Days 272 through 278

Day 272: Inundated

This is the pile of mail that greeted us when we got home last night.  It's about half as big as the pile of paperwork on my desk when I returned to work.  I am thoroughly overwhelmed.  I have no idea where to even begin with everything I have to do now that I'm home.

Help!

Day 273: Glory in Imperfections

I got this penguin at the flea market in Cabo.  I picked him out amid a bunch of other, better looking, trinkets because I liked his little gimpy fin.  Being unique is something of which we all have the capability.  But here's the secret: you can't be unique when you're trying to be.  You can only pull it off when you are truly yourself - when you are no longer concerned with how you compare to others.

That is the challenge.

Day 274: The End of Something

Month 9 is complete!  That's right, I only have 3 months left!  The end is near...finally.

Today as I took pictures of the sunset, I was sad to know they would be the last pictures I took with this awesome lens I rented from Borrow Lenses.  I rented this same lens last summer for my family reunions, and I can't express how much I wish I didn't have to give it back.  It's too expensive for me to justify the purchase, but if I rent it any more times I will completely nullify that excuse.  The rentals aren't cheap, and soon I'll have paid the same amount in rental costs as I would have if I'd purchased the dang thing.

One day...

Day 275: The "Little" Things

I'm so glad RoseAnne came over tonight for our regularly scheduled girls night!  She was all dressed up for an appointment she had before she came over, and she looked so cute!  Jack was his usual adorable self, chasing the cats around the house in his speedy crawl, making faces at us, and being generally captivating for the camera.

I really love my family!

Day 276: Red Trees

I'm used to seeing trees turn red during the fall, but I'm not familiar with red trees with no leaves.  I saw these today in a parking lot and had to stop and capture them.  In the slanting winter sunlight, the bark on these trees shone a vivid red - almost fuchsia.  I wish I still had that lens I rented because it would have been able to capture these better.

Ah, well.  No use thinking about it.

Day 277: Note to Self

Note to self: put makeup on before taking an extreme close-up of your face.

If I had taken any other pictures today, I would have posted one of them instead.  This picture required an obscene amount of touch-up to make it even slightly acceptable, when all I needed to do was dab on a bit of cover-up and eyeliner before I hit the shutter button.  I guess I'm still shell-shocked from my return to work this week.  I can't believe how busy I was, and yet how little I got done!  So frustrating!  I guess all I can hope for is to do better next week.

Day 278: The Old Standby

Whenever you see a picture of my cats on here, you can almost be certain it's because I forgot to take a picture until right before I went to bed.  The cats seem to be my last resort subjects.  If I'm too tired to think of something original, I just run upstairs and snap a few of the cats and call it good.

I need a new standby I think.

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 215: Month 7 is Here!

A button I have that says, "Kiss me before another year goes by!"

So, month six is complete, and we are on to month seven!  I don't know if I should be counting myself as successful on this little project or not.  I may have taken a picture every day, but I was horribly neglectful with the blog posts last month.  Sure, I made excuses, but they weren't very good ones.  I have resolved to be better this month and the rest of the project.  Let's hope that resolution lasts.

Day 183: Half-way Point!!!!

Sunset in my back yard.

Today marks the last day of month 6 and is the official half-way point in the photo project!  I made it half-way!!  Yay for me!  Tomorrow I start on the second half of the year, which is awesome and a little bit scary because I ran out of ideas a long time ago.  But I'm hoping with the holidays coming up, I'll have a lot more opportunity to take some good shots.

Thanks to everyone who reads and comments on this blog!  I know your numbers are few, but it is a tremendous boost to me on days when I'm ready to give up because I can't stand the sight of my camera!

Some things I've learned so far:
*You don't know if you're good at something until you try
*Consistency is a nightmare, but totally worth it!
*You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it.
*Cameras are expensive, sure, but printing the photos on 14x16 mat-board is worse
*Photography looks much cooler on paper than it does on the screen
*It's OK to let yourself be proud of your accomplishments every now and then
*It doesn't matter how many times my mom, or others, praise my pictures, I'll always be a little embarrassed at the compliments.

Day 154: By The Wayside

Some wild flowers growing on the side of a building.

I saw these flowers while I was out at lunch today and decided to stop and take some pictures of them.  I couldn't get as close as I like to get with flowers this small, but I was still able to capture a few of them.

On another, more exciting note: today is the first day of month SIX!  I've made it FIVE WHOLE MONTHS on this project (if you don't count that one time)!  That's HUGE!  In fact, I would go so far as to call it GLORIOUS!  Yea for me!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programing.

Day 122: Seeing Stars

Mom's bling. :)

Ok, first thing's first.  That is NOT a cross on Mom's neck.  I did not intend for the lens flare to look like a cross.  Had I noticed BEFORE I downloaded this picture, I would have fixed it.

So....today is the end of month FOUR!  Yay for me!  I'm pretty proud of myself, but also face the next 8 months with a little trepidation.  I'm not sure how I'm going to keep myself interested in the project for another 8 months, but I'll think of something...and probably several more times.  :)

Thanks to the few of you out there who not only read my blog, but comment on it every once in a while.  It always helps my motivation to know that someone out there is interested in reading my (sometimes) pointless thoughts.  And even if you don't usually read my posts, but you just check my new pictures, I appreciate that as well.  Although, I suppose that if you don't read my posts, you'll never see this thank-you so it's kind of pointless.

Anyway, it's late, I'm tired.  So I'll just leave you with this.  My beautiful mother is a great sport for changing into her beautiful dress shirt at my request just so I could take a picture of something sparkly.  And I love how it turned out!  I don't know why, but I always seem to prefer mom in black and white - even when her face isn't showing.  I guess she just has that classic beauty about her that makes me feel that black and white is the only appropriate medium.  :)

Day 90: That's Right, DAY NINETY!

I bought this hat last week for a photo idea I have.  More to come...

Ninety days!  Ninety days!  I can't believe I've made it this far!  Ok, sure.  I haven't posted my photos every single day, but I've taken a photo every single day without missing ONE.  I feel like I should get some sort of prize for being this diligent!

Then again, I guess I already have several prizes: satisfaction, pride in my accomplishments, the knowledge that I actually CAN follow through with some things, a touch of self-righteousness, and confidence in myself (which is the biggest prize of all).  Plus, I think I might actually be improving my photography skills, which is AWESOME.

All in all, I have to say this project has been so amazingly cool!  I've pushed myself in an area that I never would have thought to grow in.  I've had a blast finding new and creative ways to capture the world around me, and I've gotten some amazing shots in the process.  I'm excited to see what the next 90 days will bring. :D

Day 62: Month Two Complete!

My cousin's daughter running up a hill.

So today was the last day that I was able to attend my other family reunion.  I have work in the morning, so I had to skip out early.  It was so fun watching all the family just visiting with each other today.  I walked around taking a lot of pictures of small groups of people just chatting and laughing.  As I said before, we really love to laugh in my family.

Towards the end of my day at the lodge, I got to observe a water balloon volley ball game.  It was very short-lived because almost every shot was missed, and they didn't have enough water balloons, but it was still fun to see.  I was far away from the game, so I was able to observe the cutest group of little kids and toddlers sitting on the hill next to the volley ball net, cheering everyone on.  They were so attentive for such a young group!  I caught this shot of my cousin's daughter (whom I will not name since I didn't get permission to post this on the internet) running up the hill after the game to tell her aunt all about it.  So cute!


...oh, and this is officially the first day of month THREE for me!  I can't believe I've made it this far without forgetting a day.  And in case you were wondering, the days that I've missed posting a picture, I've only missed because I had no internet connection.  I still took a picture every day.  ...just so we're clear.

Day 30: Month One COMPLETE!

The beets in my parents' garden.

Today is officially the last day of my first month on this project!  YeeHaw!!  I just did my happy food dance in celebration, sorry you missed it.  It was epic.

Anyway, now I'm on to bigger and better things, like...

MONTH TWO!

What to do in month two?  Maybe I'll start a theme for all my pictures during that month...
Naw. I like the way things are going now, so I'll keep it. So for the upcoming months, look forward to seeing more pictures that - hopefully - get better and better.  Look forward to daily plugs for this blog on my Facebook page, and look forward to short quips and blurbs about each photo.  Maybe if I get really brave, I'll try to write more profound and thoughtful entries.  But don't hold your breath. :D

Also, as we head into the second month, I'd really like to know who's out there reading this thing.  Please post a quick response to this blog (even if it's just a smiley face or just your name), or just hit the "like" button on my Facebook link.

Every time I hear about someone new who's seen my blog, I get giddy with excitement.  I've never been good enough at anything for anyone to care, so it gives me a boost in determination to keep this thing going when I know people are looking.  Also, it's nice to know that there are those besides me and my mom (and Kimmy) who are actually viewing these pictures.  I don't even care if you like them.  Just the fact that you're looking at them is good enough for me!

Thanks everyone for your support!