a major award

Soon after our most recent arrival at San Elijo, I grabbed my phone to take and post an instagram photo, as one often does when confronted with the wonders of nature and good fortune. When I opened the app, I caught sight of this post by my good friend SDPUBLICLIBRARY:

 

I immediately knew that I had just the photo to enter, it was perfect! I didn't have to stage it, I already had it captured from our last visit to San Elijo! perfect. I quickly searched for it on my phone. 

I did not find or post this:

very cute shot from an old blog post, with bonus cover shot of BOOK ABOUT DOG

No. I found and posted this:

complete with meandering cords and Ecuadorian pants with slippers

It did get the usual Insta-crop to a square shape, which eliminated the slippers.. but you can still see his shadow lurking back there. And the cords. Oy.

I used a filter to enhance the lighting and to be insta-cool

Then I went about the business of being blissful in San E.

A few days later, I saw this!

We won! I received a direct message about my major photographic triumph, also verifying that I was not in fact a library employee/ringer and seeking my mailing address.

I basked in my glory while awaiting the unveiling of my award. Days passed. Weeks, even. I grew impatient. I had a tracking number though, and soon discovered that the much anticipated prize was en route for delivery! Yesterday, it came.

I. die. Can you see it? It's an acryllic dog bowl with the winning photo forever immortalized in the bottom!

As if that wasn't enough of a winning tale, please indulge this aside: the package arrived just as I raced home to pick up my girl around lunchtime and drop her off at a friend's house. I had called ahead to say that I was in a big rush, she needed to be ready in the driveway, and had she eaten? She replied that she was making a sandwich. I pulled up and although she was ready in the driveway with sandwich in hand, I ran into the house to throw something in the fridge. That's when we saw the package! Naturally, we dropped everything to tear it open. We celebrated, photographed, then resumed our rushed exit. My girl grabbed her things from where she had dropped them and said: "Um, Moki ate my whole sandwich." She didn't even use her bowl.