i haven’t been keeping up with my favorite blogs these days and am not exactly sure why. maybe it is because i lost interest in my own blog. (it doesn’t help that most websites are blocked where i work) there are so many things i don’t like about it and that’s where my focus has been. have i been trying to change these things? no. i just avoided them and worked on other projects (like watching tv).

last night i visited an old fave and what instantly caught my eye were the ten things she likes in her kitchen. oh yes, what a way to shift the focus of negative thinking! so i grabbed a pen and came up with five right off the bat. it took a second to get it to eight and and even longer to reach ten. i used to be able to do that in no time! well there is proof that i need to be making those lists more often. or at least find that little notebook with my old running list.

here goes:

1. reese’s peanut butter eggs
2. how my dansko shoes make me feel tall and confident
3. old school muppet drinking glasses
4. skfl’s high pitched laugh
5. the warm feeling in a sunny yellow room
6. the way mae smells like a warm frito after sleeping
7. talking on the phone with my sister while we both drive to work
8. silence
9. my beautiful engagement ring and all it symbolizes
10. making lists

not bad!

it’s kind of interesting (and difficult) getting up early to take a photo and blog. i’m used to waking up on the cold winter family walks. mae doesn’t understand what is going on and is just sitting here staring at me. waiting. oh how she loves a morning walk.

i’ve been making more of an effort to notice the signs around me (ones other than for sale). i look at the above vignette in the bathroom all the time, and for some reason it stood out this morning. i think it’s a nice reminder.

this morning i’m trying out something different. the alarm went off at 5:25 am, a half hour earlier than normal. i thought it might be nice to get a jump start on the day instead of hitting the snooze button a few times in an effort to postpone it. how will an extra few minutes in the morning in front of my computer help me throughout the day? guess i’ll find out.

i still hit the snooze twice, but made it out and grabbed a long hot shower. i had no idea the water was warmer and would last longer in the five o’clock hour! i hope to go at this at least 30 days so that it becomes a habit.

i even grabbed my camera in an effort to capture the time. for some reason the first shot taken is always my favorite. so i will post it here for you to see. there are a lot of things wrong with the photo, but i’m not going to try to correct them. let me just put it out there as is, and do the same for myself today.  wow, that feels good.

oh mae, i can’t believe you are six years old today.  thanks for being my buddy and for keeping the kitchen floor so clean.  i will never understand your love of the chicken bones from our filthy streets.  watching you kill that deer five years ago will haunt me forever.  the squirrels?  not as much.  thanks for opening my eyes to endless adventurous possibilities.

why are there more readers here now that i’m on hiatus? anyway, change is in the air and that is exciting. i miss blogging a bit, but am grateful for being able to redirect my energy elsewhere for a while. thank you dear readers for coming back and spreading the good word about almost foodies.

i’ve mentally checked out for a bit. i have so many things to share with you, but am struggling to organize my thoughts. i feel like i’m an all or nothing kind of gal, and when it’s an all moment, i just need to let my head spin for a bit until things come together. 2008 does not seem to be the year of the blog. i must admit to losing interest after accidentally wiping out that trusty old layout a few months back.

the above photo takes me out of my spinning head for a second to remember a photo series i was developing years ago (at a time when i never thought about a photo series and that i was actually developing one). there is somethig interesting about the focus on the ladder in the foreground that i like. i don’t even feel like completing this thought process. i need to go find those old photos.

anyway, please bear with me while i get my shit together. in the meantime, you can check out a few recent photos of the big troy night out afterparty (the hottest thing the last friday of every month in the city where i live (i don’t feel good about calling it my city because it’s not totally my jam)). oh and of course the soup swap! i have some great stories to share about that. more soon!

by the time you read this, it will officially be national soup swap day. what a wonderful idea that has inspired so many of us to hit the kitchen to get our soup on! i have been going crazy planning, cooking, cleaning and shrinky dinking. i have no idea what to expect for our second soup swap, but i sure am ready! updates coming soon…

i revisited working with shrinky dinks last night and it didn’t go too well. i’m trying to make fun magnets to give away next week. why in the heck am i spending so much time doodling, shrinking plastic (with my head almost in the oven watching) and then photographing the results instead of calculating proportions and making a giant batch of chili? because i’m nene! (and my brain is on possible overload) i’ve got to come up with a different shape…

i’ve been gettin’ my doodle on trying to come up with a cute soup swap party favor for the big day next week. i should probably be trying to perfect my chili recipe instead.

sometimes i get lost in a sea of e. they always seem to creep into my doodles. it’s kind of like pressing the c button on a calculator. drawing out e’s helps me to clear my mind, focus and recharge for what’s next. right now i feel like i could spend an afternoon on some e’s. i’m sure my temporary employers would like that.

back to the soup. i am psyched for soup! i’m not exactly sure how many people will be showing up. i haven’t done a great job of promoting the event and fear that my cheerleading skills have faded a bit. there is still time!

is it a good idea to be looking for a new job while planning a wedding and searching for a house? today i am overwhelmed, but grateful for having so many options.