Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since today is our day of giving thanks I want to say thank you, to all of you!

Without readers of this blog, it would be more than pointless (minus a bit of a relief to my very frantic brain). Anyway, I greatly appreciate it! Thanks for stopping by when you do and taking time to listen to what I have to say.

In honor of this delicious day, I mean, day of thankfulness here's a list of 10 things I'm currently thankful for in life:

1. My husband. He's such a good guy and I'm so very lucky to have his love (always), attentions (sometimes), and hilarious jokes (never).
2. All other family- you know who you are. Not necessarily the blood relatives; the ones who actually exist in my life and care. Thank you for always being there.
3. Our military family. Today, without our military family, Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same at all. I remember our Thanksgiving in Pendleton, we had no friends and spent our Thanksgiving at a Panda Express because they gave out free food to military. I am SO thankful to spend this year with amazing friends, making good memories.
4. Friends. I mean, most of my friends are pretty much family to me, but just in case there was any discrepancy, I wanted to clarify that I am thankful for you.
5. My job(s). All of them. I work myself to death and I'm constantly tired, but I'm so thankful that I'm able to work and have been lucky enough to stumble upon so many wonderful opportunities in life.
6. School. I hate it. I hate it so hard I couldn't hate it any harder. But I'm thankful. So many people aren't able to go to school, and I am. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm thankful to have the capability to finish and have the opportunity to find a wonderful career.
7. Shelter. It is great, owning a house and all. Even more importantly I'm thankful that I have a home, true shelter, where I feel safe and comfortable.
8. Food! I'm thankful that I do not experience food insecurity and that I'm able to eat when I need to.
9. Technology. It sounds bazaar, but it isn't what you think. Being so far away from home makes it difficult to stay in touch with our friends and family all the time. Social media, especially  makes communicating and keeping up with loved ones enjoyable and easy with our busy schedules. 
10. Love. I'm so thankful to both give and receive love from so many people. I find myself to be truly blessed for all of the wonderful people Jordan & I have in our lives. There's nothing that will make you happier in life than giving and receiving love, I promise. 

Feel free to leave the 10 things you're exceptionally thankful for in the comments (:

Happy Turkey Day, everyone! Enjoy your full tummies and memory making<3 I truly hope each of you have a wonderful day & if you work retail- GOOD LUCK to you tonight!

Xoxo,

    B!

Why You Hate the Holidays

First- let me start by saying thank you all for all of the wonderful, kind words you sent our way yesterday as Jordan was undergoing surgery. Everything went well & they actually did BOTH levels on his back so he wouldn't have to go back (this is very rare, but awesome). He's definitely in some pain today (as expected) but he is up and walking, and in high spirits. If this continues he should have a great recovery!

& now, onto the important stuff (;

I pretty much consider myself to be one of Santa's helpers-

I LOVE Christmas and everything about the holidays, seriously. Well, except traffic. Nobody likes traffic.

But I've noticed how many people truly dislike Christmas and everything it stands for (not including Jesus Christ) because obviously people care about that part.

I'm referring to: Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas cheer, Christmas shopping, Christmas everything. 

And so I asked myself, "Why?"

I don't understand how someone could not like Christmas.

Afterall, it IS the happiest season of all.

It is the season of giving- giving thanks, giving goods, giving love and giving memories.

Really important things if you ask me.

After much thought and consideration I think I've figured it out.

The reason(s) you hate Christmas is because:

• You're a procrastinator. If you wait until two weeks before Christmas to start your shopping, OF COURSE you hate Christmas. I mean, how stressful is that? Extremely. I should probably be ashamed, but I'm not- I started Christmas shopping in February this year. Yes, as in less than two full months after the last Christmas passed. And guess what? Here I am, before Thanksgiving, and almost ALL of my shopping is done (My list this year contains 58 people).
• You don't donate. Now, I'm not saying everyone is able to donate $10/mo. to a great cause, etc. But what I am saying is that when you go through the line at Dollar Tree and they ask if you'd like to donate a gift for a child in need (all items are $1.00) and you say no, that you just don't understand what the season is about. GIVING. The season is about giving, and a dollar could do a lot for one child's Christmas.
• You don't decorate. Decorations are literally what create the Christmas environment in homes, businesses and in the streets. Want a truly magical Christmas? Decorate! P.S. the Dollar Tree has incredibly adorable items, all for $1.00. I'll be making a post here soon about some DIY crafts for Christmas this year. I should sort of include that you should watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music (; It's good for the soul!
• You love getting gifts. I've sort of said it before- it's the season of giving! This means you have to love to give gifts more than you love receiving gifts. This is me! I'm such a cheerful giver & I love nothing more than to make others happy and give them things they'll love. P.S. homemade gifts are awesome also! My husband's family always does a "girl's gift" which is to be a homemade gift from each girl to each girl. How fun, right?!

Now, I understand there are other reasons that people hate the holidays. Family issues, mostly. I get that. At the same time, the holidays will be here year after year, and there's no true way around them. Why not make the best of the season and embrace as much of the joy & happiness that you can?

Now get into the holiday spirit and start making wonderful memories with friends and loved ones- you completely control your happiness (especially on the holidays)!

Xoxo,
   B!

Important Life Update

As many of you know, Jordan (my husband) has had a pretty shotty back for awhile now.

This past February he was finally diagnosed (after 1+ years of pain) with having two slipped discs, an annual tear and nerve damage in the lower portion of his back.

Since then he has undergone physical therapy, steroid treatments and numerous visits to a chiropractor. Unforatuntely he hasn't made any recovery, and he finds himself constantly in pain.

This coming Tuesday, November 25 he will be undergoing back surgery at the Laser Spine Institute in North Tampa. From my understanding they will be shaving off parts of his lowest disk in hopes of relieving some of the inflamation, which could allow the disks to slip back into place.

However, it is likely that after this surgery he will be undergoing a second in the near future. 

Anyway, my point is this: we could use all the positive vibes, thoughts and prayers you have to offer.

I'm not so worried about the surgery as I am the recovery period and the results of the surgery. Back surgeries are always dangerous, of course, but I'm truly hoping this will be his only surgery and that he will find much relief. 

Also, I will be the one taking care of him in between all of my jobs and school and I'm very worried about making enough time for studying and life in general while he recovers. 

I'm sure everything will be fine, everything is just a bit stressful currently.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for all of those positive thoughts!

Xoxo,

   B!

Winter

I seem to change how I feel (about everything) quite often.

For example for literally 5 years Jordan would beg me to keep trying caesar salads that I hated- and finally, about 6 months ago I tried one for the hundredth time and somehow actually like it.

And now I'm obsessed.

Weird, I know.

The same stands true for a lot of other foods, ideas, activities, etc.

I keep me on my toes so nobody else has to.

When I was younger I couldn't get enough of winter- the snow, sledding, reindeer, SANTA CLAUS, decorating the Christmas tree, SO much hot chocolate, Christmas music & movies and the list goes on and on.

But as I got older I began hating winter. Don't get me wrong, I stilled loved everything about Christmas, however, I just hated the cold and would practically hibernate all winter besides work and school (and even then I sometimes wouldn't make it due to being ridiculously cold).

Alas, we are here. The best happy-medium I could ask for.

Florida, all year round.

I still freeze, just not as much. I still skip school sometimes (today) because I'm too cold to get out of bed, but not as often. I still LOVE Christmas, hot chocolate, music, movies, cuddling- but even more, because now I can actually get out of the house and enjoy life during the winters.

It still gets pretty cold here starting late December-February, a different kind of cold than the north offers, but I'm somehow okay with the cold knowing that summers come so much earlier & last so much longer.

Recently we've been in a crazy cold front, it was 37 degrees when I got up at 8:30 this morning, which is "cold" for us this time of year. Today the high will be back up to 77, thank goodness. With the wind I'll still be chilly & I'll still go grab me some Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks<3

But that's alright, because we need to experience a little fall before our winter actually hits.

For a girl that hates Winter, Florida sure has taught me to love it.

For all of my northern friends, keep warm- I know you're experiencing the true cold weather that's completely unbearable to me! & also, feel free to come visit whenever (:

P.S. Peppermint Mocha is available YEAR ROUND, in case you didn't know (:

Xoxo,

   B!