Moments of Musing

Good Mornings

Filed Under: mornings, perspective, positivity //

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Our mornings have recently been starting very early (5:30AM). I think it would be easier if we slept straight through the night but alas, that is not the case yet. So, despite my being a morning person, I have recently been having a tough time getting out of bed, especially today. It always seems to be a little harder to do so the day after a holiday.

Regardless, I think starting the day off right is key:

Coffee.
I’m not sure how I gave up coffee for my whole pregnancy. I guess I was sleeping a lot more then so I can’t imagine what I’ll feel like next pregnancy. Coffee is key to getting my energy up. Most days, I have at least one cup.
A positive attitude.
I could whine and complain about how tired I am. OR I could be happy we leave early enough to catch the sunrise (albeit from our car). The latter sets the stage for a much better day. After all, waking up means being alive and that’s a blessing.

Well-rested sleep.
Just because I don’t get eight straight hours of sleep doesn’t mean the sleep I do get is bad. I try to get at least six hours of good rest. I still aim for eight but it’s difficult. Nonetheless, good sleep is important.
A good breakfast.
I don’t only been healthy or nutritious, haha. I also mean pretty breakfast that makes you excited that it’s morning time. Pictured below is cream of wheat with sprinkles, a childhood favorite of mine that continues to be a favorite. It looks magical to me.
Be excited about the day(s) prior, or to come.
It’s always nice to acknowledge the good in life. The good times, good people and good food. This past Easter weekend was full of so much love and joy. I told my husband waking up on Easter Sunday almost felt like waking up on Christmas (my favorite holiday) morning. We even made it to mass early! Being excited about life has a way of making early mornings less sluggish. 
What’s something you to to get your morning going?

Reflecting on Our Long Distance Days

Filed Under: long distance, love //


When my husband and I met, we were each living in a different state–he in Virginia and I in New York. 

Yet, something told each of us to hold on and it wasn’t long before we were talking marriage.We started making plans for the future and were hopeful he’d get new orders to his same base in Virginia or somewhere closer to me. 


And then, he got orders to the farthest base on his list: Hawaii.

We’d only been dating a few months when that happened. I remember getting the call and I remember the breakdowns that immediately ensued.
Our fairytale was coming to an end, I feared. Yet, in my heart I knew–I just knew it was an obstacle we’d have to overcome to be together.
Now, here we are.
Some days, I reflect on and reminisce about our long distance days … those tear-filled, lonely, scary days full of unknowns but also full of so much love, romance, and adventure.

I reminisce about them not because I particularly miss the long distance. But because of how our love carried us while being hundreds and then thousands of miles, bodies of water and, sometimes, continents apart for years (almost three years)… It still amazes me.

These days, that same–yet different–love continues to carry us. And I am so grateful for it.

Life Recently: Lots of Trips

Filed Under: life, Puerto Rico, vacation //

It’s been a while since I’ve written about what’s been going on in my/our life/lives. Well, March was a doozy. So much went on.
Trips to the ER, pediatrician, Michigan, urgent care… and Puerto Rico! 
Thank goodness we’d planned our vacation because it was so needed after the hectic month we’d been having.
All is, thankfully, well in the health department. Seb was just sick for the first time and it both broke my heart and almost gave me a billion heart attacks. Then, my husband and I got sick (it could have been Seb wiping his nose on me all the time and/or coughing into my mouth as I was holding him..) and I managed to get THE most painful ear infection that I can ever remember having. I was then extremely nervous to fly but decided to do so after being cleared by our doctor.
Of course, getting sick two days before we were about to leave was less than convenient and not ideal… Needless to say, this was the most last-minute packing we have ever done.
Life is still great, though. Because we’re healthy (the ear pain lasted under six hours thanks to trusty antibiotics and a heating pad) and amid the craziness, we got to visit my husband’s family in Michigan and make it to our vacation in Puerto Rico.
Before I share some photos from our vacation, I want to give you a tip: try to visit in the spring or summer! Last time we visited Puerto Rico, we went in November and we were unimpressed with the ocean. This time, it felt like we were on another island. The water was an amazing shade of crystal-clear blue.
And now, for the good stuff: the photos, most of which were taken on our trusty Nikon (another tip: invest in a good camera–the better quality of photos is worth it).
*Though I took photos, I did not take as many as I normally do because I unplugged.

How I Unplugged

Filed Under: life, Unplugged Puerto Rico, Unplugging //

As some of you might remember, I decided that I would (mostly) unplug while on my recent vacation. I say mostly because the reality is I still used my phone, posted, wrote, and visited social media. The bad news is I probably need to be somewhere without service and WiFi to completely unplug. The good news is I think did a pretty good job at staying off my phone as much as possible.

This is how I was able to do it:
I promised myself.
The plan to unplug came to me a few days before we left. I really wanted to stick with it and I knew if I wrote a blog post about it, I’d hold myself accountable. So that’s what I did. (This is the blog post I wrote.) Once it was out there, I knew there was no taking it back.

I detached from my phone.
I simply left my phone in the hotel room sometimes. Other times, I kept it in the stroller pocket or in a bag away from me. Honestly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be to detach from the phone. I guess really enjoying life made it easy. I didn’t have a desire to figure out how to edit a photo or write a caption when there was so much beauty and love around me.

I optimized my baby’s nap time.
On the second day, I made the decision to try my best to wait until my baby fell asleep to get on my phone and that’s what I did. While he slept, or was preoccupied playing with others, I took photos, edited them, checked social media and emails, and wrote.
I was intentional about social media use.
Whenever I was on social media, I didn’t really just aimlessly browse. I visited blogs and pages I am interested in, commented on photos I particularly liked, and posted things I had prepared and planned for previously.

I reminded myself to be present.
What good would it be flying hundreds of miles away with my family to spend our time on my phone constantly? Whenever I felt the urge to go on social media, I reminded myself that being present was important. Not only for myself but for my family, especially my son. I didn’t want him to have memories of me looking down at a device while we vacation. I wanted him to have memories with me. In the pool. At the beach. Loving and laughing. Looking up at the stars and group-hugging his dad. I wanted to have memories together and that requires living in the moment, together.
I really am so glad I did this. I wholeheartedly recommend you doing it next time you’re away, as well!

    Ways to Beat the Post-Vacation Blues

    Filed Under: perspective, positivity //

    Vacation is over and we’re back home. Normally, I’d be pretty down about it, chalking it up to the post-vacation blues, but I’m trying my best not to be this time. It almost sounds silly but the vacation blues are real. In fact, over 30 percent of people say they’re sad upon returning home from a trip. (I have a feeling it might even be higher, though.)

    I’m not going to talk about why I’d rather be at the beach instead of at my desk today. Instead, I’m choosing to be positive because I wholeheartedly believe my everyday life is just as good as, if not better than, vacation. Chances are yours is, too.

    Here are ways you can join me in beating the blues after returning from your next vacation:

    1. Celebrate your everyday. Life is a gift. You’re breathing. You’re alive. You have family and friends who love you. A source of income. A routine. Stability. Every day is different and challenges you to grow and develop and prosper. That’s pretty cool, if you ask me. 
    2. Look on the bright side: You’re home. I don’t know about you but I miss my bed whenever I’m away. A plus side to vacation being over and going home is getting to sleep in your own bed again. When you wake up, go outside and explore where you are. Love where you live, learn to love it… or move. Life’s too short to be living a constant down in the dumps “what if” kind of life. 
    3. Be in good spirits. Cherish your memories. Reflect on your fun trip. Look at, and maybe share, photos of your getaway. (If you didn’t take any, be sure to next time!) Be happy you were able to get away. Be grateful and appreciative. Vacation is a luxury. Period.  
    4. Find joy and hold onto it. Maybe it’s your favorite cup of coffee every morning, your photography hobby, a good run, or volunteering for a cause that’s close to your heart. Whatever you find joy in, do that. Live a life you look forward to. Make every day a day to be happy about, to surround yourself with good, to do good and to be good. I have a feeling if you do, you won’t feel the need to escape as much. 
    5. Plan your next vacation. It can be one night away to a city nearby or weeks to a city on a whole other continent. The point is we all need to rest and reset sometimes. Give yourself that break and chance to reset again and book that trip! I’m pretty sure you won’t regret it. 😉