A Tribute

If you know me well, or have even glanced at my facebook page, you know that I have a dog... and have never loved an animal so much in my life.  Anyone who has a dog, especially their first, knows that a dog is not simply a pet.  A dog is your child... with fur.  When they play, we laugh; when they sleep, we swoon; when they do tricks, we marvel at their intelligence; when they do ANYTHING remotely cute we take a picture and share it with the world.  To those without dogs, it might seem like we're obsessed... but I think we're just in love.  Puppy love.

It is because our dogs are so loved, as intricate parts of the family, that we are so affected by them.  When they are sick or have surgery, it's disheartening having to sit idly by.  And when we suffer the loss of their life, it feels as though a piece of our hearts has been torn out.

       

Sadly, doggie heaven recently welcomed a new soul... my furry nephew, Bosun.  While he wasn't here in our world nearly long enough, you better believe that he had an amazingly wonderful life!  Keicia and Eric were the best mumsy and daddy a puppy could have asked for.  He had tons of toys, his own lifejacket for trips to the river, a warm spot on the couch [when Eric wasn't looking], a taste for coffee [when Keicia wasn't looking], a love of ANYTHING you were eating [including Oreos], a love of car rides, and was incredibly loved by everyone around him.  Nobody could go by without looking at that handsome [maybe a little [c]hunky] boy.

While we can't yet fully believe that he's gone, we know that doggie heaven is a better place with his presence and that our lives were all better with his playfulness, drool, farts and barks in it.  Everyone that met him will truly miss him and not soon forget his playful personality and loving spirit.

We will love and miss you forever, Bosun!

       

"It's just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn't it?  It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal." -John Grogan

"Whoever said you can't buy Happiness forgot about puppies." -Gene Hill

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."
-Roger Caras

"Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished." -Dean Koontz

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself."  -Josh Billings

       

"Whoever said that diamonds are a girl's best friend never had a dog"  -Anon

So if you are lucky enough to have a puppy in your life, heart, and family give them an extra treat, belly rub and kisses tonight.  They might not be able to tell you how much they love you in words, but every other action they take is overflowing with love for you...

Two and a half years later...

Timeless.  Classic.  Elegant.

These are a few of the words that I LOVE hearing when people talk about portraits and photographs... especially mine!  When Dustin and I got engaged we were lucky enough to have not one, but two, amazing photographers who wanted to be a part of our story and capture our special day[s] so that we would be able to treasure those memories forever.

Shannon, the artist behind fotonovella, is more than a photographer.  She takes time to really get to know her clients, truly becoming a part of their circle of friends and family.  To her, the story behind the couple is just as important as the moments unfolding in front of her lens.  Because of this, she is able to capture moments that perfectly represent the personalities, emotions and spirit of the individuals in front of her in just a single image.

When we selected our 'wedding package' it included several canvases.  We were able to choose any image from our engagement shoot or wedding day for any of the canvases.  This seems like a fun and easy process.... except when you have such talented photographers.  It was SO hard to narrow down our 'Love' list of pictures.  So hard, in fact, that we never did it!  We tried numerous times to sit down and pick out the pictures we wanted to have canvases of, but would always give up.  We were married 2.5 years ago, and only yesterday did we finalize our canvases (with a little extra help from Shannon)!

I think it speaks volumes that we can look at pictures from 2.5-3 years ago and still love them just as much today as we did the first time we saw them!  So even though it took us over two years to order our canvases, I know that we'll love them for years to come.  Thank you Shannon and Eric for helping us keep our memories alive forever through our beautiful photographs!

Retinal Migraines...

Once upon a time.... I went blind.  Not ACTUALLY, but partially [temporarily].  Thankfully, my vision came back and I thought nothing of it.  But then it happened a few more times over a period of time.  Most recently, last week, it happened again and lasted for nearly an hour.  I called my eye doctor and request a consult to see if there was something wrong with my eyes.  After a few additional questions [mostly family history] he concluded that the most likely scenario was that I have been experiencing "Ocular or Retinal Migraines".

Basically [not completely medically accurate], there is more than one type of migraine.  Most often when someone complains of a migraine they are referring to a terrible head-ache; a head-ache that often requires one to cancel plans, lay down in a dark room, or even become physically sick because of the head-ache or resulting effects.  However, [dun dun dun!!!!] there are other types of migraines!  An Retinal Migraine [sometimes referred to as 'migraine with aura' or 'ocular migraine'] is one that causes "visual disturbances".... flashing lights, black spot, loss of vision.... and is temporary.  Sounds super duper exciting, right?  Wrong.  Not so much.  If you want more information... the accurate, medical type... you can check here, or here, or even here.  Happy reading!

The one thing that I am thankful for, at this point, is that while I'm experiencing these 'visual disturbances' I have not been experiencing the horrible, debilitating headaches along with them [Insert confetti and excitement here!].  That is, assuming that I am actually having these retinal migraines and not something else.

Oh the joys of anatomy and biology... I hate science.