Anniversary Surprise!

This weekend was our anniversary, so to celebrate we went on a little overnight trip. I didn't know where we were going (I love surprises!) but then I sneaked a peek at the clothes Chad packed for us so I could try and guess anyway (I have no self discipline when it comes to letting people keep surprises. Kind of like the time I tried to hack into Chad's online accounts because I thought he was going to propose--which he did. And good thing he is better at changing his passwords than I am.)

(Phew! Long parenthetical aside!)

Anyway, I thought we were going camping, because Chad packed outdoorsy clothes, and we've talked about how we need to go to Red River Gorge sometime while we live in Kentucky. I was excited. But I was so much MORE excited when we arrived at Rosecrest Farms in Paris, KY.

We stayed at this adorable bed and breakfast. When we arrived, Lyra, the owner, drove us around on a tractor and introduced us to all the horses. The place was beautiful, and the weather that day was amazingly perfect. Picture rolling hills, bluegrass, and beautiful horses (and baby horses!).

The best part about the horse farm was walking around feeding the horses peppermints out of our hands. 

It was the best surprise ever--way better than what I had even thought of doing! And so relaxing to be away for a couple of days. I can't believe it's been a whole year. Love my Chad.

Time to Write.

Yesterday, I sympathized with a 16 year-old as she talked my ear off about how hard it is being a teenager. Because she doesn't have an ipod. This sweet girl doesn't have much of a filter, so I listened to several repetitions of "My life is hard because. . ." Until I dropped her off at her house (we were at a church activity) and was able to go about my merry little way.

Sometimes I wish I didn't have a filter, or that I had an audience to blather on to, because sometimes I feel like MY life is hard! But then I realize that blogs were created for just such occasions. Like right now. I'm just feeling a bit stressed.

I'm not sure what makes this week more stressful than most. My current caseload is really low on the neediness/crisis scale. No emergency phone calls, haven't got kicked in the back recently (oh, I didn't tell you about that one?), and people call and cancel periodically. Ironically, that's the stressful part. Because part of me thinks, "Okay, fine, let's take the afternoon off from therapy." But then there's a gnawing, anxious feeling inside saying, "Cammie! Your productivity! Hours! Hello! You cannot just let people off the hook like that!" I told a woman today we could reschedule (she worries what she has might be "catchy"), but that if she is still feeling sick tomorrow, I'll just come over anyway and sit with her kid on the porch. I feel pretty pushy doing that, but should I have been more pushy? Like, by insisting on coming over today?

I'm also working on getting a manuscript submitted to a scholarly journal on my Aruba research. Yes, if you've known me since 2009, it's the same research. And the same stuff I wrote my thesis on. Oh, ye never-ending project. But we've submitted, and are working on some final revisions (which are due by July 30th), and should be making a final submission and hearing whether our work is accepted. I am just so ready to move on.

Finally, in some happy news, I passed my MFT Licensure exam! I am officially. . .still a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate! But no more tests. And only 146 more hours of supervision.

Why does normal life sometimes feel so stressful? Why am I such a whiner? I need a treat. Off to find a brownie.

Reunion Week

Last week, Chad and I had back-to-back family reunions--mine, in the Ragged Mountains of Colorado, and his, at Zion's National Park in Utah. I had been looking forward to this trip for such a long time. I wish it wasn't already over! Here are some highlights:

1. Seeing baby Clara! Oh, I have been so antsy to see her since she was born 4 weeks ago, and I was so happy Elise and Sam were able to bring her to the reunion! She is such a doll.

And just look at how much she looooves her big aunt Cammie! (har, har)

2. Being in honest-to-goodness MOUNTAINS. I am a mountain snob, I admit it. But living away from the Mountain West has me utterly convinced that the western U.S. totally has the corner on mountains. Mmmmm.

3. Hiking. I particularly enjoyed "the Narrows" hike at Zion's, because we got to tromp through lots of knee-deep river, which was refreshing. Also, the canyon views all over Zion's are just incredible.

4. Most of all, being with family. I could go on and on about hikes, and mountains, and bla bla bla, but really the best thing about our trip was being with the fam. I am the oldest of my siblings (my youngest sister is 10), so I constantly feel like I'm missing out on them growing up. (missing one year of kidhood is like missing 10 adult years! they change so much!)

Chad is the youngest of his siblings, so a totally different feel for me. I adore his sisters and all of his (um, our?) cute nieces and nephews. I just wish I had more than a couple of days to get to know them better.

And now, just like that, we are home again. Back to the grind, but feeling a bit refreshed after a wonderful vacation.

I Believe

Linking up with some people today to talk about what I believe. I'm not getting too serious here, and this isn't a religious post. These are just a few truisms I have come to believe. Link up and share!

I believe in the power of a name. People like being called by name, even by people they've just met.

I believe in prayer, and a God who hears and answers.

I believe we get the families we do for a reason (and I'm sure glad I got mine!)

I believe that mountains and oceans are the best medicine.

I believe that being true to yourself is essential to being truly happy.

I believe that people & relationships matter more than tasks, goals, money, or time.

I believe that good music is powerful.

I believe that most people are basically good and do the best they know how.

I believe in holding myself to high ideals, but also cutting myself some slack when I fall short.

I believe that the more you know someone, the more you can like them.

I believe that the average, relatively-healthy human body is capable of amazing things.

In fact, I believe we are generally capable of doing things that are harder than we think we can.

I believe that I can change.

I believe that we should dream big, and I believe in setting goals and making plans.

(although, I believe spontaneity and fun are really, really important, too.)

 What do you believe?