Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

May 8

Planning a Vacation with your Furry Family Member

This year, Doug and I were not quite sure what we were going to do for vacation this summer. We talked about flying somewhere, which meant that Victory would be unable to go with us. She is too big to go with us on a plane in the cabin, and we will not crate her and put her in the belly of a plane — we are not sure who would have more anxiety — Victory or us! (However, later this month, Victory will have her first ever sleepover with her Grandpa Dick and ‘Uncle Nick,’ while we go and see the Rolling Stones in Columbus with my sister and brother-in-law!) So, after going back and forth, we decided that a vacation would not be the same without our fur girl, and we just could not imagine not including her. I know, we are those ‘crazy dog people,’ but we are just fine with that!

So we are headed back to Canada late this summer. This will be our fourth vacation in Canada, all with our furry family members, Biscuit and Victory. We are going to be staying in a cottage on the Saint Lawrence River, just outside of Quebec City, Quebec, a French-speaking area. We will likely stop in Manchester, Vermont, on the way up and we also, of course, have to make a stop in Montreal to eat at the Orange Julep — it has the most amazing orange drink!

Doug takes care of finding and making all the arrangements for our vacations, and I do the list making and most of the packing!

Below are some general tips from Doug on how to plan an international vacation to include your furry family member:

1. Plan Ahead: Outside of this year, we make our reservations early, usually in December or January, seven to eight months ahead of time, as there are not as many dog-friendly places to rent, so the selection of places to rent is definitely more limited (the same rule also applies to hotels.) Additionally, typically the rentals during the summer months fill up quickly, which is another reason to plan ahead. We use Airbnb and VRBO to book our vacations.

2. Be Patient: Sometimes it takes a while to sort through the available dog-friendly options, but we have, fortunately, always found a place that we liked! (Doug is good about finding the right place for us to stay during our vacation!)

3. Check the Reviews: Before we even consider a place to rent, we read all of the reviews to get a general sense of how others have enjoyed (or not enjoyed) their stay.

4. Contact the Owner: Once you find a rental(s) you like, it is a good idea to communicate with the owner to get a sense and feel to ensure a smooth stay and to better understand the terms of the rental, i.e., deposit required, currency required, and payment and cancellation terms, etc.

5. Check Google Earth: It is always a good idea to locate the property on Google Earth to get an idea of the property and its immediate surrounding area.

6. Check the Surrounding Area: It is also a good idea to research the surrounding area online for restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment, etc., in order to get a sense of how far away these amenities are located, as some rentals are located in more remote areas.

7. Check the Requirements: Make sure you have the appropriate paper work completed by your vet in the proper amount of time prior to your vacation. You can learn more about what each country requires in order for your furry family member to enter particular countries by visiting here. Also, it is a good idea to check the country’s requirements and restrictions on food (upon entry and upon exiting) to ensure you can either bring your furry family member’s food.

8. Trust your Instincts: Most of all, trust your instincts. If you have any hesitations, or something feels off after completing the steps above, trust your instincts and only rent a place that feels like a good fit for you and your needs! Your instincts generally do not lead you astray.

Below are some images from our vacation last year! We had a great and relaxing time together!

Happy Friday and Happy Mother’s Day!

P.S. You may also like this post — packing for your furry family member’s vacation!

Apr 22

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Around Here: April

Well, it is already April, the first quarter of the year is over, and it finally feels like spring with warmer temperatures and the blossoming trees — that is the best part of winter — knowing spring will eventually come. Below are some items that have occurred around here in April, a busy month!

-continuing to work diligently to finish all of my photo shoots for my photography project, which should be completed by the end of June 2015! So far, this month, I have photographed 25 dogs.

-working hard editing images for my long-term photography project, and I am almost done completing a draft of the first part of the project.

-a bit behind in my reading this month, partly due to many photo shoots and a lot of editing. I do, however, have a large stack of books waiting for me on my nightstand!

-took excursions to Pennsylvania and Princeton!

-loving my yoga class and teacher!

-making breakfasts together on the weekends with Doug.

-finished watching a new Netflix series entitled, Bloodline. This is a good one!

-finished watching Secrets & Lies on Netfilx — so far this is pretty good!

-working on finishing the final room in our house along with filling in the final bare walls! We have been in our home for a year and a half now, and we are finally almost decorated — my goal is to finish everything up by the end of the summer, early fall.

-we set out our new outdoor furniture and we love having the ability to sit outside, which is so serene and peaceful, especially in the evenings — we love watching the sun set, and Victory loves to be outside with us! Doug is going to help me put up our new deck lights this weekend!

-this past weekend we got our mulching and planting done! Yay! Our home officially feels like it is ready to welcome beautiful weather!

-having date nights with Doug!

-taking Victory on more outings since the weather has been so nice!

-giving Victory a bath, a monthly ritural — not her favorite thing to do — but she looks and feels so great when she is all bathed and groomed!

Happy Wednesday!

Apr 13

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Victory: 18 Months In

During Victory’s first year with us, I documented her monthly milestones along with a weekly photography project, which I continue to document. It is difficult to believe that she has been with us for eighteen months as of yesterday, April 12, 2015! The time goes by so quickly. Victory is my teacher, and life with Victory is so much sweeter! Our fur girl has made great strides since we adopted her on October 12, 2013. Her fur coat has grown and it continues to come in; she is more confident and animated; she loves her chew toys and puzzles; and she loves ‘night-night’! Below are some thoughts about our fur girl, Victory!

-We receive endless love from Victory. She loves us and we love her! Doug especially has a real soft spot for his fur girl, Victory!

-She loves her routine and it keeps us on a schedule with some structure with regards to Victory!

-Victory loves to come into the kitchen when Doug cooks and bakes! She loves getting a few nibbles of our food. It turns out, she loves Doug’s buttermilk pancakes among other things — she is not too discriminating when it comes to food! On the weekends, she loves getting some vanilla yogurt while we eat our breakfast Doug prepared!

-We are convinced that bedtime, ‘night-night,’ is her favorite time of day, when her ‘pack’ is all together! Victory now plays for a good half an hour once we all get into bed as she runs up and down the bed and interacts with us with her paws and mouth — she even makes some noises now when she plays, but still no barking! She has even trained us to get her water in the bed before going to sleep and during the night. Thankfully, Victory mostly wakes Doug up (and not me) by bouncing on his legs at the end of the bed and Doug gets up and gets her water most nights! I know, it is crazy how this fur girl has trained us! We tried putting water on the bathroom floor right off our bedroom, and it never worked — she apparently does not like to leave the bed once she is in for the night! So, she lives like a princess and is quite content with this arrangement!

-Before bed every night, without fail, Victory gives me a partial face wash and Doug an entire face wash. Doug usually falls asleep before me as I usually read before bed, and Victory sometimes keeps going with her washing of Doug’s face even after Doug has fallen asleep! Sometimes, I have to tell her to stop!

-I (we) love going to bed with Victory above my head. She takes turns sleeping on our pillows during the night. She likes to lay against the head-board. Most mornings, when I get up, Victory is above my head or by my side and she gives me kisses when I get up most mornings. She is not a morning pup, and some mornings she looks a little drowsy! Fortunately, she lets us sleep in on the weekends without a problem. It is quite nice on the weekends when we stay up later not having to worry that she will wake us up at the crack of dawn! In fact, we are the ones always to get her out of bed!

-We love traveling with Victory! It would not be the same without her. Hopefully, soon, legislation will be passed so that dogs are permitted on trains, which would provide us with more modes of transpiration and options!

-We love taking Victory on outings with us. She loves the car and she loves coming home — her favorite part of her outing! The garage has a special meaning for her — she loves the garage and she can spot our neighborhood a mile away and she gets so excited!

-We love taking Victory around the neighborhood in her Hound About! She loves it and she loves poking her head through the top. We are currently working on Victory walking more continuously via her training. At home, while we are out for walks, she likes to stop frequently because she hears noises, sees construction trucks, and sees people, etc., which frightens her. Victory is so keenly aware of everything all the time. So, if we want to walk at a decent pace, we have to put her in the Hound About! When she wants to, she is very agile and swift on her feet!

-Victory loves the recently finished deck — it turned out really nice! In fact, last night, when we were sitting outside, Victory fell asleep in her outdoor Orvis bed — this is a first! Last year, she really did not want anything to do with being outside on the deck and she was also not interested in the outdoor bed!

-I love having Victory, my furry companion, at my feet while I am working at my desk/computer. It makes getting work done easier! I love how Victory is always with us.

There are many reasons why we love Victory! Below, to date, is one of my favorite images of Victory! She looks so confident and regal.

In the images below, it is evident how much Victory has physically changed and blossomed over the past eighteen months. (The the top left image was taken by Victory’s foster mom, taken just prior to adopting Victory in the fall of 2013.) Victory is a happy puppy! We love her and I hope that her story will encourage others to consider dog rescue!

Happy Monday!

Mar 25

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Revisit: Happiness Jar

Last year, I decided to make and keep a happiness jar throughout 2014. I am happy to report, that I filled it up, shown below! Earlier this year, I made a new happiness jar, shown below, which is bigger, and I plan to write down at least one sentiment at the end of each day and place it in my new jar in order to create a way to remember snippets from each day and to foster more gratitude this year. I am also still using my wish ball!

Happy Wednesday!

Mar 23

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Photo Tattoos: Picattoo

I recently learned of how you can make photo tattoos from your Instagram via Picattoo.

For $14.99 you can get 12 of your Instagram photos turned into tattoos and shipped anywhere in the world. Shipping is free, and I have read that the tattoos can each last well over a week if properly cared for. Maybe I will have to check this out for myself, although, I have no permanent tattoos! Also, I am sure kids would love to have selfie temporary tattoos, and it would make great party favors for kids as well!

Happy Monday!

The above images are courtesy of Picattoo.

Mar 18

Updated Website and Blog

Over the past couple of months, I have been working with my website provide to update my website in preparation for when I complete this next body of work, my long-term photography project. My theme with my website is “simple and clean,” with the focus on highlighting the images along with easy navigation. Although it is a lot of tedious work, I believe it is a good practice to keep my website current: (1) content wise and (2) appearance wise. A few screen shots of my revised website are shown below.

I have also updated my blog over the past several months, while also keeping a clean and simple look to the blog, which is simultaneously easy to navigate. I have changed text colors; added a splash of color to the text via links; created a footer; edited the right side bar; edited the menu and categories; and made other updates where necessary. I am pleased with the result. A screen shot of the blog is shown below.

The lesson that I have learned while working on updating and revising my website and blog is that nothing remains static — your website and blog evolves with you over time. I am sure that there will be more changes in the future to my website and blog, but I believe my goal of maintaining a simple and clean presence will remain constant.

Also, be sure to sign up for the newsletter, which is coming soon!

Happy Wednesday!

Mar 16

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Around Here: March

Well, it is March and spring should be here soon, hopefully by Friday, the first day of spring! We are happy to have an extra hour of light each day; and we are happy that the temperatures are getting warmer! Below are some items that have occurred around here in March!

-working really hard editing images for my long-term photography project, and I am getting close to finishing a draft of the first part of the project.

-gearing up for the final photo shoots for my project occurring shortly.

-making updates to my website and blog.

-attending training class with Victory! She is making good progress. Due to her anxiety in new situations and when she meets new people, we start private lessons shortly to help give Victory some one-on-one training time.

-started a new yoga class, which has been great and a good way to mix up the week at the gym.

-began reading this book. I am examining how I am spending my little pockets of time.

-we are getting our outdoor deck furniture ready to set out as soon as it gets warm enough, and we look forward to spending time time outside on our deck with Victory along with enjoying sunsets together! We shall see if she uses her outdoor Orvis dog bed similar to this one. Last year, Victory did not want anything to do with it!

-making homemade dinner with Doug on Sundays. One of our favorites is fried tilapia.

-making breakfasts together on the weekends.

-we had our first Shake Shack burger and it was delicious!

-began and finished watching House of Cards. This season got off to a sluggish start, but it picked up, with a surprise ending.

-started to open the windows in the house to let in fresh air! Yay!

-burning lots of candles around the house!

-having date nights with Doug — we went to one of our favorite restaurants this past weekend in Delaware! We can’t wait for it to get warmer so that we can take our fur girl with us!

-taking more walks outside with Victory since the weather has warmed up some! She loves her Hound About!

-giving Victory a bath — not her favorite thing to do — but she looks so great when she is all bathed and groomed!

-Victory and I will be on our own most of this week as Doug is going away on travel for work.

Here is a photograph of a freshly bathed and groomed Victory cuddling up with her ‘Victory Bone Pillow’ in our bed!

Happy Monday!

Mar 10

Staying Organized on Paper

I have always used a paper planner ever since I can remember. Along with my planner, I maintain a large to do list of everything that I want and need to get done in the short-term (daily and weekly) and long-term, which I update daily. Doug gets overwhelmed when he looks at this list, but I feel overwhelmed without my list! This practice saves me time and I make sure that items do not slip through the cracks. Usually during the summer months, I purchase a weekly calendar that contains an entire calendar year, January through December, and then I start marking it up before the year begins. I purchased this year’s calendar, shown below, in Montreal.

I think that there is something to be said for being able to quickly glance at my calendar and to do list without flipping through screens, typing changes, and updates, etc. Plus, there have been studies that indicate a higher degree of happiness from using a paper planner. For me, it is not as efficient to keep an electronic calendar. Everyone is different. I like the ability to write, erase, cross-off, use post-it notes, etc., which is faster than typing for me. Doug, on the other hand, does not keep a calendar in paper or electronic form — not sure how he does it…well, I do because I am the one keeping the calendar for us all!

Mar 4

Keeping an Eye on Your Dreams: Daruma Doll

My friend introduced me to the Daruma Doll. The Daruma Doll is a traditional handmade Japanese wishing doll, sometimes referred to as a “goal doll,” that keeps one focused on achieving his/her goals! It is a century-old tradition from Japan that is positive, motivational, and is believe to really work! As a result, I ordered my own Daruma Doll and set my goal.

Here is what you do once you have your Daruma Doll:

Step 1: Decide on a specific goal you are determined to achieve.

Step 2: Draw in one of the Daruma Doll’s blank eyes (either eye is okay) to signify your commitment to achieving your goal.

Step 3: Place your Daruma Doll somewhere visible in your home or office so that while he focuses on your goal, you will be reminded to do the same! I placed my Daruma Doll on my desk so I see him everyday reminding me of my goal/dream!

Step 4: Once you have achieved your goal, draw in the Daruma Doll’s other eye to say, “thank you!”

Step 5: Write the goal you achieved on the back of your Daruma Doll, and if you wish, you can display your Daruma Doll reminding you of your achievement!

My hope is that sometime in the near future I will be able to color in my Daruma Doll’s blank eye, signifying accomplishment of my goal!

Happy goal and dream setting!

Mar 2

Where to Find Wall Art

I have been and I am currently scouting for wall art to fill some remaining empty walls in our home. So, I thought I would share the places online where I have found great art options for original work and print work, which is shown below!