Monday, September 21, 2015

Unexplained Blogcation

Hi, I'm Debbie and I used to hang around on this blog on a regular basis. At this point I don't even know if there is anyone still hanging around. I do apologize for going dark on you, it was not a planned blogcation by any means. Sometimes things just happen. Let's see if I can do a bit better with this whole blogging thing. I have missed it and I have missed those of you who did me the honor of reading my words.

I just have to say that the last year has kicked my little but ever expansive bahookie. It hasn't been anything bad, mind you, it has just been life in all it's complexity and the fact that I re-entered the workforce on several different fronts.

And honestly, I think that I have gotten out of the habit and practice of writing. I love to write, it has long been a cathartic outlet for me and has gotten me through some tough and emotional times. But writing, like many other things, is a habit that if neglected will whither on the vine. I think that it was Stephen King who said something about that, that he writes every day as a discipline and as a habit that must be nurtured. I am currently sitting on a plane, writing, and there is turbulence and I am holding my coffee so I am not going to look that up. Let’s just say that he said it and acknowledge that I have not been doing that. Oh boy have I not been doing that. I haven't journaled. I haven't blogged. I dropped off the face of the word world.

So lets try to reconnect here and I will try my best to  show up if you will. I have been thinking about why I just haven't been writing and I think there are several reasons for it. One, I now work part time for HHBL, ruling the office as my own little fiefdom. "She who must be obeyed".....or not. I spend 8 hours a day, 3+ days a week sitting in front of a computer. When I arrive back at Chez Knit in the evening the last thing that I want to do is sit down in front of my computer and write a blog post. There just aren't any more words in my brain at that point. And also there is the fact that I have to walk Max the Magnificent and cook dinner and sometimes run back out for a meeting or a function of some kind. I enjoy my job and I am learning all sorts of stuff but that new time commitment is a killer.

Then last year I started working part time as a Wedding "Day" Coordinator through my church. That particular job is as busy or not busy as I make it. There is a team of us covering two campuses plus off -site weddings. I can sign up or not sign up for a wedding as I choose and depending on what is available. By the time 2015 comes to a close I will have coordinated, either by myself or with a partner, 8 weddings. Yes, I said 8 weddings. It may only be a day coordinator job but I end up meeting several times with the bride as well as numerous emails and phone calls, depending on how much hand holding needs to be done and various other factors. All of that takes time.

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I am obsessed with wedding dress trains evidently.

And then there is Hidden Moments, which continues to slowly move along. I have finally decided that photographing weddings is not my thing, unless someone wants to hire me as a second shooter. I would much rather do what I am doing now, photographically speaking, which is families and kids and non-profit work that tells a story.

This year as been the year of the wedding! Besides the whole coordination of weddings thing, HHBL and I will also have attended 5 weddings this year as guests. Every wedding has been different and lovely and fun. Like I said, The Year of the Weddings.

I have lots of stories to tell you and pictures to show you. You nave to meet Spike, a woman I recently photographed for a Towards Employment project. She spent many years in prison for violent crime but now is a manager of a warehouse and can tell you the difference between a boat load of different arugula. She was awesome!

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You have to love Spike and her enthusiasm for all things growing.

I am changing things up and doing my actual writing in Evernote and then putting it into my blogging template and adding photos as necessary. That makes it easier for me because Evernote is always with me, whether phone, iPad, laptop or desktop. In fact, at this very moment I am writing while sitting on a plane flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Cleveland. The beauty of technology is that I can write in Evernote at 30,000 feet and Jet Blue provides me with WiFi to sync to the cloud. When I power up the big computer, there will be my blog post, ready to be flung out into the internet.

By the way, just at the moment the plane is bouncing around like a rubber ball. I so love turbulence....

NOT.

So, lets see if I can do a bit better with this and you won't leave me forever.

Please don't leave. I need all the friends that I can get. And besides, someone has to read what I write!!