Living Debt Free // Monday Musings

You guys, I’m just flat out excited about this one! It may not seem like a big deal to some, but I’m really glad I can write this blog! At the same time, I realize that not everyone is lucky enough to be in our situation, whether through difficult circumstances or unavoidable situations. As much as this is a celebratory blog post, it’s not meant to be prideful – I just want to share what’s going on in our lives with you!

Nathan and I were incredibly blessed to both come out of college with no debt. We both had parents that made big sacrifices to allow us to earn a degree, and on my side I had taken a lot of classes in high school that allowed me to shorten my time in college so I didn’t extend past what was paid for. This is so rare, and I’m so thankful that we were able to buy a house right from the get-go.

We were also taught well by both sets of parents to spend and save wisely, and not go into debt for things we couldn’t afford. For this, I will be forever grateful. One thing we decided to do a few months after we got married was buy a new car. My car was on its last legs – the transmission was about to go, among a whole host of other problems – so it was time to make a purchase either way.

I was a little intimated by the idea of buying a BRAND NEW car, but after looking at some slightly used models, we realized we’d save money in the long run because we could get a much lower interest rate on a new car, and cars that are just a few years old aren’t usually that much cheaper anyways. So, we took the plunge on a Honda Accord, that I now drive all the time.

I’m glad we have the car, and would probably make the same choice if we had to do it all over again, but I hate having monthly payments on anything. I’m just not used to it! Of course I was prepared for utilities, but having a mortgage was a big deal to me…and then on top of it, a car payment?! We didn’t buy a fancy car or something we couldn’t afford, and even so, we were still tied down to a monthly payment for five long years.

Well…not anymore! A couple weeks ago, I paid off the car. And then I called Nathan and told him :) In all seriousness, we had talked about it, so I just did it. And it feels so good! Now the only monthly payment we have left is our mortgage, and we’re even trying to get rid of that, too.

Living debt free, when possible, is an amazing feeling for me, and for us. Thanks to parents who love us, and steady jobs, we are able to be well on our way. And that’s something to get excited about!

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Signs of Growth - The Shoot & Share Contest // Personal

As most of you reading this would agree, we are often more critical of our own work than we are of anyone else's. That is definitely true for myself. It's hard to measure how much I've grown as a photographer. In all honesty, I want every single wedding, engagement, anniversary session, and family session to be better than my last. I try my hardest to look at my own work with a critical eye, because I never want to get comfortable. I always want to keep growing and getting better so I never get stagnant.

Sometimes, though, it's hard to commend yourself for the good work you're doing when you're always looking to be better. There's a healthy element to recognizing your growth and achievements, rather than always picking out the most negative side of your work. At times I've realized that if I had a boss as hard as me as I am to myself, I probably would have quit a long time ago!

Each year, there is a huge photography contest hosted by the folks over at Shoot and Share. I first heard about it last year, my first year in business, and was eager to enter a few of my pictures from the year. I remember being so disheartened when it came to voting time, however. It seemed that EVERYONE had better pictures than I did, and mine didn't even stand a chance of making it past the first round, let alone winning any sort of prize. It was all very discouraging, and it brought me down for a little bit of time.

This year, I was determined to enter again, and not let other's work get me down. When I began to look through my pictures, I was blown away. There are still so many things I want to improve, and so much I want to work on, but I was proud to enter pictures this year. I don't expect to win the grand prize (since it's as much about the style of the weddings as it is your pictures), but I felt like mine stood up to so many others in the same category as mine. There are so many photographers who are without a doubt better than I am, who can master light more, and who can see things that I am still training myself to see, but I've made a giant leap from where I was last year. 

I'm proud of what I did in 2014. I'm proud of so many family sessions, engagements, and weddings that I shot. I hope to be even better in 2015, but today, I'm choosing to take pride in how far I've come, instead of looking at how much farther I want to go.

Take pride in your work, friends. Sometimes, you're the only one who will on any given day. And that's more than enough for me.

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Going Part Time // Monday Musings

Today looks different than every Monday I can remember for the last few years. Today, I will start and finish my work at home. Today, I'm no longer a full-time employee at my job.

To some of you, it may come as a surprise that I was working full-time until now. While I never hid that fact, I always wanted to be sure it was never obvious - I spent lunch break answering emails and writing blogs, and I worked before and after my job to make sure I never let an email go unanswered longer than 24 hours, and never had a bride or family wondering why it took so long to get back to them. I scheduled shoots around my office hours, and was grateful when my clients wanted sunrise engagement sessions, because it meant I could still get to work on time!

I didn't foresee an end to this for awhile, and I was ok with that. I simply got home when I could and worked a couple hours most nights, then worked again on the weekends. It was hard, of course, but most days it didn't feel like I was working for so long because I truly, with all my heart, love what I do. During the fall, between mini sessions and weddings, life did get hectic. My wonderful husband picked up a lot of my slack around the house. I can't pretend it was perfect - I definitely had nights where my eyes burned from lack of sleep, and I couldn't believe I had to wake up again in just a few hours after I laid in bed.

It wasn't until Nathan brought up the idea of going part time that I'd even though about it. I knew there would have to be some sort of change after our adoption was finalized, but I don't even know today when that will be. But between my business growing and adoption home studies, paperwork, and more coming up, he encouraged me to talk to my boss about transitioning to part time.

Let me be clear: I'm so grateful that I was able to work full time for so long. It's rare to have a boss or a job kind enough to let an employee transition so smoothly and quickly from full to part time, let alone give me the gift of a job that I can mostly do from home (or Starbucks!). My coworkers have been beyond gracious to me, and I can't imagine being in a better situation than I was in and am in right now. I am so blessed to do what I love, to have a job where I get to work with some of the best people I know, and to have a husband who lets me follow my dreams.

So today is the first day of a different pace of life. My goal is to work while Nathan is at work, and be present with him in the evenings while he's at home. I'm nervous, and scared, and excited for this next transition, but mostly I'm grateful to the people who allowed me to make this happen. To them, I can't say thank you enough.

I hope your Monday is wonderfully productive!

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