Michigan Nuptials

Just a highlight reel from yet another beautiful wedding that I had the pleasure of being in. Congratulations KK and Micah. 

Who knew a selfie could be so cute?

Photo credit: Gretchen Mathos

Summer Requirements

Ok... come on. This is a thing? Who thought of this? And who is going to make me some of these chairs? This is what my wrap around porch requires.

Notice

 

I am working to find what makes me happiest. The book I mentioned, 20 something 20 everything, has been incredibly interesting so far. It asks a variety of questions. Big questions, small questions, and everything in between. You are instructed to write out your answers and thoughtfully consider them before taking pen to paper. There are even questions to ask the important people in  your life. I am going to be giving my Mom, my Aunt and my mentor a call this week to ask some of those questions.

What I am finding, is that I am learning little things about myself that were always there, but either hidden or unspoken. I am lucky enough to have people I can process with and work through these realizations with. I am finding myself happier and happier as I learn more about  myself.  And I am taking Kurt's advice and thinking "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."

Intentionality

I decided in light of recent life events that figuring out me is probably something that needs to happen/needed to happen ages ago.

You can't be with someone else, you can't succeed, you can't live with peace in yourself if you have absolutely no idea what it is you really want, or really need.

In order to do this with the intentionality intended, I decided to get over myself and consider the dreaded self-help section of my local bookstore. Now, let's not get carried away, I wasn't going to actually go out into the world and admit that I don't have it all together, I searched the amazon book store shelves. Clearly.

And now, thanks to the interwebz, I will have two "let's do this" books delivered to the privacy of my home tomorrow.

The first, is a book that I spotted on a dear friend's desk recently, and was immediately curious about. It didn't appear to be the kind of thing she would typically explore, so it sparked my curiosity.
Daring Greatly is about the power of vulnerability. Oxymoron you say? I did too, and that's just the problem.

The second, is a type of guide to self awareness for the "quarter-life-crisis" of a 20 something female. The reason I picked this one, was that I appreciated her view on how little time there seems to be to figure out everything we think we are supposed to have already figured out. 20 something, 20 everything promises to be a place to start.

Self-Help phenomenon, ya got me. Let's see how it goes.

So... for me.

It can be difficult to recognize what it is you want. More importantly, it is unbelievably hard to determine what you want and what you need and what the difference is between the two.

Taking the time to remember the things you love and the things that help make you the person you are is not something to put off. It's not something to set down and pick up later. It is something to be valued and prioritized.

So... for ME... among other things, I think I need a second dog. Seems reasonable. This little baby is one of two brothers, named Chip and Dale. He came to the PitSisters group in Jacksonville a month or so ago, with a horrific case of mange and malnourished to boot. The picture on the right shows him as the little stone-angel he was when he first showed up.

I find myself thinking about them a lot... and recently a new picture (on the left) showed up... and I fell HARD.

I may or may not have asked for more information about little Dale as he gets closer to being healthy enough for adoption.