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2016 in Nine Minutes

Another year behind me...the days seem to pass faster and faster!  I need them to slow down.  I have so much that I need to do, that I want to do.

One thing that I have managed to do every single day since January 1, 2013 is to take a photo a day, a photo that in some way represents my day.  Other than brushing my teeth, I'm not sure that I can say that I have any other habit that I have that I have done faithfully for 1461 days consecutively.  There probably should be others...

I used the Collect App for the iPhone to save each photo from 2016.  The app allows you to create a collage or a video of your photos.  This year, for the first time, I have created a video of all 366 photos.  It is amazing how a split second image from a day can transport me right back to that day, that moment.  I remember other things from that day.  I remember how I was feeling, who I was with, what the weather was like.

Not all of the photos are good.  Not all of the days were good.  But lots of both were. That's life.  We need balance.  We need to be able to see and feel that ebbing and flowing of life's events and emotions.  And that's why I am so committed to this project.  It gives me perspective on my life.  As the video runs, I am reminded of how grateful I am for all that the past year brought - special moments with my family and friends, good food, quiet times, silly times, travel, illness, scary times, celebrations,  appreciation of the everyday, the beauty of nature in calm and storm.  The video is the Cliff Notes of my life in 2016.  Nine minutes of the 527, 040 minutes that made up 2016.

My hope for each of you is that 2017 brings you and those you love joy, hope, and peace.
Posted by Kris Baker at 6:27 PM Labels: Capture Your 365, life


Change Is Coming

As I mentioned in my post a few days ago, one of the many reasons that I have not been consistent in my writing here is because I am writing two other blogs.  I "met" Tracey almost three years ago through the Capture Your 365 community.  I say "met" because we have never met in person.  In the sharing of our daily photos in the CY365 forum, a connection formed between us.  Our communication moved from CY365 public gallery comments to personal email and text messaging.  In a nutshell, we discovered that though on the surface our lives appear very different, we actually share many common interests and experiences.  Two years ago, those commonalities led us to start writing a blog, Pixels, Plates, and Lols!,  together.  In it we discuss friendship, photography, and a lot of food.  This is another one of those people stories that I was talking about yesterday.  We wanted to find something we could do together to celebrate and nurture our friendship.

Tracey lives in Michigan and I in Texas.  We can't decide on a whim to go out for coffee, do lunch, or go on a photowalk together, but we can share our individual thoughts about and experiences with coffee, lunch, our cameras, and many other things with each other and with you through our blog posts.  Writing together is our way of sharing a long distance friendship.  And let me say, we have had A LOT of LOLs, both publicly and privately.  I think I can speak for both of us when I say blogging together is super fun.

As I sit here writing these words, I have just hit publish on our last post of Pixels, Plates, and Lols!.

Don't worry!  All is good with Tracey and me! Just as 2016 is coming to an end and 2017, with all of its possibilities, is about to be birthed, so our first blog together is coming to an end and something new for us is about to be born.  Though it was kind of sad knowing that when I hit "Publish" it would be the last time for Pixels, Plates, and Lols!, I know that things change.  Thankfully for us, this change is good thing!

I hope that I have figured out an effective way to balance my collaborative writing with Tracey and my personal writing here, but don't be surprised if every now and then there is a bit of "sharing" between the two blogs. Lol!

If you are interested in following us on our new adventure, I will share the details here as soon as I can!  If, while you wait, you want to read the detailed story of how we became friends and starting blogging together, here is the link to our very first post on Pixels, Plates, and LOLs!.

Enjoy!  And thanks for reading.
Posted by Kris Baker at 8:58 PM Labels: Capture Your 365, CY365, food, friends, PPLs


What's Really Important 

And then it was Christmas Eve. 

Posted by Kris Baker at 10:53 PM Labels: Christmas, family, friends, just thinking, travel


All In A Decade

Today is my 55th birthday.

Exactly ten years ago, on a whim, I decided to start writing a blog.  At that point I had no idea why and was fairly sure that no one really wanted to read what I was writing.  But, I did it.  The title perfectly summed up what I wrote about, all the things that happened in my day.  I was faithful to the process for quite awhile.  And then I became unfaithful.  And then faithful again.  And then unfaithful.  It was like the the plucking of the flower petals...he loves me, he loves me not, faithful to blog posting, not faithful to blog posting...and there I ran out of petals.  Realizing that this was the tenth anniversary of beginning All In A Day and that I have done a terrible job keeping up makes me sad.  So much has happened in my life during these ten years, some of it I have written about and lots of other parts I have not.  Here is the condesnsed version.

As I reflect on 2016 and look forward to my desires for 2017, reviving my relationship with my blog is at the top of the list.  I miss it.  I want it.  I need it.  It doesn't matter to me one way or the other if other people read it.  If you do and some of my words speak to you, make you think, make you feel, make you act, that's great.  But if not, that's OK too.  I will have written for me.  I will have acknowledged in words what is in my head and on my heart.  THAT is what I want.  THAT is what I need.  THAT is what I miss.

A stray petal...be faithful to blogging...has been found!

This is the best birthday gift!

Beginning on January 1, I will also post my daily photos along with my musings of the day.

Posted by Kris Baker at 9:17 PM Labels: age, Birthdays, Blueper B, life