~Blog More?! Huh?

So I've been thinking...a lot. Maybe in all my free time, I ought to blog more, yeah. More. Cuz I haven't got anything else to do but blog away.And then I think, if I do blog more, maybe I will get more readers? Huh? Seriously? I doubt it's that easy. Nothing is this fast-paced world of technology is EVER that easy. I mean seriously. What am I thinking? Easy. Yeah. Right.

First off, free time is scarce for me. With all the titles I hold....well, let's just reiterate, I rarely have free time and when i do...I am exhausted. Who has time to think about blogging...and more blogging?

Second off, I haven't got that many exciting things to blog about? Or do I? Hmmmmm......maybe I do. It's all just hidden away and if I could get that free time, I could blog about 'em. 

Yeah. That's it. I'm going to schedule some free time....just to blog. Yeah. Scheduling free time. An interesting concept.....is free time supposed to be scheduled? I mean, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of it being free (time?) 

Well, whatever. This was one boring post....more exciting stuff to come.

-Chances-

Life is made up of the chances we take. 

Life is made up of the experiences we make.

Life is made up of laughter and tears.

Life is made up of the good and the bad...the happy and the sad.

Life is made up of risks....that we take.

Life is....those chances we take......So choose wisely. 

{Friendship}

So today, on my Facebook pages, I posted the following question: In one word, what does friendship mean to you? As of now, I've got no comments, which leads me to believe either (1) I need to be more exciting or (2) I've got you stumped. (Or maybe no one really looks at my page much anyways.

I've always held friendships in high regards.....the few close ones I have had over the years. But then, life happened, circumstances made me shut down and put up walls for years...not allowing anyone in to avoid the pain that goes with friendship and relationships in general. 

So today in transit to home, while my mind has eight million, six hundred thousand and thirty thoughts racing through it...I decided to throw that question out there.

What does friendship mean to me?

-Unconditional
-Forever
-Support
-Trust
-Openness
-Honesty
-Laughter
-Tears
-Truth
-Fun
-Listening (ear)
-Advise
-Nonjudgemental
-Love

So much more comes to mind. Not single words though. Friendship should be unconditional.....no matter what......I hold you as my friend, love you as my friend.

-Curve Balls.

Sometimes, life throws us a curve ball. Sometimes, it throws us a distraction.  

Sometimes, if we are not careful, we fall into that said distraction. 

Sometimes that said distraction can be packaged all pretty....making it harder to resist. 

Sometimes that said distraction, it can present itself as the most perfect solution....but is it really?

Is that curve ball worth it? It could be.....are you willing to take that chance? 

Life is all about choices, experiences. Do you weigh the pros and cons or do you just "jump?" 

Curve balls, distractions, call it what you will.....they happen, often.

iPhone (cell phone) Pics vs DSLR Pics

So often I hear "Why take photos with your iPhone when you have that NICE DSLR?" (Well, I actually have two + two nice SLRs as well.) 

Truth be told....one cannot always carry around a big DSLR....as much as I would love to cuz I absolutely LOVE my D7000. (And my D80- not to be left out!) but I can get photos in places I otherwise wouldn't be able to when carrying around that big, heavy - you can't hide it - camera. 

Some think iPhone (cell phone) photos diminish my talent as a photographer. I argue otherwise. Photography is NOT the equipment one uses. I have seen some phenomenal (yes, I said phenomenal) work done with an iPhone. iPhone photography is a huge trend (and trend it is.) And it's convenient. Whip it out  - hell, it's usually in my hand anyhow - push the screen and I'm off. No exposure adjusting, no zooming in, zooming out, focus nothing. In a second, I've captured what I've wanted....without anyone being wise to it. I mean, come on, how easy is it to truly to that with a big DSLR? Not so easy. Once again, you can't hide it. It takes a few seconds to adjust your settings. Yeah, you've got  more megapixels, a clearer image.....the ability to print larger prints......when taken with a DSLR. But once again....I've been able to capture so much with my iPhone that I otherwise would've missed. 

Photographers- Chime in. What are your thoughts? I will never say the iPhone (or any cell phone camera) will replace the DSLR - that's just not happening. But as technology becomes better, so do the photos you can get from your iPhone. Hey! It's a fun tool. I love the apps and the effects I get....and I get tons of compliments on my crappy iPhone photos as well. 

Photography is not the equipment I use, but rather the way I see the world......whether with my crappy iPhone photos or with my DSLRs. 

Just. Keep Shooting. No matter what.

....and sometimes.....it hurts.

I've been a closed book for a long time. Walls kept up to keep people out, to avoid getting close, to avoid the feelings that go along with any relationship. My circle of trust is small. 

I've never been one to open up and share a lot. But within the past year, I have begun to open up....and be who I truly am supposed to be. With that, however, has come emotions I don't want to deal with. See, when you don't care about someone/anyone, it doesn't hurt. But when you care....the relationship: be it a friendship, marriage or whatever, will hurt, eventually. And I don't like it. I am already an overly emotional person. 

Honestly, a part of me wants to turn right back around and put those walls back up....to keep people out.......so I don't have to feel so deeply. But the other part of me knows this is all part of life. And that it's okay to feel deeply.  I want to not care.....really. I do. But I can't. It's just not in me. 

Any relationship will have the good times, the bad times, and the in between times. It's knowing what to do in each of them that makes getting through it easier. I am still learning.  I guess I will always be learning. My biggest obstacle and challenge is to not rebuild the walls to keep everyone out.  Keep moving forward, keep building relationships, new and old.

-reflections-

So many things have had to happen in my life to get to where I am now. Recently, I've been reflecting, reminiscing, looking back. I do that often, remembering the good times, and even the not-so-good times.  Why not? It's all made me who I am today........and each experience in life will continue to mold me into the person I am.

Recently in all this self-reflecting and reminiscing, I've grown to learn a few things about myself. Some have shed light on things I didn't realize about myself.....people that knew me "then" and people that know me now...and those in between.

The people that knew me "then", well, I was this quiet, "shy" girl.........not overly confident and as I like to say, ever-so-innocent. Okay, yesterday I was reminded that I might not have been as innocent as I {claim} to be! ("They" - whoever "they" are - say it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for.) I allowed myself to stay there......always looking "in" from the outside. 

When I think of who I was a year ago, wow! is all I can say. I am in such a different place mentally now than then. I am a completly different person. Confident, dare I say, a bit bold. I just see things differently now. I know WHO I am and WHAT I want. And I am determined and no longer afraid to go after them. Every day I make strides to better myself, learn something new, to be who I truly am. You see, I 've realized what my husband has already known and continuously told me, people are drawn to me. I see it. Now. 

I amaze myself. I stop and ask myself from time to time, "Who is this girl?" Not the same person she was not long ago. And I REALLY like her. ALOT. I like myself. No even better....I. Love. Myself. I do. So what. If I don't love myself, how can anyone else?

Love yourself. Like yourself. Forgive yourself. Be easy on yourself. Challenge yourself. Better yourself. It's really quite simple.