• porter is graduating!

    Porter is Graduating — We have a Senior!

    It is hard to believe in some ways that this little 4 lb 7 oz being that we brought home after 30 days in the University of Iowa Hospital NICU is almost ready to graduate from high school, and is well over 6 feet tall at this point.

    Porter is brilliant, and funny, and insightful, and wise beyond his years. I cannot tell you how proud I am to be Porter’s mother. Porter is Graduating!

    Porter plans to go to Georgia State University as a philosophy major. Though the religious studies department is a separate department at this point, religious studies was under the philosophy department in my time at GSU, so that philosophy department is sentimental to me. I took many philosophy classes in my time there as part of my religious major studies. I would never have dreamed that my child would consider my alma mater, much less the department of my major, in younger years.

    Porter will be a better philosopher than I was. He has the brain for it. I muddled through okay, but he will excel if he chooses to stick with philosophy permanently.

    Porter is Graduating — It is somehow fitting that the firstborn of a religious studies major and a philosophy and religion/ elementary education major should choose to major in philosophy. I am thrilled.

  • spring break and reining in

    It’s been some time since I wrote, aiming to adjust that pattern.

    My website remains unchanged, but I’m shifting away from promoting myself solely as a wedding photographer.

    I am, at my core, a photographer, always with a camera nearby.

    I halted all forms of social media advertising in January and won’t be investing in more. I’ll focus on growing my client base naturally.

    There’s a Senior in the House!

    Life has been a whirlwind lately, particularly with a senior in the family! Porter has been accepted into four colleges, waitlisted for two, and after considering his options, he’s decided to attend Georgia State University, my alma mater. I’m incredibly proud of him regardless of his choice.

    Liam has applied to join the IB program at his high school, which is another achievement I’m proud of.

    Oliver’s teacher recently called to commend his excellent behavior throughout the year, aside from occasional chattiness, which is typical of Oliver. I’m proud of his academic achievements as well.

    We had an enjoyable Spring Break, visiting family in Kansas City. Although I didn’t take many photos other than with my phone, the boys had a blast indoor skydiving. Oliver is already eager to try it again, so we might visit the iFly in Atlanta soon.

    I’m striving to strike a balance between respecting the privacy of my older children and sharing family updates.

    Spring Break and Reining In

    Writing has become a struggle for me lately. This post may seem self-indulgent, as much of my writing tends to be.

    It’s not that my life has become less interesting; for some reason, I’ve grown more guarded as I’ve gotten older.

    February was challenging, but March was better, and now I’m gradually settling into a daily routine after a couple of turbulent years.

    Two Years of Depression

    I’ve been emerging from a dark period of depression over the past two years, gradually reclaiming fragments of myself.

    Two years ago, we spent the last of our proceeds from selling our previous home on repairs to our current one, including the chimney. I also tried my hand at a traveling daycare photography job, which was physically demanding and not a good fit for me. Despite the challenges, I enjoyed traveling solo during that time, visiting places like Idaho, Utah, Oregon, and Florida.

    My visit to Florida, particularly Tampa, likely contributed to my depression. It was only my second visit to Tampa, unrelated to seeing someone from my past.

    Spring Break and Reining In

    Despite the challenges, there’s been significant personal growth, and many positive changes have occurred. Our marriage is stronger, and my photography skills have improved. We’ve also found a church community we love.

    I continue to photograph weddings on a part-time basis and accept other sessions by request. While I experimented with newborn photography, I realized it’s not my forte.

    Oliver Turned Ten!

    The week leading up to Oliver’s birthday was particularly enjoyable. According to Jared, it was because I reclaimed some control over my life. I established a cleaning routine, and our home remained tidy all week. Additionally, I had the opportunity to take photos at my friend Johnny’s studio; one of the pictures in this post is from that visit. Johnny played a significant role in my photography journey, and his business, Rough Cut Designs, produces exceptional work.

    I’m feeling a strong urge to streamline various aspects of my life, including my photography. Although I’ve found a camera setup I love, I struggle with the temptation to downsize. The need for two cameras for weddings prevents me from selling any gear.

    However, I’m uncertain about expanding our garage into a photography studio. My desire for it has waned, but my love for wedding photography remains strong. I am still in love with poring over Haley and Larry’s wedding photos!

    I yearn for opportunities to photograph flowers in our yard or to purchase flowers specifically for photography. I crave routine and simply holding my camera at times.

    Oliver’s tenth birthday weekend was enjoyable but challenging due to the abundance of junk food. Despite sending some food home with his friends after the party, there were leftovers. Fortunately, the boys consumed most of the cookies during our Kansas City trip, leaving none to bring back home. Spring break and the process of reining in various aspects of my life continue to be a journey.

  • getting the house straight

    Getting the House Straight– So….I am in the process of cleaning up our messy (and dirty) house for the first time in a good while. I started in earnest last night.

    I need motivation and accountability in this process. When I get depressed, all housework goes by the wayside. We slip into survival mode.

    I first found A Slob Comes Clean in 2018. Listening to Dana K. White’s journey to a clean house system and organization inspired me so much that it worked well at the Holmes Drive house.

    I am determined to get our current house in order.

    First up is the kitchen. The microwave on our microwave/oven combination unit is broken. So we have a second microwave in the kitchen currently, sitting on the counter.

    I don’t use the desk in the kitchen for anything other than sorting mail. So I am going to move the coffeemaker and the microwave over to that area. That area will house our printer, the coffeemaker, and the microwave. Our mail and to-do stack of papers will also live there.

    I thought about picking up a mail sorter or something else to mount to the wall for storing to-do papers. But we have a drawer in that desk unit that doesn’t have a lot of contents. So I think I will start having the boys (they get the mail every day) put the mail in that drawer from now on. Then it’s not just sitting out until I can deal with it.

    Getting the House Straight

    Next up will be to de-clutter my bedroom with Jared. It’s all my junk. I have a lifelong habit of just throwing my stuff anywhere until I go on a marathon-cleaning session.

    The boys’ rooms all need pretty major attention. But Porter has said he wants to handle it himself. So, his room will have to wait until he has gone off to college at this point, probably.

    After the house is relatively clean and tidy, next up will come the finishing of unpacking and organizing the boxes of stuff in the standing crawlspace under the house.

    The goal for the standing crawlspace area is for it to house only outdoor and yard tools. The goal is to free up the closet that holds those things in the garage.

    The garage is going to be my photo studio. The closet that currently holds all of the yard and outdoor tools will be a changing area for the studio, eventually.

    Once the standing crawlspace and that closet in the garage are all sorted out, I will work on the studio in more earnest. There’s still paint, finishing the floor, and putting up decorative tiles on the ceiling in the studio.

    But, all that has to wait until the inside of the house is dealt with.

    You can read more about me here.

  • i love ynab!

    I love YNAB! You Need a Budget is the budgeting software Jared and I have been using since early 2013.

    YNAB uses a zero-based budget which means you budget every dollar you have. You can set up custom categories, and track all of your financial accounts. The software is made to link to your accounts, though I do not have it set up this way because I like to put in every transaction manually, like an old-school check register.

    Our categories are pretty basic and haven’t changed much over the years, since we started. There is a Giving section, subdivided into Charitable Giving (my favorites are Atlanta Habitat and the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House) and Offerings for church. Next is a section for credit card payments, subdivided by each card. Credit cards are debt, but there is a separate Debt section subdivided into our Car Payment and Mortgage.

    Next is Savings, subdivided into Emergency Savings, Home Maintenance, Auto Maintenance, Vacation, and Boy Allowance. After that is Monthly Bills, which includes Electric and Gas, Water and Trash, Insurance, Phone, Internet, Entertainment (which includes all our streaming services), and Web Hosting.

    Then comes Every Day Expenses, which includes Groceries, Restaurants, Gas for the car, Medical, Clothing, Personal Grooming (Haircuts), Pet Care, Date Night, School Expenses, and Surprises. Interest on the credit cards gets lumped into Surprises.

    Next is a section for Business Expenses— Jared’s work expenses,and my photography business expenses.

    Finally, comes Annual Expenses. This includes Gifts, Safe Deposit Box Fee, Car Registration, Christmas, Taxes (this mostly refers to my estimated taxes), memberships (this includes the recreation center when our membership is current, along with Amazon Prime), and Family Photos.

    As you put in transactions and categorize them, YNAB automatically adjusts category amounts accordingly.

    You can set target amounts, both by total amount and by the monthly amount needed, which is supposed to help those who want to forecast. Sometimes I cheat and forecast a month or two anyway, though, based on anticipated income and any goals we may have.

    Anyway, this is our budgeting software and how I have it set up! I love YNAB!

    You can read more about why I write about what I write about here, especially when I write about my budgeting strategies.