Off to Gettysburg

Today, after work, we are on our way to Gettysburg. I can't wait. A weekend away from the routine of life. Just what we need.

We've both wanted to go to Gettysburg for a while now and it's not even 2 hours away from us so off we go. David was kind enough to drive me into work today so that we can leave straight from here after work. That should get us into Gettysburg before 6pm. Plenty of time to walk around, find somewhere to have dinner and relax before our busy day tomorrow.

I really want to soak in as much Civil War history as we can so Saturday should prove to be an exhausting day. The battlefield, cemeteries, historic houses and of course the ghost tour are on our list of things to do. It won't all be running around though, we will definitely take in some time to just sit back and relax. If we can't fit in everything we want we aren't worried. We just want to have a great weekend together. The weather is supposed to be perfect too and I'm hoping the leaves are in the early stages of changing color.

I'm really looking forward to wandering around with my camera this weekend. It'll be nice to get out and shoot again. There is so much to photograph so I'm pretty sure the card will be filled with images by Sunday evening.

And I'll be sure to share a few photos and stories when we get back!

poor pup

I once again found myself at the vet this morning. A couple of days ago I noticed that Yoda was drooling. He NEVER drools so I knew something was up. Last night I noticed that his back tooth was chipped. Fantastic!

Took him in this morning and the good news is that since we've put Yoda on a 'diet' he's lost almost 2 pounds! That's real progress and I'm thrilled. The bad news is that he will most likely have to have his tooth removed because she noticed that he showed signs of distress when she touched the tooth. For now, he has meds for the pain and we are supposed to watch him for any additional signs of pain.

But regardless, we're going to take him in next week to get this taken care of. I would hate to think he's walking around in pain from this. These are the times I wish he spoke english.

I looked it up online last night and we are expecting to pay about $1000 if he has to get that tooth pulled. Seriously? $1000?!?! For one tooth? I swear, I take better care of this dog than I do myself. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Bring on that second dog! ;)

Can someone please tell me...

...why I have this theme song stuck in my head?



Seriously, for the past week or so it's popped in my head and is nearly impossible to get rid of. I have no idea why it's there but I'm beginning to think that it's finally happened.

I've lost my mind.

the waiting game

I hate situations where you are required to sit and wait patiently for things to unfold. Time seems to move at a snails pace and with each passing minute you get more and more impatient. Well, that's happening right now and it's in two aspects of my life, my job and the pug rescue.

The job part is absolutely no fun to talk about so we'll just skip over that for now :)

Last night David and I had our home visit from the pug rescue. Things went well and she said she wanted to take Yoda home with her. So, basically we've cleared all the hurdles and nothing is in our way now except time. Waiting until we find the perfect match. And I hate waiting. We are hoping to be able to adopt the cutest black pug you've ever seen but I refuse to post a picture because look at how that ended up last time. But if we don't get that guy I'm confident that we will find the perfect dog soon. They have had so many pugs come in this year which is good but also so sad that all of these people are giving up these wonderful dogs. Their goal is to adopt 100 pugs this year. We are VERY anxious to help them reach that goal :)

So, here I wait.....very impatiently. And to make matters worse, I have NO work to do today. Nothing. Seriously, not making that up at all. I actually headed out to a few stores earlier to break up the day a little.

Anyone have any ideas on how to distract me today?? Anyone?

Bruce!

So, recently I came up with a fabulous idea for a 1st anniversary gift for David. Bruce Springsteen tickets. He is coming in November so, I'd have to give his gift to him early but so what. He loves Bruce so it would have been perfect. Tickets went on sale today at 10am. Flash back to yesterday afternoon. David says to me that he and his uncle are thinking of going to the concert. Boo!!! I didn't think he knew he was coming and then he said that he read about it that day.

Ruined my whole plan! My perfect gift ruined because he read a stupid newspaper ;)

Anyway, today his uncle said he might not be able to make it. So, David headed out to a t.icketmaster outlet while I tried my hand at their website. After 3 minutes they were sold out. And David had no luck either. Well, that's what I thought. Turns out about 5 minutes later 100 level tickets suddenly showed up so the both of us are going now. Yay!

I don't even like Bruce that much but we've been to a concert of his in NJ and I can honestly say the man puts on a good show. So, yes it's back to the drawing board on an anniversary gift but hey, we are going to a concert so life isn't so bad ;)

wasn't meant to be

David just heard from the rescue about that adorable dog in the last post. It seems that his foster family has become so attached to that little guy that they are going to adopt him.

While I'm thrilled that he has found a home that he will be loved in forever, I am sad because I know he would have been an incredible addition to our family.

Sad day. David and I both got our hopes up. And I even said in my last post that I was afraid to post his picture. This was the reason why. We are both upset about this.

But the good news is that we are still being considered for another dog. This little guy has been living in HORRIBLE conditions and he's blind. My heart just breaks for this guy. Although I do have my reservations because I think he needs more attention that we could give him and I would hate to bring him in knowing that there might be another family out there that can give him better care.

However, the rescue organization thinks it might be a good fit so we will continue down this road and see what happens. Regardless, we are not giving up until we can give a pug a great home.

new addition to the family

Our family will most likely (hopefully) be expanding soon. Not in that way! Gotcha ;)

David and I have been wanting to get a second pug for a while now. Well, actually it was me that was stopping us until I came across the cutest little thing ever on a pug rescue site. We talked it over and decided to submit an application. Not just any application either. These people are serious about who they place their pugs with. And rightfully so. Most of these pups have had horrible lives and they want to make sure that where ever they place them they will be there forever and be loved unconditionally. The application was 7 pages. Filled with important multiple choice questions and about 4 or 5 essay questions. After 2 weeks of waiting we found out yesterday that our application was approved. Apparently only about 15% of applications get through that first hurdle.

So, now we are currently waiting on a phone call for an interview, our references to be contacted and hopefully that will then lead to a home visit. All this will help them figure out which pug would be right for us, if any. We have our eyes on one in particular and are really hoping that we get him but we will be happy with any pug that is a match for us. Just to know that we can save a pug from a horrible life or being euthanized at a shelter that can no longer wait for someone to adopt him is reward enough.

And we just can't wait to see how Yoda reacts to having a full time playmate his own size!

So, keep your fingers crossed for us :)

Part of me is hesitating in posting this pic of him but I just can't help it, I must share how cute he is!

outtakes

I went through some more photos last night and I've decided to post a few of the "outtakes" from the shoot. Just some fun for this boring afternoon :)

This last one is my favorite. Not shy in front of a camera at ALL :)

My first engagement shoot

Yesterday I spent the majority of the afternoon with A and M. We were in DC shooting their engagement photos. I was a tad nervous because lately I have been playing around with lenses, white balance, flash, shutter speeds, f-stops...ok, you get the jist. Anyway, I've only recently starting playing around with that stuff so I didn't have a system down yet.

So, yesterday was also a sort of test shoot for me. But I am happy to say that it was very successful and I've showed them numerous images that I think came out beautifully.

Here's a small sampling:










Aren't they just so cute? Thanks for asking me to do this guys, it was a blast. And what a gorgeous day to walk around DC with some friends :)

this is only a test

I am very honored to have friends ask me to take engagement photos for them tomorrow. Nervousness set in this afternoon and I decided to do a 'test shoot'. And the only one around was my dear husband. I would like to thank him profusely for coming outside with me a few times, during a Yankees/Red Sox game mind you!

Anyway, here are a few sample shots from today. Keep in mind, David was sooo not thrilled to do this. However, with his help today I am not nearly as nervous for tomorrow's shoot!

Hey, I told you this was during a Yankees game, so of course there is beer.

David's best come hither look :)

And I managed to get one shot of us together before he ran back inside.

He did it!!

I came home today from work and crazy, messy facial hair guy was gone!!! I have my husband back!

What a perfect start to the weekend :)

marriage

I found an interesting article on the '8 Things No One Tells You About Marriage'. And one of them is speaking directly to me today. I've always been of the mindset to never go to bed angry. I did that last night and I spent all morning feeling guilty about it. Until I read this:

3. You will sometimes go to bed mad (and maybe even wake up madder).

Whoever decided to tell newlyweds "Never go to bed angry" doesn't know what it's like inside a bedroom where tears and accusations fly as one spouse talks the other into a woozy stupor until night meets the dawn. If this scenario sounds familiar, I've got three words for you: Sleep on it.

You need to calm down. You need to gain perspective. You need to just give it a rest. I've found that an argument of any quality, like a fine wine, needs to breathe. A break in the action will help you figure out whether you're angry, hurt, or both, and then pinpoint the exact source. Maybe the fight that seemed to erupt over the overflowing garbage can is really about feeling underappreciated. Could be you're both stressed out at work and just needed to unload on someone. Taking a break will help you see that, and let go. Or maybe you really do have a legitimate disagreement to work out. Without a time-out, sometimes a perfectly good argument can turn into an endless round of silly back-and-forth, rehashing old and irrelevant transgressions as you get more and more wound up.

Even when you do manage to stay focused and on topic, there are some fights that stubbornly refuse to die by bedtime. And if you stifle your real feelings just to meet some arbitrary deadline, your marriage will surely be the worse for it. "This was a huge lesson for me," says Andrea. "As women we've been trained to make nice. But the whole kiss-and-make-up thing just to keep the peace was eating me up inside. I'd let things build up inside me until I just exploded. Now I wait a while to get hold of myself — let the emotions settle a bit — and state my position. Even if that means reopening the fight the next day."

After reading it I realize how very true it is. While I felt guilty about letting myself be upset as I fell asleep, this morning I saw the events of last night in a completely different light. Sometimes giving time to let the emotions subside is a good idea.

Honestly, that article has some very sound advice. You kind of figure that after being with someone for 7 years you know everything there is to know. Nope, you can always learn more and giving your relationship the attention it deserves is pretty powerful.

Yep, marriage is work. I'm not going to lie and say it's all puppies and rainbows. But there is a sense of accomplishment when you address a problem and get past it, together. With each and every issue that we get past, I can feel our relationship get stronger and that's what matters to me most.

just around the corner

I was home sick yesterday but it was a gorgeous day. I was able to turn the AC off and keep the front door and the door to the deck open all day. All day! Last night it got down to like 55 degrees or something like that. And this morning when I took the dog out I smelled it. I can't describe it but that crispness that the air has also has a smell. Yep, it's coming. Fall is just around the corner and I couldn't be happier.

I am not the type of person that gets sad when summer is ending. Well, not since I was in school anyway! Fall is my absolute favorite season and I can't wait for it to get here. That crisp air, leaves changing, pumpkin picking, wearing sweaters and cuddling up on the couch with a blanket and some apple cider...mmmm, sounds perfect to me!

Only 9 more days until it's official!

help!

Any ideas on how I get my husband to trim the monstrosity on his chin? He absolutely loves it and I can't stand it!

I'm trying to come up with a way to make him think it is his idea to get rid of it ;)

girly

This weekend was so much fun. Surrounded by friends and wedding planning. Tons of dresses were tried on, cakes were tasted, fashion shows were watched, advice was given and of course some good old fashion bonding with girlfriends took place.

When all was said and done, I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon and evening on the couch relaxing.

What? Doesn't everyone married woman spend their Sunday's in their wedding dress drinking a Corona?

(told you guys I'd do it!)

bridal weekend!

This weekend is going to be filled with a bridal expo and dress shopping. It'll be fun to sit back and watch as friends go through the right of passage that is wedding planning!

Since two of us have already been through that madness we'll be there for support and advice (if asked for!).

It's been so much fun already to have 2 friends engaged at the same time and going through all the steps together. Makes me wish I had the same when I was going through it.

Anyway, it should be a blast. I'm looking forward to an all girls weekend :)

Stay With Me Tomorrow

Yes, I know that I wrote about Patrick Park recently but I bought some of his music and I can't stop listening to it. I have a new favorite song and even though the last time I posted no one cared, hopefully you'll at least listen to this one.

It's amazing :)

Promise.

I'm losing him

Can you smell that? It's the beginning of football season. And that means that I've officially lost my husband to fantasy drafts.

I will soon lose him every Sunday as well. He spends all day on the couch watching EVERY game. Yeah, thanks Direc.TV! Although, sometimes that's nice. I can go out and do whatever I want. So, all is not lost but still.

Last night I barely saw him, along with the night before. He's incredibly serious about fantasy football. And I honestly don't complain to him as much as I would like to because in the one pay league he has won 2 years in a row. A nice little chunk of change at the end of the season for his hard work.

I just could never imagine spending that much of my time researching players and organizing them into who I want to pick first and bla bla bla. Just seems like a waste to me.

Anyway, I need to come up with some good ideas for my upcoming Sunday's. Looks like I need to start some new projects ;)

Do I have to go back to work??

We had a very nice long weekend. Honestly, it's hard for a 3 day weekend NOT to be enjoyable ;)

Saturday I spent most of the day restoring our kitchen nook back to its normal state. For months it's been used as storage for shower/wedding gifts we didn't have room for. So, now the cute bistro set is back up there and you can finally see the floor again. Oh, and it was also nice to unpack those glasses we registered for and enjoy drinking out of something that doesn't have a beer logo on it!

Sunday we had friends over for a bbq. It was a perfect day for it. We spent most of the day eating, drinking and laughing with friends outside and just generally having a relaxing day. I was too busy enjoying the company to take a lot of pictures, so here is basically all that was captured:

Matt was left scarred from this event!

Yep, the only pics that were taken yesterday had SuperMom's adorable girl in them. She's just too cute for words so it needed to be documented :)

photo shoot with Yoda