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.

Make Any Food

Posted on April 1, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

We often tell people we don’t cook or bake or even eat together. Yesterday, we got a fun basket of pancake mix, Nutella, and syrup. We stopped by the store last night for bacon. I had visions of a nice, relaxing breakfast with Bret.

What followed was lots of burnt pancakes, pancake mix all over me, almost burnt bacon, lots of words we don’t normally say, and a “well, THAT is why we don’t cook!”

We were about to sit down to eat and my dear husband pushed the boundaries and said “I’ll just need to workout and then we can eat.” The look I gave him before he said “April Fool’s” hopefully warned him to NOT make jokes like that again.

Eating out is worth every. Single. Penny.

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Day 3185 – It’s Never Too Late For Your Dreams To Come True

Posted on March 31, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

There’s one thing that really bothers me. When people don’t pursue their dreams. I really hate excuses. (Totally talking to myself here too.) I hear it all the time in these phrases…

“it must be nice”
“I’ve always wanted to do that”
“I’ll never”
“it’s too late”
“I should have”

For a number of reasons and because of a number of experiences, I live pretty much every day of my life as if it was my last. I have no regrets. I have pursued things. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they don’t.

I’ve started to have really big dreams and goals. Some I’m actively working towards, some of them are down the line. But I’ve started to actually believe they are possible. I’m moving past the fear of writing them down and putting them out there. I have things like meeting Oprah (I’ve met Stedman, so I’m only one degree of separation away there!) and Tim Ferris. Doing Yoga with Adriene. Being a New York Times best seller. To be a millionaire. To meet YouTubers I’ve followed for years. (One of those is actually coming true in less than 3 months! AH!) To live on the water.

I think one of the biggest hurdles is just believing it’s possible. Getting rid of your excuses and actually doing the thing.

Bret and I had a conversation the other night after hearing a statistic – people watch an average of five hours of TV….a day. A DAY?!?! I said, how many people could start businesses in those five hours? How many books could be read in those five hours?

This morning, I read an article and watched a video about someone who had what seemed like an impossible dream, that actually come true. It was such a great reminder that it IS possible to achieve your dreams.

So friends, keep dreaming. Keep pushing after your dreams. Every person who had a dream doubted it at some point. Every one of them started from scratch. Every super successful person is just another person. Just like you.

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Day 3184 – Woooo Spring Break…All Four Days Of It…

Posted on March 30, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

Today is the first day of Bret’s spring break. I didn’t expect to do much “days off” celebrating, but Bret surprised me today by wanting to sleep in. Dudes, we slept until 7:30! It was positively luxurious! See, Bret has been getting up at 4 and I’m getting up roughly 5/5:30. So 7:30 is a BIG sleep in. It was so nice to not feel rushed this morning. Granted, my morning routine is, well, non-existent, but the have to’s are getting done. I have a feeling the next four days will all look like weekend days. I’m much less strict about my routines and to dos on the weekends….which is something I do want to work on, but I also want to give myself grace and self-love. I tell ya, letting go of what my days should look like, embracing what they ARE and working with that has been a game changer.

I’m looking forward to hanging out with Bret, watching some movies (side note, it looks like Ready Player One’s “partial nudity” is ok for us to watch, so I’m super excited and we’ll likely see it this weekend), seeing friends, and honestly, working our butts off on our business. It’s been so much fun getting into a groove with working together again, playing to our strengths and sharing the workload. I’m excited to see what this year holds for us because it has been SO good so far and we’re only 1/4 of the way through. Wooo!

I will say, it will look a little like this….

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Day 3183 – Reflections On 3.5 Years Of Sobriety

Posted on March 29, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

In some ways, I feel like I’ve always been sober. I feel so far removed from my drinking days that they almost seem like they happened to someone else. I suppose in some respects, that’s true. I am so different from that person. I always heard “people don’t change” so I didn’t try to change myself or others. Looking back on my own struggles and changes, I realize people do and can change, but sometimes it can take a very, very, very long time. I was arrested in 2006 but I didn’t take God at His Word (to be sober-minded) until 2014. I joke that it took me eight years to quit cold turkey. But the truth is it was all God doing a work in me over many many years. It has helped me to be patient with change; to not rush it. Some things take a long time to marinate.

One change from not drinking is the ability to get up early. I still can’t believe we regularly get up at 5:00. But there is so much peace and productivity in the early morning hours. I would never voluntarily get up this early in my drinking days.

An awesome blogger I follow (No Wine I’m Fine) celebrates big anniversaries with epic trips. While I’m not taking a trip today, I do count my trip a few weekends ago as a celebration. I do think I’ll take another solo-cation for my four year sobriety anniversary.

One of my life verses is Ecclesiastes 5:20, “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” I feel like this is a reflection of how I feel about my drinking days. I don’t much remember them (which has made writing my book especially interesting and hard), but God has kept my heart occupied with such joy that even looking back becomes easier.

Hello 3.5 years, here’s to 3.5 more!

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Day 3182 – “I Have The Worst Job Ever” – or – Perspective – repost

Posted on March 28, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

While driving today, I passed a road crew picking up trash and noticed the porta potty on a truck following them. My first thought was “man, it must stink (no pun intended) having a job like that.” But almost as quickly, I started thinking how it might be an answer to prayer for those on the crew. Typically, I think of road crews like that as those who are on work release or it’s part of their prison sentence to do this type of work. If that’s the case, then working outside is an AMAZING opportunity!

It seems to be an easy thing for people to complain about their job.
If you work in production, you wish you worked in the office.
If you work in the office, you wish you could get up and move around from your desk.
If you work as the secretary, you wish you were the boss.
If you work in an office, you wish you worked from home.

But I think we forget that there are two sides to every story….and every job.

So I give a plea – enjoy where you are in your job. Don’t complain. Understand that there are those who would be so grateful for what you have.

But if you do desire more, take action. I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my current reads:

“Mediocrity comes from the Latin words medius, meaning middle, and ocris, meaning rugged mountain. Literally translated, it means to settle halfway to the summit of a difficult mountain. It’s a compromise of abilities and potential; a negotiation between the drive to excel and the biological urge to settle for the most comfortable option.”
– Die Empty – Todd Henry

This was originally posted 3/1/16.

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365daysofmarriage

Simplicity in Marriage, Christianity, Travel, Business, Life

Author Archives: 365 days of marriage

About 365 days of marriage

Day 3186 – Why Bret And Jen Don’t Cook/Bake/Make Any Food

Day 3185 – It’s Never Too Late For Your Dreams To Come True

Day 3184 – Woooo Spring Break…All Four Days Of It…

Day 3183 – Reflections On 3.5 Years Of Sobriety

Day 3182 – “I Have The Worst Job Ever” – or – Perspective – repost