New Year Post Full of Random

Happy New Year to you all, my dear readers!

As 2009 fades into the past and I reflect upon what the year brought and left behind....I determined it wasn't a bad year.  I am lucky to have the life I have and in retrospect that is all that matters.  It certainly wasn't an exciting year but I'm totally fine with life being boring and just moving along.  There were ups and downs as we all experience but it was a good year.  I'll take it.

I hope 2010 brings us all what we wish for and that we all find peace and happiness!  I'm not one for making resolutions.  I believe change happens when we are ready for it instead of being planned to start on a certain date.  With that said this year I'll try to be a bit more adventurous and a bit more focused on what really matters.  I'll try to leave tracks in the snow with my dogs even though I want winter to be over and I'll enjoy the time I have with friends, family and my dear Shane and remember how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.

And now for the random...

Last night was another full moon for December - the Blue Moon.  Thankfully I didn't have the weird dreams that I usually have during the full moon each month.  I ran out to take a picture quickly - it has turned very cold here in Iowa (sadly it isn't as cold as it will be this winter!) around 8:15 last night.

After Christmas Shane & I go through our Christmas gift lists and make a huge order to Amazon to purchase what we didn't get that we really wanted.  This time around I decided to treat myself to a new camera accessory.  My family got me a new polarized filter for my tiny lens, a wrist strap and a lens cleaning pen all of which I'm delighted with.  One of the items on my list was more expensive than our family limit so I was not surprised when I didn't receive it. I used some gift card money from my sister to buy a battery grip for my Nikon D80.  It arrived yesterday - the perfect gift to start 2010.

The battery grip does several great things.  Firstly, it holds 2 batteries instead of 1.  Now I can go 3 months without charging my camera batteries (how is that for laziness?).  Secondly, it comes with a wireless remote. This is fantastic because I lost my last remote.  It is also funny because I didn't realize it came with a remote so I ordered another one already. Thirdly, it comes with a shutter button & command dials built into the side so I can take pictures vertically much more comfortably.  Lastly it comes with a whole bunch of time lapse features that will be fun to play with.  I'm looking forward to using this during my Year in Picture project.  The only down side is that when the battery grip is on the camera it no longer fits in my soft case that I carry my camera every where in.  The soft case more protects the body of the camera clearly it won't protect it if I drop it.  I think this will be a crafty project for me to replace the soft case with a hand sewn one.

Remember my story from Year In Pictures, Week 16 on photo 110 where I talked  about the ornament I received as a baby in 1977?  Wouldn't you know it my dear friend Liz (who is 9 days younger than me) has the exact same ornament.