Saturday, January 31, 2009

day 31


I cannot resist flowers and have realized that I really enjoy photographing them. This is the same tulip I shot the other night in my hallway. Today, I sat it in my windowsill so that it could soak in the natural light. I think this is a MUCH better representation of the beauty of the flower.

So this rounds out the first month of the 365 Challenge! Looking back, there are some shots I really like and others I REALLY want to remove. Mostly, I am just very proud of myself for not giving up. This has been an incredibly busy, stressful month and there were so many nights when I didn't feel the photography. The reality is, there are some shots that work and others that don't. Though I want to be great all the time, that's just not going to happen - it's a good lesson for me to learn. Having to do this every day is really pushing me and I am learning so much.

Friday, January 30, 2009

day 30


These flowers are growing next to one of the fences that surrounds the playground at my school. I couldn't resist their sunny little faces...

Thursday, January 29, 2009

day 29


I just love these little votive holders that I got from Partylite. I have four of them actually, atop my bar and in the armoire that holds my television. They warm up the room while I relax at the end of the day. I am trying to make an effort to light the candles in my house more often these days!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

day 28


After another long day, my photo became a bit of an after thought. Just before I left another charter work session, I took a few shots of my friend Sharyn's beautiful daughter. Sadly, they were blurry.

So... I grabbed this pretty tulip and searched for some decent light. I decided that my hallway would be a nice spot. I'll need to work on the lighting a bit (so there's not so much yellow) but I think the long ledge makes for an interesting 'stage' to use again when I'm not so tired.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

day 27


My students and I are working with an artist/photographer as a part of a program called CoTA - Collaboration of Teachers and Artists. Renee, our artist, will be working with us for a series of five lessons (one per week) for about an hour each time. Our plan is to read different versions of the story, Cinderella and to create pieces of assemblage art which show the symbolism and uniqueness of each story. Last week, my students and I read The Korean Cinderella and today, with Renee's help, created this piece of art. It needs a few finishing touches but the kids were so excited about what they had created. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Monday, January 26, 2009

day 26


I spent the evening with my work fellows again, trying to wrap up the charter. This time we met at my house. It was really fun to host a group of people for dinner and it reminded me of how much I enjoy doing that. I will have to make the effort to do more of it! I love the feeling of a house full of good smells and laughter and people I enjoy.

Sharyn brought a bag of Oreos for our dessert and I was so excited to eat some with a big glass of ice, cold milk! These are absolutely one of my childhood favorites. My parents love to tell the story of my sister and I heading down to the basement with the big, yellow Tupperware container of Oreos when we were kids. There, we would scrape out the creme filling with our teeth, reattach the cookies and put them back into the container. :) These days, I don't open them up. I just like to dunk them in milk and eat 'em up in two bites. Delicious!

By the way, I still have that Tupperware container - I took it from my mom as she was clearing out 'old stuff.' Just the sight of it makes me smile.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

day 25


After church today, Jody and I had lunch at Pizza Nova, the restaurant where I used to work back when I was in college. It's in Point Loma and it's windows look out over the marina. I grabbed my camera with the intention to get some shots of the boats and the beautiful, cloudy sky but those pictures actually didn't look so great. The photos I really liked were of some interesting plants we came across, a cool tree trunk with spikes on it and a building Jody and I thought would make a great location for our 'West Coast Offices' (more on this at a later date...)

Jody suggested the shot you see above - I didn't even notice these strange flowers so I'm glad she pointed them out! There were a number of other contenders today so you can see those by clicking here.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

day 24


I spent several hours looking down this table today. I'm working with a group of teachers and parents to create a new charter school. It's a really exciting endeavor and has challenged me on so many levels as an educator. The path that led us to this point has been incredibly frustrating, emotionally draining and has caused me to question a lot of what I believed in. I am sad and disappointed that Clear View's charter was not renewed - I've been teaching there for nine years - but it has led me down a whole new path that I must say I am thrilled to be on. There is so much work to be done and I don't know if we will be able to pull it off in time to open next year but I am so proud of what we've been able to achieve already. I can't wait to see what comes next...

Friday, January 23, 2009

day 23


This challenge is really pushing me to be creative! It's Friday and I'm tired, especially after going out for drinks at the end of a long day at work. I took my camera along on our dog walk hoping to find something inspiring (in the dark) and came across these branches. I typically avoid using my flash at all costs but, in this case, I think it makes for an interesting variety of gray shades.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

day 22


Arijana came over tonight to talk home buying and to partake in some cheese. The VONS near my house has a terrific selection of cheeses, seen here in this photo. We chose manchego, Gruyere, brie and a really nice blue cheese to eat with some fresh bread that Arijana made. It was all so great but I can report that blue cheese does not taste good when eaten with green apple.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

day 21


For some reason, I really like dandelions. There's something about them that reminds me of my childhood, I think. This shot makes the dandelion look quite pretty though the patch it sits in behind my house is an ugly mess. See the wide view here.

Funny how much your perspective changes things...

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

day 20


These are my super cool salt and pepper shakers, given to me by one of my favorite people, Robyn. She has a great eye for things that will look terrific in my house. This quirky little pair (from the fabulous store, Anthropologie) make me feel happy and always brighten up my dinner table. Thanks Dogger, you did good! :)

Monday, January 19, 2009

day 19


It was another beautiful day outside so I decided it was the perfect opportunity for some dog baths. Hershey LOVES getting a bath - especially when it involves being sprayed with the hose. She's so funny trying to bite the water and scooting around the yard. The scooting is a little tough in our small yard but that just makes it even funnier. She's not sure where to go but needs to run around. I got lots of good shots of both dogs so choosing just one was tough. See the rest here.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

day 18


The sunset tonight was absolutely beautiful! It made my whole kitchen glow in pink. These are the days I really miss living out in Sunset Cliffs. Amazing sunset, 72 degrees outside... just perfect. San Diego, you rock!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

day 17


I took Charlie to the vet again this afternoon. We sure do seem to be visiting her a lot these days! These are the medicines they are taking now - two for each of them and they both take the same additional medicine for their joints. Charlie may be taking another medicine for his thyroid if his blood work comes back showing his levels are still low. I miss those days when I only had to give them a single pill, once a month. Meal time is such a process now and Charlie gets so impatient. I hope that it's all helping them to feel better because honestly, I can't tell much of a difference in the way they behave. If only I could ask them...

Friday, January 16, 2009

day 16


We had an assembly at school today with Dr. Zoolittle from the San Diego Zoo. It's so much fun to watch my student's reactions and excitement when we do special things like this. They brought some Madagascar cockroaches, a huge millipede, a boa constrictor and an opossum.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

day 15


This is my good friend, Arijana and her terrific husband, Naeem. They were my neighbors when I was renting a place in Lemon Grove (before I moved into my current home a few months ago.) It's funny how you can live next door to people for months and months but never make them a part of your life. We're all busy, I guess, but it took a scary event to really bring us together.

I stood in my pajamas late one night, knocking on their door after someone broke in through my bedroom window. They took me in, hugged me and helped me feel safe. Before that night, we hadn't had more than a few brief, polite conversations but instantly - we became friends. I am so grateful to them for being there that night and I've come to regard Arijana as a close friend since then. I feel so lucky to have her in my life.

What a great example of the good that can come from misfortune.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

day 14


My front yard is full of weeds and crab grass. Standing over them, they look pretty ugly, but up close... very cool, in my opinion!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

day 13


I love photographing kids so my students are natural targets. :) I set up an account with Phanfare a couple of years ago so that I could share the photos I take of them with their parents. Some of my favorite photos from my own childhood are the ones taken by my kindergarten teacher (or maybe it was a parent?) It's great to be able to look back at those and 'remember' what it was like to be so young. Since I can't share pictures of the kid's faces for privacy reasons, this is one of them walking down to our classroom in the morning.

Monday, January 12, 2009

day 12


I love this lampshade. It's from one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie and is the 'inspiration piece' for my family room.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

day 11


A little over a year ago, I started going to The Rock Church with my best friend Jody. I was raised Catholic but stopped going to church some time when I was in high school. Jody had been telling me about The Rock for a long time before I finally decided to join her. I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to church and had many run-ins with Christians back in college that really turned me off to the whole thing. A part of me also felt that, because I am Catholic, I shouldn't go to a church that wasn't.
From my very first visit I was so impressed by how dynamic and funny Pastor Miles is. The experience is NOTHING like the experience I had in church growing up. Sometimes I do miss the tradition, the feel of being in a beautiful church and the comfortable routine of mass but I have really been enjoying going to The Rock. Every week I am amazed by how relevant the sermons are to my life - it's a little unsettling sometimes but always gives me something to think about and I have grown so much from it all.

I always look forward to Sundays - to going to church with Jody and then out to lunch after it's over (especially during football season when we can root on the Chargers!) It's been a great time for us to spend together and I am so grateful that she shared this incredible part of her life with me. Thanks J - I love you more than I can say. :)

Saturday, January 10, 2009

day 10


Hershey kept a close eye on me as I mowed the lawn this afternoon and took every opportunity to sneak in a kiss while I pulled weeds and did the edging. You just can't feel lonely when you have dogs...

Friday, January 9, 2009

day 9


I have been coaching a girl's basketball team at my school for the past 7 years. It's so much fun, so rewarding to see the growth in our players during the weeks we spend working with them. I also have a lot of fun working with Christina and Dana (the other coaches.) Each of us was recognized today by our school's PTA as a Very Special Person for the years we have coached the girls. I am so honored that they chose us.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

day 8


My tripod is missing. It's tough to take a self-portrait without one, especially if you don't want the camera in the shot. I realize as I look at this photo that I'm not really crazy about my PowerShot. The photos look grainy no matter how I set it and since I'm not a big fan of the flash (and don't know where my tripod is) the low light photos look terrible. Maybe by the end of this challenge, I will figure out how to use this little guy correctly (or get rid of it!)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

day 7


Man, I'm only a week in and already I am having a hard time with this challenge. I was tempted to use one of the unused photos I took a few days ago but NO, I resisted and didn't do it! It's been a long day and it's so hard to be creative at the end of one of those! I took my PowerShot along on our dog walk, thinking I could get something... I shot some photos of my crazy neighbor's Christmas light extravaganza but they just looked lame.

Since I'm already sitting in bed in an effort to go to sleep early for a change, I just took the lazy route and captured my nightstand. On it sits a photo of my sister and I when we were little - we're not even hugging or doing anything particularly sweet but for some reason, I've always loved that photo. Also on the nightstand is the necklace that my sister gave me and the other jewelry I wear just about every day. It's in a candle holder along with some lip gloss that I put on before I go to bed. It's hard to miss the big radio there too. I got it for myself as a Christmas present so that I could play music from my iPod (another Christmas gift to myself) while I'm in my room. Finally, there is a great little book that I got recently on a night out with Jody and Arijana. It's called Some Helpful Tips for a Better World and a Happier Life and I think it's fantastic. I love looking at it before I go to bed and remembering the fun we had at dinner that night.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

day 6


This is often what my desk looks like at the end of the day.

Monday, January 5, 2009

day 5


Last year I was approached by Nintendo and asked to become an 'Enthusiast.' (Click here to read more about that.) Every once in a while, a small white box appears on my doorstep and inside it is a new game for my DS. My most recent delivery included Personal Trainer Cooking and an apron with my name on it! It's so much fun to try out all of these new games for free. I haven't explored this one just yet but, so far, my favorites have been Mystery Case Files MillionHeir (find hidden pictures and solve puzzles) and Brain Age 2 (which has a game in it called Virus Buster that is totally addicting.) I never really thought of myself as a gamer but I have really enjoyed my DS. It's a great thing to have when you're flying or stuck in line or a waiting room. For my birthday last year, Jody gave me Guitar Hero which is SO much fun! Not something you should probably play in a waiting room though...

Sunday, January 4, 2009

day 4


There is nothing like an ice cold Coca-Cola - especially when it comes from a fountain! It is one of my very favorite things.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

day 3


Sometimes when you are taking pictures, people feel the need to insert themselves into the shot.

Jody and I decided to go to Karl Strauss to watch the Chargers battle the Colts tonight. What an exciting game it was! After the game, I was messing around, taking some photos of the bar with Phillip Rivers and L.T. on TV as they were being interviewed. That's when this guy graciously stepped in so that I could take his photo. Hmm.

Friday, January 2, 2009

day 2


I have no idea where I bought this guy but he's had a home on top of my Christmas tree every year since 2000. So much has changed in my life in the past eight years so it's nice to have some things that remain the same, even simple things like this.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

day 1

My sister gave me this jewelry box for Christmas. I don't really have anything to put in it that's worth much money but I do have a several pieces that mean a lot to me. There are the necklaces my mom gave me when I was a girl, my tiny gold baby bracelet, my college ring and sorority pin. My favorites though, are the things that belonged to my grandmother - her bowling charm, seahorse pin and a number of her costume pieces. As a girl, I loved to sit in her bedroom and go through her jewelry boxes, trying everything on. :)

The Challenge

It has been given many different names but the idea is always the same - take one photo every day for a whole year. I am not a big fan the New Year's Resolution but one thing I did not spend enough time doing last year was taking pictures. I want that to change this year so I'm going to give this challenge a shot. Wish me luck!