Nuance. . .April Moon Day 6

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

Today's one word prompt is NUANCE.

Nuance - a subtle difference in...

I immediately thought of a series of photos

 I took last year at Grand Central Station, NYC.

I stood at the top of the stairs and 

captured moments in time

via double exposure.

The movement, the light,

the hustle, the stillness,

the nuance of the moment

in a single photo.

I could have taken a single exposure,

or even a series of single exposures,

but it wouldn't have had the same emotion.

It wouldn't have captured the nuance.

Focus. . .April Moon Day 5

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

Today's one word prompt is FOCUS.

As a photographer, focus, for me, 

is how I see the world around me.

In life and through my camera lens 

I am often focusing on one thing

and missing everything else around me.

This isn't a bad thing.

It is about catching the moments

and capturing that exact instance.

A good picture focuses on that moment

and can transform the viewer 

to that exact place and time.

Sacred. . .April Moon Day 4

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

Today's one word prompt is SACRED.

Home. . .April Moon Day 3

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

Today's one word prompt is HOME.

The word home transforms me back

to where I grew up

and a part of me becomes 8 again.

A small town in the Midwest.

A home of values,

community service, 

love,

hard work,

church on Sundays,

family card playing on Saturday night,

dinner at the kitchen table together,

bicycle riding around town,

the footbridge,

beautiful front yard gardens,

next to an old pick-up truck,

my Mom creating art,

my Dad's hands fixing everything,

my little brother tagging along,

laughter,

straight talk,

and a community that is a one big family.

Love begins at home, 

and it is not how much we do...

but how much love we put in that action.

- Mother Teresa

Juicy. . .April Moon Day 2

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

Today's one word prompt is JUICY.

The photo above was taken during the first few days 

after we arrived in California.

I grew up in the Midwest.

I didn't see my first ocean beach until I was in college.

So, to put my toes in the ocean,

see dolphins swim past the beach,

surf,

collect heart shaped rocks and sea glass 

is all so juicy.

I mean, OMG, I am enjoying

every juicy minute of it.

Courage. . .April Moon Day 1

I'm playing along with Kat over at I Saw You Dancing 

and her April Moon reflective writing challenge.

I can't promise I will write everyday 

but I do promise to post at the very least a photo, 

 art, or some thing each day during the next 2 weeks.

The prompt for today is COURAGE.

This seems to be what my life

 has been screaming the past few months.

Have you missed me?

I've missed you.

Sorry to disappear for months.

My life has changed dramatically.

6 months ago the CEO of my day job asked me to move.

I made it happen (with a whole lotta help) in 6 weeks.

I didn't just move down the street or to the next town.

I moved to the other side of the country.

I jumped coasts.

1 boyfriend, 2 cats, everything we own, 

2 flights, 1 moving company, 

10 days with no furniture/stuff, 

3.5 months without a car, 

and we all survived.

Good bye NYC. Hello Santa Barbara, California.

Even the cats love our second floor apartment. 

We call it our Treehouse.

It took courage to jump,

to leave a city that I had fallen in love with,

that I had spent 13 years of my life in,

to leave friends that are now family,

to embrace change.

By the way, I'm in love.

I love my new life.

Now to get back into my creative life, too.

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
- e.e. cummings