One of the benefits (also downside sometimes) of working from home is that I can rotate out laundry while I am working.  On days where I am on a roll I just dump all the loads on my bed and then fold it all at once later in the day.  This afternoon I walked into my bedroom to find my cat Pyper (11 yrs old) curled up in a large pile of sheets and towels.  Kinda defeats the purpose of washing them, but he was so darn cute!!  If  you notice in the below pic, he wasn’t just laying on top of the pile.  He had buried himself and made sure he was covered up (he loves this!).  I couldn’t resist taking a few pics.

Once I had the camera out I had to make sure I got some pics of my other kiddos.  Below is my other kitty, Promise (8 yrs old).  She is now the middle “child” and keeps to herslef a little more these days.  Although if I am watching TV she is always next to me on the couch:)

Last, but not least, is my youngest “child” Bella.  Can you believe how big she has gotten???  She is now 9 months old and weighs just shy of 80 pounds!  Lately we have been going to the local dog park a lot.  She loves all the other dogs and tires herself out big time (which I love)!

Several years ago I started following the blog of a photographer in Phoenix, AZ.  I am not even sure how I found her blog, but as an aspiring photographer Melissa inspired me.  I was challenged in my own photography and as time went on I got to “know” Melissa through her blog.   Kinda weird when you think about the day in age we live in.  I knew about her nephews who both have autism, that she loves her dog Dixie (who has really long eyelashes) and Jesus, what her living room looked like (even got to vote on her new rug!), and so much more.  One of the features that she would blog out over the years was “101 in 1001“.  Basically the gist of it is that you have a list of 101 things you would like to do in 1001 days.  They can be big or small.  The size does not really matter.  So, as 2009 came to a close and everyone started new years resolutions I remembered all of Melissa’s posts on her 101 list.   I decided to do that instead.  One of the items on my list is:

#17 Go to a several day photogprahy workshop/retreat

I have been wanting to do this for awhile but always made an excuse of time or money.  So, in April I finally bit the bullet and attended the MJ2 Day Workshop.  The same photographer that I have been following for all this time I was about to meet!  I have to admit is was a little nerve wracking:)  It was great though!  We went over lighting, client relations, posing, vendor relations, and so much more.

Here is a shot of our group from Melissa’s blog….

At the end of day one we went on a shoot with Melissa.  The goal of the shoot was to watch how Melissa handled lighting, picked locations, and interacted with the couple.  We all brought along our cameras as well and hoped for something good:)  Our models were Promise Tangeman-Wurzel and her hubby Brian Wurzel.  They are so fun loving and extremely stylish to boot:)

Shooting through the crowd of people…

MJ in action….

I LOVE Springtime!!  There is just something about everything coming to life that inspires me.  Everyday as I drive through my neighborhood I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the trees and flowers.  So, the other day I took my dog Bella on a really long walk and took along my camera.  Brave I know.  I couldn’t let it pass me by though.  There were definitely some shots that were blurry due a squirrel or bird flaunting themselves at my 7 month old puppy;)

Here is a sampling of what I saw that day….

I am told that the below is a tulip tree…never knew such a thing existed!

So, my friends often say compare me to Martha Stewart and the occasional Sara Lee.  In my “free time” (I don’t have much of it) I like to cook.  Recently it has taken the form of baking most of the time.  It all started last summer when I saw these sugar cookies on a food blog that I read called Annie’s Eats. They are in the shape of  baby onesies and I could not resist.  Thus my obsession with royal icing started.  I have made the onesie cookies numerous time for friends who had babies, fall cookies, and now dog bone cookies.

Recently my dog Bella has gotten out of our fenced yard on a few occasions.  She always goes to our neighbors house that is beside ours and also is conveniently next to a good size creek.  Thankfully they have seen her multiple times and grabbed her.  My husband and I have been so appreciative.  So, I thought to show them our appreciation I would make them some cookies.

The results are below.  Now humor me a minute and let me point out that I made chocolate sugar cookies with pink & white icing because I have a chocolate lab who wears a pink collar:)  Yeah, I am slightly cheesy at times but they turned out great.  The neighbors loved them too!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  I hope that everyone is warm and with good company:)  Most people should have gotten this by now, so here is the front of our card from this year.  The shoot was total last minute and I just had a friend snap some pics.  Next year though I want to be the client:)  Something to look forward to in 2010.  Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Last weekend the greater DC area, well the whole Eastern seaboard really, got hammered with snow.  We ended up getting 17.5″ at my house in Northern VA!!!  This area is not used to this much snow and certainly is not prepared for it.  It started on friday night and continued until 6am on Sunday.  So, on Saturday morning my husband and I took our new puppy out into the snow.  She LOVES it!!!  It is so fun to watch her jump around in the snow.

When we first met her she was 4.5 weeks old…

Well, we got her at 7.5 weeks old and she has grown so much since then!

In our side yard…

Bella playing fetch in the snow (there was about 12″ here)

So much fun!

Merry Christmas all!  Just a note to let you know that I will be spending time with family and friends from now until the new year.  I will check email periodically, so if it takes me a little longer to reply that is why:)  I hope and pray that everyone has a blessed Christmas!

♥ Heather