Live, laugh, love....that's exactly what I'm gonna do this year! :)

Meet Jayden...
He’s a 5 week-old baby whose mother
is a program participant at my school.

Jayden, in just his brief 5 weeks post-womb, has had pneumonia and bronchiolitis and now requires breathing treatments every four hours to keep his airways clear. Seeing babies this young have to endure treatments like this saddens me...especially when they are subjected to cigarette smoke in their homes, making their recovery much more difficult and slow.

I resolve to do what I can to educate and inform my students about the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure so that no more babies like this one will have to needlessly suffer.

My baby again...what a sweet little angel...when he's asleep. ;) I think his halo is held up by horns sometimes! He is at such a sweet age right now. Not really a resolution for me, but I hope to thoroughly enjoy and relish what the next year holds for me as a mom, watching him grow into a big boy. :)

My boys...they're sweet, they're funny, they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're pains in the rump sometimes...but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I reaffirm my resolve to be the best mom for them that I can be, as well as dad when necessary. :)

I shot specifically for the blue challenge today...which is a rarity. I hardly ever do that anymore. I don't particularly like the shots I took, and I won't be using them, but I at least made the effort and the attempt to do so. I should resolve to do that more often. That is, if I can convince myself to keep entering challenges this year at all. :)

I know we all face long roads and many hurdles...and it’s up to us to overcome and persist. I'm on the long road to better health and i’m walking every day. my goal is to lose 50 pounds by May 31.

My new blood pressure medicine seems to be working really well, and I've felt a whole lot better the past four days. I've walked every day, sometimes twice a day, and I hope to be able to keep this up. This time it's not just vanity, it's my very life...and I'm going to make it work. :)

My program was fortunate to have RNFP Joyce Feerer in today to discuss some important health care-related issues with my students. Joyce has been a registered nurse for many years, and is in her last semester of clinicals in the nurse practicioner program through UT-Arlington. She's also the Director of Nursing Services for our school district. Joyce spoke to my students about the importance of health and nutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and nutrition for infants and toddlers. She also provided them with information regarding when to use the ER and what to look for that would constitute an emergency with a baby or toddler. She handed out brochures that included info on preventive health care and immunizations as well. I think the girls enjoyed her presentation and were glad to have the information, which most definitely will come in handy.

I resolve to provide as much outside information, education, and support for my students as possible this year...they depend on me and my staff to help them through this stage of life, and to become the best parents they can be while still earning their high school diploma. :)

My kids were not cooperative this week as far as letting me get a "Tribute" shot for DPC...especially my baby, Clay. He used to love to have his picture taken, but now it's on his terms only. If he doesn't like my idea, or my pose, or my timing, he's outta there. Today he refused to even show his face, much less let me get the image in my mind's eye. I wanted to do a Sally Mann tribute shot, with him shirtless, but that was not going to happen. He completely balked at that idea. I decided to not push the issue, and got one shot of him hiding in a chair out in the yard. I really should have more shots like this of him in the old digi-file anyway, because this is how he is. He's shy, yet assertive when he needs to be and lets everyone know how he feels about something. It also helps that he's just cute as a button. I hope that this year I get to really learn even more about his budding personality and take many more shots of him just being himself. :)

A boring sunset...but I think I will try to catch more of them no matter how boring they seem. Life is fleeting. We should appreciate the color we receive every day, because no one knows how dreary or drab the next day might be. :)

Well, I survived the party today at Chuck E. Cheese in Rockwall. Oy. It was loud, crowded, and incredibly sweltering hot in there. However, the pizza was good, the kids were good, and they had a good time for the most part. J.P. was disappointed that not one of his classmates came to the party...but he won more tickets than anyone else on the video games so that helped a little. Since the boys' birthdays are all within one month of each other, the party together seemed like a good idea at the time...but man, am I tired now. I hope I sleep well tonight!

I think that out of this, I will resolve to do two things...one, NEVER go to Chuck E. Cheese on a weekend again as long as I live, and two, have their parties together whenever possible. It sure was easier that way! :)

I guess I'm running out of resolutions, and running out of steam on the page layouts...this is lame, I know. But I did notice my wallet, sitting here on the desk, unable to close. I keep EVERYTHING in it. Receipts, pay stubs, insurance cards, post-it notes with scribbled-down phone numbers, business cards, you name it...and I need to stop that. I can't even carry it in my camera bag with me because it is too big. I have to learn to "travel light" so to speak. I think I'll try cleaning it out tonight and attempt to live without all that crap in my wallet. :)

I was searching for an idea for the PaD today...wondering what resolution to use, then it came to me... the idea of using ideas as the resolution! Yes, I know... and sometimes I even baffle myself. ;)

Clay loves to play with his mcdonald’s playset. he loves the register the most, because he gets to handle the money. he has play credit cards and debit cards too, and is beginning to form concepts about how money works. i’m hoping that as he grows up he will have a solid understanding of money, credit, and an excellent work ethic. he doesn’t mind doing his chores for money, so hopefully he will grow to enjoy the world of work for money as well. i resolve to help him (along with the other two boys as well) accomplish this goal. :)

I think I'm going to try something new for PaD purposes only... I think I'm going to try (at least for the next few days to see how it works) to just take ONE picture and use it, no matter what. That might encourage me to try new filters, processing techniques, and even new shooting techniques. It might flop but it's a thought anyway. I did that tonight and took one shot of one of the crazy cat lady's eleventy cats...then used a dry brush filter on it several times. I love it! :)

I apologize for my picure's tardiness... I went this afternoon to take some pictures for "Road" but when I got home, I was dead tired...this flu or cold or whatever it is has really kicked my butt. I woke up at 3:00 am and thought OMG I forgot to post a PaD! Well, I processed it and here you go, at 3:51 am. I do intend to become more creative, as the picture states. I'm not going to be entering challenges so much anyway, so the voters can have their fun with clean, stock kinds of images and I'll have my fun with some stuff not of my "norm" (whatever that is). Box kickers unite! ;)

I have to start taking better care of myself. I hate being sick...so I guess I should actually ingest some of the dozens of bottles of vitamins and minerals I have bought but usually forget to take. Here's to a healthier year! :)

I cleaned out the fridge today...let's see how long my resolution to keep it clean and NOT stocked full of science experiments will last this time! ;)

I know I can't be the only person with this same problem...I take eleventy thousand pictures, process them, post them all over cyberspace, send them via email to friends and family, but rarely (if ever) print any out on paper, or even upload them to Wally World to get some cheapy prints made. Why? I don't know. I guess I've become complacent over the years. My oldest boy will have lots of prints of himself to browse when he gets older, because I wasn't "digitized" back in his early childhood. My second child has fewer prints, but there are not a whole lot in the various albums around here. My baby, bless his heart, will have a complex because I don't have hardly any prints to show of his life so far. I've been digital since he was born in 2000, so all of his pictures are in my computer and on various archived DVDs.

I resolve to print more this year. There's just something about being able to hold that hard copy in your hands and remember the moment. :)

OK, so it's no major production tonight, but unfortunately I think I might be coming down with strep throat so I've not moved a whole lot since getting home from work. ;)

I really have always wanted to learn to play the piano. I took lessons for two weeks when I was a kid but hated it...well, hated that my aunt was the teacher and she wasn't that much fun to hang out with. Maybe this year I'll learn to play. I'm sure there are local teachers here that are affordable. I think it would be very therapeutic. :)

I spent about an hour this evening with Clay and J.P., building lego thingamabobs in their bedroom floor. Watching them work together, quietly, patiently...made me wonder who they were and where my boys had been taken. ;) Nah, seriously...we were having a good time. We built all kinds of doodads. I love times like this. I just wish there were more of them.

I resolve to slow down and spend more time building doodads and thingamabobs with my kids, just because. :)

I typically suck at stock kinds of images...lighting is just not my forté and I don't particularly have the patience to fiddle with things to get them "just right." I like the outdoors...nature, wildlife, and even candids of folks out doing their own things are much more my speed.

I resolve to work on my lighting and my patience for the new year...I don't particularly have any interest in selling stock, but I think it would be a step in progressing my skills and trying things I normally wouldn't try.

I set up some ribbon candy on some photo paper and used my cheapo ebay flash from back in the day to get these pictures. It took some tweaking to get them to expose anywhere near properly, but I worked for a solid half-hour on them, which is really saying something for me. I don't spend that much time on challenge shots. ;)

The text on the photograph reads:

"It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start." -Mother Teresa

I saw the kids at the daycare today playing at the rice table and thought about the lives they lead...some have a chance, some might not, but I love them all the same. Hopefully that's enough to get them through. I resolve to ensure that the children are aware that while in our care, they are loved. :)

"When I put my mind to something, I go all the way. I'll go all the way for you, sir. I'm a big fan of money. I have a little. I keep it in a jar on top of my refrigerator. I wanna put more in that jar. That's where you come in." That's from The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler, but I have to say that I'm in agreement about being a fan of money and wanting more of it! I resolve in 2006 to try to take control of my finances. We'll see how that goes. ;)

Do you ever get the feeling that time is your enemy? That the clock is an evil force? I feel like that often. I find myself wishing for more hours in the day to get everything in that needs to be done, and more hours in the night to rest, recharge, and maybe spend a few minutes with the boys. No matter the day, there's not enough time. I'm always looking at the clock on the wall at work, or on my computer desktop, or at the time on the cell phone, or at the watch on my wrist. I feel imprisoned by the hands...as the moments tick by my life is passing and I'm missing it.

This year, I vow to control my time instead of letting time control me. I have stopped wearing my watch, which is a huge feat. I feel almost naked without it. I rearranged my desk in my office so that I can't see the big clock in the reception area. I still have my alarm clock at home, because I have to be able to wake up on time, but hopefully biology will take over soon and my natural alarm clock can wake me. As tired as I find myself most days, I can't trust my body that much...I'd sleep until 10 if I was allowed to do so. ;)

I wonder if I'm the only one who feels this way. Hopefully not. I don't think I'm crazy, at least not completely. ;)

Resolution #7...make sure my middle kiddo doesn't suffer too much from being the middle child. If you can't read the text on the page, it says this: "This is my middle child, Jason. he's a rowdy, rambunctious soon-to-be 7 year-old. He's also very sweet, loving, and extremely smart. He wins over his teachers with his precious smile, his quick wit, and his extremely charming personality. He must get that from his mom.

Seriously, Jason is one of the best kids around and I really am proud of him. I worry a lot about him succumbing to the "middle child" syndrome. To prevent that, I resolve to spend more one-on-one time with him. I want him to be able to look back on his childhood and know that he was loved and appreciated."

Resolution #6...Optimism. I have been an optimist all my life, thankfully. I almost always see the glass as half-full. I can thank my mother for that, I think. In this new year, I'd like to continue to be optimistic about life and the changes that are ahead. I've been through a lot that could get me down if I let it, but I'm working hard to stay positive, focused, and happy. Keeping my optimistic nature will help in that endeavor.

I honestly believe that you can completely change your situation and circumstances simply by changing your perspective and attitude. The mind is a very powerful thing. It's all in the way you choose to look at things. How is YOUR vision?

Organization is not one of my strong suits. Oh, I can make things APPEAR to be organized, and I have tons of manilla folders, labels, cubbies, desk organizers, letter trays, and that kind of thing, but underneath that facade of having it together lies a sea of paper at least 10 years deep. ;)

I went on a cleaning spree at work today and filed away a lot of things. I threw away a lot of things, which was hard (I'm a devoted packrat...you know, keeping it "just in case" I need it) but I think it was therapeutic as well. I'm ready to declutter my life and make things as simple as possible in 2006.

Along the same lines as getting into better shape, one of my many resolutions is to spend more time cooking at home. I have fallen into the horrible, horrible trap of fast food over the past 7 years...after the two youngest were born, there just wasn't enough time in the day to mother three kids, work, do laundry, AND cook for them all the time. They still wanted to eat (kids are funny like that) so I did what many tired mommies do...I let McDonald's or Taco Bell or Pizza Hut take over! Now that my rear end has its own zip code and my kids think that it must be Christmas if I'm cooking something, I think it's time to change those practices. I'm not going to turn into Martha Stewart, but I think I'll try my hand at making healthier meals that cost a lot less...and spend our time at the dinner table together instead of in the car munching on french fries.

Resolutions, day three...like 99% of the USA, I'm resolving to get into better shape. Yes, I'm aware that round is a shape, but it's not the one I'd like to keep for the rest of my born days. That not withstanding, I do think it's important that I recognize that I have value as a human being and as a woman no matter what those damned scales might say. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I resolve to believe that I am beautiful no matter my jeans size. :)

2nd day of the resolutions theme...I thought this might work! :)

I took a drive this afternoon and went down country roads that I have often passed but never have taken the time to explore. I found some interesting scenery, some great little hidden cemetaries, and lots of peaceful landscapes. I took a few pictures and thought I'd share them with you.

This year I want to take the road less traveled by...and that will make all the difference.