Wordless Wednesday (posted on Thursday)

My Little Chef

Pardon the noisy photos. It gets pretty dark around here after sunset. These are not my best work, but I'll be darned if I use my on-camera flash.



Working hard on this pizza...



She's been working at this for nearly half an hour, now. She loves all of her kitchen accessories. I just lover her little imaginative nature and watching her play. I've spent a good part of the day watching and listening to her. Its so exciting to imagine what's happening in her mind!

Best of 2011!

Today is my one-year anniversary of shooting in manual mode on my DSLR.  I received my camera a day or two after Christmas last year and made a personal goal to start implementing what I'd been reading about shooting in manual on January 1.  In one of my photography forums we call it our "manualversary.  Learning to operate my camera and the specifics of the exposure triangle, nailing focus, and lighting (still learning on that one) has helped me grow to a happy hobbyist in the last year.  Photography has really been a gift to me this year.  Its given me intellectual stimulation, rewards for goal-setting, and has helped my self-confidence immensely.  Sometimes I even wonder if I would've been so successful with running/weight loss if I hadn't worked hard to develop my photography skills. Today is a great day to share some of my favorite pictures I've taken in the last year.  Take a look with me:

1/1/12... Its cliche, but hey. I'll go with it.

New Year's Day is as good as any to start a blog, right?  I like the neatness of starting something new on 1/1.  Its classic like Audrey Hepburn.  I deleted some old stuff and this is my new location.  I'm hoping this little spot will be a one-stop shop for all of my expressiveness. I'll have a few frequent topics:


Photography


I'm doing a photography project that involves posting one photo a week, every week for a year.  I tried doing a 365 project last year, but I didn't make it through March. I'm great at quitting things; that's a great thing to know about me.


Politics and Current Events


I also need a healthier place to just express myself than my Facebook status.  I hate the idea of alienating family and old friends because of politics or theology, so I think I'll try to take more of that here.


Theology and Ministry


This is my real job, and I'm looking forward to having a forum to be myself and express some of the beauty I see daily for others to read.  Most of it will be pretty vague to protect patient privacy, but that will make the challenge that much more meaningful.


Running and Healthy Lifestyle Maintenance


I'm a runner!  Its fun to write that here.  I lost 30 pounds in the last half of 2011, and I need to lose another 20 at least in the new year.  I have less to lose and twice as long to lose it.  Cake, right?  (Mmmmm... cake.  That's what got me in this situation in the first place.)


A Little of This and a Little of That 


Cooking, literature, crafting, sports, travel, music, history... There's a little bit of room for everything here at the Cookie.