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!

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 271: The Long Road Home

Somewhere in Arizona.

We drove home today.  There's not much to say about it.  That's how it usually goes for the return trip of a vacation though.  The trip out is so much fun and there's so much excitement and anticipation for the upcoming fun, but the trip back is usually tainted with sadness since it's the end of the fun.

At least the drive went by fairly quickly this time, and at least we were blessed with good weather.

I'm not excited about returning to reality and the mess that is waiting for me at work tomorrow.

Not at all excited.

Day 270: Amusement Parks and Motion Sickness

The sign reads, "Nourishment for the Weary Traveler and Those Possessed of Voracious Appetites"

We went to Knott's Berry Farms today and - silly me - I decided not to bring my camera in the park with me.  That would have been fine, had I already taken a picture for the day, or if I had returned to my camera before midnight.  As it is, all I had with me today by way of camera equipment was my iPod, so this is the best picture I was able to produce.

It's better that I didn't bring my camera anyway.  I had a great time at the park with everyone, but after one of the rides (I wish I could remember the name, but I don't think I ever paid attention to it) I was so motion sick that I was completely useless for a few hours afterwards.  I wasn't the only one who got hit with the queasiness either.  Both Ryan and Brittney were pretty sick after that ride as well.  We all had to go find a place to sit and recover when we got off.  After about 20 minutes, Christine and Lalo got bored of waiting for us to feel better so they went off to another ride while we sat in misery.  When they got back, we all decided to head over to the next ride even though we weren't ready yet because it was getting so cold that sitting around outside wasn't helping.

I think it was around this time that I took the photo above.  Things got a bit hazy for me during the second half of the day, but I think it's pretty funny that I chose to take that picture when I could barely open my eyes without the world spinning and my stomach contracting uncomfortably.  I also feel it important to mention that I only took 2 pictures at all today.  The other one was a blurry mess of everyone's backsides as they were walking in front of me.  And I took that when I was actually feeling good!

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 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 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 248: Wizater

My sister's car

Tonight the three of us went out to dinner and a movie - a typical Friday night.  We exited the movie theater to find the world covered in a light sprinkling of powdered sugar.  That's about the time I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet.  I panicked a bit...until Ryan walked over to Christine's car and wrote the word, "Wizater" on her rear window.  

"There," he said, "take a picture of that."

So I did.  I took quite a few pictures of it because we kept writing things in the snow on the trunk of the car.  It was fun and very cold.  My hands ached for a little while afterwards, but it was worth it. :)

Day 247: Ball of Nerves

The sunset through the trees.

I named this picture "Ball of Nerves" because I wanted to use the word "ball" since it's a picture of a bunch of dangling balls on a tree, but no matter how I tried to mix the words around, "dangle" and "balls" just couldn't go together in the title without making unintended references.

Also, because I was a nervous wreck today.

Obviously this happens to me frequently since I write about it a lot on this blog, but it doesn't make it any easier.  Some days I just handle the huge responsibility of my work load better than others.  Today all I could see was the big picture of everything in the world that I had to do (personally and professionally) and it panicked me so badly that I couldn't concentrate on a single task.  I even had to take a break in one of the empty offices by sitting on the floor in the dark, trying to calm my breathing and empty my mind.  Of course, this didn't work because I really think it might be impossible to clear my head of all thoughts.  I've tried oh, so many times, but there's always something going on up there.  Plus I have the attention span of a kid in a candy store.  My brain is always frantically running from one subject to another so fast that I tend to loose the thread of my own inner dialog every few minutes or so.

I'm not kidding though, I literally lasted 4 minutes in that dark room before getting up and walking out more frustrated than when I started.

And it felt like 20 minutes.

But, I'm sure tomorrow will go much better, because it usually works out that way.

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 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 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.

Day 232: Cheap Shot

My lame attempt at capturing the sunset cloud.

So tonight on my way to the temple I noticed the awesome pink cloud domineering the sky.  I was pulling out of a parking lot so I didn't have a lot of time to take a picture.  Still, I whipped out my camera as fast as I could and snapped a few quick shots without checking the settings.

The pictures turned out like crap.

Luckily I like to edit the heck out of every picture I take, so I was able to salvage at least one of them.

Day 230: Fire Mountain

A view of tonight's sunset from my front porch.

I almost didn't get this shot out of pure stubbornness.  Christine told me how cool the sunset was looking, but I had already taken a picture, and I suddenly felt a wave of annoyance that she would assume that I needed picture ideas.

Idiot.

I always need picture ideas, and yet I always scoff when people give me any.

Luckily I realized I was being ridiculous and got up to see what she was talking about.  

Awesome view!  Click! 

Too bad it didn't turn out as bright on the photo.  It was practically red in real life.

Day 225: Ice

A frozen snow drift.

I went to lunch today with the express purpose of getting a picture because I knew I wouldn't have time this evening.  I drove around until I was almost out of time before I finally stopped and settled for this picture.  It's not the most eye-grabbing thing I've seen, but it's not horrible.

I went to the Jazz game with my family tonight and we had a blast!  It was great fun to go out to eat at a fancy restaurant first and then hit the game.  I would have taken pictures at the game, but I was too worried about my camera being damaged or stolen in that big of a crowd. So...maybe another time. :)

Day 224: Static Daydreams

Steam rising in the morning air.

This picture is me.
It's everything I like about poetry, books, music, art, movies, etc.
It's dark and beautiful, and a little confusing.
It's inexact and interesting.

One day I'll be able to write the perfect story,
Filled with melancholy
And beauty.
And intrigue.

Someday I'll find the words to express,
This thing that I love about the world.
But the words are lost somewhere.
Wherever this dream is that I keep chasing.

So for now I will have to show it in pictures.
My love of that imperfect beauty.
That static dream that is just beyond reach.

Until I get it right.

Day 218: Highlighted

A grove of trees

So, I realize that the last few weeks I've alternated between pictures of trees and pictures of things up close, but I don't really care tonight.  I saw this tree as I was pulling into the parking lot at the temple, and I loved it so much that I braved the cold (in my skirt) and made the trek across the icy parking lot to get the best angle. The sun was highlighting the trunk of the tree so beautifully that it literally caught my eye as I drove past it.  That's the kind of picture I should stop to take more often.

Now, if only I had gotten a clean shot of it.  Every picture I took of this tree was just a bit off somehow.  I was very sad when I downloaded them onto my computer and realized that none of them captured the beauty of the moment.

Oh well.  Better luck next time, right?