*Photo credit: Half Orange Photography (Aaron and I had so much fun modeling for their workshop!)

Happy Friday & Happy March! :)

Since it’s March 1st, it’s time for–what else?–goals! We’ll be taking a quick break from our typical Friday post, Words for the Weekend, to chat personal/goal stuff.

As I was creating said list, however, I had a moment. I’m planning, planning, planning what I want to accomplish/see/do in the future, but I’ve also already done so much and reached so many goals. Have I taken the time to be grateful? 

This is my prayer for myself, and for you, my like-minded, goal-loving, life-loving friends: May goal setting never become about empty achievements, bragging rights, and impressing others. May we always remember the root of why we set goals: to FULLY ENGAGE in this miraculous, beautiful, God-breathed life–with our gazes firmly fixed on eternity. May we always take time to reflect, savor, and be grateful. May we let past, present, and future exist in harmony, never focusing so much on one that it costs us the other two.

For me, that’s what goal setting should be all about. On that note, here are some of my goals this March:

• Officially register for the Nashville Rock’N'Roll Half Marathon on April 27th // SUPER YIKES!! P.S. Does anyone want to run it with me? :)
• Continue training for the halfsie // I feel like somewhere in the world, serious half-marathoners are giving me dirty looks for calling it a halfsie. :)
• Read The Compound Effect // Reread Evidence Not Seen // I was given Evidence Not Seen 10 years ago, on my 17th birthday, and it significantly shaped my life. If you’re looking for an inspiring story of faith, add it to your list! Also, on the note of books, I just have to say it: I tried to read The Happiness Project last month, and heavens, I did not enjoy it in the slightest. Am I crazy or did anyone else feel the same way? I thought I would just love it because I adore books about organization, living fully, etc. It’s rare that I come across a book I wouldn’t recommend, but The Happiness Project would be on that list.
• Unveil my website mini facelift // Gold + Neutrals + Feminine touches. You’ll love it!
• Photograph my 2013 brand-inspired styled shoot // This is a leftover goal from February, and it actually multiplied into four (!?) shoots scheduled throughout March and April. So. I’m going to have lots of pretty things to share once my film scans come back. :)
• Photograph my first wedding of the 2013 season // At Camp Lucy. With the sweetest couple EVER. Happy dance. :)
• Celebrate my 27th birthday with my handsome husband and dear friends in Austin // I truly can’t imagine anything better.

I hope you all enjoy your first day of March! What are your plans this month? Spring is right around the corner, and I can’t wait. :)

XOXO

I love new beginnings. I’m going to treat February 1, 2013 as though it’s New Years day, okay? My January was all foggy, so I didn’t post goals. I know you were all devastated. :) I did, however, have January goals, and somehow despite the fog, they all got done. FIVE. BIG. THINGS.

QUICK JANUARY RECAP

1. Begin pre-training for my half marathon. Translation: Be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. Don’t judge me. I’m a newb. But I did it! :)
2. Change my name. It’s disgraceful how long it took me to change my name (a year and three months), but when I got my new SS card in the mail, I made Aaron stop and give me a pick-up-spin-around hug. BECAUSE I’M OFFICIALLY A RECTOR!!! Caroline Joy Rector. Take that, life!
3. Set a budget, and make some website/brand changes happen! New year, new vision, new look. The designs are being refined, and I’m excited to reveal my slightly new look in February. Nothing too crazy, but I think you’ll love it.
4. Read a book (12 books in 12 months). This shouldn’t even be a “goal” anymore, because last year turned me into the biggest book nerd you’ve ever seen. However, I shocked even myself this month and ended up reading four books: Rework, Seven, Daring Greatly, and The Art Of Possibility. All absolutely amazing. If I had to pick a favorite though…I think The Art Of Possibility tops my list. But maybe just because I love all the classical music references. :)
5. Prepare heart and mind to teach Branches & Light 2013. What do I even say?! It was the most enriching experience of my life. Opening up and begin vulnerable with a room of girls is slightly terrifying…but WORTH IT. I feel so changed and so grateful to have met such an incredible group of ladies.

ON TO FEBRUARY GOALS:

1. Select the half marathon I want to run + start a training regimen. Also on the note of running, register for the Capitol 10k. Any of you Austin-ites running it? Let’s be running partners!
2. Continue the name-changing process and get a new Driver’s License and Passport.
3. Read more books! My main focus is to read Film Is Not Dead, but I’m probably going to re-read Fine Art Wedding Photography too. Can you tell it’s a film month for me? Sidenote: I am SO FIRED UP about this switch back to film! All I want to do is shoot these days. :)
4. Photograph my 2013 brand-inspiration styled shoot. On film of course. Two shoot must haves: a classic car and gold glitter confetti. :)
5. Take a road trip to Nashville (just the hubby and me) to refresh, renew our vision for the year, sing in the car, and enjoy the beautiful landscape. You better believe I’ll be all vintage-charming with my feet on the dash, and my 35mm camera around my neck. Ah, I’m such a romantic now. ;)
6. Host a Valentine’s Day dinner party.

So that’s what I’ll be up to this month. And for good measure, here’s a photo of me, taken the other day when Aaron and I got to model for the Half Orange Photography workshop. (We snuck in some bio photos after the shoot. No way I was letting that good hair go to waste!)

Happy December friends! As temperatures drop and nighttime rolls in early, I find myself wanting to wrap up in the quiet of the winter months. Do you ever just have the desire to unplug completely and submerse yourself in lost arts? Like writing handwritten letters, journaling, spending late nights in wonderful conversations, watching the stars on cold clear nights, and (sigh) fully enjoying one.thing.at.a.time.  Oh, that is where my heart is this December!

I don’t have many goals this month, because my main goal is to slow down and take in the beauty, and gifts around me. My greatest desire this December is to center myself on the love of my Savior. I want my daily life to be marked with contentment and generosity.

Aaron and I are doing lots of fun Christmas-y things this month though, including my FAVORITE Christmas tradition of getting dressed up (we’re talking black tie attire) and going to the Nutcracker ballet. Oh, if only I’d persevered through ballet classes when I was younger! My fantasy career is to be a ballet dancer. ;)

My December Goals:

• Let generosity reign!
• 12 in 12: Read 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp
• Mail Christmas cards to my sweet clients
• Go to the Nutcracker Ballet, dressed to the nines!
• Make festive holiday drinks and watch a favorite Christmas movie, while wrapping presents with Aaron

Happy December! :)

Happy November!  I’ll spare you my exclamations on how last month zoomed by and how I can’t believe it’s basically the holidays already. November is going to be one sweet month. I have lots of fun goals, BUT my #1 goal is simply to keep calm and stay healthy. :) This is my busiest wedding month EVER. Add to that the holidays, and well, it’s a recipe for stress. However, my mind often comes up with brilliant quotes and my latest gem is, “Stress Is A Choice.”  So I’m doing all kinds of proactive things like eating plenty of raw fruits and veggies, limiting sugar, taking probiotics and astragalus, and repeating my brilliant quote to myself anytime I feel overwhelmed. :)

Here are the rest of my goals:

-Vote!

-Commemorate the day the builders break ground on our house! The date is still unknown but it should be in November–cross your fingers. We plan on celebrating by toasting champagne at our home site. And maybe dancing Gangnam Style. Wait, no. On second thought, maybe not. We kind of want to be on our Home Owners Association board, so we should probably play it cool.

…Oh, get real, you know we’re SO going to dance. :) :) :)

-Order Christmas & New Years cards…this year, no photos, just pretty designs from Rifle Paper. Love them!

-Order all final Christmas presents. I’ve never finished my shopping so early! YAY!

-Decorate the tree with my handsome hubby. It’ll be our second and last Christmas in “our first place” rental, so it’ll be sweet and memorable. :)

-12 in 12: Read Believing God by Beth Moore. Honestly, I love the holidays, but what I really love most is slowing down enough to savor the truth of the season and letting my heart be shaped and reshaped by my Savior’s love. I want to immerse myself in the spirit of the season. Knowing WHO WE ARE in Jesus frees us up to love others and give generously. I want that. Aaron and I talk all the time about how we want our lives to be marked by generosity and love. So I’m saying NO to “too busy” and YES to spending time with Jesus and accepting his TRUTH about who I am in Him. This is what I want more than anything this holiday season.

Hello sweet month of October! October marks so many special things in my life–our one year anniversary of marriage (YAAY!!!), our one year anniversary of getting our puppy Steve-Z, and our one year anniversary of moving to Austin. I love Fall. I love that Fall invites us to turn inward to our homes and our families. When the temperatures start to cool, and the days become shorter, I just want to make soup, cozy up under a blanket, and read books.

This is going to sound somewhat ironic, but ever since getting the iPhone 5, I’ve wanted to be on my phone less. I mindlessly carry it to every room I’m in, when, does it really need to be that way? No. My biggest awakening came when I realized that I had a habit of Pinterest-ing or something on my phone, while “watching” something on TV. Bleh. Too many screens, too many distractions. I want to let myself live in the moment, and not be distracted by something totally unimportant, like Pinterest or Facebook on my phone 24/7. This month’s goal is to simply be present. To let myself savor one thing at a time. Focus on one thing at a time.

Other goals?

-12 in 12: Read Tribes by Seth Godin.

-Tackle some home organization projects like organizing the guest bedroom closet (it became the accumulation-of-random-things closet) and creating one place for our Christmas wrapping. Which, by the way, we TOTALLY finished Christmas shopping already! September goal success! Well, except for my dad’s present–why are dads always impossible to buy for? We’ll figure something out. :)

-Decide on photoshoot models and our guest speaker for our photography workshop Branches & Light. If you’re a lady photographer and you want to make 2013 YOUR year + build a community of photographer friends who will challenge and inspire you, we want you to join us on January 28, 2013 in Austin. Our early bird rate is expiring TONIGHT at midnight, and we have just a few seats left! You’ll save $125 if you jump on the early bird rate. Check out the details here OR register here.

-Celebrate our one year anniversary all month long! But especially on the 22nd. Want to see our wedding photos? :)

See the glittery gold letters? It’s subliminally telling you that my August goals may be short, but they may very well be the COOLEST goals ever.

• Read Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend.
• Plan and finalize all the details for our FOURTH, ladies-only, photography workshop Branches & Light. So excited!  Keep your eye on the B&L blog in August. We’ll be posting alumni reviews so you can get a sense of whether or not B&L is the right workshop for you + we’ll finally be revealing the details of when and where our next workshop will be! Follow B&L on Twitter to be the first to know when registration opens. We have limited seats, and in years past we’ve completely sold out.
• Begin experimenting with film! I brought home a Mamiya 645 in July and have been awkwardly staring at it ever since. It’s slightly intimidating–but I’m gathering my courage and taking the plunge this month. I have two styled shoots coming up in August and I’m doing it. Nerves aside, I cannot wait to experience the film process. I’ll let you know how it goes! :)
• Plan the five year anniversary celebration of Caroline Joy Photography! December 2012 marks FIVE YEARS! Can I just tell you how proud I am?! I’m probably going to literally buy a cake and stick one of those “5″ candles on it. And then eat it. All. But I’m also going to do some fun blog posts and maybe even get a little crazy with some giveaways.

Okay, this is me ‘fessing up, you guys. I totally didn’t get around to changing my name to my new married name in July. I mean, how hard could it be? Apparently too hard for me. I know I let you down. Maybe I’ll change it on my golden anniversary.