Days 279-285

Hey guys,

Sorry for the incredibly, ridiculously, embarrassingly late posts.  Hopefully I'll get back on track with these pretty soon.  This is a great indication of how I get easily overwhelmed and shut down.  It's amazing that I've made it this far on the project without giving up entirely. :)

The following pictures are for the week of March 7-13.

Day 279: Playdate?

Some cute cards my friend Kimmy gave me for my birthday last year.  They're so cute, I don't have the heart to use them. I know it's silly, but I'm weird like that.

Day 280: Pre-spring sunset

One day I might count how many sunsets I took at work during this photo challenge...I bet it's in the double-digits.

Day 281: I'm toast

Trying to get creative with bland-looking food by putting pretty plates underneath it.

Not sure it worked.

Day 282: Reading Party!

We like to have reading parties in our family.  They mainly consist of us all sitting around in silence, reading different novels.

...It sounds cooler than it is.

Day 283: Snow-capped Mountains

Some days I'm just struck by the beauty of this place!

Day 284: The Chocolate!

Coolest little bakery I've ever been to!  I'm going back.  Soon.  Who cares about that stupid, "no sugar" rule anymore.  Life after this place will never be the same!  There is so much I want to say about it...the awesome pictures on their website, the quaint atmosphere of the shop, the friendly staff who know how to joke around with customers, the AMAZING vanilla cake with chocolate ganache, the TO DIE FOR hot chocolate with spices in it that really make you feel like you're drinking Christmas in a cup all year round...

SO GOOD!

Day 285: My Triumph!

Inspired by that awesome bakery from yesterday, I decided to make a cake of my own...

After a fiasco with the first cake, Christine made a great red velvet from scratch so I could still use all of the awesome decorating stuff I got for my birthday.  This is what we made as a result!  I'm so proud!  I can't believe it looks almost presentable!  Cake decorating is easier than I thought it would be!

Day 269: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

The king of the jungle and his girl.

Today was debarkation day on the ship.  We arrived at port in San Diego in the morning, and by 11am we were driving away.  It's sad to leave all the amazing people I met, but my vacation isn't over for a few more days, so I'm still flying high!

After Ryan's sisters picked us up at the pier, we went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.  There were so many beautiful animals there!  I had a really hard time choosing between all of the pictures I took this time because of it.  As a result, I've made a little collage of the runners up again.  It's below.

My favorite part of the day at the park I think was the Africa Tram ride we took in the safari park.  We got to see so many kinds of animals on that drive, and they were all just roaming free in this huge, miles-wide park.  It was an awesome site.

Day 267: Lunch in Cabo

Ryan posing for a shot.

Today was our second excursion day in Cabo!  We decided to forgo the excursions for a casual day of shopping around town.  We heard about this restaurant called Mi Casa from some nice ladies we met at breakfast one morning, and decided it would be fun to try a local dive.  It wasn't so far removed from the touristy section of the city to feel scary, but it still had an authentic feel which was awesome.  The food was very good, and we all ended up getting the same thing, which was fun.

We also hit a flea market on our way to the restaurant, and I forgot until after I was robbed blind by the first merchant I came across, that you have to haggle at a flea market to get a good price.

I'm not very good at haggling. I spent too much money.

Here are the runners-up for today's picture:

Day 266: Happy Birthday to ME!

I can't remember the name of this arch, but it's in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Today was so fun! My journal entry was really long because of how great it was.  Seriously, what better way to spend my 30th birthday!  I didn't mind that I was turning 30 at all!  Who cares that I'm not married yet, when I had such great people to hang out with and meet.  

Seriously so blessed. :)

I was going to write an excerpt from my journal, but there's a reason why I wrote that stuff in my JOURNAL.  It was all too personal to post online.

But I will say this, Christine is the coolest sister ever!  She surprised me with the most thoughtful presents and made a real effort to make the day special for me which couldn't have been easy while we were on vacation. 

What a great day!

Day 265: Beam Me Up, Scotty

Sunshine on the Ocean

Today was our first official day at sea.  After my lovely bout of sea sickness last night, I wasn't too keen about the whole boat thing, but I felt better today (and I discovered the beauty of taking motion sickness medicine).  It's still colder than I was hoping.  We were going to lay out by the pool this afternoon - we even got in our suits and headed up to the deck with our beach stuff - but it was cold and windy, and the clouds kept covering the sun.  I couldn't make myself lay out in my suit, so I kept my shorts and shirt on the whole time and wrapping myself in my towel (which would have given me a farmer's tan if I had stayed out long enough).  We eventually gave up and went down to one of the lounges to hang out with the group we came with.

There's so much I can write about just today, and it wasn't even an interesting day.  So instead of writing a really long journal entry that bores me just thinking about it, I'll give you the highlights.

• Morning work-out on the track/miniature golf deck.  It was fun watching all of the 8am drunks try to play mini golf on a moving ship.
• Breakfast on the Lido deck where we were greeted with the stale smell of food blowing out of the exhaust fans at the top of the ship.  Once we were inside where they have the buffet it didn't smell, so that was good.
• Lunch on the sun deck where we froze our little toes off and tried to read our books.
• Hang out with the singles in the Shanghai lounge where we played embarrassing get-to-know-you games that involved winking and other stuff.
• Get ready for formal night and hang out with the guys.
• Formal dinner and sitting with new friends, with photo ops afterwards.
• Another dose of motion sickness meds and change for after dinner fun!
• Alas, stay in the room the rest of the night because of the drowsy effect of the motion sickness pills.

Day 264: Sailing Away

Christine and Ryan

It's approaching sunset and we are on the ship, setting sail for Cabo!

We were on the deck to watch as we left the harbor (and to be cheesy and wave at the doc like people do in movies).  It was chilly and windy...really windy.  Christine and I both had dancing hair.  Christine's looked cooler of course because it's longer.

I love this shot because it looks like her hair is reaching out to grab Ryan.  Also because they both have genuine laughter faces which makes me smile every time I look at it.

Who cares that the subjects of the photo aren't in focus.  It's not like I'm a professional or something. ;)

Day 261: Cuddle Bug

Jack and RoseAnne

It's so fun to hang out with family.  It's so fun to live near so many family members!  Especially since I used to feel so isolated from family here in Utah (weird, I know).  Now, so many family members live close that I never seem to catch up with all of them.

I love it when RoseAnne comes over to hang out.  We always have so much fun just watching TV or laughing and reminiscing.  I also love it that I love hanging out with family because I used to really struggle with it.  You know, social anxiety and all that.  Life just seems so much better now that I can enjoy people and want to be around them!

I'm not saying that I don't have my down days, because I obviously do.  But I'm definitely better than I was.

Day 259: A Flying Leap

Hyrum showing off for me. :)

I dropped by RoseAnne's house tonight to get her help on altering a dress for me.  After we pow-wowed quickly on what to do to the dress, I left RoseAnne to do her thing (she is an amazing seamstress) and I played with the kids.  At first I felt guilty for just hanging out with the kids while she did all the hard work, but after a couple of reminders from her that I was - in fact - helping a great deal by keeping the kids away from her working area, I settled into it and enjoyed their company.  We read a few books together and then I got out my camera to take a few pictures and they started showing off.  It was so fun!  I love these guys so much!

Also, the dress turned out so cute!  I'm so excited with what RoseAnne did with it!

Day 258: Just For Me

The sky today.

So I completely forgot it was Valentine's day today until I was driving to work.  Ah, oh well.  It's not like I had someone to get a gift for or anything.  And I have to say, I handled Single Awareness Day much better than last year.  I felt very...unaffected.  I was glad for my married friends who had plans, and had no tinge of jealousy at their happiness.  Definitely felt more grown up about the whole thing. :)

I walked outside to run some errands during lunch and found the most gorgeous sky!  Of course, I didn't get my camera out until later and almost missed the beautiful rays.  It was the perfect day to run errands!  It was windy, sure, but it was worth it to see the awesome patterns the clouds were making on the mountains surrounding the valley.  Everywhere I drove I was in awe of the beautiful landscape and weather!  I needed a little beauty to distract me from my all-consuming vacation plans.  It was like the sky was painted just for me, to remind me to be happy for the details in life!

Day 255: Night Watchman

The tree in my front yard.

I've been checking out different pictures of trees, and I keep seeing these amazing shots of trees up close, at night.  Of course, all of the shots I saw were much cooler than this one, but as it is my first attempt, I'm pretty proud of myself. :)

Day 254: Play Pens

Baby Jack

This little boy is so cute!  All night tonight he kept making this face at us while we were playing with him.  Also, while we were all watching our show, he decided it was boring in the living room and crawled off to the kitchen where the cat food is kept.  After I found him near the cat food I brought him back to the living room and put up a fake wall to close him off.  It was just a TV tray covered by a blanket, but Jack was so upset when he saw it the first time he tried to crawl away.  He stopped dead in front of it and pouted, then sat back on his little diaper booty and cried in frustration.

It was so cute!  And so sad at the same time.  We were able to keep him distracted most of the time, but every once in a while he would try to get out again and get upset.  Poor boy!

Day 246: Month 8 Complete!

The Mt. Timpanogos Temple

So today marks the first day of month NINE!  I only have FOUR MONTHS LEFT!

This extremely exciting to me because I've got to tell you...I've had it with this project.  It's not that I don't enjoy taking pictures anymore.  I still love to take pictures, I just wish I could do it on my own terms again.  It's so annoying when I realize at the end of the day that I still didn't get a good shot, and then I have to wander around my house or neighborhood, or bug one of my family members just to take a stupid photo that I know won't turn out because my heart's not in it.

But, I'm in it for the long haul baby.  The other night I contemplated just exactly what I would do if I totally spaced out (still a very real possibility with my A.D.D.) and didn't take a picture one day.  I'm proud to say that this has honestly never happened yet.  I've let my midnight deadline slip a few times, but those times didn't feel like the start of a new day yet.  I didn't go to bed without taking a picture.  Ever.  So what would happen if I actually missed a full day?

I've decided that, having gotten this far in the project, I would simply take two pictures the next day and keep going.  Obviously it wouldn't be quite the same for the remainder of the project, but I hit the point of no return a few months ago.  To just give up because of one spacey day is ridiculous.

And I've got to say, this is a huge improvement for me from the beginning of the year.  When I started this project, I never would have kept going if I had missed a day.  It just shows that this project has really helped me grow not just with my photography, but with my responsibility.  And to me, that makes it 100% worth it!

Day 245: Arctic Winds

The clouds blowing in.

Today was gorgeous.

And FREEZING!

I have never felt such icy, bone-chilling, teeth-chattering, hurricane-force wind gusts in the 8 years that I've lived in Utah.

Of course, the wind may have been exaggerated by my extremely poor choice in jackets this morning.  I wore my new wind breaker that I won in a raffle at work.  It looks like a great winter coat, but it has zero insulation.  I think it's made to be worn over warmer, less water-resistant coats.  Also, it's probably two sizes too big, so it allowed every wisp of air blowing by me free entrance into the protective layer of the coat, thereby rendering it less than useless because it actually trapped the cold air inside the jacket every time I stepped outside.

Next time, I'll layer.

Day 244: My Other Love

One of my favorite poetry books.

I have a poetic soul, somewhere deep inside me.
And it's screaming too be let out,
To find a place in my everyday,
To be in charge, or at least have a say.

My inner poet yearns for literary freedom.
It understands the power of words,
It glories in their beauty,
And feels the tangible strength they give.

My poetic soul is impatient and hungry,
And it scares me a little.
So I keep it locked up,
And only let it out on special occasions.

To be admired and mourned from a distance.

Day 241: Pile of Bones

"The Pile"

When my parents are home, our entry-way never looks this bad.  My mom probably straightens out the shoes 2 or 3 times a week.  But alas, they have been out of town for almost two weeks now, and my sister and I can't be bothered to put the shoes in order when we're just going to be messing them up in two seconds.

Unfortunately, as I glanced around the living room today, looking for inspiration for another photo, I realized that this mess of shoes resembles a mass grave.  Or at least, it reminds me of the images of genocide that they showed us in school.

It was a morbid thought when it entered my mind.  And it perched there all evening as I remembered the horrors of our past, and the sick beauty of the photography and art that has portrayed that suffering over the years.  I guess you could say that I brooded over it until I finally took the picture and let the thoughts escape my mind through the image, to camp there for a while.

Sometimes taking pictures is very cathartic...like mental fly paper, the photographs draw the feelings towards them until they stick like glue and dislodge from my mind, to reside elsewhere.

Day 240: Texting

Ryan in his natural habitat...texting.

It was 11:30, I was out with friends when I realized I hadn't yet taken a picture for the day.  Ryan graciously allowed me to take a picture of him as long as it was just his hands.  He entered this text just for the picture, "Why are you taking pictures of me ESDOMWEL?"

It's a funny story behind the acronym, ESDOMWEL, but it's not mine to tell (or in other words, I won't tell it well), so I'll just tell you what it means:

Every
Single
Day
Of
My
Whole
Entire
Life

I laughed when I read the text and said that picture was going on my blog.

Then I laughed when he told me that was fine since it was just picture of his hands this time.

Poor Ryan.  He'll never get over the last picture I took of him...especially since it lives in infamy on my wall of fame.

:D

Day 238: Lamplight Stock

A tree highlighted by a street lamp.

Tonight I found myself in a great area of lamp-lit trees.  After several attempts at photographing different trees around the pathway I was on, I found this beauty.  It was the perfect lucky shot that actually made me ooh with pleasure when I was it on the LCD screen!

I love trees because they have so much character.  There's so much to look at and they provide such stark contrasts depending on the time of year.

For some reason, I love leafless trees the best.  They make the prettiest photos.  They fill me with a peace I can't describe.

Day 236: Magic Top

Christine spinning a top on her hand.

Danni came over tonight to give us our belated Christmas presents.  She got to spend her Christmas in Belgium with her parents and she came back with some awesome, authentic, gifts.

Both Christine and I got a top from Amsterdam and these things are amazing!  They spin on the weirdest things!  I couldn't get mine to spin on the tabletop when we first got them, and as we all sat around chatting in the living room, I tried to spin mine on the couch arm rest and it balanced perfectly!  Then I tried to spin it on my knee, and again, perfect balance!  So Christine decided to try spinning her top in the palm of her hand and it was so cool!  Every time we spun it in our hands, it would dance around our palms.  I got this shot as the top was spinning right off the edge of Christine's hand.

So cool!

Day 235: The Glowing Orb

The moon tonight.

This isn't my best shot.  I tried to take a "quick" picture of the awesome moon tonight because the clouds were moving so fast across it, and I had a short window of opportunity.  I didn't have time to grab my tripod and set up for a proper night shot, so this is the best I could do.

Still...

I like it because now I have a solid reminder of that excited feeling I got when I looked out the window to see the awesomeness in the sky.

Day 233: The "Dead" of Winter

A field of dead sunflowers.

I passed this field on my way back to the office after lunch the other day and I was struck by the tragic beauty of the scene.  Everything has to die sometime, we all know this, but seeing an entire field of sunflowers - a signal of light and happiness - was gut-wrenching.  I was so struck by it, in fact, that I took a drive to that field during my lunch break today just to capture that feeling on my camera.

I won't go too far into the symbolism of this picture.  I could write a novel or give a lecture series on my thoughts about its significance.  But I will say this:  we can always take any experience in life one of two ways.  We can either see it as a positive or a negative.  And even though this picture looks pretty negative, I see it as a method of motivation.  Because I see it as a reminder that there is a time and a season for every living thing, and in the winter of our lives things can get a bit hopeless sometimes.  But we need to remember that spring will come.  The weather will change and every wasteland will be overturned and given new life.