Kody

When my cousins were younger, they had a dog. I'm not sure what it's name was, but I remember that he was small and annoying. We'll call him Fred for this story. Anyway, Natalie and Nicole (my cousins) really aren't dog people. (I should say weren't, Natalie has recently become very much a dog person.) So they didn't really love Fred. They enjoyed playing with him every now and then and took him for the occasional walk, but he was not their best friend. Well, like I said, Fred was annoying, and my aunt didn't like him very much. One day she decided to find Fred a new family. She gave him a loving home with kids who would actually play with him and feed him. Natalie and Nicole got home from school that day and did not notice Fred's absence. The same thing can be said for the next day, and the next day and the next two weeks. Yes, Natalie and Nicole did not notice Fred being gone for 2 whole weeks until one day when my aunt fessed up and told them she had given Fred away. Both the girls started crying and carrying on about how much they loved Fred and missed him, even though they hadn't noticed for 2 weeks that he was gone. 

My relationship with Kody is nothing like Natalie and Nicole's relationship with Fred. In reality, Fred has nothing to do with this post, but I thought it was an amusing story. Kody is a 110 pound German Shepard who has decided to take residence here at The Double 9. (That's what I've started calling my house since my house number is 99. Try to keep up, Internet.) 

Let me tell you, Kody is a pain. When I say something is a pain, it's not a bad thing. It's my way of saying you're-a-little-high-maintenance-but-not-so-much-so-that-I-don't-love-you-in-fact-I-have-come-to-find-you-quite-endearing. Let me tell you why Kody is a pain.

He constantly thinks it's time to play fetch. It doesn't matter if we're in the house or out. He brings me his bone or ball or random stick. He is a playful dog. One of his favorite games are when I lock him in the bathroom and go hide his bone. Then he comes out and searches for it. Trust me, he loves it. He makes up his own games, too. Such as putting his ball at my feet, then grabbing it just before I do. He also steals my dad's tools, and my bear, and my shoes. Sometimes I walk into a room and he has 3 or 4 things around him that he has found around the house. He doesn't destroy them, though. He's a good dog!

He also gets hair everywhere. Momma is constantly telling me that Kody is an outside dog because of all the hair. I tell her that Kody is old enough to make his own decisions about being an indoor or outdoor dog. I'm just going to have to train him to vacuum.

Kody is all about being loving. He does so by jumping up and giving you kisses when you enter the door. Sometimes he shows his love by laying at your feet so you can't get up. Other times he does so by scaring away the random door to door solicitors. 

Granted, there are times that I have to tell him to man up, like when he cries like a baby for being left outside, or when he crosses his paws like a girl, but all in all, Kody is an amazing dog. And I promise it wouldn't take me 2 weeks to notice if someone decided to give him away.

:j 

The Single Life

When I was in junior high, I had two best friends, Katie and Natalie. The three of us grew up in church together. Natalie and I are cousins, and Katie was like our adopted family member. The three of us were together all the time. Sometimes we would have sleep overs and stay up until 3 am talking about boys and playing Truth or Dare. Other times, once we were older, we would all pile into the front bench seat of my 1988 Buick LeSabre, roll down the windows, and drive around town with nothing better to do.

   Every now and then, though, Natalie and Katie would get together with out me. I would find out the next day at church when they would show up in matching red skirts, and I would completely clash in my pink skirt. They would have all kinds of new inside jokes from the past 12 hours that were hilarious to them and left me clueless. In Sunday School they would gush over what they did the night before, while I sat there gushing over the fact that I had been forgotten.

   Forgotten, out of mind, ignored, left behind: I still feel these things. Granted, it has nothing to do with my 2 best friends showing up at church in matching outfits while I miss out on all the fun. No, instead it usually has to do with being single. I see all of my dating friends and think: What about me, God? Did you forget me? I watch my friends with their adorable babies and ask: Will I ever know what that's like? Will anyone ever call me Mom? I watch as friend after friend walks down the aisle to the man of her dreams and wonder: Will anyone ever choose me or will I just continue to be overlooked, disregarded, forgotten?

  Singleness can be a lonely road, but I'm not writing this post to gather your pity or sympathy. I'm writing it to remind myself that God has a plan. (And because Raylene told me to write it.) He knows over 3 billion guys and can hand pick one just for me. He has only good things intended for my life. God is God and there is nothing that He cannot do. I know these things. I believe this things. I have faith in the Lord. But, I can't sit here and tell myself that He has a husband waiting for me. I don't know that. You don't know that. Only God knows that. Sure, odds are pretty good that I will end up married someday, but nothing is for certain. Regardless, God has a plan. A good plan. A plan that is perfect for me.

   Right now I feel like the Isrealites while they were wandering the desert. I'm sure there were many among the group that thought God had forgotten them. They were ready to stop wandering and head right back into the slavery of Egypt, but they didn't. They followed God through sandy dunes, and around Jericho a few times, and up to the borders of the promised land. They didn't stop looking, they didn't settle for pseudo Promised Lands, they didn't join an internet site that guaranteed they'd be in the Promised Land within 30 days. They trusted in God, and walked by faith. He was there in their midst doing the best thing for them.

   I know I haven't been forgotten. It's like Kari Jobe sings:

I know that you are for me

I know that you are for me

I know that you will not forsake me in my weakness

I know that you have come down

Even if to write upon my heart

To remind me who you are

   God is for me. He loves me. He is the author of my story, and not a single word will be forgotten.

:j

The Camera 411

This post is dedicated to my friend, Stacey. She needs help with picking out a camera. Apparently she learned how long division and grammar rules in school and missed the part about picking out the perfect camera.

Okay, let me break this down for you. There are 2 types of cameras: point and shoot and SLR.

Point and shoot:

Everything is built in and compact. I call these purse cameras. I have my P&S in my purse at all times.

SLR:

The main difference you'll notice is that the lenses change. I call this my "real" camera.

So the first thing you have to decide is if you want and point and shoot or a SLR (often called DSLR for Digital SLR)

The price of DSLRs have dropped dramatically in the past 5 years, so people are tending to buy them more. Your average person doesn't need an SLR camera. If you're just going to leave it "on the green square" or in automatic mode, I'd recommend a point and shoot.

If you are wanting to get into photography, or you just feel the need to spend extra money on a camera, I recommend Canon SLRs. For the following reasons:

1. The lenses haven't changed in years, and their high end lenses are FAST
2. They are at the front of the curve as far as new technologies go
3. If you look at the sidelines at any sporting event, they all have Canons

I have a Canon 40D (pictured above). I love it. I also recommend Canon Rebels. They are good cameras, light and the low end of the Canon SLR price point.

Some people choose SLRs because they do better in low light situations. Few people realize that Canon makes a camera that has the same insides as their SLR without the changeable lenses.

The G series from Canon is my #1 recommendation for anyone on the market for a camera. This one is the G11. They started with the G9 and have progressed up to 11. The best thing is you can learn how to shoot manual, but you don't have to deal with the lens thing. Additionally, it still does well in low light and is a fast camera. So, this is my choice if you're looking for an excellent point and shoot.

Let's say that you want a good camera, but would like video as well. Canon also has the PowerShot series. It has a video focus - with INCREDIBLE zoom - but still takes nice photos.

The one pictured is the PowerShot SX20IS. (The IS on the end stands for Image Stabilizing. You want that.)

I've also heard good things about the Olympus point and shoot line. They have some really cool cameras at a slightly cheaper price point than the ones I mentioned above.

This is the Stylus 1050. It comes in a lot of colors, and can shoot underwater! Olympus and Kodak have been concentrating on their point and shoot lines, while Canon and Nikon focus on their professional lines, so that is something to keep in mind.

One last thing, I don't recommend Sony digital cameras. They created this thing called the memory stick. It's not compatible with the other memory cards, and is an all around pain. The cameras are fine, but the fact that you have to buy a special memory card, so you can't take advantage of some great card deals turns me away. Just my personal opinion, but thought it was worth mentioning.

There are a lot of other things to take into consideration when shopping such as f stops and megapixels. This is just a quick run down of my recommendations. Maybe I'll do episode 2....

If anyone has recommendations to share, feel free!

:j