Journaling & Memories

I have always keep a journal. When I was young it was definitely a diary and would probably make me laugh out loud if I read through some of them today. Later in college it because a sketchbook / journal. I keep everything in my sketchbooks - potential works of art with lots of words describing my thoughts and feelings at the time. The journal became a work of art in itself. Currently, my media for journal keeping is a blog. The topics revolve around my family and our adventures which is satisfy but I long for the journal topics that I would explore daily.

This longing has lead me to pick a book that I put down years ago - "Keeping a journal you love" by Sheila Bender. I was perusing the book tonight to see where I had left off. I found a note that was bookmarking the page I stopped at.

A hidden and timely treasure - The note was from James on our 5th year wedding anniversary. One - I cannot believe that I haven't touched the book in 5 years. And two - James and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a week ago. It's bizarre that I would start to think about this book and pick it almost 5 years to the date. I'm going to take this as a hint and pick my journal back up.

And, in case you were wondering, James and I had a wonderful 10th anniversary. The 10th have definitely flown by and I couldn't imagine spending it with anyone else. I'm thrilled to have this special person in my life everyday.

There's a chill in the air

It's officially good-bye to summer and hello to fall and the holidays. The leaves on the trees have been absolutely beautiful this fall which has eased me into accepting the cooler weather. I have pulled out all the long-sleeved clothes and have sported my boots around town. I found some delicious Vanilla & Cinnamon tea at Trader Joes. I think I'm ready for fall.

Updates on Goals

Back in March, I blogged about goals that I was trying to achieve for the year. As that was seven months ago, it's time for reflection.

I have to say that I have stayed true to my goals. As they have not always been top of mind, they have been quietly interwoven into my everyday.

#1 Read More - I have definitely have days when this is completely impossible. Then I have days where eating lunch at my desk just called for catching up on my subscribed blogs. I'm very picky about the blogs I follow so to ensure that I'm reading the materials that speak to me and my life. On my recent vacation to Belize, I actually finished Donald Millers, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (thoroughly enjoyed this read). I also started and finished two more books on that vacation as well (Glass Castle & Sam Kind of Different as Me – I also highly recommend these). I love tools and tech that helps me organize so I have utilized iBooks & an RSS feed called Reeder to keep my reads close at hand.

#2 Time to Exercise – After a long day at work, this is typically the last thought in anyone's mind. I worked through this excuse and make it part of my week. And with the devotion to staying fit, I have invested the time in buying more fresh foods and less process foods. I highly believe in exercise but I'm a true believer in the changing the diet. It's hard in the beginning because you have to prepare everything. The benefits totally outweight the prep work. And now after seven months, I can total see the difference in my mind & body.

#3 Dinner – Yea, I'm going to admit it - I hate to cook. Recipes scare me. If it has over 5 ingredients, I'm probably not going to make it. So what am I doing about it? Well, this is where my partnership with James comes in handy. He's the cook and I'm the shopper. And I'm can be good at meals and menu given the time to prepare beforehand. So I keep my grocery list on the fridge. I have utilized Evernote to keep all my recipes in "the Cloud" so I have them handy on my iPhone. We are not getting five-star meals but they are healthy & fresh.

The purpose of this update is not so say, "I'm done". Nope, like I stated earlier, I have interwoven these goals into my everyday and things are playing out nicely. I'm happy with that and now I'm on the outlook for more.

Disclaimer

I wanted to throw this out there in just your wondering and you probably aren't. My kiddos can't seem to smile normal at a camera. About 95% of all the pictures I take have someone with a silly grin. And when they smile really big, their eyes seems to disappear. It's cute, funny, silly and it essentially makes me want to kiss their adorable faces.

Another first!

This school year was a special one as McKenna is now attending Kingswood with Jonah. Her first day was surprising yet at the same time not surprising. She ran into her classroom and immediately started playing with the baby dolls. We had to asked for a hug & kiss good-bye. She has such an independent spirit.

Jonah was also surprising this year. He had no trouble to accumulating with his classroom. We had no tears from him on the first day either. He gave me three big hugs and he was off. And he talks about going to school everyday even whats to go on the weekend.

As for me, my first day of school went without tears as well. I did notice a mom walking out of the school as we came in and her eyes soaked with tears. I gave her an encouraging smile because I was that mom last year. After I left the school and headed to work, I have the wave of emotion that my babies are growing up faster then I want them to. I love that they are finding new ways of independence but how will I adjust?

Birthday Celebrations

As always, the end of August & first of September is a busy month for birthdays in our household. We came back from Belize and celebrate my birthday on a Wednesday. Then that weekend we celebrated Jonah's 4th birthday. Then the following weekend, we went back to the beach and celebrated James' 40th birthday (plus had another little celebration for Jonah).

So my boys are both a year older and here are my thoughts for each of them – 

JONAH – It's so great and at the same time so sad to see you get older. Gone are the days of holding the little bundle of joy in my arms. Now, you are truly a little boy who is soaking in this world, the good & the bad. You still melt my heart in different ways.

JAMES – We've been together for 15 years and I cannot believe you are 40. It seems like yesterday we were in our 20's. It's amazing how quickly the years go by.