Currently

Brighton's first time at the beach! She loved it!

Loving:  Being a mama! Brighton is 6 weeks old today and I am LOVING being her mother. She is a true joy to be around and her little personality is so sweet. The first month of motherhood was a lot of hard work (as life with any newborn is!), but even when it was 4am and I was pacing back and forth in the living room trying to rock her to sleep, I kept thinking, "I can't believe this is my life. I love her so much!" It's been such an honor to be a mama to my precious baby girl.

Reading: I actually Tweeted that I felt my brain was turning to mush because life was just nursing, changing diapers, laundry and cleaning house for a few weeks. Thankfully my friend Michelle, who is an avid reader, dropped off a box of books on my doorstep last week for me to borrow. I am now reading "Summer at Tiffany" and will be reading "Divergent" next.

Watching: Matt and I love a good/gritty drama - we just finished Breaking Bad (how insane was Season 5's finale?!?! Also I wish they had won the Emmy for Best Drama) and we are currently watching Season 5 of Sons of Anarchy. Also, NBC's Thursday night just started back up so I'm looking forward to seeing the final season of The Office!

Thinking about: Writing. I hung out with an old friend last week who is a great essayist and she proposed that I help edit some of her work. That proposal really sparked me evaluating what I am doing with my career. I work in human resources at a big company, but writing/editing is my passion and I would love to, even if it's just a side gig, have a chance to write as part of my career. I have been praying about how this could happen and am looking into some freelance opportunities.

Stressing about:  Going back to work in late November. I really want to stay at home with Brighton full-time, but our financial situation (and our financial goals) will require me to continue working at my company for the time being. The benefits are amazing, my job, boss and team are great and I know that she will be in good hands when I'm not there since my mom and Matt's mom plan to babysit for us.

Looking forward to:  We just went to the beach this past weekend with our friends Dawn and Owen. Brighton napped in the shade, I laid in the sun with Dawn, and Matt and Owen surfed - it was a perfect weekend! We also booked a last minute beach weekend starting this Friday with our friends Lorean, David and Caitlyn and Joseph. While the majority of the world seems to be loving the cooler weather and pumpkin spice lattes, I am looking forward to enjoying the warm weather, sunshine and a fruity drink one last time before I'm resigned to wearing cardigans, boots and scarfs.

Making me happy: Life in general - motherhood, marriage, my friendships and of course my baby girl! Matt and I have taken to parenthood pretty well and it's pushed us to work harder as a team. We have had a lot of fun the past 6 weeks with Brighton and with each other. I've gotten to see my girlfriends (a lot of whom stay at home with their children) more, and also my family more! Life is really, really good.

Thanks to Danielle for the inspiration for these posts.