Thursday, 31 May 2012

My new blog:

I have a new blog! One chatting about not only food but also life in general and the things that make me happy. It's at:

http://thebeautifulblues.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Day 3

Ewwwww, I am sick. A tummy bug is doing the rounds of our family - my son had it first, then my husband, and now my daughter and I have succumbed. Ew. I seriously can almost not keep up with the laundry.

I did a really indulgent thing today - I had a half hour sleep mid-morning! Thank you husband. xxxx

I've been thinking a lot about my photography over the last couple of days. I've been contracting to studios for over 10 years now, and it's been great. I've learned an incredible amount, worked with amazing people, and gained confidence, nous, and lifelong friendships.

For the last couple of years, though, I've been contemplating 'nreaking free' and starting my own studio. It's scary! If a client has a problem, it's up to me (and only me!) to fix it! And what if noone books me? What if I'm not good enough? In my rational moments none of this worries me, but at 3 in the morning it's another thing entirely.

I'm finally feeling ready to go for it, though, and one big reason is that I've taken the last year to shhoot a lot of personal work and really try and find out what makes me 'tick' as a photographer. As pretentious as it sounds to 'take time out to find myself as an artist' (cringe), it's been really helpful and my confidence has soared. I've discovered that while I admire many, many photographers (and other artists), all of whom have very different styles and approaches, I also have my own style and approach that's every bit as good and valid! And I'm sure there are people out there with whom my style will resonate, and who will be excited to book me to photograph them. So as I continue to build a body of work that represents my own vision, not that of a studio I'm shooting for, I'm also getting ready to order stationery with my logo on it, get a website live and kicking, and have a stand at a bridal fair to see what the reaction will be. I hope it;s good. I hope people will like what I do. But the fact is that I love shooting the way I want to, and I love it so much that I'm prepared to give it a shot. If nothing else I've got some great photos of my kids to treasure as a result of all my experimentation, and if I get nothing else, that's good enough.

So that's it for today. Noone wants to read about me eating cooked pumpkin soup and toast while I'm sick :-)

And of course I didn't exercise because I could seriously sleep all day. Tomorrow, or whenever I feel well again. Instead I'm just indulging in daydreams about cycling in the Swiss Jura. Mmmmmmmm....

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

28 Days Take 2: Days 1 and 2

I'm enjoying being a part of the 28-day program again! I haven;t done it perfectly - I'm getting lots of rpactice at not beating myself up! Actually, not beating myself up is pretty well ingrained as a habit now, and I'm happier for it.

Yesterday, day 1, I decided not to follow the program menu exactly, since I've started the program several times now and am kind of bored with the recipes! So I winged it. I had greapefruit juice for breakfast - yum! - and some grapes for morning tes. At lunch I had an avocado, cut in half and filled with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, and I had some mroe grapes as well. By mid-afternoon I got quite hungry, so I had a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and olives. Dinner was more salad, with cucumber added as well.

I didn't exercise yesterday! I was feeling quite 'off' and exhausted, so my mental energy wasn;t quite up to the task of dragging me off the couch in the evening! Today I'll get it done, I feel much better.

Today I had to be up and out of the house early, adn after a very disrupted night with the kids I didn't get up in time to prepare food to take with me. Instead I bought a fruit smoothie for breakfast, and when I got home I had grapes and some sultanas for lunch. In between I also nibbled on the kids' bread rolls and had a couple of bites of my son's leftover biscuit. Not raw or remotely healthy, but I've eaten lots and lots of raw healthy food and I feel great anyway!

I've been taking photos each morning, and weighing myself, and I'm interested to see the change in me by the program's end! I'll post the photos when the program's finished. Seems easier than uploading one every day!

Happiness-wise I've made sure I've done something fun and not-food-oriented each day to keep me feeling indulged. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours gardening, which I love, while my baby girl sat on a blanket and watched, and smelled the lavendar and sage I pruned. Today I had my hair cut - always a treat! So I'm feeling overall positive, well and happy.