Keeping busy

I think I must sound like a pretty miserable person here on this blog. And I'm not...honest. It's just that there is nobody else who I feel I can talk to about how Alex should be starting kindergarten right about now...how time has flown and dragged at a snail's pace all at the same time. Or how I should be having a baby right about now...a baby I wasn't sure I wanted but would give anything to hold now. I can't say those things to anyone in person because I KNOW the look I would get in return. Horror mixed with pity and a little bit of impatience. So I spew it here and I sound like a miserable person.

So let me tell you a little bit about something non-miserable. Something fun.

Every year my Animal Protective League (and I say "my" because I'm on the Board of Directors and feel a weird sense of belonging with all the animal-loving-nut-jobs there) holds a Halloween Boo Wow Walk. It's a two-mile walk across the manicured terrain of a golf course (green fields and autumn woods), during which human and canine trick-or-treaters collect treats in their bags. In a county that holds quite a bit of disdain for pets, often disposing of them like fast-food wrappers on the side of the highway, this is a major project. Finding sponsors, organizing event details, hoping for good weather, convincing people to care...it's a LOT of work. So if I'm not around to feel miserable and whine about what might have been, this is why. This has become my project. And it makes me happy. So I'll see ya when I see ya.

If you want to see some images from last year, you can view our slideshow here (the first 2/3 of the images were shot by yours truly the last 1/3 were shot by another amazing photographer who also volunteers with the APL).

Speaking of photography...I'm taking the first tentative baby steps toward "doing something" with my photography. I've been shooting at the APL for over a year now. I've learned a LOT about myself and my camera...what works and what doesn't. I've also worked on my self-confidence a little. I remember a year ago at my cousin's wedding when I was too embarassed to really play with my camera and try to get good shots. So what I ended up with was...well...embarassing. But after reading and studying all kinds of online courses, etc., I feel ready to try to work with people. So...in case you missed it there at the bottom of my page...my very first photography website. It's got ads and such because it's free and I'm not going to invest money into an ad-free version unless I can actually pay for it (though I did reserve a domain name for $10 in the hopes that it will continue to motivate me...as you know, I hate wasting money). So we'll see. I have a potential newborn shoot coming up here in a few days (baby just got home yesterday)...so keep your fingers crossed.