Life Lately

Life lately…yeah, I think now is a good time for a post like this. My life has been crazy lately! But mostly crazy good.

I have been able to spend a ton of time with my mom this last month and its been such a treat. There were hard circumstances that brought me there but we took full advantage of the chance to visit. We talked and we painted our nails and we did mom’s hair and bought cute earrings. It was hard to be away from Chris for so many days, but a treasure to spend time with my mom. She’s such an amazing woman, and I only wish we lived closer and could spend more time together.

At the beginning of September I gave my two-week’s notice at the credit union and took the position of Project Administrator that was created for me at NICA. I have enjoyed working for NICA for almost 2 years now, and my boss and I make a really good team. We’ve got a lot of big projects in the works and she wanted me completely on board, not splitting my time between the 2 jobs. So she made me this amazing offer and I’m still a bit in shock that this is what I do now! NICA is a non-profit organization and I’m so excited to be coordinating classes, creating and curating curriculum, updating our website and staying on top of our social media campaigns, and so much more. I’m the admin for our flooring apprenticeship program and all the behind the scenes stuff for the company. There are exciting times ahead of me here where I will be able to use my creativity, my passion for people and multitasking skills to their full potential. This is my first full week, and I’m loving it already! I was with the credit union for almost a full year, and I know I will miss everyone there. I learned a lot and enjoyed being a part of such a great company. They got me flowers and a card on my last day to say goodbye. So sweet.

Chris and I are rocking our weight loss!! Chris is down 90lbs and I’m down 55lbs. It has been an amazing journey together and its brought us so much closer. I am proud of the progress we’ve made and excited for what’s to come. Being healthy feels so good!

And finally…we bought a new car!!! It’s a 2012 VW Beetle. I’ve named her Golden. Chris found her online and we drove 4 hours to get her. We got such a good deal…she has under 4000 miles, heated leather seats, Bluetooth and is sooo much fun to drive! I’ve wanted a Bug since forever…but especially since my dad gave me a toy one as a gag graduation present. I’m so glad that everything worked out and now I get to drive this darling car everyday. I love the retro styling and that the inside dash is yellow too. It just makes me smile!

So there are some of the things in my life lately. I’m feeling eager for autumn and getting settled into all these new changes, but I’m happy. Really, really happy. Grateful for the big things and all the everyday little things too. Like Thomas Hammer coffee when I was visiting my mom, and being able to go on a long drive with my dad and just talk; taking Gibson with me to work everyday and seeing my husband reach his goals. And wearing size 14 pants again! Man that feels good!

What’s new with you?

#blogtember

Day 15 Prompt: A ‘life lately’ post. What you’re up to and how you’re feeling.

Around here

What’s on my….

VANITY: A bookmark with a scripture on it I was given at my grandmother’s memorial, a photographer’s business card, 3 bottles of perfume and the elephant necklace Marta gave me.

PERSONAL TO-DO LIST: Get back to blogging more, taking pictures with my big camera, finish last week’s Project Life spread and hug my husband…that’s an important one!

FRIDGE SHELVES: Rice milk, Spanish olives, homemade Caesar salad dressing, cream cheese with no bagels to put it on and eggs for Chris that I wish I could eat too.

ITINERARY: Opening weekend of Fahrenheit 451 (the play Chris is in) and Special Assembly Day all in the same weekend. Also looking forward to our employee appreciation even in Spokane in May and then heading up to Canada in June for our anniversary and the convention.

FANTASY ITINERARY: Sleep… perhaps on a cruise ship.

PLAYLIST: Kacey Musgraves and episodes of The Voice.

NIGHTSTAND: Vicks vapor rub to help me sleep and all the bobby pins that I take out of my hair. That’s where they end up. And everything else has been moved to “puppy proof” the bedroom. He got to my glasses…that didn’t make me too happy.

PHONE: Pictures and videos of my puppy. Texts from my mom and my love and messages about my cousin’s new baby girl.

TOP 5 LIST: 1) Working from home full time. 2) Recognizing contentment. 3) Enough time and money to make our house into what we imagine. 4) Health for me and my husband. 5) Being brave.

BUCKET LIST: Take Chris to Maui. Write music together. Spend more time with my family. Try different types of food.

MIND: Medical bills piling up. My huge to-do list. Looking forward to visiting and sitting by my mom at the assembly on Saturday. Hoping to get to Wenatchee to see the new baby. Wishing we could put a fence up in our yard.

WALLS: I have my clock collection (but pared down quite a bit) in the living room and a big inspiration board in my office.

LIQUOR SHELF: Wine from our wedding with special labels, some Captain Morgan’s and Fetzer Gewürztraminer (my favorite).

LAST CREDIT CARD STATEMENT: Car tires and alignment and groceries.

SCREENSAVER: The fliqlo clock. I love the simplicity of it and haven’t changed it in years.

TV EVERY NIGHT: We don’t have regular TV anymore, and we rarely watch it during the week (which was the point of getting rid of our Dish). But I do catch some shows on HULU. I’m liking Go On and Nashville right now.

A fun fill-in-the-blank post idea from Kal. What are your answers?

12 favorite things from 2012

It is really the end of the year…the last couple days of the last month of 2012. Whew! What a journey of unraveling and putting bits back together…a convergence of new life lessons and milestones…and growing older in all the right ways. Its been a great year…and I thought to finish it out right I’d share some of my favorite things and moments and treasures with you.

1. Becoming an Auntie to my nephew Emerson and watching him grow up through text message pictures and videos and a couple visits.

2. Getting hired at Horizon Credit Union. Read the story of how it all came together here, thoughts on my first day here, and my week of training here.

3. My 12 favorite songs of 2012: “Figure 8” by Ellie Goulding, “King and Lionheart” by Of Monsters and Men, the entire “Red” album by Taylor Swift, “Home” by Phillip Phillips, “Call Me Maybe” cover by Ben Howard, “This Is the New Year” by Ian Axel, “Hanging On” by Britt Nicole, “Somebody That I Used to Know” cover by Walk Off The Earth, “Its Time” by Imagine Dragons, “As It Seems” by Lily Kershaw, “Poison & Wine” by The Civil Wars, “Be Mine” by Robyn, “Xyz” by Jack and White.

4. Rebranding my blog to shadylaneblog.com and the month-long blog party all about celebrating the everyday. I had some amazing guest bloggers share their thoughts on the topic. And from then on this blog focused on cherishing the little things and remembering that even though “every day might not be good, but there is something good in every day.”

5. All of my Hair Diaries and experiments this year.

6. Riding the elephant at the fair! Total highlight of the year and my life!

7. Celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary and sharing our love story together on my blog. It was so much fun to write together and share with all of you. I am so grateful for Chris and the love he’s brought into my life. Our relationship flourished this year and I hope it continues to grow even more. 

8. Instagram for Android!!! I loved seeing the world through those little filtered squares this year and I hope to keep taking and sharing pictures with this platform. It’s a fun way to celebrate the little everyday things.

9. Visits with family. I was a bad blogger and didn’t really take many pictures of this, but this year we had quite a few visits with our families. My papa and his new wife came to stay with us, we went to Whidbey Island and saw Chris’ grandparents and were there for their 65th wedding anniversary. My Canadian family came and spent a couple nights with us and we spent a lot of time singing and playing music together. My mum stayed with us a few times and so did my sister Megan and her husband. It was something I really enjoyed about 2012 and it made me really happy that we have a guest room in our home to share.

10. Starting our journey of learning Russian! We joined the Russian group in our congregation in May of this year and slowly but surely we’re learning the language. It is an exciting time in the history of Jehovah’s people to be involved in a foreign language group. We can’t wait to see where it will lead and what other doors it might open to us.

11. Learning and growing with my blog designing. I got to meet some really amazing ladies and design for some friends this year. I am hoping to continue to grow my skills and my business with blog design.

12. Getting answers about my health. I got sick at the end of 2011 and throughout 2012 I went through lots of ups and downs trying to figure out what it was and then how to get it under control. I was diagnosed with IBS and was able to see a specialist and got the tools I need to continue forward in as much control of it as possible. Getting sick and going through this process has taught me a lot…I’ve learned humility and to rely on Chris even more. It brought us closer together. I am glad to be on the road to health again, and hopefully feeling even more like my self again soon.

It has been quite a year…and I am so excited to welcome in 2013 and see what it brings us.

What were the best parts of your 2012?

My day off

Today is my day off…and the first day off I’ve had with nothing planned. No doctor’s appointments or places to go. No need to get up early and get out of my pajamas even! Or do my hair, for that matter.  

Life has been so good lately. This is what’s going on around here…

I’ve been wearing my newest glasses from firmoo.com, drinking coffee from my pink zebra print mug, spending all my free time in blogger template and learning code to get my new designs up, adding more words to my Russian vocabulary and feeling humbled by how hard it is, feeling grateful for my regimen of milk of magnesia and Metamucil to keep my IBS relatively under control, wearing new nail polish colors and my favorite scarves again, looking forward to watching Chris learn how to use his new airbrush kit, and treating ourselves to wings from Pizza Hut.

There is lots of joy in these busy days. I am glad for this space of mine to share.

What’s up with you lately?
Are you learning new things or making time to relax?
What is bringing you joy?

Around Here:

On my reading pile: I am finishing up “This I Know” by Susannah Conway. It is a gem. I start each new chapter thinking “she can’t possible touch my heart more than she did in the last chapter.” But each time I am wrong. Her writing is so pure and she writes as if to a friend. I feel like her friend, and I am enjoying her spirit and her wisdom. Can’t wait to finish this book and do a little book review post.

On my TV: NOTHING! lol. We have our DirecTv service off for awhile. We decided to do a 6-month shut-off, and we’re rather loving it. Lots of time for other better things. We do catch a couple shows sometimes on HULU. We’ve been watching the episodes of So You Think You Can Dance as they come through. Love that show.

On the menu this week: We’re planning on trying a couple new Pinterest recipes this week. Like this teriyaki sauce recipe and a fried egg breakfast pizza. We tried these slow cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches last week and they were really yummy. I want to try making them with my mum’s Caesar salad dressing.

On my to-do list: Today I start a brand new little part-time job for my days off from my other part-time job. So Mondays and Tuesdays will find me a “personal assistant” to one of the smartest ladies I know. I hope to learn a lot and help to “make her life easier,” which is how she described what I’ll be doing. I also have my appointment with the gastroenterologist tomorrow, and I’m taking my mother-in-law with me. She has lived with these types of problems her whole life, so I know she will help me ask the right questions and hopefully get some clearer answers.

What I’m creating: Right now I’m working on finishing a blog design for a repeat customer inspired by vintage sports memorabilia with fun colors and fonts. Beginning a couple new ones also. Another previous customer is having me create a blog for her classroom. She is a teacher and will be using the space to keep in touch with her students and parents throughout the year. I think that such a cool idea and I’m excited to begin the process with her.

Tips & Tricks: A new money-saving tip from Miss Darlingheart :round your paycheck to the nearest hundred and save the difference. So if you have a $340 paycheck save the $40. I think it would be fun to wait and see how much from each check you’ll end up saving. Gonna start doing this with our checks this month.

Looking around my house: I got up early enough this morning that the coffee was still warm from when Chris made it. Score! I look around my house at the remnants of a weekend away and bags still to be unpacked I’m grateful that we took the trip even though the drive was hard on me and I was sick. We so needed a little road trip together and some time away from our regular everyday. It was so good. We had a lovely time.

From the camera: Here are a couple Instagram shots from our drive home last night. I loved the sunset and all the different scenery between Spokane and home.

Happy Monday friends! May the sun rise and warm your face and find you celebrating today for all that it holds.

New list post idea from Elise Martinez. Thanks girl!