skotch basket...

Got this basket out of my grandma's basement...thought it was cool.  When I brought it upstairs and opened it, she had a bunch of little vintage cookbooks inside...

Project 365: Day 203

owl thank you's...

Made some little thank you cards last night.  I bought the cards at Marshall's and added my own little bit of ribbon and rick-rack...because I can never just leave something alone!!  

Which led me to yesterday's 365 picture...
Project 365 Day 202 

rude...

Anybody else getting annoyed with all the rude, inconsiderate folks in just about every retail store known to man? People are just plain ridiculous.  They have no consideration for others.  I think we should revisit the lessons taught in elementary school on "personal space".  Everyone has their own personal space...a bubble, if you will, that we as fellow humans should be aware of when rubbing shoulders with each other out in the world. Ladies, when you are standing at a rack of clothes and you are moving through the clothes faster than the person you are swiftly approaching...it is NOT acceptable to reach in front of them or ever-so-slightly nudge them out of the way!   I was looking at some sale stuff the other day (Sales - where most of these offenses happen) and this lady moves in front of me...moving me out of the way so she can grab something that is directly in front of me.  I didn't move and kept looking at her until we made eye contact.  I said, "you really want me out of your way don't you?".  She replied surprised, "I would NEVER tell you that"...to which I said back, "well you kind of just did, didn't you?"  This little exchange did not change her actions though.  She just kept right on grabbing items that, if you could look at this scene from a personal space point of view, were inside my bubble.  Same thing happened today, I was at Target looking through the little dollar section at the front of the store (which I love by the way)...and again, a woman squirms right in front of me, requiring me to move out of her way, so she could get something out of a bin.  I stood there amazed that she felt this was ok.  She refused to look at me though and this little stand off was getting out of hand so I huffed and walked away.  Seriously lady...are you kidding me.  It's dollar store junk...there's enough for everyone. GET OUT MY BUBBLE, YO.  I think I need to start speaking up when this happens. Maybe people aren't aware of what they're doing.  OR maybe people just don't care since it's 2012...the year the world will end.  Whatever. 

So while at Target, I scored some Christmas ornaments for the game room at 90% off.  I only pushed 3 people out of my way to get them...
Project 365: Day 201

raffle...

"Do something for somebody  EVERYDAY  for which you do not get paid..."

--- Albert Schweitzer

Project 365: Day 199

My sister-n-law, Michelle, has cancer on her nose.  She is having it removed and then a couple days later will have reconstructive surgery to repair it.  I know this has got to be weighing heavy on her mind but she has kept such a positive, upbeat attitude throughout this entire ordeal.  I don't think I would be so positive about it.  Matter-a-fact, knowing the way my mind works, I'm SURE I would not have such a good outlook on it all.  Every time I see her...even when she is talking about it, she has kept a smile on her face.  So in this new year, where I am trying to be more positive, I am going to try and learn from her.  I respect her optimism and hope that someday I will have more of that spirit!   So...the raffle tickets in this picture are for a fund raiser to help pay for the cost of her surgeries. They are $10 each and the winner gets a brand new Glock 9mm G-19 pistol.  Say what??  Send me an email if you are interested in tickets to itsjustmephotography@gmail.com   

To those who have already bought tickets from me...THANK YOU.  I was a little surprised at how quick people where to purchase them.  Not for the gun (although that was the motivation for some) but for the opportunity to help out someone in need.  My friends, you have inspired me...thank you. 

denny...

“It is last stage of all when we are frozen up within and quite the phantom of ourselves..."

--- Matthew Arnold

I have a co-worker who killed himself Monday night.  He stepped in front of a train.  I can't get him out of my mind.  I keep thinking...I've been in that depressive darkness before...I understand, so why didn't I pick up on it?  Not that there was anything I could have done...or maybe there was.  I have been frozen by depression before. So stiff and cold from it that even to have a thought in your brain hurts. He must have been to this point. Dark and cold. Hopeless.  My thoughts are with him and his family tonight.  I would like to think that he is at peace now...

Project 365: Day 197

 
 Tie a string around your finger so you won't forget...

Project 365: Day 198

ugh...

3:00 am - White trash neighbor arrives home from vacation.

3:01 am - White trash neighbor put's out small dog belonging to lady staying at his house because,                         "Dog's don't have no business being in no house".

3:02 am - Small dog begins barking...incessantly.

3:03 am - I wake up after being asleep only a couple hours.

3:08 am - I go outside and across the street to tell the precious little one to SHUT THE HE** UP!!

3:09 am - Little dog freaks out and runs to the backyard to hide.

3:10 am - I lay back down to try and sleep.

3:12 am - I feel terrible about scaring the little dog.

3:13 am - I realize I can not go back to sleep...thinking that the little dog is upset. 

3:14 am - I eat 2 chocolate chip cookies out of guilt.

3:17 am - Little dog starts its incessant barking again. 

3:18 am - Big dogs down the street begin barking. 

3:19 am - Guilt is gone...irritation has returned.

3:23 am - I take a double dose of Prozac to try and wash away the irritation. 

3:25 am - I think of all the things I'm going to say to white trash man across the street later today.

3:45 am - Little dog is still barking................

 

resolutions...

Was at the beach today....wrote down some thoughts...
It's chilly but the air is somewhat crisp. I'm sitting at a spot I love to come to...to think.  I can hear the water moving...birds overhead and the sound of children playing. Someone is on a swing...I can hear the metal chain each time the swing makes a pass through the wind.  There are lot's of proud kids riding their shiny new bikes from Christmas.  There's some boys making fun of another boy because the bike he is riding is Hello Kitty. Clearly it belongs to the little girl who is standing by watching...Geezzz...kids can be so cruel. So can adults for that matter. There is a loving couple embraced on the pier...maybe making new years promises to each other.  Over the next few days people will be making all kinds of new years resolutions.  I have thought of a few that I would like to make but I will not commit.  Those never work anyways. I'm already cruel enough to myself...I don't need another broken promise to beat myself up over.  But...are there things in my life that I want to change...of course.  I want to be a better person.  I think most of us would say that about ourselves.  But what does that mean?  How do you accomplish that?  My dad wrote in his journal before he died about being a better person.  He said he had been so caught up in making money that he forgot about the people around him. While he was battling cancer he saw lots of hurting people. In the hospitals...the doctors offices...going for chemo...they were everywhere. When faced with his own death, it made him see people in a whole new way.  He said the only reason we were here on this earth was to help others.  He was sitting in the waiting room, about to go in for chemo and he looked around at the people there. He said some were there by themselves (my mom always went with him), why didn't we comfort them? He said, how hard would it be to send a card to someone who needs encouraging?  He said if he ever got better, he would start helping people and try to make a difference in their lives.  I feel like I have been so caught up in myself and my own pain the past couple years that I've lost sight of this. Sure there are times a thought will pop in my head...send that person a card...call that person and tell them you appreciate them...and on and on, but 9 times out of 10, life happens and I just don't do it.   I feel sometimes so inadequate...hypocritical...not important enough...blah blah blah...to help others.   It's just easier sometimes to stay behind the walls I've erected around myself.  I want to change that. Maybe if I can forgive myself for so many past wrongs, maybe then I'll feel differently.  But I can't do that and it seems to stop me anytime I want to think or act positively.  Ryan bought me a book last year on the power of positive thinking.  Maybe it's time to get it out and start reading it.  Ugh...Personal growth sucks.  Anyways...this is not a new years resolution. Just self reflection and a desire to be better. 

By the way...the couple on the pier...yeeeeeeaaah, the man in that duo has been trying to cough up something for a good 15 minutes. He just spit what I can only imagine would be part of a lung, onto the sidewalk destroying all romantic notions.

more 365...

Here's a few more...

Project 365: Day 176 - Disclaimer: no babies were harmed during the shooting of this photograph. 

 

Project 365: Day 173



Project 365: Day 175