Southern Weddings Magazine :: Published

I'm excited, and when I get excited I have this annoying habit of telling everyone {eeeeeeveryone} what I'm excited about. The latest issue of Southern Weddings hits newsstands today and I am, wait for it, excited to be able to say that two of my pictures are in the magazine. They're not big, or flashy, or noticeable to anyone other than my mom, dad, and the neighbor who I was excited to share the news with, but they are pictures....that I took. With my own camera. And my own hands. And my own eyes looking through my own viewfinder. This is exciting to me and while it may be a telling sign of how far I have to go to truly be featured in such a magazine, it feels like an accomplishment. A sort of indicator letting me know that I really have made progress in this adventure of running a business and doing what I love. It may also be an indicator of the fact that I am really, ridiculously, easily excitable.

Here is the half page spread of the Groom's Gallery. My pictures are the two of the handsome man dancing in the bottom row. I've looked at this page somewhere around a million times, but each time I begin to feel even an ounce of that unwarranted pride I am overcome with humility as I see my name fit snugly between A Bryan Photo and Jasmine Star Photography. Whoa.

Happy Tuesday,

Michelle

New Seasons + School Supplies :: Life

I'm not sure how I feel about it being September. On one hand I'm bummed that I can no longer get away with hour long pool breaks in the middle of the workday. But on the other hand I'm excited about blankets and sweaters and fires in the fireplace. While the summer months always seem to be a season of relaxation and reprieve, Fall marks the reinstallation of routine with school days and athletic teams starting up again. This part of the season change excites me. I thrive in spontaneity yet I long for routine as something I can depend on from one day to the next. This month I look forward to buying school supplies and color coding my already alphabatized files. Annoying, I know, but dependable and there when I need them. Like when Colton can't remember where he put our passports, I'll know they're in the red Important Documents file, fit snug between House Info. and Insurance. And here's a teaser of what I'm working on for tomorrow.

Have a great day,

Michelle

Being a Big, Bad Loser :: Life

Fact : I'm a bad loser. In elementary school I was the girl who told the teacher you beat me by stepping outside the line in four-square. The teacher would then revoke your cheated win to crown me as the champion. In middle school if I wasn't initially awarded first chair in the concert band, I challenged you for the position. And I continued to do so until I won the seat. The first seat. In high school I saw that my Biology grade was only the third highest in the class so I stayed after school organizing the dissected frog parts in order to get that extra boost. (You really don't need to bother telling me I lost the 'being cool' portion of high school. I'm fully aware of this.) In college I developed that ridiculous habit of one-uping you. "Oh, you went skiing this weekend? That's funny because I taught people how to ski this weekend. In Alaska."....(I then apologized because we both knew I neither went skiing nor went to Alaska this weekend). And in marriage I make Colton spend the better part of our Sunday afternoons playing cribbage. We usually stop when I win. Twice.

So today, when I lost, I was bummed.

A few weeks ago I submitted a video for a live online workshop hosted by Jasmine Star and the CreativeLIVE team in Seattle. Colton and I spent one Saturday afternoon in the living room with a giant chalkboard and a lifetime supply of ideas. With each new idea we grew increasingly excited about both the prospect of our video and our newly discovered fondness for sidewalk chalk. I would by lying if I said that I wasn't bummed when the workshop winners were announced today. While Colton reminded me that, really, our videography skills were at their peak during this project (People, movies aren't my thing), his affirmations were of little consolation. He pulled that whole 'We did our best' number, and I just was NOT having it.

And that's exactly why I'm writing this.

It appears as though I need an attitude adjustment. Apparently children are supposed to grow out of their bratty need to win around age six. Unfortunately, I'm a few decades behind. So today I've decided to be thankful for a husband who wants to spend an entire Saturday afternoon drawing on a chalkboard with me.

I'm also rejoicing over the fact that because of this experience I now know how to make a paper airplane...even if it does mean I am, once again, two decades late to the party.

Happy Monday,

Michelle