Life's worth living.

Coming at you earlier than normal this month and proud of myself for writing my November blog in the actual month of November. Go me.  While I could easily go for the cliché blog post of gratitude and thankfulness in the month of November, I think I’ll talk about body fat instead. Lol What a goon. I’ve been thinking a lot about weight and bodies and fat and muscle and I feel like I’ve been learning a lot that I want to share. Hopefully it’s relatable and encouraging and slightly entertaining for you dear reader.  At the beginning of the summer I joined a new gym in Waterloo called Numa. It’s been such a blessing to me for many reasons. First of all, it gave me an opportunity to exercise with my mom and sister. Elizabeth and I are pretty competitive with each other and working out together is motivating and fun. Whenever we’re next to each other, we always seem to be the loudest in the room and it’s slightly embarrassing but also really funny. I’ll admit it here just for her, she is str

  October  Here we are. October is over. What a beautiful month it has been. October might just be my favorite month of the year. The colors. The wind. The coolness. October is fun and beautiful and exhilarating. It’s been all those things for me too.  This month brought big changes in the small parts of my heart. New and wonderful feelings of love have been stirring in my heart like the golden leaves were stirring through the crisp October air. Precious moments and extreme thankfulness have filled these days.  I have so much to say, but don't know how to say any of it. I’ve been wracking my brain to find a way to share my thoughts, but I can't seem to find the words. So I’ll just let it be.  One thing I do want to say is that God continues to demonstrate His goodness and mercy in my life. He is faithful and kind and full of compassion towards me. He can be all those things for you too.  I leave October with deep gratitude and hopeful expectation for an even better November. 

September is over people. I can't really wrap my head around that. The days seem long and the weeks go on forever, but in a blink, I’m turning my calendar to the next page. How crazy.  September was good to me. Another great month. There was a lot of work, a lot of love, and a lot of wishing the temperature was cooler. But I look back on September with gratitude.  Honestly, I’m not really sure what to write about here for September. Last month’s blog felt big and slightly dramatic (I know, that’s shocking coming from me), and this month, I’m feeling the pressure to level up in some way. But here I am, 7:00 am on October 1st, trying to come up with something beautiful or profound to share about September, and I can't. And maybe that’s ok. Maybe sometimes we unintentionally look for the big moments to give us some sort of significance or purpose. And we can often feel this weird sense of not-really-living unless we have something major to post about, talk about, or think about. B

  August Here we are people. The end of another month. Well actually the start of a new month because I am queen procrastinator and I’ve had a lot going on. Sorry not sorry. It still counts.  When I think of August I think of hellos and goodbyes.  This month I said goodbye to the carefree version of myself who only really had to deal with my own concerns and problems. That side of me is delightful, let me tell you. I was so relaxed all summer. In saying goodbye to that version of myself, I said hello to Ms. Bandy, the school social worker, whose job essentially is to carry the concerns and problems of 400+ students. Of course I know it’s not my burden to carry alone - I couldn't make it if it was - but dealing with challenging behaviors, unstable emotions, and family crises are normal parts of my days now. It’s the job I want. And the job I love. But it has been an adjustment shifting that weight and responsibility back onto my shoulders. I couldn't go further in this moment wi

Summer is coming to an end and I can feel myself fighting it!!! I know I said this last month, but I’ve seriously had the BEST summer and I’m so so sad it’s almost over. I love my job. So much. But dang do I love summer break even more.  I literally got off the plane this morning from the best beach vacation ever so I’m still coming down from that post vacation bliss! My friend and I went to visit some other friends in Florida for almost a week and it was such a relaxing and refreshing time. I’ve always loved lounging at the beach but for some reason this go around, I didn't want to get out of the water. I felt so free and so happy swimming around out there like a big goober. Being in the ocean feels vulnerable and exhilarating at the same time.  I’d say the lesson I’ve learned/am learning in July is to shake things up a bit. I’ve realized I’ve become extremely set in my ways. I have created a life that I love but I need to guard against too much comfort. I can get settled down dee

Well. It’s July 1st so I missed the cut off for my June blog. And truthfully, I don’t have much to say about June. It was a wonderful month but a very low-key month. I mostly lived a slow paced life. It’s been exactly the month I’ve needed and wanted.   Slow and restful and calm.  Don’t get me wrong, I definitely did stuff this month too! I’ve been able to spend tons of quality time with my family plus I got to spend time with a handful of friends that I don’t often see. I also had some out of the norm adventures that were very enjoyable. I’ve met new people and visited with friends I’ve had for years. There has been a lot of sweetness in my little corner of the world this month.  I joined a new gym so I’ve been doing that five or six days a week. Which has been good for me too. It feels like a move in the right direction.  I accomplished my goal for the month which was to get 10,000 steps every day. I set that goal because I know I am feeling lazy and in the summer I could easily just