2012 Revisited

Did you make plans for 2012? I did, and I want to take a moment to go over them; to see what went well and what didn't. The 7 items were my goals (in italics and bold) and I'm pretty happy with how the year panned out. 

1. I'm currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and it has ideas to improve happiness! Each month you focus on a different aspect of your life (Energy/Exercise, Love/Marriage, Friendships, etc.). My goal for the next couple of weeks is to finish the book and start putting the ideas into action! I notice that if I act happy (even if I'm not), everyone else seems to be happy! I highly recommend the book. Kindly check your local bookstore. Have you read the book? What did you think?

2. Continue to expand my photography business. The biz is trucking right along and keeping me busy. Aside from some super amazing weddings, the highlights of the year were attending the Feather Love Artist Workshop (my post & photos here, photographing Camp Mighty (my post here, here, and here, and teaching my first workshop! 

3. Plant some edibles. I did this, and we ate some, and the raccoons ate some, and I realized that my plants needed a whole lot more water. Everything was going well until we went out of town and they didn't get water. It was downhill from there. I'll try again next year :)

4. Get back to my Daily Kid Pic. Well, it wasn't everyday, but 172 out of 366 isn't bad -that's nearly every other day :) And it's better than 2011 when I did 82 out of 365. In the 4 years I've been doing this project, we have 816 photos, something I am very proud of. And it's been a great way to challenge, stretch, and improve my photography. 

5. Learn how to write a book proposal and then write it!! Yeah, this hasn't happened, at all. It's getting carried-over to 2013. 

6. Finish the interior of our house! We're almost done!!! We have one room left that needs renovations (we've done the other 3 bedrooms, the kitchen, and the living room). And then the fun designing and decorating start! We're going to try and get that all done before March (see #7!!)

7. Have another baby! I'm currently 7 months pregnant :) After 4 failed pregnancies in the last 2 ½ years, it's nice to feel the baby kick around. We're due in March. 

The full write up of my goals and ideas for 2012 can be found here. Apparently I skipped writing down goals and ideas for 2011, but my list for 2010 can be found here. Next up: goals for 2013!

Happy February!

Well, it's February. Did you set goals or make resolutions for 2012? I wrote about my Goals and Ideas for 2012 last month and I thought it'd be interesting to follow-up on that post. Excerpts from my original post are in italics, followed by the "update."

1. I'm currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin...My goal for the next couple of weeks is to finish the book and start putting the ideas into action!
I haven't finished the book, but I'm reading regularly and making progress. I am still loving it!

2. Continue to expand my photography business....
I redesigned my website last week and have submitted a few of my weddings to my favorite wedding blogs in hopes of snagging a little more attention. I'm getting new business cards this week (as soon as I find my Pantone book so I can get the color right!). Next I need to find some fabulous brides. I'm only booking a few more weddings this year, so pass along my info to anyone you know. 

3. Plant some edibles. We just bought a house in October and while we have a pretty solid vision for the interior, we're a bit clueless when it comes to what we want to do with the yard. Luckily, my mom is a stellar landscape architect. ...In the meantime, we'll probably join a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture) and get fresh, local produce every week!
We got our first CSA box yesterday. It's full of a bunch of fruits and veggies than I've never cooked with! Luckily, I have cookbooks and the internet. And a super awesome juicer if I can't find a recipe ;)

4. Get back to my Daily Kid Pic...
I'm super excited I started doing this again! In January I posted photos for 29/31 days- only 2 missed days! My faraway friends and family seem happy the Daily Pic is back, too! My fave photo of our son was taken on January 8th and is posted below.

5. Learn how to write a book proposal and then write it!! I have an amazing idea for a coffee table/photography book... 
I haven't written the book proposal, but I have made a few new friends whom I'm hoping to photograph and interview. Not tons of progress, but it's a start :)

6. Finish the interior of our house! We have made a lot of progress in the past few months, but we still have a good bit of work to do on our sweet little Eichler...
Still working hard. The last few weekends have been spent on the hallway- painting the ceiling (3 coats), painting the door frames (there are 6!), painting the inside of the closet, laying down the floor and underfloor, fitting in new baseboard (cutting, painting, nailing, wood putty, caulking, and touching up the paint), and redoing the ventilation for the dryer. Whew! Much of the work has been done by my super awesome husband. My brother has been here a lot helping out, and I've been helping too, of course.

7. Have another baby! We've been working really hard at this and have had some bumps and bruises along the way (2 miscarriages and a complete molar pregnancy)... 
Still working on this one, but will hopefully have good news to share soon.

SOOO, how about you? What are you doing this year?





Goals and Ideas for 2012

Welcome to another year of your life. I hope where ever you're reading this that you are well and happy and enjoying your life! This is what I'm thinking for 2012... go big or go home!!

1. I'm currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and it has ideas to improve happiness! Each month you focus on a different aspect of your life (Energy/Exercise, Love/Marriage, Friendships, etc.). My goal for the next couple of weeks is to finish the book and start putting the ideas into action! I'm half way through and am already noticing a difference in the way I approach things and just learning to appreciate everything we have. I notice that if I act happy (even if I'm not), everyone else seems to be happy! It's pretty brilliant and amazing. I highly recommend the book. Kindly check your local bookstore. Have you read the book? What did you think?

2. Continue to expand my photography business. I book a limited number of weddings and family sessions each year and am in love with it! If you know of anyone getting married, send them my way!

3. Plant some edibles. We just bought a house in October and while we have a pretty solid vision for the interior, we're a bit clueless when it comes to what we want to do with the yard. Luckily, my mom is a stellar landscape architect. One thing I definitely want to do is plant kale, spinach, wattercress, and wheatgrass. We do a lot of juicing and smoothie-making in our house (almost everyday) and it would be so nice to have our own garden! In the meantime, we'll probably join a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture) and get fresh, local produce every week! My husband's office has it delivered and so he can just bring it home with him. Do you have an edibles garden- any recs or must-haves? Do you belong to a CSA program- what do you think?

4. Get back to my Daily Kid Pic. I did so well at documenting the first two years of my son's life by posting a photo every day to our flickr site. It's such a wonderful time and I love looking through all our photos! I miss doing that and hope that I can get back on track. Do you have project like that that you want to start doing again?

5. Learn how to write a book proposal and then write it!! I have an amazing idea for a coffee table/photography book... and I can't wait to share my ideas with you! Have you ever written a book proposal? 

6. Finish the interior of our house! We have made a lot of progress in the past few months, but we still have a good bit of work to do... painting, new floors, decorating, etc. What are your favorite resources (local shops or online blogs, etc.)?

7. Have another baby! We've been working really hard at this and have had some bumps and bruises along the way (2 miscarriages and a complete molar pregnancy... why don't people talk about miscarriages!?). I'm aiming for a nice healthy pregnancy that results in a nice, healthy baby! If I accomplish this and nothing else this year, I'll be a happy Kate. 

Apparently I skipped writing down goals and ideas for 2011, but my list for 2010 can be found here. And below is a photo of my sweet family. Maybe we'll have a new addition next year ;)

What are your goals and ideas?!?