Getting artsy with fruit...and accomplishments

Getting artsy with the fruit...
Originally uploaded by sweetpeameg

Sometimes I'm just looking for a muse...last night it was an apple and banana. And then I didn't like the colors, so I decided to drop it into post and cross-process it. I rather like the way it turned out. We'll just call it "retro fruit" ha ha.

One month from today I will be wondering the streets of Rome, hopefully with a few scoops of gelato in hand and of course, my camera in the other. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about going to Italy. I set out when I left for college to accomplish quite a few things before I settled down with kids. I've accomplished pretty much all of it:

1.) Get my degree - although I'm not using it, I like to think I'm paid accordingly for it.
2.) Find my future husband - accomplished that while in college.
3.) Get a cat - I love my baby Belle
4.) See more of the United States - did a lot of that last year with all of my work trips. In 2007 I went to New Orleans, Seattle, Memphis, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Virginia, Walt Disney World (Orlando), Ft. Lauderdale, Denver, and San Diego. Wow, say that ten times fast.
5.) Go to Paris - the top city on my list was conquered during our Honeymoon in Sept 06. Six successful days of trekking through almost every arrondissement that exists. And the icing on the cake was also making it over to London for 4 days.
6.) Build a better relationship with my parents - the trick was to just move out! Move out and move away and things will be great!
7.) Find a hobby - so the celeb stalking thing was getting way too teeny for me, especially after finally meeting Shania. When I turned 22 I got my first digital camera and it was love at first sight. I've been hooked on photography ever since.
8.) Lose weight! Did that and I'm still working on it! Lost 69lbs originally and I've gained about 10 pounds back, but I'm currently working on it.
9.) Get healthy! - ties in with the items above. I now go to the gym 2 - 3 times a week, eat healthy, and drink more water.
10.) Besides Paris and London, see more of the world. Italy was next on my list and off we go next month!
11.) Make friends that will last a lifetime. So I've had trouble with this in the past and really only have 2 friends left from when I was younger. I don't need a load of friends, but I want friends who are supportive, understanding, and are going to be there through thick and thin for the rest of our lives. Love me for me sort of thing. So my lonely 2 has expanded over the past year and now I may only be up to maybe 5, but that's ok. I finally have a small group of people to go out with, text with, email with, and people who are just as silly and nerdy as I am. And who amuse me by looking at my photography which is super important!

There's only a few more things I'd like to accomplish, but they can be before or after we have kids. I definitely want to see more of the world. The British Isles/UK, Australia and New Zealand, Scandinavia, the list goes on and on. I suppose at some point I should take some kind of "beach" vacation too. Instead of trekking all over major cities and wearing myself out, but it's just so awesome to see the world!

I'd like to do more with my photography. Work freelance or sell my images eventually. That's years down the road as I still have so much work to do in becoming a better and more all-around photographer. I'm a perfectionist at all that I do, so I won't stop the learning process probably ever.

And I'd like to advance more in my career. I've been lucky to be where I am only 4 years into it, and I've done very well. But eventually moving into management would be a great goal.

And so there it is. My little rant about wanting to pig out on gelato and roam the streets of Italy has turned into a list of accomplishments. Makes me feel better for the day...