Saturday Surfing

A collection of links and images from around the web that interest and inspire me.  Ideally published weekly.

  • It may be December, but we're finally getting some fall-ish weather in Texas, which means taking the opportunity to nap outside and soak up some vitamin D. Happy 3 weeks, Vivienne.
  • We had Vivienne's two week visit at the midwife's office today and put her footprints up on the wall. I love that they do this...all around their lobby, hallways and exam rooms are footprints, stats, and names of all the babies they've delivered. It's so fun to see all the babies footprints and know we're part of this little tribe now. This was our third home birth and since all our babies have been born in different states, our third midwifery practice that we've worked with. Every time I am always so happy with the quality of care that they provide and how they truly make me feel like they know me and care deeply about me and my family. It's such a different experience from my prenatal and birth care experience with our eldest daughter (with midwives at an OB practice and hospital delivery). If you are having a healthy normal pregnancy, I can't advocate more for considering home birth. ♥️
  • It's #smallbusinesssaturday and while I know no one is buying websites or marketing services today, I thought it seemed fitting to share a little "before and after" in celebration of how far we've come since Chris and I started @roadwarriorwp. This first picture is from 2015 when we were gearing up to rebrand my freelance business as Road Warrior Creative and we were in the midst of saving like mad and building the business to a point where Chris could quit his day job. At that point we were only dreaming of freedom to travel. The second is a drone photo of our trailer - a visual reminder that we have achieved our dreams of being able to work from anywhere and travel + working without sacrificing spending lots of time with our daughters. Earlier this fall, I was interviewed on the @rventrepreneur podcast about my journey growing my business from a freelancer to an agency with 6 team members in addition to me and Chris. I'm so proud of how far we've come and all we've been able to achieve in 4 short years. The link to the podcast is in my bio if you want to give it a listen. If you're on the entrepreneurial journey yourself and have any questions for me, leave them in a comment. I'm all about helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners take the leap to achieve the business and life goals they are dreaming of. And would be happy to answer any questions that you might have.
  • Every November we have a tradition of putting a brown paper tree up on the wall and then spending the month filling it with leaves on which we have written things we're thankful for. We've been doing it since Nora was 2 when I started doing #30daysofgratitude. It's a family tradition that the girls all get excited for and that I hope they'll one day share with their own children. 🍂 This is this year's thankful tree so far, with two more days to go. There are leaves for big things - like Vivienne's birth and our new minivan - leaves for friends and family who have all been incredibly wonderful and supportive this month and always; leaves for our employees who make our business run and are making it possible for me to have a real maternity leave; and lots of leaves for tiny things that bring us joy: baby dolls, cranberries, knit booties, breakfast tacos and Chris' ability to make us laugh even in the most stressful situations.🍂 I love having the visual reminder of all the wonderful things in our lives. How do you teach your kids about gratitude? Does anyone have a similar tradition? Leave me a comment and let me know.
  • Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love that it's a celebration of gratitude and all about finding joy in what we have. 🍂 Chris has been working doubly hard to make sure that I can have a maternity leave this time around, but next week we're going to have him at home with us for the whole week while our employees hold down the fort. There is so much about that sentence that is markedly different from 2.5 years ago following Addie's birth, when neither I nor Chris could take any time off. As much as I've been admiring all the Christmas setups people have been sharing on Instagram, I am so not ready for that. We have so much to be grateful for this year and I want to revel in it a little longer. Let's not skip Thanksgiving, ok? 🍂