10 THINGS VOL. 2

I’m sitting here on my computer at 10pm trying to get my life in order before Jack and I fly back home tomorrow. I took an unplanned hiatus from my blog this past weekend because I was just trying to soak up as much family time as possible. I didn’t want to skip another day– the guilt is too strong. So I thought I’d do this 10 things post again, because I had so much fun writing it last week and loved hearing from you guys, too.

OK, here we go. The first ten things to pop into my brain…

I’m coming to terms with the fact that in this season of life, my work can’t come first. I wouldn’t change it and I feel incredibly lucky and eternally grateful that I can work on my own terms. As I mentioned, I do have pretty extreme guilt though over it. I’m proud of what I’ve done over the past 13 years (I think this is my 14th year….) and I hate to feel like I’m not able to do it all. The reality, though, is that my priorities have shifted. It might not be a forever thing and I might be able to strike a better balance in the future, but right now? This is the right choice for my family– and me! Easier said than done to let go of the guilt, but I’m working on it!

This is the time of year when I start daydreaming about moving south. I know we’re getting towards the end of winter and spring is right around the corner. Being in Charleston and then Tampa last week though really got me thinking about moving. This happens every year though, I have to remind myself and I really do love our home and where we live. I don’t actually want to move, just maybe have a place to spend winters 🤪 I did look at houses for sale, as one does while on vacation, just for fun. It’s fun to daydream while I wait for the snow to melt and leaves to come back on the trees….

How many photos and videos will my iPhone store? I have an obscene number of photos and videos on my iPhone and I have to imagine I’m going to run out of storage soon. Especially since I shoot all videos in the highest quality. I need to come up with a system to routinely go through photos and videos I’ve taken to delete stuff. Do I need the 398 photos I took of Jack in five minutes? Surely I only need one or two of the best ones from each burst.

I am beyond grateful to travel again. I wouldn’t consider myself a great traveler by any means, but after not being able to travel for a couple of years, I’m so grateful to be able to go places again. Especially being able to hop on a plane and visit my family whenever it works. It’s kind of terrible how such drastic measures really put into focus a) how much I took the ease of travel for granted before and b) how little I took advantage of it. I don’t want to slip back into my old ways and I don’t think I will. I realized how important it was to me!

With that said, I really wish my friends lived closer/I lived closer to them. One of the most amazing things about having grown up in multiple states and gone to college in another and then having a somewhat “virtual” job is that I’ve made friends all over the country. One of the most challenging aspects about that is that I have friends all over the country and I so wish we lived closer. I cried the other day after saying goodbye to a friend and, ugh, it was just a hard moment. It’s amazing to really click with someone and then heartbreaking when you just can’t see each other that often.

We had our neighbor come over to babysit. And it made me feel like a real grown up. Wasn’t it just me who was walking over to my neighbors’ house to babysit their kids so they could go out for date nights? And now we have our teenaged neighbor coming over?! It was actually so great. This was the first time we left him with someone other than a very close friend or family member and I was scared, but it felt good, too.

Why is it so hard to find basic, classic dresses? I feel like everything right now is so, so over the top. I just want, like, simple silhouettes that aren’t too fussy and that can be worn on an everyday basis. No crazy prints. No oversized collars. Nothing crazy or quirky or flirty. Just like… normal basics. I can’t be the only person feeling this way. (Of course, this is a champagne problem. Just lightheartedly venting here. I have plenty of things in my closet and nothing is truly a need.)

My right foot grew a teeny tiny bit during pregnancy. Only my right foot. And only a tiny bit. It’s not exactly enough to need new pairs of shoes and since my left foot didn’t grow I don’t need to replace my shoes. It’s such a strange thing to see the surprising ways my body has changed. I put my foot into a pair of ballet flats this week and realized they weren’t as comfortable as they used to be because of my right foot. Hoping they stretch out slightly or my foot eventually shrinks back down a little. (I’ve heard it can happen? TBD.)

I wish I could try a shorter haircut without committing to a shorter haircut. Maybe it’s because my hair has become a tantalizing toy for a certain seven month old, but I’m ready to chop it all off. I know I would instantly regret it though. I am curious what a little bob would look like. More to the point though, as I could just try on a wig or photoshop a bop onto a photo, I am curious how it would be to style said bob. Would my hair be too unruly? Would getting it to look “right” every morning be easier or harder than blow drying long locks? Would I miss being able to throw it back into a bun or ponytail? Could it survive in summer humidity? I had a very short bob in elementary school and I remember that my hair felt straighter short than it was when it was long?? Too many unknowns… I’ll probably just stick to what I know.

Packing cubes are really great. Okay, okay. I finally get the hype of packing cubes! I didn’t think they could actually do that much. I consider myself a pretty efficient and organized packer in general, so I wasn’t sure that packing cubes were necessary. When I was “nesting” at the end of my pregnancy, I bought a set of packing cubes. I can’t really explain why I felt like I needed packing cubes for the hospital but I did and I got them. Now that I’m packing for two people though, I started using them to keep our things separate and organized and, wow, they really do make a difference. Consider me a convert. They squish everything in tightly so you can absolutely squeeze more things into your suitcase, without it becoming an overflowing mess. They’re magic!