about me

I’m not sure why but in the winter I always do my nails a lot more. Pinterest is loaded with crazy manicures so it inspires me to paint my nails even more. I don’t really do anything too crazy but I’m enjoying trying new things. I sorted through my nail polishes a few weeks ago. No idea why I still had polish from years and years ago. I also had two of one color which makes absolutely no sense. Unless I painted my nails with that color every day… I have never once emptied a bottle of nail polish. Have you?

I tend to just go for the simple. Doing a short bright red nail is fun. I also have a great nude color that I like.

These are a few of the times I branched out and tried something different.

The top left Sally Hansen Insta-dri Blue-Away with OPI Rainbow Connection on top. I started looking for the Rainbow Connection right before Christmas. Apparently it sold out almost instantly. I was not about to pay 15 bucks for a bottle of nail polish so I didn’t order it online.  Luckily my hair stylist got it for me and it was under five dollars.  It’s a lot of fun to wear and not a lot of fun to take off.

The top right is Sally Hansen Red Zin with OPI Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It. The glitter is another one of The Muppets Collection for OPI. It was perfect for Christmas.

The bottom left is my absolute favorite color (which of course you can’t get anymore): Sally Hansen Problem Child. I need to find a good replacement for it because it’s getting kind of clumpy.  I just put silver glitter polish (cheap-o random brand) on the tips.

The bottom right is OPI Warm & Fozzie from The Muppets Collection.  I really, really like this one in the bottle and not so much on my nails.

A few things I’ve learned with all of the nail painting:
1. Go pee first. It never fails that I’ll mess up a nail trying to go to the bathroom (even if they’re dry).
2. Use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat. Warning: Even though your nails will be dry in about 30 seconds, it’s still possible to mess them up for another 30 minutes or so. If you bump them or push on the tip, the whole color just slides off.
3. Try colors you wouldn’t normally wear. It’s funny how different things look on.
4. The more you paint your nails, the better you get at it.
5. To remove glitter nail polishes (like those two from the OPI Muppets Collection), soak a cotton ball in remover. Put the cotton on your nail, wrap in aluminum foil and then pull off after about 5 minutes.
6. Painting your fingernails can actually be really relaxing!
7. It seems like when I put a few coats of nail polish and top coat on, they chip right away. If I want my polish to last for quite a few days, I will do one fairly thick coat. Yep, just one and then top coat. That seems to last longer.

I used to think it looked weird on me but now I quite enjoy it. I’m pretty hard on my hands/fingernails so I know to wait until the last minute if I want my nails to look really nice for something. So do you do your nails?

Some confessions about me, including a few that are embarrassing to admit.

-I don’t like Nutella.
-Sometimes I eat chips just for the salt.
-Some days I stay in my pajamas until the afternoon.
-Manners are super important to me. I’m always kind of appalled when adults don’t use please, thank you, excuse me…
-Josh and I regularly plan what we would do if we suddenly came into a lot of money.
-I don’t understand the appeal of Jimmy Buffett’s music.
-I love cereal in milk but don’t really like cereal-flavored milk.
-I sleep talk.
-I love peanut butter fudge…like I could eat an entire pan myself.
-I hate running but I love the feeling when I’m done so I keep doing it.
-I am obsessed with finding original sources. Whenever I see something I really like on Pinterest I check to see if it came from a Tumblr or the original source. Often times I do some reverse searching through Google to see if I can find the original. It really bothers me when I can’t find it!
-Some evenings, like last night, Josh and I have craft night. We both do some sort of craft. It is seriously one of my favorite things to do.
-I’m pretty sure I have an ulcer.
-I sometimes self diagnose using Dr. Google. (See above, though I really do think I have an ulcer.)

I like resolutions. Some people don’t appreciate them like I do or prefer to call them “goals” like my brother. I like them because they help me focus and I do actually keep them. Looking at last year’s resolutions, I did pretty good. The key is to make realistic and slightly general resolutions. If you say, “I’m going to work out 6 times a week and run 10 miles every other day”…well, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Not many people can do that. But if you say, “I’m going to work out regularly and continue to run every week”…now that’s a resolution I won’t break.

So here are some of my goals for 2012:
1. Finally run a 5K.
2. Take one picture every day.
3. Learn to meditate. (I have a really, really hard time turning off my brain.)
4. Continue to develop and debut my new project. (More on that soon.)
5. Use my tripod more.
6. Get back in the habit of using coupons.
7. Send more thank you notes.
8. Read more.
9. Do an art project with Jasper weekly.
10. Keep a short daily journal that includes something I’m grateful for.

All doable! Here’s to a fresh start and a new year to get things right.

I was contacted months ago by a guy writing a book. He wanted to include my about.me page in it. I gave consent and didn’t really think about it again. A week or so ago it happened to cross my mind so I looked to see if the book was published. Sure enough, there it was on Amazon and even at a local Barnes & Noble. Over the weekend I went looking for the book and nervously flipped through it, kind of assuming I wouldn’t be in it.

As I thumbed through the index, there was my name with two page numbers listed. Holy crap. I flipped through to the pages and there I was. My face. In a book. The previous page talks about how as a photographer it would make sense for me to have an about.me page. I showed Jasper standing in line at Barnes and Noble. He yelled, “It’s Mommy!”. So that’s a pretty cool thing. Cross something off my bucket list that I didn’t know should be on it.

I’ve been back and forth on what to do with this little blog here. I’ve written about it before but it’s reached a different level lately. The problem with putting yourself out there on this platform is that you don’t really know who’s on the other side of the computer. Who’s reading? How are they reacting or interpreting your post? Is there someone using your blog and pictures as a direct template (digital theft template, not I paid $20 for this cool layout template) for their work?

The biggest problem for me is that I’m too sensitive. It’s a fault of mine that I’ve always had. I take things entirely too personally and often let something bother me that shouldn’t. I am me. So I am going to keep being me…faults and all. I will learn one day how to let things go a little easier and to not get my feelings hurt. Someday I’ll probably look back on this time and just pity my poor troll for not having anyone better to copy than little ole’ me. Then I’ll feel flattered. Then maybe more pity… Anyway, I’m going to guard myself a little more and bite my tongue so not to say anything I would regret. If that fails I may just post a picture of my butt and see if that’s copied too. ;) See you tomorrow.

I haven’t been feeling the greatest. Last week I could tell I was fighting something. I bargained with the sickness saying I just had to get through the wedding I shot on Saturday. I guess it listened because I’ve been not feeling well ever since. Yesterday I woke up with the worst sore throat that I’ve had in as long as I can remember. Josh works this weekend so I’m crossing my fingers I wake up feeling much better tomorrow. I have boatloads of work to do at the computer, a trashed house to clean and a rambunctious kid to take care of.

In other news, we carved our pumpkins.

Also, Jasper has been watching Star Trek with Josh lately. He thinks he’s Geordi La Forge.

On October 9th, I learned something new. I learned that you can register with the bone marrow registry to be a possible donor. I didn’t even know this was something I could do until reading about Amit Gupta who is the founder of Photojojo. Amit was diagnosed with Leukemia and now is waiting to find a match for a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately his ethnicity is severely under-represented in the registry. Though I’m not of South Asian descent I knew I wanted to sign up. The opportunity to possibly save someone’s life? Yes.

I received my kit from Be the Match on Friday and immediately went through the process so I could mail it back. I hope you’ll consider joining as well. I’d love to hear if do decide to to join.

Join now by registering here. What do you have to lose but the opportunity to save someone’s life?

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

I saw this quote recently and have been thinking about how grateful I am. Through the past year of suck, I have been continually reminded what an amazing family and group of friends I have.  You’ve listened to me complain, you’ve been my shoulder to cry on, asked me how I’m doing even when it was hard to know what to say… The older I get the more I realize how lucky I am to have the friends and family I do. To those of you who have been there and supported me (you know who you are), I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don’t know what I’d do or where I’d be without you.

Speaking of fall and cooler weather clothes…I love scarves. I think it’s because they are such a simple accessory that can pull the outfit together. The first semi-cool day this month I planned my outfit around a scarf. Since then I’ve worn quite a few of my favorites and have many to go which is exciting. I’ve been really into infinity scarves lately. I only have a couple so other ones I just tie the ends together.

I had a couple friends comment that they needed lessons on how to wear scarves. I found this video on YouTube which shows 25 different ways to wear a scarf. It’s fun to try different styles and scarves are a great way to do it.

You don’t wake up one morning, think “I’m going to be a runner” and then go run a 5k in under 35 minutes. It just doesn’t happen like that even for people in shape. It’s a process and was a long one for me. I never thought I would get to a time where I could say “I’m a runner” but finally I feel like I am there.

I have never been a fan of running. Even as a kid I didn’t really enjoy to run. I can still hear my Jr. High P.E. teacher yell “Run to the fence and back!”. Ugh. Groaning I would trudge down and back thinking it took forever. As I got older I would often see the benefits of running and wish that I could be a runner. I ran for a bit before Josh and I got married but never for a significant amount or even off the treadmill. Last summer I attempted the running thing and failed miserably. I started the Couch to 5k program but after four weeks stopped because of terrible knee pain. I had runner’s knee so bad there was one night I went up the stairs on my butt. I felt so incredibly frustrated given the fact that my ENTIRE family runs.

In the Spring Josh did some research on the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Basically they give you the experience of barefoot running but with the protection of shoes. He thought it might be a good option for me since I had so many knee problems. When you run in Vibrams or barefoot, your body changes the way you run. Instead of landing on your heel, you begin landing on your forefoot. We thought maybe the heel strike was my problem. Spoiler: It totally was. Since running in Vibrams I have had absolutely no knee problems.

So back in May I started the Couch to 5K program again. Boy, does it suck to start. However, in a few months I went from barely able to run for 60 consecutive seconds to running two miles at a time. Granted these are slow miles but I don’t beat myself up over it. I will never run an 8 minute mile. And like most people starting out I can’t even run a 10 minute mile. But it’s okay…I’m still out there doing it.

When you start running it’s easy to become frustrated. You see people out running and they make it look so easy. But it’s hard, like really hard. Depending on what I would eat the day before or how much water I drank, I would sometimes have a terrible run. My dad would remind me that even people who run every day have bad runs. He’d say, “Kimberly, just the other day I had to walk for a little bit”. (Coming from a man that runs 4 to 6 miles almost every day, it meant a lot.) I would then think about the very first time out, slowly running and walking, thinking I was going to die. Yep, I had come a long way!

Slowly but surely I increased my mileage. I ran outside through the sweltering heat, the sun (I have a killer tan line on my lower legs from my running capris and shoes), the crazy wind (18mph out in the country is basically like running in place) and now thankfully the cooler weather. It was definitely more of a challenge than the treadmill but I’m so glad I did it that way.

If you have ever considered running, I would highly recommend the Couch to 5K program. It slowly builds up the time and you can repeat weeks as needed. At first it seems like you’re not getting anywhere but then suddenly you’re able to run a quarter of a mile. I will never forget the day that I first ran for 20 consecutive minutes. It was a pretty big milestone!

And…this is completely ridiculous and I can’t believe I’m admitting this but I’m glad I can run for a decent length of time in case I was ever chased. I often have dreams where someone is trying to get me but I cannot physically run or even walk to get away. It totally freaks me out and I used to always think that if someone chased me I wouldn’t be able to run a block to get away. Now at least I have a decent chance!

So here are some tips to get you started:

1. Find good running music. I recently discovered Girl Talk. Not for the gentle ears there are many, many cuss words but it really gets me moving. I particularly like this song. (Sorry Mom.) Yes, I fight the urge to dance as I run every time that song comes on my playlist.

2. Get a good route to run. When I first started I always ran at the park. I was super uncomfortable running and this was good place to kind of be “secluded” meaning people didn’t see me. Once I was running for a decent length of time I had to ditch the park. Going around in a circle was so not for me. I started doing an out and back route in the country. I enjoyed this though windy days were rough. When I graduated to two miles I started doing the last half in town. It was a good way to push me because I knew people would see me. I enjoy my in town part way more now because there is much more to look at than the country. Houses, people, kids playing…it keeps me motivated. I think I will always keep changing things up to make them interesting.

3. Go easy on yourself. Even if I wanted to just go run a few miles in the beginning it wasn’t possible. My muscles just weren’t strong enough. If you push it too much you can really hurt yourself. I’m still learning how to listen to my body but I’m getting better. If my legs are sore, then I take a couple days off. Just last week I took three days off because of heel pain. It’s okay to run through a little bit of pain but a lot usually just means it’s going to make it worse.

4. Don’t compare yourself to others. I think runners are kind of annoying. (I totally realize what I just said.) They’re always talking about their PR (personal record) and when their next race is. I just plug my ears to that. It’s not easy to do though. One of the first times I set out for two miles I passed a young girl who runs for the track team. (Passed as in running the other direction, not flew by her because I was going so fast.) She’s all legs and about as graceful as can be. I feel uh…slightly less than graceful when I run. My first thought was, “I should just turn around for home”. But then my inner cheerleader thought, “I can do this. Slowly and more ugly but gosh darnit, I’m doing it”. And I did.

That’s thing about it…It feels impossible but it’s not. It just takes patience, hard work and determination. Some day in the near future I hope to get up to three miles and then sign up for my first 5K. I’m not going to be one of those crazy people that start doing marathons every month or have aspirations to become an ultra-marathoner (cough, cough, Tony). I just want to run a few miles, a few times every week. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.