That's my dog, Misty, and an out-take from our holiday cards ;)
I have a long list of things that need to be done before Thursday. It's about 250 hours of work and I only have 3 days to do it. Hmmm.... the math just doesn't seem to add up! If you REALLY need something from me before the holidays, email me to let me know NOW. Otherwise, I'm going to do as much as I physically, possibly can before Thursday, but after Thursday- I won't be back in the office until January 10th. Luckily I'll have other people working on things while I'm gone so that I can pick up where I left off and hit the ground running... but I really hate leaving work behind when there's so much to do. However, with our families being so far apart, this is pretty much our only chance to spend quality time with everyone, so we try to make the most of it!!
Here are the items I'm currently scheduled to work on before I leave (this is in addition to my regular schedule of portraits & weddings getting finished, uploaded, and blogged)..
- Prepare seven weddings for editing & color balancing to be worked on while I'm gone
- Holiday Cards for family, friends, & clients
- Tracy & Jeff file corrections
- Sarah & Alex image for paper
- Lacey & Martin image for save-the-dates
- Jackie & Chuck image for holidays
- Tiffany & Jeff album changes
- Robin & Carey email notes
- Katie & Matt discs
- Cara & Sean discs
- Car Alignment & Brakes
- Misty Grooming
- Library Returns
- Household errands
And just in case you find yourself wondering why you haven't heard from me in a while, here's my schedule for the upcoming weeks:
12/20 - 7 hour drive to Michigan
12/21 - Wedding in Lansing, MI
12/22 - Family Christmas Party
12/23 - Time with Family
12/24 - 14 hour drive to Missuori
12/25 - Christmas with Alex's Family
12/26-1/1 - Time with Missouri Families
1/1 - 7.5 hour drive back to Indiana
1/2 - Unpack, wash clothes, errands, repack
1/3 - Travel to California, meet Laura
1/4 - Wedding Rehearsal
1/5 - Wedding in Pasadena, CA
1/6 - Travel back to Indiana on red-eye flight
1/7 - Unpack, wash clothes, errands, back-up images
1/8 - Catch up on email
1/9 - Boudoir in Indy
1/19 - Wedding in Terre Haute, IN
1/20-24 - Workshop in Louisville, KY
1/28 - Workshop in Indy
Is your head spinning just reading all of that? Yeah.. that's how I feel living through all of it (and why I'm still up at 3am)! February slows down a little, which will hopefully allow me to get caught up on everything that's waiting in the wings right now- or at least give me time to work on the larger projects that get put off for the everyday projects. March is ridiculously busy for some reason, and then I have a few weeks to catch up again in April. Let me tell you, it's never a dull moment in my life!!
I'm really hoping that santa will bring me a new MacBook Pro this Christmas so that I can really crank out some more work while I'm on the gone (and hopefully my family will understand)! My PowerBook G4 has had a good 4 years, but with larger and larger file sizes and demand for processing power, it's time for it to retire.
Do you know of any good fiction audio books we should check out from the library before we leave for our roadtrip? I've been listening to non-fiction all year and I'm ready for some really good stories, but I have no idea what's hot in bookstores right now! Leave me a comment and let me know... pretty please with whip cream on top?
PS. Don't forget to scroll down and check out the awesome ugly sweaters and the handmade birds I posted yesterday while I was working on stuff behind the scenes.
i don't know if its out on audio tape, but i LOVED the book "a girl named zippy" by haven something (i forget her last name). its such an honest and hilarious book, i think you'd love it! merry merry christmas!! love, megan doddridge
ReplyDeleteThat pic of your pooch is TOTALLY cute!!
ReplyDeleteAwww - how cute! My dog gets depressed every time I put a Christmas hat on him. It's hilarious. Enjoy your much EARNED time off Anne!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny Megan mentioned Haven (Kimmel)'s book - she was originally from this area (Muncie) and her mom still writes reviews for us here at the paper.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for good audio non-fiction, try any of the following:
ANY Bill Bryson (HILARIOUS!)
ANY book by Erik Larson
Man Hunt (about the chase for John Wilkes Booth)
Freakonomics (so you can tout interesting facts to family members)
Good luck with your schedule Anne!!!
I enjoyed a book called "My Sister's Keeper." on audio.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a Harry Potter fan, that's lots of time for HARRY POTTER!!!!!!! (Sorry, I'm WAY dorky).
And we can talk about some super-sexy photos at Flourish when you get back ... because I don't want to add to your chaos right now!
{hugs}
Anne your scheduled is INSANE! Be safe on your travels and have a VERY Merry Christmas! Love the pic of your pup, what a cutie!
ReplyDeleteok, your dog is ridiculously cute.
ReplyDeletei hope you are able to really relax and enjoy your time off.
i realized a few weeks ago that i went into business so i could have more freedom and flexibility while doing something i love- not work 14 hour days 7 days a week trying to remember what my husband, family and friends look like. i'm taking appropriate actions so it doesn't happen again next year. :)
happy holidays!
ME TOOOOO!!!! I have one more person I need to hire (well, two if you count the housecleaning person I'd like to have) and I'll be able to free up at least the time outside of our cultural norm of a 40 hour work week!
ReplyDeletewow! and I was being a baby about my trip to new york and back... you have even more (and probably even colder) on your plate, good luck!
ReplyDeleteI second this:
"ANY Bill Bryson (HILARIOUS!)"
except, do not under any circumstances try his like 20-disc "history of everything" book... it's very interesting but very hypnotic and will exhaust you... not good for a long boring drive :)
Elliott and I plan to listen to Stephen Colbert's "I am America and So Can You" on our four hour drive to Iowa. Happy Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHave a great holiday Anne! I sure hope you scheduled in some down time too. :-D
ReplyDeleteSome good books that I couldn't live with out:
The Other Boleyn Girl - by Phillipa Gregory (these books are like crack!)
A Fine Balance - by Rohinton Mistry
Chocolate (love the movie? will LOVE the book) - by Joanne Harris
Memoirs of a Geisha - by Arthur Golden
and
Prodigal Summer - by Barbara Kingsolver
Have a safe journey!
Sarah
www.blinkdc.com
Your dog is adorable ... what kind is it??
ReplyDeleteAnd boy, do I love to recommend books! (I've probably already recommended these to you...)
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman - a wonderful, philosophical reflection on the nature of time (sounds dry, but very cool)
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - awesome, except kind of a downer. Who wants to read about Vietnam during the Christmas season?
On the Road by Jack Kerouac - totally beat.
your dog is adorable!
ReplyDeletewow- thanks for your comments Anne! so funny story- i love Angela Anderson's photography and I saw that you are going to her work-shop! i was like oh my wooooo i wish i could go! it was just so strange and yet such a small world cus i randomly found both of your sites last spring when i was researching photographers, both my friend Stevi (she works for Artist Group- have u heard of them?) and I just love your work!it would be so amazing to meet both of you..you are all going to have so much fun at the workshop! good luck with all your work- i know exactly how overwhelmed you must feel!
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful christmas and new year!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if any of these-except the last one- are available as audio books (my husband and I just take turns driving and reading out loud in the car)-
ReplyDelete-anything David Sedaris (he's even got a book of essays on the holidays- not really fiction, but hilarious)
-Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
-Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Foer
-The Feast of Love, Charles Baxter (never saw the movie, but the book is sublime)
-Wicked, Gregory Maguire (the audiobook for this is pretty good- a friend loaned it to me)
Love your blog! Happy holidays!
Anne- You and Alex should come over while you're in Michigan! Just give us a call. We always have brownies or something good around too because I love to bake! =)
ReplyDeleteHi Anne! Thanks so much for commenting on my blog! That picture is adorable and totally leaves me with dog envy! We can't have one in our apartment but still, I can dream :). Oh and I definitely understand your lust for a Mac - I'm writing this on my Macbook and I am in love with it as well :P.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely try to take your advice about our photographer, I'm so afraid that we won't get the pics I want on the big day that it just makes sense to do another shoot (this is what I'll tell Eric hehe).
Oh and I think now is a bad time to give an opinion on MA since we've already gotten more snow this year than they had all last year apparently with all the storms! Other than that, something about being on the East Coast makes it seem more exciting than the Midwest (although you will HATE the drivers here). Plus everything is super close and there are tons of picturesque towns. You also learn to live with their quirky Bahstun accent as well. A part of me still thinks we're crazy for moving out here though, especially cause I want to be around when the rest of my friends start getting engaged! I think it's a great idea to live in other places when you're still young though, so that's what we're doing!
Take care and enjoy your hectic holidays!