Photo project

Many people are committing to a Project 365 for 2011. For those that don't know, that is taking a photo everyday and posting them. I came across a list of suggested weekly themes to help accomplish this. Notice I haven't once said that I am committing to this! No, that would completely stress me out if I didn't take a picture one day - I envision laying down to go to bed at night and jumping up so that I can go snap a pic just to satisfy some random resolution.

So what I am proposing to do is use the list of weekly theme suggestions and try to take a picture, not daily, but each week. The title of each photo post will be the theme from the list. I'll try to post them weekly, but if I end up posting a couple at a time, so be it. This is a personal project that I hope will: a) help me learn to use my new camera (Nikon Coolpix L110), b) allow me to express some creativity, c) give me some blog fodder! This isn't becoming a photo blog, I'll try to share stories or some description with the photos too. Hopefully the photos will illustrate the theme and any description will add to it. To really view the photos, be sure to click on the photo itself to see all the textures and details - the pics aren't as clear directly on the blog as they are if you click on them.

If anyone else wants the list of themes, I can send it to you, or you can probably find it or something similar by googling it. I always appreciate any comments or suggestions - constructive criticism as well as excessive praise ;) (I'm totally kidding about that - if you know me, you know I don't accept compliments well.)

Say cheese!

Sing Out Strong

Sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong...

Okay, kinda cheesy maybe, but this is the new philosophy I'm going with for blogging. I worry too much that my topic isn't interesting to anyone else. I fret over posts for way too long before pushing the publish button. But who am I trying to impress? My blog is mine, any rules are self-imposed. I don't represent any company or brand, I can express myself without offending anyone.

If you're reading one of my posts and you feel like commenting, that's great - I appreciate the feedback and especially the conversation. But I'm not going to judge myself on my number of followers or comments. This is a great outlet to say whatever I have to say, whether anyone reads it or agrees with it.

...So don't worry if it's not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just sing, sing a song.

Twitter - a Win / Win Situation

I started using Twitter last year ultimately to re-connect with some friends at an old workplace. I've done that and become closer than ever to them as a result. Along the way I've added lots of new contacts that I network and share ideas with and I consider many of them to be friends now as well. I have met several of them IRL (in real life) at events like PodCamp Ohio where I was gathering info to update our foundation website (still a work in progress, but revamped and revitalized).

So all in all it has been a positive experience.

The bonus that I didn't foresee?
Winning prizes!

A list of my winnings thus far:

4-pack of COSI passes from the Connector Podcast on Blogtalkradio (they post notices on Twitter, then they do drawings during their broadcast to their lucky listeners) I donated these for the raffle for the golf tournament for the foundation.

4 4-packs of avitae caffeinated energy water by retweeting (retweet/RT: to resend someone else's message out to all your followers) as a daily prize winner during a contest.

2 tickets to the Ohio State Fair by retweeting their message.

A year's supply of avitae as a first prize winner in their sweepstakes by retweeting. A case each month for the next 12 months - I love avitae!

4-pack of COSI passes from the Connector Podcast - I'm keeping this set to use some cold weekend this fall with our family.

2 tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert from VerizonWireless by retweeting their message. (D loves the JoBros and had never been to any concert before. She and a friend went - they were great seats, just 7 rows from the stage. Priceless!)

My husband has won avitae and restaurant gift certificates, as well as a copy of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan. Since Jim had already purchased a copy to read, he's doing a giveaway of his own on his blog for the extra copy.

Through Twitter we have also gotten donations, sponsorships and promotion for the foundation.

This doesn't include the free food I've gotten from watching everyone's postings about daily promotions from local restaurants.

Twitter definitely has its rewards!

What are some of your rewards from social media?

The Urge to Purge

I haven’t posted anything in a while, but it’s not because I’ve been slacking off. I’ve been working on my home “office.” Notice I didn’t say IN my home office. You couldn’t really work IN it. My office is supposed to be my sewing, craft, painting, project room. But it had become the dumping ground for all those things no one in the family knew what to do with - extra shoelaces, old school papers, friends’ birth announcements, buttons, the flotsam and jetsam of our daily lives. Common type of questions: What do I do with my letters from my pen pal from camp? What about this sock with no match? This Christmas ornament has a piece that broke off, what should I do with it? Where should I put this flower girl dress I wore in 1999? The answer was the same for all of the above: Put it in my office.

There was no way any work could be done in my office – every flat surface became piled with “stuff.” (I use the term “stuff” but it is interchangeable with “sh*t.”) It had gotten to the point that there was even “stuff” piled on the floor. Although there was a path through the “stuff” to the ironing board, ironing was the only productive thing that could be accomplished in there.

I spent the last week completely re-organizing, re-arranging and purging things in my office. And I mean purging - I was pretty ruthless. I gave a bag of clothes to a co-worker for her daughter, 2 bags of "stuff" to charity, and I have a large bin full of other "stuff" to list on ebay. I threw away so much “stuff” that I completely filled our 90 gallon trashcan (I have no idea where our normal garbage will go till trash day on Friday). I had so many unfinished projects that I always thought I’d finish one day and I threw most of them away. I’ve come to the realization that just because I start a project, it doesn’t mean I have to finish it. Various granny squares I crocheted with scrap yarn, small pieces of terry cloth leftover from making hooded baby towels for gifts over the years, old film canisters, and miscellaneous odds and ends that I thought I might need for crafting with the kids (from the home daycare years and two scout troops over the course of the past 10+ years). As I got rid of these never finished projects, I actually got rid of sooo much stress. I never realized how much pressure I felt having those pending items hanging over my head. Now that they’re gone, I have an amazing sense of relief.

The result: an actual office. There is room to move and work. My desk has space for my sewing machine. I enjoy making doll clothes, and the rack for the completed dresses to sell is right by the window. The floor is so open and clear that I was able to layout the fabric and pin patterns to cut out two bridesmaid dresses for my nieces last night. I have a small desk set up just for painting with my brushes and paints set out close at hand. I am a painter at heart. Not having my paint and supplies packed up and having them right out in the open may actually allow me to paint for the first time in over 12 years. Things are organized and stored – and most importantly, I can easily figure out where things are.

I’m not trying to become ultra-productive. But if I get inspired or someone sends me a cool craft idea, now I can easily act on that inspiration. Just walking into my office gives me a sense of satisfaction. Now, my only dilemma is: what do I want to work on next?

Tag - You're It!

I have never been tagged before now. Okay, so I wanted to do a meme.....and if I tag you below I hope you play!!! Post this on your blog, answer and then tag 5 other people.....ready....GO!

1) Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift wrap for family, bags for friends/co-workers.

2) Real tree or artificial? Artificial for the past 3 years, always cut one down ourselves before that. Got to be a BIG hassle, so much nicer now.

3) When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving, on a weekend when we have time.

4) When do you take the tree down? First weekend in January. But I sometimes leave my snowman collection up longer.

5) Do you like eggnog? Yep, it’s a tradition in my family.

6) Favorite gift received as a child? I’m not sure … a Scrabble game maybe?

7) Hardest person to buy for? My niece.

8) Easiest person to buy for? D – she has a very precise list and there is quite a variety.

9) Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, one porcelain, another more like a child’s playset – love them both.

10) Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Cookie jar shaped like a barn with animals painted on it – not quite my thing, uh, yeah.

11) Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf – I always laugh out loud when I watch it. But I really like Heat Miser and Snow Miser, the Grinch (cartoon version) and Charlie Brown’s Christmas too.

12) Favorite Christmas song? Handel’s Messiah

13) Travel at Christmas or stay home? We stay in town for Christmas. We visit my parents on Christmas day, but they are here in town.

14) Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, why not? I’m all for recycling!

15) Favorite ornament theme or color? I like a variety of ornaments, handmade especially. I have a lot of snowmen ornaments, and any that say “Joy” on them are special of course.

I am going to tag...

Maureen
Lisa
Lynne
Cat
Kelleh

Virtually Speaking

You’re reading this blog so you are witness to - and an essential part of - my personal efforts to stay current. You may have come here because you follow me on Twitter, or maybe you’re one of my friends on Facebook. All three are new ventures for me just this year. Also new for me in 2008 - a cellphone. I don’t get very many calls - almost exclusively from my husband and daughters - many days I don’t get even a single call or text. My kids make fun of me because I text so slowly – but I do text. I even use the lingo and abbreviations.

Before I began this technological exploration of sorts, I thought each of these things was simply a novelty – unnecessary and just a way to kill time. But the usefulness and importance has become obvious. The connections I have made and social networking that has resulted would never have been possible without this new Web 2.0 community.

I have always been a shy person, and I’m very introverted. (Are those two different things? Can you be shy and an extrovert? Hmm – now I’m curious. How about a poll? Answer to the right!) I was so shy and insecure growing up that I couldn’t see why anyone would want to be my friend - I even suspected that my mom may have paid my friends to like me and hang out with me. (Whoa, did I actually just admit that? I really must be feeling more secure these days!)

Small talk is uncomfortable for me – and frankly, I think I suck at it. It’s so much easier for me to communicate in a written format. Now through my social networks I have reconnected with old friends, made new friends, and gotten to know casual acquaintances much better. Hopefully they’ve all gotten to know me better too. I feel like I’m included and I’m part of something.

This isn’t any kind of personal epiphany or great revelation. It’s just me finding a place where I can be myself. In the words of Kool Moe Dee (didn’t know I was a closet rap fan didja?): “How ya like me now?”

10 Random Things About Me

I am trying to "learn & play" along with my old and new friends at the library. They were given an "assignment" to come up with ten random things - I thought this would make a good topic on my blog as well. So here they are - things you may or may not have known about me.

1. Fly-fishing is one of my favorite pastimes - any kind of freshwater fishing really. I love being around a pond with the cattails, frogs and dragonflies.

2. I didn’t go take my test and get my driver’s license until I was 25. I never needed to drive anywhere, I always had someone to take me where I needed to go. I could get to most of the places I needed to go by city bus - I lived right off of High Street, went to Ohio State, worked at Whetstone Library – all right on the bus line.

3. I made my own wedding dress. Lace inserts, pearl beading and all. I’ve made 2 other wedding dresses since then (and probably close to a hundred bridesmaid dresses).

4. I can’t swallow pills – when there is no liquid version available, I have to crush or dissolve them. I remember choking on a cherry Lifesaver in the backseat of a car when I was very young - maybe the reason.

5. Never had even a single puff on a cigarette, ever – honest!

6. I love Ohio Stadium: I was an usher for the home football games when I was in Girl Scouts; My mom bought a piece of the old turf when they tore it up years ago; I sat in Block O when I was in college; I used it as the subject of my photography class at OSU; I made sure I graduated in the Spring so the ceremony was in the stadium; We made a donation and have a commemorative brick at the south end still today.

7. My stupid human trick – I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds.

8. When I was 12, I was the horseshoe champion in my age bracket for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. (Unfortunately, I haven’t retained any of my horseshoe throwing ‘skilz’ though…)

9. I have become a germ-a-phobe. Hand sanitizer is never far away. (Especially right after punching the numbers on an ATM machine or handling the canister in the bank drive-thru. Gives me the heebie-jeebies!)

10. Someday I’d like to have an old house to refurbish. Home improvement projects, knocking out walls, laying tile, installing faucets, decorating, painting, design and layout – bring it on!

A Thousand Words

I try to post with some regularity, but sometimes other projects take up most of my spare time and I don’t take the time to write a new post. Currently, I am working on a photo project.

I love photographs and especially the convenience and immediacy of digital photography. My husband’s generous cousin sent me a digital camera a couple of years ago - she was trying to inspire me to sell my handmade doll clothes on ebay (a future blogpost topic?). I keep the camera in my purse, so I have it with me most anytime a photo op presents itself. Downloading the pictures to the computer is so quick and easy with my digital memory card reader, I usually get the pics off the camera after each use. The photo editing software that is available today means every picture you take has great potential. I crop, remove red eye, adjust the contrast – whatever it takes to enhance the image to best capture that moment.

My photos are my screensavers at home and at work. They provide a slideshow every time I stop working for a moment. (Sometimes I’ll intentionally stop working just to watch a slideshow of some of my favorite people and times!)

But I was thinking about all of the pictures I have from before I went digital, sitting in albums in a trunk in our living room. There are some great pictures there, and some very important moments. I wanted to have them on my computer too. Knowing it was a huge undertaking, I started scanning photos. I started with the oldest pictures – photos of my ancestors.

Then I worked on my one album I have with pictures from my childhood. I didn’t sca n every photo, just my favorites and the ones that represent an important event or memory.

The old snapshots scan really well. Some that were too dark or fuzzy since the day they were taken on film and developed can actually be adjusted and fixed. The old prints that have faded can have the saturation adjusted and the color comes back to life. Shots that were so far away can be cropped - the subjects come to the forefront, bigger and clearer than ever. A couple have had marks and scratches and seemed worthless, but even those can be retouched and look better than ever.

Of the more "recent history" albums, I’ve only made it through from the time my husband and I met up to our wedding rehearsal. Obviously I have a long way to go – 18 years and 3 kids worth of pictures – probably about 30+ albums in all.

But when I’m through, it will all be worth it. I’ll be able to burn photo discs and make multiple copies to store in a fire safe and share them with my family. I envision the ease of creating graduation and wedding slideshows for the girls when the time comes. I’m certain I’ll be using more of them when posting to this blog – it may even provide new topics to post about.

I am really enjoying my trip down memory lane as I go through the old albums. As I add to my computerized pictures, the “old” photos start appearing in my screen saver slideshow – it really makes me happy to see them intermingled with the more recent ones.

To blog or not to blog...

Okay, okay. I give up. I'm trying to stay current, so I'm starting a blog.
Me! Netter! Can you believe it? I like computers, I can design spreadsheets, database management is my job, I like to Photoshop/edit digital photos, and I even create and maintain our foundation website, so why not?
Why not? Because I can't figure out why anyone would really care what I have to say. Anywhere you go online you can find someone ranting or giving their opinion about something they know nothing about. Why do they think anyone cares what they have to say?
But I think I've come up with my motivation. To come up with something interesting or relevant or humorous or important is challenging. And what do I have that challenges me? There are the usual daily hassles dealing with schedules and social dramas of my daughters (a 7th grader and a sophomore in high school). My husband is my best friend, and my marriage is wonderful - while he can be stubborn about certain things, there are no real challenges there. I enjoy my job, and even though some of the people I deal with on a daily basis aren't model employees, I'm not particularly challenged by them.
I am a quiet, thoughtful person. In social situations, I have always been an observer, rarely sharing my ideas. So for me to step out of my comfort zone and actually be introspective and say what's on my mind ... that is truly challenging.
This is an opportunity for me to gain some insight, share my thoughts, and on the practical side - keep everyone informed of what our family is up to. (If you know me at all, I am above all else, practical!)
I'm up for the challenge!