- XscreamThrills has some new help in the studio this week – creating YouTube content is hard work!
- Well, I’m doing it! I’m declaring Leander an official “walker” this week! He’s been taking one step here & there since Christmas, but this week is the week that it all has seemed to come together! Last week was the week of 2 & 3 steps, but this week, he started walking 2 & 3 foot-long lengths, then whole room lengths! It’s absolutely hilarious to watch: it’s still (obviously) a work-in-progress, and so many times he looks like a zombie, stiff-leggedly stumbling around – it’s so funny & cute & heart-melting. He’s getting braver & more confident every single day & I just love it!
- Today looks so much different from last Saturday: last week at this time we were running around outside without coats on & today it’s been a dreary wintery-mix all day long. We started off the day by getting about an inch of snow & we rushed Braelynn out the door as soon as breakfast was over so that she could play for at least a little bit before the snow changed over to rain. She built herself a small little “snow-pile” (since there wasn’t enough snow for a “snow-man”) complete with sunglasses & a stick-nose. Poor kid – she just wants a good solid dumping of snow!
- Derrick & I bought a new mattress this week! We have been talking about it for months (maybe even a year) and this week, we finally pulled the plug. We ordered one of those “internet-sensation” order-online-delivered-to-your-door mattresses you see advertised everywhere – Derrick researched for days & finally decided to go with the Nectar mattress. It arrived yesterday & since it comes (literally) flat as a pancake – it has to sit & expand for 24-72 hours (quite a window, right?) – in other words, we haven’t slept on it yet. We’re really hoping though that it helps Derrick’s back/hip pain & gives him some relief! So, stay tuned, I’ll report back next week whether we like it or not! (Spoiler alert: if we don’t like it or it doesn’t help Derrick’s back, we’ll be sending it back).
- This Tuesday was my favorite day of the month: our monthly Tuesday’s Together meeting! One of my best friend’s Tiffany & I lead a chapter of The Rising Tide Society in Greensburg, PA – a place for creative entrepreneurs to gather & network & chat about a common business topic with the hope of encouraging & lifting one another up. I look forward to it every single month & this month was no exception! It’s hard to do business alone & having a group of people I know I can fall back on & hang out with once a month is like a breath of fresh air!
- Website update update: This week, I’ve continued working away on my new website, but guys – it is so much work. Just, so much time-consuming, brain-power-draining, exhausting work! It’s going to be so worth it when it’s done, but what I was originally thinking might take a month, might actually take 2-3 months (and I remind myself that this is why people hire website designers).
This week’s main accomplishments were: (mostly) finishing the design of the home page, writing the copy for each of my pages & starting to refine it (we all know I tend to be long-winded & I 100% understand that not everyone wants to read 2,000 words about why I love photographing weddings!), and coming closer to finalizing my new logo. I say “coming closer” because I still have some ideas I want to hash out (and probably should talk to my amazing artist-sister about helping me with). - I ordered these today from Amazon. I’m not one of those crazy “save-the-whales don’t-use-disposable-straws” types, but I hate the idea of buying straws, only to throw them away & have to buy more. We’ve been drinking more protein shakes & Leander loves to drink anything from a straw, so it seemed to make sense to grab these (I mean, over 8,000 5-star reviews? How could I go wrong?) But mostly, I wanted the tiny straw-cleaner scrubber-thing that comes with them!
- Christmas is officially (and sadly) over in the Abbey house. We put all our Christmas decor away yesterday & Derrick put our tree away this morning. Things seemed super empty & “blah” for about 3 minutes & then we started decorating for Braelynn’s birthday party – so no more empty & “blah” here! We’re just one week away from “the big day” & I can’t believe it! How is she going to be 5 years old?!
- I went thru a bit of a “hair-crisis” this week. Meaning, I got super fed-up with my hair & was seriously contemplating just cutting it all off (I cut it super short once before, back when I was working at Walt Disney World). For context: I have long, wavy brown hair. 95% of the time, it’s up in a messy bun or ponytail. And I was just sick of it & wanting a change. On a whim, I decided to straighten my hair on Thursday & instantly I felt better. Crisis-averted. I mean, deep down, I really didn’t want to cut my hair – I love it’s length & it’s versatility, I was just really wanting something different & the only thing I could think of was to chop it off. Thankfully, I didn’t do anything drastic & if it’s as simple as switching from wearing my hair in it’s natural cury/wavy state to straightening it for a while (until I get out of this weird-hair-funk), I’m happy with that!
[…] started helping out in the XscreamThrills studio last winter & she’s at it again – helping Derrick record the voiceovers for his new YouTube […]