The Everyday: Week Three

The past few weeks we have been all over the place. I blink and the weekend is upon us most days. There have been many hours spent at the office, on site photographing a property, editing photos until I feel like my eyeballs are going to give up, and soaking in new baby time with Gunnar and hanging out with our ever-growing, awesome kid. Life is good. Things are happening, good things that I can't wait to talk about in blog land. It's all happening.

Editing until I can't edit anymore. 

Essentials. 

Sir Geoffrey. 

I see a lot of early mornings these days.

Taking time away in Estes. 

Breathe. 

Super greasy hair. Don't care!

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." Anne of Green Gables. 

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Little Gunnar Nolan

New, awesome beginnings. So proud of this mama. 

The Everyday

I want to make a point to capture moments throughout our week, however mundane or extraordinary. This also forces me to take my camera with me more often instead of using my iPhone to take pictures all of the time. These are little moments. I want to remember each and every one for what they are and what we felt during that small sliver of time. Time is fleeting. 

(Sweet potato tots can cure all things.) 

(A new experience. Solid-ish foods.) 

(The sun on my face, the grass underneath my feet.) 

(How I've been beginning every morning.)

(unclear vision) 

(A promise and declaration. No turning back now.) 

(Early morning storms.) 

Currently Clicking: Week #23

Each and every week, I gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. This week we are reaching deep into how to live an exceptional life and have gratitude. There's a new coffee house in town that I didn't know about. I am thinking about baby proofing and trying to find ways to make it look better. Then, of course, I've thrown in a cookie recipe, because why not? 

1. I think this is a reminder that all of us need sometimes, especially when life isn't full of adventure but is full of routine and putting down roots somewhere. How to live an exceptional life, even when life doesn't feel exceptional. 
2. On the same track, wasting time is not something I am fond of. I have had many an afternoon wasting away in front of the television,  binge watching Netflix. Don't Waste A Moment. 
3. First of all, I love coffee. Second of all, I had no idea this coffee house even existed in my own backyard. I think what they are doing is neat. Colorado Coffee Shop Employing Homeless People Is 'Opening Up the Eyes' of Its Community.  I will need to go check it out sometime. 
4. Before we know it, our little gal will be mobile. I think baby gates are necessary but not very cool looking, decor wise. Here is a DIY red door, baby gate. I think it's great! 
5. These chocolate dipped, peanut butter cookies look great! 
6. A shift in perspective is always good. We can get caught in stuff that really just doesn't matter. Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt. 

Highs and Lows

I was planning on posting a home design piece today, but something told me to just sit down and write instead. The few people that actually read this blog (thank you, by the way) usually end up reading my more intimate posts than the ones about my favorite cleaning product. So here you go. 

Yesterday was a bit of a challenge. It presented its highs and lows and I tried to take them on with ease and clarity. Motherhood really doesn't function that way, so I am learning, ever......so......slowly....... I caught myself yesterday trying to get through my to do list but then telling myself to sit down, chill out, and nurse your baby. Relish the moment. Be ALL there. Don't think about the laundry that needs to be folded or the fact that I've been trying to workout for the past week and have failed miserably. Don't think about the extra weight around my middle section or how I just don't feel too sexy at the moment. Don't think about the ice cream in the freezer that I don't need to be eating right now. Just don't think. Relish. Soak. 

Marin has been on a growth spurt, as mentioned in my previous post. She has been fussier than usual and seems to think I am ready and willing to nurse her every second of every day. I know this will pass at some point, but I feel fairly tied down at the moment. In these moments, I am forced to reevaluate my to do list and adjust accordingly. 

As far as the lows from yesterday go....

I had finally taken a shower, probably around 2pm. No shame. Once my hair was actually blow-dried and I had on something other than my pjs, I knew we needed to get out of the house, even for a little drive. The weather was INCREDIBLE. 70 degrees and lovely. I had one goal in my mind: an iced latte from the Starbucks drive thru. Driving always calms down baby and I didn't mind taking a little excursion. We went through the drive thru. I was stoked. The simple things are the things you have to reach out for every once in a while. My thing yesterday was an iced latte. 

We made it home, Marin sleeping peacefully in her carseat. I went to take a drink of my beverage and realized that they had given me a very wrong order. I ordered a iced, skinny, 1 pump hazelnut latte. So, in other words, I want a latte with a little, little, little bit of syrup. That's how I roll. Well, I went to take a sip and almost spit it out all over myself. I read the label and it stated that I had been given an iced, skinny, 13 pump hazelnut latte. First of all, who in their right mind orders 13 pumps of syrup (sorry if that's you, but ick)?!!? Major bummer. I can't believe I didn't notice it until then. So, after I managed to get myself and the baby out for a while, I came home with a completely undrinkable drink. I was so not winning. 

The rest of my afternoon was spent feeding my kid and cleaning my kitchen. Marin had calmed down quite a bit and was sleeping peacefully in her bouncer. I went to feed her again and unwrapped her from her swaddle. I was shocked to find the diaper blow out of the century. Instead of going up her backside, it had managed to travel all of the way up the front of her. She was unfazed. We hadn't had a good diaper in a while, if you know what I mean. She had clearly been saving it up for this blow out of epic proportions. I had to clean out her belly button. I bet that paints a nice picture. 

Overall, yesterday wasn't the best of days. It also wasn't the worst of days. So many things were challenging, but so many things were there to slowly continue to teach me about this thing called parenting. The one redeeming factor from yesterday was that Marin slept last night from around 10pm to almost 7am this morning. 7 am. 7 am!!!! I could hardly contain the excitement when I realized what time it was when I got up to feed her this morning. Praise the Lord! 

It's the little things. The baby that SLEEPS at night. The fact that my house is fairly clean. The weather outside has been great these past few days. The fact that I still am on maternity leave and get to spend this much time with our child. The fact that breastfeeding is still going very well. I count my blessings on that one. 

I just need to remember to soak in these moments. Soak. 

Four Years Ago, Today.

Today is a monumental day. Even in the confines of such a normal Wednesday, I find myself extremely thankful and extremely blessed. It's even raining outside right now which just adds to my love for this very moment. 

Four years ago, today, and probably close to this very time, I met my best friend. I met my mountain man. It was the week I had just moved back from the beloved northwest, setting my feet once again upon the soil in which I grew up. My life still in boxes, my heart still in Longview. It was a time filled with longing for returning to where I had been forced to grow up, to the city in which my dreams had soared and had died, only to be slowly revived again before I left. But, home called me back, even though I had no real idea as to why. 

I know now. In a week filled with tornados touching down closer than one would ever imagine in our little city, lives changed forever, mine was also changed. The day after the storm, I found myself with camera in hand, boots on my feet, and a ring in my nose: The picture of the place I had left. I can still remember the very thing I wore that day. It was before I cut all of my hair off once I became a barista and it drove me too crazy. I was wearing my deep maroon cowboy boots, skinny jeans, a t-shirt, and a brown vest. 

In an effort to keep myself occupied and keep a grasp on what little art I had the desire to create, I offered to take photos of a friend's band at Everyday Joe's. Little did I know, I would have my wedding reception within those brick walls. 

He walked in, hairy as ever. A mountain man with a full beard and ponytail. He wore a snap-button, plaid shirt and his jeans were rolled up, showing his ankles. I remember thinking how much I liked that. He wore flip flops on his feet. A mutual friend introduced us and our lives were forever changed. I also found out he was a musician and photographer.  Before that moment, I was already planning wholeheartedly on moving back to the northwest. I was miserable, I questioned everything, I wanted to be anywhere but in Fort Collins. Until that night. Hook, line, and sinker. 

I knew I would marry Ryan the day I met him. Now, we find ourselves here, May 23rd, 2012. We are almost three years into our marriage and everyday I fall even harder for him than the day before. 

We were brought together by loss, the storms that sometimes fall upon our lives, and the desire to create art and just escape reality for even just a breath of time. 

It was in the time I least expected it, I found my mountain man.