Author Archives: 365 days of marriage

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About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 2851 – Why The Hood Of My Car Made Me A Little Sad Today

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Today may sound a little silly, but we’re all about silliness and simplicity over here. Last week, our car was involved in a minor accident. Today I visited a collision repair place to get an estimate. One of the things that will need to be replaced is the hood of the car. You wouldn’t think the hood of a car would make you thoughtful, but the hood of my car is a little different.

Back in 2008, I was driving from my job in Baltimore City to deliver an order to wedding clients. The sky was like the movies where one side was all blue and birds singing and the other (the exact direction I was driving) was filled with black, dark, menacing clouds. In a short 1/4 mile drive, the rain started to pour. In another 1/4 mile, I thought, wow, that’s coming down pretty hard, like hail. After driving a block or so, I realized it WAS hail. I pulled over and sat in my car as it started to rock back and forth from the wind. I watched the clouds around me swirl. I have never been more afraid and thought I was going to die. As I sat there, leg shaking on the break, repeating “I’m going to die” over and over again, lightening struck close by. It blew a transformer and took out the power in the block. I found out later a tornado had touched down only a few miles away. After many long minutes, the wind died down and I drove off. Very shaken up.

I have dozens of large dents on the car from the rain of hail. I never got them taken out because it is a constant reminder of God’s protection over me that day. As I look back on my life, I realize I’ve had several near death experiences, from a canoeing accident to knowing I probably would have died if I kept driving the night I was arrested. When I made my list yesterday, I left out a big one – there is a reason I am still here on this planet. God has things for me in this life. Whether it’s through my writing, creating a business to help others travel without going into debt, or just being a helpmate to my spouse.

So take heart friends, let the little, silly things remind you of the big things. And excuse me while I go cry over the hood of a car.

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Day 2850 – Beating Yourself Up – or – Getting Over Former Mistakes

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A few days back, one of our friends shared a video about drunk driving. I watched with tears streaming. It was hard to relive what could have been when I was driving drunk 10 and a half years ago. I am so thankful that I was pulled over and didn’t hurt myself or anyone else. Knowing myself, hurting or killing someone would have completely broken me. It’s so tempting to fall into beating myself up for my mistakes. It’s so easy to think I ruined everything that day.

Thankfully, that isn’t my story.

To help me get over my former mistakes, I am reminding myself of what my story is, not what it could have been.

– I am sober.

– I have clarity of memories, since I’m not drinking during the fun times anymore.

– I have no hidden secrets, now that my former hidden alcoholism is out in the open.

– I have (hopefully) helped others through my honesty.

The journey to sobriety isn’t easy, especially when your mistakes try to drag you down, but I am so so so thankful that sobriety is my story today.

How do you stop beating yourself up? Let me know in the comments below when I, or other readers, have the hard days.

For fun, here’s a photo of lattes in Guinness glasses!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
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Day 2849 – How To Travel To St. Petersburg, Florida For Under $140 – or – Travel Secret – Visit Your Friends

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I want to give a huge shout out to my friend Mara Glazer. She put up with me for four days, and showed me around the amazing St. Petersburg and surrounding areas. She got me some food, picked me up and dropped me off at the airport, and drove me around. What I love about having business owner friends is that we can both work and not feel like we’re ignoring the other person. If you’re a business owner, make sure you surround yourself with other business owners!

I had a realization while I was in Florida that there is a travel hack I don’t think about that much, it’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to travel so much for so little – visiting friends and family. I’m sure you can think of people in your life who live in other parts of the country. Maybe they’ve moved for work, or to be with their spouse. I’m sure they miss seeing you and would love to have a visitor. I lucked out in that my friend lives in a truly beautiful place. I could not stop commenting at how clear the water was (funny enough, at Clearwater Beach). The sand was so smooth.

So if you think you can’t afford to travel, think about your friends in other places, would they like a visitor? Can you sleep on their floor?

Now, without further ado, here are my actual numbers from my trip to Florida.

A few notes – Mara bought some food for me, did all of the driving, and didn’t charge me to sleep in her guest room. I used Southwest miles, which means I had to spend money to earn the miles. But we use our Southwest card like cash – paying things off each month. I used my Dunkin Donuts app to buy my coffee at the airport. There was a special of $1.49 any size coffee if you use the app.

Plane ticket fee after miles – $11.20
Snacks and toiletries – $14.68
Dunkin coffee at airport – $1.58
Meal with Mara – $55.09
Magnet souvenir – $4.27
Shirt and magnet souvenir – $18.17
More food and beach snacks – $8.43
Parking for the beach – $13.50
Lemonade on the beach – $2.70
Snacks for the plane – $8.88
Drink before flight – $1.49
Total spent – $139.99

The biggest lesson I learned is that travel with friends is the best way to travel. You can share costs, and really, it’s the best kind of travel.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip!

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Day 2848 – Cubicle Day – Reflections On How Far I’ve Come

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When I discovered that today was cubicle day, it caused me to reflect on my cubicle days and how far I’ve come over the last five and a half years. I didn’t really work in a cubicle at my last job, but I did in the job before that. I can still feel the weighty sadness of sitting in a cube. There were days I would cry in the bathroom. I tried to add inspiration to my surroundings, but it fell flat. I now know I have to have my own space, I have to work outside, I have to have flexibility.

If nothing else, I’m thankful for the time working in a cube so I can fully appreciate the fact that I don’t work in one now.

Happy cubicle day!!!

Here’s my current workspace! I still need a few more inspiring quotes on the walls, but it’s a start!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
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Day 2847 – A Book That Changed My Life – Unmistakable

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While enjoying my time here, I finished reading an absolutely life-changing book, Unmistakable* by Srinivas Rao. The whole idea of the book is that being only, is so much better than best. You want your work to be unmistakable.

I have taken copious notes while reading this book. But I wanted to share this quote in particular.

“We become so indoctrinated, it’s as if we’ve been institutionalized. We forget that our life is what we make of it. Only when we have the audacity to question the status quo can we disrupt it.”

I cannot even put into words how many life-changing thoughts came through the pages and into my brain. So many things that gave me confirmation about who I am, who I want to be, and not caring what others think.

If you need a little (or big) jump start in your life, I highly recommend this book.

*Affiliate link
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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel