For today's part of the May challenge, I've got a few of my favorite posts that I've done in the past.
My favorites right off the top of my head were the ones that featured the past year. There's only been two so far but they're definitely goodies. A Look Back: 2011 A Look Back: 2012
I figured out which flower is my favorite. It was so easy I don't know why I hadn't realized it before. These "popcorn balls," as I like to think of them, are only around for a short while after they bloom but every spring I find myself looking forward to them. We have a few of these bushes in the backyard of my parents house and I remember thinking once that when I got married it was going to be in the backyard right when these were big and white. They are just so perfect I wish they were around all year long.
That engraving up there? Those are my initials that I put there back when I was twelve. My friend and I were riding by and saw that it was wet so of course being the rebels that we were decided to inscribe our initials into the pavement. My friend said it was illegal so I left off my middle initial (just in case they could trace it back to me) and I won't tell you where this is (just in case they really can). But, I love that it's there. I stopped and admired it on our walk, showing the Gooch my proud markings as though I'd left a small piece of myself behind, proving that I belonged somewhere, even if it was just here in this little town.
Today is the farewell luncheon for one of my bosses. He has been one of my favorites so far and I'm really sad he has been reassigned. It's been a lot of fun getting to know him, talking to him and listening to his stories. He's such a kind man and has taught me, unknowingly, to embrace my complacent role. It is something that I've always struggled with and as I was sitting in his office for my annual review he simply said a few keys words and my mind was opened. I knew he was teaching me a lesson that I had been craving to learn. Suddenly it made sense as to why I was here and the true importance of my assignment. He changed my perspective and helped me learn to be grateful for who I am and my role as a woman.
--- Quote of the Day: Me: "This water tastes like a gym bag." AJ: "Really?"Me: "No not really." AJ: "We should name out kids awful, awful names."Me: "Okay!"
Today for the challenge, I am sharing something that I am struggling with right now.
Flat out, the thing I am struggling with the most lately and have been for the past few months are my own career aspirations. It may seem frivolous compared to cancer or something more life threatening but it's something I worry about regardless. I mean we're talking about the rest of my life here {insert deadpan stare followed by sarcastic laugh}.
For those who didn't already know, I currently work full-time as an executive secretary. How I wound up here in this position is a story of it's own but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and it is literally the best job I've ever had.
The question comes, "What do I want to do for the rest of my life?" and this is where the struggle comes in. As much as I enjoy my job, I am the type of person who always has their hands in several other cookie jars. I blog, and with my blog I cover a vast assortment of topics including, hair, makeup, fashion, recipes, my lifestyle at home, and many other things. I enjoy all of it. I could never narrow it down because I would get bored too quickly with only one topic.
Add on top of that the fact that I tutor twice a week, a sixth grader and occasionally an 8th grader, and I volunteer for my church during the week and on the occasional weekend. All of this is to say that I keep myself busy and yet still struggle with knowing what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Sure, I wish my blog could grow a little bigger a littler faster. I would love to work from home and do all these things that I do as hobbies and in my spare time as a full-time job but in my case, slow and steady wins the race; that is how I'm handling it. I'm sure in the future my life will take some different turns, like when we start our family, but for now I'm trying to handle it day by day. Waking up every morning to go to work, planning posts for this blog in my down time, spending my evenings tutoring and volunteering as a youth leader.
Yet, despite my own struggles (or goals as I like to see it) when it comes to my daily life and career aspirations, I'm taking it slowly. Reading other's tips and tricks, keeping up on the newest trends, practicing my hand at new makeup and hair styles, taking it step by step, slowly figuring out what my true interests are. All the while making sure that I am still loving it, enjoying every minute of it, because that is what's really important.
For today's topic in the Blog Everyday in May challenge, I am listing my five favorite blogs and what I love about them.
Marshall's Abroad
I love this blog so very much and always look forward to Amanda's posts. Besides her gorgeous photos and to-die-for recipes, I love her blog because she lives on Okinawa. When I first found her blog and ran through her older posts I started getting teary-eyed because memories from when I used to live there came rushing back to me. Whenever I would tell people I lived in Japan they wouldn't quite understand it's true beauty and how wonderful it was to live there. Amanda portrays Okinawa with such perfection that it's easy to see how it's a paradise. It's so gorgeous and the people there are so kind and sweet. Reading her blog is so wonderful because I can still enjoy a little bit of Okinawa and remember my experiences from when I lived there.
Love Taza
If you've ever read Love Taza then you really don't need any explanation for this choice. If you haven't ever read Love Taza then go there now and you'll completely understand. Naomi literally has the cutest family in the world. Her little girl Eleanor and little guy Samson are so darn cute that you can't help but want a little family of your own; not to mention her husband and those bow ties. They seriously have their own little style and reading about their adventures around New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and now Chicago is just a ray of sunshine on a rainy every day.
Atlantic-Pacific
This girl has style. Hands down, that's really all you need to know. I found this blog a while ago, when she only had a couple thousand readers (I know, I'm a crazy stalker). Her blog has literally exploded since then and for good reason too. She just puts outfits together like it's second nature and it's truly amazing.
Cupcakes and Cashmere
This was one of the first blogs I ever found when I started following blogs. I've kept following it because I think it is truly amazing that Emily has made this her full-time job merely by blogging about the things she loves in life. I know a lot of other people do this too but for me Emily is the pioneer. Her pictures are so beautiful and her recipe posts are by far my most favorite. Jewelry is delicate, closets are perfect, stationary is clean, nails are painted, party planning is easy; she makes just living so peaceful, cozy, and happy. If there's anyone I look up to as a blogger it's Emily.
Yellow Bird
I chose this blog because this is Emma's blog and she is one of my best friends. Emma is my sister-in-law and I feel like we've become better friends in the past few months than in the last three years when she dated and married my brother. I love reading her blog because I enjoy hearing how she's doing and what adventures her little family is up to. Not to mention she's started writing about makeup and clothes and that is one of my weaknesses. I hope she continues to blog more and more because it's truly one of my favorites to read.
[P.S. That's a tv that we use as a second computer screen for netflixing.]
We had just moved to Okinawa, Japan and were living in the Hamagawa Lodge. I was only six years old and one night we decided to take a walk down to the seawall because we'd learned it was nearby and had never seen one before. The seawall was merely a cement wall separating the streets and houses from the ocean itself. When we got there we could stand up on the top of it and see out into the ocean but by then it had gotten so dark that we could hardly see anything at all. We were all sitting there, me, my dad, two brothers, and my little sister, when suddenly a huge wave came up and crashed over the top of the seawall drenching us in water. We all stood there shocked when just as quickly another wave came and crashed against the wall a little ways down. We sat and watched as my dad ran over to the spot trying to get as much of the wave splashed over him. Suddenly it became a huge game of running back and forth along the seawall trying to guess where the next wave would hit, listening to the water rushing in, and seeing who could get the most drenched. We were all racing back and forth, laughing and screaming with glee, bumping into each other trying to catch the next big wave. We had literally just landed in this strange and exotic place only a few nights before. Packed up our lives and moved to completely foreign streets, undiscovered cities, and unfamiliar people. We had no idea what we were doing or what this new place would be like but standing there on that seawall with my siblings and father soaking wet, laughing in the light of the street lamps, I knew this was going to be a place where a million new adventures were about to unfold and I couldn't wait.
What do you think of this new layout? I've had requests to explain what the photos are about so I thought I'd try this. New? You can follow me here (: ------ Quote of the Day: [Apologizing for the previous day] Me: "Yeah I get ornery about silly things. I just care too much. You're lucky you don't care as much as I do." AJ: "Care about what?" Me: "Just crap." --- Me: "You're always gonna be my number one friend. Well as long as you like me." --- AJ: "Have I ever made anything gross for you? Me: "No I don't think so." AJ: "I'll have to do that sometime. " --- Me: "Hey you're naked." AJ: "No I just don't have a shirt on." Me: "Ooooooh." AJ: "Cuz I'm a million degrees hot..... as opposed to a million degrees cold." --- Me: "Shoot, I left my phone at home." AJ: "Uh oh." Me: "It's okay, I don't really have anyone to text." AJ: "Oh poor baby." Me: "Hahaha, I didn't mean to sound snotty I just don't have to tell anyone anything."
For today's part of the May challenge, this is a favorite photo of myself on my first day of Kindergarten.
Just look at that outfit: new shirt and dress, matching pink socks and sandals, perfectly crimped hair (the crimper was pink), two evenly spaced barretts, perfectly poofed bangs, tiny stick on earrings, and a pink slap bracelet to top it off. I. had. it. together.
Man I loved that dress. I think I had wished it had pockets but it was perfect and I wore it as much as I could. I think this is one of the few days where my hair actually was crimped because my mom was always busy and I couldn't do it myself. I do believe my dad did it for me once and I remember he was so proud of himself for it.
Those bangs. I had those bangs all the way to 4th grade. I could never get the poof just right on my own so my mom always had to do it. That is what began my love affair with hairspray.
Thinking back on this photo, I don't think I'd ever been more excited for anything than my first day of kindergarten. I could not wait to go to school. I even had a new pink bike that I could ride to school so that was really the cherry on top of this whole awesomeness.
Have
you ever seen the 5-strand braid and wanted to learn how to do it? It’s really
just a simple weaving of the hair back and forth in an over under pattern. Just
follow these simple steps and you’ll quickly be on your way to learning the
cute and intricate 5-strand braid!
1. Begin by separating the hair into five strands.
2. Starting on the right side, take the two farthest strands and cross the right one over the left.
3. Drop the strand in your right hand and cross the one in your left hand under the next strand on the left.
4. Now drop the strand on the right and cross the original strand over the next one on the left.
5. Then drop that right strand and cross the original strand under the next one on the left.
See the over, under, over method?
Now begin the same steps but working in the opposite direction towards the right side. I’ve asked my model to hold our original strand (which is now the farthest left strand, to keep it out of the way).
6. Holding the furthest left piece out of the way, take the next two strands and cross the strand on the left under the strand on the right.
7. Now cross the strand in your left over over the next strand on the right.
8. Then cross the strand in your left under the farthest right strand.
9. Drop that strand (which is now the furthest strand on the right) and begin working in the opposite direction crossing the right strand under the left one next to it.
10. Then, cross the right strand over the next strand on the left.
11. Now, cross the right strand under the next strand on the left and continue this weaving, over, under, over, until you get to the bottom of the hair.
12. Secure the end with an elastic.
You’re done!
Sometimes braids are a lot easier to learn from watching a video, so if you’re still a bit confused, try watching this:
"Something difficult about your lot in life..." is the topic for today's part of the challenge.
At first I thought this would be a post regarding something I could complain about. As I thought about it more I narrowed it down to something that is difficult in my life but is not something I would complain about.
Why? Because I chose it. I chose to endure and overcome this difficulty.
What is it? It's flying. It encompasses every aspect of my life. It determines nearly every decision that I make and a lot of decisions that we make in our marriage.
I see marriage as a team and together we support each other's dreams, goals, and every aspect of our lives. AJ's dream and passion is flying and basically his life will not be complete until he accomplishes his goal of becoming a professional pilot.
It's hard and it's difficult but this is my difficult lot in life.
There are so many decisions to be made when it comes to a career path such as his. Where should he acquire his training and ratings? How will we pay for it? Should he go through the military? Should he go civilian and fork out a few ten grand? When can we start a family? How long will his ratings take to acquire? How soon will he have enough hours? How soon could he be hired by an airline?
It's a constant battle and a constant struggle to figure things out and agree on the same things. I try not to talk about it too often because I could talk the topic to death but it's great to hear his ideas and thoughts that I know he's planning on the side on his own.
I know that it'll all work out the way that it's supposed to. Things will fall into place and we'll go the route we're supposed to take. I have complete faith in that. I have to believe that or quite frankly I'd go insane.
In the end, after all the brainstorming and struggle, I am so grateful for AJ. I'm grateful for his ambition, his hard work that he puts into flying and I'm even more grateful that he has such a passion for it. I've never met anyone who is more dedicated to their craft than this man is to his. He does what he loves and he'll never work a day in his life.
