All of the posts about all of the things
Attention
In the midst of the big events of our lives, there are thousands of little ones. If we pay attention, I believe that God speaks in the whispers of the little things. I am in the midst of a move from Washington state to Oklahoma, but I am proud to say that I am not at all stressed. Our family has taken the opportunity to make a road trip out of this relocation. Upcoming posts will share some awesome pictures and adventures that we encounter on this journey. For now, I am spending the time soaking up the quality family memory-making time. I do look at the photos that I take each and every night though, and this one was one that made me laugh out loud.We were driving down Route 101 in Oregon when cars began pulling onto a side road in multiples. My curiosity compelled me [...]
Home
Home is where your heart lives. It is where your mind wanders when you daydream. It can move, it can change, but the feeling is always the same. The feeling of coming home is the feeling of acceptance. It is the relief of knowing you are safe, loved, and appreciated. As a military spouse, I move just about every 3.5 years. We have been in New England, Colorado, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and are facing an imminent move back to Oklahoma. This is what I have learned about home: If you fight adjusting to a new location, it just takes longer to do so. If you arrive excited and looking for opportunities, you will find them. If you arrive with resentment in your heart, you will miss out on those opportunities. Friends are your chosen family. Get involved in your chosen activities, make friends, and be worthy of their [...]
Maternity Photography • Keep it Real
When people take maternity photographs, they want to capture more than just a snapshot. They want to freeze a moment in their lives to remember and to celebrate that experience. Often these pictures have standard poses and beautiful backdrops. I have my maternity photos of that kind, but I also have the ones my photographer took of me in my daughter's nursery getting ready for her arrival. I have the ones another photographer took of me taking a walk with my husband and Girl before Boy arrived. In some ways, these are more precious to me than the other kind. They keep it real. They remind me that I survived and made the best of the situation I was faced with at the time. They make me proud. They make me feel strong. They make me laugh. When my friend Abby asked me to take her maternity photographs for her, [...]
Listen
When people talk to you, listen. Recently, my almost-four-year-old started talking about her friend the woodpecker that lives in our yard. Her imagination is WILD lately, so I just let it go in one ear and out the other. She would talk about how she woke up and saw it, or yell hello at random times during the day. I ignored it figuring her "woodpecker" would eventually go away. After all, how would my pre-preschooler know what a woodpecker looks like?! Every time she went to show him to me, he was "on the other side of the tree". She asked me to "just wait" several times, but life got in the way of my waiting for an imaginary bird. Last week, I woke up feeling sick. Girl asked me if she could just stay home, which she never does. I decided it was a sign and declared a [...]
Start Monkeying Around
True friends are your chosen family. If you let them, they will save you from yourself. They will help you to remember who you are when you lose direction, because they know you, sometimes better than yourself. They will show you the best and worst of yourself. Draw from your friend's strengths, and help them using your own. Forgive them when they make mistakes, and let them go when it comes time to move on. Friends are angels sent to help us on our journey. Let them do their job, and be sure to do yours for them in return. Orangutan. Woodland Park Zoo. A quiet confidence is the result of accepting yourself for who you are and who you are not. It is a willingness to stand in your own truth. It comes from a place of strength. It is not arrogant. It doesn't have [...]
Dare
Life does not always have a clear path. Sometimes it leads us in a direction that only our heart knows to be right for us. Trusting your instincts, using your intuition, and having a little faith, will empower you to achieve your dreams. On a recent trip to a park local to my in-law's house, we found this turtle. He was out at the end of a downed limb sunning himself. He seemed happy and relaxed to me, even though that's anthropomorphizing (vocab word! go me!), and I snapped a photo. I almost deleted it, but then I went ahead and edited, and it made me smile. I submit that this turtle is a great example of "going out on a limb". How he got up there and why, were both up for debate. In either case, it seemed perfectly natural and a wonderful sign of spring. It [...]
Launched • Harley’s Angels
After completing JP and Nicole's Wedding Site, I was contacted by their friend Carol. She wanted to work on her director's profile site, but first wanted to see herself in cartoon form, like the ones JP and Nicole's site showed I am able to produce. Carol is pursuing her Masters in Directing from UMass. She, along with four other graduate students, are being advised by a man named Harley. They affectionately call themselves "Harley's Angels". She emailed me asking whether or not I could produce an image of herself and her co-advisees in a spoof of the Charlie's Angels graphic. It sounded like fun, so we gave it a go! Carol assembled and sent me quality headshots of each of her friends. I took them, and created a cartoon head of their likeness. Separately, I assembled the typography, drew the legs, and illustrated the bodies. I sent the lower part of [...]
5 Ways to Start Kicking the Clutter
Is it all too much? We have all been there. Your to-do list is longer than Santa's giving list at Christmas, the bills, the house, and the other demands on you are just mounting too high. It's overwhelming. How are you going to do it all!? Well, here's the truth: YOU AREN'T. So you've got to set your priorities, boundaries, and start living the life that you WANT to live by getting out from under your cluttered life. That's right: Your life is cluttered. You are carrying more weight (physical and mental) than is necessary. You have too much stuff to enjoy it all, or even know where it is. Change is hard, and loss is worse, but achievement of your sought after goals is amazing, so where do you start?! Here are five things to consider when you're looking at your life. Make the decision to live a more simplified and [...]
Launched • Bragging Writes
When my friend Jenna contacted me for a logo for her custom birth statistic print design company, I was super excited. She wanted to have something that complimented her art. That meant bold colors, but with a classic or vintage-ish feel. She didn't want it to necessarily look childish, but it had to speak to the relationship between parents and their children. As her site name (MyKidRocks.wordpress.com) suggests, this was to be a blog attracting parents who want to scream to the world, this is my kid, and I think they are awesome! First we tried a design that included an ultrasound with headphones on rocking out in the womb before his "big entrance". We loved it, but it didn't pass the public testing. People didn't "get it", and my husband said it looked like the baby was in distress. Not good. So we went back to the drawing [...]
Change
Change is hard. It is uncomfortable, challenging, emotional and frustrating. Whether it is something small like where you drop your keys when you get home or what drink you order at Starbucks, or something big like a bad habit or where you live, it is still difficult. The bottom line of it though, is that it is necessary to change in order to grow. The opportunity to become something greater than you are is a big deal. I am forever trying to improve myself, and can become frustrating to others due to my constant and rapid changing. I don't wait around for things to get better, I actively pursue betterment. This can be seen as "intense", "determined", "overachieving", and other grey words that are neither good nor bad. The problem is when these words mean that I get in my own way, or hurt someone important to me, in [...]
The Cost of Clutter
You know that you have too much stuff, but did you know that that stuff was draining your resources? It really and truly is. I've done the research and you are being robbed blind, by YOUR STUFF! Check it out: So let me see here... Clutter makes me less effective & efficient, more chubby, stressed, & broke? Yeah. Clutter, you're out of here. Who is with me? Did you think the graphic included in this post was wicked awesome?! I created it! If you would like my help on your graphic design project, check out PageLauncher.com, or email me directly! Supplemental Source: Crown.org
Service
The military is more than statistics, strategy, politics, and war. It is a collection of men and women who train, live, and work in the service of our nation's freedom. It is their dedication and commitment to their duty that afford us all the way of life that we enjoy each day. Let us not forget that the number of persons serving our nation in its military are not limited to those in uniform. Remember their families: their children, their parents, their wives and husbands. Because if you think they are not also serving, you are mistaken. I couldn't help it. I had two I needed to include this week. Yesterday, my husband left for his fifth deployment in five years (Note: We are active duty Air Force. Our deployments are much shorter than our Navy and Army brethren, at least in the flying career fields.). As I stood [...]
Definition of Clutter
Clutter is more than just the piles of paper lying around your living space. It is anything in your life that you don't want to be there. It makes you uncomfortable. It gets in your way. It frustrates you. It isn't easy to get rid of because at one point, it meant something to you, or means you have to change something about your life. It stands between you and the life you want. It's time to get rid of it. Welcome to the Kicking the Clutter series. This series is going to be dedicated to all of the things we need to do to get our lives to where we want them to be. I don't know everything, and believe me, I have ways that I need to improve. For those topics, I will welcome outside guests to share suggestions on what to do if we have THOSE [...]
Relax
Go, go go. Do, do, do. Your to-do list is endless, and your life is demanding. In all the hustle that live throws your way, please take the time to relax. It really is easy. Just slow down and rest your mind and body. You deserve it. Relaxing doesn't come naturally to everyone. It took me 30 years to figure it out, and admittedly, I am terrible at it. Whenever my time isn't full of obligations with/for others, I generally can be found working intensely on some project or another: designing a site, creating a graphic, organizing my home, volunteering, and recently starting my business. Oh yeah, and then there's the whole "raising kids thing"... Yeah. In a recent conversation with a wise friend, I had an epiphanie. I was venting about frustration related to being so close to feeling like I was "done", but being unable to [...]
Security
A dolly, a blanket, a hug, a hand to hold, a cushion, protection, whatever you call it, we all need it: Security. May you always feel safe in the knowledge that you are loved, and that there is always somewhere to turn if you need help. Girl carries around an entourage of dolls, blankets, and other security items. They make her feel comfortable and add a bit of stability to a world she is just starting to get to know, and can sometimes be scary. The most important groupie in her posse is this doll named Suzie Q. Iloveyou. Yes. That's her name. I know because I gave it to her. She is a Bitty Baby from the American Girl collection. She is my daughter's favorite doll. She goes with us wherever we go, and waits in the car "for safety" when we go out. She sleeps with Girl [...]
Launched • A Wedding in Beantown
I am so excited to debut my latest web design project, NicoleWedsJPinBeantown.com! The Story: In high school I met and became good friends with a boy named JP. He and I were in the band together. He acted in the drama club, and I made a fool on stage trying to keep up. He took my sister to the prom. Twice. When I married Hubs in 2003, JP was the videographer that saved our memories on film. This truly saved our backsides because the "photographer" we hired turned into a nightmare of horrible images and missed shots. He went way out of his way to make the video include everything he knew that I'd want, including some video of Hubs and I during high school that I didn't even know he had available. Soon thereafter, I took off on the AF adventure all over the US while JP took off for [...]
A Table for Two
This is the story of how I made an old table into a new fun place for my kiddos to play. The issue: We had a table that we WANTED to use that was big enough for two kids to sit side by side and play on, but we did not have room and the table was too tall to use in its original state. We had a little table in the playroom that only had enough room for one kid [see: photo number 1: The Too-Small Table.]. The issue is that we have two kids now, and it wasn't going to get any easier to make them share the one space. We need room for two, at least. For a few years now, a large table has been standing in my garage or spare room collecting random items that belong nowhere else [see: photo number [...]
Organized
Stop and think about your life. The things you own. The time you spend. Do you know where it all goes? Getting organized can be overwhelming. Figure out what space and time you have available and then fill it with the things in life that you feel are a priority. Don't fall into the trap of using "the right" solution to "your problem". It's your life. Live it on purpose, and fill it with things you love, can afford to maintain, and mean something to you. This is my antique liquor box financial filing system for my family and business. I love organization because I am a scatterbrain. I have learned that I am all over the place within my mind, so getting organized in my world helps me to know where to access my resources when they are needed without too much trouble. Recently, my project has been [...]
Criticized for it Anyway
One of the growing trends that I see on lots of blogs that I love right now is conversation about feeling external pressure to be something other than what they feel they are intrinsically. They feel like everyone else has it together, and that they are somehow messing up. My favorite way that this has been stated was in this post by a woman I don't know directly: If you answered yes or no to even one of the above questions, then I’m sorry, but you clearly aren’t a good mother. Not as good as the mothers who either did or didn’t use one or all of the aforementioned parenting tools. You’re like, the Amber from ‘Teen Mom’ of mothers. Jeez. Why don’t you know how wrong your choices are? Both Eleanor and Heather had it right. Every Mom I know is out here trying to compare themselves, and [...]
Nature
Mother Nature is beautiful. In the haste of the modern world, take time to smell the roses. Literally. While you are at it, pay her some respect. As beautiful and wonderful as her creations can be, she also can be powerful and dangerous. Don't take that for granted. Do your best to leave the world as you found it, and play it safe whenever she gets angry. It can get ugly, but the regrowth shows that sometimes we have to knock down the tower we have built and start anew. In case you haven't been watching the news, Seattle got hit HARD this week with a boatload of snow, ice, and wind. In the area south of Seattle where I live (by Olympia), there were over 200,000 people without power for greater than 48 hours. (My readers in New England think that's nothing because they lose power for days, [...]
Moms are Superheroes
Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Captain America, Dora, Barbie, Little Einsteins, Scooby Doo... You name the problem, and there is a super hero out there to solve it. I don't know where these people dream up their fictional characters, but they are pretty fantastic. Kids love them, and need them to bolster their imaginary world of security where the bad guys lose, and the good guys win. I like this imaginary world. In this world, the heroes make sense, and get recognized for their greatness. In the real world, too often, the heroes get looked over. There are so many modern day heroes in service to their communities that deserve thanks. While I recognize that there are too many to mention in one email and give them any recognition worthy of their efforts, I'm going to raise a sippy cup to the one group that I think underestimates itself: [...]
New Year • New Plan
New Year's Resolutions. Goal setting. Annual themes and projects. Whichever perspective you choose, this time of year is a time of reflection, reevaluation, and renewal. Personally, I am glad 2011 is over. Many of my friends seem to mirror my view, based upon their Facebook status reports and the like. This year included life-threatening battles with post partum depression and viral meningitis. Nutritional changes, deployments, and the usual craziness abounded. Family and friends of ours dealt with cancer, car accidents, job loss, divorce and financial difficulty. The economy is in the pooper, and our officials are struggling to unravel the messy ball of yarn that we call our government. Those are all items that I like to consider complete and in my past. I'm glad that we don't have to relive them. On the other hand, 2011 brought with it the first full year of my son's life, and [...]
Don’t Believe Everything You See
Don't believe it 'til you see it with your own eyes. Right? No. Recently, I have read several articles (the best being this one) that show how ridiculously altered major media photographs have become. No longer is it acceptable to be beautiful. Now, you have to be bionic. Even super gorgeous people get touch ups on the photographs so that they look like "perfection". Never mind that these people have an army of artists standing in front of them putting on their make up and making sure that there are no stray hairs out of place. Forget that these people do this for a living, have trainers that work with them hours every week, and then go to the gym on their own to maintain and improve their bodies. Ignore the whole "chef" or "prepared nutrition" aspect of things that they may or may not have available to them. Even if [...]
Mother Of The Year Moments
Let's all recognize one thing here: There is no mother of the year trophy. There is no actual contest, although there are some people would like to not only believe that there is but also that they are by FAR winning the competition! Those ladies scream it from the top of their lungs on a daily basis, and some of us schmucks believe them. It's not true. Everyone makes mistakes being a parent. All of us are attempting to do what we has never been done before: raise OUR kids! All kids are different, and need different things from their parents. There is no "best". Even if there were, all of us experience days that we definitely DON'T deserve the "trophy" as it were. These are the days when we go to bed exhausted thinking, "Wow. I hope when he talks about that in therapy in a few years, he [...]