Two thousand, two hundred, forty-one miles to go.
Yes, you read that right. Two thousand miles and 1 week from today we'll be in a new home in Chesapeake, Virginia. Short story: After a change in plans as far as majors and life plans go, we decided to go on another adventure. This time it's sales in Virginia. We'll be there for 5 months and then don't know where we'll be after that. Ok, you can stop reading if that's all you wanted to know. For the longer version, keep reading...
Here's a little recap of our lives for the past 3 years (assuming anybody but my grandma is interested)
January 2011: got married and moved to Henderson Nevada as a happy newlywed couple.
December 2011: had a baby! Levi was born December 28th 2011. I can't believe he is two years old!
September 2012: Decided our lives were boring with just one kid so we decided to have another one. Actually, we didn't plan it, but we didn't not plan it either. We were pretty dang excited when we found out Levi was going to have a little brother. We also decided to go back to school. Jason was mildly satisfied with his career as a commercial leasing agent. It was about as glamorous as it sounds.
January 2013: Moved to Rexburg, Idaho to start the Mechanical Engineering program at BYU-I.
July 2013: Finished first year of engineering and moved to Bakersfield, California for an internship with a really great company.
January 2014: Moved back to Rexburg to start year 2 of M.E.
Here's where it gets crazy. And here's why we know we're doing the right thing. The first couple of weeks in back in Rexburg were incredibly stressful. The moving company was 4 days late bringing our things to the house and for some reason our taxes from the previous year hadn't gone through yet. I was in tears after being on the phone for hours with the IRS and ABF (the moving company) trying to figure things out.
Meanwhile, in school, Jason was having some doubts and really struggling with trying to balance the strenuous (read: impossible) workload of an engineering degree with spending time with his family and getting enough sleep and mental and spiritual fuel. Things were just not going well. After a lot of long discussions and a few good prayers, we decided it was best if we switched majors and switched scenery for a while.
In the last few weeks we have sold almost everything we owned and packed up the car once again with our family of four. We've never made a trip this long but we're so excited for this new adventure. Both Jason and I love to move to new places and sometimes get a little restless staying in one place for too long when we know that's not where we want to stay. So... this week we'll be making stops in Nebraska, Missouri nand Kentucky before moving into our new place in Chesapeake, Virginia.
So... any questions?
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
take brain pictures
You know when something runs through your mind more than twice, it's time to write about it. That's what I thought when I heard a cute phrase come out of Kid President's mouth, "take brain pictures." I've been thinking lately about meditation and being more present as a means to peace and contentment.
Meditation has been on my mind (pun intended) since I had a book club with a few of my favorite people. I've always had trouble falling asleep because I haven't been able to clear my head. I've also suffered from anxiety and needed a way to calm myself down. Although I was interested in starting meditation, I hadn't taken any action yet. I thought about buying a book or taking a class, but then I heard something that I really liked that made meditation simple and profoundly effective. I think it was from a TED talk.
The basic idea was to be more present in your life. People [women especially] tend to spend their days thinking non-stop. "What am I making for dinner?" "When will hubby be home?" "I wonder if it's going to be warm enough to play outside today." and on and on. I realized I spend a lot of time inside my head, trying to make sense of things and be a better planner. After I listened to this talk, [I remember now: Andy Putticombe: All it takes is ten mindful minutes] it dawned on me that I don't often live in the moment. I plan for other moments and then when I execute those plans, I'm busy planning the next moment.
Multi-tasking is not always all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes it's good to do one thing at a time, stop, and enjoy what you're doing. Allow yourself to feel and sense and notice. During the past week, I started implementing this idea into my routines. Rather than let my mind wander during everyday tasks such as nursing the baby, doing dishes, or playing with my little guy, I began pausing and paying attention to the moment I was in. It made me grateful for such a beautiful life. This leads me back to my title. Take brain pictures. As I was living in these moments, I found it easier to recall and appreciate the beautiful things in my life. I started noticing things. I started realizing what an incredible life I have.
If you find yourself wandering and feel like you always have a busy mind, try it. Just stop, take a second to breathe, then notice what is around you. Don't think about it, analyze it, or try to change it. Just soak it in and appreciate the beautiful moment you're in.
Meditation has been on my mind (pun intended) since I had a book club with a few of my favorite people. I've always had trouble falling asleep because I haven't been able to clear my head. I've also suffered from anxiety and needed a way to calm myself down. Although I was interested in starting meditation, I hadn't taken any action yet. I thought about buying a book or taking a class, but then I heard something that I really liked that made meditation simple and profoundly effective. I think it was from a TED talk.
The basic idea was to be more present in your life. People [women especially] tend to spend their days thinking non-stop. "What am I making for dinner?" "When will hubby be home?" "I wonder if it's going to be warm enough to play outside today." and on and on. I realized I spend a lot of time inside my head, trying to make sense of things and be a better planner. After I listened to this talk, [I remember now: Andy Putticombe: All it takes is ten mindful minutes] it dawned on me that I don't often live in the moment. I plan for other moments and then when I execute those plans, I'm busy planning the next moment.
Multi-tasking is not always all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes it's good to do one thing at a time, stop, and enjoy what you're doing. Allow yourself to feel and sense and notice. During the past week, I started implementing this idea into my routines. Rather than let my mind wander during everyday tasks such as nursing the baby, doing dishes, or playing with my little guy, I began pausing and paying attention to the moment I was in. It made me grateful for such a beautiful life. This leads me back to my title. Take brain pictures. As I was living in these moments, I found it easier to recall and appreciate the beautiful things in my life. I started noticing things. I started realizing what an incredible life I have.
If you find yourself wandering and feel like you always have a busy mind, try it. Just stop, take a second to breathe, then notice what is around you. Don't think about it, analyze it, or try to change it. Just soak it in and appreciate the beautiful moment you're in.
Monday, March 10, 2014
We're live!
Let me begin by saying... WE ARE LIVE! I'm so excited to publish my new website ninandjune.com. I feel like I just had a baby. In fact, when I launched, I got an email that congratulated me on the birth of my website. Let me tell you- it's a thrill to chase your dreams. Enough of the blabbing... go check it out at ninandjune.com!
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