My birthday

Last week I was celebrating another birthday. As I am getting a little older, I hope I am getting a little wiser too. Every year I set little goals I hope to accomplish during the year. This year I am starting a new tradition; I am going to list my goals for the year here and now. Next year, I plan to revisit my 2018 birthday list and share my successes and failures. I am pretty sure I will have moments of what was I thinking! I hope to have plenty of accomplishments too. Perhaps I will check in from time to time and share how I am doing on my list.

My Goals:

read ten books (and keep a list of books read)
exercise/stretch three to four times a week
eat more foods that make me feel good (a.k.a. more whole foods)
at least once a month, if not more, go on a date with my husband
find little ways to make husband’s day even better (I’ll let you know what I decide to do with this one!)
spend quality time every day with each one of our kids: sharing our day, playing games, cuddling, and reading stories
help Sydney and Zachary discover their gifts and talents by taking more classes and letting them be creative even when it is messy
continue to support Lauren’s dance dreams with encouraging words and endless car rides to the studio
randomly text 2-4 friends a month and let them know I am thinking about them
continue to create images my clients love while helping them to make lifelong memories and art for their home
complete 30 hours of continuing professional education to hone photography craft
do more things that scare me and make me uncomfortable, but causes immense growth

I started working on number 12 a little early. For whatever reason, I have never really loved being in front of the camera. And yet, my favorite thing to do is make people feel amazing in front of mine. I love flattering peoples’ features and showing them perhaps what they have never really noticed about themselves. So a few days before my birthday, a few of my photography friends went out to the lake and updated each others’ headshots. I learned two things from this:

1. do things that scare me because the growth is immense

2. my kids will appreciate these when I am old

Here are a few of my favorites! Thank you Jeanine Churchill, Maria Swartz, and Kelley Carey

PS I tried to keep my goals simple and measurable