I’ll say it straight out… I disappeared from the blogging world. Not only have I been crazy busy from adjusting to the newlywed life & a new work schedule, but I’ve also been grieving my loses.
When I first moved across the States, I was a bubbly new wife ready for anything, but as time went on, my emotions caught up to me. I missed my big family before, but things came along that made me realize just how much I miss them and their noise (big family = big noise).
For a long while, I was running circles trying to figure out why I’ve been so tired lately. Now, I realize it’s because I had forgotten to give myself grace in this new season of life.
I’m not just adjusting to marriage and a new job; I’m also learning and memorizing new roads, billboards, businesses, and people.
Reminiscing About Springtime
When you go from one schedule to a completely different one, you can’t expect your body and soul to adjust overnight. It doesn’t work that way! It takes time—a lot of it—to learn new surroundings and form new habits around them.
As I’ve come to realize this and give myself more grace, my passion for writing has slooooowly been coming back. In the shadows, I was still writing, but I stop publishing. Not every word needs to be shared with the whole world, especially when it comes to processing heavy topics.
With that said, I’m ready to pick up my writing again! I hope to continue sharing challenging and uplifting posts, however, I think some new content would be nice, like my favorite chocolate bars. 😉
To kickstart my inspiration, if you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve rehauled my blog’s style. I’m also in the process of changing the look of my newsletter, including switching my email provider. If you received an email that looked funky, that’s why!
The style felt a bit outdated, and while it was sad to say goodbye, I’m so happy with how fresh everything looks. It’s like a spring clean up for my blog!
In light of not posting much lately, I want to catch y’all up on what my springtime was filled with. Beginning my list of springtime busyness is my favorite thing I did….
1. Visiting My Family
In late March, I got to visit my family for FOUR WEEKS! I soaked up having late night chats with my siblings, hugging my parents, playing with my nieces, and simply seeing everyone’s faces.
On the way back home, a storm delayed our flight. Apparently, everyone in the airport that day was used to layovers. As soon as it was announced, everyone sprawled out on the floor and rummaged through their bags to find forms of entertainment—coloring, literature, and tablets.
Connor and I, on the other hand, wondered around the airport for a little bit before finding a carpeted corner to sit down and rest.
Once we boarded the plane, we waited 3 hours or so before actually lifting off due to low fuel and runway traffic.
After finally landing in our state, I was happy to leave the chaos of the airport behind.
This place now feels like home, so whenever I’m gone, I miss it horribly, but whenever I’m here, I miss my family. Since moving, I’ve been in the process of learning how to make the most out of wherever God places me. Although, to say it’s easy would be an outright lie.
2. Trying New Recipes
Being a wife means a lot of my time is spent cooking, so I’ve been finding my groove in the kitchen and learning new recipes. So far I’ve only learned about four, but they’re delicious.
Since Connor is gluten free and currently bulking ( a “gym bro” term), I don’t get to buy take-out whenever I’m tired of cooking, so it’s definitely been an adjustment. Connor helps out a LOT though!
Last month, I’m pretty sure he cooked more meals than I did. *hides* I love my boy so much! I’m continuously in awe over his ability to support and help me in every aspect.
3. Experiencing Married Life
Now that Connor and I are unpacked and settled into our house, we have energy to learn what marriage is supposed to look like.
In my opinion, marriage is AWESOME, but life can certainly pull you every which way. Even as newlyweds with no kids, we’ve experienced the wedge that life tries to put between us.
Marriage is like moving into a house with your best friend and learning to navigate life together. When life gets busy and you forget to sit down with coffee and chat about your emotions and dreams, the two of you will feel out of sync and irritated with each other. It takes effort to keep a friendship alive.
The more we read devotions together, the stronger our relationship is.
The more we discuss how we can help each other feel safer and more loved, the closer we are.
The more we laugh and go on dates, the cozier I feel wrapped in my husband’s arms.
When I step back and allow God to prune me to be the kind of woman He desires me to be, the better I can serve my husband’s needs.
4. Making Our House into a Home
If you don’t know already, my husband and I are living in a work-in-progress cabin-like home. I love the coziness of our house, but it still has a long way to go.
So, wherever I can, I’ve been adding touches of color. With limited storage and unfinished walls right now, I’ve had to learn how to do it without taking up counter space and putting extra holes in the walls.
My favorite ways of achieving this so far are:
- Before I even moved in, I added a cute gray bathroom rug. I’m thinking about changing it out for a new one soon. Gray seems a bit gloomy.
- I just bought a new comforter set for our bed. Light mint green!
- Connor surprised me with an adorable body mirror for the bathroom. I love it so much!
- I put up command hooks by the door to hang our keys and a blue fly swatter on.
- My little brother painted me a picture, so I recently found a place to hang it up at. Of course, I hung it with a command hook.
- We’re slowly adding furniture, which includes but is not limited to: two couches, a side table, and a coffee bar (more for storage than coffee).
- And most importantly, I try to keep things tidy. It goes a long way!
Keeping a house clean is one of the biggest tasks, but with just the two of us, it’s not too bad. Over the spring, I attempted to create a solid cleaning routine, but just keeping it real, I’m horrible at sticking with it…. I basically gave up.
5. Coloring in my Down Time
When I got married, the only hobby I had was writing, but just writing isn’t the best. While I absolutely love it, if I have no other hobbies, I’m not gaining any inspiration. Plus, writing equals screen time.
So, for a while, I was trying to find something relaxing I could do on the days my energy levels were too low to create words or for after I had finished my writing.
That’s when coloring came into my life.
It’s been the perfect pass time! I’m working on the above picture. (Shout out to Connor’s mom and dad for buying me this coloring book and cool markers to go with it!)
6. Alphabet Dating
One of the most exciting endeavors I’ve been up to this spring is going on alphabetically-ordered dates with my husband. In a nutshell, every week or so, we go on a date that begins with the letter of the alphabet that is next in line.
This week or next, we’ll be going on a date that begins with the letter E. So far, we have:
- Bought (A)rt supplies and painted glow-in-the-dark flowers on our concrete floor. Yes, we really painted our floor! Now we can follow the glow to get the bathroom in the middle of the night.
- Visited a town that started with the letter B. We ended up exploring with cold drinks in hand.
- Went to the (C)inema and watched Unsung Hero. If you haven’t watched it, you need to!
- Pretended to be (D)etectives and played Unsolved Murder Cases. Honestly, it was the best thing ever.
And we’ve decided that we want our E date to be making elegant drinks for a movie night at home! What is the definition of an elegant drink? We’re not fully sure yet….
7. Connecting to a New Church & Community
The last time I remember connecting to people at church is when I was 11-12, and I didn’t even talk to anybody; my family did.
After that, my family settled into a megachurch. There’s nothing wrong with a megachurch if their teaching is Biblical, but it didn’t push me out of my comfort zone to talk to people. Introvert alert!
I was raised in the south, so my mom and dad taught me the ways of hospitality and loving your neighbor, but I have never put it into practice.
So, you can imagine how difficult it has been for me to transition from not associating with anyone to a small-town church.
They’ve welcomed my husband and me with open arms, engage in genuine conversations, and have even invited us to their homes.
Despite my fears, God has been opening my heart to the people around me and the friendship they offer. He’s been teaching me to look past my worries and accept community as it comes.
While the rewiring of my brain and heart has been challenging, I’m excited to see where God takes me on this journey.
Moving Forward: Top 5 Summer Goals
Saying goodbye to spring means saying HELLO to summer time! Something about summer encourages me to get out more and better my health & life.
My top 5 goals this summer are:
- Paint our walls (at least, some of them) 🤞
- Go on more consistent dates!
- Start setting an alarm to wake up to
- Focus on getting more cardio 3x a week
- Read the Bible in the morning more often
Let’s Connect!
How was your spring? What’s your favorite memory from the last three months? If you have any suggestions of what you’d like to read next, let me know by commenting or emailing me at sunshineinthehazeblog@gmail.com.
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Sunshine in the Haze 
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