2016 Goals & Resolutions

Photography Goals

- To start taking my camera EVERYWHERE with me. I don't know why I've always had this weird anxiety about what people think when I'm shooting randomly and not doing an actual paid shoot. For some reason I get this uncomfortable sense of judgement that people think I'm a tourist when I'm not. It's SO stupid and something I need to get over because I'm missing out on awesome opportunities when I leave my camera at home.

- Apply as a HeARTs Speak Artist. I've actually started on this right before Christmas when I sent in my application. This would be a huge deal for me regarding Animal Rescue Photography and I'm keeping my fingers crossed tightly. It takes up to 60 days for my application to be reviewed so wish me luck and send me good vibes!

- Take more photo risks. After moving out of state and back and focusing on other jobs, my business got neglected and I've had to rebuild my clientele. This year I'm hoping to spark my creative juices and step outside the box for projects even if it means doing trade work.

- Make new business cards/Rebuild clients. Pretty standard stuff, get this pony back on track.

- Start submitting my work to other blogs/contests/etc like I use to.


Blog Goals

- Consistently post regardless of how busy I am. Basically that's what happened last year and why I put the blog on the back burner. I really love Mocha Fox and having my little internet corner where I can shamelessly post photos of myself in outfits or share dog stuff and don't really get judged for it.

- Find sponsored work. I would love to be able to take Mocha Fox to the next level and offer sponsored work. So with that being said... I'm available!

- Save up for a more personal blog design. I'm broke. Like super broke. Everything I have goes into bills, photography business, and dog rescue. It doesn't really leave me a lot left over to splurge on things like a one of a kind blog design. It would be nice though so I'm going to start putting a couple bucks aside at a time to go towards getting my blog spruced up.

- Purchase a scanner/printer. This could go under photography goals as well since this would benefit both.

- Work on more interesting and personal posts. Self-explanatory.

Personal Goals/Resolutions

-Lose weight. I got into a funk last year and I won't lie, I totally turned to food a bit. I was my skinniest at 115lbs but most comfortable when I was at 119lbs. Unfortunately I'm now over 145lb and it shows. When I don't want to go out because none of my clothes fit the way they should and it's effecting my confidence, then I need to do something. I got a treadmill for Christmas (I lost a ton of weight before by just walking at an incline on the treadmill for an hour every 3-4 days) so my goal is to at least get back down to 120lb. I just need to find that motivation and put down the pasta!

-Fix up my office/photography space. Since I moved into our home, I've been avoiding the office space even though I have a ton of ideas for it. I plan on making the area where the closet was a photo space where I can hang backdrops and do indoor studio work. I also want to make it a bright area to do blogging, editing, and find motivation and be inspired. It's not the biggest room so it's going to take a little creativity to pull it all together and my first step tomorrow is figuring out how to refurnish my desk which will come up in a future blog post.

- Make time for dog rescue stuff that's not just photography. My old job left me so drained that I was barely able to even do photos for rescues when I use to do that and so much more. I want to get back into training and events and stuff like that. Also to continue learning and taking classes when the opportunities arise.

- Read more books. I was always such an avid reader and could read books in a single day. The library was my second home when I was a kid. Over the past few years, I struggle to find time to just sit down and get into a book. I need to make the time and instead of turning on the television, just read instead.

- Start saying yes instead of no. I use to be a very social butterfly but 2015 kind of turned me into a homebody. I need to start going out more, seeing my friends more, just doing more. I want to try to say yes more than I say no and that goes towards all opportunities, not just going out at night instead of staying home and watching Jeopardy. But I do love Jeopardy.

-Bake more! Cook more! I've become quite the little baker if I say so myself. I always excel at trying new Christmas cookie recipes during the holiday season but after I watched the Great British Bakeoff, I got inspired and started baking different stuff and then trying dinner recipes that I usually would find overwhelming and complex. I've had way more success than fails and hope to continue finding joy in my kitchen.

- Focus on my relationship and continue to grow. 2015 brought Johnny and I some major bumps. From long distance dating when I moved to Utah, the stress of living together and his whole family, losing jobs and gaining jobs and being pretty broke... We haven't really had much time to actually be a couple and do fun stuff together. Now that we have our own place and we both have just started new jobs (with better pay!) we can start actually having date nights again. We also plan on taking a trip soon as I haven't traveled in quite a few years (moving so doesn't count) and we have actually never taken a trip together as a couple. Which is crazy.

- Save more dogs! Always. Which brings up the pretty lady in the picture above. Dolly is 14 years young and as you can see... She's a classy lady. Dolly has just been cleared by our vet and is ready for a foster or forever home!

What's your major goal for 2016?