“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

I’m in the middle. There is no way I can go back and re-play life’s events to reach the ending I thought was planned for me. No … now, I’m in this new chapter between the beginning and the end. It’s the chapter that will begin all chapters to my brand new ending.

Hi, I’m Staci. I’m a single mom with a full-time job and a passion for many other things, too; I’ve just never been very good about sharing them.

Besides that precious gem who gave me the best title I ever could have hoped for (and will be a primary topic of conversation on this site), I love photography and I want to share struggles with my self-esteem/body image and how each day, I’m trying to get better. I want to talk about my new place and how Pinterest changed my life and … my faith. I want to talk about my faith.

I love photography immensely. I’m no expert; but I’ve taken some photos and some of them have even been okay. I love to find good light and capture great expressions. It is the expression, I’ve found, that induces the greatest response from everyone I’ve worked with. You can forever capture total happiness, love, anticipation and even grief with a photo. Its my favorite medium of communication, actually.

I also will be using this new chapter to talk about my self-esteem, and how, in this chapter, it’s going to improve. I’ve rarely felt good in my own skin. In fact, I avoid entire seasons as a result of it. Like … summer. I mean, I’ve avoided the activities that go along with summer because it means less clothing. Ewwww. But now? I’m focused on clean eating and healthy doses of exercises I enjoy, layered by heaping doses of shameless dancing, laughing, kid-chasing and other fun, you-don’t-realize-you’re-burning-calories activities. I’ve realized I won’t reach perfection (I can thank genetics for that. Ha!), but I can reach acceptance and that’s way easier.

I moved recently … which has been a new challenge. However, I’ve taken on projects I never would have before. I’ve fallen in love with reclaimed furniture and do-it-yourself ideas from the climbing social media monster Pinterest. Maybe it didn’t change my life, but I don’t want to downplay how much it changed my perspective on taking the old and making it new. Hmm … that could be a theme here.

Finally … my faith. I am a Christian. That does not make me perfect or better, nor does it mean I make the right choices every day. As a matter of fact, I fail miserably almost daily. (See note above about being a single mom). The Good News is that I have experienced uncontainable grace through my belief in Jesus Christ and I’m really, really excited about that. I would never pretend to know, or even practice, everything I should about my faith but I’m a work-in-progress and it feels pretty good.

This chapter is my place to explore my brand new ending. I hope you’ll join me and appreciate the journey.