Yours Truly, Eliza B.

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  • Lifestyle

    Goals for July 2019

    Hello! Welcome to the first post in my monthly goal-setting series. In case you are new…

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  • Lifestyle

    Personal Goals for 2019: A Halfway Point Check In

    Welcome to the second half of 2019! I honestly can’t believe we are face to face…

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  • Lifestyle

    Writing: The Key to Redefining Self

    The year I participated in Duke’s Summer Camp for Young Writers I learned a few interesting…

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yourstrulyelizab

Eliza B.
This photo popped up in my memories on Facebook t This photo popped up in my memories on Facebook today, shared from 2 years ago. This is us. My cheerful goofy bunch. I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. This parenthood adventure just gets more and more fun and my love grows deeper and deeper. Paul and I say to each other at least once a day “damn we are so lucky to get to share this life with such cool kids” and that pretty much summarizes how I feel. Don’t get me wrong, they drive me majorly bonkers too 🤪 (also on a DAILY basis) but it’s worth it! Also >> Niko’s face 😂
"Thus far the mighty mystery of motherhood is this "Thus far the mighty mystery of motherhood is this: How is it that doing it all feels like nothing is ever getting done?" -Rebecca Woolf⁠ ⁠ // Earlier this week Noah asked me if I'm ever "forgetful" and I almost laughed out loud. With all of the things us mamas have in our brains at any (every) given moment, it's impossible to not feel forgetful. ⁠ ⁠ Anybody else find themselves standing in front of the open refrigerator door trying to remember why they opened it? Moments later (after I've closed it and moved on bc I couldn't remember what I was looking for), I realized it was my coffee cup I was seeking. Only it was in the microwave, on my 4th reheat of the morning... not the fridge. Ha!
We all need it, and yet for me and so many other w We all need it, and yet for me and so many other women I know, prioritizing self-care doesn’t come easy. The benefits to our overall well-being have been studied and proven to be positive. Personally, the impact of taking time for myself ends up benefitting my whole family! When my cup is full, I am more creative, energetic, patient, motivated, and empathetic towards others. I find that I can regulate my emotions more easily which is especially awesome when dealing with irrational toddler melt-downs.⁠ ⁠ Ultimately, I know the power that self-care can have in my life. And still I resist carving out that time for myself.⁠ ⁠ One thing I’ve learned is that self-care is easier for me when I have things on hand that I can use to create quality experiences right at home. This means finding favorite things that help entice me to fill my cup. Things that make it simple for me to slip self-care into the margins of my day. Reading and writing early in the mornings before my family wakes up or during nap time. Comfortable things I can wear around the house that make me feel cozy and warm. An impromptu home-pedicure with a bright new polish color. Or perhaps a late night relaxing soak in the bath after kids go to bed.⁠ ⁠ I'm over on the blog this morning sharing a few of my favorite things I reach for when I need some quality self-care.⁠ ⁠ >>Link in bio. 🛁
A Handful of Gratitude for a Monday evening:⁠ ⁠ Delicious leftover "tiktok pasta" reheated for an easy meal tonight, a leisurely walk around the block after supper, eating apples in the bathtub, pjs hot from the dryer, and my four year old telling me "bedtime is obnoxious!" (then promptly falling asleep). ❤️✨
Posted @withregram • art + caption by @lisacongd Posted @withregram • art + caption by @lisacongdon // People ask me a lot about how I stay motivated and inspired to create things when the world is in free fall. I think some people imagine that people who make a lot of art (or are intensely creative in any way) are in a constant state of free flow. But that’s simply not true. Especially during a pandemic election season! Staying motivated to keep showing for creative work requires its own form of discipline. It requires rest, turning off the news, and loosening your body. It requires staying open & curious. It requires searching for & diving deep into what feeds you (and allowing yourself to head down dark rabbit holes). Sometimes what feeds you isn’t cerebral at all, but is found in moving your body by walking, dance or athletics. What’s important is to make space for the searching, and then to use what you find (at least the parts that excite you most) as the subject/medium/inspiration/energy for your own creativity. Want to stay inspired & motivated? Make space for it. Be curious. Read books. Watch films. Listen to podcasts. Go look at art. Get out into the world. Set healthy boundaries. Get rest when you need it. Take care of your physical and mental health. Go to therapy. Uncover your own story. Make art about what you uncover. Find what feeds you. // yes 🙌 to all of this. Happy Sunday friends. ❤️
I love when I’m looking back through old photos I love when I’m looking back through old photos in my phone and I find a gem that I’ve forgotten about! This morning, this one stood out, mainly because - oh my gosh look at that little boy’s short hair! It feels like forever since I’ve seen that much of his face. 😂 And also... how could I have forgotten about *mat* time?!?! This was a ritual born out of desperation that we started abt a month into the pandemic when my kids were waking up cranky, whiny, and fighting every morning! I wanted to drink my coffee in peace and just ease into the day without feeling any more stressed and overwhelmed than the pandemic already had me! So one day, in a fluster, I dragged out the yoga mats out from under the coach and tossed a pile of books and a kid on each one (separated by > than 6 feet 🤪), handed them a snack, and set the timer for 10 minutes! It quickly became my FAVORITE way to start the morning! We had to gradually work up to a little bit longer time but we did this for months and it was so awesome. Eventually we stopped for some reason or another 🤷‍♀️ but hey?! Never to late to start up again!! What about you? Any sanity saver tricks you have to share?? 📚🔮
If you’ve been around here awhile, you probably If you’ve been around here awhile, you probably already know our family schedule is pretty hectic. Spending time together is a top priority for us, but sometimes the variability to Paul’s work shifts can make finding that time kind of challenging. We work with what we can get. If Paul is home in the evenings, we do our best to always sit down for a family dinner. If he is working overnight, we try to rally around the breakfast table when he gets home in the morning before he heads upstairs for a day of recovery sleep. On days he is off, we try to squeeze in family adventures. Or we take turns spending quality 1-on-1 time with the boys. We’ve figured out ways to make it work for us. And we maximize what his schedule offers us to spend family time together. One thing we have worked hard to maintain is our weekly Friday family night tradition. This is when you’ll find us ordering pizza, watching a movie, eating a special dessert, and a doing some kind of fun activity together. We rotate who gets to be the “main chooser” for the evening. We start looking forward to these special nights early in the week, building anticipation by asking the “chooser” what they think they will want to do. Noah knows his days of the week so he can track how close we are to Friday on any given day. Paul has been know to swap shifts with co-workers in order to join us when he might not have otherwise. Niko and I are happy to be along for the fun! I love the magic we can create together in rituals that make even the simplest things feel extraordinary. Creating these memories together, celebrating family rituals we hope will last a lifetime, and basking in the gratitude and joy we feel spending time together are truly some of the best parts of this parenthood gig. Even though our lives sometimes feel uniquely different from others with the chaos and unpredictability of our schedule, family nights have helped keep us grounded and connected. We know it’s something we can always look forward to each week and it helps anchor us in this hectic amazing life of ours. Happy Friday friends! ❤️ Do you have any special weekend family traditions??
"A good friend is a connection to life, a tie to t "A good friend is a connection to life, a tie to the past, a road to the future. The key to sanity in a totally insane world." - Lois Wyse⁠ ⁠
Last week I was playing tennis and laughingly refe Last week I was playing tennis and laughingly referred to myself as "the Happy Gilmore of tennis." 😂 I'm not sure if you're familiar with that movie but it's all about a guy who loves hockey more than anything but he ends up taking up golf because it turns out he's kind of good at it (though he's extremely uncouth!).⁠ ⁠ I've been a soccer player as long as I can remember. I played growing up in my hometown league, absolutely fell in love with the game playing HS soccer, and then went on to play college ball for 4 years! After I graduated, I continued to play in several different adult leagues and began coaching young girls at a competitive level. I've coached some amazing kids through the years (some of them even follow me on IG)!⁠ ⁠ I met my husband on the soccer field playing a pick up game with friends (we even got engaged on a soccer field!). I've continued playing in adult leagues ever since college! When we lived in Chicago, there would be seasons when I was playing 4-5 times a week on different teams. Even after having kids, Paul and I continued to play. In fact, we were on an awesome co-ed team together right before covid hit and cancelled all of our fun. ⁠ ⁠ I've always considered myself a passionate soccer player. The game has taught me many life lessons through the years. I never really got in to other sports so needless to say, it's been a little weird playing so much tennis lately. I started learning the game a few years ago on a whim and realized fairly quickly how much fun it is. It's been a safe, enjoyable physical outlet for me during covid so I've been playing every chance I can get.⁠ ⁠ In some ways I feel a little guilty enjoying it as much as I have been - almost like I'm being disloyal to my first love in some way haha! But the truth is... I really LOVE tennis! And while I'm certainly unpolished when it comes to the etiquette of the game (hence my Happy Gilmore mention above!), I plan to keep playing it and hopefully getting better and better as I do!⁠ ⁠ I'm crossing my fingers that our kids share our love for the beautiful game of soccer, but I won't hate if they end up loving tennis too.⁠ ⁠ What about you? Any favorite sports? 🎾 ⚽️⁠
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