September in Review

Good:

• We started September off with an awesome trip to San Diego (thank you, Labor Day!). We have some friends who live there and they showed us The. Best. Time. Like, seriously, I don’t think there’s anything we didn’t do. Our schedule was jam-packed! We went on the most gorgeous sunset beach hike you can even imagine. Ben caught a handful of waves surfing (definitely helped that our friends are pro surfers AND pro teachers). We went to the San Diego Zoo which has been a long time bucket list item for us. And we got to hang out with some of our favorite people. It was seriously awesome.
• Flagstaff took September very seriously by almost automatically handing us some delicious fall weather. The trees are turning, the air is crisp…oh, it really is just beautiful around here. I feel like the older I get, the more I love fall. I don’t think it hurts, either, that last year around this time was particularly anticipatory and exciting.
• Wendy, Wendy, Wendy. If I’m being honest, I feel like that little sweet baby of mine could fit into ALL the categories of these monthly posts but this month I think she is most deserving of this one! She has been eating like a champ lately! She eats and seems to enjoy almost anything we put on her plate. She has another check up appointment with the specialists in just a couple of weeks and I’m reaaaaaally hoping it’ll be the last! I’m crossing my fingers she’s gained some good weight! But either way, I’m impressed with her progress with food and I think that counts for something, right? She is also just my favorite little human and is learning so many things. She’s starting to wave, she loves dancing to music (the more elevator-like, the better) and when she gets her hands on her hairbrush, she totally reaches up and brushes her hair. Ha! I love it every time.
• I think fall offers so many exciting things and one of those things that I loooooove is  General Conference! I loved the Women’s session and can’t wait for rest of it.
• Aaaaand hello, all the holidays, right??? I mean, they are just around the corner and that in and of itself is so exciting!

Blah:

• I can’t believe all the natural disasters I’ve been reading about in the news. It is so crazy and almost unbelievable. But I’m certainly praying for all those who have been affected in any way.
• This month has been weird, for me, because I feel like I’ve been experiencing an extra dose of anxiety and worry. I feel like those are things I normally have to deal with and, honestly, am able to deal with. But this month I feel like there have been more things to worry about and more things to stress over. Luckily, Ben keeps me sane(ish).
• Speaking of Ben…man, he has been so busy! It is crazy! He’s got the usual-classes and teaching-which keep him plenty busy but he’s also finishing up his thesis and getting ready for and taking the GRE. Plus, he’s started swimming every day, which makes me very proud but also means more time that he’s at the school. I miss him. But here’s to hoping that next semester has a little more breathing room.

On My Brain:

• This is absolutely 100% random…but I’ve recently discovered that I’m a candle kind of person. When we were first married I bought one of those electric wax warmers mostly because they’re cute. But I rarely used it because I feel like that first time you melt the wax it is like scent overload-it’s too strong! But after that first time, I feel like you don’t get much scent at all. I don’t know if I finally got rid of it or if we just lost it during our last move, but it has disappeared. Anyhow, we finally got around to buying a candle and I like it so much better! It can burn all day and I don’t get sick of the smell. And we bought a brand called Nature’s Wick and it’s extra magical because it has a wooden wick, so it crackles while you burn it. So cozy-I love it!
• LDS Women’s Conference was just awesome this year. One of the things that really stood out to me was Sister Eubank’s comment about how we need to be articulate. It made me think mostly of social media and how I can improve the messages that I share online. Later, I was browsing Instagram and I saw a post from @22alfox (Al Carraway) where she talked about how discouraged she was getting by social media but that as she listened to the women’s session it hit her: “if we don’t share light, who will?” It was such an awesome reminder to me to be uplifting and positive in all my interactions (online and otherwise) and to clearly live what I believe.
• We had a newly married couple give talks in church, and as the wife went on about how she and her husband had met and dated and eventually got married, I couldn’t help but think, “Man, we’re old!” Which, I don’t really think that 27 is old…it just made me realize that we definitely don’t fit into that category anymore (and haven’t for awhile). I mean, when people ask how Ben and I met, I can-and will-answer in just about two words. Ha!
• Soooooo…Wendy is turning 1 so soon! It is crazy the amount of emotions that I’ve been feeling with this impending milestone! It seems like it’s happening too fast which makes me want to cry…but then I really think about all the learning and growing that we’ve both been doing and I just feel grateful and excited and happy. Seeing all the back-to-school posts over the past couple of months makes me think that maybe the emotions I’m feeling now are the same emotions I’ll be feeling when I send Wendy to kindergarten, or middle school or high school for the first time. Motherhood, you are weird. But I like you 🙂