Month: March 2013

Colorado

At the end of February, Teddy and I took an amazing vacation to Colorado. We stayed in Salida with family and friends, skied on Monarch Mountain, and frequented a few steamy hot springs.

Our first day in Colorado, Teddy, Nate, and I decided our best option would be to hold off on skiing and to “acclimate” to the high altitude on a hike [I was still huffing and puffing on the trail] before relaxing in the clothing-optional [an experience in itself…] Valley View Hot Springs at Orient Land Trust.

Teddy loaned me his Nikon D700 and 50mm lens for our hike so I could snap away alongside him and Nate. I got a few pointers from them along the way, including how not to back focus [like I did in the photo below, oops].

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I did manage to take a few other “good” photos [in my nonprofessional opinion] of the boys on our scenic hike. I hope to take in the gorgeous mountainous landscape again soon – hopefully next year!

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Green Machine

The weekend of St. Patrick’s Day, Teddy and I were left with a challenge: to eat all of the left-overs from his Panera-catered photo shoot.  We of course accepted this challenge with pleasure as we crafted a very green sandwich with the left-over baguette.

Piled high with turkey, provolone, spinach, and avocado [and all the fixin’s], our sandwich was a green machine and paired nicely [though coincidentally] with the holiday we planned to celebrate that evening.  To accompany our well-constructed lunch was a left-over house salad with tomatoes and onions.

Teddy and I pride ourselves with creating a meal with whatever we have in the fridge, so this was definitely a delicious [and healthy!] win for us.

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Reflections on waiting outside a courtroom

In case [no pun intended] you were wondering, appearing in court is nowhere as glamorous or dramatic as you might think.  I thought for a fleeting moment that I would have the opportunity to fulfill a life-long fantasy to live out a Law and Order episode when a subpoena appeared at my apartment, but that dream was quickly diminished by a way-too-early morning and the growing fear of fumbling my words during the cross-examination.  So.  Scary.

Although I ended up worrying for no reason [something I do all too often], because I didn’t end up having to testify, here are some tips for a long wait outside the courtroom:

  1. Bring a book, or better yet two.
  2. Bring a laptop.  Smart phones are great, but answering work emails over and over on a small device does a number on your fingers.
  3. Bring headphones.  Not necessarily for yourself, but to block the sounds around you (loud music bleeding from other headphones, listeners singing along, crying babies, parents scolding children, etc.).
  4. Write a blog post, a letter, or that thank you note you have been procrastinating.  This is a GREAT way to knock out at least 30 minutes.
  5. Cancel ALL appointments that day.  Even if there is a glimmer of hope that you will be able to dash to a dentist appointment or make it back to the office, you won’t.

In terms of not getting to the office my day was “wasted,” but I did accomplish a few things I wouldn’t normally have been able to on a Monday morning while experiencing a side of the United States legal system.  Next time I hope I will be prepared to follow my own steps 1 – 5, or better yet, there will not be a next time.

My first [nerve-racking] blog post

I was struggling for a tagline for my blog and came across a birthday card while shopping at World Market (random, I know).  It read, “This day is a journey, this very moment an adventure,” which resonated with me.  Life is short and I want to pay attention, even [and maybe more importantly] to the small things.

I am not profound – I have never proclaimed to be and I probably never will be.  My goal isn’t to teach or preach, but to document: my life; my music; my art; my attempts [keyword attempts] to eat healthfully and have fun while doing it; and, hopefully, my stabs at photography.  I don’t live a life of greatness, but I want to live a great life, and if I can share my meager nuggets as I learn along the way, that will make me happy.