Sheri, who is in the wedding party, mentioned that she used to order flowers from them for her mom. Not wedding flowers obviously but still.
She said they always came well packaged and were always beautiful.
I checked out the flowers and read about how to care for them. They are delivered 2 days prior to the wedding so they require a bit of work. I had a phone consultation last night with Jessica who was super nice and very helpful.
I ordered my flowers!
$712, all my flowers and even 12 vases later, I'm set!
Yay!!
One more thing to cross off the list.

Next up... cakes!

ps. Yes, I realize I didn't tell you which flowers I got... but some things need to be a surprise!

Semi-Return

So I haven't been a true blogger in a very very long time...
And I deleted a lot of my old blogs too so it doesn't look like I was much of a blogger to begin with either...
But I thought I'd make a sorta kinda comeback.
Just for fun.

Anyway...
I'm getting married!
And we have a fabulous photographer!!
Those who know me know that's a big thing for me to say. I'm very picky. And I want special pictures to remember my special day.
Her name is Scarlett Lillian and she posted our engagement photos HERE. Yay!!
Just thought I'd share!

I'm posting again!

But not on here...
rather, I'm posting on TracyDiet.
: )