"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music." - Ronald Reagan
I've been avoiding my blog. I don't know why. I want to write. I like to write. I love to see what I have written posted on my blog. Yet, I avoid SITTING DOWN TO WRITE. Why do I do this? When I like the process and the results? What is it about the act of BEGINNING that bothers me so much?
The rest of my life is the complete opposite. I have no problem beginning things. Its the follow through that I lack. My attention span is that of maybe a knat. I flit from one interesting subject or activity to another. Its one of the reasons I have always wanted to be a writer. I figure I can get interested in a subject and once the novel is finished, move on to the next...guilt free.
I figure I will die about 6 credits shy of about 14 different college degrees. (those six credits are statistics and public speaking, if you're interested). Unfortunately while it keeps me entertained, its the sustained interest and completion that give me the most difficulty.
But I procrastinate in writing blog posts. I haven't posted in more than 2 weeks. It's not like I don't have plenty to say. Getting up on my soapbox has never been a problem for me. I am constantly finding new topics and writing them in my head for when I have a chance to write them down. But when the chance comes, I have something emminently more important to do first.
WHY?
Once I sit down to write, the words just flow. And seeing that new post on my blog...makes me happy. And proud. I did that. I actually like what I wrote. I smile and enjoy the accomplishment.
So why is getting started so HARD?
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Winter is Coming
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” - John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Frost on my windshield this morning. And fog was hanging over the lake again. Even the parks near the lake were sporting a blanken of frost. 34 degrees. Brrrr.
I love this time of year. I love seeing my breath on the air. Layers of clothing. The occasional "inclement weather" day from work. :)
I love the respite from the heat of the Texas summer.
Texas likes to play winter. The temperature hovers around freezing for a short time and we have a few snow/ice storms each year, when the whole city rolls itself up and braces for armageddon. Though each year I'm here sees fewer and fewer.
I dream of living someplace with weather. I have a child's memory of winter when my family lived in New England. A full autumn with leaves that turn briliant colors before falling off and crunching under foot. Snow that lasts more than 2 days. The excitement of the first green leaves on the trees in spring and crocuses peeking up through the snow.
My rational brain says rakes and shovels, icy roads and rusted cars, blizzards and blackouts.
Maybe the realities will dim my fairy tale dreams and and childhood memories. I'll never know until I give it a try. Who wants to be rational anyway?
Frost on my windshield this morning. And fog was hanging over the lake again. Even the parks near the lake were sporting a blanken of frost. 34 degrees. Brrrr.
I love this time of year. I love seeing my breath on the air. Layers of clothing. The occasional "inclement weather" day from work. :)
I love the respite from the heat of the Texas summer.
Texas likes to play winter. The temperature hovers around freezing for a short time and we have a few snow/ice storms each year, when the whole city rolls itself up and braces for armageddon. Though each year I'm here sees fewer and fewer.
I dream of living someplace with weather. I have a child's memory of winter when my family lived in New England. A full autumn with leaves that turn briliant colors before falling off and crunching under foot. Snow that lasts more than 2 days. The excitement of the first green leaves on the trees in spring and crocuses peeking up through the snow.
My rational brain says rakes and shovels, icy roads and rusted cars, blizzards and blackouts.
Maybe the realities will dim my fairy tale dreams and and childhood memories. I'll never know until I give it a try. Who wants to be rational anyway?
Friday, November 9, 2012
Take a Step Back
"The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing." - Publilius Syrus
As a photographer, it's always good to take a step back from your work after your initial weeding and processing of images. Time can give you new perspective, allow you to see things previously invisible to the mind's filter of a certain idea when you first took a photograph.
After two months, I have begun to revisit the photos from my Alaska trip and I'm beginning to see new things.
The area of Canada we were in was inundated with these trees with red berries. The landlady of the B&B where we stayed told me what they were, as she had several in her yard, but I almost immediately forgot. Sigh.
I took several photos of some of these gorgeous trees, going for more of a macro look (with the lack of a macro lens) with a very shallow depth of field looking for a small area of focus. What I got, I was not that impressed with. I found the images to be fairly boring and lifeless.
Now that some time has passed, I went back and took another look and found some possibilities.
I cropped the photos quite tightly around the small portion in focus, including some berry and some leaf and was very pleased with the results.
Update: I looked it up and it appears to be a Rowan tree, also known as Mountain Ash.
As a photographer, it's always good to take a step back from your work after your initial weeding and processing of images. Time can give you new perspective, allow you to see things previously invisible to the mind's filter of a certain idea when you first took a photograph.
After two months, I have begun to revisit the photos from my Alaska trip and I'm beginning to see new things.
The area of Canada we were in was inundated with these trees with red berries. The landlady of the B&B where we stayed told me what they were, as she had several in her yard, but I almost immediately forgot. Sigh.
I took several photos of some of these gorgeous trees, going for more of a macro look (with the lack of a macro lens) with a very shallow depth of field looking for a small area of focus. What I got, I was not that impressed with. I found the images to be fairly boring and lifeless.
Now that some time has passed, I went back and took another look and found some possibilities.
I cropped the photos quite tightly around the small portion in focus, including some berry and some leaf and was very pleased with the results.
Update: I looked it up and it appears to be a Rowan tree, also known as Mountain Ash.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
This Is What I Don't Understand
"True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us." - Socrates
Like I said the other day, "they" say muscle weighs more than weight. I understand that in my head. But it still seems a bit weird. I weighed myself and found I had gained back a couple pounds. Yet, I can now button the top botton on the next size down jeans. Which I couldn't last week.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. :)
I'll take whatever shrinkage I can get. I just wish the scale would shrink as well.
On another note, massive fog the other day on my walk. Very unusual for this area. I grew up in a coastal area and loved when the fog rolled in. It's very rare for me to see now and all the more pleasurable. It was dense enough to feel embraced by it, but not so much that it felt like a horror film moment. Perfect fogginess.
Like I said the other day, "they" say muscle weighs more than weight. I understand that in my head. But it still seems a bit weird. I weighed myself and found I had gained back a couple pounds. Yet, I can now button the top botton on the next size down jeans. Which I couldn't last week.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. :)
I'll take whatever shrinkage I can get. I just wish the scale would shrink as well.
On another note, massive fog the other day on my walk. Very unusual for this area. I grew up in a coastal area and loved when the fog rolled in. It's very rare for me to see now and all the more pleasurable. It was dense enough to feel embraced by it, but not so much that it felt like a horror film moment. Perfect fogginess.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
They Say...
In
the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and cahins.
Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom
scale. ~Stephen Phillips
They say muscle weighs more than fat. I have always hoped more than believed that to be true. Every time I began to exercise and I didn't immediately see significant weight loss, I tell msyelf, well muscle weighs more than fat. I must be building muscle.
Maybe there is some truth to that. In the six months or so I have been walking 3-4 times a week, I have only lost 12 lbs. Part of that is because I can't give up sodas, and drink two or three of them a week.
But lately, I have been noticing that my pants are too big. I mean, WAY too big. When I started, the only reason I didn't have a size bigger than I do is because I refused to buy them. But I couldn't button the top botton. They were tight. Really tight.
Now, despite only losing 12 lbs, They are falling off me. Yay! I have had to move down to the next smaller size.
How many women who have gained a significant amount of weight over the years and continuously wish to lost said weight DON'T have several sizes of clothes in their closets?
Unfotunuately, despite noticable difference in the fit of my clothes, I still haven't noticed any visual difference. When I look at pictures of myself, I still see an enormous woman. And I cringe.
The only reason I even post pictures of what I look like (or even allow any to be taken) is to remind myself of my goal. It is way too easy for my mind to convince myself it's not as bad as I think it is.
Well, it is that bad and I have to keep reminding myself I need to continue to work on doing something about it.
They say muscle weighs more than fat. I have always hoped more than believed that to be true. Every time I began to exercise and I didn't immediately see significant weight loss, I tell msyelf, well muscle weighs more than fat. I must be building muscle.
Maybe there is some truth to that. In the six months or so I have been walking 3-4 times a week, I have only lost 12 lbs. Part of that is because I can't give up sodas, and drink two or three of them a week.
But lately, I have been noticing that my pants are too big. I mean, WAY too big. When I started, the only reason I didn't have a size bigger than I do is because I refused to buy them. But I couldn't button the top botton. They were tight. Really tight.
Now, despite only losing 12 lbs, They are falling off me. Yay! I have had to move down to the next smaller size.
How many women who have gained a significant amount of weight over the years and continuously wish to lost said weight DON'T have several sizes of clothes in their closets?
Unfotunuately, despite noticable difference in the fit of my clothes, I still haven't noticed any visual difference. When I look at pictures of myself, I still see an enormous woman. And I cringe.
The only reason I even post pictures of what I look like (or even allow any to be taken) is to remind myself of my goal. It is way too easy for my mind to convince myself it's not as bad as I think it is.
Well, it is that bad and I have to keep reminding myself I need to continue to work on doing something about it.
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