When I need a little pick-me-up or slow-me-down

Today I started looking seriously at PhD programs.  I have an Excel spreadsheet so you know I mean business.  Then I started having a panic attack.  Ah!  Maybe I shouldn't have combined PhD searching with looking at entrance exams with looking for a more permanent job for the next year.  This may have been a mistake.  Anxiety overload!

So I visited NieNie. Here's how I found NieNie:

•  Once upon a time I visited Give Away Today every morning to see if I could win a giveaway.  I never did so I sort of gave up (don't tell anyone, but I'm a quitter).  However, I did discover a lot of cool stores and artists.  Ms. GiveAwayToday is Mormon so lots of the products she features come from Mormon folks.  Which begs the question, when did the Mormon ladies get so fashionable?  Seriously, way to turn it around, ladies!  Anyway, GAT led me to....
• Crystal B. on Etsy.  I love Crystal B.  For Christmas I got a beautiful Crystal B. necklace from my grandparents and for Valentine's Day S gave me this:

 

The Nie Nie necklace.  I fell in love with the necklace and the description directed me to... 

• Nie Nie (aka Stephanie Nielsen)'s blog.  Stephanie and her husband were in a horrid plane crash.  The pilot died and both of them were seriously burned.  Stephanie was in a coma for a long time.  Her blog was used to keep loved ones up-to-date on her condition and she continued updating as she recovered and continues to recover.  The necklace was made by Crystal B. for the 1-year anniversary of the accident.

Here's why I like reading NieNie:

1. She's my age -- she just turned 29
2. But she seems infinitely wiser.
3. She has FOUR kids!  Those Mormons...  :-)
4. She admits when she cries or is mad about not having "her" face anymore and when it hurts to get out of bed but always with grace and I always cheer for her when I read that she had a victory. 
5. She makes me laugh.
6. Her kids are adorable and she takes great pictures. 
7. She has fantastic style.
8. Her faith is inspiring.  I'm certainly not a Mormon and not really label-able right now but I am inspired by her convictions and her honest faith.  Even the video on her blog that was produced by Mormon Messages makes me take pause (and cry a little bit).  
9. Her posts remind me that life is about more than PhD programs or jobs but that wanting good things is okay.
10. She has fantastic decorating sense and I want to decorate like her when I grow up.  See?

If that's not my house, I don't know what is.  And I want that bench.  Now.

Thanks, Nie Nie, for sharing your life with me.