A Look Ahead at 2012

Here we are, at the start of another new year. I swear the years are getting shorter, but, well, that's probably that pesky ageing process. In any event, we're here, and we have a whole new year laid out before us on which to imprint a little bit of ourselves.

You're most likely going to read a slew of posts in the next little while talking about resolutions. This won't be one of them.  I don't really make resolutions. I believe that if you want or need to make a change in your life, you should do it when it feels right, and maybe that way you'll find it easier to stick to.  Why wait until some random moment to improve? Live in the moment!


That said, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that this time of year does tend to push me into doing some deep thinking and analysis of where my life is headed. I look  at the past twelve months and try to figure out what, if anything, I've learned, and where I'd like to see myself going in the next year. Then I decide how to make that happen. Are they resolutions? I'm sure some people will say so, but I don't call them that. To me, a resolution is just something you think of because you feel like you have to do something. I set loose goals, things I want to do, things I will do, but they're not the standard things like losing weight, or quitting smoking, or any of those things.


If you read my last post, which I hope you did, you'd see I learned quite a lot about myself. I started this blog, which pretty much triggered a landslide of creative endeavours.  I discovered photography, and I started painting again. Most of all, I felt GOOD about these things. As a kid, I was very creative, and imaginative, but it wasn't really ever nurtured in me, so I never really accepted that I was any good at anything creative. I don't think it was intentional, so this won't turn into a huge 'bash Tara's parents' post. It's just how it was.


In 2011, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with people who really helped me see that I could try my hands at whatever I wanted, and not stress so much about the end result. Sure, I'd love for everything I do to turn out well, but art for me is so much more about the process.  When I create, it feeds something in me, and when that part of me is sated, it just sends so much energy to the rest of me that makes me so good inside. And when you feel good, you tend to spread  that feeling to others. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a master of every art form I attempt, but you know what? Who cares? It's okay.


I feel like 2012 is my year. I've got some big big plans.  I want to continue to improve my writing, so to that end, I'm going to be building my own personal website, which I hope to have going by mid to late January. The website will be the new home for this blog.  I'm also starting a new blog, which I've finally named. It will be called Epic WINnipeg, and it will be all about my passion for my hometown.  I really hope you'll like it.


I would also like to continue learning and growing as a photographer. I have no formal training, but I am learning all the time, and it's a huge labour of love for me. Froot Loops and family will have a role in this progression too. They have a big big project coming up, but I'm not going to tell you what that is. You'll have to wait for my website to be up to find out!  Soon, my pretties!


I'm also going to be working on my painting. Of all the things I do, I'm probably least comfortable with my painting skills, which means I need to do it more! Practice practice practice! I'm a big fan of doing things that make you uncomfortable, since it's a sure fire way to find growth. 


Away from the creative side, I want to continue to enjoy life with my boy and friends and family. I've really enjoyed how much more relaxed as a person I've been the last year. Things haven't gone entirely smoothly, but overall I find I'm just in a better place, and I think that benefits others just as much as it benefits me. I'd like to be able to pay it forward too. I've had a lot of people who've been so helpful and supportive, and I'd like to give back in that regard. In the last little while, I was able to do that financially, and I did, but that won't always be the case, so I look forward to finding other ways to make life better for those around me.


Big big things ahead this year for me! What are you looking forward to in 2012? Leave me a note in the comments below!


Cheers!
Tara

Wordless Wednesday- Some Fun Fall Photos

Just a few of the things I've found interesting thus far this fall.

Cheers, 

Tara

Falling in Love... with Fall

Good morning, all!


It's that time of year again.  Fall has arrived (well, almost).  The leaves are changing colour and falling from the trees, the bulk of the summer heat has left us, and the days are getting shorter.  


While weather-wise, I will admit, I am not a fan of fall, I have to say that I see it's appeal.  The colours around us are so dynamic and the leaves on the ground, if raked into a pile, lead to endless fun for  the kiddies.


This time of year is great too, because the routine returns to our lives.  The kids have gone back to school, and while we can't just pick up and go any more, it is good to be back to "the grind."  As much as I adore the freedom that summer brings, I will admit that I do so much better when I have a routine.  I would really like to believe that I am awesomely self motivated, and I guess I am to a certain extent, but I really do need deadlines, and fall is good for that.


Fall is also a time of new beginnings.  New scenery, new friends, new opportunities.  To that end, I have chosen the fall to start a few new projects.  As you all may know, I have been working at improving my photography skills,  since I have discovered that is a huge passion of mine.  In the next little while, I will be opening a web store to showcase some of my work.  I hope to have it open in the next day or two, and I hope you like it.  In the long run, I want to have my own photography website, but I am starting small for now.


I also plan on overhauling my blogs in the hopes of getting them "out there" a little bit more.  I don't plan on making huge changes, but rather little tweaks here and there.  I'm going to make more effort to update them regularly and market them more effectively, as I would really like the freedom to work outside the home less, and in the home more.  I want to have the freedom to live comfortably and work hard, while still being here to be with my child.  I think that the time I've had off has taught me a lot about my priorities.


Right now though, I am on the hunt for an outside job in a field that is completely new to me.  I know that I can't physically do the work I was doing, and so I have re-done my resume to reflect my desire to do something that both challenges and inspires me.  For the first time in my life, I am actually excited about the direction in which things are headed. 


What about you?  How do you feel about this time of year?  Are you a fall lover?  What    are your plans for the coming season?  Leave me a comment below!


Cheers,
Tara

Ponderings

I absolutely love this time of year.  Warm weather, blue skies, sunshine.  There's just so much to do, and so much to see. Beauty abounds, it really does.  Don't get me wrong, there's a certain beauty to the winter, but for me, summer is where it's at. 


One of my favourite things to do in the summer is walk.  Not only is it good exercise, but it's a good time to think, and unwind.  In the past, I've needed a purpose to my walks.  I found that I would tend to give up if I didn't  have to be somewhere. 


Something's changed though.  I've started enjoying looking out at my city, and seeing all the beauty that's out there.  Even in the scruffiest of neighbourhoods, there's beauty to be found.  To that end, I started making sure that I never leave the house without my camera and video camera.  Too many times I'd see something that I'd really like and wish I had my camera.  That doesn't happen now.


At first, it was a little difficult.  I'd spend so much time "looking" for a good shot that I often missed the most interesting things.  I thought that I had to take my photos based on what I thought others would like, when all along, the only person I had to please was me. So, I started taking pictures of what interested me, and soon enough, I found that it was second nature.


These days, when I go on my camera walks, I let the camera decide where we're going. I know that sounds like a really odd thing to say, but it's pretty much what happens.  I don't plan, really, other than deciding on a direction to start out in.  I do what feels right.    That really works for me.  I take a lot of photos that look interesting to me, and people seem  to like them as well.  At first I worried that they were only humouring me, but as I get more comfortable with it, my confidence has soared.  


Today, I had some child free time, and my cameras and I went out for a walk.  And soon enough, I was in my zone, taking my photos and feeling good.  As I walked, I got an idea for a painting I wanted to do, and an idea for another project I had been planning, and I started thinking about how awesome life is.  Sure, there are troubles that come up sometimes, and it's not always easy, but it's definitely worth it to be alive, and to get out there and experience the world.  It's so easy to get trapped in a negative mindset, but I just can't do it.  There's just so much to be happy for.


I walked through a park, and was looking at this piece that had all these sayings on it, and while I was snapping off pictures I realized how happy I am that this creative side of me was unleashed.  I love creating, and the more I create, the more I want to create, and the more I feel I have to create.  Taking pictures is definitely what I feel drawn to, it's like a living, breathing being that needs to come out, or it'll eat me from the inside out.  You know, nothing dramatic, or anything.   Hehehe. 


I think that, when I grow up, I want to be a photographer.  I think I've got a pretty good eye, and, while I don't know much about the finer points of photography, I can certainly learn, can't I?  It feels right, so I'm definitely going to see what I can do to further this goal, and in the meantime, I'm going to keep snapping away.

Keeping Myself Amused.

Good evening!


So, the boy is gone for at least part of spring break, and Mama has a need to stay amused. This is not easy, since apparently parenthood erases part of your memory.  For some reason, I can't remember what it is that I used to do for fun when I was alone pre-David. It's just gone. I'm pretty sure I did something, but I couldn't tell you what it was. 


Yesterday I managed to waste an entire day doing nothing, and that just didn't sit well with me. I decided that today would be different. But how?  Hmmm.  What a dilemma.


Well, as some of you may know, I've been writing a blog for my sock monkey. It started innocently, I took the monkey to the museum and started taking photos, which I shared on Facebook.  People seemed to really like him, and so, he started going to more and more places and taking photos.


Recently, a friend suggested that I send him off to various places, and have the people who receive him take photos and spread his adventures. I've decided to do it.  For his first trip, he's going to the East coast of Canada, and from there he's taking a trip to Mexico. Should be fun! I can't wait.


Since he's going to be gone for a while, I thought I would take him for a "picture walk" around town and see what we could see. That is how I chose to spend my afternoon. And what a good time we had! We walked through Memorial park, and to the Manitoba legislative grounds, past the Bears on Broadway (oddly enough no longer on Broadway, hehehe) and then to the Forks and through the Exchange district home. So much fun!

I hope you enjoyed the sampling of photos. If you want to see more, head over to his blog at www.frootloopsmonkey.tumblr.com  or 'like' him on Facebook! Froot Loops The Sock Monkey

Leave a comment below letting me know what you think!

Tara