thankful for....

My family...
And my new family...
That my best friend wants to spend the rest of his life with me...
And these guys, of course!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

While on the subject of dogs

The blogosphere is going to think I've lost it. Ha! You can all refer to me as "that crazy dog lady," I swear!

Once a month I get an itch. It's all Executive Traveler's fault. I mean, for four whole years I traveled and experienced new sights, sounds, smells, and cultures once a month. Now that I am no longer traveling as a profession, I get these urges to just see and try something new. And I am fortunate enough to have a fiance who supports me in this and is excited that he will be able to participate in these new adventures.

So last week I decided that I was either going to take off and search for Covered Bridges along the Warrior River, explore Tannehill State Park, or freak myself out at the Old Cahawba Ghost Town. Alabama has plethoras of adventures, and I'm actually super excited to have the time to find them.

But then Saturday rolled around and all of a sudden my entire weekend was structured around football and running errands. Which was fine and relaxing, but it didn't satisfy the itch. So what did we decide to do Saturday night? We went to the dog track.

There is a dog track literally 5 miles from our home, and our friends Tim and Liz invited us to join them at the "club level" to bet $2 per race. Man, those dogs are fast!

A dog track veteran, Tim helped explain the betting system and show us the ropes.

These were all the losing tickets. Seriously, we went and had a great time and drank buckets of beer and laughed and chatted, but there were some SERIOUS people there. I mean, old men with formulas jotted down on napkins kind of serious. It left me with a really empty sad feeling in my soul.

We had a chance to walk out onto the course towards the end of the evening to catch a race. Yes, it was a new experience and very interesting to surround myself with a completely different "culture" of people, but I was very sad about the dogs.

This photo does not stop cracking me up. Have you all seen the movie poster for "40-year-old virgin" with Steve Carrell? This is almost the exact same expression.

And who could have guessed? Tim was the big winner of the evening, taking home a whopping $23 on the first race.

I don't know if I'll be back, but I wanted an adventure, and I sure did get one.

This is the face of a killer

I had planned this entire post on how Sipsey is the best dog in the world. How she is so sweet and gentle and kind. And then today at the park she took off running and then I heard this horrible screeching. I looked over and her head was violently shaking back and forth. I felt like I was watching the National Geographic Channel! It was awful!

Can you believe that this is the smile of a bloodthirsty animal?! I mean, I know it's instinct and whatnot, but my cute little dog was licking the blood from her chops!
And this? This is complete and total relaxation after killing a member of a squirrel family on Rosewell Drive. Family wrecker.
So the next time there's a dog pile and Sipsey accidentally slides onto the ground, don't feel bad for her. She kills cute fluffy animals.
Note how Piper is clutching tightly to her favorite bear? She's afraid her sister might kill it.
As annoyed as Sipsey can get around Piper, they really do love each other. At the dog park the other day a dog went after Piper and Piper got scared and screamed and it was like the killer switch flipped and Sipsey put the smack down on that dog. She would do the same for us, too, I'm sure of it :)

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I ran over a squirrel yesterday and cried all the way to work, and when I called Dirk to tell him about it he confessed that he'd run one over last week. I'd hate to see what would happen if Piper got her mouth on a squirrel. I mean, look at what's left of the loveseat:

Piper Puppy Videos

As I've mentioned, Piper is absolutely obsessed with balls. There is no relaxing in our house if there's a ball around. We've started hiding them from her so we can get a little peace.

Piper's got a few new tricks, but she refuses to perform without protesting just a little bit.

I try to take her with me whenever I am going to be around kids, just so she begins to realize just how large she really is. She and G had a blast one night and were outside fetching for at least half an hour. I was pretty impressed that she sat on command for him, and she not once overwhelmed him with her size. Further proof that she will one day be a great dog.

Again with the balls. She can now fit three in her mouth at one time.

And for all of you wondering what Sipsey's been up to, I have planned an entire post devoted JUST to her, which I will work on this evening.

The Naughty Puppy is One!

Yes, we celebrate our dogs' birthdays, but we don't have kids, so can you blame us? Piper turned one November 19 and we made it a very special day for her.

It started with an early morning photo shoot. How cute and annoyed does she look here?
After work we took her to the pet store to pick out a present. This dog is crazy for balls. She would take a ball over a bone or stuffed animal any day. This is what she ended up with, some sort of round rawhide treat that was gone the minute after it was rung up at the counter.
Then she got to drive through McDonald's and eat fries and a cheeseburger. Pure heaven for a puppy. This is how Piper likes to sit on furniture, steps, benches, anything, really. She definitely keeps us laughing.

I'm going to upload some video of this crazy dog later, but the Internet is running slow right now. Stay tuned!

Far Away Friday: St. Lucia

Four years ago this month I went on my first press trip with Executive Traveler magazine. I was super nervous and very excited. I mean, could I really just get on a plane with my passport and camera and step off on the other side to be met by a perfect stranger who would take me to god-knows-where? A lot of trust went into it, and a lot of anxiety, made worse my super-protective then-boyfriend now-fiance. And even after three years of traveling, there was still that moment of anxiety: 'what if no one is waiting for me at the other end?' And one time, in Copenhagen, actually, that happened (but that will be a Far Away Friday in August story.)

I was sent to St. Lucia to write about and photograph a luxury residential community, "Le Paradis," and a lot of "firsts" were recorded.

It was my first time in the Caribbean, and of all of the other Caribbean islands I visited over the years, it's one of two that I would return to.
The people weren't nice, the language was some sort of made up "patois", NO one wanted to have their picture taken, and all in all I left feeling a little bit proud of the St. Lucian people, especially after visiting some islands that totally cater to english-speaking tourists. The St. Lucians don't care either way if you're there or not, and in fact, most people who travel to the island stay at an all-inclusive resort (a la Sandals), and never fully experience the culture.

Oh, and I got to ride in a helicopter. Which is a great way to see this beautiful island with it's rainforests, mountains, volcanoes, banana fields, and fishing villages. And after driving around on the pretty much one-way roads in a large passenger van with no seatbelts and almost running into other cars head on (I swear that the word "yield" does not exist in the Caribbean), I'd take aerial transportation any day.

The beaches are beautiful.

And the rainforest really intrigued me. I couldn't believe how humid and thick the air was (even more so than Alabama in August.) The trees, flowers, waterfalls, birds, it was all like a dream! Even the rasta on the side of the road holding a gigantic boa constrictor seems a little dream-like in retrospect.

It was also my first experience with the poverty so prevalent in the Caribbean. Running water has never seemed like such a luxury. It's actually the only time in my life I can recall watching women wash their laundry in the village's river. This is one reason I am so thankful for travel and the way it has broadened my perspectives towards the world at large.

Two inactive volcanoes are at the center of the most beautiful area of the island. If you ever make it to St. Lucia (and you're not on a cruise ship or staying at afore-mentioned Sandals) travel south to Ladera Resort where the infinity pool overlooks these bad boys.

Castries is the main city where the tourists disembark for the day.

This is where your bananas come from, people!

All in all, I WOULD travel back to St. Lucia. It was so interesting to me to be not only the minority, but to be judged so harshly by a population of people. It could have been that I was a little naive, wide-eyed, farm girl who expected everybody to fawn all over me, and at the time I was super disappointed in it. I mean, I actually got chewed out by a lady at an indoor market! And that lady taught me a valuable lesson. I will never again take a photograph of a person without first nodding their permission. That is one thing I learned in St. Lucia. Oh, and that I was physically and mentally capable of visiting a strange, exotic place ALONE and have an amazing time. But just to set you all at ease, on my night "alone" on the island, I was in my suite with the door locked after sunset :)

Twisted and Caught

I have been so busy this week that I haven't had time to come up with a theme. Then today I got off work a little early (meaning that it was still daylight), so I loaded up the dogs and went on a hike. And the fall scenery at Ruffner Mountain inspired this week's theme. The trail, littered with leaves, the crunch beneath my feet, the trapped leaves in the undergrowth. This week's theme is Twisted & Caught.

Please click photos to get the full effect!

The Sneakiest Little Thief

"Taylor, I'm not going to give you my breakfast. Your daddy makes the bestest eggs in the whole wide world and I only get them once every few months. Sorry."

"Seriously? You can give me that look all day long, it's not going to work."

Then the little fork started creeping closer:

....And closer...

And then it started to stab wildly around on my breakfast plate.

I have to give it to her, she really does keep her eye on the prize.

Then she gave up and just started physically placing the eggs on the fork.

Oh, and did I mention that in addition to sneaking food off dinner plates, she's also started her pick pocket training? And the princess bit is one heck of a disguise. "Hey, Mom? Wanna know what happened to that chapstick? Just ask your precious angel granddaughter" :)

Moss Rock Festival

This past weekend, Dirk, Aunt Jane, and I spent a few hours walking around the Moss Rock Festival, taking pictures, eating tofu hummus wraps, and gathering Christmas ideas (you all know how I love to pick up new hobbies around Christmas time....) Last year it was jewelry, I wonder what it will be this year? Hmmmm....

Farewell, Uncle Bubba

My granddaddy's eldest brother, Claude (affectionately known by family as "Bubba", yes, every southern family has a "Bubba,") passed away last week at the ripe old age of 98. While it's always sad to lose a family member, especially one so steeped in history, it's nice for extended family to gather and reflect, drink wine, laugh, and of course, take photos.

This is my granddaddy and his little sister, Jane. He actually calls her "sister" the majority of the time. That or "Sister Jane." Their relationship amazes me, and I hope that one day, when Will and I are in our mid and late eighties, we will have this same rapport.

Something I never quite understood growing up was the way people in my southern family received their names. Or why my middle name was actually my granddaddy's last name and my mama's maiden name. People down here are family name crazy. I have met people with FIRST names such as "Fox", "Marbury", "Tompkins," "Stroud", "Vandiver," etc. Oh, and if it's a girl? They just take either the name "Anne" or "Mary" and add the last name to that. That being said, I do think it's a lovely tradition and makes for some truly original individuals with one of a kind names. The Blackwell family was a little more conservative with their namesakes. Hence, we have quite a few Jacks:This is my Granddaddy (Jack), my mama's first cousin (Jack), and my cousin's son (Jack.)

And we have just as many Janes:This is my Aunt Jane, my GREAT Aunt Jane, and my great Aunt Jane's granddaughter Janie. Oh, and Lola, who really just wanted to be in the picture because she's a cutie pie.

I think it'd be interesting for you all to think about what you would name your next child if you HAD to use family names. Dirk and I already know that if we ever have a son he will be named after Dirk's grandfather: Hobson Carswell South. And seriously, Grandma Young's name is too good NOT to pass on! BIRDELLA! Talk about original! Ha!

FALL!

This week's theme was....you guessed it! Fall! It's been absolutely beautiful here, with 70 degree temps and lots of sunshine. I've been very fortunate to have found some fun photography friends who have motivated and encouraged me to get out and take pictures.

Oh, and I am FINALLY finished editing Maureen's wedding photos and have officially shipped the discs off to the newlyweds so now I have time to edit the many photos I've taken since Oct. 17th but have felt guilty about spending time on.

So here are a few:





Happy fall, everyone!