Exciting News about Project Smile!

Project Smile will go on!

My dear friend Kristi of Live and Love out Loud has graciously agreed to host for the next 6 months thru August so that project smile can be a yearly meme. Talk about a reason to smile!

For those of you who may be new here, Project Smile was created in an attempt to help me through the dark, winter months as I struggle with S.A.D. You can read more about why it was launched here.

My initial plan was to only run it as a 6 month meme, but thanks to Kristi it will continue year round. I promise to be back hosting Project Smile September-February. If you do not know Kristi, make sure to hop over and check her out. I know that you will come to love her as I do.

So what is project smile?
Nothing mind blowing or life altering. Just documenting sweet, simple moments that make you smile.

There are no rules. You can record your smiles daily, weekly, or monthly. You can share photos, videos, words... whatever works best for you. The sky is the limit.

You can see examples of how I shared my smiles over the last 6 months below.

September

October Part 1 and Part 2

November

December

January

February

And now let me shift gears. Because I would be amiss if I didn't take this opportunity to tell you about all the many smiles I have happened on this month.

Things like...

Being able to take an amazing trip to South Carolina for Spring Break.

Exercising my risk muscle numerous times as I experienced "firsts".

Feeding a giraffe being one of those.


Being reminded of the beauty that is all around us.


You can see more of our trip highlights on my facebook page here.

Having a girl's day with my nine year old daughter doing all things girly. And hearing her whisper "hottie alert" in response to a young male waiter passing by at IHOP.


My daughter proclaiming that she wants to be a roller derby girl.


Then turning around and setting up a stand using nothing more than a box she found. Selling silly bands and beach treasures. And "pure sand" as she called it. And making nearly ten bucks in one day. She makes me giggle.


Making a new recipe called Tuna Nicoise Sandwiches for dinner. And then having it turn out to be a hit.


Having a moment with little man. Eating cookies. Lots and lots of them.

And so many other simple, beautiful moments.

Unveiling my little lady in a recent photo shoot. What a beauty she is.


Finding a quiet moment to myself in my newly renovated sanctuary. Before and after pics to come soon. Stay tuned.


Seeing happy, confident swimmers.
If you knew our swimming history, you'd smile too.

These are just a few of the things that made me smile this month. What is turning your lips up these days?

Please grab the button and join the Smile Crusade. Let's make the world brighter- one smile at a time.


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The Neglected Muscle.

They say there is a first time for everything. I love that.

I love that you can live 38 years of your life and still have firsts every. single. day. Some big, most small.

Our recent spring break excursion was packed with firsts.

Things like...

Feeding a giraffe- with that giant, rough tongue you can't help but giggle.


Eating Charleston pralines- two thumbs up.


Touring an aircraft carrier- I think we could have used another day to see it all.

Finding live whelks- a fav of the kids.


Experiencing a 4-D movie- not sure about the poke that was meant to be a snake bite.

Watching a South Carolina sunset- breathtaking!


Eating Bojangles- how have I never eaten this before now?


Seeing a 1500 year old live oak tree- pictures do not begin to do justice.


Watching a baboon nurse her baby- so stinkin' cute.


Climbing a rock wall- a redo is in order.


And so many more...

Firsts are lurking at every corner. The problem is we have to be open to them and willing to push fears and inhibitions aside.

"Everyone has a 'risk muscle.' You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies.” -Roger Von Oech

Perhaps the most neglected and important muscle of all...

What firsts have you been trying to keep yours in shape?

Wordless Wednesday: My Little Lady

If you have a photo just link it below. Wordless, Not So Wordless, or Wordful posts are all welcome. Make sure to stop by some of the other WWs. These are some of my favs...

Hope.

Perhaps it was inevitable. I mean, after six amazing fun-filled days of sunshine, warmth, and full blown spring a girl is supposed to feel let down when she arrives home to a 50+ degree drop in temp and a chance of snow. Right? I'm not sure when it happened exactly. It felt fine when we got out in KY to see Gram and Gramps. But then somewhere between lunch at Panera in Champaign, IL and my doorstep in Cedar Rapids, IA there was a 30 degree change. I tried to prepare myself mentally. I really did. But my shorts and t-shirt days were again behind me. I grabbed my parka and began the tedious task of unloading the car.

My mind was still enjoying the beautiful imagery of the South. In my swimsuit.

But my eyes were seeing this...


Barren branches. Dead leaves.


Naked trees.


Brown plants. Leaves littering the garden beds.


As much as I didn't want to whine. As much as I didn't want to be disappointed. I was stuck. And as hard as I willed it my mind would not deviate from the image before me.

And now I knew for a fact. March is not like this everywhere. Ok, so this is not new knowledge. But it isn't until you experience it and have it ripped from you that you truly gain an appreciation for the reality of it. It is 50+ degrees colder here than SC. (Yes, I realize temps fluctuate with warm and cool fronts, etc. Just go with it.) I became obsessed with that thought. It was all I could process. It replayed in my head over and over.

As I looked around my fate continued to sink in. I live in Iowa. Land of long winters.

And then I saw it. Tucked under a branch. Just a tiny little thing, barely recognizable...

A tiny bud. The first bud. My bud.


Hope.

I so wanted to participate in Ashley Sisk's Good to Wow Photo Challenge this week, but the prompt was "flowers". No flowers to be found around these parts. (So I cheated and used an old photo from last year and squeaked it in just before the deadline. You can find it here.)

But this tiny little blossom has renewed my spirits.

Spring is on her way.

Thanks to M4H and Florabella actions- the post processing produced more vibrant, spring-like pics.

Good to Wow Photo Challenge

One of the things I love most about photography is the creative freedom I have as an artist, from the initial thought to the finished product and everything in between.

Today I thought I'd participate in Ashley's Sisk's Good to Wow meme. The theme is flowers, and if you are anywhere near here you know full well that unless you are shooting artificial there are no flowers to be found. So, I cheated a bit. This was a crap shot I snapped in a nature walk we took last fall. Not a macro or a fancy lens. Just your average run-of-the-mill for this one. I never meant to do anything with the photo, but decided to give it a try for this challenge.

I cropped the photo, did some basic edits, added texture, added photo filters, adjusted the hue, flattened image, copied, changed it to b&w, and then added back some of the color.

I'm sure there are simpler methods to achieve this effect. I tend to do things the long way.

Not a spectacular photo, but a vintage piece that would be great on a canvas or with the right frame.

Isn't it amazing what you can do with a simple photo? It never ceases to amaze me. Just stop over and check out some of the other entries. You'll see what I mean. Ah-MAZING!!

The world is my canvas.

This year for Spring Break hubs had to be in SC, so rather than an exotic island getaway I had been secretly hoping for, we packed ourselves up and tagged along on the nearly 18 hour long drive. Hubs opted for a rental car and the hotel suite over the expensive plane ticket to spend time with the fam. The timing of the trip was a little odd considering we already have a family reunion scheduled in The Outer Banks of NC in a few months. But hey- I'm always up for an adventure. Unless it involves snakes or spiders. Plus, can you ever have too much sand?



You may think that after my many excursions car-bound that I prefer to drive rather than fly, but you would be wrong. Truth is, we are cheap (hubs prefers to call it frugal) and would rather get multiple trips in rather than one or two per year, so I suck it up and try not to whine too much. I think I did remarkably well this time considering...

And if you only fly you would never truly have the whole experience. This is something I must continually remind myself. Especially when my butt can hardly stand to sit another minute.

But my many weeks trippin' over the last couple years have given me rich experiences, awe-inspiring photo ops, but mostly? Soothing respites for my mind and soul...

It is only because I was car-bound that I was able to get out and truly experience the beauty around me.

Things like...

The wide open skies


and the Black Hills of South Dakota.


The rock formations of Colorado.




The Smoky Moutains of Tennessee.


The Skyline of Seattle.


The rugged cactus terrain of New Mexico.


The white sands of Destin, Florida.


The Badlands of South Dakota.


The rapids of West Virginia.


The volcanic mountains of Washington.


The Rio Grande Gorge of New Mexico.


The amazing altitudes and breathtaking views at Pike's Peak, CO.


The mountains of sand


and wide open spaces in Colorado.


The wild animals of North Dakota.


And our recent discoveries in South Carolina...

The sunsets.


The amazing southern oak trees.


And the beautiful empty beaches


filled with treasures galore.


You can find more of our recent adventures in SC here or here.

There has been plenty before and hopefully plenty more in the coming years.

The world is my canvas. It's beauty is endless.

And on a side note, I thought I would mention that one of my photos from my 2009 project 365 was featured in a blog called Family Fountain. It is entitled, "Imagination and Creativity". It is a beautiful post and is definitely worth a read. Poignant and thought provoking.

Did you have any fun adventures over spring break?