Photos galore

Verdict in: Skiing did not kill me. In fact, I seriously enjoyed myself and would consider doing it again and again. And therefore, my husband thinks he has died and gone to heaven.

We had a super fabulous weekend and I managed to take a ridiculous amount of pictures. I chose some of my favorites to share with you but this is one of those times when there are even more pictures on my Flickr site than I could fathom posting on my blog. Feel free to enjoy the rest as you please.

Friday night: Authentic Mexican food on the South side of Milwaukee.







Then out for drinks at an Irish pub [we are so ethnically diverse, I tell you].


Catching up with our St. Louis buddies still warms my soul. I miss them. I love having visitors up here. Love. Miss. Sigh.

My favorite quote from Friday night:

Hannah: "I believe you now."

Me: "What do you believe?"

Hannah: "How freaking cold it is up here." [please note, it was 11 degrees at the time....not exactly warm but nowhere near the depths of despair that Milwaukee can boast.]

Me: "What, did you think I was exaggerating about this weather?"

Hannah: "Yeah, kinda."

Score one for me! I really AM in the Artic. My St. Louis friend said so. And once she said that Mother Nature shone down from above and blessed us on Saturday: it was the first day in recent weeks that gave us temperatures above freezing. Perfect timing for our ski trip, no? The thirties are a wonderful place to be and I only wish it would last.

So yeah, we went skiing at a resort about 1.5 hours away from Milwaukee. Nate gracefully cared for the camera so I wouldn't fall on top of it but he got rather sick of lugging it around after awhile. We got some pictures but of course, my mind was swirling with other photography opportunities on top of that mountain. Oh well, it's a start.













You guys, I must announce this: I went down a black diamond! And I didn't fall! Now of course I fell a few times throughout the day but I'm so proud of myself for harnessing my inner fears about breaking a bone and going for it. My calves are a little upset with me today but it was worth it. I liked skiing and want to go again, so take that, Mother Nature. Winter sports can be fun....just like Nate has always said. :)

We were totally pooped after 6 hours on the slopes but we drug ourselves out for a pizza dinner, complete with an ice cold brew.


After going to bed at 10:30 like old hags, we awoke Sunday morning rather refreshed. I continued taking pictures of various drinks just because I like it. See?

Henry was, in fact, around this weekend. He was just a little peeved for being left out of the ski trip.

Michael brought one of the most perfect hats with him and I took full advantage:





The weekend went by in record time and it's always sad to say goodbye. But life goes on and so do the pictures...

Another drink shot will do. I convinced Nate to stroll around by the Lake just like we did last Sunday, except today was about 20 degrees warmer. I think I found my new favorite shot:


The juxtaposition [big word alert!] of sand and snow on the beach makes me feel happy. It's like two polar opposites colliding for the sake of photography. The sand reminds me that someday the snow will melt and we will walk around without shoes, basking in all of summer's glory. My heart is beating faster already...


Lake Michigan is not warm at the moment, though.


And I've decided that Milwaukee's skyline is pretty cool.


So yeah, what a fabulous weekend. It just proves that friends and photography make me very happy right in the midst of some winter blues. I know I'm not the only one who's been feeling down lately and I'm pretty sure it had a lot to do with the endless cold. But hey, January is behind us....February is a short month, and by March it BETTER start warming up or I might flip out for real.

Anyone else with me?

Miscellaneous Tuesday?

A few bits of randomness for you today:

First, Nate and I scurried down to the Lake on Sunday night for an unplanned photo shoot. The sunset was just too pretty and we had to try and make it before it was completely dark [which isn't until 5:00 these days, whoo hoo! We are making progress towards Spring, I tell you].

So here are some of my favorite shots from that night. If we look disgustingly cold it's because we are, plain and simple:




















Now I know you Southern Belles from Missouri got some snow today, and I'm quite proud of my old city for representing some winter weather. But seriously, who wants to come up here and experience stupid amounts of snow at all times? Any takers?

Well, actually, we are having some Missouri visitors this weekend [hi, Hannah and Michael!] and we are totally planning on skiing one day while they are here. It's going to be so much fun and very entertaining, since Hannah and I aren't exactly skiing pros. I hope I can take my camera for some pictures without falling on top of it. Hmmmm.....

Also, I've been working like a madwoman on our 2008 everyday album. I'm happy to say that I'm caught up through October....after about 10 pages of the marathon:) I figured I'd show you a few random pages just for fun. I like making albums for myself because then I can use digital scrapbooking products from sites like Two Peas and Jen Wilson, without worrying about copyright stuff. I'm pretty sure if I used their stuff for my little business I'd be breaking the law, so 'personal use only' it is. Here are some random pages for your viewing pleasure:














And finally, I tried on a potential bridesmaid dress for Lindsey's wedding today. I forced Nate to come and take pictures, which ended up being quite yellow from the horrible florescent lighting, but the dress is still adorable. Ours will technically be black and probably strapless, but you get the idea. I was a bit worried about this shorter tea length, considering I'll probably be the gargantuan bridesmaid amongst other petite dolls, but I kind of like the above-the-knee look. I was just used to all tea lengths being right past the knee or even a little longer, to the calf. What do you think? Never mind the fact that this sample is way too big and I cannot even pretend to fill out the top, okay?




Here is the strapless version. Why are models always posing with such odd postures?

Eek! I cannot wait for wedding season. And dress weather. And sunshine. And....you get it by now, right?

And now I'm hosting all of my photos on Flickr, so I think you can just click on any of my pictures in this post and it will take you to my account. Have a look around if you would like, there are more shots from our Milwaukee photo shoot I didn't include here....but pretty much all of the others have appeared on this blog before. Maybe someday I'll be a blogger who only posts one or two pictures each post but for now I tend to get a little crazy with multiples. Must be the bigger pictures or something.

Attack of R-squared

Warning: this post might be completely repulsive to some readers. Actually, it's quite horrid for me as well but I just have to get it out there. I'm not sure why but it seems blog-worthy. It's possible that this story has been overly dramatized for your viewing pleasure, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Henry is a male dog. However, Henry is the most asexual, gentle, meek dog you will ever meet. He is quite literally afraid of his own shadow and practically tremors when a stranger enters the room. He has never humped an object in the three plus years of his being [although Nate claims he partially humped his pink bear doll when he was a puppy, but I cannot believe that statement.] He is not aggressive and I'm pretty sure his testosterone levels are astoundingly low because no 'alpha male' dog could be my cuddle buddy quite like Henry. Such a lover, this one.

Which is why Friday night might have scarred me for life. I shrieked and clasped my hand over my eyes multiple times in disbelief.

Henry's red rocket made it's first real appearance....not once, not twice, but at least three times that night. I will from here on out refer to this awful sight as R-squared, for 'red rocket.' I do not need to explain, do I?

My baby, my innocent little baby, let it all hang out. And why, do you ask? Why would he do this to his mother? He might has well star in an X rated doggy film because I can't look at him the same way anymore. I blame it all on his new toy: The Lamb.



You see this lamb had instantaneous power over Henry. Usually, Henry sniffs a new toy with caution before licking it to death. But with Lambie [that is his nickname, duh] Henry pounced immediately and hasn't let her out of his sight since their first encounter. He licks her, caresses her, and stares at her with adoration. Lambie is officially disgusting and full of dirty dog slobber but Henry loves her despite the caked-on filth. They have a strange love, those two.


So anyway, on Friday night we were just chilling as a family like we usually do when all of a sudden Nate and I had a fantastic idea. We were going to teach Henry how to 'roll over' just because that is one command he's never understood. We tried and tried and tried, treats were had, many gestures were made, and yet Henry refused to do the deed. He got quite frustrated with us and VOILA....out came the first R-squared.

ACK! WHATTHEHECKISTHAT, NATE? I screamed. I watched as the smile fell from Nate's face and he took two steps back from Henry. Yes, that's right....Nate literally backed away from Henry as if the R-squared could cause physical injuries. And then just as quickly as it appeared, the horrendous site vanished. Whew, we hoped it was gone forever.

But then Henry began playing with Lambie and sure enough, our eyes were forced to avert yet again.

"No, Henry. NOOOOOOOO!"


My angel! Tarnished forever. Now granted, he didn't actually do anything with the R-squared but that is probably because of his parents' high-pitched screams. Nothing like loud noises to really kill the mood, right Henry?

In any case, don't you just love when dogs use their paws as hands?







And so I ask you, dear readers....have you seen this little treat on your own male dogs? Does it disgust you like it does me? Maybe it's just because I never had to deal with something like this before. I can honestly say I've never seen his R-squared for more than a millisecond and I hoped I'd never have to deal with such a tragedy. If it starts happening more often I might grow immune to the R-squared negative reaction. I suppose I'm just in denial. I like to think of Henry as pure and incapable of anything sexual and yet, he's obviously rebelling against my authority.

I cannot wait to have kids and even better, teenagers!


Until then, Henry has lost photographic privileges and I turned to a new subject. I'm sure you won't mind:




This is a subject that will not disappoint me in life. And it cannot surprise me with an X-rated organ...and thus, it can comfort me in my time of need.

But if I'm honest, red wine lacks cuddling skills and Henry is certainly king in that sense. In fact, I think I'm over the emotional torture already.

Come here, little guy. Just keep your R-squared tucked away from now into eternity.