Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Air Show

Growing up, one of the most exhilarating and exciting family traditions was attending air shows.  I remember sitting on the steps of the Gateway Arch gazing over the edge of the Mississippi River watching Blue Angels dive swoop and jet over my head.  Growing up in Oakville, it wasn't uncommon to see a variety of aircraft cruising up and down the river in preparation for the shows.  This past weekend I had the opportunity to expose my children to the amazing feats these pilots can do with a giant aircraft.  They loved it, well Katie was kind of terrified by it, but Ally LOVED it and so did I.  When the first set of Blue Angels flew low over us, I was spying on them with my telephoto and screaming in excitement.  I felt like a little kid!  Here are the results.  Enjoy!









New beginnings

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new year and new possibilities!  Reflecting over 2014, I accomplished so much!  While I didn't blog much, I was a busy woman learning and experiencing new things.  From traveling to be a national speaker for the Williams syndrome association to doing some published writing and earning teacher of the year, I can honestly say that 2014 was one for the books. 

In 2015, I'm looking forward to a quieter year.  I'm focusing on  getting my National board certification in teaching so that will consume much of the time but I have some personal goals as well:

1. I'm going to focus more on my health.  My children's schedules have always influenced my day and I'm planning on taking some of that back for myself.  In 2014, I had back pain unlike the pain I've lived with since I was 16.  After seeing a physical therapist and seeing the change I can do to live pain free, I'm going to take time for myself every day to ensure I don't go back.  I admit I haven't been doing my exercises and this holiday season I'm starting to feel the effects again.

2. Continue my photography hobby.  I adore photographing my kids and learning new ways to stretch my photography skills.  I got into a rut in 2014 where I wasn't feeling inspired and my photos weren't looking the way I had envisioned them.  This year I'm going to do two things to keep it fresh- first I'm going to make personal photography a priority over scheduling sessions with friends and family.  I found I was getting burned out and didn't even touch my own photos.  I'm also going to keep my project 52 going because it does inspire me to pick up my camera.  Second, I'm going to print my favorites and rotate the pictures hanging on the walls in my house.  I already started this and it's really exciting to see my work on the wall!

3. Declutter my home.  Enough said!  I have a serious issue with letting go of stuff.  I'm going to reclaim my basement and display some of my nice things since my kids are old enough now.

4.  Try to blog more.  I saw my last post on this blog was a year ago.  Ouch!  

Here's to new possibilities!  Happy new year, friends!  Sincerely, Sarah