Birthday, Yes Update and More

Today Jake is 17.  I can't even go into my usual ramblings about the day he was born and how I felt and how awesome he is.  I just want to curl up and squall a while.  One more year and he will be an adult-in age if not in experience and mindset.  While I am proud of the person he is, I also...just...feel...old.  *sigh*

In hindsight, I am totally counting our trip to the drive-in last Thursday as a Yes.  I would not have agreed to go in the cold if I had not been in the mindset to be more agreeable.  And, I had a great time.  It was so creepy being there alone and with just 2 of us, we parked facing the screen and bundled up and occasionally cranked the engine to warm us up.  We both got so worked up that we could not use the bathroom at the drive-in and had to go all the way to McDonald's where there were people and lights.  hahaha

My next Yes is this Saturday when I join a group of photographers for the first time.  I am excited, I think it will be a good move for me, I need to push myself.

The challenge for today from The Hairy Edge is to change up my pattern and I think I am going to do it.  I don't have much of a routine, but I have certain things I want a certain way.  I am not going to change everything, but a few things might get me in a different mindset.  Just this past weekend I took the heavy cover off the window above my bed to wash it and now there is more light, which has been good, I have been up before 7 all week and being busy with getting the house in order and such.  I am not going to plan what to do when I get up tomorrow, I will just see what comes along.  I'd like to say I will get up and do my crunches and then walk on the treadmill first thing instead of putting it off as long as possible, but...I guess I will see.

For today, I am off to get goodies from the grocery store so Jake and his 2 best buddies can stay up most of the night snacking and gaming.  He asked for pizza AND stroganoff and of course, I said yes.  ; )

Last update, I heard back about Charlie today and they are trying to place him in a special needs home.  For now he is not up for adoption and he's staying in an indoor kennel with another dog he has bonded with.  So that's very good news!

Ten Yeses

Last month I did a 100 mile challenge and several friends joined in!  3 families actually sent me confirmation they had finished walking all 100 miles, so hurrah!

This month, I wanted to work on my own goal for the year, which was taking more chances to learn or do something new.  So I decided I should say yes whenever I could all month long, even if it was something I was not immediately comfortable with.  I figured something would come up a couple times a week.  Since there are 5 Fridays this month, I went with 10 chances.  No, I am not sure of my logic.

So far, I have accepted a couple invitations, both from photography clubs.  One is a large group and they have their own website where they critique each others work.  This has always caused me anxiety-I was chicken to have total strangers look at my work solely to pick it apart-it's one thing to post a pic on my own site, it's quite another to hold it up to the light of professional evaluation.  One of the reasons I stopped entering contests was because I had started looking at my work from a 'what do they want to see' angle and not a 'I love this' angle.  I want to try to blend the two-what I love with photos that are truly good.  The best way to do that is to have someone who knows the technical side to evaluate your work.

The second is from a new group of just women who want to get together each month and take photo walks.  I have tried to get one of these groups going at least 4 times now.  I get responses, but never participation.  I have yet to go on a photo walk with any of my actual friends.  So, I am joining a group of strangers and hoping that I will get to get better with lots of ideas bouncing around and people trying for different angles and shots. 

So, that's 2 yeses so far and it's only the 4th!