Search Results for: thinking out loud

The Choices You Make When Life Gets Tough

December 15, 2016

Have you ever met someone that seems to make life so hard for themselves? It’s like they are actively trying to see just how bad they can screw up. I don’t think that anyone would consciously make the decision to sabatoge their life but I do it to myself time and time again. You would think that at some point I would learn a lesson and decide “Hey maybe just maybe I should take a different path”. It’s a horrible cycle, but I have to believe that it can be broken. If you don’t have hope then you have nothing.

When things go terribly wrong you have 2 choices….

You can wallow in your mistakes, you can be a victim, you can beat yourself up, you can give up and decide that nothing really matters.

You can decide that those choices will not define you. That you can get past it. It may not be easy, it may take a long time but you can move forward one hour at a time. Then one day at a time until maybe one day it doesn’t take up so much space in your mind and in your life. You can decide to be the best YOU that you can be. You can refocus your attention on things that will bring you closer to the person that you know you are. You can remind yourself to never give up on YOU. You have to fight for yourself, you have to believe in yourself. You have to move forward even if you are not sure how… I really believe that ability to move forward is the defining difference. The difference between letting something crush you or make you stronger. I want to choose the later.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

I’m joining Amanda this morning for Thinking Out Loud

What I Want My Life To Look Like In 2017

January 5, 2017

As I am staring 2017 straight in the face I’m really not sure what it will hold or what I will bring to it. I feel like I am at such a crossroads in my life. I can see what I want it to look like, I’m just not sure how to get there, or maybe how best to get there. There is a part of me that just wants to run off to an island, totally isolated, not worrying about all the trivial things that sometimes preoccupy so much of my mind. Would that work, would all my troubles disappear…probably not, but it’s a nice thought sometimes. So what can I do…

A Year of Simple Living

I do know that I want to structure my life in a way where I actually enjoy whatever it is that I am doing. I want to be present and focused. I want to develop a habit of staying in the moment. I want to wake up every morning and feel grateful for another day.

I want to look whoever I am talking to in the eye and give them my full attention instead of worrying about all the other things I “need” to be doing. I don’t want to be thinking about how I am going to answer them, I want to just listen. How nice would that be?

I want to focus on single-tasking instead of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking leads to stress, it divides our focus and causes us to lose the ability to live in the moment.

I want to appreciate nature. I want to look at the sky, watch the squirrel look for a nut it buried last month. Stop and listen to the wind, feel it on my skin.

I want to slow down and savor my food, you know actually sit down and eat it instead of standing at the counter cleaning up the dishes while I’m trying to eat my lunch. I want to taste it, really taste it. I want to be mindful of my food, where and how I am eating it.

I want to live a better quality of life with less stress. Life can be so much more than just getting through another day. Life can be an amazing adventure.

I think this quote by Abraham Lincoln sums it up best. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Thanks Amanda for letting me think out loud.

5 Things Making Me Happy #8

December 19, 2014

We are another week closer to Christmas and I hope you all have been having a festive and merry time! Have you all been watching lots of Christmas movies?? I would like to say that I have been but I really haven’t. I check the listings everyday to see what’s coming on and have really been disappointed. I mean most of the “newer” Christmas movies are just ridiculous. It seems that the ones that I really like are rarely shown. Boo! Anyway I’ve still been having a great week and here are a few of the reasons why….

1. Our Christmas Card

Front

Back

Back in the days before I had 2 little girls, I always made sure my cards were sent out by December 1, or at least sometime during the first week of December. Last year it just did not happen, we had to send out New Year Cards instead, but we got our act together this year and all of our cards have been sent out, Yay! Also I love how they turned out. I had lofty goals for us all to be in it, but we ended up just taking pics of the girls. 🙂

2 Instagram

Who would have thought that Instagram could bring people together, but I have formed several friendships that would have otherwise never have happened if not for IG! Not to mention I gain inspiration in the food, beauty, and fashion category! Are we Insta friends yet?

3. Chocolate Mint Tea

This stuff is magical! It is like dessert in a cup! Bonus, whenever I make it the entire house smells amazing. Harney & Sons has several other varieties I want to try as well.

4. This recipe … I kind of have a thing for pasta and this meatless recipe is a perfect way to get all your veggies in!

5. Movie Dates during the week!

My mom came over to watch the girls while Jim and I went to the movies to catch Horrible Bosses 2 before it left our theater. It was hilarious and even better than the first one! Oh and I may have a small crush on Jason Bateman. 🙂

Disclosure: Some 5 Things Making Me Happy posts may contain affiliate links. I appreciate your help in supporting this blog!

I’m linking up today with Heather, Katie, and Clare!

What has been making you smile this week?

A Little Road Trip

June 10, 2013

On Wednesday we decided to take a quick trip to Charlotte, NC but first stopping by the Oulet Mall in Gaffney, SC on the way. Our main reason for stopping at the Outlets was to check out Pottery Barn to see if they had a gray and white rug that would work in our living room. As it turns out they did have one gray and white rug that was the right size (8×5). I loved it! The only problem was that when you looked at it closely you could see a yellow/brownish color mixed in with part of it. The rug did not have a price on it so I asked how much it was and also showed them the discoloration on it. The rug was priced at $199 but they took half off since there was a problem with it. So for $100 we walked out with an awesome rug that looks great in our living room. Once I vacuumed it you can not see the spots at all unless you were on your hands and knees with a magnifying glass. Yay!

This is just where I laid it out to vacuum it. It looks perfect in our living room with our gray sectional!

While we were at the Outlets I stopped by Gap and purchased 2 tank tops and a cute necklace.

Then we grabbed a quick lunch and were on our way to Charlotte.

Our first stop in Charlotte was Dean & Deluca. We all picked out a sweet treat to eat there and we sampled some pasta sauce that was so good we had to buy a bottle of it and you can’t leave Dean & Deluca without buying some of their Chocolate Babka.

I picked out a Salted Caramel Cupcake. The icing was unbelievably good.

Jim decided on a piece of German Chocolate Cake.

and the girls shared a Butterfly cookie and they also managed to eat some of our treats too 🙂

Our Chocolate Babka and Pasta sauce.

Then we went to the mall and I had to stop in the container store. I spotted this little basket and thought it would be perfect for my little treat basket! I think special snacks deserve a special spot. 🙂

My new favorite shoes are TOMS. I love them. I have a gray pair but ended up buying a red pair at Nordstrom while in Charlotte. They are so comfortable and you can wear them with almost anything. I’m thinking about getting a pair for the girls as well.

Saturday we went to the Farmer’s Market. Even though it had been raining the last couple of days, the weather was great today! For the kids they had Penske Touch a Truck. They had around 15 service vehicles on display for the kids to climb in and explore. It was loud with all the kids blowing the horns of the big trucks but they enjoyed it.

I was really hoping to buy some fresh salsa but the booth wasn’t set up today so maybe next week. I did buy some more Siberian Kale, I enjoyed it so much last week I had to get some more.

After we finished walking through the market we walked downtown for a little while. We enjoyed seeing the ducks and the waterfall.