1. Keep it clean. There have been days where I've been so busy that I look down at 3 p.m. only to realize I still have on the t-shirt that I slept in. Augie reminds me that bathing daily -- even if I never see another living person -- is a very good thing.
2. Eat well. Bugsy could never make it through the day without his noontime treat. Although grabbing a sandwich at my desk would be easy, it's good for all of us to take some time away from the computer to fuel our bodies for the rest of the day.
3. Get some fresh air. There are days when I don't ever leave the house/office. But Thunder has shown me that just the simple act of stepping outside and into the sun for a couple of minutes can be energizing and invigorating.
4. Stretch. Getting up from my desk for a simple stretch and a deep breath is very relaxing. T.J. can stretch to about twice his body's normal length and always looks content when he does.
5. Make some noise. C.J. loves nothing more than to be noticed a couple of times throughout the day with constant meowing. She has taught me that when I need attention or to be in contact with someone in Hammock's Nashville office, I need to do nothing more than let my fingers do the walking. A great conversation with coworkers is only an IM or phone call away.

Now if only I could figure out how to work that two-hour afternoon nap in...

Pictured, top to bottom: Augie, Bugsy, Thunder, T.J., C.J.

Taking pictures of the holiday lights can be tough. They can be blurry, tinted yellow or sometimes just dull. But last week I read a blog entry from Webshots that offered some great tips to help.

Turn off your flash, grab a tripod and get shootin'! I'd love to see what you come up with.

I can't believe the year is almost over. What a great year it has been, in both the personal and professional aspects of my life. And like most of the world, I'll be resolving to eat better and exercise more in the new year. Boring.

But I'll also be working on some professional resolutions that I'm making for myself:

1. I'd like to use the phone more and email less. Email is a great way to keep a record of a discussion, but picking up the phone is so much more personal.
2. I hope to enhance my writing skills. I've always thought of myself as an editor, not a writer, but 2008 afforded me the opportunity for much more writing. And I actually enjoyed it! I hope for even more with the new year.
3. I need to read more, particularly about things specific to our industry.
4. I want to become a better photographer. I was like a proud schoolgirl bringing home my first valentine this year when my first two photographs ever were published in client magazines. I'd like to improve to the point of being considered the in-house photographer.
5. I need to be more flexible. I'm a structured, scheduled, punctual kinda girl. Not everyone else in the world is, and I need to learn to let changes and shifts happen around me. I need to go with the flow.

Oh, and I'd like to win the lottery.

I snapped lots and lots of photos this year as my passion for photography continued to grow -- I'm guessing close to three thousand. And included in that group of a thousand, there are 52 pictures of the Bradford Pear tree in our backyard. I decided to photograph that tree every Monday for a year, just to see what the seasons would bring.