I have only one thing to share with you, the 1 Second App by Cesar Kuriyama. You have to check out his Kickstarter page so that you can see the video of his 30th year of life. They are fully funded, and you can now purchase the app directly from the Apple App Store.

I can’t even tell what perfect timing this find has been. My 365 photos in 365 days project will be ending TOMORROW. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Today is day 364. In two days, it will be one year since I got my Lasik eye surgery. Wild, huh? I feel so blessed to have such great vision.

I plan on doing my own 1 Second video based off the app. I just put together one for 2012 (I only had about 12 videos left on my phone from 2012; I could have had so much more!) and it is so cute. I haven’t decided if it will run from 2/4/13 until 2/3/14 or if I should just try to begin now and capture all of 2013. I think that’s the route I’m going, but we shall see.

Today is day 273 of my 365 Photo Project, which means I have less than 100 days until it is over. I started this project on February 4, 2012, which was the day after my Lasik eye surgery and also the first day I could see clearly without glasses. I am beyond grateful that I made the investment and got laser eye surgery this year. I’m thankful about everything associated with it: I’m glad I was a candidate for the surgery. I’m glad my health insurance afforded me a small discount on the surgery. I’m glad I took part in my company’s medical FSA plan so I could get tax savings on the money I spent on the surgery. I’m glad the doctor and the techs did such a good job. I’m glad Mr. O took good care of me after the surgery. I’m glad I followed all the rules and used the eye pads at night and the drops all day long. I’m glad I never got an infection. I’m glad I can freaking see now. I’m just so grateful for all of it.

Sometimes though, I think I take my vision for granted. Sometimes I think I forget just how much a miracle it is that I can see the first thing in the morning. Sometimes I don’t realize just how incredible it is to wear my sunglasses everyday when I drive (I think the real question, is how the heck did I drive without them before?). Sometimes I don’t notice that I’m laying in bed curled up with a pillow or molded to Mr. O’s chest while watching a movie, and I couldn’t have done that before if I were wearing glasses. Sometimes when I’m in the shower and about to grab the bottle of conditioner, I don’t remember just how confusing that whole process was when I couldn’t see.

Being able to see is so incredible. What I love most about my 365 Photo challenge is that every single one of these photos is a reminder that I can see…without any assistance. I love looking backward at this new journey, and I love taking these photos every day as a reminder of my perfect vision.

And before I forget, let me share my most recent photos: days 258-266.
Day 258…10/18/12: Soup with spinach in it…that I ate! (Can you tell I’m not the hugest spinach fan?)
Day 259…10/19/12: Going to see a friend perform at a comedy show
Day 260…10/20/12: Today Wolverine and I found 20 four-leaf clovers
Day 261…10/21/12: Wolverine tied my nephew’s shoe three times in one walk.
Day 262…10/22/12: Goodbye old bike
Day 263…10/23/12: Bringing my sister-in-law to the ER to get stitches
Day 264…10/24/12: Visiting at RIC for a girls’ night
Day 265…10/25/12: Spry is on AWP’s writers calendar!
Day 266…10/26/12: I got my thesis in the mail! This was one of the best moments ever. My name is literally on a book. Can you believe it?

Day 249: A homemade muffin I brought to work for a snack 10/9
Day 250: A pay phone! When was the last time you’ve seen one of those? 10/10
Day 251: Cereal in a grapefruit container 10/11
Day 252: Oysters! I already want more 10/12
Day 253: Plymouth Rock is much smaller than you’d expect 10/13
Day 254: Ready to start cooking a new recipe (which will find its way to the blog soon!) 10/14
Day 255: Mr. O is selling this brand new container of PUMP. It’s a workout supplement. Email me if you want it. 10/15
Day 256: Trying to organize my desk at work 10/16
Day 257: A painting and card on my desk at work 10/17

Day 240…September 30: My nephew looking backwards into binoculars
Day 241…October 1: From a paper I get at work
Day 242…October 2: Glass and silverware
Day 243…October 3: Red curry meatballs. I can’t wait to try this.
Day 244…October 4: Bucket at work
Day 245…October 5: Couch corner
Day 246…October 6: Baby D: “Enough with the pictures, Auntie Erin”
Day 247…October 7: Making Oobleck with Wolverine and my nephew
Day 248…October 8: Working on my Project Life layout for last week

September Highlights:

• Mr. O and I celebrated our birthdays. What was really nice about this year is that we kept it pretty simple. For my birthday (it was a storm outside like usual) we picked up some Pho and ate some ice cream cake. For Mr. O’s birthday, we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, then came home to relax and play some games.
• Mr. O and I had a joint birthday party/my graduation party and it was nice to have our friends over for a cookout. It was also pretty nice to see our friends and family mingle. Ideally, I’d like to have a cookout every year in September. That way we don’t need to make a big deal of planning a night out with friends, get babysitters, spend loads of money, etc. People can just come over for the night with their kids and eat lots of yummy food.
• Spry Literary Journal continued accepting submissions all month. Linsey and I set a goal for the amount of submissions we hoped to receive in our first month of our first reading period. We were so fortunate to receive a number that was far more than our estimate. We love the faith writers have in new literary journals. However, we’ve only gotten a small number of creative nonfiction submissions, so if you write CNF, send us your work!
• I’m doing a great job keeping up with my 365 photo project. As of today, I am on day 240. Nuts.

Stinky September Moments:

• I don’t have much to complain about this month. I had a head cold that lingered, a few cranky/miserable days and work was a bit nutso, but overall, nothing particular stands out which is nice.

Other Mentionable Moments:

• Baby Dylan was born. One of my closest friends had her baby boy on 9/26, and I am so in love with him.
• Mr. O’s mom retired! Congratulations! She had the best surprise retirement party last weekend. It was a great night.
• Wolverine has been trying harder in football. He’s had a game every weekend, so we spend a few nights a week at practice and then the weekends practicing/playing another team. Go football!
• Mr. O and I went to see Gabriel Inglesias at Foxwoods and the show was great.
• After a brief hiatus, my girlfriends and I reunited for our monthly girl’s night.

I’m looking forward to____ in October:
What I like most about October is pumpkin coffee and hot apple cider. Oh, I also love to see the kids in their costumes and I’m pretty pumped because we will have Wolverine for trick-or-treating this year. I can’t wait to decorate our pumpkins. I’m hoping to continue getting quality submissions for Spry, especially in creative nonfiction (my favorite). We are about to hire an intern, so I hope that process goes smoothly. Wolverine has a few more football games. Mr. O and I are going away for a weekend, which is our birthday gift to ourselves. It will be nice to spend some quality time with my love away from our apartment and normal surroundings.

Overall Thoughts:
September was a nice month. I’m a fan of birthdays, so it was nice to celebrate me and Mr. O. It went by quickly. I spent much of the month worrying about work and Spry. I feel like I’ve been on a go-go-go type of outlook. I don’t have much to say about September. I always get a bit anxious this time of year, because I don’t like when it starts to get darker at night; I don’t like when it gets colder. I wish it could stay warm and bright outside. But I do love cuddling up to Mr. O and stealing his body heat, so I guess I can’t complain. What was nice about September, was this it was a normal month. There were no crazy or dramatic moments, and the calmness of the month was nice.

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Want to know more about my experiences in 2012? Check out the previous months: January and February and March and April and May and June and July and August

Day 231…September 21: Happy Birthday, Mr. O!
Day 232…September 22: Mini Golf with Wolverine and my nephew
Day 233…September 23: Football game
Day 234…September 24: This fish was in the parking lot at work on a Monday morning. It was tiny.
Day 235…September 25: Mr. O writes notes to me on political flyers we get in the mail.
Day 236…September 26: Mr. O and I at Wolverine’s practice
Day 237…September 27: Baby D. I love him!
Day 238…September 28: Mr. O’s mom’s retirement cake
Day 239…September 29: I love you Mr. O