So before Matt and I got married, I really wanted a dog. I begged and begged, and even though Matt wanted one too, he knew me better than I knew myself and said we should wait until after the wedding. (In retrospect, it was the best idea every because STRESS.)
Anyway, pretty much as soon as our plane touched down post-honeymoon, I resumed begging. It was important to both of us though not to just get A Dog, but to wait for The Right Dog. And late last week, I found her.
I was browsing Petfinder, as you do, and I came across a litter of German shepherd/pit bull mixes all named for apples. Four days later, a member of the Miami Valley Pit Crew was dropping off Fuji, now known as Cam, at our house. Everyone, meet Cam :)
These are all phone shots, so the quality isn't great. She's only nine weeks old and obviously still loves to chew on everything — puppies learn with their mouths — so I'm not quite ready to risk exposing a lens to her tiny teeth.
Cam loves laps and I'm super excited for when she's a giant, 65-pound lap dog. She's just the sweetest little cuddler!
We named her for a piece of trad climbing gear, so Cam isn't short for anything. I've been giving her anti-nicknames though, calling her Camilla and Chamomile and Cameron and basically anything else that starts with the same letters.
I know everyone says this about their dog, but she's super smart, too. We've only had her a few days and she has "sit" pretty well-learned and is working on "leave it," too. And I think she's starting to bond with Matt and I, as well. This morning when I came downstairs, she went nuts — she hadn't seen me all night and was just so excited!
Spazzy hasn't been super excited about the new addition to our house, but she's done better than we expected. She's pretty defensive, but she's not attacking outright. (When we've tried to bring home a kitten before, she goes crazy and seems determined to destroy the poor things.) She'll even sit in the same room with us now, though she gets pretty uncomfortable and hissy if Cam gets too hyper or whiny. I even got a chance to take our first "family photo" (oh god, I'm one of those people, someone slap me) last night, with everyone curled up on or around the couch:
Basically the only time I've ever thought a selfie stick might be appropriate.
Told you she was a cuddler! I put my face next to hers on the (rolled up) carpet and she immediately flopped onto my neck, heaved a sigh, and went right to sleep. I might have died a little bit.
So that's been our world since Sunday! Matt had yesterday and today off, so she hasn't really been home alone yet. Tomorrow we both work, though we have arrangements so she can go outside in the morning, at lunch and in the afternoon. I'm a little nervous — she cries like crazy when we have to leave her alone to go in another room for a bit — but I know the only way she'll learn to be alone is with practice. Wish us all luck tomorrow!
t-shirt: The Limited
cardigan: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
jeans: Target
flats: Forever 21
necklace: Kate Spade, gifted
bracelet: Etsy
watch: Coach, secondhand
UGH. Has it really been two whole weeks since my last post? Insane. (These photos are from June. Insaner.) I've been busy writing, and then recovering from, one of the most challenging, research-heavy stories in my freelance career. It was rewarding, but man, did it have me exhausted.
That story comes out in October; meanwhile, if you're local, you can see my most recently-published story in the August issue of Columbus Monthly. It's a feature on Dublin City Schools that is way, way less boring than it sounds ;)
Ok, ok — shameless self-promotion over.
What else is new? I have two, potentially three, photo shoots lined up for next month, and another I just finished, so that's pretty cool. I've started using the money I earn on shoots to save for some gear that might let me take my "side hustle," as Hayley calls it, semi-pro. First up on the list is a body upgrade, probably to this, since I won't be able to afford full-frame anytime soon; another fast prime lens, because my 35mm f/1.8 is nice, but doesn't give me the bookeh I want in full-body portraits; and a nice all-in-one zoom lens, probably this or this. If I keep getting steady work like this, I might be able to make all the upgrades before my next birthday!
Other new and exciting news: Matt and I are getting a puppy! I've been trolling Petfinder.com and the local shelter sites basically since we got back from the honeymoon, because that's what newlyweds do, right? Get a dog? Well, I finally found the most beautiful German shepherd/pit bull mix that has basically all of the qualities we want in a dog earlier this week. I contacted the shelter with very low expectations; puppies that cute don't tend to hang around long. But to our surprise (and delight!), the shelter called us the very next day. Things moved really quickly after that, and as long as everything goes well with her spay today, the little furball comes home with us on Sunday. The only downside to this, of course, being that we won't get to really play with her for the first week or so. Don't worry; there will be pictures!
I've also been getting more involved in my Big Brothers, Big Sisters match lately. For the past two years, I've met with my Little at her school, during her lunch period on Fridays. At the end of last school year, she asked if we could also become a community match, which is the more typical program you think of when you hear BBBS. We just started doing our out-of-school meetups last month, and it's been really cool getting to know her outside of her academic setting.
So yeah, that's where I've been! Just lazing around, doing not much of anything as usual, haha. So. Anyone out there ever had a puppy before? (I haven't.) Other than peeing and pooing everywhere and chewing on everything, what can I expect?
