Sunday Sunshine 08.16.09 August 16, 2009

Good gravy, this mommy is creative.  She must never sleep!

Speaking of creative mommies, here is a very compelling post (and discussion following in the comments) about living simply.  I would love love love to hear your response to it.

Freebies for Photoshop and Vector.

A beauty of a post from Aunt Ruthie.

I’ve long been a fan of Caroline Tran’s work, but this wedding stood out to me because of the incredible attention to detail.  The bride did a fabulous job of putting it all together, and Caroline did her usual stellar job of photographing everything.

Sunday Sunshine 07.05.09 July 5, 2009

Shrinky Dink Awesomeness! – via Living Locurto

Use the Good Stuff – I feel like I link to something Tsh wrote every week, but people!  There’s good reason for it!  So go read…

And in case you thought Root Beer Cake was her only claim to fame, you thought wrongly.  Scroll through a few of Joy the Baker’s recipes, and your mouth will be watering.

2009 Goals Update 07.02.09 July 2, 2009

1. Spend daily time in prayer and the Word (I used to do this no problem, but since Anja was born, my discipline in this area has slipped)
Off and on.

2. Read 2 photography books
Finished with one. Started a second.

3. Read 1 Photoshop book
Started it!

4. Book an average of 4 on-location sessions and 1 wedding each month
Have booked more weddings and more sessions. Praise God!

5. Sell our townhome and purchase a home with a $500 less per month payment
Got a yard sign and a tube for flyers tonight.  Still no legitimate bites from our online ads.

6. Organize an office for myself (instead of using the dining room table…)
Still waiting for the house in which to do it.

7. Have a baby or get pregnant
Second part of this goal attained!

8. Lose 10-15 lbs.
Um, not really worrying about this anymore.

9. Make healthier meals most nights each week
Depends. Most of the time, when I’ve planned, we eat well, but sometimes my cravings get the better of me and we’ll have pancakes (though I do throw some fresh berries on them at least) or order a pizza.  I’ve also been on a big Mexican kick, whether it’s some guacamole for a snack or Gluten-Free Chicken Enchiladas or Chicken Flautas (Mom, you should try this one–I used up the rest of the corn tortillas, and they were yummy!) for supper.  Thankfully, most Mexican recipes can be interpreted in a healthy fashion.

10. Reduce grocery bill to $250/month (this could be the hardest one…seriously)
I have a feeling this is just a big FAIL for the year. Nigh impossible unless we plan on cutting all fresh produce out of our diets (which is not happening!).

Sunday Sunshine 06.28.09 June 28, 2009

The Clutter You Can’t See by Simple Mom - I have such a problem with physical clutter that I don’t address the unseen clutter in my life enough.  How about you?

Good Intentions by Antique Mommy – You need to read this.

Today I had a big, ranty post ready June 18, 2009

about how lonely and depressed and stressed I am, and about how hard it is to find friends who are moms, and how I’m not sleeping well at night because I can’t lay on my tummy comfortably anymore (Seriously?  This early?  Last time I did quite fine until month 4 or 5!).

But the morning light burned off all those foul, pitiful thoughts that swirled in the air last night, keeping me awake.

Isn’t it amazing what fresh perspective the morning often brings?  Husband and I had a discussion (okay, for me it was a cry*) last night about my stress levels, and how even with all the juggling of two jobs, child-rearing, meal-making, laundry duty, and other various taken-for-granted chores, I feel more stress because of having to keep his schedule and remind him of all the tasks he needs to do.  Last night, things were dire; I was never going to find a way out.  Today, with the light, I see clearly.  It’s as though God uses daylight in the same way He will one day shed light on all truth.

I still feel the same about my stress, but I know that it’s not world-shattering, life-ending stress.  I can cast my cares upon God and trust Him that He knows what He’s doing right now in my busy, busy life.

*While normally considered rather “flatline” or “even-keeled,” when I am pregnant, I have out-of-control hormonal emotions.  The dumbest, most insignificant things make me weep or lash out.  So if you happen to cross my path during the next 7 months, beware!

Busy much? June 14, 2009

Lack of posts lately can only be attributed to this: new website, weddings, new gallery site, working away from home, working at home, sick baby (croup), and…pregnant mama.

Yep, I fully attained one of my 10 goals for the year.  It was a surprise, but a pleasant one, as we were planning to start trying this summer anyway.  I’m only 8 1/2 weeks, but I’ve been sick for 4 of them, just like with Anja.  And needing like 10 hours of sleep per day.  It’s ridiculous.  If you’re my friend on Facebook, please refrain from mentioning it there yet, because there’s some people I’d like to tell in person before they hear through the grapevine.  Thanks!

A Fun Meme I Stole June 6, 2009

from Kelly.  It’s called 8 Things.

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Feeling better
2. Decorating a house the way I want (even if it has to be this one)
3. Fresh (RED, not white!) tomatoes
4. Our staycation this summer
5. My bed
6. Sidewalk chalking with Anja
7. Three months of warmth before winter comes again
8. Getting my photography website and gallery cohesive and completed

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Edited photos
2. Colored with Anja
3. Did chapters in my book study “Lord, Heal My Hurts”
4. Made pancakes for myself while Anja and Husband had pork chops and sweet potatoes
5. Sent a gallery invitation to a wedding client
6. Called my mom
7. Looked at junk mail
8. Worked out

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Be as consistent with my quiet time as I used to be
2. Get by on 7 hours of sleep a night the way I used to be able to
3. Have a garden
4. Bottle Anja up at this age
5. Discover a cure for cancer (ditto, Kelly!)
6. Get back into peak shape
7. Travel more
8. Have a few hours a week alone in my house

8 shows I watch:
1. Dancing with the Stars
2. Survivor
3. The Office
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 favorite fruits:
1. Peaches
2. Bananas
3. Pineapple
4. Blueberries
5. Strawberries
6. Cantaloupe
7. Apples
8. Clementines or Mandarin oranges

8 places I’d like to travel:
1. The Caribbean
2. Asheville, NC
3. New York City
4. New Zealand
5. Prince Edward Island
6. Vancouver
7. San Antonio (again—I loved it there)
8. The South (I don’t really know where, just somewhere I can be called “honey” and served grits and sit on a porch in really hot, humid weather)

8 places I’ve lived:
1. Small Town, Minnesota
2. Fargo, North Dakota
3. Fortaleza, Brazil
4. Grand Rapids, Minnesota
5. Frankfort, Illinois
6. Twin Cities, Minnesota
7.
8.

Feel free to play, too, if you’d like!  Leave me a link in the comments if you do.

How to Make the Most of Garage Sales May 15, 2009

This morning Anja and I went on a hunt for some pajamas and daycare-friendly clothes for her.  In case my process is helpful to anyone else, I thought I would post it here.

1. I look up sales online and find those that list the items I’m looking for.  The local newspaper’s website and Craigslist are my favorites.  I try to fit it on one page and then print it.
2. I highlight or circle the items I’m interested in at each sale so that I don’t get distracted and make impulse buys.
3. I pick my top 5-10 sales that are fairly near my house and map them out on Google.  Because, honestly, after an hour two, I’m sick of it.  If you have more stamina, feel free to pick more sales!
4. On the left side of the screen, when I’ve mapped multiple locations using Google, I move the locations up and down in the list until they form the most efficient route (no back-tracking).  Then I print a large map showing the overall route and the list of directions.
5. I write A, B, C, etc. next to each sale on the list I printed in #1, which helps me quickly figure out when I’m driving which is the next sale I’m headed to.
6. I don’t hold myself too strictly to the list.  For instance, this morning, one of the sales was a farther drive than the others, and I had already found some of the things for which I was shopping, so I cut it out to save myself time and sanity.

This method takes me 20-30 minutes in prep time, but it saves me so much time on the road and keeps me from stopping at random sales (where I almost never find anything).  Not that you can’t stop at random sales if that’s your thing!  But when I go rummaging, I’m all about efficiency and finding what I need.

While we didn’t find any actual pajamas today, we found a lot of mix-and-match knits that will work great for summer sleeping.  Plus, those same clothes can be worn at daycare the day and a half she’s there.

Last week I was in the mall, and looked at J.C. Penney and Kohl’s for pajamas.  Even on clearance, most of them were $10 or over.  Today, here’s my loot:

I got 6 pairs of pants, 9 tops, 2 books and a pair of like new shoes for $11 total.  An hour well-spent!

2009 Goals Update 05.09.09 May 9, 2009

1. Spend daily time in prayer and the Word (I used to do this no problem, but since Anja was born, my discipline in this area has slipped)
This one feels like a broken record…accountability, anyone? I pray often, but it is hardly ever (except for at night with Husband) a dedicated time of prayer. Maybe that’s just the way it is when you’re a mom?

2. Read 2 photography books
Finished with one. Haven’t started the other.

3. Read 1 Photoshop book
Started it!

4. Book an average of 4 on-location sessions and 1 wedding each month
Have booked some more weddings (yay!), and I’m hoping seniors and families will start coming out of the woodwork.

5. Sell our townhome and purchase a home with a $500 less per month payment
Still nothing.

6. Organize an office for myself (instead of using the dining room table…)
Still waiting for the house in which to do it.

7. Have a baby or get pregnant
Not so much.

8. Lose 10-15 lbs.
I’ve lost about 3 total. Whined on the phone to my brother about it the other night, since he’s having the same problem. Seriously, metabolism? Now is a good time to rev up!

9. Make healthier meals most nights each week
Still going well! This past week we had Pear Walnut Salad, Midwest Chowder (not so healthy, but I did cut out 1/4 lb. of cheese to make it healthier), Chicken Piccata, and Black Bean & Couscous Salad.

10. Reduce grocery bill to $250/month (this could be the hardest one…seriously)
Husband finished the budgets last week, so now I have to dig out the receipts and go over the last 4 months. Yikes!

Spring Cleaning April 17, 2009

Okay, I was going to post this once I had all my before-and-afters documented, but now that Tsh is doing a Spring Cleaning Party, I don’t want to hold you all back.

I may or may not do all the things on her list, but here is the link to her site:

I started going through her book in February and made it through the living room and dining room, top to bottom. I LOVE this book! It’s super-affordable, downloads right to your computer, and it is way better than any other cleaning method I’ve used (usually they were overwhelming or bored me to death).

I didn’t get a “before” picture of the living room or an “after” of the dining room, but you can assume that both looked similar to the before and afters of the other.  For your amazement, I feature a “before” of the dining area:

Here’s my living room “during”:

And the living room “after”:

And I can honestly say that, with the exception of some toys and the occasional pile of paper, these two rooms have stayed fairly clean since! That, in itself, is a feat for me. So go check out Tsh’s book and her website.