News flash…our lazy dog CAN run!
365 Project – Day 18 – News
News flash…our lazy dog CAN run!
Tag: running
Silliness
In the midst of the craziness of working the past couple weeks, I decided I needed to test one of my lenses. For some reason, my 28-75mm has been hit and miss with focus, and I wanted to make sure it was in proper working order when I headed out to shoot my first Red Thread Session.
It was a little soggy outside after the thunderstorms, so I figured I better stay in the house or else have to deal with a very muddy child. After several test shots, I got the lens back in working order, but decided I wanted to test it out on a moving target, just to make sure it could lock quickly when I needed it to since my RTS session was with a family of 5 young children.
Electra was in her spot on the couch, passed out and snoring as usual. If you’re wanting to shoot still life, she’s usually a safe bet. A moving target in the Romano house, though? That’s easy. All I have to do is take the lens cap off my camera and point it at Cadence and she takes of running, jumping, bouncing, hopping, skipping, dancing, crawling, scooting, and shimmying through the house, laughing and teasing me as she goes.
Little turd.
You know, she’s pretty cute when she stands still long enough for you to actually get a look at her.
It took the better part of 45 minutes, chasing her through the kitchen and sunroom, dropping down out of sight and then ambushing her when she came around the corner to get a couple good shots. But it was worth it. Not only did the lens pass the Crazy Running Child test, I also managed to get a couple good shots of my favorite girl and capture a few of the expressions that crack me up on a daily basis.
Here are a few of my favorites…
365 Project – Day 320 – And She Ran, She Ran So Far Away…
It’s been almost 36 hours and Steven is still a bit mad at Electra.
I can’t say I blame him. Electra nearly gave both of us heart attacks when she bolted out the front door and into the street yesterday. Darn dog. I don’t know what got into her.
Okay, so maybe we shouldn’t have been totally surprised. I mean, she is half Beagle, and everyone knows they are prone to run, especially if they catch an interesting scent on their way out the door. But Electra has never been…well…motivated. In fact, she is in the running for the Laziest Dog I’ve Ever Known Award. She may be half Beagle, but she is also half Bassett Hound, and between her thick sausage-shaped Bassett body and her ultra-lazy Bassett personality, she’s got maybe a quarter mile of motivation in her before she runs out of steam.
Unfortunately, a quarter mile seems a lot farther when your dog is running down the middle of a residential street and you’re wearing a suit and tie and a pair of dress shoes.
So yeah, Steven is still a little perturbed about his unexpected lunchtime jaunt around the neighborhood, and I’m just mad that I didn’t have a chance to grab my camera.
So instead, I’ll leave you with this photo taken the day we adopted Electra back in 2009. She was being…well…her lazy self, and Steven was just trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do with a dog. 🙂
Tonight’s 365 Project entry is dedicated to my dear husband, for loving our sweet Electra enough to chase her around the neighborhood when she escapes, and to Electra for not having more stamina.
365 Project – Day 189 – Running In Place
I never liked running. In fact, I can honestly say that I hate, loathe, detest, even abhor it. Running is one of those things that I would pretty much choose anything over. Lying on a bed of nails? No problem. Walking across white hot coals. Sign me up. Eating week-old sushi you forgot about in the back of your refrigerator? Just give me a moment to tie on a bib (and to cancel all of my appointments for the next three days). But running? Running just for the sake of running or to keep in shape? Not no, but hell no!
Funny thing is, I’ve always been a pretty active person. Throughout my childhood and my middle and high school years, I loved playing volleyball, basketball and softball. I never minded the laps or sprints we ran to warm up, or running up and down the court or around the bases during games. Heck, I was even on the track team for a few years, though I only willingly participated in long jump, high jump, discus and the occasional shot put event. I say “willingly participated” because I had a coach that liked to sign me up for running events and relays without my permission. After the third or fourth time that happened (even after I told her that under no circumstance would I participate should she try it again), I quit the team and decided that my days playing high school sports were officially over.
When I was pregnant with Cadence and the unbearable heat of the Arizona summer was pretty much confining us to the house, Steven and I decided to buy a treadmill. It made perfect sense at the time. My dear husband loves to run. He ran on the Cross Country team in high school, and even though it has been years since he has run consistently, he can still manage to run a mile or two without even appearing winded.
Show off.
I’m lucky if I can make it to the end of the block without giving up.
Nevertheless, we figured a treadmill was the perfect choice. Steven could run to his heart’s content without getting heat stroke in the desert, and I could walk, add a little resistance by walking on an incline, or even jog a little if I was feeling particularly squirrely that day.
The big joke is that a treadmill is the most expensive clothes hamper or storage shelf you’re ever going to buy. Most people tend to use them for a week or two, and then they just sort of start collecting dust in the corner. I have to say, we actually stuck with it longer than a lot of other people might have. Steven definitely got a lot of good use out of it. As for me, my walking/jogging fell by the wayside toward the end of my pregnancy and after my c-section. I tried to pick it up again once my incision healed, but life just seemed to get too busy with a newborn, a new business, and some steady writing assignments.
Since the move to Nebraska, Mr. Treadmill has been banished to a corner of the garage. Right now, we just don’t have room for him anywhere in the house. Plus, I’ve realized that I just don’t have a whole lot of motivation to work out when there is only a treadmill involved. Give me an elliptical machine, an assortment of free weights or weight machines in the gym, or a pool to swim laps in and I am perfectly content to work out every day without complaint. Give me a pair of rollerblades or a bicycle and I can spend an entire afternoon touring the town. But stick me on a treadmill where I am forced to run or walk mindlessly in place (even with a TV or music for distraction), and I’m lucky to make it 10 minutes.
So, now that we made the decision to join the YMCA and exercise regularly there, it is time to say goodbye to Mr. Treadmill. He’s been good to us, but it’s time for him to move on now. I’m sure he will make someone else very happy.
Today’s 365 Project entry is dedicated to our dear friend, Mr. Horizon Treadmill. It’s been nice knowing you. We promise to find you a really good home.
Lori Romano 