A friend introduced me to the wonderful world of photo editing and taught me how to make kaleidoscopes out of everyday photographs. Needless to say, I’ve been having a blast turning pictures of my fur-babies into WORKS OF ART. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Kaleidoscopes!
A friend introduced me to the wonderful world of photo editing and taught me how to make kaleidoscopes out of everyday photographs. Needless to say, I’ve been having a blast turning pictures of my fur-babies into WORKS OF ART. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I Married Spiderman!
The secret is out and his hidden identity has been revealed, as apparently I married Spiderman!
Steve and I just returned from our fabulous trip to Las Vegas where we attended the wedding of his brother, Jonathan to the beautiful and charming Naoko.
While there, it was such a joy to see the family again and meet some of Jon’s delightfully entertaining friends and colleagues. We also visited the Hoover Dam and the Valley of Fire which were both breathtaking. As usual, Steve took hundreds of photos, some of which are available in my gallery HERE.
Steve and I just returned from our fabulous trip to Las Vegas where we attended the wedding of his brother, Jonathan to the beautiful and charming Naoko.
While there, it was such a joy to see the family again and meet some of Jon’s delightfully entertaining friends and colleagues. We also visited the Hoover Dam and the Valley of Fire which were both breathtaking. As usual, Steve took hundreds of photos, some of which are available in my gallery HERE.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Dreams Don’t Die
Sometimes they are crushed, trampled, broken, ignored, forgotten or ridiculed. We may think they die, but that’s because we often we confuse our dreams with expectations we think others have of us. Don’t believe me? Look at the dreams you’ve had throughout your life. Have they changed over time? Is there one in particular that seems to stay with you, perhaps something you always thought you’d like to be or do if you ever got the chance? Something that has remained hidden in the recesses of your mind, but you never could quite shake? That’s your real dream, the one that cries for attention and without which you feel lost, unfulfilled and alone.
Let me give you an example. When I was a child I had a variety of dreams, things I wanted to be when I grew up – an astronaut, a veterinarian, a writer, a ballerina, a pony. As a teen and young adult, my aspirations changed somewhat to include artist, writer, musician, millionaire. Moving into adulthood, I found myself drifting toward athlete, writer, dancer. At midlife, those priorities changed to writer, homemaker and businesswoman (yes, you can be both). Now that I’m well into the second half of my life, I realize there is a distinctive pattern in those dreams. Do you see it? Notice the one thing that has remained consistent throughout the list, the only change being how much closer it moves to the front.
When I was small, I remember watching the first moon landing on television and spending many hours playing with our family dogs. Thus, my ideals focused on astronaut and veterinarian. However, upon entering the teenage years, my natural inclination as the oldest child was to follow in the footsteps of my mother who was then establishing her career as a freelance artist. So it makes sense that the first item of priority on my dreams list at that time would be artist as well. When I met my husband, it truly was love at first sight and I felt an instant connection with him that has never wavered in over 13 years. My soulmate and greatest source of encouragement, he is also a talented athlete, and it is no surprise that early in our relationship I jettisoned athlete to the front of the aspirations list.
Despite all these transformations in my list of dreams, however, one thing has remained constant. From my earliest memory to the present moment, I have always steadfastly wanted to be a writer. In fact, I have always believed I was a writer – something I can’t honestly say about any of my other dreams. Oh, Iwanted to be an astronaut. Or an artist. Or even an athlete. But I never really believed I was any of those things. I have forever yearned to be a writer, though, and felt empty and lost when I couldn’t, for whatever reason, put pen to paper.
And I believe that is what separates a dream from an expectation. You must believe in your dream and know that it always has been and always will be a part of you. It has to reside deeply and permanently in your heart, independent of what else is happening in your life at any particular time. Most importantly, it should inspire you, motivate you, refresh your spirit and give you a sense of being alive. No matter what else anyone may expect or demand of you, your dream must uplift you with a joyous sense of wonder and awe at this amazing creation that is you.
But understand that your dream cannot survive without nourishment. You must cultivate and encourage it if you want it to thrive. I keep a promise to myself to write for at least ten minutes every day, without fail. Sometimes it’s more. In fact, often it’s more. Just like an athlete trains her muscles or a musician perfects his scales, I practice my writing. It’s a gift I give myself, freeing my creativity and encouraging my Muse to visit often and linger just a bit more each time. Once you discover your dream, cherish and nourish it. It’s your gift and it’s worth treasuring.
Let me give you an example. When I was a child I had a variety of dreams, things I wanted to be when I grew up – an astronaut, a veterinarian, a writer, a ballerina, a pony. As a teen and young adult, my aspirations changed somewhat to include artist, writer, musician, millionaire. Moving into adulthood, I found myself drifting toward athlete, writer, dancer. At midlife, those priorities changed to writer, homemaker and businesswoman (yes, you can be both). Now that I’m well into the second half of my life, I realize there is a distinctive pattern in those dreams. Do you see it? Notice the one thing that has remained consistent throughout the list, the only change being how much closer it moves to the front.
When I was small, I remember watching the first moon landing on television and spending many hours playing with our family dogs. Thus, my ideals focused on astronaut and veterinarian. However, upon entering the teenage years, my natural inclination as the oldest child was to follow in the footsteps of my mother who was then establishing her career as a freelance artist. So it makes sense that the first item of priority on my dreams list at that time would be artist as well. When I met my husband, it truly was love at first sight and I felt an instant connection with him that has never wavered in over 13 years. My soulmate and greatest source of encouragement, he is also a talented athlete, and it is no surprise that early in our relationship I jettisoned athlete to the front of the aspirations list.
Despite all these transformations in my list of dreams, however, one thing has remained constant. From my earliest memory to the present moment, I have always steadfastly wanted to be a writer. In fact, I have always believed I was a writer – something I can’t honestly say about any of my other dreams. Oh, Iwanted to be an astronaut. Or an artist. Or even an athlete. But I never really believed I was any of those things. I have forever yearned to be a writer, though, and felt empty and lost when I couldn’t, for whatever reason, put pen to paper.
And I believe that is what separates a dream from an expectation. You must believe in your dream and know that it always has been and always will be a part of you. It has to reside deeply and permanently in your heart, independent of what else is happening in your life at any particular time. Most importantly, it should inspire you, motivate you, refresh your spirit and give you a sense of being alive. No matter what else anyone may expect or demand of you, your dream must uplift you with a joyous sense of wonder and awe at this amazing creation that is you.
But understand that your dream cannot survive without nourishment. You must cultivate and encourage it if you want it to thrive. I keep a promise to myself to write for at least ten minutes every day, without fail. Sometimes it’s more. In fact, often it’s more. Just like an athlete trains her muscles or a musician perfects his scales, I practice my writing. It’s a gift I give myself, freeing my creativity and encouraging my Muse to visit often and linger just a bit more each time. Once you discover your dream, cherish and nourish it. It’s your gift and it’s worth treasuring.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to me! Getting older is not something to be dreaded and denied, but rather another step on the path of the second - and best - half of my life.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Frostbite Doubles
I have to admit it seemed a bit weird donning short sleeves and a bare-legged skort to play tennis in December. However, apparently Mother Nature decided to grace us with beautiful weather for the Frostbite Doubles Tennis Tournament hosted by the City of Raleigh this weekend. Steve and I teamed up and decided to compete despite hardly practicing at all this fall and winter, and were promptly crushed in our first round. In our defense, though, our first-round competitors wound up being the team that ended up winning our entire division. We did somehow manage to pull out a win in the first consolation round, which was a surprising thrill. As our second round competitors elected to withdraw from the tournament, our default win there took us to the Consolation Finals. Although we fought hard, a win in the finals eluded us, but we were still quite pleased to accept the title of Consolation Finalists, and are looking forward to the Wake Forest Frostbite Doubles coming up next month.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
It’s Alive!
It's finally available - my new freelance writing and editing page is now up and running HERE.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Links Down
Due to server issues, my links are presently down. However, I'm currently working on the situation and hope to have that resolved soon.
Update - This unfortunately appears to have been a "fatal error" on the server. I'm looking into alternative methods for resolution, so please bear with me.
Update - This unfortunately appears to have been a "fatal error" on the server. I'm looking into alternative methods for resolution, so please bear with me.
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