Reaching for the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Together

Life in Love  //  6th August 2013

Who knew that those psychology classes that I took in college and that summer of psychology research would come in so handy? As we were talking about the details of The AMAZING Life Escape and trying to put into words what we imagined it to be, I blurted out… “It’s like that pyramid.” Lol. Ryan looked at me like I was crazy- as he often does when I blurt out random things! ;) Then I remembered the pyramid I was referring to was Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid has a base full of very basic needs: Food, Water, Air. Maslow’s theory basically says that you have to meet your needs from the bottom of the pyramid in order to reach the top, which is Self-Actualization. The steps in between are: Safety, Love, and Self-Esteem.

It has been a dream of ours to help people get closer to their self-actualization together as a couple! In fact, helping people see their true potential is a daily goal of ours. For our AMAZING Life Escape, we have an opportunity to really help people accelerate to the top of the pyramid as a couple!

At the Escape, it is our goal to take care of everything so each couple can have a true getaway! We do not want you to have to think about the daily details that normally pop into our brains every second of the day… like, what are we having for dinner and when are we going to go to the grocery store! ;) Our plan is to take care of as many basic needs as we possibly can so that by the end of the Escape you are in a magical place. We want you to be able to see clearly to the AMAZINGNESS in your life without being masked by basic worries and daily to-dos.

It is so easy to get caught up in just maintaining and just doing what we have to do to complete that routine list of to-dos that fill our lives! But ahhh! That is not what this AMAZING life is all about! Ok- on some days it is just the reality, we get that. But we truly believe that there is so much more to this life than just maintaining! The AMAZING Life Escape is an opportunity to “escape” and get back to the goodness of what makes your life AMAZING! We can’t wait to reach for the top of that pyramid along with the other couples who join us!!

Here is a video clip from the More Time for Love Webinar that we did earlier this year where we talked a little bit more about this idea:

There are currently 2 more openings for couples for the AMAZING Life Escape! Previously the escape had been sold out but we have had two couples who are no longer able to join us due to big life things going on for them! ;) (Exciting life things like a new job and pregnancy!!! WAHOOOO!!)! We are super excited for them and I know they would love it if we would to fill their spots with two couples who are looking forward to an Escape!! Hope you can join us! Sign up before the end of the week, and save $351 (random amount, we know ;)), by using discount code AMZESCAPE.

And Learn More Here: The AMAZING Life Escape

Finding Happiness Together – AMAZING Marriages

Life in Love  //  8th July 2013

Since we’ve been married, finding happiness together has always been one of our biggest goals. We’ve always believed that the choices we make in life lead to our overall happiness. If there is just one thing we could have in life, it would be to always be happy. When we are happy, the day goes by so much quicker, we get things accomplished faster, we are excited to wake up in the morning, and we are more pleasant to be around. Liz and I have always tried to communicate with each other as much as possible about what makes us happy but just recently, we decided to take a more strategic approach to our happiness. Ok, I must admit, as a former engineer, this made me super excited!!! :) I am a bit of a nerd for creating plans, processes, and designs. :)

As we were in the car driving to photograph a recent wedding, we began chatting about our dreams for the future, living in Annapolis, owning a café, filming a documentary, and making family a larger priority in our lives.  As we chatted, we started feeling frustrated. A lot of these dreams have been on our minds for a while now and although we are making progress towards each of them, for some reason, on this car ride, it just felt like we were not going in the right direction.

It was at that moment that I said to Liz, “What makes you happy? What makes us happy?” There was a silent pause while we both thought about the answers to these questions. The answers were simple: Spending time with each other, sharing our home with family and friends, helping others have a more amazing life together, serving others, and capturing photos that couples will have for the rest of their lives.

As we talked more during our trip, we realized that the things that make us happy were currently not necessarily the top priority in our lives and that they didn’t all match up to our future life goals. As we approached the venue for our wedding, we knew we needed to think on this further and continue the conversation.

So back to the type A part of my personality, :), we decided to create a monthly Happiness Summit in order to help us obtain greater happiness together and to make sure our life goals match up with what actually does make us happy. So you might be asking, what does our Happiness Summit look like? As with our Dream Storm meetings, we decided to hold it at a place that makes us happy. For us, that can be any of a few places: On our rooftop deck, at our favorite coffee shop, or sitting in the sand at the beach. Once we are there, we ask ourselves the following questions.

• As an individual what makes us happy?
• As a couple what makes us happy?
• What do we think makes each other happy?

After spending 5 – 10 minutes on each question separately, we compare notes. As we chat we discuss ways to help each other be happier and then we come up with a happiness plan that answers the following questions:

• What can we do each day to help each other be happier?
• What tasks, activities, and frustrations can we eliminate in order to be happier as a couple?
• What do we each do well to make each other happy that we could do more of on a regular basis?

Finally, once we’ve decided on our plan for happiness, we take some time to dream about the future. As we think about our future, we think about how accomplishing these goals will make us feel on an everyday basis. If the effort to accomplish a goal on our list isn’t going to make us happy, then we stop and think about whether the goal is something we really want to achieve. In the end, knowing that life is short and that we should spend it being happy together is the most important goal we have.

So as you go about your week, we hope that you will take sometime together to host your own Happiness Summit. Liz and I will be hosting our own later this week and we will definitely share our results. But no matter what, whatever you do this week, be sure to do the things that make you happy!!!

Thanks to all of our AMAZING Friends and Family (in and not in the photo!) that helped us celebrate the 4th of July last week!!!

Have an AMAZING Week!!!

 

Strawberry Picking Date Day Adventure

Date Nights, Life in Love  //  19th June 2013

I remember when I was little going strawberry picking.  I would sit on the back seat of my mom’s bicycle as we adventured over to the local strawberry fields. As we approached the field, the sweet smell of strawberries tickled my nose.  We picked and we picked until our  containers were full.  And on one particular trip I can still remember getting home only to have my favorite shirt covered with berry juices.  Oh well, at least we had dozens upon dozens of strawberries to enjoy!

Fast forward to earlier this spring as Liz and I we were planning out some of the fun things we wanted to do this summer for our Summer Bucket List.  One of us, I am not sure who, said let’s go strawberry picking.  The fields we used to pick strawberries in as a kids are no longer around, instead replaced by a Walmart I believe :( , so this would be the perfect way to remember the innocence of our childhood.  Plus it would be a super fun excuse for a Date Day on a Monday afternoon! :)  So thanks to the suggestion of one our past brides, (Thanks Jami!!), we headed up to Baugher’s Farm.

It has probably been twenty years since we have been strawberry picking so we weren’t sure quite what to expect.  Liz put on her best strawberry red dress and I put on my best Farmer Ryan outfit, that of course included one of my favorite pairs of Sperrys. I mean who doesn’t wear Sperrys to go strawberry picking :).

As we arrived we were immediately greeted by one of the happiest old farmers.  As we waited for the tractor to start Liz asked how his day was to which he replied with a big smile, “I’m still here [on earth], so its great!!!”  A statement we couldn’t agree with more!

Prior to going out to the field we had to choose our containers to fill with strawberries.  Ambitious, we took three of the largest baskets.  In total, we filled two to the top.  We decided as we picked and picked that three might be one too many. Thank goodness we did because the two we did fill ended up weighing over eighteen pounds!!!  Enjoy the photos from our Strawberry Picking Date Day Adventure below and be sure to check out our blog on Friday to see some of the fun things we made with all the berries!

Cheers to crossing off another adventure from our Summer Bucket List!

 

 

Happy 6 Year Anniversary!

Life in Love, Our Love Story  //  17th June 2013

There is something about the way you smile that still drives me crazy.  It’s infectious, happy and full of joy.  A smile that only a true and deep appreciation of life can inspire.  Full of love and excitement, your smile is always there to make the day more bright.

There is something about the way you move.  Full of life and freedom.  Without a care in the world you dance as the wind plays with your hair.  As you dance the laughter erupts and your smile explodes.

The past six years have been AMAZING!  More than we could have ever dreamed together.  We reflected yesterday on some of our favorite memories, our travel adventures to Europe, buying a home together, and starting our own business together just to name a few.  But it’s also the small moments, making pasta together, falling asleep on the couch and waking up at 3 am, shivering together under blankets because we refuse to turn the heat on until it is officially winter, that make being married to you the most AMAZING part of my life.  Happy day after our anniversary!!! Cheers to making more crazy fun adventures together!!

Take time to be in the moment

Life in Love  //  3rd June 2013

Take time to be in the moment. We always joke that the clock moves faster on wedding days than on any other day! Bridal time flies by… always!

However, it always seems to be on the days that you want the clock to slow down it just speeds up! Especially on wedding days, but also every day of our lives, it takes an extra effort to slow down and take time to be in the moment. This life will pass us by if we don’t soak it all in.

This weekend we were reminded of this incredibly special lesson by Laura and her dad. As Laura and Richie’s originally planned timeline was pretty much thrown out the window due to Bridal time… lol… Laura made sure to make time for her and her dad to have a special moment together. They both have had this moment in their minds for quite some time and they made it a priority. No matter what, they were going to take time to be in the moment together!

This image is one of my all time favorite photos that we have ever taken. It is such a special moment for Laura and her dad… and for Ryan and I! This photo will always be an incredible reminder to us to stop on the busiest of days and take time to be in the moment together!

We can’t wait to share more of Laura and Richie’s AMAZINGNESS on the blog on Thursday!! In the meantime, we have shared a few sweet peeks on our Facebook page… including one of them making the jump to start their lives together! You have to see it! ;) Can’t wait to share more!!! ;)