Categories
Fabulous living

What I’m Thankful For

Hello everyone! Happy Wednesday! If you are able to enjoy some time off around the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope the next few days are filled with delicious food, time with family or loved ones, making core memories and a time to rejuvenate.

After Thanksgiving, I know Christmas will be on the minds of many, if it isnā€™t already. Before Thanksgiving, I always like to take some extra time to reflect on my blessings and what Iā€™m thankful for.

I have so many things to be grateful for this year. I am so lucky to have a loving and supportive family with me. I love that I am able to work in my hometown and Iā€™m able to see my family every day. Thereā€™s no greater joy than coming home and enjoying a home cooked meal and talking about our dayā€™s. This year we have traveled to new places and visited old ones. One of the best things about this year was our time together from family dinners, to day trips and just conversations and laughs together. Thereā€™s nothing more special than time spent with family. I’m also grateful to my furbabies too!

A snapshot from our time spent at the beach this summer.
My favorite puppies!

Iā€™m grateful for my boyfriend brings out the best in me every day. He who pushes me to work my hardest and supports me in everything I do. From my job to my blog, heā€™s an incredible supporter. We have created so many wonderful memories from walks to adventures, trying new recipes and long drives. Our time together is one of the things I treasure most of all.

One of the many places we have got walking.

Iā€™m so lucky to have wonderful friends in my life. From friends from preschool, to high school friends and one from college. Iā€™m grateful that I have stayed in touch and continued to create memories with. From meeting halfway for dinners, to monthly facetime dates, walks and coffee hangs. As an adult, life can get busy so I try to make a point to put friendships first by checking in on friends when they have busy weeks, or making a suggestion for a favorite book or movie. I always love when I have friends who check in on me and support me and lift me up when I need an extra hand.

I’m grateful for a job that I love. I enjoy learning new things every day and being challenged and growing every day. I love being able to work and live in my hometown and make an impact every day.

A glimpse into some of the places my job takes me.

After illness being a topic of conversation for the past few years, I am so grateful for my good health, my familyā€™s health and my friendā€™s health. Waking up every day and being healthy is something I donā€™t take for granted. Life can get busy and our priorities can shift but reminding ourselves whatā€™s important is something we need to remind ourselves more.

Savoring the little moments in life, like fall drives.

Iā€™m thankful for all the challenging moments in life, for the long or stressful moments because it makes me stronger and makes me a better person. I know I wouldnā€™t be where I am today if it werenā€™t for the growing pains or the rollercoaster moments. All those little things got me to where I am today.

I am grateful for all the things that bring me joy! From curling up with a good book, to baking food for ones that I love, and enjoying heartfelt conversations with family and friends. Iā€™m grateful for how I feel when I finish a hard workout or a long walk. Iā€™m grateful for the satisfaction I feel when I prepare a meal or dessert for my family. Iā€™m grateful for the experience of getting lost in a book or a movie. Iā€™m grateful for resting after a productive day. Iā€™m thankful for seeing the sunrise every morning and watching it set. 

Finding hobbies like cooking and baking bring me so much joy!

Life is so precious and itā€™s made up so many little moments. At the end of the day, thatā€™s what Iā€™m most grateful for, all the moments, big and small. 

Feeling extra grateful this year!

Over the next few days, I hope you take the time to reflect on what you are most grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Categories
Fabulous living

Fall Semester Recap

Another semester has come and gone. Last week I wrapped on my third semester, by far it has been the busiest and most challenging one. In the past few short months, I took 19 credits worth of courses, started a new job, joined a Honorā€™s Society, and made many new friends. I grew as a person, and a changed in more ways than I thought. Back in August, someone told me, by the time Christmas rolled around I would be a different person than I was back in August, and boy they werenā€™t wrong.Ā  The top five things that had the biggest impact or that I learned this semester are:

– Heavy course load- I took more credits and classes this semester. It was a challenge to accomplish everything, but I did it. I found new places to study and made new friends in my classes. I learned so much and the courses I took helped point me in the right direction for what I want to do as a career. I also made the decision based on credits I brought in from high school to graduate early. I will be graduating college in December 2019, a semester early. Two years from Saturday I will be a college graduate, which is both exciting and nerve racking.

This is just a small peek into how I stay organized and on top of everything related to school.

I wouldn’t have survived my classes if it weren’t for these girls. Love them to pieces.–Ā 

– My new job. I took on a new job this semester and it has most definitely impacted me. I have more responsibilities and I had to step out of my comfort zone several times this semester. To be honest, this job has caused me stress, like any job does, but I have grown a lot this semester. I am more assertive and confident (well, thatā€™s something Iā€™m still working on). But, a lot of good has come from this job. I have met a lot of good people that I work with on a daily basis. People that started out as strangers are now some of my closest friends. Although, I am using this Christmas Break to catch up on some much need rest and relaxation, Iā€™ll be excited to start back again in January.

 

My new job has brought me both smiles and stress, like any job.

So blessed I met mt friend Liv through my job. She has been the best mentor and friend. I was told I would meet some of my best friends through this job and I’m so glad i met Liv.

– Try new things. I applied and got accepted into my collegeā€™s Honorā€™s Program. After a lot of persuading from both friends and professors, I decided to apply, and I got in. As a member of the Honorā€™s Program, I will be taking more rigorous courses, and I will be attending activities as a group. One activity I went to was an Opera performance of ā€œThe Marriage of Figaroā€, it was very well done and I was happy I made the decision to attend. I am excited to see what other things we do as a group.

A night out for the Opera.

– Letting Loose. Between school and my job, I worked a lot this semester, so when I had a weekend free, I took advantage of it with friends and family. I had movie nights with friends, went on trips to the city, danced the night away at semi formals, and headed home for a few weekends to spend time with family. I learned this semester there always must be a balance between work and fun. Thankfully, I had great friends who made sure I had fun even when I wasnā€™t always up for it. Even my friends from high school were always there if I needed a laugh or a pick me up. Ā Whether it was a night out or a chick flick night in, my friends and I knew how to have a good time.

My bestie Danielle and I before a Halloween Dance

A night out with Shay at semi formal. I have no idea where I would be without this girl. She truly is a forever friend.

A night out in the city to celebrate Christmas!!

– Self Care. With a busy semester, I learned how to take care of myself. Whether it was calling it an early night, working out at the gym,Ā  reading a new book, rewatching my favorite guilty pleasure on Netflix (hello, did someone say, Gossip Girl?!?!) , or even doing my nails. I learned that I am not helpful to anyone if I donā€™t take care of myself first. I am still learning to take care of myself. I will always try to say yes, but I need to learn to say no more. I over commit, and I try to please everyone. Towards the end of this semester, I learned to slow down more. That is something I plan to work on more for the spring semester.

Smiling is the easiest way to spread happiness. At the end of the day, all we can do is keep smiling.

Some days it felt like this semester dragged on, and other days, I can hardly believe it is already December! Overall, I had a successful semester. I learned a lot and I gained a lot. I canā€™t wait to see what next semester has in store for me. Until thenā€¦.xoxo