Emily Marie is Me

ME THIS MONTH This month has been very busy. I started another job, where I go to the print shop and help out for 15 hours a week. I really enjoy helping out - it's nice to use some skills again. It's cool to be able to walk in, see that something needs to be done and just do it. I feel like I'm really helping and I just love the people I work with. At home however, it's been quite the adjustment and most of us aren't taking it very well. We'll see how it goes moving forward. The one really not taking it very well is Daisy. For the first few weeks of September, she was throwing the BIGGEST tantrums I've ever seen and just losing her mind at bedtime. Everything was a fight and it was almost impossible to get anything done. We also started actually enforcing consequences when she doesn't cooperate, and that didn't help with everything at the time either haha :) But we got through it and now she understands consequences a little better, so that'

ME THIS MONTH August was a MONTH. I worked a TON. I stressed a TON. But in the midst of that I tried to find a balance by not working in the mornings and instead being outside with Daisy! I enjoyed the lovely end-of-summer morning weather, cross stitched a Totoro face, and listened to some audiobooks. It was quite enjoyable and it worked pretty well to combat the stress, but it also meant I was up working until midnight sometimes. We also dealt with some emotional, mental, and physical issues, as seems to be the norm in our lives, but we made it through! Again! With all the hard times we have, at least I can always say that we get past them :) A few good things about August: we got to meet our newest family member, Ziya!! Christian (Jonathan's brother) got married to Ziya at the beginning of August in South Africa and they made it out to see us (and live down the street!!) by the end of the month. They only get to stay for a few months, but we get to see them a lot and it

ME THIS MONTH July, July, Julyyyyyyy!! Listening to that while I write this because I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to write stuff. But I'm just going to type whatever comes to mind, so this might be pretty scatterbrained and have too less or too much information. But here goes! 4th of July! We went down to St George for the weekend and it was such a chill trip! We went swimming and to a park with the Carl Neves, played some games with my mom, saw Toy Story 4, ate some really good food, lit off some fireworks, and got to hang out with my brother's cat :D It was good to see my parents and every time we go down I'm reminded that it's not that bad of a drive, we can handle being away from home for a few days, and we should definitely do it more. Right when we got back from St. George we had a lovely visit from our friends Sara and Garrett! We played a board game, and then spent the next day hanging out and watching movies because poor Garrett was no

ME THIS MONTH June just flew by! I've still had a lot of work to do, but I think I've managed things a little better than last month.To help me remember what else happened this month, I had to take a picture of our calendar before I planned out July (disjointed sentences of various events to follow). I've been trying to spend more time with/make more friends in my ward, so I got together with more of my neighbors. It was great! :) We went to Jonathan's cousin's wedding, and it was a blast - like usual - to be with the Pyne's. I hung out with Amanda on our regularly scheduled Tuesday nights and for a super Saturday of fuuuuun! We went to the farmer's market, walked around DI, and got cake. I got my first-ever massage this month, thanks to Diana having Daisy come over to play for an afternoon. I refinished/updated Daisy's bookshelf with Kenzie. And yeah! That's what I did haha :) Seriously can't believe it's already July. It's been a l

62. Get a massage (6/25/19) I was so excited - and a little nervous - to finally get a massage! I had a window of no child and no work on this afternoon, and my stressed/sore body got dibs on what to do. I found a place in town with good reviews and a first-timer deal, so I booked it! (Also, major shout-out to Diana for having Daisy over to play at her house!) My experience was definitely different than what I was expecting, mentally at least. I assumed I would be in silence the whole time, but the therapist started up a conversation that ended up being about a lot of negative/stressful things going on in her life. I truly felt sorry for what she was going through and I wanted to respond appropriately, so I just couldn't relax. When it got to a point where I felt like it was fine to not ask any more questions/make any other comments.....I didn't. And she didn't either. So the last half of the massage was silent. I relaxed a little bit more during that time, but I wa

ME THIS MONTH Guess what! May was busy. Anticipated it and it happened. It was very stressful too. I honestly think I had a tiny flare up because of it. Needless to say, I'm glad to have that month behind me. Oh! A good thing! We've been going to the library a lot and I found some time to read! But yeah. Other than that I really don't remember much except for work and the feeling of being stressed, so this is about all you're going to get right now! The rest of the summer is shaping up to be pretty busy too, but I think after how this past month was it won't seem as bad. Missing:   tiger nut flour...I've been out all month and so I can't make my favorite AIP baked goods Needing :  a break...and for someone to tell me that everything I'm stressing about will work out...and a hug probably Pinning:   lots of perler bead layouts and cross stitch patterns to prep for a 30-day project I'm planning :) THE FOCUS GROUP 18.   Hang a gallery wall wi

67. Go to 3 plays (5/11/19) I love plays and, as you can see from the plays I went to, I also LOVE Grassroots Shakespeare! Initially I wanted to go to a variety of plays, but then I discovered Grassroots and that's what I ended up watching. No regrets at all. I still have a gift certificate to see something at the Hale, so eventually I'll get around to seeing a musical or something. But for now, I'm planning when to go see Grassroots' summer shows haha :) 1. A Midsummer Night's Dream - Grassroots Shakespeare (5/19/18) This play was SO FUN. This company tries to do Shakespeare the way it was done originally (no director, actors buy own costumes, outside, audience interaction, not much rehearsal, etc.) and they were amazing! I enjoyed every minute and am still thinking about it weeks later. I've also never read or seen this play before and it was a great first experience. Reading it will definitely be more fun now, but I don't know if I'll be able t

25. Travel to a new state (4/25/19) I went to not just one, but TWO new states on this day! I was on a road trip with Jonathan and our friend Andrew, where we drove through a corner of Oregon and into Washington. That corner of Oregon was BEAUTIFUL. I took so many pictures of trees and just greeeeen - literally the only pictures I took on the trip were of Oregon. The part of Washington we were in...had a river haha :) It's always interesting to go to new places to see what's different, especially in the landscape. I don't know why I get so surprised when there's no mountains somewhere. Guess I've been spoiled! Really Washington was fine, just not the prettiest place in my opinion. But the wedding we were there for was lovely and all our experiences were fantastic! While in Washington, I ate lots of good food, went to some cool places, and spent time with wonderful people. Most of the things I did are documented throughout the blog, so I'm not going to wr

65. Learn how to do a cute hairstyle for Daisy (3/18/19) Pigtaaaaaaails! The only thing I've been able to do with Daisy's uneven and slow-growing hair. I originally wanted to learn how to do a cute braid or something for this goal - and I might still try it sometime - but Daisy has become less and less willing to sit still. So I decided I'm going to count this as complete! Besides, she looks pretty dang cute in pigtails.

ME THIS MONTH This is soooooo much later than I wanted it to be, but I've been so busy! We got back from our trip to Washington (post coming so I won't talk about it much here, but it was great!) and it took a bit to get back into routine. We had an emotionally rough week after as well, but got through it okay enough. Then I've just been busy with work so here we are! The rest of April was..chill? busy? The past few weeks have been so crazy it's hard for me to remember the beginning of the month! Let's see what I can come up with! I do know that we had two birthdays, Jonathan's and Daisy's! We kept them pretty low-key, just presents and treats and games :) Daisy got some awesome presents from her grandparents, and barely plays with what I got her haha I guess I need more present-buying practice. I can't believe she's three! But I definitely know it, because holy sassy pants, she is a threenager. Pray I get through it! This month we also sent Co

ME THIS MONTH March was quite the month! For half of it I was flying solo, with Jonathan in Japan for two weeks. While it was hard, we tried to make the most of it. We had the car, so Daisy and I got to get out of the house! We went to the Bean Museum and the library a few times, and did shopping on Fridays instead of busy Saturdays. In the evenings I tried to relax, which usually lead to some late nights. But I watched a lot of anime  and even started reading a book! I'm not gonna lie - it was nice to have some time all to myself, but we were VERY glad to have Jonathan come home. While he was gone, Daisy would say "Where's my dad? I lost my dad." and I would say "he's in Japan sweetie, he'll come home in [insert days til return]" and then she would say "oh! I miss my dad. But he'll be back." It was so cute but so sad. We like him. Up until this point, I had seen Jonathan every. single. day. since we started dating. So from August 1

48. Watch 5 new anime by myself (3/16/19) When we got married, Jonathan introduced me to anime. My mind was blown at the great stories, characters, animation styles, humor, and just ALL THE FEELS that can be found in this form of art and storytelling. I know that there are stigmas/stereotypes and negative things surrounding anime, but there are some truly amazing gems among all the not-so-great stuff. And if you know people who know the good stuff, you're in for some awesome times. Up until the first anime on this list, I would only watch shows with Jonathan, mostly watching shows he loved and wanted me to see. After a little while we also started watching new shows together, which is so fun! But if I had free time, watching an anime by myself wasn't what I chose to do - especially because I have to read subtitles and can't do something else at the same time. So I challenged myself to see if anime is really something I like on my own vs. because I like having something

29. Learn some knife skills, especially for cutting onions (3/14/19) I chose this goal because I have always been very awkward when I used a knife, mostly because I never really cooked. However, after starting AIP I found myself using a knife much more often and actually working on some skillz. I also watched a few videos to further hone my onion cutting. I still have a lot to learn and I want to get quicker, but I plan to keep practicing. That's one reason I passed it off now instead of earlier. The date is the most recent time I cut an onion, and a few other veggies. While what I cut doesn't turn out perfectly uniform and I'm in no way fast or precise, I can definitely say I'm better than I was. Skills acquired (ish).

ME THIS MONTH February! One of the best months because it includes my birthday :) We were busy - got Jonathan ready for Japan, I worked and finished setting up my business, and we got to spend a lot of time with friends! The friends part was the best. Sara and Garrett came into town and stayed with us for a few days :D One day, Sara and I played co-op Stardew IN PERSON for at least 3 hours. Plus good talks, some Just Dance, and board games. What could be better than all that? It was the best. They're the best :) We also got to go with them to the Emal's annual Oscars Party, which is ALWAYS a fun time. And when Into the Spider-verse won best animated film, I totally cheered and clapped. What a great movie. Heck. What a great time. It was also my birthday this month! I made all my favorite AIP foods that day (waffles, tuna avocado salad, pork carnitas plantain nachos, apple crisp with caramel sauce) and Myke and Amanda came over for games and the apple crisp :) We also play

68. Read a manga (1/26/19) This goal was made possible by my cute husband! He got me the Land of the Lustrous manga for Christmas and it was total surprise, the sneaky mom. I LOVE this anime and I had tons of questions after it ended, so I was very excited to read it. I finished all the books I got and then, because we plan to buy the rest as they come out, I read a possibly illegal fan-translation of all the rest. It's still coming out month to month, but I'm caught up now so I'm counting this as done! I had never read a manga before and it took me a little while to get used to it. Reading panels in the right order and figuring out what was happening during action scenes was the hardest for me. I had to reread some pages multiple times. At some points I think I only understood what was going on because I remembered what had happened in the anime. Eventually I got the hang of it and I don't have to reread as much anymore :) I've enjoyed entering into this new

ME THIS MONTH New Year! I know I posted an update for December just a few weeks ago, but I tried to not say anything about January while doing it. Our first two weeks were pretty uneventful - we even got to bed around or before 10:30 every night! Then we started watching a few shows, did a game night or two, I got a bunch of work, aaaaaaand...I became a business owner! With a big, possibly recurring, job coming up, I decided to finally set up an LLC. I won't go into all the details, but it has all worked out so nicely that I know this was the right time to do this. The name came to me pretty quickly too: Early Bird Design. And it is exactly what I wanted in a name - simple/clean, professional, and happy. Last year when I did my Etsy shop, I was so caught up in making sure I had the logo and everything in order that it took me forever. For this new business, I don't even have a logo yet but all the most important things are in place. We'll see what happens! Another big

ME THIS MONTH December was busy. Then we went to Texas to visit my in-laws for Christmas! The flight there was awesome and Daisy did great; the flight home was hard and seemed to take FOREVER. The time in between the flights however, was fantastic!! The first day there we went to the Fort Worth Zoo - basically no one was there and the weather was amazing, so obviously it was the perfect zoo trip. Also: I PET A FREAKING GIRAFFE. So yeah. Perfect. Our time in Texas also included: Christmas!! such a great day :) great gospel and life discussions a really delicious pizza place Parker's baptism (Jonathan's little brother) endless video games, especially smash bros dog pats multiple board games where we terraformed all the things many, many treats and non-AIP foods lots of reading cows and horses and dollar stores and churches everywhere driving into civilization from nowhere no mountains. flatness is not my favorite lovely nighttime rainstorms Overall it was ju

ME THIS MONTH **Everything within asterisks is being written when this is posted, everything else is stuff that I actually wrote in November and I'm not going to make any changes to. I got to a point with this update where I was feeling down about not accomplishing my 30 day project, feeling in a rut in general, and feeling like it was fine to miss this month because the holidays were starting to take over. But now it's the middle of January and I'm mad at myself, but finally feeling less in a rut so I'm just writing something quickly and getting it over with! In November we got to go to St George for Thanksgiving and it was so wonderful. I had missed my parents a lot and it was great to see everyone. During the week I also ate a lot of yummy foods, including half of chocolate pecan pie, without too many bad side effects. Overall it was just a good, chill weekend with family. Although we did learn that Daisy is not good at sharing with her cousin Jack - so many te