Fears...

So, I'm still going strong with this running thing, I am still going on my scheduled days, 3 or 4 times a week and sticking strong to my Couch to 5k plan.  I moved up a level for 2 runs this week and it was a bit of a struggle so I think this weekend i'm going to change from "Time" to "distance" and i'll add my 3rd mile to the run but not worry about exactly how long I run at a time as long as I get that distance in (in about 45 minutes) i'll be happy.  Anyway, this week our temperatures were into the mid to upper 90's and the humidity was like trying to breathe under water.  This past Sunday I knew it was hot but I couldn't just sit and look out the window so I went for a run... part way through I found myself taking extremely deep breaths during my walking intervals.  I was by myself so I started to worry that I had made a mistake going out alone when it was so hot and unbelievably humid.  I was feeling OK but just knew I had to slow it down and just get home safely so that's what I did, and when I got home I felt good but was a little worried about so called "hot runs."  Needless to say... that didn't scare me THAT much because I went out again a day later when it was 96 degrees.

                      Fear #1 :  Running in less than ideal weather

                   MY Solution:  Bring cold water, pace myself, dress appropriately, and listen to my body

I am one of those people in the world that really annoy the dare devils and risk takers,  I like a plan, usually a strict to the point plan, and I am a natural planner, therefore the unexpected things don't make me happy (even good things)  I really like to know whats ahead.  I don't run with music (see Amy's last post Dropping the Earbuds to read a little about music and running)  but I HAVE and I admit it does make it go faster. For me though... I find myself taking the earbuds out of my ears numerous times to check my surroundings.  That's a safe thing to do but I think I may be a little paranoid about things following me.  

                Fear #2 :  People, Cars or Animals following me... being followed in general

                                  My Solution:  Go faster   = )

Yes you're pretty Mr. Duck but do NOT follow me!

        

I am also one of those people who is known to be hard on myself if I fall short of a goal.  I am trying this running thing as a weight loss method as well as a stress reliever and just all around enjoyable activity.  I thought I would be faster at my runs by now and I'm staggering by a minute or two each time.  Some intervals are fast and I think "whoa"  but some really let me down and I almost want to say out loud "Seriously I was NOT going that slow"

            Fear #3 Not progressing as I feel I should

        My Solution:  Stick to it

While there are plenty more things that worry me about running the one thing that tops all others is my breathing... I fear that I will never get the hang of breathing like a runner when i'm out there.  Sometimes I get the hang of it and I feel great and sometimes I can't get it right and it hurts.  I'm afraid that I'll stop liking my runs if I can't get the hang of it.

           Fear #4 The dreaded stomach cramp

      My Solution:  ??????????

So there you have it  runners I need some advice...

                                          What did you fear when you started running?

                                             How did you discover your solutions?

                                           How did you get your breathing timed right? 

First and Many

       Thanks to the input of our cousin, Amy and I were notified of a 5K benefit run for a baby in our area who lost his life to Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS) a cause that I have really studied up on and attended many conferences on.  When Amy told me about it I was very interested but knew I was not ready to run it.  She told me it was also a 5k walk and I was totally on board for that.  Needless to say it was a big morning for both Amy and I as I walked in my first 5k fun run/walk and Amy ran it (not her first as you know she has run many!)  Anyway, I asked Amy what goal she would set for the time I should finish this walked 5k in...she told me "I'd say like 45 minutes"  and I really, really wanted to stick to that and I knew I could do it.  I started off at a really good pace but drifted behind a little bit in the middle, and finished up strong.  I finished in 44 minutes, 1 minute shy of my goal and even though that is not much I was extremely proud of myself,  I still am!   My body felt really good while doing it and it seemed to go by fast, as the day has gone on my leg muscles are a little sore but still for the most part I feel good.  I felt that keeping up with the walkers, not getting winded and not wanting to give up are all very good accomplishments for me because I haven't gone the distance I went today in a couple of weeks.

Our aunts, cousin and mom participated too!

And true to Amy's "Post Race" style... we enjoyed a light breakfast at Starbucks after.

Ashley's Photo Challenge...One Day Late

Photo Challenge:  Something that REALLY annoys me ~  Storms... I don't find them "relaxing" like some people say... they are way too unpredictable for my liking.  I am not afraid of them; just would rather they not exist.  Rain by itself however...that I do find relaxing.  Unless of course I want to be outside!

Alrighty then, for next week's photo challenge, I want the more colorful thing you can find!

Thoughts?

Have you ever found yourself wishing there were more hours in a day?  The feeling that your life is going much faster than you can, and the end of the "to-do" list seems impossible to get to?  I find myself feeling that way often lately.  Then I tell myself stop... if there were more hours in a day, I'd find more ways to fill those hours, which would add to my never ending "to-do" list.  I'm  pretty fortunate that I have help accomplishing tasks but I still like things done my way so I choose to do most things myself.   Now that our house is done being painted I have found the project list growing by leaps and bounds and figured I'd bring my list to our blog for thoughts from all of you. 

I posted some pictures of our finished bedroom and the staircase here , the rest of the house was done in Sherwin-Williams: Bungalow Beige so the color doesn't show well in photographs.  Our biggest project now is our accent wall painted in Sun dried Tomato , also by Sherwin-Williams. 

I know this wall needs something.... I have a big mirror that I am thinking about hanging in the open space but Matt votes a large vintage looking clock (of course another thing to remind me there really are only 24 hours in a day)  So we need help!  A Mirror?  A clock?  or something totally different.  We are looking to hang something in the area where the big annoying glare from the light is... this glare isn't always there just in pictures I guess.

So now that we may get a little boost helping us with that project, I'll go back to the comment I made earlier about wishing there was more time in a day.   The sun rises and sets on all of us the same and there are people less fortunate than I am, so I'll take life as it comes to me even if I feel like I can't keep up.

Since my goal of painting the house has been met I just want to add a quick update on my workout routine.  The weather has turned over a new leaf and getting outside is awesome.  I've bumped myself up to a 2 mile comfortable/brisk paced walk and my goal for this week is to add that 3rd mile.  Once I'm comfortable with a 3 mile walk I want to go back down to a 1 mile walk/jog and move up from there.  I'm actually kind of excited to accomplish this goal!!

All about the light...or is it?

Now that I have a reason to really get into photography, I find myself really wanting to take a course to learn to make my photos worthy of being hung up on the wall.  A few times a week, I login to Pinterest and look at the photography boards of a bunch of people.  Some days I find a ton of inspirational photos, and other days not so much, but, lately, I've been really into nature photos.  If only nature was a little more predictable and didn't move so fast. 

Anyway, tonight the moon is HUGE up in the sky.  I saw it while I was driving home today and wanted to stop and take a picture but didn't think that the car behind me would like that very much, so I kept going and tried to snap a picture when I got home.  My little point and shoot camera just wasn't having the distance and wasn't letting me snap a clear picture without the flash on, so no pictures of that.  I stood out on my patio, frustrated, wishing I had the big camera to lug around that could zoom in on the moon and make people oohh and ahh when they saw the picture... NO LUCK.  So I found myself thinking that if the light was a little better, I could get a good picture... (now thinking) Well duh if it was light out there would be no moon ya dork! 

So anyway.. I've been going round and round in my own head asking --- is it REALLY all about the light? 

I've gone through my collections of photos (and yes I have many!) and found some photos that really are all about the light!

My own challenge to myself for next week is to figure out how to make my point and shoot camera take pictures like a big SLR camera!  I still have some more saving to do before I'm able to lug around the camera and take the classes that will teach me how to use it but...for now I'll keep trying to take a good picture of the moon!    dreaming....   = )

Photo Challenge Results:  

Challenge:  A photo of a day I thought was going to go very badly but actually turned out OK.

May 9, 2009-  My Graduation day.  I was set to graduate at 5:00 PM which left me all day to DREAD it, and I sure did.  A huge arena packed to the brim with people who don't even know me but will be hearing my name being called... watching me and 1 other person cross the stage to be handed an empty diploma cover.  That minute or two of my life was extremely important but just didn't seem to be worth my time, hours sitting waiting for ONE minute.  I remember begging my mom to allow me to NOT walk at Graduation and her saying "you have to you worked so hard for this."  I remember asking Amy how many stairs there were to get to the stage (wondering how many chances I had to trip and humiliate myself).  I remember spelling out our last name letter by letter and writing 2 different ways to pronounce it CORRECTLY... and it turns out that lining up with the 40 girls that I spent 2 years of my life with was one of the best moments of my life (yes that's correct...when your major is Early Childhood you do spend two years of your life in classes of only females).  We had so much in common that we never really let sink in until we we faced with that big stage, crossing over to our future.  By 7pm that night, it was all done--no tripping, no falling, no humiliation, no mispronouncing my name... just me... the college graduate-  with my empty diploma cover and a whole lotta memories!

Alrighty time for next week's challenge...let's reverse this week.

How about something that reminds you of a day that kind of sucked...but now you can laugh about it.

Make em' Care

In the world of photography, the options are endless: you can photograph anything, you can glorify something that is typically not fun to look at, and you can also use a photo to add effect to a given situation.  When something happens around the world, people are drawn to the event through the photos taken of the people and the events, whether good or bad.  There is no right or wrong when it comes to a picture because images look different to everyone-- what one person may want hung on the wall may be only good enough to throw in the trash to others--, but one thing never fails, a photo is the ONE thing that can really make people care.  I think of all the ways I'd want my photos to be displayed some day, and I also think that the "bigger," the better when it comes to a photo I love.  So out of the photos I've taken or have had taken of me, I'll share some of the ones that have made me care.

This photo taken from above the trees, and it seems there is no end.  It makes me care, care in the respect of this photo- rise above- and set your sights on the horizon...don't settle for what is in front of you, because there's so much in the distance, and sort through the layers.  Just as this photo has layers and each does something else for the world, each goal can have a layer that will do something positive for yourself or those around you.

                                      Family- Because they give you so much to care about!

 Care for those who care for us.  It's so easy to forget unless you are reminded, so remind yourself to care for those who care. 

Photo Challenge:

A photo of my goal

My result:

My goal was to begin on a track to train myself to become a runner and accomplish a 5K with Amy at some point in the future.  I know it is going to take me awhile to get to the point where she is, and I have done most of my planning on my own... but hopefully in the future this picture can be retaken, and I can be holding a medal of my own!

Amy here...before I add my challenge I must say YAYYYYYY!  It's on the blog, so it's official!  5K, Summer 2012?

OK, on to the challenge:

How about a photo of a day you thought would be bad, but turned out great?

Black and White

Have you ever felt silly for liking something that is really simple?  There's nothing special about it;  it doesn't DO anything, but still you just really enjoy it?  I feel that way about a lot of things, but for this post I'm going to focus on the simple colors black and white.  Some of my favorite photos are black and white; it seems to make something much more simple in this colorful world.  They are not "busy," nor over-stimulating, and, even when mixed-up, still only make gray.  That's what makes me feel silly for liking something so simple.  I love to use the black and white tones on my camera, however, I am not a fan of the fact that some image settings on my camera (like Kids & Pets!) can't be changed to black and white before I take pictures, but it's just as easy to change them myself -- another project I enjoy.   Who would have thought photography could turn someone into such a perfectionist!!  So in this world where everything is judged by looks and color, enjoy the originality, simplicity, cut and dry ways of black and white!

Photo Challenge Results!

My challenge:  A photo primarily showing my favorite color

Raindrops on the window... My favorite color is blue (yes even after all of that B&W talk!)

Next week's challenge:

 A picture that shows one of your goals for yourself.

What simple things do you love?

Old Memories

I've been thinking more about WHY I want to pursue this love for photography and didn't have any trouble realizing why it is so important to me-- simply put, the memories.  A photo (good or bad) provides a memory; it tells a story; it's a description in some sense.   Even if a memory may be one we want to forget, there may come a day when you feel the desire to have the memory resurface. 

As many people in the general area and across the world have heard, on February 14, 2008 the world of Northern Illinois University was shaken.  As Alma Mater to both Amy and myself, as well as most of our friends, it hit close to home.  I was on the campus of NIU that day, so this week was the anniversary of this heart breaking day, and it has made me appreciate the memories I have of college.  Some are great, some are not, but each one tells me a story, which to me is extremely important. 

Since I have felt the need to take a break from my camera this week, I haven't taken many photos to add to this post but along with my photos come my memories so I've picked a few photos that tell an important story to me.

A photo of me as a child feeding a baby doll.  This is around the age I established that when I grew up I wanted to be a mom.  While I have no children of my own, I still carry on the passion of working with children.  A photo to begin years of memories...at the time this photo was taken no one could have told me that it would be a preview of what my life would be 20 years later.

Sorry about the way this photo is presented, it has been scanned and cropped and now wont present correctly.   Anyway, this is a photo showing me as Amy's "mirror" a way to show I've always looked up to my sister.  Little did we know at this time we would be so much alike yet different in so many ways. 

There is not enough ways to describe the memories depicted in old photographs, but I find it amazing to think that the same photo has so many different meanings to every person who looks at it! 

That, my friends, is WHY I want to take this photography thing and run with it!


Amy's Photo Challenge!
Challenge:  A photo of something I like to spend my free time doing... to which I'll also provide you this picture of the cover of the book The Hunger Games (more information found here.)  a recommended read by you guessed it....

Amy!

So here you have it... I love to spend my free time READING!!

Until next time....

Alright sis...for next week's challenge, I'd like to see a picture that prominently shows your favorite color.

Have you read The Hunger Games?  Who's excited for the movie?

Only the beginning...

After last week's feeling of defeat, I'm feeling much better about myself behind the lens.  I'm realizing that a hobby is just that, a hobby; some people are better than others, and others learn to be the best.  So, in order to learn to be the best,  I've started to study what it takes to establish yourself in the world of photography.  Thanks to Pinterest, I've discovered numerous lists of props that a photographer should have, and I've also discovered some tutorials on camera settings.
 
I plan to enroll in a beginner's photo course once my camera is purchased. 

Another must-have is a portfolio.  Some things I have on the list to add to my future portfolio are...

A photo (or gallery of photos) including-
- Engagement
- Maternity/ Birth Announcements
- Newborn/ Children
- Family (including kids and pets)
- Famous monuments or landmarks
- Sunrise/sunset using shadows
- Animals (specifically a pack of wild horses)
- Memorable Reunion (parent/child, Army/Miltary family, spouse, sibling)
      I have many more ideas but that will all come with time. 

Here are some more of my photos I'm proud of!

One of my favorite shots of nature...If animals could talk, what would this goose be saying...

Amy's Photo Challenge:  Something that reminds you of High School 

Well here is one of my group of friends and I when we were actually in High School...

and I have a few more photos that I'd like to share

 

Yes, this IS a collection of my graduation materials from college... but it reminds me of high school because a certain teacher I had tried to convince her students (me included) to not give college a shot.  In other words I was forced to feel as though college wasn't for me, but I followed my dreams and got the degree I had dreamed of my whole life.  I hope this photo can serve as an inspiration to someone out there who may be doubting themselves.

This photo has been seen on this blog before... but here it is again.  Why does it remind me of high school?  Because Amy was my biggest fan, my support system as well as my motivation.  When I didn't like something someone said or the doubt that was forced upon me, she was the one who remained positive and believed in me...this picture was taken at her half-marathon, and it is proof that now it's my turn to be her support system and motivation!! 

Uh...ok...that description made me cry.  How about for next week...a photo that shows one of your favorite ways to spend your free time?
Until next time:   Who do you turn to for motivation?

Defeated....

While I am in no way, shape or form, by any means a PROFESSIONAL photographer, I give it my all behind the lens.  My mind is always working on ways to take the ordinary shot and make it into something that everyone wants to see.  I have found that some of my favorite shots have been candid photos of children doing what they do naturally...PLAY!

When given the chance to photograph some family portraits yesterday I can honestly say it was my first (while I'm sure not my last) time feeling absolutely defeated by the camera.  How an object that can't acknowledge me in any way could seem to cover my whole day with this tiny dark cloud...I do not know.  But I didn't seem to get a single good shot and just couldn't get the right angle or the right position being either zoomed in or zoomed out.  I wouldn't call it a failed attempt, but certainly not what I had hoped would come out of the opportunity. 

To reassure myself that I'm not the only one in the world who has walked away from the chance to give a family some memories through photography...I have looked up some quotes I'd like to share.

I found them here...

“ You don’t take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams

“ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Maybe just random photography IS what I should go for... however setting a goal may get me a little further into this hobby... one last quote of goal-setting inspiration...

“ You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper." – William Albert Allard

So there you have it... on my journey to probing deeper and taking that shot that no one else can!

Amy's Photo Challenge result:

 

Challenge:  A photo of something people would think I'm weird for laughing at...

It's no secret to anyone that knows him... Matt is an avid sports fan.  He loves every sport, but football is his favorite.  Even though we don't live in Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers are by far his favorite sports team of all time.  A few weeks back when they lost the game resulting in the end of their season, Matt watched in the position he is in this photo.  Amy and I thought it was funny how he sat like this for the majority of the game so I decided to jump in the photo and mimic him.  This photo kind of sums us up...I, really could care less about sports (except hockey), and he is my total opposite. 


For next week's challenge: Something that reminds you of high school.

Until next time....How do you overcome the feeling of defeat? 

The start of a hobby.

    I thought I would use this blog entry to share some special photos I've taken.  I have come across letter photography at a few craft shows that I was at this past craft season and one show last year; I thought it was so cool.   So this year I wanted to personalize a gift for Christmas, but I just couldn't find photographed letters that I liked enough to put them together into a wall hanging.  Instead, I took out my own camera and took some letter pictures of my own.  I have only one or two shots of just a few letters of the alphabet, but it's a start!  Here is some of my work...

*Please do NOT copy or reuse or erase the watermark on any of my photos without permission*

  

...and the photo responding to my challenge from Amy: 

Challenge was -Something I am proud of

The Chevrolet symbol on the wheel of my car.  I am VERY proud of my car that I bought on my own shortly after graduating college. 

Alrighty, sis...here is my challenge for this week:  Take a photo of something that people would probably think you were weird for laughing at.

My kind of crafting..

As Amy posted here we have decided to change the blog a little bit and my main focus will be on types of photos and things I can do with photography.

Before I delve into that, I'll give a little bit of my history about it.  As a child when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always answered "a mom."  I was a huge fan of baby dolls, and playing with Barbies was rare for me.  Anyway, I'd always take my dolls on "trips" to get their picture taken, and I would always practice staging a photo with props.  If I had a disposable camera (yep I'm showing my age by talking about a disposable camera, do they even make them anymore??), I would take pictures of my toys set up.  Anyway, the other day I had a thought...I'm currently an Early Childhood professional (they aren't my own kids but I still work closely with them), and I have also developed an extreme interest in photography-- the two things I played daily when I was a child.  It makes me wonder if this has always been my calling in life.  So there you have it, my focus for the blog, along with some DIY projects and of course New Recipe Nights, I will document my learning as I venture into trying to become a better photographer. 

I'm working toward a camera like this and my goal is to have it in my possession by Christmas 2012. 

Once I get my camera I plan to enroll in some photography classes to help me learn exactly how to do the fun things that I'd love to photograph. 

Working with an easy point and shoot digital camera at this time these are some of my favorite photos of scenery:

This isn't scenery but it is Amy crossing the finish line at her first 5k.  I love how you can see her, the finish sign and the time.

Taken at the zoo

A lone Cardinal in our tree.

 

So there ya have it!  My intro to my interests!

Do any of our readers have ideas of things I can photograph?  I'm always up for a challenge.