strawberry challenge | personal

A few weeks ago my friend Kate threw me a little challenge. Not the most competitive in spirit, I sort of forgot about it until it was due. By then I had seen a couple of little peeks into her final submission for the contest and I knew if I had any chance of winning, I needed to pull an emotional card. Okay, maybe I didn't have to... but I wanted to pull a cute card. :) The challenge: photograph strawberries

The final submissions:

Liz

Kate

To vote for your favorite, hop over to Kate's blog and leave a comment!!

our anniversary | personal

I can't believe it has been 3 years! Oh the adventures we have had... the trips... the lessons... the love. Here we were... just married!

Definitely were not thinking that in just a few years we'd be here... preparing to be parents (and whew, a lot less tan)!

I am so excited for this next chapter in our lives together! I love you and am thrilled to be spending the rest of my life with you.

Happy Anniversary, DAD! ;)

Gratituesday: Motivation | personal

I had every intention of blogging yesterday to welcome in the first day of spring. I even took pictures of the blooms that finally peeked through the buds I shared with you last week (see above). Instead, I ended up spending the day rearranging and cleaning my living room, finally returning to crossfit after about a 10-day absence, chasing my dogs all around the stinking neighborhood and doing other chores here and there. In other words, I actually spent the day being productive and enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having! And it felt SO GOOD.

Yesterday was a refreshing change in my activity over the past few weeks. I mostly spend my days working on the computer, making dinner or taking naps. I have been exhausted and not in the mood for any sort of house or yard work. So this week, I am beyond grateful for the motivation that finally decided to join me in life. Although, it could have been the three giant glasses of carrot juice I had the day before. You know, when you eat (or in this case drink) well, you do suddenly have a lot more energy. :)

I feel like being grateful for motivation is kind of a cop-out... but I'm really, seriously grateful for it this week. I ended up canceling my trip to VA beach this week to rearrange furniture in more rooms and finally get a bit more spring cleaning done. No joke, I actually consider it to be a little bit fun. :)

What are you grateful for this week?

Gratituesday is a weekly blog post (that I try to keep up with) I got involved with over here. You should join, too! If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments as I would love to read what you write about.

belated-mega-gratituesday: so much! | personal

I can't believe it's already Friday! This week has FLOWN by... there is so much stuff swirling around both SLP and my home so my mind has been in a million different places. I am super excited about a lot of things, but more specifically... I am GRATEFUL for so much. Here's a shortened run-down that should cover the last two weeks of Gratituesday. ;)

1. Earlier this week I booked my flight to Arizona for the end of this month to visit one of my favorite friends, Carrie. She moved out there last fall and I cannot wait to fly out and see her new AZ life! Plus, I'm not sure if you are aware of this... but it was in the 90's this week in AZ. Hah... to say I am excited about enjoying that weather is an understatement. :)
2. While I am in AZ I'll be stopping in for a visit with one of my wedding photography idols, Melissa Jill. I am so very excited about spending time with her and picking her brain! She inspires me in a lot of the ways that I choose to run my business so I couldn't be more pumped to meet her.
3. Late last week Tommy sold his miata and on Monday he bought a Nissan Frontier to replace it. Finally. I am so grateful that we no longer have to borrow his dad's truck every time we want to do a big project around the house! And he is in HEAVEN. (He has wanted a truck for years!)
4. And last but SURELY not least.... dum dum dummmm.... I finally bought myself a Mac. :) My new, slim, silver laptop should arrive sometime today... just in time for me to load her up with all the goodies necessary for me to take my office on the road! Which means that my trip to VA Beach with Tommy next week and my trip to AZ at the end of the month won't be putting a hold on any office work. The relief... oh the sheer relief... I cannot express!

There's even more going on, but we still have some details to nail down before everything is announced. I am so grateful for the growth of SLP over the past few years and the opportunities it has brought to my family. So, stay tuned for a few announcements and changes in the coming weeks!

In the meantime... get off the computer and go outside! It is GORGEOUS today!

could it be? | personal

Wow, spring really is right around the corner! I feel like I should buy that groundhog some cookies (or nuts and bark). :) There is a pear tree right outside my office window and it is the first to bloom every year (and it smells horribly). I glanced out of my office window on Sunday after the rain had passed and noticed little bits of green growing on it. Happiness!

I waited until the sun peeked yesterday morning to take a few pictures. I tried all day yesterday to get these pictures up on the blog, but we had a little adventure with our dogs and instead I spent the day driving around to vets offices and running other unexpected errands. Ah, life with dogs.

I just wanted to share how I am so excited that spring is almost here! :)

For fun, I put a few of these full-res images online for you to download and use as desktop wallpaper if you'd like. Just click over to the gallery here.