So…. I definitely have been feeling the winter “blahs” and can hardly wait for the spring…. let alone summer.  I prefer to be baking hot than frigid cold.  In fact, not only do I prefer the heat, I downright love it.  Granted, I don’t so much love the humidity…. but who does?  I definitely feel more inspired during the warmer months and have been aching to get out and do some nature photography.

Anyway, this morning after I made breakfast and was headed upstairs to my office to get down to business, I noticed the beautiful light streaming through our doorway.  I instantly felt inspired and knew I needed to capture the light/ moment.  It is these beautiful moments that get me through the winter, i suppose.

So…. I took a few photographs but then realized it would be more interesting with Santucci (our cat… named after my favorite pizza parlor.  mmmmmmm).  So, I guided him here and there…. which isn’t always easy.  At one point, I actually picked him up, placed him in the light and sat him down like I would a dog.  To my complete surprise, he stayed there long enough for me to get back to the camera and lie on our kitchen floor.  I then tempted him with his favorite toy….. a hairband.  He couldn’t resist!  Here are the results::

It should probably be illegal for me to have children……  I would torture them with photo sessions for certain!

For now, we have our cat, Santucci (named after my favorite pizza parlor)!  Secretly, I think he loves this.    I took the time to set up his bed (which he loves!) in front of our tiny Christmas tree.  He eventually laid in it and I continued to add decorations on top of him until it was just too much.  Eventually he got spooked by something, jumped up quickly and broke 4 ornaments into tiny pieces.  Oh well!  Still worth it!  Here are some Toochy Christmas photos…..

Look, that’s me in the reflection!

I love this one because he actually looks like a statue or one of the figurines…

Snickers is my parent’s dog…. and he is the best!!  I love him immensely.    He is getting to be an old boy (as you can see from his gray beard and eyelashes!) and is having some health issues.  Even still, he acts like a puppy every time I see him. He has been a great “model” for me over the years… and I wanted to share just just a few from some portraits that I took recently.

This is for all of you dog lovers out there….  especially chocolate lab lovers!