Foot Prints in the Snow

I saw them quietly
marking the spot
where someone
or
something walked
back and forth
forth and back
in the quiet of the snow.
I'm not really sure
whether
human
or
not.
It walked
in the snow
in the melting
snow
back and forth
forth and back
I wonder
why
I wonder
what
I wonder
who
Might have been human
So close to the house
I'm not really sure.
Frozen in time
Frozen in place
Until the air warmed up
and
Melted the prints
walking back and forth
and
forth and back
and
We will never know.

Rambling Thoughts on a Warm Cold Day

As I write this, I am writing for tomorrow. Right now, it's today. When you read this, it will be tomorrow.

At the present time, it's 25 degrees outside. That's very good considering how cold it's been. Tonight, our low will be 4 degrees, and our high tomorrow will be 5 with a lot of wind. Brrrrrrrrrr! I'd rather stay home, but I will have to go out.

The discs you see in this picture will be listed in my etsy store by tomorrow, I hope. When I finish with this post, I hope to go to etsy and list them.

Topic here: setting goals for 2009.

I've been thinking about these things a lot today. I don't know why. They just seemed important to mull in my mind while I worked.
Marcy of Studio Marcy has increased my awareness of the need to set goals not only for business purposes but for our creative endeavors. I've been thinking about that a lot, and as a former special ed teacher, I am well aware of how a goal should be written.
A goal needs to be measurable. A goal needs to be realistic. A goal needs to be achievable.
Whew! That's a lot for one year.
Although I need to set more goals, and I will, this is the one I need to work on the most at this time.
Goal: To improve the quality of my bead photos by 80%.
Now, how am I going to achieve this goal? How long will I give myself to achieve this goal? How will I know that I have achieved this goal?

1) By January of 2010, I will have improved my bead photos by 80%.
(So, I'm giving myself one whole year to accomplish this.)

2) I will practice with my camera using different functions of the camera each time I take photographs.
(I honestly don't know how to use all the functions of the camera nor do I know what they are for.)
All right, that's something I can do.

3) When possible, I will use my tripod to insure that my photos are not blurry when I download them into my computer.
(I have two different tripods, but I rarely use either of them.) Again, that is something I can do.

4) I will work on ways to improve the lighting I use when I shoot photos of my beads.
(This is a real challenge for me. DD gave me a photo tent that she was making me for Xmas. She had some more work to do to finish it. When I get it back, then I will use the photo tent and work on ways to improve my lighting.) This is reasonable. If anyone has any suggestions about lighting, I am so open to help on this one. I think this is reasonable, and I think it's achievable. It will just take a lot of work to complete.

5) I will shoot at least 10 photos of each bead.
That shouldn't be difficult.

6) I will try to use some creative and innovative ways to shoot a bead.
That's where I might need a little help. Any ideas? I'm open to them.

7) I will make and use a photo journal to review my progess at least once every two months. By using the photo journal I will be able to, subjectively, assess whether I have achieved my 80% goal.
Does that sound reasonable?

Well, now, that goal alone should keep me busy for 2009! If you have any suggestions, please tell me. I will need the help.

And when I develop more goals, I will blog about the goal or goals and the way or ways I plan to achieve them. It's just the special ed teacher in me coming out again. She does that.

Now wouldn't that make a great bead? How would you make a special education teacher bead? I think I'll have to work on that too.