How's The Family?

My family and I are doing wonderfully! We have been able to see each other just about once a month which is wonderful when you all live in different states. Brooke is rocking her final year at Auburn. I cannot believe she will be graduating in May! My mom and dad have also been doing wonderfully. Today, I'm going to write about two adventures I went on with my family this past year!

To start for Spring Break, Brooke and I flew to Florida and visited Universal Studios for a few days! It was an amazing sister vacation and offered some much needed time to catch up. We also literally geeked out over Harry Potter World -- which I would highly recommend to any Potter fans out there. We grew up reading the books, watching the movies, and low key pretending we were wizards so it only made sense that a little trip to Harry Potter World would be on our list of things to do.

Some of my favorite moments about our trip to Universal Studios: 
(1) We stayed at Cabana Bay which was modeled off of a famous 1950s hotel. It was clean and the theme was displayed very well.
(2) Brooke and I found a little stoop to hang out on in Harry Potter world. When we were visiting FL it was 60 degrees every day -- when the weather forecasted highs of 70s and 80s. Naturally we did not pack sweaters and pants. So, any break from the cold and wind was lovely. Also having a butterbeer and listening to the HP soundtrack was MARVELOUS.
(3) CityWalk was really cool! There were so many great restaurants and it was a nice place to relax, soak up some sun, get a few drinks, and catch up. My family and I are big Parrot heads so Brooke and I really enjoyed having a cheeseburger in paradise at Margaritaville.

This past Father's Day I surprised my dad with tickets to Hershey Park. My family and I haven't been to Hershey Park in probably a decade or more so it was really nice exploring the park with them and showing them the new rides (side note... Josh and I go to Hershey every year since I'm only an hour from the park). It was a great weekend to catch up with my parents in the sweetest place on earth.

Happier You: April Review

So, April definitely wasn't the best month for the Happier You blog goals. I think I struggled holding myself accountable this month and will definitely be adding these family goals to May's agenda! Anyways, here is a review on how I did for April!

surprise someone... I did manage to go home and visit my parents and (sister) once in April. It wasn't really a surprise, but I think my family was happy that I got off work and could come down so maybe I surprised myself!?

call a relative 2x a week... this did not happen, which I feel really bad about! My goal was to call relatives outside of my immediate family and catch up. But, unfortunately the pressure of closing and other things just made this next to impossible.

friends are family too... This was probably the goal that I did succeed on! I spent a lot of good and quality time with my college friends and my co-workers. I went to visit a friend in Virginia and worked on leaving the office early to spend quality time with my co-workers!

plan a family trip... this did not happen, but I did map out when I am going to go home to visit my family in May. The month of May is really quiet at work, so I am going to take three days off during the week and visit the best family of mine. I'm hoping to plan a family dinner while I'm home and cook up something scrumptious for my family to enjoy.

So, that is a review of April. Definitely not my best month, and I'm going to create a chart to hold me accountable or put in my calendar when I'm going to call people so that way I never become "too busy" to call my family members!

Happier You: Family

Last weekend was Easter and I got to spend sometime with my mom and dad for a little while. This was the first Easter that my younger sister, Brooke wasn't home. Too be honest, it was definitely a really hard holiday. I missed Brooke so much and the whole holiday didn't feel the same with her not being there.

Brooke and I have been talking a lot about how important family is. I love that we have been talking more regularly and I'm really looking forward to her coming home from college and us sharing the same time zone.

All of this talk about family and seeing a lot of my family members this past weekend have set up April's goal for Happier You quite nicely. This month, I am focusing on FAMILY and truly embracing all of my different types of family that I have been blessed with.

surprise someone... Everyone loves a surprise! So, I'm hoping to conjure up a surprise for a special family member and make them feel truly special this April! If you have any ideas comment below ;)

call a relative twice a week... starting on April1st my goal is to schedule thirty minute blocks in my week to call two different relatives every week. Now, I know most of you must think this is really easy for me to do. But, with working the way I do and going to grad school my free time almost always consists from the hours of 10PM-1AM and that is way too late to be calling relatives. So, I'll have to block time between work and class. So, stay tuned family members :)

friends are family too... I think this will be one of the best goals for this month. I'm really looking forward to spending sometime with friends and treating them like family. I'm not exactly sure how this will pan out, but I'm really excited to shower some love on friends.

plan a family trip... whether I get time off to go on it or not I would love to plan a family trip for my family. It might only be a day or a weekend trip somewhere, but I would love the opportunity to plan something for my family of mine.

And that's it for April! It will be a very busy month. I just found out that I'm moving in May, so I'll have to start packing and prepping for the move. But, life is great and it will fly by!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I hope you are all enjoying this delicious and thankful holiday as much as I am. Today, marks day 26 of my grateful project and I have been doing pretty good! There have been some days that I have missed people, but I have been working hard on making up for it. I have sent cards, called family members, sent positive text messages and wrote thoughtful Facebook posts. And it has had an amazing affect on my life. Not only am I more grateful to everyone in my life, but I have also been spending more time evaluating who I spend most of my time on/with. When you work as much as I do it can be hard to balance calling your aunt and writing a letter to a friend. I love my work, but sometimes the hours are just not very supportive of a social life. 

However, one thing that I have been forgetting is that my work continuously challenges me to be self-aware. So, my grateful project kind of debuted through a variety of different programs. I have done two of my favorite thankful programs, which have really helped me think about everyone and everything I am grateful for. The first one, was my annual Thankful Tree -- where residents write on leaves what they are thankful for and enjoy some apple pie. The second was Thankful pumpkins -- where they write on orange strips and what they are grateful for coupled with some old fashioned coloring. It doesn't cost much (or really anything) to have your residents and friends reflect on what they are grateful for and it can be really flattering when someone mentions that they are thankful for you :) 

Anyways, blog world! I'm out. I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you enjoy this holiday. 

Give Thanks

So, now that November is underway I am going to work hard to appreciate this thankful month and try my best not to skip to December the giving month! So, I've decided to make a list of people who I am truly grateful for and do something nice for them during the month of November. My goal is to surprise them with a phone call, letter, or little treat to remind them that I truly appreciate them in my life.

 So, every day for the next month I have chosen 30 people to focus on! I thought it would be hard to choose 30 people to focus on... like do I even know 30 people? But, I realized that the hardest part was choosing only 30 people. So, as my calendar started to fill up with names... I started lumping people in to categories... like "RAs" or "Buddies."To help hold me accountable, I printed off two calendars (one for my office and one for my apartment). I also wrote notes on how I could appreciate these people the most. (I.E. some people may like a phone call or others might like a letter).

I try to be grateful for everyone, every day but sometimes life happens and I forget to call home as often as I should! Hopefully, this November I can bring joy to everyone in small ways!

Weekend Recap 6/15/15

Happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a great weekend and that this week is beautiful for y'all! This past weekend, I road tripped home with Josh and we (or me) were dropped in baby heaven, for my cousin Christina's baby shower! It was a great and memorable weekend. Full of MinuteClinic and family fun!

Friday

After spending most of the afternoon baking, I began the trek home! While driving, I got to talk to one of my old residents Cassandra and we caught up about life and how our summers are going! I then picked up Josh and we started heading down to my parent's house. When we got there we ate pizza and hung out with my Aunt Paula and mom as they ran around the house prepping for the baby shower! They seriously are crazy ladies when it comes to the party planning department. Who else's mom is a champ party planner?

I took a little decoration break and opened up some mail! Check out that diploma, woohoo!!

After all of the decorating had ended for the night and the Orioles pretty much beat the Yankees, Josh and I headed for a night swim! I have barely been swimming all season and the pool was so warm and refreshing. What wasn't refreshing... was the little buggies were swimming with, oh well!

Saturday
 Josh and I spent the morning at the MinuteClinic (his ears were clogged) and then running errands. I also got into a fight with a self-check out machine. After the Store Manager assured me everything would be fine and I had a couple gulps of my raspberry lemonade, I calmed down! When we got home all of the baby shower preparations were in full swing.

The shower was awesome! My mom hosted it for my cousin and she did a great job planning the event. We played "Don't Say Baby" with clothespins, measure the belly with yarn, Family Feud, and gifts BINGO. Other activities included: advice cards, write a message on a diaper, and pick the delivery date! Christina is having twins, so the party was covered in pink baby fun!

While I was at the baby shower, Josh took my dad to the Orioles Game! They have never been to a game before and when they got home they were smiling ear to ear. I guess that's what happens when they have a boy night and the Orioles beat the Yankees!

Sunday
Josh and my dad didn't get home until almost midnight and because I time laundry very poorly, Josh and I were up super late! But, I loved hearing about the game and the stories those two swapped. Sunday morning, Josh and I were two sleepy cats!

#sleepyfaces

But, after a little Dunkin Donuts and a nice country drive to his team's baseball field we were ready to take on the day!  I didn't stay for both of his games, but Josh was the lead off batter and I got to watch him hit the ball to a hole in the outfield and score a run! After some nice sun tanning and before my precious flowers / food (grocery shopped at home) could spoil, I packed up my picnic blanket and headed on home.

Love these beauties! 

It took awhile to get home because I had to take a few detours, but once I got all unpacked I turned on ABC Family and started setting up some things I brought back from home. I managed to do all of my laundry while I was at home, which is really nice because I can start this week of with barely any chores!

I have a really large entertainment system!

I spent the rest of the night, writing my staff's expectations, watching Harry Potter & The Hunger Games (thanks ABC Fam), chatting with Josh, and prepping my veggies and extra stuff for this work week. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week because it's orientation week. Although I'm not pumped to wake up at 5:30AM every morning, I can't wait to learn how orientation works here and to learn more about Student Affairs!

15 Moments In Life I'd Go Back To

Since graduation is getting so close, I keep spending so much of my time reflecting on life and the experiences that I have had! One things for sure, I have been so incredibly blessed with the life I have been given. God is good and I'm grateful to him for sending people into my life, that I don't always deserve. 

Today, I'm blogging about 15 Moments in Life I would go back to. It's kind of like a TBT post for my High School and College life. I loved writing this post and I hope you all enjoy it :) The events are all in order and some are specific and some are general!

All of the retreats I went on in High School! I'm so thankful that I went to a Catholic High School that promoted development of a student's faith and self! Every retreat I led or went on were truly inspirational and helped me connect with so many people.

When Juneau was a baby! I crave the days when we got her and she would cuddle up in my arms and sleep for hours! / I totally miss that navy blue scarf. It has been missing since my Freshmen Year of College and it was my favorite scarf. Hopefully, I'll find it when I move to PA in May!

All of the parties! Since I lived a little over a half hour from the majority of my friends when people would come over they would usually carpool and bring a whole group of people! I loved this and really enjoyed all of the mini-parties we had. TGIF Frozen Mozzarella sticks were always a huge hit!

The XBSS Retreat in Connecticut! My High School sent 10 student representatives and me and a couple close friends were chosen to go. At the retreat we met a bunch of students like us from different High Schools and it was amazing. Such a great trip and I have so many fond memories. 

 Graduating from High School. The day itself was kind of long and exhausting, but knowing that I had achieved something great was a wonderful feeling. I loved High School and it was nice concluding my four years with a bunch of friends surrounding me. 

 My first year of college, I held an event 'Dodgeball for Cameroon' which was a fundraiser for a sister school my organization, EJS (Educators for Justice Society) had. We ended up raising over two hundred dollars (can't really remember) had 6 different teams and everyone had a ball. Strangely, when I look back at this picture, half of those people were strangers that I later became great friends with! It's weird how things like that work in life and I hope it keeps happening. 

 Habitat for Humanity. I had never gone on a week long service trip before and it was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I got to help out on a huge project that would impact someone's life forever. I met a lot of cool people and also got to explore Downtown Wilmington, where one of my favorite shows One Tree Hill was filmed. Talk about a great Spring Break!

 My friend Caitlin and I drove up to Philadelphia after our Freshmen year to see our favorite singer, Ingrid Michelson perform. I think we paid $20 for the tickets and she performed at the Electric Factory. Back then, not many people knew of Ingrid songs so it feels weird hearing her on the radio and seeing posts from people saying they love her so much! I'm so glad her career has taken off. She was truly monumental singer my Freshmen year of college... just ask my old roommate, Hannah (I would listen to her on repeat for hours and hours and hours- haha sorry!)

 Growing up we always took beach vacations and in High School we would always go to Duck, NC with a bunch of family friends. These were probably some of my favorite trips growing up and I always loved spending the week with some of my favorite girl friends and getting sun!

I also went to Maine, with Chad's family a few times! I love Maine. I love the crisp air, the green trees, the Life is Good stores that are everywhere, the mom and pop Lobster Roll stands, and the cute little towns. I haven't been to Maine in over two years and I'm really craving some time there! Hopefully one day I can take my kiddos there so they can fall in love with the state too. 

 Duke TIP played an influential role in my college summer experiences. After my Sophomore and Junior years I went down to Texas and worked on the residential side of the program. I met some of the greatest people, gained a significant amount of weight, and had so many unique experiences. Everything is bigger in Texas and I loved traveling around the state and seeing different things and tasting a ton of different food. I wish I could work for TIP this year, but alas big girl job comes first. However, I can always start recruiting some new residential counselors who would fit the TIP program perfectly! Hopefully, TIP won't be out of my future forever!

 So, chick-fil-a is my favorite fast food restaurant! My sophomore year of college, my friend Alex told me about the First 100 Challenge that a new Chick-Fil-A offers... and we did it! We went down to the Rockville, MD location and camped out for 24 hours in the parking lot while it rained. Our tent wasn't very waterproof, but we made due by the charity of other people who thought to bring tarps and we had a blast. We also were fed chicka for 24 hours straight, which was too good to be true!

Meeting this man! I have dated a bunch of different guys... but, Josh is by far the kindest and smartest person I know. He is genuinely sweet and we have been able to do so many fun things while we have been together. He even reads this blog on his own! I feel like when you date a blogger, you have to know that you will most likely (a) have to read and proofread posts (b) take tons of photos (c) listen to updates on the blog world, etc. But, Josh has taken to it well and cares about Radiating Sunshine.

Salzburg... and Europe in general! I loved going to Europe over the summer and if I could go back and relive those moments I totally would. I want to share those experiences with Josh, friends, and family. I really miss gelato and the fresh food. I miss the architecture and the beautiful weather. So, yeah I would definitely go back to Europe and would so do it again. 

 All of the adventures I've had with these too (Jamaica, Beach, & Camping Weekend). When I was going through my photos, I kept stumbling upon Amanda and DJ and all of the fun places we have been. Josh and I have reflected about this past year and we both agree Camping Weekend (even though we could barely light a fire because of the green wood) was by far one of our favorite weekends. We hiked, we ate food, we played rummy. Ahh what's not to love!

So, there you have it! 15 moments in life that I would totally go back to if I could... but, luckily for me I know that thanks to all of the beautiful and wonderful people in my life I know I will be able to have even better moments in the future. Happy Thursday :)

Just Juicin'

So, last week when I was home my dad christened me into the juicin' clan! My mom and him have been on this juicing kick. They bought themselves this fancy juicer and now they juice everything... kale, spinach, flax seeds, apples, carrots, bananas, you name it they juice it. 

Now, I was a little skeptical when my dad pulled out this kale-spinach-ginger juice but, it was actually pretty good. He then taught me how to operate the juicer and I made my own little creation. 

He has been doing a lot of research on vegetables/fruit and how healthy they are for various reasons. So, I chose apples, carrots, strawberries, and blueberries. 

So, how does it work? 

We prepared the fruit (de-core the apples & de-stem the strawberries). Then we washed them because washing fruit and vegetables is always a good idea. In college, I have met a lot of people who don't do that and I always respond with a mouth and eyes wide open in disgusted-amazement kind of way. Anyways, if that is their prerogative then I won't get on any soapbox.

After the fruit/vegetables are ready to go, you then begin juicing. With my parent's juicer, we just dropped the fruit/vegetables into the mouth of the juicer and then pushed the fruit down. On one side the excess of the food went out and on the other side the juice poured into the container.

I know it looks a little gross but, I promise it was delicious. Plus, it is such a yummy way to get your daily servings of fruit and vegetables. I hope I get a juicer when I'm older because there would be nothing better than some fresh strawberry lemonade during the summer and cool refreshing veggie juices after my early morning workouts (that I rarely do-- but, hey one can dream).

Also, please excuse the whole messy hair, wrinkled t-shirt, and make-up less face. I wasn't expecting anything blog worthy to happen and here I am keeping it real. What is not pictured in this post: my dad and I hard core dancing to some Coldplay while juicin'. Stay young and healthy friends!

Being Facebook Friends with Your Parents

Now that the world of Facebook is becoming more and more diverse you often run into the situation where adults, like your parents or their friends, want to be friends with you on Facebook. Now, my policy for friend requests is that if I know the person well than, I'll accept their request. So, with that being said, when my parents got Facebooks I didn't question it because I know them really well, and I want them to see what I've been up to and all of that... 

Well, recently (within the last 6 months) my Mom has been a wild child and has been Facebooking like no other. Sharing things and putting articles on my wall that she thinks might be helpful. All of my friends are going to start to think I am a terrible driver because she is constantly sharing driver safety videos on my wall and stuff. Anyways, last week I get on Facebook and I see this... 

How lovely right? I mean I love being friends with my parents on Facebook and to see what they're up to and everything... but, these posts are just too much sometimes! So, where is the drawing line? Like why do people even post things like this in general! Anyways, that's all I have for you... I guess this is just a tangent post. But, really I don't want that on my timeline regardless of how much I appreciate my mom and everything she has done for me. Anyways, at the end of the day I'm still going to be friends with them. It does provide me some form of enjoyment plus, my mom is like my number one Radiating Sunshine fan (she is probably so sad about this post) so I can't block her out of my fb world even if I really really wanted too!

Summer Vacation is Over

So, I officially move back to college today... it is crazy that I'm already heading back for RA training. I have loved the past two weeks I've spent at home. I have managed to see so much family, spend time with friends and J, and do so many fun things. It is crazy to think that I'm heading back for my senior year! Anyways, here is how I spent my last two wonderful weeks at home: 

I went to the fair with J and my family. We saw all of the baby animals, played bingo, walked around the rides, had funnel cake, and saw a pig race. It was the perfect night and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a true summer night :)

I also got to spend tons of time with my favorite lady, June! I have missed her so much and can't wait until I'm home again to play fetch and give her treats. Disclaimer: she is laying right next to me as I write this post.

Being able to cook whatever I want has been a real blessing. For the past two months I hadn't had access to a kitchen so, when I got home I started taking advantage of it. I baked cookies, made delicious breakfasts, used the parmesan that I bought in Italy on almost every dish you could reasonably put parmesan cheese on. I'm going to miss the kitchen so much and I am not looking forward to going back to dining hall food.

On Friday, I went down to Baltimore with two of my friends from High School. We met up with my aunt and her husband and went on a wonderful cruise around Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I absolutely love that city and it was so nice hearing the live band and seeing the city all lit up at night. We were celebrating my uncle's birthday and I literally am so thankful I got to hear stories from when they were young and really get to catch up with them. As we were cruising by the marina, there was a band playing and they did a cover of Jimmy Buffet's Uncle John's Band. And with the cool breeze flowing through my hair and the smell of summer in the air, I had to just freeze that moment because in twenty years from now I will think about that boat ride and realize that that was a true summer night, full of great memories with great people. 

Such a great night with Petra, Molly, and some Bud Lights

Love my Aunt Paula so much! And her taste in drinks :)

freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit crushes!

My favorite city!

I feel so blessed for getting a little bit of time at home before school starts back up and I get right back into the hustle and bustle of busy psych major/RA life.

{sister graduated}

 yesterday Brooke graduated High School! I couldn't be more proud of the woman she has become and I know she will continue to grow and will someday become an amazing veterinarian. We had a wonderful mass and ceremony at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and then had an amazing lunch at Clyde's in Tower Oaks. As far as I'm concerned it was a beautiful and amazing graduation day and the nice 80 degree whether showed us that Brooke got out of HS just in time for the start of summer.

Check out these two cuties! Ari (my cousin) was always around growing up and
between the three of us, I'm pretty sure we drove my parents crazy! 

 Brooke, I am endlessly proud of you! Stay safe at beach week and don't forget you'll only be 800 miles away when you're down in Alabama... so, that is like a 12 hour car ride or a short 3 hour plane ride!