Early Christmas Present!

Hello all,

          No the theme week here is not about Christmas...yet! But I did get my Christmas present already:) As you know I've had some camera issues lately and because I love taking photos, I've been looking for a big-girl camera. Over the weekend I/we found one!! Here's the story so grab some popcorn and read on...

 The hubby and I ended up downtown for the Taste of Health on Saturday and then we headed to the Nike store to recycle my shoes. Yes people you can recycle your shoes as long as there is no metal in them! And they don't have to be Nike brand either. They make a rubber product you can use for gym floors, running tracks, outdoor synthetic courts, and much more! Click on the photo to find out more:)

I have to say that I've tried a huge variety of runners and currently Nike are my favorite. I need a huge amount of support as I have a very high arch so I have an insole. Most shoes cannot accommodate an insole, still feel comfy, and not have your heal sticking out all the way. I'm wearing a different brand right now as the shoes I wanted were just too far out of my budget at the time. But, I know what I'm going to get next time:) I should have waited to buy my fave shoes as the Nike store had them on sale now..of course! Even the sales rep said the ones I wanted (the ones she was wearing) were her favorite. Okay enough about my shoes! While we were in the store, the hubby started browsing (uh-oh) and found these sweet shoes. I think the hubby owns more pairs of shoes than me...well casual shoes anyways. So after 1/2 hour of trying on only two different shoes, he found a pair he liked. I'll show you a picture in a bit.

 I kept saying to him that he spends more money than me (its true!!) so the next time you get something, I get a camera. So, we hit up a camera store (not actually thinking my tactic would get me anywhere:) nearby and found a pretty good one. As it's a major purchase we decided to sleep on it. With me, sleeping on a purchase is a very new thing as I get so excited about whatever it is I'm going to buy and its all I can think about. I told Ry I'm going to go home, do some research and possibly come back tomorrow. He was slowly slinking back in his seat and trying to convince me to just leave it for awhile. As I was high from excitement this didn't really sit well with me and I was kind of disappointed. I don't get to purchase big items very often..no, let me rephrase that...EVER so for me this meant so much. After my little pout session, the hubby finally made it clear about why he wanted me to wait - He was planning on buying me one for Christmas. Now I was slinking back and feeling ashamed. What a bad wife I am! I felt like I totally stole his thunder and I wasn't being fair.

Once at home (and me apologizing!) we both sat down and did some research online and checked out different stores and whatnot, and finally we cruised through some local Craigslist ads..and that's when we found her!! It was a newer model than I was looking for but the model I wanted was super hard to find. So, I pounced on it and we went to the guy's house to take a look. Immediately I felt comfortable and knew that I wasn't being taken for a ride. He had tons of pictures (taken with the camera we were interested in) framed from his trips including Galapagos, Peru, and Costa Rica. He even had a picture of this guy....

A Blue-footed Boobie!! Gorgeous, hey?

So, after looking at the camera and pretending we knew what we were doing, viewing the receipt and all the accessories that we needed, we bought it!!!

AHHH!! I'm SO excited.  Since blogging, my love for taking photos has grown exponentially and I'm so stoked to take my skills to the next level.

So which camera did I get? This one....

I've snapped so many photos and I've been reading a ton about how to work the gazillion buttons! One site that has really helped me understand some basics is Ree Drummond's site The Pioneer Women. Not only is she hilarious, she puts complex topics into layman's terms which I love! Because you know simplicity is best!

For all you photographers out there, what are your favorite sites to learn the basics and for inspiration?

So, here is a sample of some of the photos me and Ry took....

Here is Oddie (that's his new name!) and his usual night time ritual of sleeping on our shoulders

I LOVE this shot and these are the kind of shots I'm super excited to shoot! These are the leaves on my deck. I should get sweeping, hey?

Always watching out!!

Precious!

Te he...the flash!! But I'm glad that I can get him in focus and the background blurry!

Ready to pounce!! It's time for the stair game!! He likes to grip the stairs while on his side and pull himself across it LOL

 Ryan's kicks!

 Look at the veins on that leaf!

I had to stick a sample from my organic chemistry kit in there because this course has taken over my life..haha..jk..but not really:)

There you have it folks!! This story has (finally) come to and end. Hope you all aren't asleep!!

I have some more stuff from the weekend that I'm going to post but I need to get the picts off my blackberry first.

PS I visited the naturopathic school again last night. I know, I know I'm such a stalker but it's a good thing because I want them to remember my face! The awesome thing about attending was I got to meet all the people who are going to interview me. What an amazing opportunity. Plus I got to meet perspective students and we even exchanged emails and facebook stuff...talk about community! Plus I got a promotion at work!! I don't know all the details yet but it's pretty exciting. I'm actually in the process right now of hiring someone for my position. The universe works in crazy ways, my friends! So never stop believing!

Some more exciting news..it's theme week here at Contagious Health. You're probably thinking, what theme? Bragging? Nope..not quite...it's Halloween Week, silly! I'm going to be sharing costume ideas, including what I'm being, tasty treats, decorations, and much, much more. Hope you will join me:)