59/365

These were the very first plants we put in when we bought this house. Ten years later they are going strong. We planted a variety and these were originally white, but the deep violet varieties planted next to them have started to invade the other white daisies.

58/365 Final Product

Today was a very good day. To be honest it didn't start out that way - over slept, morning headache, realized that we never put the groceries away from yesterday's shopping trip, people coming at 10, it is 930, Dave goes back to the store, I check the laundry to find that the bazillion gallon bottle of liquid laundry soap had fallen off the washer and was spreading across the floor like some sort of bloody crime scene.  However Dave got home, food got prepped, pages got scrapbooked, friends came over - more scrapping - dogs got to play and wrapped up with a very tired puppy falling asleep in my arms. Here is to turning around a cruddy start into a spectacular finish!

Here are some pictures that made the 365, and now have made the scrapbook. Sabina and I share January as our birthday month.

57/365

Well Wags is off to Seattle in the coming days, and we are now watching little Yalu. She was snuggling with her new crate critter on the biggest dog bed on the planet and still can't manage to stay on it.

56/365 After the Rain

Well I don't think that the rainy weather is ready to give way to spring yet, but we certainly didn't get snow. I drove through driving rain this morning across town for a class and 2 hours later this was the lovely downtown Sacramento skyline. Taken from the top of a parking garage the center building is known as the "Darth Vader" building.

55/365 Grey Skies Blue Flowers

Another day of rain - not my favorite to photograph in or house break a new puppy. Oh well, without the rain no perfect rain drops on this lonely little blue flower in our garden!

54/365 Better!

This is the photo that I intended to take yesterday. Taken with the retro camera app for android.

53/365 oops?

Today was a crazy day. I started at 0600 and I knew that City Council was going to go late. So on my way to the city council meeting I ran out to the lovely cherry blossom tree and snapped a couple pictures. I was very excited! Meeting didn't go quite as long as I anticipated, rushed home, uploaded the picture and - what!!!??!!! My beautiful pink blossoms are in BLACK AND WHITE???

Forgot to check the setting on the retro camera. Oh well, I don't hate it and I am glad I got it in. Here it is - guess what tomorrow will be =)

52/365 Still Printing Photos...

The catalyst for becoming a better photographer is because I am scrapbooker first. Don't get me wrong I have always loved photographs, but it is the capture of the moment, the story in the frame. I actually think it is sad when I see old photographs for sale in boxes at the antique store. I think that there is a family somewhere who is missing their history. Then I have to keep myself from buying any wedding photos. Not only do I have a weak spot for old photos (of pretty much anyone) it is even more so for wedding photos. Not that old wedding photos are the most romantic on the planet, I can't explain it I just have a weakness for old wedding photos - don't even get me started on wedding invitations.

Since I put so much work in to my pages it am pretty picky about the albums that I use. Although money is very tight right now dave found a steal at a garage sale. Here they are my beautiful new scrapbook albums. My dirty little secret is that I have been scrapbooking the past few years and not putting my pages in albums. They have been stored in scrapbook containers, which aren't really the best for viewing! This will keep me in albums for quite a long while, even with the back yeas I have done already!

51/365 Favorite Mug

I got to see my little nephew Everett, today. I know everyone says babies are cute, but let's face it they aren't. I hate to be the one to say it but there are some ugly mugs out there. In fact I think most newborns are - well not cute. I mainly tell that I feel this way not so that you will think that I am evil, but so that you have confidence that I would tell ya if he isn't cute - but he is. I think he looks like a little cabbage patch kid - and I thought those were cute too! Here is my little charmer now.

50/365

Wow! 50 seems like some sort of milestone, or at least it should be.

It is poker night at our house tonight. It was a rotating game, but it rotated to our house - I cook, no kids, tile floors (no worries about spills) and well they never left. The good part is that there is now a food buy in - which never covers the cost of food but is enough to spend on some new scrapbooking thing I need to have.

I cook then retreat to the den to scrapbook all night!

49/365 Rain Rain Go Away

A bit tired of the rain. Don't get me wrong normally I love the ran and snuggling in the house and watching it come down. However this year we have quite the muddy mess in the back and with 2 big dogs and for the time being an 8 week old pup - well I am a ready for just no rain. It doesn't have to be sunny, just no more rain.

Complaining aside, and trying to find the bright side.. a the rain did leave some lovely picture opportunities. It also makes one of the most favorite things in my garden,  the magnolia tree, possible.

48/365 A Little Visitor

We are fostering a little aspiring service dog. Her name is Wags....

47/365

I had to over process so not the greatest shot, but this is what City Hall looks like before 6 am. It is still pretty dark and we are overtaken by birds. You will see people out with umbrellas to avoid the falling ... well you know.

046/365

What a difference 20 or so days can make. Although a storm was on the horizon this is the same building from day 24 minus the fog. The Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento. It is a great place to stay and they have a wonderful restaurant The Grange.

45/365 What do you do all day?

My official title with the city is Program Manager. I have never ever used it though. I have been the Administrative Support Manager, Information and Support Manager, and currently I am the Citywide Record Manager. What do I do all day? Well lots of things - I handle media inquires, media outreach, oversee record destruction, and help departments with filing systems. I assist citizens with public record requests, clerk the Law and Legislation Committee, update our webpage, put out fires (figuratively), and oversee the business side of our electronic document repository. A weird little variety of things I like.

However one of the things I love the most is working to preserve valuable records and tossing out the ones that aren't (I also write the City's Record Retention Schedule). Unfortunately most employees and departments think ALL records are valuable and should be kept forever and ever. They don't realize how much records cost to maintain (floor space, file cabinets, staff time filing, staff time retrieving, don't even get me started about the cost of storing records with a 3rd party company).

So I took this picture today to add to my records pictures I pull out every so often to prove a point. I remember my dad telling me once if I like my toys so much I should take care of them. I actually told a staffer today, if this was such a crucial important record why did you treat it like this. I about died when I opened the box and this is what I saw. The box was so stuffed the files were bursting out. I was even more impressed with the coffee stained stuck together report, but it was the lone kernel of corn stuck in one of the files that made my day!

044/365

Whew! Another week done. The year is different when you are aware of every "day," and when you are looking at it from the viewfinder.

February marks our 20th anniversary. We usually do one big thing instead of anniversary and valentines so here is the picture to commemorate both. This is my first photo shoot using my homemade ikea lightbox. For a total purchase of $24 (including lights) I am pretty pleased. I can see how scrapbooking paper is going to serve me well for background layers. One small bowl was lost during this shoot, but the upside of that is the floor got really cleaned, so as to avoid any puppy eating up glass pieces.

043/365 Hello Moon

042/365

This is Larivee, she is a sleepy aspiring service dog. Today we went to the Northwest Region Graduation of CCI. This was Larivee's pre-graduation nap, in the sun.

041/365 Hanging with the band...

Hanging with the band...

040/365

It is changing. It seems we never no if the yellow pups are going to keep their little black nose or if it is going to change to pink. Lacinda is getting the first little tinges of pink on her nose. I know I am biased but she is truly a beautiful pup. (It doesn't hurt that she has just as great of personality, and is very snuggly.) Here a few of the turning nose...

039/365

It is WINDY here today. This is a windmill I have in my back yard. Don't be fooled we don't live in the country, it is a urban windmill. I think it adds character to my garden.

038/365

First Daffodils of the year. It makes me happy and sad! I think it is too early for everything so it will come in spurts this year instead of a whole bed of flowers. On the other hand very excited they are blooming. I haven't dug up and separated that bed in quite a while. I love gardening and general yard work. I don't mow that is Dave's job, while I have won the battle over most my allergies grass still wins out every time. Last fall I didn't get to do the normal yard clean up so I have a tough spring ahead of me, but I just find so much satisfaction from growing, planting, weeding. At any rate... here they are:

36 & 37 - cute and creepy!

036 & 37/365

036/365
Yesterday was a very very long day! We started with the Big Dog Turn-In Party, and ended at an LPCCI demo. This upcoming graduation is a titch bittersweet. We are so excited that Sabina is now a breeder, and even more excited that she was able to come home and live with us. However, when I heard that some of her turn in partners were rotating into team training last week there was just a twinge that I wished Sabina was getting a shot at that. Don't get me wrong - in the CCI world being a breeder is prestigious, and it is wonderful that we get to have her as part of our daily lives - still I know that had she made it through the training she has so much love and work ethic to give to someone. That being said their is no guarantee that she would have graduated, and so in the light of that I am glad she can be part of the mission! We had a visitor from Oceanside at puppy class today and based on the pic below we tuckered her out!

037/365

Today we got to spend the superbowl at the Carlinos. They seem to think that they got the better end of the deal but the way I see it we made a couple appetizers and crashed their place. We didn't have to clean or do the heavy cooking - so NO complaints here! However, in order to get ready we had to run out and do some errands and came across this lovely little man by the door. He lives only because he abides by the rule - he stays outside. Of course I have no assurance he is still outside, but for his sake he better be. (Object in the pic is even LARGER than it appears)

035/365

I drove by a great POTD yesterday, but did not have my camera because I had a POTD already planned for later. Alas I the plan fell through and I had to come up with something else. Today is my day off, but determined to not let another opportunity slip by I drug myself up, put on warm clothes and ran up to find the picture wasn't there. Not to be deterred I ventured on and found a great spot, just to learn another lesson. I took over 70 shots, and the last one was the best.

033 & 034/365

Sooo. I got my POTD yesterday and posted it to flickr but just as I came to the blog the mac book battery died. It seemed to be a sign to go to bed so I did.

033/365 Dawna's litter of 10!

034/365 Alien spawn? No just cherry tomatoes in PS underwater filter.

032/365

It is a Crumpler 6 million dollar home (aka - camera bag) - nothing but the best for my baby! Actually it is a terrible time for such a luxury - but I truly got a deal. Now that I am carrying my camera around everyday this will be great. There is plenty of room to grow. This bag isn't advertised for carrying a lap top but I am able to get my macbook in it. I won't do that everyday just the days that we travel (which did I mention there isn't much luxury dollars in the budget lately).

At any rate thanks to the guy who sold it because it was too small for him (I can't imagine), thanks to my parents for the amazon gift certificate (which brought my investment to under $50 for a $150 bag), and thanks to Dave who was able to fit it into the budget!