DECLUTTER

OK so my Ali Edwards-inspired "word for the year" is . . . . . DECLUTTER. I am on a mission to declutter my house, my computer, my mind, my life . . . because it's all such a mess! I am hoping that by spending 2010 seriously focused on implementing this word in my life . . . that I may change some habits.

Yesterday at this time I was lying on a hammock in the back yard with my 3yo and his friend, enjoying the 65 degrees and sunshine. Today is back to cold and rainy, so I'm staying inside and having a "15 minute" day. I am alternating 15 minutes of computer-time with 15 minutes of housework - most of which is DECLUTTERING the laundry room.

My main project on the computer is DECLUTTERING my Photos drive. I am working on my pre-class assignment for Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I have read both of Stacy's books "Photo Freedom" and "Big Picture Scrapbooking" several times, and I am ready to take this plunge into reorganizing my photos and scrapbook albums.

So, I am going through my folders of digital photos. Funny how I never think to go through and delete all the poor shots and duplicates I'll never use. I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 for global editing and organizing. I am separating our family photos from my professional shoots. I am adding keywords. And I am BACKING UP my hard work! Class begins January 26th, and I hope to at least have completed 2009 photos. (I began with 21,000 photos for 2009, so I think there's definitely room for DECLUTTERING).

Oops, my 15-computer-minutes are up, time for more laundry!

Post and let me know if you are taking this LOM journey with me!

Remember me?

I have been absent from my blog, unable to find the mojo that left me when my sis died suddenly last February. I became obsessed with Facebook, which is so fun for reconnecting with old and distant friends and keeping up with them. This time of year I become particularly interested in "reinventing" myself or parts of myself and my life, and I realized that I have been missing blogging. I have missed the in-depth glimpses into the lives, thoughts, and interests of my online pals. I stopped following for a while, but I am back. Just in case anyone is still out there to notice...I hereby pledge for 2010 to post at least once a week, or shut down my blog entirely!

Good reads

I just returned from the CK Convention in Mesa, Arizona this past weekend. On the way out I began the 3rd book in the "Twilight" series that's taken the country by storm, and finished it way too early in the day on my return. That left me no choice but to bury myself in the only other book I had with me that I've been avoiding: a software manual.

I started the Twilight series hoping to be able to talk to our tween a little. I was also intrigued when I saw my pal Cheri get so lost in it that she ignored us all even though we rarely get together!

The lightroom book, well, let's just say I like the way Scott Kelby writes. For a software book, it was actually pretty good.

Next: gotta get my hands on book 4 and finish up the twilight series. Not sure whether to save it for our beach vacation. And, time for Scott's Photoshop book, which I guess I shouldn't save for my next cross-country flight.

Out of sight out of mind

Ok so I've been very absent from my blog . . . sorry guys . . . I've been overwhelmed by life and the pursuit of pro photography . . . taking classes, researching, WORKING. My "free" internet time is over at facebook nowadays . . . anyways, thought I'd share this shot of my 3-legged rescue kitty who is getting on my last nerve these days. He was the first cat in our house a year-and-a-half ago. We found him in the road just after he'd been hit by a car. I took him to a vet and after a couple of weeks we brought him home. He was such a sweet, friendly kitten, purred all the time. A couple months later we brought home a wild kitten Ken found outside his shop. Neko harassed her at first, but they quickly became pals. Fast-forward to now when we brought home my sister's cat, Luna, approximately 10-11 years old, used to being alone. Neko is obsessed with Luna, won't leave her alone, keeps starting fights with her. I made the mistake of extricating him on one such occasion, and I have several scars to remind me of that. For now, Luna has the run of the upstairs, and Neko and Kiki are masters of the basement level. How will we ever integrate them?

The aftermath

So, it was lots of fun playing in the snow with the kids, weren't those photos great? Everyone got a good laugh and I didn't hurt a bit from busting my tail so many times . . . . at first . . . My back was a little sore a couple days later, and a week-and-a-half later, it "went out" on me. I went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life, who fixed me up with a snap-crackle-pop and made a believer out of me. No drugs, no cutting, less expensive . . . what's not to love about that?!

86

Ok so one week ago yesterday we were playing in our 5-6 inches of rare snow. Yesterday, we hit a record-high temp of 86 degrees. The record before that was 83 in 1974!!

No wonder the kids are sick . . .

State Capitol Field Trip

I took advantage of one of my sick days to create a quick photobook of my son's field trip to Columbia, which I chaperoned. I used Memory Mixer 2 to create the book, and then uploaded it to Heritage Makers for publishing.

The graphics were all from Krystal Hartley's "East Coast" collaboration with Libby Weifenbach, available at Funky Playground Designs.