Posts from the ‘Personal’ Category

Jan 31

Around Here This Week

This week has flown by really quickly! We are looking forward to the weekend!

-This week Doug was away on travel for work and it was just me and little Victory! While I was at the gym the other night, Victory managed to get hold of a full bag of chicken flavored Greenies Pill Pockets and she chewed through the bag and she ate all but two pill pockets! She is a smart and stealthy sheltie girl! So far, she is doing ok! Evidently, Victory is getting more confident, and we are not going to keep any food within her reach!

-This week Victory started to make motions that she is interested in playing! She is coming out of her shell more and more and we are seeing more of her personality shine through each day!

-Victory is going to meet some furry friends for the first time this weekend in the City!

-This week we ordered Victory’s Valentine’s gift! Hopefully, she will like it! Also, check out these neat scratch off Valentine’s if you are in need of some Valentine’s!

-I love these new Lululemon tops and yoga pants that Doug got me! I love Lululemon and I remember the times that Biscuit came with us to the Lululemon stores in Nova Scotia and in Maryland, including the dressing room — he never liked to be left out! (P.S. — here are the best, most comfortable undies ever from Lululemon — I think I have almost every color/pattern!)

-I hope to make some more progress on my photography project — lots of editing work to complete!

-Also, we’re planning more rest. Doug and I have made a conscious effort to make more time for rest, which has been really helpful.

-Most of all, I am so happy that Doug is coming home today! We have ‘date night’ tonight — hope to try a new restaurant, something different! We are also almost done with getting caught up on the Son’s of Anarchy! Victory will have watched every episode with us! When it gets warmer and after some training, Victory will be able to join us for ‘date night’!

-Also, I’m still practicing trust, my word for the year.

Happy Friday!

Jan 29

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Gratitude and Making Art

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” ~Rilke

I have a theory that there is a connection between gratitude and creativity, making art. I believe that if you have more gratitude, it is easier to make art — especially if you are in the middle of a large project, which requires a lot of perseverance and patience.

As creators we are constantly looking for what is next. Our next body of work, project or goal, and how we are going to get there. With this forward-looking perspective, we often focus on what we are lacking. However, the mindset focused on improvement can really push us forward with our creative work but every so often we need to center ourselves. We need to come back to who we are and what we do and think about what we are grateful for.

Thus, if you can focus on giving thanks; the positive; being thankful for where you are at; and showing gratitude it will enable you to continue your creative work more easily instead of focusing on the gaps and what is missing. Gratitude – whether we feel it or receive it – gives birth to creative ideas.

Happy Wednesday!

Jan 24

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Not “There” Yet

“Do your thing. Do it unapologetically. Don’t be discouraged by criticism. You probably already know what they’re going to say. Pay no mind to the fear of failure. It’s far more valuable than success. Take ownership, take chances, and have fun. And no matter what, don’t ever stop doing your thing.” ~Aster Roth.

Often we think to ourselves or we have have heard others say, “I’m not there yet.”

Here is the thing to remember about a phrase like that, the thing that you have to understand and remember: The “there” in “not there yet” is not a real destination. And if you put off doing anything until you get “there,” you will spend you entire life waiting to arrive.

The fact of the matter is that nobody is going to tell you that you have “arrived.” I recently saw a card that put it very poignantly, “Do you know what all great professional athletes, writers, and actors have in common? None of them started out that way.”

Ultimately, each person has to make that choice for themselves that is his/her time.

Do the thing that you do not think you can do. This is how you will get to “there.”

Happy Friday and stay warm this weekend — it is super cold here!

Jan 21

Victory: Snow Day!

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~John Steinbeck

Today we have been enjoying a snow day with our little Victory! We are glad to be home in this weather. The snow is coming down in all directions attempting to blot out the neighborhood colors. Isn’t it amazing how the snow blankets the other noise in your life and you become grateful to be tucked in and witness winter’s beauty?

We put Victory’s pink coat on her and we took her outside for her afternoon walk. As you can see in the images below, the snow is really coming down here! Little Victory was a little trooper in the snow! Here is a link to Victory’s first snow! After her walk in the snow, Victory took a long nap with her Daddy!

Today is also special because it is the 500th post on the blog!

Happy Tuesday!

Jan 20

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What kind of accent do you have?

What kind of accent do you have? I recently came across this dialect quiz that has spread all over the web. I grew up in Michigan and after taking the dialect quiz, the results concluded that I have an accent from three possible geographic areas: Rockford, Illinois; Toledo Ohio; and Detroit, Michigan. So, the test seems pretty accurate as I grew up in Southeast Michigan! Doug said that he can sometimes still hear the Michigan accent with certain words even though I have not lived in Michigan for about twelve years!

Have fun taking the dialect quiz!

Happy Monday!

Jan 17

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Victory: Tuck In Ritual

Do you have a “tuck in ritual” before bed with your furry family member? We have a nightly routine and “tuck in ritual” with little Victory each night. When we come home from the gym after dinner during the week, we play with Victory and watch a little TV with her — She is a Sons of Anarchy fan! I think Doug wants to get little Victory a cut — but I think Victory is much more sophisticated! Then, we take Victory for her nightly walk around the neighborhood. She always gets a little treat after each walk as positive reinforcement for doing a good job on her walk!

Then, we head up to bed, and then little Victory comes up the stairs behind us and she literally runs and hops into bed squarely between the pillows and our headboard waiting for us to come to bed. (On the weekends when we are able to stay up later, sometimes, Victory heads up the stairs on her own and puts herself to bed!) Once in bed, we then give Victory a bowl of water in the hopes that she will not wake us up for a “midnight drink of water!” However, around 2:00 a.m., recently without fail, Victory runs up and down the middle of the bed waking us up for a drink! Usually Doug gets up and gets her fresh water! We are working on Victory getting out of the bed to get her water on her own!

Additionally, instead of Victory immediately settling down and going to sleep between one of our heads and our headboard, as Victory had been doing since we adopted her, Victory has recently been quite active at night. She keeps us up most nights for an hour or so wanting to play! We think this is a good sign that she is getting more comfortable with us and her new home! However, both of us, including Victory, are pretty tired in the mornings! However, unlike us, Victory has the luxury of sleeping all day! Victory does let us sleep in on the weekends, which is really nice! We do think that Victory enjoys the predictability of our night-time ritual.

We had a somewhat similar night-time ritual with our beloved Biscuit — except he slept on his Orvis bed next to my side of the bed and he usually only woke us up if he had a potty emergency! Sometimes on the weekends, Biscuit would join us in bed so that we could sleep in a little longer!

The ordinary moments are the moments I most savor.

Happy Friday!

Jan 15

Critiques

I very much miss the classroom based critiques from college. It was always nice to put up my work and receive feedback from peers and my professor on my work.

However, since I am not currently in a traditional classroom setting, I find the following helpful in terms of obtaining feedback on my work — projects.

1. Critique Partner: Find a critique partner in order to help give each other feedback on your respective work to help ensure that you are making ‘strong work.’ I believe having a critique partner or regular critiques, with people you trust is a nice way to receive feedback on my work.

2. Artists You Admire: Contact artists whose work you admire to see if he/she will provide you with feedback on your work. Most people are happy to help. I have reached out to photographers whose work I admire, and I have formed some nice relationships with other photographers and artists who have provided feedback on my work, which has been very helpful.

3. Former Professor(s): If you still have relationships with former professors, you can reach out to him/her and request feedback on your work.

4. Photography Conference: Attend photography conferences such as the Society for Photographic Education, where you can have access to many artists in one location to receive feedback on your work.

5. Galleries: Contact Galleries and determine whether you can pay for a consult to have a gallery review your work.

6. Organizations: If the intent of your work is to communicate for a specific cause, belief, political issue, etc., you can reach out to organizations who might be able to put you in touch with someone like-minded who can also provide feedback on your work.

Jan 3

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2014 Word of the Year: Trust

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ~Zora Neale Hurston

Many people write new year resolutions. I still write down some attainable goals for the year, but I have found it more helpful to have a word, an intention, to focus on throughout the year.

This year, I recently contemplated that my word for 2014 would be open. However, after reflection and giving more thought, I have decided that trust is my one little word for 2014. In some ways I have excellent trust — in divine timing; in the laws of the universe; in spiritual practice; and in following my bliss – but when it comes to trusting others and myself on a much more practical level, I can struggle. So, I am going to keep trust as my word and see how it manifests this year. I am also going to trust the process, part of the biscuit’s space manifesto.

Last year I selected the word create, which served me well in taking more risks in my photography; sharing my photography; and also beginning a long-term photography project, which, at times, feels like a daunting undertaking. However, I keep plugging along because I believe the work is important. Thankfully, Doug is really supportive. I am dedicating this work to our beloved Biscuit, the inspiration for this work. I plan to complete this work in 2015; however, there are a lot of moving parts to this project and I am thankful for the support of the organizations that I am working with on this project.

2013 was a year of immense change for us in many ways. We still miss our beloved Biscuit, and we will always miss him. Biscuit was a gift and he came into our lives at the right time. We know that he is with us in spirit and we see him daily as his images adorn our home. We also know that Biscuit brought our beautiful Victory into our lives, whom we love very much. Doug says that “Victory makes beauty effortless.” Victory is also a blessing and we have fun with her and she is now my muse. We look forward to all of our adventures together!

We also sold a house, built a house, and moved two times in a span of nine months. We are now pretty settled into our home. We still have a little more decorating that we want to complete, but we have made good progress so far! I feel ready to close the chapter on 2013 and welcome 2014 into our lives!

Are you considering selecting a word for yourself (or letting one find you)? There is no right or wrong. The main thing to remember is that this is your word.

And what do you do with this one little word? You live with it. You invite it into your life. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities.

Dec 31

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The Art of Living

Today I wanted to share a post written by Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.net entitled, My Pursuit of the Art of Living. This is one of my favorite blog posts that I read this past year and it resonates with me on so many levels. I too believe that life itself is an art form.

MY PURSUIT OF THE ART OF LIVING

For many years I simply lived, and got by.

But in the last few years, after learning a bit about habits and mindfulness and simplicity and love, I have changed my approach to living.

Now I see living as an art form, to be studied and played with and practiced and mastered. Of course, few ever master the art of living, and I don’t know if I ever will. Probably not.

But I can pursue this art. I can appreciate it when others do it well. I can learn about it, through experiments and observation and introspection.

My pursuit of the art of living is only just beginning, but I thought I’d share a bit about this pursuit with you, my good friends.

BEGINNING THE PURSUIT

The journey begins with a single step, a wise man said, and for me that first step is simple:

Admit I don’t know.

Learning begins by emptying your cup, so that you can fill it with what you find. Emptying your cup means getting rid of pre-set opinions.

I don’t know what the art of living is, but I am curious.

And so the path is one of open hands, of curiosity and finding out.

And it’s one of bare feet, of being open and naked, willing to be exposed to life and chaos.

It’s about clear seeing, mindfulness turned to seeing reality as it is, without trying to make things rosy or conform to the story you tell yourself.

Clear seeing, naked, open hands, curious without knowing. That’s the path that I’ve found, so far.

THE ART EMERGES

With clear seeing, I start to see why I (and others) suffer, why we stress and get mad at each other and want more and more.

And now I can start to apply the art of living to my days.

Here’s what I practice with, imperfectly:

Compassion. Instead of being angry or frustrated, I find the pain in others, and open my heart to them. This includes compassion for myself.
Gratitude. Life is filled with wonder, and the people around me as well. I try to open myself to that wonder, and be grateful it’s there, instead of complaining.
Joyfear. Joy is an awesome thing to have, but joyfear is present in the powerful moments in life where joy and fear mix, where we’re taking chances and doing something outside of our comfort zone that both excites us and makes us face the possibility of failure. I now embrace these moments rather than avoiding them.
Not avoiding discomfort or uncertainty. When we avoid discomfort, we are limited by our comfort zone, and new learning and new ventures become impossible. When we avoid uncertainty, we only stick to what we know. But we can purposely become good at discomfort and uncertainty, by practicing in small bite-sized chunks, over and over.
Staying with the moment, even when it’s hard. This is the hardest of all. “Living in the moment” sounds wonderful, but actually staying with the present moment isn’t ever easy. Try it: with your eyes open, sit still and stay with the sights and sounds around you for one minute, without your mind wandering away from them. If you don’t notice your mind wandering, either you’re an experienced mindfulness practitioner, or you didn’t notice when your mind wandered.
Relationships are everything. Getting what we want, having things our way, having control, being right … these things matter nothing compared to relationships. Imagine being in your death bed at the age of 80 … will your sense of being right and in control comfort you when you have no good relationships, no one who has loved you? Put relationships first.
Not holding on to expectations & judgments. Expectations and judgments prevent me from enjoying what I have, from enjoying the simple presence of someone else in my life. I practice with noticing these expectations and judgments, and practice with holding them loosely, letting them go.
Letting go. This is the art of living in two words: letting go. It’s letting go of judgments, expectations, wanting to be right, wanting to control, fear of discomfort, fear of uncertainty, fear of failure, fear of boredom, comparing myself to others, wanting distraction, being irritated, complaining. It’s noticing when I’m holding these, and letting go. Loosening my heart’s grip on any of these, and letting go. And then letting go again. And again.

And so the art of living is a practice, one that doesn’t end, that doesn’t have a mastery level. It’s a constant letting go, a constant picking up again, and then letting go again. And falling, and getting up without beating myself up.

The art of living is the art of getting back up.

Dec 25

Merry Christmas!

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas! We are out-of-town visiting family over the Holidays! We hope that you are having a wonderful Christmas! Little Victory is doing well and she is enjoying her Christmas travels seeing new places and meeting new people!

Below is the front of our Holiday card along with our matching envelopes using custom stamps and stickers of our beautiful little Victory! I design our Holiday cards and packaging, and Doug helps me write (and proofreads) our message shown on the back of our Pawliday card! This is my way of sharing our Pawliday card with all of our blog friends! Thank you for your support all year round!