Occasionally I get a question asking about Mia.  She's been sorta missing in action from the blog lately, and well, frankly, so have I.  We've both been around.  She's been staying with my brother and then my mom for a few days while Kylie and I were out of town last week, but she's still holding the fort down.  She seems a bit bummed this spring since we - and by 'we' I mean Kylie's dad - removed a couple of her favorite finch-hunting bushes in the back yard last fall, and as a result her favorite bird cuisine has been hard to come by. I'm getting ready to head out to a family photography session here shortly, but here's a couple quick images of Mia keeping the rug in my office from moving around.

Stay tuned for a workflow post coming up on the blog.  In that episode, I'll show my process/action for taking an image from final edit to blog-ready in just a couple seconds.

One year ago tonight on New Year's Eve, a little ball of fur was born - unbeknownst to us - just for us.  3 months later we found each other and she's been our little girl every since.  Happy birthday, Mia!

Merry Christmas from Indiana.  I've been enjoying my time with the in-laws in the Hoosier state, and I'm about to settle n for another long winter's nap.  In fact, I think I've napped more in the last 2 days than I have all year.  Not sure what the deal, is but anytime I get close to horizontal, whether it's on the couch, in the La-Z-Boy, or on the floor, it's only a matter of time until the Z's succeed in a takeover bid.  I'm not complaining, though.  I haven't felt this rested in a looong time. Here's a quick image from everyone's new best friend, Phyllis.  She's my brother-in-law Bryce's new Boston Terrier, and my new leg warmer  while I work on my laptop.

Mia's getting more wardrobe and make-up looks than Madonna lately.  I've seen her in 2 sweaters, red nails, au natural of course, and most recenty sporting her new Halloween costume over the course of the ast couple days.  Yep, Kylie's always callin' Mia "pumpkin', so (possibly coincidentally) her mom whipped up a little somethin' to go trick or treating in.  She also sent Mia a pretty sweet fall pillow cover for her kennel.  I'll have to get an image of that up in a later post. Hey, check it out, Mia knows exactly what to do with her new diggs... here she is asking for a treat within 10 seconds of putting it on.  We've been tricked.

The mandatory shaking of hands before goods are exchanged.

How can you not give this face a treat?

So, let me start this post with a brief back story.  Shortly after Kylie and I got engaged the discussion came up about getting a dog.  I have always been a dog lover and was ready to get one that day.  Kylie didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm but agreed we could get one as long as we waited until after we got married so that it wouldn't bond with me and say "Hey, who's this?" when Kylie moved into the house after the wedding.  Understandable.  I think it's fair to say, though, that the idea of getting a dog was something Kylie was a little more indifferent about... fine if we did, fine if we didn't. Fast forward to today.  Kylie would give our little Mia a kidney if she needed one.  If the house was burning down and Kylie only had time to save one thing, I'm not convinced she wouldn't at least hesitate for a few seconds before choosing me or Mia... and then take Mia.  I'm (hopefully) kidding about that last part, but she's pretty smitten with Mia-girl.  She's definitely stepped in love... and a few other presents from Mia.  So much so, that she loves to dress her up in sweaters and rain coats and bows. (say it with me now, "Oh my!") Anywho, yesterday Kylie dropped Mia off at the groomer and asked if I could pick her up later in the day.  To my surprise, below is the animal I was presented when they brought her out.

Here's a Top 10 list of things that went through my head when I first saw her... 10. I'm sorry, ma'am... that's not my dog. 9. Bwahahahahaha! 8. [insert image of tear trickling down my cheek]  That's so sad. 7. Uh-oh... is that PETA calling? 6. Umm, we asked for Pantone 1795 C.  That clearly looks more like Pantone 1935 C. 5. $49 for that? 4. As of this moment, Mia, the neighborhood dogs no longer want to be friends . 3. It'll be okay; maybe I can find some socks to cover those nails. 2. What? No matching red contacts to make her eyes red? 1. What's that?  The nail coverings last 6-8 weeks?  Oh good, I was hoping they didn't come off after only a day or two. The other funny (or sad) thing about this is that Kylie asked them to cut the hair on Mia's ears a little shorter this time while leaving the rest of her hair a little longer.  Apparently the groomer 1) got confused or 2) thought the shorter style would better accent the nails. The image below show's another Kylie purchase... pretty much sums things up.

I guess the good news is that the nails coordinate nicely with Mia's Buckeye outfit.  Thank goodness for that.