Charlie is a good friend of the family’s dog. She is the smartest dog I know. She can turn on light switches, play dead, army crawl and even put away her own toys. Our friends were away this past week so we got to watch Charlie and she got to play model for me. She did sooo good!
Well I have successfully finished my first “book club” book in under two weeks. I didn’t think that was possible for me but I did it! Ian a slow reader and typically it takes me quite a while to finish because I don’t have a lot of reading time…this time however, I made time because I couldn’t wait to see how it panned out.
The book was amazing! I cannot wait to get together with my girlies to discuss! We have agreed no one starts the next book until we have all finished the first…I’m antsy but a book break will do me good 
. I will finish at least the next week out not staying up until midnight reading when I have to be up at 5:30 am the next morning! Once we have our first official book club meeting, I’ll definitely post how it goes.
It seems I am having a bit more trouble dragging out my good camera than I had hoped. While there are great photo opportunities out there. I have only been able to capture them with my point-and-shoot thus far. Every morning while riding the bus there are some fantastic views of the sky that I wish I had the time and place to capture but, I’m on the bus… Not really a great place to shoot photos. Nor is my office that I sit for most of the day. But I am trying and I am still capturing at least something, and my eye is noticing these great photo ops, even if I am not getting the photo. I guess that is at least part of this project is to be more aware and this is definitely doing just that, so at least I am getting a portion of this down. Next part of my goal – BRING MY GOOD CAMERA!
The moon was beautiful last week in the mornings. The sky was a beautiful dark purple/blue color to the West and the moon would still be visible, yet to the East the sky would be turning pink and orange as the sun started rising. Really some amazing images. I did manage to snap a photo from out my office window looking West last week. It was a morning where it was so peaceful when I got to work, that I wanted to go plop down in the conference room and just look out the window with my tea in hand and relax. Of course that didn’t happen, but I can at least say that the view from my window was inspiring and relaxing.
While this is not my favorite photo I have ever taken its one that shows a lot of who I am because of Where I came from. I grew up on a dead end street. We were fortunate enough to have tons of kids the same ages living nearby. We played in the street, never worrying about traffic because if we were out there we knew the only people who would be coming by we’re other neighbors with children so we were safe. I always joke that when we were young the street was our canvas. We colored in it, played games on it, and sometimes even slept on it. To me its part of home.
I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about guys and how I wasnt interested in a relationship right now but am having fun going out and hanging out with my friends and meeting people anyways. She told me to be careful. Be careful of my heart because when you least expect it, thats when it falls for someone it shouldnt.
In the past year I am a newly single woman. After being a relationship for the past four years it all seems very foreign to go out and have fun. Its hard to meet new people when you have been off the market for SOO long. Its almost like a different language. What do you say to someone new who knows nothing about your life? How do you start those conversations, especially while taking into consideration that you dont want to be hurt again. How do you talk while being guarded? Not divulging too much? Its a hard line to draw. I have decided, at least for me, the way to do it is to NOT be guarded. What do I have to lose? Right now – NOTHING.
I understand that after a breakup from a long term relationship I should really be more careful and in reality, jaded but honestly, im not. I feel bitter every once in a while about it but really I look at my life now and I love it. I LOVE LIFE. I want to shout it becuase I honestly dont think I have been able to say that for a very long time now. I really like the place I am at. I like how the right smile from a cute guy can leave little butterflies in my stomach yet I dont even know his name or who he is. I like how I can flirt with someone and they can make me feel beautiful, yet it means nothing. I like knowing that this year I am working on me but knowing at the same time that there are guys out there for when I am feeling ready for more. It feels good! After four years I feel good! I feel like I am where I am supposed to be and I am so happy.
The only people I really have to thank for everything I am feeling as of late are my family and friends. Without them I am sure that this past year I would have been lost. They made my transition from in a relationship to single girl pretty seemless!!
SO – my cheers this weekend is to life! Love it. Live it. SMILE!
While I said I wasn’t making any resolutions, I have decided that I want my goals written down. I have come up with my 2012 “Bucket List” of things that I would like to do. I have named this year, the year of ME. I plan on working hard to get things accomplished for myself that I have wanted to do for a long time now. So I give to you
2012 BUCKET LIST!
So while most of these are not photography based, I am hoping that overall they help me become a better me and enjoy life a little more!
Just a quick little vent – And I am sure I have said this before.
I HATE HATE HATE it when you wake up in the morning, thinking it’s closer to the weekend than it really is. This morning I woke up thinking it was Friday! I was so happy and light on my feet and then all of a sudden it hit me. Nope Thursday. Since then, I have been crabby. Great! Thanks Thursday!
WHOO HOOO it’s Friday! And I am SO looking forward to the weekend.
Tomorrow we get to celebrate my nieces 1st Birthday! It has been a year already! A YEAR! Can you belive it? I feel like it was just yesterday I was writing about her birth.
Yesterday we went and had her 1 year photos taken, and while I am confident I could have done a great job, I am very happy with the results. I really have to get my butt in gear and get some lighting so I can start doing some more indoor photos of her, but thats another discussion for another time. The photos were so adorable, we had a very hard time picking between them. Once we get them back, I will post a few – TOO CUTE!
I really look forward to celebrating the little ones birth! She is walking and everything already! In fact, she is even dribbling a soccer ball – who knew a one year old could learn to walk AND dribble a soccer ball within their first year of life! It’s amazing how much they learn so quickly!
Sunday we get to watch the Colts and the Saints in the Superbowl and to tell you the truth, as much as I like the Colts – I really dont care who wins. I am hoping the game will be an exciting one, but lets face it – there is NO WAY it will be as exciting as the Vikings vs. Saints game two weeks ago – that game was awesome!
Hopefully this will be a wonderful weekend full of family, relaxation and good football, if nothing else at least the first of those three
Happy Friday everyone!
This past Saturday, we had to put our 14 year old dog down. He was sick, and the vet said the only way he would survive would be to have surgery which, at his age, he may not even come out of. We have been struggling with this decision since a little bit before Christmas but this weekend we finally had to make the call.
For years he has had seizures that come on out of no where. But more recently he hasn’t been able to hold his bladder. He has been going to the bathroom in the house about 3 times a day – whether or not you get him out in a short amount of time of not. He has been getting more and more “tumors” all over his body and a couple of them have even burst. He also has had very shallow breathing and shakes pretty bad. But after we took him to the vet about 3 weeks ago, we knew it was getting close to time.
They told us that his heart was very healthy but unless he got his liver operated on he wouldn’t have much quality of life. They also said that some of the tumors he has could be close to bursting again and that wouldn’t be healthy for him as they can get very infected when this happens. They suggested we try diapers, but our silly dog eats toilet paper and Kleenex, we knew he would just eat at the diaper too until he got it off. So we didn’t go that route.
Last Friday, he started the day pretty bad. He was shaking so badly that he couldn’t walk and his breathing was so bad we were worried that he wasn’t going to make it through the day; he had just taken a HUGE downhill slide. That night we all had a talk and decided that we thought the best thing for Lucky would be to take him into the vet so he was not suffering anymore. This was probably one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to be a part of. I felt like we were just giving up. I felt like he would know and he wouldn’t love us anymore. I know it sounds melodramatic, but it was very, very hard!
Saturday was one of the hardest days in a long time, I cried as I recalled memories about when I was younger (he has been my puppy since I was in 7th grade). It made me smile to think of all the good times we have had and all the great people who were lucky enough to know Lucky. One of my favorites was the day I actually picked him out. Dad said he did NOT want a dog, but sure enough, we brought him to see Lucky and it was over. He was a part of our family before we even got home with him. I got to pick out his name and being that I was in 7th grade the best place I could think of was Disney movie. Lucky was the cute puppy in 101 Dalmations that stood at the TV and barked when exciting things happened during a program. For some reason, I thought he was the best and wanted to name my dog after him. He was a great dog and an even better companion.
RIP Lucky. You are missed greatly already!
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I will post some photos soon.
I just found out that a friend’s daughter was involved in earthquake in Haiti. She was there on a service project through her college. At this point, they have not had any contact with her group but do not know if it is because of the lack of communication or something worse. The school has hired two private helicopter rescue teams located in the Dominican Republic. As soon as they get clearance from the State Dept. they will head over there and try and find the kids. They are only going in to rescue them if they can be found. There is still no confirmation from the State department or the University as to there whereabouts.
Her father is receiving updates from her school as soon as they are available and if anything changes he will be contacted. Please keep their family, friends and relatives and of course all the people affected by this horrible tragedy in your thoughts and prayers.
Here is a link to the news story from WISN 12: http://www.wisn.com/video/22226759/?taf=mil
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