Rearing up the back, I hereby submit my PCWM2 montage, made with photos from my Nikon D40, iPhone, and the iPhone video app Qik, which I first learned about at PodCamp and immediately put into use (thanks, Steve!)

Coming Attractions: 

~A Wrap-up of the sessions I attended at PCWM:

• Advanced LinkedIn with Christine Pilch
• Get Seen with Steve Garfield
• SocMed and PR led by yours truly
• The SocMed Panel: Its Effect on a Cross-section of Networkers, Personally and Professionally with Val Nelson , Jason Turcotte , Christine Pilch , Lesley Lambert,  Kelly Galanis , and me

~This Retail Therapy Thursday : A few of the cool products I heard about at PCWM - both socmed tools and products sold by some of the 100 campers in attendance.

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I first started reading Elysa's blog GenPink when I was a 20sb - Twenty-something Blogger. Not only is her writing fresh and her blog oh-so-coolly designed, she's one of those folks in the blogosphere that is always on the cutting-edge of what to do next.

Such is the case today too, at which time Elysa hasn't posted about the latest Technorati trend, but rather a good productivity tip for Creatives that's also good for the soul: 20 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Sunday. 

The list of Q's actually originated from Marc and Angel Hack Life, another great productivity blog, and just as it inspired Elysa (to add her own five 'bonus' questions, no less), it spoke to me. Greater detail as to why the questions are important to ask oneself at the close of a week are at Marc and Angel's ; here's my own dry run. Edited for General Blog Audiences, of course.

(Caveat: this past week blew for me. My life is not generally as morose as my answers make it seem, or for that matter, philosophical.)

1. What did I learn last week? ~ I learned that I still have a lot to learn, but that I'm better than I was 10 years ago in most ways.
2. What was my greatest accomplishment over the past week? ~ That I ploughed my way through at all.
   
3. Which moment from last week was the most memorable and why? ~ When my 72-year-old dad texted me. The method and the message were both memorable; "Love U."
4. What’s the #1 thing I need to accomplish this week? ~ Solidify an important appointment.
   
5. What can I do right now to make the week less stressful? ~ Get a few easy things done on my laptop and keep an eye on the forecast.
6. What have I struggled with in the past that might also affect the upcoming week? ~ Stress, time management, overwhelm.
7. What was last week’s biggest time sink? ~ travel and errands caused by upheaval. Personal crap.
   
8. Am I carrying any excess baggage into the week that can be dropped? ~ I dropped a lot throughout the week. The rest will have to fall in time.
9. What have I been avoiding that needs to get done? ~ Finances, invoicing, miscellaneous writing, client contact, hour tracking, and eating.
10. What opportunities are still on the table? ~ ...There are still opportunities on the table.
    
11. Is there anyone I’ve been meaning to talk to? ~ yup. Mostly work-like folk that got the shaft this week.
    
12. Is there anyone that deserves a big ‘Thank You’? Yes.
    
13. How can I help someone else this coming week? ~ Listen more and talk less. Work toward common goals. Keep calm and carry on.
    
14. What are my top 3 goals for the next 3 years? ~ life, love, and growth.
    
15. Have any of my recent actions moved me closer to my goals? ~ no.
    
16. What’s the next step for each goal? ~ make a plan, break it down, take it one step at a time. Chill. Stop procrastinating. Be tough.
17. What am I looking forward to during the upcoming week? ~ Talking socmed with a restaurant client. Doing some scrapping. Publicizing PodCamp II.
18. What are my fears? ~ more drama, more upheaval, more people needing me than I can handle.
    
19. What am I most grateful for? ~ the awesome people around me.
20. If I knew I only had one week to live, who would I spend my time with? ~ I really dig this question. ;)
    

From Elysa:

1. Who can I inspire this week? ~ My clients, my boss, mah babehs.
2. Did I tell the people in my life how much they mean to me? ~ Not all of them. Thanks for the reminder.
3. Did I make a difference with someone? ~ I'd like to make a more positive one this week.
4. Did I learn something? ~ Yes; I think that's ultimately the best part of the week.
   
5. Have I done something creative this week? ~ Yes. I created five new scrap pages with Teen and got back to this poor, neglected blog. There's also a new featured blogger at TSB.

What questions do you ask yourself every week?

...Peace.

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My favorite month is whizzing past me at break-neck speed. I've barely had time to stop and document the moments - but here are a few.

The Spoils:

The Likely Duo: 

The Food. Stuffed pork loin with spinach, cheddar cheese, apples, and garlic; homemade apple sauce; apple stuffing. Nom.

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Here's what I came up with. 

Kong!

Ladies in Waiting at the Big E

Big Rhythm Wine

Big Sandy

Drive-by Bison

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Check out ThemPho every Wednesday at its source . This is week 62!

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I had the notion to hop over to WrittenInc. for this week's theme, though, and what do I find? A color? A shape? An errant animal or vegetable, mayhaps?

Nope. Laundry.

Laundry. I have to hand it to Carmi, the blog's author ... he's really outdone himself with this theme, making us dig deeper than ever before to find a photo to fit, or to take a new shot that is intriguing and visually striking. Of laundry.

This is the closest I can get this week, and it is indeed a broad interpretation of 'laundry.' As in, boy, were the laundry staff pissed when they saw all the sheets they had to wash the next morning.

And what was on some of them.

I give you Toga, taken by a passerby with my Nikon N50, in Oxford, England, 1999 and scanned.

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starsmash, Ptown Mass. 7.30.2008

Wanna play? Go to your photo files and sort by date, or to your flickr account, click on 'organize photos,' then 'Jump to Date' in the bottom right corner of the organize screen. Leave a link to your post in the comments; it's fun and a good reminder that bright spots remain around us from day-to-day, and year-to-year.

This photo was taken of an outdoor cafe on a side street in Provincetown, Mass. - I had forgotten to readjust my settings on the camera after taking a long exposure, and this shot initially came out overblown and washed out. After playing with the contrast and saturation a bit, I came up with this retro, Lomo-esque look, and I cropped it to about the same dimensions as a CD cover because it reminded me of a photo my former band might have used for one of the many permutations of our one and only studio release, Pass the Sombrero. You know, because it has bright colors and not a lot of direction otherwise.

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"We all share this planet, and we'd like you all to share in this mosaic. And that leads us to what you can do now. The success of the project depends on getting hundreds of thousands of images. Each one represents your tiny block of our life on earth."

My contribution to Earth Mosaic 2009 ...  

It's Wednesday. Most of the day has been spent at home, as my husband recovers from surgery and we simultaneously field a second family issue. The weather is rainy, cold, and raw. 

I bought this dress at a small boutique on Cape Cod over the Thanksgiving holiday, and with the cold weather persisting, I have yet to wear it. Today, it caught the gray light in its sleeves and cast a soft, emerald glow as it hung by the window.

In the bathroom, I look in the mirror at the circles under my eyes, then realize we've yet to paint the trim around the door for the eleventh month in a row. It's more of an observation than it is another woe.

Still floating through the house, I light the candle on the oven. It lends warmth to an otherwise stagnant day.

This is the kind of day that makes me notice small things, like the book of vintage photos we keep in the living room. We flip the pages occasionally, to reveal a baby in a bassinette, a snapshot from a boat of a stormy sea, or a stoic family portrait like this one. We don't know who these people are - and somehow, that's comforting.

On the three-season porch,  I can't appreciate the raindrops falling on the roof, and splattering through the screens. Across the street, I see cars rushing through puddles and street lights obscured by water and fog. My camera sees much the same thing.

As I'm wandering through the house cooking dinner, administering ice packs and medications, and fielding phone calls from family members, I pop a cup of tea into the microwave for reheating. On top, the cucumber seeds I planted yesterday are already sprouting tall in their clay pot. It's amazing how fast life begins.

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As in, rotund?  

Literal?

Illustrative?

Abstract...

And of course, as food:

fin.

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Thirsty for More, Cape Cod

Trellace, Forest Park, Springfield, Mass.

Flower Vendor, Dublin, Ireland

Spa and Hibiscus, Bermuda

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Here goes:

Nice Melons, Wilbraham, Mass.

The Man ,The Eclair - The Big E, West Springfield, Mass.

Stunned, Cork, Ireland

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Therefore, I've compiled a little collection of photos. File under 'Scenes from My Hometown' - and an electric dedication goes out to Beanie and Mr. T, btw.

ArcherVision chases birds.

I've eaten in two of these places, worked at one, and own merchandise from a third.

There was a fundraiser going on - pinwheels in a lawn in Harwichport

The WMVY Blue Lobster makes an appearance at the East Harwich cranberry bogs.

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• A Kayaking Story
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• A Writer's Weekend on the Cape

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The song is Rehumanize Yourself by The Police.

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So here's the theme this week - 'Up.' I'm not sure how Carmi (Thematic Photographic's creator) comes up with his themes, but they're always broad enough to accomodate any kind of interpretation, while staying off-beat and interesting. 

Here are a few of my shots that say 'up' to me:

Dublin's City Hall

Nikon N90 28-200 Tamron Lens

Hot Air Balloon Media Trip, Greenfield, Mass.

Nikon D70, standard lens

Kite Flying, and Free Advertising for GoNomad

Nikon D70

Energy Stairs

Nikon N70

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4x4

Rules:

Choose the fourth folder of photo storage on your computer.

Choose the fourth photo in the folder.

Explain said photo, tag four people to do the same.

So, ok. I chose the fourth storage folder, which was labeled 'New Orleans.'  Cool, I thought. Another excuse to talk about my trip. Problem is, I apparently threw a bunch of other, unrelated stuff in the same folder, so what you get is this:

This is a pic of these insanely awesome shrimp-tartlet-things from Li's Brothers, a Chinese and Japanese place near my house. They have pecans and toasted sesame seeds and syrup... they're swimming in butter... they're just great. And unfortunately, there's not much more to say about them.

So, on to the tagging - I tag Teen, Beanie and Mr. T, Kat, and Max. Teen's been blogging more lately, B&M are new to the Blogosphere (welcome!), Kat is receptive to tagging - I see them on her blog from time to time - and Max? Max I know is going to post some crazy photo of a Colombian lizard or an Iranian camel.

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The song is Rave-up or Shut-up, by the Rave Ups. Special appearances by the Holyoke Knights Marching Band, Drum Corps, and Cheerleaders.

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And so goes navigating the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the holidays. I put together a much peachier view in photos below... enjoy. The soundtrack is North Pole by the Dance Hall Crashers (The Old Record).

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Walking in the Garden District of New Orleans last month, I saw this poster in a home's window. When I took the photo ten days ago, I liked the contrast of the blue clapboards and the bright parrot with the 'Hope' poster. Now, I like more the fact that when people see this shot in the future, they won't think of a candidate, but a national leader. No matter what side you fall on, this is an exciting time to be alive.

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