Sunday, September 26, 2010

And for Sunday, a trip to the peninsula and fun with mom's way-too-cool wide angle lens.  I never should have touched it because now I have to have one.

Oh well.

Someday.  

Saturday, September 25, 2010

After dragging my parents to puppy class this morning, we went for a drive up into the Cascades so they could get a taste of the mountains, too.  It would have been nice to catch better light up there, but all things considered, not too shabby :)

Because it was the weekend, Brian got to come along as well.  My folks really enjoyed having him as a tour guide.  That guy knows a ton about these mountains.  Had it just been me, all I could have said was, "Aren't they pretty?"

Friday, September 24, 2010

Today: City Center and Pike Place.  

It was a full day. :)

That's my family's self portrait in the reflection of the EMP

I had never noticed how cool the rides are at City Center. I think I'm usually steering clear of the screaming kids and cotton candy.

More of the rides at City Center.

Merry-Go-Rounds still make me dizzy, even if I'm just watching them.  I don't think I'll ever grow out of that.

All the times I've walked around the Space Needle, I've never noticed these surrounding the base.  Go figure.

And the flowers of Pike Place.  Just because

Thursday, September 23, 2010

So, my parents have come to Seattle for a visit.  This is their first time coming out to Seattle to experience my life out here.  This city is just so overwhelming that my list of to-do's for them is monumental.  There is no way we will be able to fit everything in, but I'm certainly going to try!

We started this afternoon in Fremont.  My pictures of the troll were pretty boring, but I liked the way these two shots of the JP Patches statue came out...

I'm enjoying being able to run around and take pictures with my mom.  She is just as much into this whole camera thing as I am.  

It's also really interesting to look at these things I see all the time through someone else's eyes. It's a nice reminder of how differently we all see the very same things.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I love that everywhere I go in Seattle, business establishments are keeping a thoughtful eye on the pups of our community.  It's rare to walk down a street and not see a water dish or two on every block...

And, while I firmly believe that our dogs are beyond perfection, I would give just about anything to have them carry their own shovels and poop bags like the little guy on the sign below.  

I mean come on, Brian and I figured that on average, between the two of us, we're bagging up 8 to 10 piles of poop a day.  

Guaranteed: if our dogs had opposable thumbs, they would be trained to bag their own crap.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The view from the restaurant at Brian's birthday dinner tonight:

I know I've said it before, but I think it's worth repeating: Today, I am thankful for my boyfriend.  I feel lucky every day to have found such an amazing best friend.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sometimes, I just need to take a step back and breathe.

Really beautiful things are all around if I just remember to look for them.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

On the way to puppy class this morning, Daijo claimed a new seat in the car.  I don't know why he loves to squeeze himself into such tiny places, but this one was too funny not to document.

This pup is now over 30 pounds.  I'm surprised he was able to squeeze all that fluff up there, but the funnier thought is knowing that he will continue to try and sleep up there forever now that he thinks he can.  Watching him attempt this with another 10 or 20 pounds on him will be completely hysterical.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

I was out in Issaquah today to meet with one of my hotels and ran across this scene in their parking lot looking totally normal:

I love the reflection of the new vehicle on the side of the old :)

I really wanted to stay and get some nice shots, but the owners were staring out their room window shooting me the evil eye and I didn't want to make them nervous.  I can just see the headlines now - Franchise Consultant Bludgeoned with Hotel Room Hairdryer...

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I drove out to Sequim, Washington today to support one of my new hotels.  They just completed a new solar array on the roof of their property that will supply enough electricity to power their entire meeting space and today was their official "launch".

I love that we live in a society that is learning to support and develop things like this.   It's wonderful that technology this sophisticated is so readily available.  The hotel in Sequim is working hard to capitalize on every "green" opportunity that they can.  The hotel comes compete with a rooftop patio that has planted gardens (to keep the place cooler on top of looking quite nice) in addition to a lot of other things.

It may just be one hotel, but I agree with the owner - We don't have to do it all the save the planet, but if we all contribute just a little, the combination may make all the difference we need.

Here are a few shots from the rooftop (Try to ignore the mid-day light and I'll try to get some pics of the gardens next time):

And here is a shot of the back of the solar array.  Next time, I'll climb over the fence and get some good shots of the front of it.  I just didn't want the 70+ members of the community that were taking tours to catch me climbing over fences in my heels.  I didn't think that would shine too brightly on the brand...

Monday, September 13, 2010

I feel like I'm already playing catch-up and the week hasn't even really started yet.  Everything that has happened so far today, every thought I'm having, I just feel like I'm two steps behind.  Ugh.

At least at the end of the day, we have these two guys.  There's nothing like a little undying devotion and good old fashioned puppy-romping to make the world right again.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

First off, let me just say, I know that I'm about to post a dang lot of pictures, but if you saw how many I had to choose from (and that's even from the ones that made the final cut) you would be shocked that I was able to bring it down to just this.

So, let me preface with this - I wish I was a professional photographer. I wish I had a ton of experience and I knew what aperture and shutter speed make these pics just shine.  I have a lot of learning to do.

From everything I had read about photographing newborns, I should have only been able to count on 15-20 minutes of awake time, a lot of fussing and a whole lot of poop.  This baby was amazing: just about a week old and he stayed bright-eyed and perfectly content for almost 2 hours, 3 wardrobe changes, posing naked and posing outside.  Looks like this little bugger is going to be posing for me for many moons to come :)

Melisa, I hope you like them!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Today was a big day.  We started our second round of classes for the boys (which is exhausting enough in and of itself), but then we went up to Burlington to meet Melisa and Kevin's new baby!  I got totally camera-happy on the baby, so I'm going to devote tomorrow's post just to that.  Today, I'm going to share some more shots of the boys.  Kevin and Melisa have a great yard that backs up to a golf course.

To say that our boys had fun would be an understatement.

In case you are curious, this is what it looks like when the boys let loose:

And here is Venn's guilty face:

We always know exactly how dirty Daijo is by looking at Venn.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tonight, Brian and I met up with a group of his friends to go to the state fair in Puyallup.  Fairs, with all their $9 beers, loud games, smelly foods, bright lights and insane mix of people totally overwhelm me.  It's almost like going into WalMart, or better yet, it's like when Brian took me into the Mall of America when we were in Minnesota.  Places like that just make me short circuit a little bit.  Not that I didn't have a good time - that's not it at all, it was just a very serious sensory overload.

Here is what I'm thankful for: I am not dating that pushy, arrogant, guilt-tripping guy.  My boyfriend  doesn't beg me 30 times to ride crazy carnie rides.  My boyfriend doesn't get upset with me when I stare wide-eyed at the hoards of people like I'm from another planet and have never seen bipeds like these before.  He just smiles, and understands, and somehow finds all that endearing.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

I'm glad this was a short week.  I was really thankful to make it home tonight.

I don't think I was the only one thankful to be home with Daijo...

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

How lucky am I that I have a job that allows me to bring my pup to work?  Not only do my bosses not mind, but the hotels seem really excited to have him come along.  *Sigh*

I was also lucky enough to get to see a dear friend of mine today that I haven't spent time with in over a year.  I think it's fabulous that there are just some people in this world that I'm always comfortable with, not matter how often we talk.
JoLynn, on the off-chance that I spent way too much time blathering on about me, you look beautiful.  You seem really happy.  Your son is perfect.  Your house is fabulous.  I positively can't wait to see you both again.  (Oh, and I'm really happy that Daijo didn't destroy your screen door when he careened into it)
Of course, I was too wrapped up in enjoying my time with Jo and her son to take pictures.  I even got my camera out with the full intention of getting some good shots of the two of them, but I spaced it.  Oh well.  That's a good enough excuse for me to go back for another visit :)

Anyhow, at least I did take one picture today.  After our visit with the hotel, Daijo got a few minutes of play time with a three month old boxer/boston terrier puppy.  The perspective was hilarious.  Daijo (who still seems very small to me) just towered over this tiny little guy.  He looked ridiculous pouncing around him.