First and foremost, I quit my lame soul sucking part time job and jumped head first into being a full fledged business owner. I took the leap mostly because I felt like where I was working was going to go out of business any day. There were literally no upcoming jobs scheduled and I felt the impending axe coming. Scott and I talked about it and we thought it was best for me to just quit and do photography full time. I wasn't making barely anything at the job anyways, since it was low paying to begin with AND part time. What a difference leaving has made in my life. I no longer dread Sunday evenings and no longer have that pit of my stomach sinking feeling when I think about work. Instead it's been replaced with a zest for the business I never thought possible.
About two weeks after I left my day job I was featured on Living Social, which for those who don't know, it's just like Groupon...and if you don't know what Groupon is, well then you're missing out on some serious deals. So I was featured Oct 18th and since then I have been so busy I can barely see straight. It's just now calming down after the Holiday rush. I had a photo shoot almost every day. Many Saturdays and Sundays I had multiple shoots, maxing out at 3 shoots one day. That was too much! I really got a baptism by fire and have learned so much I feel like my brain has doubled in size. I really underestimated the amount of back end work that goes into a photography business. Scheduling, shooting, downloading, editing, uploading, collecting orders, ordering prints, cashing checks (my favorite), mailing out CD's etc, web work, social media etc. I have loved every minute of it though. I love giving a family something they will look back on for years. I love being a part of that in some small way and I love when clients tell me how much the photographs mean to them. It's beyond rewarding and I feel like for the first time in my life I'm doing what I'm meant to be doing. I've followed a passion and it's rewards so far have been awesome. Last week I even purchased a new iMac and named her Josie. She's going to help me make lots of money. Her words, not mine. Scott calls me his "plucky business woman" and can't wait until I can support him in the lifestyle he's grown accustomed to. He told me that I need a pony tail because every good business woman wears a plucky pony tail and he thinks I can get the "plucky business woman kit" complete with detachable pony tail at Office Depot. He says the weirdest shit sometimes. I don't know where he comes up with half of it.
Here's my website, incase you haven't seen it ever...or in a while
www.goldenpaisleyphotography.com
The other big highlight of the year came early when Scott and I decided to do a round of Body for Life. 3 months of insane workout schedules and strict eating. We both lost about 15 lbs and kept most of it off. It was a great thing for both of us. We had just enough time to workout, go to work, make dinner, eat, sleep and do some mommy daddy stuff and that was literally IT for 3 months. We even got rid of cable because we didn't have time for TV. Highly recommend ditching cable TV. I learned that no one needs to see crap like Toddlers & Tiaras, like EVER let alone re-runs. Crap tv for me is so addicting. We were just in Chicago for a week and having access to the tv in the hotel was like crack. I'm glad we cut-IT-OUT! Joey Gladstone style yo.
So I said we've kept most of the weight off. I've gained back 5 lbs, wohhh wohhhhh. Losing weight isn't for the birds. It's hard and it's even harder when I eat my feelings :) I've been seeing a counselor for a while now. Actually 2 years nearly to the day. There were times I'd go once a week. I've done a LOT of work on myself over the past couple years and I feel like I should be the poster child for Therapy. I think everyone should go. I see my counselor about once a month now, but I'm going to do a sort of yoga therapy for the next few months and see how that goes instead. I really really adore my counselor, but I want to do something new. For me yoga is therapy in a way. I leave feeling notably happier and calmer and the added bonus is that I get a great physical workout from it too. So I'm committing myself for the next three months to take classes 4x a week and see how it goes. I've gotten out of a huge funk without medication-just with seeing my counselor. I feel like I'm definitely over the hump now and have been for quite some time, but I know it will always take work to stay not crazy. So, that's where yoga comes in for me. I feel like I've taken ownership of my life. Because the truth is, it is only us who can make our life great or shit. I've really tried to eliminate all excuses from my life. "my life isn't "X" because of...."X" is something I just don't do anymore. If I miss a workout or a week's worth of workouts, or eat like crap, it's because of ME not anything else and it's an extremely empowering way to live, but it can be a bitch sometimes. You are the master of your own destiny. I get it now.
We also moved into a new house at the beginning of March. It's a fantastic home. 3 bed, 2 bath, built in 1896. Original floors and doors and fixtures, but updated plumbing, electrical, master bedroom and closet, kitchen and bathrooms. The master shower was nicknamed the grotto (ala playboy style) from friends of ours. The house is cozy without being tiny and it's just a perfect fit for us. We're renting from a great girl about our ages (or somewhere in between). She moved to NY for her job and wanted to find good renters. We get along great and she's the perfect landlord. Never in our business, living out of state, and trusts us and knows we take care of the house very very well. We're hoping she may want to just sell it to us after our lease is up...who knows. We live within walking distance (short walking distance) to 2 major grocery stores, bars, sandwich shops, coffee shops, bank and downtown is a 15 minute walk. We've been pretty spoiled with our Whole Foods (paycheck) 2 blocks away. Here's a pic of our living room/dining room
So that's pretty much it. Soon I'm going to post some goals and things we want to do in 2011. I may even start posting more regularly, but I wouldn't hold your breath.
Love, peace, happiness, joy, blessings and all that jazz to you all
Katy
1 comment:
whoa whoa whoa. when a new post from "from the mind of me" came up today I had to think for a while before I could remember who that even was. seriously.
welcome back friend :)
(i've totally slacked on the blogging recently. life is busy!)
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