Idyllic Images #15

The cat just didn't want us to throw anything away...

Idyllic Images #14

Tara's happy 'outdoors' face!

Idyllic Images #12

I made friends with a giraffe in Busch Gardens! 

My love of Pinterest

Pinterest is absolutely brilliant. It's a combination of organisation and categorisation, along with pictures of food, lovely places, home decor, crafts, clothes, and anything else you can think of. What's not to like? I treat it as an online scrapbook where I can 'pin' recipes I spot on various websites, keep photos from places I've been to or places I want to visit, and just generally store photos/ideas I like.

I have 26 different boards at the moment, and the Food and Dessert boards are the most populated. I bet you're not surprised by this. My Animal, Things I Like and House boards are also very full of a huge variety of different pins. Here are some of my favourite pins:

I don't actually use Pinterest as often as I use other social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, but it's very satisfying and difficult to stop when I do decide to have a 'binge'. It's very addictive... don't say I didn't warn you!

You can also use Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog, by 'pinning' all the images from your blog onto your Pinterest boards. Every pin on Pinterest directs you back to its original source, so it gives you some extra exposure on a different channel. I love a bit of streamlining. 

I'll be researching Pinterest for businesses over the few weeks and would be really interested in hearing from anyone who is already using Pinterest as part of their organisation's social media strategy.

You can view my boards and pins here. Enjoy!

Overcoming my fear of dogs

I never thought I'd say this, but I really like dogs. I was afraid of them for years and would avoid them at all costs, all because a big dog jumped up at me when I was younger, knocked me off my feet and gave me a large paw shaped bruise. To be fair to him, he was only being friendly and didn't mean any harm, but I didn't understand that at the time and it left me terrified of all dogs. I'd ask people if they had dogs before I went into their houses, and would sometimes have to ask if the dog could be put into a different room because I couldn't sit comfortably knowing that there was a dog in the same room as me. It sounds ridiculous now, but it was a very real fear at the time. I never had much contact with dogs when I was growing up, apart from my grandmother's dog Patch. I didn't mind Patch as he was old and gentle, but he was the only dog I could tolerate. Perhaps the fear would have subsided earlier if I'd have had more experience with dogs, but I went out of my way to avoid them.

When I first met my boyfriend in June 2011, he asked me if I liked animals as he had two dogs and a cat. I just said honestly that I was very afraid of dogs, but I was willing to give his dogs a chance as I'd heard so many good things about them. I was very nervous about meeting the dogs when I went to his house for the first time, but I needn't have worried. After meeting Tara and Homer, dogs didn't seem so scary any more. They are two of the nicest dogs you could ever meet, and they've helped me to see that dogs aren't terrifying beasts who jump up and bite people for no reason. They have a lovely nature, and I think the same could be said of most dogs if they're treated properly by their owners. I love the way they get excited when I walk in through the door, even if I've only been gone for ten minutes. I also love the way Homer jumps up on the sofa for a cwtch when he thinks no one's looking, and the way Tara puts out her paw if you stop stroking her. They're so loyal, and obviously love their owners to pieces.

Here are some photos of the dogs:

Homer sitting patiently waiting for the ball to be thrown

Tara's 'indoor face'

Homer having a cwtch

Tara after her hair cut. 'Why have you stopped stroking me?'

It actually feels quite liberating to have overcome my fear of dogs, and makes me feel as if I can overcome my other fears too if I try hard enough. Next fear I need to conquer... swimming with my head under the water! Watch this space.