July 31, 2015 by Stephanie

Why I Still Blog

Three years ago, I thought this was going to be a fad. It was just something to distract me from Tom’s deployment.

Little did I know, I would still be doing it even now that Tom is no longer active in the military.

So why do I still do it?

1. It’s a release for me. I have always enjoyed writing, and expressing my thoughts this way has been good for my soul. Through this writing, I have been able to open up about insecurities in my life (faith, work, family…). I am not sure I would have faced some things as fully if it weren’t for this space allowing me to open up. (Ripping the band aid off in some ways.) I have been able to embrace some of the hard things by just putting them out there, and found support and people relating to my issues. I don’t have to open up about these things, but I have found that having this space pushes me to be not only honest with others about the reality of life, but mostly with myself about the imperfections and to celebrate the growth.

2. I have really enjoyed connecting with others. Whether that is with my blog friends or people I know in real life, I feel that I have been able to get to know people better through my blog. It’s perfect way for this introvert to do some mass socialization.

3. Free books. Through some connections on these interwebs, I have been able to review books in exchange for a book. Yes, please! I am not going to lie that this is an awesome perk to blogging.

4. I like having a space to chronicle not only my life, but also my marriage and George’s life (which I guess are extensions of my life…). I read back on George’s monthly updates, and there are things I have already forgotten. It is great to have this space to have as a photo diary of sorts to remember our life we have made but to see what we came out of as well.

5. I enjoy it. Plain and simple. Blogging has become a hobby of mine. I like that it ebbs and flows. It is there when I need it, but I don’t feel pressured to do it every day. I get to write about things that I want to write about: things that I am passionate about, things I find funny, things that inspire me, you know my things. So I will keep doing it as long as it doesn’t feel like a job, and I keep getting something good out of it.

4d185db1945c43056fad534fa0b5c3a9 image via

Thank you for reading. While a lot of reasons I blog seem to be for myself, I have really enjoyed the connections I have made with others by sharing my stories. Your comments and messages mean a lot to me. I do hope that by putting my life out there I am able to touch and impact others through my words. So thank you for coming to my space!

Here’s to another year of writing ahead!

August 1, 2014 by Stephanie

The Terrific Twos!

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

terrible-twos

image via

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.

August 1, 2013 by Stephanie

Blogaventure-Year One

It is crazy to think that my blogging journey started a year ago. I started blogging with the intent to talk about my crafts that were a distraction from Tom’s first deployment. It quickly turned into an all out life blog. Once Tom returned from his deployment and the move was impending, I wondered if I would continue blogging. There were parts of me that said, “eh I don’t need this anymore.” But after some encouragement from my those around me and seeing my blogging community grow, I knew that this blog was something I still needed.

It started out as a place that I could record my crafty side and keep me preoccupied. I remember having a conversation early last spring with someone saying that I may just quit after we move because the crafts will die down. I felt that I had to have a craft every time I posted otherwise I wasn’t being true to the original intent. Sometimes I get so stuck up in responsibility and structure that it becomes a hindrance-but that is a topic for another day. Anyway this person told me that I should keep up with it and talk about life as it happens with the move, the new job, etc. She basically gave me permission to move past just being a craft blog, even though I had pretty much done that anyway from the get go. (I promise the crafts are coming back, they just needed to take a brief hiatus.)

This blog has been a place of reflection when I can’t seem to piece things together. (It’s like grad school all over again…Reflection without worrying about APA format-heck yes!) It has been a place of triumph, celebration, and support. I don’t always say the right things or say the profound thing, but I speak about what is on my heart and about what is happening in my world. And sometimes I just want to show a dog video! (of my own dog naturally)

Writing has always been something I have enjoyed. I am not always quick to verbally say things on my mind, so writing gives me time to process things in my own space and at my pace. And as you can see, I just have at it and sometimes don’t know when to stop.

When I first started it was merely a way to share more with people I already knew. I had no idea the world that this blog would open up to me. I have met some pretty amazing individuals through the blog world. Living in Ames, I was not surrounded by many who understood what I was going through as a military spouse. Reaching out to fellow bloggers gave me a connection, that during the inception of this blog, I didn’t realize I needed. I was able to read others stories and feel their pain as my pain and saw feelings that I had not been able to put into words yet. For me this has turned out to be one of the greatest gifts of becoming a blogger. These strangers opened up to me in a way that made me feel that I was not alone while Tom was gone.

This has been a great journey to help me process life in relation to my role as an Army wife, but also spanned many other facets of my life unintentionally.

So thank you to those who inspired me to start this blogaventure and those that inspire me to continue.

Here are some of my “best ofs” from the past year:

My reaction to base living

Processing my grandparent’s deaths

First anxiety attack of the deployment

Do all that you can

Marriage is Awesome-probably my all time favorite for so many reasons I could not begin to explain.

My version of the ripple effect

Christmas Devotional

Have a little faith

Tom’s home! Goodbye Deployment!

There are more that I really enjoyed, but I will let you peruse through my blog past if you like. Not to be vain, but I think I wrote some quality stuff in the past year. In all seriousness though, I hope you enjoy it too.

And because I have been blessed with a community in the blog world, I wanted to share some blogs that I believe are brilliant. These are also blogs that I have enjoyed reading and feel moved by. These are military significant others, but let’s be honest, that is the whole reason I started blogging in the first place so I wanted to pay homage to those in that world.

http://armyamy.wordpress.com/

http://clickitupanotch.com/

http://armyeverafter.com/

http://sweettea-lemonade.blogspot.jp/

http://www.thenotquitemilitarywife.com/

http://lifearmywifestyle.com/

http://pearlsdiamondsandeverythingelse.wordpress.com/

http://www.wifessionals.com/

http://janelle-and-dan.blogspot.com/

http://jomygosh.blogspot.se/

I follow a lot of other wonderful blogs, and if you would like to see the entire list then check me out at Bloglovin. You can also follow me on there, just click on the on my sidebar.

If you have read me for awhile or this is your first time, I want to THANK YOU for spending some time with my thoughts. The support and remarks coming my way are at times overwhelming, and I am truly humbled by the comments and views.

So here’s to a Happy Blog Birthday!