I’m currently in Florida. I haven’t been here since 2006, when I flew in for a few days to get my mom and bring her back to our home for a week.

I’ve been visiting with my mom, my Aunt, my cousins and my brother and his family. Also my best friend! It’s so weird to be back here, seeing everyone. There are ghosts everywhere.

We arrived on Saturday evening. The flight was okay, but, there were kids right across the aisle from us. The kids were okay at first, but, as the flight went on, it went downhill quickly. We have a Toyota Corolla as our car this week. It’s small and after driving a Jeep for a few years, you realize how low cars actually sit!

Sunday we saw my mom, my Aunt and my cousins. One of my cousins I haven’t seen since I was a little kid. I didn’t really get a chance to visit with him, he was out the door to do something a short time after we arrived. We had a good visit with everyone. That night we met my brother, his wife and my niece for dinner. My nephew was working, but, we met his girlfriend! It’s nice to have had some time with them. Hopefully we’ll be getting together on Friday night for some Wii!

Monday we took my mom and my Aunt out to lunch – Red Lobster. We had a good visit and then we all went back to my Aunt’s house. She’s living in my grandparent’s house. It’s there were some of the ghosts arrived. Looking through photo albums, seeing myself and my grandparents together, where it hit me the hardest. There’s this awesome photo of my grandfather with a camera around his neck and he’s not even looking at the camera. I’m going to take photos of some of the photos the next time we are over there. I tried to explain scanning in the photos, but, she doesn’t even have a printer, so, that’s a challenge right from the beginning. I know that there are companies here in the area that will scan and archive/print photos, maybe I can point her in that direction.

Yesterday we went to Wal-mart and I found some shorts! The seasons are changing in the stores right now, hopefully there will be some shorts on the racks when I get home. I bought some flops at Target the other day and I found a few things on sale at Loft and at Stein Mart.

We also went to see my BFFOUCDP yesterday for lunch! I haven’t seen her in person since 2007, when we went to NYC for a long weekend. It was great to see her. She wanted me to take some business photos for her website and cards. The country club she took us to is gorgeous! It looks like an Italian village. Tons of photo opportunities! Hubby took some photos of her and I together and she took some of he and I.

Today we are off to see my mom and to get some house things checked off of her list. Tonight we are meeting my BFFOUCDP and her family for dinner!

Next weekend I will have about 20 people here exchanging cookies. I’ve done this exchange for three years now and I really like the whole thing. It’s always fun!

I cannot believe that Christmas is only a few days away! I have everything wrapped, for the most part. I just need to get one little thing wrapped and make cards for my hubby and kiddos.

The grand-daughter is getting a kitchen for Christmas! This is destined to be a hit as she loves helping in the kitchen. I still remember when we gave her mom her first kitchen, oh wow, I’m so old! Anyhow, that’s her big gift this year, I’m sure there will be photos after Christmas of her using it and making some great food!

I’m so looking forward to the New Year, 2010. Wow, that sounds so cool! There’s a bunch of things on my goal list for next year, both personally and professionally. So, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully I will be sitting here next year typing out the things that I’ve accomplished and the next year’s list.

Personal List

1. Lose that last 15 pounds. This is something that I’ve slacked off on big time. Now that I will have more time for ME I hope to accomplish this before the Spring.
2. Start a Roth IRA. Hubby and I just visited with our financial planner last month. We have enough left over to start our IRA’s in 2010 and keep them going for years. He did an analysis of our finances and we’re not exactly on target, but we’re pretty close. Even though we’re getting a late start, we’re still going to be okay.
3. I want to get some sort of furniture in our living room. Right now everything to be hung on the wall is leaning against the walls and we have a piano in there. That’s it. It will be two years since we moved in next month and while we have the room painted, I want it darker. We had it painted in August and it’s a very pale green. Over the past few months I’ve decided that I want forest green or at least something darker than baby green in there. So, we’re either going to repaint it ourselves or hire a company to do it. I hesitate at re-hiring the company that did it in the first place. The guy is a great person, but he’s very conservative with color and we really aren’t. It’s not a good match. He did a pale blue for our dining room as an estimate and we really want something bright, like orange. I guess we’ll do it ourselves.

Professional list

1. Gain 3 new clients. This hopefully will happen through the Chamber, word-of-mouth and advertising next year.
2. Have all my current clients repeat sessions with me.
3. Order a couple of really nice logo shirts for me to wear. Sometimes I’m in an environment with other professionals and they are wearing their logo shirts and I have nothing but a name tag. A silly goal, but something I want to change.
4. Create and order a 16 x 20 collage to show clients at print delivery. I have everything, just need to make it and print it! I hope to do this soon, in 2009 I have one or two more print orders I can tag this onto.

Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year!

Over the past few weeks I’ve actually been pretty busy with photo jobs. Three new clients was my goal this year, I’ve actually had 5. I’ve also had 2 repeat clients. I also just did an event, which may turn into something else. Oh that’s another new client, so that’s 6. Wow, I doubled my goal! I also have one assistant. I’ve hired two but I’m actually looking at a different assistant to replace the one that can never help me.

We’ve been watching the little one for so long at night, that it will be weird to not have to watch her once the semester is over. She’s going to take EMS training so she can get nationally certified, that’s only twice a week. January through May 2010.

Hubby and I have a few parties going on this month. Two with his work and one for my annual cookie exchange. It’s only the second year in this house, but, I think it’s the 3rd or 4th year total.

Not much else really going on. Hubby goes back on the 23rd for a follow up appt. He’s pretty much back to 100% with his sense of smell. The youngest is going to the cardiologist on the 14th for an appointment. Hopefully it’s nothing, but I have a feeling it’s something.

Have a good rest of the weekend and I will try to post later in the week!

Wow, it’s been a while since I wrote something here. I’ve been so incredibly busy.

We have been so blessed by a friend’s daughter. She is filling in the time gap between the time I leave in the evening and the time that hubby gets home from work. The youngest is taking night classes again this semester, so, usually I’m here, but, once or twice a month we need someone. It’s money well spent as the little girlie really loves her and she’s a sweet girl. She’s a client too, I did her senior portraits this past summer!

I had a family portrait session at the beginning of September. It went really well. I’m getting used to little boys and all the energy they have. The boys are 4 years old and 1 1/2 years old. Cute as can be. I have the photos, just waiting for the client to look at them so I can post them online to share.

I also presented to two BNI members that have uprising seniors next year. I think they will both purchase sessions. I also talked to a few people at the past few mixers that have high school students. I’m laying the groundwork for next years sessions now.

My mom is coming to visit next month. This is a good thing. We are getting along a lot better now than we did 3 years ago. I haven’t seen her since 2006 and she’s never met the little girlie at all. She will be here at the beginning of the month for a week.

I’ve been getting really involved with the Chamber of Commerce. I’m on my first non-military committee. There’s an annual event here that I’m helping organize and getting some insight and contributing ideas to. I also plan on helping out with another committee for an event in the Spring. We’ll see what the time commitment is. I try to do things in the morning, so I at least see hubby at night. It’s really weird doing things that aren’t military related. Good, but weird.

Last weekend found me on a bus with 7 of my friends and 20 others. We left early, early Friday morning and arrived in Ohio sometime mid-morning. I  made my first Longaberger basket! I also received another basket on the bus along with an wrought iron napkin holder. I bought two retired baskets. They are hanging on our wall in the hallway. One is for hubby to put his keys, sunglasses, phone and other work stuff in and one is for all the receipts and paperwork that always seem to accumulate on our island. I am hosting a catalog party next month, let me know if you want to buy anything. I hope to get an organizer basket for the kitchen, so we have a place for paper and pens. It was a good trip, but really tiring. We spent the day on Friday shopping, eating and then slept in the hotel that night. Saturday morning we went to a few places, then shopped in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Then back on the bus. We stopped at the site of Flight 93 on the way home. I’m really glad we stopped. I will post those photos on my personal and the photography Flickr this week. They are haunting. There’s not really memorial there, yet, but there are plans to add one. There were benches with the names of each of the victims that died in that crash. It just is sad that after 8 years, nothing really has been done. People have brought stone memorials and put them there, there is a 20-30 foot fence with tons of things on it, I have photos of that. People have left things as they visit the site. There are flags and a huge cross. It’s just a tragedy to me that the ones that fought back, are really the last ones to get any sort of memorial.

Hubby dropped me off at the spa yesterday, I had my hair cut and my eyebrows done. Also had a manicure. I haven’t been there since July, which is way too long for my hair to go without a cut. Then we went out to eat. It was nice.

Tomorrow at church I’ve been asked to take some photos. That wasn’t unexpected, but it kind of was.

I will try to post more often. I hope someone is still reading!