No, but actually it was a very nice experience. It took a little getting used to, having to take pictures everyday (and then uploading, editing, and loading them onto this blog)... but I think it was a good thing because it made me get excited about photography again. I want to be excited by photography again. I have been kind of in a lull.
I'm going to put the word out officially that I want to start shooting again. (Sidenote: I used to take pictures professionally (and sporadically), as an on-location / natural-light photographer before I got pregnant with Peace.) And I'm going to take pictures at a birth in about four weeks.
I think I want to take pictures again. I know I want to take pictures at births (because this is the only excuse I have to get invited to a birth). I'm just trying to figure out if I want to shoot because I want to take pictures or because I want to earn money. I think maybe it's both.
I have been feeling this need to earn money lately. Last year, on our tax returns, the net income between Vernon and myself was less than $3,000 (him for chiropractic screening, and me for a photo spread that was published in Mothering Magazine). We also get about $21,000 in student loans for living expenses every year, and that somehow manages to be more than enough (because, as you can tell from my previous entry, I don't spend a lot of money), so I'm not complaining.
But the hard part comes with earning money with photography is in trying to balance my schedule with Vernon because he often has things that come up at the last minute and then forgets to check the calendar to see if I already have something going on (this hasn't happened with photo appointments yet, because I don't have any, but it has happened with a blessingway and a MOMS dinner at the church just within the past two weeks). So, that makes me a little leery about wanting to schedule things.
Plus, I don't want scheduling photo shoots to overwhelm me with my job as a mother (as it has done, somewhat, in the past.) So, although I would like the extra money, sometimes it is just easier to NOT spend money, instead of doing work to make money so that we can spend more of it. Does that make sense?
And I have always been quite good at not spending money. I mean, before Vernon went back to school for chiropractic, he was earning $18,750 as a Catholic school teacher in a small town, and we lived in this $38,000 house:
So, not earning a lot money has never been a big deal.
Now we live in a home that we bought for $130,000 and is currently on the market for $115,000 because somebody (me) mistakenly thought: Oh, paying a mortgage will be the same as paying rent anyway, plus we can just sell it in four years when we move. No problem. So, if anybody knows someone who is in the market for a 2 bedroom / 1 bath townhome in Burnsville, Minnesota... please let me know!
I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make money, none of which are ever very profitable. I signed up to take these paid online surveys (on products and services and such), but I haven't really qualified for very many of the surveys because they ask lifestyle questions and I think they weed me about because, 1) I don't earn any money, and 2) I don't spend any money. I'm not exactly the demographic they're trying to reach.
I also had grand dreams of earning money off this blog (as this lady does here, and this lady here), but I haven't figured out how to do that either (I don't have enough time to open up a drawer to look for pants, let alone figure out how to market my blog).
So, if you all just want to donate money to Goofy Mama, you can send it my way via PayPal to goofymama@hotmail.com. I'm serious. I'll gladly take it. I saw the lady do this in Julie & Julia because she wanted to make money to buy ingredients for the food that she was posting about. I'll be buying ingredients too... sort of (ingredients for what makes up my life... you know, things like ponytail holders, electricity, and raw milk).
P.S. You can also use my goofymama@hotmail.com e-mail address to send me funny messages, a question, or even a picture of your cat.
4 comments:
i hear ya about the "sometimes it is just easier to NOT spend money, instead of doing work to make money so that we can spend more of it." makes total sense. While I work full-time, I often dream of being on the other side.
I'd love to hear more about where you buy your natural/organic food (specifically raw dairy) and how you do it on a budget?
if i had a cat i'd definitely send a picture of it to you.
Maureen - Well, for the past year, the United States government has decided to bless us with the gift of food support, so we aren't paying anything right now. But before I learned that we could get that, we had a food budget around $350. And I think that it basically came down to making everything from scratch. Not buying processed foods saves a person a lot of money. Belonging to buying co-ops (Azure Standard) and buying in bulk. We still pay for our raw milk, which we get from Honeymoon Farm (contact the Reese's at paulplusemily@yahoo.com if you're interested). And we can get raw cheese at the co-op.
No, but seriously - I would love to see a more in-depth look at your monthly food budget. I know you are buying good things. I do not understand in any realm how it is possible to feed a family of 5 (well, 4 food eaters) on a budget of $350 per month. I'd love to hear about your food buying mojo!!!
Post a Comment