Snapshot: March

// What I did //

The first half of the month was full of travel - my favorite thing! And then I celebrated a birthday. Those two things combined make this the best month so far!

// Goals accomplished //

You know how sometimes you know you need to do something, but there's something holding you back from just saying yes? That's how I was about business coaching. I was afraid to spend the money (after seeing how much we owe in taxes, I don't know that I want any more huge expenses for awhile!), and it's kind of scary to put yourself and your business out there to ask for change. I love change and I want to give myself every chance I can to succeed, so I'm hoping this will be a worthwhile investment. The truth is, we all need a coach, someone outside our little life boxes who can see things that we can't, a mentor who can guide us to the best decisions. So I've jumped, and I'm excited/terrified for what I've signed up for.

// What I read // 

Thankfully, traveling afforded some much needed down time, and I got a chance to read one of the books that's been sitting on my Kindle for months now - The Art of Fielding. It started really slow, but once I got into it, I started to really root for the characters. I kind of love how the pace of the book resembles that of a baseball game - because the story, after all, revolves around baseball, but isn't really about it. At it's heart, it's about how you deal when your world falls apart. There are a lot of really great themes that the author/characters explore, like dealing with failure, dedication to a craft, and of course, the various appropriate and culturally inappropriate versions of love. Absolutely a worthwhile read, even if I wasn't sure of it when I started.

// What I loved //

Nashville. Even though it's all about country, I love a town that knows it's soul. And now I'm dying to go back. Also, I'm addicted to my new record player (thanks Ben!) and my SodaStream (thanks Mom!) and finally listening to more music and drinking enough water. And speaking of birthday presents, these just came in the mail yesterday, and I absolutely wore them to a meeting with one of my brides today.

// What I'm working on //

I've got some great ideas for styled shoots that I would love to see come to light in April (which means I'm looking for a hair/makeup artist and at least two couples who are interested in being a part of this. If you think you're up for a free photo shoot in Annapolis, let me know)! I also found out that I was selected as a finalist in the LensProToGo dinosaur contest, so this weekend, I'm taking my dinosaur visitor out and about to get some photos of him with the Lensbaby he came with (which explains the photo at the top of the page...which is probably not the one that I'll submit, even though I like it). Winners will be announced in May. Super fun! 

// What I watched //

One of my friends and favorite artists, Alejandra, posted this video on Facebook the other day. After spending hours in a darkroom in college and taking a class in alternative photography methods, this story speaks to me on so many levels. If you want to see true dedication to a craft, when things to right and things go wrong, check out the video below. If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, you might also appreciate some of the editing…have to admit, for the first few seconds, I totally thought I was watching a video about a meth lab!

SILVER & LIGHT from Ian Ruhter : Alchemist on Vimeo.

// Who I added //

First off, can we just say that finding out that Google Reader is not going to be around for much longer made me feel the same sadness and despair that I felt the day I learned that my favorite magazine in the world would no longer be printed? Because I think those are two of the saddest days of my life. In making sure that I had all of my favorite blogs in one place so that I can import them to another reader, I finally added one by a photographer that I've followed for awhile now…Andria Lindquist. Go check her out, because she is the definition of amazeballs.

// Best cat photo of the month // 

Aslan is on a mission to free the balloons.

Happy weekend! Hope you get to feel some springtime!