Day One of Self-Employment

Yesterday was my first day on the job as a full-time photographer. Monday morning started off similar to previous weeks — I woke up at 6:40am with the hubs, took the dogs out, brushed my teeth, and caught up with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Rather than rushing around to catch the 8am train, I made a few phone calls (who likes calling the IRS at 7am? This girl.) and got ready to go to the gym for an early yoga class. I’ll be going to morning classes every day, rotating between yoga, “body works plus abs,” and Pilates. I figure it’ll get me up and running so I won’t be tempted to sleep in and can start each day energetic.

To stay focused, I’m using Do.com as a task manager, where I assign myself personal tasks (like taking photos of items to sell on Craigslist) and work tasks (like scheduling blog posts, social media updates, and marketing development).

Since it was finally warm outside, I spent some time in the backyard with our dogs — Betty White and Dexter — and took some photos documenting my first day on the new job.

This past weekend, Pete and I transitioned our critter room — which previously housed our two rabbits and chinchilla — into a workspace. The buns and chinchilla are now happily residing in our basement instead of taking up an entire room of our house, and now I don’t have to be serenaded by the sound of our rabbit Willie Nelson humping his stuffed Eeyore.

A Polaroid camera and book of North American birds rest atop the floating shelf, both of which were passed down from my grandfathers. I love vintage alphabet blocks, so I stacked our initials on top of each other because I’m a total cheeseball. The little deer that is standing between the picture frames was a holiday decoration from my grandparents. Note to self: Print photos for those frames, stat.

The lovely Alexia of Ruggles Made stitched Willy Wonka lyrics on this embroidery hoop, which was a gift to Pete. Stacks of some of my favorite illustration books are improvised docking stations.

Who doesn’t love a ridiculous monkey-carrying-a-candelabra lamp? The ceramic owl was one of the few personal purchases I made while in Florence for our honeymoon last year.

I am loving having a space to work, where Betty White and Dexter watch me sing and eat trail mix while I draft blog posts.

This “do good” typography painting by my friend Kati is one of my favorite things. It keeps me motivated to always try my hardest, even if I want to be lazy and watch RuPaul’s Drag Race all day long.

Anyway! I look forward to working with all of the new clients who have recently signed on board. Feel free to send me an email if you’re interested in possibly working together in the future.