Inspiration

Or maybe lack thereof.  I have been totally uninspired to blog lately.  I was sick of just posting recipes, especially since I'm a total amateur.  But it felt for a while like that's the only real creative stuff I did.  My life is kind of routine, so I don't always feel like I have anything interesting to share.  I will try to do better.  Part of what will help me may be my new camera!

I was in New York last weekend to run a 5k with my sister.  The 5k turned my knee into a blob of molten lava, but other than that it was pretty fun.  One of the things I really wanted to do while I was there was take a trip to one of the legendarily awesome camera stores in the big apple.  I was originally thinking B&H, partly because I had a gift certificate, partly because it's more well known.  After very little convincing, my friend Shawn convinced me that we should really go to Adorama for their much more personal service and large used stock instead.  I'm so glad we did.  And I'm so glad I forced brought Shawn with me.  I ended up with a gently used Nikon D90 which arrived yesterday.  I'm so excited!!!!

Here are some of the test shots I've taken with my "Nifty Fifty" (50mm f/1.8) lens.  These are straight off the camera, completely unaltered.

I'm a Slacker

I know I said I was going to post a bunch of recipes from Thanksgiving last week, but I've been lazy.  So sue me!


I promise I'll get to it, but in the meantime enjoy these pictures of Kota and Duff I took goofing off w/ my Lumix LX3 while Eric was working on brining turkeys.

DVF steals

Over the past few weeks I've gotten some great deals on random DVF stuff. 

With the release of the latest Kindle, cases for the second generation dropped.  I had been eyeing a DVF case for a while, but couldn't justify the price tag when I already have a nice Cole Haan case.  I'm not gonna lie, I still kind of want this case, but I love Spotted Kat Kasi Canvas Clutch for Kindle that I ended up with.  It had always been my second choice, it's lightweight, slim, fun, (pink on the inside!), it holds my kindle much more securely than my old case, and now it's pretty cheap!

My other DVF steals came along when I was innocently walking down a side street in Alexandria and came upon a sidewalk sale at The Shoe Hive.  Unable to resist the lure of something so glorious, I forced Kota to do a little browsing with me when I saw them....  Sandals with a toe loop AND peacock feathers.  They didn't have my normal size, but when I tried half a size down they fit just fine so I took home Diane Von Furstenberg's Dahlia Feathered Flat Sandals for a $150 savings.

I also grabbed a pair of Diane Von Furstenberg's Haven Flats saving $175.  I don't love them quite as much as my other purchases (they show toe cleavage so there's promise!), but I also haven't broken from wearing sandals yet so they have been untested so far.

Kota's Prognosis

Kota feeling way too comfortable in her Elizabethan collar.

Is good, no, it's GREAT!  The pathology report came out very well.  They got the whole tumor, it didn't send out any feelers and the margins were clean.  They recommended no further action other than getting her staples out and don't expect any recurrence!  Yay!

In the mean time, Kota has become far to comfortable in the e-collar.  She is still running into walls and furniture, but it doesn't phase her at all.  She's now shaking her head, going up and down stairs, sleeping and scavenging in her collar.  She's also started pushing it against our legs when she wants some of what we're eating.

I'm excited for her to get her stitches out on Friday.

Kota Update:

Kota had surgery yesterday to remove a Mast Cell Tumor I discussed in a previous post.  I dropped her off at the vet yesterday morning and she definitely knew something was up.  She was shaking the whole time I was there.  It was so hard to leave her there, I heard her barking for me as they took her back.  She went into surgery at around 9:00am and by 11:30 was out of it and was waking up.  We couldn't pick her up until later that day.  Eric picked her up around 6:00pm.  She's doing fine.  She is clearly in some pain and is still on painkillers and Benadryl.  The Benadryl is due to the fact that this type of tumor is filled with histamines that can be released and/or disturbed during surgery.  She's been whining non-stop (like all night) and doesn't really want to lay down.  She just paces and stands there staring at me while she whines.

She did stop whining when I took the Elizabethan collar off so she could eat and go out, so I think she is more concerned about wearing her huge Elizabethan collar:

than she is about the eight inch long patch of skin that has been stapled together.

The tumor was sent to the pathologist.  We'll find out later this week if they got everything and if she'll need further treatment.

On a Serious Note

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we got Kota shaved earlier this week.  She is now a lot more comfortable (and funny looking) in this hot, humid weather.  Under all of that hair we found a relatively sizable lump.  I took her to the vet later that afternoon and we learned that she has a malignant tumor called a Mast Cell tumor.  She is having surgery to get it removed on Monday.  They'll then send the tumor to the pathologist who will be able to tell us how serious it is, if they got it all, and if there needs to be any follow up treatment.  The good news is that the tumor is in an area with a lot of skin so they will be able to cut around and get good margins since the skin can stretch.  It also is likely encapsulated in fat so isn't connected to tissue around it.  I'm feeling optimistic. 

Kota's Mat Cell Tumor

Please send good vibes our way!

Notice how big her collar is on her now that her mane has been shaved.

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, Memorial Day Weekend was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun and parts of it were exactly what a Memorial Day Weekend is supposed to be.  The work was all about creating a vegetable garden.

Saturday I skipped the gym!  We went to the farmers market, got a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, local, fresh, organic buffalo mozzarella and 4 organic, heirloom tomato plants.  I'm obsessed with Caprese salad this summer and I can't wait to make it with fresh, homegrown tomatoes.

After the farmers market we borrowed a tiller so Eric could spend the next few hours being thrown around the freshly cleared brier patch (that was covering a 5 foot in diameter scary rotted stump which was harboring a snakes nest - not kidding) digging and turning the soil.  Turns out we have some great soil.  It literally smells like poo and is chock-full of worms.  While Eric was doing the heavy lifting I went out to get a fence for our vegetable garden to be.  By the end of the day we had the fence mostly up and had started digging irrigation ditches in the garden.  And we were exhausted.  We just cooked at home and built a fire in our outdoor fireplace.

Sunday it was back to work on the garden for a few hours before we went to JT and Bryan's for a cookout (smokeout?).  JT and Eric adopted an electric smoker and this weekend was it's first outing.  We spent all day in the pool with the dogs, eating fantastic food with fantastic friends.

Kota voluntarily swimming.

Shaking out.

JT and I enjoying Bryan's summer specialty - strawberry mojitos - in the pool. 

Eric and I rocking out to whatever JT is playing.

Splashing some warm water.

Dex and I hanging out.

Monday was basically more of the same.  We FINALLY finished the garden and had a small impromptu barbecue in the backyard (More of that in a later post).  Cornhole, good food and good friends make for a perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Shannon and baby Sullivan.

Cornhole in progress.

Megs and I.

Dave's shot is a bit short.

The end of the evening feast.  Hamburgers on chiabatta, all natural hot dogs, avocado summer salad, grilled asparagus.

That's a Big Pile of Hair

Kota is a hairy dog.  She's got an undercoat that can make summer a miserable time for her.  Especially if I'm negligent with the brushing (which I tend to be).

Here is what happened when I brushed her after she (voluntarily) got in the pool the other day.  This is the result of about 5 minutes of brushing:

That's about the size of a Pomeranian.

Here is a much happier, sleeker dog:

Now we'll get her shaved and she'll be like a puppy again.

A Product I wish I could use:

I love using a summer Saturday or Sunday to take a long bike ride but I always feel guilty leaving Kota behind while we're enjoying a beautiful day outside.

When I saw this on one of my blogs today I thought "how perfect!"  

PetEgo Walky Dog Bicycle Leash

Then I remembered who my dog is and how that would never work.  She'd either be trying to run away from it or would be pulling me rather than letting me do the work.  She's also totally out of shape so our "long" bike ride would be like 2 miles.  Oh well.

I'm going to miss these days.

I took advantage of the beautiful morning to take a bike ride along the Mount Vernon Trail.  I didn't go far, only about 7 miles round trip or so, but it was really nice to have the ability to take advantage of the weather this morning.  Weekends on the trail are a bit - shall we say - crowded.  On this wonderful weekday morning the trail was relatively empty.  If I was an awesome biker I would have been flying.  As it is, I'm only mediocre so it gave me a second to catch my breath at the top of the hills anyway.

Kota was so upset when I left for my bike ride that I was guilted into taking her for a walk when I got home knowing exactly where it would lead.  We walked to the dog park so I could throw the ball to her a few times before she decided that she'd rather just sit down in the gravel by me - just as suspected.


I'm looking forward to my trip to NYC tomorrow.  Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale here I come!  I really like having my whole day to do with as I please.