Just another update.

Busy, stressful days lately...

But good days. Last week my parents were in town, and we headed to a family reunion on Saturday.

This was amazing. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, red and green pepper, zucchini, pepperoni, black olives (which I literally cannot find in the grocery store.. so they're not in here) with olive oil, coconut oil, a dash or two of white wine vinegar, and sea salt.

 "Guys, I got this."

 I love this photo. Grandma, Mom, and I.

 Mom and Dad's new baby pupper: Sage. What a doll.

 Oh, the woes of a photographer... who cannot pose herself. Sigh.

 It was quite warm that day.

Playing with Sage.

Miss Aleisha and I.. good to see her again!

More of Turbo and Sage:

She just really wasn't that fond of him... started defending herself pretty quickly! haha

Some randoms:

One of Turbo's favorite people.. :)

Turbo in the doghouse.

Hubby in the doghouse. ;)

Hopefully only a week or so left on my car. Hopefully.

Gorgeous sky the other night. A couple provoking thoughts: 1. There's always beauty in a storm. 2. The storm always looks darker and more ominous when it's approaching. Sometimes that's the hardest part of the whole storm.

My amazing salad from a while ago. Wow.


See you in a few weeks.. ;)

Ahh. Relief.

This week, it rained finally.

Beautiful, light rain. There's something so serene and still about rain and the effect it has on my spirit and attitude.

Trust me, I love sunshine and too many rainy days in a row gets me gloomy. But it is quite refreshing after weeks and weeks of hot sunshine.

This week was quite refreshing in many ways...

Finally, some victories. Some small gains.

I have started slowly adding in more "strength" work along with some really light cardio. Seriously light. talking 2:00/1:00 walking and jogging intervals. And there's a reason "strength" is in quotes. ;)

But today. Nevermind that they were measly 135-pound deadlifts (okay, so I mind a little... because earlier this year, I was doing the same sets/reps with 185-pounds. Sigh. I will get it back, I promise! I'm coming after you, 205.). And very slow burpees. Nice and easy.

Okay, so the chalk-use was totally not necessary. But it was fun to use a little. My callouses are nearly gone after weeks and weeks of absolutely no gripping and ripping.. they're a little bit in shock right now.

And honestly, I don't know if I'm so happy because of the working out, or the fact that my appetite has increased. It's always about more food, right...? haha

This is Leah, one of my gym buddies. We matched today! Unfortunately, she was all fresh and pre-workout... and I was not. haha! Got my water belly going on.

This girl can jump.. her boxjump is insane! But what's really fun is when we take over the squat racks and deadlift. ;)

After noticing that eating cottage cheese for lunch left me (more) draggy than when I didn't eat it, I decided to try taking out dairy too. I've been putting a little bit of coconut oil in my coffee (yum!) rather than cream. So now I pretty much eat meat veggies. Lots.. and lots.. of meat and veggies.

My meatloaf that I cooked up today. Secret ingredient? ... What? It wouldn't be a secret if I told you!

Okay, okay. It's cayenne. And today I added smoked paprika as well. Yum.

And eggs. Mmm. Veggie/beef frittata.

My latest food obsession is sauteing onions and zucchini. And blueberries. But not sauteed with the veggies. Ick.

Huge honkin' zucchini there! And don't judge my cooking mess. :)

Oh, and then at the bridal show... Yeah. That happened. I gave up my dairy avoidance. And sugar avoidance. Because well, #yolo right? ;) I enjoyed every delicious bite.

Speaking of the bridal show...

My booth.

A really neat florist/event decorator/rentals booth from an Oshkosh-based business.

And, calling all pyro's! I saw bananas, captain morgan, butter and brown sugar, and was intrigued. It smelled simply amazing. I opted for only the Coldstone though. :)

And a few randoms... Tried to wear my hair somewhat down and curly. Slight fail. Sometimes I just cannot stand having my hair pulling on my scalp.

She looks deformed here... but I still thought it was cute. :)

And, big news! That is, if you're still reading. If I haven't lost you by now. :)

We finally found new tenants for the other half of our duplex. Just today. I am beyond excited... and relieved. One less thing to worry about right now...

And cheers to the weekend... I'll be plunked down right in this chair, working. So if you follow my photog stuff, stay tuned for some really awesome sneak peeks. We're talking engagement sessions with Corvettes, antique tractors, horses... fun stuff!

Hope you all had a little refreshing "rain" in your lives this week too!

Dear body. Let's squat.

*smile*

Ps. We are in the process of finding a new tenant for the other half of our plexer. Where in the world do these people come from? Goodness.

PPs. Don't worry. They were light squats. And later I stopped what I was doing because things were hurting. I am trying this new thing where I learn from my mistakes, remember? ;)

PPPs. Update on the car: over $11,000 in damages. If the insurance company would have known that a month ago when I had the accident, they would have totaled it before it was even towed to the shop! Should I be relieved that I'll have my car back eventually? Or scared for the new insurance premiums we'll be paying...?

PPPPs. The whole getting to bed at 9, de-stressing thing? Yeah, that has been a complete fail. Sigh. I'm trying though! Promise! Because of my increased wedding schedule (and family/time commitments) for this summer/fall, I am only accepting 5 additional photo sessions from now until mid-October. Time to put the foot down!

That feeling.

One of my all-time favorite pins from Pinterest...

Source: someecards.com via Mariah on Pinterest

... and totally how I felt about a session that was cancelled this weekend. Many times I have a hard time saying no, or putting my foot down when it comes to planning things. And then I feel sweet relief when things get cancelled. Anyone else do that? :)

X-rays and other news

I mentioned yesterday that I had x-rays taken, which I just found out the results of. Crazy. I'm actually a little fired up that in my past 10 years of chiropractic care, no one has ever taken the time to educate me and see what's actually going on.

I actually just posted a little note on my photo blog about that all, so feel free to check that out to read a little more. Bonus: Stick figure drawings.

Hope you all are having a good weekend! My shoulder, arm, and neck are aching like crazy from photo sessions the past two days, so that's maybe the cause of my migraine today?

Either way, I have had a productive day so far... farmers' market, kitchen work, laundry, editing/computer work, and hopefully a little time with friends tonight.


Oh, one random thing I've noticed lately? My fingernails are growing like crazy. I have no clue what that means. Hopefully, other things like my muscle tissue is repairing itself like crazy too...? ;)

Play ball.

Emotionally draining week. Super busy. Chest pain came back for a bit the other day. New chiropractor. Some last minute "stuff" that screwed up my schedule a little. Emotions still all over the map. Shoulder and neck in fairly constant pain. Photographing = ouch. Computer work = ouch.

Crazy days ahead. Falling more behind. Therefore, getting more stressed out. Cannot handle stress very well anymore. At all. Sigh.

Not a whole lot of victories this week.

A whole blog post without a single complete sentence. Score.

Dear Body: Thank You

After quite a few craptastic days, today was good despite a little pain on my walk this morning. Finally.

Lots of wanderings and musings lately, so here is the highlight reel even though I've been absent here on the blog:

First and foremost, my heart is going out to this young man's family. I remember the feelings and thoughts around the time of my brother's death and funeral. I remember feeling calm at first, and it wasn't until a few days later that the overwhelming ache and loss set in. You walk outside, look around, and wonder how everyone else can keep living their lives, how their worlds keep turning, when it feels like yours has stopped. I love a thought shared from the funeral that if we try to avoid pain, we end up avoiding love. That makes sense, I guess, as in order to be comforted, we have to feel that sorrow.

Pretty sure I have adrenal fatigue. This article is phenomenal. I might have actually teared up while reading it.. as it was like looking in a mirror at my very sad reflection. The fix is really only rest and de-stressing along with some additional supplementation, which I'm doing. I'm still trying to figure things out nutrition-wise too. I think I was pushing too hard (overtraining), not recovering and resting enough, while on a ketogenic (extreme low-carb) diet. Then I jumped right into my stressful busy season. It just wore my body out. Then enter injuries, a car accident to make everything worse, and everything gets messy.

So last week, I did a little experiment: rest, relaxation.... and carbs. I increased my veggie consumption by about double and added in a few low-glycemic fruits. Okay, fine. I added in one: blueberries. How did I never enjoy these before? Mm. With the holiday in there, I was able to relax a little more. Results? I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

The good, first: I can sleep! I have been able to nap again (finally!) and can fall asleep without laying there for 15 minutes. I am starting to get some mental clarity back, score! Think I am starting to get some motivation back as well. However, I also gained 4-5 pounds from the weekend (stupid, I knew better than to weigh myself). I had a hormonal/emotional crash Tuesday where I felt very out of control and thought I was having a nervous breakdown. Plus I dealt with some other hormone issues. Even yesterday was just not fun. My relaxing Sunday afternoon nap came to an abrupt halt with a nightmare about a wedding I was failing to photograph, among other emotional crazies.

So, I'm not sure if the whole carb increase was or is a good thing. I know I've been trying really hard to reduce some stress in my life... even if that means only taking the photo sessions that come my way organically from now unto the end of the season. Yikes. That's a little scary.

Sleep is of utmost priority right now, meaning I get ready for bed at 9:00pm. (Oops, it's after that!)

I have been loving Saturday's at home... going to the farmers' market, having fun with friends and family, laundry, spending time in the kitchen. So wonderful. :)

These have been a few of my favorite thoughts from Pinterest lately:

And, one final thought that was passed on to me from my lovely mom in a comment on this blog :

You're right about it being a journey. And a journey has hills, valleys, curves, and even some dead ends. Try to enjoy the journey.

So, I'm trying to appreciate this journey... for what all those hills, valleys, curves, and even the dead ends can teach me. And "even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise." You're a wise man, Victor Hugo. Maybe I'm finally starting to see that dusky pink sky right before the dawn..



Ps. Our tenant is leaving at the end of July. Nothing brings out the crazies like offering a place to rent! Yikes.

Pps. I made something incredibly super delicious the other day. Even the hubby was wowed. And yes, I took pics, so stay tuned.

Ppps. I haven't been the easiest to live with lately... so how about a pat on the back for the hubby? :)