Drop and give me 20

I'd like to say that normally I am a very rational, sane person who makes rational, sane decisions. With regards to my business, that's generally true. I think about things, weigh the options, and make a decision based on all the information available. When it comes to every other aspect of my life, however, I can be...hmm...what's the best way to put this..."spontaneous". In some serious air quotes.

I just get a lot of ideas that need to be acted on RIGHT THAT SECOND. That would explain why my house is littered with craft projects in various stages of completion, ranging from skeins of yarn that haven't even been wound into balls, to a dress that has been all sewn up except for the hem (the dress itself is completely fugly though; I think a potato sack would be more flattering), to a sweater that only needs about 15 minutes of work before it's 100% wearable.

But no. I've moved on to other projects, other pursuits, other interests that I am completely captivated with.

My latest whim was to join a fitness boot camp. I just heard some thumps - I'll give those of you who know me a second to pick your jaws up off the floor.

That's right, BOOT CAMP. Granted, I'm sure it's not exactly regulation standards for boot camp, but still...it's intense. Four days a week, from 6-7am, for one whole month, I'm belly-down in the grass doing push-ups, crab walking across a field, and running suicides. Today was the last day of week one. And guess what?

I LOVE IT. I have never been in so much pain from exercising before, but I've also never felt better about working out. I've spent this whole week climbing in and out of my car like a massively pregnant woman (wide-legged stance, one hand on the small of my back, the other using the door to pull myself out of the car) and waddling around the office because my quads hurt too much to actually bend my legs, but I really don't care. It'll get easier. Today is better than yesterday, and I'm sure next week will be even better than that.

I think the most important part of all this is that I'm pushing myself. I was never athletic growing up. When I was in elementary school I was great at gym class, but then when I got a little older and we were expected to play REAL sports (although I'm totally convinced that capture the flag should be a varsity sport. Totally), it was not so pretty. I know that I have many gifts, but coordination is NOT one of them.

If you throw something and ask me to catch it, you better hope it's not breakable. If you want to play frisbee with me, I'll probably end up stopping one...with my forehead. And if you think that having someone on your soccer team who can run is a good idea, make sure they understand that you are indeed supposed to run...just not away from the ball. I was always a little unclear on that point.

Boot camp is like gym class before it stopped being fun. It's definitely a lot more challenging, but I'm ok with that. If there's one in your area, I highly recommend it.

Despite the fact that capture the flag doesn't appear to be on the curriculum.

Twice the blog, half the effort!

Yes, I am a little behind on my blogging, I know. I have several sessions that I want to share with you, as well as some personal work. But since I probably won't get to that until this weekend, I will direct you over to Anne's blog, where I did a post last night about on-camera flash. She showed me a cool little trick that yields AWESOME results...one of those things that's super simple, and you smack yourself in the forehead once you hear it and say WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT. Yeah, she's good like that. Go check it out!

Florida Recap

I just got back yesterday from a wonderful, wonderful vacation in Florida. It wasn't a super long vacation (flew in late, late Wednesday, and left early, early yesterday) but it was long enough to unwind and forget that the temperature here lately has been just touching the 50s. I'm completely convinced I'm not built for this weather. Everyone tells me that, having lived in New England my whole life (New Hampshire born and raised), I should be used to it.

Hah. I wish.

I suspect that the Florida summers might be a little much for me (and for my hair, good lord, 5 minutes in that humidity and I practically have an afro), but the weather there right now is AMAZING. 80 degrees and sunny pretty much the whole time I was there. Sigh. We didn't do a whole lot - beach, pool, some shopping, some going out, but it was exactly what I needed. Kind of like a shot in the arm to get me through the rest of this not-quite-warm-enough-for-summer-clothes weather.

I also got to do an impromptu photo session with Riley, one of my favorite subjects. She's just barely a year old now, and I've been her photographer since she was about 12 weeks old. She was a wee little munchkin during our first session:



Since then she's gained about 40 pounds and is about a foot and a half taller. I have more pictures to share of Riley later (LOTS more - trust me on that one), but I'll leave you with this one that pretty much sums up my vacation.



Ahh. Relaxing.