Stopped by @coppercupcoffeecompany to meet up with a friend and my dad, and saw this beauty and knew she had to come home with me! @307mudandstone you’re creating beautiful things. 🥰 #supportlocal #itmademehappy #artinourlives ...

For the almost 13 years I’ve been blogging at PraireWifeInHeels.com I’ve worked from my kitchen counter. With our DIY renovations we did a few years ago, we added storage for my printer, documents, and supplies underneath the counter. I have learned that I like to be spread out and have my work piled up lol, but it IS nice to have a place to put all the things when company comes over! While this clutter may look like chaos, it’s actually something that makes my heart happy…It shows I’m getting back into working and writing regularly again! I love nothing more than a pile of Post-it notes with sloppy messages, an open planner, and stacks of folders…because that means that the ideas are flowing, the goals are being set, and things are happening. I gave myself permission to take the whole month of March off from working. While I’ve still been posting and creating content, it has been the bare minimum. The burden of the last two years, and specifically the last year of working for legislation changes, was a heavy one. And I gave myself permission to rest and step away. Now, slowly but surely, I’m working on finding out who I am now in this space and who I want to be. Thanks for being along on this journey with me, I’m so glad you’re here. #gritandgrace #bloggeratwork #findingmyselfagain ...

How do those other ladies on social media do it?! How do they look halfway normal, or glowing and cute when they get up right away in the morning? In reality I know they are almost all pretending. They woke up hours before and did their hair and makeup, and staged the area around them before they made their video or took their pics. But even though I KNOW IT’S FAKE I still catch myself thinking unkind thoughts about how I look or care for myself. The truth is I am going to be looking exactly like this until the hour before I have to leave the house, and I absolutely have to start getting ready to be out in public. And even then, today I’m heading out in a baseball hat and no makeup because I have errands, therapy, and a walk with a friend so there is no need to waste precious time getting fancy! I guess I just wanted to remind you that there is a whole spectrum of “normal” out there. And for this gal it’s waking up looking like I’m Dorthy after the tornado picked her up and spit her out in Oz…and before the red shoes and glam squad found her. Thank God The Cowboy loves me and doesn’t even flinch when this comes at him to kiss him goodbye and tell him to “have a great day and make some money to pay those bills!” #real #normalisdifferentforeveryone #goodmorning #deinfluencing ...