I’m going to warn you…I don’t post terribly personal things too often…but this post is going to get a little personal…
2012…oh 2012 the year of the good, the bad, the scary, and the oh so wonderful. I think I’ve learned enough life lessons in 2012 to prepare me for the next 10 years, seriously.
There were a few rocky moments in the past year, some where unexpected and some were mistakes made. The most unexpected of them all was my father being diagnosed with cancer. When I found out the news I was stunned, scared, and overwhelmed. In the midst of planning our wedding, gearing up for a busy wedding season, and trying to purchase our first home this hit and made all the other business of the world seem so trivial. As some time passed we found out the treatment and the odds for remission were in my father’s favor, since they caught his cancer quite early. He finished radiation and within a few long months that nasty cancer word was no longer in our daily vocabulary. Thank the Lord. I wont go into much detail, but this was rough time for us, and I’m glad it’s over.
Then, moving on…to Dominic and I’s house hunt. We searched and searched for the perfect house. Incredibly sick of loft living and dying for a yard for Crouton, we made it our ultimate goal to purchase a house and move in before our wedding in the fall. If you know me well, you probably know when I set a goal I do everything in my power to reach it. Anything can be obtained through diligence, hard work, and some sweat and tears…right? Well, first off applying for a mortgage as a self employed business owner is no piece of pie. Once we finally won that struggle…we found a house! It was a foreclosure, and little did we now what an ordeal that would be. We found THE house we loved it, could afford, and it had everything we wanted in a house (or so we thought). It was an older home, on a fabulous street in Maplewood. It had all the historic charm we had been looking for, lots of natural light and tons of windows (yes, my biggest requirement in a house was natural light, tons of windows, and that the house faced the correct direction so we could make the most out of that natural light….for shooting, and just personal preference…). That proved to be quite the task…especially when looking at older homes with minimal windows. However, we sure found it! The house needed some TLC, it was a foreclosure after all, but we were willing to put the work in and make it our own. We sort of wanted it that way anyways. Well, it didn’t work out. Months and legal fees later we found out there was a hefty lien on the house that couldn’t be removed…and we had to walk away. This was the worst feeling. We put a lot of time, money, and effort into that house, for nothing. It was pretty heartbreaking, and to this day whenever I watch House Hunters and see a happy couple looking at a Foreclosure I cringe thinking about it.
I wanted to stop house hunting and give up, put it off another year. Dom insisted we look just a little longer….and it’s a good thing he did. Soon, and very soon after we found another house, not a foreclosure but a rehabbed PREVIOUS foreclosure. We put an offer in, and one month later we were in! It did meet all of our requirements, and we love our new home very very much! It doesn’t have the space the other house did for a studio room, which I was very much looking forward to. However, it has lots of windows, tons of historic charm, a backyard for Crouton, faces the correct direction, and we love it! Plus, there’s a garage with this house, which I hope to make into a future office/studio space with some work put into it. We didn’t have to put much cosmetic work into this one, just some paint and a few fixings, which in the end proved to be quite nice. Especially nice considering by the time we moved in we were smack dab in the last few months before our wedding.
As my business was also growing this past year, it started to grow faster than I had expected! I’ve ran into a few kinks along the road, and have learned a great many things about being business owner this year. I know photography…..business on the other hand…that wasn’t my strong suite in the beginning. With some time and effort I think I’m really getting the hang of the business side. My eyes don’t glaze over so much anymore when I am thinking taxes, my files are organized to a T, and excel spreadsheets are my best friend. A few years in business and you learn, and for that I am thankful. Also thankful for my new accountant who has helped me SO MUCH!
In 2012 I’ve learned what the term OVERBOOKED really means. It’s hard, as a business owner, to turn down any type of work. It really is. You just don’t know when the next job will come. Sometimes though, you need to. I’m not just a business owner, I’m also a wife, a friend, and a daughter. There needs to be time for me to really be all of those things, and there needs to be more than a half day off each week! If there’s one resolution I have this year it’s to make time to be all of those things, and not just focus on the one. That never lead to any fulfillment. There is a happy medium, and for someone running your own business full-time it’s really hard to find that medium. At least for me, it has been.
Last but not least…a great big part of 2012 was planning, wedding planning. Oh goodness, I felt overwhelmed with it. It was a lot. A lot, a lot. Mostly just combined with all of the above, and shooting weddings and being immersed in all things wedding……! I’m pretty sure if you could sum up my last year in one word it would probably be WEDDING. Haha! Nevertheless, all that planning and everything hard that 2012 was all melted away on Sept 15 when Dominic and I were married! It really was the best day of my life, and I’ve never felt so happy. I married the love of my life and my heart is full. Dominic is the best husband and no matter what happened last lear, or happens in the future we are in this together. Thinking about our new marriage warms my heart. I’m so looking forward to all the years to come with my husband!
Now, 2013…I’m also looking forward to you! Looking forward to being a business owner of a business that’s growing out of it’s toddler stage. Whew! I love LOVE, and I’m privileged to be able to capture it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 2012 is that we need love. It’s what makes our lives worth living. It makes all the rough patches of the year melt away. And well..I love photographing weddings for that very reason! Can’t wait to see all the love this year, and be a part of some special couples’ big days!
I’m also looking forward to capturing another kind of love this year, that of families, parents and their sweet newborns, kiddos, and the like! As my business has grown I’m so very thankful for all of the return clients I’ve had in the past few years. You guys mean the world to me and I’m so happy to see you again and again! I still think it’s a pretty cool thing to be able to photograph a couple’s wedding, and then their newborn a later on, and then their growing family. It is cool, and I’m thrilled to be able to do that!
May 2013 be a fabulous year, full of peace, happiness, fun, and fulfillment for everyone!!!
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