new camera! new camera!

This weekend was even more exciting than I had originally planned, because among other things, I got a new camera. For the past several months and years, the only camera I’ve had access to is that of my iPhone, Blackberry or Macbook. When Julian came into the picture, he brought along a very expensive and very fancy camera, but one that I not only didn’t know how to use, but that I would probably drop and/or break. It made for very few opportunities to fully document trips, parties, and life in general.

“life in general”

But that all changed on Saturday when we decided to just bite the bullet and get a camera! After much research, husband settled on one model that seemed to be better than the rest in the point-and-shoot category – the Sony CyberShot DSC-TX5. It’s touchscreen, has a sweet (and wide) lense, is drop proof (awesome) and even WATERPROOF up to 10 ft. We’ll be putting that to the test next time we are on vacation, for sure. It was kind of a splurge, but everyone needs a camera, and this is one that we’ll have for years to come.

Here are some of the shots from my first day with the camera. As I’ve said before, I kind of suck at taking photographs, so if you see something good on here, chances are Julian took it, not me.

Let’s end on a very positive note – lasagna cupcakes.

On another note, I’ve decided it should be illegal for me to work on Mondays. It is not only hazardous to my own health, but detrimental to the sanity of others. Thank you & goodnight.

words to live by

source

what makes the world go round

I’ve got a video for you guys. Watch the entire thing. Not just because the illustrations are pretty mesmerizing, but because the ideas are very interesting and dare I say… world changing? The topic is motivation – what motivates people? Money, right? We love money!! We’ll do anything for money!! It pays our bills, buys us shiny things (sometimes before we even have the money), makes us sublimely happy. NOT. According to the studies explained below, we aren’t as scum-sucking as we thought we were. People just want to make an impact and do cool stuff.

Watch & learn:

daily quote: july 2, 2010

“Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.”
- Jim Horning

Raise your hand if you can relate to this! *raises hand* This quote makes me laugh, my how we live and learn. Sometimes I feel like I’ve had the life experiences of a 70 year old, with all the ups and downs I’ve gone through, especially through my 20s. Though I still have so, so, so much to learn about life, I am thankful for the good (and bad) experiences I have had thusfar, because it has given me the current wisdom I possess (insert joke here).

Big ups to my parents for not sheltering me, but trusting me to try on my own, supporting me when I come back wounded, ready to give me a shove in the next direction. I can’t imagine the willpower it must take to let your children fail, knowing that in the end, it will be to their own benefit. Mom, Mom, Dad, Dad, thanks for giving me the opportunity to have experiences and learn from them.

daily quote: june 25, 2010

“Consider what you want people to remember of you and live accordingly.”
-Barb Rogers

Generous, daring, innovative, free, compassionate, brave, loving – what do you want to be?

image:
reefknot, via kitsunenoir

there’s no place like home

I’m thinking of becoming one of those ladies who drinks coffee through a straw, because I seem to be unable to have my morning coffee without spilling (or splattering) it all over my white shirt. Hi!

It’s been a long time since I’ve written, but boy am I glad to be back. I am now officially married – Mrs. Julian Smith, or rather, Mrs. Sarah Smith. Though I haven’t even tackled the whole name changing thing yet… one thing at a time. So far, married life is just divine, and I sure got a good one!

Our wedding was perfection, our honeymoon beautiful (and exhausting), and I’ll have photos of these events as time goes on and we get settled back into everyday life here in LA. Those few weeks we were gone felt like an eternity with all the traveling and time changing. We had seven flights in three weeks – LA to Nashville to LA to Paris to Berlin to New York to Nashville to LA. I’m telling you, I’ve never been so happy to be in this city and in my own bed, which is WAY better than hotel beds. I am also welcoming the sunshine with wiiiide open arms after two weeks of overcast skies and wool coats in Paris and Berlin.

This is my very un-thought-through “welcome me back” post, before I dive back into posting all the things I’ve been dying to share with you. Thanks to anyone who is still reading this after my hiatus…

a few words about pride

image: song_of_freedom

It’s Labor Day, and instead of being out on a beach like I should be (and probably will be, later, granted I can find parking!), I’m at home, thinking about pride and being self-serving. As our wonderful lead pastor Joseph Barkley said yesterday at church, “the opposite of love is pride.” This statement really resonated with me, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Upon doing a little Google-ing, I found a wonderful poem by Beth Moore that sums up the evilness of pride.

found: The Striving Wife

P.S. You probably won’t read this for a day or so, because I’m currently moving my blog to self-hosted, big ups to (mt) media temple! Woot!

Glamorous Hollywood vs Rural Oregon

I just read this article on CNN chronicling several families who have had to cope with job loss due to the current economic crisis.

One couple in particular really caught my eye and got me thinking. Leah Bird and Ed Wright used to live a comfortable and glamorous lifestyle in Beverly Hills, much like my own, eating at fancy restaurants and spending time at the beach. After Ed lost his job managing insurance portfolios for the wealthy, the couple was forced to move to Oregon and live out of a trailer they purchased on Craigslist. They’ve since learned to tend to the land and look after animals who share that land. Leah has acquired a simple office assistant job in town, taking a $15,000 pay cut.

Their lifestyle has completely changed, a worst nightmare for most of us. But here’s the thing: Ed and Leah love it! When asked if they would move back to LA given the chance, Ed said “Not unless they offered me a great paying job,” Wright said. “But even then, I would work a few years, quit and then come back here.”

Interesting! Anyone with a brain knows that money does not equal happiness. I know this more than anyone.

Leah & Ed’s situation reminds me of myself – minus the unemployment, thankfully. I’ve been living a somewhat luxurious lifestyle in Los Angeles/Hollywood for going on three years now. I’m by no means rich, I have to budget myself and am living paycheck-to-paycheck, but I am making more than enough money to get by.

I have a brand new car (a reliable, gas-saving Honda Civic, which I desperately needed), a beautiful apartment (that I pay a pretty penny for), and am able to eat, cloth myself, get premium cable, and go out with my friends when I want to. I’d say I’m doing a lot better than the majority of people in America right now. Are these luxuries worth the stress that comes with living in a big city? Would I be better off living a more simple lifestyle?

Sure, I’m content. But I’m not blissfully happy. I have frequent fits of homesickness (almost my entire family is back in Virginia). I’m single, and have fabulous friends in LA, but I’m lonely out here. This has never been a place that I want to place any solid roots, and perhaps subconsciously I’m resisting settling here.

This article has given me some food for thought. I’m not leaving anytime soon, I’m too thankful to be doing what I love and making a good living at it. But one thing I could be doing is living a much more simple lifestyle and saving more. This is not a city of savers… this is a city of spenders. I suppose not joining in completely has something to do with my loneliness.

I didn’t edit this, so it’s a lot of rambling. But the point, I suppose, is: are we really happy living to work? Or should we be working to live?