Living Outside the Stacks

This is probably my favorite picture from my photo walk this week. I dunno, there’s something about fallen trees and moss… I want to know what felled the tree. Was it a bad storm? Did the tree rot? And how long did it take the moss to grow? I know, my thoughts are completely random but what are you gonna do? These are the things that go through my head…

I’m linking up with Misty and Kim for Shoot. Edit. Submit. To join in the fun, all you have to do is:

• Photo must be taken this week (Saturday ~ Friday)
• Only one entry per person
• “Shoot. Edit. Submit.” button or link back to the contest must be on the post to qualify
• Link only to the post, not the main blog

I also think it’d be cool if you left some comment love for other participants but that’s just my thing, not one of the rules…

After running some errands, Miss 18 and I decided to stop by the Conservation Center and go for a walk. I love it there. It’s so peaceful and quiet. Well, you know, except when you get down in the woods and you hear stuff moving amongst the trees but you don’t see anything. That’s kinda freaky. And Miss 18 didn’t help with all the jumping and screaming she was doing.

Still I managed to get some great pictures…

In her defense, I did my fair share of jumping too, but I was the one on the ground with the spiders that she kept pointing out to me. And, nope, there are no pictures because EEP! SPIDERS!

I’m linking up with:

Have a happy Thursday!

I’ve often said that I have the navigational skills of a monkey in a hurricane. Sometimes being directionally challenged has led me to wonderful discoveries such as the Bollinger Mill Historical Site and other times it has left me on the side of the road near breaking point because I wasn’t sure which way to go. But the one thing that I’ve learned throughout both of these experiences is that I need to have a plan. If I don’t want to get lost, I can’t simply rely on my GPS. I have to have a map and a fully charged phone.

In our spiritual lives, sometimes we can feel like we’re at a crossroads and don’t know which way to turn but God doesn’t leave us to flounder on the side of the road crying. He has provided us with a perfect map that never needs updating and a means of contact that never has a battery fail. That map is the Bible and the means of contact is prayer.

If we ask Him to guide our footsteps each and every day, He will keep us on the right road.

I’m linking up with:

Please visit them for more inspiration.

Yay! throws confetti We made it to the first Wednesday of 2012 and you know what that means ~ It’s time for What I Wore Wednesday! Are you ladies ready for another 52 weeks of fun and fashion? I know I am.

I only have one outfit this week but I’ve literally been in sweats the rest of the time. Hey, don’t judge, my family’s been home and we’ve just been kickin’ it. But real life started today, so I’ll be getting dressed and taking pictures.

What I Wore Sunday: New Year’s Day Church Services

The inspiration for this outfit was an episode of Friends. I know, that show is so 2004 but I still love the clothes. Well, most of them… Anyway, in the final episode,”Monica” wears an outfit very similar to what I’m wearing above of course, Courtney Cox was pregnant in that episode but still… I just find that this is a great go~to outfit for me when I’m having one of those days when nothing fits or feels comfortable.

Do you have a go~to outfit?

I’m linking up with:

Please check her out for more fashion inspiration!

This year I decided to challenge myself and participate in a 52 week course that’s hosted by Project52.org. I’m no where near the skill level of the other participants but the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, right? So that’s my intention ~ to push myself to be better.

The first assignment is to write a vision statement identifying how we see ourselves as photographers and what we’d like to do with our photography. I’m a librarian by training, so naturally I see people as books, each with their own story to tell…

To Follow My Project, Click the Picture

People are books ~ some of their covers are worn with use, others are smooth and untouched with stories yet to be told. I want to tell those stories. I want to know what’s beneath the surface. And I want to share those stories with others.

Spinach Leaf and Fruit Salad

My pastor is sneaky. Ever since we started attending this church, he’s been trying to figure out a way to get me involved. With people. Talking to them. Sharing with them. Just doing something. And each time he’s given me a task, I’ve politely declined. Not because I’m hard headed or anything but because I tend to be a little unsure of myself. And I doubt myself. And I second guess myself. And I over analyze everything to death. Except when it comes to research.

I’m good at research. There’s nothing I enjoy more than finding obscure facts. Or helping others to find information. Ask me a question and I’ll help you find the answer. Even if it means that I’ll be up all night seeking and finding. And that’s where he got me.

A few weeks ago, the pastor asked the church to join him on the Daniel Fast and he asked me if I could help him answer questions, find recipes, etc. I gladly obliged. Because, you know, it was a question/answer/research thing.

The Daniel Fast is a fast based on Daniel 1:1~20 and Daniel 10:2~3. During the period of the fast, participants drink only water and eat only vegetables and fruits. It’s meant as a time of spiritual, physical and mental submission to God.

I did the research and posted approved food lists, recipes, tips and guidelines to our church family’s Facebook page and was, generally, quite pleased that I was able to be of assistance in a way that I felt was truly helpful and within my comfort zone. Then one night, the pastor called on me to speak before the church about the Daniel Fast. To answer questions. With the mike. Honestly, I kinda enjoyed it. It was like being in front of my class again. Teaching. Doing what I do best ~ sharing, teaching and, yes, learning.

Do you see what he did there? He got me out of my comfort zone by working within my comfort zone. But today, he pushed me a little bit more and I’m really not sure how it even happened.

All I know is that I’m now in charge of our church’s weight loss challenge. Me. The woman who hasn’t exercised in 42 days (according to that evil little widget on my phone). The woman who is 30 lbs overweight (according to that mocking scale in my bathroom). The woman who wouldn’t run if someone were chasing her (according to the unused sneakers under my bed). I’m responsible for helping a church full o’ folks get healthy.

And I’m OK with that. I’m ready for the challenge. I know that God wants us to be healthy spiritually, mentally and physically. And I also know that He knows where our strengths lie and if He thinks that I can do this then I know that I can do this. With His help. And that of a sneaky pastor…

Do you have any tips to help me to help my church?

Wow! Can you believe it, we’ve made it to 2012! throws confetti I’m so very excited for what this new year will bring for me both personally and professionally. Yesterday, my daughter wrote the very first post for 2012 and I couldn’t agree more with her words ~ she said instead of sitting back and complaining about how bad last year was, take the initiative to make this year better and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I plan to make it better and to learn a lot along the way.

Last year, I had a lot of fun getting used to my camera by participating in different challenges such as Shades of Autumn and Shoot. Edit. Submit. Those challenges forced me to look at the world differently, more creatively. So this year, I want to branch out more and learn how to operate my camera on manual. Right now I mostly shoot in Auto but I have noticed a difference in the quality of pictures between Manual and Auto. I also plan to do more portrait photography.

My goal is to teach myself portrait photography in two ways. The first is to use myself as a model through a 365 Project. My 365 Project will consist of daily pictures of myself, not because I’m vain but because I think the best way to get others comfortable in front of the camera is to learn how the body works, which poses photograph best, etc. and I need a ready model. And, well, I’m always with me. Do you see what I did there? I won’t bore you with those pictures on my blog but if you want to check them out, just go to my flickr stream by clicking here.

The other set of pictures I will share here though (along with any photo challenges that I decide to participate in). I’ve thought long and hard about how to learn to photograph others and I came up with a 4 week project. My 4 Week Project is pretty exciting and daunting. My goal is to take pictures of 4 elderly strangers and tell their stories through words and photographs. This challenge has me nervous and excited. Nervous because, well, I’m going to have to talk to people and ask them to trust me ~ a complete stranger ~ with both their images and their lives. And excited because this is something I never would have done or thought of doing a year ago.

I so look forward to sharing this journey with you all. And, please, don’t be shy, give me your feedback ~ both positive and negative, that’s what I’m counting on to help me grow and develop as a photographer and a writer.

Have you set any challenges for yourself this year?

Once upon a time, Miss 14 went through my blog and counted how many times I mentioned her and found her numbers to be woefully low. As a remedy, I suggested that she write a guest post about whatever struck her fancy. She took the challenge and has now written her second guest post for me. Here, she shares her thoughts on the year that was and the year to come…

A lot of things have happened this year for example: My dad got a promotion and we moved to Missouri, I go to a church that I absolutely love and the people are absolutely wonderful, my family is closer to God, my sister is in college, I braved through my first semester at a new school and made a few new friends, I’ve taken a big step forward in my goal to becoming a famous author, I saw the arch in St. Louis (3 times), I traveled to and through ten states (just have to hit forty more). But these things happened by fault of nature, people, God and effort. These were not my resolutions for the year 2011.

The way I view it, you can’t rely on a year to make your life better…It’s not the year’s fault things happened. I came to this conclusion as I was trolling looking through my Facebook newsfeed. People were saying how bad 2011 was and that hopefully 2012 will be better. I’m not gonna lie, I had a pretty good year; sure bad things happened but I didn’t let it wreck my whole year. Life is what you make of it. The year has nothing to do with it.

I don’t agree with New Year’s resolutions because usually they are about things that could be changed right now. If you don’t like what’s happening in the present time, don’t wait and change it in the future, change it now. It’s not worth it to wait for the next year because you may not have that much time. Make resolutions daily, not yearly.

To me, a resolution is a decision to act to solve a problem. Well, I’m not having any problems currently but I’m sure they will arise because it’s inevitable. This year, I’m not making a resolution, I’m making a New Year’s goal(which to me is something totally different): 1. I’m going to write 365 poems. One every day in the year 2012 and get at least one published.

What are your New Year’s goals?

Miss 14 going on 15

When Miss 18 was born, I sat down with my art supplies and started putting together a scrapbook/baby book that I was sure would bring a smile to her face and tears to my eyes in the years to come. For two years, I maintained her baby book ~ updating it with photos, notes, comics and letters. Then I had the twins.

So I created two more books and began the process all over again. But lemme tell ya, when baby #4 came along, I didn’t have the energy or the time. So all of the pictures were put into a photo box to be filed away at a later date. Skip ahead fourteen years later and guess where the pictures are? Yep, still in the box.

But recently I was introduced to digital scrapbooking. Have you ever done this before? You take your digital pictures and place them in “prefab” scrapbooks, add embellishments, text ~ whatever your heart’s desire ~ and bingo bango, your memories are ready for sharing with family and friends.

THE REVIEW

This was my first time using any sort of digital scrapbooking software, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. There are several designer templates available for use (other templates are available on the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software website) and you have the ability to customize the templates to fit your needs. If you’re the creative type, you can even customize your own photo album.

Now, I do have to admit, there is a bit of a learning curve if you’ve never used digital scrapbooking software before. Initially, I wasn’t sure how to get the pictures to appear in the prefab boxes but after a few tries, I figured out that if I double click in the box, the picture will appear and from there you can edit the pictures.

I didn’t play with all of the options (adding music, customizing the photo album, etc) but I did create a movie using my photo album and it was really easy once I downloaded the free supplemental software.

Overall, I would give this product a B+ because it is fun to use and it’s pretty exciting to create a scrapbook that you can share electronically with friends and family. The negative is that the software isn’t intuitive (meaning you really have to sit down and focus to figure things out but once you do, the software is a breeze to use).

THE GIVEAWAY

I was given the opportunity to review and giveaway a copy of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software by  my memories. My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software is an award winning digital scrapbook suite that allows you to create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, calendars, cards and other gifts without having to purchase expensive software. They’ve also been generous enough to provide a coupon code for $10 off the purchase of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software for all of my friends. At checkout, just enter coupon code STMMMS98379 to receive $10 off your purchase of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software.

I know you’re wondering what you get for free (if you’re the lucky winner) or for $10 off (if you use coupon code STMMMS98379):

• Over 1500 papers
• Over 1000 page elements
• Over 30 album templates
• Ability to enhance scrapbooks with music, narration and videos
• Compatibility with both Mac and Windows

OFFICIAL ENTRY

To enter, let’s keep this simple:

• Visit My Memories and leave a comment letting me know your favorite digital paper pack or layout

For additional entries, leave a comment for each action:

• Subscribe to my blog by clicking here
• Follow me on Twitter (@DaenelT)
• Tweet about my giveaway:  Enter to win My Digital Suite Scrapbooking Software from @MyMemoriesSuite and @DaenelT http://bit.ly/uWqnjp
• Follow My Memories on Twitter (@MyMemoriesSuite)

Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you.

Contest is open to U.S. residents only.   Contests ends on Saturday, 6 January 2012 at 10 AM (CST).  One winner will be randomly selected using Random.org.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of My Memories Suite for the purposes of this review. I was also provided with a copy to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. All links are affiliate links and I receive payment when you purchase the My Memories Suite using code STMMMS98379.

The final Christmas ornament of 2011. I hope your year has been as happy and blessed as mine has been and I pray continued blessings upon you and yours into the coming year…

I’m linking up with Misty and Kim at Through A Photographer’s Eyes for Shoot. Edit. Submit. To join in the fun, all you have to do is:

• Photo must be taken this week (Saturday ~ Friday)
• Only one entry per person
• “Shoot. Edit. Submit.” button or link back to the contest must be on the post to qualify
• Link only to the post, not the main blog

I also think it’d be cool if you left some comment love for other participants but that’s just my thing, not one of the rules…