It is what it is

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The Terrific Twos!

This past year on the blog has been anything but terrible!

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Two years ago, I started out on this blogging adventure. Say what?!?

I still remember the conversation I had with my friend Carolyn when she popped the idea of blogging into my head since I said I was going to craft my way through Tom’s deployment.

I thought she was nuts. I don’t share my personal life that openly with people I haven’t taken the time to know, so really a blog? I wasn’t sure I was wanting to put myself out there like that.

After pondering on our conversation, I realize that she was not as nuts as I may have first thought. So I decided to jump in the blogging world exactly two years ago to be a distraction.

Here we are 24 months later, and I have to say that this blog has been such a great gift.

Since moving to KY a little more than a year ago, this space has been a go to place.

It was a place I could find support and give support.

It was a place to show my creativity and gain insight for new things.

It was a place that gave me a voice at times when I didn’t think I had it.

So here are some of my highlights from this last year:

  • I co-hosted a link up for the first time with my friend Elizabeth (who I met through blogging). And while Autumn on My Mind wasn’t a smashing success as we had hoped, it was a fun experience to learn through as we developed the series. Plus, I think it made a great platform for Elizabeth and I to create a great bond!
  • I was part of the Cara Box Exchange organization team for a couple of months. This was a great gift exchange for so many people! This gave me an opportunity to reach out to even more women in the blogging world. Plus it was a unique experience to work on that initiative purely through online formats.
  • I wrote about Tom and I’s love story in an 8-week series. You can start here. (They are listed in succession on my about me page.)
  • I started various other series on here such as Armucation, Talks With Tom, 35 for 35, and Friday Filters.
  • I shared more than I thought people would want to know and allowed myself to be vulnerable about things I couldn’t control. But doing so provided me with so much support from some of the most random places, which was such a Godsend at various times throughout this year.
  • I let Tom take over the blog once.
  • I posted our baby announcement on the blog and since have shared our journey to becoming first-time parents.
  • I participated in give-aways, link-ups, and sponsorships….I’m hip with the blogger lingo.
  • And I could go on an on…

Two years ago, I had no idea that I would enjoy it so much. It has been fun to have this documentation of our lives. As I stated Monday with my name change, this blog has evolved into something more than I would have ever imagined that day in the ISU dining center.

It’s been cathartic in so many ways.

So I wonder what’s up next in year 3?

My guess is lots and lots of baby onsies.

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Finding My Yellow

As I near another anniversary on this blog (2 years this Friday), I started to really think about the direction I wanted to go with this space.

I first started out just wanting to document the months that Tom was away on his first deployment. It was an avenue for me to share my experiences and anxiety that came along with being an Army spouse. I shared some joys too as I took the time to reflect on various things and shared the crafts that kept me preoccupied.

I have spent the last two years tweaking this space as Army Crafter. It has developed into something much more than I ever dreamed of. I remember thinking that I would not continue this blog after that deployment, and we see how well that plan worked out for me.

Things are changing rapidly in our lives. We are growing our family, and our jobs will be changing here in the future along with a move back to our homestate.

Army Crafter just didn’t seem to fit what I wanted my little space in the Blogosphere to be anymore.

We are going to be transitioning out of the military here in the next year. And let’s be honest, I haven’t had a craft in every post for months. So it just isn’t really jiving with the way the blog has taken off for me. I wanted this blog to have a little more sustainability than I felt Army Crafter was allowing me.

I have thought about changing this for months now, and titles have been coming and going as I pondered what I wanted this blog to be.

I read a book a while back that had a saying about a yellow umbrella amongst the gray storms. It was a little more poetic than that, but hopefully you see that it meant that even if our life is chaotic and not how we thought it may be, there is always a positive outlook. Something bright and cheery, like a yellow umbrella in rain.

That yellow imagery really stuck with me. For one it is my favorite color, and two looking for positives in a mess was kind of the story of my life this last year.

With things continuously changing for us, I want to always be looking for positives and be ever thankful. No matter how gray or blah it may be with the storm, there is always a yellow umbrella. (I like this better than the silver lining garb.)

While I wanted a title with yellow umbrella in it initially, my quest for the perfect title came up empty thanks to “How I Met Your Mother.” Also, I didn’t want Rihanna’s voice to appear in your head every time you visited some variation of under my umbrella.

So I settled on “Finding My Yellow” as my new official domain.

This blog is for me to share pieces of my life with the world, but I also want it to be a constant reminder to me to keep searching for my “yellow.”

Army Crafter served me well for the past two years, but I am excited to see what life brings as I find my yellow.

So I hope you continue to follow along on this new journey!

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Now, it is going to take me a few days to change everything over and overhaul some areas of the blog, so just bare with me as I do so. In theory, armycrafter.wordpress.com should just redirect you to my new site, but in case it doesn’t you can start following me for good now on findingmyyellow.com.

 

 

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Confessions

I feel like all of my posts lately have been baby related, so I figured I would do something a little random and make some confessions to you.

Also I make no promises that a baby won’t be mentioned.

1. I confess that I have been struggling as a dog mom lately. We have been having some chewing issues lately when Tom and I are out. (Clarification:  That is Grace and Crosby with the chewing problem, not Tom and I.) And I don’t know what else to do because our go tos are not working. We are on the struggle bus.

2. I confess that I am also tired of cleaning up Grace puke, which has been an all too common occurrence because she eats too fast and chokes herself.

3. I confess that Crosby has stolen my heart with how he follows me everywhere. He could be sound asleep on the couch but if I get up to do anything he jumps to be my sidekick and protector. I think he knows the baby is coming. (Maybe that’s why they have been nutso…)

4. I confess that I get sucked into TV shows (especially those that I binge watch) and sometimes forget that it is not real life. When I watched The West Wing, I was really confused that it wasn’t real news.  Right now, I seriously think that the characters of Bones are my real life friends. I am totally a scientist…

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5. I confess that stores bringing “back to school” items on the shelves makes me want to buy lots of pretty notebooks and planners.

6. I confess that it does not fully feel like summer to me because I have yet to be in a floating device in a lazy river (real river or swimming pool river). I have been to both a river and a swimming pool, but the floating device is clutch in my summeriness.

7. I confess that I have to set the alarm to account for a cushion because I will hit the snooze button. There have been periods of my life where I had to set it at least an hour ahead because I would hit it that many times…now it is just one. That’s what I call progress.

8. I confess that sometimes I forget what I write in the blog. Then when I am having face to face conversations and people reference something I said, I will think “How in the world did they know that about me??!?!? CREEPER!” Then I remember I am a blogger and am grateful that people actually read what I write.

9. I confess when someone says, “Smile” for pictures, even if I am not in it, I will smile for the camera that I am not in front of. I find myself cheesing up even when the staging is occurring on TV or I am behind a mask.

10. I confess that my favorite part of our prenatal class is making mental bets on which person wont make it to the break to use the bathroom.

11. I confess that this morning I put my contacts in the wrong eyes, so my eyes were attacking the contacts all the way to work this morning until I realized what I did and switched them. The prescription is drastically different in both eyes, so it is amazing that I made it to work alive on that blurry vision. You know it’s going to be a good day…

Can you relate to any of these? Any confessions you want to make?

 

 

 

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That Time I Clapped at My Husband

Pregnancy hormones are a trip.

This weekend I was finishing up some laundry upstairs, and it was close to dinner time.

I hollered down the stairs to see if Tom was up for grilled cheese for dinner.

My husband makes the best grilled cheese, hands down. So naturally, what 7ish months pregnant woman wouldn’t want them?

He replied with a “Sure.” (In my head, that meant, Tom was getting up to make them right that minute.)

I put away the remaining laundry, and then made my way downstairs. I would say at least 5 minutes (maybe 10) had passed at this point.

Tom was still sitting on the couch, so I reminded him with a, “Grilled Cheese?”

He nodded and then started talking about something online that he was reading.

A couple more minutes passed. I replied with another, “Grilled Cheese?” (Is he going to get the point that I need food like yesterday?)

He kept yammering on about who knows what.

I am not really sure what came over me, but then I started clapping at him and emphatically said, “I need some grilled cheese now.”

For the most part, I am not this demanding. (At least, I would like to think I am not.) However, I am to the point where if I have food set in my mind it needs to happen within the next five minutes.

Or apparently a clapping diva comes out.

Tom has been very patient with me and my random hormonal moments. He has been good at giving me back and foot rubs and getting me more water when I am out or anything else that I ask. He has been very attentive to my pregnancy woes.

We had a good laugh about this for the rest of the evening after enjoying grilled cheese.

Maybe now he will get the point though on the first try…

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 Have you had random demanding moments? Did pregnancy make you do silly things?

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35 Before 35 Update

I didn’t do so hot this month…I blame it on all the travel.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year

2. Do a photography challenge

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (5/5)

  • We went to Broken Arrow, OK for a wedding. Donsies!

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the KY/TN area

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

  • Yep.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

  • My pictures were featured in a local magazine for the art auction that I did back in March. So exciting! I also did another newborn shoot a little while ago. So fun! Anyone have any photographer needs? I would love to help you out!
Glinn Photography

This kid had the best hand expressions. Loved capturing this little guy!

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (1/10)

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

  • Done last month

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • I made another breakfast casserole. This one was so much better than my last attempt. I am not good at doing recipe posts so click here for the recipe. It was pretty good and lasted a long time since I froze half of it.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (15/20)

  • We went to an ice cream place called Sparky’s in Columbia, MO this past weekend. They have the most random flavors of ice cream and make everything in house. Pretty decent!

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Have a Kentucky Derby themed 3oth birthday party.

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (0/10); Documentaries (4/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

I know I still have a lot of time to chip away this list, so in reality I didn’t do so bad.

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Do you have any personal challenges that you are working on?