After my little Emmett heads to bed, I have about an hour to myself after all the nightly chores, including a grueling workout and dishes, are done. So I sneak into the fridge, and grab my latest obsession to snack on: Greek yogurt. I am going to sound like a commercial here, but this is the most amazing yogurt I have ever had. Period. It’s creamy, flavourful, and has a whopping 14grams of protein. Being a vegetarian, this is very important.
So I quietly sit down, spoon in hand, and find myself secretly looking in both directions like I am doing something wrong. I pull back the foil top… and WHAM! out of nowhere, here comes my cat, Caramel to help me enjoy my snack. I try to hide it from her everytime, but that combination of ultrasonic hearing and smell are far more powerful that I can even imagine. So I politely roll my eyes, and share some of the yogurt with her. Caramel never has people food, so that is why I have a hard time saying no. Her big eyes looking at me, sweet purr, and hand licking does me in.
This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to be a part of another wonderful Humane Society event. On the Cat Walk is a yearly fundraiser held at St. George’s Hall in Waterloo.
I met lots of wonderful pet owners at my booth, and was lucky enough to sneak a peak at the fashion show as well. As nice as the clothes were, the dog “models” stole the show with their imaginative outfits, that included raincoats and lifejackets.
Congratulations to the Humane Society on a wonderful day, let’s keep the fundraising going strong.
Over the past year Caramel has seemed to put on a few pounds. I’m pretty sure I was in denial about it, coming up with excuses like “oh, it’s just some extra fur” or my favourite, “she has an abnormally small head, so her body looks bigger”… Sure, Robin.
Caramel was always a nibbler, meaning she ate at different times during the day, always leaving food in her dish. Now she’s like a ravenous monster that dives to her food dish when I feed her. I know that having a baby in the house moved my attention *ahem* slightly from cat to human, and I’m pretty sure that’s when the problem started.
I’ve had a very busy past year, and part of my routine went like this:
*feed baby
*feed mom (moi)
*feed cat
and repeat a few hours later…
I ended up feeding Caramel more than her regular 2 times a day, and created a very hungry cat.
So the question is, how do I get these 2 extra pounds off Caramel? (which is about 30 extra pounds human) Here are some ideas:
#1 – cut down on kitties food – back to 2 times a day!
#2 – Exercise! – get out that leash again.
#3 – Try some wet food, less carbs for kitty.
#4 – No treats, well maybe just one…
#5 – Try a weight loss formula for her regular food.
Below is her goal photo that she has attached to her food dish.
2011 has probably been the most life altering year for me, but even with all the new changes, I still made sure I had lots of time for photography, music and even trying to keep up with my pharmacy career while on maternity leave.
Please enjoy some of my best moments, top albums, and my favourite pet photos.
Best moment of 2011 - Emmett William, joined our family on January 15th at 5:30pm. This was my first official picture with him when I wasn’t on an operating table…you probably don’t want to see that.
Worst moment of 2011 – Losing our cat, Sadie. Always an inspiration, my favourite portrait of her sits right on the wall behind my computer where I process all of my photography. It’s one of my most favourite places to be.
Best Albums
As many of you know, I’ve been writing pharmacy exams for the past 2 years. I finally finished this October, with success! Hopefully I can go another 12 years without upgrading again…
I thought that being a new mom and trying to study was going to be impossible. But Emmett was an excellent sleeper from 2 months on, so that gave me lots of time to sit on my bed with a pile of books and study the evenings away. Who knew that study grief could bring me so much pleasure! My BlackBerry was always plugged in to my ears for hours on end and that made picking my 10 top pretty easy. I was lucky enough to choose from old favourite bands, and my number one even ended up being a band I wasn’t a fan of before.
10. The Rapture - In the Grace Of Your Love (Miss You)
The Rapture had a rocky past 5 years, and as soon as I put this album on, it was obvious they weren’t hiding it. A tad gloomier than ”Pieces of the People We Love”, some songs made me think it wasn’t the same band. Still, even with the album being a tad on the doleful side, The Rapture still produced some great dancable tracks as always, such as “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Can You Find A Way”, and reminded me why I was so impatient for the past 5 years.
9. Bon Iver- Bon Iver (Perth)
After the famous tweet from Jessica Simpson having ”Bon Iver on Repeat”. I had to honestly reconsider my love for this album. After some initial face slapping, I came to the conclusion that I guess we agree on something.
8. Girls – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Magic)
To be completely honest, I don’t know if I ended up loving this album because I was too lazy to change the record throughout dinner for a week, or it was just that catchy. I’ll probably never know.
7. Brett Anderson – Black Rainbows (Brittle Heart)
I love Brett Anderson with a band. I don’t love him with solo albums that only contain a piano and less to be desired lyrics. I was ecstatic when Black Rainbows broke that mold and restored my faith in Brett’s solo career. Indroducing a band gave him a new life beyond Suede, and produced his best solo effort to date.
6. Erasure – Tomorrow’s World (When I Start To Break It All Down)
Tomorrow’s World surprisingly turned around that “meh” feeling I had about Erasure’s past few albums. This is Erasure at their best, pumping out new tracks such as “Be With You” and “I Lose Myself” that could have easily been on albums made 20 years ago. Very exciting about VCMG as well, looking forward to it.
5. Noel Gallaghers’ High Flying Birds (AKA Broken Arrow)
I have to admit I loved watching the Gallagher brothers go at it again this year with their own solo efforts. Noel came out on top for me, producing an overall better album, with surprisingly drastically improved lyrics and keeping that powerful, full Oasis sound. He also gets points for not having a Ben Sherman rip off clothing line. Pretty Green bag for 475 pounds? Nah.
4. Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys (St. Peter’s Cathedral)
I really don’t think that Death Cab can put out a bad album. Yes, we are aware that Ben Gibbard writes some of the best lyrics of modern day, but on this album, the music outshines his lyrics. It has quite a bit less guitar that previous albums, and really highlights the electronic capabilities of the band. As much as I love previous Death Cab albums, I really appreciate this direction, and hope it continues.
3. The Strokes – Angles (Under Cover Of Darkness)
The Strokes made me mad with this album, and I am sure I’m not the only one. Recording in separate locations, hardly speaking, hardly a band. But surprisingly enough, even with those factors, The Strokes produced another incredible album. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for another one, but it really wouldn’t surprise me if this WAS it.
2. Sloan – The Double Cross (Shadow Of Love)
Another amazing Sloan album. They’ve managed to do it for 20 years now, never disappointing. Happy XX boys.
1. The Horrors – Skying (I Can See Through You & Still Life)
This album had it all for me this year. Beautiful long tracks, and a mesh of sounds that create a haunting backdrop to Faris Badwan’s voice. Ending up in year end album lists all over the world, I am obviously not the only one who was completely drawn into this bands mystique. I’m glad they dropped those tacky last names too – calling someone Mr. Coffin just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Runners up:
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Midnight City)
Midnight City is easily one of my favourite songs this year, and the title of this album is stunning, but it’s a tad on the long side, and sometimes was trance inducing… Reminder to self not to listen to this at work while dispensing medications.
This Is Christmas – Emmy the Great and Tim Wheeler (Marshmallow World)
A fun loving new twist on a Christmas album. It has been my perfect soundtrack to all things festive this year, cookie baking, decorating the tree and it even helped me learn how to spell Marshmallow.
Best new TV Show – American Horror Story
Who can’t resist a classic horror tale about a haunted house? Not me!
FX’s new show, starring Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights fame, tells the tale of a murder house who takes over anyone who lives in it. Sure, every horror movie/show includes some kind of campy tackiness, and this show is full of it. But, for avid horror fans like me, it’s pure gold.
Best photos of 2011
I met a lot of pets this year. The usual dogs and cats, and even lizards and snakes. I watched lots of animals get adopted, seeing amazing work done by The KW Humane Society and Feline Friends. I can’t wait to see who I meet next year, maybe a guinea pig or even an actual pig? Time will tell!
Below are some of my favourite photos of the year. Lots of black and white this year, and trying to keep it simple, as always.
Since I don’t believe is New Years resolutions, I’ll leave you with a quote from my favourite album this year.
“The moment that you want is coming if you give it time”
Unfortunate name? Yes. This gorgeous tabby had *ahem* a bathroom issue since birth, but her current owner didn’t seem to mind at all. She even paid tribute to the issue with her name.
Poop is a wonderful cat of 13 years, and her owner wanted to make sure she had some memorable photos of her, so this is where I came in. Poop was quite stationary, and a little unsure of me at first, but eventually came around to the idea. She must have finally understood that any cat that does a photoshoot with me gets an abundance of attention.
What do you get when you cross a domestic feline with an Asian Leopard Cat? One of the most beautiful cat breeds around: the Bengal.
Sam and Ben are two gorgeous Bengals that not only have great human names but are very agile and quite intelligent. Their amazing markings are very “wild looking” since they take after their Leopard side – I could have stared at them all day.
No need to be concerned about having a wild cat in your house either. Even though Bengals look like a exotic cat, they have the wonderful, calm temperament of the domestic cat.
Sam and Ben were great models, full of energy and vigor. When looking at these photos, take an extra glance at their coats – they are truly and amazing looking breed.
Listening to: The new Rapture album, “In the Grace of Your Love”. So happy to have you back, boys!
This past Sunday I was lucky enough to be a vendor at Catapawlooza, an annual event put on by the Feline Friends Network at the SPCA in Stratford.
Catapawlooza allows the public to freely look at the cats and kittens who are up for adoption at the SPCA, in hopes that they will bring home the right cat for them. This year was a great success, with 24 lucky cats/kittens finding forever homes.
I have to admit, it was seriously difficult not to come home with at least one of these cats, as I got to know these them quite well. My heart definitely found a place for a few special cats, but I was happy to see them all find homes.
Congrats to the Perth SPCA, and Feline Friends for a job well done. Enjoy the pictures.
Meet Brooklyn, a lovely 9 week old Hungarian Vizsla Treetz. A “what?” you ask? Well, let me give you some info.
Vizslas are also known as hunting dogs, but also very loving, gentle and expressive. They need mental stimulation daily, and extensive exercise, which I soon discovered. When I was asked to photograph this new puppy, I jumped at the chance because baby pet shoots are few and far between. But from the second I pulled out my camera, little Brooklyn had me sweating. It was basically an exercise routine of: knees, stomach, back to knees, then trying not to get tangled up in a leash while she ran around my feet.
I did manage to get some great shots though, after some doubt – pushing ISO’s and no flash can be deadly for pictures sometimes (note to self, get faster lenses), but this little puppy produced some adorable pictures.
Welcome home Brooklyn, you’ve got a great one.
Listening to – Suede “Together”. Remastered and amazing, wonderful gift for turning 32. Argh.
Robin Andrade Pet Photography on Facebook
Robin Andrade Pet Photography on flickr
