Posts Tagged "enjoy life"

Living the Dream

Posted by Elle on Aug 8, 2012 | 2 comments

I’m so content it is ridiculous. I contemplated writing to you about lifestyle planning this morning, but instead I just want to be thankful. I’m sitting here right now looking over my balcony at a gorgeous view watching my husband make himself a milkshake since he doesn’t know how to cook himself breakfast. We are listening to the Jack Johnson Pandora station and working on our laptops. And we are sooooo happy. In a few hours I’m going to head to a job I love and then I’m going to come home and work on another job I love. This one. Happy Yogis. I love writing this blog. I love teaching yoga and am stoked that I get to do it again. I am really excited about wellness coaching and to begin working with clients to help them with their health and happiness. I am so fortunate that I can do all of these things at once.

Chris Guillebeau was right when he said “Personally, I like work. I believe in a 168-hour workweek that is filled with activities I love. A few hours of sleep can be thrown in if necessary.” I totally subscribe to this philosophy. I used to think that I wanted to work less. It turns out what I really want is to work more. I want to work on things I am passionate about. I want to fulfill a calling in my life. I want to serve others, volunteer, be the change I wish to see in the world. I believe all that! And I have the ability to do all of it! How amazing is that?

I am loving in a world (I meant to say “living” but the typo sounds better) where I get to say “I’m a marketing executive, wellness coach, yoga instructor, & youth minister.” My life is full, but well lived. Sure I have dreams, and I am a crazy planner so goodness knows that my life will change in many radical ways along its course, but I’m also living dreams. Right now. I’m both pursuing and living my passions. I’m no longer one of those people who says “I always wanted to…” I’m a person that does! I love that about myself. And I love that my husband is right there with me for every adventure. He listens as I play the harp in the morning, runs with me when we are training for a race, goes to church with me when I need some spiritual guidance, and dreams enough about Sportsmobiles for the both of us.

Tomorrow we get to leave together for the adventure of a lifetime. Along with my sister and brother-in-law we are running the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half-Marathon in Vancouver B.C. The run itself will be amazing, Lulu has so many fun activities planned. But afterward my husband and I are going to trip it around to Vancouver Island, Squamish, and ultimately Whistler. We are going to kayak with the whales, sleep in a tree-house, stay at a Bed n’ Brewery, and take the famous gondola in the Olympic Village. I’m going to annoy my husband by talking about future vacations while on a vacation (I can’t help myself) and we are going to dream about our lives even more. However, while we do all of these things, I am going to realize that we have it made. We are living the dream.

When I come back from my trip I will be surrounded by some of the most beautiful people on earth. I will get to see every one of my family members in the next couple months (including some much-needed lil sis and bro time), I will get to attend fabulous lunch dates with the best girlfriends I have ever had in my life, and husband and I will get to enjoy paradise with the gorgeous and adventurous friends we have met in our beautiful hometown. At this moment in my life, I truly couldn’t ask for more. I can’t even think of one request that I have for God. I’m all requested out. I have everything I could ever want or need and I am so grateful for that!

So finally, I want to thank you: for reading my blog which is yet another outlet of my own energy. Sometimes I come here and write about my frustration or confusion. Sometimes I write about my plans or dreams. No matter where my mind wanders when I’m writing this blog, I’m grateful that you listen. It is a good life. Thank you for being apart of it!

Image Credit: Om… by Lululemon Athletica

Happily Ever After… Now what?

Posted by Elle on Jun 1, 2012 | 0 comments

source credit: http://pinterest.com/pin/186829084511978568/

Every chick flick is about the beginning. The happy, lovey, we just met and are falling desperately in love part. Isn’t that just a tad bit annoying? Don’t get me wrong, I would rebel against any  movie with out a happy ever after (as my husband now knows after making me watch “Without Limits”), but they deceptively make it seem like the good stuff is all at the beginning!! I don’t believe that’s true. But I had to decide for myself exactly why I believe that is true…

Garret and I met freshman year of college. He knew I must have liked him after I sat through those darn Lord of the Rings movies three times in a row. It must have been love…. Anyway, because we met so young, we waited 7 years to get married. And you know what? Having that marriage thing on the horizon always felt like the next step. There was always this guiding principle of: The next thing on our check list is “Get married!” So once we checked that off, we immediately thought: HOUSE! Our years of dreaming about our future lives finally became reality when we smashed that champagne bottle off the side of the house. Actually Garret wouldn’t let me do that, plus he said that is only for boats… instead Garret broke his Lenten fast of “no alcohol”  in order to toast me on our new deck. He wasn’t going to make it with that one anyway, God understands….

So I’ve married my prince charming, I live in my castle, now what? Certainly the magic doesn’t stop now? Nope! In fact, the next item on most people’s checklists is: BABY. Only that thought makes me cringe. I mean, you kinda have to think about it for a little bit just to be sure- so Garret and I gave the topic our due diligence with a “I’m good, you good?” “Yep, I’m good!”

Yeah we are good. God may have other plans, and if He does, I’ll adjust, but personally I will do everything in my power to follow the guidelines from this commercial. So that leaves us with… oh wait! The societal checklist stops here! We are supposed to be so occupied by check item #3 that the rest gets a little blurred. So if there are no kids in my future, what does my happily ever after look like?

A year into our marriage and I am realizing that the fun really starts here. I mean, I’m content and enjoying the moment and all, but we now have the right to dream up any checklist that we want! Our bucket lists are uninhibited by children or how to make enough money to float our rent. We can make true plans and dreams and forge new paths. And you know what? Writing those checklists together (and checking them off) is truly more romantic than watching Lord of the Rings together. What’s next for our checklist? Ooooh that is a good one, and loaded with answers (see my last blog: What if). Just this week for example we were inspired by a blog detailing the lifestyle of a “dirtbag gourmet”. There is something about vanning it around that gets under our skin. We contemplate all the time about how our coffee truck would look and how we would design the interior. The dreaming is part of the fun of it, but really, it’s the idea that we can actually do it that makes ours a true happily ever after. Anything and everything is possible now and that is the exciting part!

We only find more and more reasons to fall in love these days- which is so great! College Garret and Elle were two totally different individuals from our current, slightly more mature but majorly more excellent Elle and Garret status. Yet I believe that Garret much prefers wino Elle to Mike’s Hard Lemonade Elle. I may have fallen in love with him while he was tuckered against my dorm wall eating a bowl of easy-mac the size of my head, but I also really enjoy the version that this weekend announced that he wants to try an “alkaline” diet. Gotta love the guy. We’ve come a long way, but the way is really fun! Each new interest is another adventure that we can explore together. Just like the couple featured in the blog- he likes rock climbing, she likes yoga, but together they share a love for adventure! And that is how I picture our own happily ever after.