January 23rd to January 29th
Archive for the ‘Goals’ Category
Weekly page/daily photo
Monday, February 6th, 2012Week 3, Photo of the Day project
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Week of Jan 15th
Project 52
Sunday, January 29th, 2012This week’s theme was SELF PORTRAIT. Generally I like to get my photo taken. When I was in elementary school I went through a phase where I didn’t want to show my teeth. My pictures were horrible! I don’t even have any around to show you, that’s how bad it was. But then I had a revelation to show as much teeth as possible, then CHEESE! Good photo. But lately I’ve felt like such a shlumpedinka, my photos are pretty gross.
I was not looking forward to this theme.
Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. Paul went to play guitar w some guys, kids were with their mom, 5 loads of laundry were almost done, and all my other craft projects stalled out. I had already Skyped with Elli, Michael and the Cutest Girls in the Universe (why can’t THAT be a theme!?) so I got out the quilt project. Excuse me…The Quilt Project.
And it occurred to me as I laid out 64 square feet of fabric of my life…
This is my self-portrait.
I have filled in the 2 gaps, but did not retake the pic. Used the T shirt that was our coaching "uniform" when Paul and I coached Tyler's basketball team this season.
2012 Photo-a-Day
Saturday, January 28th, 2012Several blogs I subscribe to have a photo a day challenge or a theme each week for a photo. I am going to be posting my pages as the year progresses. This will not detract from any surprise you may receive for a birthday or Christmas gift, it is more of the mundane things that I forget about, but really make each day into a life. My end goal is to have an 8×8 soft cover album printed at the end of the year with all 52 pages, then I will mount it into our hard cover family album for that year. I keep telling Paul I am desperate to carve out space for myself in our small house and chaotic life. This is my new attempt to do that, even if it is ad hoc and only 2 dimensional.
Of course I got behind quickly (very similar to my athletic races these days), but am not caught up, have a custom template that I love and am ready to share! Some things will overlap, some will be new (like you probably don’t need a play by play of Maggie and I making a car trip to the store to get me a Diet Pepsi on my work-at-home Tuesdays), and some are too big to share in the photo-a-day/page-a-week project (of course I am talking about my grandmother-in-law shanking my tire story).
Would love any suggestions for photo ops, questions you have about our daily do-ings and requests.
January 1-7, 2012
Daily photo project
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012As you know, I have a dream to have people pay me to take pictures. I got a slammin’ camera for Christmas from Paul last year and have been spending time learning the different settings and how to be a better photographer in general. I am half participating/half lurking on Project 365 from a fantastic blog that I subscribe to.
This week’s theme was “I Dreamed a Dream” in honor of the MLK holiday. Welp, on Monday Paul was at work, kids were at Robin’s and I had the whole day to make my dream come true. I went to the Natural Science Center with a plan to work on aperture and shutter speed. It was pretty chilly, but the tigers did not disappoint. I set up “camp” near their enclosure and went to work taking photos and notes as I clicked. After awhile a little girl came up asking me what I was doing. I told her I was taking pictures of the tigers.
Then she asked me, “For a book?”
I smiled to myself and said, “Someday, kiddo. Someday.”
Vote for me!!!!
Friday, October 21st, 2011I am already a professional athlete. Random Coinage is my sponsor. I have been known to stop my bike in the middle of an intersection to pick up a dime. Every time I go for a run I find money! So far I am averaging 1/12 of a cent per mile.
Now I need your help because I want to be a professional photographer. Biz sent me a link to a contest that I KNOW I can win if you take a second to vote. I entered the following 4 photos, vote for 1 or all, plus please forward to everyone in your email contacts, please!
Bird at sunrise
To vote for “Bird at sunrise” click here: http://bit.ly/nNgrxp
Having a blast on the boogie board!
To vote for “Having a blast on the boogie board” click here: http://bit.ly/rdN35U
Sunrise on N Myrtle Beach
To vote for “Sunrise on N Myrtle Beach” click here: http://bit.ly/p8CPTy
Water fun!
To vote for “Water fun!” click here: http://bit.ly/pXjpuq
Warrior Sue
Sunday, September 11th, 2011August 27th I participated in the Warrior Dash in Huntersville, NC. Part adventure race, part obstacle course, part 5k run. Paul and the kids came with me and as soon as we walked up to watch, EMT raced over to assist one of the racers who had just fallen off the 2-story obstacle. I hadn’t trained for THAT!
There were 11 obstacles over the course, the last one being a knee deep mud pit with barbed wire over it forcing you to crawl through the mud. My (luckily old about to be donated) running shoes sucked right off my feet the first 2 steps into the pit. I should have trusted my instincts and cannonballed into the pit.
Spectators lined the length of the mudpit.
Two obstacles worried me the most. First was the 2 story high wall to scale over. There was a rope you could climb, but I hadn’t done that since 6th grade… MANY lbs ago. There were 2x4s every 5 feet or so on the side to climb up. I used a combination of rope and 2×4 to get up and over. Second was “Black Out.” I am not really fond of the dark at all. This was a short tent-like structure covered in black plastic in the middle of the woods. It was about knee-high, about 50 yards long. We army crawled through it trying not to run into each other. Every 10 yards or so we ran face-first into plastic flaps hanging down, making us think that we were almost done, only to crawl into another “room.”
Maybe I should have a little more sense, but I was not really nervous about the 2nd to last obstacle–jumping over fire. Twice.
Demonstrating my mad vertical leap over the fire pit.
Product Review: Homax Caulk Refinishing Kit
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010One of the projects I worked on while FUN-employed was to patch some crap spots in our bathroom, remove the caulk and replace the caulk. Then of course paint. When I looked online for how to remove caulk, several tools were recommended. I consulted my dad, the Do It Yourself Puba and he wisely said, “Any project looks better when you use the right tools.” So off to Lowe’s I went.
Chris from the Greensboro store’s paint department recommended the Homax kit:
Homax Caulk Refinishing Kit
Not only did it have a tool to remove caulk, but it also had a separate tool for applying the caulk! All for $5!! It kicked ass for removing the caulk. I used it when applying the silicone caulk and got the opposite result. It looked like butt when I used it on the silicone caulk. When I used it on the latex caulk (long story why I used 2 kinds of caulk), it was back to kicking ass instead of looking like ass. Interesting findings. I am glad I bought it even if Paul did laugh at me. He recommended I use a screw driver. Funny thing was my dad said he often just used a screw driver.
Maybe the moral of the story is not buy the proper tools for the job. Instead it is girls really do marry their fathers!
And you thought Paul and I biked a lot…
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010I recently read in Bicycling magazine about an amazing family. Here is a summary from their website:
The four of us (Mom, Dad and twelve-year-old twin boys) are bicycling from Alaska to Argentina. When we reach the southernmost tip of South America, Davy and Daryl will become the new Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the Pan-American Highway!
Wow. It makes me think about long bike rides that Paul and I have gone on. Let’s just say that Paul now carries some cheese to go with my whine. Now add 2 kids, whoa. Then doing school on the road–they call it roadschooling, like homeschooling–get it!? HA! Again, I think about nights at the table with Anna and/or Tyler with their homework. Tears flow, voices are raised, frustration abounds. Then add on prep with no supplies except that which you find on the road or carry on your bike?!
Lastly, eating. Paul is a frickin’ saint. Anna won’t even eat turkey on her sandwich anymore. Mayo and an American slice of cheese on bread, with the crusts cut off of course. Tyler can change his mind 3-4 times about liking something within the span on the same dinner. Can you imagine traveling to other countries on a bike (talk about a Very Hungry Caterpillar!) then get off and there is no Harris Teeter to go get skim milk, hormone free chicken or ingredients to even make tortillas (not that they have a kitchen to make stuff in anyhow). Don’t even think about access to McDonald’s, Domino’s, etc.
Surfer Laird Hamilton says he lives his life well by doing something to scare himself every day. Whether you prefer scaring, inspiring, motivating yourself, I think it is a good message. This family is a good example of this.
Quitters, dropouts and failures, oh my!
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009Yup, we dropped out. I have been feeling worse each day and can hear the raspy breathing in my chest just climbing a flight of stairs. Paul had a good ride w Tamara this weekend, but has not run successfully in over 6 weeks and even then his blister issue came back. I just emailed the race production company to give our spots to someone else.
What about the motto you ask? I guess if I am ditching goals, I should ditch mottos too, huh?
OK, off to wander aimlessly through life now…
