my new place | personal

Things have been pretty quiet around here... at least, when you compare these days to my posting habits earlier this year. Other than having waves of busy-ness in my life, there is one explanation: I can't really blog about what I have been thinking about. I have been trying very hard to keep thoughts of pregnancy, motherhood, and mommyisms OFF of my blog and Facebook page. I simply do not think it is very professional, but also important: most of my followers are brides... not moms. :) Truth be told, when I can't write about what I'm thinking about... I have a very difficult time trying to write. And I have really missed writing.

So, I created a new little space on the web to share all things personal/family related. It's just my way of censoring myself just enough to be able to share what's on my mind and still keep things fairly professional here. Come join me over at my new personal blog.

This business blog will remain and I will continue to post here to share my latest work and business news and updates. If you are interested in hearing more about our adventures in life, 101 in 1001 updates, and any baby statuses, head over and subscribe to the new blog!

101 in 1001

This post was previously posted on my business blog at the end of 2010. I have moved it to my personal blog because I plan to track the status of my personal goals here vs. on the business blog.

The past three years I have taken the time to write a list of goals for the upcoming year. (See 2008, 2009, 2010 was never completely scanned in.) It has been a great way to live intentionally and make positive changes in my life. My favorite part about making a list of goals is going back and reviewing them at the end of the year. While doing that for 2010, I peeked over to my 2008 and 2009 goals and I realized a few things. I learned that while there were a few things on my lists that weren't completed in their specified year, they did stay with me and I truly am completing them one-by-one. But I also realized, the goals that are not task related (new habits, new mindsets) are consistently taking longer than a year to really find a solid place in my life.

That said, this year I decided to do something different.

One of my favorite photographers/bloggers, Melissa Jill has been working on a 101 in 1001 list. That is a list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days. I have seen lists like these floating around the web for years and I never really thought it was a realistic way to set goals. However, watching Melissa set her goals andcomplete them one-by-one has been super inspiring. Cap that with my tendency to take a little longer than a year to make changes and reach goals in my personal life and I think I have discovered something that might just work for me. :)

My friend Kate and I came together and started building 101 in 1001 lists back in November. I think we both still only have half of our lists completed. I do have enough to share with you all, at least for now. Here's a peak:

Start date: December 30, 2010 End date: September 26, 2013

1. Complete this list by Feb 28, 2010.
2. Blog every day for a month
3. Blog three times a week for a year on my SLP blog
4. Build a welcome (& thank you) packet to send to couples who book with me
5. Buy a year’s worth of birthday cards, address and stamp them all at once
6. Buy/make/give Tommy 5 "just because" gifts
7. Change portfolio site to no longer be flash based
8. Complete 12 consecutive months of a monthly photo theme or blog meme
9. Complete 52 consecutive weeks of Gratituesday blog posts
10. Do something extra special for Tommy's 30th Birthday
11. Document life more on my blog, even if some entries need to be private
12. Donate $5 for each goal I do not complete
13. Enter some of my work into a photography competition
14. Give a gift of something hand-made
15. Go on a ski trip with Tommy
16. Go to DC during a Cherry Blossom peak weekend
17. Have a book printed of 1 year of Gratituesday's
18. Have all Christmas gifts purchased/wrapped by Dec 1.
19. Improve my business website search optimization
20. Learn Yoga poses/flow I can do on my own without direction
21. Make an album of our wedding pictures
22. Meet Kate Nesi, finally! :)
23. Obtain copies of our parents’ wedding portraits, frame them, and hang them in our home
24. Participate in another triathlon
25. Participate in the creation of a style-shoot for a blog or magazine
26. Read one book per month for 3 months to better my business
27. Refine workflow to have wedding galleries online within 2 weeks of the event
28. Return to Nepal (with Tommy?)
29. Run a Holiday Giveaway Series on my blog
30. Run in 2 races > 5k
31. See Third Day in concert
32. Travel to the West Coast
33. Simplify my internet presence
34. Spend a day hiking
35. Spend more time outside
36. Submit a wedding for publication in a magazine
37. Take a cruise with Tommy
38. Take a dance class (at least 6 weeks)
39. Take a trip on a train
40. Try 5 foods I have never tried before
41. Visit New England in the fall/winter
42. Watch 5 I’ve-always-wanted-to-see-but-just-never-got-around-to-it-movies
43. Write a Will
44. Make the switch from PC to Mac
45. Make my office as mobile as possible so that I can travel often without it interrupting my work
46. Learn how to make sushi at home
47. Attend a (at least 2-day) photography workshop
48. Become a mother
49. Tap into commercial photography (to be published)
50. Train our dogs
51. Take a cooking class
52. Try geocaching
53. Spend a whole week without using the computer
54. Go on a picnic with Tommy
55. Trade in my 4-door sedan for a small SUV
56. Go to a roller derby match (again)
57. Complete a 5-day juice fast
58. Create something hand-made for a baby (mine or a close friend/family member's)
59. Shoot 20 weddings in one year
60. Learn how to use a grill
61. Give up caffeine for one month
62. Learn more about nutrition and begin cooking healthier meals
63. Write and submit a guest blog entry for 5 different blogs.
64. Buy a new house
65. Participate in the Ragnar Relay

I'll be adding to this list and blogging about my goals as I reach them. I am very excited about this journey and also excited to be documenting it! Here's to 2011... and 2012... and 2013. :)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

Published | Lynchburg Commercial Photographer

I am honored to share that I have had some of my commercial work published in the June issue of Bella Magazine. Let me tell you, it is super fun to pick up a publication only to see your work gracing the pages of it! June was Bella's Travel issue and I had a really fun time both at the Royal Tea Party as well as working with Kim from the Omniterrum in downtown Lynchburg. Be sure to grab the latest issue of Bella before it is replaced by the July issue to see some of my commercial work and read the fun and informative articles about traveling around the world! And stay tuned for some August publication announcements coming up in mid-July. I am SO very excited about them! :)

strawberry challenge | personal

A few weeks ago my friend Kate threw me a little challenge. Not the most competitive in spirit, I sort of forgot about it until it was due. By then I had seen a couple of little peeks into her final submission for the contest and I knew if I had any chance of winning, I needed to pull an emotional card. Okay, maybe I didn't have to... but I wanted to pull a cute card. :) The challenge: photograph strawberries

The final submissions:

Liz

Kate

To vote for your favorite, hop over to Kate's blog and leave a comment!!

our anniversary | personal

I can't believe it has been 3 years! Oh the adventures we have had... the trips... the lessons... the love. Here we were... just married!

Definitely were not thinking that in just a few years we'd be here... preparing to be parents (and whew, a lot less tan)!

I am so excited for this next chapter in our lives together! I love you and am thrilled to be spending the rest of my life with you.

Happy Anniversary, DAD! ;)