Staying Creative to Beat the Blues

Some of you know that I take a lot of pretty photos, mostly of Oregon seeing as how I live here. A few of them are on @OregonIsGross on Instagram.

Last year, my creativity took a nose dive. I had no direction. I was struggling to publish even one book, let alone work on my other ones. I distracted myself with video games, and then I fell in love with running. At first, running was also a distraction. I needed something to do because my mind was restless. I wasn't being creative anymore, and frankly, I was more than in a "slump."

As I started to run farther, I explored more and more just in my own neighborhood. I started to find trails. I started to look for new places. I started to find beauty in everything. The first creative spark I had in ages was back, and it was because I wanted to jump back into photography.

Staying active helped keep my health up, but I still wasn't all that motivated to go back to sitting in a chair to read or write. It was when my back finally gave out (probably months of running without properly stretching mixed with stress mixed with a terrible snow storm that got me trapped in a car for three hours) that I realized there has to be a balance in life. You can't be active all the time. There's a time and a place for everything.

Since it is winter, and it somehow keeps snowing in Portland, I have hung up the running hat until it warms up a bit. I've started doing yoga, which I can do from the comfort of inside my warm house, and have picked up reading and writing again. Obviously, I'm also back to blogging with a vengeance. It has been too long since I've seen the creative side of myself, and I'm determined to make 2017 the year that I figure out how to balance work, life, and play.

I'm also really excited to start doing little photo updates for you all. There are some amazing shots I've managed to take throughout the year, and I plan on going on more hikes and adventures once the weather is warmer.

What do you do when it's cold outside? How do you stay warm and beat the January blues?

Birthday Post

My birthday was on Sunday, and I'm officially a quarter of a century old - which sounds older than it feels.

Don't forget about my March Giveaway!

This is a non-writerly update, because I do a lot of things in my life.  Writing is a major part of it, of course, but I also take photos and do random adventures.  On Saturday, my husband and I took the trip up to Charlie Brown Farms in Palmdale, CA.  It's this really kitschy kind of place that's a little outcropping on the side of the road.  It's actually really fun/silly.

I'm including a tremendous amount of photos (more can be seen on my flickr), because frankly, words do not do this place justice.

I was equipped with my Lensbaby Scout with fisheye lens, and I must say, I love the creepy effect.  Especially with the doll photos that I got, because it made them look ever so slightly disproportionate enough to really creep me out...  and I'm scared of dolls to begin with (being in that room full of them hanging was like a horror movie waiting to happen.

Though my husband and I probably won't go back any time soon, it was still a fun adventure.  The food was a little greasy, but the shakes (where there are over 100 flavors) were delicious and 100% worth the trip.  I even bought a small statue of a dragon (because, guys, I love dragons).

But anyway, if you have time, you should check out my whole flickr set because it was really, really fun to shoot up there.  I ended up making some miniatures look huge (like the skeletons - they were tiny), and I actually love that lens.  I hadn't really been able to test it out yet beyond a few photos I took at Christmas, but this solidified my love for the lensbaby.  I'm not trying to be a spokesperson either, but just look at those shots and tell me that they aren't at least fun.