Time is Money.

Colton and I have been on a budget all this month, a fairly strict one. We were testing to see where our money was being spent, and if we could live off a certain amount when it came to "misc spending". (Trying to save up a down payment for when we are ready to purchase our first home! Can't believe we're at that point in our lives already...yikes.)

Oddly enough, this has been the sloooowweesstt month EVER! It wasn't like it dragged by in a bad way, but Colton and I both felt the same, it seemed longer, it feels like two months have gone by rather than just one. It made me wonder...being more conscious of what you're doing and what you're spending, does that keep you from wasting time, does it make you slow down?

Instead of just going out and doing whatever, we find creative ways to be entertained...and then things don't fly by so fast. Instead of going out to eat, we take the time to prep and cook and then enjoy.

Obviously this is "common sense" to most...but how often do we actually put it to good use? At least in the Lindelof household, there is always room for improvement. We didn't deprive ourselves, and we still went out to enjoy a movie if we wanted to get out of the house (note to those in the Seattle area: there's a fun, slightly old, theater that plays $3 movies, usually right after they are out of the main theaters but before they go to DVD, check it out: Crest Theater), but we just looked at everything from a different perspective. It really was a treat to go "out" and do something that cost money. What a concept huh?

I just thought it was so bizarre how slow this month has gone. It's like we were literally handed the time to slow down and smell the flowers. It felt like there wasn't as much time wasted...wasted going to a restaurant rather than cooking at home with the hubs, wasted shopping for things we don't necessarily need, and so on.

There's always a balance in everything we do...I know there are times a restaurant is a much better plan for my own sanity (and maybe for the boy's bellies), there are times we will want to "splurge" on some fun items for ourselves...but this month of August has really been a nice lesson for how the pace of life should be, and where our time and money should be spent.

To be honest...part of the reason for this post other than sharing our immense brilliance on the topic...is to keep myself motivated as we go into a new month. Wish us luck!

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I suffer from travel-bug-itis. I hear it's incurable. *sigh* My side effects? Heavy daydreaming. Constant Google-ing. Unstoppable planning.

Oi.

I've been so blessed with the places I've been, experienced and seen. But I selfishly want more, and more. I want to meet different people, and experience other cultures, and most of all, travel the world with my favorite people and document life with my trusty 7D.

I know that you don't have to physically go to every destination to learn about cultures, and to experience life...but the explorer in me just can't help wanting that.

I want to see the wild animals in Kenya. I want to go back in time in Egypt. I want to stand where Jesus stood in Israel. I want to experience the old and the new in Europe (again). I want to climb the Great Wall. I want to learn to really dance in South America. I want to see the glaciers in Alaska. I want to see the rolling green hills and amazing castles in Ireland. I want to see NYC and Alcatraz and every mountain, valley, town and river in between. I want to swim in the turquoise blue waters of French Polynesia. And I'm just itching to photograph every little detail of Greece.

That's all doable right? RIGHT?

I want to see how other people live, and the beauty that God created all over. I mean, WA state alone is such a beautiful example of God's fingerprints...so imagine what else there is!

Eat. Pray. Love. is coming out this weekend...and I can't wait to see it. I just know my "disease" will only worsen after the movie, as I will immediately look into booking trips to Italy, India, and Indonesia. (Who's with me?)

Well, I'm concluding this with:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. - Mark Twain

and

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

and

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust

oh...and:

Who wants to go on an adventure with me? I'm thinking Brazil at the moment. Maybe Norway? How about Prince Edward Island? Any takers...

Dreams. Potential.

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him." - Henry David Thoreau

Though busy with my daily work-life (and grateful for every minute of it), my heart and passion still lies with photography. There is something so beautiful and simplistic about following your dreams...and where that might take you. I love Thoreau's perspective on pursuing dreams with no apologies. Don't we often find excuses to settle, to not reach our full God-given potential? I don't really feel like I've settled, but I feel I'm on a journey to something amazing. I'm excited about every step.

Searching. Jazz. And a million miles.

It's been a long time since I've posted. I tend to go through spurts of motivation and inspiration. Right now it's a moment of motivation...not sure where I stand on the inspiration.

I want to write. I want to express. But I find myself finding my own words in someone else's writing. Has that happened to you? I feel like someone else is better at expressing and voicing the thoughts in my head...almost down to a T.

One inspired author that speaks to my heart and my soul is Donald Miller. He's blunt, sincere, curious, passionate, and might possibly be able to read my mind.

His writings on faith and life and his journey...they make me laugh and they help me to almost better understand myself. He puts into simple words the crazy, disturbing, hilarious, outrageous, melodramatic, heartfelt, pondering thoughts that constantly go on behind my daily smiling face.

If you haven't read him...do it. You won't be sorry.


"Sometimes when I watch my dog, I think about how good life can be, if we only lose ourselves in our stories. Lucy doesn't read self-help books about how to be a dog; she just IS a dog. All she wants to do is chase ducks and sticks and do other things that make both her and me happy. It makes me wonder if that was the intention for man, to chase sticks and ducks, to name animals, to create families, and to keep looking back at God to feed off his pleasure at our pleasure." A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

"All this beauty exists so you and I can see His glory, His artwork. It's like an invitation to worship Him, to know Him."

"...to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously. And a person who thinks himself unlovable cannot be in a relationship with God because he can't accept who God is; a Being that is love. We learn that we are lovable or unlovable from other people...That is why God tells us so many times to love each other." Blue Like Jazz

"And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?" Through Painted Deserts

"I do not believe a person can take two issues from Scripture, those being abortion and gay marriage, and adhere to them as sins, then neglect much of the rest and call himself a fundamentalist or even a conservative. The person who believes the sum of his morality involves gay marriage and abortion alone, and neglects health care and world trade and the environment and loving his neighbor and feeding the poor is, by definition, a theological liberal, because he takes what he wants from Scripture and ignores the rest." Searching for God Knows What

"Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition. We live for what we believe."

(Thank you Darci and Tiffany for introducing me to such a great writer that speaks to my heart through faith and love.)

Epiphanie Bags

OMG! I found what want for Christmas already...is that bad?

I was surfing the web and found this site...and I am in LOVE with their products! Check out Epiphanie Bags! www.epiphaniebags.com

They are stylish and practical...and exactly what I've been looking for for my camera. It fits so well with Lindelof Photography's image and brand. I'm in love.

Just had to post a note about it...

Lindelof Photography

I wanted to make sure I made a post on my personal blog that linked to our fantastic photography website, as well as the Lindelof Photography blog.

Check them out when you have time! Pass it along. Enjoy...

www.lindelof-photography.com
www.lindelofphotography.blogspot.com

Thank you all for your love and support!

A Passion for Photography

A post I made on Facebook:

Well, I would say one of the biggest joys of unemployment is the time I get to spend pursuing my passions. It really is a blessing.For the past month or so, I have been lucky enough to be shooting with one of the top wedding photography companies in WA state. They are amazing. Check out their work www.azzurablog.com.This has only added fuel to the fire.

I want to document life. I love life so much, and feel like there is so much to see and so much to experience that my tiny little brain can't fully comprehend, nor remember, it all. Photography is my passion. I don't know if it's a career, or if it's just something for me to enjoy in life, but I know that I am grateful that I have the support, the supplies and the spirit for it.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me in so many ways in this area of my life. Thank you in particular to my fabulous hubby who allowed me to pursue this, and encouraged me every step of the way. He is a vital part of Lindelof Photography.

So to see where this path leads, and to take the next step on this journey, I have started a Lindelof Photography page on Facebook, and I would be extremely honored if you (my friends and family) would become "fans". (No pressure.)I am currently working on expanding my portfolio. I have been contacted about some contract work already, but they need some samples of my work. I would like to add more variety to it before showing it off too much.

To continue to expand my horizon and follow a dream...I would love the opportunity to photograph any of my friends and family. Call me, e-mail me, message me, send me telepathic waves...whatever. Just contact me and I would love to set up a day to photograph you and your significant other, or your family, or just you. Whatever your heart desires.

My love of life and my passion for photography have come to a head. I hope that I can capture some moments and memories for you in the near future.

Always, Jamie