New Year – Still Me

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Hi, my loves! Welcome to the new (& hopefully improved) site! I did a full website migration with a complete domain name change to kick start this new year! Can you all believe it is 2018?! I am always taken back by how fast each year goes, but once you’re a mama it seriously goes faster! It goes without saying that each year brings new challenges, new joys, and sometimes new heartbreaks. We began 2017 with moving into our house which definitely made this year zip by. We hit the ground running with updates and making our house a home that the year was over before we knew it.

Today’s images are from a campaign Kimberly Dovi held called the WHY NOT series that I am honored to have been a part of.

 If there is one thing I could say about her to anyone, it is that she is G O L D. Gold heart, gold mind, gold spirit, everything. Kimberly used her birthday to document 25 ladies just being themselves. She worked most of her birthday on photographing other women…now THAT is empowerment. That is…gold.

Dovi says, “I have a belief that if we show images of ourselves where we feel amazing, that only can show confidence in ourselves while also showing the world that it’s OK and great and perfectly fine to feel beautiful, show your beauty, push your personality into the world, and be unwilling to do anything less.”

This girl definitely took me out of my comfort zone. I love how “in your face” she is with the camera and every image is truly so raw. I am usually one that will shy away from these types of shots, but Kimberly showed me that the flaws I have in my head aren’t flaws at all. It’s just M E. I love how you can clearly see my hair fly-aways, my imperfect makeup, and things in my head that I find imperfect. They way she captures her clients is truly inspirational. If there is any one person that I would want to be when I “grow up”, it would be her :).

With this new year, I wanted to share my top ten revelations and affirmations of 2017. Many people see 2017 as a total flop, a mess if you have it, but you cannot deny that there was growth. Growth of women empowerment, growth of vulnerability, and growth of awareness on our world’s problems and ways we can stop them…so here we go!

1. I can’t do it all. Sounds weird to start with a negative, but hear me out! I am a true busy-body. I cannot just sit and relax, I am always doing something. This is definitely a part of me that tends to irritate Brody because my wheels never stop spinning! This definitely did not change for me once I became a mom, it just brought out my anxiety and stress even more. I went from having all day to focus on me to mayyyyybe a good hour or two. I have my to-do list, I check it twice, and I have this perception in my head that it all has to get done. As my daughter gets older, I am starting to realize I cannot do it all, no matter how hard I try. I can either be crabby and less attentive with my family trying to get things done, or I can be present in the moment and know I will do what I can at the end of the day. 
2. But I can do anything. This is one thing that I will pat myself on the back for is that I am extremely motivated and persistent. Nothing will and can stop me. If I have a goal, I will not stop until I accomplish it. I am a mom who still works a full-time job, a wife, I workout 6 days a week, I prep all my meals, I am renovating/redesigning my home, I am a blogger, and a content creator. No amount of work scares me nor will it ever stop me! At the end of the day I am the only person that can put in the work and I GRIND every day.
3. Leave the door open. With new ventures and meeting new people through blogging, I have learned that not everyone is going to have your best interest in mind. I was super vulnerable at times and have definitely learned my lesson. When I wanted to be harsh, be brutally honest, allow my “Latina” side to make an appearance, I showed Grace (which goes into bullet number 4)…and I left the door open. With anything in life, I believe this is the best form of closure.
4. Show Grace. I always think of the lyrics from David Crowder’s song “How He Loves Us”. If Grace is an ocean, we are all sinking. Yes! We are ALL sinking. The Lord showers His Graces upon us daily and especially when we are least deserving.
5. Weed it out. In the age of social media, we are constantly being thrown content and images that people/companies want us to see. In the midst of the world’s turmoil and political agenda, I found myself feeling defeated and stuck. I was sick of all the news headlines, sick of the debates, sick of the negativity that encompassed my timeline. So what did I do? I weeded it out. Every news source that I had liked/followed has now been removed. All of it. None of it was substantial news that mattered and all of it was negative. I was sick of the media trying to get a reaction out of me and sick of them stirring the pot. And you know that one person in you feed that is constantly babbling about something? Then you wonder, how do I even know this person?? Like, who are you?! Yup, removed. Harsh? Not even. When it comes to our mind and mental wellness, you have every right to remove what doesn’t settle well with you. Just like you have every right to disagree with what I post.
6. Start something new. Like I said earlier, my wheels are always spinning. This is part of the reason why Vida Noel came in to fruition. I had all these ideas in my head that I had to document it and put it out into the universe. If you find yourself stuck, unhappy, unsatisfied with the everyday, it is time to start something new.
7. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Going back to social media, we are constantly comparing. Whether we do it on purpose or not, we are. The “show me” reality of social media can be hard. One person may look like they have it all together while you feel yourself drowning. We must remember that all it is, is a high-light reel. I always think of the struggling Mama (which is totally me!). On the days you feel over-worked, over-run, unworthy, forgotten…always remember there is a greater purpose and plan than what we may see. A mom’s job is never done, which is why we cannot be too hard on ourselves, Mama’s! We cram a lot into one day and if your babes are happy and loved that is all that matters.
8. Fall seven times, stand up eight. The harsh reality is you are the ONLY person who can pick yourself up. At my weakest moments I am forever thankful for the ones that encouraged me to move forward, but I was the one that had to make the decision to continue. With Gods helping hand anything is possible and we must believe that! The world isn’t going to watch out for you as much as we think it might. We must find that deep strength and use it to pick ourselves back up. Whether you have fall off your health regimen, burned bridges, have a wound deep inside that will not mend, you must pick yourself back up again! That first step may be painful, but you have to keep your eye on the prize.
9. Be relentless. This is my husband’s saying and I absolute LOVE it. Be relentless in all that you do. Fight the good fight, and keep carrying on. Facing troubles and obstacles is inevitable and how we react shows our true character. Our faith is tested in times we are the most vulnerable…in the times that we are wounded. No matter what you do or what you face, be RELENTLESS.
10. Be the LIGHT. 2017 brought much heartache around our world and it hurts to think about. Where will our world be when my daughter and future children are my age? How will this world try to warp them? It is hard to fathom…but I do know this. Change starts with you and it starts with me. We were not called to blend in and be ordinary, we were called to be courageous and to stand for what is good! In all that you do be the light.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading up to this point! That was a lot… :). Many blessings to you and yours this New Year. May you feel more love than you have ever felt before and that you strive to be the change. As always, leave me a comment below or message me if this post touched you in anyway. Cheers to 2018!

Kimberly Dovi Photography

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