I’m excited to be featured today on a new favorite blog of mine, Delaney Paige. She has a recurring feature interviewing professionals about their jobs and creative hobbies. Kind of a perfect fit for me!
You can find me there today chatting about my job as a nurse, career advice, and how I fit personal projects into my life. Take a little time to check out her blog as well; we have so much in common that I bet you’ll love it like I do! Check out the feature here.
Here is this month’s update with my relationship to one little word (light).
I feel kind of weird discussing my spiritual “progress” or lack of, since it’s a matter of the heart. I know that my actions matter, but I am not necessarily judged by them. Anyway, in the future I might leave this section off of these monthly updates unless I really have thoughts. For now I just want to note that Scripture memory is harder than it seems, and I still believe it all comes down to prayer (which I am not very good at).
what’s been going well : I am done with long-distance races for now, and I’m pretty happy about it. David and I had a talk about health that was encouraging, and I’m hoping it leads to positive changes for our whole family.
still weighing on me : I’m in a transition phase at the moment; going from training hard for a half marathon to more of a sustainable whole-body fitness routine. I’m still figuring out what that will look like for me, but right now I’m thinking of cardio 3x per week and strength training 3x per week. Not necessarily on the same days. Once I know what’s working for me I’ll devote a post to it.
what’s been going well : Private journaling has been really helpful with decreasing the noise and chaos I sometimes feel in my mind. Now that I’ve started making nagging tasks monthly goals, I find that it’s kind of addicting to check them off and I’ve already tackled some extra ones. Our schedule has calmed down a ton and I’ve had much more time to rest and be productive.
still weighing on me : Being productive also leads to me becoming inspired to do more and more, so my list of goals becomes longer and longer. I have to struggle to be okay with projects that are in progress. I’m still somewhat stressed about finances in a big picture way, and my work PTO is at an all-time low (as in I have none).
what’s been going well : David and I had two date nights this month! We’ve also had a bunch of fun family outings. And although it’s very difficult to know how to handle Meredith’s tantrums, we started some new tactics to deal and so far it’s at least helpful to have a plan.
still weighing on me : Having a spirited, strong-willed child means I have a lot of battles in my life. I battle with her over many things, but more importantly with myself. I battle to stay patient. I battle to be compassionate with her 3-year-old struggles. I battle to stay calm and keep the anger at bay. I battle to not feel guilty over how we discipline, why she isn’t compliant, what she eats, the fact that it’s my own daughter who seemingly brings out the worst in me. I hope that she also brings out the best in me, but I don’t know. This phase of parenthood is hard.
what’s been going well : I’m slowly but surely getting caught up on projects! Having a plan and only working on one “extra” thing at a time is very helpful. (Right now it’s my Week in the Life album.) Knitting lessons are happening soon, and I’m pretty excited.
still weighing on me : Just wanting to do all the things at once! But really I’ve been in a good place with this.
In class this month we were prompted to create a vision board. I used to do projects like this back in high school and college! It was pretty fun to cut and paste things again. Here is what it looks like:
I made my board on an 18 x 24 canvas. For the scripted word “light” I got creative. I knew I wanted it on there as a title of sorts, but I don’t have a machine to do cut files. So I just printed the word out (font is Blackjack), cut it with precision scissors, traced it (mirror-image style) onto white cardstock, then cut again.
This was the only prompt in the class for February, so the album updates were minimal. I took a photo of the canvas and had it printed 8×10 to put it inside.
Then on the back I printed out this perfect word art that Ali Edwards shared on her site.
I just added a simple cork star.
Then there is this mini page which I am using to hold monthly reflection cards. I will add to this as the months go on and I may move these pages around.
That’s it for now! This is one of my favorite projects in a long time. :)
Last year I wrote a long post about all the natural personal care products that I use. Recently I’ve made a few changes and wanted to share those with you. I still stand by all the products in my original post, and if a change is not mentioned, I still use them.
Face
The only change I’ve made to my facial care is that I’m now using handmade body butter as a moisturizer at night, and in the morning too if I feel extra dry (which is often, during the winter). I also started using a tinted moisturizer
Makeup
My skin has been too dry recently to use powder foundation; all my little wrinkles were standing out clearly. I switched to Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer with spf
Right now I’m using bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara
I also added a brow pencil, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
Miscellaneous
I started using Everyone Lotion
I carry around Honest Company lip balms. Still love Lanolin but these are easier. :)
Two things I’d like to try:
1. A physical facial exfoliator, like a Clarisonic Mia
2. Lipstick! I’ve never worn it, but I think it might be fun for church and outings.
Anyone use any of these products? Anything else I should check out?
Today is my birthday! I am 33. I love the number 3 so I just know this is going to be a good year. And Meredith is excited because she thinks I’m the same age as her. ;)
I wanted to do a fun post to commemorate the day. There isn’t anything special going on because I have to work and am going to Bible study tonight; and in fact, it was a terrible morning, the worst in recent memory and I already cried once (ah parenthood!), but I am trying to move past that. Last weekend we went out to eat at Cheesecake Factory with my family, my work had a birthday lunch for me yesterday with cake, and this weekend we’ll be having a birthday dinner with David’s family. So that is all really fun.
Here are some things that were on my birthday wish list. I’m definitely not getting them all, but wanted to share regardless:
1. There are some makeup products I’ve been wanting to try. Using a gift card I purchased this mascara
2. I just really, really want to treat myself and wear amazing underwear. A set of these briefs is expensive but I’ve been saving up and I think I might take the plunge.
3. Knitting classes and supplies. I already mentioned that my mom is getting me this. It’s even more special because it’s something we will do together.
4. Earrings. I am a stud-wearing girl, but I seem to always be losing one earring so at the moment I only have a pair of gold ones that I love. I mostly wear silver though, so I really want some small studs like this.
5. Spa services. Pedicure, massage. Always appreciated.
6. A running jacket. This
I didn’t want David to really spend money on me because we are trying to be smart financially, but he did get me flowers and a super sweet card and a Starbucks gift card. He can’t help but treat me a little bit and I love him for it! What I asked for from him is for us both to take this Myers-Briggs personality type test, and then to discuss our results in depth while on a date (which is happening this weekend). I feel like we know each other pretty well, but I think this will be fascinating and informative, while also helping us communicate better and strengthen our marriage. I asked for this for my birthday so he would be sure to say yes! To me it sounds super fun, but I know he might not think so. ;)
How do you like to celebrate your birthday? I used to try to celebrate all week (a la Gilmore Girls) but it’s gotten harder to do so as I get older and have more responsibilities. But I still do love birthdays. :)
Necklace from this Etsy shop and I love it.
I am one month into the year of living with the word “light,” and I wanted to share a bit about how this process is going for me. In our prompts this month (for the class run by Ali Edwards) we set intentions and there were some suggested categories to focus on, so that’s how I’m going to structure these update posts.
what’s been going well : so far I have been keeping up with my scripture memory challenge (one verse every other week), volunteering to help out at church, being involved in our life group and my own personal Bible study.
still weighing on me : here’s the thing. Being a light and being filled with the light aren’t items you can tick off a to-do list. This is a lifelong pursuit and all I can do is try to be obedient and do better. The one thing that I really want to do better with is praying. I want praying to be such a part of my life that I do it like breathing.
what’s been going well : running has definitely been a positive part of my life. I have one more half marathon to run on February 7 and then I’m going to stick to shorter races. I hope to incorporate other forms of exercise at that time.
still weighing on me : I haven’t been curbing my sugar intake lately and I’d like to clean that up.
what’s been going well : I started personal journaling again on a private blog. I still hand write in my prayer journal sometimes, but this is much more effective for me on a daily basis. I also conquered a few nagging tasks this month.
still weighing on me : the weather wasn’t good for most of the month and it got kind of depressing. I overbooked myself for a few weeks (granted, we have six close family birthdays in January that had to be celebrated, sometimes in multiple ways). We haven’t made any progress toward paying off debt, and I am very low on PTO at work because of sicknesses.
what’s been going well : several times when I felt my patience running thin with the kids, and I could tell I was about to lose my cool, I thought to myself light light light and took a deep breath and was able to stay calm.
still weighing on me : I definitely still struggle to stay gentle with the kids, especially Meredith, since she can be so intense. David and I haven’t had a date night in quite awhile, and I am working on not taking out on him any grumpiness I may feel.
what’s been going well : I have a memory-keeping framework set in place now that makes me feel confident (will share soon) and keeping up with editing/ordering photos relieves a lot of stress. I am happy with where this blog is. I am excited about getting knitting supplies & lessons for my birthday.
still weighing on me : just being behind on projects and trying to let go of that self-imposed pressure.
Here is how my album is shaping up:
It’s an 8.5 x 11 album, and I plan to use it every year until it gets full. I’m hoping I can get 3-5 years in here.
This project is a little bit creative but mostly reflective. The album isn’t the focus but I appreciate having a place to keep all my thoughts gathered, and working on the prompts – creative or reflective – will help me keep my word in mind throughout the year.