I’m grateful for so many things in this life and I just wanted to take time to make a quick gratitude list. I hope you’re able to take time to count some of your blessings today too. 🤍✨
Describe your ideal week.
As much as I do enjoy my job, I can tell you that my ideal week does not include going to work. Instead, my ideal week would look more like a vacation, or staycation depending on the location.
The week would include slow mornings where there is no rush to get out of bed, but once I’m up I’d be able to just step outside and absorb some sunlight. Preferably on a beach or some secluded area without any whack ass neighbors LOL.
The week would include delicious food, stimulating conversations, and overall great company. I always love when my fiancé and I get to connect with our friends and enjoy a nice meal or an outing together. Whether it’s grabbing breakfast together or going on a walk, the week would be full of simple joys.
Considering that I absolutely LOVE concerts, my ideal week would have to include at least one show and that would ideally be Qveen Herby. I just saw her in July and I was thoroughly impressed by her talent and the performance she put on, and 10/10 want to see her again.
I love traveling, even if it’s just a 1-2 hour trip to a new destination. If this ideal week is a staycation, then it’s going to have to include a weekend trip to the Dells! I absolutely love water parks and arcades like a child I am deep down, and it would be so fun to have a group of friends all go together!
This prompt has me getting excited for our wedding/honeymoon that is coming up here in the next few weeks, because all of our closest loved ones are joining us for our beach destination wedding! We get to have a day after with our closest friends to celebrate our marriage and just enjoy each other’s presence.
Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.
I respect the athletes who don’t lie, don’t cheat, and who have true passion for their sport, rather than feeling like it’s an obligation or job. I literally do not watch sports, so I don’t really have any athletes that I admire or know enough about LOL
How do you relax?
Relaxing for me is being in comfy clothes, no makeup on, chilling at home with nowhere to be. Whether I am sitting and writing, or I am laying in bed watching Love is Blind UK, I love just being in my own home.
If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
It would probably be a swear word since I definitely find myself using those too often. As much as I’d love to give up the “F” word, I find it so versatile LOL 😂
Actually, scratch that- I’d give up the word “should,” because it is annoying. “I should be doing xyz,” or “it should be done this way,” or really any time we use should, who is to say that we “should” or “should not.” I feel like it gets used a lot in a shaming way for me, like “I should have gone to the gym” or “I should be doing laundry,” but really I could shift that to a more positive framing. I’ve read/heard about changing it to “I have the opportunity to go to the gym,” or “I get to do laundry in my own house,” and kinda shifting the mindset. So yeah, I guess I’d get rid of “should.”
Are you holding a grudge? About?
I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m holding a grudge, because to me that feels like it’s something I consistently think about or give this angry, resentful energy towards someone or something. I don’t feel that way, but if someone has disrespected me and there has been no repair or apology, that is something I don’t forget.
I can forgive, mainly because I know that nothing is really personal and people do things based on their own self perception, but it’s not something I will just forget. I feel like it is important to remember when people show you who they are, and just adjust how you spend your time and energy accordingly.
Back to work today after a refreshing few days off! This weekend got to see our friends’ new home and celebrate their recent engagement, and we also had our other close friends over with their kids and enjoyed some dinner! Yesterday my fiancé and I did some rearranging between his office and the living room, and honestly we were very pleased with the results. Today my digestive system seems to be upset with me and I am wondering if it is just the poor food choices this weekend or if it was specifically the WingStop from yesterday- but either way, I am back at work and ready for a nice, short week!
What does your ideal home look like?
My ideal home is likely a light brick or maybe just a light grey house with a black garage and black shutters. Ideally we have a nice, covered porch that I could enjoy sitting on no matter the weather. I see a three-car garage with a big driveway, as well as a decent sized front yard, however it doesn’t compare to the large back yard.
As much as I think I’d love a fenced in porch, I also have this dream of having so much land in between me and my neighbors that it just wouldn’t be necessary. We would also have a nice deck with a hot tub and some nice patio hammock chairs. We’d have a fire pit out in the yard with plenty of seating around it for fun nights with family and friends. I also would have a dedicated area for gardening and leave room for the chicken coup I hope to have one day!
Inside our home, it is freshly painted a light grey color for the main living spaces, and lined with that cool brown wood flooring throughout the house, with the occasional huge area rugs placed in living room, bedrooms and basement. I picture the living room, the kitchen, dining area, and a separate reading room/office all on the main floor, along with a half bathroom. I also see a mud room/laundry room duo which will be nicely organized.
We have an open concept kitchen with black appliances and accents that beautifully complement the white colored cabinet, and we finally have a fridge where we can get ice and water on the door. We have a separate dining area with room to seat 10-12 people, incase we ever feel like hosting for the holidays. In this room we have a nice window to see outside, so we can appreciate the view.
Upstairs we have a loft, which is set up to be a fun, chill area. We have a mounted TV and a comfy sectional with our games and movies organized on shelves. Ideally we also have a window up here that will open up so we can enjoy listening to the outside world.
Also upstairs we have a master bedroom with bathroom, two smaller bedrooms, and a separate bathroom with a tub and shower combo. Ideally the bedrooms will be for each of our two future children, and they will hand to share that common bathroom. As for our master bedroom, we would have a ginormous walk in closet with built in drawers and extra organization.
The master bathroom would have a large jet tub and an even larger shower with two shower heads on opposite sides of each other. We’d have shelving built into the shower for our soaps/shampoos and we would also have the ability to sit so it’s easier to shave my legs LOL. We would have his and hers sinks with plenty of storage underneath, and a nice linen closet for all of our towels and extra shower supplies.
As far as the basement, it would definitely be finished. Ideally it could serve as a wellness area, focused on fitness and meditation. I’d love to have a wall that is all mirrors and we could have an epoxy floor which we would also do in our garage. We would also have storage area down there with an extra fridge and ideally another half bathroom.
For now, we are grateful to be in our lovely townhome. It suits us well for this life we are living, and as fun as it is to dream about our ideal home, I have to acknowledge that right now we are living one of the very dreams I had as a young girl. I live with a respectful, caring man who loves me for me, and I get to marry him in exactly one month!!! Just as this dream is coming to fruition, I know that our ideal home is out there waiting for us, and it will be ready when we are. Until then, I am grateful for this wonderful life, and I am so happy that I am present to enjoy it.
✨ w e l c o m e S e p t e m b e r ✨
may your September bring you peace, love and abundance. may you feel lighter and warmer as we enter into the fall season. may all of your worries fade away, and may you make room for the incredible opportunities that await you. may September treat you better than you expect it to. 🤍
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
Since this year is my wedding year, I feel like I’ve been crying more tears of joy than I have in my lifetime. From trying on the dress for the first time, to visualizing walking down the aisle and up to the altar, the tears have been flowing steadily.
I used to hate my sensitivities as how often I cried at everything, but now when I find myself getting emotional, I meet myself with love. Although it can feel exhausting when I feel pain and sadness very deeply, it is absolutely incredible when I feel joy and love at that same depth.
This year I have found myself sitting in those moments of pure joy, and just allowing the tears to flow. Then when I actually think about my growth/progress with my mental health, the tears just flow faster. I used to feel so empty and numb, feeling like nothing in life would ever be enough, and that is no longer my reality.
Crying is honestly one of my favorite things about being a human, because it is sooo relieving. I’ve had those days/weeks/months of grieving losses throughout the years, and as much as I felt like I’d never ever be able to stop, I never held them back. So what if I cried everyday for months? I wasn’t going to shame myself for how much love I had for someone.
Love is a beautiful thing, and we all deserve to be well loved… especially by ourselves. I am leaning more and more into love and this journey has brought many tears of happiness along the way. I am so proud of who I am today and how dedicated I have been to the journey. I have talked about having my emotions basically turned off with medications, and that experience has made me appreciate my feelings and sensitivities so much more.
I am grateful to have access to therapy, as I continue to learn about and understand myself, it makes it easier to love myself. I am also grateful for podcasters/authors like Mel Robbins and Dr. Nicole Lepera, as they give resources for self-help and share their own experiences in a meaningful way to help others grow and be their most authentic selves.
Life is a wild ride, full of every single emotion you could ever imagine, and I am prioritizing joy wherever I can. We never know when life will end for us or those around us, so take this time we have now to let your loved ones know they’re loved by you. Spend time with the friends who you can be your full self around and where you’re laughing 70%+ of the time.
We are all going to cry tears of pain and sadness in this lifetime, which is why I embrace and enjoy the tears of joy when they come. I am blessed to be here in this moment, and I am so grateful for where I am today.
finding light in the dark 