We're entering crunch time around the homestead. The movers come on Tuesday, and the next day we jump in the truck and drive our belongings 2000 miles to our new home.

I've been choosing studying over packing this week in the hope of finishing, or nearly finishing, my online course that's due before orientation. Student loans have been applied for, utilities have been changed, check-ups have been had, and we're as ready as anyone can be.

Except for the packing part.

Today. I'm starting today. Or tomorrow. One of the two.

Meanwhile, here are some things I've seen, heard and bookmarked lately:

Moving houseplants across the country (wish me luck)

How to Avoid a Life of Regret (a reminder to chase our dreams)

A new laptop backpack for school in a very cheerful color.

Welcoming back an old friend (via a great essay)

I'll be dressing business casual a lot more, and I needed close-toed flats to wear for orientation, professional engagements and patient encounters. It was harder than I thought it'd be to find comfortable ones I like. Target for the win! I'm loving these and these. (They go with everything.)

Luxury plant lighting for those apartment corners lacking natural light.

Why Suicide Isn't Selfish (beautiful. aching. I read it over and over again.)

Girl Meets Farm premiers Sunday! Yay! I have my DVR set!

This little cabin (all the heart eye emojis!)


Happy Weekending!

Seen, Heard and Bookmarked

Friday, June 22, 2018


T minus 6 days until The Move.

Lists and planning instead of stressing whenever possible. Agonizing over leaving friends and neighbors and a region we love must be kept strictly to a minimum.

Some of the things we wanted to do before we left aren't going to get done. (And that's okay.)

Because this is what the pursuit of The Dream looks like. And boy do I want The Dream. We've worked hard for The Dream.

So.

Chin up young lady; let's do this.


Kiddo is a high school graduate. An adult but not yet an adult, you know? He has an internship lined up, which starts in late July. I'm still trying to imagine what this new life will look like sans Kiddo, and initially sans Husband. Because he's headed to California, too, to get said burgeoning adult settled. I'll have nose to grindstone anyway, tucked away in library corners studying anatomy and pharmacology and all the other med school subjects my brain will have to somehow absorb.

Life isn't going to resemble anything I've ever known and that's confusing + daunting. But also exhilarating in that new-car-smell kind of way.

After spending 18 years nurturing a child, I don't know who I am without him.

Who is he without me?

I'm about to find out.

Thankfully the world is small these days and he's always just a click away.

(We're going to change the world, that kid and I.)


Last weekend we piled a lot of stuff on a few tables and peddled them to our fellow citizens.

We had a lot of objects we didn't use or want or need and when it was all laid out I felt more than a little shame. But also relief to be done with it.

I have a renewed resolution to be more proactive about evicting clutter.

We also made a fair bit of money.

Win-win.


Life feels complicated right now. But when I lay in bed at night, mentally preparing for a new day, I realize it's not. When you're about to leave a place you love, to start a scary new adventure, what's important has a way of surfacing over and over again despite your attempts to bury it in stress, worry, and to-do lists.

We have so much to get done, but spending time with friends—properly saying goodbye—is of the utmost importance. It's okay to put down the tape gun and meet my girls for drinks. I have one week left with them and a month from now there is zero possibility that I'll look back and wish I'd spent that time packing or studying. Not a chance.

I've been warned many times: prepare your family for the rigors of the program. Make them understand your lack of availability. Though I can't really, truly wrap my mind around it until I'm in the trenches, I believe them. I'm steeling myself mentally. Mario gets it. Which makes time together now so darn important. Like, front-of-the-line important. We're working in impromptu breakfast dates and running errands together whenever possible. We're going to be empty nesters in our late 30s, after all, and our connection must never be neglected. We've had practice being apart and working long hours, so I'm optimistic we'll cross this bridge better than most.


Leaving the Pacific Northwest is the hardest move we've made so far. Probably because we've yet to find The Place—the region we'd consider putting down roots and living out the rest of our lives in.  We felt that here. We talk about coming back. We plan to come back, as much as one can with so many unknowns. For the first time we feel like we are leaving our forever home and that is hard. The people and places have captured our hearts and now we are walking away. For better things, of course, but it's a strange feeling.

I have to remember: if we stay, our lives will be never be more than they are now. Which would be okay if we both had achieved our goals. That's not the case. So we do what we have to for The Dream to be realized and if the universe wants us back here we'll find our way.

But I also want to be open to other adventures. Because there are still a few places we haven't seen and they could capture our hearts as well.

The perfect job could come up in an unexpected place.

We're welcoming any and all possibilities, which isn't always so easy when what we already have is so, so lovely.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-Mark Twain

Thought bubbles.

Thursday, June 21, 2018


This is our first free weekend in a while. Sans social or parental obligation, we'll probably devote our time to our ongoing garage clean-out + closet/drawers purging. Hopefully we can carve out a little time to go exploring. Because Portland we're going to miss your guts. (Though Atlanta is no slouch when it comes to things to do, see and eat.) We've also started watching Shameless on Netflix, so there's 4000 hours of that to watch, too. #priorities

In the midst of finishing up my last week of work and all the other things we have going on, I decided to get Lasik. I've been wearing glasses since 4th grade and contacts since the age of 14, so my brain is like Whoa. My eye drop regimen is no joke, but so far it's been a pretty painless ordeal. (At 5 days in, I think I'm over that initial healing hump.) I'd been strongly considering laser vision correction for about a decade, and went from emailing my eye doctor to having the procedure in a span of less than two weeks. Game changer.

I'm 3 1/2 weeks into my ketogenic diet and so far, so good. I haven't lost weight, which is OK (unless I'm having a moment of impatience/doubt/insecurity), but this morning I slipped on a pair of jeans I couldn't button a month ago. And besides the ancillary issue of the number on the scale, I feel so much better. My belly isn't distended after meals, my wedding ring fits better, my mind is clearer, I have zero cravings, and I love the food options. (I have yet to feel deprived.) I have a ways to go when it comes to things like sleep hygiene and less screen time, but a lot of issues have taken care of themselves in the few weeks of following this lifestyle.

I'm officially switching from a PC to a Mac! This week husband and I sat down and ordered my new school laptop after casually deciding on size, etc over the last few months. We upgraded the RAM and memory and picked out a few must-have accessories . . . it will be ready for pickup at our local Apple Store in a couple weeks. I was hesitant to make the switch (price! learning curve!) but I've been overwhelmingly advised that this is the right choice if I want a laptop that is easy to use and will last for many years. Experiences making the switch? Yet another thing I foolishly added to my plate?

What's new with you?

Here are some things I've seen, heard and bookmarked lately:

Graduation announcement how-tos. (We botched a couple of these steps. Oops.)

A favorite new (to me) keto recipe blog.

I'll use this planner consistently! (though will I, really?)

Finding your own perfect self care (the husband/wife weekend dynamic she describes is spot on! Mario and I have the exact same struggles.)

On the hunt for a laptop backpack that's comfortable, sleek and not too sporty. Fjall Raven and Herschel Supply Co. make contenders.

washable paper (I'll take one of each, please.)

bucket list item

A solution to deal with the lack of natural light in the inner rooms of our Atlanta apartment (our foliage can roam free!)

Growing your Instagram kindly (a 4-parter)

all my accent wall dreams coming true


Have a great weekend!





Seen, Heard and Bookmarked: This + That

Friday, June 1, 2018

Instagram