Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. My talented and ambitious friend, Tara Pollard Pakosta, issued herself a bit of a challenge for 2012. She wants to run/walk/elliptical (ie: MOVE) 1,000 miles during the year. When I saw her Facebook post, I did a little math to see if I thought it sounded doable. It’s about 2.7 miles per day for 366 days (remember 2012 is a leap year,) so I am doing the challenge as well. I started a day late (didn’t see her post until Jan. 2) so went extra long to catch up and even pass what I need for this week. I’m a champ coming out of the gate but 44 years of history have taught me sustaining just about anything is difficult, so this will be a trial. I think I can do it, I’ve been logging miles almost every day for 8 months already, so it’s not a resolution, just a continuation of good habits hopefully made even better.
2. I’m heading to Austin, TX next week for a photoshoot with the lovely Zavala family. I’ve always wanted to visit Austin, have heard it’s a cool little/big city with a lot of character, so am excited to see if that’s true. (photo via http://www.aroundtownaustin.com/.)
3. Love when I get to practice something I'm interested in and I have a willing model. Usually my kids are tired of being my models, but I have one interested in everything fashion and modeling so she's an easy sell. I just gotta' ask (and sometimes buy a new outfit...) I wanted to shoot what is called "highkey" -- a very light, bright style, so we found a way to do it on the cheap: two white sheets, one clipped to our patio overhang and one on the ground. All that beautiful soft winter light bouncing everywhere!
4. I don’t believe in making resolutions for the new year. I think when you decide you want to change something, you should just do it. To quote William James: “To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.” It is a coincidence that I came across the One Hundred Pushups program at the beginning of the year. I have always loved pushups. I could never do one, until starting to work out, and I quickly discovered I love them. They make you feel like a badass. I want to be able to do 100. In a row. This app is the perfect incremental training coach, so I am on board!
5. Daily Mile is a great, easy-to-use website for logging your miles and workouts. It has charts and reports and statistics galore. Fun ones too: like how many donuts your last workout burned, or how many gallons of gas you've saved with your mileage. It's the little things that help keep it fun. Check it out and stay motivated.

Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. Not sure how I stumbled upon Ben Davis’ site: Ben Does Life, but I’m sure glad I did. Three years ago, Ben, aged 22, was sad and very overweight. His grandmother asked him a simple question, “How are you doing, Ben,” but he knew the undertone was so much more. She was worried about him and it became a personal call to action. That night he started his blog, gave his grandma the address in a Christmas card and seemingly, never looked back. He immediately began running. At 360+ lbs, he barely managed to go 8 minutes. But he never stopped and did more and more each day. 11 months later he had shed 120+ lbs, run countless 5K’s, 10K’s and even a full marathon. It started a movement, basically, called the Do Life Movement and is a very inspirational read. He’s funny and personable and REAL and has been a great source of “it’s possible!”
2. One of the very first pieces of art I ever bought is this piece “A Deer Wearing Gym Socks” by artist Charmaine Olivia. It’s BIG and I have yet to get it framed. Maybe that will be next on the list. I LOVE it so much! (It seems the artist has removed this piece for sale, but she has many other equally awesome pieces! I also love Headache and Bears in Her Hair.)
3. I LOVE small, modern, open houses. I don’t need a lot of space, I just need the space to be well thought out and utilized. When I retire I want three of these, or something similar. One each on a Pacific Ocean beach, in the mountains of Idaho or Montana and a gorgeous Southwest area, like Santa Fe. A girl can dream, right? This particular one is in Massachusetts.
4. Just finished The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan. I’m not much into giving reviews, they’re always so subjective, but I liked it. If you’re offended by the C word (used, mostly, anatomically) you might not.
5. The Couch to 5K program seems to be a doable 9+week program intended to get non-runners up and running, to accomplish a 5k race (3.1 miles.) I am a non-runner, literally NEVER running, with the exception of the forced mile in 9^th grade PE where I grudgingly slogged through the best I could. I don’t want to “be” a runner, exactly, but I think it would be really good for me to set a goal to do something I have previously thought impossible and that scares me. So I’m doing it. Today is day 2. Just knowing day 1, earlier this week, didn’t kill me, kinda’ makes me excited that day 2 won’t either.

ETA: It didn’t kill me, but despite being the exact same workout as day 1, it was harder – both physically and mentally. Because of that, I feel even more proud of myself. Also, I feel equally more disgusted. On paper, it’s not even a hard workout so it shames me to know it’s so hard for me.

Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. Christopher Hitchens died this week. Despite not agreeing completely with everything he said, I did love that he didn’t tell us what to think, but taught us how to think. He asked of us that we DO think, that we DO question, that we DO love, that we do LIVE. Himself to the end, his words and the fires he lit will burn brightly for a very, very long time. (Photo via Vanity Fair for reference only.)
2. Lumps of coal for all my co-workers and friends. Because I’m quite sure they’ve all been naughty at some point this year. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be my friends :) Make your basic “Rice Crispies treat” recipe but instead use a chocolate cereal and peppermint-flavored marshmallows. Add some black food coloring and scoop irregular-sized lumps onto waxed paper to cool. Package up and then warn everyone that it tastes delicious, but WILL dye your mouth and teeth black while eating. Well, only warn the friends who deserve it :) (Idea for packaging design from here.)
3. Love my new Vessel drinkware. Double-walled, glass, 16 oz., with a removable strainer. You put loose tea inside, add water, replace the strainer and drink. The strainer keeps all the loose tea in the bottom, just letting the tea through. I’ve gone through a whole box of Oolong in a week with this cup.
4. This week was our cookie exchange at work. How awesome it is to bake ONE kind of cookie and magically turn that into SIX different kinds of cookies, each equally delicious. Can we have cookie exchange once a month? (I made these ones.)
5. New friends (and new parents) Greer and Brian welcomed sweet baby boy, Bryce, earlier this Fall and I am the lucky girl they asked to photograph their new little family. Thank you!

Greer + Bryan = Bryce [Wenatchee family photography, newborn]

While not quite a newborn at 2 months old, the very gentlemanly Bryce was just a peach to photograph today. His parents, Greer and Bryan, were equally wonderful to work with and I am happy to report another successful session of capturing a little bit of family magic. I kid you not, tears came to my eyes while photographing them, noticeably so, leaving me to explain to my new friends that I am NOT a basket-case, really, I just get overcome with emotion sometimes, seeing families interact and sharing that little je ne sais quoi that makes them so THEM. Unique in that combination that only those people at that point in time can be. I'm sure Bryan thought I was a loon, wiping tears from my eyes as I shot them, but so be it. It's one of the reasons I love what I do, to capture a glimpse, however brief, of that bond that families have. The inside jokes and running commentary that makes them them. Glad I got to share just a little and make these images for them. Welcome to the world, Bryce!