Week 37: ME & My Obsessions (Member Photos)
Manjula Prabhu - Pressing clothes! Yes, that is an obsession I have. I press my clothes, my husband's as well as my son's clothes. Unless it is a piece of clothing that is supposed to have a crushed look, it gets pressed and is hung on a hanger. I cannot stand the lines that you get on clothes when you fold them. It drives me insane. I even press the clothes we wear at home. Thankfully, the "delicates" are spared. Friends of mine have tried to talk me out of this. One of my best friends told me to try taking the clothes out of the dryer before they completely cool down and then hang them up on a hanger. She cannot stand the fact I press jeans. Hah! I listened to her, partly though. I take them out of the dryer before they completely cool down, but then I spread them out and stack them so there are no wrinkles. This way I spend less time pressing each piece of clothing. Sigh! www.urbanhuesphotography.com
Sara Lowing-Wright - Well, this picture pretty much covers both of my ongoing obsessions. Projects around the house being one of them. I love changing things up. I can never keep my scene the same for too long. The second aspect is photography. This current project is a new backdrop for a personal photography project I am thinking about undertaking. Always keeping busy! Maybe too busy!
Tina Huba - I think many would say our whole family is obsessed with our rescue animals. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats. All were from the shelter except this guy that we almost hit driving down the road. He was in the middle of the road eating garbage, so thin that you could see every rib. I tried to find him a home but to no avail. In the end, we kept him and he's been a wonderful dog. https://www.facebook.com/T.Huba.HalseyMae/
Denise Laurinaitis - Before having kids, I was obsessed with handbags and shoes. I have a closet filled with them. Don't get me wrong, I still love them. But now that I have kids, I find that I don't use them as often as I used to, and I shop for them even less frequently. Instead, I'm now more obsessed about my children and keeping them healthy and free of germs. I want my children to grow up strong and happy, confident and self-sufficent. And healthy. Like every parent, I dread and fear the illnesses they can catch or develop. This week we are dealing with the coxsackie virus here at home and I am obsessed with washing my hands. Every time my son is sick, I catch it. Who has time for handbags and shoes when the most important people in your life don't feel well?
Trish Reschly - There are actually three obsessions here.... good espresso books and..well the search for the perfect sports bra (it's under there, but not the perfect one). Ever since I discovered coffee houses in college I have loved espresso and the relational aspects of having a good shot together with friends. My husband is amazing at pulling a good shot. We begin our day together talking over espresso and repeat this lovely routine again when he arrives home from work.When I lived in Japan, just out of college, I began reading voraciously. I started gathering wonderful books. Once married, my husband has always purposely given great financial freedom in the realm of books. I am obsessed with great old theology books, birth books and interesting, out of the ordinary biographies. True stories and letters are certainly the most amazing!And, then, achem..., the sports bra. Yep. I have never found the perfect on, but I am obsessed with the search. It all began when hiking the Appalachian Trail as our honeymoon. You know how important that item can be? I have tried to find the one made just for me, but in recent years have slowed in my search. I really don't like bras and try to wear them as little as possible. But when we pass a sports bra in the store, my hubby still has to laugh as he pulls me away.
Roxanne Van Gundy - I'm obsessed with quiet undiscovered places. I am a person who could quite easily live alone for long periods of time. The world has gotten a little too peopley in the last year or so. I crave being alone for even a moment in these quiet spaces. So when I see a quiet set of woods that I haven't explored... I'm off to walk through it and see where it leads me... Usually alone in my thoughts.
Emily Rainsford - I don't know if I'm ever not thinking about photography. Like, literally, ever. Also, purple.
Katharine Saunders - Silence / I grew up in a house full of sound. Everyone played an instrument. Then I became a middle school orchestra director. I think this prepared me somewhat for the chaos of motherhood, although 75 angsty teenagers all playing on instruments at the same time have nothing on my 1 and 2 year olds when it comes to noise. Before my children I had to have sound all day long: music, tv, anything playing in the background while I was cleaning the house or doing yard work or falling asleep. But now silence is my obsession. There is a time almost every day when my children are both napping, my husband is at work, and the house is still. It is silence that cannot be broken by the tv or music because it is sacred. It is reverential. If it doesn't happen I am off balance all day. I need that perfect, still silence to center myself and woe to the person who wakes those sleeping babes.
Briar Marie - www.briarmariephotography.com I'd like to say I'm obsessed with recycling, but it's actually way more complicated than that. I'm obsessed with optimization. I HATE waste. Sometimes it puts things at odds - things that save money can take a lot of time and things that save time can cost more money. Engineers have a triangle between time, quality, and cost - pick two. Because they all pull on each other. If you want something done really really well it will take time and money. If you want to save some money, the quality will go down and/or the time to completion will go up. Being that I hate waste, I try to recycle as much as possible. As much for the Earth as for my own need to simply not live wastefully. But even more than recycling, I like to re-use. This has led to a substantial box collection. A problem, as my husband would call it. But here's the thing. Yes, I can recycle that box. BUT IT'S ALREADY A BOX!!!! Why would I want to go through all the time and cost of making it into something else?!?! It's a perfectly good box!!! And I use boxes!!! It's PERFECT!!! So here I am finding the perfect box, the Amazon size A1. Oh my heart!
Diana Sherblom - Self-ActualizationI'm the kind of person who knows who she is, what she likes, and what she has the potential to do. I'm also apparently hopeless at making my life fit who I am.I often feel like my everyday life is a two sizes too-small coat that I can't take off. Simple things that should flow easily get stuck, and I find myself missing the things, like nature, that make my life sing and my soul dance.I am constantly thinking about how to get rid of what doesn't fit and add what is missing. I am obsessed with finding my elusive life, the one where I can simply be.Here, I am dancing and dreaming of nature. www.dianasherblom.com
Nicole Fortney - Well, obviously, it's chocolate. Especially lately when I've been exhausted, sad, and lonely--yet still incredibly busy. I'm not a coffee drinker (but I think about becoming one almost every day now, haha!) so my little pleasure after the kids go down is usually some form of chocolate. Preferably dark. And when Costco put these babies on sale? ...
Kalen DeRoo - I love this week's theme. I have too many obsessions to count and I couldn't choose one, so I chose my daughter's biggest obsession... Books {seems to be a popular obsession amongst us}!!!At a year old she was obsessed with books. She would have us read them to her from sun up to sun down if it were up to her. Forget a clean house, hygiene, bed time {but don't forget food... that's her other obsession}. This girl has me reading until I can't read anymore. My favorite book right now is "The Bear Snores On." It's one of few that I can't get enough of & she can't either. I have taken a number of books to the head when I don't respond to her requests, but I cherish these moments of sitting with her and building her imagination {even if it can't be as frequently as she would like}!
