May Goals

April was a bit of a whirlwind for us. A good whirlwind, but still. It went by quickly and slowly all at the same time. Those first couple weeks of Nolan's life we were running on pure adrenaline. It really is true that each day and week gets easier but it's also easy to get lost in the will-my-life-EVER-feel-normal-again?! haze. 

Now that we're in week four, I've hit the how-is-my-baby-this-big-already?! cliché. Having a newborn really is so bittersweet. You live to see them develop and grow but you also simultaneously miss their tininess from just a week ago. 

Oh, how life has changed. I think we're in for the ride of our lives. :)

In other news, I have a couple small goals for this month while I continue to enjoy maternity leave and soak up every minute with little Nolan. Cheers to spring and all the beautiful weather and blooms that come with it!

May Goals

  • Finish On Becoming Baby Wise by Robert Bucknam and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
  • File our personal photos on a new external hard drive
  • Design and order one of our annual photo albums
  • Update client galleries on Pixieset
  • Order and mail Nolan's birth announcements
  • Take Nolan on his first road trip! Nathan's sister gets married in Indiana in a week!
Goal Setting

May Goals

Flowering Spring Tree There's this tree right at the edge of our front yard that seems to keep me in tune with the seasons. In the spring, it's gorgeous. Lots of pretty white flowers everywhere. I know it's officially spring when I see that thing in bloom. And I think (I think!) spring is finally here in Cleveland, Ohio, because that tree is snow white. Finally! Better late than never, right?

For me, spring brings the start of wedding season, and I dive headfirst into BUSY this month. I will be the first to admit to you that when I see all those days on my calendar marked with meetings and weddings and sessions, I get overwhelmed. I'm 100% goals oriented and deadline driven, but I tend to forget to take things one day at a time.

I was recently listening to this podcast and was struck by the idea of slowing down to gain more. Seems counterproductive, right? Wrong! Erin Loechner told Jess Lively that she walks to do errands instead of drives (I'm SO guilty of jumping in the car to go down the block. It's embarrassing!) and sometimes hand washes her clothes, and by doing these things--taking time to savor each task and be more hands on in life--she's fully aware and appreciative of each responsibility, no matter how mundane. And then she's more productive when she's working. Wow. I needed to hear that at the start of busy season! And you know what? I think I'll walk to the coffee shop today and enjoy the flowering trees. :)

May Goals

  • Finish The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and read Animal Dreams
  • Plant our garden (lots of flowers and herbs this year!)
  • Finish our living room mantel design
  • Host our annual family cookout
  • Go on at least two bike rides
  • Put together a Summer Fun list with Nathan
  • CANCEL our cable for the summer (yes, we still have cable! Contemplating getting rid of it completely ...)
  • Shoot six weddings and have two of them + two April weddings fully edited by the time June rolls around
  • Keep my Inbox below 15 at the end of each workday

May Goals

May Photography Goals Ohhh May! Our street is in full bloom. All the flowers are out and the trees are green. I love it!

This month marks the start of my really busy season and I'm hoping to be a little bit more productive than last month before I get crazy busy. You know those days where you feel like you did a ton but you didn't get anything crossed off your to do list? Yeah, that's how April was for me. I felt busy, but I'm not sure what I was doing. :) All in all it was a good month, but my goal is to be more focused with my time in May. I want to make sure I get out from behind my computer screen and enjoy spring!

April goals recap:

Professional

  1. Get completely caught up with all March and April weddings so I can go into May with a clean plate! (the last April wedding will be on the blog tomorrow!)
  2. Research the markiii a little more (i.e., figure out why low-light focusing was such a problem). (I'll be renting it again this month! :) )
  3. Clean up my office each day after office hours are over. (Total fail on this one. How can I be more organized??)
  4. Research Two Bright Lights and potentially join. (Still haven't decided. ;) Any advice from people that are members?)
  5. Blog every weekday. (Close enough, right?)

Personal

  1. Read two books (The Scent of Rain and Lightening, Eight Girls Taking Pictures).
  2. Finish the guest bedroom (and hopefully blog it)! (Just waiting on a couple pieces!)
  3. Get OUR pictures taken!
  4. Cook organic, natural food at least 2/week.
  5. Clean two more boxes out of our junk room.
  6. Work out 5/week.
  7. Stretch each night before bed.

And, of course, my May goals:

Professional

  1. Shoot, edit and submit a fabulous styled shoot. :)
  2. Clean up my office each day after office hours are over (here we go again ... ).
  3. Shoot three May weddings and stick to my new two-week turnaround on each.
  4. Update my portfolios before busy season kicks off.
  5. Clean computer before busy season kicks off.
  6. Update my photography budget.
  7. Blog every weekday.

Personal

  1. Read two books (Eight Girls Taking Pictures, Wild).
  2. Finish our guest bedroom.
  3. Play with Rosie at least twice a day. :)
  4. Spend Mother's Day with my family.
  5. Have friends over for dinner at least once.
  6. Clean three boxes out of our junk room.
  7. Work out 5/week.
  8. Stretch each night before bed.