So... It's Been a Minute: First Time Homeowner, New Routines & New Side Quests

Life decided to get really busy really quick, and I have struggled with finding the time and motivation to sit down and write. I didn't intentionally abandon the blog. Life was just lifeing, and I'm back.

This summer has been a major transition for my husband and I in a lot of ways. Some of those changes were exciting, some were overwhelming, and some have been just plain everyday-life things. I needed to actually live through some of these changes and adapt to them before I sat down and tried to turn them into content.

So, here we are!

This isn't really a "here's everything that happened" post. It's truly more of a checkpoint on where I am, what's changed, what I've been enjoying, and what's coming next. I want to share some of these experiences in hopes that they can help someone else who may be going through similar transitions.

Because apparently, my life decided that one side quest at a time was not enough.

We Bought Our First Home

The most exciting, but also stressful, thing that has happened this summer has been my husband and I buying our first home.

We had been talking about doing this for quite some time and eventually decided to go for it. We fell in love with a townhome and, although the process was stressful, I am so glad that we were able to get into this home!

Just a brief backstory: my husband and I had been living in an apartment for about a year and a half before deciding to buy our home. We were quickly outgrowing our one-bedroom apartment and were unhappy with the living situation as a whole. Apartment living is NOT for the weak!

We lived on the second floor, and let me just say, hearing people and their dogs above, below, and on both sides of you gets old QUICK. I truly will not miss anything about apartment living and having our own space was something we were really ready for.

We started browsing Zillow, and once we started touring homes, things truly started to feel real. We eventually stumbled upon the home that we purchased, and it felt like all the signs in the world were pointing at us living here. It was truly God-driven.

Since I'm a teacher, we felt that if we were going to do this, it would be best to move over the summer, and I am SO glad we did. I was able to spend the rest of May and most of June packing while still having the rest of my summer to actually settle in and unpack. It was honestly the best way we could have done it. With the help of our families, we were able to move everything in all in one day, which is CRAZY! We are so thankful for all the help we received because I genuinely don't know how we would have done it without everyone.

And then came the fun part: actually, becoming first time homeowners.

I will definitely be going more in-depth about this new homeowner journey in future blog posts, but I wanted to mention some of it here because it truly has been the biggest change in my life lately and a huge reason why I took a step back from writing.

We had so many unexpected things happen within the first two months of living here. We've dealt with broken tile, AC issues, car maintenance, termites that decided to make themselves comfortable in our couch, a clogged dryer vent, and so many more random things that I will go into more detail about another day. Just know, if you are a new homeowner and feel like everything is breaking right away... I feel you.

There is definitely a learning curve that comes with owning a home. Things that I never had to think about as a renter suddenly became my responsibility, and there is always something else that seems to need attention. But even with all of that, I do not regret it at all.

Still to this day, I find myself telling my husband how happy I am that we moved here and how glad I am that we decided to take this step. There is something really special about having a place that is ours and being able to slowly make it feel like home. I wouldn't change it for the world.

What I Didn't Expect About Becoming a First Time Homeowner

One thing I've learned very quickly is that moving into a home doesn't mean you're finished moving. There are still boxes to unpack, things to organize, furniture to figure out, projects to plan, and random maintenance issues that seem to appear out of nowhere.

I'm also learning that you don't have to have everything figured out immediately. Our home doesn't look exactly how I imagined it would yet, and that's okay. We're still figuring out where things belong, what we actually need, what we want to change, and what can wait.

I think that's probably one of the biggest lessons I've taken away from these first few months: your home doesn't have to be finished for it to be home. We're getting there one little project at a time. The first little project is getting it decorated for Halloween!

Getting Back Into a New Routine

Beyond buying a home, not a lot has changed per se, but I have definitely been getting used to some new routines.

Work started back up, and there have been a whole lot of changes there as well. My commute is longer, we've had some administrative changes, and I now have a third-year class. That means I have three different classes that I teach now.

Going back to the routine of teaching has been overall pretty decent, and I can't complain. The transition from summer back into a school-year schedule is always a little weird, especially after everything else that has happened this summer, but I'm settling back into it. I'm excited to see where this school year takes me and my students!

At the same time, I've realized that getting back into a routine doesn't necessarily mean going back to exactly the way things were before. My life looks different now. I have a home to take care of, new routines to figure out, more responsibilities, and a lot of things I'm interested in making time for again. And that's actually something I've been thinking about a lot lately: what do I want my life to look like outside of work?

Getting Back to the Things I Love

One of the biggest things I've noticed during all of these changes is how much I've missed having time to do the things I actually enjoy. Between teaching, moving, unpacking, figuring out homeownership, and just trying to keep up with everyday life, my hobbies definitely took a backseat for a while. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Sometimes life gets busy and certain things have to be put on hold for a little bit.

But now that things are starting to settle down, I've found myself wanting to get back to some of those creative outlets again. And, unsurprisingly, there are quite a few side quests on that list.

Getting Back into Photography

One of the biggest creative things I've been getting back into lately is photography. I've been doing photography for over a decade now, and it has always been one of those hobbies that I come back to even when I've gone a while without picking up my camera.

Thankfully, I haven't just been talking about getting back into it this time. I've actually been getting out there and taking photos again! I've been making trips to Universal and bringing my camera along, which has been such a fun way to get back into the hobby. There's something about photographing the parks that I really love. There's always something happening, there's so much to look at, and I can spend hours walking around looking for little moments that would make a good photo.

And most recently, I got to take my camera to Halloween Horror Nights over Labor Day weekend! If you've never been to Halloween Horror Nights, it is basically the perfect place to put a camera to work. Between the scare zones, lighting, performers, and all of the little details throughout the event, there is SO much to photograph.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with the different lighting and trying to capture the atmosphere of the event. Low-light photography can definitely be a challenge, especially when you're trying to photograph moving performers, but that's also part of what makes it fun.

I'm still figuring out what I want my photography to look like moving forward, but I'm really enjoying the process of just getting out there and taking photos again. I've also been going back through some of my older photos and editing them, which has been a completely different kind of photography adventure. It's been really cool to look at photos I took years ago with a different perspective and see what I might do differently now.

I think that's one of the things I love most about photography. There's always something else to learn. You can learn more about your camera, experiment with different settings, try a new type of photography, edit an old photo differently, or simply find a new place to photograph.

For me, right now, I'm just enjoying being behind the camera again. And who knows? Maybe this little photography side quest will turn into something bigger down the road. For now, I'm perfectly happy wandering around Universal with my camera and seeing what I can find.

Getting Back into Gaming & YouTube

Another creative side quest that has been a little harder to keep up with lately is gaming and YouTube. I haven't really created much gaming content in a while, and honestly, the move played a pretty big part in that. Between packing, buying the house, moving everything in, unpacking, trying to get settled, and then eventually going back to work, finding the time and energy to sit down and record became a lot harder than I expected.

That doesn't mean I stopped gaming, though! I still played here and there throughout the summer, and honestly, some of my favorite gaming moments were just playing with my siblings. I spent a pretty good chunk of my summer playing Fortnite and PowerWash Simulator 2 with them. Nothing particularly productive, nothing that needed to become a video. It was all just hanging out, playing games, laughing, and having a good time. And I think that's part of what reminded me why I enjoy gaming in the first place.

I've always loved the idea of turning some of those gaming experiences into content for One Big Side Quest. Whether it's trying a new game, taking on a ridiculous challenge, playing a cozy game, or just seeing what kind of chaos happens when I have no idea what I'm doing, there's a lot of potential for fun.

I definitely want to get back into creating gaming content when I have the time and energy for it. I'm not putting pressure on myself to suddenly become a consistent gaming creator again, especially while I'm still figuring out my new routines. I think I'd rather let it come back naturally.

For now, gaming is still very much part of my side quest, even if the YouTube part of it has been sitting at a save point for a little while. And honestly? Sometimes you need a save point.

And Then There's This Blog

Obviously, I can't talk about getting back into creative hobbies without talking about this little corner of the internet. I've missed blogging. Even though I've struggled to actually sit down and write lately, I've still had ideas floating around in my head. The problem has been finding the time and energy to turn those ideas into actual posts.

I think part of me also felt like I needed to have something important to say every time I sat down to write. But that's not really what One Big Side Quest has ever been about.

It's about the little things, the big things, the random things, the things I'm excited about, the things I'm figuring out, and all of the little side quests that happen along the way.

So I'm giving myself permission to just... write again. I don't need every post to be some massive life lesson. Sometimes I just want to share what I've been up to. And sometimes, hopefully, something I'm going through will help someone else who happens to be in a similar place.

Figuring Out What Comes Next

I don't have some big announcement to make here. I'm still figuring things out. There are definitely parts of my life that I've been thinking about more lately, including what I want my future to look like and where I want to spend my time and energy. I'm not quite ready to talk about all of that yet, and honestly, I don't think I need to be.

One thing this season has reminded me of is that it's okay to not have everything figured out. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to know exactly what we're doing next. We finish school and we're supposed to know what career we want. We start a career and we're supposed to stick with it. We buy a house and suddenly we're supposed to know how to be homeowners.

Meanwhile, I'm over here Googling how to fix things in my house because apparently owning a home comes with an entire side quest tree I didn't unlock during the tutorial. I'm learning to be okay with figuring things out as I go. Maybe the next chapter will look exactly like I expect it to. Maybe it won't. Either way, I'm trying to enjoy where I am right now instead of constantly worrying about where I'm supposed to be going.

What This Season Has Taught Me

If I had to sum up the last few months, I think the biggest lesson has been that life doesn't always happen in neat little chapters. Sometimes several things happen at once.

You can be incredibly excited about something and completely overwhelmed by it at the same time.

You can be grateful for where you are while still wondering what comes next.

You can put your hobbies on hold without actually giving them up.

And you can take a break from something without abandoning it.

I've also learned that I don't have to rush through every transition. Buying our first home didn't mean I needed to immediately have everything unpacked, decorated, organized, and perfect. Getting back into photography doesn't mean I need to immediately become a professional photographer. Creating YouTube videos doesn't mean every video needs to perform well. And taking a break from blogging doesn't mean I stopped being a blogger. Sometimes you're just in a different part of the journey.

You Don't Have to Start From Scratch

This is probably one of the things I've been thinking about the most. When I look at the things I've put on pause, it's easy to feel like I'm starting over. But I'm not.

The photography skills I've developed over the years are still there. The things I've learned from creating content are still there. The experience I've gained from teaching is still there. Everything I've learned from previous seasons of my life is still part of me. I'm not starting over. I'm just picking things back up from a different place. And I think there's something comforting about that.

What's Coming Next for One Big Side Quest?

So, what's next? Honestly... a little bit of everything.

I want to keep sharing more of the homeownership journey because I have already learned SO much in the short amount of time we've been homeowners. There are plenty of stories from these first few months that deserve their own posts, especially some of the things I absolutely did not expect to deal with immediately after buying a house.

I also want to get back to sharing photography and documenting that part of my creative journey. And, of course, I want to keep writing about the random little side quests that make up everyday life.

That might mean another life update.

It might mean a photography post.

It might mean something about our house.

It might be a gaming post.

It might be a book I've been reading or something completely random that made me happy.

Basically, if it's part of my current side quest, there's a good chance it'll eventually make its way onto the blog.

And if you're new around here, there are plenty of older posts you can explore, too. You can check out A Quiet Reflection of a Loud Year for a look back at 2025, How I Fell Back in Love with Photography (And How You Can Too) to see more of the photography side of me, or wander through The Ritual of Small Things for some of the little things that have made life better along the way.

I'm hoping this next chapter of One Big Side Quest feels a little more like what I originally imagined when I started it: a place where I can document the things I'm doing, learning, enjoying, and figuring out as I go.

Anyway, I'm Glad You're Here

And I guess that's my little life update! A lot has changed, even though in some ways, not much has changed at all.

I'm a homeowner now.

I'm back to teaching for another school year.

I'm trying to make more time for photography.

I'm still gaming.

I'm still creating.

I'm still figuring things out.

And, apparently, I'm still collecting side quests.

I don't know exactly what the next few months are going to look like, and I'm actually trying to be okay with that. One of the reasons I created One Big Side Quest in the first place was because I wanted somewhere to document life as it happens. Not just the big, exciting moments, but also the random, ordinary, slightly chaotic moments in between.

So maybe this post is a little bit of a reset. Not a complete restart, just a save point. And I'm really excited to see where we go from here.

---

Your Side Quest:

What's your current side quest? Are you starting something new, adjusting to a big life change, figuring out what's next, or just trying to enjoy the season of life you're currently in?

I'd love to hear about it. After all, I can't be the only one with a million side quests happening at once!