Update On LuLu The Rescue Pup

 For those of you who were following me last year around this time, you’ll remember we rescued a 1 year old puppy named Lulu, who had been rehomed multiple times and nearly euthanized because of her highly reactive personality.

We took her in and spent weeks working with her, training her, helping her ease out of her food and toy aggression (significantly improved) and her intense separation anxiety (somewhat improved) .

But her growing attachment to us invoked a new problem, possessive aggression. The safer and more loved she felt with us, the more aggressive she got about “protecting” us from everyone else, including our senior dog Luna.

I was absolutely devastated at having to find a new home for her. I honestly didn’t think I could bring myself to let her go, until I met the family who is now her forever family.

I feel so blessed that they have kept in touch and sent me photos here and there, so I can see how happy and loved she is. She gets their undivided attention, which is exactly what she needed. They needed her as much as she needed them.

Today is Lulu’s second birthday, and I thought I’d share a few photos of her with her forever family.

Happy birthday Lulu

Spark The Light

Ucluelet, B.C., Canada

 "You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you." ~Unknown

That hit hard.

It feels more relevant at this point of my life than at any other, and the reason being is that starting 2 years ago, I finally began the journey to get that spark back.

It's been 10 long years since my last blog post. I won't bore you with the details, but basically through an unfortunate series of events, I was forced to give up on or set aside all the things in my life that contributed to the very essence of who I was as a person. My blog, my photography, my beloved martial arts gym that I co-founded and co-owned with one of my best friends, my volunteer work with the local women's shelter and crisis helpline, even my own children and immediate family were forced to the side at times because of a toxic relationship with a deeply insecure and narcissistic person. 

Fast forward another 10 years and another more fortunate series of events later and I'm free of that relationship and slowly but steadily working on healing myself and bringing all those things back into my life that were so essential to sparking that light in me.

I moved to a new city (actually, an old city were I used to live more than 25 years ago but I deeply appreciate it so much more now) and started a new chapter in my life as a now empty-nester. I'm in a new healthy and mutually supportive relationship with someone who loves me for exactly the quirky weirdo that I am.  Of course I have my ride-or-die senior rescue dog by my side at all times. Life is amazing. 

I recently finished an iPhone photography course that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the sparks. I also learned to surf last summer, with the encouragement of my man, which allowed me the thrill of crossing off the Number One thing on my Bucket List. (It's been number 1 on there since I was 15 years old!)  Another spark. We enjoyed camping and celebrating birthdays with best friends, and a big family Christmas, all of which I haven't been able to be a part of in far too many years. More sparks.

This new year brings more opportunities to spark more light, and I've never been more excited about what the future brings, or more grateful for all that I have. 

This year will also see the return of this little blog, with some major revamps coming. Not for the sake of building a larger audience. Honestly it's really just one of the sweet, simple things in my life that brings me joy and sparks that light in me, even if hardly anyone else ever reads it. 

I hope it brings you as much enjoyment to read as it brings me to write. 

-J

And Then Suddenly They Weren't Little Anymore ....

One day they are these tiny sweet little creatures, dependant on you for everything, and then far too soon you wake up to find they are entering teenhood  and you're hanging on to your seat for dear life, haha!

I snagged a rare opportunity to catch a few shots of my growing boys, before they outgrew their patience for me and my Nikon ;) 

Enjoy every moment with your precious "littles", because one day they won't be so little anymore. Mine are almost as tall as me now! (Yikes!) 

-J ;) 

And Then The Rains Came

I've found the best way to enjoy a thunderstorm is with a cup of tea and a cuddle with someone you love - in this case it was our one year old puppy . (Who snores when he sleeps ;)  I chose one of my favorite mugs , a birthday gift from my friend Gaby, and decided to document this rare occasion (rain in the desert) with a photo. 

May you always see the rainbows that come after the storm! 

-J

......and then I got an iPhone

It has been a year since my last post. Wow. A whole year.  And what have I done with all that time? You may not have even been wondering that but I'll tell you anyways ;). I finally crawled out from  the rock I'd been stubbornly hiding under and caved to the digital age -yep, I got myself a smartphone. And then, once the novelty of my new toy tamed down to a quiet appreciation, I finally began searching out ways to reignite my old passions for blogging and disconnect myself from the time wasting social media apps that were dulling my brain  and my senses. 

I'm ecstatic about this Blogger app. And as soon as I logged on with my phone and discovered it had been exactly one year to date that I stepped back from the blogging world (to take a much needed breakI) I knew the timing was no mere coincidence. The time had come to pour new life and inspiration I to this tired old blog!

 So to kick things off right, let's get some new pics up here!  Here's a fun (but brief ) look back over my past year ;) 

(Mothers day) 

My furry little lunch date ;)

Homemade samosas

Car trouble lol

Homemade tandoori chicken ;) mmm mmm! 

Kids- Chilling with their uncle

.... And his buddy, both of whom happen to be the band Thirtystreet, who gave us a concert in our living room! awesome ;) 

Tried my hand at cooking Jamaican food ;) so good! Above : beef patties. Below: chicken curry

Our puppy has his first birthday! And celebrated with a little bit of ice cream at our friends fruit stand.(they spoil him even more than we do!)

With his bestest friend, our friends 5 year old daughter - so far the only person with the energy to wear him out ! Haha

Best. Cherry. Ever. 

In the shade!!!!

Creepy bug

Beware of Dog ;) 

And so begins a new year ! I will be starting September as a student, as I am going back to college this year (finally!) and I'm super thrilled to be getting to cross this super important, long-awaited item off the bucket list! 

Here's to a new year of memories, in photo form ;) 

-J