I am in the middle of another semester right now, & I have realized something that is probably super obvious to most of you. I was thinking how we are taught that we need to “balance” our life? Sometimes I have also thought about other people who seem to do everything. They get ready, make a homemade meal, exercise, put on makeup, run a marathon, etc. Let’s face it though, it is impossible to do everything. That is such a relief to know that I can’t do it all.
After my first month of school I realized it would be impossible to get A’s in every class. Now I do think it could be technically possible to get A’s in all my classes, but if I did do that, something else has gotta give.
So for this semester in my classes I have honestly put my best foot forward when doing assignments and work that I care about & feel is important to my future. Let’s be honest, some things about school are more about loopholes or busy work than learning. I get that, but they are not on my most important list either.
I had to let something go to balance my life more= so I am doing my best, & my best is better than reaching for getting A’s this semester.
Why?
I have this strong belief that none of us can ever do “everything”. Moms, students, teachers, children. We all only have 24 hours in a day, & you really have to decide what is most important in spending your time.
This semester I have found balance in doing these simple things every day:
1. Eating dinner with my husband every night. (We have been pretty good about this, & even when I am busy, my sweet husband has driven to get me after work with homemade dinner in the car. Only to then drop me off to school to do homework.)
2. Getting 7 hours of sleep. (Some of you might think I am living the easy life over here because I get that much sleep. I don’t have kids yet, and in order to function every day from 8am-11pm I need my sleep. It helps me get more done, it is one of the only aspects of being healthy I am practicing right now too. I feel good about this decision to plan out what I need to do so I don’t go to bed super late.)
3. Attending Church & going to the Temple. (I have really been trying to give an honest effort to show that this is something I care more about than my major, or my other hobbies I could spend more time on.)
4. Reading scriptures & Praying together every day as a couple. (This has been great to take a minute and stop thinking about homework. It is something we do together, & it helps me realize how we both appreciate each other during this hard time.)
There you have it, a simple list of what I care about doing each day.
I have thrown out a few things that you might think are essentials. I didn’t want to throw them out, but I have. In December I hope to bring a few of these essential things back into my daily routine. (Notice I am waiting a month until I do so…haha I am not even going to try right now.)
1. Getting ready for the day. I think just spending more time taking care of myself. I haven’t painted my nails since summer, & I take 2 minutes tops to put my clothes on for the day. The other 8 minutes are used to brush hair, teeth, face, etc.
On Tuesday I received so many compliments from my peers about my eyes, or that I looked pretty. Thank you so much!
One Conversation went like this:
“You look nice today, have you done something different to your hair?”
“I think it’s because I am wearing makeup. It’s Tuesday & I actually got ready for the day.”
(I honestly usually only put makeup on twice a week, but I am fine with that)
2. Grocery Shopping. Yes, I have been grocery shopping once this whole semester. Luckily I have still been eating food. You see, my husband has made it his job to cook dinner & go to the grocery store. He makes homemade meals, & even went to the Farmer’s Market & loved it. That is true love.
3. Cleaning & Laundry. This sounds so bad, but yes my husband does all of this too! Seriously I don’t know where I would be without a husband. I would have no food, a dirty house, & wear the same clothes all the time.
4. Exercising & Eating right. This is something I want to be better at. I really miss it. I am usually really good at eating healthy, but it takes time to really do that the right way. I have been doing awful at it, but everything will be okay & i’ll get back to doing that again.
On a side note, a teacher I kind of haven’t cared for this semester gave me a giant raspberry truffle yesterday. We are now on better terms. & maybe I should give hime more credit for the good things he does in class.
SANTA BARBARA BABY
Singing & having deep conversations with my husband. Sometimes roadtrips alone together are a whole new ball game. |
We went and visited the mission in Santa Barbara. It was a very beautiful place. Can’t believe people still live here. |
There are so many awesome plants in Santa Barbara. Taylor & I were literally drooling after every stinking unique one. |
Let’s rewind back to the olden days. Seriously? If I had a theater this cool looking I would probably dress up like I was in the sixties. |
Taylor found his favorite restaurant probably in the United States. Their Acai bowls are almost identical to the ones to Brazil. We are there twice that day, & we still didn’t get enough. |
After eating dinner at the Brazilian restaurant & dancing to the live music, we headed over to get some danish pastries. Hello dessert. |
& then we ended with my favorite. An outdoor movie with Cary Grant while eating some pastries. |
OUR FIRST DRIVE TO CALIFORNIA
I have been lagging on being able to catch up on our posts. This summer has just gotten pretty busy, with lots & lots of weddings. I am so glad within our 10 hour drives that we have a day or so to enjoy California. These roadtrips have seemed a little long at times, but it has been a fun experience as well.
When you are with friends for 10 hours in a car, the conversations & games are just a little more entertaining to me for some reason.
After next week, I think we will be done with summer weddings. It’s our last one, but we are really excited for it to!
We went on a fun little drive to California to go to our friends wedding. We roadtripped with two of our favorites as well. Taylor had also found some of his high school burned CD’s. We were entertained all trip singing to those songs. A good throwback thursday in our books. On our day before the wedding we were able to have some fun! We went to Balboa & rode bikes to start.
I was having way too much fun taking pictures while I was riding my bike. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but it made for a fun challenge. |
Our sweet group we spent time with. So glad we had all of them there. |
The San Diego temple is one of my favorite temples. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go inside. It was so beautiful, & their sealing was a special one. |
What a gorgeous couple. Some people just look extraordinary on their wedding day, this was one of those times. |
So we went to the beach in Laguna while we were here too. Our friend Brooke let us all stay at her parent’s house. We were very lucky to spend time with them, & we were able to hang out at this private beach here. Needless to say, it would be fun to live here.
This is the view from the house we stayed at. They love it i’m sure. I had a hard time leaving my window when we had to leave. It is beautiful in the morning. |
OUR WEEKEND OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
This summer has been full of so many activities. One of which included the family and I camping up in the mountains, while handing out as many cowboy hats as we could. The kids sure loved them, but I couldn’t get Taylor to put one on. Maybe next year I can talk him into it!
I look forward most to seeing my brothers & sisters. We don’t live super far away, but far enough that we don’t see each other often enough. I love spending time with them & their kids, & talking with my sisters. This time just never seems to lasts long enough.
What is it with kids & camping? I am so glad when we go camping there are no electronic devices. These kids act like they have been cooped up all year & finally have a chance to roll around in the mud.
They reminded me when I was that same age going to the family reunion. Every niece & nephew was ready to show me their “secret” hiding spot. I remember treasuring those spots when I was little too, but I forgot about all the scratches & itching from getting to and from the secret spot.
They couldn’t stop running around, & sometimes their little feet could not carry them as far as they wanted to go.
Their energy kept me entertained all weekend long.
WEDDINGS MAKE ME HAPPY
Can I just point out that this wins the best reception at a golf course. How beautiful. I had never been to this part of Colorado, but I now know I could live here if we needed to. |
Way to coordinate clothes. The kids look very well mannered. I did not even attempt this kind of a picture at my wedding, it was quite a different picture. Babies crying, etc |
I also took some pictures of the couple who rode down this us! They will be getting married in August, and they look ridiculously good together. Beautiful photos forever. Lucky ducks. |