Progress

Being out of school has been really nice, and I've been using this extra time to catch up on personal goals.

The Ritz camera classes have been helpful. Maybe it's just me, but I do feel like there's been a significant improvement in the quality of my photographs. Lately, I even find myself looking around wherever I go, to see photo opportunities, and I'll keep on practicing with new techniques while following this path. What I really want to do sometime is walk around downtown one morning and take pictures. The architecture of some of the buildings is so pretty and unique, and morning light is less harsh and makes for better photographs. The trick will be finding someone to go with me. Most folks I know are not morning people, and walking around and taking pictures is probably not the most exciting thing to many. With that in mind, this is probably an adventure best tackled alone...or maybe with a photographers group. Hmmm..

Things have been better at TLAC. I took some time away after the Rabies Clinic event and have been back at the shelter this week, and last night, I hopefully helped a dog find his forever home.

The story: A lady came in with 4 children (two boys 8 and 3 years old and twin infant girls in one of those mega-strollers), and she was looking at the dogs. She'd been enamored with one dog in particular, Roux, who came in a few days ago as an owner surrender, but Roux was very skittish and nervous. Because Roux seemed a little neurotic, the lady's husband didn't really think he'd work out with a house full of kids, but she wanted to give Roux another try. So, I sat with her, her children and Roux in a play area for half an hour. Mostly, I held one of her daughters while she interacted with Roux (and while she wrangled a very enterprising 3 year old boy), and it seemed to go really well. Later that night, the lady "confirmed" her application for Roux, meaning she planned to take him home today. I sincerely hope she follows through on that, too. He's a sweet dog, and after being in the play area for a few minutes, he was very calm, played with one of her sons, and checked on one of the babies when she cried. We even discovered that Roux knows "sit." Aside from the family bonding, I also hope that the lady takes Roux home because dogs who are surrendered by owners are sometimes first to be euthanized if the center runs out of space, and I hate to think that might happen to such a kind and gentle little soul. *crossing my fingers for him*

In more TLAC news, I will attend a Dog Handling training next week, and this means two things. One, I'll be able to participate in Potty Patrol. This might seem disgusting to some, but it's a chance to take the dogs out of the kennels for walks, which is good in that it gets them out of their kennels and it helps them stay social. PP (and yes, I get that the abbreviation is very fitting) is also a great time to get to know the dogs a little better, which leads to the second implication of going to training next week. In Potty Patrol, I can help identify good trail dogs. One of the leading Trail Dog volunteers has already said that she'd like to mentor me, and in order to participate in the Trail Dog program, I have to attend the handling training first. Soon...I'll be out on the trails with the TLAC dogs. Yay!!!

Then, I've done yoga 3 times this week so far, and it feels good. Now, I just have to keep the momentum going and push through that wall I've been hitting. I've lost 10 pounds since we moved into the new place in January, and while it's a good start, there's more weight to shed. The problem is that in the past few years, whenever I lose a little bit of weight, this voice inside my head speaks up, "Who are you kidding? You can't lose this weight, and besides, you like being chubby." Then, I go and eat whatever the hell I want....which usually means pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, cookies and/or chocolate bars. The simple fact is that I don't like this extra weight though. I'm not obese, but last year, I did have the highest weight of my life and was technically "over weight." This time around, I have to hear that voice, acknowledge it and push through it.

Anne's Modeling Debut

Anne was sunning this morning, and the shadows were so nice. Fortunately, I was able to get the camera out before she decided to move.





...and my favorite.

An initial photo trip to Town Lake

Sunday, I had to spend some time at TLAC as a volunteer, but I left the house a little early to get some pictures at Town Lake. Here's what I got. It was around noon when I took these, and because of that, the lighting wasn't the best. I'll make another trip in the morning soon and get more (and better) shots.

Austin1, originally uploaded by MrsPath.

Austin2, originally uploaded by MrsPath.

Austin - Stevie Ray 1, originally uploaded by MrsPath.

Austin - Stevie Ray 2, originally uploaded by MrsPath.

Knitted Art1, originally uploaded by MrsPath.

Knitted Art2

Adventures in Photography

I had a small adventure at the Texas Lavender Farm today with a friend, and after we restocked on lavender goodies, I played with the camera. The most exciting point was probably when we ran over a snake, but don't worry. There aren't any pictures of a gimpy snake.

In case the images don't show up in this post, here is the flickr link.

I have to add one more photo...the gardenia on the patio began blooming last week...if only the picture were scratch-n-sniff. Our patio smells heavenly right now. :-)

So school is out for the summer...

Well, I've been taking some college classes towards an IT certificate to accompany my bachelor degree. This past spring was my second semester back at school (after many years), and balancing a full-time job with two pencil-breakingly-tough classes has been a challenge. I did manage to get an A in the Contracts course and a B in Database Programming, but whew! I'm glad to have a break till fall.

So, what do I do with all this spare time...after a grueling college semester is done? Take more classes of course! I'm going to take hula-hooping, photography, yoga and cooking classes.

There are some wonderful hula-hooping classes around town. I'm currently taking a class with Hoop Grrl Laura Scarborough. Her class is fun while at the same time forcing me to take a shower afterwards. The only downside is the timing and location. Laura's class is @ 8pm and is also held in the opposite end of town from where I live. I suppose those 3 hours after work can be passed knitting though...what a horrible way to spend the evening. Knitting socks and then hula-hooping! Egads!! ;-)

So, there's one night a week. Then, there's photography classes at a local camera shop, and I'll be attending those for the next couple of months. The first class is an introduction to DSLR photography, and I'm a little geeked about it. A few months ago, I got a Sony DSC-HX1 (pictured below). It's what they call a "bridge camera" which means it has all the features of a point-and-shoot but also the added control of a professional DSLR camera (aperture, exposure, etc.). However, I've no idea of how to use these fancy DSLR features...at least until this weekend. Yay!

Then, there's yoga on some evenings with my husband, and lunch yoga at a local studio. The studio provides 45 minutes of flow and vinyasas, followed by an incredible lunch from the Blue Dahlia. Mmmmm...can't wait. The lunch yoga is only twice a week, but it will be a nice break from the office routine.

...and cooking. Oh, boy! It's been too long since I've taken a cooking class at Central Market, and I'll fix that very soon. This summer, CM has classes on tapas, Indian cuisine, pasta basics, sushi 101, knife skills, and summertime pies just to name a few. With no homework, I'll actually have time to get in the kitchen and make dinner again. How nice. Oh! Just thinking about it gets me smiling. Also, the new apartment has very nice gas grills and a pool, and with summer here, it's about time to grill and chill by the poolside. Yes, ma'am. Margaritas and fajitas while splashing in the water...Huzzah for summer!!!

This past weekend was mad...in a good way.

I went to visit some family...my parents and my sisters S and C. That wasn't the only point of the trip though because S and I had tickets to see Rick Springfield on Saturday. However, there was a small problem. C had just moved in with S, and we didn't have a ticket for her. It's wasn't too much of a problem since the show wasn't sold out, and we were able to get a ticket at the box office. Even with getting that 3rd ticket, the problem wasn't completely solved, and we still had the issue that the tickets weren't purchased at the same time and therefore weren't seated together. So, I took a shot and asked the box office if we could exchange the tickets so that we could all sit next to each other.

The guy working in the booth told me to hang tight and that he'd be right back. After talking with his manager, he came back and asked for the tickets I had in hand. Then, he printed 3 new tickets, gave them to me and went on to say, "I got you some better tickets while I was at it, too. Enjoy the show," with a big smile. How much better were these tickets? Well, our previous tickets were in sections E and F, to the left of the stage. We would have been seated pretty far back, and the tickets in the exchange were CENTER STAGE, SECTION B. The new tickets put us in the center and at the front of the second section...basically second row. Not only did we get to sit next to each other during the show, we also had great seats!

Oh, the show was AMAZING! At one point, I looked at my sisters, and they were wide-eyed, shivering messes. I could tell there were trying to scream, but nothing was coming out. That alone made every penny spent well worth it. :-) Then, as if they weren't losing their shit fast enough, Rick came off the stage and walked on the tables...even walking on our table. We could have reached our hands out and touched him. No joke.

All in all, he put on a really good show, but I wouldn't expect anything less from someone who has been performing for nearly 40 years. By the way, Rick looks damn fine for 62 years old. Here's some pictures from my cell phone. For perspective, I've listed a picture of Ann first. I also took this with my cell phone, and she was only 4 feet away.

Pretty Anne...4 feet away from the camera. So objects in the image are closer than they appear.






































This is my favorite. Rick was getting audience members to sing a lyric, and the fella in the black cowboy hat nailed it.

New Beginnings in Blogging

My first post to blogspot. Hmmmm...what should I write?

Well, I've taken a hiatus from many of the things that bring me joy lately, in order to further my education. Fortunately, I like learning, too. :-)

However, I'm going to start that push again. into yoga, hula-hooping, knitting and photography, and hopefully, I'll have many things to add to this blog soon.

Till then, best stitches,

Dawn