Currently...

Feeling...
Incredibly happy about life. Two wonderful, cute, healthy kids, a loving husband, an area and a house that's becoming more and more a home each day, month and year that passes. Every day I'm grateful for what I have, yet I often worry whether I'm falling short with how much I'm expressing my gratitude in my thoughts and actions towards others. Life seems too good to be true right now and I just hope that I can be thoughtful enough to never take it for granted and just soak it up and enjoy this time.

Watching...
New Girl, The Mindy Project, Downton Abbey and Sherlock. Super excited that Sherlock Season 3 is back on PBS and can't wait to sit down with Sebastian one night this week and watch it. Also, we are in the middle of watching Ender's Game. We both read the book and are interested to see how they created the science-fiction world from the novel.

Listening...
To the Frozen soundtrack. Aliyah loves it. I love it. She and I belt out the songs in her room and in the car all the time. And every so often I hear Sebastian singing it to Aliyah without any inhibition as well. (He would do anything for that girl.)

Reading...
My mother-in-law recommended the Outlander Series to me a few months ago. So far I'm well into book one and it is proving to be quite the read. A lot of European history and a female protagonist are just a couple of things that will motivate me to finish this massive read.

Missing...
My family. My brother and his wife just added to their family of four by adopting a sweet little boy from China. I would love to be there to welcome him and hold him. And then there's my parents, but I'm always missing them. They will be here in the beginning of February, so I don't have much longer until I get to see them again!

Wondering...
Why won't my 6 month old sleep through the night?! The early morning hours are the worst since it seems he's gotten into the habit of thinking that it's playtime from around 3 or 4 in the morning. He is usually contently babbling in his crib (while I am burying my head in my pillow repeating my mantra of, "Please just go back to sleep Isaac. Please go back to sleep.") I normally wouldn't mind this, after all he's not crying and he's totally cool hanging out by himself, but he and Aliyah share a room and his squeals of delight can get pretty loud at times and I'm always worried that she'll wake up. (Though, she has proven me wrong numerous times. It's amazing what kids can sleep through.)

Working...
On getting a new design portfolio site created. It's been pretty frustrating so far since I need everything to be just right and that mentality is a huge road block in just getting it completed. But I think I made some major headway recently which has given me some extra motivation to keep working on it.

Proud...
That this weekend I washed, and folded and put away all of the laundry in the house. I also made Isaac's first batch of baby food. Pears, sweet potatoes and carrots. It's so much fun and a lot easier this time around than with Aliyah.

Wanting...
A full night of uninterrupted sleep. In the grand scheme of things, if that's all I'm wanting, then life's not that bad. Especially considering the reason I'm not getting my optimal amount is because of a really, cute, chunky, lovable son of mine. I recently read an article about how some of the most influential leaders in the world sleep anywhere from 3-5 hours a day. So basically, I just need to get over it. :)

Wishing...
I could figure out this blogging thing. I struggle between wondering how much of myself (and as a result, my family) I should put out on the world wide web. There are many times when I think about how cool it would be to be a blog with useful and fun content with how-to's and things I did during trips and motherhood, etc. But then I think to myself, well who am I to think I can be an expert on something? Will people think I'm credible? It's a constant struggle of self-doubt and desire. Ha. I'm working on just letting my blog be something that I do for pure fun. If that means stories of kids, or if it means writing a how-to post that no one ends up reading, I need to learn to accept that and just enjoy the process. Whatever this little online journal ends up being is up to the universe, I guess.

Eating...
Kale, brussel sprouts, green beans and quinoa. Oh, but don't be fooled. I'm also eating cookies and chocolate truffles from Sprouts.

Drinking...
Water with lemon, coffee, San Peligrino, and wine. (Not all at once! Just lately.)

Loving...
The incredible weather and gorgeous green grass in Arizona right now. It's near perfect. Aliyah and Isaac and I took a one hour walk/tricycle ride and it was amazing. I just want to be able to enjoy this weather as much as possible, because I know come June through August it will be ridiculously hot here, and I'm not looking forward to that type of weather.

Happy Monday y'all!

Words to Live By in 2012

Let me tell you something. I thought I was pretty clever in the beginning of January when I decided that I was going to pick out three words to live by in the coming year. Turns out this idea has been around for awhile. How I managed to not see it until I thought of it is beyond me, because now I see this idea popping up everywhere on blogs. (Though, that seems likely since now that it's in my head, I'm more aware of it.)

It took me awhile to figure out what words I really wanted to concentrate on this year, as well as to not add anymore than three. Otherwise, it would just become another long list of resolutions that would be hard to accomplish. ( I did still create a personal list of about twenty goals/resolutions...you know, just in case I nail these three words right off the bat in the coming months.)

Here's what I'm going to strive for in twenty-twelve:

Kindness: Being genuinely and thoughtfully kind to others in big or small ways everyday. Taking time out of my day for others, and not just when it's convenient for me. Stopping to open a door for someone, giving someone a hearty, full smile and hi instead of a hurried, half-nod, refraining from becoming frustrated at the hubs because he didn't put his shoes or socks away. I want to allow myself to take a step back and tell myself that for the all the times I feel like getting annoyed or impatient with people that not only am I just as imperfect, but that, this doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, and for all the gestures of kindness that I can do and I think might go unnoticed, this does really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Perseverance: To keep at things and do so with intent and confidence (key word: confidence). To start what I finish (and in a timely manner) and keep going on projects or goals when my attention wavers or my uncertainties get the best of me. I need to remind myself that if it's a goal worth achieving, getting through the boring parts and the times when I feel insecure are necessary for success.

Attentiveness: This is probably the one that will be the most difficult on the list. I know I can be a better listener when I talk to people. Sometimes I don't listen because I'm terrible at voice-to-voice small talk with people I don't know very well. (Put me on google chat or email and I'll "talk" your ear off. Put me on an elevator?...Oh no.) Verbal small talk makes me nervous and I wish it didn't, because most often when I'm talking to someone I don't know very well, I'm thinking about the next question I can ask them so that there's absolutely no silence in the conversation. It's not that I don't hear a word of what that acquaintance says to me, but it certainly hinders my ability to truly listen to what they're saying. With the people I am most comfortable with, I want to concentrate on listening with as much love as I can give to those that are closest to me. This means, in most cases, consciously setting down or stepping away from whatever else it is that I'm probably trying to multi-task and concentrating on the loved one I'm talking to. They deserve my full attention after all.

So those are my three words for 2012. Has anyone else tried this method of resolutions? I'm curious to see if it's any easier or harder to stick to three words of improvement that encompass a lot of unspoken goals. I guess I'll just have to wait twelve months and see.

What Do I Want My Blog To Be?

I want my blog to be inspiring, in its own unique way. 
I want this blog to force me to put things out there in the world and accomplish them, rather than keeping them to myself and wishing I did more. 
I want this blog to focus on my successes in life, but also on areas where I want and need to improve. 
And to show that life isn't always a good photo where everything looks perfect, but that it's the imperfect parts in between that really make it up. And that that's a beautiful thing. That's life.
I want it to encourage Aliyah, as she gets older, to dream and aspire for the future, and look back fondly on childhood. Even the parts she can't remember.
I want it to freeze little moments in time so I never take them for granted.
I want this blog to be clean and easy to navigate, and fun to look at aesthetically. 
I want it to be a digital journal of my design and photography skills so that someday I can look through the archives and see that I really have improved. 
I want it to be a place where I can write about what's bothering me and what I'm happy about, and what I'm grateful for and what I'm feeling at the moment. 
Where I can write about my "life revelations", no matter how silly they might be. 
I want this blog to be honest. 
I want it to enable me to become more outgoing and less self-conscious about who I am and what others think of me. 
I want to have a theme or style to how I write and how I present my photos, graphics and designs. 
I want to find my voice and not feel so awkward at moments when I write a post and wonder who I'm writing it for and why I'm writing it and if I'm trying to be too funny or too sweet or too philosophical. 
I want this blog to ultimately be for my family. Myself included, but also for grandparents, aunts and uncles who live across the country, so they can feel that they are even more connected to Aliyah's and our everyday life.  
I want this blog to inspire me so that I can become more aware, more present and to fully enjoy this wonderful, beautiful life that God has given me.