How "The Sims" are summing up my goals this month



Half way through August and I am writing this to check in on the goal I set for myself this month. The goal was to let everything go and work on myself. What I have come to realize while working on this goal, is that means so much more than I originally thought. 

This is a raw honest update, because honestly I don’t know how else to write it. 

Relationships are hard. You have to work at them ALL OF THE TIME. Today it often reminds me of how you had to keep relationships going while playing the game The Sims. You would have to interact with all of these people regularly or they would no longer be your friend. 

I used to laugh at this but also get really annoyed. “Who needs to really talk to someone every day to keep someone from being angry?” It was my least favorite part of the game. 

Maybe that spoke a lot about my own personal character. I know we all have that saying about good friends being able to bounce right back to where you were last time you met. I believe in that to a point. Do we ever REALLY feel 100% comfortable with a person we haven’t seen in 5 years? Maybe more comfortable than we thought we would, but life is not the same at that point. Things have happened to both of you that did not happen together. 

It’s a harsh reality to swallow sometimes. That person you once knew so well could be like a stranger to you the next time you meet. Not because you did something wrong, but because you did not keep in touch. Because you did not work at that relationship as much as you through you did. 

More bad news. This can also happen with someone you live with every day. You somehow lose the communication you once had. Or maybe you never really had the communication but now that things are going south, you see the strain. You see the part where you are no longer connecting. 

It’s scary. You feel lost and trapped, but don’t necessarily want that relationship to end. You see that other things got in the way. Work. Family. Friends. Somewhere along the way your relationship became less of a priority. 

We didn’t work as hard as we should have. We had to come to a place where things got scary to realize we needed help. We needed to bring back that communication we lost somewhere along the way. We needed to make “us” a priority again. 

Today I am proud to say that R and I are on the right path again. We are making “us” a priority again. We are pushing everything else back to ensure we are healthy and happy first. We have vowed to make this work because we love each other and are planning to spend the rest of our lives together. In 38 days we say ‘I do’. 

I am happy to say I am also ready to start working on all of my relationships. Friends and family alike. It’s time we all start talking again. It’s time to have that interaction. Thanks to The Sims for reminding me of that. Reminding me that if I want to succeed I need a network of people to back me up. But for them to back me up I need to interact with them on a regular basis. I need to share with them my needs and feelings. 

Thank you again for sticking with me through these rough waters. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to see the light and where you need to go. I can finally see the light again. 

Here’s to the rest of August and making happy and healthy choices!


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Summer Olympics!

So I know I said I was taking time off from the blog this month for me, however I am a writing this one for fun. I am a HUGE Olympic freak and I need to write some commentary. Like most people I am glued to the TV during swimming and women's gymnastics.

We have some of the best athletes in the world here in the United States and I couldn't be more proud to be an American during these games.

I remember watching my first Olympics where I actually paid attention in 1996. It was the Summer before I went into the 8th grade. The games were in Atlanta. I watched the Fab 7 win a gold medal.

It was the first time I knew what it felt like to be patriotic and proud of my country. I have watched ever since. Laughing and crying my way through each Summer Olympics.

Can we put our hand together for Simone Manuel? She is amazing! She rocked that race last night and earned that gold medal! You go girl!

And then there's Michael Phelps. What can we say other than wow! He just keeps going.

The Final Five killed it with their near perfect routines. So much dedication to this sport and our country. Woman's gymnastics is both exciting and heartbreaking. One little mistake can take a medal from you.

Aly Raisman and Simone Biles are amazing athletes. Both with flawless routines. Could not keep my eyes off the screen while they performed.

And I have to mention Figi. Winning their first ever Olympic medal. A gold medal in rugby! That is so amazing!

These games have been amazing. So many records and first times. This is what the world should look like all the time. Cheering eachother along. High fiving and hugging whether you win or lose.

Let's keep the love going! #TeamWorld

Also happy birthday to my mom!


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August 2016 Goals

Welp, it happened. I have hit that burn out wall again. I have been pushing myself like crazy in all aspects of my life again and I am feeling the burn bad. I am going to have to put some things aside for a bit, and I am sad to say this blog will be one of them for now. 

My goal for August is easier said than done, but here goes nothing. 

My one and only goal is:

RELAX 

I tried to take some "me" time in July and it just didn't happen as much as I wanted it to. Between wedding planning, work commitments, family, and everything in between, I literally am pulled as thin as I can take comfortably without breaking down. I had my bridal shower over the weekend and would love to talk about it. I will. It just may have to wait til September. Maybe that is appropriate as it is my wedding month. Maybe that will be something fun to do all month. Something for me to look forward to when I come back to the blog.

 For now, I am taking August off. I have already missed the first week of it, so it was a good time to say, I need a break. I will be popping in from time to time to read blogs and maybe do something here, but I am making no promises. I need to learn to let things go to recharge, and this time I'm going to stick to it. 

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer! I will see you all back here in September! <3
 

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Walking Through Wanderlust

Now that the travel itch has taken over, and I have no trips currently scheduled, I figured I would start a new series called Walking Through Wanderlust. I am going to start this series by recapping all of the places I have been thus far, and hopefully I will have newer destinations to post later this year. In the mean time I have oodles of photos to post from some of my past trips, including advice on what to do and see in each place.

Today I want to focus on my most recent trip because it's still fresh in my mind.

Destination: Denver/Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Date: May 7-10 2016
Day 1 & 2

We flew into Denver and then drove half way to Glenwood Springs. I would have to say, this was one of the best choices we could have made. It was beautiful, but we ran into winter conditions just as it started to get dark, which wasn't far from where we had plans to stop for the night. Today I want to share with you day 1 which consisted of our half way point drive to Glenwood springs and what we did on day 2.


We landed later in the day in Denver and were greeted by this lovely sky. We quickly headed for the rental cars and booked it to the highway before the storm hit.

Heading into the Rockies! Wish us luck!

We drove halfway to Glenwood Springs our first night and stopped at a cute little hotel in Friscoe called The Alpine Inn. It looked very new and was very quiet. It had an indoor pool and Jacuzzi, which we took advantage of after a scary drive in the mountains. The snow was really coming down when we parked at the hotel. We enjoyed how cozy the place was!

The lobby at the Alpine Inn
We got up the next morning to make the second part of the trek to Glenwood Springs. We had really nice weather and some pretty amazing scenery!

Our view outside the Alpine Inn before we hit the road.


We made it to Glenwood Springs earlier than anticipated so we decided to take a walk and get some brunch. We ate at the Colorado Ranch House, which was serving your first mimosa free in honor of Mother's Day. It was pretty amazing along with the food. I recommend this place to anyone who is visiting the area! The outdoor patio was super cute too!


We finished up our brunch right as it started to rain, and just in time to be able to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Best Western The Antlers. It was a really cute hotel centrally located to all the attractions in the area, including the hot springs. The price was pretty great too.


We spend an hour or so in the hotel and then headed to Iron Mountain Hot Springs. This was the highlight of the trip! I had been dying to get into some hot springs and Glenwood Springs was the perfect destination for that.

(Source)
We had such a good time at the springs (pictured above), we did not take our phones or cameras in. We did not want to risk getting them wet. I was glad we didn't because while enjoying the soaking tubs, a quick hail storm came over the mountains and drenched us. Let me just say, running barefoot in the ice from the hail was not fun. But, as they say in Glenwood Springs, "Welcome to Spring in the Rockies!"

We enjoyed this part of the day a lot. We got back to the hotel and showered and nearly fell asleep from all of the travelling and relaxation we experience that day. We peeled ourselves off the bed and headed out to dinner at a place called Grinder. It had really good food and the prices were decent. I am glad we had a chance to eat here. There were so many options!

This is how we spent our first full day (Day 2) in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Come back next Wednesday to see how the rest of our trip went!



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When Blogging is Awkward


If you're a blogger you've probably found yourself in some kind of awkward situation. Whether it be to get that perfect photo, or talking about a subject that makes others uncomfortable. We have all been there at least once. I thought I would start a series to share my laughable awkward moments. I hope you will follow along and share your laughable awkward moments as well!

Awkward Moment # 257

Friend 1: I have a package that got delivered to my house in your name.

Me: Well that's funny, but either way I'm glad you have it.

Friend 1: Want me to bring it over to you while you're at work?

Me: Sure!

An hour later: Friend 1 shows up with Friend 2 who is a male

Friend 1: Here is the box!

Friend 2: I hope whatever is in that box is important! She ran it right over!

Me: Oh it's just some tampons! No big deal.

Friend 2: Laughs (makes a joke kind of uncomfortable)

Me: I mean it's for blogging. I need to review them.

Friend 1 and 2: Laughs.

Me: Oh blogging! 



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