Weekly Reflections

Hey Friend!

I with I could bottle up this smell of sage brush, cow manure, and fresh mountain air! Now some people might say, "Yuck! That is disgusting!" But there is just something so free about being out here on a 100 degree day, enjoying this cool water surrounded by nothing but mountains and wild, unused land. 

Peaceful. That is the word that comes to mind as I watched my son play in the creek this week. Oh my heart is so full!

I can't help but think how we have only lived here for less than 4 months, but it feels like home. In fact, this past week I had not one but two nightmares that we had to pack up and move away from here! I am not exaggerating to say I woke up in a panic and looked around before realizing that I am still in my bedroom in my house and we in fact did not/are not moving.

Anyways, this week has been full of swimming and playing in th water! There is a creek that literally runs through our neighborhood, but there is a nice spot to swim in that's only 5 minutes away from our house. 

I also bought a splash pool that we have been enjoying using on these hot days! This pool is the perfect size for my toddler. It is a little over double the size of a bathtub and it is a little deeper to, so he is able to splash and play and practice swimming in it, but it's not too deep for him. It is also refreshing for me to dip my own feet in it!

I have also been working really hard on this blog, creating my own custom theme! I have really enjoyed the mental challenge of figuring out coding and truly putting together a custom site! I am pretty pleased with it!

One other update is that I had my first Rover dog booking last weekend and it was great! And then this past week I had someone reach out to me to watch their dog, so I had that booking for one night! I am pretty excited to be able to make some extra cash that can go into our IVF savings.

So that was pretty much my week. Mostly we have just been spending time in the water trying to stay cool and save on the electric bill by not running the AC so much! 

What I've Been Enjoying:

I really love the splash pool that I got! It is the perfect size for cooling off and it was super cheap too! One funny thing that my son said about it is that, "this no a big pool, this a big bath." He said it with all seriousness for a 3 year old!

I also got my son these washable paints, and he had so much fun painting with them! And I can verify, they are definitely washable!

What I've Been Reading:

Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn: I actually started this book last week, and I enjoyed the first part of it. Now I am 75% through it and I'm feeling meh about it. It's not bad but I feel like there is a lot of words and a lot of things happening but the plot isn't moving very quick. I do appreciate that it is actually a slow burn. Like it is truly a slow burn. Nothing has happened other than attraction at this point. But it also feels like nothing has happened up to this point with the romance, the plot, the character development... I am a little disappointed with this book, but not shocked. 

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna: This one actually surprised me. It is a cozy fantasy, and the beginning was a bit slow and I wasn't sure that I would like it, but it is actually a really sweet story and I am so invested in these characters. There was also a really touching moment in the middle of the book that made me almost cry! I really am enjoying this one!

God Has a Name by John Mark Comer: I really like this author! I have read Loveology and Garden City by him and loved those as well. He just has such an engaging writing style that even though it is nonfiction, I can't help but keep reading. 

What I'm Working On:

I have been and am continuing to work on finding friends and building a community, which has historically not been easy for me, and I feel like it can be even more challenging when you move to a new town where you know nobody.

One thing that has been on my mind this week is the topic of friendships, or more specifically, how to make friends. I talk more on this in the blog post I linked. Anyways, one of the ways I am hoping to meet like-minded women is on this women's retreat I am going on with the ladies in my new church this fall. Even though I tend to be an introverted homebody, I am actually really excited to go! Today I pulled out the money for that trip and yes, I a looking forward to it! 

This next week I am going to continue working on the coding with this blog and fix up the theme here and there. It is pretty much where I want it, now is just adding those final touches!

Other than that, next week is going to look a lot like this week. We will probably spend the majority of our time in the water again.

Anyways, how has your week been? What is something that brought you joy this past week? Leave a comment and let me know!

As always, thanks for reading!