Another week, another iPhone self portrait. :) Ha! I mentioned last week how crazy busy things were — well, things were even crazier than I anticipated. A full time schedule at work, plus a full load of photography work to be doing, plus two portrait sessions, plus back to back weddings over the weekend and two separate trips to Centerville. Plus Kenny started his new (exhausting) job in Coalville so I didn’t see him for four and half days which was the WORST!

Needless to say, we both needed a break. So today. . . we are catching up. On sleep, time with each other, and time to relax and take a break from the stress. We declared that nothing productive was allowed to be done today and that life can begin again tomorrow.

Sometimes, you just a need a day off. :)

. . . . . . . . . .

This post is part of my Project 52 for this year — I’m taking one self portrait each week of the year that represents “life right now.” To read more about it, see here and to see the past weeks in the series, see here. :)

Really really busy. Which means that all I have time for this project right now is a grainy iPhone self portrait. :)

I’m spending lots of time in front of my computer editing and editing and editing (1.5 weddings and 4 portrait sessions to go!). Plus I took a bunch of extra shifts at work this week for a co-worker on vacation (I thought we could use the extra money). Plus we’re trying to cram in as much social time with our friends before we move (in THREE weeks). Plus I got Kenny’s sickness (it was inevitable).

So, that’s it for today. Hi and bye!

. . . . . . . . . .

This post is part of my Project 52 for this year — I’m taking one self portrait each week of the year that represents life right now. To read more about it, see here and to see the past weeks in the series, see here. :)

Life these days is simple. . . comfortable. . . even easy. I know it’s asking for trouble to even say that, but it’s the truth. Kenny and I have been saying lately how good things are for us right now. We have a lovely house that we have become so comfortable in. We have good jobs where we know what we’re doing. We have plenty of free time without school, kids, or long work hours. We sleep in most mornings and relax in the evenings with friends or each other.

I’m not saying this to brag about our amazing lives, but just to acknowledge how grateful I am for this time. I think God is blessing us with this comfort and simplicity because things are about to change in just about every way in a matter of months and they’ll never be the same. Although I wouldn’t want things to stay the same–there’s not much growth in comfort. Growth comes through change and getting uncomfortable.

But I’m also convinced that even through the changing, difficult years ahead (law school, babies, scary moves, grown-up jobs, etc.), it will still be in our control whether we choose to be happy, to find the beauty in each phase of life. Even with life as wonderful as it is now, we could still have chosen to focus on the parts that aren’t perfect yet — not having a lot of money, not working at jobs we love, not having a baby yet. But I think we both have learned to appreciate what’s wonderful rather than dwelling on what’s missing.

And I never want to forget to do that — to choose happiness and choose to see the beauty of it all, no matter the circumstances.

. . . . . . . . . .

This post is part of my Project 52 for this year — I’m taking one self portrait each week of the year that represents “life right now.” To read more about it, see here and to see the past weeks in the series, see here. :)

Or at least trying to be! I am so grateful to have switched up my schedule a few months ago so that I’m doing photography work from home more than I work at my day job. Hooray! Besides the fact that I’m doing more of what I love now, I don’t like to have a set schedule or have someone telling me when to be where. Plus, I am SUCH a homebody so hanging around the house all day is working out pretty well. :)

However. . . it’s taken me a while to get my schedule where I want it to be. If I didn’t have somewhere to be, some days I would end up in my sweats at 3:00 in the afternoon. So even if I’d been productive all morning, I felt like a sloppy failure for not getting ready.  Some mornings I would start by checking my email or social media and end up wasting away an hour or two on endless links. Or sometimes I’d sleep in longer than I needed to and then be behind on whatever I planned on doing.

It’s still a work in progress but through a lot of trial and error, I’m pretty happy with my life these days. Even though I love the freedom to do what I want when I want, I’ve learned that I’m more productive with a routine and a somewhat consistent schedule. So, I’ve tried to loosely create my ideal day and try to keep to that as much as I can. That means: waking up early (ish. . .), reading scriptures and writing FIRST thing, actually getting ready for the day, splitting the day up into projects that need to be taken care of, and taking breaks. And I’ve made myself STOP working at a certain time in the evening, which is so great. No phone calls or emails in the evening, which means no stress. I love it.

Hooray for being self-employed!!

. . . . . . . . . .

This post is part of my Project 52 for this year — I’m taking one self portrait each week of the year that represents “life right now.” To read more about it, see here and to see the past weeks in the series, see here. :)

Ha! How’s that for honesty? :) Kenny flew to Indiana for an open house at Notre Dame and to check out our new city. So I thought I’d get a ton done on my projects during the three days he was gone. I planned on holing up in my office and working like crazy. And I did! I got pretty much everything done I needed to. But I also just about lost my mind in the process. :)

Halfway through his trip, I found myself staring blankly at my computer screen and wanting to bang my head against the desk. I was totally burned out and I needed to talk to another human being and be outside my house. But the dumb thing is, do you ever feel that way, but all you want to do is stay inside and not do anything? It’s weird. I knew I’d feel better if I could just have some human interaction and fresh air, but it was so much easier to sit on the couch and feel sorry for my lonely self.

So, the photo above illustrates how I recuperated — I spent a good few hours over the next two days on the couch watching 24. :) Whatever. You’ve got to let yourself relax once in a while, right?? :)

. . . . . . . . . .

This post is part of my Project 52 for this year — I’m taking one self portrait each week of the year that represents “life right now.” To read more about it, see here and to see the past weeks in the series, see here. :)