Journal Pages...

Well, we went to see the Oncologist and the news was not good...He gave Clancy 4-6 months to live depending on how aggressive the tumor is and if it has spread to his chest. He said a very difficult surgery and radiation would only buy him a few months due to the nature of the cancer, so we have decided to let him live out his days until his quality of life becomes affected. Needless to say we are heart broken, but grateful that we have some time to spoil him rotten and say our goodbye's. I could not have asked for a better dog and he has brought so much to our lives. Thanks to those of you who have emailed me privately with your prayers and support. It is nice to know that we have friends who care...

On a lighter note, I am getting ready to head out to Raleigh for the Brianna Graham workshop...I hate to go with this dark cloud hanging over my head, but I think it will do me some good to get away and focus on something else for a few days. I have really been looking forward to this and I hope to learn a lot and meet some other photographers. I will definately share my work with you when I return! Have a great weekend everyone and send some love and light to my sweet boy Clancy!

Sad News....

Sorry I have not posted in awhile...We have had a rough week here. My sweet boy Clancy was diagnosed with Cancer this past week and I am crushed. He is 12 years old and has lived a wonderful, happy life but I am not ready to let him go. I took him to the vet two weeks ago for a nail trim and the vet noticed a lump under his neck. She put him on anitbiotics for a week to see if that would reduce the lump and when that did not work, she decided to do a biopsy. The results came back postive for carcinoma, most likely of the salivary gland. When she did the biopsy, she said the tumor was surrounded by the Carotid? artery, the jugular vein and various other nerves and that removal would be very difficult and risky for an older dog. I think I am in denial at this point because he still seems so healthy and spunky right now. The only indicator I had that something was off was some pretty drastic weight loss that I thought was from the diet I put him on. I just don't feel like chemo is an option when the end result would be the same, only a year later with a very sick, unhappy dog. I am taking him to see an oncologist this week mainly to try and find out where we stand with the illness and how long we have before he starts to decline. I don't want my boy to suffer and I am concerned with how my daughter is going to handle his illness. I guess we will have to trust that Clancy will let us know when it is time. Please send your thoughts and prayers to my sweet Clancy...

Valentine ATC's and two new paintings....

I received my valentine's from Randi's Valentine's Day swap yesterday and look at all of the beautiful ATC's! Randi created the cool little file folder at the bottom left that held the cards and she also included a fun project for everyone to do...Everyone included a favorite recipe and a self portrait along with their cards and I can't wait to try out a few of the recipes...Thanks to everyone who participated and to Randi for hosting such a fun swap and Happy Birthday!

Here are two new paintings I just finished for clients...The first one is of a sweet dog named Morgan...She loves to ride with her Dad on their jet ski, so her owner wanted a portrait of her wearing her life vest next to the water...Her owner actually chose a more subdued version of the painting, but I kind of liked this one with the bright orange dock....

This next painting is a little bit different from what I normally do...My clients dog is named Kiwi and she is an Australian Shepherd. She wanted Kiwi's portrait to include all sorts of Aboriginal symbols and motifs...I thought the best way to include all of the ones she wanted was to create a kind of Keith Herring inspired border to go around the portrait...I think it turned out pretty cool and Kiwi seems to approve, so that's all that really matters....

Meet Pete!

What a cool dog...My dogs sleep 23 hours a day....

Sweet Caroline....again.

I do not envy the child of a photographer....they are so flippin' sick and tired of having their picture taken that they just cringe whenever they see the camera come out of the bag...To her credit, my daughter Caroline is almost always willing to humor me for a limited amount of time. It's kind of funny how she starts out real serious trying to pose in a very formal kind of way..wanting to please me and following directions really well...then boredom sets in and the goofy child I know and love comes out and I get photos like these....

I'm not sure who has it worse, her or the dogs...they are all sick of me. Oh, well at least I reward them all with either treats or Slurpee's. Bribery always has it's place.

You Suck at Photoshop #2

This funny in a sick, twisted sort of way...watch til' the end.

Valentine ATC's...

These are for a swap that Randi Feuerhelm-Watts is hosting for Valentine's Day...She wanted us to make ATC size Valentine's using pages from our journals. We also had to include a self portrait and a fun recipe...Here is my self portrait and a Pomegranate Mojito recipe...YUM!

I also wanted to post this funny Youtube Video I saw over at Suzi Blu's blog...I don't know why but this guys sense of humor just cracked me up...I can relate to the whole carpet thing...Have a great weekend everyone...It is actually in the 60's here today so I may have to go out and do some photography on this mild day...