approaching joy

Goals :: August

Did anyone else wake up yesterday and wonder where there summer had gone??

As is the norm around these parts, I am super inspired by Elise (as I have mentioned here, here, and here).  I highly recommend her blog to any one wanting to get an example of a true lifestyle blog.

One of the (many) things Elise does is a monthly goals list.  As she explains in this post, the concept of having a few things to focus on every month makes goal setting much more practical and well... attainable.  It's with that in mind that I want to set one goal a month for a few different areas of my life each month.  They will be small things but things that will account for a much bigger whole.  Also- knowing that I'm putting my goals out there makes me more accountable to you and to myself.  Here we go.

Blog: 

• Publish at least one post every weekday. 
  I did it while I was taking classes and working twenty hours a week.  There's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to do it now. 

Photography:

• Make and order a photo book.
  I took pictures of my grandmother (i.e. Nana) and her friends at her 84th birthday party this past month.  I want to edit and put together something awesome that she, and our family, can cherish.  No pressure, right?

Personal:

• Don't be afraid of the word "budget".
  I am going to be taking a more active role in finances around the hacienda.  Numbers, money, and finances are at the opposite end of the spectrum from my strong suite so any links, recommendations, and happy thoughts in this area of my life are appreciated.

Now it's your turn.
What are some of your goals for the month of August?  Leave a comment OR (even better) leave a link to your blog post or face status telling me and the rest of the Approaching Joy community* what your goals are. 

*I'm thinking about calling this group of people (you know, you guys who read this blog) the "Joyous Ones" or maybe the "Joy-sters".  ("Joy-sters" sounds like oysters and has a decidedly New England feel, don't you think?) Any thoughts on naming the community (i.e. coming up with things even more ridiculous than my own attempts) would be appreciated as well.

And now a word about being a writer...

I like to write.

I'm not sure that I have ever made that a matter of public knowledge.  Actually, if I'm being totally honest with myself, it would probably be closer to the truth to say that I have hardly acknowledged my own proclivity for writing over the years.  Today I am changing that.

When other teenagers where sharing secrets over the phone for hours, I was in bed scrawling out the drama of my day.  I'd find myself writing in tiny script using the outermost margins of whatever blank journal had made it's way in front of me so that it would last as long as possible. As soon as Christmas or my birthday came around I would ask for another. This was not because I "liked" to write; I just wasn't a phone person and needed a place to vent.

As an undergrad, writing came easily. I never found it odd that I could relate to (and therefore write about) the characters in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Odsessy or the Canterbury Tales.  Once again I never imagined that was because I "liked" to write, but rather, I knew what a wanted to say and had a pretty good grasp of the English language with which to say it.  

In grad school, writing is like breathing, in that, if you don't do it you don't survive.  So I wrote and wrote and wrote and then, craziness of all craziness, I started a blog because I wanted to write more.  And since I've been blogging I've realized that it's really not because I "like" to write; it's because I have to write.  

Admitting that I choose to write, that I enjoy writing, or that I have to write is a big deal for me.  Even writing this post has taken a week and a half of starts and stops and constant self-confidence checks: 

• "Am I okay with admitting something to the interweb that I have taken so long to admit to myself?"
• "What if I get flack from people who come to this site via a craft/food/fashion link? They don't give a flying flip about my writing aspirations..."
• "What if a 'real writer' stumbles upon this blog and laughs?"
• "What if someone glances at anything on this blog (including this post) and publicly deems it unworthy of such writer-ly aspirations?" (Yep, there's my made up word of the week for you: "writer-ly" and also, an easy explanation for my worrying.)

Regardless of all those insecurities (and oh so many more), today I'm claiming it.  In the timeless words of the rap duo Tag Team circa 1993, "Whoomp! There it is!" 

Thanks, as always, for letting me write.  You have no idea how much I appreciate the support, you, my readers, give me.

Color Chronicles :: Wanting and Doing

I wrote this post earlier in the week while I was feeling super discouraged and frustrated about my lack of productivity.  Funny thing: Once I wrote it I almost immediately shook off the un-productivity and got to work.  I'm sharing in an effort to be real and to let people who are in a slump (blogging or otherwise) know that it's usually a passing thing.  

Warning: I am currently super frustrated at myself so this post is likely to come off as whiny and potentially irritating.  While I don't apologize for the genuine tone, I'd hate for any unsuspecting reader to stumble into this post looking for sunshine and only get my personal (and hopefully temporary) rainclouds.

It's no big revelation that there's a difference between wanting something and doing it.  
I could want to be the next Nora Ephron all day but until I actually start typing out words there is no chance that it will happen.  I could want to take the most gorgeous pictures ever but unless the camera comes out of that horrid little camera bag, awesome images won't magically happen.  It goes without saying, that it takes more than knowing how to type to be a writer and bringing the camera out to be a photographer (let a lone a good one) but those initial steps are necessary.
And lately, more often than not, these initial steps havn't been happening with me.

Before the move I was frustrated.  I felt stuck in a place where I had limited creative options/ opportunities; where my status quo revolved around a scholastic degree I actively questioned and, at times, seriously disliked.  The thought of being in this new, more exciting place seemed to be the answer to all my previous conundrums: More culture, other creative-types to work with, potential opportunity in every interaction, and a mall five minutes away... just in case I decided I needed to go shopping and didn't want it to be a 150 mile round trip.
And there are all these positive things:  Just in the past week, I've had offers to work with two sets of local women on two different yet wildly exciting projects.  If I had any kind of throwing arm I could chunk a rock through the receiving door of the nearest set of shops and can be at one of the nation's premiere museums of American art within 15 minutes of leaving my driveway.  I work with respected photographers and have a schedule that allows me to participate in any creative venture I choose.

But there's so much I didn't account for.
Those shops (and the 20 around it) can be a huge distraction.
Those projects could be great... but that doesn't stop me from being frightened by thinking of all the ways they could go wrong.
Just because I could be at a great art museum doesn't mean I am.
Just because I have the time to be creative doesn't mean I actually do. 

Is it my inability to handle distraction?
Is it the lack of structure or schedule?
Is it a lack of ambition, drive, motivation?
Or is it simply the presence of fear?  Is it that I am paralyzed by the fact that I now have the opportunity to go out and conquer the world of my choosing but am intimidated by the immensity of it all and the lack of a strict blueprint to show me where I need to go?

I am truthfully not sure but I do realize there is a major disconnect in my "wanting" and my "doing"... and it is pissing me off.

Only loosely related: 
I just read this author interview and though I have no clue who she is I totally get her idea of"headspace"... and neurotic childhood journaling. 

Arty Crafty :: Easy DIY Photo Backdrop

The other day I shared a quick DIY using washi tape.
Today, I want to show you how I made the "backdrop" for my DIY photo-shoot and that anyone could use for any kind of photo projects that need zero distractions in the background. I'm thinking Ebay items, school projects, scrapbooking entries... the possibilities are endless.

Materials used:

• *a white t-shirt from the Mister
• window 
• random electrical outlet with an outdoor cord plugged in to it 

How to:

• Drape the Mister's t-shirt over the random electrical outlet with an outdoor cord plugged in to it which happens to be directly in front of the window.
• Start taking pictures. 

I realize this sounds like a total joke but really it works!

The secret is getting a good window.  The window in this example (which is just out of sight in the upper left of the picture) faces north so it gets pretty great light throughout the day.  
By placing the tape, bracelet, glue combo on the back end of the "backdrop" (instead of up front, facing the light) I got some fun shadows to play with. 

You could get different looks depending on where you placed your own objects.
Hope this helps with any photo projects you have in your future!

*Bonus points if the white t-shirt you use is ironed before you drape it.  That first picture looks horribly wrinkly doesn't it?!?!

Beautiful Moments :: Colors of Summer