1. 366/365: Done, Done, Done 2. 1/365: Jumping on the Bandwagon 3. 3/365: Cal’s Books 4. 6/165: Too Much Wine 5. 19/365: A Future Endeavor 6. 62/365: They’re Real, and They’re Spectacular 7. 76/365: Silkscreen Marathon 8. 78/365: Gold Star Member 9. 93/365: Representin’ 10. 177/365 11. 189/365 12. 243/365 13. 303/365: Me and My Squarsh 14. 319/365: Yes We Can and We Did! 15. 323/365: The Hard Part 16. 355/365: R.I.C.E. 17. 356/365: One Last Time 18. 357/365: Don’t Wanna Talk About It 19. 359/365: A Present From My Bestie

Today was the end of a couple things for me– my last day of work at Hole in the Wall and the last day of my Project 365. I went back and looked at the beginning of my project and, though I was under the impression I hadn’t missed a single day, apparently I have! My start date was December 18th, and even with the leap year I am still ending on what is technically day 370 instead of 366. Oops! I’m letting myself slide on the fact that I never blatantly skipped a day simply because I didn’t feel like it.

This was a challenging project for me and I have to admit to almost quitting not even halfway through it. I’d never done anything like it before and, as most fellow photographers would agree, I’m much more used to being behind the camera than in front of it (hence the abundance of stonefaced SPs sprinkled throughout the project).

I did learn a lot throughout the course of the last year regarding photography:

1. Tripods and remotes: Don’t leave ‘em at home, folks! And in my very last photo which I took today, I actually hauled my tripod to work in a backpack so I could make sure to get a nice, clean shot in the lobby.

2. Location and timing are key! There were so many days when I was too lazy to seize the moment, and let the sun set before taking my shot for the day. Those are the days where I regrettingly ended up with indoor lighting.

3. Black and white conversions are perfect for those shots that are drowning in gross yellow lighting!

4. Cameo appearances by friends and loved ones made great buffers when I was sick of bearing it alone.

5. While I have gotten so much better at processing my photos, learning that less is more, etc. I have also learned that if you take the time to make the shot right in the first place, you won’t need to spend even more time in front of the computer processing the heck out of your work!

For the past few days it has been utterly– sometimes literally– freezing! And our internet has been out. What a horrible combo! Luckily we have an ample supply of kittens and hot cocoa (Twigs, a new addition to the family, officially gives us a 1:1 ratio of people to cats. Woo!), so it’s not all bad. I tried to frolic in the iciness with my camera the other day, but didn’t last long before rushing back indoors.

Last night, to fight away the cold (it’s been ridiculous here, lately– our picnic table in the backyard is completely iced over), we cranked up the heat, ate warm yummy foods and watched a movie. In the midst of it all I started drawing in my sketchbook, which led to Kristina and I creepily staring at everyone in the room while we drew blind contours of their faces.

Chris had never drawn a blind contour before, so he did one of me and I swear to God, I’m going to get this tattooed on my body someday! It’s amazing.

I also drew zombie versions of everyone… I don’t know why I made Tyler look like Gummo. Sorry, Tyler.

As of today I have exactly one month left in the U.S. before Chris and I jet off to Thailand. I decided to tie up my Bedroom Window project and create the final mosaic (provided there aren’t anymore breathtaking landscapes between now and January), which I’ll be making a poster-sized print of… Eventually :)

Arts Alive! is a “First Saturday” monthly event where businesses and galleries in Old Town Eureka open up for a night of mingling, snacking and artwalking. Arcata has a similar occasion which occurs on the second Friday of each month. They’re always fun, chock full of amazing, local art to be inspired by and of course: free wine!

Last night I crawled the town with room mates and friends, one of which had work displayed in two group shows (!). I wasn’t as cold as I expected, despite the fact that I wore a thin, frilly dress and you could’ve cut the fog with a knife.

I warmed up with a peppermint hot cocoa at Ramone’s while Kristina and Katie had a staring contest (just kidding!).

On the way back into town from Empire Squared, Kristina got hungry so we popped into the Co-Op. We adored the produce, and Amanda and I defied the no-grazing signs as we sampled from the peanut butter malt ball bins– they were delicious!

Once it neared 9:00 both our bodies and options were exhausted, so we made the short drive home where heaters and kitties were waiting for us. All in all, a great girl’s night out.