Category Archives: Photography

Pluto and Marlanu

Pluto and Marlanu'
Sleepy time for Pluto and Marlanu’.

It seems that my two furry friends, Pluto and Marlanu’, started getting along. I cannot describe how much joy these two bring me.

I actually feel like a proud mother that needs to show them off, even if I am fully aware it is annoying. After all, there are so many pets out there, probably with owners that have better photography skills than I do.

Yet, I feel there are no two pets alike. And I also feel, that no one has a labrador retriever as Pluto or a cat like Marlanu’.

Marlanu' and Pluto Marlanu' and Pluto relaxing away

As one might say, they are my precious.

Why the sudden need to gush over them? Because I can. That and because they really do bring out the best in me and John, they make our days better and because they love us at our worst as much as they do at our best. I hope, they will have a great life and many adventures with us.

I also hope, that one day I will print out those albums that I’ve been working on for the last couple of years (for Marlanu’) / months (for Pluto). Not many people have their photographs printed out these days, but I love them. I love arranging them all over the house, or in lovely albums that I can show to close friends.

Hopefully, I will get my chance till the end of this year. That means I still have 11 months and 22 days left to make it happen.

Let the job hunting begin!

~~~~ Let the job hunting begin! ~~~~

It’s Monday and everyone is going back to work while I am home, drinking my coffee and looking over job ads. I shall start slow, updating my CV and then just browse around to see what it’s in demand and what I would like to do.

I know for sure I won’t have any chance of getting a job in January, but I’m still hoping *fingers crossed*.

Even Pluto was happy to sit like a boss at Johnny’s workplace.

Like a boss! Let the job hunting begin.

Truthfully, I am scared a little bit. Once again, I’m out of my comfort zone. I am hoping that I won’t end up in another customer service job. I don’t have the nerves for it.

I will update how the job hunting goes and I will try to keep my spirits high and my mind busy. I know last time my spirits went downhill after one month of going to every interview possible and getting no results.

I will keep busy, I have a household to run. And it’s not easy with two pets (one which is not house trained, yet) running around.

My goal/resolution for January is to put everything in order: the house, my personal schedule and my hobbies. That means a lot of cleaning and organizing, waking up early and setting a regular schedule for Pluto (for his walks) and just enjoy my hobbies while I still can (after all, I decided this year I shall read 100 books, that alone should take up considerable free time).

Pluto on his morning walk Marlanu purring away

So, let the job hunting begin (and let it be a good job hunt).

Good Morning 2015!

Good Morning 2015!

Good morning 2015
Enjoying a good cup of coffee.

And what a beautiful and sunny way to start of the new year. If it weren’t for the bitter cold, I might’ve enjoyed it more.

I admit, we had a slow start this year.

The 1st of January was spent mostly in bed, sleeping off the New Year’s party. We had a lovely party with a few close friends, family members and mostly strangers (but nice ones).

I would also like to mention, that while everyone was either going home or already sleeping (this was around 7AM) I was busy cleaning up the house. I’m not complaining, I’m actually bragging. First of all, I was the only one still standing, still clear headed and full of energy. Also, I didn’t want my pets (Pluto and Marlanu’) to get their paws dirty, drunk or to break anything.

So, as far as I’m concerned I’m right on track with my resolutions.

On the 2nd of January we had our trip to the countryside. It the second year in a row that on the first days of the year we visit my parents. On our way there we also had the chance to see the red train.

Red train Red train on its way.

This year we weren’t alone. My brother, his wife and my 2 nieces also came along. It was a nice surprise for my parents. They live alone and during the winter months they don’t get many visits from us, because of the snow and the condition of the roads. We saw an opportunity to make them happy and we took it.

We also had Pluto with us. At first we were reluctant to take the dog with us since it was bloody cold and we knew my parents would not allow him in the house.

But, there were no problems. He spent 3 hours outside, playing with 2 little dogs that my parents own. He was the most happy and derpy dog ever.

2 little countryside puppiesDerpy Pluto

There was snow, good food and good company. It was a nice outing.

My parents Winter landscape

This year I will try my best for us to have as many road trips as possible. They are much better than long vacations in far away places. But for now, we shall stay at home and work our butts off to get back on track financially. It’s the most important thing for the well being of our family (at the moment).

Till then I will be busy with the house chores. I want to get this place clean and organized. I know I have no chance of getting a job straight away, so I better keep myself as busy as possible.

Pluto and Marlanu'

And as a bonus, here are my two lovelies: Pluto and Marlanu’ enjoying a tender moment.

A Christmas Adventure!

We’ve had the best Christmas adventure!

Our Christmas tree.
Our Christmas tree.

Adventure is always welcome in our family. But we never had a Christmas adventure till now.

We weren’t even sure if we would have a proper Christmas this year, with all the problems we had so far. It seemed liked everything was against us. Even the car broke down 2 days before our planned trip.

We made plans to spend Christmas at the country side, at Johnny’s uncle. He lives pretty far away, in the north of the country and the roads are not exactly good. There is no highway and there was also the chance that it would snow so much the roads would be closed.

But, luck was on our side. The car was fixed with a day delay (can’t complain at all, we are happy it got fixed without killing our budget for the holidays). And it didn’t snow at all (on the day of our departure).

Johnny’s parents went ahead by train on Sunday, and we left on Monday. It was me, John, Pluto and we had two guests with us. A friend from with her dog, Maya.

This is where the Christmas adventure starts.

We had to meet up an hour early so the two dogs would burn their energy. It was chaos in the house. It was so funny to see two huge dogs running around and hitting things, while the cat (Marlanu’) was watching unimpressed by what was happening.

Maya and Pluto drinking water

 When we got in the car, Maya wanted to see everything while Pluto just wanted sleep.

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It took us 6 hours to get to our destination. It was already late when we got there and all we could think of was food and sleep.

But we spent 4 wonderful days. Johnny had his fun while I had my peace and quiet. I finished 3 books: A Painted House by John Grisham, Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I’ve read late into the night near the fireplace, while Johnny and Pluto were sleeping like babies.

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It was fun, it was relaxing and most important it was a Christmas spent with family and friends. That and on the 26th of December we’ve reached a huge milestone: 7 years of being together, for the good and the bad.

 Our Christmas adventure has come to an end and we are now waiting for this year to end (hopefully without anymore incidents or problems). 2015 will be a full year with a lot of changes. It will also be a year where we will have to work harder than ever so things could go back to normal.

Our Christmas adventure at the country side

Health scare

I don’t know how but we just have this really bad luck when it comes to pets. With Marlanu’ we were expecting him to have health issues since he was a stray. But, we weren’t expecting Pluto (Smotocel) to have so many health issues since we bought him from a breeder.

He gave us quite a scare 3 days ago. The day started so nice, everything was OK. There were no signs that he might be feeling ill, until he pooped something out of a horror movie and was throwing up. We went straight to the local vet, who gave him some shots and advised us to not give him any food or water till the next morning. Instead, to make sure we give him mint tea for his stomach pains.

We followed her instructions and it was basically an all-nighter for me, and Pluto wasn’t getting any better. Marlanu’ was the reason why I woke up Johnny and went straight to the animal clinic at 3AM.

Usually Marlanu’ sleeps with John and Pluto sleeps with me. Well, Marlanu’ didn’t leave Pluto alone at all. Wherever the dog went, the cat followed.

Pluto and Marlanu'

At the animal clinic we did multiple tests, including the one for parvo. Fortunate for us, he doesn’t have parvo, but after an X-ray we learned that his intestines we’re bloated in some areas and blocked in others, and he had a lot of gas in him. Which made his tummy hurt really bad and made him really sick.

Pluto

The vet didn’t allow us to take him back home since he got so sick in such a short period of time. We didn’t argue with him, since we we’re both tired and unable to properly look after him. We did visit Pluto the second day, he was better but still needed treatment. We we’re only able to take him back home yesterday morning. He is better, but he is on a diet, he has to go to the vet daily (for his treatment) and we also are treating him at home for his ear infection. And I won’t mention his skin condition for which we will have to get other tests done to see what exactly is the cause.

Pluto

While I am happy that Pluto is back home and is feeling better, playing around, eating properly and just being a normal pup, I am pissed that there is nothing that we can do to report the breeder. Apparently, the dog should’ve come with a warranty (seriously?!?) and there is no law that can force the breeders to improve the conditions they keep their dogs (as long as they are feed and given water, plus the fake health certificates).

The warranty part pisses me off the most. I got a dog not an appliance. Since when do living things need a warranty? I understand the pedigree part, but why a warranty?

Seriously, what’s wrong with people these days?

Freedom at last!

It’s finally over. I kept my promise and here I am, at home and currently unemployed.

It’s actually my second day of being a “lazy bum”, but I’m still feeling the effects of the night shift and sheer exhaustion. Yesterday I had a full day. I’ve cleaned, washed, had a mini trip to the country side and more housework.

But I did took time to have a bubble bath. It’s been such a long time since I had a bubble bath. Heck, in the last year I only had quick showers. It was so relaxing that once I got of the bath, I just dropped in bed and woke up at 6 AM. Yup, I still need to fix my sleep pattern. I am unable to sleep more than 6 hours per day.

I’m also happy that I had the chance to take some photos with my new phone. Mostly flower pictures, but I am still getting used with my phone.

IMG_20140706_123557 IMG_20140706_123712 IMG_20140723_161955 IMG_20140723_161859 IMG_20140723_161752 IMG_20140723_161636 IMG_20140719_032441 IMG_20140723_161422

And, I forgot to mention the Minions. They were fun to have. I was actually considering of leaving them in the yard for my nieces to find them when they visit. But, the weather had not been that great. It rained almost every day so far. I can’t complain much since it hasn’t ruined my vacation. And I didn’t want the Minions to get dirty.

I mean, my vacation has barely started. This weekend, will be going to Fetesti. Next week Marlanu’ will be going to my in-laws where he will stay for 3-4 weeks. On the 7th of August we’re going to Italy and we’ll be back on the 23rd. I think that’s about it for now. I mean, there might be other things to do, but I seriously don’t want to stress too much over them.

I just want to be the laziest bum ever. It’s not that I deserve it, it’s more that I need it. Working with people kinda messes you up.

Is this how British summers are?

July is almost over and it’s still cold and it rains almost every day, and night I might add.

rainy days

It’s quite depressing.

Now, I do not like the summers when it’s so hot that you sweat even when doing nothing. It’s just that I was expecting more sunshine and less rain.

Not only that, but it feels like time has stopped, especially if I am at work. You know, at first I was reluctant and thought that it might not be the best idea to quit. Well, I’ve changed my mind. I am glad I’ve quit and hopefully I will not have any permanent damage from this job.

Oh well, 25 days to go. Yes, I am counting each day till freedom!

Till then, I hope I will finish my second needlepoint project, that I will lose some of my belly and that I will learn a new recipe.

giphy

Regarding the belly fat, Johnny bought this new thing (I’m guessing it’s called a juicer in English) we now keep in the kitchen. It can make fresh juice out of almost anything. We now have a fridge full with apples and carrots, and I’m planing on buying other fruits as well. One glass a day of fresh juice really helps me not to binge on ice cream or other stuff.

Not only that, but I’ve cooked a new type of pasta this week. It was pasta with tuna! I know Johnny doesn’t like fish so I made it mostly for myself and it was so good and easy to make!

We’ve kinda splurged this month now that I think about it. We bought new phones, the juicer but we’ve paid all the bills as well and we haven’t starved yet. So, that’s a good thing.

While Johnny got an iPhone 5, I got an AllView X2 Soul. He likes the Apple operating system, while I like the Android since I find it easier to use (I still have traumas after trying to put music on my iPod using iTunes). Not only that, but I bought my phone for pictures, storage and the fact it moves so smooth and nice. Johnny bought the iPhone for reasons I am not yet aware.

Well, I cannot complain about Johnny’s iPhone, after all I got the headphones. And, the headphones are not cheap if you try to buy them from the store.

New stitching project

I know I should finish the big project that I’ve started, but I got bored of the black and yellow. It became tiresome to the eyes.

So, I’ve started a smaller project that can be done it a month or so. It’s from Krif, the original painting is by Renoir.

Needlepoint Renoir

I’ve been working on it for the past 3 weeks. Mainly, during my weekend’s and just for a couple of hours. It’s advancing nicely and I can’t wait to see the end result.

Needlepoint First stepNeedlepoint second stepNeedlepoint current progress

Little improvements

The year has been stressful so far. So many things to do, and so little time (in some cases, no motivation at all).

It felt like having your soul sucked out of you. My only consolation is that things will change in 3 months. I actually can’t wait. It’s going to be a major change, hopefully a change for the better.

I did stitch in the last month. My current project is going really well.

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I’ve also been reading a little bit. Other than that, nothing new. I mean, I did put on a few pounds from boredom eating, I’ve got glasses (things are so clear now), and I’ve been drinking every night for the past week. But, somehow those are not things that I feel like bragging about.

One thing I would like to change. I would like my photography inspiration to come back.