Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

Oct 31

Happy Halloween from our Llamas!

Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year! We love the fall season! This is Alex’s seventh Halloween! Victory is a llama this year for Halloween along with her little sister, Alex, shown below! Victory (along with Alex) was a dinosaur last year; she was a rainbow two years ago; peacock three years ago; Crayola red crayon four years ago; Super Woman five years ago; a unicorn six years ago; Wonder Woman seven years ago; a fifties girl eight years ago; a lioness nine years ago; a butterfly ten years ago; and a ladybug for her first Halloween, eleven years ago. And Alex had a wonderful Halloween celebration and parade at school today! We hope you have a safe Halloween tonight!

Here is Doug and Alex’s pumpkin, which they worked diligently on this year, shown below! Alex picked a fun design this year, but Doug did most all of the magical pumpkin work!

Additionally, here are links to other pumpkins carved by Doug: last year; two years ago; three years ago; four years ago; five years ago; six years ago; seven years ago; eight years ago; nine years ago; ten years ago; eleven years ago; and twelve years ago!

Here is a short video of the lit pumpkin that Doug carved for us this year, with some assistance from Alex! He did a great job, as always!

Further, here is a look back at Victory and Alex over the years on Halloween!

Oct 11

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16 Years In

16 years of marriage. 20 years together, two decades together. 6 years of parenting a little human together. 11 years of loving and taking care of our fur girl, Victory, together. You are my favorite human being. You are always by my side, and supportive through everything. I can never thank you enough for all of your support with respect to putting my new book into the world. I could never have done it without you. You are the greatest gift of my life, and each day spent with you is truly a gift. I look forward to many, many more years together, knowing that we can get through anything together. Most of all, you are an incredible Daddy to our girls! We are all so incredibly blessed and grateful for you. Happy sixteenth wedding anniversary!

And, we are celebrating this milestone, along with celebrating Victory being part of our little family for 11 years! Tomorrow is the day we adopted Victory 11 years ago from the Michigan Sheltie Rescue! We are so incredibly grateful for our beloved fur girl! We are enjoying the cooler fall weather, along with doing some fun fall family outings together, with our girls, during this long weekend!

“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is not love for you like mine.” —Maya Angelou

Jul 9

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My Book: ABANDONED is Available for Pre-Order!

I can hardly believe I am typing this blog post after so many years of working on this project! My book, Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, is finally finished, and it is now available for pre-order, and it will be released on October 1, 2024, to kick off ‘Adopt-A-Dog Month!’ This project has been a labor of love, and I hope you will consider pre-ordering Abandoned now, as it is vital to the book’s success. My sincere hope is that Abandoned helps many dogs in need find permanent, loving homes, especially with our current dog overpopulation crisis in this country.

Abandoned is a result of a ten-year project following nearly sixty dogs from rescue to adoption, showcasing “before” and “after” photographs, which are accompanied by each dog’s personal story. No other book has captured dogs in this manner. It is a unique project that encompasses more than just photographs—as the dogs’ stories are integral, providing context and augmenting the photographs. In addition to the dogs, I hope that people see that the human companions’ lives are changed in such positive, immeasurable ways.

The idea for Abandoned, literally came to me on a summer day during 2012, roughly a year-and-a-half after we had adopted our first rescue dog named Biscuit, a Shetland Sheepdog, for whom this blog is named after. He forever changed my life in so many ways—he opened my heart in a way like no other; and he brought me back to my love of photography. My curiosity and experience with Biscuit made me aware of the dog overpopulation crisis in our country, and this set me on a path to learn more about what happens to these abandoned dogs. I began documenting the fate of roughly 60 dogs of various breeds, who found themselves in shelters or rescue organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region. I first photographed each dog prior to adoption, and I then photographed these same dogs, again, roughly a year later. Written narratives accompany the dogs’ photographs providing, to the extent possible, how, and why each dog was abandoned. I also explore the significant positive impact these dogs have had on their human companions’ lives, and vice versa. It is my great hope that Abandoned will help raise awareness of this overpopulation crisis and encourage people to adopt a shelter or rescue dog.

It is an understatement that the publication of this body of work required contributions from a large number of people whom I owe such a great debt.

Here is a look inside Abandoned, shown below, and you can learn more about Abandoned and read editorial reviews, here.

I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.

Jul 2

Around Here . . .

Happy Summer! Alex finished up Kindergarten last month, followed by a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with some of her school friends, which she thoroughly enjoyed! We took a trip to Michigan to see family, and Victory saw our vet there where she had a mass removed, her teeth cleaned, and a wellness check. It turned out that this mass was cancerous; however, the vet got clean margins, so we are very grateful! We continue to keep an eye on Victory’s kidney function and her thyroid. We are just so grateful for our fur girl!

Alex had fun in Michigan seeing family. And, we finally got to meet Finn in person, our new family member, a rescue papillon! He is adorable! A few photos from our trip are shown below. Alex picked out her fireworks for her Fourth of July gathering with her friends–she is so excited! She also lost another tooth, while we were away! Additionally, we saw a Tiger’s game together; celebrated Father’s Day; went to the Binder Park Zoo, where we fed giraffes lettuce; took trips to the local pool; ate at local restaurants; we spent time together, and played a lot of Domino’s! Alex is really great at this game! And, Alex is on her first swim team, this summer, and she is having fun and doing well!

May 14

Around Here…

I cannot believe it is the middle of May, already — where has the time gone, it is literally flying, and the time seems to be going even faster since spring break!

Alex recently had her Spring Music Concert at school, and it was lovely — they sang wonderful songs, after much preparation. Alex is done with Kindergarten, in a few short weeks, which is so difficult to believe! She has grown in so many ways!

Alex continues to swim, and she will give the summer swim team a try this summer! Her favorite stroke is backstroke, and we are looking forward to checking out the new summer pool we joined! Alex also participated in some nature enrichment at school, and she is still going strong on making her art — she is very creative and comes up with some neat art project all on her own! Alex has her first tooth coming in, despite not losing a tooth yet, and we confirmed it was okay for this to happen with the dentist! We recently attended more birthday parties, which Alex always loves! We attended a Nationals’ baseball game, and plan to take Victory back to a game this year, for Pups in the Park, which we all love, and we are going to an Oriole’s game soon! This spring, I have been working really hard to finish up my book, and I cannot wait to share more with you in the coming weeks!

Our little family celebrated Mother’s Day early, as Doug is in Norway, and we all miss him dearly, and we cannot wait for him to return home! Fortunately, Signal, an app, has allowed us to video chat, like FaceTime, despite the time difference. I hope everyone had a nice Mother’s Day, and sending love and light to the fellow moms out there and peace and comfort to those who find this day difficult for any number of reasons. I feel so fortunate to be a mom to our little human and our beloved fur girl. There was a time that we were not sure if we would have a child of our own, and I count my blessings everyday. Alex is a wonderful, determined, and inspiring soul! As her mom, I am here to love her and Victory with my whole heart and guide Alex as best as I (we) can. Alex is — entirely beautifully — her own person. And what a privilege it is to share this time with her, to watch her forge her way, day by day!

Alex and I are pictured together, below, from our first Mother’s Day together to the present, as it is a tradition that we take a photo together, each year, on Mother’s Day!

Apr 4

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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!

Feb 14

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Happy Heart Day!

Happy Heart Day! We celebrated Valentine’s Day a little early, this past weekend, with Alex and Victory, along with a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants! Alex and Victory are quite the pair! I am so grateful for our beautiful girls, and I am so grateful to be their Mama! Today, Doug is attending Alex’s Valentine’s Day celebration at school, and Alex is over the moon exited for Doug to come to her class! Alex loved making valentine cards and valentine gifts for her friends!

In other news, very recently, a new rescue dog joined our family. His name is Finn, and he is a puppy mill survivor, who traveled a long distance to his forever home. Finn was adopted in honor of Nick, our first beloved rescue papillon dog. Below is a short video of Finn, enjoying his first Valentine’s Day, in his new forever home! He is still acclimating to his new home, and making steady progress each day! He barked for the first time today, after seeing is reflection in a mirror, and he is learning to walk on a leash and go potty outside. He also has a Hound About, as well, and he enjoys going out for rides! We cannot wait to meet him! Alex has already made art for Finn, and she put a bag of goodies together that she picked out at the store for him! Finn is the most adorable little pup—just look at that handsome face, and those beautiful eyes! We are so grateful he joined our family! He is so loved and cherished!

Here is a video of Finn!

I hope you have a great day celebrating with the ones you love.

You can view our previous Valentine’s celebrations here.

“I know for sure that loves saves me and that it is here to save us all.” —Maya Angelou

Feb 9

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 Vic tory 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

Feb 2

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!

Jan 10

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 twelfth 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!