blinders

So, I have photos from Day 4 of my photo challenge that I will have to post tonight, and didn’t take any yesterday. You try taking pictures while walking two big dogs! 🙂

Everything is starting to close in and feel tight, I’m feeling pressure and stress on a number of different fronts right now, and I am doing my best to keep my blinders firmly in place. I am trying to only focus on one thing at a time, and not look at the big picture, and not look at everything going on around me. If I keep my head down, out of the crazy wind, I can focus on what is right in front of me, but if I try to get a sense of everything going on, I quickly get overwhelmed and start to feel panicky and agitated. Normally, I like to try and get big picture views, so I can try to figure out how to best respond. But right now, I have to let go of that and just keep plugging away through things, one at a time. Seems simple and makes sense, right? Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest lessons to remember and hold on to. Clearly, I needed a reminder lesson that focusing on what is directly in front of me at this present moment, and not what I sense looming out in front of me, is all I can really focus and work on anyway.

Happy wanderings!

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Day three: Neighborhood photo challenge

Taken on the American Tobacco Trail near the house

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Day two: Neighborhood photo challenge

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Friday’s Feast

AppetizerGiven the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Hm. Well, I like the quiet of the country and not being on top of my neighbors, but I also love being able to walk to a coffee shop or little bookstore. I also have a very strong requirement that I have to live somewhat near a fire department. So, I think I would generally say city, as long as it is not TOO city, not too crowded.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?

I actually don’t think I know any kids at the moment. Although the little girl who lives next door to me is very cute — when she is not shrieking, which she is prone to doing. (but I’ve never actually met her).

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Oooh. Gluten-free, Dairy-free cookie dough soy ice cream. Happiness. Possibly Neutragena Body Oil, because it makes my skin happy.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

Fish oil, green tea and acidophollus

To see other Friday Feasts, click here

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Hooray macro

I love shooting in macro mode

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The purple mission

A friend of mine at work asked me if I have any photos with a prominence of purple (nice alliteration, huh?). She has a friend who loves the color purple, and wears it every day in some form, and her father recently died. My friend wanted something to make her smile, and something that was beautiful and soothing. The fact that she thought of me and my photography is incredibly flattering.

So, I went on a purple photo shoot mission yesterday. There are these brilliant purple trees down here, and lots of purple tulip-looking trees. I had a lot of fun shooting, and here are some of my favorites.

*Note: For some reason, these are way more vibrant in iPhoto than they are on my blog. So, just assume that they are better color-balanced on my computer. 🙂

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Day one: Neighborhood photo challenge

Photos taken March 21

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Peep mysteries

They now make sugar-free Peeps.

The only ingredients in peeps are sugar, fluffy sugar, sugar coating and chemicals.

Peeps. Now available with 100% more chemicals!

And come on people. They are peeps. You clearly aren’t eating them for their health benefits. Do you really need a sugar-free version?

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aww yeah it’s spring

One day you’ll find that I have gone. But tomorrow may rain, so I’ll follow the sun. 

Spring makes me happy. This morning, I was driving into work, looking all around at the flowers and flowering trees and pretty colors and great light (and bemoaning the fact that I was already running late to work because the light was so perfect, and I had my camera with me and I wanted to capture some of the lovely springiness.) But — I will do that tonight on my way home! I feel like my fingers are itching to shoot, everywhere I look I see beauty and new life and I just need to dig into it and capture it.

And I decided last night that for the next week, I am going to take my camera out with me every night when I walk MyraWonderPup and capture the changes day to day. And maybe taking my camera out everyday will make shooting a habit, since I am constantly thinking in photographs anyway and wishing I had my camera with me.

Of course, walking with an enthusiastic 80 lb dog doesn’t leave me a lot of time to shoot, but it will be “shoot on the fly” shots! Would you like to play and capture the daily changes that spring brings? I would love to see!

I feel like I have been quietly building a creativity reservoir, that is ready to overflow. I have words and images and photos dancing in my head, all eager to be born into the world, and I’m eager to play!

Isn’t spring energy magical??

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arrrrgh!!!

I feel like every person I talk to lately, every conversation that I overhear in the hallways and bathroom at work, everyone says, “It is what it is.”

I understand it is to convey a situation that you can’t do anything about. I understand it is meant to be accepting of what you can’t change and just go with the situation as best as you can, even if you wish it was different.

But, really? “It is what it is” can be said about virtually everything in the universe. At any given moment, we are all in this state. Yes, naturally there are situations that can change, for better or worse, and there are things you can expend energy on to change it and see results one way or another. And there are naturally situations that either won’t change or change will be very slow to be realized. But really, EVERYTHING is what it is. It says nothing. And worse, it is now a widely used expression to say nothing. And whenever I hear it, I want to hit my head on something.

But…I guess “It is what it is,” right?

Ok. English rant over. You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog.

🙂

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