A New Beginning

Well, folks, I'm back... once again. =)

A lot of things have happened in my absence... the biggest one being that I quit my job! Yes, you read that correctly: we're in a recession and I quit my job. It's kind of a terrifying thought in many ways, yet I know it was absolutely the right thing to do. 

While I don't have as much life experience as many others who have more, um, "wisdom" as we call it in our family (yes, years), or people who have kids, or those who have gone through layoffs, or other things like that, I do believe I've gone through enough life to realize that there are a few times in your life when you're faced with major decisions that will literally change the trajectory of your life and story. 

A few of my recent story-changing decisions include accepting a teaching position in inner-city Philadelphia with Teach For America in 2006, and saying yes to my ridiculously tall (and skinny) Asian man on August 10, 2008. Now, I'm adding to that mix quitting my job in 2010. 

So why is this such a big deal? I mean, it's "just" about money, isn't it? Not exactly. In a few words, it's simply that I'm saying yes to myself. I'm saying yes to following my dreams; I'm saying yes to letting myself be happy; I'm saying yes to allowing myself to nurture myself as an artist. I'm simply saying yes to things that up until now I've said no to for the sake of being responsible. 

I realize that's a pretty privileged thing to be able to say. Believe me, I absolutely recognize that it is! But after many long months of conversation with Josh, along with lots of prayer, fretting, tears, soul-searching, reflection, and advice from family and friends.... I came to the conclusion that if I wasn't in an "emergency" situation (i.e. one where using some of our savings was an acceptable thing to do), I didn't know when a situation would ever come along. It wasn't a time where Josh and I had physical needs to take care of (mortgage, bills, etc).... but it was a time of desperate emotional and spiritual need. I don't want to live my life with regrets, and trust me, having my spiritual life, my marriage, and my happiness suffer would be things I don't know if I could forgive myself for.

So... I quit. And this past month has been a time of figuring out what exactly that means... but also just a time of stepping back, stepping out, and giving myself room to breathe and recover. And slowly, I'm starting to step back in. 

I know I've been gone for a very long time, but don't be fooled -- I haven't stopped taking photos. I'm still committed to a photo a day; I've just been horrible at posting them. =) However, it's time to step back into this place, and I'm excited to do so.

I'll also have some exciting news to update you on over the next few weeks/months... such as a very important piece of mail I should be receiving this week or next from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. =)

One last thing: I'm really glad you're all along with me on the journey.

90 - Umbrella Joy

A momentous event has occurred in my life, and I feel it is only right and fair for me to share it with you:

I have bought an umbrella.

Now, some of you probably think this is a ridiculous statement... of course I bought an umbrella. Everybody buys umbrellas. They use them for a while, they break, you buy a new one. 

Well, not me. 

See, I'm from Seattle. If you use (or maybe even own) an umbrella in Seattle... you're pretty much labeled either a tourist or a wimp. Sorry, but it's just the way it is. 

But here's the problem. I live in Philly now. And the rain here? Well, it's a little different than in Seattle. As in, there are huge, fat, enormous raindrops that fall quickly and furiously to the earth below. And if you don't have an umbrella, you'll be soaked in about 2.7 seconds.

So, the confession is, that I have indeed been using umbrellas since moving to Philly four years ago. However! I had been using free umbrellas (I received two thanks to TD Bank and one from a friend), and hadn't bought one of my own. Sadly, though, my free umbrellas have run their course, and when I opened the last one to find that half of its spokes were broken.... I caved. It was time. And I bought an umbrella.

Let me just say, I love my new umbrella. I love that I got a big one (because I'm often carrying stuff to/from work and Josh and I can both actually fit under it), and, well, I absolutely love the colors of it. Big surprise coming from me, huh? =)

And, Josh thinks this picture is a bit silly, but I rather like it: 

I think this also marks the first official self-portrait I have on this blog... though it's not the typical, artistic, "this is me", introspective kind of self-portrait. But hey, it is still me in the photo. =)

And, just in case you were wondering, it keeps the water off fabulously well. Again, this is one of those photos that looks better if you click on it for the large image -- then you can see all the water droplets (which make it look pretty cool). 

With that said, I hope if you have to endure rainy days, you at least love your umbrella as much as I do. I know that will be hard to accomplish, but it will at least mean your grey day with be much happier. =)

82, 83, 84 - Paint the Rainbow

So, I'm combining three days' posts into one, but before you think you're getting the short end of the stick -- trust me -- you're not. 

Now, I don't have much experience, but in my 4 years of living in Philly, I'm going to throw it out there that we don't get much of a spring here. Usually it's just a really long, cold, and often miserable winter (this one was slightly less so because we got so much snow which kept it fun/interesting), then about, oh, 4 1/2 days of spring, and then, bam! it's summer! Hello sweltering heat and constant sticky humidity. The lovely, fresh, cool warmth of Spring is lost. There's no time to stop and smell the flowers because, well, you're just running back inside where the AC is... and all the "Spring" flowers are already dead. Sorry, depressing, but sadly true.

This year, though, it's been different. We started getting Spring a little early... and then it got really hot (remember the 91 degree weather last week?), and then it got cold again, but now it looks like it's going to hover in the 50-70 range for a while. And I'm pretty excited about that. 

I wanted to share some of the color we've been getting, because really, it's quite incredible. As in, really, truly breathtaking. So I decided to paint the rainbow of Philly for you. These are all photos from right around my school... so it's not even anywhere "special". Yet these are the colors present. I know there's a lot of green thrown in, but hey, that's just how plants work. Chlorophyll, friends, chlorophyll. 

So, with that said... I hope you enjoy these spectrum of colors -- and the three posts combined into one rather long and colorful one. =) Let me know what you think! Which one(s) are your favorite(s)? Why?

78 - Gears, and Seats, and Wheels, Oh My!

Meet our two new friends:

Josh and I have been talking about getting bikes for a while..... but the reason we've been talking so long is because talking is a lot easier to do than finding the money for two bikes, a car rack, equipment, etc. So, no bikes.

But then! Yes! This story has a happy ending! Then we visited NY and brought back these two old bikes from Josh's parents' basement. They've apparently been sitting down there, unused, for quite a while (one is actually Josh's old one). So, we bought a rack to go on our car, and brought these two lovelies back to Philly with us. And trust me, things like new seats (the others had been chewed to bits by the dog), brake pads, helmets, etc? So much cheaper than buying two new bikes... and all that other stuff as well.

Needless to say, we're enjoying them quite a bit. The weather is perfect for bike rides, and Josh has been using his a lot even just to get to/from church (he normally just walks). We're definitely looking forward to this being a fun, new thing to do together - as well as the obvious health benefits. Hooray for happy finds and gifts from the in-laws! 

58 - Buds of Spring

So, we've had a week of March weather that really isn't typical of Philadelphia until mid-late May. It's been wonderful, and lovely, and fabulous, and everything good. I just wish it was here to stay. But, we'll enjoy it while we can, and that includes taking in all the beautiful buds and blooms around us. Although, it's not just the flowers that are starting to bud and bloom here in Philly...

I never thought I'd find shrubbery interesting... but I guess I was wrong! I actually really like the buildings in the background. I don't know why, but it feels a little bit like the wild west meeting urban city life.

Pretty amazing, huh? What is spring looking like where you live?

56 - Bug Flower

Oh my goodness, I've really doing poorly with following through on this, huh? I apologize! Since coming back from Seattle, things have been crazy at work and with life. And by crazy, I mean cuh-RAY-zee. But I'm back! The art auction at work was last night, so I won't be working day and night (at least until our next event in May), and my dad is recovering well, so hopefully I'll be able to get more back into the regular jive of things. At least, it's my goal to! And you can hold me to it.

Well, it might be a month later than Seattle, and it might not exactly be as long-lasting, but the past week in Philadelphia has been rather spring-like, rather warm, and rather full of awesomeness in regards to chasing away the winter blues. Sadly, I think we're dropping back down about 20 degrees in temperature next week (we were in the 60s all this week!), but it's given me hope that yes, it will actually be warm again some day. 

As a result of this warm-weather burst, some flowers started poking their heads out. When Josh saw this photo, he laughed and commented that it looked a little like a bug flower. Which is sort of does. Hence the title. So here you go. (And for scale, this flower was less than 2" tall.)

And yes, I'm going to be doing some back-dating again with the posts... but here's the deal, these are photos that were taken earlier this week and just not posted. So, I say it's ok. And it's my blog. So I win! Ha, isn't life great sometimes? =)

55 - Purple Bump

The bump is back! As it should be, right? I think it's only fitting that it will be the final photo I post here from Patye, Minh, and Amelie's shoot. Yes, consider this the "official" end to my unofficial week of photo vacation. I have been taking pictures since I got back to Philly, but this shoot was really where my heart was in regards to photography, so I decided to post them instead. Sometimes you just have to make those decisions, right? And these photos are definitely what I wanted to share with you. I hope you enjoyed them -- and I'd appreciate any feedback you may have!

Also, not that I have much (i.e. any) experience in this regard... but it seems to me that little Lucy is, um, not exactly so little. I hope she can hang in there another 2 months! =)

Patye, Minh, and Amelie, thanks for letting me share in and document part of this journey with you -- I'm quite honored. I love you all so much and I can't wait to see you again very soon... and meet Lucy when I do!

54 - I L Y

Patye's a certified sign language interpreter, and I think the photo says it all...

48 - Loving Lucy

There's a lot of love waiting for little Lucy... from Mom, from Dad, and definitely from big sister Amelie, who will be about 2 1/2 when Lucy arrives, and already makes it a regular habit to say hello and play some paddycake.

47 - Meet: Purple!

It's here - an actual belly shot! I told you I'd get around to it. =)

I wish I could tell you what a fantastic mom Patye is, but there simply aren't words. Even if you wrapped up all the tender, caring, attentive, nurturing, patient, and lavishing love that you could, it still wouldn't be enough. I'm sure she'd say she isn't all that wonderful... but trust me, she is. Her relationship with Amelie is simply beautiful to watch and share in. 

Every time I talk to Patye on the phone, she mentions what they're doing... having a tea party, cooking in Amelie's kitchen, reading books, changing the doll's diaper, singing songs and doing silly dances, out on a walk... the fun never ends. She is constantly seeking out ways to encourage Amelie's imagination and growth, and it brings me so much happiness to see Patye learning and absolutely loving her own journey along the way, too. 

That said, I can't wait for Lucy (aka "Purple!"... Amelie was "Pink!") to make her grand entrance, simply because I know what an incredible home awaits her. Congratulations, Patye and Minh!

35 - Ava's Spark

Confession: I did take a photo today, but not this one. However, the person who did take the photo was acting as my photography student of sorts. Sometimes after school some of the kids come into our office to hang out, say hi, wait for parents, and so on, and one of our visitors likes art a whole lot. Her name is Ava, and she took this photo:

Ava always loves to help me out with projects -- especially when they're the artsy kind. So, I decided to teach her some photography skills. She'd never used a "real" camera before (as she put it), but she had so much fun. We talked a lot about focus, lighting, and zoom (amongst other things), and she spent time taking photos with all different sorts of themes. Above is one of her "hidden items" photos. She was practicing looking for items that you might not normally notice. She really had some great shots, and this is one that caught my eye specifically because she really took into account the three things mentioned above (focus, light, zoom). Pretty good for a preteen, huh?

34 - Phil Ryken

So, there's been a far amount of buzz the past few days over the selection of Wheaton College's new president. The new president is going to be Dr. Phil Ryken, who is currently the senior minister at Tenth Presbyterian Church here in Philly.

There are a number of connections with Phil and my job, friends, churches, and such that make it seem almost weird that he'll be the next president of my alma mater. (I've been thinking for about 5 years that they were grooming him to be a president -- I just thought it was going to be in another term, not this one.) Given that he'll be gone in a few months, I figured I better document his name on the Tenth board while it's still there.

1 - Home

So, I have to admit. Yesterday I started getting really nervous. I was thinking about how I'm starting this new project, and it's all about photography and art and creative expression, and whatever my first photo is, it should be impressive, right? Or super meaningful. Or deeply thought-provoking. Or amazingly beautiful. Or... or... or...  The doubts just started piling up, thick and fast.

But then, I took a step back, and remembered that this is just the beginning. I'm just starting out. And this is meant to be an exciting, creative, uplifting project filled with lots of freedom and lots of fun. I'm sure there will be times when I plan out posts in advance, but there will be many times when I don't. I'm sure I'll have some great photos, but there will also probably be many ordinary ones. And that's how life tends to be, too. Up and down, in and out, hit and miss. It's what you do with it all that matters, right? I've always liked the quote from Thomas Edison when asked how it felt to "fail" 1,000 times as he worked to invent the light bulb:

"You misunderstand. I did not fail 1,000 times. I successfully
found 1,000 ways that the light bulb would not work."

I just need to relax, give myself some breathing room, and go enjoy it.  So, with that said, here's photo #1 - a view of our new house and block. Ours is the first full porch you see, with Josh sticking his head out the door and the paneling still out front, leaning against the rail. (Our neighbor, Jose, who lives on our old block (meaning 2 blocks away) insists he's going to take it and use it.) Oh, and yup, today's trash day, too - there's not normally that much trash lying around!  =)

Welcome to Hunting Park!  

Introducing.... Miah!!

About a week ago as I was starting to get this project into motion, I was talking with one of my dear friends and old college roommates, Miah. I was sharing my ideas for this, and she decided to jump in on it with me! Miah is one of the most encouraging people I know and I am SO EXCITED to have her doing this project with me!


Miah currently resides in Dallas, but she has literally traveled the world over. She came back from 2 years in China just in time for my wedding (well, it was Josh's, too, but you know what I mean), and I have small tokens of her world's travels scattered throughout my life: a bag/purse from Tanzania, artwork from China, a beautiful bright orange scarf from Europe (which I'm actually wearing right now!)... amongst other things! As she has traveled the world, Miah has taken pictures, journaled, and blogged (when able, of course). She's also done some journalism work writing travel tips and advice, but I'm so excited that she's going to be digging into her photojournalistic side this time around.


It will be great to have someone to hold me "accountable" and work to stay on track with, but who also gets the giving grace side of things, too. I'm excited to come up with various themes, and see what pops up on each of our sites. (We may use the themes from the actual 365 Project site, or just come up with our own. Feel free to send your ideas along, too!) If you ever want to join in on the project with your own site, we'd love it! You can even just join in for a day, a week, a month... you get the picture. =)

Miah's going to be posting her photos at Miahruth's Blog, so be sure to check out her photos each day, too!

The Details

So, you might have noticed that even though I wrote my first entry and shared about this blog a few days ago, there aren't any photos up yet. And it's supposed to be a blog where I put up a photo a day. Seems kind of fishy, doesn't it?

Well, here's the official update.

Since Josh and I have lived in our new house approximately two weeks now, we're still getting ourselves all situated and oriented and unpacked and dealing with important new homeowner issues like "WHY DO WE HAVE A $540 GAS BILL?!" (Over at that other site I blog on sometimes.)

Needless to say, we don't have internet access at our house yet. When we do get service, it's because some neighbor doesn't have a protected account, so we mooch off of them for about 5 minutes, and then the connection's gone. And nonexistent/highly unreliable internet connectivity makes for a very difficult time when attempting to upload pictures. Know what I mean?

But there's good news! We've received our supplies from Verizon, and they're coming out to hook us up on Tuesday. So, I think this coming Wednesday, January 20th, sounds like a perfect launch date. (I'm a little bit of a numbers nerd, and I like to start things on nice dates. And January 20th is a nice date. Just in case you were wondering.)

Hope to see you then!

The Beginning

So, it all starts here!

Welcome to my 365 Project - a year of taking photos each and every day.


I know it's not technically New Year's anymore, but this project is a part of one of my resolutions for this year. Actually, I don't really feel comfortable calling what I did this year "resolutions"... they're more like goals and hopes that have come out of an intense period of quiet reflection. And they're not absolute courses with a regimented plan that I must follow. It's more that I've decided upon some paths that interest me, and that I'll follow as I can, allowing myself to amble leisurely as well as run, and extending forgiveness and gentleness to myself when I need it.

Last year (2009) was a pretty rock-bottom year for me in terms of creative outlets. And by that, I mean that I basically didn't have any - and didn't feel like I had the energy or time to create them. As someone who has always had ways to express myself creatively, especially through theatre, music, writing, and photography, I felt pretty dreary about the rest of life without those outlets. I was just down in the dumps. Funny how it all connects, isn't it? Granted, there were other issues that contributed to my despair, but I think a large part of my weariness last year (because my heart was just plain tired) was that I didn't have any way to process the "other stuff" going on. It just kept building up, and building up, and building up.... and then dragging, and dragging, and dragging me down.

But that's going to change.




For a few years now I've been wanting a digital SLR camera (DSLR). And by wanting, I mean drooling over. I had started saving up for one, but then I got married... and you know how that works. Suddenly "your" money isn't really yours anymore, and, well, there are more important and pressing things that that money gets to be used for. Like food. And rent. And toilet paper.

But! My dream came true last August when Josh (my husband) got my family and a few friends to all pitch in together for my "birthday" gift (it was also our anniversary gift and his own birthday present - he's so good to me) and they all gave me my first DSLR. I love it!

However, this is where that "no creative outlets in 2009" comes into play.

I LOVE my camera and take it practically everywhere. But since I received it, I've really only taken pictures for those somewhat "special" kinds of events... someone coming to visit, birthday parties, holiday gatherings with family, bridal showers, etc. While those are obviously pretty fun, I haven't spent as much time as I'd like intentionally working to become a better photographer. I'm often simply working to get the best shot I can - perhaps playing it safe with what I'm pretty sure will work, as opposed to fiddling with various camera settings or experimenting with the lighting. There really hasn't been much risk taking, and without risks, you don't really discover much. Instead of creating, it's been more just doing.


Enter this project.

Back in December I entered myself as an applicant for the SOAR! Scholarship. The Scholarship is intended to help women get their photography business off the ground by providing intense coaching, mentoring, equipment, and tools. (You can see my video here - I'm #235 on page 3 of the 2009 Applicants.) While I didn't receive one of this year's three scholarships, it really got me thinking about some of the "What ifs?" in my life. For the first time in a long time, I started thinking about possibilities I'd said no to, and tapping into some of my dreams, and wondering what might happen if I actually said yes to some of those.

While I am, of course, disappointed that I wasn't a recipient, I know that I don't have to worry, either. The timing is all in God's hands. Creating my video and submiting my application got me thinking specifically about what photography means to me, and how it can be manifested in my life NOW - as a creative outlet, as a source of joy, and as a way of giving to others, too. Even though I'm still working in education full-time, even though I've committed to living and working in the inner-city, even though there are a number of other things that "kept" me from doing this before... how can I use this gift to serve others, and also be built up myself right now? Thinking through those thoughts, submitting my video, and receiving a HUGE outpouring of support from family and friends has really given me a big push in getting out the door. I'm not quite sure where I'm going or how I'll get there, but I at least want to get started on the journey.

The 365 Project is actually an international project/organization that people usually start on January 1st and post directly to the 365 Project site. But I'm starting it now and I'm doing it a little differently by just posting directly to this blog. The idea and goal is to take and post at least one photo each day. I could probably get quite technical and legalistic and ALWAYS! WANT! TO POST! EXACTLY! ON! TIME!, but I'm going to let myself relax a little bit, do my best to stay on schedule, and just keep going when I fall behind (this is where that grace and gentleness come in). I have no idea what I'll be photographing... especially since I work during the day when it's actually light outside. But I guess I'll just have to get creative, maybe start taking some walks after lunch, and just find what I find.

Regardless of the exact details, I know one thing for sure: it's time for me to take the next step with photography. More importantly, it's time for me to allow myself to be creative again, and to play. Maybe I'll go fast, maybe I'll go slow, and maybe I'll do my typical sprint-walk style. But really, I just need to GO. I need to run and to discover, to laugh and to fall, to crawl and to cry, to climb and to soar. I need to return to a place where I give myself the freedom to explore these great gifts God's given me, to revel in the challenges of growing and changing and expressing, and to dance in the hard and wonderful beauty of life. 

I simply need to give this dream a try and see what happens.


So, thank you deeply for the support you've given me so far (since many of you reading this were those who knew about the SOAR! Scholarship), and I invite you to join in on the rest of this journey and see where it goes!

If you're interested in joining in with your own 365 Project, just leave a comment with a link to your blog, or email me and let me know!

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