Motivation Monday, Issue 4

This past week, I witnessed a miracle.

George got sick.

Since we’ve been married, he has proved time and time again to have the immune system of a god and I have never understood it. I feel like I get sick all the time, although since we’ve implemented an amazing daily vitamin regimen, the worst I experience is a bad head cold. Still, George never even gets that, so when George ran a fever of nearly 102 last week, I was actually amazed! HE’S MORTAL!!!

Of course, that still doesn’t mean I can avoid catching whatever he had and this morning, I woke up with a pounding headache and a “tickle” in my throat. So I’ve spent most of my day in bed eating granola bars and watching the third season of Say Yes to the Dress! on Netflix.

Do. Not. Judge. Me.

I’m feeling better now, so I wanted to take advantage of the moment and post Issue #4 of Motivation Monday!

I skipped last week because I needed to get caught up on business-related stuff but now, everything’s good and I’m prepared to take on this week. So let’s have it out.

Last week’s goals (technically, two weeks ago but who’s keeping track?):

• Purchase and read the first 3 chapters of the book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright
• Run 10 Miles (make one of those runs a 5-miler)
• Do the special thing I finally thought of to do for George
• Keep my desk clean the whole week
• Write up the Photography Growth Group syllabus (which starts February 27)

So I accomplished a lot! Or so it feels like. Obviously, the spiritual reading has been like pulling teeth. But mostly, it comes down to the fact I just haven’t gone down to Barnes&Noble to buy the book. Plus, there’s another book that’s looking like it might be a better one to start. I’ll let you in on that soon.

If you’re wondering what the special thing was that I did for George, here it is. I’ve applied, finally, for my legal name change from Bishop to Chaney. It was never a question of whether or not I wanted to get it legally changed but as most of my married women friends know, it is a big, fat pain in the butt to get your named changed. You don’t just change your name. You change it and then you have to update everything else. Your driver’s license, your insurance, your bank account, basically everything, and it can be pretty overwhelming. But I was lucky to discover MissNowMrs.com and they pretty much got all their bases covered, making the process really easy. Plus, if you’re not ready to do something, they save your information and you can always go back and finish it later. I highly recommend it, so if you’re already married and haven’t done it, it’s well worth the $30 and to all those who are engaged and plan on changing your name, bookmark the site for later. It’ll save you a lot of trouble.

As for keeping my desk clean, I can proudly say that I kept it clean the whole week! However, it caught up with me again this week and it could use a re-organizing session. Either way, I’m still pleased with myself.

The Photography Growth Group is underway but I’m not done. Plus, group members are still writing in what they’re hoping to learn, so I’m trying to build a curriculum around everyone’s desires. It’s been challenging and very exciting for me because I love to mentor people and teach. These are the kinds of things you can’t learn in a college photography class because we’re going to teach what the students want to learn and not simply what the standards require. Take that, College! We’re gonna own you!

I don’t have a lot of photos to share from this past week but I wanted to share with you my love for this little guy. I found him on Craigslist for just $25 and he is the cutest little thing ever. He works and looks like he could’ve been purchased yesterday. I’m so excited to put him to good use. Which leads me into this week’s goals!

• Run 12 miles this week. Oh yes, yes I will. (That is, if I don’t get any more sick than I felt this morning.)
• Turn off my phone everyday after 7PM. It’s time to disconnect and reconnect to the life going on around me. I encourage you to try it with me.
• Shoot at least one roll of film of anything and everything around me. Explore, imagine, create.

What are your goals this week?