No More Whining

So, I've been burning with guilt since my last post.  I could just pinch myself, really hard, for being so whiney.  Was I really complaining about not having a good mattress or an extra set of sheets?  I am truly ashamed.
I guess I need a wake-up call, about just how good I have it.  Sure, things aren't over-the-rainbow perfect, but the good vastly outweighs the bad and I really don't have anything to complain about.  I'm sorry for doing so here. 

It's true that I often wonder whether I'm doing everything right or not, and I'm in the bad habit of comparing myself to others and noticing all the ways I or my life may fall short.  That is a very selfish way of thinking.

Anyway, I apologize.

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Of course, the Mixdisc Swap is now under way.  I forgot to mention in the main post one important detail: when you burn your cd, please make sure it's in cd  format, NOT mp3 format.  Not everyone has a cd player that can handle mp3's, so we want to make our discs as user-friendly as possible.

Best of luck with your mixes! 

love,
kayla

I'd roll over, but gravity won't let me.

I'm up late because I'm letting my hair dry.  It's true!  I feel so guilty running the hairdryer after Tony's gone to bed, and I hate dealing with kinks in the morning, so air dry it is.  Which makes for a late night for Kaylas.  I don't know why I'm telling you this.  Remember how it's late?

We haven't been sleeping well lately.  Our Ikea bed we were so excited about is starting to show some wear in the form of creaking.  I know, I know.  I expected Ikea quality so I'm not surprised.  Plus our plans to save up and buy a decent mattress haven't really panned out, so we're still rolling to the middle on the cheap, thin mattress we got off Craigslist, the Wal-Mart memory foam pad on top of which does essentially nothing. 

I shouldn't be complaining; we're still but freshly wed children and I've always anticipated things would be like this in the beginning.  But tell me, does it ever get better?  Will we someday truly be able to squeeze out the $500 or so of our budget to get a new mattress?  Maybe if we keep denying ourselves any out-of-home dining experiences and stop spending our hard-earned money on airsoft guns and crafting supplies we can justify buying a spare set of sheets for laundry day?  (Is it awful for me to be complaining?)

The majority of the struggles I've had with married life so far is wondering if we're doing things right.  What does "normal life" mean for a couple of 7-month married 23-year-olds?  Do we have it unreasonably good?  Are we struggling more than the average couple?  I can guess that the answer is probably that every experience is different, and maybe whatever we're doing is  "right".  Times like these I wish I had a dude - or maybe a very nice, mature, but good-natured lady - to stand to the side and analyze our every move and coach us.  And maybe also help our dog not climb the fence.

Sometimes I just want life simplified.

...It's ridiculous, I know.  Life is not meant to be simplified; it's meant to be complicated.  Probably.  That sounds like something someone mature would say.  Tonight my way of dealing with it is to dream of luxurious things I don't have but would like. 

Like this bedding, from the store that is ultimately unattainable, Anthropologie.

And maybe one of these:

Yes, please.

5 things I'm grateful for Sunday

 via WeHeartIt

So, it's been a week or so since I've done this.  It feels like forever.  Here are 5 things I'm grateful for this Sunday:

1. Sisterhood and friendship.  I had the opportunity to attend the General Relief Society Meeting for my church with several women from my ward, and it was precisely what I needed.  I felt so uplifted and strengthened by the messages shared, and I came home feeling warm and happy from the time spent hanging out with the girls.  I would like to give them a big THANK YOU for inviting me and making me feel so welcome.


2. Good days.  Because they are so precious.

3. Other people's talents.  I am so grateful for other people who share their talented selves with the world.  Often it's scary to put yourself out there and do what you do, but I for one feel extremely blessed whenever I encounter someone sharing their gift.  Thank you, all you people.

4. My mom.  For showing up unexpectedly yesterday to help me do my dishes, even though I'd already done them.  I got to see my mom for a bit, plus she brought me bagels.  Moms are fantastic.

5. My husband.  Always.

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Tonight I watched my sweet neighbor's two daughters for a few hours, and we sat on the floor in the craft room (studio takes too much effort tonight) making bracelets and drawing pictures and embroidering on paper.  It was loads of fun and it brought back a lot of my favorite memories of doing the same with my cousin and my friends when we were little.  There's nothing like girlhood to make the world seem bright and happy. :)

I hope everyone had a good weekend, and don't forget to sign up for the Mixdisc Swap if you haven't already!  (And don't forget to e-mail me your mailing address too.)  Already some new faces have showed up because of it and that makes me so happy!  If you're on the fence about participating I hope you'll decide in favor of, because I think it will be fun.  If you have any fears or reservations, I hope you'll push them aside because we're all friendly people.

Night!
kayla

The Exciting Mixdisc Swap!

Alright folks, here's all the info for this very exciting mixdisc swap we'll be having. 

Q:  What the frig is a mixdisc?
A: Like a mixtape, but in CD format.  Because I don't know about you, but I am not one of those cool people who still makes mixtapes (or even knows how.) 

The Rules:

1. Your mix must be of a decent length.  I won't give you an exact number, but keep it somewhere around 12-15 tracks long.
2. You may choose any genre or mix of genres you like.
3. You may include no more than 2 songs of the same artist.
4. You must follow the theme.  However, how you interpret the theme is entirely up to you.  It may be literal, abstracted, or you could even make your mix an antonym of the theme.  Woah!
5. Your mix must be titled.  Write it on the cd.  You can make it cute if you want, but you don't have to.  I would encourage you to have fun with the title though.
6. You must include a playlist with your cd.  We don't want to make our partners play the guessing game (or the Google the lyrics game.)  You don't have to include cover art, fancy or not, but...why wouldn't you want to?
7. You have exactly two weeks from the official beginning of the swap (see below) to finish and send off your mix.  

Alright, so them's the guidelines.  Now to how this will work.

The comments section of this post will be the official sign-up sheet.  Comment with your name to show your interest.  And, you know, be excited about it.  I'm thinking multiple exclamation points.  !!  You have until Monday, September 27th 12:00 am Mountain Time to sign up, in case you don't check your internets on the weekend. 

That means Tuesday, September 28th is the official start time of the swap, and Tuesday, October 12th is the official deadline. 

Once you've signed up, e-mail me your name and mailing address at ultra_lazer4@hotmail.com.  I'll randomly pair us all up and then send your info to your partner (and vice versa.) 

The theme for this swap is: Radical Love Storm.

Any questions?  Things I forgot?  Let me know.  Otherwise, get signed up and start mixing.

love,
kayla 

Maybe now I'll start journaling.

The boy is off playing airsoft this morning, so I had time to myself to clean the house up a bit and also work on an impulsive little project.  I had this beautifully hand-bound book a friend gave to me, and I had this itch it was perfect to satisfy.  I think it turned out pretty cute, so now hopefully I'll actually get back in the habit of regular journaling.

I appreciated the comments about having lots of projects going at once.  Glad to see I'm not alone!  That's how I work, and maybe it's not all bad, but it does get a little annoying.  Maybe because I work so slow.  I never get anything actually finished.  I'm thinking maybe I need to change my tactics for a while and say I'm not allowed to work on another project until one is completed, because my head (and home) is pretty cluttered by now with unfinished stuff and I need to start clearing it out and checking things off of lists.

I snapped a shot of a sort-of clean workspace to share, so you can see it on a better day.  Still not perfect and just as I'd like it, but honestly I wonder if it will ever get there. It seems to be the nature of life that nothing is ever truly "there".  If it were, would there be a point anymore?  :)

Hope your Saturday is going well.  I'm going to take the pup to the dog park soon, shower, finish tidying up, and then I'm going to the General Relief Society Conference downtown with my neighbor.  Oh, and later I hope to have a post up about the CD swap, so stay tuned!

love,
kayla

Fall Fashion Wish List

Alright, I admit it.  I'm getting pumped for Fall.  In honor of the season which is now upon us, I put together a little "Fall Fashion Wish List".  I've never been ultra-trendy, but lately I've been noticing a wiggling in my clothes tooth.

So here are some things I've noticed whilst window shopping that I would like to add to my dream-closet.

Red Shrug: FoundObjectFashion - Brown Hat, Filligree Earrings, Letter Necklace: Charlotte Russe - Yellow Flats: Spirocreations  - Asian Dress, Polkadot Skirt, & both Tights: Anthropologie - Jean Leggings: Banana Republic - Elephant Tee & Camera Hoodie: Threadless - Yellow Dress: Thimble and Acorn - Orange Hat: GingerHaole - Long Sleeve Shirt: Zelaya

*sigh*  I could go on forever.  Wish lists are fun, but if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

Yesterday I made a (loosely) Fall-inspired classic rock mix cd.  None of the songs actually had anything to do with Fall, they were just songs that gave me that "Autumn feeling", for some reason.  It wasn't until I was finished that I noticed that nearly all the tracks I chose were about losing, letting go, being lonely, things changing, or just sad things.  I guess it's my feelings about the changing seasons and the "death" of Summer coming out in song choice.

I'm not really all that sad about the seasons changing, but the coming of Winter is always met with a bit of apprehension in my heart.  For now, though, I'm content to let myself enjoy this season's crisp-but-not-cold weather, lovely fall colors in nature and fashion, the return of warm drinks, that extra blanket on the bed, and leaves crunching beneath my feet.  (Another cold weather bonus?  Cuddling.  Summer, you're great, but I miss full-body contact!)

What are you anticipating?
kayla

p.s. Well, at least one person is interested in the CD swap idea!  Natalie, if nothing else, let's you and me send each other mixes.

Swap Idea

 via WeHeartIt

 

I kinda want to have a Mix CD Swap.  You know, where participants make a mix cd (perhaps based around a certain theme?) and we all send 'em to each other.

Are you interested?  Let me know, cause i think it would be fun.

<3
kayla