365 - five. cute kittens, pretty shadows, coffee, and blueberries.

It is week five of the 365 project (cheers!). 

I'm learning to loosen up a little with technique... things like the rule of thirds. yes, it's a fantastic pointer, but you also must feel free to just let go and allow your creativity to flow. if one rule after another is going through your mind it closes the gap for creativity to flow through. learn to look through the lens... and feel. feel for something deeper. capture something deeper. do what looks and feels right, not necessarily what follows all rules to a tee. let your soul breathe free of rules. learn to take pictures for yourself, not for other's approval or praise. learning to take pictures for yourself frees you up to focus on two things. A. God. you can learn to look to God for your self satiety, and not to people to give you praise. it allows you to remember that God is the one that should receive the glory in the beginning and not you anyway. B. no longer looking for human praise? that unlocks those chains and allows you up to simply take photos for the joy of taking photos - for the joy of doing something that makes you happy. it allows you up to make mistakes, if necessary. it reminds you that it's not about you or your talent or how good you are. it's not about what people think of your work. it's about something much bigger than you, so what people says becomes idle. 

So friends, those are my thoughts for the week.... now here is a new week of 365... week five. 

Wednesday: photo thirty (yay!): my sisters call this my ultra-sound picture. yep, isn't that nice? haha. i can see where they're coming from... however, I like this photo (and they did too, once they figured out what it was). i took it on a bright and sunny morning... the sun was streaming into my room from my two large windows... laying out these gorgeous reflections of light contrasted with dark shadows.

Thursday: photo thirty- one: oh sweet mr. howdy. he's mostly a very happy indoor key-kat (oh the life of a spoiled cat. it is to be envied), but on sunny, warm days he loves to rampage around outside exploring every nook and cranny... occasionally, on an especially good day, he'll bring in a grand surprise... you know, like a dead mouse or something. yes, you guessed it, that is always a joy! 

Friday: photo thirty-two: windows. and shadows. they are only the best thing since sliced bread.

Saturday: photo thirty-three: i love fruit. like, i'm a fruit maniac. or something like that. mangos are my favorite (eaten with the skin), but those are a treat. apples are a close second. followed by blueberries. i really like blueberries. it's funny, just about a year ago i would've told you i didn't like those tart blue round things. now they're a favorite afternoon snack.

Sunday: photo thirty-four: hey hey, it's Super Bowl day (yes, that is a rhyme)!! Super Bowl, in my eyes, is a great excuse for making and eating various fun treats/snacks! So Sunday afternoon, i slipped on my girly pink apron, got out my bowl and spatula, and went to work. one of my baking endeavors was to make these: Cookies! try them! they were amazing. i did make a couple slight modifications - instead of black beans i used white, and instead of sugar i subbed stevia. they were delicious (note, were. they're completely gone now.).

Monday: photo thirty-five: the more the coffee... the more the tea... the more it is a gage of a wearing day.

 Monday: photo thirty-six: my boo bear, esther. she's a pudgy toy poodle who waddles around like a cute little (er, large) piggy. she was basking in the morning sun, and i liked all the shadows going on around her.  

Tuesday:photo thirty-seven: at night, before i go to bed, i do one of two things. i read, or i journal (where i write all kinds of silly things that i'm sure i will look back on one day and roll my eyes at and muse at how lame and immature i was). between the two of these, i end up staying up too late. right now i'm reading through frank perettie's Illusion. for the second time. it's a fantastic book... one i really connect and relate to.   

that's a week, guys! 

-Rebecca