Joy

                                                52 Week Project...Week 4 (Joy)

Seriously, did you think I could post anything besides these two goofballs for the theme?  I shot this Friday on our weekly Grammy Day.  Best day of the week.  Yesterday morning, I slipped on some ice and hurt my "keester".  Resting with ice packs today, but just one look at these two gives me such joy.  Hannah has already told me she'll kiss my back next Grammy Day.  I feel better already!

Inside...

Shot for week 3 of the 52 week project theme "Inside".   Hard to believe what beautiful, juicy goodness is hiding inside that rough, hairy exterior.  I decided to try two different treatments for this one...above a more natural approach with added texture.  I love the composition in that one. 

And on this one, I decided to cut a single slice and place it in front of the window for some backlight.  I love how it brought out even more detail.  Surprising that a narrow slice would stand up by itself, but I got lucky.  ha ha!  Now...only 49 more weeks to go.  lol

Making a wish...

I love their expressions and love the light, but technically this didn't turn out as well as Hannah's birthday candle pics.  My settings were exactly this same, so I couldn't figure it out. Then...duh....Hannah had 4 candles on her cake and Abigail only has two.  Hard to believe that makes a difference, but it does.  Ha ha! 

Happy Birthday girl...

She is getting much more cooperative about having her picture taken...lots of smiles at Mommy's silly antics. 

Many Minnies...

Jenny found this cute idea online for how to make Minnie Mouse cupcakes.  Abigail loved them and it surprised me that she recognized them as Minnie, even tho' they're kind of abstract.  I thought they turned out really cute and they were just about my speed for decorating...one color, and one decorating tip.  Ha ha! 

Imperfection...

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep."  Scott Adams

"Nobody's perfect...It's why pencils have erasers."  Unknown

When I completed my 365 in January of 2012, I wrote these words as part of my conclusion:  "Perfectionism stifles creativity.  I don't think I realized how much this tendency is alive in me.  I'm learning that imperfection is part of the process and valuable in its own right." It's two years later and I STILL struggle with this.  I can't tell you how often I procrastine about shooting because I don't have time to do it "right". So my camera sits in its bag...again. I want to learn to reach for excellence without holding so tightly to that goal that I fail to try ANYTHING new and creative.  I want to learn to embrace imperfection as part of learning and remember that the value is in the process and not the product. This is in fact a large part of why I decided to participate in the project again. There will be weeks when I know I will be too busy to devote much time to being creative.  I  won't be on time with every submission. But I hope I will learn from my mistakes.  And I hope I will learn something about balance. And I especially hope to focus more on the joy of shooting without being so critical of my work.

Week 2 of the 52 week project:  Theme - Imperfection

Baking day...

Well, we were just a little bit late (a week after Christmas), but we finally got our Rudolf cookies made.  This was our second year to make them.  Loved this color pretzel...snowy...lol. 

It's a well known fact...

...that the box is as much fun as the toy inside!

Keep a close watch....

Can you tell she is our sneaky one?  This little toot gets into things when her mama is not looking.  What is it about the second child?  She cannot be left alone.  lol

She's two...

...and that starts with T and that stands for TROUBLE!  Ha ha....She is so full of it! (and we love that about her).

Christmas Day...

Just a few snaps from Christmas Day.  The girls are at a really fun age...old enough to get excited about things, but young enough to not be greedy.  lol

Santa's helpers...

Both girls enjoyed passing out gifts on Christmas day.  And Abigail loves that Santa hat!

Here we go again...

It's the beginning of a new year and another 52 week project.  I have no idea if I'll have the stamina to finish.  I'm going to try though because, without it, I'm not sure I would have the motivation to try anything creative.  So this is my first submission for 2014, using the cool crystal Nathan and Jenny gave me for Christmas.

Title:  "Time machine"
Theme:  Reflective


"We all have our time machines.  Some take us back.  They're called memories.  Some take us forward.  They're called dreams." (Jeremy Irons)

As we pack up our sweet memories of Christmas, may we also take time to dream...