Cutting back, preparing for the next.

After 3 hours of yardwork and cleaning around the house, I finally am getting around to work emails and editing. We just got back from a wedding/fun trip to CA, and I promised myself that when I got back I would jump into any work I hadn't had the time for in the last few weeks. But there's something else I've been putting off, and as I write back to all the inquiries in my mailbox, it just makes me further ponder what's on the horizon.

There's a bunch of big decisions I need to face when it comes to next year. One of them being how many weddings I'll take, and what Kate Miller Photography will look like in 2013. It may seem like a no-brainer... "Duh, Kate, book 22-25 weddings like you did this year. Do lots of portraits. Make money. Keep doing what you're doing!" But something has been on my mind over the last season or two that I can't shake: balancing my love of photography with my love of being at home and taking care of our household. Cooking, cleaning, grocery-shopping... all the fun stuff that comes with running your own home, I just love it! I feel so fulfilled and so happy. I feel good at it. I feel good at photography too, but I feel a different kind of accomplishment when I take care of our little home.

I don't think it has to be one or the other. I just know that the last year or two, I've barely had the time or mental space to keep our house clean/organized, keep up on shopping, and I think I can count the number of times I've cooked a meal for us all by myself on two hands. Seriously. Often we either resort to piecing together random stuff from our fridge or eating out/takeout. It bums me out, majorly.

I'm leaning toward taking less weddings and focusing more on housewifing a bit more, honing my household skills and preparing for having kids in the next year or two... of course, there's all kinds of obstacles that go into this, one being that in our modern society it's weird for a childless wife to stay at home. I'm supposed to work. Children will happen for us in the next year or two, but in the meantime, being a housewife almost equates to being lazy if you don't have kids to raise.  I know my own mind and don't care what others think, but it's still something I think about from time to time.

I know it'll all become clear as this season comes to a close, and I know that spending some time in prayer is going to be good. Excited for 2013. :)