My gratitude journals are now available on Amazon!

- Life is Short, Make it Sweet Gratitude Journal

- Life is Short, Make it Sweet Gratitude Journal 100 page

I'm super excited to announce that my gratitude journals are now available on Amazon!

What began as an experiment in book printing turned into adorable journals!

Publishing a book has always been a dream of mine & I love that I started with journals!

I made not one but two journals & I love them both!

They're basically the same journal, but one is in beautiful color & the other is plain black & white.

I made two journals because even though the color journal is gorgeous, it's also pricy to print.  I wanted to make a cheaper option available.  While the full-color journal has 66 pages, I could put 100 pages in the black & white one & still be more affordable than the color option.  I honestly think my favorite is the black & white version because I love to doodle & that one is a blank slate!  

Both journals are beautiful & are great for keeping track of everything you're grateful for!

I have some exciting news:  I'm releasing a gratitude journal!

What started off as an experiment in book printing quickly turned into the side project of my dreams!

It has definitely been a learning curve for sure.  This is actually my second attempt & I still need to adjust some things!  I had no idea book printing was this difficult!

I'm doing everything on my own except for the printing part.  For this journal, I'm using Amazon KDP for printing.  I also used Blurb & I love them both so much.  The quality of the books is fantastic.

I'm going with Amazon because they offer it for sale directly on their website.  Someone can simply purchase the journal from Amazon & have it shipped straight to their house.

I didn't really sit down & make an actual comparison, but I think they are both around the same price for printing.  I'll do another post soon with more details on book publishing because I know a few people are interested in how it all works.

When James & I were remodeling our home, we splurged on stainless steel appliances.  In our old place, we just had hand-me-down appliances.  I felt like we 'made it' by getting the stainless steel.  I absolutely love our colossal refrigerator!

I always kept the refrigerator clear.  After all, I wanted to show off the stainless steel...even if it was just to myself!  I was so upset the day I found scratches on the fridge!

When we started fostering our son, he would bring home papers from school.  Instead of putting them on the fridge, I found other creative ways to display them. I still needed that distinction of the fancy refrigerator.  The thoughts I hold on to are so silly sometimes.

After everything we've been through in the past year, my mindset has completely changed.  I almost always look at things with a 'Would this really matter in the end?' mentality.  It's a wild way to live because I've found out approximately 95% of things don't really matter in the big picture.

My son has really gotten into creativity this year.  Last year, he would do papers where he wrote a story & would draw a picture.  Most of the time, he didn't draw a picture at all.  The rare times he did draw a picture, it would be super simple.  His creativity absolutely exploded this year & I'm getting pictures all the time now.

I watched the absolute best video on TikTok last week.  I'll post it below but here's the cliff notes:  An 8-year-old girl wrote a book & wanted to get it published.  Her mom, like most of us adults, are working in the confines of our adult mind so things like publishing a book seem super difficult.  The girl really wanted her book out in the world so she asked her school librarian if it could be put in the library.  The librarian then put a barcode on it & it's now available to be checked out!

I feel like we need more of this energy in the world.

Around the same time I saw this video, my son was talking about maybe writing a book.  He's hit a super creative streak recently & coincidentally, I have too.  I've been working on so much media stuff recently & I'm absolutely loving it.

Technology has come so far since I was a kid & the possibilities are pretty much endless on what you can do media wise.  Everything used to be clunky & difficult but now it's an absolute breeze to make my dreams come to life.  I was a super creative kid but I can only imagine how creative I would have been if this was all at my fingertips back then.

I swear Tractor Supply has the best music.  

Tractor Supply has weirdly become one of my stops during my Sunday morning Walmart trip.  For whatever reason it seems like I always need to stop in there for something.

Yesterday I was in there for dog food.  I stopped for a minute to browse the seeds & one of my favorite songs, "Legends" by Kelsea Ballerini came on.  I hadn't heard that song in a long time so I was rocking out in the seed section!

When I got to the car, I put the song on my radio & really listened.  Then it unlocked a core memory...

I see a lot of James & me in that song.  We were always so fun together & tried to make each other laugh all the time.

There's a thing going around TikTok where one half of the couple starts acting weird & sees if their partner matches their energy.  If we could do that, James would totally match my energy.

My kiddo had a sleepover at Grandma's house on Friday night.  I did my usual nightly activities when B has a sleepover & woke up on Saturday morning planning to clean my house.  

I was listening to music & getting ready for the day when a thought popped in my head:  'I should go watch the sunrise from the lake'!  I quickly looked up the sunrise time & decided I could make it to the lake in time.  I was seriously cutting it close but I made it!  

I debated on even going in the first place.  Then I asked myself 'When this all ends am I going to miss cleaning my house or miss seeing the sunrise from the lake?'.  The sunrise obviously won.

I live my life a lot differently now.  When I saw firsthand how short life can truly be, it permanently changed my perspective.  I try to see the best in every situation.  I let a lot of things go.  I don't hold on so tightly anymore to situations that aren't serving my happiness.

I got this message on the back of a Splenda packet when I was making my tea the other morning.  I thought it was fitting for the situation I'm in.

Coincidentally, I got the same message yesterday morning from a Splenda packet when I was making tea at my mom's house.

I know it's just a cute phrase to put on a sugar substitute packet but it has been my motto for life lately.

If this year has taught me anything, it is that you never know when this life will be over.  

My mom & I were talking the other day about how some people's lives are cut short.  How some people don't have enough time on this earth.  I thought about it for a minute & realized that even if I live to be 100, it probably still won't be enough time for me.  We're all in a race against time & it will never be enough.