the year of the avid reader: book one

this photo really has nothing to do with this post but right now i am surrounded by snow with more coming tomorrow.  i need this, do you hear?  i need to look at this right now and be reminded that there are other colors besides white.  :)
i love to read.

i don't always have the time
but i always, always
have the intention.

i want to make time to read more...
and i also want to get back to blogging more
so what could be better
than blogging
about reading?!?
what a novel idea!
(see what i did there?  you know...reading...novel...
never mind...it's late & i am getting giddy.)

So.
the first book that i completed in 2015
was The Signature of All Things
by Elizabeth Gilbert.

granted...i started this book in 2014.

but i have to say....i loved it.
surprisingly, i loved it.
it was long and at times i found myself thinking
"but...what is this about?  what's the story?  what's the plot line?"
but you have to keep in mind,
i had just come off a binge of young adult action packed
little mini series like the hunger games.

but this?
this was quiet and reserved, sweeping and serene
eloquent and visual and made you stop and think.
and there were twists that i did not expect.
mainly because...i wasn't expecting twists....
it didn't seem like that kind of a book.

i really did enjoy this.
i might look for the stuff she did before Eat Pray Love...
give it a try.

and that was book one :)
feel free to leave me suggestions of what else to read this year!

snapshot saturday 2015

a quick peek at my 365 for the week of Jan 24-30...

This. I love. Along with my cherry Pepsi lip gloss. But I forgot that at work. 30.01.2015 #myLife2015
 8:54 am....wind is picking up. It looks yucky out there. #Blizzard2015 27.01.2015
Saturday morning breakfast 31.01.2015 #myLife2015
 Disc Delivery!!!! 24.01.2015 #myLife2015
 PB&J 28.01.2015
 Mail makes me happy....especially when it's from a bride & groom that write to say they loved their photos! ♡♡♡ 29.01.2015 #myLife2015
9:36 am Sunday morning... instagram in bed...I don't wanna get up yet someone bring me breakfast...and a diet coke? :) 25.01.2015 #myLife2015

WORD 2015::RISK

 so.
i have chosen my word for 2015.
i think i actually chose it a while ago
but was afraid to commit to it
because it sounded
negative.
Risk.
that's my word.
to me, it's a big word.
a huge word.
a four letter word
full of hazard and danger and possible injury...maybe loss.
but i kept coming back to it.

because i feel i need a change.

because i know i need a change.

a big change.
i need to shake things up...and in order to really, truly, honestly do that...
there is going to be risk involved.

i want to try some new things...
things i have always said i wanted to try (like writing)
and things that i never even knew that i wanted to try (like improv)
i want the freedom to do things with my family...camping, road trips, bbqs
without always always feeling guilty about the editing i am not doing,
the emails that may not get answered the minute they hit the inbox,
the prep & the planning, the client meetings.
i have a full time job already that i love.
this
was supposed to just be on the side but i have let it go to far.

but it feels like a huge risk to me to say no to a wedding.
and i realized as i was journalling about this that a part of me is
afraid to say no, afraid to slow down the momentum, afraid to get lost in the mix...
because this has become a huge part of the definition of who i am.

strangers stop me and say oh! you're the photographer.

i'm not going to lie.
i like that.
7 or 8 years ago i wrote "i want to be known for something"
and in my tiny little corner of the universe, that kind of feels like it happened.
but now i wonder,
is that all i can be known for?
what if the way i am doing it is not making me happy anymore.

so.
i am going to risk saying no to too many weddings.
and i am going to hope that this gains me time & energy to spend
risking in other areas, other areas outside of my comfort zone.

and really,
it's a win/win.  Slowing down on bookings means that I can become
even more committed to the bookings that i do take on...
i can go a level deeper than i have been able to in the past...
and that is exciting as well.

and in no way do i regret having done 20 weddings each
the past two summers...there was not one wedding in there
that i wish i hadn't done (well...maybe the two that didn't pay me...ever.)
but otherwise....i wouldn't change a thing!












January 17th and still no word....

i have been operating
without a word for the year
for 17 days.

i feel a little unmoored.
and liberated...a little...
but more like i am forgetting something,
i am missing something.

i am missing my word.


between trying to finish last season's weddings
and get the discs/prints out
and answer emails and meet with old and new clients
plus my regular job
and normal family stuff,
i feel like all my time is gone before
i even know it.

but i am still doing a photo a day so far...
here's a round up from this week, which i might start
doing on saturdays, just to get me back to the blog.








 If you want to follow (or play) along, you can find me on instagram under gkgirl70....photo of the day is being hashtagged #myLife2015

things i am loving RIGHT NOW....

my new fitbit flex::
I desperately want to get back on track with some weight loss
and i absolutely love this little gadget!  Tracks my steps and my sleep
and syncs with other apps (my fitness pal is my favorite calorie counter).

spending time with my family::
my little brother is turning 40 and there was a surprise party for him tonight...
nights like this make me realize that we don't make time for this enough...
and that i would like to start taking more video.  :)


Google Play Music::
are you telling me that for 9.99 a month I can listen to any music I want...
on my phone or my computer...so easy.  I am becoming a big fan.
they had leslie spitt treeo...i'm sold.