Lately in photos

We've been surviving bouts of the polar vortex over here with lots of indoor activities and play dates with friends. Luckily, unlike the rest of the country, our sub zero weather was broken up by temperatures that reached the 60's some days so it hasn't been all bad. 

Here are some Instagram (@raysyoursights) and iPhone photos of what we've been up to recently. 

Struttin' around with her fancy lady fan//Carefully observing the big kids at the playground//Proving that she can now climb onto furniture and make herself comfy, all on her own//Tantrums which are starting far too early for my liking//Exploring the market at the Children's Museum with her pal Drew//Double date with Brooke and Cameron to the Butterfly Pavilion//Dog beds are her happy place//ET phone home//Sunday family brunch

A sick little cream puff//Pear to the face//My attempt at Valentine's nails//Sleeping beauty//I can never and will never get over her feet. OBSESSED//First swim with some friends, Charlie Mae and Ellie//Mama and baby photo op at the pool//Family hike in Evergreen//All my children

Exploring the mountains with papa//Valentine's Day celebration with my main squeeze//Chocolate cake the size of one's head//Feeling guilty for being short with Siri//So much love for my guy after spending hours talking about our goals for our marriage//Play date at Olen's house...his mama makes the coolest toys!//Olen and Liv, born just 3 days apart//Ikea//Just moments before L picked up a handful of dog poop at the park. YAY!

Remember Me?!

It's been a while, I know. Let's get reacquainted, shall we?

Interwebs, meet Kelly. Kelly is a stay-at-home mama to a very spunky (and recently SASSY) 9.5 month old baby girl named Liv. Kelly feels like all the creativity is being sucked from her brain during this brutiful stage of life which is why you haven't heard much from her lately. Stella's Kelly's trying hard to get her groove back.

Kelly, meet interwebs. HI GUYS! Thanks for sticking with me.

Phew, glad we got that out of the way. So moving on to the important stuff. Our beloved Denver Broncos. I'll pause while we all have a moment of silence for the way things went down at the Super Bowl last weekend.


pause....pause....pause


It's taken our household a few days to recover from such a tragic loss, but we still love our team and are optimistic about next year. I ain't mad atcha, Broncos.

I am super excited for the Olympics to start in just a couple of days. As I mentioned in this post from the last summer Olympics, both K and I are extremely competitive people so two weeks of being able to live vicariously through athletes on the other side of the world and cheer on our country is definitely our idea of a good time. USA!

It's dreadfully cold here in Colorado. Today's high will only reach 4º. Weather like this makes the days drag on forever since we are stuck indoors. I think our only option today is to head to the mall for a glimpse of civilization because yesterday L and I both bordered on the brink of crazy. 12+ hours of playing with the same toys inside our tiny bungalow will do that.

Speaking of that yummy baby of mine... she has officially taken her first steps. On January 16, she took three giant strides from K to me right before bedtime. Since then, she's been getting more and more comfortable on her legs and only uses one of our fingers for stabilization now as she moves around the house. Get it girl!

Here are a few pictures of our recent happenings.

Leibster

This mama got a new 'do over the weekend. Definitely needed a change.

Sweet Amanda Rose from Sew Much To Say recently nominated me for the Leibster Award. I was asked to answer 11 questions about myself for readers to get to know me a little better. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite season? 

This is such a tough one to answer. Colorado is known for it's beautiful changing seasons and there is something wonderful about each one. I would have to say fall though because I love brisk air, colorful leaves, boots, and Halloween!

2. If you could move anywhere where would it be?

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that we recently spent a year and a half in Wyoming for Keane's job. With his line of work, we are likely to move around several more times (little known fact: shortly after moving back from Wyoming, his company asked us to move to Omaha for three years. We had just bought a house in Denver and I was 5 months pregnant so we passed on the opportunity.) Luckily, his company has offices in some really cool places like Oahu, Portland and D.C. so the prospect of spending a few years elsewhere while Liv is still young excites us. I would love to live overseas someday, maybe Australia or New Zealand? Preferably an English speaking country because my high school Spanish class proved that I don't acquire foreign languages well. At all. 

3. What is your biggest daily challenge?

Getting out of bed in the morning. I have never been a morning person and have always functioned best on 10-11 hours of sleep. That is clearly not an option anymore, so waking up in the morning sleep deprived with an energetic little one to entertain is really hard for me. 

4. If you had a super power what would it be?

I would love to be able to teleport to different places and time. Think of all the places you could visit at a moment's notice! 

5. What is your favorite color?

Orange

6. Favorite book and why?

Anything by Depak Chopra. He is such an inspirational teacher. 

7. Biggest pet peeve?

Bad drivers. I hate to admit it but I have some serious road rage. I can't stand when people drive under the speed limit in the left lane. Every time I get stuck behind someone doing this, I want to invent a device that shoots darts into their tires so they are forced to pull off the road. Is that bad?

8. What is on your bucket list?

I would love for us to build our own home one day. I dream of living out in the country with lots of land in a home that we designed. Wrap around front porch, tire swing, and lots of bedrooms for family to come visit!

9. What is the best date you have ever been on?

A few years ago, Keane and I rented a Harley and explored southern Utah. We drove to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. On our way back to Salt Lake, we stayed the night in a tiny town called Boulder and went to Hell's Backbone Grill to celebrate my birthday. Not only did it have the most delicious food, the ambiance was incredible. You can read more about that trip here. 

10. If you could be one person from the past who would you be?

No one...I like being me :) 

11. What is your favorite dessert to make?

Oreo Truffels. So easy to make and so delicious. 

Christmas card outtake

Just call him Clark Griswold. 

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is round two of three meals for us and we are spending time with my family. I am so thankful for our health, our home, and this baby we are growing.

I am thankful for wonderful friendships I've had for over 13 years. 

I'm thankful for a hubby who brings so much love, laughter and joy to my life. 

I'm thankful for these guys who will forever be our babies, no matter how many children we bring into our family. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating the blessings in your lives with the ones you love.

Potato Heads

Happy Halloween! Keane and I celebrated last saturday at a friend's party where we dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. My mother-in-law came over that morning to help me put together our last minute costumes. They turned out pretty great and I was warm and comfortable (unlike previous years). Most pants are starting to drive me crazy so I jump at any opportunity that allows me to wear leggings and not look like an aerobics instructor.

As we handed out candy to tick-or-treaters tonight, I teared up thinking about getting to share these exciting experiences with our own little babe in the future. Each time a child rang our doorbell, their parents beamed with pride as they watched their little one remembering their eye contact and please and thank yous. 

Every experience in a child's life is an opportunity for learning and growth and parents are their ultimate teachers. Each new sight and sound fills children with wonder, especially around the holidays. I can't wait to delight in that joy with our child!

In the mean time, I'll settle for humiliating our dogs with ridiculous costumes that are way too small. 

Happy Halloween, everyone. I hope you all remembered to EAT, DRINK AND BE SCARY!!

7.4.12

Happy 236th birthday to the land of the free and the home of the brave. I feel honored and blessed to be a citizen of this amazing country.

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I hope your day is filled with fun, food and fireworks. Happy fourth, fellow Americans! 

Lately, according to my iPhone

Happy Hump Day!

P.S. My username is raysyoursights if you care to follow our shenanigans on Instagram. Apparently, I like taking pictures of feet.
xoxo

Currently

Beer o'clock at work; a color Keane dubbed "Sinus Infection Green"; "just because" flowers from my mister; no heat curls

Buddha for the bedroom; new flippy floppies, inside-out bang braid via Pinterest, savoring the last book in the trilogy 

Reading: Mockingjay. I read Catching Fire in the first few days of our trip and had to ration the last 100 pages so I'd have something to keep me busy on the plane home. Now that I'm on the third book, I don't want it to end so I'm limiting myself to 10 pages per night. I love it so much :)

Watching: Avatar. That movie never gets old and I love all the symbolism.

Thinking about: How happy I am for one of my best friends who recently got engaged in Italy! Shannon and her boyfriend have been together for 10 years (10 years!) and two weeks ago while they were visiting Rome, he popped the question in front of the Colosseum. She broke the news to me earlier this week when they got home and after a substantial amount of screaming and congratulatory tears, I heard the best part: The ring has 5 diamonds on each side of the center stone which, in his words, signifies each year he "made her wait." Be still, my beating heart.

Shannon is my sister from another mister and my soulmate of the friend variety. I couldn't be happier for those two!

Loving: My recent increase in energy and clarity which is likely a result of good sleep, hard workouts, and apple cider vinegar water. I seriously swear by it. I had headaches during the first week as my body was detoxing but now I feel energized and have noticed my constant cravings for food has diminished.

Anticipating: Moving home in July, being close our loved ones again and the next stage of our lives. So many blessings to come!

Listening to: Ok don't judge me. I'm slightly obsessed with Justin Bieber's song, Boyfriend. I even played it for Keane and tried to trick him into believing it was Justin Timberlake. He didn't buy it but did admit the Biebs has a good voice. Just when I start feeling ok about blasting prepubescent pop music in my car, the "buzz lightyear" lyric forces me to reconsider and roll up the windows.

Eating: Java Chip ice cream

Feeling thankful for: I have said it before but I feel SO blessed to have married my best friend. He knows everything there is to know about my heart and shows me unfailing support. I am also grateful for opportunities which have led us to meet new friends, land great jobs and take amazing vacations.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Life is good today.

Countdown begins

Good gravy this has been a day. I'm off from work for Good Friday but it's been far from relaxing. My goal was to get as much done in preparation for our trip (we leave for Hawaii on Wednesday!!) so hubbin and I could enjoy the weekend together. But on top of cleaning, doing laundry and running errands this morning, I managed to totally erase all my apps, music and contacts while updating my iPhone, have a minor freakout, recover a fraction of my contacts, find worms in our dog's poo (too much?), have a second minor freakout, take both dogs to the vet, spend $200 on medication for said poo worms, and finally get home to discover it's 5:00 and my day off is gone. 

Can I get a redo?!

Today was supposed to be the second of my #hairphotoaday posts but I decided I'm not going to do them anymore for 3 reasons: 1) It seems a little vain and gratuitous to post 30 pictures of my own mug if, in the end, I can't even donate my hair. 2) We will be in Hawaii for 10 days and I'm sure as heck not going to be remembering to keep up with that while I'm in paradise spending uninterrupted time with my mancandy. 3) Regimented posts like that stress me out and this little spot is supposed to be a fun outlet, not a dreaded obligation. So alas, I'm not doing it! 

Man that feels good.

I took a site tour of Keane's building today– it's really coming along! I'm so proud of that guy and all his hard work. 

Tonight we're spending time with friends, tomorrow and Sunday will be used for packing, Monday we'll scramble to get things tied up at work, Tuesday we'll head to Denver, and Wednesday! Wednesday is our day. I can't wait to step off that plane and smell Hawaii for the first time. It really does have a distinct smell, doesn't it? Like flowers and ocean and sunscreen and time-off work. 

TGIF

Fighting the Blues

You've all heard of the Monday blues, right? Well I get the Sunday blues. It's true. As soon as I wake up Sunday morning I am struck with the realization that the weekend is half over and I get sad. This is a terrible way to feel because it can quickly rob me of my remaining free time if I'm not careful. Keane is pretty good about snapping me out of it, but I've come up with a few tips of my own to prevent my funk.

Source

1) Make a Plan

I typically mourn my weekends when I feel like I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to. To combat this sadness, I keep a To Do list in my phone for my days off. I realize this might sound a little rigid for a weekend day but it's actually very helpful. Making a list not only gives me things to look forward to like brunch dates with Keane and game nights with friends, but it also allows me the satisfaction of crossing off less exciting obligations like laundry or errands once I've finished them. By Sunday night, I'm able to look back on my weekend and feel productive about all the things I've accomplished.

2) Set Expectations

When Keane and I first moved in together, we had a few arguments about how we should spend our precious time off together. Our expectations were very different– while we both liked to sleep in, I was excited to get on with my day once I woke up, whereas he was content spending a couple hours eating breakfast, watching TV and lounging. He was against "planning" our weekends too much because it was our time to relax, but I felt like by the time we were ready to start moving, it was 12:30 or 1:00pm and the day was half over. Sometimes lazy days are necessary but we've learned to discuss ahead of time our expectations for the weekend to avoid frustration or disappointment. Marriage is all about compromise, after all. 

3) Be Prepared 

This one has proven to be huge for me. Just like I hate coming home to a messy house after a vacation, I also hate starting the work week feeling disorganized and unsettled. It's important for me to have a clean house, folded laundry and a stalked fridge come Monday morning. I'm already dreading my alarm clock, I don't want to dread housework and dinnertime for the rest of the week as well. 

4) Me Time

Taking a little time to pamper myself at the end of each weekend is crucial for me to recharge for the coming week. I reserve a few hours before bed Sunday night as "me time" that I spend taking a bath, doing my nails, reading, or meditating by candle light. This routine acts as a welcomed close to a full weekend. 

5) Stay in the Moment

Each moment I spend dreading the start of a new week is a moment of my free time I could still be enjoying. Sometimes simply recognizing these thoughts and making a mindful effort to switch back to the present moment is all it takes to get back on track.

So there it is. 5 ways I've learned combat to my Sunday (and Monday) blues. Please tell me I'm not the only one who cringes at the thought of my free time coming to a close each week. Please?

#hairphotoaday pt 1

Pantene and Fat Mum Slim are teaming up for The Hair Photo A Day Project where participants can post pictures of their hairdos to their social media outlets each day leading up to National Donate Your Hair Day on April 27th. Using donated hair, Pantene will create free, real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair to cancer treatment.  

What a great cause! I can't donate my hair without shaving my head bald and while that's tempting most days in this Wyoming wind, I'll stick to participating via the photo challenge. I hope those who can donate their locks do so on April 27th.  

I'll be posting my photos to Instagram and on this here blog. 

Happy hair-ing!

The things that dreams are made of

I dream of owning our own home on a daily basis. The opportunity to plant a garden (and build a compost!), possibly own chickens again, and design rooms that we will use longer than a year at a time– all these things make my heart flutter with anticipation. But what I'm most excited about is the prospect of having a real kitchen. with real appliances. and real cabinet space. Pinterest has proven to be a great place to stash my dream kitchens until one of them becomes a reality. 

marble counters, wide plank dark hardwoods, cozy fireplace

glass front cabinets 

built-in nook seating

subway tile, light fixture and pops of yellow

tall, rustic cabinets

robin's egg blue pantry door

exposed brick

dark island, white cabinetry 

EVERYTHING

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Some things currently blowing my mind

We leave for Hawaii in three weeks.

The weather in Denver over the weekend allowed us to sport bare legs and short sleeves. I'll take 80 and sunny in the middle of March any day. 

Speaking of Denver...holy St. Patrick's Day celebrations! I've never seen anything like it. 

We are attending 4 weddings this summer– one of which Keane and I are in– and already have 3 more to go to next year. 'Tis the season for matrimonies!

Next month, we will have lived in Wyoming for a year. Seriously, time? Why do you do me like that? 

My husband is Handy Manny. Handy Manny is my husband. A 200 foot fence in one afternoon?! Oh yes he did.

Tomorrow marks 4 years since Keane asked me to be his wife in Maui. I will say 'yes' everyday for the rest of our lives, my love.

***

Now, for some pictures from our weekend back home. 

Leave it to Keane to wear blue on St. Patty's day. I made sure he got a healthy dose of pinches for that one. 

Hope your weekend was swell. 

xoxo