Photography Monthly Project ~ January

Last year I had the opportunity to feed and nurture a passion of mine that had long been in hibernation. I am and have always been, a firm believer that things happen for a reason; so when my dear friend Michelle McDaid decided to create a photography business for herself, I immediately offered to be her assistant.  What better way to awaken your senses and get your life off auto pilot, then to do something you have passion about.

So there I was watching and learning first hand how it's done.  I slowly began to come out of my fog and learn to dream and laugh again.  Now fast forward a year and it is now "the year all about me", so of course photography must be a part of this year.

Michelle suggested we both participate in a monthly photography project and I of course wanted to give this a try.  This will help develop and challenge me in my photography as well as the opportunity to sink my teeth into editing a bit more.

January's theme is Resolutions and here is my photo for this month ~ Enjoy

As always, thanks for stopping by

Take Me Outside My Comfort Zone

My last post I said to stay tuned because I may have something exciting to report, if I continued to stay strong.  Well I didn't but I don't completely consider this a failure and here is why.

I had recently joined a meet up group with woman that enjoy adventure and travel; I had planned on attending their meet up which was a Zip Line, yeah you heard me right a Zip Line. For those of you who know me, know this is pretty far outside my comfort zone but I wanted to stretch myself and thought what better way than a Zip Line.

The moment I signed up I was giddy with excitement and then the fear began to creep in.  Each day I would talk myself into it and each night out of it.  This tug of war within myself was frustrating me and I wanted to know why. 

Well this is what I came up with.  I had never attended a meet up with these woman before and my first one was going to be one that stretched me WAY outside of my comfort zone.  I wasn't sure if they would be able to support me and my fears and what would I do if they couldn't? 

What I decided was to cancel going on this trip and take baby steps with this meet up group and with my close friends go outside my comfort zone...at least for now.

So to you my friends, help me outside my comfort zone when you see an opportunity. I may need your support and understanding as I work through my fears  Also, depending on others takes me out of my comfort zone, so this could actually be a two for one deal for me.

I would still like to do the Zip Line in the Spring/Summer and I hope to have my friends join me and be surrounded by all your support.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

My Opinion Matters

I quietly observe and assess situations because this gives me the time to form my thoughts and opinions.  Because it takes me time to work through this, I rarely have the opportunity to share them once they have been formed; because the time has passed and it just doesn't feel necessary any longer.

I found myself in a different situation this weekend and I had an overwhelming need to talk about my opinions; this is not a feeling I am used too and was unsure how to approach it.  But with this being the year all about me...I had to do it, I gave my opinion.

While thinking about how I would approach the subject, it forced me to ask myself why is this so difficult for me to begin with?  Here is what I came up with.

1. I don't always know how to tactfully express my opinion
2. I put other peoples feelings ahead of mine

Both of these reasons should never stop me, but they have.  I will confess, this was probably one of the most difficult things I done, as well as one of the most liberating.  This conversation opened dialog, removed resentment and frankly lowered my blood pressure.

What lesson have I learned (I hope).  My opinion matters.

The year all about me so far is filled with allot of self discovery and self awareness and this may not be the best read, however I feel I have to learn a bit more about me and the why's, before I can get the courage to venture outside my comfort zone.

Well, stay tuned because I may be out of my comfort zone after next weekend, if the courage stays strong (crossed fingers)  I may have something exciting to post.

As always, thanks for stopping by

I Have Absolutly No Idea

A year all about me, what does that exactly mean?  Honestly, I don't know but it should make for an interesting year figuring it out.

I am now typing my first post and I have no idea what I want to say or how it should be said.  However these are the exact same reasons I hold myself back from starting, because I am waiting for the answer to appear before I begin. Intellectually I think we all know this is silly but the fear of failure stops me before I even get a chance to fail.

So hear I go beginning this blog before I have the answers and can only hope the answers will show themselves at some point on this journey.