Category: Thoughts

All or Nothing

How is it possible that we can go from going 500mph, firing on all cylinders, 100% of the time to these periods of nothing?! Its an odd feeling, and currently, thats the state I am in. I am trying to effectively navigate it but honestly, it almost seems like more of a struggle than the 500mph I am used to.  So how am I embracing it….

First, sleep! Yes, I am still working the night shift but that is only 1-2 nights a week right now so I am 100% allowing myself to recover from each shift. This has been an incredible change of pace and honestly is making the night shift a little more bearable.

Elementary School Friends

Number two, friends! All those people I neglected the past 6months, I am making an effort to see and it has been fantastic. I have loved reconnecting and just enjoying the ability to really embrace conversation that during times of chaos doesn’t happen.

Three, my house is finally getting some MUCH NEEDED love! I feel like it has been neglected since I moved in nearly three years ago since I started nursing school almost immediately after purchasing my home. I have been cleaning out and redecorating and it feels so good (even if it is still a work in progress).

Four, I am actually working out again! I have been running (alone and with friends…hey more connection!), lots of long walks with some of my favorite podcasts, and going to core power yoga several times a week.

Five, cooking real meals! This is strange but I have to give all the love to Trader Joes, with this extra time, it is allowing to actually get back in the kitchen without it feeling like such a chore.

And last but not least, six. I am back out there dating!!! Yes, you heard that right. Over

the last few weeks I have gone on some great dates and I am really enjoying putting myself back out there. Just like the free time thing, this is also strange but I am ready to fully embrace it…. and I promise, no more long distance relationships for me!

So to close, the past 6 month have brought a lot of change in my life for both the good and the bad. I have had the highs of graduating nursing school and passing my boards to the lows of losing my grandma and so much in between. But regardless of these highs and lows, it has brought me to this 5 week period of “free time.” Time I am not sure how to use, but I am trying to take advantage of as I know I will probably never have these days again.

Leave a comment below and tell me how you use your free time!

 

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Once a Runner…{maybe} Always a Runner

Since high school I have always been able to call myself a runner but then that nursing school thing came along and remember how I mentioned I am the most unhealthy I have ever been in yesterday’s post, well now running is a struggle! Before now (read last 6months) I have trained for marathons and ironman triathlons. I even managed to push through a few races at the beginning of nursing school but in reality, they were weak races and I struggled through them. Nursing school takes a lot out of me! It’s an excuse but also the truth! Training runs get cut short and are sometimes cut out all together and sleep and nutrition are at an all time low. I’m not going to lie, I HATE IT!! I like being a runner.

So what to do about it… Pout, whine, cry?! Well, that’s what I want to do but since that’s getting me nowhere, I have had to start at ground zero! Seriously 1 and 2 mile runs make up the majority of my miles these days. They are slow and almost always include a walk somewhere in the middle. This is brutal! Coming from the girl where a 10mile run was a quick jaunt in the park to this is right up there with heart breaking.

It makes me want to stomp my feet and melt into a puddle. Running has always been an identity of mine and now I feel like I am failing that part of who I am.

So for real… what to do about it?! I want my runner girl identity back! My lost stride needs to return!

My initial thought is to sign up for a half marathon this summer while I am out of school and make that my focus. I will still be busy with work but not nearly as busy as I am when I am working and going school. My thought is this will help me create that healthy routine again and if I can create that routine, I will be better able to carry it through my last semester of school. Maybe even set a goal for another half marathon late in the semester so I HAVE to keep it going?

Please comment with advice below if you have experience with STARTING ALL OVER! Help a former and one day future runner girl (again) out!!

Nursing School in a Nutshell

img_3532Imagine yourself on fire, juggling chainsaws, running from a T-Rex, and pulling a sled of giant, squealing cats all at once on about 3hrs of sleep and an energy drink in hand…that is about how I would describe nursing school.

Needless to say, it has been one of the most stressful times of my life and has lead me to a point of being the least healthy version of myself…which I find quite comical as we are always being taught about “how to be healthy” and “how to advocate for our patient’s health.”

All this chaos and stress stems from the very first day you step on campus when you get the initial lecture, that is then constantly reiterated by all instructors to follow, that says “You’re holding someone’s life in your hands with every decision you make” and that “Everything you will learn over these 2-3years will be important for your career as a nurse.” For me, this has stuck and has added a whole extra layer to the stress. This time I am not going to school just to get a job, I am going to school to have a career making peoples lives better and if not better, at least more comfortable. That’s a pretty big concept to wrap your mind around if you ask me.

To bring that back to nursing school, that statement means each and every time you go to class it requires all of your focus and attention so that you can learn to be the best nurse possible. You will stay up all night studying for the exams where 4 of the 5 answers are correct and doing patient research into the wee hours of the morning so the next morning you can spit off a list of meds and what they are used for and your plan of care with all the interventions you could possibly find just so that you will be allowed on the unit to try and be the best advocate for that patient’s health that day. IMG_5306

All of these things take up much of your time, so try to add a job or a family or even just a coffee date with a friend in there and quick bites to eat and energy drinks are sure to come your way. Anything that will allow you to keep pushing though to the finish line. So forget about your hours of fancy meal prep each week and the time spent exercising, those will come back when you finish (or when you finally catch your stride in the program) and set your focus on the finish line. A line that truthfully is a bit imaginary as when you graduate you still have not earned the title of “Nurse.” So don’t let up on the studying because your tassel had turned, your boards exam is yet to come. It is not until the word PASS comes across your screen and your name is on the state registry do you get to place those two sacred letters, RN, behind your name. That is when you are officially a “Nurse!”

The stress is unreal but the outcome will be surreal! So, happy studying my fellow nursing students, we will make eventually!

 

11months later…

So its been almost exactly 11months since I last posted and I cant lie, I have missed writing A LOT! Life has been insane through these past 11months [hints the lack of posts] and I’ll be totally honest, although I have completed an Ironman 70.3, a full Ironman, and a handful of road races scattered in during that time, I have totally fallen off the “healthy” wagon. But before I get too far ahead of myself let me back up and catch you up on life….

April 2016… I got settled into my new home. The rooms were set up, pictures hung on the wall, life got in order. Things were good. The job for center director at Jenny Craig was coming available and I was the top candidate for the job.

May… Baby Brother (aka Alex) graduated from Appalachian State University. The entire family made a mountain weekend out of it. Also, I finished the crazy interview process  with Jenny Craig and got the job as Center Director!

June… I started in my new role at Jenny Craig. Something I had worked hard for and unfortunately had fallen short of in the past when it had come available. The new role was hectic and crazy and I even had to hire someone in my first few weeks on the job to fill my old role. It was a big learning curve. I completed Raleigh 70.3 AND this month I met an amazing man on Tinder and we quickly hit things off (spoiler alert, he’s still putting with me !!).

July… Things are on the up! I got late acceptance into nursing school at my first choice school. I had applied back in November when I came up short on securing the center director role previously. I had been patiently waiting with fingers crossed for acceptance into the schools I had applied to yet time and time again I had been waitlisted so just as I had almost given up hope, I received the call that I was going to be attending Carolinas College of Health Sciences. Seeing as nursing had been something I had wanted to do for a while I was now more eager than ever to get that next degree…and just in time before many of my classes from my previous degree expired.

On a sad note, my furry brother, King Chase, whose health had been failing for a while passed away this month. This brought many tears to our family but to have him go to doggy heaven while we all held him to his very last breath was the best way it could have possibly happened. Truthfully, for as “dumb” as we all thought he was at times he may have been the smartest in the family… after all he waited till all four of us were home to make his final send off.

August/September… Nursing school got real! Everyone warns you it’s tough but dang, it is like 947,923,872,039,237 times harder than I had ever imagined. I was spending what seemed like every evening in the library or in some classroom and plenty of early mornings up and at the books too. Caffeine became a must, eating on the go happened way too often, and I felt like I was just barely making it by taking my three classes and still working as Jenny Craig’s center director (40hrs a week). Dave (Tinder Man) was a saint, even this early on in our relationship he was able to calm me down and bring my spiraling out of orbit head back to my shoulders where it belonged. Through this crazy schedule, we still made time for trips back and forth to see each other and saw some pretty views from the tops of the mountains we hiked. Oh I forgot to mention, curve ball, Dave lives in Atlanta! A 4hr drive from me!! Thank goodness for text messages and FaceTime. Also during this time I had a roommate with a furry friend move in with me in my new home.

October… Ironman North Carolina. To say I was ready and trained for this race would be one of the biggest lies I could tell. Yes I had put in a lot of miles but I was’t anywhere close to being ready for a race of this magnitude. 140.6miles is no joke and my training had been sporadic and inconsistent at best. With many miles coming from trainer rides while watching lectures I wasn’t near where I needed to be. So although I was bummed the hurricane flooded part of the course cutting 56miles out of the race it was probably for the best for me. All that is to say, I was still exhausted with the race I completed and happy to be announced as an Ironman once again. Following this race, a job change came about. Through the crazy of August and September, I squeezed in a job interview at one of the local hospitals for a night shift CNA role. Boy I had no idea what was about to come my way. Things started slow but quickly progressed at the hospital… Also this month Dave and I made a quick weekend trip to NY to visit some of his friends and family and a trip to Asheville to hike with another couple he has known for many years.

November… I am in full swing of school and working night shift as a CNA. If I thought caffeine was a must before I was crazy because now I felt new kinds of exhaustion that I had never felt before. Going straight to class following 12hr shift was both physically and mentally draining. I seriously had to schedule in sleep amongst my studies and work. Forget about exercise and eating right…I guess you could say I went into survival mode. Fast food, energy drinks, and car naps became a regular thing. My body hated me but this was just how it was going to be. And, to top it off, things started to become rocky with the roommate making home a less than peaceful place to be. Thank goodness for thanksgiving break to give me a little breather, a chance to run a local 10k, and to make the trip to see Dave and his family down in Atlanta.

December… Final exams followed by a much needed break! Dave and I got to visit each other a fair amount and I did a lot of sleeping when I was off from work. I was finally starting to feel like myself again. And added bonus, all grades came back and I had officially passed my first full semester of nursing school. This month I also had the reality that hospitals never close and someone has to be there around the clock to take care of the patients. I was assigned to work Christmas night. I think this was harder on mom than it was me but nonetheless, it was eye opening into the career I am embarking on. The year rounded out with a fun trip to Atlanta to ring in the New Year.

January 2017… January 1 Dave and I celebrated 6months of being together and I enjoyed my last couple weeks of break before the crazy school work combo hit hard again. We made a weekend trip to Helen, GA where we played in the snow and enjoyed the quiet town just before my classes started. By this point to say my roommate situation was rocky would be an understatement. Things became downright hostile. I hated going home and rarely could get any sleep when I was there. Thankfully she moved out this month and my life has since gone back to being much more peaceful.

February… More of the same, Dave keeps me grounded and we made several weekend trips to see one another, school is insane, and working nights, although I am starting to figure it out is still kicking my booty! Healthy eating and living has gone out the window just as it had the previous semester and training for my upcoming marathon was a distant thought. I was struggling to keep afloat.

March…Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay afloat enough in my first intermediate nursing class. I fell below the bar and will have to retake the course in a later semester. Thankfully spring break followed my disaster course and allowed me a full week to clear my head. During this time I traveled to Atlanta for a long weekend and even took 2 full days to myself {can you say Netflix binge?!}. I am now finishing out this semester with just two classes, anatomy and physiology two and psychology. I will pick back up with my nursing classes this summer. Aside from school, Dave and I ran the Georgia Marathon this past weekend. Not my fastest time but without a doubt my most enjoyable one. Crossing the finish line hand in hand will be a lasting memory for me.

And now we are up to date! I look forward to writing more in the coming weeks! 🙂

 

Treading Water

Hello Hello! Happy Monday y’all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and your Monday has gotten off to a great start. I had a great weekend. It kicked off Friday with an early visit from Dylan and an afternoon at the Wells Fargo golf tournament. Saturday morning started out bright and early at work before driving south to a good family friend’s wedding. How cool is this y’all…she wore the same dress as her grandmother and mother did many year before just made slight alterations. After the wedding Dylan and I headed to the lake for a little paddle boarding before he hit the road for Greenville and I back home to Charlotte. Upon arriving home, my long lost running girlfriend, Kimberly, showed up at my door. We had a great time, stayed up late chatting then in the morning went for a 5mi run before playing on the lake till the she had to hop on the train to head home. It was great getting to catch up with Kimberly and just get to discuss life with someone who knows me almost as well as I know myself. She has seen me go through ups and downs and has been there every step as I try to figure out my future. So that where today’s post comes from….

As Kimberly and I talked, it seems as if we are both “treading water.” Sometimes it is with great success and our heads are far out of the water and other times it is just as if we are about an inch above the surface and hanging on for dear life. We are both at about the one year mark into the professional world and still running with our heads cut off like we did in college; trying to juggle holding down a full time job, long commutes, maintaining relationships of the past, creating new relationships in new cities, keeping up with training, and finding the balance of family and fun. It seems like the days are never ending and free moments are few and far in between.

This state of “Treading Water” is something no one ever told me I’d be doing immediately out of college. I thought I would land the perfect job, marry the love of my life immediately after graduation, and be settled into a city with close friends. I never thought I would be working two jobs and would meet my boyfriend and roommate online. I could have never ever imagined it would be this difficult to meet new people and that I would work so many hours for such a little paycheck.

And this isn’t to say I’m not happy….in fact I am very happy. I have learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I have learned about myself my entire life. I have had to grow up… paying my own rent and bills and insurance and being 100% in charge of myself. Your early 20s are a time in your life of great change. It’s almost like you’re the awkward middle schooler again. One day you’re on top of the world and the next day you’re knocked right back down to the bottom to learn a new lesson yet again. Bosses expect that you know the lay of the land but really you’re like Bambi fumbling around to get your bearings and stand on your own feet.

So if I were to tell a new college graduate what life will be like in the year to two years following college, I would say be prepared “tread.” You’re going to have to pay your dues, be flexible, take opportunities when they present themselves, be patient, and work your butt off.

Have a great Monday y’all!

Tuesday Things

Hey Friends! How are y’all doing?! Things are a bit crazy here so to continue with the chaos I call life, I bring you my most unfocused blog post yet. Here are some things going on in my life and on my mind these days….

1. Hallelujah!! 31Day Detox is done in just a few hours. Most days have been totally fine but goodness I have had several days (<–read like last 10 days) I have wanted sugar and salt!!! I will write a full update on my 31Day Detox experience later this week.

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last weekends date night dinner…. low country shrimp boil and baked apple slices with cinnamon

2. Sorry 5AM, we have divorced and 4AM has taken my heart. I have quite a few more clients at the Y as of recently and dang it has made for some early mornings. I used to think getting up in the 5 o’clock hour was rough but now I have separated from that thought and have become good friends with Miss 4AM! Holy crow I don’t know that I will ever get used to this one!

3. The triathlon team at the Y is up and running for our next 8 week session and this go around I am an official coach and loving it!! The other two coaches are teaching me so much and it really is such a joy to go to each of the practices whether I am leading it or just participating.

4. Speaking of triathlon….Ironman training is in full swing! It definitely keeps me especially busy with my typical 2 workouts a day. Veteran Ironman competitors, any suggestions on finding the balance and fitting it all in? I feel like some days there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished or I am just exhausted. I am hoping as I figure out more of a schedule this will get easier.

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look closely and you will see my new training partner Izzy! she is totally fascinated my by trainer. 

5. Starburst Jelly Beans…get in my tummy!!!! …ahhhh just a few more hours!!! Is anyone else quite as obsessed as I am about these deliciously, fantastic candies?!

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can you sense my excitement?! 

6. Rock ‘n Roll Raleigh half marathon is almost here!!! Dylan and I did our last really long run (14miles) this past weekend and will be in full taper mode come Sunday! I am so excited for this race for a couple reasons…

  • Dylan and I are doing it together….we have already agreed that this race we will do start to finish together unless something catastrophic happens. Those who know me well will understand just how excited I am about this!
  • We are staying with my good friend Kathryn and her hubby in their NEW HOUSE!!! I cannot wait to see her and the new place!!
  • I am going back to Raleigh!!! Need I say more?!

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a couple weekends ago, our 4:30AM 12 mile training run! head lamps and reflectors were a must!

7. I am always hungry. I think this is because I am starting to ramp up the miles in my training and the detox had me eating a lot of fruits and veggies which unfortunately don’t keep you quite as full.

8. Guess who has her first three days off in a row since Christmas….?!!?!? THIS GIRL!!!! This weekend I am taking off Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday!!! I am so ready for the break. I know I will still be training and running around crazy since I do date “the hyper one” as my mom calls him but I am so excited to step away from work for a full 3 days. I think this break will do me well. Plus I will be getting away from Charlotte and will be headed up the mountains with my family and Dylan for Easter weekend where it looks like lots of starburst jelly beans will be had, hikes will be taken, and baseball will be watched.

9. I am loving this warmer weather!! And added bonus Alexie just informed me that so many fun things happen in Charlotte come spring and summer….think concerts at the white water center and baseball games in uptown!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

10. We have had a great couple weekends in the mountains. Three weeks ago just for a day trip and two weekends ago for an entire 24hours! I love getting to spend a little extra time with my family and the hyper one.

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baseball games and mountain hikes with my favorite people

11. I miss blogging. I know I have had my ups and downs with my posting frequency but I really enjoy it so I hope I am able to find more time to get posts up more regularly in the coming weeks and months. Speaking of which….what would you like to see more of on the blog?? Also, fellow bloggers, what is your strategy in a busy week to get a couple posts up?

I guess I will call it quits here….I would love to hear whats been going on with you and what you’d like to see more of on the blog. Be sure if you are a veteran ironman competitor to let me know how you find the balance of life and training. If you are a blogger, what is your strategy for posting frequently when you’re busy. And if you are just as obsessed with Starburst Jelly Beans as I am or if you have a different favorite Easter related candy!

Happy Tuesday Y’all!

Life’s Not Perfect

… but it is pretty dang good. Lately I have felt like I have been running on E. I am working most every day of the week and filling the rest of my time with family, friends, training, and trying to stay on top of all the other necessities of life. It seems like I am nonstop from the time I rise to the moment my head hits the pillow. I mean twice this week I have fallen (like dead asleep) with the lights and my clothes from the day still on my back till 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning which is very unlike me. All of these things going on could give me the excuse to not take care of myself, give up on my 31Day Detox, postpone my half marathon and future Ironman, and to stop accepting opportunities to grow and learn. All this to say, when I am stretched this thin, sometimes (often while driving from one thing to the next) I stop my mind from thinking about what is next and what I maybe haven’t accomplished for the day to think about just how good things are. It is so easy to get caught up in the “bad” things and the craziness of life that we forget just how dang great life is. So I challenge you to stop and think, maybe on your commute to or from work or in a quiet minute of your lunch break tomorrow, about all the great things going on in your life. I did this today and here is what I came up with….

1. Work is stressful, exhausting, and sometimes downright draining…..I have a job. I am able to support myself. I can pay my bills each month and have a full belly each night. It may be exhausting at times but I have the opportunity to impact the lives of others everyday. I may not always agree with my boss or co-workers but they are providing me with a new way of looking at situations and broadening my horizons to different ways of thinking.

2. I hate being in the car 2 hours everyday….I have a car that is comfortable, safe, and reliable. I don’t have to wait for public transportation daily; I can go where I please when I please. This gives me either time to think about my day ahead, clear my mind, release some stress jamming out to the radio, or catch up with friends and family on the phone.

3. Training isn’t going well; my runs haven’t been quite as frequent or as quality as I would have hoped at this point in my training…. I am able to run and I have an opportunity to improve. I have the luxury to do most my long runs with with my boyfriend. This allows for an hour plus of quality “us” time. Often at least one weekday run is done with a friend or coworker. This allows me to keep up with those that I often wouldn’t have the opportunity to. Running (training) has opened up a new world of people to me in the Charlotte area. Even if a run isn’t perfect or wasn’t as long as I would have liked, I was still able to get out the door and do something productive for my health.

4. It is so hard to eat healthy all the time; I just want to eat pop-tarts, french fries, and drink diet coke….Eating healthy allows me to fuel my body in a way that I can take on the crazy of each and every day. It helps keep me healthy and avoid illness. It allows me to function in a non sluggish way. It may at times be more expensive but I am able to stay healthy and active because I fuel my body appropriately.

5. I don’t have many friends in Charlotte….those relationships I do have here are amazing. I have my family here which has allowed the opportunity to grow in my relationship with both my parents and my grandma. My roommate has quickly become a great and life long friend. My co-workers at both my jobs greet me with smiles and stories everyday and are always making me laugh. Those people in my life that aren’t here in Charlotte are always just a phone call away.

So there you have it, my list of negatives turned positive. It felt good to stop and take that moment today and think about all the good. I hope you take the time to do the same in the next day or so. Please comment below, I would love to hear your list as well!

Keep smiling, life is pretty dang good. 

What Happens at the Scale….

So as you learned back in October in my “Let’s Play Catch-Up” post, I work for a weight loss company. Part of working for a weight loss company is that you weigh in A LOT of people. To some it is just a number but to others it might as well be life or death. Also, at the scale you learn a lot about a person…. so here are the 5 types of people who get on the scale….

1. The Avoider…how long can I stall?! Maybe if I keep talking about my cute, new puppy and crazy, ex boyfriend she will forget that I need to weigh in and that brownie I ate will totally be void this week. I’ll just keep telling her about my awesome plan to go to the gym this coming week so she doesn’t have to know about that whole bag of potato chips. I’ll totally work it off this week…well maybe.  Shit! She didn’t forget! What can I do now…time for plan B…I need pee, that totally buys me 3minutes!

2. The Stripper… How many items of clothing can I take off and it still be acceptable for me to be on the scale standing beside a total stranger?   If I take off more than I did last week then it will be like I lost more weight than I really did and if I don’t lose as much next week, I will be able to blame it on heavy clothes that week. Perfect plan…let me first take off my light weight sweater, shoes, socks, bobby pin, lipstick, belt, necklace, ring, ponytail holder, belly button lint…Perfect!

3. The “Don’t Tell Me, I Can’t Look”… I’m just going to step on the scale backwards and not look unless I did good, in that case totally tell me and I want to see. Oh and if I didn’t do good I am about to confess to eating my whole refrigerator, pantry, and tray of cookies at my neighbors house. Then tell you about how I haven’t worked out all week and I might have binged watched the entire first and second season of Scandal while drinking a bottle of wine and eating a bag of fun sized snickers….but hey they were fun sized, thats got to count for something!!

4. The Overly Emotional…. I AM THE MOST AMAZING PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! Let me sing and dance and scream and let the whole world know, I just lost 1/2 a pound…. and now I am skinny!!! I did everything perfect and I am so awesome.. its like unicorns are jumping over rainbows and singing in voices of angels! (as a consultant, I love these people but far too often get—>) OH NO!!! The world is coming to an end… I GAINED 1/2 a pound the week of Christmas where I had three parties, a family dinner, and a cookie exchange!!! Time for that total stranger to put on her therapist hat and grab the box of tissues, I may need to be admitted to the hospital…my body has to have something wrong with it, I did ALL the right things!! I should be losing like 12lbs a week!!! This could quite possibly be the worst day of my life!!

5. I’m Totally Going To….never ever see that number again! It is too high, I must lose weight! I’m going to do it this week!….But I am not going to give up my nightly bottle of wine, bag of Cheetos, caramel-frappa-mocha-double-shot-extra-whip-hotty-totty-1400000000calorie latte, or even consider exercising. Yea…I am 100%, totally on board the losing weight train! I am going to have a great week and I am going to tell you the EXACT same thing next week when I am STILL DISAPPOINTED in the number.

So there you have it, the 5 types of people you meet come weigh in time…..

I know this post was a little out of the ordinary for me but I thought you could all use a little glimpse of into what a day in the life of a weight loss consultant looks like…. And don’t get me wrong, I love each of these people. The avoider, you give me a good laugh, your creativity is fantastic. The stripper, you scare me at times, please keep your clothes on! I don’t want to see all that! Mister (Miss) I can’t look, I know you are peaking, and I am okay with that! The Overly Emotional person, I’m always here to support your roller-coaster no matter how high or low it is. And finally the I’m going to do it…you’re not fooling me but I can’t wait for the ah-ha moment when you really let me help you get to your goal.

Happy Tuesday Y’all! 

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http://www.lindsayalexis.com/2011/10/dreaded-scale.html

 

Just a Few Thoughts: 2

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all! I hope you all have had a happy turkey day full of giving thanks for all of your many blessings. As I have been going through the day, it has made me think about what I am thankful for and I came up with a list of my top 3 things that I am especially thankful for….

IMG_88201. My family. THEY.ARE.GREAT. Really, they are.. Yes they may drive me crazy sometimes (it is in their job description, I know!), but at the end of the day they are my biggest fans and most loyal supporters. Mom, always being their to listen to my every complaint and dry every tear, Dad, guiding me with his vast wisdom as I grow in my career and next stages of life, and Alex (aka Little Brother), always making me smile, laugh, and forever keeping me on my toes. I am beyond grateful for these three goobers that I get to call mine!

2. My Health. It has been over the last couple weeks that I have become especially thankful for this. While running the marathon nearly two weeks ago and the turkey trot today, it has made me feel so lucky to have a body that is healthy and strong. I look around at my brother and dad who are hobbled from cheering me on, and friends and other family members who are battling things much worse than my baby aches and pains and I just feel so lucky and blessed to have my health.

3. My Growth over this past year. This time last year I was one month from graduating college and didn’t have even the slightest clue as to what I would be doing the day that diploma was handed to me. Since then I have had several jobs and I feel so lucky to have learned so much about the big, scary, foreign, real world. I know I still have a ton more to learn and will only continue to grow but I feel so blessed to have a baby start to a career in a field that I love in a city that I am slowly starting to love and call home. Not every second of every work day is perfect but y’all, how cool is it that I get to make money doing what I love. Really, that is definitely something to be thankful for.

I feel like I could go on and on and on about each of these three things but that would put y’all into even more of a sleepy coma than the turkey so I will leave it at that.

What are you thankful for? Please share in the comments below!

 Thanksgiving Turkey