Anything about Everything

This week's Friday Favorite is a bit different than any of the ones I have posted. Today I shed light on one of my favorite friendships. I have been dreading today all week. But in the spirit of mindset shifting, I am going to choose to celebrate, rather than mourn.  On Sunday, the world lost a beautiful soul. Someone who I have known for half of my life, who loved everyone he came in contact with, and who never had a bad thing to say about anyone. He was an incredible light in an otherwise dark world, and I am going to miss him more than I ever thought I would.  I met him my first day of high school. I was 14, almost 15, and a starry eyed freshman. I had gym in the middle of the day, and that was the first time I saw him. Naturally, I was head over heels for this guy - because he was a senior, a football player, and I swore on my life he looked like Matthew Lawrence. I see now, as I have matured (LOL), that he doesn't... but when you're young and silly - you belie...

You have a choice, every single day. Are you going to be happy? Or are you going to let the constant negativity and misery around you be your life?  When it comes to self love and self discovery, a lot of the time people will fall off your radar. These people may be friends, family, someone you're interested in. If you find that your energy is vibrating much more positive into the universe while on this journey WITHOUT these people in your life, it's okay. Sometimes, you need to distance yourself to work on you and find your passion, your drive, yourself. This does not necessarily mean these people have been written off for good.  Here's the deal: you are allowed to cut off anyone that makes you feel less than fantastic on the daily. If you're surrounded by constant negativity, constant misery it might  be time to change some things. If you're constantly wondering if you're enough, if your presence is important to anyone - GET YOURSELF INTO A BETTER PLA...

It seems that when people talk these days, not much information is absorbed from what they said. Why? Let's discuss. 1. We are so focused on having everything IMMEDIATELY. As a society, we are expecting information on demand, when we want it. If we don't find anything out immediately, we lose interest. Our minds wander elsewhere, our attention is no longer where it needs to be. 2. Technology is distracting us. We are very technologically focused now. Everything is centered around being connected 24/7, with the latest technology. There's no need. We scroll social media out of boredom while someone is talking to us, we focus our energy on scrolling rather than putting the phone down and listening to what the other person has to say.    3. Selfcentered is a real thing.  If it doesn't have anything to do with us, why would we listen? As a country, we have become so self centered that no one else's thoughts/feelings/needs matter before ours. What happened to...

Last week, I had the privilege to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday. My dad and I started planning it in January, and when it came to the day of the surprise - I was FREAKING out. I didn't want to blow it - we had worked so hard! Well, it went off without a hitch, and she was VERY surprised.  While I was visiting, we spent time in Asheville, North Carolina as well as Hendersonville, North Carolina. If you are ever looking for a place to go, this would be it. Such adorable little mountain towns with a lot of culture and vibrance. We toured the Biltmore Estate (a MUST do if you go out that way), and really just enjoyed the sights and sounds around us.  The last time I took a true vacation was in December, at Christmas time. I always felt guilty taking any sort of time off, because I felt like I was slacking if I wasn't in the office. I put work VERY high up on my priority list, in hopes that I would see growth. I didn't. I worked myself to the point of burning out, a...

Happy Weekend!!  The new job I took in April came with some pretty GREAT perks.. one of them being out at noon on Fridays for the summer. I don't hate it, that's for sure.  We talk a lot in this community about self love. But what about self awareness?  What?  Self Awareness.  Are you aware of your energy? Are you aware of your attitude? Do you realize how your body reacts to certain situations? The saying goes... you get what you put in. Same goes for every day energy.  Having a bad day? Embrace it. Having a great day? Embrace it. Miserable where you're at professionally? Embrace it. Miserable where you're at physically? EMBRACE. IT.  You, dear friend, have this amazing ability to create the most incredible life for yourself. How? Get up off your butt, ditch the pity party and excuses, and make some changes! You are never "stuck" - that's a choice. If you are not making the appropriate steps happen for yourself to make these chang...

But seriously... are you?  A lot of time and energy has gone into avoiding that question in my life over the last few years. How can I be happy when I worked a job that did NOT fill any sort of bucket in my life? I was surrounded by some of the most negative people in my social circle. I know it's been discussed in past posts - taking that leap of faith into a better life is part of the reason I'm as happy as I am now.  But the reality is this: there's more to life than work.  Being happy all the time requires effort. If you can't see past the negative in your life, you're bound to stay where you're at forever. You have to WANT deep down in your gut, to be happy all the time.  It's hard.  The last few months have been incredible months of growth for me. But I have also had to battle some serious external issues that have led to binge eating (yep, I have that issue.. also working to fix it), stress induced stomach issues, and self doubt. I was lett...

If you have social media or a calendar, you know that yesterday was Father's Day. I was disconnected for the majority of the weekend so I did not get around to writing this yesterday, so let's discuss today.. Man Crush Monday? My Dad Rocks Monday? Monday.  Last month, I made sure to spotlight my mom on Mother's Day. For this post, it's my dad's turn.  Growing up, I always thought my dad was older than my mom - because I assumed the man had to be older than the woman. This is not the case, and definitely not true for my parents. My dad is 4 years younger than my mom (GASP!), but you'd never know there was an age gap between them.  My dad has always been my voice of reason. He's a very logical thinker, and is really good at giving advice when you need it most. He's incredibly generous, funny, and caring. He handles himself with the utmost confidence, especially in a situation that's new to him. He would do anything for his family (the dog ...