Pay it forward.

What a nice, quiet weekend!

OK, maybe not so much "nice" as it was quiet. We went nowhere, did nothing, except buy some groceries on Saturday. I officially picked up Gene's crap cold he has. Probably because he lays on his left side at night, and snores and coughs in my general direction. My days of politely nudging him and asking him to roll over have resorted to *poke poke*. him- "WHAT?" me - "Rollover!" him - grunt/roll.

I didn't get out of my jammies all day sunday. It was nice but you feel kinda like a slug, so when I stayed up late like usual, I updated my facebook page with new pics and info. Facebook is a great way to not only connect with potential customers, but old friends!

I've had a flurry of old high school mates "friend" me on facebook the past week or so. 2 of them are even photographers! Small weird world.

In other news...
A couple days ago, I was having a soul searching type moment. On one hand, you think you're really good at photography, and love your own work, and then the next min, you're reminded by "other ppl" (read other photographers full of themselves), that you suck.

So I wrote a friend of mine. She's an incredibly successful photographer in MI. Not successful in that she's super rich, but successful in that I've never seen a photographer more booked than she is. In fact, I'd venture to say overbooked... and talented... and she has a kick ass hot mole on her lip that makes me kinda jealous, but that's completely unrelated.

Even tho she's incredibly busy, she wrote me back, and gave me a little pep talk, told me that *she* would hire me, and was *honest about it*. That's the highest form of flattery, for one photographer to hire another.

Anyway, after a really long letter, she offers to be a bit of a mentor for me. Not a matter of contact every day, but maybe once a week or so, just touching base. I really appreciate this offer as many times in my life, I've felt like I've slacked in business when I shouldn't have been. I've never worked harder at a business as I have this one, and I feel like I could improve even more, and networking with peers is the best way to start.

So that's my exciting news. I know it's not terribly exciting to others, but I feel like it will be the thing that takes me from this level to the next. It's also where my word of the year comes into play "Dedicated". I am keeping it at the forefront of my mind, and when I feel myself slacking in any area, I just remind myself that I'm *dedicated* and it's a little self kick in the pants.

I spent the day cleaning the house up, I have a college student coming here today to interview me for her communications class. She wants to be a photographer when she "grows up"! So, maybe, I can pay it forward.