Charleston!

Jordan & I have decided that we are moving to Charleston, SC - which means lots of big changes for us this year <3

On Sunday we drove to Charleston to find a new home, this was not a great time, put nicely.

We were both exhausted and stressed the entire time.

Charleston is BEAUTIFUL, and we already love the city... but finding an apartment seemed impossible.

When you think of Charleston you probably think of carriage houses, and you aren't wrong.

These beautiful homes line each street.

But what you don't realize is that many of these houses have been broken into "apartments." Anywhere from 4-10 apartments can be found per house.

And they are often filled with college student who don't give a damn. 

P.S. Charleston is blowing up right now - apartments are being pulled off the market within days of being listed "on the market."

Every time we would find an apartment that we liked based on photos our showing would be cancelled right before as it would get an application put in, making it unavailable.

There aren't apartment complexes, either. So, each property has a different property management company and guess what - THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU AT ALL.

"Oh you're in town for two days and want to find an apartment? Good luck." -Thankkkkkkkks

Did I mention that we absolutely loved Charleston?
Everything is within walking distance = little to no driving
Beautiful, large, clean city -with the small town charm

Anyway, things always work out.

We found an apartment.

A very, very, very, very, very tiny weeny apartment. But an apartment, and it's super cute.

And it will be our home for at least the next year.

We'll love it.

I'm more or less writing this so that nobody else gets stuck in the tough situations we found ourselves in once we arrived in this beautiful city.

I've got some helpful hints that I wish I knew before we arrived:

1. Use Craigslist - but don't trust everything you see.

2. Use Hotpads but don't send messages, call immediately regarding the apartment.

3. Use the resources on hotpads (i.e. they will give a company name as to who the property management company is - type that into Google and look at more properties).

4. Expect to pay a ridiculous amount of money for rent. Look for places that include off-street parking (you have to pay for parking typically).

5. Start looking 4 days before you get to Charleston and schedule viewings (as many as you can get in your first day with top picks first).
6. Don't expect to have someone meet with you the same day you call.

7. Charleston has laws about how many times/week they can show properties, so know that some may not be available for showing

8. Pets aren't so welcome. In fact, if they are, you will pay a non-refundable pet deposit plus monthly pet rent. Does that not sound completely insane?

9. The only person a company/owner can discriminate against is college students.
10. If you know a realtor see if they can match you with someone in the Charleston area to meet with you and use MLS system to find apartments. Any realtor can access these places for showing as long as they aren't private.

Other weird things:
- Companies cater to college students. This means that rentals aren't usually available until June-August for the start of school. This super sucked for us since March is near the end of the semester.
- We were only looking to live in downtown Charleston. None of this applies if you're looking at the outskirts of downtown (Daniel Island, James Island or West Ashley). They have normal luxury apartments available at normal prices (:

Here is a list of a few property management companies we came across which you might find to be helpful.

• The Charleston Property Company
• Daniel Ravenel Real Estate Property 
• The Beach Company
• Rent Charleston 
• Domicile Real Estate Brokerage
• The William Olasov Co. LLC

If this applies to you at all, I hope you find it helpful.

If not, thanks for reading anyway & wish us a good journey (we need the good vibes)

Moving is definitely never funnnnnnn, but hey, it could be worse

As always

Xoxo,

     B

New Year, New...

Not me. That's for sure.

It's only January of 2017 and I'm already running a million miles per minute.

I haven't blogged in, eh, almost a year - and I didn't make any New Year's resolutions (because I don't do well with resolutions, only action plans). Sidenote: I'm working on an action plan now.

The good news is that I'm feeling more prepared than ever, and I truly am ready for some big changes this year. Nothing too planned; we are in the process of selling our house and moving to a new state. But that's easy peasy. (We don't have housing or jobs yet).

& oh yeah, I want to chillllll outtttttttt.                           Whatever that means.


Politics are kind of ruining Facebook and making it difficult to keep up with those who I care about right now, but I see you all, in all of your opinions and different hates. For now I'm just sitting here, observing, and trying to take it all in.

Comments may come later.

27 days in, and I'm finally feeling ready to take on 2017. Hope to bring you all with me on the journey                                                                
                                                             <3

Xoxo,
    B

Maintaining Normality

nor·mal·i·ty

nôrˈmalədē/

noun

noun: normalcy

1. the condition of being normal; the state of being usual, typical, or expected.
2. 
   

Saving all of our money has definitely not been easy.

It's actually been pretty difficult, because we are so used to living our life however we want- eating out 3-4 times per week, spending Friday nights out with friends (spending money), and spending my few days off going crazy and splurging hardcore.

We've been well-behaved, though.

Since we have started this saving money thing we have been eating out 0-1 times per week. We only do it because we need to maintain normality.

And when we do it eat out, we make sure it's either at my work (I get an employee discount, and the food is amazing) or we make sure we have a coupon (my birthday helped a lot with this).

P.S. This means no alcohol with dinner on these nights. Because it's a waste of money.

When we hangout with friends we are doing things that are FREE - movie night, game night, free events, etc.

And, lucky for us, we bought events really far in in advance- so we have some things that come up that seem free since we paid for them 6+ months ago.

For example, we spent our Friday night in Orlando seeing Orlando City Lions play their last friendly match before their season starts. We bought our season tickets about 8 months ago- so it seems completely free, not to mention this will take up most of Jordan's weekends until we leave for our trip. AND, we will be selling the tickets for the dates we are gone. It will seem like extra cash in our pocket!

My point is this, even when you are on a budget you need to maintain normality. 

It's no different than a "diet." If you focus too much on the things you can't have, instead of the things you can have- you're bound to fall off the bandwagon, and fall.

Even if I do have a day of weakness where I didn't plan well and need to buy my lunch out- I make a wise decision, and I try not to get discouraged.

Instead, I just make sure to somehow make up that few dollars through one of my nifty extra cash sites.

If you missed that post you can see it here (:

We need to continue living our normal lives, but making slight changes to better ourselves.

We have decided to continue budgeting tightly until my student loans are paid off, and we are at least 50% done paying off Jordan's car.

We now know that we CAN budget, and we CAN watch our spending, and even still be happy!

If you're in need of any saving tips please let me know. I have an entire excel sheet laid out through March (right before our trip) tracking all of our checks and balances so that I could estimate how much money we would save before the trip!

Xoxo,

     B <3

How to Make Extra Cash

I'm sure you've all been on Facebook before and noticed all of the sponsored posts by bloggers/authors advertising ways to make extra cash.

Well, as it turns out, some of them work really, really great!

Jordan and I have really been trying to earn as much extra cash as we can for our trip.

I've decided to pull a list together of how we've been earning extra cash.

And trust me when I say this -- IT IS EASY.

It definitely takes some time, though.

1. Ebay/OfferUp/Facebook Yard Sales.

We have gone through our closet, our spare rooms, and all of our extra stuff that we have lying around, and we have found so many items (new and used) that we will never use. We have been selling our own stuff that doesn't mean much. We usually donate (regularly) to a wonderful local thrift store. However, for this short period of time we have been selling our stuff that we don't need- and we've made about $200 off of the stuff! Not to mention we finally sold our wrecked motorcycle for $400. It's almost Spring time anyway, might as well clean out your closets and benefit a bit!

2. Cash Rewards.

This is an application that is definitely available for iPhones and Android Phones. I know this, because we have tried with both of the phone. This is probably my favorite way to earn cash! You literally spin a "cash wheel" which you get coins for. It is 100% FREE (my favorite), and you can either cash out using gift cards OR you can get cash for a percentage! Together, Jordan and I have already earned $26.42 as of today. However, if you decide for the cash option you can't pull the cash until you reach $50.00 which is really acceptable. We love this application! You can invite friends and earn extra cash if you have an Android phone. This application makes money on advertisements. Note: 600 coins = $1.00. So it definitely takes some serious time to earn the larger amounts of money- but it's super easy and takes little to zero effort. Easy, easy money! Click here to join me (: 

3. Swagbucks!

Jordan isn't really participating in this way of earning extra cash, but I am well on my way to earning some decent money. This site has an application which can be used on all devices I believe. You earn cash by watching videos, answering surveys, and shopping. Additionally, there is a daily poll which earns you a penny for each day that you answer a question. Hint: We play videos on our computer while it is muted in the background, while we do whatever we really want to do. This way we are earning the cash but not really being sucked into watching the videos- yet still earning money. So far I have made $17.38 using two different accounts (one is used much more frequently than the other). The only catch is that with you can only get giftcards, no actual cash. But hey, I'm good with that.

Interested in this? Here is the link: Click Here

4. Shopkick.

I know that a few of you received an invitation to join Shopkick from me. It probably looked like a scam- but really, it isn't. Using Shopkick you can get cash for walking into stores and scanning advertised items. Just for opening your application each day you will receive 1-3 Shopkick points! With Shopkick 500 points = $2.00 in rewards With this application, you again, have to use your points for gift cards- but that's okay, because we all need to visit Walmart at least occasionally. So far, Jordan and I together have 3,073 points ($12.29). Granted, we can't use this as frequently as the other applications since you need to be in the store. However, I still think it is definitely worth it!

Interested? Phone Application Only. Here is the link: Click Here

5. Applications.

Walmart has an application and you can use Savings Catcher to scan you receipt and get any cash back (I have earned $2.97). You use this cash back to receive a Walmart gift card- easy and free!
Target has Cartwheel, it's a place that offers coupons and deals for items in the store. You can't earn true cash from this, however, if you love Target, you need this application in your life! I'm sure there are many other applications and sites that are helpful. Feel free to share any extra knowledge with me- I'd love to continue checking out additional options. Besides, I am looking for extra ways to earn money. Especially if they can be done from home, or on a regular basis with good earning results.

Thank you all for reading- I hope this helps you. Let me know if you have any questions!

::Budgeting::

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

For those of you who know me on a personal level, this probably won't be too shocking to you. But to those of you know either don't know me at all, or know me from afar, you may be more surprised.

I'VE NEVER BEEN ON A BUDGET BEFORE.

Like never.

I began working when I was 14 and I spent the money to go a trip to Hawaii. By the time I was 17 my goal was to buy a car, so I just saved enough to get a car. But since then, I haven't needed to budget.

Which is totally great. And totally regrettable.

You should see my closet. I don't mean this in a bragging manner - I'm out of control.

Last year I threw away 60 pair of underwear that were older, etc. I still have an entire drawer full. I have literally never ran out, and probably wouldn't for months.

I own at least 40 pairs of shoes. I have 20+ pairs of jeans (I LIVE IN FLORIDA), and nearly 40 pairs of shorts. Not to mention the purses, ohhhhh the purses. 

It's completely out of control.

I've always felt that I should be able to buy what I want when I want, and that's always been that. And so, that's how I've lived. Don't worry, my hubby is guilty too.

Each year we spend all of our available time off of work in Ohio, visiting family for the holidays. We usually take a couple of weekend trips to the beach, but beyond that we don't really do real vacations. We live in "paradise" and haven't needed to buy anything crazy (other than household things like a recent hot water heater). 

But now, since we've decided to officially go on this trip we are budgeting. No, we really are.

The word still makes me feel uncomfortable. We've been doing this for about 40 days now.

And successfully so, I must say. 

However, I wish I could go back in time and start this from the beginning. Because, believe it or not, I'm really enjoying the organization behind the budgeting. I have set up a beautiful excel sheet that is extremely specific to our life, and I update it every single day. Not to mention, we would be able to go on many more adventures/trips.

Not to mention I have found so many easy ways of making extra cash to help save. 

No worries, I will be letting you all in on our secrets in my next post. I'll start calculating everything now to let you know exactly how much extra cash we have made in the past 40 days!

WINNER

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our GoFundMe Campaign, or who purchased Scentsy from me.

We are appreciative from the bottom of our hearts!

Our campaign is still live- and we plan on keeping it up until the middle of March. 

Click here to be directed to that page.

Congratulations to Lauren Konopinski!

Again, thank you to everyone who participated in the event!

Passport

So excited that I went to get my Passport today!!

It only took about 9 days to get an appointment at first available in the latest time possible, & the lady was super nice (which is super rare with post office personnel).

She also gave me wonderful tips on places that are "must sees" as she previously lived in Europe for 2 years before coming to the United States.

My passport should be in within the month, yay!!!

If anyone has any tips on the things that we must see or do during my trip, please share them with me! We are still trying to figure everything out, and can use all the help we can get!

The countries we definitely want to see include: Italy, Spain, France, and Germany!

A sneak peek of my Passport photo (I randomly have to keep a copy?)

P.S. Don't forget that the last day to place a Scentsy order to be put in the drawing for a free warmer is tomorrow!! Order is going in first thing Sunday morning. Use the party name "Last Winter Party"

http://brittanygraham.scentsy.us

GIVEAWAY!

Hey guys!

Thanks so much for visiting my page.

It's time for a GIVEAWAY!

However, it's also kind of a fundraiser for our European Trip in April (:

Needless to say, there will definitely be more giveaways coming up in the near future.

This giveaway isn't as "free" as my usual giveaways, as it is definitely more like a fundraiser.

But I promise there will be a free giveaway in the near future.

There are different ways of entering this giveaway, though (:

Giveaway ends: 01/29/16

How to enter:

1. You must share this direct post link, or share the post linked to Facebook

Then there are 2 ways of getting in on this event:

2. You can either place a Scentsy order through myself, or through my website using the "Last Winter Party" Party. You can access the website here: http://brittanygraham.scentsy.us 

Feel free to message me and order through Facebook.

(If you livenear Tampa, I can order for you so that you will receive free shipping).

OR

3. You can make a $5 donation (or more, of course) through our Go Fund Me page. You can access this website here: https://www.gofundme.com/EuroTrip16

**If you have already donated, you will automatically be placed into the drawing**

THE PRIZE:

A brand new Angora Deluxe Scentsy Warmer, still in the box!

Along with it will be 1 Scentsy bar ($35 value)

P.S. If a male wins, I will find a more appropriate prize if requested (even though warmers are pretty gender friendly)

Happy Hump Day, friends!

As always, thanks for visiting.

"Cancer Saved My Life"

I have been lucky enough to be placed at an amazing Oncology center as part of my "enrichment" rotation through my school's coordinated dietary program.

Today marks 2 weeks at the facility, with 10 actual days on campus.

I began staff relief at their site yesterday, on my 9th day at the facility- this just means I am 100% on my own, unless I have questions or request help from someone.

I was so worried going into this part of my rotation that I would be surrounded by hurt, fear, and extreme illness that I was very worried.

However, my experience has been quite the opposite.

This facility has inspired me so much. I have already met the most wonderful, cheerful, positive people. It's incredible, and still- so heartbreaking.

Every single person at this hospital either has cancer, or has previously fought cancer.

Many of them are still fighting.

Quickly, I just wanted to share a story of a patient with you: This is of a story of a man that I met today. A man that will forever stick with me in life.

Before seeing patients I look into their medical chart and learn everything I can in about 10 minutes. I focus on their past and present, as it is all relevant when it comes to nutrition.

With this man particularly, I noticed that he had lost 67 pounds, which was about 27% of his body weight in 8 months. 27%. This is a Dietitian's nightmare.

However, before I freaked out, I wanted to meet this guy.

I enter the room to a man smiling ear-to-ear only 1 day after a massive surgery. And yet, he smiled. He has not eaten in 4 days now, they are not progressing his diet, and they are worried that something did not go right- and still, smiles.

I couldn't help but feel a little confused, yet reassured by his mannerisms post major body issues.

As we speak he explains that he had intentionally lost the weight, though more quickly than he ever anticipated. The patient told me that as soon as he found out he had cancer, he immediately put away the sugars, dropped breads, and picked up the fruits and vegetables.

And then, he adds, "You know what... cancer saved my life."

I'm most positive my jaw literally dropped. 

I have felt pretty sick all week, and I have honestly complained about it at  least 5 times each day, because I feel like crap, feel like I look like crap, and I'm stressed the hell out about life.

Then today, I meet this man. A man who has been fighting cancer (3 different types throughout his entire body for a couple of years) and he manages to find a way to be "thankful" to have cancer.

So you know? Who cares that I don't feel well? Nobody here feels well either. 

WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE.

Also, where do I find more people like this?
 (Not sick people, genuinely thankful, kind, positive people)

This patient explained that he was not feeling well for a long while, and that when he finally went to an oncologist to be checked based on symptoms they had found his blood-pressure to be critically high. The doctors told him he was lucky he hadn't already had a heart attack, stroke... or die. 

He immediately changed his life around to become a healthier person. He made promises to his family, he told me, and he had to keep them.

I am confident in saying that those who are faced with cancer are some of the strongest individuals I will ever have the pleasure of meeting.

My closing statement is this: "Every day may not be good, but there is good in every day"

Even on our worst days, others have it worse.

Let's all try to inspire one another to become better humans.

Let us learn from each other.

Happiness is Not A Destination

When you were 14 years old and someone asked you where you'd be in 10 year, what would you have said?

If you ask your parents, they will probably have the answer for you.

For me- my answer was always "successful." Still to this day, that's my answer. I'm always so unsure of where life might take me that I never felt comfortable enough to be any more specific than that. Besides, who wants to set limits for themselves?

With the help of the internet and social media market, we have so many resources and opportunities at our finger-tips. Again, for every situation there is an exception (we can't ALL be Dietitians *wink wink*). However, if we really want to accomplish something in life we will find a way to make it happen.

I'll be 23 next month, and as young as I may be considered, I feel like I haven't done enough. There hasn't been enough spontaneous adventures, not enough time playing hookie, not enough time being a teenager, let alone a young adult.

I've spent almost every moment of my life since I was 14 years old, building and building and building. 

There's this ridiculous viscous cycle I find myself running no matter where I am in life, or what I am doing.

"Happiness is not a destination, it is a way of life."

And yet here I am: Blogging, Going to School, Supervised Practice Rotations, Scentsy, Bartending, Distracting, Procrastinating, Worrying, Hiding, Vacation. And it begins all over again.

I'm not a good blogger because I can't consistently stay happy with my life long enough to continue having the time/patience/happiness to continue doing so.

I'm in no way clinically depressed, or in need of any help (I mean, I could use some help... but it would be with catching up on a lot of shit).

I'm just in need of a permanent yes.

I am so ready to stop using up all of my positive energy so quickly, only to find myself on the bottom half of the cycle yet again. Sure, it's short-term and I resume to my normal self. 

The stress of figuring out what the hell I want to be when I grow up is finally here. And still, I HAVE NO IDEA.

When I began school, of course I didn't know. But each year I'd say- "Oh, I don't know, but I'm sure I'll figure it out." Here I am, 1.5 months from finishing school and I'm still clueless. But also anxious. Anxious in a way that I'm excited to start the moving on process, not in the give me a prescription drug way (usually). 

Anyway, I'm writing this because this is kind of where I'm at in life (on the upper, beautiful side, of the vicious cycle). I'm guessing there are others out there, too. Just like me. Falling in circles over, and over again.

Know that you're not alone. Know that happiness is a way of life. If there is something eating you whole, get rid of it today. Start making changes now. Do what makes you happy, what will make your life happy. 

For me -- I'm getting the hell out of dodge for a little bit (that's the plan, at least). And then, I'm going to find a career that I love, and will killllllllllll because I'll be so good.

My goal is this: One more destination to create some happiness, then onto better things. Step 2. Creating a happy way of life. 

Europe from April 5 - May 5 

I could use some help, though. We are looking for any friends/family/kind strangers to donate $5 to our trip. I am only currently working 6 paid shifts a month due to my high-demanding school/supervised practice schedule. If you can, I thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.

The only thing better than retail therapy is wanderlust therapy.

https://www.gofundme.com/eurotrip16

New Year, Same Ol' Me

New Year, Same 'Ol Me

Happy Belated New Year to my dearest friends, family, and internet searchers. 

I don't think it is to early to know that things haven't changed with me much, even though it has been quite awhile since I've written anything non-medically related down on a computer or paper.

Welcome to the new year.

The year where you can either create a new you, or just stick with the old you- guessing that one was working pretty well before the last digit of a 4-number date changed.

Anyway, I'm clearly still the same. I planned on starting my blog back this year.

Successful? Yes.

Late? Always.

Fashionably? Yours to determine.

BUT I'M HERE.

I am so here.

You have no idea.

SO many things to update you all on. So many fun stories to tell. So many disgusting stories to tell. And even still, many sad.

I'm keeping it a goal of mine to write one blog a week.

They will (should) contain more entertaining and useful information than this blog. This is just a head's up blog, because I AM BACK! 

For real this time.

I think.

Here's a quick summary of the past 7 months I've been gone.

Pinning Ceremony. Special Olympics. Vomiting. Student Nutrition Services. Cancer. Las Vegas. Ohio. Rehabilitation Center. Ohio. New Year. Married Men. Oncology. EUROPE (sneak peek link).

More to come -- soon!

 gofund.me/EuroTrip16

GASPARILLA!

I'm back, for awhile.

By now I'm sure you've all seen how this goes.

I write for a few days in a row. Then I disappear for a month, maybe two. But today, I'm here.

And so, I write to you all:

Happy extremely belated New Year- I hope it was wonderful! We visited Ohio and had great times with our wonderful families and friends. Also, I didn't have a computer for the entire 2 weeks I was there, so it was difficult to write (that's a good excuse for now).

This is the year I've been dreading for, eh, 2 years now. This is the final year of school!!! Which actually just means the most difficult and stressful year of my life. Basically, I have 5 classes left (including the one I'm in now) and I go directly into "internships" which we called Supervised Practicum (legal reasons). These practicums will last for 8 months, I will work 40 hours a week and I will work for FREE. Gah. It literally hurts me to think about this even for a second. 

And so, somehow, I'm going to have to figure out exactly how I can continue doing assignments for school, work a 40 hour/week job, and balance a REAL job on the side, for the bills and stuff.

And on top of this? We are 90% sure Jordan (hubby) will be losing his job in the rather near future. The earliest would be February 15, and the latest would be the end of August. And so, I'm stressed. As I should be. Except, there's literally nothing I can do about it, besides not shop and spend all of our money while we have decent income.

But, NO WORRIES. Because so far this year has been wonderful. I've, in fact, already done enough really fun things that if I stopped now, I would be okay for awhile (: And that's a great feeling. We even bought tickets for the next few months, so that when the time comes we won't lose any out of pocket money (it's practically already gone to us, terrible logic, I know). 

I'm not here for sympathy (I already know it all sucks) but I'm here to say this: No matter what, I know that we will be okay and that things will work themselves out. It may not go as smoothly as I'm hoping, but we will be OKAY. 

I hope you all find your silver linings in whatever issues you're facing today, because we're allowed to be upset and stressed, but we will always be okay (usually).

Enjoy your Manic Monday!

Xoxo,

    B!

Late Night Walmarting

Let's talk about my late-night trip to Walmart last night. Though it's my favorite time of year I know that this season can really bring out the worst in people. Each of these things happened within the last 10 minutes of my shopping trip:

1. I was trying to turn into a main aisle but I saw a cart coming and so I stopped and grinned slightly at the man pushing the cart. He looks at me, smiles rather big and says, "Thank ya baby, for smiling. Have a Merry Christmas!" Wouldn't you know that he's an employee? I can only imagine how many shitheads he's had to deal with in the past few weeks, but he was thankful that I was smiling and not silently rude.

2. I get in line to check out. I have about 15 items in my cart but the man behind me only has two items and so I tell him to go ahead and go in front   of me. His response? "Oh no, it's fine, (while smiling) I'm in no hurry at all." SINCE WHEN IS EVERYONE NOT IN A HURRY?

3. We both end up switching lanes because a couple of new lanes became available. I get up to pay and realize both my debit and credit card are in the car and I only have about $100 cash on me. I'm about $3 short to purchase that other bottle of wine, but it's fine really. I mean, it's just wine, and the party isn't until Friday. The man behind me speaks up, "Oh, hey, how much do you need?" "Let me get that for you" I mean, he is insisting. I, of course, do not let him pay because I literally have no cash out in the car to pay him back- but it's the thought. 

Each of these things completely gave me a warm & fuzzy feeling. So many wonderful people still exist in this world, even at 11:00 at night in a Walmart. Did I mention I was extremely sick and in severe pain from a fever? Thank you, kind souls for being genuine people! This is why life ins't so bad after all (:

And actually, I'm feeling a bit better today! Everyone, enjoy your day and don't forget to stay kind even in the most impossible situations.

Xoxo,

    B!

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!

Little Update~

I'm slacking, like usual.

I truly just don't have time though, which stinks.

So here's a thorough, but somehow (hopefully) short update on life, if you're interested!

1. Jordan's orders went through<3

So basically he is guaranteed a job here, in sunny FL until February- which is still a bit stressful, but we are thankful for security until then.

2. I got a perm!

If you're already friends with me on Facebook or Instagram you know this. But OMG- I LOVE it. Multiple people have asked me if it destroyed my hair and since I've had it a few weeks now I can say it hasn't. However, I definitely need a trim since it did help destroy my ends a bit (just as a curling iron would).

3. Halloween Horror Nights!

Neither Jordan or I have ever been to Universal Studio's and we finally got to go! It was terrifying! I literally lost my voice from screaming and being so scared for so many hours all at once. And it was SUPER expensive, so we may not go again. However, it was an awesome experience and we really enjoyed ourselves (:

4. Hockey season is back!

On Monday & Tuesday of last week Jordan and I got to attend Tampa Bay Lightning games and oh how we've missed it (: We even got to watch Stamkos get his first hat-trick of the season!

5. Jason Aldean & Florida Georgia Line Concert

After that rude post on Craigslist and how pissy it makes me I was lucky enough to get us tickets, and for cheap! The concert was a ton of fun & I'm super happy we were able to get tickets and hangout with friends!

6. Anniversary!

Jordan and I had our anniversary on Monday, and we had so much fun! We went out for drinks Sunday after a loooooonnnnnnnggggg and not so great weekend at work. I skipped school and slept in on Monday. Jordan ran and got us breakfast from Dunkin' and then he surprised me with TWO bouquets of flowers. The first is SO adorable, but he wasn't sure it if would be "romantic" enough, so he also grabbed some roses. He is soooo good to me, love that man.

We went hiking at a nearby park later in the afternoon, followed by a lovely dinner  at Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa and then a little Fifa and wine together that night. So so perfect.

Also my new Fall centerpiece on the dining room table <3

7. Christmas!

I'm super excited to announce that we're coming home for Christmas! However, tickets were RIDICULOUS. So we've decided to drive to make things easier, yay!

I'm sure I'm missing some important things elsewhere, but I'll hit them later. You know, eventually.

P.S. I'm patting myself on the back for being so great at taking photos lately. Otherwise this post would be incredibly boring. Good job, me!

Xoxo,

   B!

Craigslist: A Hopeful Let Down

Let's have a little Craigslist chat.

I'll start by saying, I never use Craigslist, with the exception of, "Crap today is our friend's birthday where her party is at the Jason Aldean concert, I surprisingly don't have work, and now I need last-minute tickets, and still I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for what were $40 tickets."

So, you get it. We've all been there before, I'm sure.

And as much as I do like Jason Aldean, they're LAWN seats. As in, they should be cheap- but everyone is trying to make some serious money because other idiots are willing to pay.

For THREE days now I've been searching rather diligently through Stubhub, Ticketmaster, etc. And finally, out of desperation I turned to Craigslist.

Today, I saw a post "Two Jason Aldean tickets $50 each for lawn seats"

I pretty much screamed of excitement on the inside. I texted the number very quickly, with the reply of, "Yes," they still had them. YAY MEEEE! So I reply, "I'll take them!"

A few texts we go back and forth... she lives about 45 minutes away. I inform her I work until 1 but will leave immediately and head her way. She's going to give me an address for a nearby Starbucks to her for us to (exciting, because that means I'm not getting raped or murdered, ya know?).

Anyway she's replies, "I'll check the physcial address in a sec."

And that's it.

This, by the way, is AFTER she's texting me checking that I'm positive I want them and that I'm coming because she has two others interested.

I text back letting her know I may be able to leave earlier.. no response. So I finally text her one last time nearly 40 minutes after her last text. I say, "If you're bailing please let me know so I can start looking for other tickets now /:" 

I said it kindly, but deep inside I wanted to say something more along the lines of, "Don't be a rude bitch. If you already sold the tickets to someone else just f*****g tell me." But I didn't Even though I already knew something was up.

Ahh... finally a response. 

And it makes sense. Because if my life could be summed up by a single photo this is the one.

Hands down.

My kind of luck. Or she was a lying B! Either way. NOT HAPPY.

In fact, I'm super sad. Because now I can't find any other tickets ): Boooooo!

Moral of the story: Craigslist, and the type of people I associate with Craigslist are the reason I avoid Craigslist!

P.S. I know I said Craigslist a lot there. It seemed necessary.

P.S.S. AVOID CRAIGSLIST WHEN AT ALL POSSIBLE

P.S.S.S I shouldn't have shown her number.. but I'm too lazy to edit right now. So don't go harassing the poor, stupid woman, please.

Xoxo,

   B!