instant gratification

I'm totally an instant gratification kind of girl.

For instance, I never schedule hair cuts in advance because that ties me down too much-- I need to be free and without appointments looming over my ragged head. I'm a hippie like that.

And then, one day I'll look in the mirror and decide I HAVE TO get my hair cut or I will just die. I desperately make the call to the salon and plead for the very first opening.....and pray that they have a slot for me within 24 hours. Or else my head explodes.

I need to work on my patience, okay?

Well, tonight I finally purchased my new obsession:


The Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens will be mine but it cannot come soon enough. I want it now. Or yesterday. But mostly for this three day weekend I have coming at me [don't worry, I work next Saturday so it's not like an actual vacation day or anything....can you imagine?]

You see, I seriously considered paying an extra $40 for 1 day shipping. FORTY FREAKING DOLLARS just for shipping? It was inner turmoil between my impatient soul and my inner tight wad. The tight wad won and I paid $0 in shipping as I wait for 3-5 business days. And now my right eye is twitching at the thought of waiting until the end of next week for my new baby.


Nate promises it will probably come earlier. He tells me to calm down and be patient. You think he'd know me better than that after nearly 7 years together, silly boy.

Speaking of boys: I'm about half way through Twilight and yes, it's rather good. I'd even label it as 'addicting' but I still find myself chuckling at the ridiculous descriptions of Edward's beauty. I get it....he's a hottie. But saying things like, "his liquid topaz eyes were penetrating," or "I couldn't imagine how an angel could be any more glorious. There was nothing about him that could be improved upon," makes me want to be a sarcastic old hag. Come on, Bella. Play a little hard to get and quit being so 'dazzled' all the time. I don't know, she just bugs me a little.

Ah, high school love stories. Why are you so entertaining?

bad bokeh

This photography stuff is so much fun, you guys.

I mean, don't get me wrong....I still have absolutely no clue what I'm doing half of the time. But I just love the feeling of capturing a moment in our lives and then spicing it up a bit through editing. I love reading about photography, learning new techniques, and figuring out how to master exposure...something that I work on each day. In fact, I can even claim to be nearly fully manual with my camera, reverting to the AV or TV mode only rarely.

During my many hours of research online, I kept reading about 'bokeh' and never really paid it much attention. But then I snapped out of it and finally understood that bokeh is the fun blurry background in a narrow depth of field image. My favorite thing! How did I not know the proper terminology?

Some people get even more specific with bokeh interpretations and label those random 'dots' of light in a Christmas tree shot as 'bokeh.' Ooooh, I love that even more! It makes me yearn for Christmas just so I can shoot some fun images full of blurry, dotty light. I'm just not sure I can even pronounce this word correctly....does it sound like Boca, as in Boca Burger? Who knows. I likey.

When you are a experienced photographer, you can capture fabulously inspiring bokeh images like this one from Rachywhoo on Flickr. Don't worry, I got her permission before posting this to avoid any copyright drama:

Isn't it just swoon-worthy? Sigh. Actually her whole stream on Flickr inspires me much like many other photographers on that site. But that would be a whole separate post, now wouldn't it?

But if you take it a step further and search for 'bokeh christmas lights' on Flickr you'll get this as a result. Completely fabulous and truly inspirational for a newbie photographer like myself. I could surf Flickr for hours without even noticing it, you know?

It makes me want the 50mm/1.8 lens even worse because the kit lens isn't cutting it for dreamy blurry backgrounds anymore. You see, according to the photography world bokeh is bad/ugly when it's too harsh and when the dots are too bold. It's good bokeh if it's more faded and hexagonal like Rachywhoo up there or any of the shots from that Flickr link. The inexpensive 1.8 would fit the bill right now for my obsession with narrow depth of field and it could yield some fabulous angular bokeh. I smell a birthday gift next month, right Nate?

And now, I will show you my version of bokeh....be it bad and/or ugly, it's all I got and it's still rather interesting, no?

Out came the Christmas lights and in came Henry for this little shoot:

See, this is him lights on:

Doesn't he look amused?

When I finally discovered how to put my lens into manual focus I got some fun bokeh [although 'bad' according to the photography world.] I had to use a little flashlight to give SOME kind of external light or else my camera would have gone on strike:

I love this one even though Nate's eyes darted towards Henry's privates right away. What a perv!

More abstract bokeh....

It's so much fun, for real.

Another fun subject? Plain old Henry. Cute, cuddly, and laid back enough to wear my robe on his head:)

Pensive Henry, staring out the rainy window on Sunday afternoon:

Ooooh, raindrops on our window mean another exercise in focusing skills:

But wait....what is that white blob behind the raindrops?

Same shot, different focus:

That was our little snow pile....the pitiful reminder of winter holding onto a thread before Spring-like rains washed it all away. I was cheering for the snow pile to vanish, cursing at it through clenched teeth when all of a sudden....

Night came and the raindrops turned into snow. Here is what our snow pile morphed into within a few hours:

Hate. Do not like. Please go away. Ugh.

As I was hanging out of our front door while avoiding physical contact with more snow [if I don't step on it maybe it will go away?] a car drove by. I'm sure they thought I was a mad woman but I kind of like the headlights in this shot:

And when I turned around to walk back upstairs, I saw this little trophy dog awaiting my return. Yes, buddy, I will come back upstairs and pretend it's not snowing anymore.

So that's that. My lessons learned in bokeh, Mother Nature, and more Henry. Do you love/hate these subjects as much as me?

stuff, things

1. I bought some fun camera-related stuff and tried to emulate Dooce with the ever-popular 'stuff on a dog' shots.

Lens filter that soothes my anxiety about scratching the glass:


Nifty lens pen that will clean both the filter and lens glass with ease:




2. Henry has an appointment for a second opinion next Monday. We are hoping for the best.

3. As if our $200 bill wasn't enough from our current vet, we received a notice in the mail that went something like this: "Thank you so much for paying us $200 of your hard-earned money. But, whoops! We forgot to add another $24 to your tab for the 'fecal flotation test.' Please send the additional fee asap. Yours truly, Rip Off Vet."

To say that Nate was a bit steamed is an understatement. Definitely the last straw and you might have heard things like, "Henry, I promise not to make you see that whore-of-a-vet anymore," and, "I'll float a piece of my own poop for them and ask for another $24 just for fun." I find the whole thing quite entertaining at this point but my husband does not see the humor just yet.

4. We ate some mighty fine grub this weekend. For instance, Saturday morning breakfast:

Cranberry and chocolate chunk scone from a local bakery. Mmmmmmm.

And breakfast Sunday morning:



Homemade cinnamon rolls that put Cinnabon to shame. Seriously, though. Mmmmmm.


5. REI dividends make us a happy family. Because Nate insists we use our REI card for everything we have $300 of free credit to spend as we please. The only reason I agree to this credit card use is because we don't carry a balance month-to-month and I enjoy free stuff just as much as the next person.

It's a weird in-between season time right now, so I only managed to spend a little bit of my half of the dividend. But a new pimp sports bra and camelback water bottle are enough to satisfy me at the moment. And what's that I see?

A new pair of running shoes [not from REI] that are non-Asics?!?! I feel so disloyal and yet rather excited for a new brand. We got fitted at Fleet Feet and this is what they suggested after watching me run on a treadmill with different shoes. Pretty sweet, huh?

------------updated at 5 pm sunday-----------------
Since getting the shoes on Saturday I've pounded out a total of 14 miles with these babies and I think I'll keep them. Breaking in running shoes is always a pain but I think I likey.



And Nate's cool new canteen water bottle makes him happy, too. I just think it's fun to photograph.

6. We are officially running in the STL half marathon next month. I never knew it was one of the largest halves in the nation with nearly 10,000 runners. Can't wait!

7. After I threw myself a pity party due to my lacking closet, I decided to treat my wardrobe with a new jacket from H&M. I love it. Collar popped:


And collar flipped down:


This one didn't get a new jacket but is obviously quite jealous anyway:



8. Am I the last blogger on the planet to give in to this?

I've withheld all this time because I really don't see how a book about vampires can be so fantastic. I admit, part of me wonders if this series can live up to the hype. I have Andrea to thank for lending me the first two books and she promises they will be worth my time. Let the addiction begin...

9. While stopping into PetSmart the other day we observed numerous excited dogs dropping bombs on the floor. Look left: dog pooping. Look right: owner cleaning up a different poop. It is always mad chaos in there.

This must have sparked a memory for Nate because he said, "It's like that time I took Henry to the groomers. I look over to see him shaking from fear, wracked with anxiety about seeing many strangers. But then I look a little closer and see he is assuming the position, dropping monster turds all over the floor. I'm sure the groomer thought we neglected to take Henry out for a whole week, considering how massive the poop turned out to be."

Does anyone else find this visual amusing? :)

10. It's 35 degrees and pouring down rain today, just like yesterday. Why do the weekends have to bring such crappy weather when Thursday and Friday boasted temps in the upper 50s with actual sunshine? Ugh. The only positive I can find: at least it's not snowing. And actually, the rain is washing away most of the snow we had....not all of it, but most of it. Please, Spring, please show your face.

---------updated at 5pm Sunday-----------
Never mind. I spoke too soon. The rain has officially turned into big fatty flakes of snow. You win, Mother Nature. I'm waving my white flag.