New Years Day 2012

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I have a theme for 2012. I’ve never assigned a theme to a year before but maybe it’s time.

My theme for 2012 is BELIEVE.

Grab onto the optimism of youth when everything was possible.

Throw out the cynicism of age that comes from seeing so many failed attempts and crumbled dreams fall along the path of life.

Let those experiences go. Take the lessons learned and be thankful for the wisdom gained no matter how painful.

Celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. Recognize that the journey is not done. There’s still more ahead and with strength and perseverance there’s still time to reach your dream.

If you Believe you can, you will. So just…BELIEVE.

365?…not!

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Everywhere I turn lately someone is throwing down the gauntlet for a 365 challenge. Doesn’t matter if it’s a challenge to upload an entry a day, a photo a day, a recipe a day…you just have to say I’m going to do such and such every day for 365 days and then plan on sharing it on a blog or something.

Doesn’t sound too bad in the excitement of the New Year and goal setting but having just completed a 365 project I can tell you it WILL GET OLD!( This is my link to  my 2011 project:  http://project365challenge2011.blogspot.com/)

Last year when I heard about a 365 photo challenge I enthusiastically embraced it. I was puzzled by the number of people who said they started it and only lasted a few weeks. My thought was  that it would be a piece of cake.

Well, I have just about finished the challenge. Today being December 28, I only have 3 more days to go. That’s not to say all of the shots have been uploaded. The last one I uploaded was Monday’s. I’ve taken one for yesterday and one for today but both are still in the camera.  I’ll probably wait and upload the last of them all at once on Jan 1, 2012.

I didn’t have a problem taking pictures. My camera travels with me all the time but lots of days I took many, many pictures. Sometimes over 100 so to sort through them and chose just one for my photo of the day, well sometimes it seemed overwhelming and I would procrastinate.

Right now I’m cleaning off my hard drive so I can start 2012 with a clean slate. I think I must have 5000+ images. Sort, delete , copy, label disc…I need a better system in place for next year or at least not wait til year-end!

But back to the 365 challenge. I enjoyed it but got frustrated at times. It definitely improved my camera skills. My photos are much , much better than back in January 2011 still I don’t want to commit to that again, at least not right now. I have too much going on in my life between my full-time job and an upcoming project launch. (More on that in a future post)

I am thinking a 52 week challenge. Instead of posting a picture a day …good, bad..or awesome…I think I’ll continue to take daily pictures but I’m going to push the envelope. Snap shots need not apply. I want really good quality shots suitable for gallery prints (those are big enlargements for the non photo bug). If I complete the challenge then I will end the year with 52 really nice photos. To reach that quality I will have to improve my skills even more and that’s really the reason to take on a challenge like that.

So what do you think? Anyone starting a 365 project for 2012? What kind are you going to do?  Love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

What can Brown do to you?

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T’was the night before Christmas (almost)

When all through the house 

Not a creature was moving

Not even a mouse.

Not one had a care

(Unless you count the cats attacking the tree…)

We were watching and waiting for UPS to be there.

Extra postage was paid and promises made,

That necessary supplies would be delivered by 5!

At 5:31 A brown truck took a turn.

It went past the condo and on down the street

Away to the window I flew  in a flash

Tore open the shutter  and threw up the sash!

But the truck never stopped.

It just kept on  trucking.

But a trip to the website show lots of nothing!

The driver had delivered but found us not home! (What? Outrage!)

So wrong , so strange, not a bell ever rung!

After calling and screaming and begging a lot,

UPS promised faithfully that I could go to their lot.

The driver would meet me they promised with glee.

So Christmas would be saved after all, we would see.

Yes, I got to pay extra so I could drive to their store (30 miles) (and pick up the package at 9pm at night)

Now silence reigns. No response from their crew , to my request for a refund.

I never get through.

So next time you hear “What can Brown do for you?”

Remember my story…shouldn’t it be “what can Brown do TO you?”

Bah Humbug to you UPS!

Apologizes to Clement Clarke Moore ( author of the Night before Christmas and also Dr, Seuss as I think I started to fall into some “Seussisms” too.