Is it Autumn yet?

It has been a little quiet here at Corner of Joy lately, and I am sorry for that. The truth is that I have had a bit of writers block. I have no idea why I've felt like I've had so little to say here, as this Summer has been one of the most chaotic and crazy that I have ever had. Perhaps that is the problem. It is difficult to come up with something profound and life-changing to tell you all when it is all I can do to keep up with the craziness that is going on here!

So I decided that tonight was the night. I was going to write a blog post. I know from experience that once I start writing, the gates open and my blogging ideas come flooding forth. I was racking my brain and decided I am going to write a post about this Summer and the chaos. And I want to express to you all the sentiment that has been popping into my head more and more often lately....

"Is it Autumn yet?"

Because, to be honest, I am SO ready to get back to my boring little life, and this Summer has been anything but boring.

So allow me to do a recap of my Summer and the chaos within it:

Memorial Day was spent in Nashville, Tennessee visiting my big brother. My husband and I made the drive to see him and enjoyed a lazy vacation with my brother and sister-in-law. Hard to believe that at this time I was thinking I might have a nice restful summer...

And then June filled up suddenly. I had a few volunteer weekend obligations, and my company moved to a new building. I love my new desk, which allows me to sit or stand, but it was not fun having to pack up and sort through everything for the move.

June was also the month that we found out we were pregnant! It was a very exciting and scary time as I struggled with the emotional baggage of my previous miscarriage.

In June we also spent a few days with my husband's family. It was a fun and tiring few days as I watched these little guys for a few days all by myself!

July came in as the busiest month with a 4 day conference 6 hours away from my home which I attended for one of the organizations I volunteer for. It was a fun and busy few days full of very little sleep. I was also pregnant, which made for even less energy on my part

I also decided in July to become a Norwex consultant. More on this in another post, but suffice it to say I decided to become a direct sales rep for a company which I truly love. I have been very busy doing in-home parties, setting up my facebook page, and getting myself organized. I am finally off and running, but I probably should have picked a better time of the year to start this.

Next came our trip to upstate New York, where my step father inherited his family cabin on Lake Erie. We spent the last weekend of July there with my mom and step father, helping them clean and reorganize the place. We also got to take time out for relaxing moments like this

This was a difficult time because it was at the end of July that I found out I might be miscarrying, and the emotions of that, on top of everything, made for a very trying time.

Which leads us to the beginning of August. This was when it was confirmed we were miscarrying, and the natural miscarriage was not the most fun thing in the world. I was happy to be spared surgery, though.

I also had to throw a picnic in another state for one of the organizations I volunteer for the first week in August. It was a nice distraction, but this honestly was probably my breaking point. I wasn't answering my phone, and all I wanted to do was forget everything I'm supposed to be doing and just cuddle up on my couch with my husband.

Of course, it didn't work out like that. I finally got a weekend free and that was the time when my husband and I made a big financial decision. We decided to sell one of our paid-off cars, which had retained it's value since we bought it for a very low price last year. We were able to take all the money we got from the sold car and put it towards my student loans. This move ended up saving us LOTS of money on interest and monthly payments. We also don't have to pay for a few repairs we were looking at for our old car. Instead, I now drive a leased car, which has a lower payment than my loans were. It is also new, so the maintenance on it will be minimal. It is a good option for us right now and will allow us to probably be debt-free by late Summer 2014!

So now I drive this, which seems way too shnazzy for me

Then I traveled to spend a week with my family, which I already chronicled HERE. During that week I did a few Norwex parties, visited with family members, took my nephews to a tall-ships exhibit, and went to dinner with a few friends.

Now I've been home for the last week, trying to take a breath. Which brings us to right now and my wish that Summer could finally be over. I saw this quote on Pinterest a few weeks ago and it totally resonated with me.

Is that just not so true? Although this Summer has been fun and exciting, I know I have been too busy. I overcommited myself, and I've realized I need to be better at picking my battles. Since I got the all-clear earlier this week to resume medication to help my hormones and allow me to potentially get pregnant again, I really need to start calming my life down and taking away some of the busyness.

Time to recharge. So this weekend my husband and I are going to go on our first vacation since our honeymoon that isn't for the purpose of going to see someone. We are going to travel just to see a new place and be together. We took a test at Findyourspot.com and thought it would be fun to visit a few of the places which appeared at the top of our list. So this weekend we are off to Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC. Are any of you, dear blog friends, located in these towns? I'll be sending good vibes as we drive through!

But after this weekend of fun with just my husband, I am ready for warm, cozy winter nights, hot cocoa, and icy roads that make me have to stay home!

How do you all feel? Has Summer been refreshing or exhausting?