Analysis paralysis

So, have you ever tried to think about something so much, the job doesn't get done? That's kind of what's happening with me. With writing and photography, I'm thinking too much about what could happen, rather than making it happen.

Just like with a lot of things in life, I need a good swift kick in the rear. Forget if things don't look or sound right. I need to take that next step, whether it's submitting those three pictures to iStockphoto, or finding that just-right publication to submit my family travel articles to (who cares if they don't pay??)

Speaking of which, I will need to plan things out a little here. We have decided to go to northern California for spring break and to Seattle/Vancouver for summer vacation. Surely between all of this, I can secure some press passes or discounts, and come up with some query ideas for both of them. And now that I have my studio lights, I can get this photography thing set up, and I will by this weekend.

Kick in the rear, indeed. It's time to get moving...again.

And it's over

Oh, what a painful loss! The Niners are not going to the Super Bowl, and they came so close. Losing it 20-17 in overtime. And now we have to wait until next year. The Super Bowl now becomes a "who cares?" proposition for me. Even though one of my kids claims she is a Patriots fan, so in a way, it would be good to see them win. After the Giants beat the Niners, it's hard to root for them now.

Enough about football. Now it's time to get down to business. Submit photos to stock agencies and query a publication for article submission. Then apply to Examiner.com. I think that's the scariest thing of all, since I haven't applied to them yet. But we will see what happens.

A nervous wreck

I'm watching the Niners, and I don't know what to think. A ticket to the Super Bowl is on the line, a place the Niners haven't been in 17 years. So needless to say, I' m hoping they can make it. It's hard to believe that they'be made it this far. And even if they do win, there's the Patriots to contend with. Everyone thinks they will win it, not San Francisco. I'd love to see everyone be proven wrong!

Call me a marathoner!

I did it...even though I was one of the last to finish. But now I can say I've run a marathon. Woo-hoo!

Surprisingly, even though I felt like I had practically no sleep the night before, I felt the strongest I've ever felt for a race. I didn't have too many butterflies flitting about in the tummy either. The only problem was that they started the race 30 minutes late, because some runners hadn't gotten to downtown Phoenix in time.

I wonder if I could've done any better than I did. The balls of my feet began to hurt and cramp at mile 9 and kept hurting for the rest of the time. I had to stop about 5-6 times along the side of the road to rub my feet, which translated into at least 20 minutes of lost time. It's a little frustrating knowing that this could be a persistent problem.

R didn't greet me at the finish line, but here's a picture of me leaving the Scottsdale part of the race:



You'd think the last thing I'd want to do is run another one of these torture-fests. But I'm already thinking about the next one. How about this summmer??

A space of my own...

So, I call this a knitting/cooking/traveling/photography/writing blog, but one thing that hasn't been evident in a while is my picture portfolio. I haven't been processing a lot of pictures of late, because I haven't devoted the proper time to getting them presentable online or elsewhere. Perhaps once this marathon is done by this Sunday, I can do just that and actually seem like a photographer again.

But one step that I have taken is cleared a space in the basement by getting rid of the girls' toys that they haven't even so much as glanced at in the past year. It's a great little 6 foot wide space with about 9 feet of length, and some natural light coming through on the opposite side. Right now, I'm going to set up my lightbox to take some stock shots, but in time, I'm hoping to get a full studio setup with lighting and a muslin backdrop.

Getting there....

Death march - I mean, marathon - is a week away

So the Arizona Rock N Roll Marathon is a mere week away, and I of course haven't trained nearly as much as I should have. So my strategy is to just walk and run it as much as possible, and enjoy the scenery. Not that suburban Phoenix is that picturesque, but it's a way to enjoy some free time. I'm really not trying to stress about it at all.

I loved being in Arizona the time I was there, but I am glad I don't live there now. Politically, I don't think I would've been able to stand it. And I probably wouldn't have been able to handle the constant heat either. Still, it's great to visit in the winter, especially when coming from a place where it snows.

Hopefully I won't be too incapacitated to write an entry after the race, which is what I plan to do. All the gory details...

A new year, a new start

Welcome to 2012! If the Mayan predictions don't come true and we're still standing by the end of the year, I'm hoping that I'll have done the following:

- Completed a marathon (which I'll see if I can do in the next 10 days here...)
- Publish several articles, preferably in print
- Have photos accepted for stock and/or publications
- Knit a sweater a month (!)
- Cook and bake a lot more
- Travel to Europe

It was very gratifying to review my goals for the past year. The only ones I didn't accomplish were the publication ones, and those just need to have a little more oommph to them.

So here I go...no more excuses. I WILL get this done!