2nd Quarter Report Card-March to June
After blasting through five posts in five days last week (a personal record!) our 2nd Quarter report card is ready to publish. I wanted to have posts to link back to in order to show you what each accomplished goal looks like! Without further adieu....Tah Dah!!!
Photography
1. Educate myself more on photography.
WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
via
:
1. Baby Photography with Sandy Puc
2. Posing Masterclass with Bambi Cantrell
3. Submissions for Magazines & Blogs with Jasmine Star
4. Marketing to Moms with Jules & Joy Bianchi
5. Lightroom 4 Workflow with Jared Platt
BOOKS FINISHED
-The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman.
-The Sandy Puc` Guide to Children's Portrait Photography.
-The Art of Children's Portrait Photography by Tamara Lackey.
COMING UP
-Your Baby in Pictures by Me Ra Koh & Mamarazzi by Stacy Wasmuth
-Photoshop/Lightroom (rewatch) from
.
-Senior Photography & Balancing Work & Life Workshops
2.
Create 2011 Portfolio album
-this beauty has already been on display when we did
photos for our
--it gave parents something to thumb through while waiting for their child to be done. Yay for free PR!
3.
Have new Thank You postcards printed.
4. Drop business cards more often (use them up!)
-every chance I get! I'm even mailing a couple dozen to those who are my biggest fans and refer-ers. :)
5.
Find 3 new places to shoot.
-iKonix studio in East Village 2.25.12
-
Jen + Jason's backyard for their 3.18.12 wedding!
-Lauren & Shawn 5.19.12-Park across from Waveland Golf Course
-
Jason + Ann 5.26.12 Urbandale Walnut Ridge Park
-Bobi Jo + Don 5.28.12 South & East side of the Capitol Building
-Melissa + Kevin 6.9.12 Raccoon River Park Trails
6.
Look into a website or blogsite option.
-a wise graphic designer friend suggested keeping this blog and paying $5/year for more storage space. That will be my plan of attack for now at least....while also ramping up how
http://www.carriekrupke.zenfolio.com/
looks and functions for perspective new clients.
Health & Personal
7. Continue to commit scripture to memory.
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-
-
8. Keep exercising 3 times a week.
-
Mondays
=kickboxing video-this took a break after I started having mini-spasms in my lower back. Because I don't attend a class with an instructor to tell me of my bad form, I tweaked my back to the point of needing 2 chiro adjustments to get back into gear. The video instructor always told me, "You're doing great!" ;)
-
Wednesdays
=walk Ella around the fields during first frisbee game of the evening, watch the second to cheer Gerard on.
-Fridays
=back exercises/rowing machine
-
Saturdays=
swim at Fitness World West thanks to a month free membership since our new church building shares a parking lot with them! Maybe we can squeeze a full time membership into the budget?
-
-
Occassional Sundays
=walk Ella around the fields during warm ups for Pick-Up Frisbee so that she's calm/tired enough to watch the field play.
9. FLOSS
-work in progress
10. Stand up straight!
-work in progress
11. GREET GERARD AT THE DOOR WHEN HE COMES HOME. (Be a better cheerleader-even if that means going out and buying a pleated skirt and pom-poms.)
-getting better
12.
Grow what Gerard will eat in the garden
-Peppers & tomatoes from our youth group's fundraiser; sunflowers, cucumbers, & pumpkins are all in & up! The rhubarb and chives keep a'comin' back too!!
13.
Keep adding dairy back into my diet
-I've had
eggs with milk mixed in
and have been fine!
-I've had
Subway
for the first time in 7 years and have been fine!! Road trips will be a lot healthier now with that option available to me.
-I've even eaten my former favorite:
Reese's PB Cups
. It feels SO good to welcome those beauties back into my life.
-Lastly, I've incorporated
bread with milk in it
into the menu. Non-dairy bread was getting harder and harder to find at the grocery store...
Home
14.
Sell office furniture via
Craigs List or
Facebook.
-our "office" is now a "reading room"! It's wonderful to have a room free of electronics and distractions where I can read/pray/journal without electronic temptations. Ella has even adjusted to her room's make-over too and will lay on her bed next to me while I read. We were gifted the glider from Gerard's mom-she rocked Gerard & his sister to sleep in it when they were little. Amana Furniture never goes out of style! Thanks Cheryl!
15. Purge unnecessary items. If it's not beautiful, I don't love it, nor have used it in the past 2 years, it's outta here!
(Goodwill has gotten to know me well this year. 7 trips and counting...)
16.
Move more trellis to raspberry bush (it's steadily taking over it's little corner of the yard!)
17. For our home this year, the name of the game is STORAGE. In the garage, in the basement, in the shed, in our closets. Organized, clean and logical.
-We've cleaned out the guest room closet so that it's completely empty. The reading room's closet has suits, formal wear and costumes in it. When you're married to a choral director, you will inevitably have a madrigal costume in your closet complete with man-tights. *sigh*
-We've scoped out Lowe's & Home Depot's closet organizer "systems" to price compare and choose what options we like best for the master bedroom closet. Committee is still out.
-A friend from church helped us construct shelving for our
!!
18. White trim upstairs (door jams and windows)
19.
Paint/seal deck
-this was Gerard's pet project for the summer and is DONE!! You can see images in his
.
20. New doors for our upstairs rooms-they're beat up, hollow, and spakled with paint from when this was a foreclosure...
-we're looking into our closet project first which might involve breaking down some of our wall to grow the opening to the closet. The cost of that project greatly affects the viability of #18 and #20 as possibilities for this year.
21
. Landscape north side of house very, very simply with low, low maintenance plants.
-Gerard thought the best idea with this area would be to pull out the junipers that were there and grass seed it for easier mowing. When he went to pull the junipers out, their roots hadn't grown at all in the 3 years they've been in that spot. Glad we composted them to the curb!
--Looks like grass is very, very simple and low, low maintenance. So, it fits the bill!
22.
Redecorate basement desk area to be more conducive to productive work. (See
for 'before' photos,
for 'progress' photos, and
for 'current after' photos.)
-window treatments are done!
-pillows for the couch are done!
-fabric covered boxes for storage on my shelves are done and organized!
-wall shelving above my desk is done!
-spray painting the shelf unit to the left of my desk is last, but I'm going to wait to see if I like what we have and let it marinate for at least a few weeks.
23.
Paint kitchen island white.
-check
for the transformation. Even Gerard said it made our kitchen feel brighter when I was finished. Yahtzee!
24. Plant more bulbs in the fall: hyacinths, daffodils and let's try iris if possible...
In the past I've tried to make seeing professional grade concerts and going to farmer's markets goals and it's never happened to the degree I'd like. So this year, I just want to get out of the house and take advantage of what Des Moines has to offer more often.
-we've actually made it to a
Drake Wind Symphony
concert. These ears are very happy!
-a colleague's son held a
senior recital
in our school's new auditiorium that lasted 2 hours. Two hours full of incredible almost professional-grade violin playing? yes please!
-and it looks like we'll be going to
Valley Junction Farmer's Market
most Thursday evenings because our church has a booth there for this summer. :) Ella loves meeting new pups and getting extra lovin'.
DESIRES
1. photograph 4 weddings
-
-
2. increase income after expenses by 10%.
3.
photograph 4 new families
-Jill + Glen :: Nora & Lily 5.5.12
4. photograph 2 seniors as a result of my advertising in the Norwalk Music Booster concert programs.
5. decide whether I want to invest in a 70-200 2.8 or a 35mm 1.8. Both? Neither? Is what I have currently doing the job I want to do?
--leaning towards the 70-200 2.8 currently if the Budget Gods allow it. That would probably shoot Desire #2 in the foot...