Happiness Project & January Goals

I mentioned in this post that I would be sharing my monthly goals and the change up Rissa and I are making.  And after spending over an hour video chatting with her Sunday night, Rissa and I have officially decided how this big shindig is going to go down.  And I must say I am in love with it! Last year I set out 14 goals for the whole year.  14 things I wanted to accomplish.  And I got to most of them.  But not all.  Which is totally good and fine with me.  Life happens and I am still happy with what I did accomplish.  Also starting last year Rissa and I started our monthly video chats to hold each other accountable for goals. This year instead of setting a number of goals to work on throughout the year we have decided to do....A Happiness Project.  We could not be more excited to be embarking on this journey this year. Gretchen Rubin wrote the book The Happiness Project back in 2011.  Both Rissa and I have read the book and loved the inspiration we got from Gretchen.  We have put out own little spin on out Happiness Project.  We chose our own life topics to tackle each month.  We desire to work on different parts of our lives in order to grow and become better people.  By focusing on one area a month we believe we will be better able to focus and achieve the goals we set. So how does it work?  Each month we have a life topic to tackle.  With each life topic comes sub goals to work on throughout the month in order to achieve tackling the life topic.  So what life topics did we choose?

January--Happiness Project February--Body March--Faith April--Money May--Relaxation June--Play July--Mind August--Home September--Career October--Pro-activity November--Relationships December--Mindfulness
Each month I will explain a little more what each topic represents to me and reveal the sub goals I have for that life topic.
Since our video chat happened later in January than we expected, we didn't want to rush anything.  So we chose to focus on planning for the rest of the months.  My sub goals for this month include:
1. Decide on sub goals for all months 2. Get everything together to help better achieve goals 3. Re-read the book The Happiness Project
One thing I want to keep in mind with this project is that this is a working and moving plan.  This meaning things are subject to change if life changes.  And that is ok.  Also once I finish the month of one life topic doesn't mean I stop working on that life topic.  I want things I do to carry over throughout the year.
Well now that I have written the longest post ever, I will wrap it up by saying that I cannot be more excited to have all of these goals to make me more happier!  

7 Secret Dreams

We all have our own hopes and dreams for  our lives.  Some many people may know, others we hold dear to our heart and never tell a soul about them.  About a month ago my good friend Lauren posted her dreams and yesterday Brandy, a friend from college, also posted her dreams.  Both of them have inspired me to to think and talk about my hopes and dreams.
If I am completely honest I have to say that I always have some crazy dream running through my head.  It is usually completely unobtainable and pretty laughable.  Please tell me we all have those dreams from time to time?
Most of the hopes and dreams I have spoken of before are the ones I know I can/will obtain.  Getting into Grad School.  Graduating from Grad School.  Falling in love with my job(s).  Making new friends after moving.  All of which I have either reach or know for fact  I will reach.
Today I am going to share 7 secret dreams that I have either not talk anyone or only told handful of people.  Those of you who have published a post like this, must know how nerve racking it is to put it all out there for people you do and do not know.  But here goes nothing.
1. Have Scripture Memorized I have always wanted to be the person who could spit out a piece of scripture no matter what the situation may be.  I am not that person.  But I strive to read and learn more of the word so that I can be.  I want to study the Bible and know it.  I recently started using the She Reads Truth app and have been diving into studying the book of John.  LOVE IT!
2.  Be VERY Well Known In My Field I do not want to be just any counselor.  I want to be the counselor that is known by colleagues and clients.  I desire to be on of the best in my fields.  Prideful much?  Maybe.  But really my heart strives to achieve this not for myself but for my current and future clients.  I want to be the best counselor for them.  Not for my ego.
3.  Write A Book What blogger doesn't have this one on their list?  To me it explains why I love writing so much.  I do not know what I want to write about or what genre.  I just know how much I love reading and learning and want to be able to write so that someone else can enjoy or learn.  
4.  Get Married After my stint with online dating last year, you would think this would not be on my list.  And if you know me in person than you know that I say I will never get married quite often. It's a cover up for what my heart truly wants. What girl hasn't dreamed of getting married one day?  For now though, this dream is in the distant future.  And I am ok with that.
5.  Be A Mom As much as I love my career and want to always be a counselor, I want to be a mom one day even more.  Having kids completely excites me and terrifies me all at the same time.  What if I don't like my kid?  What if they don't like me?  I know, all things I can put off worrying about for a while!
6. Be Known As A Kind Person When people think of me I would love to think they also think "she is so kind, sweet, etc"  I want to be a generous person. I would love for people to know how giving my heart is and how much I love being able to help anyone in anyway.  Am I always kind and sweet?  No, mostly sarcastic.  But I'm constantly working on this one.
7.  Get My Ph.D. In what?  I am not sure.  When?  Not for a very long time.  I have always wanted to be able to be called Dr. Mosby.  And I know I am completely capable of obtaining this degree. That being said, I am completely burned out on school right now and want to focus on getting licensed before I get my Ph.D.  For my field I do not need one, but I am an overachiever and want one.
7 secret dreams made not so secret anymore.  Some of them are pretty basic dreams.  Others are pretty big ones to me.  One day I hope to look back on these dreams and be able to put a little check mark next to each and every one of them.  Until them, I will just keep dreaming bigger and bigger and bigger. As I hope each and everyone of you are!

New Year at the Beach

This year for New Years my family spent our time at the beach.  Florida decided to not really participate in winter this year, so it was the perfect weather to be at the beach.  We had a party that no one really knows how it started and we spent lots of good family time together!
Tuesday we made out way to the island and to finally meet up with my mom's best friend from college and her husband.  We were so beyond THRILLED to have Denise and Dave with us for New Years.  

Wednesday night we had over 30 people over to ring in the New Year.  Lots of food, drinks, and dancing surrounded us!  Many didn't make it till 12, but those of us who did had a blast when the ball dropped.  And then we were ready for bed.

January 2 is my sister's birthday and since we were on the island, a boat ride was in order.  Mattie chose to a place for lunch and then we headed out on the boat to enjoy the day.  It was a perfect day for a boat ride and after days of no sun, it came out and warmed us all right up!

After two weeks of being surrounded by people day in and day out, Saturday I finally made it back to my apartment with just Brutus in tow.  The quiet was more than welcomed for this girl who needs alone time to recharge.  And I would say Brutus was pretty happy to be home and get some cuddles in.
Break is now over and I am headed back to school and work.  I loved being able to take the last two weeks off in order to maintain my sanity.  I feel refreshed and ready to go!  Here is to hoping that lasts longer than a week:)

The Grossest Experience of My Life

For the last 3 or 4 years I have had a cyst on my chest.  It was a normal little cyst that just hung out there and didn't do much.  Until this past weekend.  It grew.  And it grew.  And it grew.  Till it was the size of a ping pong ball or so.  On my chest.  Which hurt.  A lot.
So I told my mom I needed to see a doctor ASAP it hurt so much and I knew something was wrong.  Monday morning came and I found myself at a dermatologist with a nurse in shock that I had a cyst as big as I did.  On my chest.
The doctor comes in and tells me she really needs to drain it.  I was expecting it, but still cried from my anxiety with needles and knives. On my chest.  I do have to say thought given that I was by myself I think I did pretty damn awesome with controlling my emotions.
You may be asking yourself now why this was the grossest experience of my life.  Well the doctor numbed me up, cut me open, and started pushing and squeezing.  She warned me ahead of time that it would smell a little.  And boy did it smell!  And then next thing I knew as she was squeezing and pushing it squirted out ON MY FACE! 
That was when I lost it.  I had held the tears very well up until then and next thing I knew I was sobbing and extremely grossed out.  I didn't want to see anything that had to do with draining the cyst and about died when I did.  
After some more squeezing and pushing the doctor was finished.  She stuffed it full of gauze that I now have to pull out day by day.  I am NOT looking forward to that and have no idea how it will get done.
When it was all said done, I only had one question.  Can I still get a husband with a scar on my chest?  Fortunately I was reassured on Instagram that I will still be beautiful with a scar and I can still get a husband.  Whew!

2015 Goals

Last year I set out to fulfill 14 goals in 2014 if you take a little peak at the tab above you will see my achievements. Out of 14 goals I was able to complete or partially complete 10 of them. For some of them things changed and I was not able to complete them. For others I forgot about them. And then money became an issue as well. 

All of that considered, I was still pretty proud of how well I did. And I loved having goals to check in with each month. It kept me focused and gave me things to work on. The other best part? My blog best, Rissa, and I would video chat each month and talk about our goals. We would discuss how well we did that month and then set new goals to work on. 

For this year I am changing up my goals a touch. Instead of setting goals the first of the year and working on those all year long, I am going to set only a couple each month to work on. I feel that if I do this I will be better able to achieve the goals I want to achieve. 

Another change that Rissa and I have decided to make is to also add a little happiness project to our goals. We have not exactly figured out what this means or what we are going to do, but we want to not just reach physical goals but life goodness goals as well. 

I am so excited to set out on this new goals adventure! Later this month will be an update on what the goals will be for January and my talk with Risaa about how this is going to work. 

2014 In Review

Oh 2014.  You have been a year.  Good or bad?  I am not too sure.  But if I had to decide I would say good.  So many happy memories and times had.  Lots of stress and hard work too.  There is not much of you I would change even if I could.  2015 though, I am REALLY looking forward to you!
January January started off with a bang with my sister attempting to set me up with a guy...by telling him lies!  

Throwing our girls trip to Charleston and Savannah and it was a marvelous month!
February This month was a crazy kind of month for me.  I was working multiple jobs, trying to find an internship site, taking way too many hard classes and needless to say I was STRESSED!
March I have always been a fan of visiting my friends and go as often as possible!  A road trip it was to see some of those awesome people in Tennessee!

The biggest part of this month was that I quit one of my many jobs.  I remember being so stressed and needing to cut back somewhere, so the gym job went out the door!
I also finally got an internship site and shared a little about what I do and where I am working!
April After being in my apartment for about 7 months I came to realize how much I love my little space!

For Easter my best friend Ashlee came down to Florida for a visit! I loved having her here and she was able to see my little apartment in real life.  We have decided to make Easter a tradition, which I love!

I also celebrated another birthday this month! 23 years old and loving every minute of it!

May May is the big start of beach season around here.  I found myself paddle boarding up and down the canal and spending time out on the boat with my favorites!

I also added some new decorations to my apartment.  Not my first choice, but Brutus was more than thrilled to have a cat tree!

June Mattie and I signed up for four 5k races this summer and started them off with a bang! I loved running with her and how we both needed each other to get to the finish line.  Too bad she broke her foot and cannot run anymore...

July If my mom didn't already know she had the best kids ever, then this month she learned.  My sister being the big mastermind behind it all, helped fly in my moms best friend from college.  They had not seen each other in 15 years.  Best.  Surprise.  Ever. 

  After quitting that one job back in March, it took me till July to burn out again.  This time with school .  I had had no break from classes since January and had none coming till December.  Fortunately I got through that one!
August The first part of August was probably one of my favorite times of the year.  It had been 8 months since I had seen my best friend, I was burned out on school, and I just needed a break with her.  So I flew to New Hampshire and had the best time ever with Lauren!

September September came and with it came me opening up about parts of me I had hidden on here before.
I also contemplated online dating.  And then bit the bullet and did it.  And now I am quitting it.
October The first weekend of October is another weekend I will not soon be forgetting.  My blog bestie, Rissa, came and visited!  We did the whole Harry Potter World thing and quickly became real life besties.  Cant wait to make it out to Arizona soon!

Two weekends later and I found myself in Georgia going to a Boyce Avenue concert with a best friend and my sister!  

November November was a quiet month for me around these parts.  But I did post about how I have become a crazy cat mom.  

Other than that it was filled with work and school and getting ready for a much needed Christmas break!
December Another quiet month for me around here.  I have been on break and totally enjoying it.  
We celebrated Christmas and had a wonderful time making new traditions!

It was a wonderful filling exciting year for me! Hear is to hoping yours was just as great and 2915 will be even better!!

A Christmas Recap

Every family has their own traditions for the holidays. As ours has grown up, many traditions have stayed and some new ones have been brought on. We are a traditions welcoming kind of family. And this year brought many many new traditions to our family. 

Christmas Eve held much newness for our house. In the past it has just been our family together. Maybe add a boy friend or girl friend some years or some aunts, uncles, and cousins. But typically just family. This year we invited my brothers girl friend and her family as well as my sisters boy friend and his family. Lots of new people on the house!

We served our traditional Christmas Eve meal, lasagna. But seating was a bit tricky for us this year. With 15 people we needed two tables. But try as we might, we could not come up with a good solution of where to seat people. And I don't know about you, but it is always nice when you go to dinner at someone's home to already have assigned seats.

Knowing we would be drawing numbers for white elephant gifts later (another new tradition), we had everyone pick their numbers early before dinner and then they had to find their number at one of the tables. They were all mixed up and you didn't know where you would end up. It added such a fun aspect to dinner! Most of the couples got separated and the tables were very varied amongst the three families!

After dinner we did white elephant gifts. We set a limit of $10 and everyone had to bring a gift. For those of you who have played white elephant, then you know how much fun it is!! Lots of laughs were shared and stealing done!

While Christmas Eve held the biggest hanged, Christmas Day was kind new to us too! For the first time EVER someone that is not part of the family spent Christmas morning with us. If I am being completely honest(which I always am) I was not looking forward to this. I pitched a major fit. But in the end it was nice to have my sisters boyfriend there and he made it a very nice morning. 

We woke up and started present opening by 8am. Both of my brothers had somewhere to be by 10 so we had to start early. This was something else new to us. Having siblings gone to be with other families most of the day. 

We all sat down for lunch at 1 and next things I knew it was 2 and it was just my parents and myself left in the house! I was he only child home most of Christmas Day. I'm not really complaining about that, but it made me notice two things: 1. I have no life 2. We are all growing up. Not too sure how I feel about either of those things!

Over all it was an awesome and amazing Christmas Day! It was spent with all five of my favorite people and I loved every minute of it! We not only got to celebrate our time with each other and open gifts, but we celebrated the best gift of all, the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Things I Forgot About Long Hair

It has been almost two years since I have had my hair this long.  And while I greatly missed the length when it was short, there are many other parts of having long hair I did not miss.  Two years is a long time to grow out your hair and in the mean time you forget what it is like to have long hairs on your head.  But now I remember.

I forgot... about all of the knots and tangles.  I have curly hair.  I do not brush my curly hair (I comb through it in the shower).  So the longer it gets the more tangles and knots I get.  Rats nests worst than a 6 year old who hasn't brushed her hair in a week.  And I hate it.

I forgot... how hot and sticky long hair can be.  My short hair was well short and did not stick to my neck when it was hot.  Plus the more hair I have the hotter I get.  

I forgot...that hair always in my face drives me nuts.  My hair is not just long, it is thick.  Really thick.  So by the end of the day it surrounds me and I end up pulling it up to get it out of the way.  But then it gets a crease in it and I have to wear it up for another day or two before I wash it again.

I forgot...the more hair you have the more product you use.  I am a lucky girl that all I have to do is wash my hair add product, and let it air dry in order to get some pretty awesome curls.  The only reason I use product is to contain the frizz. When it was short all I needed was one little dollop and could go almost two months without buying new product.  Long hair calls for multiple dollops and new product every 2-3 weeks. And it ain't cheap stuff!

I forgot...that the more hair I have the more I can do with it.  With it longer I have now been able to add some new hair styles to use.  I love more options.

I very much so have a love/hate relationship with my hair.  When it is short I want it long.  When it is long I want it short.  And right about now I am DYING to cut it all off.  But I made a promise to myself I would wait till after graduation to cut it.  So waiting I will do.  6 more months.

The End of The Semester

It is Monday morning and instead of going back through and refining the paper I spent over 10 hours writing yesterday, I find myself turning on my Christmas tree for the first time in days, lighting my Christmas tree candle, and opening up a blank blog page.  I have been ignoring this space for the past month or so, but now is the time I am feeling the call to come back.
The end of the semester is here and when it comes I seem to get a little silent around here.  I of course procrastinated all my work to the last minute (tomorrow) and now have to cram it all in.  But knowing tomorrow I will be done till January 5?  I can't wait.
So what else have been up to besides school?  Lots and lots of work.  Things are taking off for me in my internship even more than I could have believed.  The other day I had my first paying client!!! Nothing like a little money to make me feel official!
Hopefully after tomorrow I will be around this place a little more.  Nothing like Christmas time to give me some awesome things to share!  For now please grant me a little grace as I finish up my second to last semester of Grad School!

Online Dating: Being Single Is Good

I have decided Brutus is the only guy I need in my life!
Back in September I signed up for online dating.  You can read about some of my adventures here, here, and here.  I have not blogged about it in almost two months for a couple reasons.
1. I had nothing to update 2. When I finally had an update I wanted to wait
Well now that I have waited I can share my update.  About a month ago I started talking to someone I met online.  Everything I saw on his profile was great and when we started talking we didn't stop.  It was so nice to have someone to talk to.  But as time went on things changed.
He was nothing but a gentleman to me.  We had so much in common.  We had plans to meet this past weekend (due to Thanksgiving we had been waiting to meet).  And then I had a change of heart and called things off.
So what happened to make me have such a drastic change of heart before even meeting him?  A lot actually.  And it was not a decision I came to over night, easily, or without a lot of stress on my heart and on my mind.
One of my constant and biggest prayers is that God will lead me down the path He has for me.  That I will follow His plan in everything that I do. When I started online dating it was incorporated into this prayer.  That I would follow the Lord's path for me and that if I was meant to find someone I would.  And I would because that was His plan for me, not my own plan.
When I started talking to this guy I continued to pray about whether or not he was the person I would have any kind of future with.  And if I was not to have a future with him then I would know it before I got hurt in the process.
After almost a month of talking (via text only) and with plans set for meeting, I was not at peace with any of it.  I had no butterfly feelings (really I had never had any while talking to him), I was sick to my stomach, and I could not sleep at all.  I would dread the idea that he would text me and I did not want to talk to him.  Nothing felt right.
All I could think about was if this was someone I would possibly have some kind of future with then why do I feel so negatively about it??  Why do I not want to talk to him at all?  Why do I get annoyed with things he says?  Why do I feel so stressed about it all?
I finally came to the realization that this was not meant to be for me.  When I brought it up to friends and loved ones they all asked the same question, "Are you sure this isn't nerves?".  Hands down I knew it was not nerves and I was not scared.  I may not know how to talk about my feelings, but I do know them and I know myself.  Things were not right.
Add in the fact that we live two hours apart and would have to each drive a ways to meet, I had to put and end to things.  And with the help of a wonderful friend I did.  I felt so completely awful to do this to him.  I knew it was going to come out of the blue, and I really hate hurting people.  He was so sweet and understanding which was so nice to hear.
The moment I told him my feelings and made the decision to not meet with him I was immediately at peace.  I was freed from my stress and worry.  I know I made the right choice and I do not regret it at all.  
Through this whole process I came to realize something pretty important.  I pushed for me to meet someone.  I told myself I needed someone in order to be happy.  I wanted to be in a relationship and I pushed for it to happen.  I followed my own path and prayed the Lord would follow.
I needed to follow my own path in order to learn that for the first time in my life, I am happy being single.  Being single is a good thing.  Through this time of being single I will better be able to bless others and myself.  I want to focus on my career and being the best counselor I can be.  
I feel as though this is the path God has for me.  And as long as I allow him to be in control of my life, I know that I will be doing what is right for me.  I know I will succeed and be happy, even if it is just me and Brutus.  For now I will enjoy this time of my life.  And when it is time for me to be in a relationship I will.

Operation Read Your Shelves: A Love Undone

One of my favorite things about reading is that I get to learn about different cultures and people.  One of my favorite cultures that I have grown up reading about in fictional books is the Amish culture.  I have been reading books about the Amish for as long as I can remember and it has probably been the one my favorite topics ever.
So when I came across A Love Undone by Cindy Woodsmall, I knew I would devour the book.  And that I did.  This is the first book I have read by Cindy Woodsmall and she took a different take on the Amish culture than I had read before.  I loved her writing style and that I was able to learn about a different part of the culture presented.
In this novel you explore love, loss, and God's unfailing grace.  Throughout the whole book you are rooting for the main characters, but have no idea how they will make their love work.  I loved the trust they had in the Lord, even through the many tragedies they faced.  It was a great encouragement to me to see even through fictional characters how trust in the Lord always turns out better than trust in ourselves or others. 
If you love reading about different cultures, especially the Amish, then this is a great book to read.  It will warm your heart and make you cry all at the same time!
Last month through this link-up I discovered Blogging for Books.  Bringing together my two most favorite hobbies?? Hello this is a must for me!  I received this book for free in exchange for a review.  All opinions here are my own.  

Bedroom Makeover

I moved into my apartment September of 2013.  By October of 2013 I basically stopped decorating my apartment.  I had done a lot, got burned out, and ran out of money.  What I had decorated was great, but I have always wanted to do more.
Fast forward to a year later and while I had decorated and changed up my living room, I had yet to decorate my bedroom.  Honestly no one but me goes in there, clothes are always all over the place, and what I have wanted to do was going to cost money.  But I finally bit the bullet and got my bedroom decorated...at least a little bit!
The Before: Sorry for the unmade bed:)

I liked my cream colored curtains because they made the room light.  But they were terrible about blocking out light.  And the apartment complex decided a couple weeks ago to replace our street light bulbs with the brightest ones they could find.  There just so happens to be a street light right outside my apartment.  So darker curtains were needed.
That little space with the printer?  I have wanted to add a table and decorate the wall for all my jewelry.  I shopped around and found the table below from Walmart.  Assemble was weird, but it works.  And it was cost efficient.

I feel like I still need to add to the wall behind my bed.  But I am not sure what else I want to put with my monogram.  Suggestions anyone?  I am open to just about anything!

Please excuse the chair full of clothes.  At least I made the bed?  Also still looking/saving for a real desk chair.  The current one is from my dining room.

One of my friends from college, Becky, made the earring holder.  I love it!  I have found that when I display all of my jewelry, the more likely I am to wear it.  Also I had forgotten how many earrings I have.  It had all been hidden away for the last year because I did not have a place for my jewelry.

The table was the perfect addition I needed.  I love the color and height and that my printer can fit underneath it.  I wish the printer was more hidden, but hey it's a give and take when you are decorating on a budget!
I am in love with my new additions!  Plus I am pretty proud of myself for finally getting around to decorating my room.  Also sorry for the crappy iphone pictures.  It was quicker and easier than pulling out the big camera!