don’t you agree?85 lbs of delicious Parmigiano Reggiano at Whole Foods MarketAn amazing meat platter at Cyril’s at Clay Pigeon Winery in SE PortlandPortland Bloggers at the recent Portland Blogger meet-up
I’ve been struggling with finding balance between my work life (which I love) and my home life (which I love) and my blog life… which, you guessed it… I love.
I’ve decided today that the work week should be a four day week. The hours don’t have to be only eight… but, I am pretty sure that a 3 day weekend is the answer to everyone’s problems. 😉
1 day for play
1 day for necessary chores & errands
1 day for relaxation
What does your perfect weekend look like?
*Pictures above are from my very busy and fun weekend visiting Whole Foods Market for the “The Crack Heard Around the World” and attending the Portland Bloggers Speed Dating event. More about both these events soon… and, a $75 Whole Foods Market Giveaway!
The past few years for me have been back and forth and all over the place when it comes to work and family. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to take time to develop my blog and freelance work to really benefit myself and my family. It wasn’t easy on my husband, son, or finances living the freelance life. I’ve appreciated that I’ve had so much support these few years though– I mean, how many people get the opportunity to really work on their dreams?
Losing Focus…
In September I was offered a full-time position as a Social Media and Marketing Specialist at an amazing company that is really doing good in the community. My freelance work and my blog had finally gotten to a place where it was being profitable and I was getting closer to my goals right before this opportunity presented itself. I knew that in accepting the full time position I would have to really step back in many areas of my life. Basically, I was at a fork in the road and I decided to just battle my way through the obstacles in my path rather than deciding to take one road over the other. A whole jungle of opportunity and challenges in front of me and there I was staring it down with my machete no where in sight.
I am disappointed in the way that I handled the transition from freelance to full-time. I let some people down and I certainly let my blog go in the process. Since September I’ve felt like I am in a constant state of juggling priorities. My health has suffered. My state of mind has suffered. My friendships have suffered.
Finding Balance…
I’m just now at a point where I feel like I am getting a handle on life again. I’m learning to say no (even when I don’t want to) to opportunities that come my way that I don’t have time to do properly. I’m working on focusing and prioritizing. Heck, I’m working on learning how to have a day off!
More than that… I’m teaching myself to blog again! I’m trying to get back to the roots of why I began blogging and what I want to get out of blogging. I’m working on regular postings and clear goals for the year.
In my desire to re-focus and prioritize my blog I thought that perhaps others out there may need to work on their focus a bit. So, I created the below printable for bloggers looking to get back on track for their blogs.
When I was a child I loathed taking family photos. Everyone had to get dressed up in nearly identical clothing and head to a stuffy studio where we posed awkwardly and pasted smiles on our faces. Even if we had a great photographer, the experience was never too amazing. I’m glad we have those photos. But, I’m even more glad that today’s “family photos” have an entirely different feel to them.
This year, as a gift to our parents and siblings, we hired Macey from Motormouth Studios for our family photos. It was freezing outside, but we had a clear and beautiful day to work with as we took our family photos in SE Portland. I gave everyone a loose color scheme to work with and asked them to join us for an hour of taking photos. SO much better than family photos when I was a kiddo.
I couldn’t be more thrilled with these photos. Each day when I wake up and drink my coffee before I head off to work I look around at the photos on the walls of my living room and smile big.
Photo by Motormouth StudiosPhoto by Motormouth StudiosPhoto by Motormouth StudioPhoto by Motormouth StudiosPhoto by Motormouth Studios
 What were your family photos like growing up? Awesome? Lame? Tell me all about it… and, if you have a photo, share a link!
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