Life at Lightning Speed

January is over already!! This month has flown by. Lots of things have changed and are changing, and then some things are remaining the same, and both are beautiful.

In January, both this blog and I had a birthday! The blog turned 7 and I turned 27, so yay!

On my birthday, after a yummy dinner of gyros, after presents, after my parents and sister went home, I sat on my couch and made a list of 27 things I want to experience while I'm 27. Some of them I've done before and want to do again, and some of them I've never done before and I'm excited to try. I will probably post the list before my 28th birthday and show you everything with pictures.

I will share one thing on my list, though. I wanted to dye my hair, and last weekend I did! I have been wanting to go darker {I'm naturally a medium-to-light brown}, and so last week I bought a box dye and Saturday night I bit the bullet and dyed my hair. I've had my hair colored before, both out of a box and professionally, but this was my first time I was the one with both the hair and the bottle of dye! Don't worry - it looks fabulous :)

Speaking of changing colors....

I painted my living room wall! The light is quite awful - the original wall color was a lime green that was fun and funky {and not at all like the urine color that it appears in the above picture}. But oh my gosh, PURPLE!!!

Here's after the first coat - isn't it fantastic!? A wee bit streaky {that's why we do second coats} but overall, quite lovely. I just touched up the trim last night, so I'll try and remember to share some pictures once the tape is off and the furniture is back in place. Key word there is "try."

Let's see, what else happened in January? I attended a birth {ALWAYS a joy!}, spent time with my sister who was home on break, met friends for happy hours, and watched several episodes of "Parenthood." I read 5 books, cleaned many parts of my house that had been neglected, and got my business license. My doula adventures probably deserve their own post, so we'll see if that happens.

The title of this post basically sums up life - it's happening fast! I've got a good life, and I'm grateful. Thanks for being a part of it!

7 Quick Takes: Avoiding the Awkward

Linking up with Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum for today's edition of 7 Quick Takes!

1. This week has felt both reallyreally long and reallyreally short. It felt long because this weekend is going to be exciting and waiting is hard. It felt short because there were a lot of items on my to-do list. Life is crazy sometimes, isn't it?

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2. My friend Laurie was in town last weekend, and my sister Jayna joined us on a fun little adventure to Bellingham. It was so pretty there, and we had crepes for dinner and dessert, and then we shopped at a cute little shop. The weather was fantastic and we had a great time. 

3. That monkey is making me dizzy. Including him was a mistake. 

4. Lent has begun! I went to a neighborhood church's Ash Wednesday service, and it was really, really good. They had set up four stations, with oil, water, clay, and ash, and there were Scripture readings and thoughts to meditate on throughout the service. I'm really excited about this Lent season.

5. The only downside of the Ash Wednesday service was a bit of shock I experienced. There was an older gentleman greeting people and welcoming them into the sanctuary, and so I went over and introduced myself. His name was Carl, and he was so sweet! But then... out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of another man. In disbelief, I ducked behind Carl and peeked out to confirm my suspicion. 

My manager from LifeWay, my job as a senior in high school, stood just a few feet from Carl. And while I successfully avoided any awkward conversations {namely the, um, name issue}, I sat low in my chair as my former manager led the congregation in song not once, not twice, but three times. Oi.

6. You're right - it totally was not as awkward as it could have been, but lezbihonest - who really wants to go up to a person and say, "Remember me? You told me to not read books on the job 9 years ago at LifeWay! Happy Lent!" I think I made the right decision by hiding avoiding averting a disaster. 

7. Speaking of avoiding awkwardness, I think I did that successfully when I met with a couple different ladies and interviewed them about their pregnancies and deliveries. There's always the potential for awkwardness in situations like those, and I'm proud of myself for not inducing {pun intended} any cringes. 

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Happy weekend, y'all!

Finish This: Week Fifty

Ohhhh my gosh, people. Two weeks left of 2014. Gulp. Ca-razy!

Counting down the weeks means linking up with our fab hostesses: Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, Lisa at Coastlined, and Nicole at Three 31 - happy birthday, Nicole!

{Hey, with the New Year approaching, I'm joining these awesome bloggers in posting a Year in Review post! This is the mother of all Finish This posts, and I've been prepping for weeks. If you want to join the fun on December 31st, let me know or email Nicole, and we will hook you up!}

Getting older is fantastic. More and more often I find myself thinking, "It's great being an adult!" I am a quarter of a century old, and I think that each year is going to increase in both challenges and triumphs. That's my hope, anyway.

My best kept secret should probably not be published on the internet. Sorry Charlie.
I will follow Nicole's recommendation and share instead 2 "secrets" to my life success. 1) Always wear deodorant. 2) Pick a recipe, master it, make it your signature dish, and laugh away the applause.

My guilty pleasure is reading birth stories. Grace at Camp Patton has theeeee best birth story link-up everrrr and whenever I've got some time {or even when I don't!}, I slink over and find new stories to read. Yes please thank you kindly please here's to you.

My favorite place in the world is wherever my family is all together. Usually that means my parents' kitchen table, and now sometimes it means my living room. In a couple of weeks, it's going to mean an airplane on its way to Omaha - yay for family travels!

There you have it! Next week is all Christmas prompts because Christmas Eve is next Wednesday. Holy Moses. Come join the fun!

Life Update

Golly, "life update" sounds so serious and intense, and while that applies to some things, we're not gonna be alllll seriousness. It's a mixed bag up in he-ah, folks.

Since it's Tuesday, let's start with a Doula Adventures update. Bradley class was last night, and it was pretty fantastic. A couple from the last class came in with their 3-month-old and told us their birth story, which is basically my favorite thing since crunchy peanut butter. Then the class focused on stages of labor, which was great because I just read that part of Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel. I love it when different sources talk about the same topic.

Speaking of books, I started listening to Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. She also wrote Code Name Verity which quickly became one of my favorites. I'm waiting for this one to grab me like the first one did, but we're only on the second disc. I'm sure it's going to get intense here very soon.

Still speaking about books, Jen Hatmaker just released a new one. Interrupted is the prequel of sorts to 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, which I loved, as you might remember from Christmas. Well, Jen gave away 350 copies of her book to bloggers who would agree to review it before August 15th. Guess who got a copy?! This blogger! Guess who will be reading a review very soon?! You will!! Brace for impact, because Jen never fails to pack a wallop in her 200 pages.

Exiting the library now and continuing with the update...

My friend Laurie is coming next week! Actually, a lot of people are coming in town for a conference with my dad, but Laurie is the only one who is going to stay with me. I'm so excited to see her, but my house needs some serious cleaning before I let her in the door. Some weeks are easier than others to stay on top of the housework, and the past few weeks have been of the not-easy kind. Sometimes you just have to go to bed before 8pm #trueconfession

Victoria and I had a phone date last week, talking of all things doula certification and blogging. {Side note: isn't it awesome when you're real-life friends with someone in the blogging world? I'm a fan.} We talked about why and how doulas should be certified, her experience with a friend filling the doula-role, and then we talked about blogging. So much fun!

I started watching "Pushing Daisies" and am already anticipating withdrawals. The first season is great and I watched it in a couple weeks, and now I'm 3 episodes into the second season and am dragging it out as long as I can because this is the end. Isn't that always how it goes? You blow through the first season in excitement and over-eagerness, and then by the last season you don't want it to end. Well, it especially sucks when the entire show is only 2 seasons long.

When you start the first season and realize how wonderful the show is:

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When you start the second season and realize that the end is near:

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Bee tee dubs, can we pause for one moment and just appreciate the gorgeousness of Lee Pace? Hot dang. That was a good moment. Thank you for participating. 

Well, I don't know if anything can follow up Mr. Pace...nope, nothing comes to mind. Have a wonderful Tuesday, friends!

NAS: Summer Reading List

Wow, the Not Alone Series didn't keel over?! Nope, it just decided to take summer a bit slower! We've got July's post this week and then a few fantastic ladies are meeting in Georgia together! Just a little bit jealous up here, but since Seattle weather has been in the 90s all week, I will stay here and enjoy the heat without the humidity :)

Share your favorite book recommendations! Beach reads, deep novels, anything! Share share share!

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Fiction; published 2012; set in England, 1941
My favorite books tend to rotate, so for this book to come up twice {in case you missed it, it was one I shared with Laura when we interviewed each other} is significant. This book, you guys.... it's really, really well done. This was the first book in a while where I would have chosen reading over socializing...and I'm a 9.5 out of 10 on the {made-up} extrovert scale! It's so gripping. Just read it!
Language warning: this is a war-time story and there is some intense - albeit appropriately used - language.

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker
Non-fiction; published 2012
I've mentioned this book a couple times last year {a QT here and a Christmas post here}. This book wrecked me, and I need to read it again because change comes slowly. Jen picked seven areas of her life from which she eliminated excess and practiced simplicity, and this book is both blog posts from during each month {she focused on one area for 30 days each} as well as her conclusions after the fact.

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Midwife by Peggy Vincent
Non-fiction; published in 2003
This was my first "baby" book that I read, and I think it may be my favorite for both a narrative and birth stories. Vincent weaves together both her journey as a midwife and wonderful birth stories of her clients, and the result is wonderful. If the subject matter is up your alley, this is a great and fun read!
Content warning: this is a book about birth, so guess what gets described in detail? Also, Vincent doesn't know Jesus and is in Berkeley in the 1970s, so that is something to keep in mind as you read.


Classic recommendations:
Emma by Jane Austen
Hello, I'm 25 years old and just read Emma for the first time a couple months ago. Read it. Push past how annoying Emma is. Pick yourself up from that swoon for Mr. Knightley. Read this classic {and check out this modern adaptation on You.Tube and Samara's review!} and let me know what you think!

Persuasion by Jane Austen
I think this is my favorite Austen novel. My friend Julie and I are re-reading it together right now, and I am reminded yet again how much I love it. Any one else a Persuasion fan?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is another book that I should have read as a teenager but missed it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it last winter and highly recommend it as either a first-time read or a re-read.

There you go, friends! Enjoy your reading, and let me know if any of these books make your best or worst lists. Thanks for hosting, Jen and Morgan!

Adventure!

On Friday, I alluded to a new direction that I'm pursuing. Sorry for all the vagueness there... I wasn't quite ready to announce it to the internet/world. I still don't know how to transition from "telling you that I'm going to tell you" to "actually telling you." Here goes. Gulp.

I'm going to start the certification process to become a doula!!! 

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I know, I'm excited, too. 

It all started with an email from Laura at A Drop in the Ocean. She sent me the link to DONA International, which is the standard of doula certification. I looked at the requirements and thought, I could do this. I tried to dismiss the thought, but I couldn't! So I began to wonder if this was a subtle hint.

A couple weeks later, the conversation and lightbulb moment happened. Samara was relaying to a friend how people tell her "you just light up" when discussing one of her passions, and I was in the corner de-fuzzing my clothes and wondering what on earth made me "light up" and then it hit me: birth makes me light up. 

{True confession: when I'm bored, I go to Camp Patton's birth story link-up and read birth stories.}

So when Samara and Cami and I made our way down to the Oregon coast for an extended Memorial Day weekend, and we just so happened to stop in Portland a) for some yummy breakfast and b) for the mother of all used bookstores, and I just so happened to find my way to the childbirth section within 3 minutes of entering the store {seriously, less than 3 minutes!}, I figured that maybe this "subtle" hint was more like "a neon-lit sign with a marching band" hint. 

And I also figured that  purchasing one book on the subject should be thought of as an investment. I joyfully, gleefully purchased Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. 

{True confession: I finished the first third of the book that same day.}

Yesterday, I was home alone for the afternoon, and I decided that I should finally watch some videos, because reading can only take you so far, especially when you *cough* have a history of *cough* fainting. Previously in my life, AJ showed me the documentary "The Business of Being Born" and I made it through that one alright. But that was a few years ago, and now I needed to know what all I could visually handle. So yesterday, I watched the first episode of "The Midwives" AND the first episode of "One Born Every Minute." And I didn't faint. I didn't feel woozy. I didn't get dizzy. I didn't see spots. I'm amazed, actually. 

The responses I've received from telling people have been incredible. So many people have encouraged me in this, from "You'd be great at that!" to "Wow, that's really cool." One of my concerns was that I wouldn't be completely qualified since, um, you know, I've never had a baby. But person after person encouraged me that it wouldn't matter and that actually it's easier when you don't have kids because of the crazy "schedule." 

So that's where I'm at. I'm thrilled and nervous and excited and scared and incredulous and awed and delighted. I'm at the very beginning of this journey, and my plans are to keep this little bloggy-blog updated as my journey progresses. I'll be posting useful links, book reviews, and general thoughts as I go, so stay tuned!

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Blog Every Day Feb: Day Two - What Fires Me Up

Linking up with Bailey Jean for the Blog Every Day in February challenge!

Golly, where do I even begin? Bailey Jean created a beautiful collage to share her passions; Laura focused on an overarching theme. I could make a list, but it would be a) really really REALLY long and b) incomplete no matter the length. So... here's a hybrid :)

First of all is Jesus. He made me and He made the things that I'm passionate about, and He made me passionate about them. He's the best. 

Secondly, my family gets me fired up. This is both in the positive way and negative way, but that's the beauty of family, right? :)

The pro-life movement gets me fired up. I volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, and my four hours there are the highlight of my week. If we're friends on Facebook, you may notice that I share more pro-life articles than actual status updates, and I have to remind myself to share my passion gently with people, instead of bursting with facts and information and solutions. Still working on this :)

Those are the big three, I think. And now in no particular order, here are more fire-starters:

• friends
• mojitos
• travel
• books
• Hans Zimmer
• birth stories
• cleaning
• education
• dancing
• children
• British television 
• baking cookies
• hosting {parties, visitors, overnight guests}
• showering
• laughter
• Zumba
• playing card or board games

...and sharing these with other people. I'm definitely an extrovert, plus I love people, so whenever I can be with someone, that's where I am. Being with people fires me up!

Wanna join the February blogging challenge? Here are the prompts; you can still join!

A Few Favorite Things

On the days that it's hard to regain consciousness wake up get out of bed, thinking of favorite things is necessary. And no more introduction is possible necessary because favorite things speaks for itself...and sings for itself. Sound of Music anyone??

moving on to this mystical list...

• Book Club tonight {we're reading Lady in Waiting and discussing it & it's FANTASTIC! a bit cheesy, but our discussions more than make up for that}
• good hair days...currently styling a ballet bun, which was surprisingly easy to put in {thanks, Mom, for those hundred years stabbing my head with bobby pins-4 is totes not a lot to this scarred scalp}
• birth stories...this is sorta weird, but I love reading or hearing birth stories, and last week I found a few good ones! Don't read if a) this weirds you out or b) you're in a quiet place like a library, because you will be LOL-ing for real on a couple of these. Camp Patton- Theo & Hysterical-Prepare to tinkle your pants
• trip planning! Dahlia and I are going to Prince Edward Island in August, and the other night we had a 2-hours-long conversation regarding this. Dahls is a champ and made an itinerary of our trip, and then we reviewed the things that needed finalizing and purchased things that needed purchasing, like tickets to these wonderful shows: Anne of Green Gables the Musical and Anne and Gilbert: the Musical. You can be jealous at any time now :)
• Introducing Sister E to Doctor Who...definitely a good thing! Gotta say, for being filmed in 2005, the first episode definitely has a 90s feel to it. Good ol' Britain! :)
• phone dates with AJ! Heck to the yeah, we're going to talk tonight! Maybe even use technology to see each other's faces...depends on how nice my technologically-advanced sisters are tonight...

And that, friends, are a few of my favorite things at this moment. Oh, add Taylor Swift to this list. She's totes adorbs, too. 

Happy Wednesday!

a bunch of random yumminess

idk what’s up with me sticking “yumminess” in this title. it just worked, ok?

so last post you got a glimpse of the craziness that was my life for like 2 weeks. whew! and this week….drumroll, please… I’m dog sitting. bam. stick in the mud right there. it’s actually kinda nice, though. I get to sit peacefully at home and sometimes throw a rope for a dog, sometimes take him outside to do his business, and other times just ignore him. ah, bliss.

ps for realz, I don’t ignore the dog. that would make me a bad dog sitter and that’s not me. I talk to him all the time. as in, please stop barking, or why don’t you go sit in the corner? or can you please stop barking? or want some dinner? or please please please stop barking!

you know. normal dog conversation.

um big news! my friend had her baby!!!!! he is so cute and precious and he scrunches up his face and looks like his big brother and when he’s sleeping and all you can see is his pudgy face he looks like his sister. and I have yet to see his eyes in person, but I've seen pictures, so I know they are there.

the cool thing is, my friend texted me like 30 minutes after, and I got to go to the hospital at 1am and see him and he hadn't even been cleaned off. he was just chilling like a villain, nursing away, and he was so there and so new and so perfect. it gave me chills.

yesterday {during the day time} I got to go see him again, and it was just him and mom and me for a while, and I just held him and it was amazing. I left the hospital feeling so humbled. crazy how such a little person has such power, eh?

the fam is heading home from the hospital today, so that’s awesome. the best part about him coming is that his expected due date wasn't for another week, so I get to spend an extra week with him! this makes me super happy, although I expect it will make leaving even more hard. but I’m not going to think about that- I’m just going to enjoy every second I have with this squishy-faced baby. :)

Pulling

Have you ever felt two completely different emotions at the same time? Welcome to my world!

I'm sooooooo excited to go to this new school, but it's so far away from my home! I'm thrilled to be doing something new, but I'm petrified to leave the old. I'm anticipating making lots of new friends, but I'm definitely going to miss the old ones. I'm looking forward to living in a dorm, but I'm nervous about sharing a room with a stranger.

 My emotions are flipping back and forth, pulling me from one feeling to the next. And while I don't want to be led by my feelings, I know that I need to process through them and talk with my parents and friends as they come. My discipler gave me a great analogy of this time in my life: preparing to go into labor! It's something I've been expecting, and the time comes when I'm ready, but when the moment comes, everything is katiwompus!

She told me that when you go into labor, your whole being shakes with adrenaline! This time of transition is so similar, because everything in me is shaking and vibrating and is focused on the now. I'm excited to begin this process, and I am definitely nervous, but as a wise man once told me, each progressive year is the best year of your life! Aka, it only gets better! Look up, readers, look up!