Resolutions - and a few photography challenges

Out of about a hundred different shots - this is my favorite one.
My freshly made from-scratch cheesecake that I made for my hubs' b-day

This is the time of year a lot of us make resolutions and start big projects. We commit to do a photo every day or every week. I'm more of a photo every month kinda' momma myself. 

This year I have a couple resolutions and they could be summarized by this pair of words: slow down  


2011 was insane.  I had my first full year of offering online photography classes with some great experiences along the way and also some mistakes and frustrations.  Along the way we also moved suddenly and I gave birth to our fifth baby. Balancing my work and our home and my big family has been crazy. This year I want to make sure that I'm enjoying the time I have right now as a mom and wife and making smarter choices for my business. 

Theme: Fresh

This year I am focusing on getting fit. Aren't we all?! I have a little more baby weight I would rather not have to look at. I want to eat at home and from scratch more often. Last year I gave up coke - this year I'm cutting back on coffee - trying to stick to just one cup a day.  

This year I'm also trying to shift from quantity to quality on my blog, in the classes I offer and in life in general. I LOVE blogging but I need to focus on what is really important and I want this place to not just be about traffic, followers and fans but about education and community.  I want to be more generous and more intentional about what I do and who I do it with. 
This year I want to be more intentional about my friendships both online and in real life. Towards the end of the year I started going to one of the small groups offered by our church and it literally changed my life. Subtly yet significantly. I need to work on picking up the phone and saying "Let do lunch!" and things like that. I get trapped in my routine at home and before I know it the week has gone by and I haven't stepped out of the house except to run to the grocery store. I've also made some great friends online - some people I haven' done well at keeping up with and want to become a better friend and supporter. 
This is also the year I'm going to kick my habit of letting things pile up - dishes in the sink, clothes to be folded and put away, and emails that need a more thoughtful reply than what I can do in two minutes with my cell phone. 

Theme: Natural

 Theme: Resolutions