The Gap Year

On Monday I flew out of Dallas at 6 a.m., and arrived in California by 8 a.m. I helped my brother pick up a U-Haul, loaded up all of his things, and left the next morning at 6 a.m.  Tuesday, we spent 16 hours on the road, stopping around every 2 hours to fill up on gas. We made it all the way to Tucumcari, New Mexico and stayed in a little hotel just right off of the I-40E.  Wednesday, we slept in a little bit, checked out of the hotel by 9 a.m. and had a short 6 hour drive home. It was tiresome, it was long, and we were exhausted, but we made it.  Not only did we make it home, but we did a whole day earlier than expected. Being in a U-Haul that can only go 55mph doesn't make for the most exciting road trip, so we were both very relieved to have been early. We passed the time by watching different shows, loading up on snacks at Target and having conversation.  It was an out of the ordinary trip, that has left both of us dragging our feet the past few hours, ...

#WellnessWednesday Before I found my own routine to curb my stress and anxiety, I would often find myself googling or searching on Pinterest different ways to relieve stress or get rid of anxiety. I would end up feeling worse after doing this, because these tips don't fit every single individual's state of mind and way of processing things. I think the most important thing you can do for yourself is to find what works for you after trying many different options.  I would make myself feel worse when finding a "Therapist's Tips To Relieve Anxiety" page and find that none of them worked for me, thinking I was hopeless. An essential part of being able to get rid of the negative feelings is having a desire to do so. When I was going through Therapy, Doctor's appointments and everything else I would often here the question "What makes you happy?" and I was always unable to answer. It wasn't until I was willing to put in the effort to f...

Recently, to kill some time in between appointments, my sister and I went to Michaels. We walked in the store not planning on looking at anything in particular, and walked out with a complete lifestyle change (and like $50 less). Unfortunately and fortunately for us, they were having a 40% off sale on all of the 365 Happy Planner stuff. So, we picked out our new lifestyle planners.  And of course, we had to pick out some matching stickers, Washi tape, and pens figuring we were good to go.  After just an hour of looking through the books, searching on Pinterest and Facebook for other fellow 365 users and figuring out what we really wanted to do, we realized another Michaels trip (or two) were in order. Just our luck, the next day they were having even better sales, so of course we needed more stickers, stamps and accessories. We went back the next two days in a row, just as we were getting accustomed to the very dedicated lifestyle of a "Happy Planner....

It was a morning that coffee, Kendrick and crafting just couldn't fix. I was supposed to wake up at 3:30 a.m. My dad opens my door and turns on my light at 4 (when I was supposed to be leaving for the airport) telling me what time it was and that we needed to leave immediately. Luckily for me, the sweatpants and tank top I had slept in were considered acceptable airport apparel. I grabbed my laptop and phone charger, stuffed them in my bag and fumbled down the stairs.  Also working in my favor, my dad loves to provide plenty of time to get through security and to his gate, so I made it with 26 minutes to spare until boarding time. I am a very experienced flyer and have been since the age of 6, but have only ever flown once by myself. The flight was bumpy, along with the connecting flight in Las Vegas where I had an hour layover.  Once touching down in LA, however, everything has started to go 90 miles a minute. Sure I had gained two hours, but does that give me enough...

I had never really wanted a sister of my own, growing up with three older brothers. But sometimes, just sometimes, I would swipe my eyeliner on or pick up a new dress off of the Charlotte Russe rack and wish I had someone to dress up and talk about the release of the new Taylor Swift song with (Not my cup of tea, by the way). And then I got this little beauty of a neighbor. With super thick blonde locks and the most gorgeous complexion, I knew she would be the perfect subject. This was a dream come true to both her and myself. As I had my nephew help me gather up the props and head out to the water, I think we both realized how well this had come together. I knew it would be awesome to include some different props, but figure I could throw a book in there too, since her and I both have a very strong love for reading.  When I handed the book to her, she even started reading! We then had a nice conversation about what my favorite book (the one she's pictured with), P...

When my sister-in-law approached me saying she wanted to do an out-of-the-box maternity shoot at a Cowboys' training day, I jumped all over it. We had to capture the essence of what it's like to be at a sporting event, while still getting her day-to-day struggles of bathroom trips, snack cravings and impromptu nap times. The day started with the best thing a mom-to-be could ask for: a trip to the concession stand. After getting the necessities, she made her way to the stands just in time to rip open her pack of Twizzlers as the players ran onto the field.  Once a little time had passed, and snacks were all gone, it was time for Sarah to search for an area where she had a little bit more room to herself. After perusing the crowded stadium, she found an area where she could cheer all by herself.  And throw up the 'X' just like her favorite player Dez Bryant.  And then, from exhausting all of her energy from snacks, cheering, and constant bathroo...

After shopping at the just opened Lone Star Mercantile in Allen, I decided I needed to put my recently bought props to good use. But how? Where? When? Then, in between Pinterest search after Pinterest search, I got it. With the most adorable 17 month nephew at my disposal and some fall decorations up in the attic to complete my look, I had my answers. After waiting for the sun to fall a little further, I gathered up my things and took the party to the backyard. Unfortunately, my actual setup only lasted a few minutes. My mistake was thinking that a toddler would willingly stay put in between a very delicate display of props. He proceeded to run towards the one thing he loved most: technology. A.K.A, my camera.  Once we pulled out his favorite Little Tikes truck and an old Blackberry cell phone he was all for it. We even got a little celebratory clap. We even practiced the safety of pulling over and stopping before we started to text.  It was a fun experimen...

When I found myself with an itch to use my new 24-70mm wide angle lens, I pulled out my nephew's red rubber boots, a pair of cut off jean shorts and an old suitcase and got down to business. My only issue? Convincing my Teen Titans Go addicted 7 year old nephew to let me take some pictures of him. In the heat. For an hour. Nonetheless once I promised plenty of time to splash in the water and stomp around in the mud I got an agreement. So off we went. As we headed towards the water along the mowed down section of the path, he looked up at me with curious eyes and many questions of "I wonder how such pretty flowers just grow out of the ground themselves?" and "Does that look like an area where frogs live? If so, I can't go over there."  Once we reached the water it was time to toss the luggage to the side and get down and dirty in the mud. Jackson enjoyed the stink of the mud as he rubbed it all over his arms and chest. Me, however? Not so much. Bu...

As a senior in high school, I was only ever presented with one option: go to college. Immediately. It was after many anxiety attacks, late night university research and talks with my mom that I decided it was time for a break (and not a two week one!). I made the decision to take a gap year, the only student in my class of 400+ graduates, and as the year has barely begun I can already tell you it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Late into my senior year I struggled with depression and anxiety, and it wasn't until after multiple therapy sessions and doctors appointments did I find myself standing back up on my own two feet. I have recently just been knocked off my feet again by a pesky little thing called adulthood. After recently purchasing my own car (with no drivers license mind you), dealing with closing out a Coogan account once reaching the age of 18, and starting up my own photography business, I am far from what anyone would call a "normal" 18 year o...