390 day 365

feeling much too gangsta for an 'end of challenge' recap.

it's been a year and now i'm done.

[fin]

.389 day 364

.388 day 363

arts and crafts is my favorite part of our day.

we painted and colored and traced and stamped

and made a special card for grandparents day.

toots: who is that baby with grandma.

me: that's you. that's baby tootie.

toots: i not a baby. i big and strong.

me: indeed, you are, but you used to be a baby.

toots: I NOT A BABY.

[silence]

me: fine. that isn't you.

toots: told you so.

.387 day 362

"i'm gonna pop some tags
only got twenty dollars in my pocket
i - i - i'm hunting, looking for a come-up
this is fuck - ing awesome"

[macklemore - thrift shop]

a dope moment is when you're pulling out of the salvation army parking lot, after buying loads of 'ish you only paid $34 to get, and the honorary thrift store theme song comes on in your car. my friend and toots looked at me like i was crazy when i put my "new" 99¢ paisley framed glasses on, turned said song on blast and rocked out with my tags out.

  

.386 day 361

a bright-eyed three year old was mean to my two year old.

i played a 'guess my name' game with an eight year old named marie.

buried my toes in cool sand and found valueless treasures by my side.

"aww man", pouted marie, "i thought i was on to something"

(an empty swing swung by itself for quite a while)

a hippy with unruly hair passed the brightest blue eyes down to his cowrie shell wearing babies.

an african woman read the bible, with her shoes off, unaware of her youngest child's mischief.

i made up with that three year old, but my two year old did not.

"go away, gal, just go away from here", spat my toddler.

(i smelled my father's scent in the breeze today)

.385 day 360

.384 day 359

.383 day 358

.382 day 357

it was a chocolate pudding and baby first sorta day.

.381 day 356

i don't have a macro lens. 

so every time you see an insect pic, know that i'm conquering my fear of close proximity to them.

.380 day 355

bare me. ratty t-shirt and hair pulled back. a forced fast from specific technologies. my phone, my computer, getting way too much of my energy. i began on this day. no junk foods. exercise. yoga. morning prayers. stillness. being 'present' with my toddler, versus, just being...here.

there is a line in one of my favorite films (2 days in paris) where marion, a french photographer, says, "by constantly taking photos, you're taking yourself out of the moment". you're removed from the experience because you're solely viewing it through a lens. on some level, i agree. there must be balance. a way to savor and snap your experiences from a distant, yet, immediate place. on another level, i don't. as i've been able to see some moments in such a light, it's like seeing them for the very first time.

this challenge is/was great. its forced me to experience life, daily, through a lens. but not so great when i am overly concerned with meeting my quota and not as concerned with seeing things at all. so...i took a necessary break. i still snapped daily and jotted down a few words down for memory sake, but i didn't edit and i didn't upload. un-synced my instagram and deleted every social app from my off of my phone. 7 days letter, i am returning to this challenge, as it's nearing its end, to begin to say goodbye to it. i'm excited. my blog will just be my blog again. no challenges. no format. no conformity. no rhythm. and most importantly for the sagittarius in me: no commitment.