the wheels are turning.

I spent a good bit of time today thinking about the goals I have for this year. In December of '09, I decided to start a photography business, and I started feverishly making notes and doing research on what all would be involved in starting one. It got overwhelming quickly, and I decided to talk to a friend about it. He and his wife gave me some very sound advice, and I again felt peace about moving forward with it. I am confident that I can make this work.

I had written a couple of lists of important goals already, but today I re-articulated on paper what I would like to see happen. It was pretty much a short list of hopes and dreams, some of which pertained to something other than photography. Seeing it all written down (actually, it was on my iPhone) was empowering and made me feel like I had some direction and something concrete to work toward. When the end of this year comes, I can look back at this list and see just how much I was able to accomplish.

A couple of things that I have accomplished already have to do with sharing my photography. I started Facebook fan page and a new blog, both under the name of Rosebud Photography. In just a few short days I already have almost 100 Facebook fans, so that is really exciting. As for the blog, I am slowly adding photos to it, and any photo that I would have posted in this blog under the heading of "My Would-Be Portfolio" will go there. I've had some wonderful photo shoots already and will add images from those as well.

The name Rosebud is one of my daughter's two nicknames. (The other is Ladybug.) I thought Rosebud would be a lovely name for my business because it connotes something beautiful, precious, and timeless. And that's what I think our memories are, especially when we choose to commemorate them with photos.

This is indeed a journey that I am not facing without some degree of trepidation, but that is why I chose FEARLESS as my one little word for 2010. I am going to work toward each goal on my list deliberately and thoughtfully, with confidence and faith, and I refuse to give fear any credence whatsoever.

I also plan to search for a mentor or mentors who can help me on this journey.