Sleep coma

I seriously think that I entered one yesterday. I wasn't tired& I was getting ready to go to the barn. I decided I'd read until 3:30 then get dressed to go visit Pony. Cue Dry by Augusten Burroughs ..one of my favorite authors. I made it to roughly page 40 before falling asleep for 3.5hrs. This is so unlike me. Moral of the story? Don't take time out of your day to read ;)

Linked with {snapped}!

Clearly, my dog is very much enjoying the lazy times we are spending together. There was a time he would complain about laying in bed all evening but it seems to be his favorite activity these days! Such an accommodating dog. He just wants to hang out with his momma 24/7. He doesn't find much fun in coming to the barns or being outside in the winter .. he is definitely starting to show his age. He still loves a good romp outside in the summer but the winter wears him out. I think a lot of us are in the same boat as him when it comes to hating winter! I know I am certainly over it.

Poor old bugger keeps getting older on me, despite how often I tell him he's not allowed to. In this photo, he actually looks like he loves me. A rare photographic capture. I promise he does love me in real life, he just absolutely hates when I make him do ridiculous things in order to get a great photo. I can't say I blame him ..but I am so happy I'll have a really great bunch of photos to remember him with! I'm definitely going to get at least one printed out on canvas for myself. I love my pup more than anything!

Facebook?

We are in the midst of a snowstorm here, folks! I have been curled up in my house being bored as the roads are too messy to really bother driving anywhere. I tried to encourage Squirty to play in the snow with me about 2hrs ago but I'm pretty sure the dog just thinks I need to have a full mental checkup. Since he has completely failed me as far as being a fun, energetic dog goes, I decided I would torture him the only way I know how.

Who wouldn't click like when the landing page is that cute?!

That's right. Photographs. He lucked out tonight, though. Instead of actively taking new photos, I opted to make new graphics for my Facebook page. I have some pretty crappy Welcome, Pricing& Contact tabs. Being as I'm stuck inside due to lack of traction for my car& lack of enthusiasm from my dog, I busted out trusty old Photoshop& got to work! A mere hour later, I have a bunch of new photos for when people scroll through the page. It is pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. So what photo do you see on the Welcome page after photo #1 of Squirt has convinced you to click Like?

I really outdid myself ;) So, I hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday. Mine feels at least a smidgen productive now!

4 of 52

That's right. I have successfully managed to take a photo a week of my dog for FOUR weeks! I'm practically finished with the project ;) Today, I knew exactly what I had to do for his weekly portrait. I must really be tapping into my creative self because I normally would never think of something like this. Go me! I feel like I'm actually learning to think of good photos all by myself. For my dog, at the very least! Without further ado ..Squirt's latest photo of the week:

Linked with Momtog, {snapped},

It makes me laugh. I just wish my garbage can was a different color so it stood out some more in the light box. Have I mentioned also that all 52 photos are going to occur in there? I no longer like photos of my dog anywhere else. It really makes you focus on the pup& he is so much agreeable to go in there. Weekly photo sessions kept short. The key to success with my silly dog. Oh and did I mention the candy canes? His love for those things runs deep& true!

Also, I'm happy to report that I didn't have a crazy, forgetful day like yesterday. Then again, I didn't have anything to remember so I guess there was nothing to forget. What a dilemma. I am still crazy tired though ..it is 9:10PM& I'm considering curling up in bed once I hit 'publish'! I have to teach at the Y tomorrow& then heading over to play with Pony. Pony has had his photo taken a few times but nothing worth posting on here yet. I may include him in my self-portrait this week so perhaps then you'll get to see him :) I am really enjoying having a project to play around with again!

PS- anyone want a dog?

Ballet class?

I've never really been a dancer. Don't get me wrong ..I tried to dance for years. I did step, highland, maybe even tap, jazz& ballet. It didn't really pan out. Turns out I'm more suited to riding horses (I got a new project to play with! Photos coming soon)& swimming. Dance is not my forte.I discovered today that ballet is also not Squirt's forte. How did I discover this? Good question!

The other evening, Meg got me some great things from the San Francisco store inventory (funny story behind this ..start blogging again, Meg!) to celebrate my day of birth. A boa, some glasses, a hat& a spectacular purple tutu! The dog didn't even know what was coming& before he knew what was up, he was in a tutu. It was hilarious. Also, I've discovered how to get a very well behaved dog in the light box- bribe him. I just give him little slivers of mini candy canes (should have stocked up on these ..don't know what I'm going to do when this box runs out!) and he listens perfectly. The promise of a candy cane also removes the general look of hatred from his eyes. Now, he looks slightly manic instead! It's either from the promise of a candy cane or from the slight sugar rush he's experiencing. Depends on what photo from the shoot I use.

Linked with Texture Thursday& This or That!

Check out the other great entries :)

In this photo, I used the third one we took so the sugar rush hasn't hit yet. He's anxiously awaiting his second piece of candy cane. You can practically see it in his eyes 'Please, Mum! Look how good I am being. Please give me a treat!' While I don't usually ever treat my dog, I figure it won't kill him. An entire photo shoot results in him getting one third of a mini candy cane. Yeah, I'm certainly not going to have a diabetic dog on my hands. I've also made a promise to him that he only has to go in the light box once a week, max! Does anyone else make deals with their animals? Sometimes I feel crazy when I write out my dog stories but other people can relate ..right?!

One last thing before I leave you folks to swoon over my sweet pup. I am officially riding again! I am working with a green broke 7yr old Arabian named Zafarr. I need a pet name for him ..I'm thinking Pony or Arab. Any other suggestions? He's sweet as pie ..next day it is not bitterly cold out, I promise to snap some photos of him :) Enjoy your Thursday evening, folks!

Free Crappy Portraits

Seriously. This is a place. I had sort of forgot they existed until about 2 minutes ago when I got my very own free, crappy portrait from them. I wasn't sure what to blog about today since I did nothing worth mentioning (except ..I am now working with a greenbroke 8yr old Arabian who has never cantered undersaddle! YAY!) so I figured I'd just include a photo from either tonight or some other day& attach a story to go with it.

Then I reloaded my e-mails& I had an email from Free Crappy Portraits. It made me smile& laugh. I sent them 2 photos(here& here)& this:

This is my boyfriend& I. Clearly, we have a loving relationship built on mutual respect. I like every single animal ever& he likes Jeeps& motorcycles. The only thing we really agree on is that I'm the funniest of the two. I keep because he's handy around the house& can fix absolutely anything. I own a blog (HalfPastWonderful) but he doesn't. I have no idea what to write which I guess means we aren't very interesting. Use your imaginations!

*Please note: I have also attached a photo of my dog because he is pretty fantastic so even if you don't want to draw us, he's there for the taking. Crowd favorite dead serious. He is very old& cranky. He hates having his photo taken. Despite this, I take his photo a lot. He likes to sleep under the Christmas tree& pee on the rug in the bathroom. We love him. Most days.

  I never expected to hear from them because they only do select photos, which I think means they pick the coolest people& go from there. I think I remember reading this somewhere on their blog. You know what that makes me? Cooler/ funnier/ something more than lots of other people who submit photos ;) I bet you're dying to see the photo they sent, aren't you? I know I was as soon as I realized I had gotten a reply from them. It was like 'Surprise! Since you don't remember sending this e-mail it is sort of like they just found you, thought you were SUPER cool& used information from this blog to draw you.' But that's not how it works at all. So here's the photo ..what do you think?!

Post-birthday

My boyfriend got me a dog bed for my birthday. I know you're currently asking yourself why in the world he did that, aren't you? Well. I asked for it. It is a tiny little dog bed. Squirt hates it already. It is SUCH a perfect prop for small animals. Small children, too ..although I don't have any of those hanging around my house so you're going to have to settle for animals at the moment. Well, animal. Squirt.

Linking with This or That&
You Capture& Fabulous Friday!

What do you think? Most perfect birthday present ever? Sure is! The dog& I will both get to enjoy it. He'll sleep on it (assuming he learns to love it)& I'll get to steal it from him from time to time to photograph little animals/ people on it! I am completely loving this so far. I am going to try my best not to flood you guys with photos of my dog on his bed ..but I can't promise I won't flood you guys with other animals on it.. variety is the spice of life!

Plus, how lucky is the dog to wake up every morning in the lap of luxury? When you consider how spoiled my dog is.. well, he's very lucky! Plus, I think it makes up for his awful vet experience the other day. My poor pup ..I think he's mostly forgotten about it by now though. The only thing left for him to forget? His hatred of his new bed ;)

Veterinarian

A person qualified to treat diseased or injured animals.

Seriously. Look it up. That is what they are trained to do. I know, most of you know that but I have come to realize something in the last few years. Veterinarians don't realize that is what they do. My dog is getting old& he was also attacked by a Pit bull& then this other time someone (something) shook him really hard& crushed some discs in his back. My poor monster.

The point of this is to say that I have interacted with vets. They all seem to want me to find the answers myself. No ..you went to veterinary school& I'm paying you for your knowledge. The first time I asked THREE vets for their opinions. It was after Squirt ruptured the discs in his back. I wanted to know if we should have him put down. Now, I can't make this decision myself because I don't know how to tell if he can recover from that or how much pain he is actually in. When I asked this question of 'Should I put him down or is he going to get better?', I was consistently told that that was a personal decision only I could make. Umm ..what? That does not seem like an appropriate answer at all to me. We got pain medication for him instead. My little guy is a trooper. As I mentioned in my last post, he's sick again. I'm not sure if it's just old age but he seems to also have gotten an ear infection or something so it was time once again to play the vet's game.

Even the dog knows this is going to be painful.

I called a new vet (Squirt's regular one passed away) yesterday morning. At 8:10AM. First, she put me in the system. Then she realized I was already there because I've purchased dog food from them. Thanks for killing five minutes of my time. Then she proceeds to ask me what kind of appointment I want to make. A check up. Next question? 'Well, what kind of check up?' I think I stared vacantly at the phone for about 30 seconds before answering. I told her he's old& I think he may have also developed an ear infection. She then gives me different check up choices ...I have no idea what I selected or what kind of appointment I'm walking into Monday afternoon. Why is it so hard to make an appointment for an animal? Is this just a problem I have? Is it just on this island or are vets everywhere making it hard for owners? Man ..I really hope they can at least tell me how he is doing& not that it's a personal decision only I can make.

Wow. What a vent! Feels good to get it all off my mind though.  Plus, you guys got to see an exciting photo from September of my pup. If you only knew how many I have stockpiled that just never make a public appearance ..I should probably work on my picture hoarding ;) Although it works really well for times like this. In need of a photo for the blog but the photo from 366 won't work. Cookies don't seem to fit the theme of a vent about my dog's doctors ;)

Well then!

The photo session for my friend was canceled. I guess she decided she didn't want to brave the weather ..can't say I blame her there! Instead, I took my bundled up self& hung out with some horses. After that, I considered going for a run but got a nice, hot shower instead. It was definitely a wise life choice! Man, winter has finally arrived in Cape Breton. So very, very cold out there today. Not looking good for tomorrow, either. After all that, I decided Squirt's vacation from the light box was over.

Linked to Texture Thursday& This or That!

Check out the other great photos over there!

I have to admit. The break was very good for him. He stayed in the basket for about 10 minutes. I changed lenses, changed batteries in the flash, readjusted the lighting& he just sat there. Looking at me pathetically but being such a good dog. I told him he would get a treat if he was good& boy did he. After this photo, I went out to the garage (aka Mini Shack) to hang out with some family. They proceeded to feed him about 50 chips ..this was sugar-induced heaven for my little dog because he rarely gets people food. Perk to this? He may be content to get in the light box next time because memories of Lays chips will be forever associated with it!

Also, I'm on day 4! Only 362 left to go ..that means I've completed 1.1% of Project 366. Well, gee. When you put it that way I am clearly heading strongly for the finish line ;)

Photo love

I have accomplished 2 of 366 photos! Again, the photo I took for today isn't going to make it into the post. If you're curious in keeping up with my Project 366, the simplest way is to have a peek at my Facebook page. At some point, I'll stop having a backlog of photos to post& at that point I'm certain my photos of the day will become my photos in my blog posts as well. Garret& I had big plans of photographing an old abandoned barn by his house this afternoon. Mother Nature had other ideas. It poured rain. Then I took a 2hr nap (I must be getting sick) before rushing home to get in a last minute photo. It would be a tragedy to fail my 366 on the second day! I cannot be that pathetic. I succeeded.

So, since I managed to take a photo for the day, why am I not using it? Because I have a cute photo of Garret, Squirt& I from New Years' Eve! Apparently, Garret must really like me because he hates being in photos in general but lately he's been tolerating it fairly well. It's just easier to say yes. I also know that when we're old& ugly, we'll look back on these photos to remember that at one point, we were attractive& had fun*. Plus, who doesn't want photos to remember the two loves of their life by?

Linked to 52 Weeks& Project Alicia!

Well, at least when the two loves in your life are this handsome? Squirt is, as always, plotting his escape from the photo. Garret is probably wondering why he tolerates me any better than the dog. Thanks for the tripod& flash, boyfriend. Without your generous presents, these photos wouldn't be possible! I am pretty sure he is seriously considering returning everything he's ever bought to help me with photography. So, now it's time to curl up with Royal Pains. Which, if I may say (and I may. It is my blog), is a fabulous show. How have I never bothered watching it before?

*Fun- our definition is probably different from most people our age. We drive around while drinking tea& coffee. Not a whole lot of partying for us geriatrics anymore ;)

Project 366

I took a photo yesterday, but didn't get around to posting it on here. I was too busy watching a River Monsters marathon. I officially have 1 photo of 366 taken! If you're interested in keeping up with all of them, I'm going to be posting them on my facebook page. I won't always be posting my photo of the day here since sometimes I don't post on the weekends& sometimes they just aren't interesting enough.

Not to mention, I have some photos that I haven't shown you guys yet that I think deserve some blog exposure ;) For example, I took a photo 2 days ago of my pup. Remember how I kept saying I wanted a floating photo of Squirt with balloons? Well, I searched high& low for a place that would fill balloons with helium. It took some time but I found one! Then I had a photo shoot with the pup. He hates my soul but in my defense he did have about 3 weeks free of any photos. I held up my end of the bargain! Plus, I kept it short& sweet so he didn't get too bitter.

Not to mention, he plays the look-how-pathetic-I-am-floating-away dog perfectly! Well, now it's 11:13AM& my boyfriend is waiting for me to get to his house. I need to shower before I leave ..so I guess I should really hop to it. I hope everyone has had a lovely start to their new year! Anyone else out there doing Project 366? Leave me a link to where& I'll be sure to check it out ..I need motivation people! I only made it to day 90 last year!

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.

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?!

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?

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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!

Crippled

It's late. I can't sleep or move. I feel like a 90yr old trapped in a 24yr old's body. Seinfeld is a repeat ;) Mostly, I have nothing to do since I can't even really move to get off the couch. I figured I'd write a blog post for tomorrow tonight. It will technically be tomorrow for me in 13 minutes anyway. Then tomorrow I can focus on doing absolutely nothing beside crying about how I can't move and hopefully heading to the chiropractor.

Since it's been awhile since I've posted a photo of my dog, I figured he'd be the perfect subject for the blog today. One problem? I can't really move. So I'm forced to go through my archives& pick a photo I took awhile back. September 22nd, to be specific. It was around the time I made him pose with teddy bears. I took some other photos but I don't think I've ever posted them. Feel free to have a better memory than me& correct me. The photo I'm about to post is old, basically. At the very least, it is a different edit because I just opened it again to play around with it a bit. It wouldn't matter what I did ..my dog is awesome& that makes this photo awesome ;)

Linking with {snapped}, Project Alicia,
Better in Bulk& 7 Clown Circus!

So there you have it. A new-old photo of my dog. Isn't he just great? I don't know why he was licking his nose, you'd have to ask him. I do know that is just as sweet as a button when he is behaving himself. Other times, he makes me want to cry right along with him. For now, I'm off to try to get up& make it to my bed ..downstairs. This is going to be hard.

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?

Beer

I am not a fan of beer, really. I mostly only like vodka& insanely fancy liqueurs; just call me classy! Today, however, I was thinking I really needed to pick up my camera& shoot something. I think I forgot I took photos of the buggy yesterday ..oh well. I got super excited to follow the same recipe for success I always use- 1 insanely cute dog, props, light box& my mediocre skill set! My props for today included an empty ale bottle (Picaroons ..a micro brewery in New Brunswick), one of the Picaroons glasses, water, food coloring& soap. Yes, I know what you're thinking -I have way too much time on my hands. You're probably right but look how cool the photo came out!

You'd never guess that all my playing around with food coloring would actually be useful at some point in my life, eh? Turns out it helped me know exactly how to make a 'beer' color! I thought I was brilliant until I realized that water didn't foam ..but beer did. DILEMMA. Thankfully, I am a genius& realized that we had foaming hand soap right within arm's reach (thanks, mom) so I got to work making it look like beer. Did I fool you?! I didn't fool the dog because he refused to lap it up like he would have done if there was real alcohol in there. I can't say I blame him ..I'm not sure I'd want soap, food colored water to drink either.

See? This is definitely his 'I hate you& I'm so over photos in this stupid box. Please, never make me do this again' face. He wouldn't even play along. I got so mad at him ..don't you understand how important you are to my photograph, little dog?! I yelled at him& everything. Before you get alarmed, I immediately felt guilty& gave him some lovin' to make up for it. I mean -how can you be mad for long at that face? Then I pleaded with him because I swear sometimes he understands me. I said 'Dog, behave yoself& give me one more chance to get a good shot of you with the fake beer?'. His response was to run& hide under my bed. I guess even the most seasoned models have off days. Unfortunately for him, I am bigger than my dog so I simply scooped him out from under my bed with promises of dog treats& walks to get one last shot. It isn't great ..this didn't work out at all as I had planned in my head. Squirt was determined to really make me want to sell him today. You can see the extreme shame on his face. Suck it up, pup! You're free for at least 24 hours.

Linking up with Favorite Photo& Capturing Ordinary!

Check out some of the other photos :)

Bath time

When I woke up today, my dog was laying on my stomach with his stinky dog breath breathing straight into my nose. Love the dog, hate the breath. It reminded me that, in fact, the dog in general stinks. I had been avoiding it& just hoping the smell would go away.

It didn't. Thanks, Squirt. I needed that reminder at 8AM. It definitely helped my motivation to get you cleaned up. My dog hates baths. With a burning passion. It's hilarious how hateful he is when he thinks you're trying to get him in the tub. Since I haven't bathed him in months years.. he didn't see it coming! I filled up the tub. I threw him in. I knew it would make for some funny captures with the camera.

Obviously, you aren't disappointed. The only thing cuter than a child with soap suds on its head? My dog replacing the child ;) I know, I've been overloading you all with photos of him& for that I sort of apologize. At least I'm not horrifying your senses with something ugly! He's sweet as a cupcake. After the bath, he ran around& around& around the house. He rubbed his face on everything he could. He completely exhausted himself so now all he can do is lay uselessly on his pillow. Actually, that is how he spends the majority of his life. He has it some rough, let me tell you!

I think if you believe the look on his face in most of these photos ..you might actually believe he has a difficult life! Trust me, he doesn't, he just really hates the camera ..especially if I'm holding it. I don't know how come he refuses to just accept his fate as a model. His life would be sooo much easier if he would!

Okay, now I think I can make a promise that my pup will remain firmly off my blog for the next few days. I may have a few photos of horses to replace him with ..we'll see how that goes when I get up to the barn today. Their paddock is currently completely mud from all the rain we're getting lately! So sucky.

*Linking up with This& That& Happiness Is..
Black& White Wednesday, Black& White Wednesday,
Found Texture, Show off your Shot,

Middle of the week

Today I swam some laps. Then I came home& still didn't have a photo for my bloggy readers today ..I'm trying really hard to break out my camera at least daily for a new photo or two. Sometimes it is easier than others.. today was hard. I was going to take a creepy photo of one of my coworkers swimming laps, but I didn't want to touch my camera when I was drenched. So I passed. Then I got home& asked Momma for ideas. She told me to take one of her.

I tried to convince her to squeeze herself into my light box, but she said that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So I settled for letting her sit in a chair ;) I really like this photo& I'm pretty certain you guys must be getting at least a little sick of photos of my dog?! I have some funny ideas for him in the next post -if anyone wants to guess. Or, if anyone has any ideas for funny photos to take of the pup, drop a line to let me know! My parents& boyfriend aren't nearly as funny to dress up& take lots of photos of. Plus, they don't listen to my commands as well as the little monster! So, here is the best I could do with a human subject ;)

Since she was refusing to get in the light box, I had to make do with using the natural light from the window. It turned out pretty good ..if I do say so myself ;) Also, don't forget that my momma has a blog just like me! She loves visitors& comments.. hope on over& give her some bloggin' love.

Linking up with {snapped}, 7 Clown Circus, Supermom, Better in Bulk, Paper Mama, Live& Love, Baby Baby Lemon& By Word of Mouth! Check them out ..lots of great Wordless Wednesdays with words ;)

Post-halloween

I don't have the post-Halloween blues ..but I do wish I had of carved a pumpkin& gotten more into the spirit. Now it's November& guys are growing mustaches left& right.

In order to avoid the winter months looming over us, I decided to dress the dog up, toss him in the light box& take some photos. I don't actually love these shots ..but they are cute nonetheless so I figured I'd share them with the people who seem to at least tolerate my doggy! This was such a bad photo shoot ..he wouldn't stand still, the candies wouldn't go right& overall, he's very lucky he's cute!

Just admit it ..he is obviously one of the cutest puppies in the world. Look at that crooked smile! He always makes me laugh& he puts up with a lot of photographing. I think old age is doing him well ..at one point he would have bit me& walked away! Much more cooperation now that he's ancient ;)  I think his good looks landed him quite a bit of treats from last night! Thankfully, puppies can't eat treats so I guess I'll be a kind momma& help him out with his dilemma. Wouldn't want all those treats going to waste, would we?!

For this photo, I did what I usually do with my dog. Threw him in the light box! My settings were 1/50 second, custom white balance,  and f/5. I opened it in photoshop to clean up some of the dirt on his face (gross, I know) and ran an action ..but I forget which one. Sorry! Now, all you need is for someone in your life to build you a light box (best investment ever) and find a dog at least half as cute as mine ;)

Does anyone have any hilarious photos of their animals dressed up? Leave a comment to your photo ..I'd love to see them! Nothing brings me smiles like funny photos of animals. Hope your post-Halloween sugar high is still going strong!

PS linking up with Communal Global, Ordinary Inspirations, Weekly Kodachrome, 52 Weeks, Sweet Shot, Photo Tip, Creative Exchange& Simplicity! Check out some of the photos posted at those links! There are some pretty fabulous photography bloggers floating around :)

A new look!

Hey, look what happened to my blog overnight! It got a whole new look. Isn't it completely amazing?! The only thing is that I'm back to square one when it comes to Disqus being integrated into blogger. That sucks but it has nothing to do with the redesign& everything to do with Disqus being incredibly frustrating when it isn't working correctly.

Now, if you remember my previous design (sort of wishing I had taken a screen shot of it for before/ after photos), you are well aware that I definitely didn't create this new look! You're right. I have zero ability when it comes to any of that. I did, however, take the photo that is appearing on the header. I love how it all works together! The face on the doll just cracks me up so much. So, if I didn't design the new look, who did? Kim from Kim in a Box! She is completely awesome. Seriously. I had no idea what I was doing or even what I wanted the end result to look like. She stepped in& did everything. She picked the photo for the header, designed everything& even installed it onto Blogger for me! I was super picky about how I wanted the header to look in the end& she exceeded my expectations! At first I was nervous to tell her I liked, but didn't love, the original design. Her response? Basically not to worry at all because she was going to work with me until it was my idea of perfect! She did a pretty amazing job, don't you think?! Thanks so much, Kim! You rock.

If anyone out there (blogger or wordpress) is looking for a new layout, I would 100% suggest Kim. She did fabulous work and she did it quickly. I cannot say enough positive things about this lady. If you're interested, click here to go to her design page! Her prices are completely reasonable, she is fabulous to work with& she is a great lady all around. Definitely keep her in mind if you are searching for a new or updated blog look!


So, now that you've read all that, I have some sad news. I've officially failed another photography challenge. I just can't get back into things after I've missed a few days and, once again, this is no exception. Don't worry, though! I've still been taking photos ..yes, mostly of my dog but sometimes of others things too. For example, today the pup& I went to the beach where he had a good run (I took photos) and then afterward, I snapped this photo of some random apples just hanging out in the grass-

Doesn't that just scream 'autumn'? No? Oh, well hey, at least it's not a photo of my dog, right?! I'm trying to branch out my photography from my main theme of my dog. With that being said, I also have a few cute photos of him. Seeing as he is an old senior citizen dog, I love when he's feeling good enough to have a real hard run around the beach. It is nice to know that he still has the get up& go of his younger days! The run obviously tired him out though because since getting back in the house, he has been simply laying flat out on the floor looking at me pathetically. I guess that is acceptable since he spent about forty minutes out the beach today running like this-

Look closely. All 4 of his feet are very high off the ground. Way to go little monster! You are still a speed machine when you are feeling good ..which was evidently today! I have a few other cute shots of Squirty, but I figure you guys are completely overloaded with the puppy as of late so I'll refrain from posting them! Thanks for enduring this much of him without complaining ;D

It was perfect for a trip to the beach. Overcast, a chill in the air& not a soul around except me& my pup. Not that great for swimming but perfect for walking along, my favorite beach activity! Oh, and taking photos while I'm there!We spent at least an hour there just enjoying some of the last few days it will be nice out before winter hits us hard!