Windsurfing: Alaska

These photos are actually from about five months ago. Maybe four. I had to leave the house - to escape - my mind was going crazy from being cooped up and I was still mourning the loss of my life as I had known it. Parenting is no joke - having a baby changes everything. I never knew it would change me at my core though; like, I figured yeah, I'll stop working, I'll stay home, our situations will change. I never stopped to consider how my heart would change. It's been 6 months of home-stay and I'm still mourning my old life. Getting up and going to the coffee shop when I felt like it is a luxury I no longer have. To go to the grocery store is such an ordeal that I'll eat ramen for six days in a row for every meal just to avoid braving the store with the baby.

When I saw these guys out windsurfing in the bitterly cold wind, I had to pull over on one of the most dangerous highways in the US just to watch them. (The Old Seward Hwy) As their surf sails caught air and picked them up many feet off the water and they came crashing down onto the surface, only to catch a little wave and jump it, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. This was like life. We catch air, we crash, but we land it. We end up in the water sometimes and have to get back onto our surf boards, but all that work pays off when you feel the wind fill out your sails and you're lifted high off the water. The sense of accomplishment is so much headier than you thought it would be; all the sludge from the day falls off of your body and your smile returns.

Keep pushing forward. Keep getting back on that surfboard. It's hard, but it's so worth it.

Coffee Date III

If we were on a coffee date...

I would tell you I was the most scared for my life that I have ever been last night when we got a 7.1 earthquake near Anchorage. I yelled for Justin to wake up, grabbed the baby from the crib, and we huddled in a doorway, praying pretty hard! I didn't enjoy it, guys. Not one bit. I would rather deal with the tornadoes of Texas than the earthquakes of Alaska!

I would tell you that I have a blog design client and that it makes me VERY happy to be doing freelance work! I enjoy running Pink Heart Media and making blog graphics for people. (I made the ones for Thanks To Coffee.) 

I would mention that I found my Nintendo 3DS and I'm kinda excited to binge-play it in bed later tonight. I used to play Mario Brothers a lot right before bed and it hecka calmed my nerves before sleep.

I would tell you that there are BIG things in store for the Warrior Queen movement, and that if you didn't know what that was, you should check it out right away. Women supporting women? Yes please.

I would probably talk a lot about how I miss having a cat. They just make life so much better.

You'd probably have to tell me to not drink so much coffee because I can't stop twitching...or talking too much. And in return, I'd tell you that my daughter has been waking up every ten minutes for the past two nights and Justin and I have been switching out to care for her and I can't stop now because if I do, I might fall apart into a thousand tiny pieces. Or weep. Either way, coffee is saving my butt.

I'd share that I finally made a sale on my Etsy shop! It's been up for about a week and a half and I thought that nobody was paying attention to it, but boom! A sale was made randomly this afternoon and I just happened to log into my Outlook to check my email and saw the notification. I definitely was super excited! Also that the head of the concierge department of Nerdy Girl (essentially the VA department) hired me on to be a virtual assistant. I can't even express to you how happy it makes me!

If we were having coffee, what's the most important thing you'd tell me?

To read my other two Coffee Date posts, visit Down Rainy Lane.

Lessons in Life

January was full of ups and downs. Lots of them. It was mostly chaotic, with a few peaceful moments that I happened to catch on camera. My precious baby girl is already six months old... I just can't believe it. I'm so overwhelmed by her beauty every single day.

Things I've learned in January:
- You need very little money to get by.
- Ramen noodles are great options for very tight budgets!
- Alaska isn't so bad; it's my outlook that makes it awful.
- I miss my family.
- How to ask for help.
- How to receive graciously.
- I'm very bad at committing to anything.
- Webinars rock.

What did you learn in January? Was it a good or bad month for you?

Thanks to Coffee

So this is my first time using Blogger since probably 2006... did I just age myself? Shut up haha.

I'm not quite sure how to use this platform, so bear with me while my blog looks like crap. I'm figuring it all out again. I blog over on Down Rainy Lane too, but I really needed a personal spot - a retreat, an oasis, a mental spa - where I can truly type out my feelings and post pictures and all that good stuff without intruding on DRL's brand. I love coffee, so that's why it's called Thanks to Coffee.

This blog will be beauty, lifestyle, and photography based! I refuse to choose a particular niche because I did that with DRL and so I have to be very specific over there, but here I can just say what I'm feeling! No schedules, no deadlines, nothing.

I hope you're more ready for 2016 than I am....I'm definitely dragging my feet. I don't want to admit that another year passed without me accomplishing ANY of my dreams. Just to be clear, my dreams include traveling to Europe, starting a small coffee cart on a street corner, and taking jumping lessons on horseback. It's a hefty list - let's hope I can make them HAPPEN in 2016!

Here's to the New Year, and here's to a great blog.
xoxo
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