How’s Life? Let’s Catch Up!

It was so nice to hear from you all last week after taking a few weeks away from the blog to be with family. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, then you’ve likely seen some of my life updates, but I thought I’d pop in today and share more.

My grandma passed away

Obviously we knew this was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier when it does. I found out a few days before that she was moved to “transition” as they had to stop feeding her for fear that she would inhale the food into her lungs. At that point, I decided to drive home after work on Friday and got the OK from my work to stay, working from home as long as I needed to. I went into work Friday morning and a few hours in my dad called to say that today would be the day as there was a significant change to her breathing. I closed my computer, let my bosses know I’d log back on that evening to finish up and update everyone. Within 45 minutes of my getting on the road, my dad called back to say my grandma had passed. It was snowing and very windy, I was basically driving in white out conditions until I entered Indiana, but I kept driving until I got home.

The quilt

It didn’t end up how I envisioned it would be but I had to learn to let that plan go. My mom, sister, aunt and I all rallied to finish the letters and ended up gluing them to the backing fabric so it was as finished as it could be and she was put to rest with it. There were many pep talks from friends and family as not being able to finish the project I set out to create, in the way I wanted it, was definitely a bruise, but I’m happy enough with how it turned out. Later that weekend we found an old doll bed that my sister and I used to have; my grandma had reupholstered the bed with that fabric (I found it in her fabric stash to use for the quilt) before giving it to my cousin.

Where I stand with blogging

Oh this could likely be a much longer post but I’ve been blogging for 6 years! In that time, blogging has changed so much, both for the better and honestly, I think also for the worst. I miss the days where blogging felt more like a way for me to share my story with others and less about trying to come up with the perfect list, tutorial or brand review. Don’t get me wrong, I love providing valuable content for my readers, but I miss the days where you got a true, honest and seemingly real look into someone’s life. Sure, there may be some bloggers who have found a good balance, but overall, I find blogging to be less about the blogger and more about the business. Can’t we find the balance? I’m hoping to work on that in 2017 and more specifically, with my new rebrand (launch and details TBD). Does anyone else feel that way?

Yoga and Meditation

I was hoping to start a consistent at-home yoga practice this year and that’s been quite the struggle, honestly. Instead, I’m trying to figure out how to make it to my studio more often, regardless of the 45 minute drive, and accept that it may mean a few more trips to the gas station every month. I think it’s worth it. I haven’t tried any of the studios near me, but I’m just not inspired by their websites, and thus their available classes or schedules.

What I have been really good about is a nightly meditation. After I write in my gratitude journal and read a chapter or two of a book, I lay down and go through a 5 minute guided meditation. I use an app that allows you to input how your body and mind feels and from there, it suggests some meditations. They’re generally short but with a paid version of the app, I think they can be longer. I really enjoy this time and would like to work on increasing the time meditating and add a morning practice as well.

Questions, questions, questions

There are so many questions running through my mind, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to share them. I’m hoping to have a post or two up each week until the rebrand/launch, but I make no promises. I’m trying to be especially intentional with myself and what I want. That’s a lot easier said than done, but i’m working on it and that’s really all that matters.

I’ve missed you – what’s one thing happening in your life?