Bethany Speaks » work

Day one of FULL TIME!

dbkayak — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:35:42 +0000

What an unimaginable blessing. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am now that I am not working for someone else, but rather for myself, my husband, my future, and my brides. It is a feeling that is unmatched. Today started like any other day, but there was a feeling of calm about me. I enjoyed some tea with my husband, tidied the house, did my hair(!!), started a workout program, created an organizational system for my daily to-do’s and meal planning. I stayed on top of the dishes, ate raw whole foods, did an hour of social media work for Charles River, replied to all my emails, and thats just the beginning honestly. I can’t believe how happy I am just being able to take care of everything that we really need to do in our lives, and still be able to have time with Dan and is uninterrupted by work. Whew… this is amazing so far.

The Daily to do list for now: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/free-daily-planner-new-habits-free-daily-planner-printable/

The Workout: http://www.bodyrock.tv/2012/01/02/day-1-of-our-30-day-challenge-fit-test/

Happy Bethany!

Week Four

dbkayak — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:56:52 +0000

Jan 22: It was a crazy busy day at work. We got off at 3:00 and watched TV till we fell asleep.

Jan 23: The managers talked with us about the future of our jobs.

Jan 24: Dan fasted and we fought. He had decided to move to Maine and then prayed and found peace with staying here. We celebrated over dinner.

Jan 25: Lazy day @ home. Dan talked to the managers.

Jan 26: Morning @ the grocery store and picked up Flameing June at the frame shop

Jan 27: Celebrates Marks birthday at work but it wasnt actually his birthday. Zach and Jody on creative live.

Jan 28: Zach and Jody on Creative live again. Watched it again.

Week Three

dbkayak — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:50:27 +0000

Jan 15: I hate working for someone else. I need to get out. David Gray helps, along with peppermint tea.

Jan 16: Tyler called me. I got drunk.

Jan 17: Day on the couch. Im attempting to make the right phone calls and decisions about Tracy.

Jan 18: Went to Maine with Sam and laughed a lot in the evening. I keep thinking about Tracy.

Jan 19: I came home from work. Today was the public announcement.

Jan 20: Funeral. I didn’t go of course.

Jan 21: SNOW! Around 3-4 inches fell.

Today was an important day.

dbkayak — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:26:19 +0000

Today I spoke with my Bosses at my day job and let them know that I would be leaving in March. My reason is that our photography business has replaced my job, both financially as well as time-wise. Being a wedding photographer as my full-time sole profession has been a dream of mine for years. We have been photographers for a little while now but I have always felt like it was incomplete in a way. The feeling of not trusting it to sustain us is very real. It’s hard to just take a leap and go for it financially speaking. We have had many roller coasters with that, in regards to following dreams. It almost seems as if we dont feel like ourselves if we are not taking big leaps in life. Quitting my day job is a leap for me. I must say, even though the job is not bad at all, it feels incredible to be out on my own… going for it. It feels like me.

Wild morning sermons

dbkayak — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 15:27:10 +0000

This morning, I woke up from a nightmare at 7:40am to my very obnoxious alarm clock (intentional annoyance btw). I pounded half a bottle of water, which I just learned/experienced for myself is a surefire way to wake up quickly and completely in the morning. It really works. I got up, check postsecret, and turned on the tele while i waited to Dan to get up too. Of course there were a lot of TV preachers on, doing thier thing, and I thought, why not? I like me some preachin anyways. The first sermon I listened to was about waiting on the Lord. BINGO! This is my number one biggest struggle. I don’t like waiting and I feel like i have been waiting for 6 years for my life to get to the point i can really settle in. Six years feels like an eternity. Ive been ancy and wondering why the Lord has put all these other things in my life that I need to accomplish before i can finally have what i am dreaming of. Wait wait wait is what ive been doing, but no happily. This sermon was right on, just what i needed. I changed the channel when he started the prayer (i just dont really like TV prayin. I feel like its there and im here, you know?) The next channel had a man preaching on Prayer… another weakness for me! Again, he was right on… Believe it or not, I went to another channel and good ole Joel Osteen was preaching on “Developing your Pearl” which basically meant pursueuing through hardships that you are in that the Lord PUTS you in so that you can become sculpted… haveing the pearl. I thought about how much i LOATHE my job and the people i have to work with and I realized it was an opportunity to grow, rather than something i had to grin and bear.

Pretty productive TV watching this morning wouldnt you say? I would. Who said watching TV got you nowhere?

Twisted Ankle slows me down just enough

dbkayak — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:24:51 +0000

So I am stuck on the couch with an elevated ankle from a tumble, which makes it much easier to have incentive to blog. Im stuck sitting

Dan and I are getting all our ducks in a row for our big move to Boston. It’s wild looking for an apartment from 12 hours away. Who knows about Boston neighborhoods and railway routes and so on? Not i. We are just so stinkin excited. I know that waving good by to the ocean will be hard, (like the pun?) but it’s not like we cant get to the beach pretty easily in Massachusetts.

We are also feverishly working on our business and its really official kick-off in January. I can use the photos I took while working for the photographer i worked for all year and our website will get a lot more goodness added to it. Ive been spending practically every hour working on the newly redesigned website, getting it ready for it’s January launch too. I feel like im always working. Its ok though. its all for the good.

Its hard to believe that 2010 is over. Its been so wild for us. Here’s a little re-cap:

January: Got back from the Kayak Trip, moved into an apartment in Cary, Started work for Raleigh Parks and Recreation

February: Kept working

March: Got the internship with the photographer i worked with all year, started aquiring the gear i would need

April: Wedding work begins

May: Job ends in raleigh, working like crazy with photography

June: Move to the outer banks, working like crazy with photography

July: boredom. jobless. no weddings

August: get job at a restaurant, more weddings

September: wedding wedding wedding, start work on own wedding photography business

October: working, weddings

November: We do our first wedding as bethany and dan photography, more weddings, work

December: get jobs in boston, Christmas, ankle sprain

Hope 2011 blesses your life, as 2010 has blessed ours. Jobs and homes and moves galore!

Big News on the horizon!

dbkayak — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:07:43 +0000

DAN AND I BOTH GOT JOBS IN BOSTON!! I am so excited! We seeking this for a long time. We wanted to move to New England and have been searching to jobs in the area for a while. It’s a perfect job for us, almost so perfect it was hard to believe. We got full-time jobs at…. drum roll please….. a KAYAK SHOP! Ha! How perfect is that?

We wont move until March but we are looking for a 2 bedroom apartment so you can start planning your visit!

i know i know….

dbkayak — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:59:00 +0000

sheesh. its true. ive been absent. ive been out of touch. ive been… living (gasp).

it seems that ive been too busy to blog right? well… thats actually not the case. ive been mind-numbingly bored actually. the kind of bored that makes you actually UNproductive rather than PROductive. its a crying shame. i cant seem to get a job, even tough ive put in numerous applications, send out many resumes, even had an interview, and worked 2 days as a dishwasher and never got called back. are you telling me that im not even a good enough dishwasher for the job. please. please. please. explain. anyways, this has cause me much turmoil and increased my rate of depression by high levels. how it is exactly that a college educated, reasonable, prudent, person cannot find work? i know its common these days but its really bringing on the stress. .. and more sadly… the sadness.

what to do? try and DO something. im going work on our business (which is really going to happen. for sure. wanna hire us?) and also work on me. i joined a gym here where i learn to punch and kick a punching bag in numerous ways. im going to paint the trailer and thus give it a new lease on life… and… im actually going to try and BLOG more

whoohoo right? right.

here’s a photo of Dan out doing something:

we are here!!!

dbkayak — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:51:20 +0000

So finally we are moved to the beach. its a bit overwhelming for sure, but its going to be worth it. Dan is here working already. I still have a few jobs to shoot with tracy turpen photography before i can officially be here for a while. I get to be here for this weekend though and that is good. i am shooting a wedding with a photographer from Malibu and i get to keep all the photos from my portfolio, so i can build one! that makes me happy. I absolutely cant wait to start the business.

in other news… o wait. there really isnt any other news other than moving to the beach and working working working. its all consuming.

it will be very very nice when we finally get to slow down a bit.. but we never really do that honestly. thats ok with me.

the happenings and goings ons so far

dbkayak — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:49:27 +0000

Much information to disclose!

Ever since we finally got all settled in our apt here in the triangle, we have been feverishly making plans for the future. We just cant be settled yet. I guess we are simply planners and goal setters. Conversation after conversation led us to the conclusion that we would go for opening up our own business in January.

drum roll please

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

That gives us 7 months to get on the ball. We have to decide where we want to launch this bad boy, where we want to live, a name for the business, logo, personality, branding, and everything else that goes along with it. I want to do this right, straight out of the starting line.

To prepare, i have been interning under the phenomenal Tracy Turpen. Her work is banana’s, as you will surely discover if you hit up her website and/or blog. No really. She will blow your socks off. I have already been to 3 weddings in this position and I am LOVING it. There is just something about a bride. I dont know what it is yet, but i have been teary eyed at each one so far. It’s hard to describe how blessed i feel to be working with her. I have been a huge fan of hers for at least 2 years now. Dan and I talked about how ridiculously perfect it would be if i could only learn from her. We dreamed about it the whole kayak trip even though she never announced the possibility of having an intern. It felt like fate when she made the announcement 2 weeks before we landed in Key West. Applying for it was my only motive when we got home. . and, like a gift from God, i got it! It’s a lot of work but it’s going to be so worth it. It already is. We’re going to rock this!

Suggestions for names for the photography business are gladly accepted. Dan and I are really excited.. obviously.

Ideas as of right now include: d&b, d&b imagery, daniel rose photography, in cahoots photography (with an owl as the logo), daniel gray photography, bethany gray photography… and so on.