Thankful

Today, I am thankful for the simple life.

I'm thankful for a job where I can show up at 8 and leave at 5.
I'm thankful that I know who I will fall asleep next to every night for the rest of my life.
I'm thankful that I don't have to wonder where my next meal is coming from.
I'm thankful that cats are domesticated creatures, and in fact, I consider 2 of them my friends.
I'm thankful for opportunities - for the fact that I can choose to change careers or locations (essentially) whenever I want.
I'm thankful for my education and the way I was raised.
I'm thankful that I live in 2015 - technology has made life so much easier to navigate.
I'm thankful for friends. Short-term friends, long-term friends, friends who live in the same city, friends who live across the country, friends who are like me, friends who are completely opposite.
I'm thankful for television... It may sound silly, but television and movies can tell incredible stories that I would have otherwise not had access to!
I'm thankful for forgiveness - the fact that I have been forgiven so much, and the fact that God gives all of us the grace to forgive even people's greatest transgressions against us.
I'm thankful for food that just tastes good.
I'm thankful for modern-day medicine and the fact that a "gluten-free diet" is possible.
I'm thankful for my extreme emotions... I may cry once a day, or proclaim more often than others that "It was the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!", but I wouldn't change it for the world, because those are traits that make me exactly who I am.
I'm thankful that life teaches us lessons, even when they're hard.
I'm thankful for growing up in Florida.
I'm thankful for this moment, right here, right now - when I'm 25 years, 5 months, 1 day, and approximately 2 hours old.

& finally, I'm thankful for a world where I can write all my thoughts down on a silly blog, when I haven't written in a year and a half, and at least 2 people (my parents) will read it. (Even if it is because I forced them to sign up for email notifications.)

Today, I am thankful for the simple life.

Am I Still A Blogger...

...if I only post once a month? :)

As I've been saying to everyone in my life lately, I'm truly sorry for being so MIA! The month of January became chaotic faster than I could have ever imagined... Work is now consuming my life (and not necessarily in a bad way)! Let me explain:

As soon as we got back from Christmas "break", I worked my last week at LOFT. I was sad to leave the girlfriends I had made there, but fortunately we've already gotten together for one reunion dinner since then, and I'm sure there will be many more! Then I gave myself a week to get organized and run all the errands that had been piling up. Then I started my new job on none other than MLK day!

I was in training along with 30 other New Hires for 2 weeks straight. At the end of the 2 weeks it just so happened that the company's annual sales conference was happening right here in Austin, and we were invited! It was such a fun time to learn more more about the culture of SHI, but it also meant quite a few 15-hour workdays in a row. On top of all that, our keynote speaker at the conference was Aron Ralston, one of my favorite people of all time! His story is told in the movie "127 Hours" (which is absolutely phenomenal, in case you haven't seen it), but I got to hear him LIVE... I even met him and got a photo!

Now that we've entered week 3, my fellow New Hires and I have training classes every morning for a month, and then we sit at our desks every afternoon. It is definitely a period of growth and perseverance as we start to build our own businesses, but it's been great getting to know my new teammates, and pushing myself to be successful alongside them... I'm so excited about this opportunity and feel so thankful to have a job where I am surrounded by encouraging leaders!

Finally, after all that, Andrew and I drive 8.5 hours to Mississippi on Saturday and 8.5 hours back to Austin on Sunday. Why on earth would we do that? Well, because of my dearest friends got married and it was completely worth it just to share in that special day with her! It was also completely worth it to make a little detour and stop by the Duck Dynasty headquarters on the return trip ;)

Now, as long as you all don't give up on me if I don't make it to blog world as often as I used to, I'll be one happy girl. I can't wait to see what February has on store!

Hello, 2014!

Hello, long-lost friends!

I am so sorry to have left you guys hanging for this long. Life has been a bit crazy for me since we got back from Christmas break! I worked at the store almost every day for two and a half weeks straight, then I've had this week off to catch up on errands/housework, and then I start my NEW JOB on Monday! What in the world?

I'm very excited, though, and will obviously let you all know how it goes :) I would also just like to thank everyone who encouraged me during my time of "unemployment" and didn't let me give up on my job search... It has finally paid off and I could not be happier!

With all that said, I would now like to highlight some events that I am looking forward to as we begin a brand new year.

2014 is going to be a great one:
 
January

Andrew's parents and brother are visiting us this weekend!
Starting my new job as an Inside Account Executive at SHI International Corp on Monday :)

February

Attending a great friend's wedding
Celebrating my 24th birthday by seeing WICKED (my favorite show) here in Austin!

March

Attending the SXSW music festival for the first time
Taking a trip to San Francisco!

April

Spending a weekend in New Orleans with my parents (watch out, world...)

May

Attending another great friend's wedding

June

Spending a week with Andrew's family at the beach
Attending yet another great friend's wedding!

July

Celebrating ONE YEAR of marriage with my love! Hopefully taking a trip somewhere ;)

August - December

No plans yet...

Man, looks like we'll be traveling our little hearts out these next few months! I'm so looking forward to all these adventures, and feel so blessed to be able to take advantage of these opportunities to spend time with family & friends. Check back throughout the year to see how it all turns out!