goals

 

I know it’s late for New Year’s Resolutions, but I’m a compulsive goal-setter no matter what the time of year. I hate the feeling of treading water and I would far rather be moving toward some achievable end—maybe it’s unhealthy, but I feel like if I’m not progressing in some way, I’m wasting my time. So here are a few things I’d like to do before 2014 is over…

fitness

• build the upper body strength to do pullups and handstands
• consistently run at least 5 miles a week (kinda lame, I know. I used to run maniacally…but for some reason I’ve developed a new love-hate relationship with Jillian Michaels instead)
• cut my sugar intake (sort of ambiguous, I know. But who wants to set a goal like “never eat sugar again”? Life would not be worth living)
• actually eat like a normal human being so I don’t feel so awful all the time (I used to get really annoyed at people who could “forget to eat.” Now I’m the worst of them. I never remember until my pounding midafternoon headache reminds me. “OH YEAH! My body needs calories! What a thought!”)

business

• create a 2015 photography package and pricing list that is a good fit for my business model
• blog my first Olympia senior portrait session from last week (YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THEM!!)
• finish my New York Institute of Photography course

spirituality

• become less self-sufficient and make a point of seeking out community with other believers and my husband
• do an in-depth study of the Biblical timeline of end-times events
• find a role of Bible teaching and disciple-making in my local church—even if it’s informal
• live with open hands

How about you? What are your goals for the rest of this year?

ocean shores

 

 

I remember the three of us sitting on my bunk bed, elementary-school aged, playing with Woody dolls and Lord of the Rings action figures. I remember when, in a picture like this, Ben would have been the shortest. Two months ago he and Hannah graduated from high school, and in two weeks Ben is moving to Idaho for college. I kind of hate them for growing up, even though I was the first to move away without them, the first to go away  to school and get married. We are each other’s oldest friends, and I hope that never changes.

four years

 

I remember saying when my dear fluffy kitty Lenny died that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to have another orange cat. A cat, yes—but not an orange one, not one that would feel like a replacement for Lenny.

It’s been four years and, finally, I’ve healed enough. Finally there is more sweetness to the memories than bitterness, and even though my heart still hurts for Lenny, somehow I can love my second orange kitten even while I ache for the first. Hearts are more resilient than I thought they were; they are ever bending and expanding to love new characters, and even when they’re broken somehow they mend, though they’re never quite the same.

This is my Thor (better known in my house as Tor). He’s cuddly and happy and purrs almost incessantly. He’s precocious and social and loves just about everybody. I wonder if he’ll grow up to have the heart of a lion, like Lenny did: territorial, defensive, and fiercely loyal—yet loving and polite and regal. Or maybe he’ll always just be happy-go-lucky, oblivious little Tor who thinks the whole world is sunshine and roses. :)