Just when we think that we’ve had enough change for a time, and we start getting a bit comfortable, we just dive right into creating something new: WE’RE HAVING A BABY GIRL! I’m halfway through this pregnancy and it has gone by so fast and has been filled with many differences between what I was expecting vs. reality...

While darkness can have a psychologically negative effect, light, in contrast, has a psychologically positive effect. We need light to survive. I’ve realized that not only physical light in our lives is needed, but also the light that comes through faith, hope, love/charity, and – perhaps above all – gratitude.

In a very unexpected turn of events, we have moved… back to Los Angeles. Not only did we move back to Los Angeles, but we are living literally a mile from the house I grew up in, in Redondo Beach.

If you had told me six months ago that we would be here, I would have said you’re crazy. But now I just know we’re crazy.

“You shouldn't be afraid to fail. Most people take the easy way and they take things they know they can do because they're afraid to fail. If you fail, you try again. If you fail at the same thing 3 or 4 times, then you say maybe I'm not going to do that, but at least you tried and you know.” — David Kleinman

I’ve been thinking of the move to Utah a lot recently – how I went from really struggling, to finding peace – and how that experience has helped me during this last year of the “new normal” and all the things we weren’t expecting in 2020.

At first, it was at least an adventure, something different. Soon though, I began to feel confused, purposeless, and, despite being newly married and with some friends around, ultimately very alone.

As you may know, if you’ve been here before, Matt and I got married June 24, 2017 in Nashville, TN. What you may not know is how it started.

Matt and I met at a transition point in both of our lives…

In the middle of a pandemic, long-distance relationships are a little more common – whether with a partner, family or friends. I hope the list below will be fun activities to do with anyone you care about – maybe even if you’re stuck to the house or if you’re just looking at the other person through a screen like this (hopefully not asleep)…

The very same day I started my new job, I also received my MBA yearbook in the mail and was in tears looking through the sweet notes and nice memories. It felt right to look back at my last semester of my MBA holistically.

Hello!

What a strange time to be making an appearance I guess, over a year later. I set this blog aside as I focused on grad school and other things that needed to take priority in my life. Since I graduated with my MBA in April, I’ve had an unanticipated amount of time to reflect – not only on this blog, but also just going through past photos and memories. What a beautiful thing it is to remember…

I keep telling myself: at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we’re married. And we have our friends and family there, and there’s just not anything else we really need…

This should really be titled: "How to throw the Best Bachelorette Party there ever was and ever will be" but that might be a little too long of a title. That's what my friends did for me though.

Planning the wedding took a lot of work. If I could go back in time, I think I would hire a full-time planner because it might have saved some money in the long-run and a lot of stress. At the same time, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.