Tuesday, March 10, 2015

WELL, HELLO AGAIN. I'VE BEEN BUSY BAKING...

(Don't worry--Mr. Maisy was not harmed in any way.  This picture is thanks to the wonders of technology.)


Yep, you read that right folks!  I'm preggo, with child, about to lay an egg....I'm pregnant.  It still feels surreal typing those words.

It's been quiet in this space for a while.  It started as a little break due to the crappy weather and general moodiness of the season, but then became necessary due to morning all day sickness and severe sleepiness.  My days have basically consisted of dragging myself out of bed, going to work, forcing myself to eat something, attempting not to throw up, and then watching TV until I fall asleep.  The weekends are reserved for sleeping a ridiculously long time.  I'm not out of the woods with the nausea yet, but I do feel like my energy is slowly starting to come back.

I've been thinking about this post for a while.  Is my time with blogging complete?  How much do I share?  How do you write posts and not talk about the elephant in the room?

I flip flopped a bit before settling on this thought.  If I'm being completely honest, part of the reason I started this blog was with the vain hope that it would be huge, I could quit my day job, and live the ultimate blogger dream.

Let's get real here.  That's not going to happen, and that's ok.  This space has become an irreplaceable view into my life's both simple and remarkable moments that I want to remember.  There's something about seeing the pictures and reading the words that I felt were worth capturing at a specific time in my life that I may otherwise have let slip from memory.

In the past, I haven't posted certain events or small happenings, because I didn't think they were "blog worthy".  I think back to the blogging conferences I've gone to and zero in on how they said to "brand" myself.  What do I want my "brand" to be?  All colorful photos with white backgrounds, perfectly stylized so that people are able to pick my picture out of a line up?

That sounds amazing, doesn't it?  Being instantly recognized by a photo because it's so "you"?  As I was slipping into bed the other night, I thought to myself, "Well, I am my brand."  Me.  Just as I am.  I'm tired of trying to fit my pictures and words into a specific branding box, because that's how I want people to view me.  I just need to be me.

Blogging has changed so much in just the past two years I've been writing in this space.  I feel now that bloggers feel compelled to apologize for taking writing breaks, for changing the focus of their blogs, for a lot of things that we shouldn't be thinking twice about.

I'm still me, but I'm evolving and my life is changing.  And I want this space to capture all of it.  This is a blog about my life, and I don't need it to fit a certain mold.  My mission statement is simple--"Write about the moments that move me and take pictures of everything."  

In addition to this being a recorder of memories, I also love this space for the ability to connect to people.  Building relationships has been the best surprise to come from this blog.  It makes me feel less alone in this big world.

It feels good to write my thoughts out again, however disjointed they are.  Wade and I are over the moon excited for this little bundle of joy.  Still a bit paralyzed with fear of the unknown, of course, but super pumped.  This is going to be a huge change that will rock our world, but in the best way possible.

We saw our little Roo via an ultrasound the other day, and I still can't believe there is a baby in there that will soon call me "mom".  There is so much magic in the world that I can't wait to show him/her and get to experience it all again through his/her eyes.  It is truly a miracle how life comes to be.  All the struggle, all the perseverance that is needed just to make it into this world.  I am beyond thankful.

Whew!  That feels good to be able to let the cat out of the bag, or rather the bun out of the oven:)

Thank you for reading this, and I hope you're having a great day!  Is there an end in sight to the cold weather where you are?  It was in the 60s this weekend, and I breathed in the warm air and let out a big sigh of relief.  Time to break out the shorts and flip flops!  I'm ready for spring.


23 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you! You will be a fantastic mom! As for blogging, I've become non-apologetic. My blog is me and I feel good about that and I'm glad you do too!

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    1. Thank you so much, Ginny!! I love your blog and all the personal touches you add to it. I hope you're having a great day!

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  2. congrats! I know the feeling about all day sickness and hope it subsides soon. and i hope that, even if you cut back, you don't stop blogging :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Stephanie! I really appreciate it:) Hope you're having a wonderful day!

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  3. First of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!! SO excited for you Kari!! You will be a great mama!! Secondly, I love and enjoy reading all of your posts, you are just genuine and you care about so much! You need to just do what makes you happy, be nothing but yourself!

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    1. Thank you SO much, Jenna! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your sweet words:) I hope you're having a great day!!

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  4. CONGRATS!!!! and I totally agree with the 'my brand is me' it's how I feel too :)

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    1. Thank you, Kristen!! Good to know I'm not alone:) Hope you're having a stupendous day!!

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  5. Congrats, Wade and Kari!! You are going to be the best parents! How exciting! I hope you start feeling so much better really soon. Enjoy the weather, and I can't wait to see your pregnancy style evolve! :)

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    1. You're so sweet, Jessica:) Thank you! This weather has definitely been helping. I have loved watching your pregnancy style and have been taking notes:)

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  6. Kari, what wonderful news, congratulations to you both, I am so happy for you. I'm sitting here smiling and smiling. I hope you feel a bit perkier soon. But you're doing the right thing in taking it easy I think. I love your blog just the way it is. It's very you, a bright and happy place. And hopefully if you keep writing it will be lovely record of your life and adventures. Look after yourself Kari, I'm sending you a big cyber hug. CJ xx

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    1. CJ--You always know just what to say to make me smile from ear to ear:) Thank you so much for your sweet words, and I'm sending you a big cyber hug back, too. I don't want to jinx anything, but today has been pretty good. I hope I'm on the up swing. Is it getting warmer in your neck of the woods? I'm getting spoiled with warmer temps and am crossing my fingers they last. Hope you're having a wonderful day, CJ!

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  7. Uh, wow! Congratulations!! How exciting for you guys!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Rachel! I appreciate it! Hope you're having a great day!!

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  8. Gah, I'm still so freaking excited for you guys!! I hope you get to feeling better soon. I can't wait to see some fun hipster baby ideas!

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  9. Yay! Welcome back mama (to be)! I'm glad you are you and staying true to yourself in your blog. I'm glad you will continue to blog because I think you will love looking back and reading about this time in your life especially. Love you!

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  10. I got so excited when I saw you had a new post up! Welcome back and congrats again! I am so over-the-moon for you guys and I'm really excited we are both going through this journey together! I like how you are making blogging into something that totally works for and represents you, not anyone else. I appreciate your honesty and always enjoy your life perspective and updates. I would probably have no idea what it was like to live in Kansas if it weren't for your blog, and I appreciate that little peak into another world through your pictures and words. With our baby on the way, I have wondered constantly if I am going to continue blogging. It's a hard call to make, but like you said, blogging has allowed me to document and preserve memories I probably would have lost otherwise and it's helped me make some amazing connections and friends like you.

    p.s. Are you guys going to find out the gender of the baby? Hope you start feeling better soon! Sending hugs!

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  11. HOW DID I MISS THIS POST?! I'm glad I saw your other one from today that led me here :) I'm so happy for you. I can only imagine what adventures you and Wade are going to take your little one on. I'm so thankful that because of blogging, I met you! This space is perfect just the way it is and I enjoying reading your posts so much.

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  12. OH MY GOSH KARI!!! Congratulations to you and Wade! That is so exciting! You are going to be a great mom!

    It seems we all reach that moment in the blog world where we wonder what exactly is going to happen and why we blog. I chose to step away for a while and focus on my dream. In part I feel I made the right choice because I was able to focus all of my time on making my dream happen, however...thanks to focusing so much time on my dream I was able to accomplish some pretty great things last year and I didn't take record of any of it.

    I wish I had kept up with it and made time to write about everything I did but apart from being busy I also wondered if it was blog worthy. Would people care I got this job? Would a behind the scenes be worthy? What would I write? How can I present it in an exciting manner. All of these things kept me from writing about it and I now I wish I had because it's not about anyone else..it's about me. It's my own personal space, it's my life, it's about what I find exciting and what I want to remember. I think that maybe being myself on my own blog would eventually attract people who are actually interested in me and what I do. If not, then that's okay. At the end of the day it's my space. Focusing so much time on trying to make it in the blogging world you end up writing about and doing things that have no real substance to you. You just do it thinking that's what your audience will like. I think it may work for some, but I came to the realization that I'm okay with not making it as a popular blogger. I'm okay with my blog being about me and my life.

    As for your own personal brand....you are correct. YOU are your brand. You and your infectious smile and silly self were the first thing that attracted me to your blog. You have an eloquent way of writing that I adore and envy. Most of all I love your photos. I love that they are you. I may not comment as often anymore because I rarely have the time but I love catching up on your blog when I have time and seeing what you're up to via instagram. I hope you keep blogging, I love feeling like I'm catching up with an old friend every time I visit your blog. You are awesome!

    Again...congratulations. I hope we all get to "meet" little Roo come September. :)

    LOL I apologize for the super long comment. It always seems to happen when I comment on your blog. :)

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  13. This post makes me so happy!! I couldn't be more excited for you guys and can't wait to meet your little Roo!! Miss you friend! Hope you're starting to feel much better!!

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  14. I'm playing serious catch up here. Congratulations! So excited for your big news. You're right about the blogging, you are the brand and we love reading your blog because of YOU!

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I truly appreciate each comment! I love hearing from you guys and treasure every one. I respond to comments via e-mail if you have yours enabled. This is going to be a great day!