DAY! 3!6!5!

I did it.

I DID IT!!!!

I've gone an entire year on this blog. Three hundred and sixty-five days! Honestly when I started this last year I thought I'd probably go two or three weeks and then the posts would start to slacken or I'd miss a day or two here or there and then a few days and then three weeks would go by without me remembering or taking any pictures. But for the most part, I've posted every single day (barring weekends, which I was never planning on, and vacations). I've accounted for and backtracked to each day like I was getting paid for it.

I thought my interest would dry up and I'd run out of creativity and get sick of taking pictures or that my itch to snap shots of the world around me would fade. I thought I'd have to resort to gimmicky themes just to force myself to get out there and take a picture of something, anything. But while I did have theme weeks and I did sometime take creative liberties, the itch never went away. My interest never dried up.

I thought I would regret my extravagant--by my standards, at least--purchase of a camera. I could have used the money to fix my car a little or to buy part of a couch. I have not regretted it once. If use determines value, this is one of the best purchases I've ever made in my life. I take pictures almost every day and, given that my output has consistently outstripped my space for posting, I'm pretty certain I would have even with this project.

I have, to date, 11 official followers, only half of whom I know in real life, and several others who swing by on a fairly regular basis. I have nearly 8200 views. I have a new blog friend who loves birch trees and beauty and silliness as much as I do. I have an account of my last year unlike any I've ever had before.

I had grandiose plans of an elaborate post with antique cameras and old slides and pictures and all sorts of stuff.

But when it came right down to it, that seemed like too much.

What I really want to say is:



Thanks to those of you who've been here since the beginning. Thanks for stopping by if this is your first time. Thanks to my friends and family who have encouraged me. Thanks for letting me take your picture and post it where the entire world can see it (even about 5.999 billion of them never will). Thanks for listening to me ramble on about leaves and trees and clouds and all that. Thanks for taking me interesting places.

Thanks for sticking by me.


I'm serious.



See?*

Most of all, thanks to my darling cousin Jen who gave me the idea for this Project 365 in the first place. You're the extra special awesomest and one of the most extravagantly creative people I know.

Hooray!!!!

*Special thanks to model Josh who went in for one of my schemes one last time. Please note that both poses were part of his creative process and in no way suggested by me. All I asked was that he hold the sign.