When I first started blogging a couple years back, it was so that I could have a way of communicating my life and experiences of being a nanny in Stockholm. I had a good number of readers, mostly friends but some family. It was great, and I typically had lots of feedback/comments from people that read my blog.
Once I moved back to the US I started another blog as sort of, "My Life Post Stockholm", and while it was fun, and I had a few readers, one of my biggest hang ups is that I had family and close friends reading it. I'll be honest - there were times that I wanted to post about how someone drove me CRAZY, or my job was really annoying, or how this or that got on my nerves. So, I quit blogging.
I was [and am] a faithful reader of Blue-Eyed Bride. Erin - the blogger - simply posts about her daily life with her little family. When I started tossing around the idea of starting another blog, my hesitation came from simply not wanting to share it with everyone because, what if I want to say something ugly about a co-worker? Or what if I want to complain about things? However, I was struck by Erin, who has a huge following, and she really never has anything ugly to say. She's a positive, upbeat kind of girl [at least, she is on her blog], and I admire that!
I don't think complaining at times is wrong [and I'll be the first to admit that I can be a complainer], but I think your blog is your expression of your life, and if you always have rants or complaints coming out of it, what does that say about you?
So here's to girls like Erin, and Nina, and Lauren, who have awesome blogs that make me want to be a little more like them!
Learning by example
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Technical difficulties & crying in the mall
So, it's a really long story that I started to type out but then I realized, "Who would want to read all that?" So to make a long story short, I cried in the mall this weekend. Just flat-out started crying. And the sad part of the story is that it was because I couldn't find anything to buy.
I've discovered that's what happens when you're a girl that loves to shop and then moves to small town that's hours away from the nearest mall. You go shopping less and less, and eventually when you do go shopping, you have no clue what to buy cause everything looks pretty and new. Being that I get overwhelmed - no joke - when picking out a drink at the gas station, I get extremely overwhelmed when I'm at a mall surrounded by beautiful things. I want it all...and can only afford one or two things. And that makes me mad, and then I start getting depressed, and suddenly I'm standing in the middle of the mall crying.
Ridiculous. Not to mention embarrassing.
At any rate, I recovered, thanks to a very patient and sweet husband, and ended up getting a few things at NY & Co (they have great sales, good 'ol BOGO) and Target. My favorite purchase?
They're navy & white striped! If you know me, you know that's my thing. Or, as my MIL calls it, my signature. I love stripes to begin with, but navy and white are my favorite.
As a side note, if you notice I'm not posting much on my brand new blog, it's cause the computer I'm using is from 2001 and I literally walk out of the room while it's loading pages. It's SLOW. It's tough to blog with an old, dying computer. We've got a new one in the works here, so stick with me!!
I've discovered that's what happens when you're a girl that loves to shop and then moves to small town that's hours away from the nearest mall. You go shopping less and less, and eventually when you do go shopping, you have no clue what to buy cause everything looks pretty and new. Being that I get overwhelmed - no joke - when picking out a drink at the gas station, I get extremely overwhelmed when I'm at a mall surrounded by beautiful things. I want it all...and can only afford one or two things. And that makes me mad, and then I start getting depressed, and suddenly I'm standing in the middle of the mall crying.
Ridiculous. Not to mention embarrassing.
At any rate, I recovered, thanks to a very patient and sweet husband, and ended up getting a few things at NY & Co (they have great sales, good 'ol BOGO) and Target. My favorite purchase?
They're navy & white striped! If you know me, you know that's my thing. Or, as my MIL calls it, my signature. I love stripes to begin with, but navy and white are my favorite. As a side note, if you notice I'm not posting much on my brand new blog, it's cause the computer I'm using is from 2001 and I literally walk out of the room while it's loading pages. It's SLOW. It's tough to blog with an old, dying computer. We've got a new one in the works here, so stick with me!!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
I love Saturday mornings! I look forward all week long to having a good Friday night, then sleeping in on Saturday til 9 or 10, and waking myself up with a good cup of coffee. And that's exactly what I did this morning. We had B's family and our friends over last night for a cookout and campfire to celebrate his and his sister's birthdays (they're 2 days apart). It was a ton of fun, and crazy to witness 18 people milling around our little house and yard!
Today B and I are driving down to Minneapolis to celebrate our 1 YEAR anniversary that's tomorrow! It's neat to look back on our first year of marriage, especially at just how good it's been. Not to say that there haven't been rough times, but I'd say we're extremely happy with where we are in our lives and with each other. That's a good feeling.
And I'll be honest say I'm really excited about getting back to my favorite city! The Mall of America is calling my name...
Today B and I are driving down to Minneapolis to celebrate our 1 YEAR anniversary that's tomorrow! It's neat to look back on our first year of marriage, especially at just how good it's been. Not to say that there haven't been rough times, but I'd say we're extremely happy with where we are in our lives and with each other. That's a good feeling.
And I'll be honest say I'm really excited about getting back to my favorite city! The Mall of America is calling my name...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Here's a tip: never tell someone their birthday gift on the morning of their birthday while they're still in bed.
I'm sure you're thinking, "Really? Who does that?" Well, my friends....I do. I did that yesterday to B on the morning of his 28th birthday.
I'll be honest, the night before had been a little rough "relationally" [I hate to say we were fighting cause it sounds so dramatic and we really love each other! But we were. We all do, right?] and it was completely selfish of me, but I woke up the next morning in a really terrible mood. I let B sleep until right before I went to work, and then I woke him up to let him know A) he needed to put the dishes in the dishwasher away and fold the laundry, B) Happy Birthday and C) that I looked for him a hunting coat, couldn't find one, so he had a gift card in the living room with a card.
I am mortified I acted like that, just so you know.
I got to work and immediately felt like the biggest jerk in the world, so I called him and apologized. Profusely. Then I drove back home [from work] and hugged and hugged him and said I was terribly sorry for how I acted.
The rest of the day went much better. We had a great dinner on the patio of our favorite restaurant with some friends. We came home and B fell asleep on the couch while I took a Skinny Cow in the bath with me. It was a good ending to a day that didn't seem so promising at first.
And all I have to say now is, I'm never going to hear the end of how I woke up him the morning of his 28th birthday.
I'm sure you're thinking, "Really? Who does that?" Well, my friends....I do. I did that yesterday to B on the morning of his 28th birthday.
I'll be honest, the night before had been a little rough "relationally" [I hate to say we were fighting cause it sounds so dramatic and we really love each other! But we were. We all do, right?] and it was completely selfish of me, but I woke up the next morning in a really terrible mood. I let B sleep until right before I went to work, and then I woke him up to let him know A) he needed to put the dishes in the dishwasher away and fold the laundry, B) Happy Birthday and C) that I looked for him a hunting coat, couldn't find one, so he had a gift card in the living room with a card.
I am mortified I acted like that, just so you know.
I got to work and immediately felt like the biggest jerk in the world, so I called him and apologized. Profusely. Then I drove back home [from work] and hugged and hugged him and said I was terribly sorry for how I acted.
The rest of the day went much better. We had a great dinner on the patio of our favorite restaurant with some friends. We came home and B fell asleep on the couch while I took a Skinny Cow in the bath with me. It was a good ending to a day that didn't seem so promising at first.
And all I have to say now is, I'm never going to hear the end of how I woke up him the morning of his 28th birthday.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
How many times can you re-write an introduction to a little corner of your life? I'm here to tell you, plenty of times. It's tough to figure out how to begin a blog that you've been dreaming of for the last few weeks!
So, for that reason, we'll make this simple. I'm your average girl that grew up amidst cornfields, but never was too far from a shopping mall, numerous stores of all types, neighborhoods, etc. I made the move at age 19 to a big Midwestern city and I flourished! I loved living within close driving distance of four or five malls, huge plazas, outlet malls, restaurants galore, and skyscrapers. Then...I met the Man.
I'll call him "B". B hung the moon, the stars, the sun, and all the pictures on my walls and built me things, loved to ride motorcycles, go fishing, hunting, sit around campfires at night. He stole my heart.
Unfortunately, my heart was in one place and his was in another [ladies, does that sound familiar?] I decided after one year of dating that I needed to get out of town. So I moved to a large European city and au-paired for a year.
Worked like a charm, cause B realized he couldn't live without me. He came across the Pond to tell me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. And with 8 months, I had uprooted my city lifestyle of shopping, traveling, coffee dates and fine dining to go live in the Smallest Town on Earth.
[Okay, not really. But it IS small.]
We were married with a year of moving here, and at first, I was so charmed by small town life. Only two grocery stores? Only one place to buy clothes? Only 5000 people? No problem!
That attitude lasted about six months, and here I am. I love, love this town - I truly do - but I very often freak out because I am sick of going to Wal-Mart. I would give my left arm for a Target! It's hard living with so few [or none at all] big city amenities. Sometimes I want Starbucks. Or Chipotle. Or sushi. Or Nordstrom.
But when I start thinking about how much I miss those places that are near to my heart, I think about B, who is a country man through-and-through, and how much I love that. I think of our little white house with the blue shutters and red geraniums on the front porch, and the American flag that proudly blows in the wind. I think of our beautiful sunsets, hay bales in the fall, bass and trout fishing in the summers, and how sometimes it's really nice to drive one minute - literally - to pick up milk and sugar.
And then I realize, I love my life.
So, for that reason, we'll make this simple. I'm your average girl that grew up amidst cornfields, but never was too far from a shopping mall, numerous stores of all types, neighborhoods, etc. I made the move at age 19 to a big Midwestern city and I flourished! I loved living within close driving distance of four or five malls, huge plazas, outlet malls, restaurants galore, and skyscrapers. Then...I met the Man.
I'll call him "B". B hung the moon, the stars, the sun, and all the pictures on my walls and built me things, loved to ride motorcycles, go fishing, hunting, sit around campfires at night. He stole my heart.
Unfortunately, my heart was in one place and his was in another [ladies, does that sound familiar?] I decided after one year of dating that I needed to get out of town. So I moved to a large European city and au-paired for a year.
Worked like a charm, cause B realized he couldn't live without me. He came across the Pond to tell me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. And with 8 months, I had uprooted my city lifestyle of shopping, traveling, coffee dates and fine dining to go live in the Smallest Town on Earth.
[Okay, not really. But it IS small.]
We were married with a year of moving here, and at first, I was so charmed by small town life. Only two grocery stores? Only one place to buy clothes? Only 5000 people? No problem!
That attitude lasted about six months, and here I am. I love, love this town - I truly do - but I very often freak out because I am sick of going to Wal-Mart. I would give my left arm for a Target! It's hard living with so few [or none at all] big city amenities. Sometimes I want Starbucks. Or Chipotle. Or sushi. Or Nordstrom.
But when I start thinking about how much I miss those places that are near to my heart, I think about B, who is a country man through-and-through, and how much I love that. I think of our little white house with the blue shutters and red geraniums on the front porch, and the American flag that proudly blows in the wind. I think of our beautiful sunsets, hay bales in the fall, bass and trout fishing in the summers, and how sometimes it's really nice to drive one minute - literally - to pick up milk and sugar.
And then I realize, I love my life.