Objects With Meaning, Weights, and Setting Goals

Last week I wrote down four goals I hoped to complete by the end of the week, and I’m surprised to say it really, really helped me accomplish them. I think sometimes we (or at least I) have so many ideas floating around in my head that I’d like to finish or set in motion that I get easily overwhelmed. I’ve heard so many times, especially when working from home, that my “inbox will never be empty”. That I will always find things I need to do, and instead of trying to forever play a game of “catch-up”, I need to prioritize. Do one thing at a time until it’s done and cross it off the list. And so that’s what I’ll do! The day I wrote up the last one I immediately set up the shelf that I’d been dying to fix for months, and if you want you can see it here. I took a photo of it for the daily prompt so you’ll see it again in a few weeks when I’ve caught up in posting them. =)

Anyway, before I get perilously wordy, let’s talk about these photos from early June. My favorite photo from this set is the prompt for “Family” because of the soft focus and what it represents. My least favorite is probably “Big”, simply because the composition and execution could have been better. I took it in the car arms-length style just so I wouldn’t forget.

Photo factoids: The “Family” photo is actually taken in color, but because the album is black and the photos are black and white, it looks of course as if it was taken in black and white. Every photo here was taken with an f/stop of 2.2 or lower. (The lower the number, the bigger the opening, making the focus point smaller, but allowing in more light. It’s also called shooting “wide open”.) And the weights pictured are actually from the 90s, plastic, bulky and 5.5lbs. I’ve since moved up to 7.7lbs and now I’m at 10lbs. (Exciting!!)

“Big” June 9th (Day 160)

My Japanese nickname is “Momo”, which means “peach” (or even peach tree!). So I made a charm out of polymer clay and painted it and wear it around my neck. (I also made one as a charm for my camera.) It’s a little charm with a big meaning for me.

“Wrinkles” June 10th (Day 161)

“High” June 11th (Day 162)

“Love” June 12th (Day 163)

“Hidden” June 13th (Day 164)

“Blue” June 14th (Day 165)

My keychain doesn’t have much, but each thing on it is really important to me. The fish was handmade by my little sister Chrissy, the infinity ring (which reads: love always) was a gift from Tom, and the beads washed up on the shore my sister Kait was walking on when she was in Europe for a year.

“Family” June 15th (Day 166)

Tom was given one of the family photo albums dating back to the early 1900s. I think people who can trace their family lineage back that far are extremely lucky.

“Health” June 16th (Day 167)

I’ve always been a runner (sort of) and considered myself fairly healthy, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided I wanted to be fit in all areas, not just my endurance. At the end of May I decided I would attempt daily HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts in the home to increase my core strength and I absolutely love them and am still doing them. They’ve increased my running times like I never imagined!