moving in.

Whew! What a hectic week it's been. Nathan and I moved in to our (!!) place last Saturday and it was exhausting.

My parents were able to come and help us move with their small trailer, which was more of a blessing than I could've imagined. The not-quite joke of the day was how exhausted that trailer was and what pros we were after the "month of moving" my family has endured. (Four complete family moves between my mom, grandma, great-grandma, and cousins will do a lot to you!)

We were able to get about 80% of our stuff in that day and Nathan finished his 20% the next day while I was out of town. We felt nothing but exhaustion as we sat on the floor for our picnic, enjoying the new chapter that had started in our lives.

As the week continued, we spent countless hours moving boxes, trying to keep our sanity, cleaning, and learning to live with each other. We may work well together as a couple, but we are still two completely different people! Nathan will never understand why I have so many coasters and I will never understand why I can't stack the pots and pans (because apparently they will scratch, he says).

But we are learning! And working hard... So far we've redone our patio, scrubbed out the kitchen cupboards and cleaned the hardware, scrubbed the bathroom floor, changed the drapes in the kitchen, and a whole page two of things already crossed off our checklist. Now if we could be that productive on wedding planning....

Before redoing the patio, but after 30 mins of weeding...

the (mostly!) finished after

A short funny about living together before I wrap this up? I woke up one morning last week to my phone ringing. I was waking from a dead sleep, so I naturally did not look at who was calling. I groggily said hello and heard Nathan reply back. It was odd to me that he was calling at 8:30 in the morning. "Where are you?" I asked him. "In the living room." Turns out, he had come into the bedroom at 8:25 to turn my phone from silent to loud, walked back to the living room, and called to wake me up. Nathan's reasoning? He knows I get cranky when I'm woken up and didn't want to deal with that. Sigh.. Such is a life together.

prioritizing & m.i.a.

Hey all.  Everything has been such a crazy disaster of love and life and everything inbetween.  With starting a new job, cramming what was already an intense semester class into 5 weeks, working on Dankbar, and still managing to see people and not be a hermit, I hate to say that the blog has been pushed not only to the back burner, but behind it.  So much has been going on, there's so much I could share, yet the minute I sit down to type something, click goes the off switch on my brain and I'm ready for bed.

I've been reading a ton on priorities, and most of my favorite blogs have had great tips and advice on how to prioritize (see Nicole, Carly, & Ashley).  They've been so, so helpful and encouraging while I've been working, yet there's been this disconnect between my goals, my have-tos, and my priorities. 

While it's easy to say that Dankbar Designs is my number one priority, it's not easy to make it so.  Then on other days, it's easy to say "oh yeah, my relationships are definitely my number one priority".  But what about the fact that I need to finish my degree?  Welp, guess school just became my number one.  Where do I draw the line?  Is it realistic to put my relationships before school or Dankbar?  But can I put school before either of those?

What I'm trying to say is, it's been complicated.  This blog, the SailorrTaylorr me, just isn't my priority - however, it's my outlet.  It's my place where I can write, where I can share, and where I can obsess over little things (and big things).  While it isn't my priority, it's always on my list.  So please, bear with me as I flit in and out throughout the summer - nothing will be as consistent as I'd like it, but I will get you content.  I'm struggling enough as it is trying to juggle three number one priorities.  Having something that isn't a priority, that I can just go to like a favorite pillow or book, it's what I need.  And I love it.  I love you.  So thanks.

Here's some quick snapshots of what I've been up to since we last talked:

I got to spend time with my second family, and loved every minute of it.

I've been taking plenty of walks and runs across the Stone Arch Bridge, giving me great views of Downtown Minneapolis, and an amazing view of Mill City.

Starbucks and walks with Nathan have kept me sane more than once, though I'm pretty sure that the Starbucks part of the habit needs to end soon or my wallet will cry.

Learning and growing in this building.  Folwell Hall is my favorite and least favorite building on the U of M campus simultaneously.  I have learned more than I could ever express in this beautiful building, but I've had growing experiences that have made me want to cry, as well.

That's a snippet of what I've been up to.  I have the chance now to sit down and crank out a few posts, so hopefully there will be plenty of material coming your way!  

What has everyone else been up to?