Hello to all of my friends and family! I’ve taken the time to write a letter about 2012, and all that was. I know my memory will fail me in future years, so having something like this to look back on is worth the effort to write it! If you dare to read it, I appreciate it! Please comment… Holly says I’m weird to say so, but I love to look like people actually care about what I have to say 🙂
In January Jason and I traveled to Colorado for my youngest sister Holly’s wedding! It was nice to see everyone, and the pictures turned out great, if I do say so myself. Colorado is an amazing backdrop, and Holly and Josh are very photogenic. It was high stress though, and I would never shoot a family member’s wedding again. We also adopted Cinema this month, our Beagle and Chihuahua mix. She’s a mother of two litters and weighs 15 pounds. She’s super calm and sooo well behaved!
February was a big month for getting into shape, as I started Zumba! I love to dance, though admittedly I’m not very good at it, and I hate to work out, so this was a good alternative for me. Luckily, I love it! I do it every Monday and Thursday now, and this year (in total), I’ve lost 17 pounds!
March. Thank for being March, because without you, I would not have had my beloved Hunger Games. You may laugh, but you probably don’t think I’m serious. I’m completely obsessed with this franchise, and if you didn’t already know that, you probably don’t know me at all and I’m surprised that you’re reading this… 🙂 Besides that, March was the month that Jason and I attended an 8-day taping of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, so if you take those classes at your church or whatnot, you’ll see us in the DVD! This was also a big month for me with my business, as I completely re-branded, and started a brand new blog, and commit to updating it every Monday and Thursday. You should follow me! The address is www.sarahmarieclicks.com/blog
April was very mundane; I barely remember it. I know I watched The Hunger Games in theaters three more times, wrote blogs about it, changed my ringtone, text message tone, and alarm clock to Hunger Games themes, but other than that, nothing really happened.
In May my sister Rachel and her husband Matt came down to visit and see our home for the first time. It was also a mission to get them to move to Nashville, which they have said they plan on doing! More importantly, they announced that they are pregnant!!!! I was so blindsided, despite the fact that there were clues all weekend long I somehow missed. This introduced major baby fever for me, as visions of my sister moving to Nashville and our kids growing up together just ran through my mind. Another big moment came when my mom was miraculously healed of her three brain tumors! It was completely unexplainable, and every day more we have with my mom is a big blessing.
June was a happening month! I went on a road trip with my friend Felicia for her bachelorette party, and swam in the beaches of Florida! A couple of days later it was my other friend’s bachelorette party, and then I did two weddings in one weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday! Erin’s wedding was stunning, and I was so honored to be her photographer. I got a new haircut, attended my first ever murder mystery party, and had our master bed completely custom made, so all things considered, quite a good month. A huge damper was the awful fire going on in my hometown Colorado. My sister Holly and several other people I know were evacuated, and it was heart wrenching to see. Eventually everyone got back, but lives were lost and families lost homes, so it’ll never be over for them.
July was no biggie. I did some really beautiful boudoir sessions, and the final Batman movie came out, which was amazing, but other than that, nothing too major happened. It’s worth mentioning the big Chick-fil-A scandal, the shooting in Aurora, and the Olympics happened this month, so it was definitely a big month in the news.
August was Jason’s birthday (I bought him an iPad), and an amazing trip to Florida to shoot our friend’s Felicia and Jason’s wedding. We made it a big trip and went to Universal Studios and Harry Potter World too, which was incredible!!! It was a blast, and I’m so glad we got to be a part of it. I also did a really cool Trash the Dress shoot at the Nashville zoo this month and got to be in the fences with the giraffes and elephants! That was one of the coolest things I’ve done so far as a photographer.
September was all about photography! My coupon that I featured last year with Living Social expired at the end of September, so there was a mad frenzy for people trying to get in at the last minute! Jason and I also had our pictures made, and they were beautiful! We did a “Movie Scene” featuring The Hunger Games and Harry Potter with our dog Cinema and popcorn in bed. It was really fun! I also started working with the Preschoolers at church, as a teacher every other week. It’s so weird to me that I can finally talk about God to these kids after a year and a half of working at a school where you have to watch everything you say. It’s really wonderful! Jason pampered me for my birthday and got me a charm bracelet, which I have wanted for forever! It now holds a Statue of Liberty, an apple for teaching, a heart for Jason, a bow and arrow for the Hunger Games, a movie reel, a cross, and a camera!
October was a whirlwind! On the 3rd, for our third year wedding anniversary, Jason and I spent the weekend up in Gatlinburg. We went to the Titanic Museum and Dollywood, and despite the cold, it was a wonderful trip. I love that man so much. The next weekend we went camping with our friends Erin and Kyle, Felicia and Jason. It was my Jason’s first time camping, and he said he’d do it again! I guess he thought we’d be skinning squirrels or something, so he was surprised at how modern it was. We still used a tent, mind you, but it was pretty modern as far as camping goes. This month I also started volunteering at the children’s Wee Connect at church. Before, I was just in the classrooms every other Sunday, but now I lead the kids worship service every week at 9:15am. It’s very rewarding, and I feel great knowing I am using the talents God has given me (not having stage fright, basically).
November was both eventful and uneventful. I got my first ever cavity (tear*), the final Twilight movie came out (it was surprisingly great), I had my first ever Mini Sessions for my business, I went to a Flapper party, Jason went back to Publix (as his boss cut his hours at work and he’s looking for another job) and I left Primrose. Worth mentioning, but not as life changing as you might think. God is always in control, and I know he has something better for Jason. As for me, I’ve been unhappy at my work for months now, and was very glad to leave. It’s not worth talking about how it all went down, but I’ll just tell you that I miss the kids and the families and a few friends I made, but I am happier now that I’m gone. Too many politics. Oh, and Obama won again… let’s not get into that.
In December I started my new job as a Nanny for adorable 2 ½ year old Evan. I love this kid! I became his teacher about a year ago, and had a great relationship with his family, so this is a very logical step for me. I love that I can circumvent the politics of a politically correct world and teach this child about Jesus and real life without having to worry about saying the wrong thing!
Christmas was great, as always, with my family. This year we changed it up a bit by going down to Fairhope where my sister Rachel and her husband Matt live, since they are expecting a baby. All my sisters were there (Elisabeth, who hasn’t been mentioned, spent her year in flight school! She’s the coolest of all of us) with my parents, Grandpa Haines spent the holiday with us (which was very special- he’s such a wonderful man), and even my Aunt Deborah and her awesome family visited! It was a little crowded, but it’s more fun that way for me. I got a Kindle, so reading a ton is in my future for 2013! For New Years Jason and I hosted a little party with our bestest friends Erin, Kyle, Felicia, and Jason, and we had fun jumping off the couches!
So, 2013… here we come! This year, if it goes as expected, Jason and I will try for a baby, we will do some kind of summer trip (Vegas, Florida again, or Chicago are options we are considering), and we will finish losing the weight we want to! We shall see…
By the way, I’m doing Easter Mini Sessions this year! A normal session is $350, so this is a steal. First Come, First Serve!
