Day 363/365

     Sunday was a much needed day to sleep in and have fun, and I did just that. It was bitterly cold out, but extremely sunny, making it prime window-watching time for Kip.

Day 360/365

     Today was a big mix of different assignments. It started out with taking a picture of a pit bull mix that reportedly bit a 2-year-old girl. The dog's currently being held at the local pound, and there's a big debate storming about what should be done. The dog was supposedly left by a former roommate of the girl's family, and had bitten the girl before. The family supposedly couldn't get animal control to take the dog without paying $130, which they couldn't afford. The whole situation is just unfortunate from all points of view, to put it mildly. 

   After the dog photos a reporter and I worked on a project we've been building up, centered around the abundance of closed schools in Saginaw. I won't be putting any of those photos up yet since I haven't published them on MLive, but these are a few candids from some of the exploring we embarked on today. Some Simon and Garfunkel-inspired graffiti and some bullet holes.

     To finish off the day, I shot a pretty serious car accident where all three people involved, (both drivers and one passenger), had to be rushed to the hospital. A bit of variety throughout the whole day, no?

Day 349/365

     Sunday/day 349 was a much needed lazy day; filled with laundry, cover letter-writing, and taking the 28546389th picture of one of my pets. Enjoy!

Day 334/365

     I'm spending the weekend back in Ohio, and got to spend last night out at my mom's cabin with some friends and family. It was great to get together with people and just have a fun and relaxing night. Kip, of course, came with me. He makes quite the travel buddy.

Day 327/365

     After a rather tumultuous week, Saturday was a day that needed to be a good one for the sake of my mental health. I slept in, visited a friend in her new tattoo shop to get some new work done, went out with some friends from work to drink and laugh, and then got to spend some time with my boys before getting some more much-needed sleep. It was a good day, and I felt myself recharging. Kip needs a bit of work on his innocent face though, no?

Day 314/365

     As I said in day 313's post, I got to spend the past weekend at home in Cleveland. I got to have a much needed lazy day with my family on Sunday/day 314, which meant falling asleep on the living room couch while watching a movie. It wouldn't be complete without the best nap buddy in the world: our family dog Pete. Pete's almost ten years old, which I still find hard to believe. He's the sweetest dog on this face of the planet. Just look at that face!

Day 301/365

     Monday/day 301 was a slow workday, as Mondays too often are. It was at least sunny out, even though there was a bitter chill in the air. After I got home from work I bundled up and took Kip on a nice long walk. As almost always is the case, Finch was waiting in the window for us, (well, most likely me more so than Kip), to get back. It makes me smile each time I see him do it. He runs to the door when I get home from work too! He breaks about 90% of cat stereotypes, which is one of the major reasons I love him so much, I think. He plays fetch, comes when he's called, (most of the time, but dogs blow you off too), and he cuddles. Anyways, when Kip and I got back from our walk Monday I went over to my living room window and went to take a picture of Finch, when Kip noticed he was in the window and decided to say hello!

Day 297/365

     I got to hang with my favorite ten year-old today. As I mentioned a few days/posts ago, there have been some major developments in Jessica Schwerin's story. Jessica, who was diagnosed with kidney failure mid-2012, is getting a transplant! She's spending tonight down in Ann Arbor before having her operation tomorrow morning. A local business owner heard her story and lent her, her mother, and her donor his limo to be taken down to the hospital in. We covered her sendoff, and her arrival at the hospital today. I took quite a few pictures of her, but this one was by far my favorite. She was saying goodbye to her dog, and you all know how I can't resist a dog photo op.

    What gets me the most, is that the man who's donating his kidney to Jessica decided to do so after seeing her story in the Bay City Times, which I photographed. It's incredibly humbling to know that in some small way you can help someone, and I can't think of any girl who deserves it more than Jessica. Today was one of those days that reminded me how much I love my job, which I don't often forget, but still; I. love. my. life.

     To see the article/more photos on her limo send off, you can find them on MLive here, and to see photos from her first night in the hospital, with a short copy block written by yours truly, you can find that here.

Day 296/365

     A new lens I had recently ordered happened to arrive today! I'm a camera nerd through and through, as I'm sure is obvious to anyone who knows me or who even glances at this blog from time to time. The lens arriving today is perfect timing though; I've been dying to use it and I think it'll especially come in handy with the new developments in Jessica's story. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to use it though, of course, so my boys got to suffer through being my test subjects yet again. I'm pretty sure they're more than used to it though. I mean, c'mon, look at those poses! They were born to be a photographer's pets.

Day 294/365

     I ended up being off of work Monday/day 294... but I didn't realize until after I had been at the office for a few hours. Nevertheless, I went home and attacked the mountain of laundry that's been trying to inhabit my apartment. Not the most exciting day, but it was nice to get some things done that have been getting to me the past week or two. Kip was a huge help of course, as always.

Day 293/365

Sunday/day 293 was most definitely a lazy day, so much so that Finch and Kip even got along for most of the day.

Day 287/365

     As a peace offering for the delay in updates; I give you a picture of Kip sitting pretty for the camera!

Day 258/365

     Sunday was spent pretty much the same as Saturday was: packing. It was a bit more delayed though, seeing as Kip, Finch, and I spent almost the entire morning being lazy and not getting out of bed.

Day 251/265

     Saginaw got a dusting of about an inch of snow overnight, so waking up to a little wonderland Sunday morning was a nice surprise. It was Kip's first time seeing snow, and he absolutely loved it. I wish I had time to go to the dog park, because when we went out for a walk it was so easy to see how much he was dying to run around and bound through it. It's since melted away for the most part, leaving just a little bit here and there with a bit of ice. Next time it snows though, I'll have to make sure to let him loose so he gets a chance to play. A

Day 244/365

     Today I took Kip to a local park where he got to see the lake for the first time. He. Loved. It. Out of all the dogs my family's had, none of them have been water dogs. To say I was excited to see that Kip seems to love water is a major understatement. Next summer should be interesting. 

Day 243/365

     I've spent this weekend back home in Ohio, since I'm not sure if I'll be able to come back for the day on Thursday for Thanksgiving or not. I spent most of Saturday cooking since some friends and I got together for a preThanksgiving dinner, but I did go outside with Kip quite a few times since the weather was so nice. I love cold weather and I love snow, but even I have to admit the sunny and unseasonably warm weather this weekend was a nice change of pace. 

Day 215/365

     Today's post is a pet one, but I tried to mix it up a bit and do something different this time!

Day 208/365

     Saturday/day 208 is a pet post! You know you've missed 'em. Saginaw weather was pretty dismal this past weekend; with cool temperatures, gusting winds, and plenty of rain. I kept waiting for a break in the weather to take Kip for a walk after I got off work, but it never came so we ended up going for a walk/swim. Saturday's entry is a photo of the aftermath!

Day 203/365

     I've learned that Kip pulls out the trademark ear quirk anytime he thinks he's in trouble... like when he chews holes in blankets, for example. 

Day 195/365

     Sunday/Day 195 mainly consisted of recuperating from Saturday night's festivities. My bed was my best friend for most of the day, and the same seemed to go for Kip and Finch too.