Blogging Newbie!

Well hello!

I have been toying with the idea of a blogging. I love the idea of blogs but I have struggled with - will I have enough to say? will I be interesting? Well, I always have enough to say. Will it be interesting? Who knows. Maybe not always but this is life as I see it.

December has been one of my busiest months ever, as a wife, mother, grandmother, employee and photographer. I am a lover of all things Christmas, epecially decorating. I have been collecting Hallmark ornaments since 1994 and have hundreds of them. I usually put up 4 trees, three of them themed threes. The biggest tree is an assortment of many themes, with lots of them being personal, going back to my kid's 1st Christmas'. The smaller trees are a Wizard of Oz tree, a Gone with the Wind tree and a Barbie tree. The last two years, I've even added another three for my Studio. I am completely OCD when it comes to decorating so no one can help me. All of my ornaments are in the original box they came in so unpacking and packing are a huge chore. Again - no one can help me because I like them put up very carefully. It takes days to put up and take down.

My photography business took on a whole new life this month. There really wasn't that many shoots (there were 5) but I put my whole self into these shoots. I prepare before hand, making sure everything is sparkling and perfect. It takes me hours! But that's nothing compared to after the shoot. The editing process takes forever! If you have ever edited a photograph, you know exactly what I mean. And I become OCD again - I want every picture perfect. I want each person in the picture to look their absolute best. That is where my time has gone this month. I am not complaining - I love every aspect of this!

But it took my month and my decorating suffered. Only the large tree had ornaments, and at that only a few. Nothing compared to what really goes on this tree. I felt really tortured by this all month long but in the end I had to let it go. I was blessed to be able to buy lots of gifts so I figured as long as there were gifts, no one would even care if the trees were decorated or not. And I was right. It didn't put a damper on things at all. We had the most laid back, peaceful, wonderful Christmas ever. I felt so happy as I watched all my family enjoy just being together and feeling loved by me. I am so very, very blessed.

I have learned so much this year about having a photography business. I am looking forward to 2014. I have some changes I am thinking about. I want to change many of the dynamics of my business so keep me in prayer as I consider some different avenues.

Well, enjoying writing my first blog! Smooches!

Love, Sande