this november.

the days are getting shorter, the nights longer. there is a crisp freshness carried in the air, the leaves blowing behind it. trees stand guard in red, yellow, orange. it's been years since november has felt this distinctly fall. and i love it. 

the sunday currently, volume 122: wednesday edition.

Good morning from the C residence, and happy Wednesday! Obviously, I have missed posting editions of The Sunday Currently for the past couple of weeks, so I thought I would go ahead and post one on Wednesday, rather than wait until Sunday again. Make sense? Good. 

reading Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty. Actually, I haven't been reading it, because my iPad is not upstairs by my bed. I need to find where it is and put it back, because I miss reading. I really, really miss reading Shannon Miller's book, so much so, that I may re-read it after I finish the current book. 

writing in my large, black, squared Moleskine, and loving every minute of it. Also writing in? My Filofax. I realized how much I missed that beloved planner, so I ordered some inserts, and it is back in commission. 

listening to Luke's singing cow. It has long been a tradition that he visits with his singing cow during morning swings. Also listening to Glide videos. 

thinking that I can't wait for OPI's Cajun Shrimp to arrive in the mail tomorrow. I've never owned that color, and I am so excited that I finally will, as I have always wanted it, since around 2010. 

smelling freshly brewed coffee. I'm drinking it right now, too. 

wishing that I was a more innately productive person. And that I was good at prioritizing. And that I was a good cook. 

hoping for a productive day. 

wearing pajama pants and a baggy black shirt. Soon, I'll be putting on workout clothes so that Luke and I can go for a walk. 

loving getting to spend so much time with my son. It is hard to be productive with a baby, yes, but I cherish these days spent getting to know him and watching him learn. 

wanting coffee, coffee, and more coffee today. Oh, the constant I'm-tired parent struggle. It's real. 

needing to drink lots of water, in edition to that coffee. My newly-instituted habit tracker in the above-mentioned Moleskine has revealed that I absolutely suck at drinking water. As if I didn't already know that. I think that I will drink water instead of absolutely anything else (except for coffee) over the next few days. That should help, right? Or just dehydrate me. Lauren, you can do this. Just drink water. Just do it. It's not difficult. 

feeling sore. I have worked out every day of May so far. But also inspired. And ready to make this a good day. 

siddathornton through the years:

2012, 2012 | 2013

See all volumes of The Sunday Currently here.

What little pieces are making up the normal in your life today? Link up & share below! 

the sunday currently, volume 121.

rainy day last week 

Good morning & happy Sunday, everyone! Welcome to the reinstatement of The Sunday Currently! I've recently had a bit of a revelation where blogging is concerned, & I am so happy to be back here with you, sharing the normal details of my Sundays. Back in grad school, & right after having my son, I felt like I was too busy to pen one of these posts each week. That makes me very sad, because I feel as if these posts are a kind of living time capsule. When I go back & read past TSC posts, I respond in one of two ways, usually: 

1. Ohhhh, I remember that.

2. Cool! I don't remember doing that. 

While I greatly enjoy the experience of the former, it is the latter that inspires me to write these posts and keep up with this practice. The capturing of small memories that may have been lost, the window into a moment in time... that is the impetus for these posts & the reason I have decided to bring them back. I can make time for this, and I will. 

Currently...

reading It's Not About Perfect, by Shannon Miller. So far this year, I have read Talking As Fast As I Can, by Lauren Graham; Scrappy Little Nobody, by Anna Kendrick; Letters to a Young Gymnast, by Nadia Comaneci; Off Balance, by Dominique Moceanu; and Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, by Joan Ryan. I am planning to read Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty, after I finish Shannon Miller's book, since I enjoyed the television show so much (and I am now making Justin watch it with me!).

writing lots of to-do lists on the magnetic notepad I bought a couple days ago at Marshall's. I have lots of stray, random items that need to be accomplished, & it is already helping to corral all of them so that I can remain focused and actually productive. 

listening to "Selling The Drama," by Live, was a good idea this morning. I listened to the Throwing Copper album a lot at the end of junior year of high school, so, to me, this song & many others sound like new beginnings. 

thinking that this stage of motherhood is pretty sweet. I have a post coming soon about Luke's birth story, & after that, I'll be sharing a post called life after birth. I have decided I want to share my story, even though I hesitated for a long while. More on that coming soon. 

smelling a freshly-bathed baby is the best thing! Luke takes a bath every other night, & it is one of my favorite things!

wishing I had kept up with the practice of writing TSC posts through the last couple of years, as I mentioned in the introduction of this post. The only thing there is to do, is to keep up the practice now, so that's what I'm going to do. 

hoping for a great week ahead. Justin is off, so I am looking forward to us spending time as a family of three! We are hoping to put some stuff up in the play room so that Luke can practice pulling up, which he is already starting to do!

wearing the Patagonia fleece that my parents got me for Christmas. Like, all the time. I love it. It's one of my greatest comforts at the moment. 

loving the way that Luke's personality is developing. He is such a sweet baby, and curious, and stubborn, and talkative! 

wanting more coffee. And I've already had two cups. It is Starbucks Sunday, after all, so I will probably indulge once we get out after Luke's second nap. 

needing to drink a ton of water this week. Luckily, I joined a 21 day fitness challenge, and drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day is one of this week's assignments. I'm very much looking forward to not only this individual part of the challenge, but getting back into a healthy lifestyle over all. 

feeling content & inspired. And happy to have written this TSC post today!

siddathornton through the years:

2014

See all volumes of The Sunday Currently here.

What little pieces are making up the normal in your life today? Link up & share below! 

on loyalty.

It's a funny thing, isn't it, to think of being loyal to a blog. To a place on the internet. 

This blog - siddathornton - & I have been through a lot together. 120 volumes of The Sunday Currently. Many hastily tapped out confessions. Many caffeine-enhanced ramblings. Many days spent tucked into the very back corner of the new Starbucks on Oleander Drive in Wilmington, shivering in the cold, coffee-scented air while I switched between writing in my many journals & planners, applying for OT school, and blogging, always blogging. Mornings at Port City Java, when things felt so new. Afternoons at Port City Java, when I ate chocolate chip muffins, burrowed into a fuzzy, cream colored scarf and tried to write a business plan. Travels to & from Shreveport. A cataloguing of the weddings of my friends, and then, our wedding. 

These things are all the moving parts of the things that I hold most dear: my relationships. 

So, I guess it's not really a funny thing at all, loyalty. It's familiarity, it's sinking deep into a warm blanket of memories, of identity, of knowing one's self. I can't think of anything more comforting. So, here we are, ready to make even more memories, siddathornton & I... ready to keep holding on to the old ones, too. 

-- 

siddathornton through the years: 

2012 | 2014 

hello again.

I miss this space.

I created a new blog, have written on it spottily over the last few months, and still, I am drawn back here.

That means something, right?

There's something about blogging that makes me value and celebrate and experience joyfully all that goes on in my life. Why should I stop?

It's kind of like exercising. Every time I start, I can't believe how amazing it feels and why I ever stopped doing it. But, it takes time and effort, and when those commodities are running low, I feel forced to cut "non-essentials," and that is how I get to the point of not blogging, and, similarly, not exercising.

Since becoming a mother, I have read a lot about continuing "self care" and everything associated with that. I'd be lying if I said that this isn't something I've struggled with. However, a quote that really resonates with me is the following: "You can't pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first."  A quick Google search did not produce the author of this quote, but I find myself thinking of these words often.

Luke is 5 months old now, but I am still struggling to adhere to any kind of routine for myself. Showering, fixing my hair, getting dressed, and putting on makeup, among other self care activities, often fall to the wayside as I attend to his needs. I know that there has to be a way to have both, but I haven't found the magic time management recipe yet.

I figure I've just got to keep trying. If I keep these things at the forefront of my mind, eventually I will figure it out, right? I will say that the experience of becoming a parent has led me to respect parents who have it all together so much (and parents that don't have it all together). This is a big job, taking care of a human being. And right now, all I'm doing is the best I can. And that is enough.