It's my birthday! Drum roll please...

Throw some confetti, roll out the band, cue the margarita fountain; that's what you're supposed to do on birthdays right? This one has me inching closer and closer to that 30 mark. Honestly, I thought I would be dreading it, but I find myself looking forward to it (that might have something to do with the fact that I'm celebrating in Costa Rica this week).

I've always viewed my birthday not as a celebration of epic proportions, but as my personal New Year,. With my birthday being so close to the beginning of the year, it ends up melding with setting resolutions into an introspective hangover of epic proportions. Let me let you in on a little secret:

I suck at resolutions. I said it. For real though, I always end up with a lofty, four page, front and back list of all that I resolve to do in a year. Do I do it? No. Half of it? Not even close. There’s nothing more disheartening than not achieving all that you intend. To me, disappointing yourself is not a good way to kick off a new year or a birthday let me tell you.

This year I’m setting intentions. Intending sounds much more forgiving than resolving, doesn’t it? I’m going to TRY to “choose your own adventure here”. Far less daunting that resolutely forcing yourself to do something. To intend is literally defined as the plan or objective. In honor of Year 29, here are some things I intended to make a priority:

- Be kind to myself. Drink more water, eat more veggies, stretch, give myself permission to fail (that’s a

big one).

- Get my nose in a book more. I always feel so much more in tune with my creativity when I’m reading.

- Shoot more film. Remember when I shot a roll of film a week? I miss those days, so I’m bringing them

back (There might be a lot of photographs of my dogs, just a forewarning).

So staying in line with my intentions, this was born. I resolved to start blogging on January 1, but since I set the intention to share more, I am more than ok with this being a month later than I planned. See? Intentions, it happened, just not in my initial timeline. As a photographer, there’s so much more that goes on in my life than just in the end product photographs and it’s high time I share what’s going on. I’m the proud momma of three mostly crazy rescue pups, I travel constantly, and I have ten years of photo experience to share. In an effort for transparency and connection, here you go! I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to share, but I’ll figure it out along the way.

What are your intentions for 2018? Tell me in the comments! I love hearing from you.

Here’s to a year of growth, adventure, and the best intentions!