Month: October 2010

Self

kanniduba12 Comments

So, I’ve decided that what I need in my life are Goals.

I am forty.

Every single solitary goal I ever made for myself, I accomplished.

Finish high school with honors. Check.

Go to college to get a teaching degree. Check.

Get my Masters and earn three certifications to make myself marketable.  Check.

Teach in my home district.  Check.

Get married young.  Check.

Buy a house. Check.

Have children.  Check, Check, and Check.

Earn enough money as a family to keep me home with the kids.  Check.

Now, although I feel blessed to have been able to accomplish all the long-term goals I set myself in my late teens/early twenties, the fact of the matter is that I don’t know what I want to do next.  Naturally, I want to raise my children and enjoy all that parenting still has to offer…and of course I want to maintain the family life we have built.  But methinks I need some new goals.  I suppose this is the mid-life (I’d like to think of it as EARLY mid-life) reevaluation that I’ve heard so much about.  I refuse to call it a crisis for the word “crisis” conjurs up a vision of panic and danger, unhappiness.  What I feel is more a contemplative moment at a crossroads…an opportunity for a change, a dive into the unknown, excitement, a chance to explore a different side of myself that I never explored because I have been focusing my energy on other pursuits.

I saw this on my friend Jai’s blog the other day…it was perfectly fitting, so I will steal it from him.  😉

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I have no idea what that “something different” will be, or if I will come to the conclusion that what I have been is what I want to go back to, but at least I am ready to bring these ponderings out of the shadows and into the light of existence. Time to set some new long-term goals.

And completely off subject, but fitting under the title of this post…

I was looking through photos recently, attempting to update my photo wall, and putting together an album for my parents.  I was surprised to note that there are so few photos of me.  I guess many of us behind the camera don’t feel very comfortable in front of it.  So, I figured it was about time to attempt a self-portrait.  I decided my husband deserves a photo of me that doesn’t have feathered hair and and a neon green sweater.  And my kids deserve better than the haggard hospital birth photos and harried vacation Mom photos they are stuck with presently.  🙂

Yikes!  This was HAAAAAAAARRRRRRRDDDDDDD!!!!!  But, for better or worse, here it is.

This is Me.

And in black and white…

Will have to remember to hand the camera over now and then, or else I’ll have to paste this one photo of me into every family album I create!  🙂

Seeing Red

kanniduba11 Comments

So, on Sunday we went out to walk in the woods  and enjoy “The Big Show” as Gerry calls it.  🙂

Do you remember way back when in once upon a time time, that I told you about Zan’s uncle’s property not too far from here?  I shared with you this photo of his driveway in all it’s glory.

Well, we revisited this location Sunday…Little Girl was on a hunt for white birch bark for her longhouse project, pictured below in it’s half-built phase.  We didn’t have to scout far for the bark…as luck would have it, there was a felled birch tree on the side of that glorious driveway.

I, of course, was on the hunt for photo opportunities, of which there were many.  His property is not only beautiful, but loaded with old rusty treasures.  I share with you a few of my favorites from that day.

And here are a few from the ride over the hills to that fabulous place.  You can see that many of our trees have passed their colorful phase and dropped their leaves.

We shall see what the next few weeks brings.

Perhaps of Interest to Some of You

kanniduba1 Comment

On tonight’s Ghost Hunters at 9:00pm on the SyFy channel, they are airing their investigation of the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs, New York. I am not sure if I have mentioned the Canfield previously by name, however, many of my “playing in the park” photos are from Congress Park in Saratoga, which is where the Canfield is located. Zan and my wedding reception was held there 17 years ago, and I would give anything to get inside the building to take photos, but it is well guarded from people who don’t belong there.

Here is a newspaper article about tonight’s show.

And here is some information, including photos of the inside reception areas…it is a gorgeous building.

And lastly, the Wikipedia article highlighting Congress Park and the Canfield Casino.

The building is special to me, so I look forward to tonight’s episode, not because I believe it’s haunted, but because I can’t wait to get back inside after so many years! 🙂