Fire - Good or Bad?
Don't we all love fire? Sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold winter's night, roasting marshmallows over the campfire, barbequing, firepits at the beach with guitar strumming in the background, candles on a birthday cake? Good stuff...
Until it gets a little out of control...This week has been a bad week for wildfires in Southern California. Several days we have had overcast skies due to the smoke. Burning eyes, ash on the cars, hazy horizons...not the best side of fire. And that doesn't even include people's home burned or how much acreage is barren now due to the flames. But even in the midst of the smoke, there was beauty - we had one of the best sunsets!
I am a fan of fire... and smoke. I remember as a kid loving to burn incense, not for the smell, but so I could watch the smoke curl up and make interesting patterns in the breeze. It was relaxing, sort of like watching fish in an aquarium. But when my son decided to light a couple of candles on the floor in his room when he was three, I was not such a big fan of that!
Just like fire, there are things in my life that are good in small amounts, but when they overrun it, it is no longer okay. I am working on balancing everything out, so I feel I am doing an acceptable job in all areas. This would include being a wife and mom (and homemaker), Christian, transcriptionist, photographer, musician, and Weight Watchers member. I am not there yet. I am having to work really hard to not let photography overwhelm my life, because I really need to do my best in all the other areas as well. Right now, the part that has been suffering the most is Weight Watchers. I am significantly overweight and since I am turning 50 in a month, I really need to be getting my body and health under control now, so things don't start spiraling downward. I have lost 25 pounds, which is a good start, but it has taken me far longer than it should have because I am not good at balancing everything.
So...all things in moderation, right? I am tweaking my environment a bit to try to help me remember to track my food intake. I have started using my phone calendar to keep everything organized, and hopefully, I will let the less important things (that being TV time and internet surfing) take up less of my time.
And as for photography this week, the art shoot had to be rescheduled but it is upcoming. I learned how to make a panorama out of several pictures in PSE11 (see above). I am taking a workshop in developing a critical eye in editing. I finished editing all the wedding pictures and got the gallery on-line as well as the flashdrive ready to deliver. There is a vague opportunity to bid on doing the Senior Portraits for RHS, but I don't know if I am equipped or prepared for that endeavor at this point. I am praying about it. Busy, busy, busy!
