Meow

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

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!!!!

Scarlett Lillian Photo Journal: Congratulations Tracy & Chris!

Camera Update

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

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

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

To keep you antici...

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!

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

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

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

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...

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!

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...

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

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

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

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!