New toy

I don't have a lot of hobbies. The hobbies I do have generally don't require expensive equipment:

• Running - all I need is a good pair of shoes (though truth be told, I also enjoy good running clothes, too)
• Cooking/baking - I suppose this could be an expensive hobby, but considering that we save money by not eating out, then I hardly think it's costly
• Traveling - Okay, so this one is expensive, but it's certainly not something I can do on a daily or weekly basis, so it doesn't count (clearly I'm making up my own rules here)

I would consider playing the piano a hobby, but since I haven't played on a regular basis since I was 18, then it can hardly be listed.  A piano would most definitely fall in the expensive category, though.

We did recently make a purchase that I hope to turn into a new hobby:

Hopefully the ol' blog will benefit from my new toy. Since many of the photos I've uploaded here have been taken from my Blackberry, I can't help but think it will be an improvement.

I know very little about photography, so I have a lot to learn. In researching my purchase (because as I've mentioned, I really enjoy doing in-depth research on impending purchases of consumer products. Odd, I know.), I found myself debating the age-old question: Nikon vs. Canon. Everything I read/heard led me to believe that I would love either one, so I left it up to the salesman at the store to persuade me one way or the other.

It turned out that he's a Canon man, so now I'm a Canon gal. Here's a tip: If you want to get lots of one-on-one attention from a knowledgeable sales guy, go shopping on a Friday night. You will be the only customer in sight.  Maybe that's not your idea of fun on a Friday night, but it helped me learn as much as the camera nerd could teach me in 30 minutes.

The camera was on back-order, so I had to wait 2 weeks before picking it up.  On a Friday night.  Lots of wild Friday nights around here. 

I spent the rest of my Friday evening reading my new David Busch book on how to use my camera, and taking pictures of my dog.  She worked the camera, as you can see:



I think it's the first time I've taken her picture in which her eyes haven't looked like she is possessed.

Going for a more natural look



I'm sure there are all kinds of things wrong with these pictures, but I don't know what they are yet.  If it weren't so crazy cold and snowy out, I'd take my Rebel out for a spin in the neighborhood.  For now, all you get is dog pictures.  Maybe I'll take some of food later. That's what bloggers do, right? I'm this close to being the Pioneer Woman.  Minus the 4 home-schooled kids.  And the mega-ranch in Oklahoma.  And the jillions of blog hits everyday. 

Fine, not that close.  But I have a camera!