Finding My Way...

Getting Creative in 2010

I have wanted to post to the blog for the past two weeks. I have clicked the link to the Typepad dashboard several times, but I have come up empty on ideas for blog posts.

I thought maybe if I surfed some of my favorite blogs, that might give me some inspiration. So I read this weeks secrets on PostSecret. I chuckled at the latest entries on Awful LIbrary Books. I indulged my wordy side with a perusal of Lexicide. All good reading, but nothing was fueling my creative side. So I headed over to a favorite creative blog: Artsyville. 

I *dream* of doodling like Aimee does. I am a big fan of her etsy shop, and this has reminded me to send a link to my Mom, who is grilling me for ideas for a Christmas present. Bewitched by Books is my current favorite, but really, I want 4 or 5 of her 5x7 doodleprints to frame and hang in a grouping near my creative space.

As I was perusing Aimee's latest doodles and photos, on December 4th she encouraged her readers to join her in Leah's 2010 Creative Every Day Challenge. My eyes lit up at this gem. I really feel that since my scrapbooking has slowed, and my writing has all but stopped, I am missing a creative outlet in my life. One is only so creative finding the right clip art for flier and newsletters for the women's club. So there, to the right there. In the right column there is a widget to her site, if you want more info.

I'm hoping to be creative in a variety of ways in 2010. I hope to start scrapping more again. I want to try doodling like Aimee inspires me to do, and perhaps integrate it into my scrapbook albums. I hope to start writing again. This morning I was getting ready and had a great idea for the start of a bit if teen fiction. I have absolutely no idea for a middle or an end, but I have a great idea for a start. I'd like to make some handmade gifts for Emily's teachers.

I will not flood this blog with a daily entry. As we discovered in 2009 with the failed attempt at Project 365 (I petered out by February-March), the perfectionist in me abandons daily reporting entirely once I miss a few times and it's no longer complete. I aim to report on the week's creativity once a week. Who's in?

Project 365

You can see the little link up there to my Project 365 blog.  I did well for a little while...ok a couple of weeks anyways.  By the end of January I had fallen firmly off the bandwagon.  I have thought several times about restarting, but the mild OCD in me requires a special date (like January 1st!) to begin a project like this.

Today was the first day of school.  The first day of a year of another sort, and I have spent the morning pondering the possibility of making this the first day of a second try at 365 photos.  Plus I have a cute photo already for the first day!

Wanna Win a Lens?

Own a Canon or Nikon SLR or DSLR?  Wanna win a new lens?  Head over to MCP Actions for a chance to win a Tamrac Lens!

In 2008 I resolve...

* to get back onto Weight Watchers and eat better.

* to get back into a routine of exercising at Curves 3x/week.

* to take a photography class to learn to use my DSLR to a fuller potential.

* to remember 12 of 12 each month for a year to create a scrapbook album.

* to work scrapbooking back into my weekly schedule now that I am in more of a rhythm with the new job.

* to host another small group Bible study at our home one evening a week.

* to read at least 2 books (without pictures) each month.

Last year I didn't feel moved to make any resolutions, but I was also at a real low last winter.  I am doing much better this year on my medicine regimen, and I really want to make some life choices with purpose.

What do you resolve for 2008?

Not What I Meant!

Last Christmas my husband and his Dad went in together and gave me a fabulous Tamron zoom lens for my Nikon D70.  A couple of months ago I "put it away" somewhere and I haven't found it for a while.  I didn't panic, because I *knew* it was in the house somewhere.  Sunday I found it when I was cleaning.  The downside of having Asian chests with lots of drawers and compartments is that you use them, and your belongings become like Jimmy Hoffa...never to be found again.

At any rate, overjoyed to find my lens again, I took it with me today in the car to pick up my daughter from school.  I thought while I was waiting around in line to pick her up I could try taking some nice foliage photos or something.  I took a couple of photos, but there was nothing interesting about the spot I was in.  No good photos jumped out at me.  Then I heard the crash...

I swear the police officer must have been happening by, he was on the scene so fast.  The van caught my eye first.

Perhaps the paramedics and the police officer had been lunching together nearby?  The ambulance was there before you could say "side curtain airbags."

Speaking of those, do you see them deployed in this car?  This all happened at a busy intersection.  There are two shopping plazas with side entrances that feed onto this street.  The plaza entrances have stop signs, but the street traffic has right of way.  At certain times of day (like shortly after the high school releases) the traffic is thick, and shopping center traffic can have a hard time making a left.  I'm thinking someone's timing was off here.  The van driver was walking about, but the paramedics were checking out the car driver.  Prayers for all concerned, and I hope no-one was seriously injured.

But seriously!  When I was wishing for something interesting to photograph, I didn't mean this!  Sheesh!