Photographs

Did you know that if you added all the photographs Mark and I took from our second date until the end of our honeymoon that it would total over 2500 photos?

However, in the last year, I think we can count the total number of photographs we have taken on our two sets of hands and feet. Pitiful. We are supposed to be chronically our life together, and we take random photos of the hotel room we had for New Year's or the beautiful dinner we might have cooked.

My parents have so many photographs that they all pile up. No organization. No true albums or scrapbooks. Photographs that go all the way back to my grandparents and great-grandparents. One would think that in the world of technology that we Generation Xers (yes I am just on the brink, but whatever) live in, there would be a plethora of digital photographs from the last seventeen months, let alone three years. So what happened? Why did we stop all the visual documentation?

Theory: When we returned from the honeymoon, we got busy, and comfortable. We worked 50 hour weeks, and had class, and were adjusting to simply being around each other...everyday. I realized that waking up at 5:30am to get in an hour long workout is simply not as fun (or comfy) as staying in bed with your husband until the last possible moment. I learned that the old saying of "the way to a man's heart it through his stomach," is grounded in truth. We have both put on a few pounds since January 2009 and it has been difficult to get them off, especially for myself.

Conclusion: When a couple becomes busy with life, happy with each other, a little plumber around the edges, they greatly diminish the number photographs which they take, specifically ones in which they are the central focus.

Action Plan: Spend one hour a day being active and always have you camera with you, but first buy a new case.

Opinions

I have a wonderful husband. That is FACT.

My wonderful husband has a great number of opinions, which is also a FACT. He is eloquent with words, and could have had a strong career is debate or maybe even speech writing. I also have opinions, but I tend to keep them in my head, in our house, or as the subject for a blog entry while I am not running around.

South Carolina state Representative Nikki Haley just clenched the Republican nomination for governor, and is one step closer to being the first female governor of the state that one television host refers to as "America's Whoopie Cushion."

Currently there are only 32 women who have or are serving as Governors in the United States. The first three female governors all served only after their husbands had held the office. In fact it looks like Nellie Tayloe Ross, of Wyoming, inherited the seat when her husband passed away. So with only 32 women, why is it that the possible 33rd is coming from such a "backwards" state as South Carolina? Why not from New York, California, Florida, Georgia or Illinois?

I have learned a few things since I moved to the South. Not only is this a civilized place where people do wear shoes and live in houses, but people here are smart, well educated and remember that thing called the Civil War.

You can argue all you want, but I am serious. Jim DeMint. Jimmy Carter. Rosa Parks. Harriet Tubman, just to name a few. The president of the college for which I work is a South Carolinian by birth, a Rhodes Scholar, a member of the Aspen Institute, and one of TED's most interesting people. My favorite member of the Junior League grew up just a city over, and is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful women in the city of Spartanburg. The midwest couple that moved south, who lives off less than they earn, makes furniture at home, and got their CWPs together are true friends.

People here seem to remember everything, even if distorted, that occurred 150 years ago. They are taught what happens when government gets to big for its britches, the good and bad that comes from fighting back. They are taught to stand up for what they believe in. To not opportunities be taken from them. To give to others as they can. To no longer suffer injustices. That change has to start in our community before it can be that of a nation. Our founding fathers did not get elected one day, declare independence the next, and then "Hello United States." There was unrest among the people. The county of Mecklenburg declared its independence before the colonies did. The South knows what it is doing.

So, Nikki Haley-I hope you win. You have my vote. In November, I do not care if I am on the road or home. I will be running to the polls, as you run for Governor of South Carolina.