..... life is all about perspective!!!! And everyone's perspective is different!!!! That is what I love about photography... It is a reflection of the inner ME!!!! I capture what I see the way that I see it.... and I love how others view the same thing so differently!!!



Saturday, September 24, 2011

....reality............



Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality.  If you can dream it, you can make it so.............

The word for Nicole and I this week is REALITY!!!  And boy was this a perfect word for me!!!  And my shot today works for my "extreme crop" prompt for my Picture Inspiration 52 week project over at Big Picture too!!!  BONUS!!!!  :) 
Today I became a triathlete......  wow....  that is tough to say....  because I really don't feel any different!!!  I am still the same ol me....  Nope.... I didn't morph into a super human when I crossed the finish line....  when people see me they don't know that I am a triathlete....  and I'm really not the kind of person to share that about myself with total strangers.... sooooo.....  here I sit.... not sure what to feel or think about my accomplishment!!!  Here I sit....  thinking about the reality of this day....  so here it goes.... 
It was never really "on my list" to complete a triathlon.... but I watched my husband and son complete several.... and while watching them... I also watched everyone else in each race compete.... I watched them all cross that finish line.... and I thought to myself...  HEY... if they can do it.... so can I!!???  Maybe!!???   So in May of this year I began to train....  the run.... hey... I had that in the bag.... I've been running for several years now and I LOVE to run... it is my BEST thing!!!  the bike.... bought a great bike last year (I was kinda thinking about Tri's back then) and while Tri biking is quite technical with all the fancy shoe clips and aero bars... riding a bike is well.... just like riding a bike.... it all comes back to ya!!!!  and then there's the swim....  and this is where REALITY slapped me in the face.... I really don't swim!!!  not even a little!!!  I have never learned proper strokes and breathing.... so this was gonna be tough!!  So... in May I started swimming at the local Y....  I SUCKED!!!  and I kept sucking for a REALLY long time!!!  My poor husband would instruct me.... and I watched TONS of "how to swim" videos on YouTube!!!  heeheehee yep.... good ol YouTube!!!  And I eventually began to get better and better.... in the POOL!!!  And then REALITY struck AGAIN!!!!  The triathlon swim was NOT in a pool.... nope.... it was an open water swim.... in a LAKE!!!  Where the fish and snakes live.... and where I can't see... even with my goggles on and my eyes wide open!!!  So.... bless my sweet husbands heart.... off to the lake we went.... for me to practice NOT DROWNING!!!!  With each passing week my training log grew and grew.....  I logged hundreds of swim, bike, run miles over the last four months.... all leading up to today!!!!  Yep.... today was the day!!!  And when I woke up this morning.... I was scared to death!!!!  When we arrived at the race site.... I was scared to death!!!!  I couldn't even look at the water.....  because I was scared to death!!!  But the time came and I walked to the end of the pier..... and I jumped in!!!!  Now I must confess that my swim was a WRECK....  I was a total mess in that water.... my heart was racing, my breathing was too fast, I got kicked in the face!!!  (WHAT!!!???  I didn't train for THAT!!!) and I choked on and swallowed half of the lake....  but the REALITY is that I DID IT!!!  The bike and the run followed and while difficult I managed them pretty well....  and I CROSSED THAT FINISH LINE!!!!  And much to my disbelief.... I finished second in my age group!!!!  (that would be the REALLY OLD age group!!!)  HAAHAHAHA  I couldn't believe it when they called MY name!!!!  :)  And after I finished..... someone very special to me   put it all into perspective....  they said...  "doing it was the easy part....  it was the worrying about it that was the hard part"!!!!  And they were right!!!!  It was the space between my dream and reality that I was soooo afraid of!!!  And today I learned that the REALITY is I can do anything I put my mind to....  it might not be so cute while I'm doing it... but hey....  who's dream is it anyway??!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

.......broken (record)............


never place blame one others without first searching for fault within yourself........

This weeks word for Nicole and I is broken..... I imagined shots of broken windows.... broken glasses.... broken light bulbs.... but I could not pull my mind away from the broken PEOPLE that are in my life......  sooooo....  with a little bit of symbolism here I go!!!  get ready cause I'm about to jump on a soapbox!!!  :)  Now.... I am a believer that EVERYONE has a story to tell..... we have ALL been through tough times.... tragedy.... had bad days.... even bad years!!!!  We have all been BROKEN!!!  BUT I find that some folks can never really get past any of this!!!  They are stuck....  their lives play over and over and over like a broken record....  They never move beyond their difficulty....  they use their troubles and tragedies as an excuse....  for poor behavior.... for their negative attitude....  never really recognizing that others have their own issues to deal with...  their lives are filled with self pity....  Now I don't mean to be harsh.... but this is just how I see it.....  I really feel that these people don't WANT to move beyond their tragedy....  they have learned to use it as a crutch....  as an excuse to lay blame....  a way to manipulate others and situations to get what they want....  and the broken records in MY life are down right scary!!!  They are master manipulators....  experts at emotional control....  they can cry at the drop of a hat....  when it benefits them!!!   and their passive aggressive behavior can be spotted from a mile away.... by anyone who is paying attention!!!!  I find their self victimizing mindset to be emotionally exhausting.... pathetic....  and I am sad for them.....  sad because it is so obvious that they want to be liked.... loved even....  but they never realize that even their most casual social contacts are quickly put off by their inability to move beyond their issues....  creating a never ending cycle of self pity and blame....   what they fail to recognize is that there really is no blame.... only fault!!!  Now don't get me wrong here....  their tragedy is not their fault....  BUT their behavior beyond their tragedy IS!!!!  HOLY COW!!!  With all of that being said (sorry for being all dark and venty!!!!)....  I am a believer that we are all children of God.... and that all things that happen to us....  the GOOD things and the BAD things..... are by His design....  there is a reason that we suffer tragedy in this life..... I believe that God intends for us to LEARN and move beyond each tragedy.... as better people!!!  And I don't believe that God meant for us to be broken records!!!!  Soooo.....  I will praise Him in the sunshine..... and I will praise Him in the rain!!!  And I will continue to pray for the broken records in my life....  that they might be able to move beyond their rough spot....  and hear the end of the song that God has written for them!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!!

Friday, September 9, 2011

........happiness..........



"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea."
- e.e. cummings

This weeks word for Nicole and I is HAPPINESS!!!  And can I just tell ya.... this word had perfect timing!!!!  My shot this week is of my HAPPY PLACE!!!  :)  Straight out of the camera with just a little crop......  this is where I find my happiness!!!  There is just something about the ocean....  I can never put it into the right words....  but that is where I find healing for my soul.....  the everyday yayaya that others feel they need to "share" with me is washed away with each breaking wave.....  I find perspective there....  I realize just how small and insignificant that I am in this big ol world when I stand beside the ocean.... so powerful and full of mystery.... things just seem to fall into place....  and with the first deep breath of that ocean air.... I find myself again!!!   And the beauty......  HOLY COW!!!!  I am forever amazed and humbled by God's mighty hand as I stand on the shore....  He starts each day with majestic sunrises and ends them with breathtaking sunsets....  my camera could NEVER capture the true beauty that He creates each day!  So when life gets a little rough and I'm struggling to find my way through each day....  THIS is where I escape to (with my guy of course....  a great big THANK YOU Jesus for blessing me with a guy who finds his happiness in the same place I find mine!!)!!!  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!  :)

Friday, September 2, 2011

.....early.............


I have a "carpe diem" mug and, truthfully, at six in the morning the words do not make me want to seize the day.  They make me want to slap a dead poet.......
This weeks word for Nicole and I is EARLY.....  and those who know me will find it hard to believe that this was MY word.... yep...  what the heck was I thinking!!!!  I hate early mornings like I hate root canals!!!  I actually used to have a little saying hanging on my fridge... "don't hate yourself in the morning... sleep past noon"!!!  I am grouchy.... the BEST part of EARLY for me is COFFEE!!!!  Now I KNOW that God has a sense of humor since Rick is an early bird.... he hops up out of bed like a ball of sunshine... all happy and TALKATIVE!!!!!!  How the heck we have managed not to kill one another over the last 27 years worth of mornings is a miracle!!!!  I will admit that over the years there are a few things about the early morning that I have learned to appreciate....  like the cooler temps in the hot hot summer time....  I will occasionally set my alarm and head out for an early morning long run.... yep OCCASIONALLY!!!  I have also found an appreciation for the AMAZING light of early morning....  it is a light like no other....  it is full of life.... and I LOVE photographing it....  however, my sunset shots will forever out number my sunrise shots... no question about that one!!!  :)  Oh.... and did I mention just how much I appreciate early morning coffee???  yep........  THAT is my best early morning thing!!!  :)  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!  HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!  Wishing you all FUN and safe travels!!!!  :)

About

My photo
I'm a simple girl, in a complicated sorta way.... love to buy shoes... but hate to wear them!! :) I am drawn to light!!! In life and in my photography.... it fills my soul.... it makes me happy... it takes my breath away!!! So welcome to the world inside my head.... captured one photo at a time!!! :)