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Category Archives: Real life

I love a checklist

I do have them and actually love them: goals.  And I love crossing things off.

Both personal and work related.  Yesterday I was able to share some goals that I am working toward in my business for the 2017 year, but I am also sharing today what I goals I am working toward in my personal life.  Kevin and I always take a day to really focus and hone in on the goals and ideas that we want to accomplish throughout the year both for our family as well as personal.  These goals and ideas range from what we want to do for vacation, financial goals, the activities we envision for our kids, to putting work events on the calendar.  We then go into deeper goals like how we want to invest into our marriage, how we want to invest into our kids and into our church, and what our mission statement for the year will be. As you can imagine, this takes lots of time and it is something that we plan for.  Typically we cover the first half of the year, and then re-acess mid summer when we have a vacation and other late summer and fall events on the calendar.

We typically go somewhere and do this, but this year we spent the day in our PJ’s with calendars spread across the kitchen table while an ice storm hit and let our kids basically run the house (which now days actually looks pretty calm as they are all old enough to be by themselves! When they were little we would have a baby-sitter watch them during the day while we went away to a coffee shop or just plan an night after they went to bed to really hash through these ideas.)  Some years we go deeper than other years, but either way, we try really hard to look at the entire calendar and get an idea of how we really want to use our time wisely!

I won’t share all our family goals, but for me personally these are things I want to invest my time into:

  1. Taking our kids out one-on-one weekly
  2. Reading one book per month (see my list above, and as you can guess, I am not a reader!)
  3. Taking a day off , like really off. (Typically this is Monday.  Because Kevin is a pastor and I work all weekend, our weekends are crazy, Sunday just isn’t possible for us, so we continue to aim for Monday!)
  4. Connecting with family and friends, either by going out, or through texting/ e-mailing/ phone calls throughout the week
  5. Running another 1/2 marathon (probably spring time!)
  6. Doing a Bible Study/ quarter with other women
  7. Investing into self-care ( Why does this have to be a goal for so many women and moms?!) Through a massage, getting my nails done, leaving the house by myself for a few hours, getting my hair done, working out, once a week
  8. Date night with Kevin once every other week
  9. Create and print photo books of my family for the year
  10. Work on a personal photo project for myself (more of this to come in future weeks!)

So there you have it.  And I am sure I will come back to this list as the weeks turn into months.  What will you do to invest personally into yourself this year?

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  • Annette

    love this!! we have a very similar book list.

Minnesota Grown:: Walking forward into the 2017 year

I can not believe that the 2017 year is upon us and like many of you, there are resolutions and ideas that I hope to implement for the upcoming year.  One of the things that I love about Minnesota is the changing seasons. Spring through fall as photographers, we are running like crazy, and the winter, (as cold as it is today… can we say -8!!) forces us to be inside, reflective and s-l-o-w- down.

Thankfully I had the month of December to really think back on what went well and not so well in this past year, and access what I wanted to focus on for this next year.  The more blogs and books I read, the more I see that when I write something down, I am so much more likely to DO those things. And when you have accountability with another person, you are at an even higher point to reach those goals and resolutions! I am unclear on all the stats, so I am not even putting numbers in this post, but know that it was overwhelming! I have seen it true in my own life, and looking back on the 2016 year, I am amazed to see how those goals and aspirations turned into real life actual things.

Some of the things I hoped to accomplish last year helped me to figure out and push forward to know what to look for this year.  Revamping my web-site, creating branding and marketing materials, a wedding magazine, a styled shoot, and x number of weddings and shoots were just a few of the things on my goals list that I crossed off my list and made happen.

Other things, like a newsletter, books I wanted to read, making headway with finances, connecting with vendors, submitting sessions and weddings, and purchasing gear went to the wayside because of a few choices that needed to be made as the year progressed.

Goals and resolutions are things that we aspire to and work toward, but they do not define us or make us who we are.  They can help us to move forward toward tasks, but when life gets in the way, I have learned that it is important to be ok with not reaching or attaining to those goals.

All that said, here are my business goals for the 2017 year and I hope that when I look back on this post the first week of January 2018, I will be able to look back and see these goals reached!

  1. Purchase a new lens
  2. Create a monthly/ if not bi-monthly newsletter
  3. Blog at least 3-5 times a week with one special focus day
  4. Connect social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) to those blogs
  5. Photograph another styled wedding shoot
  6. Connect with at least 2-3 other wedding vendors a month
  7. Create social media calendar
  8. Photograph a wedding in another state or country (besides Wisconsin!)
  9. Submit weddings and sessions at the end of each month
  10. Learn more about my camera and attend at least two educational seminars in the world of photography this year
  11. Create some kind of mentor session- (not sure the details of this, and still working through how this would look)
  12. Shoot x amount of weddings, newborns, and family sessions and make x amount per year. (I have this number written down, but feel comfortable not shareing on the internet for personal reasons!)

I have a few other personal goals that I am working toward and will definitely be sharing more as I work toward my goal of blogging more.  What are some of your specific goals for the new year? I can’t wait to hear, and be cheering you on as you move forward in achieving them!

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    Grace for today

    This week!

    It is one of transition and crazy for me. Kids are home from school on summer break, activities are in full swing, I have sessions to edit and social calendars to manage. Let me be honest with you… I am just plain tired. I am behind in my editing and my house is needing a good clean. But friends let me tell you, if there is one thing that I am learning in this season of life, it is giving grace to myself, my calendar, and my kids. I don’t always have to have the picked up house, activities will slip through the cracks and I may not make the deadlines I create for my work life. But I am getting things done, loving on my kids, and am determined to enjoy each day to the fullest, even if it does last until 1 am!!
    So how are you doing today? Are you giving yourself grace?

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      Musings:: Direction

      Direction.

      Up, down, north, or south.  Life is full of them.  Thinking back on the last 24 months of my life, it is clearly safe to say that when I think I am headed one way, my course can be drastically changed in a matter of hours or even minutes.  Some of you know that in 2014, we went through a house fire and for the next 18 months our lives were completely re-directed. My Pollyana view of the world came crashing down when we quickly realized that it was arson. (Ask me about it in person some time and I can give you the crazy details!!) There were other events that happened including the death of a close friend, my grandfather and life circumstances that caused me to hold tight to the ONE who gives me direction while the compass of my life was swirling out of control.  These last few months I have felt the waters slowly calming down and I have been able to look around and evaluate the changes in my heart and life.  A renewed and clearer picture of who I am and what I want to focus on both in life and business are becoming clearer and clearer by the month.

      In the beginning of 2016 I decided this was the year of re-direction and re-discovery.  Re-discovering myself, who I am as a mom to pre-teens (wh-wha-what?!!), a wife to a pastor, what I like to do when I am not with my kids, the areas in business I want to re-discover, and how to help, love and serve others.  It is a weather vain that is ever-changing and though the directions may not always be clear I can be sure that it will be pointed in one direction and I can choose joy through each circumstance.

       

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        Tree Hunting and chopping

        This weekend after we visited with family, we headed home to spend some time with friends finding a Christmas tree.  Our first time scouring a farm for that great tree reminded me of the Griswold family stomping through the cold with freezing fingers on the hunt for the “perfect tree!”  Although we did not tramp through the freezing forests in blowing snow and freezing hands, we did find the perfect tree!  We had a blast with friends drinking hot cider, eating Christmas sausage, warming ourselves by the fire, and riding on a covered wagon too.  An experience far from the Griswold, but much more enjoyable!

         

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          Happy Easter!! He has risen indeed!!
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