resolutions

You know I'm all about taking pictures...I've done a few 365 projects (take a picture every day for a year). This year I'm going to participate in mcp's Project 12. Basically there is a monthly theme and you take a photo to match the theme. With the 365, it was more about a daily account of activities to go through a year of the life. This time, I'll try to focus more on capturing those moments, but I'll be more cognisant of style rather than just snapping a picture for each day.

The first month's category was "Resolution." My big resolution this year is to explore. We live in an amazing new place, but it's often easy to get caught up in life and not take the time to find new adventures to go on. I want to take advantage of living here and, while we certainly won't do "everything there is to do" around here this year, I want to make the most of our experiences.

I also want to make sure I'm continually seeking to learn more about the Japanese language and culture while I'm here. We are learning new words and phrases every day, and I would love to be able to go a temple or museum and be able to read the history of how it came to be.

My photo this month capture both of these goals. On New Year's Day, we had enjoyed a nice, relaxing winter break and decided we wanted to go explore. We found a beautiful park near an onsen, and spent quite a while walking around in the snow and taking pictures. It was a great way to start off the new year.

The park had some amazing statues, gates, and a whole bunch of other Japanese touches that set it apart from a typical American park.

I've always admired what Asian culture does with water - so my photo for the month is this: