Life, Life, Life

Happy December! In the Student Affairs (& Housing and Res Life) world, December means a few things. (1) Finals are coming (2) Lots of paperwork and (3) they (as in the students) will leave soon! I love my students to pieces, but I'm really looking forward to this almost month break. Working as an RD, field hours, and grad school has really smacked me in the face this semester. But, boy have I learned a lot. Anyways, as I plan my journey back to blogging for the month of December I thought I would write a quick little post to keep y'all updated on the happenings in my life. 

Now one of my struggles this past semester has been taking decent pictures. Now that isn't the worst struggle to have and I have definitely taken many memory photographs, but it doesn't leave me with much to share with y'all. So, I'm sorry about the pixely nightmare that you see before you!

big photo on the left... J and I have been able to spend some really nice and quiet weekends together. With both of us having really busy semesters (him in admissions and me in res. life at different institutions) it is nice when we can get together on the weekends even if its only for a day.

This picture was taken as we were exploring a local city trying to find a church to go to! We ended up not finding a church, but opted for an adorable selfie instead. This guy has been my rock through this semester and I couldn't do all of this without his love and support.

medium photo on the top right... my RAs are incredible. We are losing a staff member due to December graduation and although I'm excited to welcome a new staff member to the team, I literally cannot picture having a better staff!

This picture was taken at our last program as a staff on Sunday, titled McHolidays where we talked about inclusive programs and ate LOTS of sweets. These fine friends make me smile so much and are often featured in my grateful journal!

medium photo in the middle on the right... my life has centered around admin work lately! And I secretly love it. I really enjoy working on different projects as I get ready for all of the room changes and closing.

This picture is of one section of my RA Office. You'll see the 'mom fridge' on the left, my check out table in the middle, and a bright yellow bulletin board for office updates.

medium photo on the bottom right... family! Come December 19th I will literally be the happiest human being! I'm really excited to go home to my parents' house and spend a few weeks with them during winter holiday! I miss my family so much.

This current picture is my mom and I holding my cousin's identical twins! Holy heck they are cute little chunks! Also, ignore my wine blush...

That's all for now, folks! Enjoy your Wednesday :)

TBT: Calligraphy & Weddings

Last month, one of my lifelong friends got married at Camden Yards (where the Orioles play) and my number one bridesmaid duty was the signs! When we got down to Baltimore the day before the wedding, we all got assignments on what we could do to prep. My assignment was to write on all of the signs. 

I absolutely love fonts and I'm very privileged to have the ability to create different fonts for different occasions. I loved contributing one of my skills to the wedding! I still have so much to learn in the grand scheme of calligraphy and signage, but today I wanted to feature some of the highlights of the wedding and the wedding signage!

 I made a number of signs for their wedding which include: the ceremony introduction, their hashtag, the caricatures, bathroom signs, bar signs, signature drink signs, favor signs, etc.

Seeing as Amanda and DJ got married at a baseball park, caricatures were a definite must! They had a caricature artist come to the reception and it was such an adorable station. Naturally, J and I completely forgot to get one done (too busy dancing), but everyone who did had a beautiful souvenir from the wedding. 

 This might have been my favorite sign from the wedding: the signature drink sign! With an Orioles/ Baltimore themed wedding orange crushes were a definite and easy choice for their signature drink. I kid you not crab cakes and orange crushes make this bridesmaid (and all of the other guests) happy.

Their wedding favors were by far the cutest things I have ever seen! During a wedding prep weekend, all the bridesmaids put stickers on top of cracker jack boxes (that looked like the cracker jack labels, however they had Amanda and DJ's information on them). We then stuffed the boxes into blue orioles beer koozies. The favor was so perfect, I still haven't been able to eat mine!

It was the perfect Baltimore and Orioles wedding. Actually, it was the perfect weekend in general. Looking back on this semester so far, I would definitely re-live this one!

Love Your Office

Happy Friday friends! Today, I'm shaking things up... instead of writing about my five weekly confessions I'm going to connect with my Happier You Goal for March: Work as Flow and write about five ways I have made my office my happy space!

So, here is my office:

This office has experienced A LOT of change over the several months I have called it mine. To start with, I got new office furniture back in October and new carpet! I still miss the random assortment of mismatched furniture! But, you really can't complain when you have a wrap around desk, beautiful bookshelf, and a ton of file/storage space!

Anyways, once I had all my new furniture in place I officially got to decorate, which will lead me into the first way to make your office your happy space!

JOY INSPIRED DECORATIONS

Happiness researchers suggest that you fill your office space with bright and colorful hues! As well as filling your walls with things/people/memories that mean something to you. If you have photos of loved ones or artwork made by your children, don't leave it at home! Instead create a fun collage, which will not only make your office more welcoming, but will bring you joy while you work. 

My favorite forms of decor are positivity quotes, pictures of flowers from Austria (I'll take real ones too, if you want to send them), cards from different people, pictures of my staff, family, and friends, and various awards or degrees earned. Sometimes, I look around my office and I think "I have way too much stuff on the walls," but I can genuinely say everything has special meaning and purpose! 

Some of my favorite positivity quotes are: 

"Let your smile change the world, but don't let the world change your smile"

"it always seems impossible until its done" 

"for a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin-- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be gotten through first. Some unfinished business. Time still to be served. A debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective had helped me to see their is no way to happiness. HAPPINESS IS THE WAY"- Souza 

"You create beauty with your attitude, your behavior, your actions. It's all up to you"

ORGANIZE IN YOUR OWN WAY

I feel fairly confident that if something were to happen to me and I couldn't work someone could come in and learn my system. I have my files clearly labeled. But, everything undoubtedly has a home in my office. I put my housing rosters in the same middle slot on my desk. I keep one on one notes in folders right by my computer. I keep meeting agendas in the cabinet to my left. My snack drawer is the second drawer down on the right (shush, don't tell anyone). Every thing has a space. Now, my office isn't always a beacon of organization. But, I like to organize in my own way! 

BE OKAY WITH CLUTTER

I've been in a number of different offices and I must say the ones that are the most inviting aren't always the ones with the most organization and the least amount of clutter. I've found that having "healthy amounts" of clutter are good for the soul. For example, I have a single vanilla spice tea bag on my desk (unused) and I really should just take it to my apartment. But, there is something about the tea bag that just makes it feel cozy and warm. One of my RD friends, Aaron has this file cabinet industrial piece of furniture that always draws my attention when I go into his office. For awhile, I felt critical about the mismatched furniture. But, now I have grown to love and appreciate it. The cabinet is full of various prizes that may look ordinary to others, but are extraordinary to him.

MAKE A HAPPINESS JAR

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration, so a few weeks back I created a happiness jar! I had so much fun filling it with different positive related things. I put in quotes from my favorite authors, nice words from my co-workers or bosses, and cute little images! Its very comforting to know that the jar is always here whenever I may need it and it kind of serves as an interactive happy booster for me! (send me your favorite quotes to radiatingsunshineblog@gmail.com and I'll add them to my jar)

HAVE COMFORT ITEMS

In my office, I always have a variety of snacks, juice boxes, and a sweater for whenever I'm cold. The positive side, is my office does not have heating or air conditioning. So, I rarely need the sweater... but, its nice to have just in case! Another consideration for your office is having seats for people to sit in when they swing by. I have five seats and I kind of pride myself on having comfortable space for students to sit in when they stop by! Sometimes my office gets so full of people, it is kind of overwhelming. But, I'm glad my students like to visit. Light is also another consideration! Make sure you either have some natural lighting or lamps to brighten up your space. My ceiling lights work really well (i.e. they aren't too overpowering), but having a welcoming office focuses a lot on the lighting of the space.

If there was one thing I could change about my office, I would definitely add a window or maybe a window on my door. Without windows it can get very "closet" feeling, however I think I make up for that with my colorful posters all around my walls. So, there you have it... 5 tips I have used to make my office my happy space!

Saying Goodbye to Winter

Happy Groundhog Day! "For the first time in forever" I feel like the Ground Hog hasn't predicted six more weeks of winter. I'm over the moon that spring will be coming sooner rather than later (my allergies still haven't gotten on board) Winter definitely has its charms and benefits. So, today I'm sticking on the positive track and sharing why I love Winter. 

Anyways, here we go... my five reasons to love winter:

(1) The sunsets

are amazing! There is just something about the white ground and the pink sky that just brightens my whole evening. I mean seriously, could this sunset get any prettier? I mean... maybe if I got rid of the buildings and had a mountain background. But, this will work too!

(2) Shoveling is really the best workout

Call me crazy, but I love shoveling as a workout method. There is just something so soothing about picking up a shovel, working away at a sidewalk, and clearing a path. It's incredibly therapeutic for me and definitely boosts my happiness levels right on up!


(3) My new winter headband

I really wish I knew how to crochet because I would make these for every single person I know. I love my headband and I have been wearing it every day. The only downside to wearing it every day is it's already starting to thin out :( Thus, I really need to learn how to crochet.

Also my new knock off duck boots are also a highlight of winter!

(4) Napping and Netflix

Forget Netflix and Chill and give me a warm blanket, a couch, a series to binge on, and a nap to be had. Recently, I have been on the re-watch Gossip Girl bandwagon. I don't even know why I watch these crazy brats who drink way too much, scheme way too much, and wear clothes I would never dream of wearing! However, it's definitely my guilty pleasure and I definitely have a girl crush in Blair.

(5) Life just slows down

After the recent blizzard, I can honestly say I didn't drive anywhere for almost a week. I just walked everywhere, got a lot of work done, baked a ton of delicious treats, and enjoyed life in the slow lane. Now, that the roads are clear I'll probably get back on my crazy on the go life. But, really there is nothing better than a snowstorm to slow you down and make you aware of how good enjoying every moment is.

Happier You: An Overview

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Today, I'm finally writing my first post for my Happier You Project! Back in November, I decided to start researching ways to make my life happier and more productive. I came up with twelve different areas of my life that I wanted to work on over the course of the next twelve months. I divided them divided up by month, just to keep me organized and on track. The months were selected intentionally because of life events, however throughout the year I'm keeping all of my happy goals in mind. So, today I am updating you all on where I found the inspiration.

These books have been influential in organizing, planning, and executing my Happier You project. The consistent themes that all three of these books capitalize on are these: You choose happiness, happiness will literally improve all aspects of your life, and happiness starts now.

Happiness has been sought after my literally everyone. People are always looking for the key to happiness, but what I have found is that the key is you. All of these books offer great insight into happiness and I would highly recommend you read them.

The Happiness Advantage- Shawn does an amazing job showing how happiness can not only improve your life, but build up your work performance. One of my favorite quotes from this book is "simply believing we can bring about positive change in our lives increases motivation and job performance; that success, in essence, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy" (Anchor, 74). This book holds great insight into my professional life and I look forward to incorporating his ideas and tips into my work as a supervisor. After all, no one wants to work for someone who is negative or fosters a negative environment. Another aspect that I love about this book is that Shawn uses real life examples and studies to further his evidence! I found the studies he mentioned fascinating and am currently preparing a presentation for my RAs on how simply having a positive outlook on their work will improve their outcomes!

The Happiness Project- I wish Gretchen and I could be best friends. I know she is a married, New York City dwelling, mom and writer/blogger but her book and project was so down right inspiring. She even gives a full tutorial on how to start your own Happiness Project! I loved all of her chapters on ways to make your life happier. My favorite chunks of advice she gave are: de-clutter your life, give to others, hug more & hug for longer then 3 seconds (come here Josh), "be as eager for Mondays as you are for Friday," act with intrinsic motivation, make to do lists for life, and enjoy the journey. Thanks Gretchen for all of your insight and if this little campaign of mine every makes it on your radar I would love to talk on the phone with you... or have coffee... or just be your best friend.

The How of Happiness- Sonja wrote a beautiful book about happiness is changeable and based on your present situation. This book was also quite educational and can be applied to LITERALLY anyone. Sonja covers topics from finding companionship to struggling with depression. I also found Sonja's advice on social comparisons and struggles to be really insightful... every day we experience stress and insecurities. However Sonja encourages popular advice for chronic over thinkers and that's to: "break free, move to higher ground, and avoid future traps." So, stop comparing yourself to others, because no one else is you!

All of these books talk to some extent of practicing kindness! They aren't the cliche happy self-help books that you see in every library or book store. They are real and useful guides to happiness that aren't afraid to call out off days or moments in your life when you want to have a crummy attitude.

I know I won't be a beacon of happiness on this Happier You project. Trust me, just yesterday I found myself sulking in my office about all of the heat issues in my building. Life throws curve balls and difficult situations every day. But, the key to happiness is feeling confident that you can handle all of that and looking at those struggles with a positive frame of mind (intrinsically decided upon).

That's all for now folks! Check back on Thursday for a full update on January's resolutions.

2015 Goals

I know I'm 7 days late on posting this... but, you're never too late to write about your hopes and dreams right? Anyways, 2014 was an amazing year and I hope 2015 will be just as amazing. So, below are my 2015 Goals & Dreams!

Blog Goals: 

200 GFC Followers - Last year my goal was 75 GFC followers! Well, I am over the moon knowing that I gained a total of 188 followers in 2014. So, thank you to all of you who regularly visit my little blogopshere. It means so much to me that you all continually come back and catch up on what's happening at Radiating Sunshine. 

New Signature Line - I have had the signature below for quite sometime now, so in 2015 I would like to kind of remodel the signature and maybe change it up a bit!

Blog 3-4 times a week- Last semester I got really bogged down with academics, RA Life, work, and making time for my family and friends... unfortunately my blog kind of took a hit, so I would like to post more regularly and really get back into blogging. 

Personal Goals: 

Travel - I started 2015 with a trip to Pittsburgh with Josh! I hope I can continue traveling... maybe during Spring Break take a vacation with my girl friends and over the summer visit a new place! 

Stay Connect with Friends - Now that all of my High School friends and College friends are graduating I really hope I can stay connected and maybe visit them at their new jobs and stuff like that. 

Live in the Moment - Although its nice to think about the future and get excited for what is to come... I really want to live in the moment and be thankful for everyone in my life and for everything I have. 

Academic Goals: 

Figure out my post graduate school plans - I don't know what those will be! I applied to several graduate schools and a few jobs so, hopefully I'll hear back from them throughout the upcoming semester. 

Graduate with some from of 'cum laude' or with honors - Throughout these past four years I have worked really hard on maintaining a nice GPA. I am not a 4.0 student by any shot, but I think come May I'll be able to graduate with 'cum laude' and i want to continue that throughout my future schooling. 

2014's Year in Review

It is hard to believe that 2014 has come and gone! This has been an incredible year for me... I turned 21, I traveled the world, I fell in love,  and I did some pretty amazing things. When I look back at 2013's Year in Review, that was one of the best years I can remember... but, this year certainly topped it! As I was scanning through old photos that I took throughout the year, I had such a hard time choosing which ones to use... so, below is my 2014 ( & photo dump ) year in review!

My youngest sister, Brooke got accepted into Auburn University and graduated from High School. Now my baby sis is a 12 hour car drive away, but we still are close and we FaceTime often!

 I completed two of my senior capstone projects and got asked to present one of them at a conference in NYC in 2015! So, excited to see my research take off and hopefully open up some doors in the world of Higher Education. 

 Some of our greatest friends left the Mount to pursue their medical careers, but Alex and I are still close, even though we both are so busy and she is practically saving the world one math computation at a time. She is truly a wonderful friend and inspires me endlessly. 

 I also met a guy, formally known to you all as J... but, now I openly call him Josh on the blog! We started dating in February and I couldn't have found a more loving, kind person, who knows almost everything about the history of football, and always fixes my comma errors (and let's be serious that is a lot of work) 

 My High School friends and I went to the beach like we usually do... except this time we were all 21 so, we went out to bars and we always made it to the beach the next morning!

I went on one of the best trips of my life. Salzburg captivated me in ways I never thought it would. I traveled to Iceland, Vienna, and Bolzano, Italy... But, although all of those places are beautiful, Salzburg is the only one I would definitely go back and visit. 

 While abroad, I drank German beer (Stiegl Grapefruit Radler), I ate a lot of german food (schnitzel), my sweet tooth only got bigger (gelato, gelato, gelato), my memory card on my camera got smaller (3,450 pictures later), I learned how to speak German ("I'm sorry", "excuse me", and "bathroom?"), I became the tourist I swore I never would become (Sound of Music central), and I had the greatest summer to date. I also had a really cute pen pal, who wrote me the nicest emails and gave me something to look forward to while I ate breakfast every morning (Thanks Josh!)

 And because an Austrian study abroad trip was not enough... The day after I got home I flew out to Seattle, Washington with my family for an Alaskan cruise. I held puppy sled dogs, went zip lining, saw a few Alaskan cities. We ate delicious food (beef carpaccio) and dined on the best creme brûlée I have ever had!

 On the crabbing trip in Ketchikan, I helped pull up one of the cages (the only working out I did all summer) and we discovered that there is another type of crab that is equivalent to the Maryland Blue Crab and that is the Alaskan Dungeness Crab! 

And before I got home and finally was reunited with Josh and friends, I made a quick pit stop in Texas, where I worked for Duke TIP again at Rice University. It was a short few weeks, but I loved every second of it like I did the year before. 

 And after two months away, I decided I would stay home for awhile. I promised Josh that for the remainder of 2014 I wouldn't even go near an airplane, haha! Anyways, Josh and I had a busy and exciting Fall semester. We went hot air ballooning and went to baseball games. We ate Chinese food and celebrated Halloween!

 We also went camping with two great friends for a weekend. It rained every night but, we still made the best of it. I taught Josh how to play rummy and now we have a new card game to play. And being out doorsy didn't stop with the camping trip... Josh and I ran a 5k together, went on an endless amount of walks, and hiked up to Indian Lookout. I guess it pays to live on a mountain!

 In 2014, I found someone who loves holiday traditions just as much as I do... I also found someone who can rock a sweater from the 80s! I found someone who I can be silly with. Someone who will take as many photos as needed to get the perfect one. Someone who will try any weird food or wipe the drool off of my chin during my weekly Sunday Football nap time. I found someone who I can pray with every night whether we are together or apart. Josh is smart, funny, and is incredibly hard working and I am beyond thankful for him and everything he does.

So, 2014 was a pretty incredible year. I accomplished all of my New Years Resolutions which, I'll be blogging about tomorrow. 2015 holds a lot of unknowns. I have no idea where I'm going to be as far as jobs or graduate school. Although all of the unknowns are a little nerve wracking, I know that I have the greatest support system and that whatever happens I will strive to live positively and make 2015 a pretty spectacular year.

Necklace and Sprinkles

In between the chaos of classes and writing proposals for my upcoming senior research, I've been lucky enough to enjoy the company of great friends, meet great bloggers, and try out new things! Like Rita's custard-ice-cream and an adorable necklace from EternalGirl. 

So, I'll start with the necklace from a fabulous blogger named Julia! She blogs over at Puella Aeterna and she also owns the Etsy shop EternalGirl that I mentioned above. Julia reached out to me about sponsorship opportunities and we realized that we are both North Eastern gals. She sent me the cutest necklace from her shop that I wanted to share with you all.

She hand-drew the beautiful flower onto the necklace which, goes well with any outfit. It is light and looks good with any outfit! If you haven't already checked out her blog or Etsy shop please do, here. Her products are affordable and make for perfect gifts!

On a yummier note, I also tried Rita's custard! I went out with some of my co-workers to Rita's and just couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the cutest dessert. I genuinely believe that adding sprinkles or jimmies to anything will just make it ten times more appealing. But, seriously people just look at the cuteness. 

Love them!

Happy Friday, friends! I can't wait for this weekend so, I can catch up on work and maybe squeeze in a few naps. Till Monday… 

Radiating Sunshine

photo credit: Kelly Callahan @ Deep Creek Lake, MD

Today, I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Mackenzie @ Bell Bliss and we're talking about what our blog names mean to us. And just like almost every other blogger out there, Radiating Sunshine definitely has meaning.

radiating: verb, emit (energy, esp. light) in the form of rays or waves
sunshine: noun, direct sunlight unbroken by cloud, esp. over a comparatively large area

Now, the literal definition of my blog is great. But, Radiating Sunshine takes on a more symbolic meaning to me. Since I can remember I've always been conscious of living a positive lifestyle. When I was a little girl I always thought that smiling was ten times better than frowning and my parents raised me to find joy in the little things. And as fate would have it, during my senior year of High School I took AP Psychology and we did a unit on happiness (Positive Psychology). I found out that there were scientific studies done on happiness and how living a happy lifestyle can drastically improve your quality of life. A simple smile can really change how you feel and how others feel around you. So, four year later I am still choosing that happy lifestyle and now my goal is to spread happiness around.

Its hard to live in a world where you are constantly surrounded by so much sin and sadness. When you live in a society that broadcasts hate over love, its easy to get scooped up in negativity. Even though, I don't fully understand why bad things happen to good people or why children die before they've ever been given the chance to live. I know deep down inside that to choose to be a negative person is far greater a loss, than choosing to live positively. Many people don't know that happiness rests in their hands. People struggle with understanding that you choose {happiness} and its not just a gift that every person has.

So, I wake up every day and I try to radiating sunshine… because choosing to be unhappy is just not an option.

"if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your

face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely" 

- Roald Dahl 

Beautiful Reasons

when you live in a world where there is so much hatred, disease, death, sadness… it can be easy to overlook the everyday aspects that bring beauty to life. the aspects that bring joy and happiness.

the smell of fresh and cleaned laundry
little giggles from a child on Christmas
the butterflies you get when you talk to someone you love
the coldness of the other side of the pillow
when you create something beautiful
freshly cut grass
the sound of the ocean beating against the beach
a crisp fall morning
handmaid pie crust
snow flurries
a warm cup of hot chocolate
the brief moment you pass under a bridge while driving in the rain
when your dreams become reality
the way the sunrises and sets
extra foam on your cappuccino
finding a pair of shoes that are cute and comfortable
perfectly golden pancakes
sneaking cookie dough from the fridge
the health and safety of your family
not setting an alarm in the morning
fireworks on a warm summer evening
a cup of coffee in the morning
your favorite pair of jeans
when your team wins
a beautifully iced cake
the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
drinking sweet tea on a summer afternoon
the cold rush of the first summer swim
climbing into a freshly made bed
finishing a whole tube of chapstick
playing with a pet
having your loved ones close
flowers budding in spring

celebrate. everyday. little. moments 

A Christmas Sleepover

So, curious how to have a fabulous Christmas sleepover with your best friends… stay tuned folks because I have a complete account of my Christmas themed sleepover with my two favorite girls!

Hopefully this will be one of the last poor quality WaveCam pics from the iPhone!

One-So, start your Christmas sleepover by grazing the kitchen for dinner. If you're lucky you'll find a box of Mac and Cheese, some spinach for a salad, and leftovers from various places! Not to mention, your fridge will be thanking you for making so much space so you can start prepping for Christmas dinner leftovers! 

Ignore the pile of bread and casserole dishes… my mom likes to "assemble" her dishes several days before the holiday!

Two- Next on the Christmas sleepover agenda is the gingerbread house! Now, this is a Honsberger family tradition that we have continued over the years. This year I had my two best girlies help create the beauty you'll see below!

Yeah, the icing wasn't really working as well as we hoped… so we kind of made a mess of our "gingerbread house"

not pictured: Hannah and I chasing each other around the kitchen with our hands covered in icing. Also, not pictured: me tripping over a chair as I barely escaped Hannah's hand full of icing and Hannah on the floor dying with laughter as Juneau (my dog) licked the icing off of her face. 

So, we stepped away from the traditional gingerbread house… but I think our Ginger-bunny with green hair eating a snowman is pretty original. I mean come on if this doesn't win for the cutest gingerbread house I don't know what will!

Three- Next on the Christmas sleepover agenda is SUGAR COOKIES! So, we made two different batches… we did the traditional cut out cookies with sprinkles and then we made these beauties… Christmas swirl cookies! I'll post the recipe for y'all later when I go over what fine foods will be making their appearance at our Christmas dinner. 

Four- Also, you can't forget a gift exchange between your friends! If you're lucky like I am you will have a friend who is super crafty and will make you cute room decorations that you won't be able to stop looking at and saying how much you love them! Thanks Alex for making Hannah and I these cute wall decorations! But, seriously I love it… to death… like I'm looking at it right now. 

 Five- I would also suggest ending your night with a Christmas movie… We watched Love Actually and by we I mean… I fell asleep 15 minutes in, Hannah made it through half, and at 2:30am I woke up to find Alex watching it by herself. Sorry Alex, I'm such a grandma! 

Anyways, there are the ingredients to having the best Christmas themed- sleepover with your friends… If your a boy well, you may want to alternate some (or all) of the ingredients! Happy Christmas Eve Eve! 

Thankful Thursdays

So, I just finished a theology exam, which did not go as well as I was hoping it would. You would think that after hours and hours of studying I wouldn't just blank on some of the questions, but you would be surprised. If you want to argue about the evidence of epistemological and metaphysical claims on miracles, find someone else because I'm not the girl for the job. 

Anyways, so after getting very little sleep, probably getting a B- on the theology exam (my version of F), and forgetting my rain coat; this rainy Thursday is not looking too promising. I am genuinely a glass is half full type of person, but as I walked to the library where I will be spending the rest of my afternoon I was feeling so pessimistic. Now, usually I don't check my blog feed when I know I have a lot to work on. But, I really needed to decompress from that exam with some blog-therapy! And I am so happy I did. I stumbled upon this lovely lady's post! Kelsey is always very inspirational, but today her Thankful Thursday was just what I needed to get myself in check and realize that all of my above complaints shouldn't ruin this day. 

So, I'm thankful for Thursdays. Even though Thursdays are my worst days by far, when it comes to my schedule and workload...

But, what else am I thankful for? 

• I'm thankful for this cup of coffee.
• I'm thankful for the opportunity to go to school and study epistemology and metaphysical claims on miracles… there are so many people who don't even get an opportunity to finish grade school and here I am working on a bachelor's degree at a wonderful university. 
• I'm thankful for my mentorship later today, which is the only real redeeming quality of my Thursdays apart from my staff meeting. 
• I'm thankful for my sister; who doesn't know how beautiful of a person she is inside and out. Can't wait to see you in three weeks! 
• I'm thankful for knowing that the sun will come out tomorrow 
• I'm thankful for all the people in my life who are constantly challenging me to be a better person

I'm so thankful for having so much in my life to be thankful for… and for being able to recognize and appreciate what I do have in life, even on this rainy Thursday. It is probably one of the best ways to change a crabby mood and keep your thoughts in check. So, thanks Kelsey for inspiring me and potentially changing my attitude towards today. 

What are you thankful for?

Happy Fall Y'all!

Happy Fall Y'all <3

When I woke up this morning the first thing I thought was, man there is no way I'm gonna make it through this day without a nap. Not the greatest first thought, but hey my body and mind were exhausted and the 4 times I hit the snooze button was just not satisfying my need for rest. But, anyways my day we just average and normal. I went to class then to work... but right around lunch time my day drastically improved! For lunch, I made myself of mozzarella caprese salad which was so tasty! Then, I had great conversations with some fellow RAs, got a free Mount Residence Staff t-shirt, and had a great one on one with my boss. Note to all friends, if you ask me to talk about my two dogs Juneau and Jenna you'll be sure to make my day and laugh a whole lot. Anyways, I also cut out the above banner for my door (I'll post the template here soon) and now I'm headed off to my night class, then to dinner, then to an RA program, and finally ending the night with watching Despicable Me 2 with friends. 

I hope you are having an amazing day too.