Currently x20 {link up}

Linking up with Harvesting Kale for Currently.
The prompts this week {watching, learning, considering, needing, changing}

WATCHING:  We got to see two of our awesome friends become parents together this week and might I say I am pretty darn excited about that!  Chris & Kristen brought Baby Everett into the world on Wednesday.  It's gonna be so great to have Everett & Molly so close in proximity as well as age, too, with them being three months apart.  And then next week we get to watch two more friends get married as well.  I can't wait to see Tyler & Marsha tie the knot next weekend!!!
(It's been a long time coming to see Tony's best friends settle their crazy butts down and it is nice to see!) 

LEARNING:  Why forgiveness or just letting things go is so important.  And really, it takes too much energy to hold onto resenting someone or hating certain things.  It feels so good to move on into the light.  I love the saying that goes something like this:  

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

CONSIDERING: Writing a blog post about sexual assault and including personal anecdotes.  To do so would obviously mean I would be sharing some sensitive material - which is fine with me - but I'm not sure how it would be received.  I do think it's something important to shed some light on and doing so would show the alarming amount of women this happens to as well as the different forms of sexual assault.  I'm also considering including other folks' personal stories pertaining to the topic - if you know anyone who would like to anonymously be part of the upcoming post, please send them my way. 

NEEDING:  To save money for a new range.  Ours is just awful and I have my eye on a beautiful one at Siano Appliances (where my mother-in-law works).  I cannot wait to replace ours!!!  It's pretty old - still in working condition - but we acquired it in a state of disrepair.  Doable, but certainly not loveable. I can't wait to blog about it and share before and after photos when the time comes. 

CHANGING:  Thought I was going to be drastically changing my hair sometime soon-ish... but now I'm not sure.  I made it through the hot, hot summer with long hair - why would I want to cut it short for the coldy-cold months?  I don't know.  I still consider cutting my hair.  And my big sister is due to give hers a chop soon so maybe that will push me to cut mine after I see how cute hers is and how much she loves it.

(I really love the Jennifer Lawrence short hair cut on the top left.)

Aside from all that fun - I am really looking forward to some upcoming projects we are planning on in the next few months.  We are going to replace the faucets in our bathroom, the guest bathroom, and the kitchen along with the light fixtures in both bathrooms as well.  We really need shoe moulding along the entire house but in not sure we are ready for that project just yet.  Another fun project will include mounting a small TV in our kitchen!  It's not something we would normally do but the folks who lived here before left some pretty awful holes and marks on the wall where one was previously mounted (and hastily removed I am guessing) and this way we will be able to cover that up. It'll be nice to watch something while cooking, too!

It's so funny these projects are something fun to look forward to in addition to being something I like to talk about.  It is interesting how life changes you over time!  I'll leave you with some photos of our everyday shenanigans.

34 Week Pregnancy Reflection {Baby #2!}

How far along?:  34 weeks along in my second pregnancy.  Of course, that means only 6 weeks to go!

L: 34 weeks pregnant with Presley Rose :) January 14, 2012
R: 34 weeks pregnant with Molly Lou :) May 28, 2014

I am feeling:  Thank the Lord, I am feeling really great still.  My hips are sore throughout the day - but nothing too bad.  I can also feel the results of the extra relaxin in my system - the arches of my feet feel like they are literally shredding sometimes. (I remember this from my previous pregnancy.)
Size of baby:  Molly is somewhere around 5 pounds & 20 inches now.  Seems so unreal!  She is about the size of a pineapple this week.

Movement:  Uh, hello dancing queen!  Molly's been jumping around in there lately and must be running out of room because it is getting uncomfortable.  I feel like she is in the transverse position... I hope it's not for long if I'm right!
What I miss most:  Sleeping through the night.  I'm really not complaining, because it seems like I am able to sleep better at night than when I was pregnant with Presley, but it is just striking to wake up from a full nights sleep and still feel exhausted due to waking up several times.
Cravings:  Really been wanting Panera lately!

Presley wanted to take a picture with daddy next... so he's holding his 34 week belly... lucky guy!

Best moment of the week:  Definitely the relaxing Memorial Day Weekend we had with framily.
What I'm excited about:  I can't remember if I talked about it on my blog or not, but a couple weeks ago I entered into a contest for the chance to meet Mike Miller of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Memphis Zoo.  Seriously?!  Sounded like the most ideal situation!  Went on about my life and maybe a week after entering, they contacted me to let me know I won and that I could bring 5 guests to the event with me.  Looks like it will be a very Duggan night - it'll be Tony, Presley, myself & my in-laws!  I am SO excited!  And then tomorrow is my next doctor's appointment... it'll be great to talk to my doctor again and see how things are going.  I feel like she should be checking my cervix already, but that's not for another two weeks.  I'm also looking forward to asking her how they plan to regulate my blood sugar levels during labor/delivery since surely I won't be allowed to eat anything.



Any other news for the Duggans?  I'm looking to get my haircut soon.  If not a huge chop, at least a trim.  Ideas welcome for a good new mom haircut - which means something low maintenance that can (hopefully) still fit into a ponytail!  I've been so bad about getting my hair cut regularly that I wouldn't be surprised if I don't yet have the 8 inches without several inches being full of split ends... we'll see tomorrow though!

The Italian Festival is in town this weekend and we're hoping to check that out as well. 

Oh, and today is my brother-in-law's birthday - HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY, SEAN!  We love & miss you and are soo proud of the man you are today.

 

Reflection.

Most of you ladies probably already believe in the regenerative powers from a nice haircut... not just for your hair, but for your soul, too.  I am {unfortunately} one of those people who only ends up getting their hair cut once MAYBE twice a year and I almost always leave the chair thinking, "Damn!  I've got to do this more often."  And today was especially one of those days! 

So anyways, thanks to my new favorite hairstylist my dead ends are gone and I also came to the realization that I need to get back to my pen-to-paper journaling roots.  I have such an awesome physical journal that I've been neglecting and after the conversation with my stylist today it really hit me that we learn lessons (big and small) every single day.  Most of the time we don't stop long enough to reflect on the day to pick up on what we've learned and therefore we fail to grow in both miniature and large ways.  Journaling is one of the most concrete ways for me to stay connected to myself and everything around me and my favorite way to open my heart up to God.  (Side note:  Lesson I learned today?  Do NOT to put your hair up in a scrunchie when your hair is wet.)

I might also start writing regularly in here too with some of those prompts (today I am grateful for, prayers answered, inspirations, etc...) as well as sharing some of the "lessons" I've learned throughout the week.  I'd like to start a regular link-up for people to join me every week if that sounds like anything anyone would be interested in doing occasionally - let me know!  Every time I've tried to keep up with or create a link up it's been a massive fail.

Another thing to look forward to on my blog?  I've gotten a new spring in my step when it comes to Marriage Monday.  I've just recently started reading "Love and War" by Stasi & John Eldredge and let me tell you - amazing.  It's good stuff.  And therefore I will be sharing some of my favorite things from that book soon!  So if anyone would like to start that book - I would highly recommend it.  Obviously take the "advice" with a a grain of salt because every marriage is different - but there are some wonderful insights on the nature of men and women in that book.

And so, that's all for now.  Happy weekend!

EDIT:

A blog friend of mine - Lauren from And Triplets Make 8 - lost her sweet daughter Jillian Ivy this morning.  I ask all of you to stop what you are doing and say a prayer for Lauren, Andy, Oliver, Ari, Jillian, Noah, Charlotte, and Lindsay.  Or several.  And if you're not the praying type, please offer your supportive energy and words.  I cannot imagine what these next few months, weeks, days, or even hours will be like for the M family but I do know that love and support can move mountains.  And if that's the least we can do for each other, then why not give as much of it as we can.  Thank you so much, friends.