welcome

Yesterday was my One Year Anniversary with CrossFit. I distinctly remember the day I signed up. I went shopping for jeans last October. And my normal size just didn’t fit anymore. But I refused to spend money on on a pair that were a bigger size. So left the store, drove home, and emailed my local gym to start classes.

I went in for the test workout. I couldn’t do 1 pullup. I couldn’t do the 20 pushups without taking a break. I was EXHAUSTED after a very short workout. But I wanted to keep going. So I went back two days later. And then two days after that, and so on. I was sore for weeks. But I noticed small changes that kept pushing me back there.

The winter season has officially started, therefore it’s time for me to start my round of annual illnesses. I kicked it off with a bang, ushering in last week’s first snow with a hearty stomach bug.

My dad tells me that if I just ate better and exercised, I wouldn’t get sick as much. But I have made significant changes to my diet and my lifestyle over the past year and I’m not really expecting this winter to be much different. Some may call that pessimism, I call it being around too many children. Anyway … what I know about the stomach bug:

Sometimes I hate the term small business because it’s just SO vague. A small business could have employees, and offer retirement plans to said employees. A small business could make a million dollars a year, or sometimes less than $10,000. 

I used the term teeny not to belittle myself, but to be a bit more realistic about what I’m doing over here. We’re less than two years in and I’ve only paid myself once, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves with all this small business talk.

That said, here is what I know about running a small/teeny/functioning business:

I’ve loved to read for as long as I can remember. I’m pretty sure I started doing it because I always wanted to be as cool as my sister Katie, and she read all the time. But there was also Book IT!, the reading program where I got a personal pizza from Pizza Hut for every five books I read. That was a big motivator, for sure.

Either way, I read like a crazy person when I was little. My favorites were all The Boxcar Children books, which kept me busy for 143 books. And then the Sweet Valley which were another hundred. I eventually graduated to big kid books and I will now basically read everything that is recommended to me. I do have an annoying habit of needing to finish terrible books. I don’t know why I do this. Can someone help me break it?

I too often answer the question, “How are you?” with a simple word: “Busy.” But I recently realized that my busyness, much like my joy, is a choice. The fall is by far my busiest season as a photographer. I’m swamped with emails and editing and end of the year business stuff. I obsess over finances so I’m checking my spreadsheets and doing math based on hypothetical sessions and honestly? I just waste a ton of time during this season. And it makes me feel crabby and busy. But I’m just so sick of using it as an excuse.

This is an extra special #WIKAWednesday because it’s also an announcement. I would like to welcome my new nephew, Mr. Everett Jay Beam into the world!! He was born yesterday morning at 11:00 and he is just the sweetest little elf I ever saw. I can’t wait to squeeze him when I’m home at Thanksgiving! (Congrats Matt and Becca!)