Welcome to Rarely Ordinary Life - A Lifestyle Blog

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - Helen Keller

Welcome to my little corner of the internet. This blog has been on my mind a lot over the years and although I’ve had many attempts to keep up with blogs in the past, I’m determined to give this one a fair shot. 

Why This Blog Exists

"Rarely Ordinary Life" exists as a platform where I share my life experiences, inspirations, and interests. Through this blog, I hope to connect with other strong, empowered women, sharing ideas, and growing together. It's about embracing the reality of living a life that's not so ordinary, and finding joy, beauty, and inspiration in every moment. I also believe that sharing realities about living with a disability is one of the best ways to create change.  

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Who’s Behind the Blog? (Our Story)

My name is Natalie. I am a passionate lover of life, traveling, home decor and the WFH life. I play for the US National Power Soccer team and I believe in living life to the fullest, no matter the circumstances. As a woman living with a disability, I’ve had my fair share of unexpected turns and getting creative to figure out solutions, but I’ve learned that life’s beauty often lies in those twists and turns.

Jordan, my now husband, is a perfect example of the unexpected. When we met, he was 7 and I was 12. To say it was not love at first sight is a very fair statement. So, how did we meet? Honestly – against our will. It was 2002, and there was a new athlete clinic for a sport called 'power soccer.' Neither of us wanted to go - I thought it sounded stupid and Jordan was afraid to get out of his shy bubble. Fortunately for us, our parents forced us to go. We quickly realized that power soccer was pretty awesome and instantly forgot about any previous hesitation. We became teammates and stayed that way for the next 17 years.‍

In August 2019, we traveled to Brazil with Team USA, and it was during that trip that Jordan finally realized, "hey, this girl is a lot of fun to be around and pretty darn cute too.” He played it cool for a few weeks in his pursuit before working up enough courage to ask me out on a date. After that first date, we quickly realized something more than friendship was forming between us. The universe brought us together as teammates and now we take on the world as lifemates.

Living life in a wheelchair can be hard so doubling the equation in some ways scared me, but luckily we both have the “if there’s a will, there’s away” attitude so we always figure something out. Plus, some of our crazy situations never fail to generate hilarious stories that we can chat about and laugh at for ages.

Fun Facts

• Combined, Jordan and I have visited 10 countries.  (Jordan: Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, England, France, Mexico; Natalie: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, France, Mexico)
• We are both on the US Power Soccer National Team that is headed to Australia in October for the 4th World Cup!
• We bought our first home this year and are hopefully moving in before Thanksgiving
• I am easily a night owl - fully ready to start a tv show at 11:45pm. Poor Jordan
• I can’t whistle, blow a bubble or roll my r’s. It’s very frustrating to me. (*I can roll my r’s when I’m laying flat on my back…yeah I don't understand it either)
• Quokka’s are my favorite animals
• We have 3 cats: Leo, Theo, and Luna

What to Expect

Expect a delightful mix of style, wellness, travel, and interior design posts. I'll be sharing my current obsessions, personal stories, beauty routines, travel diaries, and interior design projects. In the words of Maya Angelou, "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." Thank you for joining me on this journey. Here's to thriving, laughing, loving, and living a rarely ordinary life together!