Just like my post title read- it is the small things that count. I'm easily amused and there are a lot of daily things that most people would deem "small" that make me happy. Happiness has been a theme in the blogger world these past few days. My friend Macey encouraged everyone to write down ten things that make them happy. I do what I'm told.
1. I love watching my dog lay outside on the porch, soaking up the sun and being completely content at just watching bugs in the grass. I can tell he enjoys the sun and in return I enjoy it.
2. Sitcoms. Although right now I am sad because all the sitcoms I watch have ended and I'm wondering what in the world I am going to watch during my breakfast and lunch. Suggestions?
3. Rolling down the windows in my Jeep as I cruise around makes me happy.
4. Country music, country radio and country singers bring a smile to my face.
5. Anything to do with polar bears. Photos, videos, stories, drawings, shirts, mugs, tattoos. If it has a white bear, I dig it.
6. Tasty leftovers for lunch. I love opening the fridge and remembering that I either have some take out left over from the night before or some left overs from a tasty dinner I cooked. It makes choosing my lunch easier and it's less time consuming. Thank you microwaves.
7. I enjoy my coffee dates after swim practice with my swimming friends. Typically about once a week (it seems to always land on a Tuesday) I enjoy a cup of coffee from Starbucks and chat with my girls… wet hair, rocking sweatpants.
8. Going to new restaurants really tickles my fancy. If I had the power (not to mention the time and money) I would always eat at a new restaurant or coffee shop.
9. I like prop shopping for food photo shoots. It's fun to pop in to antique stores and find some goodies.
10. Appropriate for this weekend- our annual Memorial Day camping trip makes me happy. And this year it might make me even more happy because for once we might not get rained on.
I also want to add that the obvious things in my life still make me happy. I assume you all know that my husband, God, photography, swimming, yoga and my family all bring joy to my life.
What makes you happy?
Skipping,
Aubrie
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
5.22.2014
5.22.2012
Boring White Guys
My friends and I were standing around in a parking lot chatting. We were talking about relationships. I don't remember what exactly we were talking about but it some how led to one of my friends ask the other "didn't you end up with a boring white guy?" She said yes. She repeated the question to another friend. He said yes too. She in turn looked at me and said "What about you? Did you end up with a boring white guy?" I smiled, gums blaring, and said "yes." We laughed and she said "I ended up with a boring white guy too, because in the end they are the best."
It sounds almost negative to call my husband a "boring white guy." In reality we all know, or at least I know, that he isn't boring at all. What she was trying to say is after all the jerks, weirdos, druggies, abusers, heart breakers and what-were-you-thinking'ers we finally settled down with someone who is sweet, caring, hard-working and as my friend would say "...and has a car!" Yes my "boring" husband was exactly who God intended me to be with. God writes simple love stories and in the end there is nothing boring about that.
I realized today that David makes me a better person. It's harder when he's out of town to get the simplest things accomplished, like putting the dishes away. I know, I know we all do it. Every married woman I know talks about how nice it is to just let things go for a day or two, it's an odd "break" from the mundane every day check list. I'm certainly not the best at doing the dishes every day, but I try harder when my husband is coming home. Some days I do out of guilt because I don't want to piss him off... and that's really not the attitude I should take. Other days I do it because he worked really hard and deserves to come home to a cleared counter top. It's not just dishes... I'm having a hard time waking up and going to swim practice. I don't know why it's easier when he is snoring next to me, but it secretly motivates me to get up and go. He motivates me even though he doesn't know he's doing it. I am a better person when he is around. Next time I get irritated that he's being an "anal-bananal" and I have to go do something (cleaning, organizing, preparing for the end of the world) I'll have to remember that last statement.
There are times that I wish we would've had this magical, movie-like love story where something dramatic would happen to thicken the plot and he would have to come chasing after me to not move to NY or to not marry that other guy. And then I realize that life, as much as we like to compare it to movies, is not a chic flick. Our love story is simple... we met, we dated, we got engaged, our parents both approved, we got married. Boring, some might say. But it's our "boring" and I love it.
Skipping,
Aubrie
PS. I did manage to put the dishes away today.
It sounds almost negative to call my husband a "boring white guy." In reality we all know, or at least I know, that he isn't boring at all. What she was trying to say is after all the jerks, weirdos, druggies, abusers, heart breakers and what-were-you-thinking'ers we finally settled down with someone who is sweet, caring, hard-working and as my friend would say "...and has a car!" Yes my "boring" husband was exactly who God intended me to be with. God writes simple love stories and in the end there is nothing boring about that.
I realized today that David makes me a better person. It's harder when he's out of town to get the simplest things accomplished, like putting the dishes away. I know, I know we all do it. Every married woman I know talks about how nice it is to just let things go for a day or two, it's an odd "break" from the mundane every day check list. I'm certainly not the best at doing the dishes every day, but I try harder when my husband is coming home. Some days I do out of guilt because I don't want to piss him off... and that's really not the attitude I should take. Other days I do it because he worked really hard and deserves to come home to a cleared counter top. It's not just dishes... I'm having a hard time waking up and going to swim practice. I don't know why it's easier when he is snoring next to me, but it secretly motivates me to get up and go. He motivates me even though he doesn't know he's doing it. I am a better person when he is around. Next time I get irritated that he's being an "anal-bananal" and I have to go do something (cleaning, organizing, preparing for the end of the world) I'll have to remember that last statement.
There are times that I wish we would've had this magical, movie-like love story where something dramatic would happen to thicken the plot and he would have to come chasing after me to not move to NY or to not marry that other guy. And then I realize that life, as much as we like to compare it to movies, is not a chic flick. Our love story is simple... we met, we dated, we got engaged, our parents both approved, we got married. Boring, some might say. But it's our "boring" and I love it.
Skipping,
Aubrie
PS. I did manage to put the dishes away today.
1.25.2012
Memory Lane
Sudden Memories. It's funny how the smallest thing can set your mind into a 30-second memory rerun. Maybe it's a song you just heard, something someone just said or even a stupid photo on pinterest. I had a few memories pop up this week.
I recently had a conversation with my mom about my first car. It was a 1981 Buick. A brown beast that ran on diesel gas and had a clock with a second hand. It was plush though, the most comfortable car I've owned. Our car conversation made me think of my high school best friends, Melissa and Jackie. Since there was three of us we could never decide who would sit in the back. (Yes, we were that tight that we did not want to be separated.) So even though we all had our licenses we typically would ride in my car because we could fit three in the front seat. Not only was there enough room and it was comfortable but there was three seat belts too. I miss that car. I miss our "notebook" we shared... basically one ongoing note to one another. I miss Skittles.
Earlier in the week I saw a photo of a swing by water. Just for a moment I went back to that one crazy day I had in high school where I decided to skip my stupid math class to go to the river with my friends. The guys had found a rope swing. We spent just a quick hour or so swinging away, jumping into the river. Of course we knew we were having fun... I mean we were skipping out on algebra. I never knew how fond of a memory that day would end up being though. I think about that rope swing often.
I can't think of Christy's last name. ....Wait... Yoder! It literally just came to me. She popped into my head the other day because I saw a huge pile of undies. I was a Freshman on the swim team. Lucky for me I had been swimming since I was six so I was good and I was automatically on Varsity. I had a Varsity locker with a Freshman sense of organization and cleanliness....or maybe laziness. For morning practice I would show up in my sweats, change into my suit and leave the pair of underwear I was wearing on the top shelf. I brought a clean pair of underwear to change into after swim practice. Day after day this happened. I never brought my "top-shelf" underwear home with me. Eventually I had quite the stock of undies. My dear friend Christy thought it would be hilarious to throw all my underwear out by the entry way into the school. The entrance where just about EVERYONE came into the school building. Christy and I were actually good friends, this was not some sort of Freshman initiation. Of course I was embarrassed but the two of us died laughing, tears rolling down our eyes, as I walked around picking up every last pair of underwear. By the time I was a Sophomore I had a different plan and my underwear came home with me every night.
Today one of my girls came out of the locker room gushing about her first kiss. I know what your thinking, I'm going to tell you about my first kiss. Nah- my first kiss was in Kindergarten while I was playing "Cops and Robbers" with Brian. (Okay, so I told you a little bit about my first kiss.) I didn't think of my first kiss, or my 10th kiss or even my first kiss as a high school student. No, for some reason the memory that rushed into my head was my first kiss with Tracy, my high school boyfriend from Junior year. It must have been the weather that triggered this memory. I remember it had to be at least January in Indiana. Or at least cold enough where there was snow on the ground. We were at some sort of park... with a hill. (Not a big hill, this is Indiana.) We we're flirting, naturally. And I just remember being pressed up against his car... his car that literally looked like a yellow egg. We kissed. It was a good kiss.
I guess all my memories right now are from High School. It doesn't surprise me, I spend my afternoons with high school kids. Sometimes I'm taken back at the thought that I'm...I'm like an adult now. I am in charge of 17 kids in two swim lanes. I tell them how to swim and that they shouldn't eat Chicken McNuggets before practice. I get texts that explain they can't make it to practice because they went to Urgent Care for a knee problem. I'm an adult. I own a business. People actually pay me money to document one of their biggest days of their life. I'm an adult. When did that happen?
Even though I'm an adult (which I still have to remind myself that I'm an adult even at a ripe age of 29) I will always have my memories. They keep me young at heart. Seriously, all I want to do is find that rope swing and have another jump.
Skipping,
Aubrie
I recently had a conversation with my mom about my first car. It was a 1981 Buick. A brown beast that ran on diesel gas and had a clock with a second hand. It was plush though, the most comfortable car I've owned. Our car conversation made me think of my high school best friends, Melissa and Jackie. Since there was three of us we could never decide who would sit in the back. (Yes, we were that tight that we did not want to be separated.) So even though we all had our licenses we typically would ride in my car because we could fit three in the front seat. Not only was there enough room and it was comfortable but there was three seat belts too. I miss that car. I miss our "notebook" we shared... basically one ongoing note to one another. I miss Skittles.
Earlier in the week I saw a photo of a swing by water. Just for a moment I went back to that one crazy day I had in high school where I decided to skip my stupid math class to go to the river with my friends. The guys had found a rope swing. We spent just a quick hour or so swinging away, jumping into the river. Of course we knew we were having fun... I mean we were skipping out on algebra. I never knew how fond of a memory that day would end up being though. I think about that rope swing often.
I can't think of Christy's last name. ....Wait... Yoder! It literally just came to me. She popped into my head the other day because I saw a huge pile of undies. I was a Freshman on the swim team. Lucky for me I had been swimming since I was six so I was good and I was automatically on Varsity. I had a Varsity locker with a Freshman sense of organization and cleanliness....or maybe laziness. For morning practice I would show up in my sweats, change into my suit and leave the pair of underwear I was wearing on the top shelf. I brought a clean pair of underwear to change into after swim practice. Day after day this happened. I never brought my "top-shelf" underwear home with me. Eventually I had quite the stock of undies. My dear friend Christy thought it would be hilarious to throw all my underwear out by the entry way into the school. The entrance where just about EVERYONE came into the school building. Christy and I were actually good friends, this was not some sort of Freshman initiation. Of course I was embarrassed but the two of us died laughing, tears rolling down our eyes, as I walked around picking up every last pair of underwear. By the time I was a Sophomore I had a different plan and my underwear came home with me every night.
Today one of my girls came out of the locker room gushing about her first kiss. I know what your thinking, I'm going to tell you about my first kiss. Nah- my first kiss was in Kindergarten while I was playing "Cops and Robbers" with Brian. (Okay, so I told you a little bit about my first kiss.) I didn't think of my first kiss, or my 10th kiss or even my first kiss as a high school student. No, for some reason the memory that rushed into my head was my first kiss with Tracy, my high school boyfriend from Junior year. It must have been the weather that triggered this memory. I remember it had to be at least January in Indiana. Or at least cold enough where there was snow on the ground. We were at some sort of park... with a hill. (Not a big hill, this is Indiana.) We we're flirting, naturally. And I just remember being pressed up against his car... his car that literally looked like a yellow egg. We kissed. It was a good kiss.
I guess all my memories right now are from High School. It doesn't surprise me, I spend my afternoons with high school kids. Sometimes I'm taken back at the thought that I'm...I'm like an adult now. I am in charge of 17 kids in two swim lanes. I tell them how to swim and that they shouldn't eat Chicken McNuggets before practice. I get texts that explain they can't make it to practice because they went to Urgent Care for a knee problem. I'm an adult. I own a business. People actually pay me money to document one of their biggest days of their life. I'm an adult. When did that happen?
Even though I'm an adult (which I still have to remind myself that I'm an adult even at a ripe age of 29) I will always have my memories. They keep me young at heart. Seriously, all I want to do is find that rope swing and have another jump.
Skipping,
Aubrie
11.08.2011
Regrets & Randomness
So I am waiting for David Letterman's show tonight. No, I don't typically do this. However when both guests intrigue me are on one show than I guess I'll burn the midnight oil. The first guest is purely for pleasure- Robert Pattinson. Yes, I read all the Twilight books and I've seen all the movies. But I also enjoy his music and all of his other movies as well. Plus he's funny. The second guest is Annie Leibovitz one of the most famous photographers of our time. It will be very interesting to see what her and David (Ball State is his alma mater by the way) chat about.
Instead of sitting in front of the tube I thought I would waste my time else where. It seems like only once in a great while I get the chance to simply play on the Internet. You know, scan through pins, read blogs and post blogs (like this one). So that's exactly what I'm doing. That Pinterest is addicting!
*******
So this is one of those posts that are random. Just so you know.
I've had a few thoughts today. Like... who watches Jerry Springer? I mean, really? I would like to meet that person who still watches that ridiculous show and....slap them.
*******
I had an ex boyfriend that once told me something about not having regrets. I wish I could remember the exact "quote" he used, but I can't. I wonder if he regrets breaking-up with me? (ironic-humor for you.) Anyway I can't help to at least think about a few things that I regret. And I'm not talking about the type of regret that makes me sick to my stomach but I do wonder how my life would have changed if _________ fill in the blank.
______ Fill in the blank: I regret not swimming my senior year. I was voted to be captain by EVERYONE and my coach made that perfectly clear to me. Yet I decided that my swimming career was finished, probably because I started when I was six and my body was done. Instead I was motivated by my softball team winning state my junior year...I sat on the bench for that game. I was not going to sit on the bench for any game my senior year. So my dad and I spent the winter pitching in a gym. I have mixed feelings about my decision. I probably should have fought through my senior year and swam... not for me, but for my team. But I also had some bonding time with my dad that year. I don't think the decision I made affected my future. I didn't do either sport in college so I'm pretty sure that "regret" had no affect on where I am today or where I could have been tomorrow.
_____ Fill in the blank: The other regret I think about from time to time is moving to Portland, Oregon right out of college. I had an internship at the Muncie Star Press as a photojournalist. I did the internship to graduate. What I should have probably done is sought out another internship...anywhere. Most photojournalists have more than one internship and they move around a lot in the beginning of their career. I moved. Once. To Oregon. It sounds like I regret my move to Oregon and that couldn't be further from the truth. I LOVE OREGON. But I wonder if my photography career would look a lot different if I would have ventured into another internship. The thing about this regret is I'm almost positive that it would have impacted my life and I would not be where I am today. Which means I wouldn't be married to David. And that thought in itself is enough to tell me that I shouldn't regret that decision at all.
*******
I want to come up with a new product to "display" wedding photos. The journalist side of me wants to create some sort of publication that is all about the couple and their wedding day. I'm thinking like a magazine-type layout. With an actual word story and (of course) a lot of photographs. A wedding-zine. Hmm... I'll have to think it through. Don't steal my idea now. -Copyrighted! lol
Skipping,
Aubrie
Instead of sitting in front of the tube I thought I would waste my time else where. It seems like only once in a great while I get the chance to simply play on the Internet. You know, scan through pins, read blogs and post blogs (like this one). So that's exactly what I'm doing. That Pinterest is addicting!
*******
So this is one of those posts that are random. Just so you know.
I've had a few thoughts today. Like... who watches Jerry Springer? I mean, really? I would like to meet that person who still watches that ridiculous show and....slap them.
*******
I had an ex boyfriend that once told me something about not having regrets. I wish I could remember the exact "quote" he used, but I can't. I wonder if he regrets breaking-up with me? (ironic-humor for you.) Anyway I can't help to at least think about a few things that I regret. And I'm not talking about the type of regret that makes me sick to my stomach but I do wonder how my life would have changed if _________ fill in the blank.
______ Fill in the blank: I regret not swimming my senior year. I was voted to be captain by EVERYONE and my coach made that perfectly clear to me. Yet I decided that my swimming career was finished, probably because I started when I was six and my body was done. Instead I was motivated by my softball team winning state my junior year...I sat on the bench for that game. I was not going to sit on the bench for any game my senior year. So my dad and I spent the winter pitching in a gym. I have mixed feelings about my decision. I probably should have fought through my senior year and swam... not for me, but for my team. But I also had some bonding time with my dad that year. I don't think the decision I made affected my future. I didn't do either sport in college so I'm pretty sure that "regret" had no affect on where I am today or where I could have been tomorrow.
_____ Fill in the blank: The other regret I think about from time to time is moving to Portland, Oregon right out of college. I had an internship at the Muncie Star Press as a photojournalist. I did the internship to graduate. What I should have probably done is sought out another internship...anywhere. Most photojournalists have more than one internship and they move around a lot in the beginning of their career. I moved. Once. To Oregon. It sounds like I regret my move to Oregon and that couldn't be further from the truth. I LOVE OREGON. But I wonder if my photography career would look a lot different if I would have ventured into another internship. The thing about this regret is I'm almost positive that it would have impacted my life and I would not be where I am today. Which means I wouldn't be married to David. And that thought in itself is enough to tell me that I shouldn't regret that decision at all.
*******
I want to come up with a new product to "display" wedding photos. The journalist side of me wants to create some sort of publication that is all about the couple and their wedding day. I'm thinking like a magazine-type layout. With an actual word story and (of course) a lot of photographs. A wedding-zine. Hmm... I'll have to think it through. Don't steal my idea now. -Copyrighted! lol
Skipping,
Aubrie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)