Alone Time
"Make yourself a priority once in a while. It's not selfish, it's necessary."
Rapid City Sunrise
27 days until the move!You guys, its been a hot mess express over here. If I'm not packing or cleaning, I'm anxious about how I should be packing or cleaning. Then having the anxiety about the move gives me anxiety. The domino's of it all.
My mood has been wavering a lot and it's been driving me crazy. One thing I like about being more aware of my moods and what not is the ability to work on them when I sense it coming. I know what I need, most of the time, to get me back to where I need to be. But the motivation to actually do said stuff is hard when you're in deep.
So I've been squeezing in some time for myself any chance I get. Even if that means waking up at the crack of dawn. 4 am to be exact.
I'm sure its obvious but, I love taking pictures. Mostly of inanimate objects and my kid. I always think to myself "oh, I should get up early in the morning and go take photos" morning comes and I realize just how comfy my bed is.
This past Friday night though I told myself that I WOULD get up and I WOULD go take some damn pictures! Laid out my clothes and shoes and went to bed early. 4 am rolled around and wouldn't you know it, I DID IT! Y'all I got my ass out of bed like I was going to work. It was great, I felt great.
Trail buddy, "hiking shoes", and HUGE wishes.
I got in the car and realized I had no real clue on where I was going.
I somehow ended up on a hike. I did not dress for a hike. My shoes were not prepared for a hike.
As I was walking up the trail I didn't even realize I was going to go on this hike I thought I'd just browse in a small area for a bit...but then I got excited about the sky and how the sun was coming up and next thing I knew I was at the top.
The only other being I shared the trail with was a rabbit. Thankfully there were no rattlesnakes that Phyllis had convinced me I would 100% get bit by! After I silenced her about the rattlesnakes it was probably the most relaxing morning I'd had in ages.
There's just something about being alone and taking your time to do something you love. It was a great start to my day and I was in such a good mood for the rest of it. I think this might be a weekly ritual. Saturday morning photo excursion. We shall see.
I thought I wanted a macro lens before...now I REALLY want one.
I've also listened to a few episodes from The Hilarious World of Depression and The Dark Place. These two give you insight from people around the world and the you can get something different out of each episode or even skip around to the ones that catch your eye.
I used to think podcasts were most likely boring, I'd never even tried. If you find the right ones, they're pretty great.
One of the tools I've learned about through Jen's Podcast is the Grid Diary. It's great, it helps me track everything. You're able to switch up the questions to ones that fit your lifestyle or goals better. You're even able to write in your own questions if you want.
I'll still be using my notes app for random jotting but I find the grid diary to be useful for the days when you don't really want to write or journal. I have a few days in there that you can tell that I just was not in the mood. I was very short. Then I have days where I went into details and it's really just a good way to get an idea of how I've been.
Cheetos Face
Okay, let's get to the good stuff. That little squish face. Is she not the cutest!?
She's been growing up like crazy lately. Her little voice just kills me. She now say's "I love you" I mean, it doesn't quite sound exactly like it but she only say's it after we say I love you to her. Just give me this okay people! She is 100% saying it back. She especially likes to yell it at her Dada when he leaves for work.
I am also pleased to tell you all that I am officially a mom! I got a dirty look in a store while dealing with my toddlers tantrum. Where's my badge? Trophy? No? Oh.
But, honestly, really, for real, C'MON.
Eye rolls aside. When is it going to be okay to have a toddler?
Another wonderful thing that Aurora has picked up from us is "Stop Dog Dog!". So now if Grizzly is losing it Aurora knows how to properly tell Grizzly to knock it off. I'm trying to figure out if this will be a good thing or a bad thing.
Can we also just talk about how imaginations are the greatest thing EVER. We've been watching Aurora's grow recently and we just love it. We have a little cabinet in the kitchen that's all her's. It has all of her pretend kitchen stuff and even some rinsed seasoning and agave bottles. She's been using them all around the house making a pouring noise. I didn't even know she was retaining what we did in the kitchen that much. She blows my mind every day.
Mini Gardener.
Another fun thing she's really gotten into lately is helping me with the plants. Which, obviously, is so fun for me! Hopefully this can be something we both can enjoy and share together from now into the future. Getting messy and watching things grow together. Count me in. Not to mention it will be nice to have a live in Greenhouse shopping partner.
And I think that's all I have in me today. I'll try to do an update or two before the move.
