pretend

This is what I love for the fall season…

1. The best part about these pair of boots is the emblem. So pretty and simplistic, yet makes a big statement because it's gold. 

2. I love this idea of taking really nice paper, typing up the menu you're serving at a party, and making it your napkin/silverware holder. This time of the year is full of get togethers and I am thankful for them. 

3. This dress, you might not be able to tell, is all lace. So delicate looking. 

4. I like the style of layering simple bracelets. I haven't pulled it off myself yet, but definitely plan on trying this season. If it doesn't look good I can just slip my sweater sleeve right over them. 

5. Pumpkin Spice Latte: I like two coffees in this wonderful world, this is one of them.

6. Recently I decided to stop biting my nails when I get nervous and as a reward, every two weeks I go to a nail salon to paint my new longer and stronger nails. This is the color I always go for. It looks so classy and when they chip you can't tell as much as if I had put on a darker color. 

Always be proud of what you love. If you don't love the new style of shoes one season, for example, how do you know the people who own them really love it themselves? Are they just wearing them because of popularity? I'd rather just focus on finding things I love and forming my unique style. Who knows, maybe one day all those people pretending to love things, will pretend to love my things. 

relax

Today is Saturday.

Time to relax and have fun with my family. For work, I sometimes have to do things on Saturday but this is the first weekend in a while I'm not traveling or working. It's weird to wake up and not know what I'm going to do. I was going to say it's weird not having a to-do list, but within two hours there will probably be one stuck on my laptop {whoever says to-do lists are only to write down work related things is totally wrong}. 

On my spare time, since now I have it I've been spending it watching some speeches on….

Link

It's a website comprised of different speeches ranging from the informative to persuasive. I personally like the "inspiring" tab since I love listening to speeches that motivate me. I sometimes think after I watch a speech that made a difference in my mind, where I'd be if I hadn't watched it. For example, if I watch Steve Jobs' famous motivational commencement speech, I am filled with joy and a yearning to live my life to the fullest. Then I think "wow, how would my day have gone if I would've just chosen to watch tv or sit around and not watch this speech?" This makes me want to take opportunities and go out of my way to show myself motivational things. 

In other news, I've decided what I'm giving to family friends for Christmas presents. Don't worry I won't reveal much because I like secrecy with presents. As for my own list, it's not that long: a new cell phone and a bike. Does that make me sound 16 or what!? 

Here is a hint of the present…

I'm excited to give this present and it definitely matches my personality. 

I love to think of everyone's presents super early because it is such a relief to know I have it all done while I watch frantic procrastinators rush through the store trying to see if their present ideas are still even available. I am no procrastinator! 

writing

When I'm not in a phase of laziness, writing takes up a lot of my time. 

I have a journal to record my innermost thoughts {I write mostly positive since I want my kids to read this one day}.

I write a post-it daily on what things I need to accomplish. 

I write thank you notes and just thinking of you notes and send them in the mail. Let me tell you something, people still appreciate getting letters in the mail. 

Catch the pattern of writing? It's such a beautiful thing and I believe in it so much because I didn't use to write in English. When I learned the new language I realized the importance of being able to communicate effectively and really appreciate words! I sound dorky. Whatever. 

My new two obsessions with words are quotes and making lists. So with further ado, here are my current lists to complete: 

I am so excited for Christmas I can't contain it. I'm starting my Christmas wish list as well as my "giving" list. No revealings yet of what will go on these. 

And as for quotes: 

I'm OBSESSED with this one right now. For me to stay positive, I need to constantly work on it. That means reading quotes, listening to upbeat music, and mentally coaching myself all day. I have my setbacks sometimes, and the littlest things can set me off, but little note cards like this help tremendously. This quote comes from a book my sister gave me last year for my birthday that has a new quote for every day. Tomorrow's lesson:

I have the power to transform the mediocre into the magnificent. 

cinnamon

When I posted this picture on Facebook...

… people  loved it. I made these cupcakes because I genuinely love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The cinnamon powder and crunchiness get to me, and this cereal is clearly my favorite.

Since I eventually want to make a business out of cupcakes, I can't reveal too much of the recipe. But I can show you in pictures.

These were so much fun to make and I can't wait to make many more batches.

On another note, I woke up this morning feeling positive. This might seem out of the ordinary of what others tend to feel, but I like Mondays. They are a promise of new things in a new week. It gives you a chance to start over and make it better than the last week. Each day is another chance God gives us to live our best life. Take the chance!

I try to read a positive affirmation book my sister gave me with daily notes and todays states:

I greet each moment with hope.

How fitting for a Monday. 

verse

Every now and then as I'm reading a book, blog,  or article I come across a verse I absolutely love. Today I was skimming a post over at Jones Design Company and came across this beautiful verse. I'll admit I have a problem comparing myself to others. It's a constant struggle I try to deal with and I have to say over the years I've gotten so much better at honoring myself and loving who I am. I'm almost 100% there!

At this point now, I don't compare myself too much to anyone anymore. It feels so liberating and it makes my own decisions great since I'm not taking the time to make sure everyone is okay with it. I'm at the age where I need to make huge decisions and it is so important that I learn not to depend on other's opinions and copy them before I end up living a grown up life that isn't even mine! I'm telling you, try today not to look at others in a way of jealousy or spite. Look within yourself at how wonderful you are!

Here is the verse:

“Stop comparing yourself to other people. When you compare yourself to others, you end up either feeling that you’re better than they are, or feeling bad about yourself. Neither of those things is what I want for you.

I created each of My children with unique talents. And I have given each of you your own road to follow. So it is useless to compare yourself to someone else – that person has a completely different path to follow.

When you want to feel good about yourself, remember how much I love you. Remember that I made you just the way I want you to be. And remember that I died so you could have My salvation. You are a jewel in My crown.”

So, what's been going on in my own life? 

 I've been admiring nature.

Using this experience as a catalyst to truly enjoy life and realize that any day something could happen with my health.

Sending Tyler cute lists about men, love, and life.

Doing crafts! Wow, I did not know how much a craft could make me happy. I bought a stamp set from Michael's and I am constantly using their coupons to build up my craft space. It's so nice to know that a lot of things in my room I made and that whenever I give a note, card, or present, that it took effort to make it and truly came from the heart.

Tyler and I went on a day trip to Savannah last time he came to visit and boy did we have fun. I have just as much fun here as I do in a place like Orlando where things are built especially for fun. Savannah is beautiful, historic, unique, and full of people. It's a wonderful atmosphere and only two hours away! Tyler says his next goal is for us to take a food tour {better start exercising now}.








As for cooking, I haven't done a lot. But a couple of days ago I made cinnamon toast cupcakes and they were really good. I'm not trying to brag at all here, but I gobbled some up and am so happy to know one of my favorite cereals can be incorporated into my favorite thing to bake. 

One of my friends told me I should start selling them. If you've been a reader of my blogs for a while, you know I've thought about this before. I haven't delved into the endeavor yet, but no worries because I have done the first step {researching} towards figuring out if a little cupcake business is worth it. I don't have a lot of hours in the day with work and school so I have to make sure I can do it! 


Happy Thursday. May you go out into your day loving yourself and being happy. 

man

Men function so differently. Since I didn't grow up with brothers, I don't quite know their way of thinking but having a boyfriend answers a lot of my questions. For me, if you meet the 5 things above and you can keep up with a conversation, we're okay. Some days will be difficult, but some will be the best.

positivity

Ever so often I relax to the point that my mind wanders and an epiphany arises. I'll admit the usual epiphany that enters my mind is "wow, life is short and I only have one." It sends me into a motivational spiral, sending me to the best sources on happiness, success, and overall life strategies. 

The most recent epiphany I had let me to the Positivity Blog. One word: obsessed. I actually came across it while researching for a workshop I'm creating for the students at work. As I researched, the epiphany arose and my yearning to suck all of the positive information from this site grew. 

Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed reading all of these tips because I want to remember them all. I wish my mind were a sponge that can just hold all of these tips in. Out of all of the things I read, I think this is a great way to start off learning more about positivity: 

4 common roadblocks of being positive 

1. Being surrounded by negativity

2. You think you have to be optimistic 100% of the time 

3. You get stuck because of the benefits of negativity

4. You don't exercise, which helps the mind. 

Before you make a change towards bettering your mind, you need to understand why it is you make negative choices. If you don't know why exactly you think the way you do, then when you work on yourself you'll just be covering the negativity, but it'll still be there below all the new things. Once you understand the reasoning behind why you do what you do, even the bad, you can start changing that instead of just reading a book about positivity and hoping the words fly out of the book and change you. 

For example, you tend to be negative and realize that when people console you, you really enjoy it. Then you think to yourself "maybe I think negatively so people can pay attention to me and console me." The problem doesn't end up being negativity as much as it is an attention issue. Which leads you to ponder "why do I want attention?" At the end of the conversation with yourself, you might realize that the reason you're negative sometimes is because you want some attention to help your self esteem or de-stress you. If you figure this deeper problem out, you can work towards that in a positive manner and form a habit of learning more about yourself as well as your habits. 

In the end this is a process on improving yourself. So get to know everything that makes you tick. It'll make all your hard work on improving that much more worthwhile and authentic. Learn a lot but most importantly, have fun!