It's been a while...

Sure it's been a while between posts. But I've been doing all sorts of things, getting colds, and planning a holiday, and running around for birthdays, and there was even a wedding in there.

This time of year is chocka-block with birthdays in my family... (I'm next... woo hoo!) But naturally the 'grandkids' are the ones that get all the attention... who can blame them.... they're gorgeous!

Up und at zem!

It's been a while since I last posted, much because I've been hectic busy! But we managed to get away over the Queens Birthday long weekend and I even braved it and had a bit of a boulder.... it's definitely been a while.

Knock u out....

The regime has begun. Baby's got back, and she's bustin' her butt to have less of it. I'm not seeing results yet, but I must be getting somewhere, cos' I can feel it. I'm still too scared to weigh myself though.... damn twisted perceptions.

Watch this space

Had my first session at the gym today... and surprisingly enough I'm feeling it. The plan is to get all fit and slim lined! With any luck I might fit back into my 'skinny' jeans in a month or so.....

Weight: 64.5kg's ... Now you know.... Now I'm going to be accountable to it... Biggest Loser style... hehehe. (an scarily enough, according to my height and weight I am actually overweight. Nothing like a shock like that to scare you into dropping a few kilo's.

It's that time of year...

...When a glass of red at the end of the day is absolutely wonderful. To kick up the feet, with the trusty slippers on, safe inside from the chilled night air, and the dark clouds, and rain. With the heater on, and the cat curled up in her chair and some nice music to make the working day seem long gone, a glass of red to warm the insides and all is right with the world again. .........

Until you see the evening news.... but that's another post.

And so...

My head has been full of random thoughts, and ideas. The month of May is alredy upon us and I feel like I'm still wading through a million half thought out plans for the year, and still not able to get past silly things I feel I've done up until now..

One day I feel like I'm achieving something and then the next I realise there's still so much to be done.

I'm in need of a holiday, a rest from my over-active imagination.

Chirp!

feeding some gorgeous little parrots at Raymond Island.

A weekend away, complete with rain and wildlife.

Definition of me!

Been at home, sick all week. Haven't been out taking any photo's... which got me to thinking. That's pretty much how I define myself.

Emily - photographer.

S'pose there's a lot more to me, but it's so easy to pigeon hole yourself. "Hi, my name is Emily and I'm a photographer." It's never "Hi... I'm a strong woman when I need to be, but I also struggle with issues of what's expected of me and what I want to achieve... bla, bla, bla..."

To be completely honest our opinions and definitions of ourselves change with any given day. Today I'm struggling a bit with my own dreams and whether I'll be able to pull it off, whereas yesterday I was pretty good.

See what happens when you have a week to wade through all the thoughts you would otherwise have left packed away while going about your day to day. It's scary.

Sleepy

I'm so tired, and sleepy, and stuffed up to the eye balls with a cold.

I hate being sick, it really eats away at time that could be spent outside in the sunshine.

Sleep is wonderful, I think I might hybernate for winter.

Seasons turn, turn, turn..

Another season upon us, the ever changing colours and experiences of the lives we live.

Sheesh; that sounds a little profound doesn't it? Something to ponder, food for thought.

On one hand it seems as though the year has been flying by, and on the other it feels as though it's taking forever to tick over. It seems to depend on the day or the mood. I feel like it was years ago I was getting married and then it feels like just last week we were on our honeymoon, when all the while we've been living our married lives for just a touch over a year now. Before you know it we'll be clocking up fifty years and wondering where the time went.

One whole year!

The celebration

It's hard to believe it's already been a year. What a wonderful year, a year since the big wedding shindig!

And are we happy? You bet ya sweet batootie we are!

We celebrated with a weekend away at Hepburn Springs, kickin' back, enjoying the sunshine, drinking some bubbly and ales, eating scrumptious food, lazing in front of the fire place and enjoying each others' company. It was a wonderful break from the real world.

A little more celebration!

WOO HOO!

We did it!

We overcame a 38c total fire ban day (hottest March day since 1963), heat stress, vomiting, thunderstorms, rain, blisters, exhaustion, aching muscles, mud, and some more rain, to cross the finish line without losing any team members 31 hours and 52 minutes after leaving the start line.

The toughest journey is the most rewarding.

Approximately 20% of participants pulled out, 100 reports of hypothermia on Friday night/Saturday morning, and countless cases of dehydration. A team lost one member even before checkpoint one due to heat and dehydration, which shows just how horrendous the conditions were this year.

Snap!

To snap the snapper!

Sometimes you end up on the other side of the camera, but it's nice to snap back!

Nice one!

One week to go...

Here's the team all snazzy in our lovely new team t-shirts in our final group training session. Hmmmm... not long to go now. just over a week, and now the painful reality is hitting me harder and harder... What was I thinking? I must've been mad to have another go at this. Who am I kidding? Of course I'm mad... I can't say no to a challenge, I can't whimp out of a dare.
Of course the donation lines are still open... but you should know where to go by now... if not, scroll down!

This time in two weeks...

Not long to go now.

We had our final team training session today in preparation for the big slog in two weeks. At about this time (3:20pm) in exactly 2 weeks, all things going well, we should be somewhere along the Warburton Trail heading ever closer to the finish line.

I'm looking forward to the challenge, looking forward to the four of us trudging through together and crossing that finish line. I'm looking forward to the feeling of completion and team satisfaction.

I'm not looking forward to the pain, I'm not looking forward to the mental game, and I'm not looking forward to the way we might be feeling after 24 hours or more of the same faces.

I will be enjoying the final steps across that line, and the champagne that will follow (even if only for a photo).

**************************

The donation link is still following this latest update.

I wouldn't be subjecting myself to this pain for a second time if I didn't believe in the cause, and my pain, and stubborn determination is definitely reason enough to donate.

http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/melbourne/team/58

Oh the mortality!

It's not pleasant to be thrust into a situation that wreaks of sadness, anger and fatality, but sometimes the life of a press photographer can lead to that.

Safe as I am, in my world of 'local news' there are occasions where you are thrown into someone elses nightmare and expected to come up with an image that tells the story, and shows the emotion. Today was one of those days, and I was faced with one of those occasions.

In the moment I was safely detached from the situation, thinking of how best to capture the mood and trauma. I did just that. I feel I was true to the moment, and safely held back exact identities without compromising the emotion. But later; now; I'm struggling to deal with the full impact of the situation. I didn't know the man who died, I didn't know the family, or the friends, but now, hours after the adrenalin of 'getting the image' I'm able to shed a tear and feel a loss for those that knew the man.

To me he was just a man, to his family and friends he was a mate, a son, a brother, maybe even a father.

Today I faced an element of my own mortality, and have struggled with the image. Today I loved my friends, relatives and life just a little more intently.

Here comes the sun... dadada

Another training sessoin, another war wound. And despite the 40 odd km's we travelled, the worst I sufferred was the sunburn! Sure the feet ached a bit and the legs were a tight, but it just proves you never can trust a weather man. It was meant to be drizzly and overcast with a top of 23c. It turned out sunny and fine with a top of 23c. So despite the hat, I still copped a beating from good ol' Mr. Sunshine!

Another lesson learned.

And remember, you can still donate! go to http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/melbourne/team/58 for a donation straight to our humble little 8 legged team!

Aaaaand then?

It's been a busy couple of weeks, though I still feel like I've achieved very little. Amidst the feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction mostly with the 'nine to five' I think I may have come up with some sort of game plan. If indeed a game plan can even be made with life; let's face it, there are a lot of factors that are completely out of our control. So, I've figured out what's within my power to change, and it's about time I started actually changing them.

Umm...

Seems we guage ourselves on the success (or lack of) against our peers. It's always nice to be recognised for the ball breaking work you do, the hours you put in, and the crap you wade through in order to get something to print that resembles an accurate and well presented representation of the job at hand. But let's not hold our breath, that only leads to a blue face and a plummet to the floor to regain consiousness. More often than not all the running around, extra hours and monkeys on our back leads to one thing, dissatisfaction with the final product. Of course it does, because the final product isn't really in our hands anyway, it's the monkeys who have the final say, with little thought as to what actually makes a good front or a decent image. Another day, another hacked or completely disregarded image.

The more I dwell on the concept (and let's face it, I am becoming a little bitter and twisted) the more I realise the importance of the schmooz and the squeaky door gaining the most oil theory. Clearly the head down, bum up philosphy of working hard and creating few waves just doesn't cut it in these times.

Expect nothing and be surprised when something actually comes your way.

And what did you do Friday night?

The Twisted Sisters (team 58) training session Ferntree Gully - Mt. Evelyn.

A little over 6 hours and 25km later, at approx. 1.40am this is what a full week of work followed by a trailwalker training session looks like. Note the glazed eyes and insane giggly grins on our faces. Maybe it was the warm night air, maybe the nibblies of sugar along the way, or maybe there really was something a little extra in those staminade drinks after all, but we all moved along at quite a good pace I thought.

We looked feral, had sweat and dirt caked all over us and the feet were just starting to want to have a rest but the satisfaction of making it through our longest night session yet was well worth it.

And here's that trailwalker link for donations: http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/melbourne/team/58