Happy List, Week 5

January just has it out for me, I swear. Nevertheless…

1. Family time. It was Dad's birthday on Friday and we got to spend time together, even if I felt terrible.

2. Walgreens day/night cold medicine. This finally had me feeling somewhat (though not 100%) normal.

3. My crew. They're hard working and make my job easier - which is good when you feel under the weather.

4. My middle school. Because years later, it is still very awesome and it is nice to be able to hopefully influence parents to change their children's lives by sending them there.

5. Polartec. It's been a bit chilly around here and I'm glad it was invented to help keep me warm.

That's it for this week, folks. Next week should be better… right?

3/52 and 4/52 - Photo Project 2014

It has not been the best start to 2014, and therefore, I am a bit behind on posting of things. Thankfully, I haven't forgotten to actually TAKE the pictures yet.

3/52 - Mt Pleasant is the source of this picture.

Taken as part of the Photo Flood of said neighborhood. I enjoy the contrast from the white decorative grille and the darker brick around it. Not sure what it might be other than a vent.

4/52 - Little Pippin.

Pippin is 10 years young, and truly does act like a 2 year old puppy at most times. Lately, Tommy had been the focus of my photo taking, but now it is Pippin's turn being a star. Tommy had reverted to a more wheaten coloring lately and I had forgotten the challenges of photographing a nearly all black dog. Plus of the two, Pippin was the one who rarely held still.

She and I got on the kitchen floor after dinner and had ourselves a little photo session. She's lucky she's so cute.

Happy List, Week 4

Well, Week 4 has been the toughest one I've encountered for awhile for various reasons, so this will be a short list.

In no particular order...

1. Living in the same town as my parents. Not everyone agrees with this but I do. Today, when I was feeling under the weather, mom dropped by and brought me chicken soup. If I lived somewhere else, she wouldn't be able to do that, now would she?

2. Lunch with a friend.  My truly awesome elementary school drama/music teacher is back in my life and every so often our schedules align and we go out to lunch. This past week included one of those. I'm sad she's retired from the school I went to but I am SO glad she is still spreading her passion and love for the arts to others.

3. My pedometer. Because it validates me when I feel like I've walked all over the building three times over - usually I have!

4. Photo Flood St. Louis. Because no matter how busy my work weekend is, and these Floods always seem to coincide with the performance weeks - I like how I can spend 2 hours getting to know a St. Louis neighborhood better.

5. The Sing Off. This program has appeared on the blog and probably the Happy List before, but this season has introduced me to this great quintet called "Home Free". They're a country group and country usually it is not my cup of tea. However, I really like their sound and find that I don't especially think "country" when I listed to them. Their bass singer has a gargantuan range… look up the YouTube video of their performance of "Ring of Fire" on the Sing Off… dang, that is one low note. They're on this list this week because I've been listening to their new album, "Crazy Life".

Okay, that's it, folks. Hopefully, there will be more happy to be found in Week 5.

2/52 - Photo Project 2014

I took several different types of photos in Week 2 of the project. The 5th was the snowiest day that St. Louis has seen in awhile, the 6th, one of the coldest - though I took some seriously awesome photos. On the 8th, we said good-bye to our beloved puppy, Tommy who was 13.5 years young. And on the 9th, it snowed again and this time it stuck to the trees.

Tempting as it is to make the snowy abstracts the winner for week, today my choice is purely sentimental.

This is perhaps not my best picture of Tommy (and I will be posting soon about him) but it's one of the last. He was the best boy we ever had - so much love, so much patience, so much therapy given.  We never wanted to let him go but it was time. My heart is broken, but it will slowly heal. And I've just got to remember all the good times.

Had we not lost our beloved Tommy, this would've won the week:

The snow was so light and the winds just so that it acted like sand in a desert. 

Due to our loss of Tommy and an incredibly busy weekend at work, I'm behind on many a thing. I'll catch up soon, promise. 

Happy List, Week 2 and 3

In no particular order…

1. Eddie Bauer's fleece lined Travex pants. I'm not getting paid by them to endorse them, but I would do it anyway. These are amazing. I wear these and feel no cold, at least on my legs. More importantly, they're not extra bulky either.

2. Unexpected snow day. As a photographer I love a snow day, especially one that I wasn't exactly expecting. Our Snowmageddon was well forecasted, but sometimes the forecasters aren't wholly accurate. And/or sometimes I end up working on some snow days.

3. Reunions. Normally, I'm not the hugest fan and since Facebook came around, they seem a little less relevant. However, this one was for my amazing middle school, celebrating their 50th year in existence.   The Head of School at that time is a pretty awesome woman, and aside from a brief meeting with her this Spring, I really haven't seen her in awhile. This woman is timeless and she looks just about the same as she did then, and with equal amounts of energy. It was wonderful to spend time with her and several other former teachers.

4. Photo Ops despite low temps. I didn't get to do the one I wanted, but I did get to drive around Forest Park and get some pretty cool snow abstracts. Makes up for the fact that the wind blew the snow off the trees already.

5. The time that we weren't supposed to have. We lost out beloved Tommy in week 2… and while my heart is broken into pieces and it is in no way, shape, or form, happy - we weren't supposed to have this long with him and I treasured each and every day we got past his original projected death.

6. Friends. This hasn't been a happy week, but I'm grateful for friends, near and far, who have reached out to me.

7. Distraction. It was an extra busy work weekend for me. Both a curse and a blessing because it allowed me not to dwell on the sadness in/on my heart.

That's it folks… it's been a tough two weeks, and it is hard to find the happy these days. Next week will be better...

1/52 - Photo Project 2014

Well… at first I was kind of disappointed with my takes for the first week of this project. They aren't bad, but they weren't how I wanted to start this project out. Then I remembered that all of my fireworks pictures from First Night were taken after midnight, thusly they counted!

Tough choice - I like them both. But this one is much more joyful, don't you think?

Very close runner's up - because of the three fireworks caught in this one:

It was quite a nice show and we had the best view of it. I must remember this spot for next year… could've done without the SLU blue neon though…

Here's to 51 more weeks of great photo opportunities!

Photo Project 2014

Well, I thought about it, and thought about it and thought about it. And I finally concluded that I really liked the photo project I did last year. My work keeps me busy enough that having a pick of the week is probably the smartest thing for me to do.

I had a bunch of side projects that I had semi-completed, but I plan to enforce them better.

A good friend had the idea of shooting the same thing for a year or more, but I didn't have enough time to come up with a good location/subject in time, so over the next year, I will be trying to figure out what that subject might be for a future project.

So without further adieu:

Again, the original project rules remain:

1. Items must be taken from Jan 1, 2014-Dec 31, 2014.

2. Take at least one photo at week. Hopefully take several to choose from and post the best one.

3. Post the best picture at the end of the week, on the designated Sunday.

4. Photos can be taken with the Canon 70D, G12 or iPhone 4S. 

5. Photos can also be enhanced via Lightroom or any other imaging program. 

Wish me luck - and join me if you wish!

p.s. I may have found the subject today but it was too windy out to really contemplate it. 

Self Goals for 2014

Last year, I decided to publish a list of self-goals, not resolutions. Some were specific and some were much more general. I didn't want to 'punish' myself if I didn't cross things off. You read how well I did on the list in 2013 here. In writing the list for 2014, I found myself wanting to keep some of the same things on the list.

-I want to find the positive in things better than I do now. Sometimes it is still hard to see the forest for the trees, or whatever the saying is - seeing past the bad and seeing the good, or at least the big picture. I do believe I will resurrect the Happy List. I haven't done it since 2008/2009 and as I re-read some of the entries, I really enjoy the look back.

-I want to try to learn how to let go of things that are out of my control. I'm a fixer by nature and sometimes I drive myself nuts trying to fix what can't be or isn't my problem.

-I really want to stretch and learn more about photography. How to use my camera better, how to do new techniques - expand my horizons.

-I want to learn how to be more unplugged. Put my devices down and spend more time away from the computer. I can't give up any of them cold turkey, but I'd like to find a better balance.

-I want to work on my personal life - friendships, relationships, long-distance and local. 

-I want to find a better balance with work and home. 

-I want to read more books - I've gotten out of the habit (shame on me!)

-I want to learn how to manage my money better - hence the making of a budget and sticking to it. I'm not doing too bad of a job now but I can definitely do better. 

-I want to travel more - which may upend all the well-intentioned budgeting.  

-I want to find new-to-me-places in St. Louis.

-I want to eat healthier - or at minimum, get better and realistic about portion sizes.

-I want to learn how to find a balance between exercise and long/weird hours at work. There must be one but I haven't found it yet.

-I want to accomplish as many of these items as possible but not beat up myself if I don't do them all or don't succeed at them.

Do you have any suggestions? Hopefully I will do better on some of these that I wasn't as good at during 2013.

Happy List, Week 1

Back in 2009, I created this project called the Happy List. I'm not exactly sure where I got it from or if I created it all on my own. I decided in writing my list of 2014 goals that I'd like to resurrect it.

In this list, I would list 5-10 things (approximately) that made me happy in the past week.

So without further adieu, here's what made me happy in the last week:

1. Missouri Botanical Garden's Garden Glow. It might be pricey, but it sure is beautiful to see, and photograph. I really hope that this becomes a holiday tradition.

2. Cleaning out my parent's basement. Except for boxes of inherited crystal/china that won't move until I have a house, I took all the remaining items that have been in storage from my childhood/college years to my place. I've unpacked, repacked, sorted and filed them. Sometimes, it's just a matter of having the time, the will and the way.

3. Time off. Work can keep me pretty busy and though sometimes I go a little crazy with all the free time, I surely enjoy the ability to create a list, accomplish it and still stay in my pajamas all day. I'm making major inroads on many lists these days.

4. Photo Flood St. Louis. I have been able to do so much this past year because of them. Going forward will only bring bigger and better things! This goes for the tangible (like events) to the intangible (skills, feedback, aligning of my photographic eye).

5. Digital Photography School. For giving me so much good reading material and helping me up my skills.

6. Bingo Blitz. A poor substitute for real Bingo, but almost as fun. I must find fellow bingo cohorts here in St. Louis. Anyone?

7. This blog. I can't believe it will be 6 years in February. My how it has evolved. These days, I'm not sure if I'd pick "Biscuits With Honey" as a blog title/address, and sometimes I wish I hadn't. But here it is and here it stays. And look how far it has come. :)

8. Visits with Tommy. Tommy is making a pretty rapid decline these days, so I take every time that I can and just enjoy being with him.

9. The inter webs. If there's one thing I detest doing photographically, it's carrying my tripod around. I much prefer to shoot without and/or with a monopod. I like the freedom, flexibility and frankly, the challenge. However, I wanted to shoot fireworks on a photoshoot recently, and realized that I would HAVE to have the tripod for that. Not wanting to spend $50 on a tripod sling or bag, I googled on a DIY. In less than 5 minutes, and no $ later, I have a jury-rigged tripod sling of my very own.

10. Sugar cookies. I've made this recipe every holiday season for as long as I can remember. I made this season's batch yesterday (NYE). Yum! Totally counter-productive to eating healthier in 2014, but so worth it! My favorite topping are the rainbow nonpareils.

That's 10! It won't be 10 every week, sometimes it is really hard to find the positive if it is a stressful week. Here's to 51 more weeks! I'll be posting every Wednesday because that's how the week falls. And it always refers to the week prior. So Happy List, Week 2 will be all about the positive I've found in the first week of 2014!

Come join me on this journey!

Looking back at the Self Goals for 2013

Back on January 1, 2013, I published on this blog here, my goals (not resolutions) for 2013.

Here's how I did:

-I want to find the positive in things better than I do now. Sometimes it is still hard to see the forest for the trees, or whatever the saying is - seeing past the bad and seeing the good, or at least the big picture. If I have to resurrect the Happy List, I will. 

Working on this one was hard, and I'm not sure I can call it a success. But I'm trying ...  trying hard. Some days I have more success than others.

-I want to try to learn how to let go of things that are out of my control. I'm a fixer by nature and sometimes I drive myself nuts trying to fix what can't be or isn't my problem.

I'm learning to laugh and let go... eventually. I'll still get in a snit or whatever, but I've learned to laugh or care less. I certainly haven't solved it but I'm making inroads for sure. 

-I really want to stretch and learn more about photography. How to use my camera better, how to do new techniques - expand my horizons.

I feel like I have done this. I've bought tons of eBooks (though haven't read most of them all the way through yet). I'm learning to shoot off of "P" and onto Av (Aperture Priority) and Tv (Shutter Priority) or even M (Manual) more. I still have a long way to go. But I'm eager to learn. Plus, I've joined up with a great photography group with people approximately my own age who are eager to learn and eager to teach and aren't snooty.

-I want to learn how to be more unplugged. Put my devices down and spend more time away from the computer. I can't give up any of them cold turkey, but I'd like to find a better balance.

Still working on this... but I'm learning to be better. :) 

-I want to work on my personal life - friendships, relationships, long-distance and local. 

I have realized that I'd lost touch with some friends - got too caught up in the daily life and didn't see the big picture. I've resolved to try for regular calls with some of my friends or else, time will go screaming by.

-I want to find a better balance with work and home. 

Better but far from perfect. 

-I want to read more books - I've gotten out of the habit (shame on me!)

See above. And see the thing about eBooks. I'm really great reading them on planes. Maybe it's time for me to unplug and just read offline.

-I want to learn how to manage my money better - hence the making of a budget and sticking to it. I'm not doing too bad of a job now but I can definitely do better. 

I was doing better and then I bought something BIG for my parents. And I'm due up for some big ticket items.... I feel like I'm never going to win this one. But I'm not in massive amounts of debt and that's really what counts. I'd be happier with no debt at all...

-I want to travel more - which may upend all the well-intentioned budgeting.  

I think I need to table some bigger trips but I'm certainly game for crossing off more states and national parks!

-I want to find new-to-me-places in St. Louis.

Done - partially because of getting lost on purpose and partially because of Photo Flood St Louis!

-I want to try to do the Couch to 5K thing again. And stick to it. [notice that I did not make an ultimatum on this one - it is hard for me to find time that many weeks in a row] 

DONE DONE DONE! Completed that and then three weeks later, did the Color Run. Kinda dropped the ball afterwards but would definitely do it again.

-I want to eat healthier - or at minimum, get better and realistic about portion sizes.

I might be obsessed with kale chips. But I still kind of eat like a college student. This must change. I don't have a subscription to Cooking Light for nothing...

-I want to accomplish as many of these items as possible but not beat up myself if I don't do them all or don't succeed at them. 

I did okay, but I can ALWAYS do better. Otherwise, what would I have to strive for?