Day 45 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 45:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I was thinking of Africa tonight... so Day 45 is one of my favorite amazing hand made baskets from Africa.

What an amazing trip.  What an amazing experience.

Only one thought now...
WHAT. IS. ON. MY. CAMERA. LENS.???

And one other thought...
Why won't it come off??  UGH!  Still there after cleaning?

Double ugh!

Day 44 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 44:
Monday, November 28, 2011

Knitting night.  This is all that I accomplished.  Plus some laughter and fun...

Knitting more is in my near future.  During the slow down.  Knitting and reading!  Can't wait!  And sitting in the quiet moments.  

Day 43 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 43:
Sunday, November 27, 2011

A public display of gratitude.  Courtesy of the iPhone.  Not so super, iPhone camera.   You can do better, right?  You usually do better iPhone camera.  This makes me sad...

Day 42 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 42:
Saturday, November 26, 2011

I love long weekends.  Love them.  We should implement four day work weeks always.  How amazing would that be?

Another beautiful fall day.

Day 41 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 41:
Friday, November 25, 2011

Black Friday people.  One of these days I'm going to do the insane shopping in the middle of the night.  Or something.  One of these days.

Today was pleasant and unseasonably beautiful...

I LOVE this picture!

Day 40 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 40:
Thursday, November 24, 2011

Today we celebrate.  We eat and we laugh.  We eat some more.  We watch football.  And play with the cat.  And eat some more.  We take naps.  We laugh.  We enjoy the moment.

We appreciate the moment.

Today I am thankful.  I hope you are too.

Happy Thanksgiving (belated!) everyone!  :)

Yummmmmy.  :)

And I'm back!

Ahhhh, sometimes I just need to take a deep breath and a small break.

It feels good to push myself.  I've always been a pusher, anxious to do anything and everything.  I'm always too busy!  But sometimes it feels good to acknowledge and accept when I need some quiet time.  When I need a slow down.  This has been a busy and draining season.  Don't get me wrong though - I'm grateful for it.  It's been amazing with interesting challenges and opportunities.  Time to learn and grow.  And to take pictures everyday!  :)  But I'm ready for the slow down.  For the opportunity to sit in quiet.  For continued opportunities to learn and grow, but in a season of contemplation perhaps.

The slow down is coming.

Since we just had Thanksgiving, it's so good to pause and count our blessings.  It's so good to dwell in gratitude.  It's so good to dwell in the moment - to really be fully present in it.  No matter what.  That has been one of my challenges lately.  Be in this moment.  It's the only one that matters.  Appreciate this moment.  Take a deep breath and appreciate it.  

Each day, I write a list of the five things that day that I am most grateful for.  I have a little journal I've kept for years.  Sometimes it becomes this thing that I just do because it is what I do... Lately, I have a new spark for it.  It goes with pushing myself to be fully present and in this moment.  And it's the season of gratitude after all!

So tonight, I'm thankful.  I'm thankful for the little breaks, even if lately they have been few and far between lately.  I'm thankful for leftover pumpkin pie with streusel topping.  I'm thankful for my friends and family.  I'm thankful for my 365 project!  I'm thankful for this day and its ups and downs and highs and lows!

Day 39 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 39:
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

You are a masterpiece.  Just the way that you are.  Embrace it.  The good, the bad, all of it.

Today was a beautiful sunny fall day!  Love it.  Nice way to start a long holiday weekend!  

I'm grateful for today, for this moment...

Day 38 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 38:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I hate milk.  Hate.

So here's to almond milk, of the vanilla variety.  Hopefully it doesn't taste like milk at all.  Maybe now I can enjoy oatmeal a little more and who knows, maybe even enjoy a little bowl of cereal!  

Here's to something new...

Day 37 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 37:
Monday, November 21, 2011

Ahhh, Monday...  Did you enjoy it?

I took full advantage of the day.  Productive at work.  Engaged in yoga.  Early to bed.

And this photo turned out better than I thought it might.

Not so bad for a Monday!  :)

Day 36 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 36:

Sunday, November 20, 2011

When I was younger, even in high school and college, I think I did a decent job at living in the moment.  Like really enjoying and being in the moment.  Not worrying about the future or what was to come.  I was passionate about taking full advantage of every moment of my life!

These days I'm not so good at it.  Sometimes I'm thinking about the past and how things have changed.  But I'm often thinking about the next step - what is going to happen?  What does the future bring?  Where will I end up?  How does it all end?  The list of questions is long.

But what about this exact moment?  This moment is all that I have.  It is all that any of us have.  

I'm working really hard to get back to that attitude... the almost childlike amazement with the present moment... living each moment to its absolute fullest... living fully present.  

So during this season as the days get shorter and colder, it is my impulse to countdown until spring gets here.  Until life sprouts up where there has been death.  Spring - I long for it and I love it!  And it represents new possibilities, new life!   

But... this is where I am.  I know that the outside world shows me a season that I do not enjoy.  Fall is fully here and winter is just around the corner.  The truth is, fall is beautiful.  And you have to have fall and winter to enable the new life of spring.  In my own season of life, I am in a state of uncertainty.  I am tired and worn out from a busy time.  I am not sure what the future brings.  I'm not sure what I long for.

My hope for this 365 project is that it helps to ground me in the moment.

This moment is all that I have.  And I will embrace it!  

(It all sounds very 'yoga-speak' as I like to call it... these days, I LOVE 'yoga speak'!)  :)

Day 35 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 35:
Saturday, November 19, 2011

I heart Saturdays.

I've been a little lazy with my project since I got back from DC.  

So today is yet another Pacey picture because I just couldn't resist.  He is passed out!

Day 34 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 34:
Friday, November 18, 2011

I should have taken a better picture today.  I had the opportunity... a fun night with friends.

Ah, but I didn't.

So this picture represents comfort to me - my favorite blanket to cuddle up with.

Day 33 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 33:

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It is starting to feel like winter but I'm still clinging to fall.  I'll keep clinging as long as possible or at least until after Thanksgiving.  

Day 32 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 32:

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Longest. Day. Ever.

Last day of the meeting.  My poster presentation (went really well!).  Flight home.  Exhausted.

DC was great, the meeting was great!  There was something very exhilarating and refreshing about this meeting and about being away from my everyday reality for a few days.  It was fun to see old friends and meet new people.  

But it is always great to make it back to the comfort of home.  

And a certain faucet-drinking cat was pretty excited to see me!!  :)

Day 31 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 31:
Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A long lunch break from the meeting is enough time to quickly walk around some of the DC monuments. I love the monuments and was excited to see the new MLK one.

This is the view of the Thomas Jefferson monument from the MLK monument.  It just looks surreal, doesn't it?  I like this shot.

One of my favorite MLK quotes...

Got several other great pics today too (and of course, the meeting was good!).  Probably will do a DC post later on.

Day 30 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 30:

Monday, November 14, 2010

More DC.  More meeting.  All good stuff.  

Today, we stumbled upon these funny little bug things in a garden.  More weird than cute really.  

And then a photo shoot with a motel room key... Yep, there are places out there that still have keys like this!  They are motor inn motel type places - sketch.  Who knows why my buddy Bryan picked this place for his hotel but it definitely makes for good stories!

Day 29 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 29:

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Swanson Lab party - past and present.  Kicked off with happy hour in a hotel room.  

This is how it is done.

Fun!

Day 28 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 28:
Saturday, November 12, 2011

I'm in DC, a city I absolutely love!  I'm here for a work conference and so far it has been good.  Good to learn.  Good to see some old friends.  Good to think and plan for the future.

I haven't felt like lugging my super heavy camera around the meeting all day because I've been lugging my super heavy laptop.  That leaves boring pictures.  Maybe tomorrow, I'll leave the laptop in favor of the camera and then sneak away to see a few sites.

This room is really small.  Cute, but small.  At least I have a swipe key (haha, my friend is in a cheap hotel in the city with a key on a keychain)!

My view... wish it was warm enough to get in the pool!

One of the intentions of this project is to practice photography.  Get better.  Think outside the box, push the limit, look at things from new points of view.

Sometimes though, it's just a documentation of my life it seems.

Either way, time is flying.  I can't believe I'm four weeks in.  Who knows where the rest of this year will take me.  The possibilities are exciting!

Day 27 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 27:
Friday, November 11, 2011 (11.11.11, woo!)
Still one day behind on the posts... ;)

30,000 feet in the air.

I love looking out over the world from the plane.  It's such an expansive point of view.  And it reminds me that we are all connected.  We are all just a small part of something so much bigger.  There is life all around us.

It makes me think of an Alanis Morissette song - 'I am a citizen of the planet, my frontier is on an airplane...'

It's true.  I am a part of a community but am a citizen of the planet.  If everything is connected, then how can I make sure that I pay it forward?  Kindness should flow through, from one community to the next.  Helping others should flow through.  Taking care of the environment should flow through.  We each have a role.  We each have responsibility.

If I'm a citizen of the planet, I want to be a good one.

Day 25 and 26, My 365 - How do you measure a year?

Days 25 and 26

Wednesday, November 9 and Thursday, November 10, 2011

I'm behind.  

Absolutely an insane week.  Not a bad week necessarily but busy.  Very busy.  

I still took my pictures just no posts.  

I've had a lot going on, lots to think about.  Lots to work on.  I'm enjoying the process.  But I am ready for a little bit of a slow down.  I'm about a month away from that slow down when my first semester of teaching undergrad biology will come to an end.  

So, day 25... Wednesday.  

My Michigan holly, from the farmer's market several weeks ago.  Love it.  Isn't it great?  

Day 26... packing.  Sigh.  

I. hate. packing.  I am the worst kind.  An over packer.  Ugh.

Day 24 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 24:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Can't seem to keep track of what day it is lately...  All day today I thought it was Thursday.  And I still keep typing October for the month.  Geez.

Am I stuck in some sort of strange time warp?

My little Christmas cactus knows that winter is coming.  It's blooming!

Love!

Day 23 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 23:
Monday, November 7, 2011

Who likes Mondays?

I was especially reluctant this morning because of a case of Sunday-night-insomnia.  Talk about a rough way to start a week!

Week 3 of my 365 project.  A lot of times I try to think of something creative or something striking about the day.  Or just a different way of looking at the same old things.  It's harder than you think.

Sometimes it is good to take a step back and look at the same old stuff with fresh eyes and new perspective.  Maybe that way we can really be open to new experiences and new opinions.  Maybe that way we can learn to really be accepting.  I'm thinking a lot lately about being open and accepting.  I'm trying to incorporate openness into my daily life.  I'm trying to practice acceptance.  It all takes time, doesn't it?  It seems like the one extra hour I was so infatuated with the other day is just not enough for all that I dream of doing!

Today... the same old thing from a different view.

The picture is kind of blah, but I like the shadow and the shifting focus...

Day 22 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 22:
Sunday, November 6, 2011

I took two days off the 365.

It started on Friday because I was not inspired.  I was not even in a good mood.  And I'm working extra hard to be accepting right now.  Accepting of myself (and my mood, emotions and all that goes with that), accepting of others, accepting of the moment.  So I wasn't going to force it.

Saturday just came and went, without a picture.

So here is today's photo...

It was a pretty good weekend.  The fall time change is one of my favorite things.  You get a whole extra hour!  It's the gift of time!  There's nothing better.  Time is the one fleeting thing that I feel like I can never get enough of.  So one extra hour - it's a gift!

The time change put me in a good mood which was good because it seems like so many other things are going on.  Sometimes it is hard to maintain a good attitude, isn't it?

Tonight I went to hot yoga... I love it.  It's refreshing and invigorating.  It makes me feel good!  And I love the centering aspects of it - center in and focus on myself.  Be strong.  And I love the motivational aspects of it as well.  Tonight, she said that the answer to how is yes... think about it.  Anytime that you ask how, you just have to say yes.  Yes - to taking a step forward.  Yes - to trying.  Yes - to taking care of yourself.  Yes - to being authentic.  Live in a yes world and surely it will be transformed!

Day 19 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 19:
Thursday, November 3, 2011

Today I'm thankful that it is almost the weekend!

It's past my bedtime.  Again.  I waited until now to take my pic for the day so I'm without inspiration or creativity.

So here is the default subject for photos when I'm lazy.

Pacey.  Isn't he super cute though?  What a great little guy.

He's thankful that tomorrow is Friday too!  His life is so hard.  ;)

Day 18 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 18:
Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Someday this will be a hat.  Not any day soon (since I have way too many hobbies and jobs!).

Tonight was a brief meeting with the knitting club and I didn't knit at all!  I did sit and talk and eat and drink...  Good times.

And then I came home and worked on lectures until past my bedtime, making it hard to remember what day of the week this even is.  And I'm not over the fact that it is November.

Anyways, it's not a hat today and it has no hope of being one anytime soon.  But someday... maybe by springtime.  ;)

Day 17 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 17:
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November?  Really?

I must be in a time warp.

Really.

Where is that pause button?

Today's picture is Michigan-based, straight from the farmers market again (sure, I'm milking it).  These are Michigan concord grapes.  They smell delicious!  Seriously, I only bought them because they smelled amazing when I walked by the table.

Let me just tell you though - they ARE amazing.  Best. grapes. ever.  Besides the seeds.  Ugh.

Sure it isn't the most inspirational photo.  But it is day 17.  And today, I worked and then taught class and then graded more exams.  It wasn't exactly an inspirational day.

Although, actually maybe it was inspirational.  There were definitely moments...  And life is about the little things, right?  The little moments.

So it was a good, sweet day.  With a few seeds.  ;)

And about the beets, I'm going to say they were a fail.  They don't reheat.  That's weird, right?  After 30-40 seconds in the microwave (for leftovers!!), they were smoking and almost charred.  I don't understand.