Date Night.

I don't normally open up, especially on my photography blog, because I'm a private person. But this week in my Business Writing class, our professor asked each of us to find someone that is more stressed out than we are and to do something nice for them.

This assignment got me thinking. Sometimes, the person that we're the meanest to is ourselves. We weigh ourselves down with expectations and goals that cannot be reached, and then are upset when we can't reach them. We beat ourselves up emotionally and then justify it and pretend like it is okay that we just did that to ourselves.

For my assignment for the class, I instead decided to do something nice for myself, because too often I do the above to myself and say it's okay. Well, it's not! I think I am a great girl, and because I have been so stressed out this week, I decided to treat myself. I decided to treat myself to a date... with myself.

This wasn't just an ordinary date. This was a date filled with things that I LOVE.

First, I got ready, just like I would for any date.

yours truly ready to head out

The first part of my date with myself I spent at Barnes and Noble. I LOVE Barnes and Noble. I mainly just love to read, about anything and everything. I have a confession and that is that I find self-help books fascinating. It's right up there with photography, even.

The spoils of my trip to Barnes and Noble - self-help books galore!

After I spent a good hour and a half at B&N, I headed to get some Italian food! I got some pretty funny looks being a table of one, but I didn't care. I felt great about myself - my date was giving making me feel like a million bucks! :) I had some great Spaghetti and Meatballs (Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods), and afterwards headed to Red Mango for some frozen yogurt and raspberries . . . MMM!

I stayed there for about an hour reading one of the self-help books I had just gotten. Then I headed to the dollar movie as I wanted to see Easy A. Unfortunately, it was sold out. But my date night wasn't ruined! On the way home, I stopped by the Wal-Mart near my house that has a redbox and got these two things:

Gerard Butler? Yes, please. :)

The key to my heart - SUGAR COOKIES (that are frosted, of course)!

The movie was okay, but it was light and fluffy, which is what I needed after this week.

All in all, this "treat" to myself really proved to be valuable. I think people should treat themselves more often, and realize that they are doing a pretty good job just doing what they do every day.

I hope that your Friday night was as good as mine! If you haven't, take a night sometime and soon and treat yourself to a date, with yourself! You won't be sorry that you did. :)

Tara & Larry - October 9, 2010

Tara and Larry are a super sweet couple. In addition to that, they really fit each other – their likes, dislikes, how they communicate, and really watching them interact is something that gives me hope and makes me happy.

They got married on October 9, 2010. It was a busy weekend for me, but I am so glad that I booked with them! They were an absolute delight – rarely have I felt a part of a family when I photograph a wedding, but with these two – I really did. Their extended families were delightful and fun to work with. Their wedding guests were kind and fun!

Don’t even get me started on the kids – SO adorable!

Tara is as beautiful as they come, inside and out. They really make a great couple, and I know that they both feel lucky to have found each other. Here are a few of my favorites - they were all SO beautiful! Congratulations, you two! Many, many years of happiness to you both!

Auburn & Jamison - October 8, 2010

Auburn and Jamison are a beautiful couple. I had the pleasure of being their photographer on their wedding day, which was perfect all the way around. The love that these two have for each other is priceless - you can tell that their marriage is based on lots of friendship and love, which I think is really essential to the success of any marriage.

The day couldn't have turned out better. I thought it might rain at the beginning of the day (which is never fun for camera equipment), but it turns out it was just overcast enough to get some really great pictures! The families were SO fun - I had the time of my life photographing their wedding!

I remember walking into the reception that night and just being blown away by how beautiful everything was. Seriously - I need to find out who their decorator was for future referrals! Their reception was transformed into an evening of vintage, and everything really was perfect.

These are a few of my favorites from the wedding. Congratulations, Jamison and Auburn!