Working with a photographer finally rubbed off on me and I bought a new Canon G10 digital camera. In the week that I’ve had the camera, I’ve never felt so dumb in my entire life.

Shutter speed, aberrations, aperture, ISO, digital zoom, tele-converters. It’s mind boggling how much there is to learn on a camera that’s made for amateurs! I’ve been working out some kinks, figuring out why images blur when I zoom, and completely loving continuous shooting, so while it’s frustrating, it’s also fun. The bowls are my best shot so far, captured in the prop room at work.

My goal isn’t to be a serious photographer, just to take my own images for blogging and fulfill my role as the official family photographer on our trip to Vegas later this month and see what I can capture when we visit the Neon Graveyard.

Any photography tips or tricks are welcome, as well as reading recommendations to help me with my new, complicated hobby!

You’ve probably heard on the news that there is now a confirmed case of swine flu in Illinois as well as one in Indiana. My husband is a paramedic and his ambulance is at nearly every hospital in the Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois on a daily basis.

Are we picking up on a potential problem here?

I’m at an elevated risk for swine flu! Being a medical professional, my husband first in line to get the vaccine and any medical attention necessary, so I’m not worried about him. I’m the one washing his dirty work clothes, full of sick people germs. I’m the one everyone should be worried about.

I need to buy myself a swine flu kit with respirator masks, safety goggles, coveralls, gloves, and hand sanitizer  just do to the laundry! And quick before the pandemic takes over and they are all sold out!

Work. It. Sean Preston! You too, Brit Brit.

Britney performed in Chicago last night and will be performing again tonight and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t desparatly want to be there.

After getting my bangs cut last week (and suddenly morphing into a high school student) I had a little hair cut remorse, so my boss (who was a stylist in her former life) worked her magic during my lunch hour.

We added tons of layers, cut about three inches off the length, took some weight off the bangs, and colored me “cinnamon.”

I feel a little like Tawney Kitaen in a White Snake video, but I think I like it.

Our weiner dog, Ollie, is a finalist in Petco’s Greenest Pet Contest and needs your help to pull off a win!

It only takes two seconds to vote and Ollie will owe you a great big face lick for your support! He already has his heart set on a giant Kong and some new tennis balls, so please help Ollie win a $100 Petco gift certificate!

Please go to Petco’s Green Pet Contest and vote for entry #3!

My pet is the greenest because…in the winter he keeps our toes warm in bed, allowing us to cut our heating bill by 20%! (Corrin)