Category: blog

off to texas style council

Well, it’s finally time for Texas Style Council. You’ve seen me mention it since last year and now I’m really going!

Although I’m extremely excited, I’m also pretty nervous about leaving my kiddos. As a volunteer, I have to be there around 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) so my plan is to drop the kids at daycare just like every other day and then make the drive. I will tell Meredith that I won’t see her for a few days, but my hope is that the blow will be softened by the routine of going to school and the excitement of getting to stay at her grandparents’ house. She has been suuuuper attached to me lately so I’m dreading the goodbye.

Liam is another story! Of course he won’t be sad to see me go because he won’t understand, and he is usually pretty good as long as he doesn’t see me, but I am still really unsure of how his sleeping situation will be. He has slept next to me his whole life and he still wakes up to nurse multiple times at night. Of course he doesn’t need to nurse (he doesn’t during the day) but that is how he is soothed. So I hope he isn’t too much trouble at night.

As a full-time working mom who rarely takes vacations, it feels surreal to be leaving. Like, who am I to abandon my responsibilities? I almost don’t feel like myself unless I am living my routine.

At the same time, I am very much looking forward to a break from real life for a few days and to relive my summer camping experiences. I love connecting with people and my goals for this conference are mostly to make new friends and be inspired creatively. Like I’ve said before, I don’t intend to make my blog a business but it is so much fun for me to work on it and tell stories here, so I hope to learn some things as well.

I have some links for you in a couple of days, but other than that I’ll see you back here next week! Have an awesome weekend.

March 18, 2015
personal planning for 2015

As we come to the end of 2014, I want to talk about my goals and intentions for the new year. This kind of fresh start is all mental, of course, but it really works for me.

After having a baby at the beginning of 2014, the rest of the year was focused on finding my footing as a mom of two, making adjustments, and getting healthy again. I did whole30, started running again, and made daily Bible study a priority. I will constantly be working on my spiritual and physical health, as well as the work/family/personal juggle, but I do feel like I have a basic framework in place. In fact, let me go over that:

Spiritual:

>Wake up early every single day (4:30 or 5 a.m. for Bible study, prayer, and personal journaling). This doesn’t always happen if a child is up too early,

>Involvement at church.

>To work on: prayer life, giving, volunteering

Health:

>Eating – paleo is ideal, but “real food” with the least amount of processed ingredients is what I’ve been aiming for.

>Exercising – after my half marathons are complete, I want to continue running shorter races and do other exercise 2x per week.

>To work on: clean up eating (I’ve been indulging in too many Christmas treats, so I’m going to do a week’s reset), take my vitamins, use essential oils, finalize new exercise plan

Time balance:

>When I’m at work I’m all there, but leave early whenever possible.

>Right after work 3x/week I can exercise – run or go to the gym.

>Weeknights – all family time. Cook dinner, eat together (most nights), play. Go to bed early. Don’t plan anything except dinner with grandparents or occasional church activity.

>Weekends – lots of family time too, chores done with kids around, David does grocery shopping. Schedule kid-free time for: long runs (until races complete), date nights (once a month – grandparents babysit), alone time for personal projects (memory keeping, blogging, reading, crafts). I need this every week if possible for at least a couple of hours. Eventually I would also like to be able to stay up an hour or two after the kids go to sleep. :)

>To work on: when I build up PTO, schedule one personal day off per month. Figure out a better way to fit blogging and reading in.

For 2015, I want to improve on some nonessential, personal areas. These are all important to me, but they take a back seat to the previous areas. Here are the areas I’m thinking about:

>Nagging tasks

>Purchases (mostly small) that would increase my happiness or quality of life

>Style & beauty

>Memory keeping

>Blogging

I’m taking a three-fold approach to goals for 2015: one overarching, big intention unrelated to other things (which for me is going to be financial and I probably won’t be blogging much about it), participating in Ali Edwards’ One Little Word class (and this will have challenges along with it – more on my word soon), and going back to monthly goals. The monthly goals are going to be where I address the nonessential areas above, or at least that’s the plan. Hopefully they will also relate to my word.

I’ll be sharing more about all of the above in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime look for updates of the regular kind around here. On Wednesday the kids and I are heading up to visit some good friends for a couple of days for their annual NYE party. Sadly, David has to work so we have to go alone and I’m a little nervous…but I will not be deterred, even by a 5-hour road trip with two kids!

Thanks for sticking with me all this time, and especially now as I figure out my new “blogging normal.” I have lots of ideas for the future, but only time will tell if I can make them happen. :)

December 29, 2014
project life 2014 : weeks 47 – 48 (& a blog update)

Popping in to share a Project Life spread with you today. But before that, let me give you a little blog update…

The season of life where I am able to post daily is over for the foreseeable future. Work is busy, Liam is mobile, and other personal projects need to take precedence when I do get spare time. So my aim is to post here 2-3 times per week, but it won’t be scheduled.

You can expect similar content as always: thoughts on motherhood & life updates, tips for working moms, goal setting, memory keeping projects, creative pursuits, natural health topics, things I love, and thoughts on books & reading. Basically anything I’m up to or interested in. :)

So now onto Project Life, one thing I’m going to keep up with for sure and continue to share.

This spread was from November 17 to 30 and included Thanksgiving. I decided right away to do an insert for the holiday so I wouldn’t be jamming in the photos.

On the left side I have Liam’s 10-month update, a few cute snapshots, and journaling about one of our Saturdays.

Then on the right is a photo from David’s grandfather’s second 90th birthday family dinner, a selfie of me & Liam, Meredith at the dentist, and her posing outside. The journaling is more on dealing with Liam’s constant sickness (although thankfully he has remained well for the last week!).

I like this cute card and the sentiment “happy thoughts” was what I wanted to have regarding the situation. :)

Now onto the Thanksgiving insert:

For a title I just stamped onto cardstock and adhered it to a photo of our tabletop. Simple journaling about the day underneath, then a picture of the whole extended family.

The back is just more cute photos of the kids. Little details:

Here I stamped on a label and put it directly on the page protector.

And I added a tab like I do with all my inserts.

That’s that! I was wondering, what are your memory-keeping plans for 2015? Anyone thinking of starting for the first time?

December 10, 2014
favorite things giveaway blog hop! (closed)
As a thank you to our readers and in celebration of the season for giving, I’m happy to be joining with a bunch of other bloggers to give away a bundle of my favorite things. Each of us put together our own gifts, so once you’re done here be sure to visit their blogs and enter for a chance to win there too.

Here is what I’m giving away:
- One of my favorite books, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- A reusable coffee cup
- And a reusable handmade coffee sleeve for when you forget the cup at home
- Amazing handmade bar soap from a local company, in my favorite vanilla orange scent
- Two sets of alphabet stamps (upper and lower case)
- The best pen ever, plus two refills (seriously this pen makes me excited to journal)
- A year-long subscription to HGTV magazine, the only one I will actually read each month instead of let pile up
Ready to enter? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I would love to hear about how your family does Christmas gifts, or what your go-to gift is for coworkers, neighbors, teachers, etc.

The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, December 9 and is USA only.

Remember, visit these lovely blogs to see what they are giving away!

1. Ellie: Ellie Petrov / 2. Sarah: Beauty School Dropout / 3. Shelly: DIY Mama / 4. Karen: Book Delight / 5. Lisa: Expandng / 6. Dean: Mrs. AOK / 7. Jana: Jana Says / 8. NJ: A Cookie Before Dinner
December 3, 2014
texas style council 2015 : i’m going!

I just had to devote an entire post to the fact that I’m planning to attend my first ever blog conference in March of 2015, Texas Style Council.

Going to a blog conference is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile. I really want to meet some people and learn some things! However, having little kids and budgeting constraints have prevented me from going until now.

I actually know the founder of Texas Style Council! We met in Austin through a mutual friend many years ago and I’ve been following her online ever since. The conference took a hiatus last year and this year has been totally revamped. It’s not going to be one of those flashy things at a hotel (although that might be fun, too). The theme is CAMP: create a meaningful presence. And it’s at a camp, literally.

I pretty much love everything about the new theme. The camping, the focus on presence and story and community, the smaller number of attendees (275), the speakers, the fact that it’s within driving distance from me and that all meals are included (SUCH a great deal). I even signed up to volunteer to set up and tear down, because an introvert like me will appreciate that extra level of involvement, plus a chance to make some connections before plunging in.

Liam will be 14 months old when I leave him for the first time, and I’ll be gone for 4 nights. I’ll be able to pump and store milk at the conference. I’m sure I will be incredibly sad (at first), but I think it’ll be easier with the second kid; I didn’t leave Meredith overnight until she was 28 months old.

Anyway! I’m super excited and I just wanted to throw this out there to see if any of you might be able to go as well, and in hopes of connecting with some of the other attendees. And if you’ve ever been to a blog conference, how did it go? Give me your wisdom!

November 13, 2014