Finding a Balance.

Your startup disk is almost full.

Your startup disk is dangerously low on space.

Your startup disk is so low your computer is barely able to function.

These are the worst possible messages for a blogger, photographer and movie maker to see on a computer, but these are the sorts of messages that have been plaguing me for the last two weeks. 

 I have known that I needed to off load a bunch of pictures and movies onto an external hard drive for a couple of weeks but I had a tiny little issue with my external hard drive--it got fried! And the new one isn't formatted to the operating system on my mac. So while I was able to save the info from the fried external hard drive,  I am not able to write anything new to the one terabyte hard drive to clean off my mac hard drive.

With my hard drive almost too full to function, I haven't been able to upload any new photos or do much of anything--especially with my computer running ridiculously slow!

Last night, I was trying to edit a photo in Photoshop and my computer actually informed me that it couldn't save the changes I had made. My startup disk was too full to make one simple change to one photo. Wow.

It was time to delete some stuff. I had to decide what to get rid of to make room for the new stuff. Documents? Photos? Videos? How would I know what was too precious to get rid of? What if I deleted something really important and realized it a little too late?

So I started deleting things....I started with .zip and .mbx files...and then I went into my video folder and realized that I had lots of video footage that needed to go---several gigs worth!

(I am really stressing about not being able to back up the photos and videos I want to keep on my computer so I am hoping to figure out a solution for my external hard drive problem soon)

As I was working to clean off my computer, I started thinking about how I have been too busy to sit down and write anything lately...or edit pictures....or even take pictures. I have started making room on my internal hard drive to fit new things in. I have had to give up some of my old 'things' to make room for new 'things.'

Since the year started, I have been really trying to find a balance between my bad habits and living a healthier life. I didn't really set an official 'resolution', but just 'be healthier' this year....so I have been exercising and eating healthier in order to lose a bit of weight and just feel better about myself.

Successfully, I have stuck with my 'diet'--10 pounds later -- I actually have to keep eating healthy in order to keep it off...

The hardest part of being healthier is finding time to exercise. I realized that I needed to burn about 500 calories a day to lose anything....and that is seven days a week...exercising for at least an hour...

Now, I have found some really fun activities including a spin class, zumba classes and hiking a local trail...but I must admit....I hate getting all sweaty...it ruins my hair...and it is such a pain to change clothes 4-5 times a day if I have to do something after going to the gym.

Working out for a minimum of an hour every day has sliced into my creative time. By the time I get home from the gym and cook a healthy dinner, and prepare a healthy lunch for the next day....there is barely time to relax--forget about doing something creative!

Its a little bit overwhelming. With all this working out, I feel ten times busier than normal.

I am looking ahead to things coming up--evening events at school, family visiting, and even my birthday weekend-- I just don't know how I will function if I can't squeeze a workout in every day...and SOME creative time to blog, take pictures or make something cute. 

I feel like I have committed to this working out thing....and if I don't do it every day then I will lose what I have built up, I will lose motivation, and I will get out of the habit and quit forever.

My startup disk is dangerously full.

My startup disk is barely able to function.

Find a balance. Get rid of some stuff. That is my only option. How do I decide what stays and what goes?

So, for now....I have traded in my craft (and computer time) for the gym...I just hope it pays off....and I find time to make some cute stuff soon. I am going to a crop this weekend....but I will have to skip Friday night in order to make time for my sister who is in town from Hawaii, and go late on Saturday in order to go the gym before, and leave early for a birthday party that night....

Finding a balance. Family. Friends. Work. Exercise. Art. Relaxing. Sleeping. Chores. How should I arrange things? What order should I put everything in?

(Oh, and did I mention, I am teaching an extra class on Wednesday nights 4--7:30 at the local art center....so I work 12 hours on Wednesdays!)

 How do you find a balance?
How do you do everything?
How do you make it all work? What do you give up in order to keep your 'hard drive' from crashing?

 A complete double rainbow last summer....taken with my hipstamatic.