I have finally achieved the prestigious status of 1,000+ views. Nice. I'm sitting here celebrating with a few drinks, watching my boyfriend play the air drums....haha...

And finally, after three years, my beloved Jeep will be paid off in about two weeks. It's about damn time, too. I have big plans for all the money I'll be saving (no more car payment and no more full coverage insurance!!). First things first, I'll be replacing the jeep's front axle, and also the suspension, by means of a suspension lift kit of at least 4 inches. After that's all said and done, I'll be investing in a wide angle lens. I've narrowed it down to the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di II LD and the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. I'm having a hard time making a decision....I'd really love to have some L glass added to my artillery, but on the other hand the 2.8 aperature, the 7 year warranty and the lower price of the Tamron is what I find appealing about it. If anyone wants to weigh in on this, please feel free to do so.......

Happy New Year everyone! We partied till 5 in the morning at my sister & her fiance's house this year. That was a pretty good time...there were some pretty wild pictures on my camera the next morning! Wow....2007 went by so fast. I can barely believe it. I feel blessed that I was able to do so much camping and traveling. I can't wait for this year's trip...we can't decide if we want to do Yellowstone and the Tetons again, or head up to Glaicer National Park. None of us have been to the latter, so that would be really exciting. But you can never go wrong with Yellowstone either. I want to take more wildlife photographs this year, now that I got a new Tamron 70-300 f/4-5.6. It's no L lens but it was definetly a good buy for the price. I have yet to get out and really use it to its full potential. I want to visit the Minnesota Zoo next week and Black Dog reserve to see if I can spot any bald eagles. There are lots of them down there....after all, Minnesota has the highest population of bald eagles in the continental U.S.

The next lens I will be investing in will be the Canon EF 17-40 f/4L and a couple of good filters for it. My truck will be paid off in two months so I will finally be able to afford building up my list of equipment. I'm so excited!

Well I hope you all had a wonderful New Years holiday! Stick to your guns with those New Years resolutions!

Fall is my favorite season! I love the colors and the weather is just perfect most of the time. Next weekend I'm going up to the south shore of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin for a 3 night camping trip in the Chequamegon National Forest. We go up there at least twice every fall to visit my grandma and enjoy the serene wilderness. I'm looking forward to getting a few nice pictures of the fall colors, although I'm afraid it will be a little past peak colors by then.

I've suddenly found myself enjoying portrait photography much more than I originally thought I would. I'm trying to beef up my portrait photography skills. That's why my gallery is suddenly being flooded with pictures of people. I'm going to shoot a pre-schooler's portrait outdoors next wednesday, so hopefully the weather is nice.

But of course I will still keep taking plenty of animal pictures. That's my personal favorite, but I sense that some people might get sick of that after a while. Sorry folks, I just can't help it. I'm an obsessive animal lover.

Well, I'm pretty tired and I have to shower before bed, so I'm keeping this short and sweet. This summer was a busy one, obviously since I haven't found time to update this thing since spring!

To my dear, sweet Molly:

You will forever be in my heart and my dreams until we meet up again in heaven. You were the best dog anyone could ever ask for. You weren't just a dog, you were a loyal friend and family member, and we will never be able to fill this void. Your beautiful, happy smile filled with love is engraved into my memory forever; I see it every single time I close my eyes. It was such an amazing blessing to have you in my life for the past 15 years.

I will never, ever forget our last embrace together. Somehow, deep down inside, I knew it would be the last. I will always remember the feeling of putting my arm around you one last time and holding you so close to my heart. And there you will remain until one day I see you again in heaven.

I'm going to decorate your grave with flowers tonight, and I know your beautiful angel will be watching over me, smiling with a tennis ball in your mouth.

I love you.

So I'm not getting a Rebel XTi anymore. I'm buying a Canon 30D instead. I'm so excited! I can't wait. It'll be week or so before I get it. I think I might die from the suspense. Getting a Tamron 28-75mm and a Canon 50mm 1.8.

I'm going on a road trip in May with my boyfriend, my sister, and her fiance. We're driving my Jeep to the Bighorns, The Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone National Park. Gonna do a shitload of camping in the mountain wilderness. It'll be a good way to get to know my 30D too!!