The last few years have been some of the most physically and mentally challenging for me. In that time, my love for photography became a fear of everything I failed to do and everything I failed to become. My camera was left to collect dust, and just looking at it gave me a spike of anxiety and guilt that just kept growing until it completely paralyzed me.
Now, in 2022, I've made it my goal to love photography again. To love taking and editing pictures as I've always done, and to stop looking at my work with the weight of guilt sitting on my shoulders. Therefore, my goal for the year is to take at least one picture every day (but, let's face it, I will absolutely take more than just one) and learn to enjoy and love the experience again.
Please, come along with me on this journey.
-Erin
January
December 31st, 2021: Otherwise known as, "the day I proposed to the love of my life (and he said yes!)"
January 1st, 2022: A foggy day at Kalahari Resorts, Sandusky. My fiancé (still getting weird to type that out) and I got massages in the morning and spent the day in the jacuzzi tub in our suite.
January 2nd, 2022: We returned home in probably the worst weather- freezing rain the entire drive. Disgusting. Got back tired, stressed, and anxious about hiding our engagement for the next week (so we could tell our families in person all on the same day). As a result, I decided to knit.
January 3rd, 2022: Back to work, back to life, back to a new project that, so far, is going pretty well.
January 4th, 2022: Took my camera on a walk after lunch and spotted this beautifully empty office a few spaces down from us. Worth looking weird to the other people out walking.
January 5th, 2022: Mmmm, donuts.
That's it. That's the entry.
January 6th, 2022: Started knitting my first sweater. I think you'll be able to tell when I'm home, as it'll often be pictures of cats and/or knitting, since I don't really go anywhere.
January 7th, 2022: Another drive home from work, another blurry street photo (this time in black and white!)
January 8th, 2022: Week 2 starts off with Navi, the majestic beast that she is. You'll be seeing a lot of her and the others, I'm sure.
January 9th, 2022: The day Sean and I told our families (and then all of Facebook and Instagram) that we're engaged! We headed home and as I drove down the street, I sighed that I wished I could take a picture of the sky. So, naturally, as soon as we parked I ran inside and jogged to the end of the street with my camera to stand in the middle of the road and snap a few photos.
January 10th, 2022: I would apologize for all of the in-car photos you're going to get, but hey, I have to commute every day! That's 40 minutes to and from work that I'm a passenger in a car with nothing else to do!
Expect more. Expect a lot more.
January 11th, 2022: A little different from my other in-car photos, but still a commute photo nonetheless. What can I say, the view was gorgeous!
January 12th, 2022: I enjoy walks during my lunch, and naturally the office park is always changing, which makes for interesting opportunities like this. Please don't sue me.
January 13th, 2022: My sister bought a new succulent planter for the house since we've taken down our Christmas decorations. I think it's quite lovely.
January 14th, 2022: Just a little work selfie for my last day as a 23 year old. Birthday tomorrow! Can't wait to officially enter my mid twenties. (I consider the mid-range to be from 24-26, fight me on this. I dare you.)
January 15th, 2022: Birthday!! Officially 24, and in true adult fashion I spend the day running errands and eating cake.
Also, there's a theme this week. See if you can spot it!
January 16th, 2022: I thought we were taking down the tree, and I got a new tripod, so I decided to give it a whirl with some long exposure of the lights. I think it looks pretty neat!
January 17th, 2022: Spotting our theme yet? No? Give it a bit longer, you'll see.
January 18th, 2022: Had to take my mom's car in for some maintenance, and I thought the building looked nice in the evening light. Taken from inside my parked car, because social anxiety.
January 19th, 2022: Does this throw you off a bit? Here's a hint: it's not the cats from the first two. There is a theme of cats this week, too, though. Unintentional, but welcome.
There's a Covid testing site in our building, which is both assuring and concerning, because we have people all the time coming in with their various states of (un)masking, asking if we are the test site. No, no we are not. That'd be around the corner, thanks. Please put your mask over your nose.
January 20th, 2022: My favorite of the week! I got a new lens (my beloved 35mm 1.8), backdrop, and backdrop stand, so Indie and I decided to give it a test run. I'm so proud of how this picture turned out.
Fun facts: I am holding a treat in front of our faces off-screen, and hiding the camera remote in the hand death-gripping my cat to my chest as she contemplates murder.
January 21st, 2022: The final of my theme, which is . . . black and white! Also unintentional until the third black and white photo, in which I decided to make it a theme for every other image this week.
January 22nd, 2022: This week was definitely a tough one for me, so to open I think this sneak-photo from Target is pretty fitting!
January 23rd, 2022: True to form, there are some cat photos in this week. Mostly of Maisie. She's just too darned cute!
January 24th, 2022: . . . I told you.
January 25th, 2022: I couldn't get out much this week, so you also get some car photos. Exciting things coming. . .
January 26th, 2022: Not the exciting thing I was referring to, but still (sort of) exciting? The first of a long month of doctor's appointments to finally start getting my health sorted.
January 27th, 2022: New camera!!! This is the exciting thing I was talking about! Everyone give a warm welcome to the Nikon D750, the camera that's been on the top of my wishlist for a solid three years. Please also send sincere Thank You's to my D7000, which has served me faithfully since 2015 and saw me through school, the rise of my creative struggles, and the start of a new chapter.
Also, I knit a sweater for the first time! Here she is, isn't she pretty? So cozy, too!
January 28th, 2022: The end of week four, and nearly the end of month one! How exciting, and also intimidating, because I still have 48 weeks to go. Yikes!
January 29th, 2022: I know we're not supposed to, but we can't help feeding the squirrels and birds when the snow starts to get bad in the winter. On the bright side, it makes for a good show on both sides of the glass!
January 30th, 2022: We're Almost There
January 31st, 2022: One more day! In month one. . . Man, I wish I had my macro lens when I took this photo.
February
February 1st, 2022: A new month, another doctor's appointment. Officially into my new routine of going to see a different doctor (or multiple!) every week. Fun!
February 2nd, 2022: Another time that I wish I'd had my macro lens on hand. Alas, it's hard enough taking my camera to work every day with just one lens. I can't even imagine more.
February 3rd, 2022: This image is pretty indicative of my current state of being: blurry, spread thin, multi-layered in a way where you're unsure if it's good or not.
February 4th, 2022: Another squirrel! Or, maybe the same one? Hmmm. . .
February 5th, 2022: This was. . .a bad week. Mentally. Physically. Med changes, doctor's appointments, blood draws, x-rays, disappointing results and diagnoses, just. . .it wasn't fun. Started out so optimistic. Still got some pretty pictures out of it, though.
February 6th, 2022: Believe it or not, this is one of only two pictures I took this day. The other one was the same picture, but underexposed.
February 7th, 2022: Another picture from a work-walk, plus a literal Ton of photoshop to get rid of a parking lot and a light post. Ask nicely and I'll show you the before and after :)
February 8th, 2022: Did I sit in the car hiding my camera until the perfect moment where the truck driver ducked their head, and then still get a mediocre shot? Why yes, yes I did.
February 9th, 2022: The day shit officially hit the fan, basically. Before this things were rough, but today was Worse. Today consisted of a disappointing doctor's visit, five vials of blood drawn for a dozen tests, about ten x-rays of my hands and legs, brain fog out the wazoo, an optimistic workout with my dad, and finally a flare up of pain and nausea so bad that it left me curled up as pictured on the floor of the shower, and then the bathroom floor, for about twenty minutes. Like I said. Not a fun week.
February 10th, 2022: But anyways, cats!!! And therapy. A good hour of therapy. Plus a migraine, and another hefty dose of brain fog. (Thanks, new meds!)
February 11th, 2022: Finishing off the week strong with another almost-migraine, thank you rizatriptan for helping avoid that disaster, plus a nice dose of "practicing healthy coping mechanisms" (aka DBT worksheets from my therapist. Have I talked about therapy enough this week? I don't think so. I love therapy. I love my therapist, she's great. Go To Therapy.)
February 12th, 2022: As a semi-contrast to last week, this week was fairly lukewarm. Not great, not terrible. More appointments, more tests, and a lot more laziness when it came to photo-taking. Today, for example, I believe I took less than ten pictures for the entire day, and that was a good day for me. Unfortunately, this beautiful rose plant is no longer thriving in my house. I wonder if it's soaking up all of my negative energy lately-or maybe it just doesn't like the environment. Perhaps it preferred the grocery store lights.
February 13th, 2022: I may have forgotten to mention, but I'm taking part in C. London's 52 week photography challenge. This week was based around Edward Hopper, and we were meant to take a photo that paints normal life in a captivating way. Naturally, this meant more cats. Unfortunately, my personal winner photo was out of focus, but Navi really did her best here! If only I could say the same for our little friend.
February 14th, 2022: Celebrated Valentine's by having another doctor's appointment, making dinner for the family with my new rice cooker (courtesy of Sean), and embodying the meme:
I (cat): receive a kiss on the head. You (me): receive some fur on your lips.
This was also a day of maybe 6 photos. This is the trend of the week.
February 15th, 2022: The single day I actually went in to work this week. The weather was frigid but sunny, so dammit, I went on a walk!
February 16th, 2022: This was a fun day. Had an MRI/MRA (all normal, thank you very much, minus confirmation of my chronic migraines and indications of allergies/asthma that I should Probably get checked out), took exactly four photos the entire day, all of which were while I was experiencing valium for the first time (thank you claustrophobia), and then promptly passed out for three hours as soon as I got home. The day was pretty uneventful otherwise.
February 17th, 2022: Speaking of migraines, I took some gorgeous pictures of my gorgeous sister with some gorgeous(?) makeup that's meant to signify my migraines in particular: typically on one side of my head, and all the way from my temples down into my jaw. Red hot pain. Not fun!
February 18th, 2022: Lastly, I'm ending the week with some beautifully icy trees and yet another doctor's appointment (telehealth this time, thankfully, as I worked from home today thanks to the roads!)
February 19th, 2022: Starting off the week with more cats. Navi is just a gem.
February 20th, 2022: There's a couple self portraits this week. This is one of them. This is also a week of 3-5 photos per day, so it's a little boring.
February 21st, 2022: Honestly, I wanted to photoshop out the company name on here, but both it looked too nice and I was too lazy to pull out my tablet and put in some effort. So, enjoy, Forberg Smith. Free advertising.
February 22nd, 2022: Are these just sticky notes on my work desk? Yes, yes they are.
February 23rd, 2022: Not my favorite photo, but I literally took three all day and I liked the other two even less. I'm working on some icons for my job. I enjoy the design work, but let's face it: when you're not on contract for a job like this and you're just doing it out of the good of your heart for the company, the back-and-forth of demands becomes quite tiring.
February 24th, 2022: A self portrait. One of the sucky things with medication changes is the stuff it does to your body. And, when you're like me and have had a negative relationship with your body for your entire life, it becomes quite challenging to not spiral when you see your body change so much on a daily basis. I felt okay today, so I decided to take some artsy photos to commemorate. This was my favorite. It was also the most painful, thanks to a yoga wheel under my back (photoshopped out) and my lack of flexibility.
February 25th, 2022: Ending the week like it started, with another cat, this time doing a good sniff of some flowers.
February 26th, 2022: . . .No comment.
February 27th, 2022: Took some pictures of my beautiful friend Jessi. We planned on trying out my new lighting kit, but the light through the window was too beautiful to pass up, so we went natural light instead!
February 28th, 2022: Two months down, ten to go! I'm definitely feeling the "sometimes days are just boring and you're going to take boring pictures" part of this challenge.
March
March 1st, 2022: Month three! Here's a shrub from work.
March 2nd, 2022: Another boring day, but I thought the light was pretty in the morning so I took some pictures of a statue we have in the back yard.
March 5th, 2022: The weather was beautiful for early March, so I decided to go on some walks. I always think it's interesting how this trail in my development has actual street lights.
March 7th, 2022: And just like that, back to cold and fog. Depressingly beautiful.
March 8th, 2022: Whenever I see this picture I just think of the "We Just Got a Letter" song from Blue's Clues.
March 9th, 2022: This day wasn't exactly warm and beautiful, but it was still a day for another walk.
March 10th, 2022: Maisie was just too sweet to avoid taking a picture of. Also, too photogenic.
March 12th, 2022: More cats! I just loved how Maisie was staring up at Indie. Literally "looking up" to her big sister.
March 13th, 2022: Oops, quadruple whammy of cat photos. Once again, I just couldn't resist!
March 3rd, 2022: Today wasn't even boring, it was just bad. Medication has my brain in the worst possible place most days, so sometimes all I can do is lay on the floor, or cry on the couch.
Hey, this is a personal project. If you decide to come along you get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of my life for the year.
March 4th, 2022: I've been eyeing this basketball hoop behind one of our neighboring office buildings for weeks, and today the lighting was just beautiful enough on my walk to justify finally snapping a picture.
March 15th, 2022: The back of our neighboring building at work is always fun for finding new things to take pictures of. It's probably where I get half of my content during the week.
March 16th, 2022: This is my Favorite of the week, by far. The way the light hit was so perfect, I didn't even feel awkward crouching on the floor like a gremlin in the office to get this picture.
March 6th, 2022: Another beautiful day, another walk.
March 18th, 2022: Once again, fun findings behind our neighboring building. All of the trees are twisted around each other, and the winter months are the only time you can see just how tangled they are!
March 11th, 2022: A purrito! I swear she got herself all bundled up in a pile of blankets. I'm still not sure how she does it sometimes.
March 14th, 2022: Sad day, friends. My neurologist told me she was switching specialties, so she's handing me off to a colleague. I dislike change, so this is a little rougher than expected.
March 17th, 2022: Personally, I'm pretty proud of of this photo. I had an eye doctor's appointment and made the mistake of letting them dilate my eyes. I still decided to go on a walk after, despite being practically blind at a 3 ft radius and squinting even behind sunglasses.
March 19th, 2022: A rare phone photo, because I still don't feel comfortable bringing my camera into stores and actually, you know, taking pictures with it.
March 20th, 2022: Also, a rare photo of the boy :) too cute to not take a picture, honestly.
March 21st, 2022: I love me some shadows, as you can probably tell by this point. Shadows and pretty lighting? Don't even get me started.
March 22nd, 2022: I remember back in school, wanting to do a project of intentionally blurred pictures. I didn't do it, unfortunately, but I still find the concept pretty appealing.
March 23rd, 2022: Back at it again! We have a new hire at work, so my boss wanted us to get some donuts. I'm not complaining. Also, unintentional Dutch angle, as a treat.
March 24th, 2022: Today was not a great day, between hours of studying during the day and crippling back pain in the evening, so this is all you get for the day. A cabinet wall. Enjoy!
March 25th, 2022: Another not great day, so not much motivation for pictures. Here are some models we have on a shelf at work.
March 26th, 2022: I've become aware of a severe lack of cat photos this last week. Let me make it up to you.
March 27th, 2022: Another one! I was busy doing schoolwork all weekend, so not much time for picture-taking otherwise. Also, bad weather.
March 28th, 2022: Another MRI, but not for my head this time. Not great results, but not world-ending? Also, more anxiety meds that just make me sleepy.
March 29th, 2022: Yuck, more snow. Makes me feel sad and lazy, especially now that it's officially spring.
March 30th, 2022: Saw a friend on my walk at work. See, at work, they're friends. At home, with five cats, they're Public Enemy Number One.
March 31st, 2022: A little self portrait, as a treat. Haven't been feeling great lately, but I'm pretty happy with this one.
Also, happy Trans Day of Visibility, from your fellow nonbinary they/them brethren. Let's see who actually reads these blurbs.
April
April 1st, 2022: April fool's, here's another selfie! Less happy with this one, but shrug, I was a little manic and needed something for my 52 week photo group.
April 2nd, 2022: New month, no motivation. I'm stuck doing a lot of classwork basically every day, so I have even less free time to take pictures now, which is going to make for some dull weeks on my part.
April 3rd, 2022: Another Maisie! Isn't she just a cutie? I need to get out of the house.
April 4th, 2022: I mean, I guess getting my cat shaved (not Maisie) counts as getting out of the house, though I didn't take any pictures when I was out there.
April 5th, 2022: Another time I got out of the house and didn't take any pictures- had to run to the store to get a ton of ice for coolers because our power went out at 1 AM and didn't come back on until nearly 11! Had a fun morning emptying out the fridge, a fun afternoon of re-filling the fridge, and then had a fun evening of Pain from the exertion.
April 6th, 2022: I'm sorry guys, I'm really starting to run out of ideas here. When your routine is work-school-work-school-work-school ad nauseam, creativity really runs dry.
April 7th, 2022: A fun little picture of my hand, because the lighting was nice.
April 8th, 2022: A vertical photo, as a treat to finish off another black-and-white week. Maybe next week will be a little better.
April 9th, 2022: Sad day, friends. Our resident old man Logan got bit by an unknown animal a couple weeks back, and instead of healing the wounds got a nasty infection, so off to the emergency vet we went for a long day of tests, sedation, intensive cleaning, and some staples. Antibiotics and Cone of Shame in hand, we headed home at a bright and early 10:30 PM and now just hope for the best.
April 10th, 2022: After a stressful Saturday, my Sunday was Nearly Just As Stressful so I only took one picture the entire day. I like it.
April 11th, 2022: A rainy Monday to start off the work week. The world appeared as gray and drained as I felt.
April 12th, 2022: And now, a sunny day to mark the official end of my short work week! On a mini-vacation for the rest of the week, and Hoo Boy Am I Still Stressed.
April 13th, 2022: One uneventful neurologist visit, frantic packing session, and Literal Worst Drive of My Life later, Sean and I made it to Columbus to get some Momo Ghar and go to our first Blue Jackets game. A fun day, aside from the literal Hell that is the Columbus highway system.
Also, sorry to the random girl I took this photo of in North Market while we were waiting for our dinner, if you ever see this. Someday I'll be better at street photography.
April 14th, 2022: Columbus Zoo! We had a very lovely, tiring day walking around and seeing all of the beautiful friends out and about, and then finished off with another long drive back up north.
April 15th, 2022: Back home, back to my cats and my never-ending list of things to do. Good news, though: Logan had his five day check up after our little excursion on Saturday, and the vet is happy to say he's healing extremely well, and much faster than she was expecting, with where he started off! One more week until staple (and cone) removal.
April 16th, 2022: One of the ultra-rare occasions where Sean actually managed to pick up and hold Maisie without help. She is not pleased.
April 17th, 2022: Navi is so majestic sometimes, as derp as she is the rest of the time.
April 18th, 2022: I refuse to apologize for all of my cat photos as of late. I just can't help it- I don't really go anywhere, and my house isn't really photogenic, so you get cats!
April 19th, 2022: For something different: melted candles!
I bet you're wishing for more cat photos right now.
April 20th, 2022: More color! A cute little ball that I found on my walk at work. Not sure how it got here in the middle of an office park, but that just adds to the appeal.
April 21st, 2022: Not really sure what I was doing here, but I just liked how it turned out. Anyways, Logan got his staples out (which was a surprisingly traumatic experience for everyone involved!) so he's just living his best cone-free life again.
April 22nd, 2022: Another fun, colorful thing I found on a work walk. This thing is always here, however, but this is the first photo of it that I've enjoyed enough to edit and post.
April 23rd, 2022: Last week of April, last week of month four! Minus a day, of course. I'm so sick of cold and dreary weather.
April 24th, 2022: Orthodox Easter! Meet this lovely lady from my uncle's house. She has some special eyes and a lovely personality. (Unfortunately I Do Not Remember Her Name I'm So Sorry Trish)
April 25th, 2022: Another friend! Headed towards this lovely bush we have outside the office. The new owners cut down nearly all foliage last year and replanted everything, but thankfully they left this beautiful piece.
April 26th, 2022: I'm surprised it's been so long since my last blurry car photo, but frankly, I'm also a little impressed.
April 27th, 2022: . . . I think not taking blurry car photos for so long warrants an allowance for two in a row.
April 28th, 2022: Maisie being Maisie, as per usual. Did I have pictures of her looking at the camera? Yes. Did I deliberately not choose any of those pictures? Also Yes.
April 29th, 2022: I've been eyeing our shed for some weeks now, because I just love how the light hits it in the morning. Today I finally decided to go out, in the cold, to take some pictures.
April 30th, 2022: I'm a chronic skin-picker, but it tends to get worse when I'm stressed. Recently, I've been very stressed. My nose is not very happy with me, as you can see.
May
May 1st, 2022: *insert NSYNC song here* Glad I started May with our resident Miss May.
Speaking of which, Maisie is one photogenic cat. . .
Maybe, 30% of the time.
May 2nd, 2022: I was really drawn to these ladders when I was out on my walk, and I love how everything else in the shot all had a similar color scheme.
May 6th, 2022: Another photogenic, yet scrungy cat: Navi!
May 7th, 2022: I love garden centers. The sights, the smells, but the crowds? Not so much. I'll just take my tomato plants and leave, thanks.
May 8th, 2022: Mother's Day; we went to Lakewood Park for the first time, and god was it windy. This is why I try to stay away from the lake.
May 9th, 2022: There's an old, rundown house that I always pass on my walk- have I already taken a picture of it for this project? I honestly can't remember. I know I've taken pictures of it, but not if I've used them.
May 10th, 2022: You don't know how much that little sliver of window bothers me. The motorcycle is nice, though.
May 11th, 2022: Rest easy, friend.
May 12th, 2022: I'm feeling the stress today, working on final projects for classes and juggling appointments in between frantically-written discussion essays.
May 3rd, 2022: The other 70% of the time, she's pretty scrungy.
May 4th, 2022: I'm really sick of the cold and rainy weather, but I do love me some foggy days.
May 5th, 2022: When was the last time I took some proper self portraits? March? Well, I got some new face paints for a shoot I want to do at the end of the month, so I broke those open and pulled out an old wig and played around a bit.
I realize now that the blue looks like a moustache. I'm okay with this.
May 13th, 2022: I wish I had something better for Friday the 13th, but alas, I just have this picture of someone's golf equipment left out behind their building. Enjoy.
May 14th, 2022: Lots of walks in the nice weather means lots of bees to see!
May 15th, 2022: Mia is loving the sunny weather just as much as the rest of us. Just look at that face: pure bliss.
May 16th, 2022: I'm so pleased with this picture, it's just so smooth. The sunny weather has been really challenging me, so I'm happy with how it turned out.
May 17th, 2022: I'm honestly surprised I'm still finding things to take pictures of on this building. It feels never-ending.
May 18th, 2022: Another blurry office photo, enjoy!
May 19th, 2022: I went out on my walk planning to take pictures at our community garage sale, but the thought of rummaging through other people's things still bothered me a little too much. Glad I went out though, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this photo.
May 20th, 2022: I honestly don't know why I chose this photo. I was putting on some hand sanitizer and dropped a bit on the desk, and when I looked at it I thought it looked so interesting- it reminds me of some sort of sea creature. A penguin, maybe? Or a whale?
May 21st, 2022: Sean and I got to watch his mom's house for the night, which meant a lot of animal snuggles. Seriously. A bed full of cuddly cats and tiny dogs.
May 22nd, 2022: Do I even need to explain my need to include this picture? Look at her. Perfection.
May 23rd, 2022: Running low on inspiration this week, so plant photos it is.
May 24th, 2022: See previous entry!
May 25th, 2022: I'm not sure how this nest got in the middle of a parking lot, and frankly I'm not sure I want to know. At least it's empty?
May 26th, 2022:
Pre-Post: This image is blurry because it is part of a very personal shoot that I will be posting at the start of June. I will replace it with the proper photo and an updated caption once I have posted the complete image online.
Post-Post: Ta-da! A self-portrait that I used to help me come out to my parents and, eventually the general public, as nonbinary and trans. I'm very proud of how this photo turned out.
May 27th, 2022: To finish off my week of low inspiration and high stress, I bestow upon thee: a tissue.
May 28th, 2022: Klee! I went to a photography club meetup in my city and we got to photograph this lovely model. She's only 13 and has done over 30 cosplays! I wish.
May 31st, 2022: And now, to close out month number five of this journey, another sleepy cat picture. Enjoy.
May 29th, 2022: My mom and I went out to scour for flowers and veggies to fill out our garden for this year. Maria's is definitely a go-to for flower flats, but the veggies are a toss-up between there and Petiti's. It's really a hit or miss every year.
May 30th, 2022: For my dad's birthday, we spent the entire day planting! Haha, probably not his favorite time, but he did it anyways.
June
June 1st, 2022: Oof, this weather was scary to drive home in. A good indicator of how I felt all day as well, seeing as I came out to my family.
June 2nd, 2022: New stove! Our old oven finally bit the dust after a solid 20+ years of service, so it was time to cut our losses and welcome a new friend to the household.
Unfortunately we needed to sand the counters a bit, so the stove was stuck like this for literally the entire day.
Also, I spent the day knitting and watching Stranger Things season 4 volume 1. Fun time.
June 3rd, 2022: Today marks the day I officially, publicly, came out as nonbinary. I've hinted at it for ages, but this was the moment where I actually "came out" and announced it. Scary, again, but necessary. I'm happy that I can start being truly me with the people in my life.
June 4th, 2022: I had considered going to Pride today, but with the state of the world I was feeling wary of being around so many people at such a big event. Instead, my mom and I went to our city's horticultural gardens and took my dad to see the new Top Gun movie. Good day.
June 5th, 2022: You can't tell, but this picture was taken inside of a mesh tent. With all the hawks suddenly moving into our area, we're nervous to have the cats out, even supervised. We tried out a big tent to see if that would be a good compromise- unfortunately it didn't go very well. Too small.
June 6th, 2022: I don't know why I decided to take such a moody photo in June, but I like it!
June 7th, 2022: Imagine my surprise when I looked out of my office window, getting ready to leave for the day, and spotted these curious friends eating the shrubs! I've never seen deer in this area before, because it's literally full of office buildings, but we are also a hop away from the nearest metroparks trail, so I guess it's not completely unheard of.
Also, Sean said the doe has a doobie. I concur.
June 8th, 2022: Some days I struggle so hard to find something to take a picture of. Today was one of those days, so I settled for a standard flower picture. Simple and sweet.
June 9th, 2022: Another day of with a bit of a struggle, though today it's because I've been working on homework literally all day, so here's another picture of the steadily-fluffier Navi.
June 10th, 2022: Our office building and the building next to ours are primarily built with a warehouse style in mind, and sometimes the back doors are left open for one reason or another. Do I feel weird taking a picture of another business's stuff? Yes, but it's also interesting to see the varying levels of mess we all have in our buildings.
June 11th, 2022: My mom and I went to our city's Relay for Life and honestly, it was. . .underwhelming, to say the least. It left us missing the days when our family used to participate, during what we call the "golden age" of the Relay. Nowadays there's just too many similar things going on- which isn't necessarily bad, but it tends to cause some events to get neglected. I got this nice picture from the adjoining car show, though.
June 12th, 2022: My big old man, super cute, super. . .aggressive. . . put the claws away, please.
June 13th, 2022: I've been loving our neighboring building for pictures lately. The colors, the angles, the ladders.
June 14th, 2022: My doctor's appointments have definitely calmed down from the start of the year, but they're far from ending. Another appointment, another procedure scheduled.
June 15th, 2022: Part of my job is creating new reports for our departments. The progress from beginning to end is always interesting to look back on, to see how much my process has changed from when I started to the finished product.
June 16th, 2022: Sean and I don't have many opportunities for dates, with our conflicting days off, but today we happened to line up and decided to check out Fathead's and go bowling for the first time in our relationship! Four years of talking about going bowling, and we never have (until now). It was fun! But crazy hot.
June 17th, 2022: Is this only the second Harley I've photographed this year? A little surprised, but also a little surprised that there's been two separate Harley's at my office building.
June 18th, 2022: Rib burnoff! The food is so good. I wish I could eat it all, but unfortunately I was having a low-appetite day and couldn't finish my food *cries*
June 19th, 2022: Honestly I only took this picture because I spent the entire day doing homework and tests and realized at nearly 6 that I haven't touched my camera all day.
June 20th, 2022: I wish I knew what some of these buildings used to look like before they became overgrown and broken down. I'm also surprised at just how many buildings are behind the offices?
June 21st, 2022: One of my worst nightmares come to life. Maisie is missing and we're so scared.
June 22nd, 2022: We were up all night looking for Maisie, and it left me feeling so sick that I decided to work from home. Through the stress and tears, this bird gave me a little bit of joy.
June 23rd, 2022: She. Is. Home. After 48 hours, on Wednesday night she suddenly appeared in our backyard, dusty but unharmed. Today I took her to the vet for a checkup and got her both a clean bill of health and a stern talking to from our vet for scaring us so badly. I never thought I would be so happy to be covered in her little white hairs.
June 24th, 2022: Back to our regularly-scheduled "random objects left out behind the office buildings" photographs. Today's subject: more golf equipment. Somebody's having a nice Friday.
June 25th, 2022: My mom and I went to Medina's farmer's market in the square, and it was really lovely! So many dogs, so much food. . .I mean, cute stands like this one, with bees!!!
June 26th, 2022: I'm ashamed to admit that this was the first time I've visited my grandma since Sean and I told her about our engagement in January. The year has been so hectic with health issues that before I knew it, it was the end of June. It was a lovely visit, though.
June 27th, 2022: Back to work, where I always manage to find some interesting shadows! My boss walked in on me taking this picture, though, which was awkward.
June 28th, 2022: Working from home today due to a procedure tomorrow, which requires a lot of prep. Not my idea of fun. Clear liquid diet, too! So hungry. . .
June 29th, 2022: I had my procedure today, so I was pretty out of it for the rest of the day. Hence, Maisie, begging for treats from Sean.
June 30th, 2022: . . .Uh oh. Three pictures of Maisie in a row. I swear, I'm just having a rough week, and she's just so darned cute! Look at that face!
July
July 1st, 2022: Yeah, even today was pretty rough. This was a heavy procedure, guys! It went fine, but I have chronic fatigue, and stressors like this just lay me out afterwards. I like this shot of my work bag, though. A good way to start month seven!
July 2nd, 2022: Went on a long walk with my mom today; learned some not good things, things I won't talk about here, but we take it one day at a time. Things aren't a problem until, well. . .until they are.
July 3rd, 2022: Today was a cellphone photo kind of day.
July 4th, 2022: Another cellphone photo kind of day. We're not really feeling up to celebrating, with the current state of the country, so we just had a laid back day at the pool.
July 5th, 2022: I don't know why I've never taken a photo of this beautiful tree on my walks at work, but I'm glad I finally decided to. It looks so tropical and summery!
July 6th, 2022: I'm not going to lie, this was literally the only picture I took today.
July 7th, 2022: Indie just looked so lovely in the light. Look at those feets!
July 8th, 2022: First monarch spotting of the season!
July 9th, 2022: We went back to the farmer's market, and while I was sipping on some bubble tea, I spotted this sweet duo relaxing in the shade.
July 10th, 2022: Today my mom and I went to a small birthday party for my cousin's oldest. God, I wish I still had the enthusiasm and chaotic nature of childhood.
July 11th, 2022: I'm still finding new things to take pictures of at work. When will wonders cease?
July 12th, 2022: The gas near us has been stuck at $4.89 for the past month, while all other stations have been steadily ticking down. We finally bit the bullet and found a gas station for $4.29 on our way home from work.
July 13th, 2022: Cicada killer! I actually didn't know what these were called until Sean's mom told me. They've made little piles all over the dirt outside our office building. They're huge, but it's good to know they're relatively harmless to humans.
July 14th, 2022: Sean is prepping for his friend group's annual Warhammer Weekend, and I've been helping him put some of the boyz together. It's a lot of work!
July 15th, 2022: Our neighboring office building has made the confusing decision to move all of their dumpsters onto the grass, a good 50 feet away from the actual building. I don't know if they're redoing the parking lot or what, but it seems like a huge inconvenience for both the employees and the garbage truck if they're just going to leave them there.
July 16th, 2022: Greek festival! My family is mildly Greek (from my mother's side, who's mom was 100%) and, well, let's just say I'm not a very good Greek. I don't like feta, I don't like grape leaves, I don't like baklava, I'm not Orthodox, but I can still appreciate the traditional music and find some tasty food and pastries at the local festival.
July 17th, 2022: Some more Warhammer, as the days count down to their meetup at the end of the month. So Much Superglue. So Many Pieces.
July 18th, 2022: Another butterfly! I was so surprised to see two beauties so close together in time.
July 19th, 2022: I don't know what drew me to these railings today, but I just liked how they looked in the light.
July 20th, 2022: Today was kind of rough, so I only managed to take this photo on my way out of work. It's a statuette we have on a shelf at work.
July 21st, 2022: Swenson's! I had to take my mom to an appointment in the morning, and Sean needed to pick something up in Akron after I got home, so we stopped at an old date spot for lunch, since he doesn't live in the area anymore and we don't have a reason to go out that way.
Fun fact, as I was grabbing my camera and taking this picture, Sean was chanting next to me, "Don't be weird, don't be weird."
I had to be weird.
July 22nd, 2022: This is the only picture I took today. Worth it.
July 23rd, 2022: Today was so stressful. Maisie was got spooked when she was trying to go inside and decided to hide under the hot tub for six hours, we literally didn't get her to come in until after midnight. Plus side, we stuck one of our security cameras under the deck to see when she came out and now we have a pseudo-wildlife cam.
July 24th, 2022: Well, it's happened, lads. Two years, and covid's finally got it's claws in me. My mom tested positive on Friday, so we both stayed home from work just to be safe, and just like fucking clockwork, today I am Suffering. 102 fever and Pain.
And, to top it all off, I have finals this week. weeps
July 25th, 2022: Today is the worst of it, I'm sure. I've barely eaten, my body hurts, I've spent the entire day in a fever sweat, and I've watched about five movies today, unable to get out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time.
Also, because Sean was exposed to my mom and I, he's banned from work for a week, too, which means he's definitely going to get it.
July 26th, 2022: Last night was horrible, but today is slightly better. Megan also has it now. It's making its way through the ranks.
Also, I forgot to warn you, but this entire week is going to be cat pictures. I literally can't leave the house, I don't know what you're expecting from me.
July 27th, 2022: And now Sean has it. Time to see if my dad escapes its clutches.
July 28th, 2022: Surprise! One non-cat picture! We had a friend in the backyard today, and naturally I had to snap a picture before it noticed me staring from the window.
When it did notice me, however, I was rightly terrified. Look at those antlers, it's pubescent.
July 29th, 2022: She's so warm and cozy on her swing. Literally all she wants to do is lay on her swing in the summer heat all day. Such an old lady.
July 30th, 2022: And now, I give you. . .some. . .chocolates, I guess. My dad got a huge Whitman Sampler box from work and we're steadily picking away at it. Not my best picture, but eh, I'm still sick.
July 31st, 2022: And now, to finish off month seven of this journey, a still positive covid test.
God dammit.
August
August 1st: As a positive to start off month eight and my second week of quarantine, I give you: another cat picture.
August 2nd: Another picture of the slide and swing set, because the shadows just looked pretty!
August 3rd: Sean's off the next couple of days for his birthday (tomorrow), so we got Peace, Love, and Little Donuts for breakfast. I still have a small appetite, though, but I was ambitious, so I ate the m&m and chocolate frosted donuts and immensely regretted that decision ten minutes later.
The remaining donuts, from left-right top row and then bottom row, are Cinnamon Roll, Mocha, Oreo, and Maple.
August 4th: Sorry for the boring week of photos, but I genuinely just cannot be bothered this week.
August 5th: I'm free. Covid-negative, and. . .back to work. Oh.
August 6th: I don't have many pictures of Logan in my repertoire, so have a gander at this beautiful boy.
August 7th: On the other hand, I have many pictures of Maisie, but please, have some more.
August 8th: We order a lot of cat food from Chewy, since stores have been pretty sparse since probably mid-2020. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. "5 cats, one of which is on a prescription diet" a lot.
August 9th: I don't do much passenger-seat photography nowadays, as I'm often just too tired to use my camera during my commute. I'm not sure what compelled me to take this picture, but I'm pleased with it.
August 10th: Finally back to my post-lunch walks at work, and hoo boy, it's rough. Heat notwithstanding.
August 11th: More Maisie, please, with extra drama. :)
August 12th: Look closely to spot the subject of this photo!
August 13th: Look, I know a lot of pictures from this second half of the year are of my cats, but you can't really blame me. I have five of them, and they always do cute things.
August 14th: See? Cute things! Granted, this photo was kind of staged.
Still cute.
August 15th: I've already taken a couple photos of this house near my work, but I find I'm always noticing new angles!
August 16th: This little leaf is heart-shaped! How lovely.
August 17th: Mmmmm, I love cloudy days.
August 18th: A rare phone photo. We had to take Mia to MedVet, as it seems she got bit at some point, it abscessed, and then proceeded to burst all over me. My dad and I spent a good six hours there, mostly waiting, and we got home around one in the morning!
August 19th: The short hair is back! I missed it so much. I liked my hair long, but honestly, it was just getting unmanageable, and it wasn't growing to the length I wanted it no matter how long I waited, so I just decided to cut my losses and get a haircut that I loved.
August 20th: We have some hanging baskets with leafy plants, and they have just exploded over the last couple months!
August 21st: Such a moody evening. The storm had taken a break, but it started back up again by the time I finished taking photos.
August 22nd: I was never very good at food photography- I think it was one of my worst subjects in school. Can you tell?
August 23rd: A friend dropped a little good luck charm! I didn't pick it up, don't worry.
August 24th: I swear I've taken a photo of this sign before, but I'm too lazy to go back and look. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I used a subject multiple times.
August 25th: Indie actually almost looks normal-sized in this picture, but don't be fooled- she's a tiny girl!
August 26th: Finishing off the week with this majestic floof. Such an intense stare.
August 27th: Another intense stare!
August 28th: I'm really feeling detail shots lately. They've always been one of my favorite ways to shoot, just spotting the small beauties in the room.
August 29th: I'm also really into sunrises! Especially cloudy sunrises. An omen for vacation next week. . .?
August 30th: Mia (the cat from a few days ago, who had the abscess) has renal insufficiency, so the last couple weeks have involved getting used to the new normal of having to poke my grumpy 15 year old cat with a needle and giving her fluids every night. She's getting better about it, but she still really hates it.
And, naturally, we go on vacation in four days. Thankfully Sean's mom is able and willing to step in while we're gone, because I genuinely don't know what we would've done otherwise.
August 31st: A beautifully warm photo to finish off month eight, and to welcome in the official first month of fall. (Not until the 22nd, but, you know. Small joys.)
September
September 1st: This. . .is a photo where I'm ashamed to think about just how long it took me to edit. Please appreciate my unseen efforts.
September 2nd: I feel like this photo paints a very romantic depiction of our long drive tomorrow.
In reality, it's going to be really rough stuffing five adults into a vehicle for five hours straight. And that's just the first leg of the journey.
September 3rd: Day one of the drive and I am suffering. Migraine out the wazoo, joint pain from hell, I can't remember driving through the mountains being so horrible.
September 4th: Beach! The drive was almost just as bad as yesterday's, with the added bonus of getting to the beach early enough to actually go to the beach.
September 5th: It's so much more visible in printed form, but if you zoom in on the bottom right quadrant you'll see the absolute madman paddle boarding in the actual ocean at eight in the morning.
September 6th: As of today, our luck with the weather officially ran out. It rained on and off, but the real kicker was the ocean itself. These waves were coming so far up the beach that they created an actual river in the middle of the sand, at least ten feet across, as far up and down the beach as you could see.
As you can also see, it made for some good metal detecting.
September 7th: Today was mine and Sean's last day at the beach, and it was an absolute washout. Instead of sitting inside doing nothing, though, we ventured down to Alley-Oops, a little restaurant-arcade combo, and spent the night winning way too many stuffed animals that we'll have to leave for my parents to bring home in the car.
September 8th: We were up bright and early at four in the morning to get to our first flight, at the smallest airport I have ever witnessed- literally two gates, right next to each other. It was wild. I don't remember much of that flight though, as Sean and I conked out pretty much as soon as we took off.
The Charlotte airport, however, was a nightmare. I couldn't have been happier to be landing in Cleveland, where it was actually twenty degrees warmer than the beach was when we left. Got home, and went right back to chores.
September 9th: The cats are already straight back to the routine, though Navi keeps sitting on a chair staring at Sean and I with the most intense expression. It's unnerving.
September 10th: Yeah, I'm. . .not happy with this picture. I can't justify it, but I was going nonstop all day, and the rest of the family got back today, and I'm just so tired.
September 11th: As awkward as this looks, Indie is delighted whenever Sean holds her like this.
September 12th: Back to work, and the birds are. . .odd. There were at least fifty more in the bush that took turns flying up to the roof and back.
Also, worst crippling migraine in months, so that's fun.
September 13th: Something I didn't mention last week is that I'm teaching Sean photography! He's been picking up on it really well, and we decided to go take some evening pictures tonight after work.
September 14th: I'm really feeling sunlight this week, picture-wise. Now that it's almost fall, the sun is lower, and it really hits everything just right in the morning and evening.
September 15th: We normally get Navi shaved in March/April and October/November, but our usual place is much tighter in their schedule than usual, since they're down to one cat groomer, and she was just out on maternity leave, so we wanted to get her in basically whenever we could. Navi, naturally, is ecstatic. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic.)
September 16th: The fact that we're having this kind of lighting at noon is both exciting (for my photography brain) and horrifying (for my me brain.)
September 17th: The story behind this picture is that my dad put up all of the cat toys, boxes included, onto the furniture so he could vacuum, and once he was done, he tried to pick up this last box, but it was heavy? So he glanced inside to find our resident turkey (aka, a shaved Navi.)
September 18th: This is also the week of cats. Here's a Maisie!
September 19th: Mmmm, detail shots like this just get me so pumped, you know?
September 20th: Back to the doctors, sigh. Stopping another medication, (potentially) starting something else, assuming insurance approves it, since they didn't approve an adjacent version back in March. I don't know what I'm hoping for anymore, I just know that I'm in pain all the time, the pain is ramping up, and nothing that I'm taking helps anymore.
September 21st: Our gorgeous queen, lounging on her comfy cushion during some of the last nice days we're going to have, considering fall literally starts tomorrow and it's just going to be getting colder this week.
September 22nd: The queen, again, now lounging inside because it's cold and rainy. Happy autumn!
September 23rd: Mmmmm, more morning light through the trees.
September 24th: Sean and I went to the zoo! It's finally on the cooler side, so the animals were very happy.
Not this guy, though. The flies kept buzzing into his ears and waking him up.
September 25th: I honestly remember nothing from today, so have a Maisie!
September 26th: It's Cold And Rainy And I Love It.
September 27th: This is another subject that I'm surprised took me so long to photograph. We stopped driving this way most days because the traffic is pretty rough, but sometimes we just need a change of routine.
September 28th: This self portrait pretty much encapsulates how I've been feeling these last few months. Washed out. Hazy. Dark.
September 29th: Aaand back to cats. Also back to 70 degree weather, apparently? My head can't take it!
September 30th: A friend to finish off month nine :)
October
October 1st: It's back to being cold again, and Mia hasn't been enjoying her swing as much. The old, tattered hot tub cover, that gets slightly more sunlight? Perfection. Excellence.
October 2nd: The girls are bonding!
October 3rd: The colors are changing and the world is beautiful again. What comes after? We don't talk about it.
October 4th: I dread the early sunset, but it's also so pretty! This is just driving home from work! God I wish it could stay like this forever!
October 5th: I'll be taking home-commute-sunset pictures until there's no sun left to make pretty scenes like this. Fight me.
October 6th: Sean and I bought a Love Sac couch *sweat* I just keep telling myself "it's a long-term purchase, it's a long-term purchase."
We're setting up a new office space in the basement for us, since we're still living at home and don't have much space with five total adults in the house, so we're starting to build up some pieces for the future house to furnish the space.
October 7th: Let me just say that I'm not much of a color person. Most of my closet is black, or some variation, barring jeans. I found this adorable sweater-skirt combo at Kohl's last week, and I've never felt so inclined to buy an entire wardrobe of brick red and mustard yellow.
October 8th: It's officially apple season, which means Mapleside is buzzing with activity. We got there early enough that there weren't throes of people crowding the pumpkin wall yet, so I was able to get a picture of this handsome fellow.
October 9th: It's sort of a tradition to try putting Navi into the candy corn sweater once autumn hits. Naturally, she hates it just the same every time. She looks very pretty, though :)
October 10th: Who am I kidding, she's always pretty!
We spent the weekend working in the basement to get things moved around and set up and ordered, and today I was completely destroyed, so remote day it is.
October 11th: I noticed these bushes around the proper front of our building, and I just fell in love with the gradient from the green to red.
October 12th: Looking at this picture just makes me feel so feral for some reason. The juxtaposition is just *chef's kiss*
October 13th: God I love autumn. Look at the colors!!! Look at them!!!
Also, went with my dad to see Les Misérables, I've seen it live once before and honestly I think this was my favorite performance of the two. It was just stunning!
October 14th: This one is. . .a little morbid, I'll admit. Accurate, but morbid. I'm so tired of feeling like my head is splitting apart from sun up to sun down. I really hope this new medication kicks in soon.
October 15th: Here we have some friends, hanging around our front chandelier :) They're very polite.
October 16th: Indie blends in so perfectly with the leaves- it's like she was born at the end of summer or something!
October 17th: There are a few houses along my commute that are just, *chef's kiss* during Halloween season.
October 18th: And this-this is. . .a vent in the ceiling at work. Which, frankly, has been doing a shit job all summer, but my boss won't do anything about it, so, *shrug*
October 19th: Here's another one of the Halloween houses! They make an entire cemetery of their front yard.
October 20th: Today was. . .very busy, to say the least. I did a lot of things. I also almost forgot to take pictures! But then I noticed our little festive friend here, perfectly set up with his pumpkin and tree painting. How nice!
October 21st: You know, I'm not sure why Friday has turned into "moody self-portraits" day, but I don't really mind it.
Also, ah, if you can spot it, I may have. . . gotten my first tattoo. . .yesterday. . .
October 22nd: I think it's been a while since I photographed the king, here. He looks very cute and peaceful, yes, but don't be fooled; he has been so bad recently.
October 23rd: Whenever I take pictures like this, I always think of being back in school, and how we always used to play off our blurry or slightly off-focus photos as completely intentional.
In other news, this blurry photograph was completely intentional. Believe me.
October 24th: I started my year with a slew of appointments, and now I'll be finishing it just the same.
Also, fun fact about insurance: it turns out that, sometimes, when you go to a different hospital for certain procedures or treatments, your $x deductible R E S E T S.
I HATE THE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
October 25th: The colors. . .the lighting. . .
October 26th: A baby! A croissant! Underbaked!
October 27th: You can't see them very well, but this skull is adorned with pretty black roses that dance when you press a button. We've had it for years, decades even, at least two, from my memory.
October 28th: Friends! You don't see too many of them gathered like this except for early spring and late autumn, when they're prepping for the big changes coming- in these cases, baby season, and winter.
October 29th: Everybody say hello to our little scarecrow friend, valiantly protecting our little houseplant by the front door from fiendish flies.
October 30th: Not my favorite picture, but hey! Pumpkin seeds! A yearly tradition, as we all know.
October 31st: *ominously chanting* This Is Halloween This Is Halloween Halloween Halloween HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN
Yes, this picture made me quite dizzy. And sweaty. Worth it.
November
November 1st: I am officially eleven months into this project, and how do I decide to kick off November? With some more friends!!!
November 2nd: I had my first appointment with my physical therapist today, and frankly? Same, my guy. Same.
November 3rd: I've been trying to get a picture of this guy for the last month, and every time that I finally grabbed my camera, he was gone before I could take of the lens cap! But today? Today, I am victorious! Feat. a bonus little guy :)
November 4th: When in doubt, blur it out!
November 5th: I'm feeling very sluggish, so pictures were not my priority today. Have some flowers, while they're still alive!
November 6th: Today was! So bad! But before it was bad, there was Navi, being So Good.
November 7th: I'm not sure what prompted me to make this picture black and white, but I'm really digging it.
November 8th: I'm very pleased with this picture, considering the circumstances! I had a procedure done today to hopefully help diagnose/treat one of my chronic issues, so I was sedated and sleepy for the day.
November 9th: Another interesting choice for a black and white photo, and I did have another option that would have been very colorful, but frankly I'm feeling the gloom this week. Also, a big friend! He had just been sitting in the tallest tree, squawking away.
November 10th: Another day of appointments, blood draws, and school stress, but once again, Navi comes along to save the day with her squishy little face.
November 11th: I'm so torn between loving the dreary gloom of this picture and going "Oof ouch my Mental Health." Send help and Vitamin D supplements.
November 12th: I'm in my last month of the semester and holy shit I am so ready to be done. I spent three hours working on assignments today, and two of them were for one assignment, and I didn't even finish it yet.
November 13th: Another three to four hours on assignments today. I'm so tired.
November 14th: I don't know why, but I just really wanted to take a photo upside down today. I like it!
November 15th: I've already done a similar photo to this, but it's different enough and I was getting sick, so I'm satisfied.
November 16th: Oop, hello bronchitis, goodbye productivity for the rest of the week. Breathing sucks.
November 17th: You know, breathing actually sucks even more today. I can't even walk to the bathroom without wheezing and hacking up a lung. Cool.
November 18th: Breathing is easier, brain is still foggy, still launching a lung across the room.
November 19th: For reference, the reason of my untimely demise by Cat was as follows: I looked at her in the kitchen without the intention of feeding her.
November 20th: I don't know what it is about the late autumn morning lighting on sheds and fences, but my little goblin brain just sees it and has to take a picture, even at 7 AM on a Sunday.
November 21st: Oops, still home sick. I wasn't very productive today, and I was super down about still being sick because I had to cancel a PT appointment and I almost forgot to take any pictures, but I managed to get this one of our new axolotl build-a-bears before I fell asleep :)
November 22nd: Home again, I don't know if this will ever end, but at least I get to see all the cute cats all day!
But really, what are my lungs, I feel like death.
November 23rd: One more day! My bosses probably hate me! I'm working remotely and there's only one aspect of my job that I can't do from home (answer phones), but I'm still worried!
November 24th: Someday I'll experience a holiday without somebody being angry or upset :) Hopefully :)
November 25th: Did I plan on buying anything for Black Friday/Cyber Monday? No. Do I now need to buy a new computer because my cat threw up on mine and destroyed the keyboard? Yes.
November 29th: Today was the day for our annual fingerprinting at work.
We work with sensitive information, so legally we need to get this done every year along with a standard background check. You know. Just in case my boss hasn't noticed that one of us has become a wanted criminal in the last 365 days.
November 26th: Sean and I went on a fun, two hour excursion to Elyria and then all the way out the Mayfield Heights to check out computers at Microcenter. No dice, but we have a better idea of what we're looking for.
November 27th: I'm so close to finishing this semester, but I'm just suffering. I'm up so late some nights to work on assignments that leave my brain feeling completely fried. I'm doubting my decision to do this certificate every day, but dammit, I'm committed.
November 28th: We have the tree up, and naturally Maisie is thrilled. Look at that smug face.
November 30th: Most of the time that we leave work it's already gloomy and gray, and black by the time we pull into the driveway.
Needless to say, I was very grateful for this pretty sunset when I looked out the front windows.
December
December 1st: Oh my god, holy shit, it's happening!! Month twelve!!! Let's give December a warm welcome with a super cozy Maisie.
December 2nd: Today is. . .a stark contrast from Wednesday evening, and is unfortunately also the norm for the next few months :(
Also, here's the fun reminder that I'm not the one driving whenever I take a picture from the car :)
December 3rd: I took a very similar picture at the start of the year, right before we took the tree down. It's fun and bittersweet to think we're already here.
December 4th: It was brisk but sunny today, so in between never-ending exams I tried to soak in some natural light.
December 5th: I got some friends for my desk at work, to keep things lively :)
I was also up until 10:00 doing a final project, and if I never have to touch anything to do with payroll accounting ever again, it will still be too soon.
December 6th: I swear, sometimes I'm just so surprised at how such simple things can make such pretty photos.
December 7th: Something I did not miss about being a student is the total, mind and body-consuming exhaustion that hits when a semester is over. I think I avoided it in the spring and summer because I did the 8-week semesters back-to-back, with only a couple of weeks off in between. It was the same between summer and fall, but this semester I did full-term classes (16 weeks), and now I'm off until mid-January. Basically, I did three semesters almost nonstop, and now I am destroyed.
December 8th: I don't know what prompted me to take a picture of this, but enjoy this interesting plaque we've had hanging up in our kitchen since I was a wee baby!
December 9th: It's officially holiday card season, which means we're going to be filling up our front board over the next twenty days as cards start coming in from our clients!
December 10th: We went to the garden center today to look for some porch plants, and Oh. My. God. The decorations were adorable.
Also, they had a huge tree in the middle of the store, which a ton of birds had nested in. You could hear them chittering and I am so in love with garden centers.
December 11th: I love her little glare- I had already taken about five pictures of her beans and she was thoroughly unamused.
December 12th: Fun fact! This is not the color of the lights on our tree. We love channel mixers :)
December 13th: I wish I could say most of the pictures this week were intentional, but. Truth be told I've taken most of them in a panic around 8-10 PM, typically after I've passed out from mental exhaustion for a couple hours.
December 14th: At last! A picture taken during the day!
December 15th: Well, that was short.
Is this going to be the last camera selfie of 2022, and of this project? Possibly!
December 16th: Ah, payday. The two days a month that my wallet is not crying at me in agony. Sorry, little friend, but now we've got bills to pay!
December 17th: Christmas season is cookie season in our household.
December 18th: I'm not quite sure how I got a picture of the sky with this coloring, but I'm loving it.
December 19th: So, fun fact, I used to work out a lot. Like, 40-60 minutes medium to high intensity, 5-6 days a week, for 8-10 weeks at a time without a break. Then in 2021, I couldn't really do more than 40 minutes, and I had to cut it down to 4-5 days a week, and I could only do about 6-8 weeks at a time. 2022. 30 minutes, 4 days a week, 5-6 weeks. My breaks grew longer. I had to go down in weights, pick lower intensity workouts. 30 minutes, 3-4 days a week, 4 weeks at a time. 15 minutes, 3 days a week, one week at a time. Even beginner Pilates was a struggle.
The last time I tried to do what should have been, had once been, an incredibly easy workout for me, I had to cut my weights to zero, cut down on sets and reps, and take extra long breaks. By the end, my entire body was beet red, I couldn't catch my breath, and my heartrate had hit the 170s, higher than it's ever been.
I put a hard stop to exercise for a while, a long while, until I could finally get a referral for physical therapy, where I'm now receiving guidance on rebuilding my mental and physical strength from square 1 while I wait to see a cardiologist and get some other tests run in January.
So, you know. I've had a fun couple of years. My body's completely different to how it used to be, from this new exercise intolerance and uncontrollable, rapid changes due to medication side effects. It sucks. I'm learning to live with the new me, but it's hard, especially when there's still no clear end in sight in my medical journey.
December 20th: And now we're back to the same old routine, where I spend my days going to work, coming home, and stressing about my health in near silence until the next appointment on my schedule that interferes with work :)
Anyways, the weather was nice enough to go on a walk today, and I spotted this sweet little nest up in the trees! I hope the inhabitants are keeping warm.
December 21st: Oh, right. Also, my teeth are kind of fucked at the moment from old issues (don't break your teeth and wait eight years to get them crowned because the dentist said you don't need them right away!), and I haven't had dental insurance since 2018!!
I'm. Kind of floundering for optimism right now.
December 22nd: Anyways, Christmas!!! We were supposed to be in tomorrow and off Monday for the holiday, but because of the winter storm rolling in and nobody wanting to drive on ice just to work for three hours, eat lunch in a crowded restaurant, and then drive home in the worst of it, the Bosses decided to give us off Friday and Monday. Lucky!!
December 23rd: Oh my god. Oh, My God. I'm obsessed with this picture. I'm so happy with it, I just want to look at it forever. It's just so warm and cozy.
December 24th: Maisie is Not Pleased to be perceived by me, or anyone, for that matter. Weirdo.
December 27th: This picture was actual hell to get. Normally we're stuck at every big intersection on our commute home, so I figured I would be able to get some really nice headlights shots, but then we only got stopped at three intersections on our 45min drive. And they were all low-traffic intersections, too. Ugh.
December 25th: *screams in Elf starring Will Ferrell*
Also, the roads were literally disgusting. I'm so sorry to everyone who had to work this weekend.
December 26th: It's been a hot minute since we've seen Mr. Logan! October, I believe? Not that he's doing anything new, just. You know. Here he is!
December 28th: My last appointment of the year!! Until. . . next week. . . when all of my deductibles reset. . .
December 29th: What better way to spend New Year's Eve Eve Eve than by photographing a Queen?
December 30th: Oops! I took some cute pictures at work, but turns out they were all out of focus! So have this angsty photo instead, while I gripe about the fact that I've had about 70 appointments in 2022 and I'm literally no better off than I was at this time last year. If anything, I'm worse? So that fucking sucks.
December 31st: Probably my yuckiest photo in a while, which is hilarious considering it's the final photo, but screw it! I was whiskey-warm and had my cats and my fiancé and I was just so ready for 2022 to be over. And now it is! And we're here in 2023, with a new beginning, and new decisions to make, and new things to do and people to meet and places to go, and I'm hopeful. Cautiously hopeful, but. Yeah.
Hopeful.
