Doing What I Love and the Saxon Math Beast

I was homeschooled until college. Because I didn't have a set schedule and was largely responsible for my graduation, I needed to be self-motivated from a young age. There's a particular type of independence you acquire from taking tests by yourself and deciding whether you want to finish your evil Saxon Algebra or put it off longer to finish the gigantic novel you're reading for your book report. I bet God used homeschooling to prepare me for working at home and starting a business with my husband.

Some aspects of this adventure aren't entirely fun.

• You always take work home with you. You inevitably find something else to do, even when you really want to go to bed before 2 AM.
• Then there's the boredom while you're waiting for more work. It's hard to wait for clients and business opportunities when you absolutely love what you do! 
• But on the other hand, there's always going to be parts of your job that feel like that awful Saxon beast that you dread slaying. No matter how much I love editing, there's always something that I just don't want to do, and I need to break out my old friend self-discipline. (By the way, Saxon is one of the leading homeschool math textbooks, and it has a loyal following of haters.)
• Well, let's just say you aren't going to be a millionaire when you first start doing your business full time.

Yet, despite these issues, I am so happy that God has placed us here. It's challenging, and I'm struggling to not worry constantly, but it's where He wants us. And when God wants you somewhere, that's the safest place to be.

So here are some of the perks of working at home:

• No commutes, except for fun things like photoshoots and meetings with people who pay you and other glorious tax-writable events. No more spending thousands of dollars on gas!!!
• Being able to eat meals together as a couple all the time. I like it.
• Being woken up by my husband every day, instead of groggily giving him a goodbye kiss and then going back to bed.
• The ability to schedule things like trips to take engagement photos in the middle of the week and coffee dates with friends at hours Jason would usually be at work with the car.
• The fact that we both love what we do. I am so blessed.

Eventually I might have more of a focus to these blog posts. But I'll leave you with this for now, and hopefully it'll remind you to pray for me and Jason as a newlywed couple and to pray for our business. Thanks for your support!

New Websites and Writing Tips

Jason Comerford Photography has a new website! It's quite pretty, if I do say so myself. I'm even there in the "About Us" section. Check it out at www.jasoncomerford.com!

Also, I've been writing and editing writing tips for The Scribe Source. It's a quick, easy way to learn a little facts that will help you communicate more effectively. Come take a look at http://www.thescribesource.com/ or follow the Facebook page here.

Random Overheard Conversation

Just found this draft from when I was in Kona. Had to share:

Guy 1: "Dude, you're so cool, you can be the best man in my wedding!"
Guy 2: "Uh, you can come to my wedding."
Guy 3: "You can send a gift to mine."

Birthdays and Small Business

I do like the chance to shop at Target and get everything picked up at once. I do like knowing that I can get at least decent coffee from a Starbucks in London as well as in Puyallup. And I do like getting good deals on Amazon every once in a while.

However, there's something different about going to a locally owned establishment. Perhaps I'm a little biased, since my husband owns and runs a small business and I do editing and writing for a small business that in turn works for small businesses and nonprofits. And I thought the idea of business classes sounded absolutely dreadful. Go figure.

Today is Jason's birthday, and to celebrate we went to our favorite little Chinese restaurant by PLU. It's called The Tea Leaf, and Jason's been going there since his freshman year of college 6 years ago. The owner, whose name I can't type because it's Korean and I would butcher it, loves Jason. She asks how his work is doing, how his parents are, where his parents live, if we're going to visit them any time soon, etc. I mentioned that we're celebrating his birthday, and she brought out an entire extra plate of potstickers, AND gave us Jason's meal for free. Yes, he has invested lots and lots of time and money into that business over the years, but she didn't need to do that. And after every course she thanked us. No sense of entitlement there, eh?

When we're in the middle of a big faith journey, it's so encouraging to see that God is blessing us. I love it when He uses yummy Chinese food!