Today things returned to normal around here. Jamie is back at work, I'm working from home, Merlin is napping and Magda is guarding the castle. This is how she stands when "on guard," despite our many attempts with "no!," "off!," and the squirt gun to break the habit. But she's highest here and can see out two sides of the house to ensure that no other dogs being walked dare approach our yard. It's, apparently, a very serious responsibility.For your internet share today, this one is for all you fans of The Wire. My very favorite character on the show, hands down, was Omar Little, and this is how that actor got his big break. Because before he played one of my favorite gangsters of all time? HE WAS A BACKUP DANCER FOR MADONNA AND GEORGE MICHAEL. Yup. Amazing.
Today I thought I would entertain Magda with bubbles. And just like any kid, she just couldn't wait to pop them. There would be no sitting, staying or holding still while these Creatures of Evil floated around her, so finally I just embraced it and shot what I could. Admittedly, this shoot would have gone a lot better had I had my trusty assistant to help with food etc. But he started his first day at his new job today, and believe it or not, working as a director of internet marketing strategy at a large company tends to pay more than working as a lowly Shuttersmack photo assistant. Although, working with Magda and me might be more fun. Just saying.Below are a few more outtakes. The last one isn't tack sharp, but my word did she get angry! Too funny!
This little pup was a bit fed up today. You see, she was at the dog sitters all weekend while we were in Chicago. and she ran and played and ran and played and ran and played. And all day yesterday, after returning home, it was nothing but sleep. And all night? Sleep. And all morning? Sleep.But then.Then, this afternoon, the doorbell was ringing and strangers were here a LOT. Why, you ask? Because Jamie and I are purging a ton of crap from the house to make room for a new person, and we're giving away / selling a bunch of it. So people were coming by today to get their goods, and Magda was stuck inside not greeting strangers.And on top of that? Merlin was outside with them all. Oh, life is so unfair. So I tried to distract her by taking photos, and this was the best I could get. This was her writhing around, talking and moaning (literally) about being stuck indoors with no strangers to greet.I kept trying to tell her that her grandma Plesser is arriving tonight, and she's about to get some serious love and spoiling, but I don't think she got it. She will soon enough, however. :)For your internet share today, how about looking at these 
There's my sweet vizsla! I told you I'd get her on the blog this week.She's had quite the eventful past few days. The weather has been phenomenal here, so there have been many walks, plus she got to have a play date with a 2-year-old german shepherd mix and they ran and ran and ran and ran. We love that around here. She also tried her first almond (jury is still out on if she liked it or not -- she picked it up from the floor where it fell and carried it around in her mouth for a good 5 minutes before working up the courage to bite into it), and while people cooking in the kitchen tends to make her extremely nervous, she is slowly tip-toeing in every so often to look for scraps on the floor. Pretty darn cute.For your internet share of the day, I just found out that Anthropologie (where I would buy 100 percent of my clothing if I were A) a millionaire and B) a size two) has a wedding branch! And I was checking it out this morning online and it is LOVELY. And in terms of wedding pricing, it's not as spendy as you would think! While I have no more weddings to plan in my future, perhaps you do? Or maybe you know someone who does? Anyway, 
Yeah, she's warming up to the idea of playing in water. This year at the lake should be interesting!This puddle is usually found at the dog park after a rain, and this week it was there for a few days. The good news is that it makes Magda happy. The bad news is that many dogs pee in this puddle, so any playtime in the water requires an immediate bath upon returning home. The even worse news is that our genius dog loves to drink from this puddle EVEN THOUGH WE BRING HER FRESH WATER. So she's usually a touch sick the next day. Nothing too severe, but enough to gross us all out.I don't know about where you guys live, but where we are it is STICKY. It's like we had one week of glorious spring, and now it's summer. So we've been sleeping in the basement these past few nights (I know, I know, I owe you photos of that part of the room...), and that has been a wonderful option. Today we're installing our window a/c in the bedroom so that we can sleep up there when Jamie's mom comes in a few weeks. Also? I'd like to point out that normally we put in our air conditioners the week of my birthday -- about a month from now. So yeah, we were behind all spring due to our long winter, and now suddenly we're ahead.For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to this article that ran in Sunday's paper about 
Sometimes I get so excited about teaching Magda new tricks and poses (and attempting to wear her out) that I forget to give you guys updates on Merlin, aka, the best dog on the entire planet.He has been doing great. As he gets older, his walks are shorter and there's a lot more mosy-ing and sniffing around and much less running and barking, but his spirits are high and he's eating all of his food and he greets us with a wagging tail at the door when we return home. We really can't ask for much more of this old man.Now that it's spring, he's a bit more interested in the open windows and new scents, but not quite like he used to be. He recently started a true pain medication to supplement his acupuncture, and it seems to have him a bit more comfortable -- especially on warm days (the cold really bothers his joints).Anyway! Today I thought we should try him out with props in the studio, and as expected, he was a total star. He just sat there patiently while we put more and more props on him and shot more and more photos. I think this took about 5 minutes. The tricky part about shooting Merlin is that he doesn't give me a lot of expressions like Memphis or Magda, but on the flip side he stays super still and is amazingly patient. Seriously people. Collies are the best.For your internet share of the day, I'm gonna show you 
So tomorrow marks one full year that we've had Miss Magda up there. Can you believe it? Can you believe that a year ago she was trying to eat our faces off, scratching the hell out of our arms and clawing her way through the house? And now she's posing in a stupid hat while we throw confetti at her? Holy cow, has this girl grown up!When we first brought her home, there were more than a few moments of, "Oh shit, what have we done?!?" This dog did NOT calm down. Jamie and I were taking her for hour or two walks each morning AT FIVE THIRTY OR SIX A.M. The energy was astounding. And now? Now, she wakes 
For your internet share of the day, how about 
I might have had a ton of fun planning this week's Monday with Magda... I mean, you guys have no idea how many goodies Party City has! I will *have* to post outtakes this week because believe it or not, this was not the only sombrero we tried! It was so much fun! For everyone except Mags herself... If you look at the outtake shot below, you can see the drool gathering as she waits for a treat. My poor little señorita.
For your internet share of the day, how about