Friday thoughts

Matthew and I watched about two hours of crime shows before we went to bed last night - kind of grizzly stuff about serial killers and rapists and women being attacked and going missing. And then we went to bed, and it turns out that shit affected us more than we thought, because he had a horrible nightmare about me being abducted and murdered and stuffed into a trash shoot, and then when he woke me up to cuddle, I was disoriented and confused and thought he was an intruder coming to murder me, and I almost clobbered him. I didn’t know why he was being so sweet and tender at the time, but I wondered if he could hear my heart pounding before I settled into his arms and drifted back off to sleep.

I don’t really know why I’m telling that story, but I guess because I’m feeling so grateful this morning. I know we live in a world full of a lot of horror, and in a strange way it was nice to be reminded of our fears - sometimes your greatest fears help you to realize what you value and cherish most deeply. It’s always a good thing, to be reminded of that.

Matthew starts an internship with the Supreme Court of Texas today.  I still smell his cologne on my pjs from our hug before he left. I am so proud of him.  And I just wanted to say that, because I feel it more than ever this morning.

Sorry for my rambling. Check out today's featured SOML sponsors - maybe they'll have something a little more cohesive to say than I do! ;) Happy Friday...

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Rachel is the mastermind behind the sweet blog Postcards from Rachel - I think you'll really love this one! The blog started while Rachel and her husband were expats living in Scotland, but now documents their time living back in the States. You can go right over here for an excellent introduction to Postcards from Rachel, and if you're on Instagram, you may find today's post really useful and fun, too!

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Serendipitous Whimsicality is an adorable blog co-authored by two adorable best friends, Ellie and Fatima. I really enjoyed this post by Ellie about her recent trip to Guatemala (more posts on the trip here!). These two also produce the occasional fashion and travel posts. Drop by and say hello to these two cute bloggers! :)

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The Mermaid Chronicles is a favorite blog of mine by the ever-lovely Devon, an incredible writer, photographer, and surfer. Her words and photos tell a story that draws you in and keeps you there. Check out her amazing sailing trip to the Seychelles, and don't miss today's tour of her and her husband's adorable beach-bungalow-themed home. The before and after photos are stunning. Apparently we can add interior decorator to Devon's list of talents, as well!  ;)

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Have a great weekend! 

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A dinner idea: easy crockpot chicken

Now that Matthew's home from school, I have been doing a lot more cooking - and consequently, a lot more good eating! I'm not going to lie, though. I don't love cooking as much as I used to. Probably because I'm working full time now, and when I finally shut down my computer and my brain for the day, I really don't want to think about food! Story of most women's lives, I'm sure. So a delicious and easy meal with very little prep time is always nice to discover, eh? One of our other favorites is my most delicious salmon in the world recipe. Big name, yes, but I think it lives up to it. 

Anyway, there really isn't anything special about this crock pot chicken, except maybe that it's easy, melt-in-your-mouth yummy, lean, and did I mention easy? Serve it up with a pre-made salad and rolls you pop right in the oven, and you've got yourself a perfect dinner. 

AND IT'S EASY.

Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients:

Assorted bone-in chicken pieces (I used two breasts, four thighs, and about six legs)

Season-all

Garlic salt

Directions:

Rinse chicken and lay out the pieces on a plate/cutting board/plastic wrap. Sprinkle all with a little season-all and garlic salt, or any of your favorite seasonings. Place them in the crockpot (it's OK to pile them up in there - I like to make extra so there's leftovers for the next day's lunch!).  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high about 4, or until chicken is super tender and juicy. Serve with salad and rolls or rice, or whatever you prefer. The salad pictured above is a delicious and super healthy kale salad mix from Costco. 

Enjoy!

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So, what's your thing?

photo cred: Smitten Imagery

Last night I was thinking, like I sometimes do, and I was thinking about my “thing” and other people’s “things” and whether or not everyone actually has a “thing.” Allow me to explain with an example. We were watching the news the other day, and there was a story about these deep water divers that go down without any oxygen - they train themselves to hold their breath for three, four plus minutes at a time, and they try to break world records or their own records or what have you - and that’s their thing! They love to see how long they can go and how deep they can get without coming up for air. Personally, that sounds like the most terrifying and worst possible way I could spend my time and enegy, but those particular people love it. 

For me, my thing is writing. Or at least that was the thing that sparked other things that have entered my life, like blogging and now photography. Writing has been a part of my life literally as long as I can remember. It’s always been part of my identity. I was writing little stories and books and poems ever since I was a little kid, and people would always tell me I should be a writer someday.  When you have a passion, and you’re doing it, there’s almost no greater high feeling. The only thing comparable for me might be eating a Gourdough’s doughnut. But I digress.

You see all these inspirational quotes everywhere, like “follow your bliss” and “if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough,” and stuff like that, but sometimes I think what about the people who don’t have a dream? Who weren’t born with that one thing they love doing and really fulfills them? What about them? I imagine it would be a strange feeling, when you see the world carrying on so much about “following your passions” when that doesn’t seem to really apply to you.

But as I was tumbling this little thought process along in my head, I think I came to the conclusion that I believe everyone really DOES have a thing. Even though it may be uncultivated or undiscovered yet. Maybe right now, it’s just something you really appreciate and admire. I always used to really appreciate and admire great photography, but never really imagined becoming a photographer myself, until that one day I felt a DSLR camera in my hands for the first time and something woke up inside me, as dumb as that sounds. 

So if you’re one of those people without a defined passion yet, I guess I just wanted to say to you that I believe it’s there somewhere, waiting to be uncovered. A God-given talent or predisposition that will feel really good to find and will give your life extra purpose and excitement. It’s scary and awesome all at once. I hope you find it.

What about YOU? What is your thing? Do you have one yet, or not? Do you think people without a “thing” yet can still find one? It’s so interesting to hear about people’s passions. Like the freaks divers that like to hold their breath for extended periods of time and almost die on a regular basis, we are all unique, and I love to hear about what makes other’s tick. 

Happy Hump Day!

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Have you heard of Nyopoly?

Have you heard of Nyopoly? This cool new website is sponsoring SOML this month, and if you have a fondness for designer names and great fashions for great deals, you'll probably want to listen up. Nyopoly is a member's only site that allows you to negotiate your own personal price for their merchandise. It's pretty fun to barter and get a response in real time - there is no waiting, and I was really surprised by the pricing Nyopoly would let some awesome designer stuff go for. It's certainly a unique and fun shopping experience! Here's a little peek behind the scenes for members:

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If you're interested in joining Nyopoly but would like to learn more, go right over here for more details. And if you decide to sign up, use the promo code storyofmylife for a $20 credit to use towards purchases when you become a member! Have fun! :)

Back at the Prairie

This weekend I headed back to the Prairie (remember the last time? part 1, part 2) for a nice getaway in celebration of my mom-in-law's birthday. As per usual, the place was completely divine. We stayed in the same house as last time, though next I vow to try one of the smaller cottages and go alone, to just soak in all the quiet and peace and beauty. Bring a book, read, write, give myself permission to not take any pictures. Sounds pretty nice. 

Here's a few snapshots from the weekend because, you know, I just couldn't help myself...

Hope your week is off to a splendid start!

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I filed for inbox bankruptcy (& an important SOML announcement)

photo cred: Smitten Imagery

The other day I was driving along in my car when I started making a mental tally of all the places I have information and interactions pelting me all day, every day. I counted four email addresses (one personal, one for the blog, one where all blog comments go, and one for my photography biz). Then there's three Facebook accounts with three direct message inboxes and three walls to watch. Then Instagram, Twitter, and phone calls and text messages from friends and family. And of course that's not even counting media like blogs, websites and TV (don't really watch the latter though). Basically, I said to myself, I said "NO WONDER I'M SUCH A CLUSTER F*** ALL THE TIME." That's a lot of correspondence flying around, and it's all right at my fingertips in my smart phone! Hard not to check it a gazillion times a day, and leave your brain in twenty different places in the process.

I know this "issue" is commonplace with bloggers and business owners who are heavy on the social media, so this isn't so much a complaint as it is just an observation. But I've been trying to come up with ways to simplify my life some, where possible. Take some of the strain off, especially as I'm about to enter the busiest season my photography business has ever seen. 

My main issue, though, is that lately I've been feeling like such an asshole because I just haven't had time to reply to blog comments. I've never had time to reply to every single one, but I used to reply a lot more than I do now. I've tried to educate people about how to add your email address to your blogger profile to make comment replies more streamlined, but I know I'll never solve that problem, and the lack of continuity continues to bug me - it has this weird psychological effect. If the replying can't just be simple and all the same way (all via email or all in the thread), I don't want to do it! So I get behind, and then things in that comment inbox I mentioned get scary. I've been wanting to clear it out for a long time now, and just start over, and last night I finally did. AND IT FELT SO GOOD. It's not that I didn't read those comments, because I totally did. But I just wanted to connect with some of you on them, and there were some questions in there I missed, so I kept those marked as unread. Bottom line, it got too out of hand before I was able to get to it, and I get overwhelmed easily. Matthew makes fun of me because usually when I get really overwhelmed, instead of facing the problem and chipping away at fixing it, I'll just take a nap instead. I guess that's what I've been doing with that inbox.

So aaaalllll that to say, I'm really sorry if you said something awesome in a comment lately, or asked me a question, and I didn't respond to you. Please feel free to email me any questions I may have missed! And from now on, I've made a new rule for myself and my blog. I know this might not be the popular choice with everyone, but when I have time to reply, from now on I am going to do it 100% in the comment thread on my blog. This means you will have to come back and see if I replied, yes. Probably a little bit annoying for those of you who are used to getting email replies, yes. Some of you may never come back to see if I replied, and I will be wasting my time, yes. But for the sake of my own sanity, I have to make this change, and I think it will be good for all of us. You'll hear back from me more, I won't feel like an asshole all the time, and I'll have one less inbox full of unread messages to worry about. Sweet.

I started this up on the post yesterday, about the deli in San Antonio, so if you left a comment there, I wrote you a note back! I can't promise to reply on 100% of all comments in the future, especially on those occasional posts that get a huge response, but I would love to connect with you all a little more than I am currently, even if that means picking one or two posts a week to reply to comments on, or a few especially nice comments here and there. I don't really know what I'll have time for. But I think anything is better than my current system. I'll give this a trial for now! :)

Sorry for the rambling this morning... now take a moment to check out today's featured SOML sponsors, and have yourself a fantastic weekend! 

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Ashton is the brains behind Landing on Love, and this girl is the sweetest soul - can't you just tell? She happens to be a fellow Austin blogger, and her blog is a little bit of everything, from style posts (how cute is she??), to the occasional recipe, to a DIY or two! I think you'll like this sweet blog - go say hi to Ashton, and let her know I sent you! 

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Meet Jenn, The Stylish Housewife! As the blog title might suggest, miss Jenn is a fashionable stay-at-home momma with tons of personality and most definitely an enviable closet. You can expect fun outfit of the day posts (I love this one!) and occasional beauty product reviews from Jenn - I think you will love this stylish lady.

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Allow me to introduce you to Nicole and her lovely space on the web, Treasure Tromp. This amazing lady is a California girl at heart but currently resides in South Africa! Cool huh? She's working on a PhD in Psychology and, well... go here and learn a little more! Also, check out some other top posts here, and get a taste of what Treasure Tromp is all about. Enjoy! :)

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Happy FRIDAY!

W.D. Deli, San Antonio

My best friend Megan lives in San Antonio, and the last time I visited her there, she suggested we try W.D. Deli for lunch. "San Antonio has cute places too, you know!" she said, and away we went. Many don't know this, but I actually lived in San Antonio for 12 years - from age ten all the way up through 22. But I don't feel like I really got to experience the city during my adult life. It tends to hold weird memories for me, so I stick to my hallowed Austin ground for the most part. But I am enjoying it now as I slowly discover a different side of S.A. from what I experienced in high school and college there. Three cheers for that!

Any readers out there live in San Antonio and have some recs for cool restaurants or fun things to do? Oh, and no need to mention Magnolia Pancake Haus - been obsessed with that place for years. Can't seem to crank out a post about it, since I'm too busy stuffing my face whenever I'm there.... ;)

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