bad habit

This picture was taken with one of my most prized possessions,
and that would be my ipod touch. I love it! I use it every day for the music,
checking my email/facebook, and just playing with the free aps.

I chose a picture of facebook for day 8, because it happens to be my most frequently practiced “bad habit.” Recently I saw my active pages on google and it showed me I am “very
active” on facebook. Haha. I am not trying to say it’s “bad” to have a facebook.
Actually, it’s been incredibly instrumental for organizations like Invisible
Children and the A21 Campaign getting the word out for causes that shouldn’t
remain unseen or unheard. Not to mention, facebook is FREE marketing: Big Plus!
It's also been a great outlet for people to openly profess what is most important
to them, whether it be family, marriage, babies, faith: you know, things worth
celebrating. It has been a beautiful thing to witness, really.

It’s just that right now, for me personally, I find it to be more of a distraction. Too much of
anything, even a good thing can be detrimental. So I’m taking a break for
awhile, and I’m not exactly sure what “awhile” looks like yet. It’s going to be at least a month. I was going to wait until after I completed my 30 day photo
challenge, but when I saw that today was “bad habit” day it changed my mind. I’d
still like to post them to my flikr account, but for those who
don’t have an account and are dying to see the remaining 22 images-not to worry.
Eventually, when I’ve returned from my facebook absence, I will post the full
30 days worth of photos. So for now, I’ll be just a(n) email, plane ride, road trip, letter in the mail, or phone call away.
With Love,
Patty

Fruit

Apples and grapes were all the fruit I had to photograph for day 7 of the 30 day photo challenge. I've really been trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet, so these apples will most likely be juiced with the kale that's in my fridge. I have an appointment with a nutritionist on Friday to inform me of what I may be lacking as a vegetarian. I've never been to one before, so I'm looking forward to it. In the past few years I've become increasingly interested in my overall health and nutrition. I've really limited my dairy, and I only keep water or juice in the fridge. Honestly, I noticed my stomach shrink after giving up the weekly gallon of milk I would normally consume. I never used to think twice about what I was eating, but the paradigm shift all started after reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. It's really more about the vegan lifestyle rather than vegetarian. I'm on my way to vegan, but I want to make sure I'm getting a nicely balanced nutrition first.

From a Low Angle

I had a pretty long to-do list today, so that would explain the delay on this post. It's day 6 and this is a photo collage of the Westin, which is located in downtown Greenville. It's such a beautiful building, so I had a hard time choosing my favorite image. I didn't happen to capture the inside, but it is equally as beautiful.

I love downtown, it's so inviting. In fact, it's one of the reasons I decided to stay down here. The other was my church, NewSpring . First of all, I had never seen so many young adults attend one church in my life. It has been 3 years now, and it still hasn't gotten old to me. That's a big deal! I love the message, the music, the people, and seeing how I've grown. I've recently been looking back through old journals, and I've seen the change overtime. I am so glad I journal, I highly recommend it. It's not something I do everyday, but consistently enough to benefit from it. I'm pretty detailed in my journaling, which is great. When my life ends, I will have left a pretty elaborate paper trail for my family. Which now that I think about it, kind of makes me want to be a little more vague, but I'll be dead- so it won't matter. I think I'm tired and I should probably go to sleep now. Good night.

Please let me know if you would like to come to church with me!! Or you can view online at www.newspring.cc

From a High Angle

You might not be able to tell by this picture, but Casey gets a little upset when I am on "his" ledge. He likes to be up high, so I'm sure I really irritated him when I stood up for this. It's a game we have, to bother each other. He started it.

I hope you've enjoyed Day 5: From a High Angle

Day 4: Something Green

So it’s March… and day four of the photo challenge is “Something
Green.” I’m clinging to my Irish roots in honor of St. Patrick’s Day (which is just
around the corner). It was my Dad’s favorite day of the year. These earrings
were a gift to me from his trip to Ireland several years ago. Today when I saw
them, it reminded me of how he was always thinking of me. I knew my Dad loved
me, and how nice that it was never a question. I really wish I could have gone on that particular
trip with him, just to have those memories. He did make sure I got to go in
June of ’05, but he wasn’t on that trip. I thought of him too. I remember
sending him a postcard, and not being sure if the ancient mailbox I dropped it
into was actually still in service. It was, and he did receive it. So even though we didn’t go to Ireland together, we still had each other in mind.

The next time I go I plan on bringing
my camera with me. The landscape is so beautiful, and I still remember my aunt Marian
saying, “you can’t take a bad picture here.”

Day 3: Clouds

The Clouds in my backyard were a little boring, so I added some color to them. I don't have much to say about clouds, because I don't really pay them much attention. Anyway, enjoy these clouds, folks.

Day Two: What I Wore Today

Oh how exciting! I probably shouldn't expose the fact that I did put some thought into what I would be wearing for the"what I wore today"photo. The tutu was a joke- I am not brave enough to wear something like that everyday. Story of my life? Ok, so maybe I'll just learn to face the world wearing a tutu... I'll consider it.

I knew I wanted to wear a dress today, but I couldn't decide which one. How nice that I even have the choice. I have more than one outfit in my closet(s) and they're all clean and like new.

I have so many things...

Today I had a wonderful "birdwalk" (thank you Kiera) conversation with my friend Amanda Kishlar. In one of our talks, we discussed how "blessed" we are in America and that maybe "blessed" isn't the right word for our society of mass consumption. We have so much to be thankful for, yes we do. But, what if it was all taken away. Would you still consider yourself blessed? I just looked up webster's definition and this is how it defines the word.. Blessed-

1 a. held in reverence

b. honored in worship

2 enjoying happiness

3 bring pleasure, contentment, or good fortune

That first definition makes me wonder, what do I value most in this life? It's true, whatever I hold in reverence or honor in worship will determine what blessed really means to me. It's something to consider..