Author Archives: tatumann

New Year’s Reminders!

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I posted this for New Year’s Day 2012 and the words are as true today as they were then!  Peace and love!

Breathe. Consciously.  Drink more water. Eat less sugar. Run. Stretch. Remember that Karma is only a bitch if you are. Give more. Want less. Love, love, love. Have fun. Be BRAVE. Cry as necessary, but no more.  Remember that life begins at the end of your comfort zone.  Remember that only you can change your fate.  Remember that an eye for eye makes us all blind.  Learn.  Create.  Inspire.  Have a little faith that it will all work out.  Believe in the here and now.  Be present.  Dance more.  Dream more.  Be reckless with your heart, but not other’s.  Own your decisions.  Own your thoughts and stances.  Own your sexuality.  Sleep enough.  Meditate.  Spend more time barefoot in the sand.  Relax.  Take a picture.  or two. Draw.  Paint.  Play.  Embrace life.  Enjoy the journey.  When you fall down, get up.  When the going gets tough, get tougher.  and bring back-up.  Smile.  Remember that bad decisions make good stories.  Try something new…anything.  Be the change you want to see in the world.  Don’t just live, thrive.

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

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I am contemplating the past year with gratitude. I have spent the last 365 days with a truly amazing man. The kind of man that makes you realize why it never worked out with someone else.  The kind of man that was worth traversing the long, bumpy road of my relationship history for. I have also, despite not making any sort of resolution to do so, finally managed to get my finances in proper order.  Like really proper. I feel all grown up!  Maybe it’s the result of 18 months of practicing minimalism.  Maybe it’s the result of actually having some extra income from my photography business in 2014.  Maybe it’s the positive influence of the aforementioned new man in my life.  More than likely, as so many successes are, it’s a combination of all those things and more. I also feel a foundation has been built this past year for some successful business projects. Grounds cleared and stones stacked to build something amazing on.

As I look into the crystal ball of 2015 I see…. nothing.  Mostly cause I don’t have a crystal ball and I’m not really psychic. And so glad that I’m not because how boring would that be?

So I am excited about what the next trip around the sun will bring. I refuse to make New Year’s Resolutions.  While every January I do try to refocus on getting in shape, I don’t consider it a resolution. Especially since I also refocus in March and July and October and November and so on and so on…  I have some really exciting photo projects lined up. I have some really inspiring people surrounding me. I am working with friend on building his business and I think it’s going to be his year. The staleness, the icky and the stuff that made me say “Thank God this year is over!” are all a thing of the past. Long gone and washed away with some super sexy rainshowers. Time to jump headfirst into some artistic expression and see what adventures 2015 has in store for me.

I’m ready for it all.  And I hope you are too!

Being Diligent, Part Deux

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Well… two months flew by. I hope everyone else is having as much fun as I am.  I have been wrapped up in getting family portraits for a bunch of amazing people so that they can get their Christmas cards out.  Yup, that’s right, Christmas is right around the corner, can you believe it?  As far as applying the minimalist lessons I’ve learned along the way to Christmastime and gift giving, I should tell you right now that I have failed utterly.  And it’s not even Christmas yet.  While I tense at the though of going through all the physical things that Christmas will bring into my home, I love to give.  I have no idea how I am going to about getting that under control for next year, but it seems this year is already buried under a pile of wrapping paper.  And I don’t even feel bad about it.

See what happens when you’re not diligent?   Guess I’ll keep trying.  One day at a time and all that.

Happy holidays everyone! Hug someone today!

Being Diligent

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Clearly, my resolve to write more has been benched this year.  That being said, it’s been an amazing freakin’ year.  It started with the Swede, so to speak, as we had our first date on New Year’s Day and has been a whirlwind of adventures since then.  I’ve been shooting, shooting, shooting and working on the photo biz, which has been going fantastically.  The Swede also enjoys taking a picture or two, so we started a fun little blog with our travel pics, you can see that at his & hers photos if you feel like it.

Minimalism is still a huge priority at this point, although, being less than diligent this year has allowed way too much stuff to creep into my home/life/email.  How the hell does that happen?   I mean really, I have been more intentional with everything I buy.  Yet sometimes I still feel totally cluttered.

In fact, I had a little minimalist meltdown this week which is what got me fired up again.  I started in the garage this time and realized that a lot of the “clutter” was essentially garbage that was never dealt with.  My ongoing “donation box” was overflowing, creating a bit of a mess and disorganization.  And the garage was filled with empty shipping boxes from photography projects which were never broken down to be discarded (my recycling service won’t pick them up until they’re broken down.)  So, 20 minutes in the garage quickly eliminated a boatload of stress that the clutter was causing in my already cluttered brain.  It was a quick little eye opener as to how being diligent can prevent things from stacking up, both literally and figuratively.

So for now, I’m trying to apply due diligence to minimalism and all the other parts of my life (like writing.)  Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas

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“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” Dr. Seuss

Never Gonna Happen ~ Wine Cork Crafts.

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I am NOT crafty. It’s not that I don’t have the ability to BE crafty, it’s that I really don’t enjoy it.

This discussion came up last while sitting on friends counter, going on and on and on and on about my new found love on minimalism. And in her kitchen sits a bowl of bottle caps and a vase of corks. We talked about the things she plans to do with them, create table tops and cork boards… and the truth is, I’ve always loved things like this. I would really enjoy having a little table top made out of mismatched bottle caps collected over months or years of friends getting together. or a cork board made special from the wines I’ve shared with them.

But the truth, MY truth is that this is NEVER going to happen for me. I don’t enjoy DIY projects and sincerely doubt that feeling is going to change anytime soon. So could someone please explain to me why, for the love of God, I am still holding on to what has to be HUNDREDS of wine corks? Explain how somehow, despite all of my minimizing efforts around the house, I refuse to throw away, and continue to add to the cork collection.

Well, I guess I know what I’m getting rid of tonight…

crafts

The Convenience of Minimalism

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So this morning, I went for a run.

This would not usually be news, but the truth is I’ve been VERY lax with working out lately. But I got to bed at a decent hour and was up early enough to run, but before I made it to the dresser, I was already feeling my motivation wane a bit. All I needed was a single excuse to crawl back into bed and dream for another hour. Normally, I would find this excuse in my overstuffed dresser drawer that held all of my workout gear. Too lazy at 5 am to try to put together a workout outfit, I would just give up and drift back to sleep for a bit. (Bear in mind here, that I’m not all that picky about what I wear, but I do have some favorite socks and sports bras and try my hardest to avoid wearing all dark colors when I’m running outside before the sun comes up.)

But, this past weekend, in my ongoing minimizing process, I had cleaned out my workout gear, (along withe a few other drawers) got rid of all the stuff that didn’t fit right or for whatever reason I wasn’t wearing. As a result this morning, when I was just looking for any excuse, downsized options made for easy pickings and ultimately, a great run.