A big reason why I went through my big site redesign recently was to make way for the changes I wanted to make with my shop and designs. I’m so happy with how it is all coming together. It’s fun to finally be able to share some of my new designs with all of you. Everything is on sale until the end of the day on Monday so be sure to take advantage of the new release prices!

Head on over to the shop or you can add products to your cart right from this blog post. ❤️

I’m still knee-deep in finishing up my blog redesign and branding update. I’m also working on a huge shop update that I’m hoping to have ready by tomorrow or Friday at the latest. On top of everyday life, that means I’ve had a hard time fitting in blog posts the past few days. It’s not for lack of content or desire - I have so much that I’m excited to share here. It’s just basically a bandwidth issue. There are only so many hours in the day and I don’t want to lose sight of the really important stuff like being there for my family. With all that said, I think you will agree that we need a giggle break today. I file away these funny things all the time and always look forward to when I can share them with you. I hope you enjoy them and have a few minute

I realize that we are well into the second half of 2020 now, but I stumbled upon this resource last night and just had to share it! This is from CNN and it gives a really thorough overview of the first 6 months of the year with some great photos. It’s also fascinating (and sad) to watch the Coronavirus numbers change each month. This will definitely be something that I will use for a year-end recap and to add to monthly roundups.

I’ve used Feedly for years to follow blogs, but I’ve recently been enjoying Bloglovin and seem to get more followers there. I’m updating my rss feed there with this post.

I especially like using their mobile app.

July was a tough month for us because our daughter Riley and her husband Ryan suffered a miscarriage. I share this with their permission and I think it’s very important to check with others before you include sensitive details about their lives. It can be difficult to know if you should include the really hard stuff sometimes. I always believe in including the good and the bad, but there are times when that isn’t possible or even comfortable. I’m grateful that Riley encouraged me to include this and how strong she is. Miscarriage is a very painful thing to go through (emotionally and physically) and having never gone through that myself, I’m glad that there have been others who could step in and tell her they know exactly what she is going through.

Last night, our son Alex was shocked to find out that it was going to be August on Saturday. He said “I don’t even know what month it is anymore!” I think we can all relate! It’s such a strange time, but that makes it even more important to take a few minutes to jot down what life is like right now. Use my simple roundup prompts to document the month so you don’t forget all that happened. It’s my favorite memory keeping tool and so many of my readers have made it a routine in their own lives as well.

I basically get through this crazy life because of humor and memes right now. Anyone else doing that? Oh, and eating. I’m definitely stress eating. Humor is a much healthier way to cope though so let’s focus on that instead!

My monthly roundups have been more time consuming to complete lately because of how much I’m trying to document, but they feel more important than ever. I’m so glad I established this habit long ago. There are plenty of ways to do a roundup, you don’t have to use a scrapbook page format. I love to illustrate the information so this is my favorite approach. Here are my layouts for the month of June 2020.

My mental and physical energy seem to be running a bit low the last few weeks. I have been in high gear for so long and I think I’ve just needed a break from that. I’m sure you can all relate. I can’t even imagine how medical professionals are getting through this time. I get overwhelmed just reading the news. I’m so grateful for the sacrifices that so many people are making right now to care for others.

I’m going to be working on my roundup later today and get back to regular posting soon. I just wanted to let you know that I’m still here. I’m glad you are too! Stay well my friends. ❤️