Catching My Breath

Sorry to have been a bit absent from blog land recently. It's just that I've been overwhelmed by the start of the semester, both in getting the kids ready but mostly in trying to get my professional life in order. I'm behind in several deadlines, but I've made progress this last week, which my boss and my students both appreciate!
In the meantime, here's a few random thoughts I've had:
*It is much easier and faster to create in the area of photography than mixed media, scrapbooking or card making. I have so many wonderful projects waiting for me on my art desk, but I just haven't been able to find the time to get to them.
*Arty things I definitely plan to do in the near future: my August 2011 Intentions, Resolutions and One Little World journals; Storytelling Sunday with Sian in a few days; Scrapbooking and Element ATC's at an upcoming weekend crop; continue with the Painting with Light photography class. Our first assignment was to do a silhouette. I captured the grape leaves up top when I was outside trying to figure out what to do for that one - it's not a silhouette, but I really like the airy feel of it.
*Arty things I'm Realizing Won't Get Done: There's really no way I will be able to keep up with Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday, so I'm not even going to try to do anything official. I will read the prompts, though, and maybe they'll help me with my photography class and other projects.  I won't get any more canvases done for Dina's Out of the Journal Challenge before the end of the month, but I do have a few in progress, and I do want to finish  up what I started. 
*After six months of tracking my food, I have definitely changed my eating habits but I have lost motivation to write down what I eat. I've lost over 30 pounds this year and work out 4-5 times a week. I fit into all my work clothes and feel great. I can run a mile in about 8 minutes. I haven't tracked my food in about a month, and I haven't gained any weight. So, now I need to figure out what I am going to do. I'd kindof like to lose five more pounds, but I'm not sure I have the motivation to do it. And, truly, I feel like I've accomplished what I wanted to - to get back to the level of fitness at which I feel like myself again.
*I am over the moon excited about how well the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt has been going! It makes me so happy when I see posts with your entries. There's still a couple weeks left to complete it. The only one I'm missing is a beehive! As we near the end, you can begin to think about the easiest way to show me how you have completed the project.   Some people are doing photo collages; some people are putting together a snapfish or picassa album that they can refer me to; some people are planning to tag each of their blog entries which include scavenger hunt photos, so that I can simply page through them; some people are sending me emails with their photos attached. Think about what will work for you. I know  I originally said people should send me emails with photos, but I'm thinking that these other methods work just as well. I haven't heard of anyone who is completely done, but I know there are a lot of people who are close. Also, I definitely plan to do another one next summer and am considering a shorter (one month version with 8-10 items) to celebrate the new year.