An Update on Yui

Almost three months ago this little girl came into our lives. From the moment we saw her, we knew she was special!

However, I must be honest with you...at first it was hard. Scratch that. Extremely difficult. I feel compelled to write the following to new dog owners and especially ones with puppies that are teething. Hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Our little Yui was an expert at teething (most likely a terrier specialty). By that, I mean relieving the pain in her mouth through sinking her teeth into our skin and clothes. She would jump up and attach herself to whatever was available.

One time it was my pants.
Which came down to the ground. On a walk. With a man behind me. Seeing everything.

For a time we wondered, "What have we done?!" We knew raising a puppy would be challenging, but we had no idea it would be this difficult (wait...we got a Wire Fox Terrier/Jack Russell Terrier mix...we were INSANE).

Throughout the next couple of weeks, we remained consistent with her, continued loving her, and never gave up on her. As our sanity waned, we started to notice a change in our little girl. She began to hurt us less and show more affection. Slowly, she transformed from an attacking fluff ball to an adorable love machine.

What is my point in telling you this? Don't give up on your dog. No matter what behavioral problem you may encounter with your pup, you must persevere in finding a solution. I now understand why so many dogs are given up to shelters and it is not because of the dog. It is because the owner did not give their all in finding a remedy to the situation. Would we have given our little Yui back to the shelter? NEVER. You must hang in there and you will get so much more out of your little friend than you will ever expect. Demonstrate patience, love, and hope to your dog. They are excellent at reading us and can tell when we are frustrated or angry with them. It is so important to be positive!

I have heard that rescue dogs seem to know what fate they were saved from and they become especially affectionate companions. I believe this to be true with all of my heart. Yui makes us smile every day and I don't know what we would do without her now. She is growing up to be such a sweet and loving little dog.



Here is a video of Yui showing off her tricks. It is hard to believe this was filmed over a month ago. More videos to come soon!

My Mother-in-Law's Graduation from Culinary School!

My mother-in-law recently graduated from culinary school and we are very proud of her! Believe me when I say that completing culinary school is no simple feat. She was required to tackle intensive hands-on training, written assignments, and 6 month internships in between her regular schooling. She has already landed a job and is working hard as we speak - talk about industrious!

The graduation ceremony looked out on Vermont's beautiful mountains and the weather was perfect for that day's festivities. Previous NECI graduate Alton Brown gave a humorous and insightful speech. He is the host of "Good Eats" as well as the host on "Iron Chef America" (both seen on the Food Network). The prepared food for the graduation was nothing short of amazing. Please stop drooling over the dessert pictured above (yes, it was as delicious as it looks!).

Corey and I had a wonderful time in Vermont celebrating with his mom, dad, and the rest of the crew. It reminded me yet again of how fortunate I am to be married into such a lovely family and extended family. Vermont is absolutely gorgeous in the spring/summer and I was overdosing on the scenery the entire time I was there. The photo above is from a bike trip we took on a trail right down the road from their house. I felt like I was in Scotland again.

Congratulations, Pam! We are so proud!

Happy Father's Day

My Daddy is the kind of Dad...

...who got down on the floor to play with us as kids.

...that came on my field trips and was a "big kid" himself.

...who has always encouraged my artistic endeavors and told me to follow my heart.

...that read me a story every night and sang "Edelweiss" until I fell asleep.

...who always cheered me on at my swim meets, track meets, and band competitions.

...that works hard every day for his family without a single complaint.

...who taught me many life lessons I will pass on to my children.

...that makes me proud to be his daughter.

I love you, Daddy.
Happy Father's Day!

"What's in the Fridge" Hors D'oeuvres

I was craving a snack the other day and decided to create something with what I already had in the fridge. These actually turned out to be pretty tasty even though it is a weird combination! Do not be afraid to experiment with what you have.


What is in this?
Cucumbers
Cream cheese
Turkey deli meat
Dill
Capers


Yum!

Birthday Surprises

This isn't really a good representation of this lens' ability, but I left my other memory card at my
parents' house. I will post more pictures soon!

My parents got me this wonderful Yui cake! Um, ADORABLE!
The boys seemed to have fun in the pool being well, boys.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I will be jumping back in time to share a few recent events with you. My very sweet husband threw me a surprise birthday party! During that day, my mother-in-law took me out to the movies and we had such fun together. Little did I know, Corey was using this time to gather everyone together at our apartment! I was completely shocked and very touched when I opened the door (yes, in that order!). :) My parents got decorations and mum cooked a ton of fantastic food. I really enjoyed myself and I felt loved... It makes me smile just thinking about that day.

Corey later shocked me with another present... a macro zoom lens for my camera!!! That man is too darn good to me. I am so grateful that he believes in me and he has always cheered me on. I am super excited to use this lens in my upcoming photo shoots!

Thank you, everyone... for making my day special. It meant so much to me.

Back for Good!

Why, hello! I am sorry for disappearing over the past month. There have been some interesting changes in my life and I needed some time to just clock out. However, I am back for good and I will be playing catch up on the blog and posting on a few things that happened over the past month. I'm doing a post a day for the next four days (promise!), so please come back if you would like!

You may notice some changes around EclaireArt. I have refreshed the look of the sidebar (it is a work in progress) and there is a new photography tab. I will be updating images in the photography/photo styling section regularly so they don't disappear with older posts. This will also serve as a portfolio.

I hope you all have been well! It is quite excellent to be back! :)