Oh, Christmas.

So I accidentally linked up my Top 11 of '11 yesterday instead of today. My bad. I hope you all enjoyed your early preview of one of my linkup posts for the end of the year. The biggest (in terms of photos included ..I have no idea which is actually 'bigger' in terms of coolness) linkup happens on January 1st. You know what that means, right? Curl up with your favorite hangover cure& enjoy looking through some great photos! I think that sounds like one the best ways to start off 2012. I know I'm excited!

Remember that time I mentioned I had a fabulous Christmas? Well, I meant it. I really, really did. I still do. I had a great Christmas with my family& I got some amazing gifts! I'm planning on putting my running gear to the test in a few short minutes. First, I have to tell you about the second part of my Christmas that put a dark spot over all the good moments. My uncle came to visit with his pup, Joey. I love this dog& I looked after her for 5 days until my uncle got here. On Christmas day, he pulled me aside to ask me if I would like to take Joey. He was too busy between school& work fulltime. My mom told me to seriously think it over. About 26hrs later, I had weighed the pros& cons of taking a 7yr old King Charles. I decided that I would take her. She's great. She's low maintenance. She's a huge lovebug. I told mom my decision& got in the shower super excited.

Fiften minutes later, I got out of the shower. Mom& Dad were in the kitchen& I was standing there in a towel, showing off my discolored skin from an over-dyed teal sweater. The following conversation occurs:

Dad: What do you guys think of Joey living in Antigonish?
Mom: I think Joey is going to live here!
Dad: What do you mean?
Mom: Yvonne is going to take her.
Dad: Well, someone better let [other uncle's name here] know. Because he thinks the dog is going to his house.
Yvonne: I need to get back in the shower.
[I really did. I was STILL teal. I also needed to cry.]

It has been 2 days since that conversation occurred. I'm not very impressed at all. It was super mean& cruel to do to me. I am actually sort of heartbroken because all I want is a new dog/ puppy. My Squirter is getting older& I've been asking for a younger dog for quite some time now .. it's not exactly a secret. I was so excited for the whole thing. I'm not mad at my other uncle who is taking Joe, he's great& she'll be loved. I am very mad at Joey's owner for asking two people at once to take the dog. There was no way that was going to work out. I'm trying very hard not to let that dampen my spirits but I am truly devastated because I had it all figured out in my head& was just starting to get super excited when it all changed. I wish he just had of never asked me in the first place.

So the moral of the story? If you ever need to give up an animal, don't promise the animal to two people. The only thing that will happen is that your niece who used to think you were pretty awesome will be forever disillusioned about you. Chances are good she'll never speak to you again because, really. You crushed her little heart. Also, I didn't write this post to be mean or passive aggressive or anything. Seriously. It's my blog& I write about what happens to me. This was a big thing in my world. I guess because I thought once I decided yes, that was it. In my mind she was instantly mine until she passed away. Guess again, Yvonne..

Also, I also didn't get to FutureShop in time to upgrade my flash& I spilled milk all over the counter. Basically, Christmas was great but the holiday season in general has not been.

Andddd it's over

*After a giant break from Rounder (my fault!), there is finally a new post up! I definitely encourage everyone to go read (sing) it! Such a cute Christmas post from Sarah. Sorry for letting it go for so long without updating, guys. Please forgive me?

Hope it was worth all the hustle& bustle, Christmas has come& gone (in case you didn't notice)! One of my favorite parts about Christmas is comparing what everyone got. So, bloggy friends, what did you guys all get?! Spill! I'll give you a detailed itinerary of my presents ;)

This photo shows off two of my presents. The first one is my zoom lens! Thanks, Mom& Dad. I definitely didn't expect to get a lens for Christmas. My mom& I even had this discussion about the price of them& how she had no idea what she was buying so it made it impossible to try to purchase one for me. I mean, I guess she did alright ;) Next thing I got that this photo shows? My new flash! Can I just say my boyfriend is hilarious? He spent Christmas at my house so on the 24th, he showed up with a GIANT wrapped box. Turns out, it was 7 wrapped boxes inside one another. Inside the very last box, my new speedlite :D It is a beautiful thing. I was convinced he didn't get me it so I was totally surprised by both my awesome new camera things! The photo above, of my cousin, was taken at 8PM. I bounced the flash off the ceiling. I'm such a pro ;)

Aside from that, I also got from beautiful things from Tiffanys. Again, shocked because my parents picked them up from Las Vegas in October. I just figured that they didn't bother to get me anything from my favorite store. I was wrong! I got a necklace& bracelet. I am one lucky girl!

Hope everyone else had a great Christmas& is currently enjoying their Boxing Day! Enjoy& try to do as little as possible. That's my motto for the holiday season ..works very well. Before I leave, check out the very first photo I ever took with my zoom& flash. I'm going to have to say I'm a natural at this whole flash lighting thing ;) I've seem some other people attempt flash& have really awful results for their first few days with it. Or maybe they just didn't know you were supposed to bounce the flash off something? I accidentally shot it into my eyes from a very close distance ..ouch.

That is my brother. He really does exist ..although this is probably the very first time that you guys are ever seeing a photo of him. He hates the camera& he lives 8hrs away. I never visit. He comes home for holidays. It was about 7:30AM& he wasn't awake enough to run away from me. Anyway, enjoy the remaining days of joy! Hope you're all working on a resolution to give up on my January 16th like I do ;)

3 days

Santa will be here soon! I hope everyone has their presents wrapped& all their shopping done! I'm heading out now to brave the world that is the mall. I'm actually dreading it. Also, my poor little blog will probably be quite neglected the next few days while I relax with friends& family! I will return with lots of photos, including a photo shoot that I have tomorrow! Should be exciting& fun. The girl is gorgeous so it'll be very easy to make her look good.

For now, I'll leave you with this present. My mom is the best gift wrapper ever ..that is one thing that isn't genetic. I am awful but slowly getting better. I hope you all are enjoying your last few days leading up to Christmas! I will probably post a sneak peak tomorrow of the photo session& then be done until after Santa arrives ;) I have a few giant linkups coming your way that make for awesome posts! Both of them are completely finished& contain all kinds of fun photos that I've taken over the year. Some of them never even made it on the blog. Should be exciting. Now, I'm off to go to the mall. My saving grace for making this trip bearable will be purchasing myself a smoothie from Orange Julius. Bring on overpriced blended fruits :D

No Joey

Joey didn't arrive today. It was a sad day. She will 100% be arriving tomorrow. I cannot wait to play photographer with her :D In order to cheer me up, my uncle came over with his dog+ my aunts dog, Boots! You might remember him from an earlier post. So we went for a very cold afternoon walk to the beach with Squirt, Murphy& Boots. It definitely helped ease the pain of not having Joey around. I brought my camera& snapped some photos. Here is the old Murph ..very photogenic!

Linked to Communal Global!

Then Mom wrapped presents& decorated the tree while I watched& helped sort of. I held the ribbon in place& untangled lights. I was the backbone of the evening, obviously. I also got my present done for the pool's Secret Santa tomorrow night. I think it's a pretty decent gift considering that we can only spend $10. I'm not gonna lie ..the card+ frame cost more than that by a whole $4 ..which is really blowing the budget when you consider I went 40% over. Aw well, Colin is a good guy. Plus, how sad is it you can't get a card for less than $3.89+ taxes? Incredibly sad. On that note, I'm off to curl up in bed with a book& enjoy a quiet evening with my aching back. Hope you all had fabulous Christmas-filled Mondays!

Holiday Cheer

Not really feeling it but trying very hard to find it! I can't believe Christmas is so soon. Last evening, we got our tree up so I suppose Mom& I will put some lights on it tonight. I am looking forward to that, I suppose. Although I'd have preferred if we ended up with the artificial plum-colored purple tree we saw in a store. So much less work& gorgeous to boot. We could have put silver, teal& pastel purple bells on it with white lights. I think that will be the tree my kids grow up with. Sorry, kiddies. Go to grandma& grandpas to see the real deal! On that note, here's a photo of a tree I took the other evening! I will post some of mine when it's got some lights on it.

Linked with Photo Friday& Favorite Friday!

Yes, I cut the top off. Her room wasn't big enough for me to get far enough away to include the whole thing. It's not the best but it certainly shows off how stunning her tree was! I got them to turn all the lights off, dropped my ISO to 100, turned up my aperture to 11& left the shutter open for 20 seconds. I just wish I had of been able to incorporate the whole thing. Oh well!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend ..I'll see you folks here on Sunday for the Scavenger Hunt! I'm spending today& tomorrow trying to get 4/5 prompts ..hopefully I'll manage!

Crazy cats

*Before today's regularly scheduled post let's take a moment to appreciate what I spent all of yesterday doing. Setting up an online store through InstaProofs for people to order prints online. If you're looking for a fabulous place to have people look through& purchase photos, this is it! Amazing. I am in love ..perfect for my small little side business. So far, I only have a few of the older photos uploaded but it will be filled as photo sessions get added to it! Also, you can check out my store (<-direct link so you don't have to click the tab) anytime by clicking my newest tab up top there called 'Prints'. Now back to the regularly scheduled post.

Remember how I mentioned in my last post that I took some photos of cats (I did mention that, right)? Well, now those photos are edited& ready for some blog exposure. I'll admit it. I am SO not a cat person. I may, however, be a fan of photographing cats that other people own. They are funny& do strange things. You can't really make them do stuff (suddenly Squirt seems like the easiest subject everrr)& you have to play by their rules. I can appreciate that. So the other evening, I photographed two cats- Bob& Nipper. Nipper is the cat with the white on his face. Bob hated the entire thing while Nip was pretty sure he was auditioning to be America's Next Top Cat. They were cute& absolutely enamored with the tissue& wrapping paper. Then I had the owner's hold the treats directly above my head to make them look at me. It worked really well! We ended up with some pretty hilarious photos. Festive Christmas cat photos? Check.

Linked with {snapped}!

Too funny. Bob looks so sweet& relaxed in that photo. You'd never know he was contemplating his escape the entire time! What more can you ask for in a photo than cats, Santa hats& Christmas tree bokeh? I'd say not much! My most favorite photo from the entire shoot wasn't of Bob though. It was of Nipper& his owner. His owner is a gorgeous girl with long, red hair. She was holding him trying to convince him it would be alright& I somehow snapped a really sweet shot of them.

It was just such a sweet moment because she didn't even know that I was snapping photos. She was just snuggled up with him telling him to stop being silly& pose for the camera. What do you think? I had a hard time deciding what photos to post for you guys because I genuinely love the majority of them! If you're interested in what the rest of the photos look like the album is right here! Check them out even if you're not a cat person but especially if you are! Thanks to Bob& Nipper for playing models. Thanks to their owners, too, for letting me manhandle their kittens. You guys rock :)

Lighting

Last night, the dog& I had a major disagreement. I took him downstairs to the light box. I set up a gorgeous set of white lights& started to string him in them. As I was setting up the shot, he was insisting upon leaving. I got very mad& he growled. Then I took one photo& banished him to the upstairs. Sucks to be my dog. I was SO frustrated. He wouldn't even pretend to play along. He is usually at least semi-tolerant but I guess it was just an off evening for both of us. On one hand, the single photo I got turned out okay.

Linked to {snapped},  
Naptime& Project Alicia!

You can pretty much tell he hates me in this photo. Then again, you can pretty much tell that in nearly every photo I've ever posted of him. He gets a break soon though because my mom's friend wants me to take some photos of her cats! She even has santa hats& told me we could drug them with Gravol to make them more cooperative ;) I am super excited for my mini cat session ..I don't even like cats but they make good subjects for Christmas photos! Also, my uncle wants some photos of his little Jack Russell Murphy. So Squirt is going to be getting a little break from his 'torture chamber'. Not that I think his performance with the lights earned any rewards! I am still fuming over it.

Bokeh DIY

So I kept seeing everyone (and by everyone I mean some people) making really cool bokeh. I wanted to try it. I kept looking up ways to do it& immediately becoming too confused by the directions. I am not the queen of DIY. No, seriously. I balked at the part where we need scissors AND tape. What do you think I am, some kind of crafting machine?! Last night, however, I told my dad to get me black construction paper for a photography project. Since he knows me so well he bought me two giant pieces. God bless his soul!

Linked with Capturing Beauty& 52 Weeks

Then I followed this tutorial ..where the blogger made it seem easy. Her bokeh lens hood even looks nice. I guess I should have included a photo of my hilarious attempt. Look at hers, then imagine that something small& monstrous managed to get it& chew& cut it to pieces. Multiply that by ten. Then you'll have my hood attempt. Not very pretty looking but shockingly it got the job done. For a regular person, this may even be an easy craft. For me, it was a monumental feat of godly proportions! I actually feel like I, personally, built the ark& helped save the animals. Yes, me surviving the crafting process& then having something useful in the end is a minor miracle to anyone who knows me! So, these photos are completely uninspiring, unless you like the idea of cool bokeh. Which appeals to me in the moment& I've been pining away after this Photojojo bokeh kit since I first saw it& thought 'Why yes, I can think of the exact moment I'd like to have airplane bokeh'. I recognize there will be limited chances for this. Nonetheless, I am overjoyed at the thought of heart bokeh surrounding me& the boyfriend. So lame but so cool.

Linked to Communal Global

Even then, it's not 100% cool because I suck at DIY projects. Hence my heart bokeh only sort of looks like hearts if you really focus at it. The bottom half looks like fancy pie pieces ..which I guess could be good for a Thanksgiving time bokeh? Hang in there with me. I also took some star bokeh. I guess if you were perceptive, you would've noticed it up near the top. At least those look like stars! I love my star bokeh ..I'll probably redo my heart on to make it look a little more like a heart. So, who's on board now to try some awesome shaped Christmas bokeh?! If I can do it, certainly anyone else in the entire world (including chimps& well-trained service animals) can also manage to complete this project! Let me know if you decide to attempt this& show me your results! Last photo of the day is a classy black& white star shot. Just call me awesome.

Linked with Holiday Bokeh& Tones

Seinfeld

Yup. I'm going to eat some eggs& then attend a Seinfeld show with my dad! I. Am. So. Excited! I don't think there will be any photos based on the fact that I don't have a zoom lens but I will definitely try to get one. Maybe I'll even meet him since I tweeted to him. Dream big, right? Although his lack of response is completely disheartening. I mean, how many people from my little island can be tweeting him?!

I had plans of having a photo of our little lime green for you guys but we ran into a snafu. Only 2/3 of the lights are working. Wah wah wah ..although I did manage to get one really cool bokeh shot of the tree. I am, however, posting this from the family Mac so there's no way for me to upload& edit my photos (well there is but it would be time consuming) so instead you're getting a photo from the other evening! It's a self-portrait of my puppy& myself! I promise my photos will get more creative as the Christmas season goes on ..for example, I'll include other family members& different houses' decorations. Yup, master of creativity here :) I'll also include some from lots of the fun things we do over this season. Namely, decorating gingerbread houses! A personal favorite.

Look at the puppy& I, following the rule of thirds even though I blindly captured this by focusing on his ears while he was on the ground while my camera sat on the chair with the lens balanced on a pair of 3D glasses from the movies. Seriously. It's so professional around here! The pup actually looks like he loves me in this shot though, so I'll take it! Now, my eggs are eaten& all I have left to do is throw some clothes that make it look at least a little bit like I'm trying. Then Seinfeld& a late night date with the boyfriend! Also, a lazy day tomorrow that will involve decorating my basement tree (the boyfriend may or may not be aware of what lays ahead of him)! What do you all have planned for the weekend? Is it as exciting as mine?!

25 days

That's right, folks! Only a mere 23 sleeps until Santa Clause is sneaking into our houses with goodies for us. I hope everyone was either good or starts being good now! 25 days is only like 3weeks& 4 days. I guess I should start shopping. I am definitely a last minute shopper ..every year I say I'll do better& then fail miserably. How about you? I am always jealous of the people who have their shopping done before the leaves have even fallen off the trees!

Since it's officially time to try to get in the Christmas spirit, I set up my downstairs artificial tree. It didn't make an appearance last year, so I wanted to be sure it managed to get put up this time! It was a lot of work& still needs to be decorated but I am sort of excited to have it at least put up. Tomorrow I'll get the lights& bells for it. I am mostly excited to get some snapshots of it. Kelly Moore is having a photo contest to win one of her bags. You have to take a photo of your Christmas tree ..I have a feeling I won't win but I'm willing to try anyway!

Since I spent the better part of this afternoon asleep (why did I do that to myself?!), I figured I'd get some cute shots in the light box. As per usual, I grabbed my dog& threw him in but I also took some non-Squirt light box shots. I know, I shocked myself as well. My mom bought a giant bell. I have no idea why but it made for a pretty photo (see above, obviously) and then I took two butterscotch candy canes (yum)& turned them into a heart. I know, I'm the most creative person in the entire world ;)  Although I do like the end photo. Even more, maybe, than the giant bell photo!

Linked with Best Shot& {snapped}!

Are you guys fully in the Christmas spirit yet? I have seen so many posts including fully decorated houses& trees ..I think reading blogs is increasing my Christmasy side! Although, I do still hate the overload of Christmas music from every store I go to. I also still really hate shopping for people. I am the worst gift giver of all time. It's almost amazing how bad I am at thinking of any gift. I have 0 chance of giving someone an awesome gift& most days even getting them a mediocre gift seems out of my skill range. Oh well, I still have 25 shopping days now that our malls are open on Sundays. I should probably get started on that task ..

Christmas?

Everyone keeps talking about Christmas. I guess once the American Thanksgiving is over, that means it is officially time to go Christmas wild! In honor of that, the dog got his photo taken today. Nope, he's not levitating. He's in the light box since that's his favorite place to be. So much his favorite place that today I had to bribe him with treats. And then yell at him to listen to me instead of trying to run away from me. What a little monster. His attention span for photos last about ten seconds. I think this is good practice for photographing kids. I need to have everything set up& ready to go or else there is zero chance of me getting a photo. Making this as painless as possible for the dog give me a 0.01% chance of getting something worthwhile. So I grabbed some things that were easy to find (Mom, where do we keep our Christmas decorations) along with the dog& the result?

Linking to Capturing Beauty,  

Favorite Photo& Show& Tell! Check them out.

Tada! The dog looking for his escape route, which resulted in him knocking over the bells& getting caught up in his bow. Thankfully, I now know the trick is to set everything up then just click like crazy& hope I get it. While I would prefer if he was looking at me, I understand that he hates my soul& therefore I need to accept less than perfect from him. Poor little monster, your life is so rough! Does anyone else plan on taking cute Christmas photos of their pets? This is just the start of his life for the next few weeks. He needs one wrapped in Christmas lights as well. And with a Santa hat. And with a scarf! Okay, okay. I'll stop but if anyone has any funny ideas for my dog's next photo shoot, please let me know in the comments!

Candy canes

Christmas isn't my favorite holiday (Easter& my birthday are firmly tied for that honor!) but I will admit to loving a few things about it. Mostly, I love Quality Street chocolates& candy canes. Neither of which will make an appearance in my blog today. Wah wah wah. Instead, I have a delightful photo of some raspberries because they were my breakfast. Raspberries in the winter? So special because it makes it feel a little bit more like summer. Considering it is cold& there's snow on my car ..I can honestly say a reminder of summer is nice. And it is only November. So that is fun. So yes, I am definitely grateful for being able to have berries shipped to me from Guatemala or wherever these in particular came from.  Plus, how pretty are red berries in a white dish? Very pretty!

Linking with Sweet Shot, Communal Global,

52 Weeks, Simplicity& Touch Up!

My big plans for today include eating some of those butterscotch candy canes (best. kind. ever.) while washing all my bedding& wishing my shoulder would stop hurting. Looks like I'll also be spending some of today driving into Sydney to go visit the chiropractor. He always helps but it takes a few visits, acupuncture and electricity along with readjusting of my bones. It feels worse before it feels better which has all kinds of downsides to it. Namely, feeling worse before I feel better. I have to take the pup for a walk as well because he's going to drive me nuts from his whining. If I tucker him out for a good while then that means he'll be sleeping instead of crying. Remember that time I tried to sell him? Yes, well. That offer still stands if anyone wants to take me up on it ;) I do love that photo of him at the end of that post! I think I'll get it printed off, actually. It can be his Christmas present to me! I am such a thinker. Granted, this is my first year ever making my dog get me a present but I almost always get him a little holiday treat. Do most people do this or am I all alone here in my crazy love for including my dog in everything?