A Dinner Date with the President

Ok I didn't really have a dinner date with the president...but that would have been awesome! What we did do was visit my sister, her new Fiance!, and my cutest niece in Maryland a few weeks ago. One of the days we were there, Paul and Beth took us all to Washington DC. So, most of you probably don't think that is a big deal. Most people took a school trip to DC or have visited since then but not me. Can you believe it? I have never seen the Capitol or the White House, Arlington Cemetery, or Lincoln Memorial! I was thrilled to be going, and seeing these places all turned out to be sureal. I was really there.

We weren't planning on walking around Arlington but I'm so glad we did. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guards. It was crazy how precise they are and it is something everyone should take time to see. The view is also incredible from the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Now Maddie did think we were having a dinner date with the President. She thought this because...well...we told her so. It was the only way for her to be excited and we never thought she would even remember. Well she did and we had a slight melt down at the White House when Obama didn't show up. Thanks to her favorite Aunt (that would be me), I found a secret service agent guarding...something...and told her that was the President. It seemed to work just fine and once seeing "The President" she was good to go.

We also saw Lincoln Memorial which was way bigger than I thought it would be. Yes, I thought it was big but not that big!

The Captiol was one of my favorite stops. We didn't stay long but it was so pretty and I even got to prance like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Yes, I'm an adult.

I can't wait to go back again and spend more time exploring, touring museums, and taking a ton more pictures. Just maybe even a tour of the White House and who knows...a dinner date with the President. I wonder how long Maddie will believe me...

Day of Rest

Today was officially designated as a Day of Rest. I had planned since last week that Monday I was resting. Resting my body, my mind, my energy...everything. Nothing was going to stress me out and I was going to go with the flow. The days and weeks leading up to this point were busy and a little stressful and did I say busy? I have been going nonstop for 3 weeks and today I got a break. So, last week I named it Day of Rest and now that the day is complete I will say it was perfect. Doing nothing can sometimes be just what a person needs.

It got me thinking about the book I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love. Liz has just completed her 4 month stay in Italy and as much as she ate, explored, went through a divorce, found a strengh in herself she didn't know she had and then ate some more, the thing that stuck with me the most was an expression the Italians use, "Il bel far niente", meaning the beauty of doing nothing. Doesn't that sound wonderful!

She goes on to say that even though the Italians are hard workers and long suffering laborers, the beauty of doing nothing is a cherished Italian ideal. "The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's acheievement." pg. 61.

I love this little Italian idea and from now on when life gets busy and I'm going and going I will be working for Il bel far niente and planning my next Day of Rest.

Day Twenty-Eight: The Future

The final day in the Joy of Love was about The Future. What do you see you doing in the future with your loved one? I thought hard about this one and wondered where we will be. I'm sure in a house with a little more room. A few kids running around one day. Another dog to play with Maggie perhaps? I don't know where we will live. I don't know what we will be doing but I do know that we will be having fun, creating adventures, and at the end of the day be two people that love to come home to our family.

Day Twenty-Seven: What They Say

Day twenty-seven was about what your loved one says to you. A favorite phrase or slang that they use. I'm always coming up with something random or made up just to be silly and Zak's response is always Okkkaaayyy with that look that says "Sure, whatever you say". It always makes me laugh and I love this banter between us.

Day Twenty-Six: Best Friends

The Joy of Love, day twenty-six is about your loved ones best friend. Zak and his dad are really close. They have a lot in common and share a lot of the same interests which makes for great friends. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them just the way they are.

Zak's dad wasn't as used to having his picture taken :)

Day Twenty-Five: When You Love Them the Most

Day twenty-five is about when you love them the most. One thing I love about Zak is that he does his own laundry. Most people are shocked when they hear this and I have never figured out why. I guess society states that only women do this chore but Zak doesn't care and I love him for it.

Day Twenty-Four: Where

In the Joy of Love, day twenty-four is about where you met or fell in love with your loved one. Zak and I met when we were little kids when I moved next door to his house. We started going walking every night together. We would walk up and down our road over and over just getting to know each other. I loved those days wondering 'does he like me, does he not like me?', 'did he mean to touch my hand?'. Those days led to where we are now and I think back on them fondly.

Day Twenty-Three: Facebook

Day twenty-three in the Joy of Love is about Facebook and picking one of your favorite pictures you have on there. This picture of Zak and I was taken shortly after we were married and it is one of my favorites. We were walking in the park. It was a gorgeous summer evening. Can it get more perfect?

Day Twenty-Two: Face, Portrait

Day Twenty-Two in the Joy of Love is about your loved ones portrait. As simple as that. I love this photo of Zak. It represents exactly him.

Day Twenty-One: Hands

In the Joy of Love, Day Twenty-One is about their hands. What do you love about them? I love Zak's wedding band and his watch that he always wears. He also uses them to provide for us in his job. In this picture Zak is on a call from his boss.

Day Twenty: When They're Home

Day Twenty of the Joy of Love is about when you're loved one is home. What is the energy in the home and what makes it special? Maggie and Zak will play non-stop all night and with all the growling and ball chasing (and that's just from Zak...ha) it gets a little loud. When Zak isn't home Maggie can sleep all day but when Zak comes home it is definitely play time. There is never a dull moment with the two of them.

Day Nineteen: When They're Gone

Day Nineteen is about the overall feeling in your house when you're loved one is away. I hate when Zak has to travel. It isn't often but when he has to...well it just stinks! The overall feeling is quiet and sort of empty but the worst feeling for me is when I walk into the bathroom and I see his toothbrush missing....

Day Eighteen: Going Out

Day eighteen of the Joy of Love is aboug getting out of the house and having a date night. The night before I took this picture Zak and I had gone on a double date to the movies and then out to eat. No one thought to bring a camera...shame on me...and so the next day when we were out and about I took some pictures.

After all the rain the sun came out

Day Seventeen: Staying In

I'm a little behind in the Joy of Love. I am determined to finish this class and here I am on Day Seventeen: Staying In. What do we do when we are home together? For us, every Sunday for lunch we cook a frozen pizza. I guess I should say Zak cooks it. It is something he has done since before we were married and I have followed in on the tradition. I look forward to it every Sunday.

Day Fifteen: Kissing & Day Sixteen: Together

I had planned on combining day fifteen and day sixteen of the Joy of Love. Day fifteen was all about kissing and capturing you kissing your loved one or your kids kissing your husband, kids kissing each other, dog kissing kids, etc. Day sixteen was about taking a picture with your loved one. We had to use a tripod and self timer for this one. So, I thought I would take a picture of me kissing Zak while using the tripod and self timer...I know, genius right? Well, you can see in my picture we are not kissing. I tried it by kissing Zak on the cheek but I felt cheesy and it looked cheesy. So I'm going with this. Me looking at Zak laughing (with him) knowing that I'm not kissing him. If you don't know the background of this picture and know how many I took before this was achieved you might find this cute. Hopefully you still will...I do but I'm biased.

Day Fourteen: Wedding Bands/Jewelry

Day Fourteen was to photograph your wedding bands or a piece of jewelry someone you love gave you. I am cheating a bit on this one. I wanted to show a picture I took on Zak and I's first wedding anniversary. Zak bought me flowers for the occasion and I took a picture of our wedding bands on one of the flower petals. I have always loved this picture and wanted to share.

Day Thirteen: Routines

Day thirteen of the Joy of Love was about your loved ones routines. Zak work outs just about everyday. He is either weight lifting and working out on the eliptical or just the eliptical. So, I'm capturing Zak today at his number one routine. Can I just say how much he loves me photographing him working out....j/k but he is a trooper!

Day Twelve: The Eyes

Did you think I forgot about the Joy of Love? Lets just say it's much harder than I thought to do a photo class and blog everyday. Things have been a little busy around here lately but I'm catching up! Day Twelve was all about The Eyes. We were to capture our loved ones eyes. There were many ways to do this such as, wearing glasses, them reading, their laugh lines, etc. I wanted to show this picture of Maggie. I love this picture of her yawning.

Eat, Pray, Love

My college roommate, Jennifer, brought an idea up to me. Read Eat, Pray, Love and blog about it. Mention blogging and I'm intrigued. If you haven't read the book or watched the movie, it is about one woman's journey to self discovery.

I feel like this has come at a good time in my life. I too need some self discovery. I've been struggling with this since I got out of college and more here recently for some reason. I always thought: go to college, get good job. Well, I studied hard in college, made the dean's list every semester, graduated with a bachelor's degree, made cum laude but the job never came. I didn't have Plan B because Plan A was fail proof...so I thought.

Zak and I went out and bought Eat, Pray, Love the other night and then decided to take a drive. We do this often, usually in the day time. This time it was dark and we just drove. There wasn't much to see and we had no plan but we always enjoy these types of drives. With the book Eat, Pray, Love still on my lap from Target it was a little ironic. I realized my life was a lot like this particular drive tonight. I'm having fun along the way but my path is still very undecided and a little dark at times. There are a lot of things and decisions that are overwhelming but I keep on driving hoping that something will show itself. I sometimes wonder if my self will ever be discovered.

It is hard to say at 25 what you want to do for the rest of your life and then feeling confident when you think you have reached a decision. I'm hoping this book will give me a little insight and little hope that one day things will work out. They have to right?

I do have to say I'm lucky in love. I have the best husband anyone could ask for and that I'm so in love with. He supports me and encourages me with everything I do. I'm not looking for pity. I'm a very lucky person! I got to go to college and marry my childhood sweetheart. I have the best family anyone could ask for. I have a roof over my head and a job. I just needed to talk and I hope that one day I'll find my own Eat, Pray, Love.

So, here I go...onto another journey, another book, and another woman's story of how she found her way through life.

Day Eleven: Dreams

Day Eleven is about Dreams and what our loved ones want to accomplish or do someday. Zak's dream is to build a hot rod. I have heard of this dream since we first met. It is something he is determined to do and we will make it happen one day. But how do you show this in a picture...hmmm....I decided to work on my selective focusing while Zak showed me one of his model cars that is the closest to what he wants to build one day. He says he doesn't have a model car of the exact one he wants to build (Don't worry. They all look the same to me too). I thought this looks pretty good though. My hubby makes it so cute!