My Favorite Posts

Day 21, Tuesday: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives

These aren't so much my "favorites" as they are "posts that came up when I randomly searched my blog, and they made me laugh/cry.

Goodbye, Negative Nancy

Day 20, Monday: 

Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

I feel like I kind of went over this in Day 16; I feel pretty blessed with what I've been given, and despite the typical "new mom" struggles, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on life. And of course, there's the normal female struggles -- being happy when I look in the mirror, finding a cute outfit on the floor of my room (because that's where all my clothes are), hating my hair... but really? I can't possibly find enough to say about those things for an entire post.

Every Day In May: Day 19

Five of my favorite blogs, and why.

I'm going to follow Jessica's lead. Ladies and gents, my blog tribe.

Every Day in May: Day 18

My mission, today: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt. Man, this is tough. I used to have the best memory. Now, I have a kid and a memory that requires daily notes in my iPhone and a blog to rehash good times. Dang you, 2013.

Every Day In May: Day 17

I'm cheating. We're supposed to share one photo of ourself that we love, but I'm sharing this collage because my husband put it together and posted it on Instagram for Valentine's Day 2012. And that pretty much melted my heart.

Every Day In May: Day 16

Day 16: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it.

I'm going to be brutally honest here: something difficult that I work to overcome is my husband's job. That sounds bad, but let me make it worse: my husband works for our church.

Every Day In May: Day 15

A Day in the life of Corianne and Porter:

7:20am: awake to my alarm clock. Have I mentioned how much I adore my sleep-loving baby boy? Because I do. He's amazing. I rarely wake up to a crying baby, which is incredible.

7:25am: stumble to my laptop, login to work.

7:29am: stumble to my Keurig and login to my coffee pot. I mean, make myself a pot of coffee. I mean, make myself a cup of coffee. It's early. I'm pre-caffeine right now. Be back in a few minutes.

7:34am: Mmm, peppermint mocha creamer in May... I'm a fan. I made my husband a cup of coffee too, because as much as he says his love language is words of affirmation, acts of service makes him giddy.

7:39am: settle in to work. I'm a Project Manager, so I basically live in my email day in and day out -- which some occasional blogging breaks, of course.

8:48am: Porter is still sleeping. This is not typical, but not uncommon. He's really throwing a kink into my "day in the life" post, though. I'm just responding to work emails, and watching The Today Show. Pretty quiet morning for me.

9:21am: Uh, still sleeping. I've checked on him four times, don't you worry: he's alive. Work, work, work in the meantime.

10:15am: Yay! Finally awake! Good morning, sleepyhead!

10:20am: Fed, changed, and had our daily pep talk. Told him I was going to document our lives all day today, and he wasn't stoked. For how many Instagrams this dude has, he likes his privacy.

10:22am: We compromised: I told him that he could stay in his jammies all day.

10:38am: Porter is now comfy on the couch with Sophie, "watching" cartoons while I (yep, you guessed it) work.

10:31am: MMC is over, so now Porter is going to watch The Food Network with me. Sorry, babe -- it's Anne Burrell, too. I know she's annoying, but it's better than Phineas and Ferb.

12:37pm: Oh, shoot. Forgot about this post. Um, just been playing with Porter and working. Jumped in the shower, sorted some laundry, and now P is back down for his long nap.

12:47pm: Scratch that, no nap. Porter is really angry.

3:45pm: Still working, Porter finally went down for a nap about 2:30pm after I rocked him (I love that boy), so I threw together lunch. Quinoa, dried cranberries, feta, peppered sliced almonds and some white balsamic. And a Pepsi, because TOOMUCHHEALTHY.

Ok, I'm going to end here, because I have a busy schedule for the rest of the night and I forgot to take pictures after about 10:30am, but you get the drift. Porter, hubby, work, work, work, Porter, work, Porter, Porter, Porter, hubby, work, Porter, Porter.

Tonight, Paul has the night off though, so date night it is! We're going to go explore Tacoma and have some adult time. I can't wait. Love spending time with that man!

Thanks for spending my day with me... sorry I'm boring. ;)

10 Things That Make Me Really Happy

In no particular order:

1. When my son smiles at me. BEAMS, is actually more like it. It's crazy. I love that smile more than more things in this world. It's better than caffeine in the morning.
   
2. Speaking of caffeine: coffee from a mug makes me happy. I love a piping hot Starbucks like everyone else, but there's something about fresh coffee in a fun mug that makes the morning just that much better.
   
3. When my husband sings country music in his fake southern accent. I pretend to get annoyed, but I really, truly love it.
   
4. Snowfall. There's nothing more peaceful to me than a cold, dark winter night -- snow falling, lights twinkling, a glass of red wine or hot cocoa in my hand. It's seriously my happy place. I absolutely love the winter.
   
5. Rereading a verse in the Bible for the millionth time -- but hearing it in a whole new way, for the first time. It's amazing when that happens.
   
6. Baths. If I need a minute to myself, I will seriously run to draw a hot bubble bath and peruse Instagram or Twitter on my phone. Even if the bath only lasts for ten minutes, I feel brand new.
   
7. Going out to eat. I love dining out. I'm a foodie at heart. My husband and I have so much fun trying new restaurants or doing a random Yelp search for a rave review, and then finding out for ourselves. We've found some of our favorite spots and had the best date nights by perusing Yelp while driving aimlessly around Seattle.
   
8. Taking a lot of pictures. I always get annoyed with myself for snapping hundreds of photos, until I look back weeks, months or years later. Then, I'm so grateful.
   
9. Diving into a new TV show on Netflix or Hulu. And by diving in, I mean watching back-to-back-to-back episodes until we're caught up. Usually, full seasons in one sitting. Our newest obsession? Scandal. Uh-mazing.
   
10. Having nothing on the to do list. It's rare, and when it happens, I never forget to savor that moment.

A Public Apology To My Hair

Dear Hair,

I'm a really, really, really sorry for everything I've done to you over the years.

I've never appreciated you. I've colored you, cut you into a chin-length bob, I've hacked multiple layers and brought you from platinum blonde to jet black without so much as a second thought. I've cut you on my own when I was too impatient for an appointment.

Then, I had to go ahead and get pregnant last year.

You were so excited. You grew and grew and grew and never got greasy. You LOVED LIFE. You made me excited to wake up in the morning. I spent many magical hours perusing YouTube for fun tutorials that I could try on you. I could throw you up in a silly topknot and you looked chic. I could  toss you into a messy side-pony, and you looked fab. I could straighten you until you were a shimmering blanket of brunette, or I could curl you until I had people stopping me in the store to ask me "how do you do you hair?" I could throw some sea salt spray in you and let you air dry, and people wondered if I was just coming home from a day at the beach... and I live hours from the coast. You were killin it.

And now, baby's here.

And where are you going?

I still need you. Please stop falling out, and come back to me. When I'm in the shower and I'm conditioning you, I'm not crying because of lack of sleep, or because I desperately need a night out, or because I can't seem to catch up on laundry. I'm crying because you're leaving me, and I don't know how to stop it.

I'll give you all the Moroccan Oil and Bumble and Bumble Thickening Serum you can handle, if you just stay put.

Love,

Corianne

Every Day In May: Day 12

What do I miss?

Gosh, this is tough. I'm so grateful for every advancement and new chapter in my life. I think I will always miss the innocence of childhood, especially now that I'm a mother.

The things that kids are concerned with alway makes me smile, wistfully. Gosh. I would give anything to stress out about if my mom was going to let my friend come home with me after school on a Tuesday, or if I was going to be allowed to have a second helping of dessert, or if I was going to catch my favorite song on the radio so I could record it. I'm so glad I get to have a family now, and I can help my kids to make their own memories like this.

I miss when the weeks would never seem to end -- now, I can't figure out how to slow them down.

Arlene Anne Photography

Every Day In May: Day 11

Ok. I'm going to sell myself in 10 words or less.

Ready? Here it goes.

"I function the best over happy hour. See you there."

I sold you, right?

Every Day In May: Day 10

Gosh, this is hard. I'm supposed to blog about my most embarrassing moment(s). I really can't think of anything... possibly because I've blocked them all from memory? Maybe?

I mean, there's the awkward slipping-and-falling-on-a-storm-drain-in-Portland, but that wasn't as much embarrassing as it was super painful. And I was with good friends, and not much embarrasses me in front of them.

Sooo... no, that's not it.

There's those awkward moments in church when you wave back to someone you think is waving to you... but they're not. They're actually waving to the person behind you. And they see you wave at them, and realize that you thought that they were waving to them, and then there's that awkward apologetic smile/half-hearted re-wave. But, ehh, not really embarrassing... just painfully awkward. And this happens to me often, so I can't pinpoint one certain time that was more memorable than another.

Maybe, um... something do with childbirth? Yeah. Plenty of embarrassing moments there, but in light of the bigger picture, those moments escape me.

I'll have to come back to this one... I live a pretty unembarassing life. Or, I just have no shame.

It's probably that.

Every Day In May: Day 9

A moment in my day, brought to your by my crappy iPhone 4s. We had a Leadership Development night last night at church, and Porter was more interested in getting some good snuggles in with Auntie Bekah than he was in becoming a good leader :) I thought this was such a sweet photo! Love them both. (And that's the sunlight streaming in through the windows, by the way - I didn't edit this photo to death. Haha -- in fact: #nofilter)

Every Day In May: Day 8

I get to give you advice about anything I want. I thought about this in the shower the other day (I do some of my best thinking in the shower), and I made myself laugh out loud. I wanted to communicate this to you all, so I'm going to make it fit with today's "Every Day in May" post.

If you're an expectant mom, or are thinking about having a baby, or are in the process of trying to have a baby, I want to give you the best advice that I could give you. Are you ready?

When you're at your breaking point, when you've been pushing for 36 hours with no dilating or progress, when you don't think you have another ounce of strength to bring that baby into the world, please... just remember my words.

If you need any sort of motivation to complete the task that has been set before you: do it for your first post-pregnancy meal.

Seriously.

I labored for like 23 days (ok, only like 36 hours, but still. I was a mess) and I hadn't had anything to eat except for some water and a sniff of lavender essential oil when I threw up right before I decided I wanted needed WANTED an epidural.

The last thing on your mind as you bring your baby into the world is food. At one point, my dula told me to eat a few almonds and I probably would have rather been in labor for an additional 3 days, at that point. Yuck, FOOD? Absolutely no way.

Anyway, next to the sheer joy and out-of-body bliss that you experience when they set that new babe on your chest, the best moment of my life was the amazing nurses bringing me a menu and telling me to order "whatever I want".

I couldn't even wrap my mind around exactly how free to abuse these calories I actually was, so I ordered an oriental chicken salad and a cranberry juice.

All wrong, Corianne.

Next time, I'm doing it right: cheeseburger. Fries. Milkshake. Cheesecake. Chocolate chip cookies. Coke. And maybe even an order of BBQ chicken nachos from the restaurant on the waterfront that I love, a few blocks away.

No food will ever taste better - or be so well deserved - so enjoy it. Abuse it. Live a little.

Every Day In May: Day 7

I used to be able to answer today's blog topic with a resounding and emphatic: "CHILDBIRTH."

If you're guessing today's topic to be: "what in life are you most looking forward to?" you'd be dead wrong. Nope, in fact: completely the opposite. Childbirth was my single-most greatest fear. In fact, when I found out I was pregnant last April, I cried... and it took a few days before they became tears of joy.

Ok, weeks.

But anyway, I cried because I was terribly afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. It seemed impossible.
But, it wasn't. And, ironically enough, it's now what I consider to be my greatest accomplishment.

So, today I'm supposed to talk about what I'm most afraid of.

I don't like to give my fears a face, so I'm not going to.

I will say this: I spend a lot of extra time talking to God about my health, the health of my precious son and husband, and the health of my family and friends. I spend a lot of time thanking God for complete and total wholeness in me and in all of those I love, and for the long life I've yet to experience. I thank God that my days on this earth will be long and full of blessing, and that I will grow old with my husband and children by my side. I thank Him for not giving me a spirit of fear, but of power. And of love. And of a sound mind.

I am at my very best when I believe every single promise of God, even if there are days when I struggle to do so. Some days, I Google things I shouldn't, or I worry about what I would do if _______ (fill in the blank here). I worry. I worry too much, when there's no reason to.

I am healthy. My husband is healthy. My baby boy is healthy. My parents are healthy, my friends are healthy, my family is healthy and happy. 

The funny thing about God's promises: the more you repeat them, the more you believe them. And the more you believe them, the healthier you become - spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. Which, is my greatest goal in life.

Every Day In May: Day 6

Question of the day: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'? This is a really great question.

I make people laugh. I serve. I take care of the people I love. I defend, and I critique when allowed. I procrastinate too much, and I keep a 5 month old human alive and well. I anxiously await new episodes of my favorite shows, I shove clothes into a dark corner of my room so I don't have to look at them and ta da! My room feels cleaner.

I do Instagram. A lot.

I write more than I talk, but not nearly as much as I'd like to. I worry. I Google when I shouldn't.

I do laundry, and the dishes, and make coffee for my husband in the morning as he's waking up for his day (well, most days). I have difficulties selecting the playlist for any particular car ride, so I turn my Spotify playlist on shuffle and just let it ride. I change the song, oftentimes, before it ends.

I drive my husband crazy. In good ways and in bad.

I grow impatient. I get intimidated. I also face fears, every day.

I talk to God, sometimes out loud. I work well under extreme pressure.

I get motivated and deep clean my house randomly, usually when I should be doing something else.

I take baths. Every girl should take a bath.

I watch Friends daily. 

I lose myself in late night games of Solitaire on my iPhone, which make me sound old and boring - but it's incredibly therapeutic for me. You know how Baby Einstein is supposed to help to stimulate the mini-brains of our little ones? I think Solitaire does the same for my grown up brain.

I think of really amazing blog ideas, and then lose interest five minutes later.

I do a lot, but not nearly enough. 

Every Day In May: Day 5

Since I can't decide between all of my lovely real life friends, I decided to post about one of my long-running blogging friends, since technically, that is the literal point of today's challenge.

I met this girl on Tumblr, stalked her on Twitter after we commented back and forth on each other's posts, friended her on Facebook after a few weeks, and now we follow each other on Instagram.

She's such a sweetheart, and when I think of her blog, only one word comes to mind: timeless. She's  got a beautiful way with words, she posts photos that literally will transport me to another place and time (and in some cases, a place and time in which I've never actually been), her quotes and reblogs are completely purposeful, and she has impeccable taste in music. Oh! And she can sing.

I swear, this girl doesn't have filler posts. It's maddening.

Everybody say hi to Victoria Elyse!

Every Day In May: Day 4

Today, we're talking about Favorite Quotes. I'm horrible at having "favorite things". Everything is my favorite.

So, I cheated. I went online to Good Reads, and I found quotes from some The Shack. I have a love/hate relationship with The Shack. I won't go into detail in this post as to why I have a love/hate relationship with The Shack, because I know some people that are still reading the book, and I already accidentally ruined it for one friend, but I will say... I was tremendously torn when I finished the book.

I was haunted, and moved. I was angry and emotional. I can go into why, later.

I thought the book was really beautifully written. Here are some of my favorite quotes from within those chapters (courtesy of Good Reads).

“Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes, they are the best words the heart can speak.”

“I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships, so will our healing. And I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.”

“All I want from you is to trust Me with what little you can, and grow in loving people around you with the same love I share with you. It's not your job to change them, or to convince them. You are free to love without an agenda.”

“Sometimes honesty can be incredibly messy."

“Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship.”

“So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is the knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it.”

(When Jesus is asked if all roads lead to Him): "Not at all. Most roads don't lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”

“Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself: to serve.”

“You don't play a game or color a picture with a child to show your superiority. Rather, you choose to limit yourself so as to facilitate and honor that relationship."

“Paradigms power perceptions, perceptions power emotions.”

“Don't forget that in the midst of all your pain and heartache, you are surrounded by beauty, the wonder of creation, art, your music and culture, the sounds of laughter and love, of whispered hopes and celebrations, of new life and transformation, of reconciliation and forgiveness.”

And lastly (this one is especially scripturally sound and BLEW MY MIND to read it in this way):

“Evil is a word we use to describe the absence of Good, just as we use the word darkness to describe the absence of Light or death to describe the absence of Life. Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence. I am Light and I am Good. I am Love, and there is no darkness in me. Light and Good actually exist. So, removing yourself from me will plunge you into darkness. Declaring independence will result in evil because apart from me, you can only draw upon yourself. That is death because you have separated yourself from me: Life.”

  I love all of these quotes because I love things that make me think. Ponder may actually be a better word; I sat in my bed long after I'd closed the book, and just PONDERED life and my relationship with God and those I love. And I adore anything and everything would evoke that sort of emotion.

Every Day In May: Day 3

Today I'm telling you all about things that make me uncomfortable.

Have a seat. There's nothing I love more than awkward, cringe-inducing lists.

• Opening gifts. I literally dread birthdays and Christmas if I think about gift-receiving. I mean, I love presents. But I hate opening them and having to react... even if it's a good gift! I mean, do I jump up and down like a ten year old so I can properly convey how much I like it? If I hate it, should I cry and then they will mistake my tears of disappointment for tears of sadness? Ugh. So awkward.
  
• Watching a movie with my family when a love scene comes on. I don't think I need to elaborate here, there's nothing comfortable about this. Absolutely nothing.
  
• People that don't respect personal my space. I don't need to be two inches from your face to engage in a serious conversation, and if I keep backing up, you don't need to keep inching forward. By the time we're done talking, we've completely moved rooms - and that's just weird.
  
• Singing your own lyrics or reading your own poem. You know those reality shows where a contestant whips out a piece of paper to read their potential love interest a poem they just wrote for them? I. Wanna. Die. Yuck.
  
• Going through metal detectors, or getting pulled over. Even though I know I'm not carrying an illegal weapon or stashing cocaine in my glovebox, I can't help but get completely nervous and awkward in these situations. What gives?
  
• When parents yell at their children in public. I don't know if this makes me uncomfortable as much as it makes my angry. Have some respect; for yourself, your child, and the people around you.
  
• Watching labor and delivery on TV. Even now that I've done it (fist pump!), I have to ignore it, walk away, or talk over the TV. It literally makes my insides ache.
  
• Smalltalk. Even if I know you really well, if we don't really have anything to talk about, I'm probably dying a little inside. And when you bring up the weather, I just have to walk away awkwardly to end the misery. I'm sorry in advance.
  
• WHEN PEOPLE TYPE SENTENCES IN ALL CAPS. Aesthetically, eww. And why are you yelling at me via the computer?!
  
• Secrets. I hate knowing something that I'm not allowed to share. That much power and control gives me anxiety.
  
• When Pastor tells us to turn to the person beside us to repeat something. This is my internal dialogue during service, when this happens: "Omgggg, but I have two sides! Well, we all do; so which do I choose - left or right?! And what if the person I turn to, turned to someone else?? So awkward!" So lately, I pretty much just use that time during the message to check Instagram.
• When I ask someone "how are you?" and they reply with, literally, everything that is wrong with their life today. Dude. It's just a formality.
  
• Soap opera acting.
  
• Food Network's Anne Burrell
  
• Talking on the phone. Omg. I had to add this one late, because I read it on someone else's list, and I think this has to be my #1. 9 times out of 10, the only reason I answer my phone is if my parents or husband are calling. Sometimes, I even ignore calls from my best friends. Truth. I don't know why talking on the phone makes me feel like I'm dying a slow, painful death. Awkward pauses, starting at the same time, talking over each other, barely understanding someone through their newest fancy, shmancy handsfree device. Ugh, just no. Text me. Please, for the love of everything holy.

Every Day In May: Day 2

So, today I'm supposed to educate you on something I know a lot about.

I don't know a lot about much, but I know a little bit about a lot of things... so this is really hard for me.

So, instead of telling you why you should always use Pampers Newborn diapers vs Huggies, or how to saddle a horse (yeehaw!), I've decided to educate you on little things that I've learned over the years, that you could probably benefit from.

1. I know that dairy makes my stomach hurt, but I eat it anyway. This probably isn't smart, and I don't suggest that you follow my lead here.

2. I know the difference between there, their and they're. I wish more people did, too. 

3. I know that I'm so much happier when I don't procrastinate. 

4. I know that chocolate is better when you can wash it down with a soda. 

5. Do things that require heavy lifting while pregnant -- because you won't have to do any of the heavy lifting. We went camping when I was seven months pregnant, and I was all "Ohhh, sorry guys. I can't lift anything heavier than this tub of Cheetos." So brill.

6. People will get annoyed with your constant picture taking, but four years later, they will thank you for it. 

7. When I'm around people with accents, I find myself trying to talk in their accent... this is horribly offensive, don't do it. 

8. Summer days don't live up to their full potential if they're not set to a country music soundtrack. I promise. 

9. To be a good blogger, leave yourself notes in your phone. This is probably old news, but I just learned this after I had a baby, so it's brand new to me. I find myself being a much better blogger since I can remember things that I wanted to write about, five days later.

10. The "Check Oil Soon" light on your car doesn't ever change to "CHECK OIL NOW, YOU MORON", so you should probably just drop everything you are doing and get your oil changed when the suggestion comes up. You're welcome, procrastinators. 

Every Day In May: Day 1

The Story of My Life in 250 Words Or Less

I was born in Tacoma, Washington on July 8th, 1984. I'm the oldest of two; my younger sister Katie came along in December of 1986. We grew up in a small town called Roy; we lived on 20 acres and did "ranchy" things: rode horses, built forts in the woods and drank water straight from the hose. We didn't lock our doors at night, and the keys stayed in the ignition. I have the best memories of picking fresh raspberries with my grandma, and manipulating my little sister to run out and feed the horses while I "timed her" so I didn't have to do it myself. We went to church on most Sundays, which was never something I looked forward to. God was scary and intimidating and was always watching and ohnodidhehearmetalkbacktomyparents and I couldn't wait until I was a grown up and didn't have to go to church if I didn't want to. I loved God, I didn't need to sit in a building to prove that.

I showed horses competitively for years. Won a few world titles. I was homeschooled in Junior High and returned to public school in 9th grade; the homeschool liaison for the program I was enrolled in had her office set up in an alternative school. Funny how that works, right? My parents homeschooled me to keep me safe, and I ended up around all the kids that got kicked out of public school for drugs and alcohol. Woopsie.

As luck would have it, I fell in love with the man of my dreams when I was fifteen (haha), he broke my heart (which no one saw coming), I thought my life was over. My parents enrolled me in the local public school if for no other reason than to get my social life and self-esteem back on track. I made great friends, became a varsity cheerleader for our record-breaking 4A football and basketball teams, and had the high school memories that movies are made of. I mean, complete with the printed out lyrics to Vitamin C's Graduation Song in Comic Sans and Brush Script on the cover of every binder and on every mirror in my house.

I got my own apartment and a job with our family friends at a local real estate office right out of high school, where I stayed for almost 6 years. I partied, I charged up credit cards, I had a good time... I thought that was how "adulthood" was supposed to be, until the credit card companies turned me over to collection agencies and my heart could no longer be explained through lyrics to a Kelly Clarkson song. Then I got fed up with life and decided that I wanted to change things: I found a new job, and I also allowed a coworker from the real estate office to drag me to her church on one hungover Sunday morning, because why not.

Clouds part, angels sing. I was home.

I met some amazing people, became convicted, dove in head first and never looked back. I learned the truth about grace, and realized that the God-sized hole in my heart was something I'd been filling with everything but Him, which perfectly explained why I was never satisfied with what I had in my hands.

I became pretty good friends with a really cool guy named Paul, who had grown up in the church. He and I became best friends over the next few years, and then I became his wife four years later - in October 2010. We got married in what had become our church, alongside twenty (!!) of our best friends and incredible family members. Today, he is the worship leader at our church, we are planted and deeply rooted in God's house, and I learn more about what true love is every day.

In December of 2012 we welcomed our first perfect son, Porter Alan Burton.

BAM. That brings us to today!

Way more than 250 words, guys, but I'm going to be 29 in a few months, so I'm exercising my rights as a grown up.