Sunday, December 30, 2012

52 Weeks 2012-March

Calatrava Bridge Opening Ceremony-Week 9 2012



Basked in Light-Week 10 2012 from Muir Woods



Cut Off-Week 11 2012 in celebration of St Pattys Day



Gentle Giant-Week 12 2012 from the Dallas Zoo

52 Weeks 2012 February

Sunset on the Platform-Week 5 2012

 
 
Will You...? Week 6 2012


Light Up My Life With Love- Week 7 2012



Happy Birthday! Week 8 2012

52 Weeks in a Nutshell-January

The first month of my 52 Weeks photo project of 2012


2012 started with the arrival of Danbo, who came all the way from Japan to be a part of my 52 week project.

Week 2 was a visit to a local park. I never knew that this little jem was so close to the house I grew up in!



Joining the Dallas Photography group on meetup.com was quite helpful in getting out to new places and learning from several great photographers. This shot is from downtown Grapevine.

At the end of Jan, we welcomed in the Year of the Dragon.

Under Construction

Under construction...is the best way to describe the past year, and why I have been MIA to this blog. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Just about a year ago (Jan 14 to be exact) I posted this post about my new years resolutions. In a nutshell they were:
  • Regain control of my life
  • Travel more
  • Improve my photography skills
I happily report that I accomplished all of these things. New job=happier me, I have also seen several new places in this year including my first trip to Canada, and visiting the southern most tip of the US (in HI). I also vowed to complete a 52 week photo project as well which was a fun learning experience. I will start to post the images of the project in an attempt to get caught up to my new 2013 project that starts this week!

So, on this eve of New Years Eve, as I reflect back on this year, I can honestly say that I am a much happier and healthier person than I was 366 days ago. and my goal for 2013 is to be able to say that same thing again at the end of next year. I hope the same for you :)

When All Else Fails, Follow a Dog

While in Capri, we decided to stroll through Anacapri and do a quick hike to some roman ruins. I had bought a great book with hikes for all over Italy,and felt that it had fairly detailed info of each hike. This hike/walk started at the center of town and would wind through the streets of Anacapri taking us out of town and to the ruins. Easy peasy. It was a nice hike and somewhere along the way we came across a friendly dog, who after a few pats on the head, he continued on his way up the path. One thing we didn't plan on was that many streets would not be marked and that we would get lost. As the six of us tried to decipher where we were on the map, the friendly dog came back and started barking at us. As a joke I said that maybe the dog was trying to tell us something, and he probably knows the city better than we do. But we realized that this dog was always about 20 yards ahead of us and he seemed like he knew where he was going.

So, we decided that we would just follow the dog instead, and see where he would take us. Patches, as we named him led us left and right down cobblestone streets, and past old homes with grapevines and wisteria growing in the yards. Then we turned out of the city and onto a path lined with tall pines. As we continued through the piney trail, low and behold, Patches actually led us to the ruins we were looking for, Villa Damecuta! We think he is a stray that lives on the grounds since there is running water there (and he appeared to be quite the mouser). After checking out the place, Patches followed us to the closest bus stop and waited with us. I felt bad because I think he felt the proper payment for his tour services was a forever home, but unfortunately, we couldn't take him with us back to the US. As the bus pulled up, as if on que, he went on his way, perhaps to look for the next group of lost touristas.

Our tour guide Patches taking in the view of the Gulf of Naples

Saturday, January 14, 2012

New Year, New Resolutions

Cheers to a New Year and another chance to get it right! ~Oprah

 

I can honestly say I am happy to see 2011 go. It started out so well, but then around the end of summer it all went to hell. So I welcome 2012 as an opportunity to try to let go of the past and greet this new year with fresh eyes and a positive outlook...


That being said, I have made a few New Years resolutions to try to make 2012 a better one. Perhaps by posting them here, I will hold myself accountable to them. So, in no particular order here they are:


  1. I will regain control over my life. I have had zero balance to my life for the past six months, all work and no play makes me pretty cranky. This includes finding time for myself to do the things I enjoy, finding time to cook real meals, and keeping my house clean and organized (which may mean I hire a cleaning lady).
  2. I will travel more. Even if I can't spend weeks in Europe, I will use the four weeks of vacation I get yearly and vow to not spend it at home. So far I have two trips in the works, so... so far so good.
  3. I will take more photos and improve my photography skills. I was inspired by photographer Teresa Berg, who takes beautiful portraits of rescue dogs to help them find homes, and I would love to be able to do this for local rescues too. I love dogs and I love photography, this seems win/win. So I am working on my portrait skills and in the mean time have also decided to do a 52 week project. Here are week one and two:

Week 1 Danbo's Arrival
Week 2 Prairie Creek Falls
So there it is, I think these are achievable goals that will allow me to get 2012 right. What are your goals for this year?