What ever happened to the Photos of the Day?

So... I've been really lazy/lax about posting pictures. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, Sometimes I just haven't been in the mood to take pictures. Second, I came up with this idea because I wanted to get more practice using my new D40, but it's impractical for me to have it with me all of the time. And my camera phone and pocked-sized point-and-shoot camera don't really cut it for me. Don't get me wrong -- they're great to have on me for spur-of-the-moment photography, but as I'm trying to think more and more about composition, and picturing in my head how I want my pictures to turn out, it's when I realize that I really need my DSLR. And third, even when I do take pictures with my P&S or DSLR, I still have to download them to my computer, and sometimes that doesn't happen for a couple of days.

So since this experiment is more of a strategy to get me out and trying new things with photography, I'm going to make it more of a Photo of the Week project. That way I'll have far more time to really think about what I want to shoot, and then get the photos from the camera to the computer, and into the cloud.

Here's a photo that I took last week that just made it onto the computer... I'm not sure why I liked it so much, but there's something really neat about how the nighttime lights are so varying and colorful, even if it's impossible to tell what they are.

Photo of the Day, 2/26/2010

Mila sleeping on the radiator.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Right back where I started

One of my oldest and dearest friends shipped off to her new, albeit temporary, home today. With her departure, I feel as though I've lost my last friend. Over the last few months and years, my circle of friends has dwindled down to just about no one. There are a handful of people from whom I distanced myself. There's another handful of people who have distanced themselves from me. Then there are the peripheral friends, who don't consider me a core part of their group, so they don't necessarily include me in things. Which leaves me solo.

I've decided that this must be some sort of karmic retribution. That the punishment for my sins in this life or another is to suffer the one thing that I dread the most.

Etsy overload? Not possible!

I keep thinking that I'm going to overdo it with the whole 'crafty' thing, but then I keep seeing so many cool things and I just can't help myself!

Grosgrain: Only the Best of Etsy Sample Packages GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

What you don't do doesn't matter

I recently saw this post on The Art of Non-Conformity about how thinking about doing something and not doing it doesn't count. It isn't the thought that matters.

So many times, especially recently, I've thought about calling or e-mailing someone, sending them a card, or making something for someone. I've thought about volunteering more, or visiting a friend... But so often, I just don't do it. I don't get around to it. Or I decide that I'll do it another time.

I suppose that reading this makes me feel even more guilty about not doing the little things for other people that I think about doing. And I've also realized that life is short, and time is precious. There's no time like the present to show people that you care.

Ups and Downs

I was having an awesome last few weeks. I've been happy, excited, hopeful, peaceful. But the last couple of days have been different. I'm in a funk again, and I guess all I can do is ride out the storm.

I Have the Fever -- Procrastination Fever

This is the thing that frustrates me the most about myself. I find it WAY too easy to put something off. I can always manage to rationalize why I can do whatever I need to do in half an hour, tomorrow, next paycheck, whatever.  OR, I decide that instead of this, I'm going to do that. But that is really way down on the list of priorities, while this is definitely closer to the top. And then, inevitably, I get stressed or feel guilty because I didn't do that which really needed to get done.

So here are a couple of questions I'm trying to ask myself to both fight the procrastination fever, and when I try to tackle my to-do list:

1. Is there a task I should be doing instead of what I'm doing right now?

2. At the end of the day, will I feel like I accomplished something?

The correct answers are NO to the first question, and YES to the second. If your answers stray from this in any way, you may have a case of Procrastination Fever. The only cure for Procrastination Fever is to stop procrastinating and start focusing on what you should be doing. Make a list of what needs to get done and go about doing those things.

What do you do to fight the fever?

I always thought that "abstinence only" was a bad idea.

Are you an abstainer or a moderator? I'm definitely a moderator.

Rules to live by

I mentioned my apartment-cleaning efforts in my last post, but I've realized over the last few weeks and months that I need to massively de-clutter and THEN organize. So many of my problems with keeping my apartment organized revolve around the unnecessary stuff that I've accumulated. And this is the stuff that's left over after I did one massive de-cluttering effort when I moved out of my parents' house, and another as I was unpacking here.

Anyway, these three items sum up the entirety of my purging/organization efforts:

1. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
If an item doesn't have a permanent place to live, it will always be out of place. Without a designated box, bin, or nook, shoes will be in the center of the living room floor, lost in the recesses under your child's bed, or in a cluttered pile at the bottom of your closet enticing your dog to come and have a bite. Even the smallest of items, like paper clips and spare batteries, need a place to live.

2. One in, one out.
If you bring something new into your home, take something old out. If you're just starting your uncluttering project, you can substitute one in, two out ... or maybe even three, four, or five out. This is especially a good rule to follow in regards to clothing.

3. Ask yourself, "Does this represent the remarkable life I desire?" If not, get rid of it.
I'll admit, this one doesn't have the same catchy nature as the others, but it's just as important. If an object in your home isn't being used regularly, needs to be replaced, you hate, or simply doesn't represent what matters most to you, then it's clutter. Get rid of the clutter and keep the things that are valuable to you.

(As an aside, if you have any interest whatsoever about trying to become more "uncluttered," I highly recommend this blog. I'm never going to live an entirely minimalist lifestyle, but it gives really useful tips about how to start big organization projects, storage solutions, and what to do with those sentimental items that you just can't bear to part with.)

New Year, New Everything: UPDATE!

Here's where I say that I managed to accomplish everything that I have on my list.

***

Yeah, I didn't get many things crossed off my list, but I did mange to find other fun things to do in my free time!

*Cleaning my apartment from top to bottom - Not so much. I started, but at some point I lost momentum. BUT, I started...
*Real grocery shopping - I did! Real food!
*Finish paying my bills - Had to.
*Downloading and sending pictures to my uncle, sister and aunt that I promised weeks ago - Done!

*A couple of photography days/afternoons where I can roam around and practice with my camera - Sort of. I didn't spend as much time with my camera as I would have liked, but I did spend an afternoon reading a how-to photography book that I got months ago. I ended up hanging in the coffee shop and immersed myself in that book. I did have my camera with me, so I practiced a few fun techniques. Now I have to practice them!
*Photograph and post my recently finished knitting projects - Not so much.
*Have lunch with my architecture firm friends - Didn't happen b/c they weren't free, BUT I had lunch with my friend A instead!
*Have lunch or dinner with S and M - Also didn't happen, BUT I had lunch with my favorite little cousin GF, and hung with my sis' bff L!
*Go to 2 yoga classes this week- Nope.
*Do some leisure reading - Nope, unless you count the photography book.
*Go to the Barnes - That would have required driving my car, and I just wasn't in the mood.
*Go to the PMA - Again, FAIL.
*Grab coffee with J - I tried. We played phone tag a couple of times, but we could never get our schedules to match up.
*Spend some time with K and her new baby Maisie - Um, no. We scheduled an afternoon, but we had to reschedule it for this coming weekend. So...
*Maybe visit S and her new baby Micah - I decided not to even try just yet. Baby M is only a couple of weeks old, and I wasn't sure if his mommy would be ready for company yet.
*Maybe drive down to Baltimore to see M & D, and their kids Katie and Sophia - They're possibly the busiest people ever... M & I played phone tag all last week and part of this week. I finally have a date to go down there; the 12th-13th of February for Sophia's baptism! Personally, I think some quality baby time is the perfect way for me to spend my birthday!

So, it seems like I didn't get much done, but in fact, I feel like each and every day was rather full. I was relaxed, and happy and just enjoyed doing next to nothing. I also spent a little time with my sis H, which was nice, since we haven't had one-on-one time together in forever. Also, since I broke my glasses ~2 weeks ago, I went to get an eye exam and new glasses last Tuesday. In a moment of insanity, I ended up getting not one, not two, but THREE pair of glasses. I was leaning toward getting two, but three is a bit much. GF is partially to blame since she insisted that she liked both of the 2 pair that I couldn't decide between. So I got a pair of tortoiseshell frames with a blue-ish background that GF calls my buttoned-up "work" glasses. Then there's the reddish ones with a teensy bit of bling on the arms that she calls my "going out" glasses. Finally, there's the awesome Ray Ban prescription sunglasses. They're a burgundy-ish color, and they're just HOT!

All in all, I think it was a really good week. I only wish that I'd scheduled TWO weeks off instead of one!

More about the new job to come...