If there’s one thing that has been drilled into my head as a business owner, it’s that I want to reduce the amount I have to pay taxes on for 2010.

It goes against everything I did as a household manager — I always wanted to see my bank account flush with cash.  But a prosperous business account is another matter.

Over the past month I’ve taken some steps to reduce the amount of taxes I will owe when the IRS comes knocking in April.  Thanks to this article — Last Minute Tax Steps for 2010 — I had some guidance in making decisions about where to put my money.

What did I do?

1. Invested in my IRA
   My retirement is important, and ever since I left KVUE, I was no longer contributing for a 401K.  Fortunately, I was able to transfer money into my IRA very easily and take advantage of the tax savings
2. Bought much-needed office equipment
   Not only did I need the equipment for my business, I was able to buy more for less, because companies like Dell have been offering year-end savings.

What are you doing to save?

2010.  Oh my… what a year!

Every year — in the week between Christmas and New Year’s — I find myself in that thoughtful place of transition between the current year and the one to come.   I find myself eagerly anticipating the new year, as if a slate is to be wiped clean and the possibilities of dreams I have not yet realized are closer.  All too often, I forget what amazing things I’ve already succeeding in accomplishing.

It’s easy to brush aside the past year as we set new goals, but I think it’s also important — if not necessary — to look back.  Sometimes I can be a bit hard on myself when I think of what I haven’t done, and assessing the past year is a good way to appreciate all that I HAVE accomplished.

Here’s what I did in 2010:

1. Left KVUE to pursue web design business full time
   This was a major goal in 2010, and I’m proud that I finally had the courage to take this step.
2. Secured 3 clients — 1 of them new
   It’s not as much as I aimed for, but it’s a start.
3. Had a baby
   The birth of my daughter was so momentous.  It’s tremendously difficult maintaining that balance between work and family, but I’m so glad I’m able to work from home and be there for my kids.
4. Learned to use Quickbooks
   OK — I’m still struggling with this, but I know enough to get by for the time being and aim for hiring a bookkeeper in 2011.
5. Went to SXSWi
   South by Southwest Interactive was an amazing experience for me.  I learned so much about technology, trends, the industry and the business of the industry that I was able to venture out on my own with a bit more confidence than I otherwise might have had.
6. Continued my education
   It’s imperative for people in my chosen profession to stay in the know, and I did my best to advance my knowledge.  I started learning as much as I could about PHP and how to design and develop with Joomla, Drupal and WordPress
7. Connected with other small business owners
   Through the City of Austin Small Business Development Program, I started meeting other people who could potentially help me or hire me in the future.

Now that I’ve looked at my 2010 accomplishments, I can get down to business making goals for 2011, and those goals can be specific and build upon the foundation I’ve already laid.

Happy goal-making!

I love this time of year.  So many houses are covered in sparkling lights; light posts and columns are covered in greenery and bows; everyone seems to be telling inspirational stories; and the excitement is builing among kids who know that Santa is on his way.

Speaking of Santa, my kids got to see him last night as part of KVUE’s Santa special.  I feel very grateful that I was invited to attend this year, even though I no longer work there.

Luke’s like to call him “his” Santa, because he’s seen him every year since he was a baby.

I’m not sure he asked Santa for anything this year.  He was too happy with the candy cane he received with a small ornament to mark the occasion.

I’ve read various posts lately by people decrying the commercialism of Christmas.  I no longer watch TV (except some clips online here and there), so this is the first year I’m not bombarded by the constant pelting of Christmas advertisements.  I have to say — it’s really nice.  But I understand the frustration that Christmas buying has gotten a bit out-of-hand — overshadowing Christmas GIVING.

Heck — getting presents is Luke’s favorite part of Christmas.

But I’ve been trying to be sneaky and emphasizing all of the other parts of Christmas that I enjoy — the music, the decorating, the feasting and the giving.  And this year, we’re making a lot of things ourselves in order to slow down and spend extra time together.

For example — I just bought a plaster of Paris kit to make handprint ornaments with the kids.  It should be a lot of fun!  And we’ve invited over another family to make gingerbread houses.  And I won’t be using a kit!  I’m going to make gingerbread and royal icing myself and everything.

And we’re also making some of the gifts we’re giving.  Earlier this year I made blackberry and strawberry jam.  We also just had a huge bounty from the persimmon tree, and yesterday, I made spiced persimmon butter with the kids. (Check out the gallery below!)

While making gifts does take more of en effort that picking up something from the grocery store or mall, it is not only cheaper, but also more special many times.  I love the handmade touch.  And I hope the people who receive my handmade gifts understand how much care and attention went into creating them.  But even if they don’t — just thinking that they’ll enjoy them is enough for me.  After all — we remember life’s experiences, right?  That’s what it’s all about.

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So, there hasn’t been much activity here in the past few months, but I’ve had a very good reason — the birth of my daughter.

Starting around the 9th month of pregnancy and up until now, I haven’t had much interest in even sitting down at the computer, much less updating a blog.

It’s not like I have an amazing amount of free time now, but it’s time to settle back into a regular schedule again — as much as is possible with a newborn.

Working from home will continue to be a challenge — even more so now with two children — but I’m learning when I can have a few hours during the day to work uninterrupted.  Fortunately, my 4-year-old is in school most of the day, so it’s easier to find those moments — as fleeting as they may be.

What helps is my body’s need to sit and relax.  If I didn’t need to heal, I would be running around trying to take care of endless chores, housework and errands.  As much as I hate having to rest and the associated pain that is causing that need, I’m choosing to view it as a good thing.  Not only am I figuring out when I can work, but drastically slowing down has allowed me to catch up on reading, both professionally and for fun.  It’s been a long time since I actually read a book in its entirety that wasn’t for my son.  In the past couple of weeks I’ve read 5 books.

I have a feeling I’ll be headed to a bookstore soon… or maybe I should get one of those Kindle’s — Andy, my mom and many friends say they love them.

It seems like everyone I’ve been around lately is talking about Drupal, the open-source content-management system that is like a big brother to Joomla.

I worked with Drupal a little two years ago when I put together a site for one of Luke’s teachers, who was branching into infant education.  I modified a theme and entered content for her.

But I’ve read that there’s a huge need for Drupal-themers, and Austin, especially has a huge need.  Sure… I’ve been working with Joomla, but it wouldn’t hurt to learn both, right?

That’s why I signed up for a Drupal Theming Study Group through GeekAustin.  We had our first meeting last Monday.

It seemed a little more formal than the PHP study group I’ve been going to.  We talked about the structure for the group, how we wanted to learn, why it was created and have several tasks to complete before the next one.

Basically, it seemed to the people who organized the group that there weren’t enough Drupal themers to handle the demand, and if there’s work out there, I’d love to do it.

Besides the extensive documentation on Drupal.org, I’m reading two books:

• Front End Drupal: Designing, Theming, Scripting by Emma Jane Hogbin and Konstantin Kafer
• Drupal 6 Themes by Ric Shreves

Both are well-written — a little better than the Joomla book I read earlier this summer.  I’m hoping to come up to speed with Drupal quickly so I can get some real-world experience soon, because — as it turns out — there IS a lot of work out there for Drupal themers.

Remember The Hustle?

I remember learning the dance when I was in middle school, along with a bunch of other cheesy dances.  It was fun at the time.

I was reminded of the “Hustle” by my hectic work schedule this week.  I’m pushing myself for a new project I’m working on.  It’s exhilarating, yet exhausting.

I’m sure I didn’t need to put as much detail into the 3 design concepts I’ve put together, but I really want to show both the client and the people I’m contracting for what I’m capable of.  I also want to show them that I can deliver.

I’m finished with my mockups and am about to put together a PowerPoint presentation.  I’ve never done a PowerPoint before, so I’m learning on the fly.

I’ve also been asked to take the final design and create a Drupal theme.  It’s kind of like baptism by fire here.  But I’m so used to spending my career in a newsroom where deadline pressure is a constant, it’s no big deal for me to just handle the additional responsibilities and pick up the pace.

Despite the early mornings, marathon learning and work sessions, I’m thrilled I’ve been given this opportunity to prove myself.  This could be an awesome opportunity.

Here’s my question — when the heat comes on, how do you react?  Are you at your best?  Or do you crack under the pressure?

Next time, I’ll write about my top ways to cope with deadline pressure.

I love my home office.

My chair is the bomb.  You’ve gotta have a good chair.  It’s essential to feel comfortable when you’re working.

I love that I can listen to music, see sunlight through the windows, and I’m just a short walk away from the kitchen, where I often trek to refill my water glass.  I also love that it’s mine.  I share only with my husband, and he’s not a bad office-mate.

But sometimes, it’s not possible to work at home.  For the past week, I’ve been driving Luke to a camp near Zilker Park every morning.  Instead of taking 45 minutes- 1 hour out of my work day to drive back and forth, I decided to set up shop nearby.  All I needed was an Internet connection and a chair.

It was not as easy as I thought it would be.

Here’s what I hate — “free” wireless networks that require a password.  That is incredibly annoying.  Two different coffee shops I tried  had that kind of network — one didn’t even post the password (I guess you had to go ask the barista), and the other (The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf — which is essentially Starbucks) said it would log you out for 10 minutes every 2 hours so you could join the real world.  Or get up to buy another coffee, perhaps?  Sneaky.

No thanks.

But I did finally settle on a decent place to work: Austin Java.

OK, so there were downsides.

1. The chairs aren’t all that comfortable.  They’re wooden.
2. The music was loud.

But there were plenty of upsides to make up for the negatives.

1. Wireless was easy to access
2. Coffee (I only tried the decaf) was good and bottomless
3. Food wasn’t bad
4. Good place to meet business contacts and clients
5. Clean bathrooms
6. Decent music selection (Yeah, it was loud, but at least it was good!)

I ended up getting a ton of work done, and never once did I feel like I was missing something from my office (other than my awesome chair).  It was also nice to work around other people for a change.  I was by no means the only person working there.  Many other people sat down and pulled out their laptops during my time there.

So to the good folks at Austin Java on Barton Springs Road who handed me my coffee mug with a smile and brought out my bowl of fruit — you folks rock!  Thanks for the hospitality!

Even though we no longer have a nanny and I am now the primary caregiver for my nearly 4-year-old and soon-to-arrive daughter, leaving my full-time job in May does not mean I am a stay-at-home-mom or find it easier to balance the home-work life.

The challenges of working from home are even tougher.  There’s no way to escape some days.  And some days I put in even longer hours just to make sure I can get it all done.

So when a friend/fellow working mamma wrote a blog post about tips she gathered to help with that balance I eagerly read it:

Top 10 Efficiency Tips to Simplify the Mamma Juggling Act

Honestly, I was hoping there would be something there I haven’t already tried.  But I guess I’ve been doing this so long — although not at this level of intensity — that I’m an old hat at balancing this stuff.  But there are some good suggestions in there for moms new to this world.

Not every tip works for every household, but some of the general concepts are important.  If you have a spouse, being a team is SOOOOOOOO important.  Andy and I have our challenges, but in essence, we function as a team.

I don’t have the patience to keep a giant calendar that I actually have to physically write on. That seems really inefficient, too.  I have a master calendar on my computer that I sync to my iPod and Google Calendar.  Andy and I share our Google calendars so we know what we’re doing.  It’s not a perfect system, but it works for us.

Communication is the key, though, and if that breaks down, the teamwork and the calendar break down.  Since I’m usually on a computer, I use instant messaging to talk to Andy when I need to let him know about schedule changes or ask a question.  And I’m not afraid to call, text or email the people I need to when I need help.

So my top efficiency tip is:  Communication.  And not just about schedules.  Everything.  You can head off misunderstandings, duplicated efforts, and craziness just by communicating.

I’m so excited… I’m just days away from launching my latest website — essentialsageevents.com.

The current site takes you to a temp page, but I’ll let you have a glimpse of what I’ve been working on.

It’s been a long road, and I’m glad we’re just a few days away.  But even though it seems things are winding down, they’re really just ramping up!

There’s so much to do to make sure the site it ready for it’s soft launch, and I have checklists to go through, plus a final meeting with my fabulous client, who’s coming down from Dallas.

At the same time, I have my current web projects with two other clients AND a new project for a tech company in town that’s asked me to work as a contractor on a project!

I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep this week, but that’s alright.  I’m working and loving it!

I’m working away from home this week for the first time since leaving my old job.

Andy and I set up my laptop so I could share files and not miss a beat — whether I’m working at my desk in the office, or sitting in a coffee shop.

Today — and over the next two weeks — I’m sitting in a coffee shop within close proximity of Luke’s summer camp.  Camp is farther from home, and it’s easier for me to be close by rather than driving to and from the house.

I wanted to share a blog post I found really helpful for productivity at home (or even away).

16 Tips For Being Productive While Working From Home

Thoughts?