Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

Around Here Lately . . .

It’s been a hectic few weeks here! We all were sick with the flu, at different times, culminating roughly two weeks of sickness, and then we had spring break, where we went to the Shenandoah Valley for a few days with our girls, Alex and Victory. It was fun to get away for a few days, and Alex and Victory enjoyed getting away as well! We went to a children’s museum, which Alex loved, and we brought them to Harpers Ferry, which was fun! We had a quiet Easter at home, and Alex throughly enjoyed decorating eggs, and, most of all, she loved finding the eggs around our house on Easter morning! Alex is continuing her swim lessons, she is currently learning butterfly, but backstroke is her ultimate favorite stroke! We hope she will be able to join the summer swim team, as we finally got off of a long wait list to join a summer swim club with a swim team! Victory is doing well, but we did find a mass, recently, that is benign, and it will get removed this spring. Victory is immensely enjoying her Hound-About rides this spring! We savor each day with our fur girl! Doug has been busy at work and he is traveling more. And, I have been working hard to finish up the book, which has been quite an undertaking, and I cannot wait to share more with you on the book! Happy Spring!

What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Happy Friday! We made it through a long, cold January! We are now into February, which means spring is getting closer! Yay!

What are your simple pleasures?

A few of mine are:
-Taking long walks while pushing Victory in her Hound-About, while listening to a good podcast
-Watching Charlie Brown with our little family, all piled together on the sofa, a family favorite
-Reading with Alex
-Reading a good book
-Making smores together with our new Solo
-Tucking in Alex at night, where she always tells me some fun things from her day
-Taking a nap with Victory, as she is always up for taking a nap!
-Getting tea with a good friend and catching up
-Having a date night with Doug, to have uninterrupted time together
-Getting a great night’s sleep

“It is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

Twelve Year Blogiversary!

Tomorrow is the twelve-year Blogiversary of the blog!  I cannot believe it! It is extremely difficult to believe that twelve years, over a full decade, has already passed by so quickly!  The time moves so quickly, these days, and I often wonder where the time goes? Many things have changed, but some things remain the same, fortunately.  I am grateful for this little space here.

If it were not for our beloved Biscuit, I am not sure I would have ever started blogging and I know that I would not have started my long-term photography project, which is being published this fall, for which Biscuit and Victory were my inspiration.  Biscuit was such a blessing and gift to us. Biscuit permanently changed our lives in so many positive ways and he sent us our precious little rescue sheltie, Victory, who we adore and love, shown below! And, coincidentally, Victory is the same age (we suspect, as she is a rescue dog) as the blog!

Thank you for reading this blog for however long or short you have been visiting!  I truly enjoy creating content for the blog to share with all of you, and I hope that you continue to enjoy visiting and reading the blog!

Thank you so very much!

One Little Word 2024: Wild

I hope you had a nice Holiday! We visited with family, we had some down time with our girls, and we all got some sleep and rest, which was so nice. And, I cannot believe our little girl is turning five-and-a-half-years-old this week! She is growing in every way and she loves learning, she is incredibly creative, and she is curious about everything, which I hope never ceases!

It is a new year, which means there has been much talk about fresh beginnings. For me, I keep things simple and I select a word, an intention, for the year, and I try to really embrace the word for the year, which feels like a theme or mantra for the year.

I have reflected on my word for this year: wild.  Last year, I chose the word joy; in 2022 the word present; in 2021 the word grace; in 2020 the word bliss; in 2019 the word embrace; in 2018 the word peace; in 2017 I chose relax; in 2016 I chose present; in 2015 I chose flow; in 2014 I chose trust; and in 2013 I chose the word create.  The idea of picking an intention has worked well over the past few years, and this is my eleventh year doing this one little word intention. 

I have nothing against resolutions (or goals, or plans, or to-do lists — I always have a to-do list), but for me, I have found the most impactful way to embrace a new year is to pick a word — just one word, an intention — to keep in mind.

As 2023 came to an end, I know that things were really hectic and busy in 2023, on many fronts. I feel this is going to be a really wild year, it has already begun, in a good way! “All good things are wild and free.” —Thoreau

For me, it is an easy reminder to take whatever small steps I can to create clarity and feel better. For anyone similarly overwhelmed by resolutions, I recommend the practice of a New Year’s Word. Plus, since it is so simple, and you can change it at any time.

Happy New Year!

Happy Pawlidays!

“Dogs are our link to paradise.” —Milan Kundera

Happy Pawlidays! I wanted to thank you so very much for checking in over the past year — I am very grateful.

Below is the front of our Pawliday card (the back of our card containing text is not pictured), along with our matching envelopes using little photo seals of our beautiful girls, Alex and Victory! And, unfortunately, custom stamps are still no longer permitted by the Post Office. (You can view our previous Pawliday cards: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).  Sending our Pawliday card is one of my favorite parts of the Holiday season! This is my way of sharing our Pawliday card with you.  It has been an exciting year and we have so much to be grateful for. Thank you for reading this blog for however long or short you have been reading.  I sincerely enjoy creating content for the blog to share with you.

I will be taking a break from the blog to enjoy some down time with family, and I plan to be back to the blog sometime early next year, which is going to be an exciting year, as my first book will be published next fall, and I cannot wait to share more with you on this topic before it is released into the world!  Meanwhile, if you are in a blog-reading mood, you are warmly invited to visit the archives — the links are shown below.  Warmest wishes to you for a safe and Happy Holidays!

Dog Related posts

Dog Rescue posts

‘Dog-Centric’ Artists Interviews

For Artists posts

Photography posts

Personal posts

Victory Related posts

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are having a quiet day at home together for Thanksgiving, and then we are headed to Thanksgiving dinner in Northern Virginia! We have so much to be grateful for this year. We hope you enjoy your thanksgiving today!

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” —William Arthur Ward

Below, are some of my favorite quotes pertaining to Thanksgiving!

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” —Randy Pausch

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” —Lionel Hampton

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” —Karl Barth

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.” —Rumi

“Be present in all things and thankful for all.” —Maya Angelou

“The more that you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.” —Norman Vincent Peale

“Be thankful for everything that happens in your life; it’s all an experience.” —Roy T. Bennett

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” —Johannes A. Gaertner

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” —Henry Van Dyke

“Forever on Thanksgiving the heart will find the pathway home.” —Wilber D. Nesbit

“Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have.” —Catherine Pulsifer

“There are only two ways to live your live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other as is though everything is a miracle.” —Albert Einstein

“Appreciation us a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” —Voltaire

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” —Marcel Proust

Preserving Your Child’s Creative Works

I recently made a book of all of Alex’s pre-K artwork, including her artwork from summer camp this past summer. Last year, I made a book containing all of Alex’s preschool artwork! I found making a book of her artwork is a great way to save her artwork without holding onto every piece of her artwork, which can be prone to damage. So, I used some white foam board and used my iPhone and photographed and edited the pieces that I wanted to save, to include in this book. I made a 110 page book of all of her pre-K work, including summer camp, approximately 220 pieces of her artwork, via OnceUpon, and I selected the matte paper option. The book turned out well, it is simple in design, and a little less expensive as compared to some other places.

The best part is — I printed one of these books for Alex, again, as she loves looking at all of the art she created via this book, and it is also a great way to keep encouraging her to keep making her beautiful art, which she loves to make, regularly! She is extremely independently creative little person! The arts are really important, and we hope to keep fostering this love within Alex. I hope to make yearly books of her artwork as a way of preserving her artworks! I am still making our family yearbooks, but I am a year behind, so I will have to find a way to catch up!

Below is a selection of Alex’s artworks from pre-K and summer camp!