Meet Dante.

The newest addition to our little family. :)
(Photos taken by my dad.)

If you read my previous post about our search for a new brother for Jacopo, you know we've been looking through the IGCA. Well, we found this poor little guy at the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, after hearing from Chris' family (his sister volunteers there) that they had gotten in a male Italian Greyhound. They found him wandering the streets of Seal Beach with no collar, just skin and bones! So on Saturday we went over there in between various errands in preparation for Easter, and just completely fell in love with him. He's extremely relaxed and a total love monkey, and he must have cost someone a pretty penny, because he's even more purebred/breed standard than Jacopo! We weren't planning on bringing him home that day, but the shelter said that they had already had one other application for him, and recommended that we act now before someone else does!

So we did. And he's the best dog ever (excluding Jacopo, of course!). He jumped right in the car with us, and handled being at my parents house with other dogs and a bunch of other people without a problem. I think he and Jacopo have settled their pecking order, and they slept together in our bed last night without a problem. They're a really great match - once Dante fills out, he should be roughly the same weight as Jacopo, although a little shorter. And he was just fine going in and out through the new doggie door we installed last week - hopefully he'll make Jacopo better at using it! ;)

More photos to come, once I "develop" mine tonight (I've started shooting in RAW format, so can't share immediately!). And an Easter post for sure! We had so much fun this weekend!

Puppy and Photo Madness, With a Touch of Materalism

So our puppy guest Fred went home safely on Monday night, although there were a few times he came close to not being able to do so (if you catch my drift). Poor guy is a very smart dog, but his owner hasn't really made the time to train him yet! It must be like when parents watch other people's kids - makes you appreciate how good yours are! ;)

New Puppy?

Well...getting there. Chris and I decided it's time Jacopo had a brother, for a number of reasons.

1. We love dogs.
2. Italian Greyhounds typically do much better with at least one other dog around, just because they're such a social/pack breed.
3. We've been talking to other IG owners at the dog park, who ALL recommend getting another one.
4. Peace of mind - if he has someone to play with, he'll leave us alone more. :) And I won't worry so much when I have to leave him home alone during the day.
5. We love dogs.

At first we thought we'd have to wait due to finances, but then we discovered the Italian Greyhound Club of America, which runs an extensive rescue program in pretty much every state. And all they really charge is about $250, to cover expenses while they were fostering the rescued dog! So not only would we be able to afford it, but we'd be giving a much-needed home to a grateful pup. So now we've gone through the application process with our local IGCA rep, and she came and inspected our place on Saturday, so we're now approved! Woo!

Now is the wait-and-see part, because they only have a few IGs right now in the area, and none of them are really what we're looking for. We could adopt from any of the other states, but we'd have to actually drive or fly out there to get him, because they won't ever ship a dog. One of the coolest parts is they'll post all their available IGs on Pet Finder (at least the ones that weren't immediately taken by a waiting approved family, like us), a website devoted to adoptions. That way you can see photos, and read all the details on how they came up for adoption, what their temperament is, how trained they are, etc.

At any rate, we're very excited, and can't wait to find just the right guy to be Jacopo's new brother!

March Photo Madness

Speaking of Jacopo, been taking more photos lately, all of which you can see on my Flickr here, but I wanted to share some highlights:
I just love the light on that last one - he usually doesn't curl up all by himself, but maybe he's finally getting more independent...ha!

Family Sunday

So we (and by "we" I mean my dad, my brothers, Roseann, Jacopo and I - in one car!) headed down to Karl and Donna's house in San Diego on Sunday to hang out with the family, especially because my auntie Elissa was in town for the "Women in Aviation" conference. (Chris stayed at home with Fred.) We had a great time! My cousin Sarah and her boyfriend Jim came over, Donna's mom, brother and sister-in-law came over too, the weather was gorgeous (if a bit cold for our part of the world) and the dogs got to play together. Plus we got BBQ...yum! Here's some highlights from the day:

The gorgeous weather
Roseann and Sarah cracking each other up
Sarah and Jacopo having a moment
And this photo reminds me of the funny of the day that day - Elissa was like "Take my picture kissing the camera, like you did!" And I said "I did that in the mirror!" And she got this surprised look on her face and said "Really?" And mom and I just craaaacked up. Definitely indicative of the pre-Myspace generational divide - the self-portrait-in-mirror has become a mainstay for my generation. ;)Mom and Jacopo cuddling (jeez, who doesn't he cuddle with??) - the wind got really cold! Like below 50! :)All in all a very nice day. :)

Materialism Alert

Just had to share some new things I've added to my hoard lately (have I mentioned I love to shop? Maybe once or twice?), to get in the mood for spring...or whatever excuse works for you.

First, I finally bought a new swimsuit. I don't go swimming that often, but I purposely ruined my old one last season in the mud baths at Glen Ivy because it was already three years old at that point. So with the weather warming up like it has been around here, I figured it was high time I finally got a new one. And being that I'm no longer 18 and would really prefer to cover my slowly-but-surely-expanding backside (no pun intended), I decided to go for a classic retro look. Thanks to Ms. Vintage herself, Katie, I was able to find this awesome one from Esther Williams Swimwear - yes, THE Esther Williams of Hollywood golden age fame. :)
But in red, of course. Super cute, huh? I might actually have to find an excuse to wear it somewhere besides a jacuzzi! :) It's not the cheapest suit out there, but it's also not nearly the most expensive - and it has a tummy shaper built in!

Another product I'm now in love with is Smashbox's O-Glow. It's a new cheek color that comes out clear, but starts adjusting to your skin tone once you put it on, to give you a really natural blush color. I had read about this stuff in In Style and thought it was a load of you-know-what. But then I got a free sample at Sephora last week, and I have to report that it really does what it says! I loved it so much I also got their lip gloss that does the same thing.

Also have to give special mention to Bumble & Bumble's "dry shampoo". Another product out there that's making women's (and men's) lives easier. It's like a hairspray that sprays powder to absorb that day-after excess oil at your roots. Awesomeness - 'nuff said.

We'll, I'm spent. Hope you guys are all doing well!

~T
Quote of the moment: "A picture is the expression of an impression." ~Ernst Haas

Everyday Resolutions

Some people are really into making New Year's resolutions, and some never bother. For me, I'm always making mini (or short term) resolutions in my head; maybe it's something I want to read up about, something I've been meaning to get taken care of, etc. Right now there are several large-scale resolutions that at the forefront of my mental list, so I thought I'd share them with the world - maybe then I'll be totally successful at following through. :) [Besides, I'm the kind of person that does much better if I write my thoughts down that minute, otherwise it might not resurface for days/weeks!]

1. Increase my photography knowledge & skills. I'm already on my way with the still-new digital SLR camera and lens, but got even more so by using gift cards to get more books, including Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, and re-purchasing Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book (since my parents lost the copy I lent them!). I also got a small reference book for my camera model in particular, kind of like an extended/easier to read version of the manual. And I just heard about a super inexpensive photography seminar that will be near me in mid-February called "Captivated by the Light" that I'm considering going to. Anybody with me?
2. Get my butt off the couch! Granted, the pup keeps me fairly active but I can feel my winter lethargy catching up with me (I really hate doing dog walks in the dark!). Due to my allergies and asthma I can't even consider going back to soccer, so I'm going to a free yoga beginner's/intro class at a local studio next weekend, and I'm pretty sure it'll be something that really works for me. Not only do I want to be more active, but I also want to work on getting better control of my breathing.
3. Get back to school, or at least do more about getting there. I just miss it! Not only is my day job a constant reminder of what I really want to do, but I also miss the intellectual stimulation. Reading can only take you so far - classes push you to think more.
4. Journaling. I was inspired by the fantabulous Cathy Zielske when she mentioned this on her blog, and it went along with thoughts I'd been having lately anyways. When I was younger (high school and younger) I would write at least every other day, and lately I've been really missing that. Not that I can do that much these days! But once every couple of months isn't great either. The words are only the half of it for me - the physical act of writing is also theraputic for me. So I definitely want to make sure to journal at least once a week, even if it's only a few lines.
   

In other news, I've finally had some time to sit down and upload my (good) photos from Christmas! Christmas Eve was spent with my family (since we celebrate the Scandinavian way), with all our crazy traditions. Something new my mom started this year was a photo booth of sorts, where she had a point-and-shoot camera set up on a tripod on the patio ("lucky" for us, in SoCal that day it was about 70 degrees) and let people take photos as they pleased. Then Roseann (my brother's girlfriend) had the genius idea of people wearing antler headbands (yes boys, you were conned into wearing headbands!) and doing funny photos. Then Christmas Day was spent with Chris's family, which works out nicely. We do gifts with just his immediate family, then his dad goes to pick up Grandma Kae and we do gifts with her, and then we loll around until it's time for Christmas dinner. Nothing too stressful (except the day before Christmas Eve, when I was trying to do all my wrapping in one shot!), but exhausting all the same! At least it's the good kind of exhausting. All of my photos, plus the "booth" ones, can be found in a set here. And for those of you wish less time on your hands, here are a few of my faves (some not even Christmas-y, go figure):
(We actually baked all the cookies and such on Saturday, but of course I have to include those too!)
That's it for now darlings, I do believe I've gotten enough done on this rainy Friday night! :) Ta!

~Trude
Quote of the moment: "Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave." ~Mary Tyler Moore

Christmas Is Upon Us...

Does anyone else feel like this week is totally dragging? Well, it goes fast once I get home and work on all the stuff I need to do personally, but at work it's just creeping ever so slowly...

Today's Funny

At any rate, Jessica Sprague, scrapbooker extraordinaire and one of my fave bloggers, posted an especially funny blog yesterday about how her very young son has managed on more than one occasion to make calls using her iPhone - and not just random ones, but to dad and grandpa! :) It just cracked me up; if you have a few minutes its a great read!

It got me thinking too - my generation is one of the first to really grow up with computers (c'mon guys, Oregon Trail?)(not that it makes us any better at using them!), so we consider ourselves pretty savvy. But my brother, who is seven years younger than me, grew up with what are considered "modern" (read: not-DOS) computers and is a true whiz. Granted, he's a total geek and incredibly smart, but still he and his friends all type faster than anyone I know and can figure out any gadget in 2 minutes or less. So maybe Jessica's son represents the next generation - the ones that can easily use an iPhone to make a call (which takes 4 distinct steps, mind you) by the age of 3? It's an interesting thought. Imagine what my kids might grow up with!

Scrappin' Stuff

The reason I haven't posted much lately about scrapbooking is due to me working away at a top-secret Christmas thing which has taken a lot of my mojo and desire to even discuss scrapbooking! However, I was totally inspired this week to use one of Bree Clarkson's new templates to make this page, entitled "Christmas Cookies":


And now, come to think of it, I never "officially" announced the other creative team that I was asked to join! Geez! I'm terrible.

This one is for the awesome (and aforementioned) Bree Clarkson, who, like Penny, also recently joined Sweet Shoppe Designs. She primarily does scrapbook page templates (and other templates, like cards and hybrid projects, etc.), and she's awesome at it! What's really great is that they provide "mojo" when you want to make a page but don't know where to start, and they're totally customizable (you'd be surprised to see how many different variations the CT can turn out using the same template!). At any rate, it's a great CT to be a part of and I'm loving it! If you want to check out her products, you can do so here. And here is where you can see pages done using her stuff.

...And More Photos

More than anything lately I've been playing around with my camera and the awesome photos it's turning out. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm capturing what I was seeing at the time! I'm even thinking of taking a class at the local JC. Next thing on my list I think is Adobe Lightroom, which can do some amazing effects with just a few clicks, such as this. (And don't gasp at the price! If you're a student or a parent of a student you can get it here, for MUCH cheaper.)

So last Saturday my girlfriends and I spent the most of the day in old town Orange, drooling over antiques we couldn't afford (although Nikki and I both bought vintage 50s clutches, for a whopping $15 each) but would totally go into debt for. My only problem is lack of space! Eventually, when I'm grown up, I'd like to have more antique furniture than new in my house, but that's going to take a while!

They dutifully posed for a few photos for me in the Orange Circle, which has this great fountain in the middle (click for larger):
And I love this one - they were waiting for me to take some photos of this awesome building in old town, and right as Mindy turned I snapped. I just love how her face seems to say "Oh for Christ's sake..."On Sunday Chris and I went over to his parent's house for a photo session on the beach with his family, which his mom is having put on canvas for Grandma Kaye (Chris' dad's mom). We froze our asses off, but I'm hoping they turned out well! We were supposed to do it the previous weekend, but the death in the family bumped it. When we got back to the house I decided to do a few photos of my own up on their balcony since it was pretty sunset light:
I know Chris looks kinda evil in this one, but I still love the intensity of his gaze. Plus Jacopo was actually paying attention too! :)Then after that it was up to Whittier to have dinner with Grandma Kaye for the family December birthdays (Chris' dad and brother).

Monday night we finally had a chance (since we just got our Christmas tree on Sunday morning!) to take some photos for our Christmas card. That was a trial! Luckily I also got a remote for the new camera (only $20, I highly recommend it!), otherwise I think I would have been sorely tempted to smash it, or anything within reach, really. Trying to frame it just right (in front of the tree, of course) and get the right aperture and shutter speed settings, and then getting the puppy to stay still long enough on top of that proved to be just a bit too challenging. But we wound up with some pretty darn funny "outtakes"! :)

Such as this one, where the camera seemed to love Jacopo more than us:Or this one, where I was just taking test shots before finalizing the settings. Pretty intense, que no?And then there's this one, where Chris was like "Honey, quit fiddling with your camera and take this damn photo I set up for you!" You're the best, babe. ;-)
I made my traditional Christmas fudge last night - so hard to not get into it right away! But my recipe calls for it to sit for 24 hours, so tonight: watch your back, fudge. I'll be picking at you in between the gift wrapping!

~Trude
Quote of the day: "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy people enough to make it worth the effort." ~Herm Albright

Holy Thor!

What a whirlwind 10 days it's been...I don't hardly know where to start! I guess it would be Thanksgiving - have to share a few photos from that get-together. It's one of my favorite holidays, because it means hanging out with family and eating. What more could you ask for from a holiday? ;) Unless you're the cook, that is...which mom always handles so beautifully! I did make the chocolate pudding pie, as usual, and this year I had help from my new Auntie Donna. :)

Mmmm turkey... (as always, click for larger)
And I always think our table is so gorgeous I have to take multiple shots of it. I'll spare you the majority of them:
And, of course, the requisite group shot (sans moi, since I was taking it):

Chris, Sarah and her boyfriend Jim joined us later that night, but all in all a great turkey day! Especially with mom & dad's new 54-inch flatscreen HD TV! ;)

Unfortunately I spent the rest of the long weekend dealing with the worst migraine I've had in a long time. Apparently turkey can be a trigger, who knew? Guess we'll have to do fish for Christmas, huh mom?

My New Love

As a holiday present to myself (and after finding out what my bonus is from work), I ordered the camera of my dreams, the Canon Rebel XTi. It arrived just in time for Thanksgiving Christmas! As most of you know, I've been daydreaming about owning a dSLR since I started pursuing photography as a serious hobby over a year ago. So as soon as I found out that I would have the chance to spend that kind of money relatively guilt-free, which I otherwise never would, I jumped at it! And boy oh boy is it ever paying off...I'll spare you all the details, but basically I decided not to order the stock kit lens it usually comes with and got the 50mm f/1.4 lens instead, which is ideal for portraiture (which I do a lot of) and low light (ditto). I've been researching this for a long time, and all the sources I trust recommended this lens. Here's what that killer combo did with my very first round of shots, straight out of the box:I know it's not a perfect shot, but hot damn! Compared to what my old camera did in those same lighting conditions, it's a miracle. I definitely still have my point-and-shoot since it's pocket size is so handy and the Rebel can be a bit too much for taking photos at a restaurant or something, but I am totally in LOVE. Next on the list is a zoom lens (the one I got is a fixed length, meaning if I want to zoom in/out I have to do it the old fashioned way: with my legs), but it'll be a while before that happens!

And of course, had to show my appreciation for the new toy:
R.I.P.

Chris' grandmother Henriette (on his mom's side) passed away last Monday, peacefully in her sleep. She would have been 82 on Saturday, the day of her funeral. Chris' mom, Gisele, has four sisters, and they all have kids (and one grandkid), so it was quite the family gathering. His grandfather was actually the rock of the bunch, making jokes and stuff. The cousins are all pretty close, and I was grateful that even with their grief they made me (and the other girlfriends/boyfriends) feel welcome. In order to try and be of some help, I offered to make a poster of some family photos of grandma to display at the viewing and funeral:
I didn't get to know her as well as I would have liked, but I do know that she was a lovely, caring woman and is sorely missed by her family.

In between being with the family on Monday and the funeral on Saturday, I had an open house for one of our projects at work on Tuesday and then the company holiday party on Thursday, both of which I was responsible for. So it's no wonder that Friday morning I woke up with a horrible head cold! Luckily I was able to get rest after coming home early on Friday so that I could be there for the family on Saturday, and Sunday and Monday were spent under blankets too. I'm mostly over it by now, just a cough and a lovely peeling nose to match. :P

Now I'm looking forward to doing a Secret Santa gift exchange with my girlfriends on Friday and some vintage shopping in old town Orange on Saturday.

But before I go, just wanted to share some photos I took the weekend after Thanksgiving, the full extent of which you can see here.
~T
Quote of the moment: "Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Twain

Wow.

It has truly been a whirlwind month! I can't believe we're almost upon Thanksgiving here...where did October go?? I'm exhausted, but also in a great state of mind from all the great things I've been up to since my last post.

Fire-y Experience

The effect of the wildfires here last month was incredible. Red, apocalyptic skies like this:
Gross, huh? We (including the pup) pretty much didn't leave the house unless we absolutely had to all week! Luckily our apartment was never in danger, but we were very close to the Santiago fire (just over the hill, really) and at times we had ash all over everything.

The biggest worry was my uncle's house in Rancho Bernardo, since it was in the thick of the action in San Diego. Luckily his house was okay, although Donna's daughter (now his stepdaughter, yay!) Jen was evacuated in the middle of the night since they were out of town. Poor girl! It was an especially big worry because of the wedding that was coming up, which we just had last weekend. Luckily everyone involved was okay and things are slowly getting back to normal down there.

Pushing My Boundaries

I am happy to report that I have joined my very first creative team, working for digital scrapbooking designer Penny Springmann! (You might have noticed the blinkie to the right, as it's been there for a few weeks now because I couldn't wait to share!) This is really exciting and flattering for me, because it not only means free products (woo!) but also that my hard work at improving my digiscrap skills is paying off. Penny is an awesome designer who recently started selling at Sweet Shoppe Designs, and thus far I'm loving this "job"! I had originally applied for a guest spot for the month of November, but she liked my work so much she asked me to become a permanent member.

For those of you not in the "industry" (haha), a creative team (aka CT) is a common practice among designers as a way of showing off and promoting their products. CTs will create several layouts each month using the designer's newest products and typically post them in several online galleries. Other duties vary, but it's a total win-win situation for everyone. Designers have a team to bounce ideas off of and help expand their business, and CT members get access to great products and also expand their skills and exposure to the process.

Here's a few pages I've done thus far with her products:

"Lil Pumpkin"
"Oak Glen"
"Just How Much"
and "Rock On"For credits and details, click here, here, here and here.

Fun Visit(or)

Our good family friend Cheryl came down again this year to visit us right around her birthday at the end of October. I just love spending time with her! Not only has she known us kids since we were tiny babies, but she's been a counselor for years so you can't put anything past her. ;)

We had so much fun over the weekend just before Halloween! Unfortunately Chris had already booked jobs all weekend so he wasn't able to play with us, but I brought Jacopo along instead. ;) I played hookey on Friday, and she and I met up with my mom to go to lunch and then went to play in Downtown Disney. On Saturday my brother's awesome girlfriend Roseann bravely came along with my mom, Cheryl and me to the Historic Home Tour in old town Orange. I've done the walking tour before and was really looking forward to it, since it's different homes every time. We had so much fun with just us girls! Although after a yummy lunch at Felix's and walking around all day, we were all ready for a nap by 4pm. :)

On Sunday my dad had the great idea of going to the annual apple festival in Oak Glen, and that was a blast! We took a bunch of photos that day, but I think my favorite one has to be this one:
Funny, huh? The best part was I didn't even notice the sign behind us saying "No Dogs" until I was uploading all the photos to my computer! But of course there wasn't anybody saying "get out of here with that dog" or anything. In fact, just the opposite - everybody wanted to say hi to him! I warned Cheryl of how much we might get stopped, but it takes a day of walking with him to fully understand. I must have spoken to 30 different families that day! I suppose I'm used to it by now, seeing as we can't even go to Petsmart without someone wanting to pet him or ask what kind of dog he is. I guess that's the price you pay for having an unusual dog!

But I digress!

Viva Las Vegas

Then I had 3 short days before I left for Las Vegas for a girls' weekend! Since we left early Thursday morning and Chris was working, I didn't bother going out for Halloween; I just spent the night packing and handing out candy. :)

Then we were off! Nikki, Katie, Mindy and I drove together to meet up with Katie's boyfriend Colby, and Heather joined us Friday night. We just stayed at a cheap place in downtown/Fremont Street, but it didn't matter much since we were out and about most of the time. I think it's the best time I've ever had in Vegas, and this was my 4th trip with friends! We're all pretty easygoing travelers and share similar interests, so I'm always up for traveling and vacationing with my girls. :)

We were pretty low-key this time, no shows planned or anything like that. We went to the Hoover Dam, Mindy and I went and saw the baby dolphin at the Mirage's Secret Garden (highly recommend it!), did some vintage shopping, ate at the Bellagio's buffet, gambled, and generally hung out. It was great!

We took a ton of awesome photos, but I have to share some of the highlights from my photos:

Baby Dolphin!
Katie, politely shielding my redness from drinking that ginormous margarita:On the road to the Hoover Dam, we stopped off at a vista point overlooking Lake Mead, and laughed so hysterically at these signs that were posted everywhere that we took this photo in front of one, and I think it's my fave photo that I've taken in a long time!
Such an awesome trip! Thanks gang, for making it great!

Wedding Bells

Then I had a few days last week to try and recover (ha) before my uncle's wedding to his fiancee Donna, during which I had to put together a slide show of over 100 photos since my mom didn't have time. Fun! But it worked out, and I can proudly say I've increased my skills in iMovie and iDVD. :)

So I took a half day on Friday so that I could get my act together, and Chris and I drove down to the hotel we were staying at around the corner from Karl and Donna's house. We met up with my parents, and then we all trooped over to their house for a pre-wedding get together. Which was great! It was a chance to see everybody from out of town, and meet people from her side that I hadn't met before. We (meaning me, my mom and my dad, the unofficial photography team for the weekend) took a few really bad flash-y photos that I just have to share, because I didn't post them in the official Flickr album. :)

I just love how the boys all made the same eyes at the camera in this one (and I really don't think they pre-planned that!):Alex and I getting into the amazing marzipan cake that mom made:
Elissa enjoying the cake:

And the next morning it was THE DAY. Mom and I got up extra early so we could go over to the venue ahead of time with the wedding party (aka Karl, Donna and their kids) and take some photos. We got incredibly lucky with the weather - it had been cloudy all week, but the sun came out for them, without the temperature getting too hot. Perfecto! Apparently the brewery had previously been a Chinese restaurant, so they had this awesome view out onto a koi pond with beautiful landscaping and a little bridge and waterfalls! It was actually a great choice by them, you'd never know where you were and it made the party feel very private and isolated. Plus the staff was really great and helpful.

Anyways, you can go to my Flickr album to see the whole shebang, but here are a few highlights (as always, click for larger).

The table setting:The wedding party:The location, as described above:
The recessional:
The first dance:
It was such a beautiful event! I'm so happy it turned out well for them, since they are two people who truly deserved it. And now I have a new auntie! How cool is that??

And since it was a daytime wedding, we all went back to the house afterwards and had a great time doing an "afterparty." :) I won't name names, but certain people definitely had a "better" time than others!

And now I'm spending a quiet night at home with Chris and the pup, and looking forward to a very subdued weekend...

~T