february goals | branches and light workshop

I’ll tell you what, I am fired up about February! I look back at February 2011 and it was super crazy! My daughter turned two, we threw her a fun party, I helped run a church-wide yard sale, and we moved. This year, February is going to be packed as well. My daughter will turn three and we are throwing “A Very Hungry Caterpillar” birthday party (watch for photos!). I am doing portraits for the Kinston Classical Conversations home school group, which means up to 85 student portraits within a few hours. We will have visits from Papa, Grandma, Nay nay and cousins. Exhibit my work at the Greenville Boulevard Starbucks! Woohoo! And! Yesterday I attended the Branches and Light workshop with Nancy Ray and Caroline Joy.  The workshop totally lit a torch under me to get some things done for my business.

At Branches and Light, Caroline and Nancy really helped me cast a vision for what I want my business to look like in the next few years. They gave some great action points that we could very practically apply to our business and, really, our everyday life. If you are a lady and a photographer, you should seriously consider attending Branches and Light next year.

The mug and little notepad pictured above were in our Branches and Light swag bag. The five action points from the workshop are written on the notepad. I’ve included some realistic goals below that I hope to accomplish towards those action points this February along with my other goals for this month.

February 2012 Goals

1. Have romantic Valentine’s Day date with my husband.
2. Throw an awesome Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party!
3. Paint our living room.
4. Edit and deliver all School Picture Day proofs.
5. Hang some awesome prints in some awesome frames at Starbucks.
6. Face my Fear – Everyday, write down 5 positive things about myself, whether they are characteristics, things I do well, people who love me, etc.. (My fear is that I am not good enough, well, really, it is that I am not perfect – which is obviously unattainable. Please tell me any suggestions you have on conquering this fear. I truly appreciate any comments you leave!) 
7. Organize – Clear out my desk!
8. Get published –  Join Kimberly Ellis and take a photo everyday for thirty days and post it facebook, my blog, pinterest, or twitter. Today is the first day! If you want to join Kim, me and several other photographers around the country, jump over to her blog for the rules and leave me a link in the comments so I can check out your photos.
9. Establish a brand – update my website portfolio!
10. Set goals – Take the vision I have for my business and personal life and get it onto paper. Break it     down into yearly goals, monthly goals and weekly goals.
11. Set goals – get all of my business equipment/supplies in one room.

Alright! I am so excited for this month! Are you? If you have monthly goals, I want to hear them. Leave a comment with your goals or a link to where I can read them. Let’s do this thing!

October Goals & Projects | Running a photography business while having a baby

I am extremely grateful that I’ve had two healthy pregnancies for so many reasons. For one, I am super productive when I am pregnant, especially in the last few months. It’s like there is a fire under me. If I was placed on bed rest I think I would tear my hair out. I just cannot sit still. Yesterday, I nearly had to tie myself down to rest for one hour.

And I need to rest because a lot has happened in this last month! We found out about two and a half weeks ago that it is very possible I will have a C-section four weeks early, so you can imagine what that did to my productivity level. It also put a really tight deadline on the construction of our upstairs. The house we moved into in February had a completely unfinished second story, so we are adding a guest room, bathroom, great room and MY NEW OFFICE! Woohoo! We need that extra room upstairs in order to finish the nursery and move McG into her new room (which was the old guest room downstairs). So, my handy hubby framed and wired everything, and for the past week, we have had drywallers putting up walls. Tomorrow we are having a big painting party, and Monday we will move all the furniture upstairs. Tuesday we go for a doctor’s appointment to find out if we will have the C-section on Wednesday. Phew! What a week! To think, I could be holding my little mister in less than a week! The hope is that we finish all these tasks before he arrives, but if not, nothing will really matter, except taking care of him.

Here are some photos of the progress upstairs:

I thought my goals would be lighter for October, but if you consider these first few weeks, there are quite a few things on the agenda!

October 2011 Goals:

• Refinish a dresser I snagged to serve as my new office storage/packaging center. (See the photos below!)
• Paint McG’s new room
• Refinish lamp for nursery
• Refinish lamp for my new office
• Enjoy a Salted Caramal Frappaccino
• Decorate McG’s new room
• Decorate the nursery
• Refinish McG’s new bedside table
• Finish artwork for kids’ rooms
• Have a baby boy!

Autumn 2011 Goals:

• Design and decorate my office
• Enjoy a pumpkin spice latte

 2011 Goals:

• Be a mama of two!
• Order new portfolio prints
• Order new albums and books

Add a little paint, some new hardward and voilà!Spray paint does wonders! Plus a $12 lampshade from Lowe's and a little fabric and ribbon to finsh them off.

I'd love to hear about your Fall projects and goals. Leave a link in the comments if you've posted any! The next time you hear from me, I may be able to announce our little guy's birthday!