This has been a rather crazy month - my business has been picking up, which is phenomenal, but comes with an adjustment period. We had 2 big birthdays the first week, and celebrated my fiance's just this past weekend. And, of course, taxes were due.

We had A's surprise hotel 30th Birthday party Saturday. It went absolutely well, and I would count it a huge success. I spent $279 on the room, but friends covered our meals and drinks at dinner (very nice of them) and a couple of other friends provided drinks and snacks for the room. We decked out the hotel room in silly decorations, and probably over 100 photos of A as a kid. It was pretty funny. After our little celebration, we hit the casino - where A quickly made $800 at the roulette table! We decided to stop there, and bought everyone a round of drinks, then headed back to the room. It seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves - and A loved the surprise. Which was all that mattered, of course Such fun, but I'm so glad that we're done with celebrations for the month. I'm not sure my body could handle more crazy party nights.

***

Taxes have been deducted from my account, so I'm feeling more comfortable and solid about my bank account again. Whereas I know roughly what is *in* the account after deducting the big sums, I like it just being gone so I don't have to do any mental math. Which I'm generally awful at. haha.

***

Update on A's job situation: After a few more days of thinking it over and discussing it with a couple close friends, he decided to take his old job back. He feels it would give him time to explore what he really wants to do while having a steady paycheck. This is, of course, what I wanted him to do - and I looked him in the eye a few different times and made sure that's really what he wants and he isn't just doing it because it's what I want him to do. I'd hate for him to live in regret or feel resentful because he felt pressured to make a decision. Even if I believe it was the right one.

He swears up and down it's how he feels, so I'm very proud of him and grateful that he's willing to sacrifice exploring something new now to put in the time and research necessary to find a real path and plan.

He let his old boss know last week, and now they're sending it up the chain to make sure the people above him are on board. So it's still not set in stone, but he'll be meeting with them in the next couple of weeks to discuss and sort out details if it's a go.

Assuming everything will work out, we're going to for sure move in a year, as we planned before this crisis of identity came to pass. So I think we're both feeling more secure in that certainty. Hopefully everything will gel quickly - as I need to start doing my own leg work transitioning my business to another city, without any real network or connection to that market.

***

Speaking of networks, I went with a friend this last week to a networking group called BNI. Apparently it's a worldwide referral-based networking franchise. The group in our city is just getting off the ground and is in the formation stages, but it seems like it could be a good place to start getting more B2B clients. The membership fees are a bit pricey - it's a little over $100 to apply (I'm sure I would get in) and it's about $400/year after that. Steep, but if it actually brought me business I'm obviously happy putting the money there. If I got one referral it would likely pay for itself. So I'm 97% certain I'll be joining.

I just feel that traditional advertising in the photography business is a bit of a waste - with the market being so saturated, I rely a lot on word of mouth and my network. And the nice thing about this group is that I have exclusivity in my category - so I would be the only photographer on board. I paid $300 for a table at a bridal show, so shelling out $500 for a group that meets weekly seems like a worthwhile investment.

***

So that's that. Things are calming down just in time for my business to really start ramping up! That being said, I should get to work - I really have to focus on staying on top of everything!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!