make time.

As most of you know I've been on a kind of crusade of sorts to get my life back after becoming overwhelmed and overworked as I tried to get a business going...then get it to grow up.

In the meantime it seemed like I'd missed my kids growing up.  They're not that old but missing just a  little bit ends up feeling like I've missed a lifetime.  In truth, to get a business started and then growing there are certain things you have to give up.  Opportunity costs.  Whether you do it knowingly or not it still happens.  You give something up when you decide to pursue something else.

When you finally realize that there were opportunity costs that you didn't count on...there are regrets.  Some of them small.  Some of them big.  Even though you've loved what you've been doing you realize you've missed some things.

I gave up a lot of time with my family and when I realized what I was doing I took a step back.  I cut back.  I reorganized.  I charged a little more.  I spent less.  I became more focused.  I worked less.  I played more.  I changed.

 As this year comes to a close and new one opens up before me, I'm looking back at a year I've really loved in so many ways.  I'm also looking forward to a yeat that will be different and wonderful and exciting.

As you can see from my blog, I've cut back on the amount of shooting.  I've gotten to teach more (which I love), I've had the time for some fabulous friendships, I've spent more time with my little family, we've moved across the country, I've had parties, been apart of Thirst Relief, been blessed to meet and been changed by Saylor and Becky, had a great time working with wonderful clients and been part of their lives...they're more like friends, to me.  It's been a really incredible year.  A year with no regrets.  A year of meaning.  A year of fun.  A year of growth.  A year of change.  A year of adventure.

 This year was a year of no regrets because I made time.  I opened up my life to my own moments.  For the past couple of years I've worked at balance, at loving life, and this year has shown me the fruits of those labors.

In an industry like photography things change every second.  A new camera, a new look, a new this, a new that...it's easy to be swept up in the current and be carried away on it.

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I've had fewer clients lately.  That's been a conscious decision and one that will continue into the coming year.  I'm being extremely selective about the work and commissions that I take.  I want the clients that I work with, the friends that I have, and my family to know that I'm invested in them. 

To me, that means making time.

My youngest goes to kindergarten in the fall...and here in South Carolina that means a full day of kindergarten.  I wasn't ready for that news.  I thought that I'd have another year and 1/2 with her and now it feels like I'm losing 1/2 a year...so I want to make time for her.  I've also wanted to make sure that I'm here for my kids in South Carolina before I throw myself back into business.  I want them to feel safe and confident. 

I'm so excited about this year!  I'll still be doing what I've been doing...it will just be limited and selective.  You can still register for Day with Davina, keep up with Move it Monday, stay tuned for more new products, and everything else here on the blog.

I want to hear what you're going to do to make more space in your life. 

(And once you've created some space in your busy schedule...what are you going to do with it?  Sit and enjoy the silence?  Sky dive? Visit a friend?)

 In case you're not sure...here are some ideas for the coming year. 

Ways you can add meaning and fun back into your overworked life:

*Stop watching TV at night.

*Journal at least once a week.  (You know I couldn't resist that one!)

*Commit to no computer time for a specified time each day.

*Go on a date at least once a week with your spouse.

*Have a weekly family game night.

*Invite your neighbors over for dessert once a month.

*Pray as a family before leaving the house in the morning.

*Take each of your kids on a special date once a month.

*Plan a quarterly night out with your girlfriends.

*Be home everyday (and off of your computer) before your kids and/or spouse gets home.  Greet them with an "I'm glad you're home", a smile, and a hug.  (This may seem corny but you'd be surprised at what a big difference this little thing makes to the rest of your evening.)

*Sit and listen to how your loved ones' day went when they arrive home.

*Eat dinner as a family (or with close friends) a few nights a week.

*Sit on the couch with the windows open and just listen to the rain...or go out and play in it.

*Drop by a friend's house for coffee or hot chocolate or something.  (James Dobson talks about how we've lost our sense of community...no one just drops by anyone's house for tea, or cookies, and then sits and chats away the afternoon talking about "nothing and everything".  We're all too busy for real life and the living, breathing person next to us.)

*Laugh about all of the silly things that have happened this year.  Just sit around and tell the stories to each other.

*Make time for the people in your life.  Stop networking and start thinking about having meaningful relationships.

 *Sit around the table with friends and talk until late at night.

What do you think?

love. LIFE.

too true.

For part of our date on Saturday night, my husband and I went to Barnes and Noble.  While I was there I discovered this book, The 9-inch "diet".  I love this book.

I think I'm just excited to find a book that goes along with what I've been doing.  I put less on my plate and the try to leave a little there every time I eat.  I think it's one of the keys to me losing weight.

So much of losing weight is just having a little bit of discipline over time.  Just doing something small and then sticking with it will alter the shape of your body.

Alex Bogusky says that the reason that Americans are so overweight is because our plates have gotten bigger over the past 50+ years.  Literally.  They have really gotten bigger.  In the 1950s plates were only 9 inches.  (This was a total surprise to me!  I've been out looking for vintage plates and been wondering where the dinner plates were!  The dinner plates were 9 inches...so I've been seeing them all along.)  Now our dessert plates are 9 inches!  Is that crazy?!?

Alex says that we've as Americans have gotten bigger in direct proportion to how much bigger our plates have gotten...so eat off of a 9 inch plate (don't heap it full of food) and you'll lose weight.  Of course, he goes into much more detail so you should get the book.  I love the way the book is designed, the amount of pictures, and the way Alex writes.  It's easy and fun to read and it is full of common sense.

The 9-inch "diet" is not a diet.  Alex says that over and over again in the book.  It's just a simple perspective change in the way you eat and how much you eat.  It's the way you eat for the rest of your life.  Eat for dinner on the size plate you eat for dessert and you'll change your eating habits.

A few other points I love from his book:

*The French are thinner than Americans.  At first researchers thought that the reason for that was because they consummed red wine with their cheese and red meat.  What is really the case is just that they eat less of it than we Americans do...they eat off of 9 inch plates.  Most people in Europe eat off of smaller plates.  It's Americans that think bigger plates are better.

*An order of fries in England is a very small plate with about 10 fries on it...compare that with the supersize fries from McDonalds.  That's a big difference!

This book is an encouraging look at losing weight and keeping it off.  It's worked for me.  Just eating your food in much smaller portions and not having seconds will make a huge difference.  It's one of the ways that I've lost 20 pounds in the last few months.  The thing I love about the way I've been losing is that it has changed the way I look at food, it's do-able, and it's something that I can do anywhere.

Just make small changes.  Decide to eat off of a smaller plate, when you have dessert just eat 1/2 of what you'd usually eat, go for a 20 minute walk everyday, and instead of asking your kids to run up stairs and get you something...you run upstairs to get it. 

We all say it and it's true...it's the little things that make the difference.

What little things are you going to do this year?

new. LIFE.