Happy Valentine's Day

Terminator 3 was playing in the cardio cinema this morning, and it reminded me of this photo of Gadget when the flash made him look like the terminator. And it's Valentine's Day. That's why this happened.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Serious Note

I interrupt my normal frivolity to encourage you to check out this post from The Bloggess.

I love the Jenny Lawson's writing.  She is so funny and irreverent that when I read her posts I sometimes laugh until I cry.  The conversations she has with her husband are often unnervingly similar to those I have with Stephen.  She is so brave and poignant in her struggles and her advocacy that sometimes I just cry.

Many people will struggle with depression at some point in their lives, and many others will have someone they love face this demon.  Jenny constantly reminds those people that depression lies, and life gets better.

If you don't read Jenny's blog, check it out.  You too can laugh, cry, and see pictures of Wil Wheaton collating papers.

Going to the Dogs

Warning: this post is about dogs.  Come back another day for fashion.

I take a lot of pictures of my dogs.  A whole lot.  I take more photos of my dogs than I do of myself, and I take a lot of photos of myself.  Since most of my blog readers are not my Facebook friends, you may not realize the depth of my dog-related neurosis pathology devotion.  Yes, I am that Facebook friend, but instead of posting pictures of children, I post dog photos way too much.

Our cast of characters (from left): Gadget, my mom's dog Dixie, and Wonton

Gadget and Dixie have developed an adorable bond since my mom moved to Georgia, but they have very different temperaments.  Gadget is forever exploring new things.  He will climb high and crawl low to investigate.

Kisses- because they love each other.

Gadget loves sitting on our deck railing.

That's a very threatening laundry basket.

Pumping iron: how Gadget keeps his figure.

Wonton has slowly and grudgingly decided that she likes Gadget too.  She even plays with him occasionally.  That's saying a lot for a 14-year-old dog. These days most of Wonton's action shots are inaction shots, but, again, she is 14.

As the weather has gotten cooler, the cuddling has become more intense.

She suffers many sartorial indignities at my hands.

Wonton has even warmed to Dixie a little bit.

These days Wonton's favorite person is Stephen.
(Yes, that is a giant plate of bacon that he's sharing.)

And that is pizza crust.

Gadget says he's carry-on size.

As you may have guessed, I have not been around the past few days.  I've been in the Dominican Republic.  I'll share my vacation photos soon, but for now feast your eyes on these puppies.

Thanks to my mom for watching our dogs and house while we're out of town.  I know they're in good hands with you!

Caturday: The Cat Signal

My friend Chenille told me that the interweb worships cats on Saturday, and it's known as Caturday.  Here is my contribution to Caturday.

My mom's cat Gypsy, giving the cat signal.

Real Swamp Thangs...

Giant pond monster.

I encountered the fellow above while walking Gadget the other day.  I've seen plenty of medium-sized  (5-7 foot) alligators in Georgia, but this is the first big one (too huge).  I don't think I'll be walking Gadget there anymore.

The upside is that my dad was visiting when we encountered this monster, so he got to see a big Georgia gator.  Now that I've seen one, I don't think I need to see another.

Friday Four

I have many reasons to be ecstatic about life right now.  In brief, here are four things that are making me happy today.

Friends.

1. Stephen and I booked a trip to the Dominican Republic with some of our closest friends for later this year.  Time with my hubby and our friends Joe and Angie = score!
2. I am going to be a model and personal shopper for fashion show tonight at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.  That is so completely up my alley.  (Hence the not-too-subtle clue earlier today.)

3. 

   Fun nails.

   Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips continue to rock my world.  This time around I tried the Laced Up pattern.  It will probably jinx me to type this, but I have not broken a nail since I tried these the first time.  I think they might be reinforcing my natural nails because usually by the time my nails get this long I start breaking them right and left.
4. I was a little bored last night, so I converted a child's dress into a fun market bag.  Yay sewing!

Before: dress

After: bag

One Clue...

About what I'm doing tonight...

Snap Un-Happy

I'm not happy with theNikon Coolpix that I use to take my daily outfit photos.  I've been wanting a new camera, and that desire has come to a head this week.  I lent my regular camera to Stephen to use for work, and I've been using my mom's.

I would like a camera that is: relatively inexpensive (I don't want to pay SLR prices.) and has remote compatibility.  I am tired of having to set the timer between each shot.  

Image Credit: AmazonPentax Optio RZ-18.

After checking out various models and options on neocamera.com, I am seriously considering the Pentax Optio RZ-18.

So, people of the interwebs:  Do you have a camera with remote compatibility?  Do you have a camera you recommend?

Can't Help But Smile

My orchid has nineteen blossoms right now.  It makes the whole kitchen a happier place.

Return of Cake Hawk

Well, it turns out that there are a few people in the world whose sense of humor aligns at least partly with mine.  Because of their enabling encouragement, I decided to share this second Cake Hawk photo.  There is nothing funnier than a taxidermied hawk sitting next to a cake.  Ok, maybe there are lots of funnier things, but this does tickle me.

The original Cake Hawk is slightly funnier (if you're into that kind of thing), but here is Return of Cake Hawk:

• Cake Hawk says: Hey, don't look at me.  I'm a carnivore.
• Cake Hawk didn't realize you were saving that cake.
• Cake Hawk feels dirty, sticky, and ashamed.  
• Cake Hawk surveys the carnage of another cake massacre.  
• The cake was a lot more popular than the hawk.
• There is plenty of leftover hawk if you'd like to take a piece.
• Cake Hawk says: Are you going to eat that?

Ok, that's enough Cake Hawk for one day lifetime.  My next post will be back to my regular programming.

Cake Hawk

You should probably just go ahead and skip this post.  I'll write a real post later.

Cake Hawk

Last night I went to a volunteer recognition at a nature park, and there was a taxidermied hawk on the table next to the cake.  This led me to think of all kinds of "information" about Cake Hawk and what he was doing on the dessert table.  

• Thank you, volunteers. Cake Hawk hopes you know just how much he cares. 
• Cake Hawk says: no cake for you.
• The trap is set. Now Cake Hawk waits.
• Cake Hawk is a little offended that you find him unsanitary.
• Life is no cake walk, Cake Hawk.
• The secret ingredient is hawk.
• Cake Hawk would like a corner piece.
• Would you like cake or hawk?
• The dessert buffet is not vegetarian... wait, is hawk a vegetable?
• Light, fluffy, delicious. The cake was good too.
• We go together like cakes and hawks.
• In a cruel twist of fate, Cake Hawk is diabetic.
• Cake Hawk is judging you.
• Cake Hawk, the official raptor of dessert.
• Cake Hawk is always a gracious host. 
• More Cake Hawk and less filler.
• What? You've never seen a Cake Hawk?
• Cake Hawk is not amused, Jeanne.
• Cake Hawk just wants someone to love him... but cake will do in a pinch. 
• Cake Hawk doesn't know why people call him that.
• Cake Hawk shows great discipline. He hasn't touched the cake and hasn't blinked in 23 years.
• Cake Hawk has no sweet tooth. He has no teeth at all.
• Cake Hawk wants to have his cake and eat it too.
• Cake Hawk says: let them eat cake.
• Cake Hawk has a sweet tooth.  Wait, do hawks have teeth?  Someone call National Geographic.
• Cake Hawk says: knock knock mother plucker.
• It's Cake Hawk's party and he'll cry if he wants to.
• Cake Hawk says this should be a piece of cake.

Sorry, sometimes these things happen.  I've had a long and awful week.  I may have blown some sort of fuse in my brain.