In a world of so many great photographers and writers, I am venturing into some unknown territories, leaving comfort zones, finally very willing to practice the art of seeing. By maintaining the practice of posting daily photos, I hope to continue learning about the possibilities that I trust are out there for the taking.
Photo of Debbie dancing at the 2nd Quinnenial Legacy Weekend.
What a beautiful blog Debbie is writing documenting her thoughts, feelings, fears and actions during this terribly hard time in her life. Debbie, is one of my sponsor Debbie’s sponsees.
http://breastcancerclimb.blogspot.com/
Last Tuesday we planned an excursion on our Baby Meeting Day. You can’t believe, or maybe you can, how much fun we had shopping for our new 2009 Franklin Covey organizers. The adrenalin rush was amazing. Not that I ever did the work in school, but I remember the rush when I’d buy a new school 3 ring notebook each semester. Our shopping slip in the Franklin Covey store produced lots of satisfaction and joy. Now I have the prettiest and most perfect 2009 Organizer. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.
L – R Stacy, Linda, Margaret, and Sandi.
I lied. I’ve changed my mind. I am not going to be posting a photo a day as I stated on January 1st. Actually, I don’t know when I’ll post the next photo. How’s that? My life is so full (that’s short for unmanageable) I’m running from one thing to the next. I don’t have a job, don’t have children, and I can’t get done what’s already on my plate each day. I don’t get it. I’ve never tended to as many tasks as I do each day yet my to-do list increases by 3 or 4 new tasks by the end of the day.
I don’t want to just fit in taking a photo. I want taking photos to be a want to, not have to. Right now I haven’t a clue how to find dedicated camera time or dedicated anytime for myself. So I am scratching taking the photo a day Ideal off my New Year Ideal’s list. There. That feels much better.
I like being able to change my mind.
Now the question is how I start eliminating all the other unnecessary tasks I daily generate for myself?
Take tonight. I went to my GSR District meeting, quite clear that if I was asked to fill an open position I was going to say no. As the Secretary was going down the agenda she started asking people if they’d be willing to take on some of the long standing, unfilled, open service commitments. No one was offering to Chair any of these service commitments. I couldn’t believe people could just sit there without guilt and comfortably allow the silence to not motivate them into relenting, raising their hand and saying, “Oh, ok. I’ll do it.” The silence was awkward. My mind kept thinking about whether I should help out. Then I remembered that I wasn’t taking on one more thing. So, I sat on my hands like the rest of the GSRs.
Then I had the bright idea that I could help them out by asking the secretary to give a more complete description of the positions she was trying to get filled. You know, I was thinking people might raise their hands if they knew what was involved with taking on one or another of these service commitments. Before I knew it the attention was on me and stayed on me. Someone nominated me for District Committee Chair. I told them I am not here in the summer. . (I told them I am away in the summer hoping they’d think I was a snowbird).They said, “Well, just do the commitment until July.” Without any acknowledgement on my part, other than my open mouth and wide eyes, I heard them nominate me for the DCM West position. What was I to do? With all eyes on me, I must have given some sort of positive acknowledgement and they all applauded. They weren’t really applauding that I took the job, they were applauding because then they didn’t feel guilty for not taking it.
I just don’t get it. This commitment entails my going to meetings from Rancho Mirage on west to who knows where, talking up the importance of being a GSR, how a group isn’t represented if they don’t have a GSR.
I am powerless over saying NO, that my life is unmanageable.
I might just have to go back next month and tell them at the District Committee Meeting that I lied!
Check out Katya’s blog
http://persianprincessinnoho.blogspot.com
Karen has started blogging. Karen’s blog is another honest, from the heart, daily blog to help her stay accountable with her Ideals in 2009. Check it out.
http://onewomanonamission.blogspot.com/
Taking a photo, rather, getting a daily photo with some interest is hard. I think I’ve fooled myself last year with the everyday photos I posted. Last year’s daily photos (not my online class or workshop photos) were really just snapshots, without much thought. I see I have my work cut out.
I picked this photo out of the shots I took because it was the best of the 25 shots of subjects I took in the little time I allowed myself.
Between my regular life, trying to eat right and now seriously trying to shoot a daily photo (with some thought), I have very little time left over. Something has to go and today it was exercise. Hmmmmmm. Not good.
Progress not Perfection.
4:20pm setting sun on two backyard cactus.
Here is my New Year’s Day gift – Taye’s new blog. Bet you can’t read it and not laugh out loud!
http://tastysbigbutt.blogspot.com/
Ray and I had a nice day today. A non-day, like the rest of these “holiday” days have been. I’m always happier when January 2nd rolls around each year.
Ray played golf this morning. I mindlessly computed. Thank goodness Sandi called. We stayed on the phone long enough, I no longer wanted all the Blackberry phone applications I was in the process of ordering online.
The party at 2pm today was my first test in terms of being around lots of food, fun food. Ray and I left the party after an hour without putting anything in our mouths. So did Sandi who also attended the party.
I’d made a decision to get in a walk before the sun set. Ray and I walked the 3 mile route we usually take around our neighborhood.
One of my 2009 Ideals is to post a photo a day for the next 365 days. So to go along with this boring blog entry, I’ll post a couple of boring photos I shot today.
Eating lunch before we go to the party. 
Our friend Perry at the party.
Walking by the golf course lakes provided lots of photo op reflections. 
See Ray up ahead just beyond the two palm trees? We were walking by the MHCC Club House and the first Tee box on the Palmer Course.