The Transition

I've been contemplating this transition for a while now. All the "famous" (and I use that term loosely) photographers who blog say it's true. You'll gain a better blog audience if you blog about yourself. Your life. Your dreams. Your aspirations. You.

Over the past few months, I've gotten a lot better at doing that. But it hasn't affected my business at all because, well, I do it here. On this blog. And so I believe the time has come that I combine my personal life blog with my business life blog. To be honest, it's really difficult to keep up with both. But up until recently, I always thought that there should be some separation between my life and my business. And there is some separation. But on the homefront of blogging, it just seems that it would be easier (as well as advantageous) for me to end the separation.

So I'm going to try this out. I don't know if it will last, but I'm gonna give it a shot. I may still blog here sometimes or I may not. We'll just have to see how things go. But for now, I encourage you to follow me over on my photography now-turned-personal/photography blog:

Indy Photography Blog

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Silly Girl!

My



little



Savannah



is



growing



up



so



fast!

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: October Recap

Quick recap since we're already halfway through the month of November. I don't have time for many details, but since nobody (but me) cares about these posts anyway, it's no big deal, right?

We just barely missed the 70% mark this month for our FFEF. I just do mean JUST. But that's okay. We had some other things come up, so all is well. :)

November is proving to be pretty profitable so far. And by 'profitable', I don't actually mean we're making any more money. Just that things are falling into line properly. So hopefully I'll have some fun things to report in next month's finance recap.

We're still trying to figure out exactly how much to budget for our trip to Texas. I have a particular amount in mind, but I think I may save a bit extra to be on the safe side. Does anyone have any recommendations on the amount?

Here are some details to help you out:

-6 people (but only 5 requiring daily nourishment 3x a day - 2 adults, 3 toddlers)
-2 hotel stays en route and 4 nights hotel stays while in TX
-gas from IN to TX
-a few sightseeing things (we plan to go to San Antonio and probably a few other places along the way)
-misc. (because you know there's always something)

I'd really appreciate any insight anyone has on this topic. I've had a hard time gauging this because we've only taken one vacation since we've been married and it was just my husband and me. Plus, that was our "honeymoon" vacation, so we splurged a bit. But isn't that what vacation is for? :)

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REVISED GOAL #1: Save up and pay CASH for our trip to Texas next March. ---- 35% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 69.9% completed!! ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car. ---- Still on hold. No major issues with the car at this time. ----

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- I admit it. I am a total failure in this department. ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- I mention this to my husband occasionally. He seems to think it's like a one-page worksheet that I can fill out for him. Not so much. I'm blaming this one not being done on him. :) ----

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P.S. The birds have not eaten me! (Yet.)

I'm Being Watched

I'm not normally the paranoid type. I'm really not. But today has been different. I have had this feeling that I'm being watched. That at any moment I may be attacked, and attacked with a vengeance.

In my backyard....there is something peculiar going on. There are large dancing shadows and black coats.



Do you see those birds? They are huge.



H.U.G.E.



And they are watching me.



Not only are they watching me.



*Shudder*



There are also noises.



Loud unnatural noises.



I'm not even kidding. They are making me nervous. Surely only 3 or 4 of them could overtake me if I dared set foot outside my back door.



So I refuse to do so. I will sit inside and watch them watch me. And while I'm watching them watch me, I will try not to think about all the horrible possibilities that could fall upon me if I move even an inch closer to the windows or doors.



That's right. I'm now convinced that even being near the door might get my eyes pecked out or my skin eaten up.



Seriously. The birds are scary. And if you don't hear from me next week, you'll know what happened.

Busy

While you're thinking about how to respond to the previous blog post, rest assured that I'll be busy all day.

The Great Debate

Well, first off....let me just say that life has been crazy around here. We have had 4 out of the 6 people in our house sick this weekend, puking and the like. I don't think I need to go into details there. I'm sure you get the picture.

On top of that, I had two photo sessions last week (on top of having my own pictures taken), which is probably nothing to a photographer in any normal state of life, but considering I just had a baby 5 weeks ago, it's a pretty big deal over here. Also, I'm still trying to learn all the tricks to working Photoshop CS4, so....it's fun, but time-consuming.

Now....onto, eh hem....THE GREAT DEBATE.

Ok, so it's really not that big of a deal, but it's something my husband and I have been discussing. The issue is the television.

You see, we're not big TV-watchers over here. Well, to be correct, we're not TV-watchers at all right now since both of our TVs are of the box generation and neither of them were privileged enough to be hooked up to one of those fancy new devices which generate the ability to see the current HD channels.

But there is one time of year that I really like to watch TV. It's Christmastime. There are all those old holiday cartoons and Christmas specials and (dare I admit I like to watch these?) Hallmark movies.

I said it. I like Hallmark movies.

And then there's football. Nothing we really care about in this house, but since apparently many other people do, we always feel as if we can't invite people over for lunch on Sundays because, well....we definitely won't have the game on. You know, considering the whole...lack of ability to put it on.

I admit that a tiny part of me wants to get a new TV because I know there is a really great kids channel that is now available to non-cable subscribers. And well, since I run a business and everything, I do occasionally (or probably more often than I'd care to admit) place my children in front of some sort of educational (or not) movie while I'm working. I figure they'd probably enjoy mixing things up a bit.

Oh, and speaking of work....can you imagine how great those sweet little newborns would look if you got to see them on a beautiful 42" LCD screen? Uh yes. Gorgeous.

But I'm afraid I'll put my kids in front of it even more often than I already do, and frankly, I'm afraid of getting attached to it myself.

So the debate is up in the air. And clearly I've presented both sides of this debate equally and given both sides fair playing time here in this presentation.

What are your thoughts? How do you keep TV under control in your home? Do you consider "Sunday fellowship" and "potential business help" to be valid reasons to invest a few hundred dollars into an unnecessary piece of electronic equipment? I'd really love to hear your opinions on this topic and I'm sure you all have one. Please share. And I'll keep you posted on how The Great Debate is going on in our home.

I'm Not Dead

Just busy. And that's about all I have time to say before I head to bed.

Oh! But I will mention that I finally figured out how to find and put up the code for my photography website! Some of you have expressed interest in advertising for me on your own blogs, so if you'd like to do that, you can now simply grab the code at right (it's immediately under my own advertisement photo) and add it to your blog as an HTML widget. Or however your blog works. :)

Good night, everyone. Sleep tight.

Foto Friday...Etc...

Wow, it's Friday already! (Already?) Lots of things to report....

1. I think pink eye has officially left our house. Hopefully. Keaton got it last Wednesday and Sienna woke up with it on Sunday morning. So far, Reagan is in the clear, but I suppose I need to give it a few more days before I know for sure. I know of at least three other children and one adult at our church who also had pink eye last week/weekend, so apparently it's going around.

2. Savannah is 1 month old today! She has her 1-month checkup this morning and I'm anxious to see how much she's grown. She's been unusually fussy for the past few days and not sleeping or eating like normal, so it's been a tiring week in that respect. Due to her nasal congestion (she's had a cold for 75% of her life now!), I suspect an ear infection. But we'll see how things go at the doctor's office. She hasn't had a fever at all, so I could be totally wrong on that.

3. My studio lights arrived last Friday and I promised myself I'd finish a huge project (that I had not even started when they arrived) before opening them up and taking a look at them. So FINALLY on Sunday night, after completing my project, I got to see them. They. Are. Lovely. But just as quickly as we got them out, we put them away for fear that the kids would knock them over when they got up Monday morning. We're waiting for french doors to go on sale at Menards and then we plan to make the studio an official room of it's own. Until then...the lights will not stay up. It's just not worth it.

4. I had two fantastically fun photo sessions last week! One with an adorable little newborn and one with my daughter, Sienna. Since it's Foto Friday, I feel the need to post a photo. But since both of these sessions were suuuuuper great, I'm going to post one from each. Because I'm nice like that. You can check out the full posts over on my photography blog. :)

Baby Jacob:



Sienna:

Have a great weekend, everybody! Don't forget to "fall back" tomorrow night!

Rocking Her To Sleep

Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring the most joy. Tonight I rocked my sweet Savannah to sleep. Did it take 20 minutes away from the work I was trying to do? Yes. But was it worth it? You bet!

And speaking of sweet dance moves (say whaaaat?), check out how talented this little rock star is already....

I know. A girl after my own heart. And fortunately for her, her moves are about as sweet as mine too. ;)

DIY Moby Wrap

I'd like to preface this post by saying that there is a reason I stay behind the camera lens. I'm not good in pictures. I'm just not. I know everyone says that, but good grief, I'm terrible in front of the lens. I'd also like to apologize for the quality and tone of the pictures you're about to see. It was very dark in out kitchen when these were taken last night, but I insisted that my husband take a few pictures for illustration purposes. Ok, moving on with the post....

There are hundreds of different wraps, slings, and baby carriers on the market these days. I've never really been much into "babywearing" as it is called, but I did used to have a carrier that I used once or twice with our past children. But this year, with Savannah being born at the peak of swine flu season and the beginning of cold season, I decided it might be wise to keep her close for the first several weeks of her life. I consulted with my friend Cari who owned what appeared to be an extremely comfortable wrap.

Perhaps you've heard of the Moby wrap. It's gaining more popularity from what I can see, but in case you're not familiar with it, let me sum it up for you. The Moby wrap is a piece of 100% cotton, 6 yards in length and approximately 30 inches in width, that can be wrapped several times around your body for ultimate comfort and support when carrying your baby or toddler. Now, personally....I have no idea why anyone would ever want to wear their toddler. But that's another topic for another day.

Anyway, after chatting with Cari, I decided that I would peruse the clearance fabric section at a few stores before I went and paid $40 for a wrap that I wasn't even sure I'd like. So I went to Joann and found a lovely green fabric - 100% cotton. The only downside was that the ends rolled a bit, but....eh, no biggie. It was about 60 inches wide, so I actually got two wraps for a total of $15. I was pretty happy.

But I thought it might be fun to have more than one color.

See how I try to save money but then end up spending the same amount by buying more "frugal" things? I know. It's bad.

So I went to Walmart. They had no suitable fabrics in their clearance section, but I did run across some polyester knit fabric for $2/yard. I know polyester is warmer than cotton, but this fabric was a neutral color and, well, it was only $2/yard. So I bought 6 yards and made two more wraps.

It's an addiction, I realize. You don't have to tell me.

And yes, I did ask my husband if I looked fat as he was taking these pictures. Every woman does! Right?

Why yes, I do love reading the nutritional facts on the back of the peanut butter jar. Did you know that a serving size is 2 Tbsp?

I wound up sewing the edges of the second fabric I bought but haven't yet gotten around to sewing the edges of the green fabric. One of these days it'll happen. Maybe. But anyway, I now have 4 wraps (unnecessary, I know, but I'm giving at least one away) that cost me a total of $27. Not bad, if you ask me.

I'll leave you with what my husband calls "the paparazzi picture":

....you know...because I look ridiculous. Well....more ridiculous than normal anyway.