OUR STORY

Hello. Welcome to my blog. A little something that was started back in 2008 to keep our families in the loop while we lived on the East Coast. Do not. I repeat do not look at the archives. *Embarrassing* 

Now, my blog serves as a family journal, my creative outlet, really *cheap* therapy, and my connection to inspiring, intelligent, and witty fellow bloggers who I otherwise would have never been given the opportunity to “meet”. 

This is my best-effort attempt at a *condensed* version of our story…or my story, really. 

 I married my high school bestie in summer of 2006. We were on cloud nine in our newfound newlywed-ness {despite our cockroach infested, non-air-conditioned studio apartment in the middle of the desert}. Probably because our entire four year relationship was spent apart and had endured two deployments to Iraq, with mostly letters as our method of communication. All before the ripe age of 22.

After we got married, Gabe and I moved to California, Texas, Rhode Island, and then eventually found our way back home near our families in Kansas. Each move was more exciting than the last, all with our little fur-sidekicks in tow, Samson and Sienna. 

Our initial round of moves were for my first job out of college. I loved {and often miss} that job. Corporate life with other 20-somethings, lots of travel, wining and dining, exciting projects, incredible benefits. And in hindsight, these were all things I took for granted at the time. 

I eventually went back to school to become a teacher, something I had dreamed of dating all the way back to third grade in Mrs. H’s class when we used to sing with her guitar, Oliver. Initially, I loved teaching and poured my heart, soul, and every morsel of my being into it. Until I received the surprise-of-a-lifetime news that I was pregnant, only a few short months into my new career. 

And Miss Lyla Isabell was born. Our worlds were immediately and unimaginably changed forever.

One year post maternity leave, I was still completely unsuccessful in balancing my passion for teaching and my bursting-at-the-seams love for my daughter. So, I decided to leave teaching with only 2 weeks left before the beginning of the school year. Divided attention is not my forte, as I am an all-or-nothing kind of gal. And I ultimately decided my all should go to my daughter, not my students.

Today, life continues to be a never-ending balancing act, as I am still a working mom. However, my new job allows me more flexibility and more mental availability that goes directly toward my family. 

They are my everything. 

When I’m not tending to my current day job, I can be found snuggling and playing with my daughter, drinking coffee and laughing *a lot* with my husband, reading Psychology Today, perusing Etsy for toddler accessories, watching back-to-back seasons of something on Netflix with my pups on the forbidden couch, catching up with old friends {or making new ones}, attempting a new recipe, snapping pictures of just about anything around me, shopping at Baby Gap, trying local restaurants, or failing at Pinterest projects. 

I love hearing others’ stories, and I would love to hear yours. 
Thanks for taking the time to listen to mine. 

xoxo,

Ang