Apparently I only blogged three posts this year. I think it's easy to say that my "personal" blog does not receive as much attention as my photography blog. I guess I didn't have a lot of things to get off my chest this year as I have had in the past. This blog is basically here for when I need to unleash some thoughts, list random things I've been thinking about or set goals. We all know what category this post falls into… after all it is December 31st.
The past two years I have listed a number of goals equal to the year. So for 2012 I had twelve goals and for 2013 I had thirteen goals. Guess what I am going to do for 2014??! … No, I'm not doing 14 goals. This is going to sound really sad but every year I look back at my goals and I don't accomplish at lot of them. It's not that I didn't accomplish anything, I think it's more that you don't know what will happen in a year and going with the flow is more my style. This year is simple. Three things I want to do in 2014.
1. Get my tattoo. And when I say "my" I mean the one I have thought about, designed in my head and actually wanted now for awhile. Not just any tattoo but the one I am ready to get now. It will be on my left arm just below the elbow crease, facing me… the tattoo is for me. (Does anyone have a a tattoo artist they recommend? I want someone that is good and not scary lol.)
2. AQUA-BIKE!!! It's now been on my goal list for two years… third year is a charm. I'm doing one.
I am looking into doing one in July in Bend, Oregon. http://www.deschutesdash.com
3. On the heels of the previous goal… I am on a masters swim team. It's been about two years now believe it or not. A lot of the swimmers keep track of their yardage on the USMS website… it's called a FLOG or Fitness Log. I finally signed up and I am going to keep track my yardage, yoga and biking (you can pretty much keep track of any fitness activity.) I don't have a set goal in mind as far as reaching a certain amount of yards or miles… first I need to get into the habit of logging.
And that's it folks. Not a lot of pressure for 2014. I always strive to be a good photographer, increase my business and I want to continue working on editorial and food photography. My photo career is past an every year resolution, it's a lifetime goal. I'm tired of reading books I don't like so I am over the whole "read classics" idea. I know David and I will hike, bike, kayak and camp as much as our schedules allow us to- so I don't need to pick a certain amount we should accomplish. And thankfully I think we found a good church we can call home for awhile so the spiritual growth is on an upwards mend. Amen. ;) So that's it. 2014- here we come!
Happy New Years!
Skipping,
Aubrie
Showing posts with label Christian Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Living. Show all posts
12.31.2013
1.13.2013
2013 GOALS
Readjust in a resolute manner.
Resolutions are tricky mainly because we RARELY complete a resolution. I do not do resolutions anymore. Instead I look at my life and I see what I can adjust to make my life a little happier, healthier with more wisdom and spiritual growth. I create goals and try to accomplish them. January is a time to readjust what you've been doing (if you need to) and to pick out goals for the next year to accomplish in a resolute manner. (Definition of resolute is simply "marked by firm determination.")
What I did last year is I posted twelve goals for myself to accomplish in 2012. I ventured back to that blog post to see how I did. I didn't do half bad, of course some of the "goals" were not to hard to accomplish. For instance number one on my list last year was to turn thirty. Good job, Aubrie! I turned thirty with out even breaking a sweat. Number two on my list definitely made me sweat, even if it was in water. (You still sweat when you are in water by the way.) I joined a masters swim team and I have been swimming for almost a year now.
I failed at a couple of goals as well. I did not finish another triathlon or aqua bike. I'm not really sure If I drove better this year either. I am STILL reading "Crazy Love," it's been on my night stand for a year. (It's heart wrenching and hard to read.) Number nine's "Rafting" could have been better, I only took the blow-up kayak out once. And I still need to venture down a few highways to check off number ten.
I am fairly happy with how the last two goals turned out. I have been published in 1859 every issue this year (and they moved to six issues a year.) Plus I was published in Portland Monthly and I had an image featured on the front cover of The Gorge Magazine. All in all I'll copy a famous saying in that "you win some and you loose some."
Sooo... for 2013 I thought I would keep my goal list, of course bumping it up to thirteen goals this year. However, instead of thinking of thirteen brand new goals I am going to move the "failed" goals from 2012 over to the new list and I want to still accomplish them. It's good to set goals, it's even better to accomplish what I've set out before me.
Here we go- 2013 BABY! (The first four are from 2012 and the last nine are my new goals.)
1. Aqua Bike (from 2012): Triathlons might be a thing of the past. I hate running. I do enjoy swimming and biking, hence an aqua bike. Yes, they do exist.
2. Rafting (from 2012): I feel like taking my blow-up kayak out one time did not really count. Let's up the ante and go for three times this summer!!
3. Roads (from 2012): I did not drive across the two highways I wanted to mark off on my map, so they are back. Highway 228-20 from Sweet Home to Black Butte Ranch and highway 126 from Springfield to Belknap Springs area.
4. Drive Better (from 2012): Driving better really has a root problem. The root of the problem is I am a procrastinator and I am always running late. When I am running late I think that driving like a bat out of hell will some how magically give me back those precious minutes I lost doing whatever it was that made me late. So really, I need to work on being on time and then I will be the worlds best driver... okay and I probably shouldn't follow to close, pause at stop signs or put my make-up on while driving.
5. Editorial/Magazines: The prime goal for 2013 is to get into as many magazines as possible and really work hard on my editorial portfolio. I still want to be in every issue of 1859 and I now want to be in every issue of The Gorge Magazine plus have at least two or three assignments in Portland Monthly. I am really trying to get into Touring and Tasting, Mix and Sip NW!
6. Food Photography: Food photography falls on the heels of the previous goal. I think food/drink photography is huge for editorial and I really want to improve on my food photography skills. I am currently reading Plate to Pixel (mini goal- finish the book) and I might look into taking a class as well.
7. Read: I want to read at least five "classic" novels. Right now I am reading Jack Kuraoc's "On the Road." Once I am finished with that book I want to read Catch 22, Pride and Prejudice, one of Hemingway's books and the fifth book I am not sure yet... I'm thinking about Huck Finn or rereading The Great Gatsby. Along with the classic list I want to finish reading books I have started and not finished; including "Crazy Love" (from 2012's list) plus "Storytellers" and "Hot Shoe Diaries."
8. Geo Cache: Dave and I like to drive, we like to hike and we have a GPS dealy-thing. (It's Dave's, I clearly don't know what it is called.) So I figured we should try geo caching.
9. Country Line Dance & Two Step: I'm a country girl- I should know how to line dance. David even said he would take the classes with me. Hopefully next time we venture out to Dukes we'll be able to hit up the dance floor.
10. Nationals: US Master Swimming Nationals is this May and it just happens to be at my old stomping ground, eh, pool. IUPUI was where all my big swim meets were held and I would love to go back and swim in the pool as an out-of-shape adult swimmer. A lot of things have to happen to accomplish this goal. First I need to make the cut times, second I need to train for the meet (or vise-versa train for the cut times), third I need to be able to afford to fly into Indy. We shall see. (An additional swimming goal is to go to practice at least four times a week, every week.)
11. Yoga: I like yoga. I have a yoga instructor and I get private lessons from her. She has me working on what we call my "magic three" poses that I need to do pretty much every day. So... I want to do yoga every day, even if it's just for ten minutes.
12. Writing: I like writing. I'm not good at it. I need to practice, so I probably should write more. I want to be able to write better blog posts for my photography blog and I want to be able to write up little "love stories" for my couples and intertwine that with their wedding albums. I randomly started writing an awful novel for like, I don't know, teenagers or something. Still- it's fun and and its good practice so I need to continue writing it. I also would like to take some writing classes to polish up the old writing skills.
13. Spiritual Life: As a Christian I am always trying to deepen my walk with God. I have a few simple things I want to work on this year to keep my faith growing. First- I am reading through "My Utmost for His Highest." It's a daily devotional read, every day it just has a verse and a couple of paragraphs to read and think/pray about. Speaking of prayer- I always need to up my prayer time. The last thing will be difficult with David's schedule but I would like to join a small group within our church at Branches. (And of course I am continuing another year, my fourth year, volunteering at Pregnancy Resource Center.)
Resolutions are tricky mainly because we RARELY complete a resolution. I do not do resolutions anymore. Instead I look at my life and I see what I can adjust to make my life a little happier, healthier with more wisdom and spiritual growth. I create goals and try to accomplish them. January is a time to readjust what you've been doing (if you need to) and to pick out goals for the next year to accomplish in a resolute manner. (Definition of resolute is simply "marked by firm determination.")
What I did last year is I posted twelve goals for myself to accomplish in 2012. I ventured back to that blog post to see how I did. I didn't do half bad, of course some of the "goals" were not to hard to accomplish. For instance number one on my list last year was to turn thirty. Good job, Aubrie! I turned thirty with out even breaking a sweat. Number two on my list definitely made me sweat, even if it was in water. (You still sweat when you are in water by the way.) I joined a masters swim team and I have been swimming for almost a year now.
I failed at a couple of goals as well. I did not finish another triathlon or aqua bike. I'm not really sure If I drove better this year either. I am STILL reading "Crazy Love," it's been on my night stand for a year. (It's heart wrenching and hard to read.) Number nine's "Rafting" could have been better, I only took the blow-up kayak out once. And I still need to venture down a few highways to check off number ten.
I am fairly happy with how the last two goals turned out. I have been published in 1859 every issue this year (and they moved to six issues a year.) Plus I was published in Portland Monthly and I had an image featured on the front cover of The Gorge Magazine. All in all I'll copy a famous saying in that "you win some and you loose some."
Sooo... for 2013 I thought I would keep my goal list, of course bumping it up to thirteen goals this year. However, instead of thinking of thirteen brand new goals I am going to move the "failed" goals from 2012 over to the new list and I want to still accomplish them. It's good to set goals, it's even better to accomplish what I've set out before me.
Here we go- 2013 BABY! (The first four are from 2012 and the last nine are my new goals.)
1. Aqua Bike (from 2012): Triathlons might be a thing of the past. I hate running. I do enjoy swimming and biking, hence an aqua bike. Yes, they do exist.
2. Rafting (from 2012): I feel like taking my blow-up kayak out one time did not really count. Let's up the ante and go for three times this summer!!
3. Roads (from 2012): I did not drive across the two highways I wanted to mark off on my map, so they are back. Highway 228-20 from Sweet Home to Black Butte Ranch and highway 126 from Springfield to Belknap Springs area.
4. Drive Better (from 2012): Driving better really has a root problem. The root of the problem is I am a procrastinator and I am always running late. When I am running late I think that driving like a bat out of hell will some how magically give me back those precious minutes I lost doing whatever it was that made me late. So really, I need to work on being on time and then I will be the worlds best driver... okay and I probably shouldn't follow to close, pause at stop signs or put my make-up on while driving.
5. Editorial/Magazines: The prime goal for 2013 is to get into as many magazines as possible and really work hard on my editorial portfolio. I still want to be in every issue of 1859 and I now want to be in every issue of The Gorge Magazine plus have at least two or three assignments in Portland Monthly. I am really trying to get into Touring and Tasting, Mix and Sip NW!
6. Food Photography: Food photography falls on the heels of the previous goal. I think food/drink photography is huge for editorial and I really want to improve on my food photography skills. I am currently reading Plate to Pixel (mini goal- finish the book) and I might look into taking a class as well.
7. Read: I want to read at least five "classic" novels. Right now I am reading Jack Kuraoc's "On the Road." Once I am finished with that book I want to read Catch 22, Pride and Prejudice, one of Hemingway's books and the fifth book I am not sure yet... I'm thinking about Huck Finn or rereading The Great Gatsby. Along with the classic list I want to finish reading books I have started and not finished; including "Crazy Love" (from 2012's list) plus "Storytellers" and "Hot Shoe Diaries."
8. Geo Cache: Dave and I like to drive, we like to hike and we have a GPS dealy-thing. (It's Dave's, I clearly don't know what it is called.) So I figured we should try geo caching.
9. Country Line Dance & Two Step: I'm a country girl- I should know how to line dance. David even said he would take the classes with me. Hopefully next time we venture out to Dukes we'll be able to hit up the dance floor.
10. Nationals: US Master Swimming Nationals is this May and it just happens to be at my old stomping ground, eh, pool. IUPUI was where all my big swim meets were held and I would love to go back and swim in the pool as an out-of-shape adult swimmer. A lot of things have to happen to accomplish this goal. First I need to make the cut times, second I need to train for the meet (or vise-versa train for the cut times), third I need to be able to afford to fly into Indy. We shall see. (An additional swimming goal is to go to practice at least four times a week, every week.)
11. Yoga: I like yoga. I have a yoga instructor and I get private lessons from her. She has me working on what we call my "magic three" poses that I need to do pretty much every day. So... I want to do yoga every day, even if it's just for ten minutes.
12. Writing: I like writing. I'm not good at it. I need to practice, so I probably should write more. I want to be able to write better blog posts for my photography blog and I want to be able to write up little "love stories" for my couples and intertwine that with their wedding albums. I randomly started writing an awful novel for like, I don't know, teenagers or something. Still- it's fun and and its good practice so I need to continue writing it. I also would like to take some writing classes to polish up the old writing skills.
13. Spiritual Life: As a Christian I am always trying to deepen my walk with God. I have a few simple things I want to work on this year to keep my faith growing. First- I am reading through "My Utmost for His Highest." It's a daily devotional read, every day it just has a verse and a couple of paragraphs to read and think/pray about. Speaking of prayer- I always need to up my prayer time. The last thing will be difficult with David's schedule but I would like to join a small group within our church at Branches. (And of course I am continuing another year, my fourth year, volunteering at Pregnancy Resource Center.)
8.29.2012
Too Much, Not Enough
There's too much of everything. There's too much of a good thing, too many bad things. There are too many ways to live your life. There are way too many decisions to make and when you do there are too many responses. There are too many opinions. There is absolutely, with out a doubt, too many choices for consumers. There is too much going on in the world, between the politics and religion and war and Olympics, and illnesses and debates and sports and crafts and projects and blogs and TV shows and concerts, there are too many magazines to read and too many friends to keep updated with. There are too many things to be good at and too many things to be the worst at. There are too many contests, too many winners and too many losers. There are too many places to visit, and too many places to avoid, there are too many rules and regulations, there is too much Government and too many agencies, there are even too many places to donate to.
I feel that I am not doing any part of my life correctly because everyone else is telling me I'm not doing whatever part of my life... enough. There are too many "enoughs." I don't shoot enough. I don't read enough. I don't know enough about my camera or my equipment. I don't edit enough. I don't read blogs enough. I don't look at other websites for inspiration enough. I don't post enough to FB, I don't take enough Instagram photos. I don't advertise enough. I don't spend enough. I don't pray enough. I don't read my Bible enough. I don't live radically enough. I don't swim enough. I don't do yoga near as much as I should....aka I don't do it enough. I don't travel enough. I don't shop enough. I don't spend my money on enough things... and I'm not even saying what things you think I should spend my money on... whatever it is whether it's God or clothes or cars or kitchen tools or lenses... I don't do it enough.
Why can't we just live simple lives? Why do we have beat ourselves up as we try to get to the top, the top of whatever it is your trying to do... because once you get there, it's never enough. Why can't I go to church on Sundays, volunteer on Fridays and pray once in a while? What's wrong with that? Why can't I photograph the way I want to, however often I want to, and post whatever I want to. I know what your thinking... you can! Of course I can. But I'm tired of feeling the guilt that it's not enough. Nothing anymore is enough. Your not a good enough of wife, your not a good enough business person, your not a good enough blogger, your not a good enough Christian, your not a good enough neighbor and your not a good enough sister or daughter. You. Are. Not. Good. Enough.
I don't want to feel like this every other month... where I just feel like I'm not doing it, I'm not getting it. I'm thirty years old and on days like this I feel like I don't even know where to begin, I don't know who I am. I'm not even weird enough to live in this city. I don't have enough tattoos (I don't have ANY!), and I don't eat at all the coolest places with the best ambience, I don't wear weird hats and t-shirts with suspenders, I don't eat enough organic food and I don't listen to enough singer-songerwriters who's music doesn't even make sense when you read the lyrics. I don't do-Portland-enough.
ENOUGH already. Can someone please turn down the heat in this pressure cooker.
I feel that I am not doing any part of my life correctly because everyone else is telling me I'm not doing whatever part of my life... enough. There are too many "enoughs." I don't shoot enough. I don't read enough. I don't know enough about my camera or my equipment. I don't edit enough. I don't read blogs enough. I don't look at other websites for inspiration enough. I don't post enough to FB, I don't take enough Instagram photos. I don't advertise enough. I don't spend enough. I don't pray enough. I don't read my Bible enough. I don't live radically enough. I don't swim enough. I don't do yoga near as much as I should....aka I don't do it enough. I don't travel enough. I don't shop enough. I don't spend my money on enough things... and I'm not even saying what things you think I should spend my money on... whatever it is whether it's God or clothes or cars or kitchen tools or lenses... I don't do it enough.
Why can't we just live simple lives? Why do we have beat ourselves up as we try to get to the top, the top of whatever it is your trying to do... because once you get there, it's never enough. Why can't I go to church on Sundays, volunteer on Fridays and pray once in a while? What's wrong with that? Why can't I photograph the way I want to, however often I want to, and post whatever I want to. I know what your thinking... you can! Of course I can. But I'm tired of feeling the guilt that it's not enough. Nothing anymore is enough. Your not a good enough of wife, your not a good enough business person, your not a good enough blogger, your not a good enough Christian, your not a good enough neighbor and your not a good enough sister or daughter. You. Are. Not. Good. Enough.
I don't want to feel like this every other month... where I just feel like I'm not doing it, I'm not getting it. I'm thirty years old and on days like this I feel like I don't even know where to begin, I don't know who I am. I'm not even weird enough to live in this city. I don't have enough tattoos (I don't have ANY!), and I don't eat at all the coolest places with the best ambience, I don't wear weird hats and t-shirts with suspenders, I don't eat enough organic food and I don't listen to enough singer-songerwriters who's music doesn't even make sense when you read the lyrics. I don't do-Portland-enough.
ENOUGH already. Can someone please turn down the heat in this pressure cooker.
4.06.2012
Food. Books. Movies. Clothes. Wine. Aqua-Bike. Photography.
Let's talk about everything... everything that is cliche. Nothing too deep on this post today. Just a lot of things I've seen, heard, read, tasted or want to try. You know, the basics... food, clothes, movies, music, books and of course my two "basics" photography and wine. This is definitely a "For Fun" kinda-post.
Food:
So for awhile there David and I were trying the 17-day diet... first time around we had success and the last two times we've tried again we did not accomplish anything. Since I was watching what I was eating I really didn't get to cook anything too exciting. I don't need to make fried chicken with a thick cream sauce... but when you limit dairy, grains, etc. it makes for some boring meals to create. I've hit a little "mood" where I want to cook some new dishes and maybe even bake a few treats.
So I have a few things I'm going to try at some point this week/weekend...
Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese... click here for a picture and recipe
Asparagus and Chicken Fricassee... click here for a picture and recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes... click here for a picture and recipe
I have all the ingredients for everything above... I'll let you know how they all turn out. I made my own version of Oatmeal Cookies the other day. They actually turned out awesome... I cut the oats in half and put coconut and dried cranberries in the mix. Yum. Click here for a picture and recipe.
Books:
I just finished reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Great read! He is such a funny writer. The book was about him and his friend hiking the Appalachian Trail. (The AT is just like the Pacific Crest Trail but on the East side of the country). You learn a lot about America reading the book as well. If you are into hiking/travel/adventure/outdoors kind of books you'll definitely enjoy this one. I can't wait to pick up another book by Bryson.
I am totally switching gears and I just started reading "Crazy Love." My sister gave me the book for Christmas. The back of the book reads...
"Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing-love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not... we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and dont's- it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, you will never be the same."
It's going to be a "hard" read... if ya know what I mean.
Movies:
So movies have been a little difficult lately. I've actually watched a few that really did not excite me at all. "Drive" was fairly gory and not what I expected. "Tintin" was actually kind of boring to me. "Rum Diary" was not all that great either. A little while back I watched "Moneyball" and I really enjoyed that movie. (David not as much, but I don't think he gets/likes baseball as much as I do.) We just rented "How to Train your Dragon." That movie was very cute and entertaining... safe for the whole family lol. I would recommend it. Cheap theatre night we watched "This Means War." It was actually very funny, we laughed out loud a handful of times. And the other day we saw "Hunger Games." I did not read the book... so from just a movie point of view I thought it was good. It wasn't like the best movie I've ever seen or anything... but I judge movies purely on an entertaining value. Did it entertain me? Yes. (Warning for the next one: Spoiler Alert.) So I rented "One Day" the other night while David was out of town. Great little movie... loved how it went through all the different years and how the two characters grew. (Plus I loved Anne Hathaway's hairstyles). The ending shocked me. I got a bad feeling all of a sudden... like "Ohh no, something horrible is going to happen." And before I could even finish that thought.... BAM! She literally gets ran over by a bus. I actually put my hands to my face an a little yelp squeaked out. I was shocked. Of course the movie turns sad... but that's life, right? The very end of the movie brings you back to the beginning so you can see what actually happened and finishes it so that your not completely in the blues. I think it was a good movie... even if it didn't have the ending I wanted.
....This is not a movie, but I do have to say very quickly that I've been enjoying "Frozen Planet" on the Discovery channel every Sunday night. Awesome cinematography.
Clothes:
I bought a pair of cowgirl boots for my birthday. I. Love. Them. They are brown with a turquoise diamond pattern on them. So every girl has their "thing" that they like to buy... a lot of girls it's shoes, for some it's purses and others love scarfs. Mine is skirts. I love my skirts so much that I just sent about 10+ skirts home with one of my friends so she can take them all in for me. (I lost some weight/inches and a lot of my skirts were not fitting correctly.) Instead of tossing them out and just buying new ones I decided to save them. SAVE THE SKIRTS! I did loose a jean skirt though. It's way to big on me and she could not save it. Sad. So now I'm down to... 20 skirts. TWENTY? Yes. What? I like skirts... how many pair of shoes do you have? ;)
Aqua-Bike
I really want to try an aqua-bike this summer. I loved my triathlons last summer but I hated training for the running part. I'm just not a runner. Obviously I love swimming, Masters Swimming is going well. I actually have another meet next Saturday. And biking is a lot of fun too. Running sucks. So this summer I thought I would concentrate on the two sports I like and try out an aqua-bike. I know you're all going "what the heck is that??!" It's a race where you just do the swimming and biking... no running. The swim and the bike are longer though (than a Sprint triathlon). Right now I am looking at the Grand Columbian Aqua-Bike in September. It's a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride.
Wine:
We've came across a few wineries lately that were pretty good. I always like to share... So Carlton is this cute little po-dunk town with a bunch of wineries. You could definitely spend the afternoon tasting and you would only have to walk a few blocks. Scott Paul had a few wines that we enjoyed... it was fun learning more about the French region. I really enjoyed Folin Cellars though, they had a lot of reds, Barbara, Tempranillo, Cab, etc. that I liked. I would definitely check that place out. We went into the Gorge for my birthday weekend. We've hit up a lot of the wineries on the Oregon side so we decided to mix it up and hit the Washington side. They were all pretty good... I think Syncline was probably my favorite. Plus it had a big tree-swing so that's always fun. (Memaloose has a nice deck/view of the river and the coolest wine-dog ever.)
My birthday present from David was a wine membership at our favorite winery, Marchesi. Come June we'll have 7 bottles of wine from the Italian winery. Mmmmmm! I can't wait. They can't make a bad wine over there. Who wants to have a wine party in June? This girl. :)
Photography:
I bought a new macro lens!!! 60mm f2.8 macro lens. I'm excited to play with it! (I actually would be playing with it right now, but my stomach is in shambles so I'm laying low...hence writing a long blog on nothing.) I'm looking forward to the busy summer season. I'm over this slow Spring phase I am in right now. I'm ready to shoot and shoot and edit and edit. (Although mid way through I won't be singing the same tune with the editing deal.)
Check out my Instagram feed... I am doing a "Photo a Day" in April. I am following this list here.
My Insta name is "aubrielegault" come follow me.
Well I think that about covers it. I have a few Instagram photos to take... a new lens to pay with, a hard-heart-filled book to read and an aqua-bike to train for. I better get on with it.
Skipping,
Aubrie
Food:
So for awhile there David and I were trying the 17-day diet... first time around we had success and the last two times we've tried again we did not accomplish anything. Since I was watching what I was eating I really didn't get to cook anything too exciting. I don't need to make fried chicken with a thick cream sauce... but when you limit dairy, grains, etc. it makes for some boring meals to create. I've hit a little "mood" where I want to cook some new dishes and maybe even bake a few treats.
So I have a few things I'm going to try at some point this week/weekend...
Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese... click here for a picture and recipe
Asparagus and Chicken Fricassee... click here for a picture and recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes... click here for a picture and recipe
I have all the ingredients for everything above... I'll let you know how they all turn out. I made my own version of Oatmeal Cookies the other day. They actually turned out awesome... I cut the oats in half and put coconut and dried cranberries in the mix. Yum. Click here for a picture and recipe.
Books:
I just finished reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Great read! He is such a funny writer. The book was about him and his friend hiking the Appalachian Trail. (The AT is just like the Pacific Crest Trail but on the East side of the country). You learn a lot about America reading the book as well. If you are into hiking/travel/adventure/outdoors kind of books you'll definitely enjoy this one. I can't wait to pick up another book by Bryson.
I am totally switching gears and I just started reading "Crazy Love." My sister gave me the book for Christmas. The back of the book reads...
"Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing-love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not... we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and dont's- it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, you will never be the same."
It's going to be a "hard" read... if ya know what I mean.
Movies:
So movies have been a little difficult lately. I've actually watched a few that really did not excite me at all. "Drive" was fairly gory and not what I expected. "Tintin" was actually kind of boring to me. "Rum Diary" was not all that great either. A little while back I watched "Moneyball" and I really enjoyed that movie. (David not as much, but I don't think he gets/likes baseball as much as I do.) We just rented "How to Train your Dragon." That movie was very cute and entertaining... safe for the whole family lol. I would recommend it. Cheap theatre night we watched "This Means War." It was actually very funny, we laughed out loud a handful of times. And the other day we saw "Hunger Games." I did not read the book... so from just a movie point of view I thought it was good. It wasn't like the best movie I've ever seen or anything... but I judge movies purely on an entertaining value. Did it entertain me? Yes. (Warning for the next one: Spoiler Alert.) So I rented "One Day" the other night while David was out of town. Great little movie... loved how it went through all the different years and how the two characters grew. (Plus I loved Anne Hathaway's hairstyles). The ending shocked me. I got a bad feeling all of a sudden... like "Ohh no, something horrible is going to happen." And before I could even finish that thought.... BAM! She literally gets ran over by a bus. I actually put my hands to my face an a little yelp squeaked out. I was shocked. Of course the movie turns sad... but that's life, right? The very end of the movie brings you back to the beginning so you can see what actually happened and finishes it so that your not completely in the blues. I think it was a good movie... even if it didn't have the ending I wanted.
....This is not a movie, but I do have to say very quickly that I've been enjoying "Frozen Planet" on the Discovery channel every Sunday night. Awesome cinematography.
Clothes:
I bought a pair of cowgirl boots for my birthday. I. Love. Them. They are brown with a turquoise diamond pattern on them. So every girl has their "thing" that they like to buy... a lot of girls it's shoes, for some it's purses and others love scarfs. Mine is skirts. I love my skirts so much that I just sent about 10+ skirts home with one of my friends so she can take them all in for me. (I lost some weight/inches and a lot of my skirts were not fitting correctly.) Instead of tossing them out and just buying new ones I decided to save them. SAVE THE SKIRTS! I did loose a jean skirt though. It's way to big on me and she could not save it. Sad. So now I'm down to... 20 skirts. TWENTY? Yes. What? I like skirts... how many pair of shoes do you have? ;)
Aqua-Bike
I really want to try an aqua-bike this summer. I loved my triathlons last summer but I hated training for the running part. I'm just not a runner. Obviously I love swimming, Masters Swimming is going well. I actually have another meet next Saturday. And biking is a lot of fun too. Running sucks. So this summer I thought I would concentrate on the two sports I like and try out an aqua-bike. I know you're all going "what the heck is that??!" It's a race where you just do the swimming and biking... no running. The swim and the bike are longer though (than a Sprint triathlon). Right now I am looking at the Grand Columbian Aqua-Bike in September. It's a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride.
Wine:
We've came across a few wineries lately that were pretty good. I always like to share... So Carlton is this cute little po-dunk town with a bunch of wineries. You could definitely spend the afternoon tasting and you would only have to walk a few blocks. Scott Paul had a few wines that we enjoyed... it was fun learning more about the French region. I really enjoyed Folin Cellars though, they had a lot of reds, Barbara, Tempranillo, Cab, etc. that I liked. I would definitely check that place out. We went into the Gorge for my birthday weekend. We've hit up a lot of the wineries on the Oregon side so we decided to mix it up and hit the Washington side. They were all pretty good... I think Syncline was probably my favorite. Plus it had a big tree-swing so that's always fun. (Memaloose has a nice deck/view of the river and the coolest wine-dog ever.)
My birthday present from David was a wine membership at our favorite winery, Marchesi. Come June we'll have 7 bottles of wine from the Italian winery. Mmmmmm! I can't wait. They can't make a bad wine over there. Who wants to have a wine party in June? This girl. :)
Photography:
I bought a new macro lens!!! 60mm f2.8 macro lens. I'm excited to play with it! (I actually would be playing with it right now, but my stomach is in shambles so I'm laying low...hence writing a long blog on nothing.) I'm looking forward to the busy summer season. I'm over this slow Spring phase I am in right now. I'm ready to shoot and shoot and edit and edit. (Although mid way through I won't be singing the same tune with the editing deal.)
Check out my Instagram feed... I am doing a "Photo a Day" in April. I am following this list here.
My Insta name is "aubrielegault" come follow me.
Well I think that about covers it. I have a few Instagram photos to take... a new lens to pay with, a hard-heart-filled book to read and an aqua-bike to train for. I better get on with it.
Skipping,
Aubrie
3.25.2012
Three Decades.
Three decades down. It's hard to believe I'm thirty. You have to think back through your life a little bit when you hit a milestone, of course when you turn 10 or even 20 I don't think you care as much. In fact when you turn twenty the only thing you really think about is that you have one more year before you're legal to drink. Something happens over the next10 years... in a very basic sense, you grow up. I mean really there are a lot of major life occurrences that happen in those ten years, at least that was the case for me. So in the celebration of my birthday and the fact that I like lists I thought it would be appropriate to look back on some of my fondest moments, big decisions and a few accomplishments (big and small).
1. Birth. Coming into this world on 3.25.82 around 7:30 AM. (An accomplishment more so for my mom and dad, but I thought it was a good start to my list.)
2. Bike Parade. We had to decorate our bikes and ride them around the block, a grand accomplishment for a 5-year-old. I had my best friend by my side, rocking her Kool-Aid mustache, Sarah Redwine (Keifer now). She is actually probably one my greatest accomplishments because we were best friends that day and thirty years later we're still great friends.
3. State Swim Meet. Honestly all my state swim meets we're great and I think I should be proud of being a talented swimmer. My favorite state meet though was my first. I was one of two 8-year-olds in the whole state that made it for 50-yard-fly. I remember seeing my name written in light bulbs across the huge score board and standing up on that swim block that was larger than life. I think the obsession started there. I wanted to swim, I needed to swim and so I did for the next 9 years.
4. Harris Heat to Indiana Sting. A group of girls that one day put on these bright purple uniforms and called themselves an All-Star Team. We were good. The great thing about this "team" was not that we were good for one season but that a big core group of us played every year together from about 10-years-old all the way through our senior year of high school. We might of had different names and different colors but the cleats that hit the infield didn't really change. I can see Yo-Yo at shortstop, Monica behind first, Toni covering third, Missy (or myself) on the mound, Mary and Bene in the outfield. We had a lot of great games and moments together.
5. Ain't Going Down. I specifically remember spending days, even weeks memorizing that song by Garth Brooks. Not sure why it made this list, but it did.
6. Swanson Summers. I spent two summers life guarding at Swanson Pool with one of my high school best friends, Melissa. I just remember those summers fondly.
7. 1:03. I had a 1:04 in the 100 fly for about two years straight... I still remember the meet where years of hard work finally came together and I let go of that time and finally hit a 1:03 in my favorite event. (My high school swim seasons definitely shaped my life and I'm grateful for those years I spent day in and day out swimming.)
8. Minolta X-700. My first camera. It was (and still is) the best Christmas present I've ever received. It lit the fire for photography... and that flame is still burning.
9. Skipping & Climbing. We all have our teenage moments where we throw caution to the wind and pretty much do what we want. I know I have a handful of stories but the two that stick out in my mind were skipping math class to hit up the rope swing along the St. Joe river. (You can read this post where I talk a little more on that adventure.) And of course the one and only time I've been arrested.... for repelling off a water tower. :)
10. Photojournalism. A stranger actually picked my degree. Okay, not really. But I don't have an actual name of the person that looked at me and said "You should go for Photojournalism." To whoever you are, thank you. It was one of the best decisions I made. Not a lot of people figure out what they want to do their sophomore year in college, I was grateful to be one of those few.
11. BC Klan. God, I had great friends in college! There are so many memories from college that it's hard to narrow it down to one. The BC Klan (later turning into the Linden Place Klan) is really just another way of saying I had a great, fun, fabulous group of college friends. I miss them every day.
12. Relationships. I wouldn't be the woman I am today with out the many, many relationships I had. My first kiss with Brian K. Mark H.- the first guy that ever had a MAJOR crush on me, I finally gave in after about a year or so. Tracy- ohh, Tracy... there's almost too much to say with that one. Camp Birch Hill flings... like Joe and Shaun. Sean Compton- oh my! hahaha. Jose! God, what was I thinking? Even the relationships that never came about... David G, Chase T, Geoff B. All those dates and kisses and break-ups and heartaches and everything in between.... definitely shaped me, I'm sure of that.
13. Camp Birch Hill. It was by far the greatest job, ever. (Okay, that you can have as a 20-year-old) I met some amazing people that I am still friends with today. I was able to visit the NE part of our country and I just saw and did some amazing things. It was one of the greatest times in my life.
14. Grateful Dead. There are many things I could have put to "explain" my early 20's. A little walk down Shakedown Street probably says it all. I had some wonderful times being a lil hippie.
15. New Years Eve. They happen every year, but one in particular stands out to me. I can see my college Klan all decked out to the nines (at least for college kids) with my apartment decorated in some sort of cheap-NY-style, singing "Tiny Dancer" with champagne glasses in hand.
16. Internship. I had an internship at the Muncie Star Press. It was my first real taste at being a photographer, a paid photographer. I loved it... and I still love it.
17. Graduating. I think I have to put this... I know a lot of people graduate college these days. I am proud of myself for getting a B.A. in Photojournalism. I'm glad that I was part of a lot of organizations like NPPA and the Daily News. I was glad I made all those wonderful friends and had some amazing experiences at Ball State. And then....
18. Oregon. I moved to Oregon. I graduated and decided that I would pack up my little Toyota and drive 2000+ miles across the country to a state I really knew nothing about. (The road trip with my sister is a fond memory.) Obviously I loved it otherwise I wouldn't be writing this post from my home in Portland, Oregon six years later.
19. Camera World. My first job in Oregon, I was a lab tech at Camera World. The job introduced me to some great friends and it made me grow up and take on some responsibility. Plus, of course, I met David there.
20. Sushi. I ate Sushi for the first time with David on one of our dates. I know it seems kind of silly but I think that was the start of trying a lot of new things, especially when it came to food. I love all types of food now and trying out new restaurants... it's one of my favorite things to do.
21. Lukah! Whether it's the first time that dog walked through my first apartment in Gresham, or when Lukah started to live with David and I over in St. John's or when the paperwork arrived in the mail officially declaring him MY dog, whichever moment you wanna pick to be #20 is fine with me. Either way he's the greatest dog and he just simply makes me happy.
22. Wine Tasting. It started one day with a Chateau St. Michelle Riesling. It's grown into knowing the differences between a Syrah and a Shiraz (really nothing, except the "z" one is from Australia) and being able to pick out things like "cloves" in a spicy red or "grapefruit" in the nose of a white. I love wine tasting.
23. Capturing Grace Photography. Starting my own business has been really fun and definitely an educational experience. Ever since I started the business it has been just that... fun and a lot to learn! I'm always learning and growing and there isn't one shoot or one day with a camera in my hand that I regret being a photographer.
24. Grace of God. The day I gave my life to Jesus was and forever will be the greatest decision I've ever made. The day David and I were baptized together was a wonderful moment in our lives together.
25. July 18, 2008. The day we were announced as "Mr. and Mrs. David LeGault." I love my husband. And quite frankly I could have made the wrong choice of where to live, or what to do for a living, but as long as David would have been part of the final product I know I would be happy.
26. Volunteer. I volunteer for the Pregnancy Resource Center. There are a lot of things that people like to stand for and believe in and I think everyone should pick one and help the cause. I'm against abortions and I found that the work that PRC does is a positive way to stand up for what I believe in with out having to stand in some brutal picketing or have a screaming match with someone who is pro choice. I enjoy volunteering there and being one of God's working hands.
27. Coach. Becoming a coach has been such a blessing already. I love coaching high school swimming and I'm looking forward to next year already.
28. Triathlete. A great thing to check off the ol' bucket list. I enjoyed training for the triathlon and competing. I look forward to doing it again.
29. 1859 Cover. It's one of those things that you can look back and say "I worked for this" plus you can look forward and say "Great things will come become of this."
30. Living. Living, loving, breathing, failing, succeeding, working, resting, enjoying... living. Turning 30 and not saying "boo-hoo, I'm old" but instead looking forward to my next three decades.
Skipping,
Aubrie
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