Journey to the Artic Tundra

It's no secret that this winter has been very cold and wet on the east coast, but mother nature seems to have a direct bull's eye on my hometown of Front Royal, and she is not letting up. They've gotten close to 6 feet(!?!) of snow this winter, and have more on the way this week. 

Phillip and I trekked up to "Fro Ro," as we affectionately call it, to see my parents and the 30 inches of snow still on the ground this past weekend. And while they have managed pretty well, their dog and cat, Bailey and Lucy, have taken it pretty hard. Neither is a fan of the snow, especially when it's over their heads, so each has a major case of cabin fever. Bailey has taken to leaving little "presents" around the house and Lucy has bonded with a rubber band. Apparently it's become kind of a security blanket for her, so she takes it with her wherever she goes... upstairs, downstairs, naps, it doesn't matter. She even plays fetch with it. We're convinced she thinks she a dog.

When we weren't watching their antics around the house, we were out and about taking pics to document the copious amounts of snow.

My parents' backyard buried under the snow...

Sunset over the snow covered mountains. 

Icicles looming above...

Main Street.

 

Ginormous snow piles in the parking lot. 

  

The church where we were married just over 4 months ago!

 

Phillip driving the caboose.

 

Blue Ridge Mountains Skyline

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm exhausted from the four and a half hour car ride back to Raleigh from a visit with my family in Virginia, but wanted to post a quick picture that I took of my mom's orchid (one of my all time favorite flowers) in front of a window at their home.  

A beautiful flower for a beautiful valentine's day with the ones I love. Happy Valentine's Day!

Cotton Candy Clouds

As much as I wish the sun would set later this time of year, I do appreciate having a gorgeous sunset to look at on my evening commute home. This is what welcomed home tonight:

 

  

  

Alright, it's time for photography class!

 

An Ode to Ollie

Meet Ollie.

This happy fellow came into our lives in not the happiest of circumstances. He was found wandering in a parking lot, wet, covered in mud and ticks and had an injured leg. Lucky for him, my friend Emily took charge and scooped him up to see what was wrong. He had no collar and no microchip, so there wasn't an immediate way to find the owner. She whisked him to the vet, vaccinated him for rabies, got pain meds for the leg, and nursed him back to health. After postings online and fliers around the shopping center where he was found, no one turned up. Emily, knowing our desire to add a dog to our family, setup a playdate for us, and we fell for him instantly. He's adorable, doesn't chew on anything, no accidents in the house, no begging for food, and his favorite thing to do is sleep on his back with his paws in the air. He's the perfect dog. How could we be so lucky!? We sent out pics to family and friends introducing everyone to the new love in our life, and started falling into a routine. Life was good. Until the email came. The owner found him on craigslist three weeks after he'd been rescued. Our hearts fell into our stomachs as that horrible feeling of knowing he was no longer ours set in. We questioned why he was found in such a bad state, where had they been for the past 3 weeks and how did he get away? But we knew he was not ours. We had to give him back. We returned him to the family who owns a farm, where he was born, with 4 other dogs, so we know it's for the best and he'll be very happy to be back with his doggie buds, but it still hurts. We miss you Ollie. You have set the bar high for our next fur-baby, but we know he or she is out there and will be just as happy in our home. Take care buddy.

If I had a million dollars...

On road trips, Phillip and I like to play the game "What would we do if you we won the lottery?" Since the odds of winning are infinitesimal and actually requires you to play the lottery, we just have good time trying to think up lots of different and sometimes silly ways to spend our imaginary money. Of course we mention the requisites like new cars, a new house, perhaps a beach house, traveling the world, charities, etc., but then there's also the sail boat in Caribbean, infinity pool, helicopter rides, in home movie theater, the condo in Scotland, villas in Italy and France, the list could go on forever. However, even if I were to win the lottery, I know I would still want to be a photographer, especially since it would make it that much easier to fill my bag with this arsenal!

The Canon 5D... Isn't he handsome?

Oh the pictures I could take with you. 

The 85mm, 1.8 lens. The perfect portrait lens. *sigh

 

The 50mm, 1.2. The lens I'd use for anything and everything. 

I just know we'd be a great match.

 

The macbook pro. 

I can only imagine the time it would save me with its ease of editing.

 

The 70-200mm, 2.8 telefoto. He'll leave no detail, near or far unfocused.

And carrying this bad boy around I'd have arms of steel - well, maybe just one left arm of steel.

100mm, 2.8 Macro Lens
I've never been a fan of insects, but this guy might persuade me to get close...
Or maybe I'll just stick to flowers.

And of course... the fish eye lens.

No bag would be complete without this gem.

Well, a girl can dream... and if a certain someone needs any ideas for a birthday/valentine's day gift, he won't have to go far for ideas!

Dookies

While Phillip and I will always be a Deacon & a Wahoo at heart, I have to confess that we were pretty pumped at the opportunity to attend a Duke basketball game at Cameron Indoor. I've heard stories of how loud and crazy it gets in there, but to experience it first hand is like no other - Lord help anyone who decides to wear their school's colors in there... They are pretty ruthless as one Florida State gentleman in a yellow and maroon rugby shirt (aka Harry Potter, which the students affectionately shouted in unison towards him throughout the game - you can play Where's Waldo in the photos below) found out early on. Needless to say, it definitely lived up to my expectations and it was nice to  understand what the Cameron Crazies were shouting since it's sometimes difficult to tell on TV. One thing I was not prepared for was how tiny the arena is. It's no wonder my ears were ringing afterward with so much noise in such small confines. Here are a few highlights of the game:

 

Pregame warm-up.

The gentleman in the cowboy hat with the white erase board prepares the crowd for the "Harry Potter" chant. Though, in their defense, he was definitely intoxicated and actually seemed to relish the spotlight.

 

Wizardry battle between Harry Potter and the Blue Devil

Willing the ball to go their way.

Yawn* I think I'll see what's going on in the news...

Just kidding! The Crazies brought out the papers for a FSU foul shot and shouted, "Can You Read This."

  

Action shot.

Coach K rallies the troops.

  

And one last battle between Harry Potter and the Blue Devil. 

I believe this was before security asked the HP entourage to leave.

All in all, a fun time.

Snow in Carolina

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a major event. Snow, ice and the South don't exactly mix well and people tend to freak out. Phillip headed to the grocery store for the requisite eggs, milk and bread (because it seems like we're only supposed to eat french toast during a snow storm?), but there were no eggs left (egg beaters had to suffice), the shelves were in disarray, and the line to check out took forever. He said it was like Y2k all over again! Despite the mess it created on the roads, it did give me some great photo ops! Phillip, our good friends Katie & Thomas, and I headed out into the cold for some fun in the 5 inches of snow that fell on Raleigh.

Crossing over the bridge and heading into downtown Raleigh.

Setting sun through the Magnolias in the snow.

Frozen cotton by the NC Museum of Natural History.

Flowers blooming in the snow.

 

 Fayetteville Street in the snow.

 

 Heading back home as the sun sets and reflects off of the buildings. So pretty!