Sleep is a wonderful thing

Something miraculous happened last night. I went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake up until after 6:30am when Eli woke up hungry. As if that weren't amazing enough, he went back to sleep for a good hour and a half after that.

I can't tell you how wonderful this was. 

Eli hasn't always been a terrible sleeper. There were a couple months where he would at least give us a solid 5-6 hours straight, but lately he's been waking up more often than I really care to discuss. It's been lousy. I've been exhausted. My house has been suffering. And I've been feeling grouchy and overwhelmed. 

Until this morning. 

When I woke up this morning, birds and angels started singing when I realized it wasn't some unholy hour like usualy. I felt like a brand new woman! For the first time in a long time I woke up feeling motivated and ready to go. And this is what I did with all that energy:

• Got dressed and ready for the day before Eli woke up
• Ate breakfast
• Did a load of dishes
• Went to Home Depot for supplies for my Etsy shop, which has been keeping me very busy lately... yay!
• Put Eli down for a nap
• Sanded and prepped Etsy signs 
• Replied to emails and messages 
• Threw together a terrible lunch since I lost track of time... but hey, we ate something! Even though it may or may not have been leftover mashed potatoes, some frozen waffles, and blackberries. (Note: must go grocery shopping tomorrow.)
• Mailed off most of our Christmas cards
• Mailed off Etsy packages
• Put Eli down for another nap
• Stained a bunch of signs
• Baked up some of the peanut butter kiss cookie dough that was left over from last night... YUM
• Ate too many cookies and watched some episodes of The Mindy Project
• Did not make dinner (see above) (hashtag: #noregrets)
• Cleaned the almost all the carpets upstairs
• Wrote this blog post 

I feel so accomplished. It's amazing what a difference it makes to be well-rested, because I'm pretty sure I got more done today than I did all last week. (Seriously though.) And now I am going to sleep and pray that Eli does too! (Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeaaaaase!)

On making happiness

Of all the lessons I've learned in life thus far, I think one of the most important ones has been learning how to be happy. Lately I've really begun to understand that happiness is almost always the result of your own actions and choices. It isn't something you should just wait for, hoping it will be delivered to your doorstep wrapped in silver paper. It's something you have to make for yourself.

Being happy has been a bit harder for me sometimes after having Eli. I know I had post-partum depression which made for a lot of very difficult days, and even now – 7.5 months later – I still have moments when it comes back a little bit, but thankfully not very often. I'm pretty sure I don't have depression (meaning MDD), but at times it is easy to fall into a rut that is difficult for me to escape from. On the bright side, I'm figuring out how to avoid that, and I've been doing really well lately. Yippee!

For me personally, here are some things essential to my daily happiness:

• A hot shower. Ideally a long one, but even five minutes is enough to improve my mood.
• Getting out of the house, at least every other day, even if that just means a walk around the block.
• Speaking of walking, I have to get some kind of exercise. Walking, pretending I am a runner (also known as pretty much walking. It's a struggle.), and yoga are my current exercises of choice. I notice a huge difference in my mood when I don't do something active. Even walking around the store helps!
• Eating well. Junk food makes me feel gross and grumpy. The more fresh fruits, veggies, and water I consume, the better I feel.
• But I also believe in balance, and that a few chocolate chips or a spoonful of ice cream can go a loooooong way. Amen. ;)
• Getting sleep. I get what I can, which hasn't been that great lately, but I think it's getting better! I only had to get up once last night! Hopefully I don't jinx it.
• Doing something for someone else. Usually this tends to be focused on Eli and Dallin, but I'm trying to be more aware of people outside my family. Making other people happy always makes me happy.
• Personal scripture study and prayer. Can I be honest for a second? Ever since Eli was born I have been lousy at reading the scriptures on my own. Dallin and I are pretty consistent about reading a chapter together at night, but lately that's all I've been doing. Same story with prayer. When I really take the time to study and ponder and sincerely pray, my day is so much better... every single time. I'm improving in this area, but I still have a long way to go! How do you remember to read? What time usually works best for you? I could use some suggestions in this area!

Well, there you have it. There are a few of the things I do to be happy. It's been working for me... what works for you?

And just because we all know I can't resist posting pictures of my favorite little babe:

Oh that boy. He makes me happy and drive me bonkers all at the same time.

This makes it worth it

Eli has started sleeping much better lately, usually around 5-7 hours of solid sleep a night before waking up to eat. I'm starting to feel a little more human, and I'm very thankful for that!

He sleeps in his bouncer (it's the only comfortable position with his cast) in our room, but in the morning I often pull him into our bed so I can nurse him laying down, and then I keep him there because he is so snuggly and sweet that I don't want to put him back. 

I mean, just look at him. 

I love to snuggle up close with my nose to his head so I can soak up that sweet baby smell and kiss his soft little cheeks. And when I look over and see my other handsome boy sleeping next to me, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to have them both and it makes me so happy.

Even though I'm exhausted and stressed, and being a new mom is really hard sometimes, I find that all those things leave my mind when I make sure to enjoy peaceful moments like this when they come. 

And they always come, especially just when I feel like I'm about to go bonkers. Thank the heavens above for that.

Signs of spring

Spring will always be my favorite season. I love the sweetness in the air and how suddenly everything seems like it is in bloom. A couple days ago I took advantage of a sleepy baby to snap some pictures of the signs of spring around these parts.

Blossoms are my favorite.

I'm really good at killing plants, but so far these daffodils (above) and tulips (below) that I planted in the fall are growing well! Fingers crossed that they survive me long enough to bloom.

My lilacs are just about to bloom!

The bees love the blossoms on my neighbor's crab-apple tree almost as much as I do.

Happy first second day of spring! ;)

Eli's Birth Story

Once upon a time, I had a baby.

Before I forget the details I wanted to write Eli's birth story down. I thought I'd post it here too. 

My goal for childbirth (besides the obvious #1 priority of getting my baby here safely) was to have a positive birth experience. I didn't want to remember giving birth as traumatic or scary... I wanted it to be a happy thing. Because of this, I chose to give birth naturally if at all possible, meaning without any drugs to either speed up labor or relieve pain. I've always been a little anxious about childbirth and I felt most comfortable with this approach. Call me a hippie if you like... you won't be the first or the last to do so. ;)

I woke up the morning of the 20th with a contraction. I'd been having them every evening for several days and this one wasn't much different than the ones I'd had already, except for the fact that it was in the morning. That was a little out of the ordinary, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I was a few days past my due date and really wanting to get labor started naturally before the induction I had scheduled for Tuesday morning. Going into labor on Thursday would be so perfectly timed in every way that I was sure it couldn't really be happening, so I just went back to sleep and tried not to think about it too much. After about an hour, however, they started to get stronger and were a little uncomfortable... something I had yet to experience with any of my previous contractions.

After an hour or so they had become quite a bit more uncomfortable, so I hopped in the shower in hopes that the hot water would help me relax. Oh, it felt so good. I stayed in there for a long, long time just soaking it up. At this point, I figured he would probably be born late that night or (more likely) sometime the next morning. My contractions were getting closer together and a little more uncomfortable, but if I lay on my side and breathed deeply I still felt pretty good.

Dallin came home for lunch (and brought me some delicious soup... bless that man) and we decided that he should go back to work and finish out the day. I still thought I had quite a bit of time before things would really start happening, and I didn't want to show up to the hospital until I needed to so I could labor at home for as long as possible. But after he left, things really started picking up. My contractions became quite a bit more intense and close together, and I had to really focus on breathing and relaxing during contractions. After an hour I texted Dallin and he ended up coming home soon after that.

Dallin gave me a priesthood blessing, and then we left for the hospital around 2:45, and about halfway there I started freaking out a bit. Wait a second, am I really ready to go to the hospital? Am I going too soon? Am I really having a baby?? I asked Dallin to pull into the church parking lot for a minute so I could make up my mind. Two intense contractions later my mind was quite firmly made up and we were zipping back to the hospital.

We headed into the hospital, rang the doorbell at the labor and delivery wing (Nurse: "Hi, can I help you?" Dallin: "Yes, we'd like to have a baby."), and headed in. They took me into a room, hooked me up to some monitors, checked my progress (4-5cm and 60% effaced) and then admitted me.

Things were really starting to pick up when I got to the delivery room. I had to sign a bunch of papers (quite the trick when you're contracting, lemme tell ya), and once that nonsense was over with one of the nurses suggested that I bounce on a birthing ball. I tried that for a minute but didn't stay there long. I was most comfortable laying on my side, eyes closed, with Dallin close by, and that is how I labored for... well, however long I was there. Time wasn't really on my mind at this point. Everything in me was focused on breathing deeply, relaxing every muscle, and allowing my body to do what it needed to do.

I'm amazed at how peaceful I felt during this time. My contractions were quite intense, but I always felt like I could manage the pain. Honestly, I'd describe labor as uncomfortable, intense, and exhausting more than painful. The name is fitting, I think. Labor is just that... labor. I'm not saying it didn't hurt, because it certainly did, but it was a different kind of pain than I've ever experienced. I suppose it's just something you have to feel yourself to understand. It was really something else to lay there, completely focused inward, feeling myself get closer and closer to meeting my baby with every contraction. The human body amazes me. 

After a little while, maybe an hour or hour and a half, my contractions started to feel different. You know that feeling in your gut when you're crying, like really crying, or when you sneeze? How your abs tighten up? That's how it felt. When I realized what was going on -- that I was feeling the urge to push -- I tried to explain how I was feeling to a nurse. She didn't really believe me at first, but one of the other nurses checked my progress just to be sure. Lo and behold, I was already 9+ centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. Everyone started running around getting things ready. I guess none of us were expecting to have a baby show up so soon, especially not me! It wasn't until now that I learned that they had not been able to reach my doctor. They tried calling her again (and finally got a hold of her this time, thank the heavens above) and told me not to push... as if that were possible. There was no stopping it at that point. Thankfully, my doctor wasn't very far away and got to the hospital pretty quickly, suited up, and within a couple minutes I was squatting at the end of the bed ready to begin pushing in earnest.

I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea that things were really happening, that my baby was really almost here, but once I started pushing everything became very real. My focus shifted from working through my contractions to working with them to push him out. I pushed really hard for what I think was 20 minutes or so, and little baby Eli James was born February 20 at 5:53pm, a little under 3 hours after we got to the hospital, and around 10.5 hours after I went into labor. He weighed 7lbs 12oz, measures 18 3/4 inches long, and scored a perfect 10 on the APGAR test. 

They put him on my chest right away and Dallin cut the cord. Holding Eli's warm little body close to me and looking at his perfect little face was the best feeling in the whole world. Nothing compares to the happiness, relief, and contentment I felt when they put him in my arms. 

These two boys have my heart. I love them more than I could ever say.

We were pretty tired. Can you tell? ;)

And isn't this wee man-child the cutest thing you've ever seen?

1 day old

5 days old

5 days old

I'm definitely not biased or anything, either.

Welcome to the world, baby Eli! We love you so much already. 

Also, if you were to decide to start sleeping a little more at night, we wouldn't object. Just saying. 

Two

Two years ago today this handsome man and I got hitched. 

Cliché as it sounds, I don't know how I got so lucky. He makes me happier every day. 

When I was engaged, and for a little while after we got married, so many people gave me marriage tips or advice. I remember hearing lots of them say that things get really hard after a few months or a year, once the "honeymoon is over," but man... it just keeps getting better. I don't know if it's something we're doing right, or if we just happen to get along remarkably well. Most likely it's a little bit of both. All I know is that just when I think I couldn't possibly be any happier, somehow every day I am... and it's all his fault. ;) 

Happy anniversary, my dulcet darling! I'm so glad you are mine.

Warm Fuzzies

Christmas is just a few days away... yippee! This has always been my favorite holiday. Everything about just makes me happy inside.

Unfortunately, it seems like there hasn't been enough "warm fuzzies" going around the interwebz lately. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be thinking about happy, Christmas-y, festive goodness than all the controversial topics that have become the focus the past couple weeks. Thus, here are some of the things that have been giving me the warm fuzzies recently, just in case you need something to get you in the Christmas spirit too. 

1. Dallin sung in our former ward today so I went as well. In that ward, there is a sweet boy who has Down's syndrome that was ordained a deacon not long before we were called to the Spanish branch. One of the duties of being a deacon is passing the sacrament, and it melts my heart to see one of his fellow deacons gently guiding him around the chapel with his arm over his shoulder so he can participate. It always makes me think of Christ and how he helps me handle things that I can't do alone. I love it.

2. This video. If this doesn't make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, you just might be the Grinch himself.

Life is so much better when you are kinder to people around you, whether you think you deserve it or not, and is there any better way to get in the spirit of Christmas than that? 

3. Ingrid Michaelson's version of "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It's chock full of happiness. (I'm not sure how legit this website is, but you can listen to it here)

4. Baby boy's wild movements are becoming more recognizable, like maybe there is actually a baby in there instead of an octopus (whew!). It's starting to sink in that he is coming very soon, ready or not. I'm so excited. Whenever I think about this wee babe of mine and how blessed I feel to be pregnant (something I wasn't sure I would get to experience), I get overwhelmed with happiness. Life is so very good. I can't wait for next Christmas, when there will be three of us instead of two.

5. This, which might be my very favorite Christmas song.

I especially love these lines:

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

I'm so thankful for my Savior. He means everything to me, and I owe all the happiness, hope, and peace in my life to him. Even though I know I could never repay him for what he does for me, I know I can at least try to help those around me and become a better person, and isn't that what this season is all about? (That, and cookies. Always cookies. The end.)

Have a merry little Christmas! 

Here.

I haven't always kept a journal, but over the years I've collected quite a few of them. Today I was organizing a bookshelf that mostly has my books on it, including quite a few of those journals. I ended up doing a lot more sitting on my haunches reading through them than organizing.

Annnd... I'm okay with that. 

These particular journals cover bits and pieces of my life from when I was 10 years old until just before I left for Russia at age 19. Those nine years held a lot of adventures and challenges that shaped me into the person I am now. I started out as a stubborn tomboy of a 10-year-old, then stumbled through my difficult (and very character defining) teenage years, discovered what a wonderful place college can be, and then fell for the man I would later marry, all in those nine years.

Flipping through the pages of the journals took me back and reminded me of what a surprise my life has turned out to be. I would never have guessed that I would be where I am now. It's quite a bit different than the plans I made when I was a little 18-year-old. I thought I was so wise then, but little did I know what was in store for me, namely a dashing young(ish) man named Dallin and a game of ultimate frisbee that would end up taking my life in a different direction that I planned.

My life has not turned out as I expected, and every day I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful for the prayers that were not answered the way I wanted, the life plans that fell through, and the unexpected changes that landed me where I am now. I know I owe my happiness to failed plans and letting myself take chances.

During lunch today, when I was snuggled up to that husband of mine with my head on his chest and our little son kicking in my belly, I couldn't help but feel grateful. Grateful to be here.

Here, with a husband that is my bestest friend and makes me happier every day.

At the Mesa Temple a couple months ago.

Here, with a wee man-child that we get to meet in about 13 short weeks.

26 weeks

Here, living a life that is perfect for me. 

I think this picture that I posted on Instagram a couple days ago sums life lately up pretty well.

Here's the caption:

"I wanted to take a "baby bump" picture and started moving all the clutter out of the frame, but then I realized that sometimes "clutter" tells a story. So... here I am with le bump wrapped in my favorite comfy sweater, paint samples/masking tape on the wall, the one closet door (of four) that has made it back upstairs since I refinished them, a bunk bed waiting to be moved downstairs, bags of baby clothes from my mom, and the ipad I was using to prepare tomorrow's seminary lesson. 

Life is messy and imperfect, but oh so good."

(Most of this was written yesterday but didn't have time to post it until today, just FYI)

I love Sister Hinckley.

Yesterday, I had a quote in my head from Marjorie Pay Hinckley, who is the wife of my church's previous president, Gordon B. Hinckley. She passed away in 2004, and he was reunited with her in 2008.

I absolutely adore them both. They are such beautiful examples of happy lives and a happy marriage. 

Ah! I can't handle it. They are too adorable.

Anyway, as I was saying, I had this quote come to my mind, and I looked it up so I could share it on instagram. 

 

 

While I was looking it up, I found a plethora of quotes by her, some that I had heard before and some that were new, and I spent some time reading through them. I have some things on my mind this week that have been stressing me out a bit, and some of the quotes by her were just what I needed to hear. I love her way with words and spunky personality. Here are a few of my favorites:

“The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either 

have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” 

“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” 

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!” 

“We are His children, and if we ever got that through our heads thoroughly, understood that completely, we would never do a small thing, we would never say a cross word, we would not use bad language, we would not criticize anybody, we would love everyone the way the Savior loves us.” 

Isn't she the best? I want to be just like her when I grow up.

P.S. Please tell me you thought of The Three Amigos when I used the word "plethora". If not, you should click here to be enlightened. ;)

P.P.S. Happy Friday! Yippee!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus

I love the mountains. As much as I love to travel, mountains will always be home to me. 

And although I love my mountains all year long, there's something especially beautiful about how fall turns the quivering aspen leaves to gold. It's my favorite. :)

I made it up here just in time... a cold, wet storm blew in last night and these aspen are probably crusted in snow and ice right now and I don't think they will last much longer. I'm glad I got to enjoy it first! With Arizona's unpredictable weather it can be really easy to miss. Trust me, I've done it many times. I was especially glad I made it this year so I could play around with my new-ish camera. I'm becoming more and more familiar with manual mode and almost never switch back to automatic, although I still need lots of practice. Anyone want to volunteer their faces for me to shoot instead of trees? ;) 

(P.S. I'm serious, especially if you live nearby! Free pictures, anyone?)

Anyway, happy October! Can you believe it is already the tenth? Time is going by so quickly! It's going to be November before I know it, and then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and then February will be just around the corner... and we'll have a baby! But for now I am just going to enjoy this beautiful fall weather and not think about how soon February is going to get here... or how much I need to get done before it does.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

-Anne Shirley

"You will always look lovely"

Have you ever known someone that just always seems to look happy? Or seen someone at the store that has a glowing expression on their face? 

When I think of happy-looking people, I think of those I know that consistently have good, happy thoughts. They are the kind of people that have trained themselves to banish negative, judgmental, or otherwise bad thoughts from their minds. And it shows. You can tell they are happy inside. That's the kind of person I want to be

I think Roald Dahl summed it up pretty well in this quote, which has been my favorite for a long time.

"If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of

your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

-Roald Dahl

I wanted this to be in my house as a reminder, so I made a little printable to frame. I'm not a pro, but it is fun to play around especially when I actually make something that I like enough to display! 

If you want to use it, feel free to download by left-clicking the image to enlarge and right-clicking to save. 

I also made these versions, and even though I don't like them as much I thought I'd include them too in case someone else does. :) Which of the three is your favorite?

5 happy thoughts

Because sometimes writing them down makes them come into my head, and if we're being honest there aren't very many happy thoughts in my head at the moment as I lay in bed grouchy, sick, and tired.

1. I will be sleeping in my own bed tonight! This babysitting gig has been (for the most part, as seen by my last post) easier and more fun than I was anticipating, but 10 days is a long time to live in someone else's house and it will be nice to get back to normal life.

2. I married a keeper. He really is the best. Patient, sweet, and always making me laugh. I can't believe he was crazy enough to want to marry this crazy goof of a redhead, but I'm sure glad he did!

3. One of the little girls in the family we've been watching loves to come up, pat my belly, and say, "Hi baby" several times a day. She is also really excited to find out whether it is a boy or girl (as am I!) and has made me promise to text her mom when I find out in a few weeks so she can tell her. It is adorable. I might have to sneak her home with us tonight. Her parents won't notice, right?

4. It's Friday! I get my husband all to myself for the next couple of days! Yippee!

5. My almost 2-year-old sister makes my little heart melt every time she tells me "Lah-loo" (Love you) on the phone. She is pretty stinking cute. (And I'm not biased or anything....)

Funny to look back at these happy thoughts and see exactly what is on my mind... sleep, husband, and babies/kids. Must be pregnant or something... eh? :)

On an unrelated note, you should watch this. And all the other Kid Snippets while you're at it, because they are hilarious. Almost as hilarious as listening to the youngest kid we are watching start quoting lines from it at random and then bust up laughing. THE BEST.



Happy Friday!

Exciting news!

Just in case you haven't heard the news already...

...we've got a bun in the oven, coming February 2014!

We're pretty dang excited. We've been looking forward to it for a while, but now that it is actually here it's kind of hard to believe that there's a mini human being hidden inside my expanding midsection. A MINI HUMAN BEING, GUYS. 

And you know what? That's kind of rad. 

Even if said mini human being likes to turn me into a narcoleptic. A constantly peeing, always hungry, emotional, sometimes nauseated, pimply, narcoleptic, hot mess of a woman that doesn't want to do anything but eat, sleep, and watch Parks and Rec/The Office/Monk (again) on Netflix. 

All day, erryday.

And yet, I'm feeling very, very happy and thankful to be able to take on this crazy adventure. This might be a little personal, but I wasn't entirely sure I would be able to have kids, so we're both feeling very blessed indeed. Here's to a healthy pregnancy!

Before I finish up I just have to say that I really, really got lucky when it comes to that husband of mine. Not only does he put up with sharing a house with a psycho pregnant lady, he has been taking such good care of me by doing dishes, making me food when my stomach is wonky, giving me extra snuggles when he can tell I'm feeling blue, teaching seminary for me today (oh yeah, I'm still teaching this semester!), and just being sweet, supportive, and wonderful in general. 
I'll keep him, I s'pose. ;)

We are cheeseballs. Also, thanks to my lovely mama for the pictures!

Summer, slushies, and sunsets

I haven't been in the blogging mood much lately. It's not due to a lack of time; in fact maybe the overabundance of free time I've had lately is making me feel a little... blah.

Seminary starts in two weeks, and although that partially makes me freak out a little bit with all the things I need to do to prepare, I'm also looking forward to having something to occupy my time. And trust me, seminary is very good at that, meaning I will probably be whining about how stressed and busy I am in a few months. (Go ahead, judge me. DO IT.) Also, fun fact: I accidentally wrote "busty" instead of "busy" at first and it made me giggle.

Moving on.

Summer is in full swing at our humble abode. Here's some of the signs of summer around these parts:

• Slushie/vanilla malt/oreo mcflurry runs. All day erryday. Sometimes I feel bad when I go on one of these runs when Dallin is at work, but clearly not bad enough to stop it. (Sorry babe!)
• Never wearing pants (or any other unnecessary layers) in the house if I can help it. It gets too dang hot to keep them on! Unfortunately, the UPS man seems to time his stops at our house perfectly with No Pants Time, so I've started keeping an emergency pair of shorts around just in case after having an awkward experience in which I hid behind the couch after we had made eye contact. Because I'm that smooth and totally not a weirdo at all. (False!) 
• Spending lots of time downstairs, where it is much cooler. Unfortunately since this is where our TV is I usually end up wasting too much time vegging out on the couch. Working on that. (which is why I'm blogging as I sit on said couch watching TV... because somehow that makes it okay, right? Right!)
• Thoroughly enjoying afternoon monsoons. One of my favorite things about living in AZ! I absolutely love how it makes my house smell.
• Eating outside on our brand new deck furniture! We got this a few days ago and I might not eat inside ever again. 

We live on a bit of a hill, so the view from our deck involves surprisingly few houses, and lots of trees, peeks of distant mountains, and a painted sky every evening at sunset. Last night was especially beautiful, and the fact that it was lightly raining, our bellies were full of our amazing homemade pizza, and I had that cute husband of mine holding my hand made it the best.

I'm looking forward to many more lovely summer (and fall and winter and spring) evenings with him. He makes my life pretty darn happy indeed.

Better enjoy the beautiful summer while it lasts... I am not ready to trade my summer wardrobe of t-shirts/sweats for dresses/skirts once seminary starts, but I guess I'll probably survive. Wish me luck! ;)

Happy places, fresh air, and Lao Tzu

I have a lot of happy places. Here's a few for example:

1. Anywhere that I have a Ben & Jerry's carton in hand

2. Thrift stores

3. Snuggling with my husband

4. Not doing the dishes (I'm at this particular happy place a lot lately)

5. Reading

One of my number one happy places, however, involves cool weather, tall trees, green things, and fresh air. It's even better when there happens to be a quaint little mountain stream involved. 

A few weeks ago I was feeling quite cranky and restless. A little adventure with my camera was just what I needed to cheer up. Something about cold water on my bare toes, warm sun on my cheeks, and the smell of trees, creek, and growing things always lifts my spirits. It's home to me.

Accidentally discovering one of these dead bugs with my hand was not my favorite part of the trip.
*crunch*

The older I get, the more I realize the importance of technology-free, distraction-free, quiet time. Time to think, to be still, and to ponder on the things that are important to me. I think the art of stillness, peace, and quiet is being lost in "bigger, faster, stronger" tone of the world, but I believe there are few things better for the soul than just that: stillness, peace, and quiet. 

Even just a few minutes every day in one of my happy places, whether it be one of the ones I mentioned above, or something like reading my scriptures, listening to or playing music, taking a walk, or just sitting on my doorstep makes a huge difference for me. 

What's your happy place? 

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

-Lao Tzu