Uh oh...I opened Pandora's Box.

(Image Courtesy ofCrossmyheartcreations87.blogspot.com via Pinterest)

Yep. Though I was late to the party, I finally did it.

I joined Pinterest.

And good sweet lord, I am in love. In love! As my sweet friend told me today, I am indeed now a "Pinteresting Machine!"

This operates-at-warp-speed brain of mine finally has somewhere to put all of the ideas/dreams/inspiration/fashion items I lust after into one place. And just as much as I love finding ideas to pin to my boards, i LOVE seeing what my friends are doing.

So let's be "friends" (or whatever the Pinterest equivalent is.) You can find me at pinterest.com/katiehumphreys.

Don't say I didn't warn you.....

A Dog's Thoughts on Thankfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am running in the local Turkey Trot (ha!) before chowing down (non 4 hour body style!) and enjoying the day with my sweet Chris and the rest of my family, who I am beyond grateful for.

I love Mary Oliver's writing, and found this poem that is one of a series she wrote. I love this poem, based on what her dog, Percy, would say about how we should live our life and thought it was indeed fitting, as we give thanks today. As much as I give thanks during the holidays for all the blessings I have, I want to live my life like Thanksgiving is each day. I think Percy got it right.

I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life

Love, love, love, says Percy.

And hurry as fast as you can

along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.

Give up your body heat, your beating heart.

Then, trust.

--Mary Oliver

Practicing Brutal Focus

Focus, Focus, Focus.

One of my all time favorite blogs, Copyblogger, recently had a great post about mastering the craft of writing. (No small topic there!) One of the tips was...Focus, focus, focus. Quite an applicable tip not only for mastering writing, but for mastering life.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what it means to practice peacefulness. (A little daunting.) It seems that "practicing brutal focus," as Copyblogger puts it, is a key to practicing peacefulness.

Focus, focus, focus.

Our list of to-do's each day grows longer and longer and ultimately distracts us from the important things we should be focused on. Important work takes a back seat to whichever tasks, even unimportant ones, scream the loudest.

What are all the things that have filled our day that are essentially just distractions that should be ignored? Part of cultivating peacefulness, efficiency, and purpose means deciding what things are relevant to take in and what things we have to let go of and tune out.

Ignoring something doesn't necessarily mean you're ignorant.

Focus, focus, focus.

Focusing is a choice. When we choose to say yes to anything (yes to our health, yes to our family, yes to doing great work) we are inevitably choosing to say no to something (no to what's on tv tonight, no to another activity that demands our time.) Saying no to certain things is ok. In fact, necessary. Having priorities and giving 100% to something means saying no to one thing and yes to that priority.

I want the time and energy to do the things that matter. And as the time of year comes where the world's noise is off the charts and my to-do list is longer than ever, I'm taking the challenge to wake up each day and be focused, focused, focused. On the things that matter.

Got Tea?

Well, I'm not sure what happened. But about two weeks ago, my hyped-up-on-coffee-self woke up and decided that I liked tea. After years of avoiding it (even to my mom's dislike) I had a change of heart and decided I was a tea girl after all.

And so, I'm on the hunt for some tea recommendations. I'm not sure who of my readers are tea drinkers, but I've had a thermos of tea permanently attached to my hand for the last few weeks and feel like I'm going to burn out on my current tea choices if I don't get some outside help :)

Therefore, I'm soliciting any and all tea recommendations. Please share with this addict pictured below? (I figured posts are better with pictures anyway)

And PS. Mom, I'm glad to know how happy this change of heart makes you. :)

PPS. Decaf recommendations please :)

Don't forget. (A few reminders.)

As I alluded to in my earlier post, I recently returned back from a major work event that I was on the core planning team for. It was a week full of lot of highs and lows. There were moments when I felt like my strengths shined through, and other situations that made my weaknesses painfully obviuos. I don't know that I've ever felt so encouraged and surrounded by people who care about me, while at the same time feeling so vulnerable and criticized by others. A funny dichotomy.

Rather than be my lengthy, verbose self (well, I still might be) and write at length about my particular experiences, I decided to write a letter to you. To me. It doesn't matter whether you were the person in the "right" or the "wrong." Regardless of that, these are a few lessons I hope that I won't quickly forget.

Dear 27 year old me (and you who's reading this,)

Always remember that friends give friends the benefit of the doubt. If you feel like you've been wronged, try to expect the best, before you assume the worst.

Just because you might be different than "them" you are not better than they are. Stop acting like it.

Your strengths are only made complete by others, not by trying to do everything on your own.

Don't forget that though you may say only a few words, you can do a lot of damage. Be careful.

The people who frustrate you the most are usually the people you have the most to learn from.

You can make someone's day with just one compliment. Be generous in praising others and don't underestimate the power of your encouragement.

There's a way to give criticism and give it kindly. Whatever it takes, learn how to do this.

Remember the people who go out of your way to love you and encourage you. When you feel like you can't tell them thank you enough, just make sure you are that person for someone else.

Healthy people ask for what they need. Don't think you're better than this and try to be martyr. It doesn't make you a martyr. (It makes you stupid.)

Your goal each day should be to treat those around you in such a way that their day is a little better because of you. Pretty simple.

Don't forget.

Love,

Me

Mile Markers for Life.

Lululemon is my not-so-subtle obsession. Yes, I'm one of those girls that spends an obscene amount of money on workout clothes, but if you ask me about it, I can name 100 reasons why it's worth it. :) (This is a topic for another day.) However, Lululemon recently had a little social media campaign going that I thought was interesting.

They told their audience on twitter, facebook, and their blog to fill in the blank....

"I run because _____"

There were a variety of answers (some like "I run because I love ice cream!") and I thought it was fun to read these. But today it really got me thinking.

After an incredibly long week traveling, I'm finally home again getting back into my routine. The last few weeks of preparation for a work event was beyond challenging...it stretched me and tested me, and taught me more in a few weeks than I've probably learned in close to the last year combined. (More posts to come on this soon.) Anxious to get back into my normal routine, I went for my run this morning and was thinking about all the lessons that I've recently been learning (some that ain't so pretty.) I was on the last loop of my run and this question that Lululemon had posted about running came to mind. And the answer to it was very clear:

I run because it reminds me where I've come from.

I run because it's a constant reminder to me that life is about progress. Running is a physical act that shows us how far we've come from when we started (I couldn't run for 5 minutes just a few months ago and I can now run for over 6 miles) and it's a physical reminder of the fact that we have good days and bad days (ie: there are days when running a short 2 miles makes you think you might die, and other days when you breeze through 5 or 6 miles with no trouble.)

Running reminds me of the places I've been so that I can be grateful. It's an incredibly wonderful, tangible way to see the progress that I've made, because sometimes in the day-to-day busyness, I don't see that progress. Running reminds me.

But perhaps most importantly today, I was reminded that I don't often take note of how far I've come in growing as person because of the lessons I've learned. There's no "mile markers" to remind us of the ways we change as people, or to showcase the growth we've gone through internally. We don't always see the change in ourselves, but especially as I've learned some tough lessons recently, it's important that we make time to reflect and recognize these changes too.

Running is about physical progress and a tangible reminder of how far I've come. And that's important. But more importantly, we've got to remember that our daily life is full of signs of how far we've come. If we look for them.

This one Life.

There are a lot of quotes and books and movies with message about living life to the fullest. About making the most of the one life that we're all lucky enough to have. I think about it a lot and lately have been asking myself the question "is this life the one I dreamed?"

Sure, no life will be perfect. But if I have this one chance to do something meaningful with my life, this one chance to treat myself and others in such a way that the world is left just a little bit better place - am I living the life I dreamed? The things I fill my days with are the things that I will ultimately fill my life with as the years go by. Which means that the things I do each day - everything from the way I spend my time to the food I put in my body to the work I do in my job - are the things that will ultimately define how I spent this Life.

Is this life the one I dreamed? If not, why? And if so, how am I showing my gratitude each day?

Thanks to Mary Oliver for so beautifully expressing her thoughts on this subject.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

- Mary Oliver

(Many thanks to my friend Rachel LaCour for sharing this quote with me.)

On Being a Superhero.

(Thanks Chris Brogan for inspiring this post's title and for some thoughts that helped me bring this post full circle.)

Last week, there was just a little too much.

A little too much griping from people who told me that they didn't like something I wasn't in control of.

A little too much work that was put on my plate.

A little too much frustration.

And finally, the "little too much" of everything turned into way too much and I fell apart.

(Ahh internet. It is painful to write things so truthful!)

Enter my wonderful husband. When he saw that this little too much had indeed turned to way too much, he (strongly) encouraged me to find something to unwind and get my butt over to a hot yoga class that night.

So I did. I took my fully ruffled, not-so-pretty self over and settled in for a full 90 minute hot yoga class. My internet dialogue went a little something like this.

Minute 3: Uh. Come on people, enough with the deep breathing. I need to get a workout here.

Minute 5: Good grief, it is hot as hell in here!

Minute 6: This is incredibly boring.

Minute 6.5: That girl has a cute top on...

Minute 8: Why am I possibly holding one position for this long?

Minute 9: Dear sweet lord, please tell me I am not REPEATING the last position for another minute!!

Minute 11: I am pretty close to the door. I could probably leave quietly.

You get the drift. It was not my most shining moment. However, I'm proud to say I didn't walk out and once I actually let myself slow down long enough to stop looking at the clock, stop looking at other people, and close my eyes as I focused on the poses, it was actually a pretty amazing next hour and a half. There were three major things I realized (and not just about yoga.)

1. I move way too fast from one thing to the next.

2. Deep breathing actually does work wonders in calming you down.

3. I pay way too much attention to the people and things around me.

I want to focus on the last point - this was as lightbulb moment for me...Paying attention to the things and people around you is, of course, on the surface, not a bad thing. I would say (and hope it's true!) that I'm a pretty conscientious person and aware of other people, their feelings, and understanding that I'm not the only person in any given equation. My awareness about the things around me helps me to be sensitive to other people and, in a work environment, understand that my work is only a small piece of a larger puzzle.

However.

My awareness of people and the things around me is also what makes it so that it's very hard for me to remain grounded during the day and not let my mood be radically swayed by all the ups and downs that are happening around me. While I think we should certainly be aware of the things around us, it's equally important to find ways to stand grounded and "protect our inner peace." (My priest used to say this to me years ago and it's stuck with me.) Finding this place internally allows us to continue on in being productive and positive despite the ups and downs that may be happening around us.

This doesn't mean that I will shut myself off from the things going on around me. But it does mean that I have to understand that I am the only one who control the way I allow the external things in my life to affect the way I feel. I want to be aware and present in the things going on around me, but at the end of the day, I want to be anchored in gratefulness and positivity so that I am not so easily swayed by what is happening around me.

This is where being your own superhero comes in...in Chris Brogan's recent blog post he says:

"The biggest realization that came out of 9/11 for me was that nobody was coming to save me (us). I mean this in a gazillion ways. My company’s HR department couldn’t care less about my career development. No one at all would ultimately be responsible for my happiness, but myself. All of this came crashing into reality for me because of 9/11.

You are your own superhero. No one has to save you. You don’t have to say “if only.” You just have to do the work. Do you need to make more money? Then start working on that. Do you need to lose weight or get healthy? Today’s the day.

Superheroes are part of a very powerful mythology that says this: you’re not strong enough, so some outside force will have to come and help you"

That is, unless YOU are the superhero. "

This week, I'm taking this idea to heart. Only I can control the way that I let "a little too much" become "way too much" and start to eat away at me. Only I can control the work that I do. And only I can control the way that I choose (or don't choose) to ground myself and go through each day with a deep sense of peace and gratefulness.

Today we can each choose to be our own superhero. And we can choose to find whatever it is we need - peace or patience or acceptance or joy -if we look within ourselves.

Running. And what the kid says about riding bikes.

Running has been my nemesis for as long as I can remember. I was that kid that even in middle school, struggled to run one mile and the mere idea of running anywhere made me want to throw up (before I even started running.) On top of that, I hurt my knee a few years ago and for a while, Running was out of the question. Running and I have not been pals.

Until I decided that since my knee had healed from a previous injury, I was going to look face to face Running and give it a shot. These days, I've been making it my mission to stretch myself and step outside my box, so when it came to Running...I thought why the hell not? Who am I that I should convince myself I will never be one of "those" people who can run for any kind of distance?

Last week was a major milestone in the Humphreys household. This girl, who couldn't run five minutes in April ran five MILES last week. I didn't stop at any point, I didn't collapse when I finished, and I've lived to tell about it. For some, this may not mean much but when you convince for yourself for so many years that you just can't do something, a milestone like this seems almost a little life changing.

The funny part is that today, when I was out this morning, it wasn't a "good" run. I didn't feel great, my legs were hurting, and mentally, I wasn't totally there. And what's crazy is that my five mile run last week suddenly made three miles today seem like a failure.

It's not.

Because the most important part is that today, I still got out there and ran. Maybe not technically my "best" technically, but I showed up and I'll keep showing up for the challenge.

I stumbled upon this video that I had to share. It's short and you owe it to yourself to watch - if only we could all tell ourselves "we feel happy of ourself!" the way this kid does. And if only we could unbashedly give ourselves this pep talk without the baggage that comes with being an adult. Failure doesn't matter and if we just go for it, we'll make it.

Thanks, kiddo, for the message.

Embrace the Shaking.

I've been wrestling a lot with myself.

How's that for honest?

Sounds like such funny thing to say, but it's the truth. My days seem lately to be filled with long, internal dialogues. There are days and moments when I feel like I can conquer anything and everything. And then there are days when I feel downright discouraged that quite simply, I am not enough.

Mostly this self doubt rears its ugly head in my exercising and eating habits. As I've blogged about before, the book "Women, Food, and God" was a big one in helping me think harder about my relationship with food and so in April I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to lose some weight I'd be carrying around a little too long. I want my body, an extension and reflection of who I am, to match who I am on the inside. Quite simply, I got tired of feeling trapped in my body, which I wasn't proud of and that feeling that it hindered me from accomplishing the things that I know I am strong enough to do. My body doesn't define me, but it was given to me for a reason and I need to find peace with it.

And because of this, exercising and eating has turned into more than simply exercising and eating. Both of these things are personal challenges that each day make me question myself: am I actually as strong as I think I am?

I'm not a big believer in coincidences and life has a funny way of giving us just what we need at exactly the right time. Which is why I shouldn't be surprised that these silly classes I've been doing at The Bar Method have turned into a tool that is actually teaching me a lot about life. Each hour, when I do these classes and my legs shake and burn so badly and I question if I can stand it any longer, I get reminders about life. The crazy thing in these classes is that when your legs shake and burn, you're supposed to let them and "embrace the shaking." If our legs are shaking during class, we actually are told "good shaking!" And so I've had to train my mind to go to a space where I can breathe and embrace the shaking, knowing that my body will slowly change if I give it the chance to. Settle into the (good) pain and be ok with it.

I love a challenge but its tough to sustain. Any of us can go on a diet or go on an exercise plan for a few weeks, but its sticking with it that really gets us to the questions that make us wrestle: are we patient enough to wait for change to take place? Are we willing to live with some discomfort? Are we willing to believe that we are strong enough? As I wrestle to change my body and learn to see it as an extension of who I am, these are the questions that constantly keep coming.

These lessons that come from exercising translate directly into the relationship I have with food...when all my body wants is sugar and vegging out with pizza at the end of a long day is the only thing that sounds relaxing, it's uncomfortable to say no. It's miserable to choose the healthy option and stop using food as a crutch. But just as my legs shake when I exercise, learning to say no and accept my discomfort as I make good eating decisions is what is allowing me to change.

It's because of these lessons that I will keep going. Not only in the progress that I make in my physical appearance but in the slow progress I make in the way I treat my body. The days when I want to scream that I should be thinner are the days when I need to remember how far I've come. And when I've had enough and am ready to throw in the towel is when I need to settle into my skin, feel the discomfort and remind myself that I will keep going. We are all a lot stronger than we think.

And so, I am changing. Slowly. A work in progress. Realizing that this body of mine isn't just made to be the object of my criticism but has been given to me to teach me a little bit more about what lies underneath. And I will keep taking one step at a time.

My latest Addiction.

Though by now my close friends and family have heard me talk their ear off about my new fav addiction, I decided it was time to share it here. :)

Thanks to Groupon, I stumbled upon what might be the most amazing workout I've found in all my years of working out: The Bar Method. Last week, I nervously made my way into the morning class at the studio in Cherry Creek. As curious and skeptical as I was, I was pleasantly surprised by a gorgeous studio, an incredibly friendly and welcoming instructor, and a class that literally left my body shaking (in a good way.) When I arrived, the instructor gave me a tour of the studio and an introduction to the format of the class. For our arm work, she told me to grab a set of 2 and 3 pound weights. Being a boot camp junkie, I laughed to myself, wondering how 2 or 3 pounds could possibly be enough.

I shouldn't have laughed...

The Bar Method is a crazy combo of moves from yoga, pilates, and dance and the class happens in a studio with ballet barres around the room. You definitely don't have to be familiar with dance in order to do The Bar Method. What you can expect though is a crazy intense workout from teeny, tiny movements (sometimes only an inch) that will make your legs shake, your butt burn beyond belief, and your abs hurt the next day.

Be forewarned though....once you go once, you WILL be back. (and it ain't cheap!) I don't know what it is, but there is something so addicting about these classes that I haven't found from anywhere else. When I initially saw the hefty price tag for these classes, I wondered about why people would pay so much for their monthly workouts. All I can say is, go once, and you. will. understand. :)

To check out the Bar Method in Denver you can click here (and if you decide to try it out make sure to call me so we can go to the class together ;)

As I keep plugging along in doing the Four Hour Body Diet (you can read my previous post here) this is the perfect activity to add to my routine that helps me feel motivated and will hopefully help speed up the hard work I'm doing with following the Four Hour Body diet. (Plus, it's a nice excuse to keep adding to my Lululemon collection ;)

I thought I'd leave you with a clip I found on YouTube if you're curious to see what it actually looks like! Check it out here.

The Myth of Automatic Email Messages

I'm not sure how or why or when. But somewhere along the lines, photographers - lots of them - decided that setting up a general auto responder that always gets sent was a good idea. (I'll explain in a minute.)

See, I'm in a funny position because I've been a photographer myself for all these years, but I now find myself working day in day out with other photographers. I see things from an outside perspective, yet I've walked (more than) a mile in their shoes. It's a unique perspective to observe from.

One of the things I do in my job is send out certain emails to large groups of photographers (sometimes thousands.) And as soon as my nifty email program gets these all sent out, I suddenly receive a slew (over 100) automated emails from photographers in reply to my email. And interestingly, most of them aren't vacation auto-responders (which are understandable.)

The funny part is that they all go something like this:

"Do to the large volume of emails I receive it may take me a while to get back to you. You can call me if you need something urgently, but I appreciate your patience as I dig through my pile of emails."

Here's the thing.

If you really can't manage your email inbox, you have some time management problems. (Sorry, just saying it how it is.)

If you're actually that popular that you're receiving hundreds or thousands of emails a day, you're probably in a position that you should hire an assistant or someone to help you.

If you're doing something so right that you're receiving a lot of emails, there's a number of different tips and tricks you can use to get things under control. Lots of CEOs and other people receive thousands of emails a day and can still manage their inbox.

If I'm a client who's writing you and receives the automatic email, I could care less about how many emails you receive. It's just not my problem. And more than that, if the first email response I get from you is that you're so busy and I can't expect to hear from you for a little while, it's going to make me question if you're always going to be too popular for me. As a client, I want to know that you aren't going to disappear after I book you.

Lastly. These emails are simply annoying. I can't quite tell if you're just touting how popular you are or if you're just trying to make excuses for yourself, but honestly, all I care about is that I get a reply from you (if it's necessary.)

So, for whatever it's worth....reconsider that automated email reply.

PS. Sorry if I'm offending some photographer friends who read through this. I still love you even if you're participating in this annoying practice. :)

Guilty Pleasures.

In the midst of a crazy season with work and a schedule that has us moving at breakneck speed, I'm even more appreciative of the little things that, stupid as they may be, make life just a little more fun and entertaining :)

Here are three favs that are currently at the top of my list of guilty pleasures.

Possessionista - this site is basically a major internet addiction waiting to happen. This blog is all about finding the cute outfits and accessories that we see on TV and wish we had. Bonus: most of it isn't that outrageously expensive. But yes, it really is as simple (and shallow) as it sounds :) I just happen to love it. Watch out though, it's a serious time sucker!

The Voice - yes, it's another vocal competition, but this one seriously takes the cake for me. Not only do I love watching some awkward moments between the judges (how did Cee Lo somehow make it into this group of judges?!) but I have a major crush on Blake Shelton, AND there's actually some serious talent on this show. (If you're wondering Javier, Xenia, and Dia are my favs.) Tuesday nights got a serious face lift since this show came on.

Izzies. Yes, these are under my "guilty" pleasures right now because I'm still sticking it out on the Four Hour Body Diet and these aren't really on the "approved" list. However, on my Cheat Day, you can normally find me with an Izzie in hand. It's the perfect summer drink and the perfect cocktail mixer. :) (Tequila and Grapefruit Izzie over ice is my current fav.)

What are YOUR guilty pleasures? :)

On Making it Work.

I love Tim Gunn.

LOVE.

And I love Tim Gunn's famous way of saying "Make it work."

Truthfully, I say this phrase to myself often in all kinds of situations. From the stupid - "Dinner isn't looking good, Katie, make it work!" to the serious - "life isn't what I expected today, but I WILL make it work," this phrase comes in handy. A lot.

Sweet Chris told me yesterday amidst some challenging circumstances that I was the Queen of Making it Work. That just like everything else that life has thrown at me, I would indeed be able to assemble these pieces, put the puzzle together, and persevere to make it work.

Which got me to wondering: How far do you push to "Make it Work?"

Sometimes it seems like we're being tested when things don't go as planned. It's as if life is questioning us and we are being asked

"How strong, how brave are you?"

"How much do you want this?"

"How far will you go to keep moving and rearranging the pieces of life to Make. It. Work."

When we get thrown these curveballs, it's up to us to keep moving, keep pushing, keep dreaming.

But sometimes, it seems as though the real test of "Making it Work" is acknowledging that things aren't fitting together. That God was gracious enough to quietly shut a door. That "Making it Work" means moving along to "Next."

How is it, exactly, that we become good enough listeners to know when we're meant to soldier on and when we're meant to pick a new direction?

Do the best of us, the strongest of us always push and "Make it Work?"

What's Next.

There's a saying I hear often at work - "What's Next is What's Important." It's true. It's usually most productive to keep moving forward. Looking at what's next keeps you focused on a vision and helps you to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

It's never been a struggle for me to look ahead to the future. What's next used to be the day I'd get my drivers license. When I'd go to college. When I'd find a job. When I'd get married. When I'd get a dog. When I'd buy a house. I love to focus on the Next.

But sometimes, I think What's NOW is What's Important.

Because the trouble with what’s Next is that I often miss what’s Now.

(Taken on my most recent camping adventure.)

Stop this train.

Stop this Train

I want to get off and go home again

I can't take the speed it's moving in

I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train.

(Lyrics by John Mayer)

There are some days that life moves so quickly. And on those days, I find myself wishing for a pause button because I see how quickly time flies and life changes. This becomes so evident to me on days that I step away from my usual routine and away from my to-do list. Time slows down. The small things matter. Life looks different.

A couple weeks ago, we took a trip up to Buena Vista with some of our close friends, along with their pup, who is Shep's very best lady (dog) friend :) The 4 (or shall I say 6) of us rented a cabin and spent the weekend hiking, playing outside, grilling, and lounging in the hot tub. It was heaven! We found ourselves almost unsure of what to do with ourselves because our cabin was so quiet and free of usual life distractions.

The dogs were in heaven too! On our first day up there, we took them on was perhaps the closest either of them have gotten to doggie heaven. The perfect temperature, coupled with the fact that they could play together and run on the trail off leash (a big treat for Shep!) made for quite an experience for them - we don't know that we can remember ever seeing them so happy!

Below are a few pictures from our trip, including our hike!

The cabin that we called home for the weekend!

Shep's best friend, Dakota :)

The train won't stop. Life will continue moving at top speed. But this trip was our reminder that it's our choice to create the moments of pause in our life to slow down. To reflect. To be thankful. And to remember today since tomorrow is sure to look a little different.

Blast from the Past.

Chris and I took this past weekend for a little getaway up to Vail, and we remarked about how different our life is now, than it was five and a half years ago when we got married. Though I was happy then, I find that each year I love our life just a little bit more and feel so thankful for where life has brought us.

The things we've seen, the places we've lived, the ways we've grown in the last 5 or 6 years is pretty crazy. Our life looks remarkably different than it did 5 years, which really just makes me even more excited to see where we'll be in 5 more years.

In the spirit of nostalgia, I dug out some of my favorite pictures from our honeymoon and couldn't help but laugh at how young we looked. But I do remember on our honeymoon feeling like I had finally arrived....to being a grownup.

I don't know that you really ever "arrive" to becoming a grown up but these days I think we're a little closer. But I still look back happily to these times when things were, admittedly, more simple and we were basking in our newlywed-ness.

Enjoy :)

The Story of Real Simple.

Let's just start out by getting the obvious out of the way: I am an organizational geek.

I make no qualms about it - I love organizing things (in fact I just had my latest organization frenzy this last weekend), and I love reading about news ways to organize.

It's not because I think that label makers and excel sheets are cool. Well, actually that's not true. (I do think those things are cool.) More than that though, organizing things makes me feel like I'm making a better home for Chris and me and that organizing things will help us be happier.

Enter Real Simple.

Talk about an organizational junkie's crack. This magazine arrives each month and without fail, that evening it arrives will be spent with me meticulously going through each page. Because I love the story it tells.

When I read Real Simple, I am a good homemaker. I am a loving wife who can whip new recipes up. I am part of a happy, organized world.

Except, that I'm not really.

Sometimes our bed goes a few days without being made. Sometimes we order Chinese takeout for a couple nights in a row (even with a fridge full of healthy food I bought). And sometimes, I go to bed at night with my house not exactly looking like the shining model of organization.

But the truth is, Real Simple makes me happy. Even if my best intentions for giving our garage a makeover doesn't exactly go as planned, I still tried. And even if the Guide to the Simple Veggie Garden ended up not being all that simple (and I didn't look all the glamorous doing it) I still spent Saturday outside working on something new.

When that magazine arrives, I'm confident that perfecting my organizational and home making skills a tiny bit each month is still a step in the right direction.

Even if it is just one cupboard at a time.

It's the small things.

It's the small little things in life that brighten our days. And thanks to one of my best girlfriends, I recently discovered one of my new favorite things!!

Lollia Handcreme.

Seriously, this stuff is made of pure heaven and is the best handcreme I've ever used! It smells delicious and will make your hands feel like new. I personally like the "Relax" scent (honey and lavender) but there's others that are great too.

Happy Monday!

It's a Beautiful Day.

After a string of unexpected circumstances, on Friday afternoon, Chris and I found ourselves picking up tickets to the U2 concert that happened last night at Invesco Field. To say that we were excited, would be a MAJOR understatement!! I saw U2 under the Brooklyn Bridge back in 2004, but seeing a U2 concert has been a major item on Chris' bucket list, so we were both THRILLED for the opportunity!

Though we had been excited to see U2, words can't express how unbelievably powerful their show was. The show itself was beyond amazing (HUGE!!!) and made even at a show at Invesco field seem intimate. The band was so inspiring with their message of social justice and our ability to make a difference in the world. Though not one of my favorite U2 songs, "Beautiful Day" was one of the most powerful songs of the show. There was one particular point in the song that struck me...just two simple lines.

"Touch me, take me to another place

Teach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case"

For some reason, hearing Bono sing these words in the midst of such a powerful, beautiful show really struck me. The world is so full of beauty and things to rejoice about and yet, somehow, we find ourselves mired down by the things that we worry about and we get stuck in the day-to-day stresses of life. I felt like the U2 concert was the breath of fresh air I needed to see that as big as the world is, there is beauty in it and I indeed have much to learn and rejoice in. It was one of many wonderful moments in the show!

Here's a fun article that has some great pictures (close up) and some of the show highlights. You can check it out here

And last, but not least, here's a not-so-fab picture of us right before the concert, along with a fun video clip (also, not so high quality, but better then nothing! :)

Licorice and the unexpected path to true happiness.

I love licorice. Particularly the extra special kind that they carry at Whole Foods (it's called RJ's soft raspberry licorice if you're interested :) I'm convinced I could literally eat bags of that stuff.

Which is when I realized I had a problem. (Yes, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And indeed, I am a licorice addict.)

In all seriousness though, over the last six months, I've learned some pretty important lessons about food. After struggling with my weight and just about everything else I could find wrong with my appearance, I woke up one morning and realized that enough was enough and something needed to change.

About 4 years ago, I went on a diet program and lost about 25 lbs. I'll never forget how accomplished I felt and how proud of myself I was. I felt like my outside appearance finally matched the happiness I felt inside.

But somehow, those 25 pounds plus some more found their way back to my body. Not overnight, but one pound at a time. And although I'm always quick to say that I don't have regrets about life, deep down I consider this one of my biggest failures.

Because the truth is, it's not about those 25 pounds.

It's about failing and wondering where my discipline went.

It's about the fact that I didn't feel like I deserved to be thin.

And more than anything, it made me question why I wasn't strong enough to stick to it.

In the other areas of my life, I think I'm a pretty disciplined person. I work hard, I keep my house clean, I walk my dog every day and I do things that I don't want to do because I know it's just the right thing to do. (Wow, do I sound like a rule follower or what?!)

So how did my disciplined self let 25 + pounds creep back on?

Because for me, my love of food isn't really about food. Such was one of the lessons I learned when, on a whim, I picked up the book "Women Food and God." As I slowly read my way through this book, sometimes in tears, I felt like it had been written just for me. And as I read one chapter after another, I was slowly picking up small pieces of my heart and putting them back together, one at a time. I realized that food had crept into the hidden, dark parts of my life and acted as my distraction. Food wasn't just food anymore....and that's a problem.

Shortly after finishing this book and realizing how my perspective on food was impacting my battle to lose weight, I started hearing chatter about the "Four hour Body" diet, written by Tim Ferris. I took note because a number of friends in my photography community started doing this diet and were finding great success. After carrying around disappointment in myself for 4 years and expecting that I would fail if I tried again, I decided I'd give it a fair shot and I started this eating plan.

It's been three and a half weeks on plan (if you're interested in the specifics you can read about them here) and I've lost about 11 lbs as of today. And although it's a daily choice to stay on track, I'm succeeding because I understand the role that food plays in a healthy life.

These two books unexpectedly came into my life and have inspired and challenged me. So I'm putting it out there to the internet world (whoever you are) in hopes of hopefully encouraging someone (maybe you?) to get over your failures and start again. The reason I'm highlighting both of these books (rather than just one) is because they each represent different pieces of the "health puzzle:" the first book helped me realize the emotional components I was dealing with when it came to thinking about food, while the second book gave me a practical, easy-to-follow guide about how to start making healthy changes that I could stick with.

**Important Note: (Licorice is still my favorite. I now enjoy it responsibly only once a week which is totally allowed on my plan cheat day!)

Getting up and starting again after failing over and over is the unexpected choice. And these days, I'm finding that sometimes I even surprise myself.

Life in Between

When I decided to actually start writing this blog and take the leap of putting my thoughts to paper (well, computer) it was because I realized that I want to remember NOW. As we are living in between.

In between life as newlyweds and life as a family with kids.

In between being idealist 20-somethings and becoming grounded in grown up realities.

In between feeling finally settled in our life but feeling restless for change and growth.

In all things right now, we are in between seasons.

But I think it's when we are in between phases, in between dreams, in between changes that our true life really starts to take shape. So rather than always looking to find my way out of the in between, I'm committing to be ok living in this season. This blog will be a glimpse of life as it is now. Life in between.

(Photo above from our wedding in 2005. Though only 5 years ago, it seems like we've lived a lifetime since then!)