life

6-13-25

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What notable things happened today?

On my way to work this morning I could not get myself together, so I ended up texting my bosses and calling off. Last night we found out that my husband’s cousin lost her battle with cancer. Her health started to rapidly decline recently, and she passed away yesterday morning.

Grief is such a hard thing to navigate. One moment you’re frozen in shock; complete disbelief- almost numb. The next moment, all the emotions come crashing down and around you- completely engulfed in the heaviness. The next you start to think about how grateful you are to have had time with your loved one… to have had them there at your wedding only less than a year ago- then the sadness washes back.

I felt guilty for calling in and being an emotional wreck while my husband, the one who is blood related to his cousin, is at work and holding it together. We are here for each other, we comfort one another, yet I feel guilty for being the one who seems to need more of it. At the same time, I am just a feeling person. I’m sensitive and I love hard, so the loss is hard.

I also am spiritual, unlike my husband, and I right after we found out about his cousin’s passing, I had to tell him about the butterfly I saw. When I was at work yesterday morning, a large, gorgeous black butterfly flew over to the window by my desk. I honestly don’t recall ever seeing a black butterfly before, and definitely not one of this size. I was so amazed and captivated by this butterfly that I couldn’t help but just be in that moment.

When we found out about her passing, after the initial shock and tears I thought about that butterfly. I couldn’t help but think… was that her? This brought a moment of peace amidst the grief: she was telling me that she was still here with me (us) but in a different form now.

Today I am sitting in the grief. I am releasing the guilt and shame about how I grieve. I am not ashamed of how deeply I feel and how much I love people. As a child I was often shamed for my big emotions, which is where this icky feeling stems from; but I know I am not being dramatic. I am being human.

Today I am also leaning into my spirituality and beliefs in our angels on the other side. The signs I see are clear to me, and I know that our loved one is watching us and supporting us from the other side. She had so much love for us here earth-side, so I can only imagine the power of her divine love.

Gratitude on a Saturday in June

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Just having a seat outside, soaking up the sun and grounding my feet in the grass. The birds have lots to say to one another this morning, and lucky for me, I just get to listen.

My husband and I are going to visit my family in Iowa this afternoon to celebrate my great grandma’s 97th birthday! I’m so grateful that we are able to see her and spend time with her, as well as the rest of the fam bam.

I feel so blessed to be present in this moment. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful home, financial stability, genuine friendships, and inner peace. We’re in good health, and our cats are for the most part as we get Mushu all regulated on her insulin. Overall we have a very good life, and I do not want to take it for granted.

Having a healthy marriage was always a dream of mine, and I’m so happy to have that with my husband. All I ever wanted was to have a home I was excited to come back to after a day away at work or running errands, and I have that. Communication and companionship are huge keys to success in marriage; this is why they always say to marry your best friend. Even when I’m stressed out or having a bad day, I know I have someone who loves me and someone I can lean on, and I know he feels the same.

I’m gonna head inside so we can get ready to go out to breakfast before our drive to see the family, but I just wanted to take a moment to be here and acknowledge how good life is. I am healthy, wealthy and happy, and I am in love with my life. I no longer feel crippling anxiety and emptiness like I did back in my early twenties, and as I approach my 30th birthday, I can’t help but be excited for this new decade ahead!

Wednesday Gratitude

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It’s rainy and gloomy outside which makes me just want to stay home and snuggle with my husband and my cats all day. Instead, I will be going to work LOL.

With that being said, I am truly grateful to have a job that I enjoy and that I do well at, and I am happy that my husband and I have jobs and are able to afford our bills. I’m grateful to have a home and clean water, as well as food in the fridge and food for our cats.

I’m grateful that we have each other to lean on and support one another throughout this lifetime, all while loving each other. I thank the universe and my angels for all of the divine support around our marriage and our love, as well as for keeping us safe and healthy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Saturday Blurb

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Went on a solo walk today and really enjoyed my time soaking in the sun and enjoying the peace. I’ve been allowing myself to enjoy this quiet time in my life, and I am just so happy that I’ve been able to feel so present.

I’m at the vet now so my cat Mushu can have her glucose checked again now that she’s been on insulin for a week, so we’re praying for good numbers. There are still more tests after this, but again I’m just grateful for the access to the vet and the fact that we can afford these visits for her.

My husband has a fun couple of days happening this weekend! He is playing AirSoft with some friends this morning, and tomorrow he has his second race in his go-karting league. I’m going to his race tomorrow since I was out of town for his first one, and I plan to go to all of them for the rest of the season! I’m excited that he’s doing something for himself and finally doing something with racing.

My dance class starts back up in a couple weeks, so I’ll be back to that weekly for the summer! I am excited to get back into it and keep moving my body in my fun way! I am hoping to keep working on being loose and flexible when I’m dancing, rather than ridged and stiff. I just want to be in my body and in the moment, and dancing helps to ground me there.

I gotta run to the grocery store and get ready for the week ahead! I want to have ginger shots ready and lunches for my husband and I. I also want to have a couple ideas for dinners during the week so I don’t feel the need to think about it after working all day. I am ending May on a high note, and I’m so excited to see what joy and abundance June brings!

Friday Feels

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The sun is shining this morning and it makes me want to stay home and not go into work LOL. I’m going in though, as I want to end the week on a strong note and I also have therapy after my shift! I’m excited for it to be the weekend again, so I can catch up around the house and get ready for summer to arrive! I hope everyone has an amazing Friday and weekend!

Sunday Thoughts and Gratitude

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I feel grateful for the beautiful day I have spent with my husband. We’re about to go on a walk together which always makes me happy! Well, we’re actually going to play frisbee golf, which is also a fun time! I just want to get outside in the sun.

This morning we were up pretty early- we have to give our cat her insulin at the same time every day, and the doses are 12 hours apart. Since I was up so early to give her the insulin, I ended up staying up and watching the rest of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (lol don’t judge me) and my husband woke up about an hour and a half later.

We decided to go for a drive to go get some coffee, and then we went shopping for a little bit before heading back home. We did some cleaning around the house today which feels really good, and I purged my closet which was also needed!

This long weekend was much needed, and I’m just feeling so present and so grateful for so many things. I’m happy the weather is getting warmer and the sun is out. I’m happy that we learned how to give our cat her insulin and she will be feeling a lot better soon; I’m also grateful that she can still live for many years with diabetes, and remission is also a possibility!

I’m grateful that my husband and I get to enjoy this long weekend together, and that we can afford this life that we live. We’re so blessed to have our jobs and our skill sets, and I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, both individually and as a couple, over the past 13.5 years. I am so thankful for this life, and thankful to be present here in my body to feel all of the love.

Thursday Morning Thoughts

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I’m tired and in bed before I have to get up for work, and just wanted to take a moment to jot down some random thoughts I’ve had recently:

  • peace and calmness can feel odd or off to someone who has experienced a lot of anxiety and hyper-vigilance
  • if you’re taught that everything is scary and is the end of the world, that makes sense why you’d think that. however, we can still unlearn / de-program those concepts that aren’t actually helping us
  • sometimes it feels like our brains are actively working against our healing journeys and that’s because they’re wired for survival.
  • I don’t need apologies from those who have hurt me- I apologize to myself for not speaking up and setting boundaries when needed.
  • we judge people we love because we want better for them, yet we get mad when people judge us or tell us how to live our lives because we know what’s best for ourselves. (plot twist: they already know, it’s just hard to change and develop new habits)
  • life on earth includes oceans, sunsets and sunflower fields, friendships, true love and hugs: it’s not all bad here

5/20/25

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Just been feeling kinda off, but also not? Like I’m not depressed or anxious which is nice- I’d like to say I’m content, but also I do have some stresses. We just found out our cat is diabetic; I’m happy that it is manageable and she will feel better soon once we start her insulin, but it’s just going to be a life adjustment for sure.

Luckily my parents had a diabetic cat as well, so my mom could help me out if we go on a vacation or something, but it’s a bit harder when it’s a family trip. Either way, we have our appointment at the vet on Friday to learn how to give her the shots and I will just ask my questions at that time. My coworker said her vet would have vet techs available to go to the home to give medication while they were out of town, so I’ll see if that’s an option if ever needed.

I’m not super overwhelmed by this; honestly I’m just glad we can afford this and give her this treatment. I just feel like I’m sitting in a “calm before the storm” type situation, but I’m realizing right now that it’s just my anxiety telling me I’m not allowed to feel calm or at peace. I’m just going to sit in this present moment and let myself enjoy the lack of anxiety.

Early Morning

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Well, it’s 5:49am on Sunday and I am typing this blog post while laying in bed. I woke up about 20-30 minutes ago to use the bathroom, and when I was trying to fall back asleep, I heard a noise from the kitchen. I walked out there and our cat Mushu decided to knock over the recycle bin like a dog (she likes eating plastic).

I walked out there & told her “no” and pushed her away from the bin and then put it all back and went back to bed. Not even five minutes later I hear the same noise again. This time I decided I needed to go empty the recycling so I brought it downstairs and I came back up and redirected her to her water bowl. She drank some and then was distracted by a box that was on the floor for her and she started playing with that, which is honestly what I was hoping for.

In the midst of trying to pet her while she was in play mode (I really need to stop doing that) I ended up getting a pretty decent scratch on my arm. I have cleaned it and put some ointment and a bandaid on it now, and honestly I’m ready to go back to sleep for a few hours. I’m going to go over to my mom’s later this morning and I’m looking forward to our walk together. It’s supposed to be sunny and beautiful today, which is perfect for mother’s day!

My husband and I went over to his parents’ house yesterday and brought over some Olive Garden for dinner! It was nice to just sit and chat about life and their business. I’m going to start helping them with their website and social media, so that will be a fun project to work on! I’m hoping this keeps me busy and excited to continue to work on my own creative projects!

Saturday 5-10

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Writing this from the haircut chair! I’m getting a trim today and doing a little test strand to see if we can lift out some black and maybe add some dimension! We just decided that today since I’ve been thinking about going back to a chocolate brown color, so my hair girl said to do a test so we can see!

It’s mother’s day weekend, so we’re gonna see my mother in law later today and I’ll see my mom tomorrow. I’m just happy to see that the weather is so nice and the sun is shining! My mom and I are planning to go for a walk tomorrow, so that will be nice!

I hope everyone has a wonderful mother’s day weekend!