On Road Trips

"Road trips sound great until you're actually on one," said Alissa.

Jason and I were sitting across from our friends Alissa and Jesse at a pub in Eugene. It was nearing 9:00 p.m., and we'd been driving since noon. Dinner was the result of a spur-of-the-moment phone call about a hundred miles earlier, and we were glad we'd made it. We still had another four or so hours of driving to go, but for now we could pretend like we didn't have to return to the car soon.

Even though my heart cried, "No, I love road trips!", the more practical, tired, and coughing side of me said, "Yeah, that's actually true. Road trips are awful."

The Mental To Do List

You know that thing that's always lingering in the back of your mental to do list?

• Go to gym.
• Go to bank.
• Go grocery shopping.
• Do this thing that you'll never get around to doing.

It's in italics, a thought within a thought. It's last, because everything else seems more manageable.

Maybe the gym is that last item for you. (It often makes that spot on my list.) Maybe it's calling a relative you don't talk to very often. Maybe it's reading your Bible, or reading in general.

As long as we're being honest about our last items, I should confess something. Writing has been that item for me for more than ten years. It's evolved over time and in different circumstances, but it's more or less been the same.

• Finish homework.
• Go to gym.
• Write thank-you letter.
• Write.

It's not even that I don't enjoy writing. But, just like going to the gym, sometimes it can be the initial push that's the hard, insurmountable hill between you and accomplishment and even joy. 

This blog has been no exception. I'll often think, "That would be a good blog post idea." But then I think, "Well, it's been so long, I don't think anyone would read it anyway," or, "But I think my blog needs a better purpose before I write more." I even contemplated scrapping this blog altogether and writing a completely new one. I didn't, but I did renovate this one to make myself feel better.

Yet it's even more than this. If this blog is about my life, it's been quiet because my life has been quiet. It's been, well, boring this past year or so. And I'm okay with that. Lord knows we could use some quiet!

I don't think this next year will be as boring as last year. I'm also okay with that, and I'll try and share some of the adventures with anyone who cares to read. And, with time and persistence, I think my last item will no longer be in italics, then it will slowly creep up the list, until the day that I stop making it a part of my mental chore list and start joyfully making it a part of living.

The Process of Writing Thank-You Cards

The Process of Writing Thank-You Cards

Months 1-3 after wedding: Time is spent recovering from wedding, returning/exchanging items, using gift cards, and putting together wedding album. The bride's mind keeps pushing the thank-you cards to a dark corner, remembering that etiquette allows an entire year. The groom has most likely learned to tag along on shopping trips and say yes to bride's decisions, but may or may not even realize that thank-you cards are necessary ever.

Month 4: The bride has started to plan her thank-you cards, the groom listening patiently. She imagines cute, hand-cut cards with calligraphy and perfectly matched wedding colors. She may have found the perfect example on Pinterest.

Month 5: The bride has turned to Shutterfly or Costco for photo cards. She's played with designs for hours, wrote and rewrote the basic text, and looked enviously at different bloggers' cards. The groom has offered very strong emotional support.

Month 6: After seeing the cost of ordering dozens of photo cards, the bride has either a) Gone into mourning, complete with sackcloth and ashes, b) started to eat Ramen for every meal in an attempt to save money, or c) decided to revert back to Months 1-3, constantly reminding her conscience that she still has 6 months of leeway (after all, people could still send gifts!). At this point the groom has either a) provided cookie dough and chocolate for his mourning bride, b) secretly eaten at Subway every day because he's sick of Ramen, or c) decided to go on an extended (and well-justified) camping trip.

Month 7: The bride has found cheap thank-you cards that, under some lighting, may be near one of her wedding colors. She buys them in desperation, with the full support of her groom. She now spends the next week handwriting carefully formed thank-yous, addressing envelopes, cutting her tongue on the seals, and trying to figure out what else to write besides "Thank you for the wonderful turkey statue." The groom has dutifully signed every note.

Month 8: After developing carpal tunnel and having the taste of glue in her mouth for days, the bride has successfully completed her thank-you cards. Until she remembers the $25 check from the groom's great-uncle Melvin. Sighing deeply, she looks at her guest list again--she's forgotten five gifts. The cards came in multiples of 50, and she has none leftover. At this point the groom becomes the most helpful person in the entire process, as he calmly talks the bride out of jumping off the nearest cliff.

Month 12: The deadline has come and gone. The bride has stepped away from the cards long enough to remember why she is writing them--she is a blessed woman who has many friends. The groom is relieved, until he finds out that the process will be repeated with the birth of their first child.

Hannah Comerford ~ Freelance Writer and Editor

When do we start to feel grown up? I can think of a few times when I felt like I had become an adult--when I first got my own car insurance, when I first had a full-time job, when I flew to another country on my own, when I got engaged . . .

But there's something different about graduating from college. When you actually have a degree, and you realize that you could become a professional. You could do the things you actually wanted to do. There's nobody looking over your shoulder giving you a grade--this is the real thing!

I'm feeling it.

I have my own business license now. My name, Hannah Comerford, is now a business. Weird, huh? It means that I have my own business, I am a freelance writer and editor, and the IRS can now take all my income. Seriously, though, it means that I AM a writer and editor.

Is this scary? Heck yes. Is it exciting? Definitely. Did I think I would actually get to do this right out of college? Nope!

It still feels strange. I had a panic moment the other day when I realized that I was actually doing this. It feels a bit like the first time you drive a car by yourself. "Really, Mom? You actually trust me with your vehicle? And this is legal? What?!" Good thing I really enjoy driving, and I am a very competent driver.

I don't plan on trying to make my business full time, or even investing in advertising any time soon. After all the work we've been doing for Jason Comerford Photography, I don't want to get heavily involved in the administrative and marketing sides of small business. That said, my first choice is to contract for The Scribe Source. I love my "boss," I love the work I get to do, I love the organization, I love not having to deal with the logistics. However, I would certainly not deny someone the pleasure of hiring me to edit or write for them.

If you would like some language help yourself, or know someone who might be interested in hiring an editor or writer, email me at hannah@jasoncomerford.com.

The Purpose of Grammar

In the past month or two Jason has started watching the Vlog Brothers' years of video blogs. I usually am at my computer listening, and I've come to highly appreciate them and their wonderfully nerdy topics. This is probably my favorite one so far, though. It's very funny and makes a great point about the purpose of grammar and correcting it. It's a great reminder. So watch!

How to Correct

My gracious husband can attest to the fact that I can't always turn off my editor's eye. Maybe that's why I need to proofread, so I can let off some of my steam. This is also why occasional conversations with fellow grammarians about little style issues is essential for my well-being. (Did you know it's now considered standard practice to leave out the hyphen in email?)

One of the things I learned in my Publishing Procedures class was how to edit tactfully. We were given practice assignments where we had to, as gracefully as possible, point out to a pretend writer the atrocious errors in his manuscript. I think I could still use work on this, but I'm very glad Professor Solveig Robinson drilled into me the importance of tactfulness.

Because tactfulness is so important, I wanted to share this blog post I found today. It's written by a business writing expert whom I admire and concerns the right way to correct someone's typos. It's short, so please take the time to read it and let me know what you think. Are there any other tips you can think of for being tactful? Should someone respond to correction emails? If so, what's the most graceful way to thank the reader?

http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2012/04/correcting-with-kindness.html#comments

Value (and a Cute Dog)

This isn't our dog. We don't have a dog, unfortunately. This dog, Roxy, belongs to our friends the Menas. Now that I hooked you with a photo of a super cute dog, I'm going to talk about what I really wanted to talk about. Gotcha! But seriously, please read. 

Most people who know me know that I love finding a good deal. Whenever I come home from Target or a particularly good grocery store trip, I make Jason patiently listen to me explain all the sales and clearance items I found and the grand total of savings. He's a good sport.

But being on this side of the business now, I'm getting a different perspective. When Jason is hired to shoot a wedding, they're paying for his education, his camera and computer equipment, hours of not just shooting but also processing work, his experience, and more. And he's trying to support a family, just like any other professional photographer. In the long run, it's not as expensive as it seemed. His work has a high value.

Now, how does value work in my everyday life? I don't like spending $12 or more to see a movie. I just don't. However, I'd probably be upset if I saw a movie and it had horrible acting, poor writing, and cheesy special effects, even if I only paid $4 to see it. Yet if I'm going to ask filmmakers to produce high quality films, I'm going to have to pay them what it's worth. So, if a director is spending millions of dollars to make a great movie, maybe I shouldn't complain about spending $12 to see it on a huge screen with surround sound while sitting in plush chairs with friends.

I'm trying to not complain about prices anymore. I still love sales, and I still am a bit of a cheapskate (I blame my Scottish genes), but I am beginning to understand value better. Also, in the end, I know that God is going to supply all my needs. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so I think He can handle my finances. I don't need to worry about what I'll eat or wear, because He will take care of me.

Kyle & Emily

I have to share this!

Jason and I had a blast shooting engagement photos for some friends of mine. I've known them for several years, and am so excited that they're going to be getting married! Kyle and Emily are one of those couples you see together and can't help but smile because they are so comfortable with each other that they naturally bring out some of the best sides of each other. They're a great match.

Okay, here's the link to Jason's blog so you can see the photos:

http://jcomerfordphoto.blogspot.com/2012/03/kyle-emily.html

Green, Green, Green!

I love holidays. Since we don't exactly have the extra cash to do anything big, I've been using holidays as excuses to make special food. For Valentine's Day we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. For Purim (the Jewish celebration of Esther) I made challah bread. And for St. Patrick's Day, I made corned beef and veggies.

But that wasn't all I did for St. Patrick's Day. The night before, our Bible study had a green-themed party, so I decided that I'd have to make something special. Pinterest to the rescue! I found a recipe for green velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Yes, green velvet, not red. I had to make an emergency Wal-Mart run to get more green dye, since it took an entire 1-ounce bottle. I'm still finding green in unexpected places.

Here's the recipe, in case you're curious: http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2011/03/03/green-velvet-cake-st-pattys-day-baking/

By the way, VeggieTales does a fantastic job of teaching us about St. Patrick. I highly recommend this video:  

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!

God Works Tomorrow--and Now!

As long as I've know Jason, he's wanted to be a full-time photographer. He's one of the few photographers I know who loves to shoot weddings, and is actually very, very good at it. He's had his own business for about 2 years now, but it's always been on the side. We've known for a while that God would one day make it a full-time occupation, but it was always a dream for the future. It's so easy to believe that God can do something in the future, since it's still a mystery. But God doing something in the present, now that's hard to believe.

Anyway, God has been closing doors on us. Doors of job opportunities that we thought for sure would be wide open have been shut rather decidedly. On the other hand, opportunities seem to be opening up for the business, slowly but surely. After prayer and counsel, we've decided that it's time to do this photography business full time. We knew God would work through this business, and we believe that it's actually happening now.

However, that doesn't mean that we automatically have 50 weddings planned for this year and never have to worry about money again. The business is still developing, and it's taking a lot of time, effort, money, and, most of all, faith. We need to actually trust that God knows what He's doing (which He does). We need to believe that He will provide for us, even when it doesn't make sense. We need to have faith that God is in control, even when it doesn't look like it. It's a huge step of faith, but we know that it's the right thing to do.

So, Jason Comerford Photography is officially in business! We now have a Twitter that you can follow, https://twitter.com/#!/jason_comerford. You can also visit his website, www.jasoncomerford.com. Please pray that GOd will continue to bless this business, use it to glorify Him, and continue to grow our faith during this time.

I'll continue to update this blog with some of my adventures being a housewife and starting a business. Keep reading!

A Year in Review

I know, it's been a while. But rather than apologize for the months of not writing and talk about how nobody probably reads this anyway, I'm going to give a brief (hopefully) overview of 2011 and then jump into my current life.

January
Most of you know from the last updates, but I had the privilege of being a nanny for two of my favorite little girls at the YWAM Kona missions base. The best January I ever had.

February
My boyfriend Jason surprised me with a visit in Hawaii. We were at a rough place, but he chose to show his love for me by dropping everything and meeting me there.
Also, The Melting Pot for Valentine's Day. Just sayin'.
I started my last semester of university.

March
Not much happened. I mostly agonized over writing poetry that would let me pass my capstone class.

April
Jason and I went to Leavenworth for the day. Lots of great German food and a wonderful tea shop were the highlights of this Bavarian town.

May
Jason asked me to marry him! It's a long story, but it involved a day trip to Sequim, buying an E for our Scrabble game, one of the longest sand spit in the world, and a lot of speechlessness.
I graduated from PLU! I was actually kind of sad to be done. I miss school, and I keep trying to find excuses to visit professors. Yeah, I'm a bit odd. Our commencement ceremony was actually really good, included wonderful speakers. Jason's parents flew up for my graduation.

June
I moved into the Zion Women's Ministry House to sublet for someone for the summer. I loved living with 8 other girls, some of whom were my best friends. It was the perfect place to relax for the summer.
Wedding planning started.
I started working as an independent contractor for The Scribe Source. This is a business that does writing and editing for small businesses and nonprofits. Since then I've been able to write, transcribe, and edit for a variety of projects, and I LOVE it. I was so blessed to be given work within my major so quickly.

July
My first bridal shower was a lovely tea party at the end of July at the Zion House. Dianna was gracious and let me make my own Shakespeare game. :D Jason's mom came up and helped with wedding and bridal shower planning.

August
I turned 22 and had a Lord of the Rings marathon to celebrate. We did take breaks, don't worry.
I had my second bridal shower, a fun get-together with some of the women who watched my grow up at my old church.

September
Now this is a story that most of you know and is way too long to post on here. To put it simply, I passed out at a friend's wedding and had to have emergency heart surgery. The groom's parents "just so happened" to be doctors, and I "just so happened" to be near one of the best hospitals for heart surgery in the nation. Many, many people prayed for me, from 5 continents, I believe. Jason's parents flew up to be with us, and I had friends who came to the hospital almost daily.
Friends came up to throw me a "bachelorette" party at the hospital (they joined me in wearing hospital gowns, made me a tiara, and watched Enchanted with me), much to the amusement of the nurses. The nurses offered us a stripper, but they say he'd probably be 80 and have a catheter; we declined.

October
I finally got to go home and stay home! After much drama, a doctor finally figured out that I had whooping cough, which was making it a lot harder for me to recover. It eventually went away, and my heart surgeon released me.
Jason's mom stayed with us for most of the month to help with me.
My heart surgeon, a very experienced doctor, told me that he had only operated on two other patients as sick as I was--neither of them made it.
Once I was given the clean bill of health, Jason and I decided to, well, get married. That way we could live together, and Jason could more easily handle the hospital bills. In less than a week we planned a tiny ceremony, and on October 22, 2011, we were married.

November
We couldn't just have a tiny ceremony and not celebrate with all our friends! In about 3 weeks we put together another wedding, this time as a sort of replacement for the original. So, on November 11, 2011, we were married again!
We also had our first married Thanksgiving at the Petersons' house. By the end of the day I was rather thankful I didn't need to make the whole meal.

December
Jason and I celebrated our first Christmas together as a married couple. It was quiet, but we were able to have a tree and a lasagna dinner.

Okay, that's it for now. If you have any questions you can always email or FB message me, or just stalk my FB. Current updates will come soon!

English Lesson

"We don't eat cats! We eat dogs- and silkworms!" ~ my Chinese roommate

Little did I know that using the word litter for both trash and kittens would upset her so much.

Nanny Highlights

* There's a gazebo near the tree house Raegan likes to visit. She asked me what it was and I said a gazebo. She now calls it either a "gazeeba" or the "zageebo."

* The other day Raegan took out her Barbies and said "They're getting their noses cut." I asked why, at first thinking it was nose piercing. She said, "Because they aren't perfect." I panicked. How did she find out about plastic surgery?! Suddenly I remembered that she had just watched the Veggie Tales Pinnochio movie. In it "Pistachio" had to have his nose trimmed by his father because it had grown after he lied. We had a talk about wooden people vs. real people.

* Anabelle got to try real solid food for the first time today. I never knew Ritz crackers could be such a mess.

* Raegan read my Bible today. The story went something like, "And God saved your life and for 400 years. And you and me are going to work together now, and you're powerful!"

Ohana

So nannies aren't exactly the most noticed people at the YWAM base. I get to participate in activities when I'm not watching the kids, but it's not the easiest position. The enemy's been trying to tell me that I'm not going to get anything out of this, that this is for students and not for me, that I'm not going to be here long enough, etc. Jordan and Danielle prayed for me this morning and called me out on it, and I repented and asked for God's grace.
The day was fun, in town with the Boleys and then a rather stressful afternoon with the kids. At night there was a dessert social for all the students, and after eating a lot of wonderful sweets we sat at tables and were told to each answer 3 questions.

#1. How did you come to know the Lord?
#2. What has been your biggest struggle/the hardest thing you've had to come through?
#3. What's your biggest, ultimate dream?

There were 8 of us at my table, and we ended up talking for probably 2 hours. Simple icebreaker questions, but something happened. The Holy Spirit came and we were all overwhelmed, we finished our talking by praising God and praying for each other. Suddenly I saw and experienced what I had been hearing over and over again the past couple of days: ohana. It's Hawaiian for family (think Lilo & Stitch), and the leaders have been impressing it on everyone that this is who we are now.

I know that I need to go back. I miss my friends, I really miss Jason, and I don't think I could survive Hawaii once the weather isn't "mild." But tonight I actually wished that I could stay for longer. Ohana made me long to stay.

P.S.- My allergies are doing a lot better. I actually wore contacts today! Keep praying, though. :)

Next Adventure: Kona!!!

Okay, so it hasn't quite been a year since the last post. It just feels like it. It was almost a year ago that I stepped on the plane to London, and just yesterday I stepped on another plane to go west.
My dear friends Jordan and Danielle Boley felt called to pack up everything and take their family to do a Discipleship Training School with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Kona, Hawaii. Not only do I love them, but I adore their kids, too. So when they needed a nanny, they asked me to come along with them. Unfortunately, I can't stay for the entire 3 months because of school, but I am totally blessed to be able to nanny for them for the first month of their DTS. The decision was made and forms were filled out in the nick of time, and suddenly I found myself in a tropical climate for the first time ever.
I have some amazing roommates from all over the world- Norway, Canada, Russia, and Hawaii! Most of them are doing their own DTS programs, but one other is a nanny. It feels very much like camp- camp food, a small room with bunk beds, lots and lots of unfamiliar faces, ants . . . During the weekdays I get to hang out with the Boley girls while mom and dad are in school. Raegan is 3 and adjusting well, although it's very confusing and hard for her. Anabelle is 10 months and just starting to walk, which makes it that much more challenging to keep those girls occupied! They are very sweet girls, though, and I feel super blessed to be here.

Random: I saw a strange animal by the playground, a little girl informed me that it was a mongoose. I heard they eat snakes, so I now really like them.
More random information: The moon is upside down! The moon was a sliver last night, and the sliver was on the bottom instead of the side. It was very bizarre. I keep on reminding myself I'm in another state, not another country.

If you read this, please pray for my health. I've been having eye problems, and it's hard to stay upbeat and to focus on things when my eye is hurting. I think my allergies are acting up, too, which isn't helping. Praise the Lord, I got a nap in today!

I'll keep you updated!

Just Me and My God

When I went to London, I went to London alone. Many nights were spent frustrated, crying, and feeling absolutely alone. I was never able to plug into a church, and 99% of the students at my program didn't know the Lord or knew a false idea of Him. It was in the loneliness that God met me and showed me more of Who He was, not Who everyone else was telling me He was. I was given the ability to adore His beauty and to see it in things I hadn't seen it in before. I was able to seek Him before humans because He was the only one to help me sometimes. And in the midst of all this I learned to love the sinner without trying to save them myself.

Now, in Tacoma, I've faced a different sort of loneliness. For a great deal of my summer most of my closest friends have been absent in one way or another. I've had to learn to seek the Lord before my friends, even now that my friends aren't several thousand miles away. And you know what it's done? It's forced me to trust my God.

I've had to learn to trust God and not my own understanding or others' understanding. I'm still learning to trust Him even when I don't have a job or a place set up for the fall. I've just barely begun to stop setting my eyes on myself and see that God has much bigger things going on around me.

School probably shows best what God is doing in me right now. I've never thought that I was a poet. In fact, I didn't really like poetry. That is, until last January when, by the grace of God, my professor taught me the basics and then told me that I was incredibly gifted and should pursue poetry. Through a strange series of events God stripped me of my own attempts at planning my school year. He kept me from choosing what I felt I could have done by my own power pretty easily. And then, in His own ways, He confirmed that I was to take more poetry classes. Scared to death, I enrolled in Intermediate Poetry in order to take the poetry capstone in the spring, making my entire PLU career focused on poetry.

I can't write poetry on my own. I can't be a poet without God directly working in me. It needs to be God. Where before school was my comfort zone, now God has made it someplace where I need to be completely dependent on Him. And it's exciting. I have my loved ones close to me again, but now I get to be blessed by them while trusting my God to sustain me. Praise God!