May 3, 2011 - Stick a fork in me, I'm 27 and I'm done!

So, today is my birthday and officially ends my Project 365! This is the longest I've ever stuck with something. I don't know that I necessarily became a better photographer through this project, but I definitely learned to become more observant of the world around me and find interesting things in each day. I can look at every picture I've taken and remember that day, which is not something I can say about any other year of my life. Even when it was frustrating, it was kind of nice to have a project like this that I was determined to actually complete.

So, this blog is done. My personal blog, Morsels of Mumblings is up and running, so feel free to check in over there if you're interested. Thanks again for following my progress, everyone!

May 2, 2011 - Gigantic news day.

U.S. Navy SEALS conducted a special operation and killed Osama bin Laden at his fancy house in Pakistan. For a man who was described by an ambassador to the US as someone who couldn't 'lead eight ducks across a street', the dude managed to get quite a following with his diabolical mindset. The internet exploded last night with the news coming from the White House, but one of the coolest coincidences of this entire thing was that there happened to be a baseball game between Philadelphia and NY at the time and as the news spread through the stadium, the fans began chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!". Since three of the four planes that were hijacked on 9/11 affected NYC and an area near Philly, it was kind of extra touching for the fans to get to share the news together while watching America's game. Impromptu celebrations took place all over the country last night and it's safe to say that, while the national security concerns are higher than ever, the happiness factor of Americans has skyrocketed with this news. Excellent job, Mr. President and the AMAZING Navy SEALS!

May 1, 2011 - Shel Silverstein words.

I've become aware of a project where people write things on themselves and take pictures. While, I won't be doing this a ton, I thought it could be a cool picture. I picked a Shel Silverstein poem. I've always loved his work. "The Giving Tree" is still one of my favorite books in the history of all time forever and ever. I can't write the whole giving tree book on myself though, so I chose something else. This is the second stanza of Shel Silverstein's well-known poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends". Here's the whole poem:

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

April 30, 2011 - Cloning instead of paper-writing.

I have a bunch of finals to do. But, instead, I decided to do a photo of the many sides of me. The last time I did this sort of a picture was back in college when I finals due, as well. At some point, I'm going to have to do my finals.

April 29, 2011 - 3 AM breakfast for the British Royal Wedding

Cinnamon bread for breakfast at 3:00 a.m. to watch the royal wedding in London. It was interesting and I'm glad I actually got my butt up to watch it, actually.

April 28, 2011 - Screen door.

Today was lovely weather. The screen door was open and the sun was shining through the trees in a really pretty way. Maybe Spring is really going to arrive soon.

April 27, 2011 - What I do.

This is an example of the letters that I scan at work. It occurred to me, I should document what I'm working on right now so I can look back later and remember what kind of work I was doing when I was working on this photo project. So, this is a letter from the Civil War. I couldn't quite tell whether it was multiple letters and if the person was just re-using the paper, or whether it was all one letter, but it's a good example of how people used to write to save space. I love this kind of stuff!

April 26, 2011 - Jenga!

I had major deja vu when I took this picture, but I don't think I've done a Jenga picture for this project. It's getting very close to the end of my Project 365, but I think a photo of this awesome game is not a repeat.

April 25, 2011 - Fare Thee Well!

My friend, Tricia (in the pink), is moving back East this week, so another friend hosted a small going away dinner at her house. It was really fun and a nice way to hang out and say goodbye. I will miss Tricia! Fare thee well, my friend!

April 24, 2011 - Happy Easter.

The church I grew up attending does this flowering of the cross on Easter morning. People bring fresh flowers and the cross begins completely bare with just wood and by the end, it's covered like this. It's always really pretty and a nice Easter tradition, I think. And every year it's different depending on the colors of flowers available that year. It's kind of a neat idea.

April 23, 2011 - Jefferson City and the Missouri River.

The city recently constructed a bike path on the Missouri River bridge to connect the city to the MKT Trail, which is a bike and walking path that goes clear across the state. This was the first time I'd been on it. It's pretty popular already. It's kind of scary at first with the traffic, and there was a family trying to get their dog across it and the dog was terrified, but mostly, people seem to be really happy to have this project completed. Maybe people will be more active now!?

April 22, 2011 - Twister!

A tornado hit St. Louis and damaged some of the northern neighborhoods and the international airport. My dad grew up in the northern part of St. Louis and we watched the coverage on the weather channel pretty closely. No fatalities despite some pretty gnarly damage! Here's to survival!

April 21, 2011 - Will not turn on the furnace. Will not turn on the furnace.

It's getting chilly in the house. I refuse to turn on the furnace again, though. Spring! Come soon!

April 20, 2011 - Moon or lamp shade? hmm...

Yeah...okay. Lamp shade. But cool nonetheless.

April 19, 2011 - Oliver Cromwell's speech.

I realize there have been a lot of text pictures lately, but I've been reading for fun again. This is from a famous speeches book. This is Oliver Cromwell's speech when he dismantles the English Parliament. Frankly, reading it, I think you could accuse American Legislators of the same things Cromwell is shouting at the Englishmen back in the day.

April 18, 2011 - Best car in the garage.

Saw this car in one of the parking garages at MU. I love it!

April 17, 2011 - Watson in nature. Sort of.

Or rather, lounging on the concrete while looking at nature.

April 16, 2011 - The opera curtain.

Went and saw "The Merry Widow" at Missouri Theater. It was a student production of the music department at MU. The singers were great, I think the opera choice was pretty poor, though. I didn't really find the opera that interesting. Good voices though.

April 15, 2011 - Best Target find of late: Mr. Bubble!

April 14, 2011 - Uni, sweet Uni.