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 2761 – You Will Never Change…Unless You Actually Do

Posted on January 31, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

The past week or two has been filled with much reminiscing.

We made a video about how I was NOT a minimalist when I first met Bret, which caused me to look at many old photos of my old room.

I have decided that I am more of a month to month goal setter, thus I have been figuring out what I did well and what I failed completely with my January goals (spoiler – no soda drinking was a win! Writing every day was a utter failure.).

I purchased a great book that has me thinking about things.

I regularly look at my “On This Day” on Facebook. On January 31, 2009, I filled out one of those silly “25 random things you didn’t know about me” things. Here’s 20. “I own nearly 500 movies and tv shows on dvd. Most of them were purchased for under 10 bucks.” I read this number and immediately emailed Bret, telling him the 2009 number and the 2017 number (44). I ended by saying “Who says you can’t change?”

Have you ever thought, there’s NO way I can change? Or there’s NO way they will ever change? It’s so easy to put someone in a category and keep them there. She never does the dishes, he never puts his laundry in the hamper, she’s always negative, he’ll never get a better job, I’ll always be poor, I’ll never get out of debt, I’ll never travel, I’ll never get in shape.

Even though I can take a look at my current life and think, wow, I have changed, I forget just how far I’ve come. I urge you to keep a record, somehow, somewhere, of your life. Your fears, your achievements, your joys, your lows. Have it saved somewhere you can regularly look back. I’ve had the luxury of oversharing on Facebook, so much so that I have a very detailed list of my life.

So if you’re stuck thinking you’ll never change or your spouse will never change, take heart.

I went from well over $50,000 in debt, to $0 debt with money saved.
I went from hoarder with tons of stuff, to minimalist with a lot less.
I went from getting migraines 3-4 times a week because of my diet, to maybe 1-2 a month.
I went from being an alcoholic for nine years who was arrested, to a sober person for over two years and counting.
I went from someone who dreamed about writing a book, to someone who did.

These three shelves don’t even show all of my old DVDs…wow.

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Day 2760 – The Tale Of Chasing Dreams – or – Tools Of The Titans Is Going To Change My Life

Posted on January 30, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

I’ve blogged recently, non-recently, and way oldly about the The 4-Hour Workweek
(* Affliate link) by Timothy Ferriss and how it changed my life. When I heard of his new book, Tools Of The Titans, I was beyond excited. It was in my hold requests at the library for weeks. I finally got a copy last week and even just a few pages in and I knew it would be another life changing book. Last night, I was skipping around and reading different sections to Bret. I ended up looking at the recommended books in the back (p.s. be still my reader’s heart at this list!) and thought, huh, it would be cool if I could highlight all of the books I’ve read. I thought of how I would take notes and mark it the heck up. At about 8:40 p.m., I thought, I have to buy this book now. I know I’m going to, why wait? I looked up stores that had it and found a local Barnes & Nobles. I knew I had a giftcard, so chaos ensued. I tore open my purse to find said gift card.

Then began a discussion with Bret, “is this a purchase that I should make right now?” We are trying to be very purposeful in where we invest our money. We have some pretty big dreams right now, and those dreams will take money. We’re trying to take every purchase captive and spend wisely. After checking the prices online and realizing, yes, we will both be gaining much from this book, it’s a good purchase now. I ran out of the house, leap in the car, and headed to the bookstore. I was met with many green lights, easy left hand turns, and little delay.

I arrived at the book store with joy in my heart, I had arrived with a few minutes to spare. I nearly floated to the door, only to be met with an employee shaking his head at me. My face took on that of utter disappointment, and I honestly almost cried. I pulled out my phone and saw I still had three minutes. I looked back up and the employee opened the door and said I had three minutes. I nodded and began my fast walk through the store. At last, I found my book. I tore it from the shelves, and rushed to the check out. I was paying when the announcement that the store was closed came over the speakers. I voiced my deep thanks to the employee still at the door and my heart rejoiced within me. I had my book. I could barely wait to get home.

Once I got home, I immediately started highlighting the books I’d read. After that, I knew it was time to start reading, finally. I started highlighting and realized, crap, I need to figure out a system for how I read this book. I came up with a highlighting system! Different colors mean different things so then I can quickly skim through and find what I need.

As you can see, I have already utilized my system! I am so excited to start the journey through this awesome resource. It was also a really neat experience to leap for joy to buy a book. I buy so few books, that this was a big deal!