Finally our photo website is done. Business cards are in. I can breathe again. Well, unless I get some real paying customers. So far just a wedding in April. Prepping and studying up for that. Got some practice at Steve’s company party. DJ, dancing, bright lights, drinking, sounds like a wedding reception to me.
Now that the smoke has settled, it’s time for things like cleaning my room and folding and putting away laundry. Might even get crazy and clean out a closet or two. Woohoo!
I got some new buttons today…for my teeth! I got refinement trays for my bottom teeth. Invisalign didn’t do the trick the first time around. Actually, one of my teeth is now lower than the rest. It kinda looks like one is missing. The top teeth are practically straight. He put some weird notch on my last top tray. In a few months I’ll be getting a permanent retainer up top. The super sweet receptionist took my pictures out of my file and showed me what my teeth looked like last April. I didn’t realize what a big difference there was. Everyone used to tell me my teeth weren’t that bad. And they weren’t…even the orthodontist and dental techs tell me that..but it wasn’t great either. It is nice to not worry about smiling any more.
I think everyone that reads my blog also either follows me on Twitter or is my facebook friend, but just in case you aren’t and for my own personal blog history, let me introduce The Great Gatsby. 
I can’t take credit for his awesome name. Tori named him. She’s in the middle of reading The Great Gatsby and loving it. It’s one of my favorite books too. I was going to go with a 30 Rock name, but wasn’t feeling it. He just didn’t look like a Tracy Jordan, Jack Donaghy, or Kenneth Parcell to me. He’s a sweet boy. I’m sure he’ll warm up to us soon enough. I haven’t spent much time with him because it is super cold outside. Just been running out to change the slushy water and bring extra treats to all the poultry. He doesn’t cower in fear at the back of the run and actually has come toward me a few times. I’d say that’s progress. It’s supposed to be warm on Friday so Tori and I will work with him. A handful of peas usually makes any duck your best friend.
Also worked for 6 hours on our photo website. This was not supposed to take up so much time (at least in my head). Just deciding which pictures to feature in our portfolio is hard. Add in attempt to write a clever “about” page and making everything look neat and pretty, well, it takes a lot of time. Oh, and setting prices, yeah that stinks. I’d love to be able to do this free, but it costs money, so I need to charge money. Blurgh. But yeah, I want the website done by this weekend, I’m aiming for this weekend. Optimism, people, optimism. Monday morning launch? Yes, please!
Speaking of photos, if you are interested in my 366 photo challenge, just click on my Flickr widget on my right side bar and you can find it. I’m really enjoying everyone’s 366 photos. Lots of fun. And it doesn’t have to be January 1st to start, so just do it. I tried to start one last February and failed. So go ahead and start a little later, just don’t fail. 
Rang in 2012 with my sister, Marlen, and her family and a good friend that Mar and I went to high school with back in the day. Lots of laughing and reminiscing and food. It gave me hope for the new year.
Woke up this morning and went to church. I purposely picked In Feast or Fallow to sing as one of the worship songs. It got me through 2011. I’m hoping 2012 is more feast and less fallow, but if it isn’t, my certain hope is in Jesus and I will make it through.
After church, I checked my email and discovered a local farmer that raises ducks and chickens had responded to my inquiry about a Runner drake for Beatrix. She had a pair of drakes on her site and said she wanted to sell them together. Thankfully, now that they are older and part of a larger flock, they aren’t so attached. She is going to sell me just one of them. Sure, there’s still an ache when I think of Gerber, but I’m glad that Trixie won’t have to be alone. She tries to hang with the chickens, but they aren’t fond of her. Otherwise, I’d just stick with having one duck. Anyway, I’m going to email her back and tell her I can pick him up tomorrow.
I’ve also decided I’m going to try the 365 photo challenge. It should be easy since I have my new camera purse so I can tote my camera around everywhere with me. I’m sure there will be plenty of boring uninspired photos, but I think it will be a good challenge for me.
Speaking of photos, Steve designed and order us some Moo Cards for our photo biz. Lately, we end up talking to random people about our business when we are out and about and have needed a card to hand out. People are genuinely interested and it’s not very professional to rip a piece of paper off a piece of mail that’s in my purse to scribble our facebook page address down. I just need to sit down tonight and get the website ready for it’s big debut.
And now, we are getting ready to head out the door to have dinner with Marlen, her husband, my cousin and her husband at a sushi place in downtown Annapolis. Should be fun, especially since my cousin is into photography too. I love it when I can talk shop with someone and not look like I’m boring the life out of them.
Church, friend, family, new duck, sushi AND talking photography, win for 2012! Let’s keep it up!
I guess 2011 got wind of what I wrote about him, because wow, he’s going out with a bang. A hawk attacked and killed Gerber and left what he didn’t eat of him in my yard to find. He was such a good duck. 
Now I have his despondent mate, Beatrix, quacking up a storm for him. I’ve been searching all the local classifieds desperately for a male Runner duck with no luck. Usually males are easy to come by as most people end up with extra drakes. I’d rather her not weather the Winter alone. She’s such a tiny little thing. 
And in just a few hours, I get to break the news to Tori, Soph, and Josiah. They’ve been in NC with their dad. They usually take stuff like this harder than Ash and Alex.
Yes, 2011, you can stop it now. You made your point.
Went for my 3 week blood pressure check and booyah! it was good! I think I will celebrate by eating a bag full of sea salt, then a ham, and perhaps some bacon.
In other news, no lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, just a B12 deficient anemia and a vitamin D deficiency. The good doc gave me a shot of the B12 to start, then a supplement to start taking for the B12 and D. Well, there ya go. 36 isn’t the year I start taking loads of meds. I’m hoping to stave that stuff off til my 60s. We’ll see how that goes.
I’m also considering doing to 365 photo challenge next year. You would think I already take a photo every day, but I don’t. I think it would be good for me and help me grow as a photographer. I could use the help since Steve and I are shooting our 2nd wedding ever in April. Eek. I’m excited and scared.
Time to whip up that extra salty dinner to celebrate my lack of BP meds*! Woohoo!
*I kid, I kid.
Because 2011, you had some high points (Baltimore weekend with Kelly, Steph, Cori and Julia, I’m looking at you), but wow, you were rough on me. Heartbreaking parenting (I’ll leave it at that because I respect my kids’ privacy), dealing with the effects of aging (High blood pressure and sudden freaky allergies for me), big life changes all around (new jobs, new businesses, Alex coming home, Tori homeschooling). Thankfully God is a God of grace and mercy. Each thing that made 2011 so rough was to sanctify me and bring me closer to Him. I am thankful for that. Let’s just hope I learned all my lessons and perhaps 2012 will just be a little easier. I could use a little time to breath and regroup before anything else hits me.
What is going to be so awesome about 2012? I’m going to get this photography business off the ground. I’m going to work hard at it. We need to set ourselves apart as photographers because ultimately, this is what I’d like to do for a living with Steve. Of course, that’s at least a few years away (I’m being optimistic! Wow, look at me! No pessimism!). But that is my goal.
Also awesome, two kids graduating…on time! Hey, lookie there! They made it through school in 13 years, just like they were supposed to! Now onto launching them into the world as adults! Alex wants to enlist in the Air Force and Tori is just looking at college. She’s been working hard on her music, and really growing. She’s going to put a 4 or so song album on noisetrade in January. I’m really proud of her. And surprised by her talent. I’m not one of those parents that is going to tell her kids they are good at something just to make them feel good.
I’m also going to get healthier. I need to. I put on a bit of weight over the past two years and I’m not feeling so hot. Aches, pains, and other ailments. Actually exercising and eating better will make me feel better. This can’t all be from turning 36. 36 isn’t supposed to feel like 66. At least, I hope it’s not.
So there, I have declared 2012 to be The Year of Awesome. And it will be!
My new favorite ornament
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