Schwang Swag: Taking Photos of Your Dog with a Lomography Fisheye Number 2 Camera

It used to be that taking photos of my pets was just another way to 'use up film'. But now, it seems like our pooches have become the focus of all of our photos.With temperatures soaring into the 40's this weekend, we took our new Lomography Fisheye Number 2 Camera out on our daily walk.

This camera is part of the lomography camera family--a type of 'toy camera' that intentionally uses light leaks and poor construction to create interesting photos. The best part are the surprises where some photos come out looking vintage 70's or have light leaks creating interesting, artistic effects.

These cameras still use film, so there is also the suspense of having to use a whole roll and wait to get them developed. Some of the photos are luck, but there is also a skill to getting a good picture. Most of the time when people first use their lomo camera, they come back with a blank roll. There are minimal settings you have to set for the camera, but we found that we have best luck using the camera in full sunlight, set to the "N" setting. Since the viewfinder is set higher than the actual camera, you also have to remember to set the camera a bit higher than your subject. We're still learning, and we have a couple that turned out like this:

The fisheye is a bit different because it creates a wide-angle to purposely distort your photos. We found this camera at a good price, but I know you can also get a fisheye lens that you add onto your camera. It's fun to take the close-up distorted face photos, but they're also nice for capturing neighborhoods:

And capturing your subject within the neighborhood:

We're still finding new ways to use it, but it has been fun capturing our daily walks in a new way.

A Better Husband by Mr. B & Ms. M

One of my new year's and 2nd year husband's resolution is the be a better husband. Lucky for me I have a great role model, Mr. B to provide four steps to my goal.

Rather than always focusing on what we want to own, I should enjoy the things we already have. Like the pooches, we have everything we need and I should enjoy it all to the fullest.

 Like Mr. B, I must learn to concede more. In the end, making A & Ms. M happy makes us happy.

One thing I can concede is more space on the bed. In addition, I can emulate Mr. B and cuddle more, but not look miserable like Mr. B.

I can give more unsolicited smooches, Mr. B's favorite past time.

I can also learn a thing or two from  Ms. M, such as sitting and enjoying the smell of A's fresh flowers that are all around the house.

Schwang Manor: Creating Spring in our Livingroom

 I've heard that the third Monday in January is universally, the most depressing day of the year. Though, morale isn't so great around us after our blizzaster, subzero temperatures, and additional snowfall. The pooches spend their days wistfully watching out the window:

To combat our winter blues, I have tried to make an eternal springtime in our living room. We like having a lot of colorful pillows on our couches, but what I really think makes a huge difference is just having live flowers. I remember I used to look through magazines and think a place looked amazing, until I realized that half the time it was just that they had really nice flowers. They definitely brighten up our place.  You probably can't tell it was a mere 3 degrees outside when this photo was taken:

I have read that you have to be careful because some flowers can be poisonous for pets. Luckily for us, our pooches respect the items in the house, and won't try eating the flowers. Miss M has also made it part of her daily routine to just sit and stare, mesmerized by the flowers:

Daily Walk: Getting Good Food During a Blizzard

Despite last week's Blizzaster 2011, our city has pretty much returned to normal. Normal plus some random snowdrift traps.

Even though this was the third worst blizzard in Chicago history, it was nothing like the Little House on the Prairie scenarios I envisioned. Things moved a little slower, but everything we love about the city was still available. As the snow began falling we were able to run across the street for Mexican tacos and horchata. With the drifts piled high we were still able to stumble  through the snow to dine on Belgian food at our new neighborhood bar. And as temperatures hit the subzeros, we just ordered out for Costa Rican food delivery.
Wanting their own food adventure, the dogs were happy to accompany us to check out the new local neighborhood butcher shop: Butcher and Larder.

Butcher &Larder was created by local chefs and uses only locally sourced, humanely raised meats. They have all types of cuts available as well as some prepared foods. Miss M and Mr. B were curious:

And when the butchers saw these faces looking in:

They were nice enough to throw in  some knuckle bones for the dogs.  We picked up some amazing chili and housemade sausages.We're really excited because now with the butcher shop,  the local bakery, and our favorite pie store, we can do much of our shopping right in our neighborhood to support local businesses. Plus, Mr. B loves any excuse to use his backpack:

Pooches: On Nanny Dogs and Chaperones

 Back in the day, pit bulls actually had a great reputation for being "Nanny Dogs". They were known for being loyal, affectionate companions that were amazing with children. Think Petey from the Little Rascals.
What people don't realize, is that pit bulls are also amazing "Nanny Dogs" for single ladies. Though maybe the term "chaperone" is more appropriate.
Being a single lady in the city can be daunting. There were times when the buzzer would ring unexpectedly, and I wasn't sure if I was letting in the UPS guy, or some stranger. I was always wary of being alone with workmen in my apartment, and walking home alone in the dark. But once I got Miss M, everything changed. She became my chaperone, escorting me whenever I felt uneasy. And luckily enough, the really scary people were scared of her.

Even more literally, Miss M used to "chaperone" my dates. I always dreaded being stuck in some restaurant trying to make small talk, so I would suggest a dog walk and ice-cream instead. Miss M was always the perfect accomplice and wing-women. Plus, if things were going badly, she was the perfect excuse to leave early.

 Though my days as a single lady are over, the pooches still regularly escort me around town. Mr. B loves being my escort during the summer when I meet friends at outdoor cafes. He will wait dutifully under the table, until after nightfall when he serves as the perfect escort to bring me back home.

I always wonder why it took me so long to figure this out.

Food Guarding Training: Knuckle Bone & The Butcher and Larder

To prepare for Super Bowl XLV, we stopped by our new butcher shop, The Butcher and Larder, for some delicious chili and sausages.

It is a great butcher shop and they clearly love pooches. With our order, they gave the pooches two knuckle bones. One way we get the pooches to listen to us is whenever our dogs are playing with toys or chewing on something for a while, such as the knuckle bone, we periodically take it away. This helps the dogs listen to us and teaches the dogs to respect boundaries.

Sometimes when we walk the pooches, we will have to either pry their mouths open or stick our hand into their mouths to pull out another animal's poo, someone's leftover and even a dead animal. Each time, people around us are shocked that we can do this without the pooches reacting. In the following video, you can see how easily Mr. B will let us take away his beloved knuckle bone.
Thank you to everyone for all the kind words, spreading the message and donating to Shy. We have been absolutely astounded by the kindness.

Pooches: Shy's Cataract Surgery & Pet Rescue Advice

This is Shy. Shy of the crazy bat-wing ears, dainty paws, and sweet disposition. We first wrote about her here.While Shy experienced severe neglect, and a painful illness, she has remained loving and trusting of people throughout her whole ordeal. You can tell how sweet and well-mannered she is in this video:

Shy is still living at the animal hospital, and looking for her foster or forever home. While she has been doing well, one of the lasting effects from her neglect is that she has developed cataracts and is rapidly losing vision. Fortunately, there is a specialized surgery that can help her regain full sight in her eye. While Shy is getting a discounted rate, the surgery is still quite expensive.
We know so many of you are dog-lovers, so we were hoping people could help spread the word and/or contribute to Shy's fundraising page found here.
Maybe you are greatful someone took a chance on your dog and you want to pay it forward? Or maybe you made a New Year's resolution to donate money or help dogs in need? Here's your chance.
1) Shy's ChipIn fundraising page to donate for her cataract surgery is here. Even if you can only give a few dollars that would help.
2) You can also join Shy's Facebook page here.
3) Please spread the word about Shy. We created a button link on the side of our page that you can copy to spread the word.

Update: Heather, a third-year veterinary student at the University of Illinois, is the contact trying to find Shy a home. She writes a blog about veterinary school here. If you haven’t stopped by, here is what Heather has to say in her own words:

Here I am, sitting in Radiology lab/class. In between classes just now, I checked the blogs that I love reading daily and A posted about Shy again and created a button on their blog that directly links to Shy's ChipIn page for her cataract surgery. Before I knew it, I had 7 donations totalling just about a hundred dollars - from my mom, and 6 people that I have never met. To my mom and those 6 people - Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I know I am sitting in class right now, but I can't stop my eyes from welling up with tears, I'm actually on the verge of sobbing. I can't even fathom the generosity of people - strangers - that I don't know, but share our same love for animals and are willing to share their hard earned dollars with Shy - to help a dog that they have never met, except through pictures and videos.
Shoot, my nose is running now... this could get embarassing as I sit here sniffling...

I never realized what an awesome community that bloggers form - we all have our own lives, but it is so amazing to see into the lives of other people and for those same people to give their time and money for such a great lady - sweet sweet Shy shy :)

 We would also love to hear any of your suggestions or recommendations to spread the word and/or raise funds. We were thinking of having an online raffle. Has anyone done this?

Daily Walk: Chicago Neighborhoods during a Blizzaster

Despite the 20.6 inch snowfall, the dogs still needed walking. Some areas were still too deep to navigate.

In some areas the snow drifted enough to create walkways.

 E worked hard to clear our sidewalk.

By the afternoon, most neighbors had cleared their walks creating a cavernous wall for us to walk through.

 This is not our car.

Or our bike.

We are lucky enough to have an indoor garage spot. So many Chicagoans depend on street parking and had to spend the day shoveling out their cars.It was great seeing the community spirit as neighbors helped shovel out snowed in cars and clear alleys.

This is a picture of "Dibs". When you walk down any Chicago street during the winter you'll see random chairs, broken furniture and boxes that are "legally reserving" their parking spot. See, our Mayor has the stance that if you go to the hard work of shoveling out the spot it's "yours". I agree in this situation, but it also makes things more difficult. When I go back to school, I won't be able to park anywhere because people will be saving their empty spots through "Dibs". Some people even try to save their spots through Spring when there really isn't snow anymore.

Miss M liked bounding through snowdrifts.

And finding downed tree limbs to chew on.

After walking the dogs, shoveling the sidewalks, and trying to shovel our way out of the alley, we spent the afternoon watching the action out the window.

Today we have subzero temperatures, so the people that didn't shovel out are having a really tough time. Chicago did a really good job of cleaning the main roads, and today they're finishing up the side roads and alleys. Luckily, they canceled school for a second day. Even if they have school tomorrow, I'm not sure if I would be able to drive out of our alley and find parking, due to "Dibs", near my school. I'm trying to prep myself for the adventure of taking 2 trains, a bus, and walking 1/2 mile (uphill both ways, of course) just to get to school. But today we're enjoying the sunny view from our windows.

Scenes from Blizzaster 2011

We finally got our little snowstorm.

Our usually bustling city has become strangely eerie and silent. It's very post-apocalyptic out here.

But the dogs still need to be walked.

The storm is so bad, that they actually canceled school. They NEVER cancel public school in the city because so many of our students depend on the schools for heat and a free meal during the day. This is the first time in 12 years that school has ever been canceled. We also heard the fire department is driving around on snowmobiles.

It's still snowing out. This shows what happens when the dogs try running in their PAWS disposable reusable boots. We let them run down our gangway and Mr. B was going so fast his boots burst open like The Incredible Hulk.

Pooches: Quest for the Perfect Snow Boots

I never thought I would 'dress up' my dogs. I always thought dogs were hearty with fur coats able to withstand all elements. Then I adopted Miss M who became a quivering mess whenever I tried to take her out in rain and snow. The first time she even stepped on snow she treated it like hot coals and spent the short duration of our walk as a 3-legged dog. I quickly ran to our nearest dog store where the owner was able to talk me into buying a very expensive pair of Muttluks. And this is how Miss M felt about wearing them:

 I like that they have traction on the bottom, and are extra tall to take on snow drifts and puddles. The reflective straps are also a bonus. What I didn't like was that even when I pulled the straps extra tight, they would always fall off during our walk. I would randomly turn around to find Miss M barefoot, then hope that I could locate and fish out the boot from the snowdrift. I'm not sure whether these are sold separately, but at $50 for a set, I couldn't afford to have any losses. We tried them on Mr. B and he lost one just walking around the house.

We actually stopped using boots altogether, until we bought some PAWs Disposable Reusable Boots when browsing a dog store. These are kind of like balloons created for your dogs' feet. We like that they protect the pooches' feet from the salt, and they prevent ice from freezing between their toes. I also like that these are easy clean-up; the dogs can walk through mud and Chicago grime and all I have to do is remove their booties. There is no way these can fall off, and they also come with 3 sets per package.

 We have probably gone on 5 walks with the same pair and the booties haven't ripped. The fit is a bit strange. Mr. B has to wear the purple Large boots, but Miss M has super-huge American Bulldog paws with long 'fingers' so she has to size up wear the green Extra-Large boots. You can see how baggy they are on her; these are designed to fit Great Danes and St. Bernards, but there doesn't seem to be an in-between size for her. We're not sure if they actually keep the pooches' feet warm, and since they're so low, water will seep in if they steep in puddles. Overall, we do like these and use them most often.
Since our dogs are accustomed to us handling their feet, we don't have any problems putting their boots on. The biggest problem is the dogs aren't used to walking in any type of boot, and they will actually prance around like ducks for awhile. We had to practice in the house before we could take them outside.Miss M is actually too stunned to move while Mr. B is fine walking like a duck:

We've seen a lot of people using dog boots lately, and we're curious about your experiences and what brands you like. We were also curious about people's experiences with the paw balm and if you think this might be a good alternative to boots. We're getting ready for what the Chicago Tribune calls "a potentially life-threatening blizzard" to hit us tomorrow, so we may be in boots for awhile.