3:01am

Ever wonder what it is that wakes you up every night 4 days in a row at the exact same time? What causes the twisted and unexplainable nightmares that leave you waking up with your arms mangled over your head? Well, ME TOO. This week something has been eating at me and I have not a clue what it is/was. So regardless of my nightly states, I have continued to submerse myself in my work, my friendships, and my role in my family. When stressful conversations or scenarios have arisen, I've actually taken the time to process and rationalize rather than bottle & move forward. ((Which is all in hopes of getting more restorative sleep, of course)). So last night, I finally changed up my routine, and instead of waking up at 3:01am, I went to sleep just before it!! After a day at the park with my nephew and spending some quality time with him, I had a much need night out with nothing but laughs and beers and woke today -- yes from a nightmare with my shoulders both in some gnarly, aching position over my head -- but, it was not 3:01am, so it's a start! The rest of the day (so far) has been spent outside. The last 5 hours of my life have been on my balcony in shorts and a sports bra just soaking up the 60 degree sunshine and consuming a book. Tomorrow is supposed to be equally as beautiful, therefore I believe that I am going to officially claim the sunshine as my valentine!  Side note: The book I just finished (The Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch) was pretty amazing. One of my co-workers lent it to me because she said she thought of my often while reading it. She was right .. reading this book gave me a lot of time to reflect on my own life. The plot, which I won't ruin, stems around the life of hard working woman who has pretty bad parental abandonment issues mixed with her own inability to reflex on what she needs most for herself and rather spends her time people pleasing ... Whoops! 

In other news, here's my all weekend long backlogged JOY OF LOVE photos!

11 dreams

 Dreams for myself to enjoy something every day with pure kid like joy

Day at the park with my nephew

12 the eyes

13 routines

 Every morning, my loving loving cat (Lex) intentionally drags me out of bed for breakfast. Love bites, love taps, and love purring, I'm a sucker for it all. Everyday. 

their breakfast

Kujo loves her brother, Lex, if only for getting me out of bed for breakfast