Category Archives: Five Minutes

Recap: October in Five

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As per usual I can’t believe another month has come and gone: six weeks until Thanksgiving and less than eight until Christmas? It just doesn’t seem possible. While I’ve missed the last recap or two, it’s time to bring it back to remember all that happened in the last month. {Photo Credit}

October was…

Hosting my future-in-laws at the beginning of the month for a weekend of fun with the kidlets. Watching the kidlets run all over an apple orchard, ride their first ponies and tackle corn mazes and hay bales. Jolie reading her first book to us. Finally feeling like I’m comfortable in my bonus mom skin. Making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Embracing the fall season. A long weekend away with Knight full of relaxation, those really awesome talks about everything under the sun, and of course cuddles. Ordering and addressing and then finally sending our save-the-date cards. Pumpkin picking with the girls and then pumpkin painting (and then laughing later that evening with Knight as we discovered our paint apparently comes off in the rain. The end result is some much scarier than intended looking pumpkins). Getting excited for the upcoming holidays. A quick trip to STL and then Game Six of the World Series.The Cardinals winning the World Series. Curling up with good books. Learning to relax after two bouts of sickness in one month. Learning to let others take care of me. Learning to let some things go, no matter how hard it is. Celebrating one year of being together with Knight and then our pre-one year anniversary to our wedding as well. Experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with a few new favorite recipes that will be reprised more regularly. Taking my camera with me every where I go so that I am always ready to take photos. Discovering new wine that I’m pretty much in love with (The Dreaming Tree in case you wanted to know).  Decorating the house for Halloween with the kidlets and enjoying their ooh and aahs over our the Disney Halloween decorations I found. Looking forward to the next month full of holiday excitement and hosting my first Thanksgiving, starting new traditions and more. Making progress on wedding planning. Making some new plans and resolving for new things.

What were your favorite moments of October? What are you looking forward to most in November?

July in Five

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I realize I totally skipped doing June in Five last month, but it happens. And really, my June while eventful still would have been relatively boring to recap for you guys. July, however? Much more interesting. {Photo Credit}

 

July was….

* Full of travel: to the Lou for family time and our fabulous engagement party; to LA for work; back to the Lou for work.

* A month for big decisions. The decisions are still in process (and I realize I’m being incredibly vague here) but they have some big implications overall, both for me and Knight professionally, personally, for our success and happiness. See also: when did being an adult become so darn difficult?

* Lots of friend and family time. Between hanging with my parents over the 4th, introducing our respective parents at the engagement party, more time with the folks in LA, seeing lots of friends while in LA and elsewhere, a dear friend’s 30th surprise party, and much more, well, we had a lot of social time this past month!

* HOT. Seriously, the weather both in my new home and my old home have been insanely and ridiculously hot.

* Bliss. After I got home from my trip to LA I realized that the home Knight and I have created really and truly feels like home. I love the changes we have made to the style and layout of the house, the little touches that make it ours, I love that when I get there I feel like I’m really home.

* Challenging, from a parenting standpoint. This past month Belle and Jolie have given us a run for our money; I think we have adjusted fairly well all things considered and they are responding so far, well, to our parenting changes. It’s been a learning experience for us all and I think we’ve all grown from it. I’m realizing everyday that being a Bonus Mom is tough and rewarding. I’m also hoping that one of these days I can explain it better than that.  

* Love. So much love. This is totally corny so for those of you who don’t like corniness, look away, but I fell in love with Knight all over again this past month. I’m ready to call him my husband (and if I had my way, we’d be husband and wife sooner rather than, well, next October). I’m so thankful to share my life with him, to grow with him, to learn from him. I’m also incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends, family friends and family who celebrated our engagement with us this past month. I don’t think I appreciate the love that I have in my life often enough.

* Wedding. I think, baring any crazy elopement decisions, that we have finally found our wedding venue. I have to make a decision on time of day (the morning or the evening… I can’t quite decide) but other than that it felt like us. I get a little (ok, a lot) teary-eyed when I think of walking down the aisle towards Knight. I’ve also made some other fun decisions about the day such as wedding shoes, what to do for our bouquets, ideas for presents for Knight and so much more. Some things I’ll share here, others after the wedding actually happens!

* Full of smiles. Laughter. Accomplishing. Growing. Changing. Adapting. Learning. Loving. Cooking. Baking. Being. Photos (that I still need to share, I know).

What don’t you want to forget about July?

May Review in Five Minutes

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I know I sound like a broken record but another month come and gone already? I can’t believe we are a week into June and that I’m a week late posting my May “What I don’t want to forget post.” I think you know the drill, but I take five minutes to write down everything I don’t want to forget about the last month, all inspired by the #Reverb10 folks.

{Photo Credit}

Attending my brother’s graduation. Watching him walk across the stage. Getting teary-eyed when he took a moment to look up and wave to me and the family. Enjoying my first bed & breakfast experience. A fun girls’ night in. Celebrating my dad’s birthday. Celebrating my Gram’s birthday. Eating lots of birthday cake. A lovely Mother’s Day spent outside at a park, good food, good company, great pictures. Officially starting training for my next 10k. Heart-to-hearts with my best friend from grad school over simple sandwiches. Losing weight (it’s the simple things, sometimes, right?). Decluttering my life in terms of all things: material, commitments and in some cases, people. Engagement photos with Knight. Bon Voyage cards from coworkers that made me cry. Devouring books. Sending cards to friends and family, just because.  Incredibly supportive friends and family about the great life change I was about to make. Surviving the great road trip to the great life change. Starting to make this house a home with Knight. Taking the time to appreciate my family. Allowing myself to slow down and focus on only two things for a change: work and moving. Surviving the move (more or less).
Letting wedding planning take a backseat.
Allowing more love and joy into my days.
Not being afraid to tell people how I feel.
Looking excitedly to the future, while fondly remembering and loving the past.

What was your May like? Anything you don’t want to forget?

March in Five Minutes

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I can’t believe it’s that time already. I know we are only three months into the year but man is time flying…

March in Five Minutes, aka the things I don’t want to forget.

{via}

A trip to visit my brother at college; one of the last times I’ll be partying there before he graduates. | Showing Knight my college town, eating some of the most delicious pizza ever, finding our favorite beer on tap, and staying up entirely too late. | Bonding with new friends over shared experiences. | Cuddles with Knight that leave me smiling for the whole day. | Unexpected snail mail from loved ones. |  Expanding the friend circle. | Finding the perfect pair of jeans. | $10 flats at Target. |  Sharing the good news about my move and receiving so much encouragement, love and support from so many of you. | Having a weekend all to myself and realizing that I still love some quality alone time. | Some of my best friends getting engaged and being over the moon ecstatic for them. | Baking some amazing brownies, twice, in the same weekend. | Quality time with the family over pasta and wine, laughing and memories. | Going to Seattle for an amazing weekend celebrating the launch of the Nintendo 3DS with Brand About Town, Nintendo and a ton of my favorite 20something loves (I promise a recap soon, complete with pictures!). | Going shopping with Knight and the girls for summer clothes, buying them sunglasses, and making amazingly fun memories with them. | Enjoying the new challenges at work, embracing them and feeling good about it. | Singing Journey at the top of my lungs underneath clear skies and many, many stars. | Best friend talks that last for hours. | Signing up for a few races this summer and fall, vowing once again to get in shape. | Allowing myself to take a few steps back from life on occasion to just live, to just be. Best decision ever. | Just being me. |

What don’t you want to forget about March?
What are you looking forward to in April?

February in Five

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Things I don’t want to forget from February in Five Minutes…

My first trip with Knight. ♦ Hearing the ocean roar in Florida.  ♦ Gobbling up amazing bbq, laughing with amazing friends and feeling revitalized.  ♦ Warm weather that allowed me to run outside for a whole week.  ♦ Teaching Knight’s oldest how to pinky swear and then melting when she wanted to pinky swear with me over the phone.  ♦ Not reading as much and then deciding that it’s ok.  ♦ The connections made at my journaling class.  ♦ Spending a Saturday morning baking with my brother.  ♦ Hilarity at triva night.  ♦ Reconnecting with some friends as a result of the Connections post from last week.  ♦ Firming up big plans for the future.  ♦ Discovering new recipes.  ♦  Lots of time spent around the kitchen table with my family laughing, smiling and talking.  ♦ Connecting with new friends.  ♦ Enjoying my first Valentine’s Day where I actually wanted to celebrate it.  ♦ The Oscar PartyDarling & I host every year.  ♦ Awesome, adult, grown-up relationship moments.  ♦ Taking a ton of pictures to document what’s going on in my life (something I haven’t done in ages).  ♦ The Mario Sports Mix Wii Competition thanks to Brand About Town, even though we lost big time. ♦ Gooey Butter cookies made by my brother. ♦ Dancing to the Cupid something-or-other dance in front of 300+ I didn’t know and loving every minute of it. ♦

Some favorite photos from this past month…

What don’t you want to forget about February!?  

5 Minutes: January

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Rather than doing my monthly obsession posts like I did last year, I plan on doing a little bit of “reverb” at the end of every month. I’m borrowing this idea from the #Reverb10 folks and will be taking five minutes each month to write down all the things I don’t want to forget about the month that just passed.

♦ Laughing hysterically while doing Just Dance with my mom (and getting a serious arm/shoulder/back/ab workout in the process. Seriously!). ♦ Teaching Knight’s girls to blow & catch kisses; then watching them do it from the window of his house when I had to leave. ♦ Two snow days ♦ Reading over 1500 pages in January and loving every single one of them. ♦ Recommitting to my health and fitness, feeling the soreness in my body and knowing that I’m doing the right thing and something I love. ♦ Making big, huge, adult life decisions. ♦  Fabulous girl/best friend weekend with Lisa (more to come on that!) ♦ Video chats with amazing friends. ♦ Allowing myself a bit more me time and a bit less everyone else time. ♦ The shock and surprise on my face when I saw that two kids put a bag of dog poop, on fire, on my parents front porch. ♦ Late night dates with Knight full of smiles and love, hope and joy. ♦ Finishing up my two vacation days from 2010, which meant two Fridays off in a row. ♦ Putting together creative and comfortable outfits that express who I am. ♦ Feeling positive, optimistic, excited and very much like myself. ♦

What do you want to remember about this past month?
What are your hopes/goals for the next month?