Project 365

Here is the link for my photo project. I will also put in the links on the side bar. Check it out.

www.photoblog.com/paperwings/

First Two of Many

It's the fourth of January and I already have two projects in the works. I have been wanting to learn how to crochet, so I downloaded some instructions. It's Friday (payday), and I am going to get some yarn and needles to begin. A lot of my friends are either pregnant, or have just had a baby, so my first attempt will be at a baby blanket. Hopefully, this will prove to be a good beginner project. Here is the blanket that I will be giving a go at. http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/60509A.html
I will let you know how it works out.

My second project that I have actually already begun is called Project 365. Having always been a big fan of photography, I have a Photojojo link on my Google Reader. (Which I totally implore everyone to check out, as it is fantastic.) I saw this this project when reading an article on New Year's Photo Resolutions. http://photojojo.com/content/guides/19-new-years-photo-resolutions/
I really have no skills when it comes to photography, but I want to seriously try to increase my knowledge in this arena. SO...Project 365. I will take a picture a day for the entire year of 2008. This is a big undertaking, but I want to do it. I decided this yesterday, and it just so happened that I had taken a picture on the 1st and 2nd of January. They weren't great, as I imagine not many of my photos will be, but at least I can say that I do have photos for everyday. I am in the process of creating a site to post these pictures, so I will add the link when it is set. This project is meant to get me thinking more about how to take pictures, and to get to know my camera a little better. It will also chronicle my days in 2008.

I am excited. This is good.

New Years Day Brunch

Host and hostess

Games after brunch.


My sticky buns are a bit lopsided, but delicious none the less. (There is cream cheese in the middle! yum.) http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/recipedetail.htm?recipe_id=104491

Our first annual New Years Day Brunch.

We started the New Year in a fantastic way, with good food and good friends. Loads of laughing and even more eating.

And I Begin Again

It is kind of fitting that I begin this blog on the verge of a new year. It fits in nicely with my resolution. Usually, I have grand visions of me losing weight, and becoming sickening thin. Yeah, it's as absurd as it sounds, but it is the truth. I always wanted to be so thin that people would mention it. "You're looking TOO thin these days." "You're SOO tiny." Imagine. I am a bit obsessed with the weight issue, but don't worry too much. I am more obsessed with food, so it kind of balances out. Anyway, lose weight, work out, eat right, yada yada yada. These are my normal resolutions. I attempt them half heartedly, and within a couple of months...gone. The resolutions become "What I could do if I had more time and money." I lack discipline. Maybe I just don't care enough to follow through. Maybe it really is a matter of time and money. Oh well, those resolutions are off the table. Obviously, they weren't happening, so I decided to rethink my position.

For some time now, I have been thinking about me. Who I am, what I am about, what I do with my time and energy. I came to this conclusion. I DON'T DO ANYTHING. At least, not for me. There isn't anything in my life that is solely there for my personal enrichment. All of the things I use to do, all the creative endeavors, have been pushed aside. There really has been a huge time issue. Teaching all day, tutoring afterward, going to grad. school, having a baby, being a wife, keeping up a house...it has all but swallowed me whole. I am no where to be found. All that is left is this hollow person who does what she has to do. This person who is so sucked up by responsibility that her voice is barely audible. I can't even hear her anymore. This is sounding a little dramatic, and that isn't where I was headed. I love my family. I love my job. (I do not love my master's program, but it's almost over.) I am content with life. However, there is an urge for more. There is a desire for personal development. That is where my resolution comes in.

My New Years resolution is simple. I challenge myself to find ME, again. Sounds corny, right? "I need to find myself." Cliche? Yeah, maybe. But it's true. Not in some dreamy, whimsical kind of way. Just in a down to earth, real kind of way. I want to be creative again. I want to find things to do with my time that are productive, and fulfilling. I want to make things, write things, become more aware of what is around me. I want to feel like I am living. No more sleepwalking.

This is my first step. Paper Wings.