things have been a little quiet around here... well, not actually... it just looks like it on the surface. i had some pretty serious new year type goals and i'm pressing hard to make them work for me... little changes to make big changes in my productivity and management of my days... being more conscientious of how i spend time and what i do with the time i have... because i'm a bit of an artist... and my thoughts wander... and my time's squandered... people always say i'm so productive... but we're the gate keepers of our biggest secrets, and i know deep down that sometimes i only perform at about 50% of my capabilities... so here's what i've been doing...

• firstly, i quit facebook... one of the best decisions of my new year. honestly... it's so freeing. no more late nights looking at pictures of people i barely know or haven't seen in years... no more checking it when i'm bored... getting distracted from the much more important components of my day... apparently i'm not the only one. my sister sent me this hilarious link.

  "...a Dutch website designed to end users' social lives on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn in a spectacular way.

  basically you hand over your passwords, and they methodically delete all your info, put up a noose where your profile pic used to be, and change your login info so you can't get back in.. a little extreme, and no, i didn't go quite that far... but funny nonetheless. and by the way... just an fyi, when one deactivates their facebook account, it's not deleted... it stays there with your photos, contacts, and everything... indefinately.

• my other big focus lately has been better implementing the entrepreneurial time management systeminto my day to day life. i've talked about it and referenced it before, but i'm making a new commitment to abiding by it better. i made an enormous 4x5 foot blackboard, and have been sketching my week like on a calendar. weekends are computer free, and work free except for shoots... mondays are for running errands, meetings, bookkeeping, blogging, and setting up my desk for my three hardcore work days. tuesday, wednesday, and thursday are to settle in and really produce. edit, and finish jobs, submissions, web updates, image organization... and fridays are for more leisurely surfing, tying up the loose ends and winding down. this has been said so many times before, but being more conscientious about taking time away from work, has indeed made the hours i work more focused and more fulfilling... it's one of the hardest things to do, when you're working from home and for yourself to not work a little here and there all the time... but i stopped. because it was making me a little crazy. and i feel so normal, looking forward to my carefree weekend!
• things have been busy though! i'm gearing up for a couple national blog features, so i've been working behind the scenes to get my site into tip top shape. updating, reculling, and rehauling my weddings gallery is a time consuming process but i hope to have it up soon!
  • 8 limbs yogaand i collaborated on another shoot last weekend... and i'm shooting some gorgeous pieces for smersh jewelry designthis weekend...

• treehouse pointis an amazing wedding venue here in the northwest... so i've also been busy getting them together some albums (from this wedding)for them to promo at the seattle wedding show this weekend and beyond.

• meanwhile it's been dumping rain for what feels like is a week straight, and i'm trying to remember how amazing a seattle summer can be... and that this was just a few months ago and can happen again in just a few more...

• this next week is tax preparation, seattle imagery selections for some of theseoffices in d.c., and many more hours of editing and site updating... but honestly all i'm really thinking about are warm sandy beaches, sunshine, swim up bars, and cocktails with little umbrellas in them... the snow bird in me wants to fly south for a little bit... mexico, fiji, and hawaii are all on the brain... makes me tempted to sell a lens and buy an airplane ticket.... xo, brooke