Not a priority.

I want blogging to be a priority because I have loved this little space over the last few years  but I just can't seem to make it so. Life has gotten busy, responsibilities have multiplied, and it seems to take a back seat most of the time. I feel like I have to talk all day, make decisions, write about things that when I get home - there aren't many words left.

Wrapped up my last trip to summer resident camp this past Monday and Tuesday with one of our local program partners. I am really proud of this partnership (Co.Starters and the Co.Lab here in Chattanooga...doing some really cool things for entrepreneurs in our city!) and where it is headed for our girls. My team has worked really hard helping them build a youth focused program and we are piloting it with our girls. They seemed to really like it and I hope it is something we can continue to build on.

I have a few days off from travel- though not really off because I've produced four drafts of my department budget and a final one due tomorrow with copious notes. Performance reviews for my team due Monday (which are done and turned in!). And then lots of laundry, cleaning, and packing this weekend for another trip that starts Sunday. I'll be gone 6 days this time with a small group of our girls to Florida to learn to SCUBA dive. (Thankfully, this will be my last long trip until October when we go to Utah for our GS National Convention.) The whole following week is training for our new computer system so I'm feeling a little "no rest for the weary" at the moment.

I've been asked multiple times if I am going to SCUBA with the girls in Florida. I am taking my gear but I might not dive. Frankly, I would relish a 30 minute nap while they are under water and someone else is responsible for them. :) I will post pictures so check FB and Instagram. Mom, I will email them to you.

1,001

I got so excited about my April Birchbox that I forgot that it would be my 1,000th post so I used up the good number. Oh well, 1,001 has a nice ring to it as well, don't you think? I have been blogging since October 5, 2008 when I wasn't even two months into being a wife or a resident of Chattanooga. A lot has happened since then and I'll take Danielle's challenge (since she was the only one who offered one!) to write about things I have learned since October 2008 for this here post numbered 1,001.


I've learned:
offering grace is more important than being right
people are more important than things
staying home with the people I love is far better than going "out"
a messy home isn't a sign of failure
being present is more important than being perfect
listening is just as good as talking
snail mail letters are a lost and beautiful art
you miss your parents much more than you think you will and might even regret those hasty words in high school and you really do turn into your mother
you always think of your childhood home as "home"
I'm not always right
loving people is hard but the most important thing you will ever do and always worth it but you can't always make them love you back
living with a dog that sheds isn't very much fun but I love her anyway
living with a cat that rises early isn't very much fun either but I still love her too
folding laundry is the worst form of household labor, right above vacuuming
baking is my favorite form of cooking
blogging won't make you a millionaire (I never really thought it would) but you will love looking back on your life
I understand less of God than I always thought I did but feel closer to Him than ever before
there are lots of people that see the world completely different than I do and that's ok
to love people for who they are, not for how much I agree with them or not
I have to work harder to be healthy (hello looming 30th year...ahem) but it is worth it
and on that note...trying to learn how to love my body and forget about my "flaws"
cell phones aren't always lifelines, sometimes they are weights tied to your ankles
I have the right to have feelings - but that doesn't make them accurate
think before you send that email, or say that, or write that...
you really might be able to wear skinny jeans - if you get the right fit
I need at least 8 hours of sleep per night or I am cranky (this is on the list of why we don't have kids)
I am a more picky eater than I like to admit
Chattanooga is a lovely city and like most places will show you beauty if you just give it a chance
Clean laundry is one of my favorite smells and I don't like the way it smells when it has been outside  on the line
my sister is a great gift giver - thoughtful and generous - and I wish I was more like her in lots of ways
you'll wish your lifelong best friends lived in the same city as you
you can find a job that you love and that has nothing to do with where you thought you'd be
I don't like to go to bed with a messy kitchen (Oh my gosh, I AM my mother)
God expects us to keep growing, changing, stretching, wondering
kindness takes many forms
I can't be jealous of someone else's life; it steals joy from mine










That's all I have for now. I'm sure I will think of things and add them as I have the time/thought. Some of these are not new lessons, learned in the last 5 years, but they are all things that have really just started making sense in the last 5 years. So, what have you learned recently that stuck along for the ride?

blogger doesn't like me.

I have to picture heavy blog posts planning (my January Birchbox reveal! and a tutorial on one of my Christmas crafts) but I can't load pictures for some reason. I can pull up the photo uploading box but the button to locate/upload pictures doesn't exists. Anyone out there experiencing the same thing? Help!

downhill side.

I'm finally on the downhill side with work...my June and July are much quieter (with the exception of the BIG EVENT that was moved to July 14th). My nights are more free and every single weekend isn't booked (in fact, I think I only have to work one night next week!!). We spend the summers gearing up for the new GS year - renovating trainings, recruiting new volunteers, and for me, re-establishing my teams to function even better for the new school year. I am looking forward to working with some of the same volunteers and some new ones as well. I truly enjoy my job. There are some bad days (like yesterday, when I had to deal with an unpleasant volunteer situation) but mostly, they are busy and good.

Chad is teaching a lifeguarding class on the weekends right now so it is a little sad that my weekends are slowing down. And then he will be taking a class of his own at night and on the weekends through June. I sort of hate it that our schedules just don't match up like this...my work is slow during his fire season when he is out all the time and busy again during the summers when I can be home more at night. Oh well - it will work out some day! :)

Upgraded to a new phone yesterday. Finally on a REAL smartphone (does a Blackberry really count??). I tried to load the Blogger app (so you know, you'd hear more from me!) but it will only let me link it to my work email address (which is a no-no) so I can't use it until I can figure all of that out.

Chad will have the computer and TV for this class again this weekend so I better start figuring out now how I am going to entertain myself. The house is still mostly clean from last weekend - cause we are never here, though those furry, hairy animals are so I WILL need to vacuum - so I can clean up a little and then maybe get a good chunk of crafting done!! Wow - I think I will go ahead and start looking forward to that.

change.

I think a big change is coming around on the blog. I have been pondering it for a while...stay tuned for more details.

coming up next...

My next post will be #750. I still can't believe that I've stuck with it and had this much to say. Hopefully I can keep it going for a long time...I really like the act of documenting our lives and being able to read it later and share with other people.

Working a half day tomorrow then coming home and probably mowing the grass. Though I think I am supposed to wait until it is about to rain or something? How does that work?