You know the saying “happy wife, happy life”?  I hear it nearly every weekend at the weddings I photograph, it’s the go-to ending for every father’s toast.  While that saying always gets a good laugh, it’s true.  But that’s only half of the equation, it’s a happy marriage that makes a happy life. In our 8 years of marriage and 14 years living together Mark & I have learned a thing or two...

Meditation.  Maybe you’ve tried it and think you suck at it so you didn’t pursue it.  Maybe just the word makes you uncomfortable.  Maybe you’ve never even considered it.  All those things were true for me at one point or another until a month ago when I finally committed to giving it a solid effort.  I’d heard about the many benefits of meditation from countless guests on my two favorite...

I’ve always been incredibly critical of how I look, rarely coming across a photo of myself that I like.  But the photo of me at the top of this post is one that I love.  Why?  Because  I see a strong, confident woman on her first solo hike ever, feeling empowered because of it.  I don’t care what I weigh, what I’m wearing, what my hair looks like or what I look like at all for that matter. ...

It’s not shelter.  Or money.  Or an education.  The most valuable resource you’ll ever own is your gut.  For every decision you’ll ever make in life, you’ll have your gut to lead you to the right path.  For every sketchy situation you may find yourself in, you’ll have your gut to lead you to safety.  For every dilemma you don’t know how to resolve, you’ll have your gut to help you find the...

It’s Saturday and there’s one thing on my schedule that has to get accomplished today.  Run 7 miles as training for my upcoming half-marathon.  But I slept terribly and going for a run, let alone the longest run I’ve done in years, is about the last thing I want to do today.  Why go do something hard when all I want to do is curl up on the couch with YouTube and snacks?  Because doing hard things...

Like going to college, getting married, buying a house and working a 9-5 job, having kids is not mandatory.  In fact, the decision to not have kids is a respectable one.  Not because having kids is bad, not at all, but because not having kids goes directly against societal expectations. From a young age you’ll be told “when you’re a mom/dad” “when you have kids” and you’ll hear this your entire...

I used to have a pretty solid routine of planting my butt on the couch come 7pm and watching TV for a few hours before bed.  This routine had become less and less entertaining as I found less shows I enjoyed watching.  Yet, every night, I’d put in a pretty solid effort to find something to watch.  Mark and I had made comments about getting rid of our TV, but honestly “what else do you do at night...

Six months ago, Mark & I sold the home we’d lived in for the last 7 years. It was the first home we’d ever owned, in an area we truly loved.  Looking forward at new opportunities, I felt excitement.  Looking back at what we’d be leaving behind, I felt sadness.  More importantly and more than ever before, I felt the inevitable seasons of life.  Just like the cyclical changes in nature, the...

We’ve gotten too comfortable.  I think it may be safe to say that many Americans today are the most comfortable they’ve ever been.  We have our houses and our recliners and our remote controls and our devices and our circle of friends and our neighborhood stores and we’re comfortable.  Why would we ever leave?  Why would we ever stir the pot and risk discomfort? Well all that’s fine and dandy...