Random meanderings down a long, long windy road.

Remembering June

2010-06-30T15:18:00.004-04:00

This month I didn't draft my post a little at a time... so now I'm racking my brain to remember what I read, knitted, did...

Hmm... books I read...
The final two out in this series by Eoin Colfer. I believe the 7th book comes out this August.
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox
Then I downloaded a few free books to the Kindle and read Miss Match by Lauren Holbrook. It was okay although I think I really just wanted to be watching the tv show by the same name that starred Alicia Silverstone. The show wasn't based on this book though. I thought about downloading the next book since it's a series... but it wasn't free and I didn't like it that much.
I started to read Sushi for One by Camy Tang, also a free book on my Kindle, but it didn't keep my interest for long. Strange since I usually feel like if I start a book, I have to finish it.
I moved on to a book I had purchased at Borders, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. It was a fun book (although I admit it is for kiddos... but I seem to be reading a lot of those lately) and there are two more that I may have to get as well!
Now I'm reading A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff. I just started it last night but I read way more than I should have before hitting the sack and I didn't want to stop after lunch either. I thought that it would be a good book to read on my trip to NYC (!!) this weekend but I may be done before then! : )

I knitted a pumpkin hat. I originally started it with the intention of giving it to Chris' brother's upcoming baby. He is joining us in October so I thought it would be a cute baby hat! It turned out too big. So then, as I continued to knit, I thought I might give it to my sister since her baby is due any moment now and will be bigger than a newborn by fall... still too big. Then I decided I would give it to Kristen who has a baby that will be one in October. Perfect since Kristen loves orange and pumpkins! Yeah, too big.
Chris' brother saw me working on the hat (the same brother who I thought I would give it to originally) and he said HE wanted the hat and promised he would wear it. So it's finally done now and I guess the big winner will be Chris' brother David!
I promise to get a photo of it asap.

I'm off to Brooklyn Heights for the weekend! I'm super excited!!!
I hope all of you have a wonderful 4th of July! : )

Knee-ectomy

2010-06-18T14:17:00.003-04:00

Today is a bad knee day.

Some of you may know that I've been having knee issues lately; I think I probably mentioned it in another post or something.

It first started in the second week of May, in the 14th week of the circuit training I had been doing through the amenity center where I live. It was really bad at first - swollen and painful. Since I see my chiropractor pretty regularly (although most of my appointments lately are with the massage therapist!), he took a look at it for me. He poked and prodded and wiggled it around... but nothing hurt... until he pushed on my IT band. Ooooweeee! That was some serious ouchie!
For those who are curious, I found this wikipedia article about iliotibial band syndrome.

So I stayed off my leg, iced it a lot, and kept it elevated. I made several visits to the chiropractor for therapy with those little circles they attach to your muscles and send electric currents through your leg... not sure what it's called exactly. The swelling went away and it was feeling better MOST of the time. But it would just randomly have sharp pains shoot through. Sometimes just when I was walking or going to sit down. Weird.

The other doctor in the office took a look at it and came to the conclusion that perhaps my ACL was loose. My kneecap was moving around and certain pressure would hurt. The thought was then that I would need to do special exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee.

I think at this point I was getting a little frustrated because I had FINALLY been working out but now I couldn't... and the pain was bad enough (although not regular) that it made me a bit wary of doing much at all. Off I went to Mayo Clinic. I got an appointment for x-ray and a visit with the orthopedic surgeon.

What did I find out? Well, my x-rays were fine. He even said there were no signs of arthritis (wow... that's amazing with how creaky my used up knees are!) and my ACL was fine. He basically says my kneecap is loose and when it moves, it causes me pain. I now have a prescription for physical therapy. Hopefully I'll be able to set something up soon.

However, today my knee is KILLING me. The pain is usually NOT constant... however, that is not the case today. I don't even want to move. I want to crawl into bed. But Chris is working and we have not only our four dogs waiting at home for me but also a fifth dog who belongs to his brother. They are gone for a month so we are taking care of her for them. Oh... she's adorable! I'll definitely share some photos soon!

Anyway... I just needed to whine a minute. Stupid knee. Can't I just have a new one? *sigh*

Knitting photos

2010-05-31T17:02:00.010-04:00

Oh dear... I just realized that I didn't get a shot of my mom's camera bag that I knitted before I gave it to her this weekend. Oh well...
However, I did get a few photos of other knitting projects!

Bibs... I seem to make these for all the babies:

And hats! You'll have to excuse the elongated shape of them... I put them on a camera lens to take the photos so they wouldn't just be flat...
The Who Hat is just like mine only much smaller!

This little ribbed hat can be found here and was super easy and quick to make!

I still need to take pictures of my purple button hat... and I'm still working on a baby blanket. Blankets seem to take forever!!
: )

Weeeeee!!!! And May a bit early.

2010-05-25T14:51:00.005-04:00

I'm going to NYC! For the FIRST time EVER! For the 4th of July weekend!!
And I get to see my friend Susan whom I haven't seen in 10 years! For the occasion, she is going to arrange for fireworks over the city! ; )

This summer is looking to be filled with mini vacays. I'm going to Fort Myers (SW Florida for those not familiar) this weekend... my parents are down there all week staying in the condo (I used to live there and we bought it then but I moved so the 'rents kept it and actually plan to retire there eventually). And in August I am planning a trip to the Kansas City suburbs to visit my new niece. She'll be joining the outside world sometime in mid-July (Joni's due date is July 12th)!

Books... I've been a slacker this month:
Artemis Fowl
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
All by Eoin Colfer. There are two more books in the series so far and I have them both checked out from the library and sitting on my shelf at home. I finished The Opal Deception at lunch today. : )

Circuit training classes are now over - the last class was last week. I spent that week only doing arms though because I injured my knee via my IT band, which apparently is a muscle that runs up the outside of one's thigh. The instuctor didn't have us properly stretching after class and although I was doing it on my own, I guess I wasn't getting that muscle. So it tightened up and screwed with my knee. I've been going to therapy for it and I'm no longer limping. Whew.

Aqua aerobics start this week. I haven't completely decided if I'm going to do it. Someone told me it's all in the deep end of the pool and I don't really see myself treading water AND working out for an hour. I might drown! However, they are offering a free trial class because the signups were low so I'll check it out before I sign up. It's twice the cost that circuit training was so I'm not willing to spend the money just to find out that I don't like it.

I have some knitting to share finally but I need to take pictures first. Maybe I'll do that tonight!

Oh... and I almost forgot! Chris and I will be married for two years on May 31st!

Chester!

2010-05-07T21:06:00.000-04:00

Chester's story is up on Furrie Fotographie!

April News

2010-04-30T06:35:00.002-04:00

Books I read in April:
Flyte
Physik
Queste
Syren
All by Angie Sage... all in the Septimus Heap series, which I actually started with Magyk last month. LOVED them. And I can't wait for the 6th book, Darke, to come out. I seem to be unable to find a release date for it though...
I know there are fewer books than usual but it has been a busy month. Silly me didn't write this post in draft as the month went on though so who knows what I will remember.

I signed up for yet another 5 weeks of circuit training. I haven't lost any weight but I'm maintaining (yet I think I'm eating a bit more too) and I'm definitely stronger.

I'm still knitting... and still unable to show you any of it. I made another baby item and I also made a camera cozy for my mom for Mother's Day. I can say that because even if she happens to read this, she knows it's coming because she asked for it. Last year I made her one for her GPS so now she wants one for the camera too. My sister said that while our mom was staying with her, she (mom) used the GPS cozy for her camera all the time. So anyway, I won't post a photo (yet) because even though she knows what it is, she doesn't know what it looks like!
I just started a hat with my beautiful Violet Manos del Uruguay. I haven't taken any photos but this is a picture I took of the yarn:

We got another dog. Yes, a 4th dog has been added to the furrie family. I need to post photos and his story on my pet photography blog. I hope to do that this weekend and so you'll have to check there for more info. I'll tell you this though... I discovered yesterday that if I scratch his back back by his tail, his mouth opens and closes and his tongue flaps around. It's hilarious! And speaking of the pet photography, I am currently editing two shoots and have two more sessions this weekend! Keeping busy for sure!!

I also started a "new" job. Some of you may know I worked for the National Park Service for fours years until last Fabruary when I got a promotion and moved over to US Fish and Wildlife. I liked it there but I missed the park so when I got the call from my old supervisor letting me know they were advertising, I jumped at the chance to return. It's another promotion for me and now I'm also in a "real" office with a door AND a window! Yay! I love being back and they are happy to have me! : D

And the biggest news of all... I got a new car!! My very first new car EVER!
I've been driving my 1997 Honda Accord since 2002 (and before that I drove a 1987 Honda Civic that had been my dad's until I turned 16 in 1991 and took it from him). The Accord was quite cute in her day... two doors, spoiler, sun roof, manual... but over time the paint was splotchy and faded; the cloth ceilings were coming down around me; the tinted windows were bubbling; and the worst part since I'm in Florida, the a/c didn't like to work when it was really hot out. Oddly, it was fine and blew nice cold air as long as it wasn't over 75-ish outside...
Anyway, she had over 165,000 miles on her and even though I probably could have driven her a bit longer I decided it was time to start looking around. I did my research and hemmed and hawed for more than a month... and I found something that I really like!
I went to the dealership yesterday and test drove... and bought... a Mazda 3 i Touring in Silver. Manual transmission... and I'm having a spoiler put on!
They didn't have one on the lot so right now I'm driving the same car but automatic and without the spoiler. They are getting my car from another dealer today and should get the spoiler in tomorrow. I'll be able to pick it up either tomorrow or Monday! Weeeeee!!!
You know I'll be taking photos as soon as I get it!!!

That's it for now. I might have to update before the end of May... : )

March

2010-04-04T12:08:00.001-04:00

I can't believe March has already come and gone!!

Books:
Stoneheart - Charlie Fletcher
Ironhand - Charlie Fletcher
Silvertongue - Charlie Fletcher
Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips
Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan
Magyk - Angie Sage

Knitting:
I'm afraid I can't share any of my finished or current projects (other than the sock which I haven't gotten any further on since last month) because they are all baby related and I don't want my sister to see them before I actually give them to her. So you'll have to wait in suspense or stalk my Ravelry page (although I don't even have photos there just yet) if you happen to be a member.

Misc:
I am continuing with the circuit training at my amenity center. I finished the first 5 weeks and signed up for another. I'm not losing any weight... and at one point I thought I was even gaining... but I'm definitely getting stronger! Maybe my body likes being around 130-ish even if I want it to be around 125-ish. Oh well.

I have also been to the doctor twice this month. I am having terrible (and unsual for me) allergies this year. I have been on two different antibiotics for sinus infections. I sounded like a dying frog for about a week. And now I'm also on a prescription strength antihistamine. Bleh.

I went to an art show... although it was technically in April but I'm a little late getting this post up. We bought some artwork by both Ed King and Phil Fung. Here's one of Phil's prints that we purchased called Bodhi Tree:

Oh! And one last mention... if you haven't already seen it. I was interviewed by a producer from our local PBS affiliate back in January for a show called 9 to 5 which features people with unusual/interesting jobs. He recently let me know that I could view the piece on his YouTube page... so if you would like to see it too, it's here.

Now I'm off to crawl back into bed and relax. Hope you all had a wonderful March!! : )

February Books

2010-02-28T09:18:00.001-05:00

In order of completion:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley
Powerless - Matthew Cody
Gregor the Overlander - Suzanne Collins
I Love You, Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle (The beginning of each chapter has a drawing of Denis Coverman as the night goes on... they cracked me up! Not sure I have any interest in seeing the movie though.)
I'm With Stupid - Elaine Szewczyk (Yeah... got it super cheap for my Kindle... and it was... stupid.)
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane - Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods - Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Marks of Secret - Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Code of Claw - Suzanne Collins
Conversations with the Fat Girl - Liza Palmer (also another cheap Kindle book... but enjoyed it unlike the previously mentioned cheap Kindle book!)
Knitting Under the Influence - Claire Scovell LaZebnik (same as above!)

All the Gregor books were part of The Underland Chronicles. I found them in the teen section at the library and I enjoyed them immensely!! I really wish there were more than five!
I must mention that the reason I was in the teen section in the first place was because my husband wanted to read Powerless so I checked it out for him... and that's where it was too! : )

We also went to see Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (I read the whole series in December). I actually liked the movie despite the differences from the book. Chris was pretty grumpy about all the changes. Oh well... it happens. Sometimes I'm okay with it and other times not so much...

The circuit training is going well. After the first week, my calves were killing me. It felt like the muscles were too short for my legs! But it's all good now and I think my abs are getting stronger! Yay! I missed one class due to a terrible cold but have made the rest of the thrice weekly meetings.

My Who Hat is finished!! If you are a knitter and would like to make one, the pattern can be found HERE.
LOVE the finished hat! The original plan was to put different colored button eyes on each owl but I'm really liking it plain too so I can't really decide what to do...
More photos (there were a couple in my January book post)
Almost at the end... learning to use double pointed needles! Came close to poking my eye out a couple times! : )

The top of my hat. Decreases are purty!

The owls on my head!

Happy me in my hat. Need to get a photo outside... the flash kinda washed out the details of the hat...

I'm also working on the Hat Heel Sock. They will be my first pair of socks ever! I haven't gotten very far yet so no photos. I'll get some soon!

Hopefully this post makes sense... I wrote it at various times during February instead of trying to remember everything at the end of the month. hee hee...

Lent and shopping...

2010-02-23T07:26:00.000-05:00

Every year I give up something for Lent.

My husband makes fun of me because I so rarely go to mass... and other people probably disagree with me because they think I should give rather than give up. But I give something up anyway.

For some reason I've noticed that my trend tends to be something edible... chocolate, pizza, ice cream, fast food, desserts. And they've all been very hard for me so : p. But this year I decided to give up

(insert drum roll here)

SHOPPING!

And no... it doesn't include things like groceries or contact solution.
But it does include clothes, books, YARN. And my jaunts about Target.
*sigh*

This might be the hardest thing I've ever given up. It doesn't help that I get sale emails all the time... or that one of the girls in my knitting group is getting an order together for Malabrigo. I'm avoiding Target... and the library and free Kindle books are my friends. Free Kindle books don't count as shopping, right?? They are FREE!

I do have to get an external CD drive for my computer tonight... but I consider it a business expense for Furrie Fotographie PLUS my internal drive isn't working so I haven't been able to do my taxes because it won't read the Turbo Tax disc. My mom said she didn't think the IRS would consider that a valid excuse. Darn. I'm definitely not looking forward to doing my taxes this year. We bought the house and I didn't do as well with tracking my business stuff this year as last year. At least I've learned my lesson and have already started several spreadsheets in Excel for 2010!

Anyone else give up something for Lent?

Anyway, that's it for now. I've already started my post for February's books and knitting so you'll see that next week!

Who Hat and January Books

2010-01-29T07:32:00.004-05:00

Yet another resolution being worked upon... knitting in the round!
The first time I cast on for my Who Hat I managed to twist the stitches. I had to pull it all out and start over. See?

But now I'm coming right along and even though working with the cable needle was a bit fiddly at first, I'm starting to get the hang of it!
Here it was a few days ago:

Pardon the cell phone photos.
Soon I'll have to start decreasing at which point I'll learn to use DPN's. Double pointed needles for those of you who don't know knitting lingo. This has been an excellent learning pattern! : )

And now on to the...
January Reading List:
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment - James Patterson
Maximum Ride: School's Out-Forever - James Patterson
Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports - James Patterson
Maximum Ride: The Final Warning - James Patterson
(There is one more book out and one due out in a few months. I, unfortunately, did not enjoy the 4th book as much as the others. I read the first three in three days, probably mostly because I was sick in bed with nothing else to do. So, hopefully, I'll feel up to reading the 5th and 6th books soon.)

The Adventures of Sally - P. G. Wodehouse
(Free Kindle Book)

The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer

Checked out (from the library) and started reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for a book club that I am thinking of attending in February. Having a hard time getting into it. Put it down last night to start another library book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I suppose I should have waited to post this as maybe I'll finish it by Sunday... but most likely not since I have a ton of work to do for Furrie Fotographie this weekend. We'll see. : )

PS!! I signed up for a 5 week circuit training class. It's three days a week - Monday, Tuesday, and Thurday... which means it won't interfere with Wednesday night knitting! Look at me working on all my resolutions!

Another scarf

2010-01-11T14:43:00.004-05:00

Simple rib stitch scarf made from Colinette Prism for Hannah's birthday. She requested I knit something for her so I hope she likes it! : )

Lace Scarf

2010-01-03T20:59:00.004-05:00

This is the Strangling Vine scarf that I worked like crazy on so I could finish it in time for Christmas!

Doesn't it look nice on my mom?!!?

I'm going to try to be better about posting photos of my knitted objects here... I'm also going to be better about posting them on Ravelry (you can find me as filmgirlie if you are on there too!) although I'm not too bad about that one now. : )

ps. I saw the Princess and the Frog on Friday. It was cute! And made me cry... but animated movies usually do for some reason!

December's Reading List

2010-01-01T10:37:00.004-05:00

Books I read last month... this is the first installment of my 2010 resolution to keep track of the books I read!

Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan

Murder Takes the Cake - Gayle Trent (Kindle book!!)

Will write more later... must go back to bed. Icky stomach bug...

Happy Holidays

2009-12-29T14:44:00.002-05:00

from freezing me... and my happy husband!

I took lots of photos while we were in Kansas City for Christmas. Some will show up on my furrie blog soon I promise. And I'll have to share some here as well! Stay tuned... and try to stay warm too!

Almost the New Year

2009-12-14T10:33:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd made resolutions the last couple years but when I went back in my posts it looks like I made one for 2007 and then 2008 but somehow left out 2009. So here we are about to start 2010 and I'm going to make resolutions again. I know, I know. I still have time to think about them as it's only mid-December... but I'm doing this a little early this time.

So 2007 was:
Resolution One
I will be more environmentally conscious.
and the typical
Resolution Two
I am going to eat better, work out more, and lose weight.

and 2008 was:
1. I want to be completely out of debt so I can get in debt with number 2.
2. Save for a new car/house/camera lens.

I talked about 2007 in 2008's post. But I guess I probably never talked about 2008's resolutions. I guess I can pretend they were two year goals. I'm not out of debt although I think I was much closer at one point. We did, however, buy a house in March of this year! I also have a new camera (Canon 40D) and I know I bought my 60mm macro this past year... So yay!

This year I have a knitting resolution! I learned to knit on January 16, 2009! And I like it!! So I have continued to make things this year... I now would like to make things in the round... so that's goal number 1.

I also would like to go back to a resolution from 2007. I know I'm not good at eating better but I would like to work out more and lose more weight. I was actually at my heaviest earlier this year at 145. I began counting calories and eating smaller portions... still my junk but just less of it. I'm now down to 130! I would like to lose 5 more pounds but I've been stuck at 130 for a couple months now. So I guess I should start running again or join the gym or something. The nice (and not so nice) thing is that none of my clothes fit... they are all too BIG!

And resolution three will be, hopefully, fun for me. I'm going to start tracking (on my blog) the books I'm reading. I joined Goodreads awhile back but I'm terrible about updating it. So I'm going to blog about my books. Starting this month! : )

So this year I have three resolutions:
1. Learn to knit in the round.
2. Work out and lose those last 5 pounds.
and
3. Blog about/track the books I read each month.

Nothing too crazy... all should be quite doable!

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

I love yellow. And I uber-love yellow dresses!
But for some reason... well, I don't own a single one. And ever since I saw the episode of Glee with the mashup and all the girls wearing different yellow dresses, my hankerin' for a yellow dress has only increased. So imagine my delight at seeing this blog post!! Check out the purty dress... but if you enter and win, you better send me that yellow dress!! ; )

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yay!

2009-10-28T14:37:00.005-04:00

New tile!!
The tile on the right is what was already here. We added the border and the tile on the left into our living room. No more icky carpet that the dogs can stink up!

Apple says she loves the new tile too!

And on November 14th our new beautiful sectional and ottoman will be delivered! The room is gonna be gorgeous! Yay!!

Today's Pet of the Day is...

2009-10-21T12:08:00.001-04:00

Professor!!
Check it out HERE!!

Now I just need to submit our other four pets...
: )

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-20T08:52:00.000-04:00

This Queen of Hearts costume is absolutely Uh Maze Ing!! Check it out! : )

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Oops...

2009-10-18T12:21:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it has seriously been like a million years since my last post. I realized how bad it was today when I went to my friend Katie's blog and there were so many posts I hadn't read that I even had to go to the next page... and then I found where she had actually recommended a website to ME! It had to do with knitting with DPN's for those who are curious...

But anyway!
Stuff that's new in my life:
We bought some new furniture! A king sized bed and a fabulous mattress (which better last FOREVER since it cost an arm and a leg) as well as a mongo sectional for the living room. Furniture should be delivered Nov. 14th! And, yes, we got the giant ottoman too! I love ottomans!

We also bought tile just yesterday. A lot of our house is already tiled and we tried our best to find the tile so it could just continue out into our living room but with no luck. Discontinued. But we did find the brand, Florida Tile, and picked another tile with scalloped edges (that was what made it so hard to find something too) that's a gray color with speckles. Our current tile is kinda beige with grey and tan flecks so this will still be the same color family but different. We'll put a border in and then have the new tile at an angle to break up the spaces. And the new tile matches the countertops in the kitchen so that's good too. It was super stressful and we spent more on the tile than I wanted to but in the end I decided that it was worth being done with the stress!
We have a tile guy and hope to have it put in around the first week of November... before the furniture arrives! And then everything will be purty for my parents' visit for Thanksgiving. They've yet to see our new home!
New tile is Florida Tile Mendocino Mist:

On the knitting front... I've been working on a lace scarf and a blanket buddy for various other people. I finished a scarf for me but no photos of it just yet. It has finally cooled down here this weekend (it was 66 at 2 yesterday afternoon!!) so maybe I'll get a chance to wear it!

Still having issues with Max and his allergies. It's been a very long spring/summer with many, MANY vet visits. We have tried various things and nothing works for long. Meds clear him up but then the allergies return when the meds are gone. We switched to a hypoallergenic food but it doesn't seem to be doing anything either although since it has only been 6 weeks of the new food, we'll keep him on it a bit longer. Our next step is allergy testing but he has about another month before they can do that because the meds he was on have to be out of his system. Which means that even though he is all itchy and broken out again right now, he's only on benedryl... and is wearing an old t-shirt of Chris'. Poor guy.

Oh! And Kristen had her baby!! Sean Wyatt! He was a couple weeks early but came out weighing 6lbs, 15 oz and was 19 inches long. I got to go visit in the hospital and even hold him! He's tiny but very cute!

And now I'm off to dig up some lunch. I'll try not to let to blog go for so long next time! : )

Old Swampy

2009-08-31T14:33:00.007-04:00

Yes I'm quite aware that the above is probably the worst photo ever... but I know you want to see what the last post photos actually turned into! The pumpkin cupcakes were delish... and I have enough pumpkin and buttermilk to make more... so I'm tempted. Mmmmm...
Plus who wants the extras to go to waste? : D

You'll have to wait to see the peanut butter bars though... I think I took a photo of them. I'll have to look tonight!

Mmmm... food!

2009-08-28T19:35:00.003-04:00

I just got back from St. Pete this afternoon and all I really want to do is flop down on my bed and snooze with the monsters... but I have a baby shower to attend tomorrow and I'm baking!
Before photos for you!
Pumpkin cupcakes. Recipe from Hello, Cupcake! Going to be making Old Swampy (alligator). Will definitely have to post after photos! : )

And my peanut butter bars:

Ingredients in a bowl. Art. Mmmmm...

Song

2009-08-25T12:14:00.001-04:00

I can't resist an amazing piano/cello piece!
Love this!

I did it...

2009-08-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

I didn't really think I'd ever join Twitter... but I finally caved and joined last week! I'm still figuring it all out and trying to find people/vendors I know. It's actually kinda fun to see the little updates!
You can follow me here: http://twitter.com/filmgirlie

Are you on Twitter??

Finished Knitting!

2009-07-28T21:13:00.014-04:00

I finished a couple things this weekend... so I have to share of course!
First I started AND finished a catnip mousie. It was from a pattern that my swap partner sent me (see previous post)... I decided it was time to quickly make one after I caught Clementine playing with my knitted bracelet!
It was super quick and easy... and it's cute!

Plus, as you can see, the cats liked it!

Do you see who is poking her head out of the tube behind Uni?
Clementine wanted the mouse! I think I'm going to have to make a second one so they can each have their own... and not wrestle over this one!

And the other finished object is a seed stitch scarf! I made it for Chris and he loves it! Yay! He'll be able to wear it when we go to KC for Christmas...

Now I have to figure out what I want to make next! I'm thinking I need to go back and finish my sweater...

Ravelry Swap

2009-07-18T19:20:00.010-04:00

I joined my first ever swap on Ravelry this month and was part of a Summer Swap. I had a great time researching my partner and finding things she would like. I even managed to finally get the box in the mail this morning before running errands with my husband. When we got home...

MY PACKAGE HAD ARRIVED!!! WEEEEEE!!!
Chris was making fun of me the whole time because everything I unwrapped I squealed over! He was amazed at how well my partner, MuddyMoose, knew me!
Wanna see my stuff??
: )

How cute is the message on my box?! I almost got yelled at for “ordering” something… and then he saw the note!

LOOK at all these cool things!

There are two cookbooks… cupcakes and ice cream ! My tummy is rumbling just thinking about it!
Also Yarn Harlot’s book, Things I learned from knitting. I got daisy print AND cupcake print baking cups… now I have no excuse not to start in on the recipes in the cupcake book right away! And MuddyMoose handmade the cutest coasters and tea towel/napkins!
There is an adorable spool of ribbon with flowers which I love! And button pins from Ravelry… one with BOB!!!
A cookie cutter in the shape of my favorite food, an ice cream cone! A bag of buttons! Cute buttons! Dogs and flowers and such…
A tiny bracelet that is perfect for my tiny wrist, mini note cards, a wine bottle stopper, a tin for my button collection (which keeps growing and growing!), magnets, cupcake paper and pencils, a sample skein of recycled yarn and a sample skein of handspun (I’d love to be able to spin someday!!), and ice cube trays shaped like lemon wedges (I can’t wait to make lemonade and freeze it in those trays!).
There was also #3 bamboo needles and 2 skeins of Sugar n’ Cream yarn (hot green and hot blue) to make the summer dishcloth patterns she sent as well!
More patterns for a garden bracelet and, MuddyMoose didn’t leave out my babies, a pattern for catnip mousies! Yay! Maybe I can wrestle my first knitted toy away from Clementine with the temptation of one of these!

More photos!

One more thing! Last but certainly not least!
TREATS for my puppies! They are her dogs’ favorite and I can smell why! lol…
You can see that mine love them too!
Everyone at attention:

Max:

Professor:

Apple:

MuddyMoose did FANTASTIC!
I know there are a thousand exclamation points in this post but that’s exactly how I feel!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
: D

Books and TV

2009-07-15T07:30:00.002-04:00

Just finished:

Starting at lunch today:

Will need to purchase asap:

My new favorite show... Joni and Justin let me borrow Season 1:

And this came out yesterday... since I'm addicted, I'm going to try to stop and grab it after work today:

I'm so upset that this is all there will be... two seasons. Hmph. I can't believe it got cancelled!! It's AMAZING!
*sigh*

On a happy note though... Harry Potter 6 is coming out this weekend!! Weeee! I'll wait awhile to see it so I don't have to deal with a packed theater but I'm super exited! Woohoo!

EDIT: So I ran from my car into Target in the pouring rain... only to discover that PD Season 2 doesn't come out until NEXT Tuesday. *sigh*

Hot scarf!

2009-07-12T19:56:00.008-04:00

I made a farrow rib scarf for my dad... ironically, the day it arrived in the mail for him it was 100 degrees outside!
We're all going to Kansas City for Christmas this year so I wanted him to have it before Christmas Day... I almost kept it for myself! The yarn is super soft and such a pretty navy blue. But it will look fantastic on my dad and hopefully he really likes it and isn't just saying he does!

And speaking of Kansas City, I just got back from visiting my sister and her husband there for the holiday weekend! Joni and I went out to a LYS (local yarn store) while I was there called The Studio. It was HUGE! Of course I bought some yarn... Noro! I took photos but I haven't uploaded them yet so you'll have to wait. The girls from my knitting group saw it last night and loved it! Yay! I did good!
I also bought some yarn for my Ravelry swapee... this is the first swap I've ever been in and I'm having a lot of fun picking things out!
Joni bought some yarn too. I retaught her how to knit while I was there. A coworker had shown her a year ago. She was probably halfway done with a garter stitch scarf when I left! : )

And now I'm off to read. I'm reading Inkheart which I bought in KC when I finished my library book that I had taken along. I'm enjoying it alot!

Knitted Bracelet!

2009-06-12T17:55:00.008-04:00

How fun is this idea?!!?
And it took just one day... not even a whole day.
I love bracelets so this was a perfect way to keep me motivated!

I've also finished the back and the front left of my sweater! Just have the right front and the sleeves now! Woohoo!

Happy Dance...

2009-05-19T06:39:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I wind up posting the same thing on this blog and on my Furrie Fotographie blog. Not too often but once in awhile. I guess I figure that you (that's a collective you) don't read both blogs. But maybe you do...
Anyway...
My happy dance is for this:

and this:

Yippee!!

ps...
New hair! I got bangs...
Photo taken by cell phone... not edited at all. Pardon it's darkness...

Galinda... with a Guh.

2009-05-01T06:50:00.000-04:00

I saw WICKED!!
Wednesday I tried for tickets via the lottery again since my name wasn't drawn from the basket on Tuesday. This time Chris met me up there and put his name in as well... twice the chance.
And of course, HIS name was drawn.
He probably won't let me forget that for awhile...
: )

The show, although long, is fantastic! If you have a chance to see it, you should!
And I found out, while waiting in line to put my name in the lottery, that there is a third book in the series! I had no idea. I don't know how I missed that!
So guess who bought it yesterday?

Tomorrow morning I have a shoot with a Chinese Crested named Cupcake. I'm so excited!! I can't wait to meet her!

Wicked... and... Bruises... and Knitting. Oh My!

2009-04-28T06:06:00.003-04:00

So my poor little body is all sore and bruised. I'm not entirely sure where the bruises on my arms came from... I must be getting old. Or maybe I need to eat more bananas. Don't they help with bruising?
The bruises all about my knees are from this weekend. I had a shoot with two very sweet labs. And when I have shoots, I like to get down on their level with the camera... and sometimes that means "walking" about on my knees. Not always... sometimes I shoot "from the hip" without looking through the viewfinder. But those can be hit or miss... so sometimes I get a bit bruised. Expecially when we are inside on wood floors!
Totally worth it though... I've been working on the photos and there are lots of cute ones that I really hope their pawrents like! You can see the sneak peek over at the Furrie Fotographie blog if you are interested.

Wicked is in town!! I want to see it soooooo bad!! I have read it, of course. And I have read the sequel, Son of a Witch. Chris got me the soundtrack from the musical last year too. My problem is that if I am going to pay a bunch of money to see a show, I want good seats. Even if that means paying a little bit more. Unfortunately, Wicked tickets (the good seats) are over $130!! EACH!
However...
I read in last friday's paper that they are doing a lottery. People will have the opportunity, 2 1/2 hours before each show, to put their name in a drawing. Ten names will be chosen and they can buy up to two tickets for $25 each!! And... this is the best part... they are the GOOD SEATS!
So I'm going today. And I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed. Because I can't justify spending $130+ on a ticket when we just got the house and there are so many things that need to be done.
I'll let you know if I get in! : )

And last... for the few of you who might be interested in my knitting stuff... I'm working on a sweater!

Mine is green though... and it might not look quite so "holey" because the photo is crochet and I'm knitting. But it's my first garment!
Yippee!

Updates

2009-03-31T19:52:00.014-04:00

a little at a time...
I moved last week!! We closed late Monday afternoon and moved the same day. I was also sick sick sick. It wasn't fun... not only could I not breathe, but I lost my voice as well!
But then my sister came to visit Thursday. She was down in Orlando for work so I drove to pick her up; we even made a quick(ish)stop at IKEA. I'll get into more detail about the house and my sister's visit later.
First, an update on a couple knitted items!
I made another bib for little Katie who is due in May. This was the sequel to the pink bib:

Do you like the horsie button? I got it in the same package as the pig button... and there is a lion (which I need to save for my sister) and an elephant. Oh, and the dreaded giraffe.
I wasn't sure about the green color but then one of the girls in my knitting group said it would be perfect when the baby is eating peas!! : )

And what's this?

Hmmm... what could that knitted thing be??

OH! It's THING TWO!!
And I did end up making it a scarf... a wide scarf... but it only took two skeins of yarn. Since it's cotton, it's super soft too!
I wasn't going to post this next photo but then I thought Katie might get a kick outta my shirt. Not baby Katie who received the bib! Adult Katie!

I gave it to Joni. She lives in a suburb of Kansas City so I figured she would get much more use out of it than me...
Yes, she's outside in the sun wearing a short sleeve tee... but it's March and we're in Florida... and I wanted some photos!

Then I got her to work it... show us you love the scarf, Joni!

And a final close up.

I finished my mouse... except for his tail. I've been lazy about taking pictures of it though. If I'd been smart I would have gotten a couple while I was talking the scarf shots. Apparently I'm not smart...

And now I'm tired so I'll have to continue posting later about the house and such... : )

Fingers Crossed... Prayerfully.

2009-03-16T06:50:00.000-04:00

So we really need to close on our house this week.
Why?
Because we have to be out of our apartment on Monday the 23rd... a week from today! And, no, we can't change it... believe me, I've asked. But they have already rented the apartment to someone else. I do so hope that the someone else gets a bird feeder. I don't want all the birdies to wonder what happened to their lovely food.

Please think of us this week! Send me good vibes!!
I don't wanna be homeless...
Plus my sister is coming to visit on the 26th...
Yay!

The week in review...

2009-02-22T16:11:00.006-05:00

This has been one crazy week!
First I want to show you the baby bib that I finished knitting! It is technically Thing Three... and it came out well IMO. It was very quick to make... it only took slow knitting beginner me a week!
I made sure to pick a machine washable yarn (who wants to hand wash a bib with food all over it??) and I found the cutest little button. The bib itself is adjustable since I made three button holes. : )

Monday, which was a Federal holiday so I had the day off, I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic with a friend. On a side note, loved the movie... and have read the entire series of books! So anyway, totally unexpectedly, we got a call from the bank. They accepted the offer we put on a HOUSE! We are going to have a HOUSE! Look how cute it is:

AND it has a nice sized backyard for the dogs to run and play in! There is no house on one side of it because there is a preserve easement where they are not allowed to build so there are lots of trees! Yay!! We are supposed to close on March 9th... *fingers crossed*

And last, I started my new job.
I had been working for the National Park Service for almost four years but now I work for U.S. Fish and Wildlife. I'm still doing a lot of the same things but I get paid more and it's much closer to home. It was very hard for me to say goodbye to all my fabulous co-workers at Timucuan Preserve but I hope to make as many good friends at the new job too.
Now I have to figure out what to wear every morning... no more uniform!

ps. For those who checked out our Valentine's Day gift, Clementine has settled in quite nicely. Uni was pretty angry at first about the idea of another cat in the house and she spent the first few days staring and hissing and even swatting at her once in awhile. Now they have become buddies. They chase each other and wrestle and run through the cat tube we have in the living room. We have even caught them sleeping next to each other on the couch multiple times. Hooray!
Yes... I live in a zoo. All the more reason to be excited about the house!!

Happy V-Day!

2009-02-14T18:49:00.002-05:00

Want to see what Chris and I got each other? Click here!

ps. I finished knitting a baby bib! I'll take photos of it tomorrow before I give it to it's new home... : )
Now I'm working on a little knitted mousie!

Updates on the Things...

2009-02-04T06:30:00.000-05:00

I finished Thing One! Last Wednesday, at the knitting meetup, Brenda showed me how to seam and make i-cord! My little GPS bag is so cute! And quite useful...
Here are some photos. As usual, they were taken with my phone. I've really become quite lazy lately. At least I pulled out the real camera this weekend... there was an otter in my pond! Woohoo! : )
Anyway, I digress.
Here they are for real:

And Thing Two? I finished a whole skein of yarn already and started a second... it's getting really long. I think I might just make it a regular scarf. I know I mentioned the Bainbridge scarf in my last post but then I realized that my scarf is way too wide...
Ah well... it's good practice! I've gotten to where I can watch tv and knit. As long as I don't care too much about the show...

Knitting group is meeting again tonight! Can't wait! I tried to teach myself to purl but I think that every once in awhile I do something weird so I end up with crossed yarn on my needle. Hmmm...

I'm dying to start on a toy. I got a book and there is a stripey snake that I might be able to do once I learn a couple more things... like purl and... increasing!
Will keep you up to date.

ps. Next blog post I'll write more about this... but I got a new job!

thing two!

2009-01-26T22:13:00.003-05:00

Yes, yes I took them with my cell phone again. It's faster than pulling out the big camera, taking the photos, uploading them, photoshopping them, and then putting them up here. So you get slightly crappier photos... but faster!

I'm not entirely sure what thing two is going to be... I was thinking scarf, but good grief, it takes forever! I've been knitting this since Thursday night! Of course it took me a year to cast on because I couldn't really remember how and book photos aren't always the best...

I actually saw this awhile back. I think I got to it from Myriam's page... what I would give to knit like her! But my thought is I might do my own version of that scarf. Obviously mine isn't a tube... but I'm thinking that I might wrap it around my neck and put a button on it. That way it can be shorter than a true scarf but still keep my neck warm and be cute!

Think it'll work?

thing one and thing two

2009-01-24T21:59:00.005-05:00

At last! The photos I promised of my fun needles!
Here they are shown with thing one in it's early stages. I actually went to the knitting meetup on Wednesday this week and finished most of it... and learned how to bind off! So now it's off the needles! Weeeee!
Next I'm going to fold it in half and learn to seam the sides. Then one of the fabulous women from the knitting group gave me the perfect toggle button which I am going to add along with perhaps an i-cord loop for a closure. What is it going to be?? A bag for my Magellan GPS!! Perfect! I actually get to make something I NEED out of my first ever knitting thing!

And now I have started thing two. I haven't taken any photos yet but I'm now the proud owner of TWO pairs of needles and FOUR skiens of yarn! Woohoo!

Knitting is addicting...

My knitted "thing"

2009-01-21T06:55:00.000-05:00

Katie called her first knitting project a thing and I like that... because first knitting projects definitely resemble "things".
I took a couple photos with my real camera this weekend but I haven't put them on the computer yet. I did take a photo last night with my phone though so I thought I'd share my thing!

Sorry about the quality of the photo... remember it's with my phone. And I'm sure it doesn't help that there is a bunch of plant junk around it too.
But I'm moving right along! I only do a few rows at a time because my hands start to hurt... my mom thinks that this will help strengthen them. I think I'm just gripping the needles too much. My first few rows were crazy tight! Don't worry though... I've loosened up!
: )

I'm going to another knitting meetup tonight! Yay!

k-nitting

2009-01-15T06:58:00.001-05:00

I'm going to learn to KNIT!
I joined a knitting meetup group and tomorrow will be my first event with them. Yay!

Yesterday after work my friend Rhonda and I went to a local yarn store, Knit Witz, and got supplies. I got the CUTEST set of needles with little white bears on them. I'll have to take a picture to show you. I'm thinking that hopefully liking my needles will encourage me to use them more!
But the best part about going to Knit Witz rather than a chain hobby store was seeing the examples of knitted stuff... well, that and the personal help we got so we would know the best kind of yarn and size of needle for beginners.
I now know what I want to knit next!
One of the bears from Clare Garland’s new book Knitted Bears. The owner had one there that she had knitted and when we oooohed and ahhhhed over it, she showed us the book! OH EM GEE! Love it!!!!
AND I discovered a knitter's blog who knitted a Shaun the Sheep!!!

I'm getting very excited about knitted stuffed animals now... I wonder how long it will take me before I'm able to do something like that though. I want to do it NOW! : )

Anyway, so someday you might see some photos of knitting stuff from me! Weeeeee!

Baseball and Karaoke?

2009-01-09T12:09:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note...
I don't shoot people!
I shoot animals...
So keep that in mind if you happen upon my website and you happen to click on "Online Ordering" and then just randomly decide to look at the only non-furrie related event listed there.

I have been roped into shooting high school baseball boys... not playing baseball... but singing karaoke. It's a fundraiser and my boss at the park has a son on the team.
I hope it stays light enough for the photos this afternoon.
And I hope that the photos come out well.
And I hope I don't freeze my tushy off because today of all days is when it has finally decided to be cold out. It's 58 out there!!!
I'm nervous.

Tis the Season!

2009-01-03T11:03:00.008-05:00

Okay... so it's not really the season for sunflowers. But my sister and I made sunflower cupcakes from my Hello Cupcake book anyway. I suppose we could have made the penguins or something else wintery but these were what my sister wanted to make. They were fun! And Chris' coworkers at the fire station loved them so I guess they were tasty as well!

Just thought I'd share the cupcake fabulousness with you!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Crafty Me

2008-12-16T19:31:00.005-05:00

So I learned how to wrap a shoebox! I'm totally loving it! What a clever way to make a neat storage box... or wrap a gift!
This was my first one... and I had to make a matching porcupine bow too!

I've now made a few more since this one... even one with paw print paper that I thought I could use for Furrie Fotographie stuff! Now I'm running out of shoe boxes... guess I'll have to buy more shoes!! ; )

I totally want

2008-11-21T07:49:00.000-05:00

to do THIS!

I have a hard time imagining myself in my dress at the beach... probably partly because I'm not a beach goer... and partly because I don't really want to ruin my dress. But I would love to go to a fair or... oooh... a PETTING ZOO (!!!!) before I send my fabulous poofy dress off to be cleaned and boxed away forever.
It'll have to wait though. All my moola is going towards our new house right now. Noooo... don't get overly excited. We don't have it yet. But we did find one we really want. Keep your fingers crossed for us. It'll be up to 90 days before we hear...

I posted this in my other blog

2008-11-12T07:35:00.000-05:00

but I wanted to put it here too!!!

Some of you may (or may not) know that I got married in May.
And some of you may (or may not) know that we had our fabulous reception at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens at night!
Well...
I was just interviewed by Heidi of Truly Engaging!! You can read all about my flowers and plants HERE!
Heidi was super nice and I'm so excited that she deemed my story deserving of an entire blog post! If you are engaged or just like to read about decorations and gifts and things of that sort, her blog is definitely the place to go!
And because I can't post without a photo... here is one of my favorite shots of Chris, taken by the fabulous Scarlett Lillian.

And my fun cake/cake topper. The topper was handmade by Debbie Garrity who really listened to what I wanted! I'd totally recommend her too!

Thanks for letting me be all giddy! : )

Not much time to write...

2008-11-04T21:38:00.002-05:00

but I had to stop in and annouce:
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A HOUSE!!!

Woohoo!
I was pre-approved for a mortgage... which I never thought possible! So now we are mostly looking online and plan to do a bit more driving about this weekend. Last night we drove through a couple neighborhoods but it gets dark so early now. Hate daylight savings time... I don't care if it's light in the mornings; I'd rather have it light in the evenings! When I'm actually not cooped up at work!!

Anyway... yippee!!!

Halloween at work

2008-10-24T15:05:00.012-04:00

Last week we had our all employee meeting at work... and since it's Halloween, we had a theme!
I bought some spider web and put it up all over the room... on the pictures, in the windows, doorways, even on the ceiling! We also put up lights. Skeleton lights! And various other Halloween-y decorations. : )
For the day of the gathering, Rhonda made this Jello brain and heart. And I made punch. I just wish we'd had some dry ice!

I made four dozen cupcakes and brought them in "naked" so people could decorate their own. I also got white frosting and some food coloring so there were lots of spooky colors to choose from:

Here are some of the cupcakes I made... I went a little overboard with the photos of the same cupcakes!

We didn't quite finish all the cupcakes so I decorated the few that were left so they wouldn't dry out.

It was nice to do something fun for the party. I also got little pails and filled them with candy for each person... and made placecards with spooky pictures and bloody font! Weeee!
I don't really entertain at my place because it is too small and we have three dogs and a cat now... but I do love putting together all the little details!

Distractions

2008-10-23T21:51:00.004-04:00

I ordered a photo album from my wedding for my mom... that is what she wants for Christmas. It's just from Shutterfly... I didn't do a crazy fancy one that only professionals can do even though I am one! Yippee!
It came today so I keep looking at it... I just got married at the end of May and for those of you who don't know, we had our reception at the Jacksonville Zoo! At night! Weeeee!
Scarlett Lillian was our fantastic wedding photographer...

I love the way Scarlett works with color and it really inspires me to do the same with my animal photography.
I really like bright, saturated colors...
Hopefully you can see it in my work too!

Dogtoberfest!

2008-10-12T15:14:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Dogtoberfest and of course I HAD to go. I took a million photos and petted a thousand doggies... and pointed and laughed at a lot of costumes. It was fantastic fun!
Then I got to have lunch with the girls. Amanda, Traci, Toni and I had a yummy lunch at a little place called Zoe's. They have outdoor seating so we took Zoe and Chloe with us. I can't believe how good they are when we go out to eat with them! I wish my two were so good!!

Anyway... I hope all of you had fabulous Saturdays too! Yay!!

Name change...

2008-09-29T21:26:00.002-04:00

So I did it.
Friday morning I went to the DMV and changed my name. Then I went to Social Security and did the same. And to the bank...
I'm sure there are a zillion other places I have to change it too.
No more Tracy Lyn Aukerman.
Now I'm Tracy Aukerman Pellicer.
*sigh*

I actually signed something with Pellicer today. It was weird.
I'm sure I'll mess up a lot!!
At least I can just sign Pellicer after Aukerman if I forget since I kept it as my middle name...

And I got the paperwork to fill out for my business license!
Weeeeee!

Seattle photos

2008-09-23T21:33:00.002-04:00

can be seen on Furrie Fotographie!!

I think from now on you'll probably find most of my posts there... but that's not to say I'll never post here. I guess I need to think about how I want to separate my business blog and my personal. I see so many people who only use one blog for both but I don't know if I want to do that for sure yet. Might be strange.

But since my Seattle trip was business related... I thought it would be okay to post them there!
And there will be more too!

Weeeee!

2008-09-08T20:43:00.001-04:00

I'm going to SEATTLE in three days!!
Why?
Lookie HERE.
AND you can see Apple the SUPERdog! while you are there too...

I love ice cream...

2008-09-04T22:44:00.002-04:00

and apparently this woman does too.

Dr. Seuss Quizical

2008-08-28T17:55:00.003-04:00

Which Dr. Suess Character Are You??

Me? I'm my favorite character of all time! Yippee!

Unspectacular?

2008-08-28T09:52:00.005-04:00

Six things
Katie tagged me! I've never been tagged before!

6 unspectacular quirks:

1. I am a packrat. I'm trying to get better... but I used to be really bad.

2. I like talking on the phone, but I hate calling people I don't know. Like for work. Or to make appointments. I'm so happy I can order my pizza online now!

3. I have pet-itis. I have to pet every animal I see. I even tried to pet the nutria I was photographing last night.

4. I hate vegetables. Except corn... which my husband insists isn't a veggie. It's a starch.

5. I like to unwrap a whole bunch of Hershey Kisses, line them up, and eat them one at a time while lying in bed reading.

6. My cat tends to photograph fat.
Does that count as "about me"? I mean... she's my cat...
Fine. My first camera was a yellow Cabbage Patch Kids camera... it even took 110 film and had one of those 10 bulb flash things that you throw away after you use them all. I took off the stickers the next year and continued to use it.

Now, the rules for this are below, and I'm supposed to tag people. I've never done this before!! Do I know 6 people to tag??
Let's go with:
Suzy
Corinna
Scarlett
Elsa
Chris

Crud... I'm aware that's only 5... but everyone has either already done this post or isn't someone I can tag. So... well, that's it then.

1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

At least someone is riding it...

2008-08-25T14:47:00.002-04:00

This shot always makes me snicker. If you have trouble seeing why, you can click on the photo to make it bigger... and then check out who thought he might get away with my bike!
I bought this bike from Katie... uhhh... before she moved away... uhhh... was that already two years ago? Is that right?
Okay... yeah... as the title indicates, I'm glad someone is getting some use out of it. I really thought I'd ride it! I did!! And I haven't.
This is the part where I hang my head in shame.

I even bought a bike rack for my car several months after I bought the bike so that I couldn't use that as an excuse.
I think it's still in the box in my hall closet...
I'm still hanging my head in shame.

So... I have a goal.
I am going to ride that bike!
It might need air in the tires first...
They say you never forget how to ride a bike, right? Because it's been awhile...
lol.

Wish me luck! I hope I don't fall on my head!!

I made the finals!!!!!

2008-08-22T11:40:00.001-04:00

Hey guys!

Thank you SO MUCH for helping me win Day Two of Scarlett's contest! I've made it into the finals because of each of you! Now the voting continues for the top three... and I'm one of them!
Please help me one last time...
Go to www.scarlettlillian.net to vote for Tracy in the finalists.

Thanks again guys... I REALLY appreciate it!!

ps. If you know anyone else with a computer who wouldn't mind taking a couple minutes to vote, please let them know about this. I'll need all the help I can get!

I know this blog is perfect...

2008-08-18T20:31:00.001-04:00

but have you seen Furrie Fotographie?
I need YOUR help!
It could really use some work and I'd love to have professionals do it!

So tomorrow morning Scarlett will be posting several photos. It's a week long ordeal... one group of photos was voted on today and that winner will go to the finals as will tomorrow and Wednesday's winners. Then everyone will vote again between those three photos.

Please, PLEASE go to Scarlett's website (http://www.scarlettlillian.net/) at some point tomorrow and vote for my photo! I'll be the one standing behind the sign with big curly hair and Professor (one of my dogs) will be standing next to me in a tie! His sign reads "I Want to Spend a Say With Rhett" which is Scarlett's poodle! It'll be one of the shots from the previous post!
AND, if you don't mind, please get everyone you know to vote too... forward this email to as many people as you can! I need all the help I can get! : )

I'll let you know if I make the final three... and I'll be begging for your votes again! Thanks in advance!!!
Tracy

Here's the website again! www.scarlettlillian.net

I want to spend a day with Scarlett!

2008-08-17T11:29:00.008-04:00

My wedding photographer and now friend is having a contest!
So Chris and I spent a couple days working on my sign... more Chris than me... but I think it came out fantastic! The shoes are glittery in case you can't tell in the photo:

And then we made one for Professor too:

You can't see my crazy makeup in the photos as well so I made sure to get one close up:

And here are the photos I submitted. Only three will be chosen for voting... and I doubt I make it that far considering the sheer volume of entries she will get... but I had fun anyway!
These two were taken out on Baymeadows Road... I had people honking at me... and I was mortified that I looked like a hooker! lol...
Professor looks like a gentleman in his tie though!

And these were taken back by my apartment... We actually made a gif animation out of 23 shots and it's hilarious to see me wiggling around and making faces... but we can't figure out how to make it save correctly... it's going way too fast even though we slowed down the frames. If I ever get it worked out, I'll try to post it!

I think Scarlett is posting the top three tomorrow... so make sure to visit HERE and vote for your favorite!

Hi. My name is Tracy and

2008-08-13T21:20:00.014-04:00

I'm a chocoholic.

: )

Tonight I went to Chocoholics Anonymous at Publix. It was so fun... and even though I think some of my friends missed out, I'm glad that Rhonda and I were the only two that decided to go because we got to share our table with two fun other people, Heather and Lynn! I told Heather all about Furrie Fotographie and I'm hoping she'll let me practice with her grey tabby kitty!

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of the yummy desserts! It was a demonstration class so I didn't actually make anything there... but now I have the recipes!
This flourless chocolate cake with strawberry lime salsa was deeeelish!

And the smores brownies were super yum too! I've made these before but I think this time it was better... probably because I didn't slave over it myself! ; )
This shot is actually Heather's piece... she got the one with the fun marshmallows:

Mmmm... it was all gooooey!

And I had my first glass of cream sherry... I loved it! So I bought a bottle:

Apparently Uni thinks she might like a taste of it too!

And a random not related to the evening shot... I know it's not quite sharp enough but I thought the way the boy and girl cardinals were posed was kinda neat! I love my bird feeder!

I know I still haven't posted the photos from my trip to Fort Myers but I wanted to get these up! I'll post the others asap!

oh and ps...

2008-08-11T15:33:00.002-04:00

In case some of you are wondering where the photos of the golden retreivers are... the shoot got postponed because my coworker (the owner) had a death in the family. We'll be rescheduling asap.
However, I am working on a blog for Furrie Fotographie. And my sister has been working on the website!
Plus the workshop in September is really happening for me! I reserved a room at a haunted hotel (which is also an old theatre) and now I gotta get my plane ticket too!
Whew... lots going on! I can't wait!
: )

Back!

2008-08-11T15:28:00.003-04:00

I went down to Fort Myers for the weekend... for the first time since I moved away four years ago! My parents kept the condo I bought when I lived there so they were down for the week and I decided to make the (boring) drive down to see them.
I was sad that the weather was so awful though. I had been really looking forward to going to the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge with my new camera. Alas, it was raining and way too dark even if it had stopped. *sigh*
But I really enjoyed my visit anyway... and I'll definitely have to make the trip again.
I'll post a few of the photos I managed to take soon!

Vote for me!!!

2008-08-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

http://hgw.typepad.com/trendycamerastraps/2008/08/it-is-time-to-vote.html

The bottom two are mine...
but I do love those polka dotted shoes! : )

Is this thing on?

2008-08-01T08:40:00.004-04:00

Sorry... this is just me trying to figure out how to make my photos bigger. The top one I uploaded to Blogger and the bottom I uploaded from Photobucket... but they are the same size. I thought it had worked on the previous "test" post but I'm not sure if the photos were just different sizes to begin with. That's why I used the same one for this test. Hmmm...
But it works for Corinna.
I'll have to play some more...

Test, test...

2008-08-01T08:34:00.003-04:00

Apple in a bag...

2008-07-29T12:40:00.005-04:00

I'm going to be submitting this, among other photos, to Trendy Camera Straps' first giveaway contest! We'll see if any of my shots get picked for voting. If so, I expect all of you to go vote for me!
Posting this here makes me even more aware that I need to figure out how to use Blogspot so that my images are big. Anyone know how to do this?
Anyway...
Isn't Apple cute?!?!?!

Here's another photo I'm probably going to submit: I'm a shoe hooker so, trust me, there are tons more! I have three other pairs that I have shots of... and two or three others that I think I'll work on tonight. The submission deadline is Thursday!

Oh, and I ordered a Shootsac last week... and a Giddy cover! I'm really hoping I can use it on my shoot with the Goldens this weekend! Yippee!

More kitties

2008-07-27T19:36:00.007-04:00

Cats are hard for me... I'm trying to practice though. I think I just need a better lens. I hate using the built in flash on my camera... it bounces off their eyes and looks horrid. I really just need the 580EX flash with a diffuser but I don't have $500 to spend on it right now. Hopefully soon...
So anyway, these are a few recent ones...

This is Tigger. She's a riot... she loves to tease you by coming over and rubbing a bit on your hands, but as soon as you try to pet her... WHAP! She smacks you as hard as she can with her paws. It sounds mean but it's really kinda amusing... only because she has no claws.
When I emailed this one to her mom, she replied that it was the best photo she'd ever seen of Tigger... who always closes her eyes for pictures! : )
Because of the forementioned dilemma, I set the camera on the floor to get this shot. I couldn't handhold the camera at the slow shutter speed but I didn't want to use the flash.

This is Tigger with the flash. I attempted to work on the eyes in photoshop though because they were all crazy blown. I thought it looked much better but I'd still rather just not need the flash... or be able to bounce the flash.

And this is Deuce. He's a giant sweetie pie... no smackage from him!
He loved sitting on my lap and getting lovin'. I left with more fur on me than I think he had on him! : )
In case the towels behind him didn't give it away, I took this in the bathroom. There was a huge window in there that let in just enough light that if I didn't breathe, I could get a shot without a flash. Whew.

I have so much to learn... and I'm really looking forward to practicing.

Furrie Fotographie

2008-07-24T13:06:00.002-04:00

I bought my domain name!!!
Woohoo!
Now I need to figure out the rest of it... and my sister is going to help me build my website because she's an IT guru!
: )

And I got my registration paperwork for the pet photography workshop I am going to in September. I can't wait to fill it all out and send in my deposit this weekend! Woohoo! I keep up with Jamie's photography on Cowbelly's blog and she is amazing. I can't wait to learn from her!

I also have a time set up for next weekend to take pictures of my co-worker's two golden retrievers. They are gorgeous and will be fabulous practice... especially since they are incredibly hyper. It will be fun to play with them and attempt to wear them out just a wee bit before getting started with the camera.
Plus, I gotta figure out how to put together an online portfolio before the workshop!

Lots going on...
hope all is well with each of you!

YAY!

2008-07-19T13:30:00.002-04:00

I have a logo!!! My husband is AWESOME! Friggin' AWESOME!
Seriously, Chris is an amazing artist so I asked him to draw something for me... and he was inspired last night... I LOVE it!!!!
But I was advised not to post it just yet until I find out if I need to copyright it. I'm not sure how all that works... but I can't wait to show you guys. I've been putting it on photos this morning just to see how it looks. Chris might have a heart attack because he says it's not done yet... but I'm impressed by his ability to take the ideas I had and make them look so fabulous on paper!
Hee hee...
I'm giddy!

recycled... envelopes!

2008-07-18T16:05:00.004-04:00

So I always save the Sunday comics to use to make my bows... or to use as wrapping paper. Now I've discovered a NEW way to use my comics...
I ordered an envelope making kit that comes with templates and directions for different sizes. I'm so excited!!
Plus I've been thinking about making photo cards too. I figure I have a million photos that could work for that purpose... plus once I get my photography business off and running, I could make them for clients... with their fur-babies on them!

And speaking of my pet photography... well, I'll tell you soon! ; )

My sister is grumpy

2008-07-14T13:17:00.005-04:00

that I haven't posted photos from the honeymoon that include me or Chris...
This is our favorite place to eat breakfast:

Dance off!

2008-07-13T17:56:00.003-04:00

I love "So You Think You Can Dance" and I'm very excited that the finale this season will include a dance off between Robert Muraine and Phillip Chbeeb!!

Robert made it to Vegas but then took himself out of the competition... he felt he wasn't a partner dancer and that's what the show is all about, at least until the end when just one person wins. I don't know if he would have made it into the show or not but I sure wish he would have tried. Ah well. They had him on a couple weeks back and Nigel (grumpily) challenged him to dance against Phillip, another popper who auditioned but didn't make it into the show. They announced this week that it will be happening on the finale! Yay!

Here's a dance from the show that I loved. : ) Mia Michaels always choreographs amazing pieces.

honeymoon post #2

2008-07-12T18:59:00.006-04:00

I bought a bag of sunflower seeds for the birds hanging around our cabin... but this cute little chipmunk found them one morning!
(I know the shots are kinda far away but I didn't want to scare him... you can click on the small photo to see it bigger...)

Hee hee... look at his fat little cheeks!

Oops, he saw me... and off he ran!

Don't tell Uni...

2008-07-10T18:26:00.016-04:00

but I made a new little friend on the honeymoon:

Look at these lil paws...
Ha ha! She's almost as bendy as me!

She was the sweetest thing... all rubby and would sit on my lap for ages while I sat in the rocking chair on the porch. She had three or four siblings/buddies but they were skittish and all ran away when they saw me. They didn't know what they were missing with all the pettin!

So, I took lots of photos of various animals on the trip. This is blog post number one. More to come!! : )

I'm back and

2008-07-08T07:29:00.001-04:00

I wish I could dance.

I know that sounds strange. And it has nothing to do with my honeymoon at all. It's the TV show that I got sucked into halfway through the season last season and have been watching all of this season.
So You Think You Can Dance.
I love it.
I miss dance.
I took ballet, tap, and jazz for 14 years. Yes. 14.
But it's been ages now... and I have a love/hate relationship with dance shows. I love this one though. LOVE it. And hate it a little because I'm too old to be on it. Or try to be on it. Or really to do that kind of dancing anymore. I know, I'm only 33... but I used up my allotment of knee usage already. They creak. Seriously. When I go up the three flights of stairs home, they make noise. But I was a catcher for many years (still am on occasion) and all that dance didn't help either.

Anyway, I DVR the show every week and I'm slightly behind. I watched two weeks ago's shows last night... and you better believe I'll be watching last week's shows in the next couple days.
And yesterday I emailed a dance company in town to get information... they offer an adult ballet class. I still have my pointe shoes!
Maybe I can dance.
Again.

ps. I'll write about my honeymoon later. : )

Meow

2008-06-27T09:42:00.004-04:00

Years and the Five Elements
People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year Of The Tiger," while also bearing the following elemental sign:

8 February 1902 - 28 January 1903: Water Tiger
26 January 1914 - 13 February 1915: Wood Tiger
13 February 1926 - 1 February 1927: Fire Tiger
31 January 1938 - 18 February 1939: Earth Tiger
17 February 1950 - 5 February 1951: Metal Tiger
5 February 1962 - 24 January 1963: Water Tiger
23 January 1974 - 10 February 1975: Wood Tiger
9 February 1986 - 28 January 1987: Fire Tiger
28 January 1998 - 15 February 1999: Earth Tiger
15 February 2010 - 3 February 2011: Metal Tiger
2022 - 2023: Water Tiger

Attributes
Tiger people are difficult to resist, for they are magnetic characters and their natural air of authority confers a certain prestige on them. They are tempestuous yet calm, warm-hearted yet fearsome, courageous in the face of danger yet yielding, soft and mysterious in unexpected places. They enjoy a life full of challenges and unexpected events, like visiting unusual places and meeting interesting or outstanding people. Other people in their area are easily attracted by the tiger's enthusiasm and way of life. Tigers find pleasure in the unpredictable, and while other people would rather make a backward step, they are not afraid to explore the new and unusual. But it is not that simple to interest the Tiger. What they really need is first-hand experience. Usually open and frank, these people are likely to withdraw and can be aggressive when trapped. As soon as the Tiger has regained their sense of security their confidence also returns, enabling them to set out once more. These people usually tend to trust their instincts, though there is another side of their personality, which assesses situations thoughtfully before they launch any actions. Their friends usually secretly admire their determination and optimism, though sometimes may find it complicated to share the Tiger's enthusiasm and can be pushed away and left behind. Although Tigers can be courageous and generous friends, if they are not able to achieve what they want, they can be inflexible and self-centered. So if your friend was born in the year of the Tiger, there will be highs and lows in your friendship, but the friendship itself will remain firm.

Ideal jobs for tigers include entrepreneur, military officer, politician, musician, writer, poet, artist, theater director, biological and environmental engineer, stockbroker, athlete, film star, trade union leader, company director, stunt person, explorer, and lawyer.

Traditional Tiger Attributes/Associations
Attribute
Zodiac Location 3rd
Ruling hours 3am-5am
Direction Northeast
Season and month Winter, February
Lunar Month Dates February 4-March 5
Gemstone Sapphire
Colors Green
Roughly equivalent western sign Aquarius
Polarity Yang
Food Bread, poultry
Positive Traits Independent, brave, confident, dynamic, intense, energetic, sacrificing, faithful, Attractive
Negative Traits Moody, reckless, hot-headed, selfish, impatient, impulsive, opinionated, rebellious
Countries Russia, Romania, Spain, Turkey, El Salvador, North Korea

So I'm an Aquarius AND a Tiger! : )
I looked up wood too since it said I am a wood tiger.

Attributes
In Chinese thought, Wood attributes are considered to be strength and flexibility, as with bamboo. It is also associated with qualities of warmth, generosity, co-operation and idealism. The Wood person will be expansive, outgoing and socially conscious. The wood element is one that seeks always to grow and expand. Wood heralds the beginning of life, springtime and buds, sensuality and fecundity. Wood needs moisture to thrive.

In Chinese medicine, wood is associated with negative feelings of anger or depression, and positive feelings of patience and altruism. Organs associated with this element are the liver (yin) and the gall bladder (yang), the eyes and the tendons.

In Chinese astrology wood is included in the 10 heavenly stems (the five elements in their yin and yang forms), which combine with the 12 earthly branches (or Chinese signs of the zodiac), to form the 60 year cycle. Yang wood years end in 4 (eg 1974), while Yin years end in 5 (eg 1975). Wood governs the Chinese zodiac signs Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, and Dragon.

Although it traditionally is not included in the Western scheme of elements, some western astrologers have suggested that wood should be recognised as a 'combined element' or 'material' derived from Fire and Water; just as Jupiter rules the Fire sign of Sagittarius and the Water sign of Pisces.

Cycle of the elements
In the regenerative cycle of the elements, Water engenders Wood, as rain or dew makes plant life flourish; and Wood begets Fire as fire is generated by rubbing together two pieces of wood. In the conquest cycle, Wood overcomes Earth by binding it together with the roots of trees; and Metal overcomes Wood, as the metal axe can fell even the largest tree.

Uh oh... apparently Ox and Tiger are a bad match...
I may be doomed! ; )
But at least he's a WATER ox!

Day After Tomorrow

2008-06-26T16:43:00.000-04:00

We are off on our Sweet Orb in the Sky!!
North Carolina, here we come!

And I didn't send off my camera just yet... I couldn't bear to be without it for the trip. I know, I know... I need to get it fixed. But a camera that works half the time is better than no camera.

Scarlett wrote about a company that makes fun, fashionable camera straps... I want one but I don't know which one to get. I kinda like the men's "Out of the Box". What do you guys think?
Which one should I get?

Back to NC stuff... we bought tickets to Biltmore and for a train tour on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. We're doing the Tuckasegee River Tour and we'll see where The Fugitive was filmed. The movie, not the tv show...
We also have some other stuff planned and lots of downtime too. I'll definitely post photos when we return!
Have a good week!!!!!
: )

My Wedding Photos!!!!

2008-06-17T16:37:00.002-04:00

Scarlett Lillian Photo Journal: Congratulations Tracy & Chris!

Camera Update

2008-06-10T16:20:00.011-04:00

For those of you who are interested, I'm sending my camera off to Canon this week for some fixin! Yippee.
Of course then I'll be without it for a few weeks... and I'm really hoping I get it back before our sweet orb in the sky to North Carolina at the end of this month. I'm going to make Chris stop at all the overlooks on our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and although my point and shoot isn't a bad lil camera, it just won't be the same. : (

Anyway, on a happier note... I managed to get a couple cute shots of Mr. Big on his visit this weekend. These are for you, Traci P!!

And this one is Apple... Mr. Big and Apple look a lot alike : )

Same pose!!

That's it... for now.

Cuddle your Kitty

2008-06-10T11:04:00.002-04:00

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

I LOVE the Corporal Cuddling part... you have got to watch this video!! : )

To keep you antici...

2008-06-10T10:41:00.002-04:00

pating.

That's my dress hanging in the corner... and my mom and one of my bridesmaids, Sheri. Weren't those dresses fun?? I think every bride likes to think they got a dress for their girls that they can wear again... but really... didn't I??

: )

I'm baaaack!

2008-06-03T07:29:00.000-04:00

And I'm married!

I promise to write more about it... and to definitely share photos when I get them! But I will say that the day flew by and seemed sorta fuzzy and surreal... and the zoo at night was GORGEOUS!

Hope all is well with each of you! : )

Unice

2008-04-28T17:36:00.001-04:00

Uni, Unice when she's in trouble or when I just feel like elongating her name, loves the tube my mom got her last summer. She's hard to take good pictures of because she's not allowed outside (except the patio... and then only if we are there too) and when the flash goes off inside, she squints. So here is my shot of her sans flash. Just close to the window and with a slow shutter speed. : )

hard work and frustration

2008-04-23T21:32:00.010-04:00

So I'm in St. Augustine this week dogsitting for four pups. This means I have yet to bake something good for Katie, who is the only one to take me up on my previous blog entry. It also means that I have been able to do some practicing for my eventually business in pet photography. It's a lot of work. AND I'm about to lose my mind over this "error 99" I keep getting from my camera which causes me to lose half the pictures I try to take. Ugh. I've been doing some research on it but I've yet to fix the problem. : (
Anyway, here are some of the recent shots of the dogs. If you recognize them it is probably because they are the same four dogs that I always watch so I've posted shots before...

This is Kody (the cowardly lion...)

And Biscuit who reminds me of a black Apple for some reason...

Miss Macy has her nails painted hot pink!
So does Molly!
Kody is smilin'... and you can see me in his eyes if you look close. I like this one. I know no one is looking at me... but it gives me a certain vibe. Like the scene is Swingers that they steal from Reservoir Dogs... where they are all walking down the street... it gives me that vibe. I should try it in black and white...

I had more photos to upload but I keep getting errors and I'm tired. All four have to sleep in the bed with me... and it's not my bed so I wake up a lot anyway... it's been a long week. And it's not over yet!

Play It Forward

2008-04-14T07:18:00.000-04:00

I "won" the cutest bag from Sue of Too Cute Pugs last week! I borrowed the picture so you guys can see how fun it is! And perfect for me because I hate plastic bags at the store so it will be much more exciting to have a cute canvas bag as opposed to the plain ones I have now!

Now it is my turn to think of something to offer to YOU!
I debated on offering up some photography... and then I thought about making some photography greeting cards. But I think in the end, I'll do something that more people would be interested in:
DESSERT!
I love to bake! So the first three people to comment and let me know they want in on the game will get a goodie box of baked from scratch treats. Make sure to let me know if you can't eat something specific that might be an ingredient... like I have a friend who can't eat my fudge because I put marshmallow fluff in it which apparently has gelatin in it which is made from hooves (I think that's what she said?) and she's a vegan. Or if you are allergic to peanuts, I guess I shouldn't make my infamous peanut butter chocolate bars. But I promise whatever I make for you, it will be tasty!
And then YOU will have to Play It Forward! People do all kinds of things for their gifts... I've seen a lot of art (but I think I had found my way into an artists circle) but you can give whatever you want! : )
Yay!

Dancing with the...

2008-04-10T07:44:00.001-04:00

me!

Chris and I had our first dance lesson last night at the Wedding Dance Studio. It was so fun!!! We are learning the Viennese Waltz... whew!

Our first class was with Tiffany, who will be our regular instructor, and Eddie, the owner. They were fabulous teachers and luckily we are picking things up fast. Chris was worried because he's not a big dancer... that's why we actually decided to take lessons. But he did great and he never even stepped on me or ran me into the wall!

We have our next lesson on Tuesday and I'm really looking forward to it. I also love our first dance song... which I won't reveal just yet. But it is perfect for us! Chris says he might cry during the dance... hee hee. Oh... maybe I shouldn't laugh. ; )

On a different note, I also finally got my cake knife and server. I was having a hard time finding a set that I liked. Many of the simpler ones were really expensive. So I then saw one that was all crazy handmade with beaded handles... also expensive and a little more ornate than I thought I would get... but at least it was different. However, in the end, we decided against that one too. Then my sister found a very simple set at Crate and Barrel that was also extremely inexpensive! I think it's probably because it wasn't toted as a "wedding" cake server set. It's just a dessert serving set. My mom and my aunt both imformed me that they don't even remember what they used to cut the cake at their weddings... it's not really a big deal.
So I ordered the set from C&B and it came yesterday... and I really like it. Simple but pretty. And that's all I need.
Plus, maybe it will get used again. I do so love to bake!

Now I'm looking for a garter. I like this one. I think it will match the pale blue of my shoes. However, I like it enough to not want some guy to run off with it.
Is it wrong to throw it and then (discreetly) ask for it back? Or do I have to buy a second one to throw?
That seems a bit of a waste since who knows if we'll really end up doing the bouquet and garter tosses. Right now we think we will but I don't know that we really have many single people coming to the wedding... other than the little kids.

Off to work for the day...

Professor for President!

2008-04-07T21:31:00.001-04:00

Vote for Professor!!
Okay... so it's not for president...
but it is in a photo contest. We entered him in funniest photo and in best buddies with Jake.
Go vote... maybe we'll win something!
: )

Blurry but...

2008-04-07T20:50:00.017-04:00

it was good practice.
I really want to get shots of the monsters running through the grass. Professor is a lazy bones who doesn't run much but Apple is quite the spunky one!
I know these aren't that great but they made me laugh... and I'll just have to keep practicing! And one of these days I'll sit down with photoshop and do some playing... but my computer is being uber slow lately so I'm frustrated. I need a new one. Chris and I are thinking about getting one after the wedding with any money we might have left... or get as gifts. Then I can do more to make my photography a little snapier color wise... AND I'll post more often too because it won't take an hour to upload a picture!
Blah blah blah.

Yes, I'm aware that Professor's butt is in the shot. Like I said, I haven't been in photoshop lately because of the levels of stress it causes me when it goes so slow I want to go Office Space on my computer.

Eater bunny!!

On another note, my bridal shower is this weekend. Makes things seem a lot closer!!
: )

Jake-meister

2008-04-05T23:01:00.007-04:00

Jake is my neighbor's dog. We run into her walking him once in awhile... and he's gorgeous! So I managed to get a few shots of him one afternoon:

Jake loves the ducks. Usually he's chasing them. He must have been worn out a bit:

Jake and Professor get along well...

But Apple runs away from him. Here she is looking concerned that he might be getting too close to her with all his running around:

I'm tired now so I'm gonna go get some sleep...

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Shampoo Man

2008-04-05T22:49:00.002-04:00

Professor's bath:

He's such a smiler... it's funny. I don't know that he actually liked the bath since he kept trying to get out of the tub, yet he's got a grin on anyway. Perhaps Chris was rubbing a nice spot at the time...

Digimax

2008-03-27T18:10:00.019-04:00

These are for Elsa, who is shopping for a small but good lil camera!

I took the following photos with my Samsung Digimax A7... no photoshopping has been done. I tried to pick a variety of different subjects. And times of day. And inside and out.
They are in no particular order though. Just as I came across them. My photo folders on my computer are in complete disarray! : )

Marcellus Wallace in North Carolina with a plate of pancakes... I know you like to take shots of your food! By the way, because Tracy Diet is so old all the pictures of the food on there were taken with this camera as well.

Self-shot. I have a hard time getting these, you know the ones where you hold the camera out with one arm pointed towards yourself, with my Canon. But the Digimax was fabulous for these!

This is DC... at night. The Digimax has a nighttime setting... but you need a tripod or something to set the camera on. I put it on a railing for this shot.

I actually have a lot of flower shots that I took with the Digimax but I couldn't find the folder that had my favorites. This will do I suppose.

Kitty!

Friend's doggie!

Yes... that's me making my evil grin face. Taken in a semi-dark restaurant. Some of the not so good reviews I read for the camera said it didn't do well in darker spaces. I think it's fine. Maybe they didn't know how to use it.

Out the airplane window over Kansas/Missouri. In February. Brrrr...

Another food shot... my birthday cake from 2007.

Honey at the dogpark!

Scaredy dog Apple also at the dogpark.

Little girl I watched while her parents were playing soccer on the same team as my friend Kristen, who I had gone to see play. I got sidetracked. : )

Here she is again.

Marcellus at the Grand Canyon.

More Grand Canyon scenic shots.

Same.

So that's all I'm posting but it should give an idea of what that little camera can do. I like to say it's the person behind the camera though so maybe it's just ME that can do so well with the point and shoot. ; )

Probably not. Good luck with your camera hunt, Elsa! Whatever you end up getting, I can't wait to see more shots!

Furry Buddy

2008-03-27T07:54:00.001-04:00

I don't think I ever posted photos of my Nutria buddy on my blog. I can't remember and I'm too lazy to go digging around to see. The first time I saw him I was feeding the ducks. I looked away for two seconds and looked back to see this hairy guy smack dab in the middle of the ducks. I saw his big yellowed teeth first and thought he was a beaver... then he turned around and I saw his rat-like tail. Chris, smarty pants that he is, knew what he was just with a phone description.

So anyway, this was him with a piece of bread I gave him. He also liked chips and he would take them from me with his little hand-like front feet. His back feet were webbed for swimming. I thought he was cute but apparently they are pests. He was only around for a few days though before we had some major rains and he disappeared. I hope he found a new home... and not as someone's coat.

Ugh-ing

2008-03-27T07:33:00.000-04:00

Oh crud. I changed my mind a little.
THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO GO.
It's probably not going to happen. But how cool would it be?? Almost as cool as... Australia. Almost.

Sweet Orb in the Sky...

2008-03-26T17:08:00.000-04:00

People love to ask where Chris and I are going for our honeymoon... and I haven't been able to tell them. We were putting off making a decision until the date was announced for his engineer's test (he's a firefighter for those of you who aren't in the know). We didn't want to make plans and then have the test be the week after the wedding.
They have now announced it.
May 19th.
Ugh...
But at least it is before the wedding... that's better than right after I think.

So now we can figure out where to go.
But we've spent all our money on the wedding.
Double ugh.

And Chris doesn't have a passport.
Triple ugh.

But I discovered this place. There was an article in a work related magazine and I fell in love with the wildlife photos. I think we may end up heading somewhere in Cali... and then spending a day or two on the islands. You can't stay on them unless you get a permit and camp. Neither of us are much for camping. But you can take a boat over and spend the day. There are no homes, no restaurants, no hotels... nothing but pure beauty.
It's not for sure and I've got to do more research but it's definitely an idea... and one that we seem to agree on so far. My London idea and my NYC idea got poo-poo'ed a long time ago...
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I started a post on

2008-03-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

3/11.

That was two weeks ago today.

Oops... I saved it and never went back to finish it. However, it wasn't very exciting anyway.

Here it is:

Title: Do the bustle...

Ha ha...
I hope the song is stuck in your head too.
I took my wedding dress in for alterations last week. I know they can be mega expensive but I truly lucked out. My dress fits perfectly... as long as I'm wearing my 3 1/2 inch heels!

Yup, that's right. That's all I wrote.
But, just so you know, I only spent $37 on my "alterations" because all they are doing (if you noticed the title) is the bustle. Woohoo!

I can't believe the wedding is only two months away. Well, two months and a little less than a week. Ack! I still have so much to do!! And I've been slacking off lately.

It's not completely my fault. I was in Atlanta for three days last week for work. But while I was there I got a new pair of shoes and a matching clutch to wear with the cute pink dress I recently got. I'm either going to wear the dress to my friend Jeremy's wedding earlier in May or to my own dress rehearsal. I'm leaning towards the latter.
But I need to get my butt in gear because it will be here before I know it. Cliche but true.
Plus I'm dogsitting for the last week of April and then I'm in West Virginia for work the first week of May...

Ugh! Anyone want to come help me with my centerpieces??

Business names...

2008-03-14T06:48:00.000-04:00

So if I were to start a pet photography side business...
I was trying to think of names.

What do you think of Fotogirlie Fotographie?
I made note that the domain name was still out there available...

Or should it have "pet" in it somewhere?

Hmmm...
just thoughts.

Gecko for Bearette

2008-03-10T17:04:00.001-04:00

Bearette is getting all the titles these days!
: )

I've posted skink photos but I don't think I've ever posted this one of a gecko.
So here you go!

ps. If you click on it, it'll get really big!

Wittle Birdie

2008-03-10T07:35:00.000-04:00

I've managed to get pictures of egrets... lots of them. I also got an osprey once. Even my rattlesnake friend allowed me to take photos, many of which I'm now realizing never got posted here (note to self: post the rattlesnake photos later!).
I have bad owl photos from before I got my new lovely camera but I don't have photos of the furry raccoon I tried to save because I didn't think it would be very nice to take pictures when he was hurting.
But little birds are hard to get shots of... without a ginormous lens... which I don't have. Here was my attempt though. Wish I coulda gotten closer to her.

My New Favorite Blog

2008-03-07T18:04:00.000-05:00

This girl has my dream job! I really need to get more practice and eventually get into this myself. What is better than spending the day with a camera and cute faces?!?!!?