9 Months Sober!

It has been a very long time since I last updated my blog.  I have wanted to post something multiple times over the last year or so since I posted last, but I haven't known how to start back up. Do I just pretend nothing ever happened and go on like normal?  Do I have to have something extremely interesting and intriguing to write about to get things going again?  These, among many others, are the questions that I have asked myself when I have thought to start writing on my blog again.  I have everything and nothing to talk about.  So much has happened since I last wrote, and also in my day to day life, it's like nothing has happened. I guess I will just try to play catch up and see where it goes from there.

First things first, I should state the reason for my absence.  The truth is, I don't really know why I stopped.  Maybe it was laziness, maybe I felt like nothing significant was happening so what was the point?  Maybe it was a little bit of both.  On October 1, 2015 Jason and I made a monumental decision.  At least, I think it was pretty monumental.  We decided to get rid of our smart phones and swap them out for dumb ones. I know what you are thinking, as I have gotten it all so many times since I made the switch.  "Why did you guys do that?" "you guys are awesome, I would love to do that but I never could because I need it for work," and my personal favorite, "you guys must be saving a lot of money!"

As for the "Why?"  I will answer simply.  We were spending more time on with our technology than we were with each other.  It wasn't like we were any more obsessive about it than any of you.  It wasn't posing an immediate threat to our relationship at all.  We looked just like any other modern day couple.  The only problem was that we didn't like that picture.  We didn't want to look like any other modern day couple.  We didn't want technology to become more important to us than the person sitting next to us.  We wanted more undivided attention from others, and we wanted to give more undivided attention to others.  We had wanted to do this from the beginning of our marriage and it took us about a year and a half to finally take the plunge.  I also wanted to free myself from my addiction to technology.  For me, it was any and all types of social media.  I am guessing a lot of you share this same addiction.  If you don't, good for you!  If you do, but you think you don't, maybe it is time to re-evaluate?  I never even knew how much time I wasted on my smart phone until I didn't have one anymore.

To respond to the remark that "you guys are awesome, I would love to do that but I never could because I need it for work," I had that same reservation.  That's why it took me over a year and a half to finally do it.  However, it was just an excuse, because I could do it, and my business completely relies on my social media presence, and all of my clients are in contact with me directly via text and email.  I do all of my own booking, and I am constantly texting clients. Is it a little more inconvenient?  Yes, but barely. In fact, I have had more success with my business due to social media in the last 9 months without a smart phone than I ever did with one.  How is that possible?  I had more time to focus on my business.  I didn't waste hours and hours looking through my feed and looking at other people's lives.  I have an iPad, and I have done all of my posting from that.  I get on for about 20 minutes a day to build my business, then I get off of it.  I can build my business just as well using an iPad, and I waste a lot less time during the day.

"You must be saving a lot of money!"  Haha.  Yeah, obviously we are saving money, but that was of no consequence to us, and that is not the reason that we did it.  Honestly, we aren't even saving that much money.  Smart phone plan's aren't that much more expensive than the plan that we have now, and while we are saving money, it isn't enough to care about. I wanted to get a dumb phone because I wanted to spend more time with the people in my life instead of the people in my social media networks.  I wanted to get a dumb phone to break my obsession with needing to know what everyone else was doing all the time.  I wanted to get a dumb phone so I could enjoy my own life more, and not compare myself to the perfect pictures that people paint of themselves on their profiles.  I wanted a dumb phone for so many more reasons than I named, and I am so glad that I have a dumb phone even though I see people silently judging me and feeling bad for me every time I pull it out.  Hahaha seriously it is one of my favorite things to notice now, Jason and I laugh about it all the time!

I do miss a few things about the smart phone interface.  I miss the calendar, I miss the convenience of taking a picture of anything and everything all the time, I miss the voicemail, and I miss the way that I received group messages.  Believe it or not, group messages are like a bajillion times more annoying with a dumb phone because everyones messages come in a little individual message from that single person, and you can't respond to the whole group.  Super dumb.  But those are the only things that I miss.  If I ever got a smart phone again, it would be without Data and I would only want one for the convenience of the way that the phone works.

Anyway, I didn't expect this to turn into such a long post about my dumb phone, I mostly just wanted to tell you guys that we got dumb phones and move on to more exciting things, but I guess that will have to come another day, and it just gives me a reason to write another post here soon so I can update you on more important things!  I promise my next post will be more intriguing.  But then again, maybe I shouldn't make any promises, because I would hate to disappoint. TTYL. HAGS. NEVER CHANGE!

Smart Phones, Dumb People

As all of you know, I moved from Utah to North Carolina last week.  I haven't even been here for a full week yet, but my loneliness is apparent to me.  I am not an introvert, so being alone isn't my most favorite thing in the world.  I gain my energy from people, friends, family, conversation.  These are the things that I live for, the things that keep me going.  I had a complete breakdown the other day, and I could tell Jason's thoughts were.... 'uh.... what do I do?' haha it was like a cry fest, guys.  The waterworks were on, and they weren't stopping, no matter how hard I tried!  You know how when you're really emotional, but you're composed, and someone asks you "what's wrong?" or shows the slightest amount of sympathy for you, and you just lose it?  That's exactly how it was.  Even though I'm sure Jason felt a little helpless and confused by my sudden sob attack, he was sweet and comforted me and helped me feel better.  I'm so grateful for a supportive and loving husband! I'm also especially grateful for some of my close friends that have helped me immensely, and they don't even know it.  My dear friends Sarah and Kirsten have helped me a lot as I've been out here, whether it be a phone call or a quick text checking up on me, their support has been so appreciated, and it's little things like that, that make a world of difference.  They are so sweet and caring, and they are so helpful because they've both been here before.  They have both felt this loneliness, and they have been genuinely concerned about me.  Personal connection and authenticity is something that we are beginning to lose as a society, but I'm glad to say that I have friends and family that haven't lost that.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how truly flat social media is when it comes to the deep relationships that I have gained over the years.  I never noticed how much my phone has been hindering my relationships until I came out here. Between Jason being gone all day and me not having a job yet, and not knowing a soul out here in North Carolina, I have spent a lot of time on my phone (and at Target.) Me being on my phone is nothing new to North Carolina, it's been in the works since I even got a cell phone. I've become so reliant on social media to keep me entertained, that I have missed opportunities to get to know someone, to get outside myself, and see the beauty around me, all because I'm too focused on my cell phone.  It's a serious problem that I have failed to recognize, but it's real, and I'm guessing that most of you can relate. 

Remember when you were a little kid, and the first thing you did when you got home from school was rush outside to play with your friends?  When sitting at home was the most boring thing in the world and the question your mom heard about 100 times in the hour that you had nothing to do but watch T.V. was, "I'm bored mom!"  When you and your friends would go on adventures, get into trouble, and the neighbors always called your parents and told them how rotten you were being?  When the only games you could play were Uno, go-fish, and the ones that you made up with your friends?  This is the childhood that I remember.

Remember these guys?  Was your childhood something similar to theirs?  I know that mine was.  These kids are much different from the kids today.  Where did it all change?  It all started with Nintendo, and it has only declined from there.  Technology has over-run everyone, including children.  As I walk through the grocery store, instead of siblings annoying the heck out of their mom and running around the grocery store pretending to shoot guns, I see children sitting on their individual ipads, or even worse, their very own cell phones.  Sure, their mom can get her grocery shopping done much easier with quiet, well behaved children, but where is their childhood?  They are losing it.  They are losing it to games, social media, fake friends.  And what do they do when they get home?  They sit and watch T.V. and play more games.  Year after year I notice the decline in children playing outside, and it breaks my heart!  I remember being a kid and being able to run outside if I had nothing to do, and BAM!  Instant friends and instant fun.  We used our imaginations, we played games, we had social skills.

Now we are seeing more of this:

And less of this.

Adults aren't much better either.  

Instead of talking with one another, we exclude ourselves from people and conversation, and we converse online.  We're constantly looking at our phones, and we fail to see the endless opportunities surrounding us.  We fail to see the beauty in the world.  We fail to make those most important to us, feel important.  Lets turn it around, because in reality, we are both the problem and the solution.

Lets make our lives look more like this:

"We're becoming a generation of idiots: smart phones, and dumb people." I watched this incredible video this week that describes my feelings perfectly, I honestly couldn't have said it better myself.  After watching this video, Jason and I made a pact that we were going to put our phones away, and live in the moment.  I hope that you all take the advice in this video like I have. Our phones are meant to be our servants, not our masters. When you watch this video, I'm sure it will make you want to "look up."

The Wedding.

My wedding was pure perfection.  From the Rehearsal dinner the night before to the actual wedding day, I couldn't have asked for everything to go better.  It was so sweet to hear everyone's speeches at my rehearsal dinner.  I laughed, I cried, and I was so touched by everyone who was there to support us.  Not to mention the amazing food that we had, courtesy of La Jolla Groves.  I'm so happy that my friend Caitlyn was kind enough to film all of those speeches for us.  That is something we are going to be able to re-watch and enjoy for the rest of our lives.  If you want to check out more of Caitlyn's work, be sure to go to Caitlyn Cutler Videography.  If you want to see our wedding video (and trust me: you do) click on the link below!

Jason & Sheree Wedding  

I got a lot of questions the week prior to my wedding along the lines of, "are you nervous?"  It was an odd question to be asked the week before my wedding.  I've always heard of the term "cold feet," and I have always wondered if I would get them.  I am happy to say that the term "cold feet," is foreign to me.  I was in no way nervous to marry Jason.  What would I need to be nervous about?  He's my best friend, and I couldn't want anything more than to spend eternity with him, and I know that I am so lucky to be able to say that.  I truly found the best, and I am lucky he's all mine.

The night before my wedding, I slept like a baby.  Seriously, I just went straight to bed, no thoughts to keep me up; nothing. I just hit the pillow and BAM.  Best sleep of my life.  I woke up and my dear friend Kaci came to my house to do my hair and then I went to the darling Jade Baird to get my makeup done.  After I was all done up, it was off to the Temple to meet my soon to be husband.  The temple ceremony was so beautiful, and I am so blessed to have been married there surrounded by my family and closest friends.  It was truly an incredible feeling, one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Pictures are amazing.  I'm obsessed with pictures.  However, getting 2 huge families and multiple friends to cooperate and form one picture is so frustrating!  I don't know how my photographer Shay did it with patience and a smile on her face.  It was seriously such a project, but I'm happy to say that we were able to get some great shots!

After we were done taking our pictures, we went to our reception hall with the wedding party to eat some food before the reception (because any of you who have been a part of a wedding, know that it's so busy you can barely get a bite in.)  I am so glad we did that pre reception dinner!  If you're getting married soon, seriously do it.  I didn't even know what food we had at my reception until I got my pictures back!  There is honestly no time to eat during the reception, so I would strongly suggest eating beforehand, cause if we wouldn't have, Jason and I would have been starving.  And quite frankly, hungry people suck.  I know I am the worst when I am hungry!  So do it, eat before, you wont regret it.

Our reception turned out beautifully.  My mom is amazing.  I don't know what I would have done without her.  My mom and I went around to multiple thrift stores for weeks to find enough candle sticks to cover each table.  We spent weeks painting and glittering these candle-sticks.  The flowers that I chose for my flower arrangements were soft blushed pink and cream.  We had garden roses, heather, sweet pea and hydrangea's, and I loved the way that they turned out.  I wanted my wedding to be simple and classic, and it turned out exactly how I imagined it!

We had a line for a small amount of time during the wedding, you know, common courtesy and all.  Which, can I just say something about lines at weddings?  No one likes them.  Literally, no one.  When I go to a wedding, I don't know the parents often, and I usually only know either the bride or the groom well, so wouldn't it just be easier to go to a wedding, not have a line, and then be able to talk to the people you really do know for a longer period of time?  Just sayin'.  Anyway, after 45 minutes. we had our friend Coulsen cut it off so we could get to the other things we had planned.  We cut our cake, and I was sure Jason was going to shove it in my face, but he didn't cause he thought I would be mad!  I really wouldn't have been... and I did put some cake on his face... oops! And can I just say how in love with my wedding cake I was?  Seriously, I am obsessed.  Then we did the garter toss (I was definitely blushing for that one.) and the bouquet toss.  We had dancing at the end of the reception, and that was so fun for us!  You know those weddings that they try to have dancing, but then it is just awkward and basically only the bride and groom are dancing while everyone else is watching them?  Well, I'm happy to say, that's not how it was at our wedding.  Jason and I love to dance!  And so does our "crew."  So, we had a very large number of people dancing and having a good time.  Anyway, I wont bore you anymore with the details, but please do enjoy our pictures!  I know I do!