Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Almost

It's almost Memorial weekend and that's the kick off of our busy summer. I haven't even had time to log on to update my blog and I haven't had the chance to read all of my favorite blogs. I really hate being blocked at work! It's so inconvenient for me!

I finally rented the lens I'm thinking about getting and it just came in the mail today. I didn't have alot of time to play with it because I went to the gym and then I washed my car and helped David a little with the yard work.

Here are some of the pictures I was able to take. They are SOOC (straight out of the camera), no edits yet.





I could tell I really liked this lens from the first picture I took with it. It's a fixed 35mm f/1.8 Af-s Nikon lens and it's really good at shooting in low light. I have no problems taking indoor pictures without using the flash and I don't have to constantly search for the right setting to get the exposure right. I feel like it's so much easier to get good pictures with this lens.


I take all of my pictures in Manual Mode now that I understand it so much more. I feel like it's pretty simple now that I'm used to it and the pictures turn so out much better than shooting in auto mode.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Puppy Worries

Last night, when I got home from the gym (whoop whoop!), Peanut was acting really weird. He was moving around really slow and acting like it was hard for him to walk. At first it looked like his back legs were bothering him. He's 10 years old this year and I've always heard that when Min Pins get around 10 years old their joints start going bad and they could get wobbler's disease. So I've been dreading his 10th birthday for his whole life!


So I tried to feel around on his back legs to see if I could find something obvious or if his joints popped out of place or something. He didn't act like anything I was doing was bothering him so I felt around on his front legs and he whelped a little bit. I brought him inside and he went straight to his bed and was acting like a little old man trying to get in his bed very carefully. I knew something was wrong. He just wasn't acting normal for him and mommy's know when something is just not right!


I had 30 minutes until the puppy hospital at Petsmart closed to I rushed him up there. Even the car ride with him was not right. He usually jumps all around the car trying to see where we are, but he just laid down in my lap and didn't move and he was shaking a lot. But as soon as we got to Petsmart, he perked up a little bit. He still wasn't 100% so I went ahead and saw the vet. I just told her that something just isn't right and I just want to have him checked out. She told me that I'm not crazy or worrying for nothing and she listened to all of the symptoms I was telling her about. She started feeling all over him and when she got to his neck, she squeezed it and he let out a huge WHELP! It was his neck. He hurt it somehow and I think I have a pretty good idea that his little (big) brother Brutus had something to do with this since this is how they play...



She said that he might have a separated disk and that the only thing to do about it is treat it with steroids and put him on kennel rest. Poor baby! I knew something was wrong!



When we got home Brutus seemed like he was concerned about his bubba. He went up to Peanut and started giving him kisses on his face. It was really cute until Brutus started sniffing on Peanut's pecker to try to find out where he went. Boys are so gross!



He seems to be doing much better today.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Cut off

I've been cut off from my blog at work!!! I'm so upset about this. I can't even get on to look at my blog or anyone elses and I can't do any posts. They have blocked all blogs and "personal websites". And I never feel like logging on to my computer at night, but I'm going to try to be better and stay on top of this blog. I really enjoy doing it and I like to be able to go back and read old posts and see the pictures.

This week, my new photography friend Amanda sent me this...


It's a book of tips put together by a professional photographer. I love it! I found these tips extremely helpful and I love how she explained things in normal English instead of a weird photography language. It's just very simple and informative. I can't wait for the weather to get nicer so I can go out and practice.
Here are a few practice shots from the other day...


I'm feeling way more confident shooting without using the flash.





BTW...we haven't started our new hobby yet because of the weather. Hopefully this week will be nicer.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Distracting

This weekend was super busy and I'm so thankful for that because I was able to keep my mind off the pain I was dreading that Mother's Day would cause. Every year, I keep thinking..."next year I'll get to celebrate Mother's Day for myself. Either I'll have a baby in my arms or I'll be pregnant." But I'm trying not to think that way right now because I can't be sure about that stuff. Not right now anyway.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about Mother's Day.

Friday night I did all of my house cleaning and laundry because I knew I was going to be gone all weekend and I wasn't going to feel like doing it on Sunday (my normal cleaning day). We got up Saturday morning and headed to OKC. My parents have sold their house and are moving to the lake and this was moving weekend. We got there after most of the truck was loaded, but there was still alot to do.

That night my brother, Tanner, had his art displayed in a show. It was pretty cool, but it sure made me and David feel really old. We even complained about the music being too loud! The place was full of teens and early 20 somethings, all wearing skinny jeans, hoodies, crazy hair and glasses. The whole thing was put together by this group of boys that included my brother and it amazed me how organized everything was. There was a DJ, a Taco truck outside, and live art where all of the artists would go and contribute to a canvas that was going to be auctioned off later.

This is me and Tanner in front of a van that the boys bought and painted on...



Pay no attention to the grainy picture from my point and shoot or my flat hair!

We got up very early on Sunday and finished packing the uHaul, scrubbed everything down, said goodbye to the house and made the 2 hour journey down I-40 to the lake.



My dad asked if it was sad for me but it really isn't because I said bye to that house when I moved out 10 years ago. It never really felt the same since I left. I don't know, maybe because it wasn't my house anymore. It was the house my parents lived in. I know it has to be a little hard for them though, even if they don't want to admit it. I do know it's hard for them to move away from my brothers and my nephew. Tanner is their baby and the last one to leave the house, just last Wednesday, actually. He just moved into his first aparentment and into the real world. I know my mom was freaking out today when they turned on the tv and saw a tornado headed straight for Yukon, where my brothers live. But everything's fine. I know they will be much happier at the lake.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

(un)Happy Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. Yesterday was also the day that we got yet another negative pregnancy test.

I did the same thing I've done the last 2 times. The whole 2 week wait, I've told myself that I'm not pregnant. I don't feel any different, but for some reason I just have a feeling it didn't work. I think I'm also trying to not get my hopes up. But then the day of the test comes and somehow I start thinking that it might be possible to get some good news. But then my heart just gets broken all over again.

I feel like I handled this time better though. I don't know why, but the bad news seemed easier to take.

The next step is for me to have a procedure done called a Laparoscopy. This is where they take this scope and go in through your belly button and look around in there and possible clean stuff out if they need to. It's an outpatient procedure done at the hospital but I've heard some pretty bad things about it. I've heard that it's really painful and makes you extremely sore for a few days. Most people are off work for 2 or 3 days afterwards. Your belly also swells up. So I'm imagining that it's going to feel kind of like I did after the last IUI where I couldn't even stand up straight to walk, but a little worse.

But I'm not scheduled for this until the first week in July because they are all booked up until then and the doctor is taking 2 weeks off for vacation. This disappointed me because I feel like I'm just stuck in time, waiting...waiting...still waiting. All I ever do is wait. Wait for my cycle to start, wait for my IUI to be here, wait 2 weeks for the blood test, then wait 4 hours for the results. Then the cycle starts all over again and just more waiting. Now I have to wait for this. I'm not a patient person!

The only thing good I can find out of this is that at least I don't have to be on any medicine for the next 3 months. And I can diet and exercise and work out like I want. And I can enjoy a good part of my summer and my Mexican vacation (next month!)

So after I had just a tiny pity party for myself, I realized it was Cinco de Mayo. And since I wasn't pregnant after all, I needed to celebrate with a Margarita! I stopped at the liquor store on the way home and picked up a bottle of premade margarita and went home and got my blender out.



It wasn't as good as a real margarita and I couldn't get the salt to stick to the plastic cup, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Then my love came home and we sat outside and talked...





Oh, and...David and I are picking up a new hobby! Stay tuned for the details...

Monday, May 3, 2010

Pizza on the Patio

Yesterday was so pretty!

I had a pedicure with my friend Sarah...



Then I went and did a little shopping (Old Navy had EVERYTHING 30% off!). I found the cutest swimmies for me and David for 4th of July!

Then I came home and David and I had Pizza on the Patio!



We love Papa Murphy's pizza and if you've never tried it...you have to! We get the 5 meat stuffed pizza and it's so good. They make the pizza right when you order it and then you take it home and bake it yourself. Love it!

We have so many plans for our back yard, but not enough funds to get any of it done right now. Isn't everyone's "plans" bigger than their bank account. I hate how that works! So we'll settle on sitting on our little chairs and eating at the little coffee table on the tiny back porch. Please excuse the dirty ugly grill in the background!



I love lazy Sunday evenings at home...relaxing and winding down...getting ready for the dreaded Monday back at work. David even layed down outside for a nap while I took my shower.


I haven't gotten my camera out and played with it in a while. It's kind of hard when I'm running out of subjects to take pictures of! I also wanted to get out my lightscoop and play with it a little. So here are the results.

This is David cooperating...



This one made me laugh so hard because it looks like his head is huge and his arm and his body are tiny!


This is David getting annoyed...


Peanut wanted nothing to do with it all...


And of course I had to take a few of Brutus...