happy Monday: green

eeks! I know I'm late on posting this, but I just had the time to do a little editing this morning. I was up until 2AM writing two papers for my English class... thankfully I got them completed so I am now done with spring semester!  

I took this on our rock fishing trip, of which I have yet to post about. 

this little guy was calling my name... and the name of the several fish we caught as well, apparently. 

happy Monday: siblings

this week's theme is siblings.
and I happen to have the cutest one there is.
he has the longest lashes and the bluest eyes,
and a crazy fun personality to go with them!

listomania

• my next tattoo appointment for my sleeve is this weekend! I can't wait to get some work done now that I have some birthday money to spend. I plan on at least getting the rest of the color done, and hopefully will be able to start on the background as well. ideally, I'd like to get it finished, but I don't know how long I'll be able to sit. we shall see! 

photo taken after my last tattoo session in October.

•  we have been total rockstars when it comes to gymin' it up. we've successfully worked out at least 3 days a week for 4 weeks now, and it feels amazing! I took spin class last Wednesday and had a serious case of the DOMS until Sunday, so I spent a few days doing upper body exercises. I downloaded an app on my phone to track my workout routine, and it's really helped to make sure I'm working all of my muscles and I can even check to see that my form is spot on. I've noticed a huge difference in my strength and I can tell that I'm slimming down again after my month long hiatus during the winter. 

• regular season hockey is almost over! I'm counting on my Caps to bring home the Stanley Cup this year... that is, as long as we can make it out of the first round. we're hoping to score tickets for at least ONE playoff game this season... if they're in our budget, of course.

photo taken from last season's game 7 of round 1 against Montreal, which we lost.

• I'm walking on May 1st for our local March of Dimes, and I could NOT be more proud of our team. so far, we've succeeded in becoming the largest team in our area and one of our members is currently in 4th place for most money raised by an individual. we are walking in honor and support of our friend's baby Gianna, as well as others babies who were born too soon. so far, we've raised almost $2,000! if you'd like to help us out and donate (or if you're local and would like to walk with us), you can check out my personal page. go to the homepage for our team (appropriately named Gianna & The Baby Steppers) to read more about Gianna's story! 

photo belongs to Gianna's mama, Stephanie. don't steal, or I will CUT YOU.

• speaking of participation, I decided to sign up for the April Photo Hunt Challenge - you can find the link over on my sidebar under "Current Projects." I've been a huge slacker when it comes to taking photographs on a regular basis, so I'm hoping that the challenge will give me a little more motivation to get my camera out more often. I think now that the weather is nicer, I'll have more interest in getting out and about with my camera. 

• I need a vacation. badly. or I might kill someone. I have 4 weeks left of classes, which includes 3 more discussion posts, 1 more essay (600-700 words), 1 research paper (1200 words), and the final exam, which is in essay format. I am SO ready to be done. 

Happy Tuesday! 

my mother-in-law got her first tattoo

I took my MIL to get her very first tattoo over the weekend. she knows how much I love tattoos, and how much I trust and respect my tattooer, so it was only natural for her to want him to tattoo her for the first time. she was specific about her design - she wanted a trinity knot with her husband, son, and daughter's initials inside. she also wanted to incorporate a Q into the design - she wanted it to be strong, yet feminine.

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of course, I took plenty of pictures to share with you all. my tattoo artist (Keelhauled Mike) specializes in Coleman Style tattooing, which I love, so it's always a pleasure to search through the wall to wall flash designs they have up. I love the bold outlines, the deep shading, and the vibrant color of traditional tattoos.

 

I love going to visit my tattoo artist, if only for the visit to the quaint town of Denton, which is only about 20 minutes outside of Delaware. it's such a cute little old town, and I really enjoy being in the quiet. Hanging out in the tattoo shop with Mike and Ken is always a fun time - lots of laughs and bullshitting.

took this for all my fellow Irishmen (and women!)

I wish I could have gotten tattooed as well, but unfortunately, we are super duper broke right now, and it's not really a possibility. I'm hoping to accumulate enough birthday money that I'll be able to get my sleeve worked on sometime in the near future.

Happy Wednesday!

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oh, and PS - my birthday is in exactly one week. thumbs up!

[ p e a c e ]

I hate using the same photo for multiple challenges
(especially on different days of the week),
but I really could not imagine a better picture to
use to represent peace than this one.
you know Lily is the most comfortable when she
makes her belly vulnerable to kisses and snuggles.

I truly believe that a cat doesn't trust you
until they allow you to rub their belly,
because most belly rubs for some cats are
accompanied by scratches and slight panic attacks. 
this shot proves Lily's trust in me as her Mama.

and trust is peaceful.

Happy Saturday!

kitty mish mash

Lily is my baby. she was the first pet I ever had on my own, and she was spoiled rotten as a kitten. not that much has changed in that department. she is the queen of the house and the worst part is that she KNOWS it. large and in charge, I'm tellin' ya.

she's my BIG girl - she weighs about 14lbs. it seems like all fat, and she's got a pretty gnarly FUPA on her, but she's actually got a substantial frame on her too. yep, she's big boned. she sleeps in the funniest positions, and she looks so comfy that I just want to snuggle her and motorboat her belly. 

I'm submitting this photo over at Tara's place for her Friday photo challenge. this week's challenge is "orange." I've always loved Lily's orange mustache, so I thought this would be the perfect representation for it. :)

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Bear & Mama Cat were lookin' comfy on the couch too, so I photographed them as well. I cannot believe Bear is going to be THREE years old next month... blows my mind!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

I told Sean I wanted to get this for Bear's birthday, but he was not havin' it. so instead, Sean just bought me the book of kitty wigs to let me get my fix. I'm obsessed. I am not even kidding when I say that if I had the money, I would gladly spend $60 a piece on wigs for my cats. imagine the photo possibilities!

I wish Pheobe were more photogenic, but she hates having her picture taken, hence why there are only a handful of pictures of her on the blog. she's my stubborn girl! maybe she'd let me take more if she were sporting a pink wig.

god, I can't wait to have children so I can dress them up in ridiculous outfits.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I know I'm not the only one out there that's ready for spring to be here already! 

Happy Friday!

 PS - I'm working on adding links (maybe I'll even be fancy and create buttons!) to the main page of my blog, but if you like to see me on other sites, you can follow me HERE on Twitter and HERE on Pinterest.

fancy focus

been SO busy lately. 

sorry for the lack of posts, folks! 

this little candle holder was a gift to me from Tropicana's owners. 

I love taking pictures of it because it allows me to really 

play with the focus and the reflections in my end tables.

also, I got a new lens for my birthday - the one I put on my wish list, actually. 

Sean gave it to me early, so I've been practicing using it this week. :) 

Happy Wednesday! 

love letter to Kitty Paw

a few weeks ago, Ashley announced the beginning of her very first contest. she is now accepting love letters to her meow-face, Kitty Paw. being the crazy cat lady I am, I was entirely too excited about this.

so without further adieu, here is Bear Cub's letter to Miss Kitty Paw: 

Bear worked very hard on hims letter to his dream girl, and he hopes that she'll say yes! yes, he knows that Valentine's Day is over, but he's a hopeful and optimistic cat.  he's also a procrastinator.    
  

black&white Wednesday

to read Tropicana's (aka Miss Chow) story, click here. 

even all busted up with a cone on her head, she is beautiful.

photo avalanche [trees, SOOC, favorite things & flashback!]

I love Fridays simply for the abundance of photo challenges to participate in! I've had a busy work week, but I'm in the process of writing a sort of recap/tidbit post, so that'll be up later this afternoon! I want to welcome all my new followers! thank you all for joining me here in my little corner... I look forward to getting to know all of you. I've been slacking on commenting this week, so I apologize if you haven't heard from me in a while!

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I'm participating in LEM's Friday photo challenge, and the theme for this week is TREES. while these are not trees anymore, they used to be a part of trees, so it totally still counts, right? I took about a million pictures of the fire, but this was one of my favorites.

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this week's challenge for Foto Friday was SOOC (straight out of camera). I love this theme because I think that a lot of people rely on editing to make a good photo. I think in order to show your skills, you need to be able to take a great picture without editing it. this picture was taken a few months ago, before I even learned how to shoot in manual mode... so this was taken in an automatic setting, but I still love the way it came out. this photo has not been edited at all, besides the addition of the watermark.

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I'm participating over at living with the lowrys for the first time today! I knew this photo was perfect for the "few of my favorite things" challenge because we all know how much I love this dish! it's my homemade mac & cheese that I pretty much make for every single gathering. you can find the recipe here if you'd like to try it out! 

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I'm also submitting a photo for Flashback Friday for the first time today over at Christopher and Tia's place! I posted this photo over at my anniversary board on The Nest last night, so I figured I might as well show the blog too! this is me, back in 2004, before my senior prom. high school was such a fun experience for me, and I truly miss it sometimes. if anything, I miss being that skinny and having awesome skin! haha! also, please take note of those strategically placed highlights. and my boyfriend at the time. sheesh.

(sorry, about the quality of this picture... I basically took a picture of a print with my camera!)

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Happy Friday, lovers!

black & white on cloud nine

sharing this photo for Black & White Wednesday over at The Long Road to China. it's my most recent favorite accessory. it's a giant teal ring from Buckle that I got for Christmas from my sister-in-law. it only fits on my pinky, but that doesn't stop me from wearing it all over the place.

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I'm also linking up at pastor girl's ponderings today. this photo puts me on cloud nine... not only does it include some of my favorite things (pistachios, wine, Apples to Apples, beer), but it's a reminder of a great night with amazing friends. 

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if you're visiting from Carlotta or Lisa's blogs, make yourself at home!

I'm happy to have you here at The Bear Naked Truth!