Category Archives: 5 THINGS series

5 THINGS: Top Five Girl Trips…

Posted on by
Reply

I know I said that I didn’t have a Valentine…. but really, I have three: My friends. They have given me gifts, asked how my day is going & paid for dinner. That right there? That’s a Valentine in my book!

Out of the 10,203 outings we’ve shared I have my own personal favorites. This 5 THINGS series is dedicated to those exact moments. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane…

1. Las Vegas (August 2006) - We were 19-years-old and there for an event being held at the Thomas & Mac center, hosted by our church (yes, I met my lovely friends in our church youth group). Our parents allowed for us to not only drive up alone, but stay in our own hotel room close to the LV strip. We were free and did the only thing that 19-year-olds can do in Vegas… walk to strip, at 1am. We were cool like that! Until we ran into our youth group leader. Fail! Hey youth leader…. The 25yr-old version of the “Fab Four” would like to say that no, we were not looking for something on the floor. And yes, we were hiding from you ;)  

2. San Diego  (April 2007)- It was a Thursday. We all took the afternoon off of work and drove to San Diego to watch the Dodgers play the Padres. (We do that, travel in the name of sportsmanship) Between driving around in a brand new SUV, sporting our big sunglasses & singing Ashley Simpson songs, this trip was worth only having 3 hours of sleep before work the next day.   

3. Hollywood (December 2008)- Technically we were still in our home town… but it’s still one of my favorite nights. We headed to the Troubadour (local venue) to watch a band perform, stood right behind Brent Bolthouse in the valet line. Sidenote: If you ever watched The Hills on MTV, you know who that is. Oh and we almost ran over Adrien Grenier as he crossed the street in front of our car. You know, super Hollywood.       

4. San Francisco (August 2010)-  The weekend we “almost died!!” Twice. San Fran, you are a lovely place. Really you are, but what’s with all the One-Way streets?! Four girls driving down the wrong side of the road, screaming as on-coming traffic approaches is not cute! Fortunately we made it out in one piece :) Just a word of advice while booking hotels: do your research people! Our “cozy room, on a non-busy street” turned out to be a ghetto-fab room, with tiny beds, in the back of an alley… above a bar. For real.

5. New York City/ Philadelphia (September 2011)-  Nine days of pure amazingness!! The city, the lights, the food, even the subway…. everything is magical on the east coast. Ok, ALMOST everything. A few things that weren’t so hot? A.) Deciding to take a tour of Central Park without asking the price. Turns out it was $90. PER PERSON. B.) Taking the wrong subway, ending up somewhere in Queens and having to take the bus through a rough side of town, at night. I nearly cried….. and yet I would do it all over again ;)

 

Happy Valentine Tuesday! 

5 THINGS: Five Lifestyle Upgrades

Posted on by
Reply
” You have to be brave with your life 
so that others can be brave with theirs “

I don’t know about everyone else, but I am still holding on to that “New Year, New Me” motivation kick. I mean, there’s something so legitimate about the beginning of a new year that screams “FRESH START!!”… right?  Even though we have the power to make lifestyle changes any day of the year, this seems like the right time. Now I am no life coach, but I can be the brave soul that is willing to make the changes needed for an oh-so-fab life, and put it on blast for all to read. Anyone with me??

In this “5 Things” series I listed out five changes that I would like to make in my life, personally. Maybe you can relate to them…. or perhaps not one of these is your cup of tea. ALL GOOD! My hope is that this encourages you to seek the changes you would like to make within yourself and do it! :)

Remember that I am too blessed to be stressed….

Be my own Financial Advisor….

Move past disappointment… in a timely manner….  

De-clutter…my closet, relationships – and everything in between….

Give 100% or don’t do it at all…

Happy Thursday :)

5 THINGS: My Five Doors To Close

Posted on by
2

Merry Christmas all!! Yes, it’s a tad late…. but hey, in all fairness I was busy cooking up a schmorgesborg and entertaining family in honor of sweet baby Jesus =) That’s a good excuse right? Right! 

For the new year I am starting a new segment called “5 Things” that I am hoping to dedicate one weekly post to. Why five? I HAVE NO CLUE . Ten seems like too many items so I wanted to keep it safe. Five things it is! This segment will serve as a list, guide, breakdown, etc. to various topics. It might take a hot minute, but it will be a fun addition to the blog. Be warned that it is my personal take-slash-opinion so it may be a bit out there ;)  

In this first edition of 5 Things I want to break down the things I must let go of STATS! With the new year right around the corner this seems like a totally appropriate thing to do now. 

1. Never Going to College

This may or may not be big for everyone, but to me it meant the world. For real…. as in, it still bothers me to this day (years after high school) that I worked so hard to be offered admission into some of the best universities & never went. Now that I have a new perspective on what I pursue in life I realize that God has a better plan for me and the whole college experience may just not have been it. I am ready to be ok with that. In fact, I want to be perfectly content with the idea. This has not stopped me from moving forward & accomplishing great things… so why leave this door opened? DOOR SLAMMED.

2. Friendships That Didn’t Last

I think everyone can relate with losing that one great friend. For one reason or another; jobs, new relationships, relocating, etc… things changed and your friendship was never the same and maybe even ended all together. I’ll admit that I’m that girl that does not like to give up on my friends, but I also want to be the girl who can let go. This does not mean that I will not be here for them, because I ALWAYS will. It just means that I won’t stress or hinder myself on a one-sided journey in trying to keep them in my life. DOOR SLAMMED but not locked, just in case. 

3. Not Asking For Help

“Miss independent, Miss Self-Sufficient, Miss-Keep-Your-Distance” lyrics to a popular Kelly Clarkson song that I took to heart because I have never liked asking for help. My family, my friends, even my boss can vow for that! I take on WAY more than I should and would rather gain grey hairs than to say I cannot do something alone and ask for a hand (all the while keeping the smile on my face). Lame! We all need help! This does not make us any less competent, it makes us human. So feel free to offer your aide, you know, to those of us who are scared to ask =) We’ll take it! DOOR SLAMMED.

4. It Has to Be Perfect

Just because I am happy-go-lucky does not meant that I am not nitpicky. Re-writing entire documents because the format is a bit off or the fonts do not match? Been there, done that. Staying home because my hair was still a hot mess after 3 attempts? Yup, done that. Re-labeling 78 work files because they were not left justified? Done that too. This madness has to stop! After that last example, do you blame me? What’s worse is that 3 years later, not one person has noticed those new labels. Rude! So trust me on this one, learn to let it go. DOOR SLAMMED.

5. Single For Life

Do I really need to go into detail on this one? I mean, eventually I will address the topic just for kicks. Not now though. We often joke around about being “single for life” but sometimes I freak myself out about it. I will not do that any more…. Love will come. Tomorrow, next year, in five years. Whenever! So I vow to chillax and enjoy this season in life. DOOR SLAMMED. Except for you, prince charming…. And Ryan Gosling ;)  

Anyone care to share your list of things to let go?? Lets do this together!