Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

Oct 3

Mornings…

Mornings.

Over the past few months I have been rising in the mornings with Doug, around 4:45 a.m. At first it seemed quite early to rise, but I have adjusted; I pretty much wake up now on my own around this time, on most mornings during the work week, and even sometimes on the weekends. (We do make sure we go to bed early during the work week). I am working on final edits for my photography project, and I find that I work best in the early morning, versus other times of the day, while the entire the house is very quiet, Victory is back in our bed resting (after potty), and meanwhile, it is still dark outside. It is also nice to watch the sun rise. So if you are trying to get a project done or trying to find extra time in your day to get something done or begin something that you always wanted to do, I highly recommend utilizing the early mornings. You will be amazed how much you can actually accomplish during this time frame.

What I have found from this practice is that it is best to show up every single day, even when it’s hard. I have also found that it is best to suspend expectations and the be present and in the flow of work and not be occupied or concerned with what gets done or how. Some days you will be ‘in the zone’ and everything will flow; and other days, you will feel tired, the work will feel more difficult to wade through, and it feels like little progress is being made. Sometimes, however, when you hit a roadblock, it helps to step away and work on something else and come back to the issue that is giving you a problem or difficulty; giving space, during these times, will help the issue resolve, without much effort. It is amazing. Sometimes I will be stumped on an image that I have been working on for a long time, without resolve, and them I step away for a couple of days, and it finally resolves, i.e., I figure out what I need to do to make the image work. Nevertheless, just keep going. Roadblocks are not permanent, they are chance to persevere.

“I work all the time. I never leave home. I mean, I just stay honed in on what’s ahead.” — Sally Mann

“It is the thousand of days of trying, failing, sitting, thinking, resisting, dreaming, raveling, unraveling that we are at our most engaged, alert, and alive.” — Dani Shapiro

Sep 27

Around Here: September

Happy September! Happy Fall! We cannot believe a new season is here, and it is almost October! We love the fall, one of our favorite seasons for various reasons! Below are some items that have occurred around here in September!

-finishing final edits and continuing to work on the next steps concerning my long-term photography project.

-Doug and I celebrated 13 years together from our first date this month! The time goes by too quickly!

-we went to a Navy football game at the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, which was great fun and we had beautiful, fall like, weather! The Navy even won!

-this weekend we are taking Victory to Pups in the Park again at the Nationals!

-Doug started taking a French class this month, which he is enjoying greatly!

-we had plans/reservations to return to Dewey Beach this month, but with Hurricane Irma, and the forecast up the coast, we decided to postpone for another time.

-enjoying date nights together! Doug and I are aiming to try at least one new restaurant a month to expand our horizons! This month we tried a few new restaurants: Vin909, in Eastport, (which took over, a while back, for a restaurant, the Wild Orchid, which we loved); Founding Farmers, in Tysons Corner, a new favorite, which we both loved; and we made it to Tupleo Honey in Arlington (Rosslyn) with Victory, (which we were introduced to in Raleigh, North Carolina), which was excellent!

-enjoying time together outside. We have been taking more walks outside during the evenings, when it is cooler, and Victory still loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About! In fact, we have done so many walks, that the Hound About needs new tires, which we ordered!

-we got small drywall repairs; painting; and caulking done around the house as a result of our home settling since being built and ongoing construction near our home.

-we got our home ready for fall with mums, fall wreaths, and candles etc.

-we are getting ready for Victory’s 6th Birthday next month! (We cannot believe that Victory, our sweet fur girl, has been with us for four years already, commemorated on her birthday!)

-we are getting ready for Halloween — we have Victory’s costume!

-continuing to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-finished watching the second season of Witnesses, an excellent French series.

-began the first season of Fortitude, a good series.

-began reading Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown, a really good read so far!

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym and on walks!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Wednesday!

Sep 19

Photo Magnets: Fox Print

Earlier this summer, when I was done editing the images our trips, I wanted to create Sticky9 photo magnets for our refrigerator/freezer, only to find out that they had gone out of business in June. Therefore, I had to find another option and, after researching, I found Fox Print located in California. These magnets are individual photo magnets and they are 2.5 x 2.5 inches and similar thickness as the Sticky9 photo magnets. I found the print quality and resolution to be better than Sticky9. (However, I do miss having nine images together, which was an option at Sticky9.) So, this has been the next best option that I have been able to find, thus far. We still have a little bit of surface area on of refrigerator/freezer remaining, and these photo magnets fit perfectly in the space remaining on our refrigerator/freezer! You can also easily change out the magnets and update photos. They make great gifts as well! Below is an iPhone image containing a sampling of some of the images I had made into magnets!

Happy Tuesday!

Aug 30

Around Here: August

Happy August! Another month has just about flown by once again. The summer is flying by much too quickly and, with the cooler temperatures here, it is beginning to feel like the fall is upon us. Below are some items that have occurred around here in August!

-continuing to work on the next steps concerning my long-term photography project.

-we had a great fun in Dewey Beach celebrating Doug’s birthday!

-we have been going to our neighborhood pool and enjoying our time at the pool! This coming weekend is our last weekend to enjoy the outdoor pool this season.

-we went to the Eastern Shore for crabs a few times!

-enjoying date nights together! Doug and I are aiming to try at least one new restaurant a month to expand our horizons! This month we tried a new restaurant, the Victoria and the Dewey Beer Co., which were both good!

-enjoying time together outside. With the warmer weather, we have been taking more walks outside during the evenings, when it is cooler, and Victory still loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About! There have been a lot of cool evenings in August; and we have even been able to open up the windows in our house to let the fresh air inside, which has been nice.

-continuing to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-began watching the first season of Atypical.

-saw the The Story of Diana Documentary.

-re-read Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey, a really good read!

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym and on walks!

-achieving 10,000 steps most days via my Fitbit!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Wednesday!

Aug 23

Doug’s Birthday, Dewey Beach!

We continued Doug’s big birthday celebration this past weekend in Dewey Beach! We had a really nice long weekend together! The weather was beautiful, we loved reading and resting by the ocean, and we enjoyed nice dinners together at one of our favorite restaurants in Dewey Beach. We also had fun taking Victory to the beach, which she loved, especially in the evenings when it was not as crowded. We hope to return again soon! A few images and iPhone photos from our trip, celebrating Doug, are below!

Happy Wednesday!

Aug 14

Happy Birthday, Doug!

Happy Birthday, Doug! I cannot believe another year has flown by again and that we have known each other just shy of thirteen years next month! I cannot imagine sharing my life with anyone else. You are my best friend. You are my rock. You are my confidant. I cannot imagine getting through the past year and a half without you. You keep me balanced and grounded with your steadfast patience. You are one of the most kind, giving, thoughtful, and generous people I have ever met. You are truly remarkable. Words cannot express how fortunate I am to be sharing my life with you — and I am certain Victory feels the same way as exemplified by the love she showers you with every day! We love you always! Happy Birthday!

We celebrated Doug’s big birthday over the weekend! I surprised him with a fun, custom cake and special dinner! We were scheduled to be away this past weekend in celebration of Doug’s birthday, but due to the poor weather forecast and some unforeseen circumstances, we moved the birthday weekend celebration at Dewey Beach to this coming weekend, weather permitting.

Aug 8

Happy Birthday, Biscuit

Today is Biscuit’s birthday. He would have been fourteen-years-old presuming his age was accurate when we rescued him. However, it is very likely he was older. We made August 8th Biscuit’s birthday as it was the day Biscuit was rescued off the streets in North Carolina where he was then taken to the Sheltie Haven Sheltie Rescue, Inc. We rescued Biscuit from this rescue organization on January 7, 2011, and we enjoyed a wonderful two and a half years together.

We celebrated Biscuit’s birthday in Nova Scotia during the summers of 2011 and 2012; and in 2013, we spent our last vacation together in Manchester, Vermont. We had a wonderful time together. Doug and I have many wonderful memories of our summer vacations together with Biscuit. We know that Biscuit is always with us in spirit.

Whenever I see a rainbow, I think of Biscuit. We have seen several rainbows, including a double rainbow, and, each time, we immediately thought of Biscuit. In fact, we saw a rainbow just last week after a heavy rain.

Below is one of my favorite images of Biscuit and Doug taken on the beach in Hubbards, Nova Scotia.

Biscuit, we hope that you have a wonderful birthday! We hope that you are running on the beach with your sheltie furs blowing in the wind — a lovely and lasting image and memory that I will always cherish! You are always and forever in our hearts, our sweet dear Biscuit. Thank you for the many, everlasting gifts you gave to us. We love you and miss you very much. Happy Birthday!

Jul 31

Photographs: Charleston, Folly Beach Vacation

We vacationed in Charleston recently, and I finally had time to finish culling and editing the images from our vacation, our fourth vacation with our sweet, Victory! You can view a snapshot of our vacation here. (You can also view our vacation last year with Victory to Lake Michigan here; you can view our vacation from two years ago with Victory to Quebec City here; and you can view our vacation three years ago with Victory to Montreal, Quebec here.)

We rented a house for a week and a half in Charleston, really close to Folly Beach while being not too far from downtown Charleston. We were fortunate that we had nice weather. We all loved the beach. We spent a lot of time resting and relaxing there. We went to downtown Charleston several times and there was no shortage of good restaurants! We even were able to bring Victory to a few dinners and enjoyed Jeni’s ice cream for the first time! We also went to Boone Hall Plantation.

On our way to Charleston, we stopped in the triangle area in North Carolina for a few days (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). Doug wanted to visit Duke’s campus, and, while there, we even made a stop at the Canine Cognition Center! It was interesting to see the lab first hand. Victory did not make it too far walking around the campus, so we used the Ergo, which she loves. While in Chapel Hill, since Doug loves bourbon, we went to the TOPO Distillery. Victory was even welcome, so it worked out well. While in Raleigh, we found a really good restaurant, the Tupelo Honey Cafe! It was the best brunch and fried chicken that we have ever eaten, and we plan to go again to the Northern Virginia location!

Most of all, we are grateful for our time away together. We enjoyed spending time together; getting away; having a change of scenery; and having days where we had no plans and were able to take each day as it came. Even after a really long drive home, due to horrific traffic, Victory, of course, spotted her exit to her house, and she loved coming home, like always!

Below are a few images from our recent vacation, including an short iPhone video of Doug and Victory!

Happy Monday!

Jul 26

Around Here: July

Happy July! Another month has just about flown by once again. The summer is zooming by much too quickly. Below are some items that have occurred around here in July!

-I continue to work on the next steps concerning my long-term photography project.

-we had a great vacation in Charleston together! (I am finishing up editing our vacation images.)

-we have been going to our neighborhood pool and enjoying our time at the pool!

-we went to the Eastern Shore for crabs for the first time this season!

-enjoying date nights together! Doug and I are aiming to try at least one new restaurant a month to expand our horizons! This month we found a new one, the Iron Rooster, which was good and it is dog friendly as well!

-enjoying time together outside. With the warmer weather, we have been taking more walks outside during the evenings, when it is cooler, and Victory loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About!

-took Victory for her annual check up and shots at the vet; and we gave her a bath, after returning home from vacation, which is not fun for anyone, sadly!

-continuing to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-finished the last two seasons of the Last Tango in Halifax.

-watched the first season of Glow.

-started the first season of Shetland.

-finished reading The Bright Hour, by Nina Riggs. It was an excellent memoir.

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym and on walks!

-achieving 10,000 steps most days via my Fitbit!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Wednesday!

Jul 14

Snapshot: Charleston, Folly Beach Vacation

We are back from vacation! We are getting back into the swing of things from being gone! The car ride was long due to the horrible traffic in Virginia. Doug was kind enough to drive both ways, the whole way! Victory sat on my lap and actually slept on my lap on the way home! This was a first (or maybe a second), so perhaps we are making progress! Victory was a trooper on vacation — she did really well! (We still think home will forever have Victory’s heart. She was really excited to be home, in her house, in familiar surroundings.)

We were really fortunate that we had nice weather while on vacation. It only rained for a few hours one day! It was hotter and more humid than I bargained for, but we had a great time! Victory loved the beach. She loves walking on the beach and dipping her little paws and legs in the water! Today’s post is a sneak peek, as I have not finished editing images from our trip.

On our way to Charleston, we stopped in the triangle area in North Carolina for a few days (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). Doug wanted to visit Duke’s campus, and, while there, we even made a stop at the Canine Cognition Center! Victory did not participate in any laboratory tests, but it was interesting to see the lab first hand. Victory did not make it too far walking around the campus, so we used the Ergo, which she loves. I think both Victory and I were totally drenched by the end of the day! While in Chapel Hill, since Doug loves bourbon, we went to the TOPO Distillery. Victory was even welcome, so it worked out. Chapel Hill is a nice university town, resembling where I grew up, in many ways. While in Raleigh, we found a really good restaurant, the Tupelo Honey Cafe, and there is fortunately one also in Northern Virginia! It was the best brunch and fried chicken that we have ever eaten!

We rented a house for a week and a half in Charleston, really close to Folly Beach and we were still not too far from downtown Charleston. We all loved the beach. We spent a lot of time resting and relaxing there, and we took each day as it came. We went to downtown Charleston several times and there was no shortage of good restaurants! We even were able to bring Victory to a few dinners and enjoyed Jeni’s ice cream for the first time! We also went to Boone Hall Plantation, which was interesting — I loved the trees that are unique to South Carolina. Below is a snapshot containing several iPhone photos from our vacation. Once I finish editing the images from our vacation, I will put a proper blog post together to share in the next week or two, I hope. Stay tuned.

Happy Friday!