Monday, April 3, 2017

Turbulence

March. It comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Or sometimes, it's in like a lamb and out like a lion.

But honestly? I couldn't tell you what the trend was this year because my March was turbulent as hell with life changes. Nothing overly amazing or overly horrible, but just a helluva lot of changes all at once. I'm so grateful my time management skills are on point because they really helped me get through it all with [mostly] minimal stress.

Let's review some of the turbulence, shall we?

- Moved out of my apartment of four years to live in Canaan - I love having a house of my own, a yard of my own, a garden of my own, etc. The move by and large went super smoothly, but inevitably there are still unpacked boxes (hello, all my crafting supplies) and the sheer fact that they are creating clutter and remain unpacked irks my liver a wee bit.

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- Introduced a daily commute into my life - This is something I've very fortunately never had, but I don't greatly mind now. Waking up at 4:15am isn't the greatest, but it is a necessary evil if I want to enjoy 3-day weekends (which I really, really do). It's made easier by the fact that I get to listen to the BBC for the length of my morning commute. <3

- Worked my ass off day in and day out at my job - I've had 3 consecutive (no doubts about it turning into four...) weeks of every work-day being like a Monday. Dealing with high level management on a certain project weekly, sometimes multiple times a day, sometimes multiple times before 10am! I've also had something like 12 meetings since March 8 on this project when I previously might have one, maybe two, a month. I've had a few nights of work until 9pm, too, and let's recall, I start my work day at 6am...oi vey. My work life has been quite steady until recently - meaning it's always a little bit of a challenge, but it's totally manageable. Lately, however, things have picked up 10-fold. This "new norm" should largely cease by autumn, but there are no guarantees. I'm adapting, but it's definitely going to take some time to fully adjust.

- Balanced my various small jobs with my career - I'm still giving Lauren and her mom lessons. We're trying for once a week for both, but all parties have had quite the turbulent past week or two. I'm definitely looking forward to making things more steady and stable in coming weeks! Lauren is choosing to focus on endurance as much as possible while her mom has fallen head over heels for dressage. It's such a blast working with them both.

I also have continued to build my photography portfolio doing family shoots for close friends. My goal for myself is to open a public portfolio to start advertising my small side photography business by mid-summer. My goal is to let the hobby fund itself through photoshoots and probably some sales of individual prints here and there. I may even open a small Etsy shop with the reclaimed barnwood seasonal transition photo series I've been working on.

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- Made a quick day trip to Loch Moy to immerse myself more in the world of eventing with Emma, Brita, and Austen - This trip was so fun and educational, though also a bit turbulent due to some unexpected family emergencies on Austen's part. Emma and Brita totally took me under their wing for the day and taught me all of the ins and outs of a typical schooling show. I got to see first-hand how things are run, gain an appreciation for the turbulent atmosphere of the Loch Moy venue, do a couple course walks, and generally plot and scheme my year ahead with Griffin. (Oh, the XC jumps I plan to build!) I also enjoyed being able to take photos for Brita and Emma (some of my favorites below). I didn't stay quite as long as originally planned at the event as I knew I needed to be with Austen as she dealt with a very unexpected hand of cards that was dealt to her that morning. I'm glad I was close by to be able to lend some very hard hugs.

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- Enjoy various shindigs to celebrate the end of a good winter - When you live in a town with three ski resorts (two downhill and one cross country) and a wealth of folks who adore the magic and hygge that snow brings, there are many reasons to celebrate winter. We ring in winter with a party at the beginning of December, we celebrate throughout winter with parties, and when the season winds to a close parties are thrown to celebrate a season well-enjoyed. We throw one of the annual parties at our house, celebrate another at a private community center, and a third at the cross country resort. Free food, alcohol, and music along with some of the best people I know all in one room. These celebrations have been wonderful escapes to balance my turbulent month.

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And there you have it, some of the turbulence that ruled my March. There are several more key horse-related things that occupied my month, but until things are final with these developments, I'm not going to share them. 😉 It's looking like three of the five developments should be wrapped up by the end of April though!

I'm very much looking forward to warmer spring temperatures, a more steady schedule, and all of the things I love about spring. There is still much to wrap up in April, but overall, my schedule is much less turbulent this month with hard plans only set for five days (as opposed to, you know, half or more of the month).

With any luck, I'll find more time to write on the blog this month!

15 comments:

  1. I'm jealous of your time management skills! And also looking forward to hearing more about the developments on the equine front.

    That last photo 😍

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    1. Haha, that last photo was so ridiculous. He'd been throwing front and back flips and then just did that "pencil jump" with a stoic look on his face. Freaking hilarious. Bonus points for awesome for all of it because he was on skinny XC skis! He and his brothers are otherwordly with their XC ski skills.

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  2. busy busy busy!!! so much stuff going on, and yet you always manage to fit in plenty of awesome to go along with it! thanks again so much for coming to loch moy - we loved having you and you're welcome to come hang out at the trailer with us any time!! and hopefully sooner rather than later we'll have both you AND Grif there too!

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    1. Yes, I really hope we'll be traveling more when it warms up for good. =)

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  3. Wow, lots of things going on! I hope it settles down a bit, yikes! I'm excited for you and your photos, you get some really nice shots

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  4. <3
    <3 those
    <3 the way you take on your changing life
    <3 those very, very needed hugs

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  5. So many changes- March is the perfect time to do them- it takes your mind off the weather. I need to start introducing life changes for myself in march.... :)

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    1. It certainly did keep my mind off the weather! That's for certain.

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  6. You handle all these changes well and seem to be able to keep a good balance. I'm not so good at the balancing part. Those pictures are amazing. I love Charlie looking back at you wondering why on earth you are there. Next time we end up in the same region at the same time, I'll have to have you take some photos for me. I have no good quality shots of Gemmie and it is on my must list before she ages too much more.

    Excited to see what horse developments are coming ahead for you!

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    1. I'd LOVE to take photos for you next time we're together <3

      And I didn't always handle stress and keep balance well. Not by a long shot. The beginnings of this blog demonstrate how I struggled to find balance for a long time. The summer after I started this blog was when I realized something had to give though - I couldn't go on the way I was. Stress would happen and the way I reacted to it would only create more strife. It was no way to live; I couldn't eliminate stress, but I *could* eliminate my poor reaction to it. Happiness was what I wanted to find, and so my quest to be happier started anew.

      I began actively creating new habits in myself to work toward being like the people I admired most during stressful times by observing small things they did that I didn't that helped them handle stress more easily. Little by little, I've changed myself to be more like those I admire. Present me is that person I admired back in 2011 and so much more. And because I know more now, I'm continuing to build different habits I didn't even recognize then so that I can continue to be a better person, a happier person.

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  7. Your photos are gorgeous and I'd kill to go to those parties!

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