My Big Nine #8

a friend I made at the zoo - not one I wish to eat

Now for the next in the oh-nine series...

#8: Learn to eat fish like a grown-up

In an effort to eat more healthy this year, I have vowed to eat more fish. I realize that fish is the most healthy, nutrient-rich meat on the planet, but it's just not the thing I dream of at 3:30 when I start to feel my hunger kick in!

Also, I have this dreadful fear of eating undercooked fish. Oddly enough, I eat sushi with no hesitation, but when it comes to cooking salmon, if the recipe says 15-18 minutes, I cook it 20 just to make sure! So, a wonderful recipe that started out looking and smelling great comes out as a dried-out tasteless piece of meat that we have to choke down. Eek!

So, I am vowing to learn to eat fish like a grown-up this year which means seasoning it well and cooking it correctly. And when 3:30 rolls around and I'm craving a hamburger and fries, I have to repeat to myself:

Salmon is good for me. Salmon is good for me.
I will not overcook my meat. I will not overcook my meat.

Show don't tell!

Brad, learning to rock manual mode

I'm a little nervous today. And you can tell this because if you were to look closely, you'd find remnants of a Wendys hamburger and fries in our trash can.

That's right. When I'm nervous, I will resort to fast food to dull the pain.

Anyway, today is a big day because I'm giving my first photography presentation and workshop to a group of mothers here in the city. Since I somehow morphed from writing into linguistics into photography, I am giving a cool talk about writing your child's story through photography.

I don't even remember my writing teacher's name (do you LB?), but I do remember the important lessons she taught me about setting, conflict, and detail, and those are some of the things I'll be encouraging these moms to document through photographs! As I learned in the Haley Center years ago, I'll be encouraging them to "show, not tell!" And, I'll also be talking about less interesting things like framing, composition, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Pretty fun, huh? I must say that one parent who did this very well is my sweet dad. He just sent me some old pictures he took of me and Krisan when we were young, and Brad and I just laughed and laughed. Those photos reminded me how important it is to document the small things.

So, I have four of these talks in the next two months, so I am really hoping they will help with business through word-of-mouth advertising. And, I'm also hoping it will truly motivate these parents (and myself) to keep taking pictures - lots of them.

Think Spring.

When do we all get to start "thinking spring"?

I have started wondering about this recently as I've walked past my favorite stores and noticed ridiculous posters in the windows that say things like "think spring" and "soak in the sun" and "new spring styles" while tank-top-clad models ride in boats and play in sprinklers and such.

Now, here I am standing on the sidewalk in boots and long-johns and a wool sweater and long puffy jacket, and as I stare at the pretty yellow tank tops and cotton dresses, I can't help but wonder, "what the heck are these stores thinking?!" Do they want us to all go jump off the nearest bridge?

Here we have 3 inches of snow on the ground and at least 2 more months of winter. To even begin to "think spring" is simply emotional suicide.

In fact, even if I was crazy enough to actually buy a new tank top and then go play in the sprinklers in it, I would be sorely disappointed, as my arms and hands would go numb before could hook up the hose, and the sprinkler wouldn't work anyway because the pipes would be frozen.

Perhaps marketing for these stores is located in Southern California, and perhaps whoever decided to release spring materials in January simply overlooked the fact that some people are still living in the artic tundra, but it simply seems dangerous to advertise in such a careless way. Come on stores: consider the feelings and emotions of those who can only ice-skate on the nearby lakes and who could only wear a short baby blue cotton dress while standing in a hot shower.

Perhaps you would be better off marketing baby blue earmuffs and bright pink ski socks. Then we could "think spring" while still keeping our poor faces and toes from frostbite.

my big nine #7

Now for the next in the oh-nine series...

#7: My computer is getting an 8-5 schedule!

I spend way too much time on my computer. Since my computer has become "home base" for all the work I do, I have developed an unhealthy schedule.

Whether I am working at Annie's studio or from home, as soon as my eyes open in the morning, my temptation is to go straight to my computer. And then I work on it all day!

You would think I would be sick of it by 5:00 when Brad gets home, but nope! I always feel the need to "do one more thing!" throughout the night instead of simply putting everything away and being wholly with the family.

So, my goal for this year is to limit most of my computer work to a regular work-day schedule. This will be my hardest resolution of the year, but I think it could have a significant impact on my relationships with the Lord and with Brad and with people. I want my mornings and evenings to be free of work, to be reserved for things that really matter in life like prayer and relationships and dog walks and long dinners and snuggles on the couch and conversation. And, I want to begin forming good work habits while this is all still new.

I've already broken the news to my very-tired old computer, and she agreed to automatically wake up and shut down to help me with self-discipline. Pretty cool, huh?

Here We Go.

So, it's Superbowl Sunday. In Pittsburgh. In Steelers Nation.

And God must have smiled on Pittsburgh today, because it's 43 degrees and sunny. People are outside in shorts (in the melting snow, mind you), everyone is somehow holding or wearing a terrible towel, and "here we go" is playing in stores and out of car windows and on the city sidewalks.

After church I walked around the neighborhood and took a few pictures today to document the day that "Pittsburgh's going to the superbowl - here we go!"