A public Thank-you......

As I sit in front of my laptop (which I dreadfully need to use for Word) getting my contracts and what not ready for the business, I realized how lucky I am. I've been through a few possible career paths in the past 10 years that I've been with Dan. I started off going to college for nursing. I decided to leave that school (which I had been accepted to the 3 year program) because I knew that Dan would be going to another school. Looking back, I probably should have stuck it out, but if I hadn't done what I did I may not be where I am now. And so we went to Buffalo State. I know I probably influenced Dan to go there with me and he probably should have gone to RIT, but it's the decision we made. I changed my major to forensic chemisty and ended up falling victim to an advisor that wouldn't listen to me when I told him that I needed to take Chemisty over since their Chemisty classes were obviously taught in a completely different manner than my previous school taught them.

I went from being on the Dean's list at my first school to failing........and miserably I might add!!! So after spending a lot of money on a private loan that I had to take out for my 3rd year, I realized that I needed to get out of school. Dan finished up his 4th year and graduated. I in the meantime got an office job, which didn't stink, but I didn't have a desire to sit behind a desk for 8 hours a day.......but at least I left their with a few good friends. Dan was then given the opportunity to transfer to MA which we were "told" would be a great move for us and that I'd never have to work again. This move, was yet again, another mistake on our part........but as with all mistakes you make in your life, you learn from them. I decided to give Medical Transcription a try as I knew that we would like to start a family soon and I didn't want to have to bring my child to daycare. Yet again, it was a huge failure. I again, felt like a failure.

And then I became pregnant with Lillian. I was so tired throughout most of my pregnancy and I can only imagine what it would be like if I had gone full term. And then when she came early, I felt like I was continuing the cycle of failure........yet again I couldn't finish something! Lilly though brought both me and Dan so much joy and I think that she has brought so much to our lives. She made us realize that no matter what, you need to be happy, not only with your home life, but with your daily life.

And so the changes began. Dan started looking into getting a new job, partly because we knew we could no longer afford to live in MA.........which I might add is one of the most expensive places to live.......which means that your employees salary should reflect that.............AND IT TOTALLY DIDN'T (sorry......needed to get that off of my chest!!!!!) When Dan was offered a position at Mack, I knew that we were headed in the right direction. We were moving back to where he was from and where we would be around more family. We've been here for almost a year, and there's still not a day where he has a day that even comes close to how tough it was out in MA. He loves his job.........and that's the way it's supposed to be! They treat their employees the way employees should be treated.

So Dan having a job that he likes was a check on the list. But what would I do? What could I do that would still allow me to still do my main job.......being a mom? Being a mother is my reason for being here. I can't even begin to imagine my life without Lillian. How could I live without her little messes that she creates wherever she walks!? How could I live without her blowing kisses to me? How could I live without the unconditional love that she gives me, no matter what? No matter what ends up happening with the rest of my life, as long as I'm able to be a mom, I know I'll be doing what I was always meant to do.

But......I still have the urge to contribute to the family. When I picked up my Nikon last May, I fell in love. I've always been slightly creative. It's the path that I SHOULD have chosen as a career path. But I didn't and I wasn't about to go back to college when I was just about to pay off my student loans. When I started getting comments on some of my pics at flickr (have I mentioned how much I love flickr.......SOOOOO much inspiration!) the lightbulb started flickering. Could I be a photographer? I didn't start seriously considering it until I was accepted to join a focus group at Pink Ink Studios (check out their amazing stuff here.) It's a bunch of other photographers in the same position that I'm in........just staring off and not knowing where to begin. We ask questions, we answer questions! It's been a tremendous help and I'll forever be thankful to Holly for letting me join. And it was then I knew that I COULD do it. I could do both things.......be a mom AND a photographer! I've still got some things to work on business wise, but to think that pretty soon, I........Carrie Ann Bombria will be a small business owner boggles my mind. And........I know I will put my all into it! And why you may ask is this time is it different than the other times? Because my heart is in it.

And through all of it, through all of my career paths, through the ups and the downs has been Dan. He's been there for it all just nodding his head saying "okay, whatever you want." This time, I know he's been the most nervous about, because lets face it.......starting your own business takes a few bucks. I've been able to buy some things on my own when I was selling digital scrapbook designs (which I plan on getting back into btw!), but for the most part it's been him helping me along. He's been there through everything, and whether he realizes it or not, I'm forever grateful. If you don't know Dan, know this..........Dan is a hard worker. He puts 110% into everything he does, no matter what (even when working at that yucky lala job!) Up until this point I've been more of a 40% kinda gal.......not proud of it, but at least I'm admitting to it! Still have some things I need to work on, but I'm getting there. Starting this business has been different for me. I'm probably at 90% right about now.......the other 10% is when I revert back to my old ways but then I snap out of it. I'm not even officially a business yet (will be within a couple weeks though!) and I'm already feeling a huge boost of confidence. I still have a ton of things to learn in the photography field and I mean a ton. But it's finally something that I WANT to learn, and for me that makes all of the difference in the world.

So in the end, my public thank you is to you Dan...........thank you for giving me the opportunity to be happy with my career path and for giving me the chance to finally start walking that path.

Whew............that was a long thank-you............lots of things I needed to say and get off of my chest! Anyways, time to get back to the yucky laptop! I'll be posting a freebie tomorrow I think if I'm able to find the linkage and what not! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!