Posts Tagged With: Boston

Recent Happenings 2.4.13

Happy monday…

I feel like I should be a little better about actual updates on actual happenings in our life. The idea was spawned from 2 of my friends who came back to blogging (Kacie and Josie) and it was nice to really read what has been going on with them in a platform that is so much more restful than facebook or twitter. I want to be able to go back and read about OUR life too. So… here goes…

We have been trying to find peace in 100 different ways. It seems that peace (the counter balance of stress for us) is something that we were hugely lacking last year. I can’t tell you the number of times that we just collapsed in front of the TV (blast that thing) and didnt talk to each other for 4 hours… just to find our Zen. I dont like that. I dont like that the only place that I can find relaxation is with TV. The funny thing is that TV is actually stimulating… not relaxing. I want to cancel the cable… just because it feels like a drug that zaps my creativity and happiness away… to settle for something completely un-cool. Perhaps Im being a little dramatic but thats just how I am.

Lately Dan and I have been working on peace finding down a lot of different avenues. We are organizing our finances finally. We are keeping a close watch on both business and personal and using spread sheets and mint. It has not exactly made a HUGE change so far, but its only been one month. The one thing I will say for it is that I FEEL more in control, which is half the battle right? We have a small amount of debt and some lofty goals and we want to be able to not only be responsible (in the Dave Ramsey way) but also be brave with our money. One big change… and freeing change… is that we have finally started tithing. It has always bothered me that we dont tithe, especially since we dont go to church and we make more money than the typical american. I want to give back and i felt guilty basically every single month, not giving. We are actually tithing now and it really does make me feel less horrible about myself “Jesus-wise.” I know that Jesus and God dont need my money, but I also know that I dont need it as much as some people do either. (I talk like we are wealthy, which we are not). So thats whats new there.

We are also trying to do yoga more. Yoga is good for the body and it is good for my mind. I feel like my brain is going a million miles a minute and yoga is the only place so far that I have found can calm that beast. its a struggle and im not very good about actually going… but I try.

Veganism is a fight daily. All I want is non-vegan food when we are trying to be vegan. Its yet another beast that I wrestle with. I have found a few AMAZING recipes that help and I will keep fighting. (dont mind last week…. that was a fail :)

On a positive note, now that weddings have stopped and I can get my hands around the to do list that was a mile long, I am finally able to do a few personal projects that I have wanted to do for literally years. That is what this winter will be for me and I couldnt be more excited about it.

<3 b

 

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retry, reset

I blog often. I am relatively consistent and pretty good at it I think… that being said, its not here! I blog for our business, which is strange since that is not the only aspect of me. I want to try and blog more often here, which is never really worked out for me. I have been being pretty good about journaling in my real journal and I don’t see why I can’t take a little time and do that here too. So… I am going to try. Just because I failed time and time again does not mean I cant try again. Thats the spirit right??

Lately I have been really struggling with being happy. Paired with a family emergency in september and a really stressful wedding season, I was unable to smile basically. Dan has been AMAZING throughout the process and I am taking steps to find happiness within myself, since thats what they say you should do. So far, the best medicine I have found has come in the form of a gratefulness list. I have heard of making these for years and never really believed that it would really and truly help until I got to the point that I needed something… anything. I took a notebook, and placed it right next to my journal in a sweet spot in our bedroom. Every day I sit down and write out some goals,bucket list items, a line in my “One A Day” book, journal, and write out a few things that I am grateful for. They are not all mind-blowing, or crazy important  but they ARE things that make me happy and I am thankful for. I swear, even after only doing it for 4 days, I genuinely feel happier. I am noticing my blessings and taking the time to thank the Lord for them daily. As little as it sounds, it has already started shaping my days and making me smile. You should try it.

I will stick to it this year… because I’ve simply had enough of not taking care of me.

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Week Four

Jan 22: It was a crazy busy day at work. We got off at 3:00 and watched TV till we fell asleep.

Jan 23: The managers talked with us about the future of our jobs.

Jan 24: Dan fasted and we fought. He had decided to move to Maine and then prayed and found peace with staying here. We celebrated over dinner.

Jan 25: Lazy day @ home. Dan talked to the managers.

Jan 26: Morning @ the grocery store and picked up Flameing June at the frame shop

Jan 27: Celebrates Marks birthday at work but it wasnt actually his birthday. Zach and Jody on creative live.

Jan 28: Zach and Jody on Creative live again. Watched it again.

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Goodbye 2011. I liked you.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? 
Finally NEST in a home.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 
“Learn to cook” was my new years resolution of last year and I really think that I did a pretty good job. My number one accomplishment was cooking Pork Wellington, which was amazing. Thanks to my Nana, Mom, Aunt Julie, Annie, and Dan, things are looking up in the kitchen.

Of course I will make more for next year. Are you kidding me?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 
Kacie. The third baby! Wild.

4. Did anyone close to you die? 
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
No new ones. We will see what 2012 brings.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? 
Maine.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 
3.14.2011 It was the day we moved to Massachusetts.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Feeling like a professional photographer.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I dont fail… or not enough to dwell on it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope. Dec 28, 2010 I sprained my left ankle, and Jan-Feb of 2011 I was off my feet, but that was not an injury of 2011.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Hattie, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Huh?

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? 
Not that involved.

14. Where did most of your money go? 
House and Home.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
HATTIE!!!!

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2010?
Love in a Hopeless Place, The Civil Wars (stark contrast i know… but just the same)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?:  Happier
ii. thinner or fatter?:  Plead the Fifth
iii. richer or poorer?:  Richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? 
Exercise. Depressing I know.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? 

Unlocking my iPhone, and logging into the internet in all forms.

20. How did you spend Christmas? 
Raleigh. 919 Ya’ll! It was sweet.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011? 
Yes. Of course. Dan ROCKS!

22. What was your favorite TV program? 

Mad Men

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? 
I’m leaving this one alone.

24. What was the best book you read?
Harry Potter!!!!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Civil Wars

26. What did you want and get? 
A Home.

27. What did you want and not get? 
A bikini body

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Soul Surfer

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
28. Holla Back! I touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being a full time wedding photographer. ONLY. and Living in Maine.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Lame. Insecure. Lonely. Boring. and Boring…

32. What kept you sane? 
Dan and Hattie. I wouldnt call myself sane though.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Matthew Mcconaughey. Always.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? 
Occupy Wall Street

35. Who did you miss? 

“All of my friends who live far away. You know who you are :) ” and I quote.

36. Who was the best new person you met? 

Casey. She is a dear and I really am thankful I met her.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: 
It’s worth it.

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Less than 7 full days

Bittersweet times today. There are less than 7 full days left for Dan and I at the trailer. This makes me sad in a way but also really excited that things are about to change. We will be in Boston by the end of the month which is really hard to believe.  This morning we took a drive and took some photos of the foggy day the Lord provided. It was nice to get out and see things with a different eye. I will miss the OBX a lot. It’s not really sinking in just yet and i think that might be for my own good.

I realized that I have a really insatiable need for home. That is unfortunately paired with a really broad love for many many places. I love places i haven’t even visited! I can see us living in so many different towns, and environments, and communities and even countries that I almost get overwhelmed thinking about it. I could see us happy in such a wide spectrum of places that I feel that life is unfairly short! I need at least 9 lives to get this done!  It’s like something is always nagging in the back of my mind. It’s not a frustration as much as a drive to go for more. I hope that I find home one day… but I hope that getting settled into home doesn’t create the kind of comfort that numbs my spirit.

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Twisted Ankle slows me down just enough

So I am stuck on the couch with an elevated ankle from a tumble, which makes it much easier to have incentive to blog. Im stuck sitting :)

Dan and I are getting all our ducks in a row for our big move to Boston. It’s wild looking for an apartment from 12 hours away. Who knows about Boston neighborhoods and railway routes and so on? Not i. We are just so stinkin excited. I know that waving good by to the ocean will be hard, (like the pun?) but it’s not like we cant get to the beach pretty easily in Massachusetts.

We are also feverishly working on our business and its really official kick-off in January. I can use the photos I took while working for the photographer i worked for all year and our website will get a lot more goodness added to it. Ive been spending practically every hour working on the newly redesigned website, getting it ready for it’s January launch too. I feel like im always working. Its ok though. its all for the good.

Its hard to believe that 2010 is over. Its been so wild for us. Here’s a little re-cap:

January: Got back from the Kayak Trip, moved into an apartment in Cary, Started work for Raleigh Parks and Recreation

February: Kept working

March: Got the internship with the photographer i worked with all year, started aquiring the gear i would need

April: Wedding work begins

May: Job ends in raleigh, working like crazy with photography

June: Move to the outer banks, working like crazy with photography

July: boredom. jobless. no weddings

August: get job at a restaurant, more weddings

September: wedding wedding wedding, start work on own wedding photography business

October:  working, weddings

November: We do our first wedding as bethany and dan photography, more weddings, work

December: get jobs in boston, Christmas, ankle sprain :)

Hope 2011 blesses your life, as 2010 has blessed ours. Jobs and homes and moves galore!

 

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