TJ Fox: Sharing the Experience
Author… Artist… Amateur Photographer… Book Reviewer… Mom
What a blah day. We are getting all kinds of nasty, but mostly freezing rain and everything is getting coated. It may turn pretty for a brief period, but it is supposed to warm up later, so I’m not holding my breath for any good pics today.
I didn’t get any bubble shots yesterday. By the time I was able to get out and try, the temps had gone up too far for them to freeze and a big enough breeze kicked up that they didn’t last.
Seems like all I have the energy for right now is to share photos. I didn’t even get out the other day when we had another freezing fog. Granted, it wasn’t quite as nice as the last one, but still.
Pretty sure I’m at the peak of this stupid cough and it is kicking my butt. I’m at that point where everything hurts from all the coughing. The muscles your body uses to cough are so much more than you ever realize until every single one of them are screaming at you to just stop already.
Having my week feel condensed because it is going to be bookended by nasty winter storms isn’t helping at all. It’s still a little early yet, but they are calling for a potentially nasty ice storm this next weekend. Any errands that I would normally do over the weekend, like a grocery run, need to get done in the next couple of days. Knowing I have to do it while coughing the whole time makes me want to throw a toddler tantrum, complete with kicking and screaming. Except, that will just hurt and make me cough more.
Well, we got rain first. Then some ice. Now we are finally getting a little snow. Sucks if you have to be out in it, but… fingers crossed, it will make for some pretty stunning photos. I’ll be heading out with my camera after I load up on meds and cough drops.
And… one more to try and push the scale from rain to snow. I’d really prefer to not get ice. I’m also hoping like crazy the mess doesn’t transition over before everyone is home safe this afternoon. MC has yet to drive in anything more than rain. I have a feeling this may just be one of those “be careful what you wish for” kind of events.
Last night was my first time getting to see the costume and song reveal for both the opening tap routine and the assistants performance for BG’s dance recital this year. I cannot get over how excited I am that BG is now in the older girls group and gets to do all these things this year. There is something very different about being in that older group and getting to see this part of that tradition.
It also drove home how insanely privileged she is to be dancing at the studio she is because of who is on the staff and the unique experience of getting to learn from them. I always knew that one of the teachers was a former Rockette, but getting to hear a bit more about her time as a professional dancer was just… wow.
A lot of the teachers at the studio have some really impressive backgrounds, but getting to learn from a former Rockette and being a part of a massive tap routine that has Rockette choreography and elements in it isn’t something many dancers can say they got to experience. What makes that even more impressive is the fact that this studio isn’t some high pressure, high profile, competitive studio. They are so laid back and focus on the kids having fun.
Even though BG has no desire to make dance a career, her being a part of all of this will always be a huge part of her life and will leave a massive impact on who she is going to be as she grows up. She gets to be a part of something really unique and amazing. I will forever be grateful for getting to go and watch my friend way back when I was in grade school when she danced in recitals with this studio because getting to see that and be a part of that, even from the outside, is what made me decide to go with this studio for BG when she decided she wanted to dance.
I have a feeling this is going to be a really emotional recital this year. I already cried at the ballet Christmas program, both because one of the songs they chose and the routine was so emotional and because it is just an emotional program for the Seniors since it is their last. It is also going to be a ton of fun and watching those girls see their costumes last night was awesome.
Coincidence? They are now calling for a potential for significant snow the next couple of days. Guess we will see.
I’m still trying my damnedest to cough up a lung and haven’t managed to do much else. I haven’t gotten out to try and take any new pictures because the cold air kicks that effort up into high gear. Granted, any movement does that. So does breathing. And… I think blinking.
If it does snow, I’m loading up on meds and cough drops and heading out anyway. I want snow pictures, dammit!
If I keep posting pictures of snow and winter, do you think it might actually snow? Well, it’s worth a try anyway.
Today is the first day that everyone is back to a normal routine after the holidays. Hubby is back to work. The kids are back in school. And it is so quiet in the house.
Well, at least it is in between the moments when I’m desperately trying to cough up a lung (thank you so much my old friend bronchitis, I thought you’d decided to leave me alone this winter), something I’ve been trying hard to do on an off since around Thanksgiving. It is hard to try and get back into any kind of normal routine when you feel like crap.
The longer than normal break has allowed MC’s birthday to sneak up on me. He will be turning 18 and that is such a mixed bag of emotions. We keep joking that we are kicking him out now that he is an adult. He just keeps laughing at us.
Because of his birthday, Death by Chocolate is in my future. The fun of having birthdays so close to the holidays (both MC’s and mine) is that it feels like the holidays don’t just stop, but trickle away slowly. That goes for all the food and goodies.
I have a day to try and get up the energy to do everything I need to for that and I’m going to spend it with my nose buried in a book, eating cough drops like candy and trying not to nap with the hope that I’ll actually be tired enough to sleep through the coughing for a change.
I’m not really big on setting major goals or resolutions. I’d rather focus on just noting the things that are important to me to maybe focus on or to try and the things to look forward to. It is part of my need to focus on the positive things rather than the negative.
This is going to be one of those really big, notable years for me. So much of that focus will be around MC because he will graduate from high school in the spring and then will start college in the fall. BG will add her smaller but still important events by getting her driver’s license and by being in a much larger part of her dance recital by being in the oldest group of girls for the first time and as an assistant. Hubby will turn 50 this year. All major changes, but all things I’m mostly excited about.
I really want to continue to try and focus on the good and the things that bring me joy. While many of the major events this year will be amazing, they will come with that bitter sweetness that most major changes bring, so that positive focus will sometimes be easier said than done. My plan is to add some things to that list of events that help tip the balance.
While there will always be lots of books to read, I really want to spend more time this year doing more creative things. I’ve started playing with one aspect to see if it is going to work for me. I have a few other ideas, but I still need to see if they will fall into the “I’m doing this for fun” side of things or “This is more work than fun” side. Since the goal is to focus on the positive and the joy, it needs to stay on that fun side.
I really want to spend more time out taking photos. Partly for the photos and partly because I really need to be more active than I am. I didn’t spend nearly enough time walking and reading this year as I have in years past, so I need to make some changes to that.
Really, other than the things that are happening this year, this isn’t a whole lot different than what I’d looked to focus on this last year, finding the joy and the things that make me happy.
This is a look back at some of my favorite images from this year. I have so many, it was really hard to choose. Not all are here because they are the best quality, but because of what I managed to capture and is an image I’m kind of amazed came out of my camera.
Did any of you have a favorite? Are there any that you thought I should have included in this list that I missed? There have been times I’ve been surprised that photos I don’t think are that great are well liked and others that I LOVE seem to not be as popular. I’m always fascinated to see how other people see art and photos and what appeals to them. It would be amazing to see if there is a reader favorite.
If I had to pick a favorite (which I always balk at doing), I’d have to say it is that high contrast black and white iris. I loved that image so much, I had a large print made and framed. It is now hanging on the wall in my living room and holds pride of place as the background on my tablet.
*click any image to bring this gallery up in a slideshow of larger images.
Posting this one because it is dreary and rainy today and not pretty snow. I would much rather the pretty snow.
It was a little baffling when the kids got a second snow day, called the night before, because of a prediction of fog. Other factors played into that, but it was odd when we got the call, especially because not all news stations even mentioned the fog.
Yesterday morning was indeed extremely foggy. It didn’t clear off until closer to 9 am, which is when I got out to take this. It was absolutely stunning. It isn’t often that we get that combination of well below freezing temps and fog. We are more likely to get a coating of ice or snow, but not frozen fog.
While I didn’t get much done that I had planned to do yesterday (kind of difficult to wrap presents when the kids are home), I did get out and take some more pictures. So glad I did because all that pretty coating dropped as soon as the sun started peaking out in the afternoon.
I’ll be back in the kitchen today working on my FIL’s annual food presents. It really, really sucks that Thanksgiving was so late this year as I really feel like there wasn’t my normal time between the holidays to get everything done. Now I’m feeling rushed.
