D r a g o n s o f L i f e

Last Saturday in my P s y c h class we began 

discussing the value we place (or don't place)

on ourselves and how self love plays as 

a pre-requisite in loving other people.

This concept is something I have always

felt m e g a strongly about, so here's a quote!

"Self -esteem is the armor

that protects kids from 

the dragons of life:

drugs, alcohol, delinquency,

and unhealthy relationships."

I think the only thing wrong

with this quote is that is should 

replace the word "kids" with people.

We all battle our own dragons 

pretty much daily, and it

can be quite f r i g h t e n i n g.

Think about it.

If our self-esteem is our armor 

then we need to be oh-so careful

not only of how we treat it, 

but what it's m a d e of. 

I like to think that all the 

people in my life (family, friends

even people I work with) are a l i n k

in my chainmail. Every now and then 

there might be a weak spot, I might get 

injured and will have to tend to my armor

and learn how to s u r v i v e a few battle wounds,

but I would be entirely willing to take 

that chance and know that I did my best.

 Because if you avoid your battles, your suit 

might do nothing more for you than collect
dust and t a r n i s h over the years, despite

the fact that its made of the finest material.

Which brings up one more point

I want to mention before I shut up. ;) 

Sometimes our dragons are perhaps too big

or too strong for us to t a m e or f i g h t on our own,

and we need to call on others to fight by our side.

We can't help but j u d g e them by their armor, 

but we can control what we take into consideration.

You could choose someone with the shiniest 

suit, knowing they must be d e d i c a t e d by how

much time they spend polishing it daily. 

Or you could choose someone whose suit 

has a few dents or cracks, knowing that they

have certainly taken a b e a t i n g of their
own, and yet, they're still standing.

T h e C u r e

There is absolutely 

nothing a s i m p l e convo,

animated s t o r y , 

or comfortable s i l e n c e

with an old (or new) 

friend can't c u r e .

Just sayin'.

G o o d M o r n i n g

I love sleeping.

I love being awake.

But I hate waking up.

Every morning my alarm 

is set for 4am, and then I 

allow myself to hit s n o o z e

for a good half hour before

my second alarm goes off 

and that one I actually have 

to get out of bed to make it

be quiet and get ready for

work, school, or the gym. 

Usually work. 

Then at 5 am I facebook  s t a l k

what went down online while

I was sleeping, browse pinterest

for a few bright and early 

f e e l   g o o d  quotes, and as I 

was doing that this morning 

I thought now might be a fun time

to write a few words about

a few things. 

So here goes:
Yesterday I went s h o p p i n g

after about a two or three week 

debate on whether or not

I could even afford to. 

The debate was settled when

I went and saw a  f r i e n d  who 

I haven't seen in forever and

he noticed that I had lost 

quite a bit of weight.

It was in that moment I 

think I realized I couldn't

afford  n o t  to,

despite the fact that 

I need to pay for my classes,

insurance, and gas up my car.

But realizing my jean size has 

gone from a 20 down to almost

a 13, and the fact that I've 

officially met one of my most 

important goals (to be able to 

share clothes with my sisters)

was worth the hundred I 

allowed myself to spend.

Plus, I feel like I just

u p g r a d e d  in cuteness.

Partly because of my new

obsession with n e o n  green,

but also in part because

its hard to see a difference

within yourself. 

Every time I look in 

the mirror I can't see the

changes I'm making because

I'm comparing myself to the me

I saw y e s t e r  d a y , not the me

I was three months ago. I think

one of the hardest things 

to remember is that 

change takes t i m e.

B a c k I n t o G r o o v e

As of today, 

I am officially 

back into groove

with the lifestyle 

I have been working

on building for myself,

and only 9 pounds 

away from my first 

weight loss goal! 

After almost

three and a half weeks

of winter vacation and trying to 

figure out how to work with my

new and improved (full) schedule,

I finally made it back into the

gym today, which is 

happy-making. 

Aaaaaaand, this morning

I also found out that my gym 

is officially open on Sundays! 

Mega good news right there 

considering the gym is where I

can just be me and totally de-stress

from all my work and school ness.

N a p T i m e ?

This semester I had planned

on dressing somewhat n i c e

for all my classes, but lets face it,

h o o d i e s  must have been invented

for college students, espeacially

those of us working full time as well.

Haha, maybe next semester?

Just wait, tomorrow 

it will be time to get my 

routine back into groove,

and then I'll have more to

ramble about, (which 

may or may not 

be a good thing.)

 But for now I am going to put my 

face back on my desk and take 

a m i c r o - n a p. Who couldn't 

use one of those, right?

O r a n g e J u i c e & S o f t l i p s

Today is probably

the first day all week

I have actually felt human,

(instead of this melting

zombie like creature)

and let me tell you,

it's fantastic.

So this is just

a mini s h o u t   o u t

to orange juice and

softlips vanilla chapstick.

My two very best friends

whenever I am sick.

(Future hubby,
whoever you might be,
take note of this.
Haha.)

W o r k - a - h o l i c C o l l e g e S t u d e n t

  ^ ^ those two phrases ^ ^
pretty much sums up my  l i f e
at the moment, which is definitely nothing
short of  c h a o t i c  and headache-inducing.
Toss in a head cold and a never ending sleep debt,
then I get a sweet mom who doesn't know how to not worry. ;)

Truth is though, 

I enjoy (almost) every minute of it.

Of course the fever and whatnot is unwelcome,

but I am a  g o a l - setter. Ultimately I set goals just 

so that I can meet them and set new ones. Granted,

with each progressive goal I set it gets harder, 

but sometimes that is what gives me 

the most determination. 

However, 

I'm certain that

not all goals are meant to be met. 

(Uh, you said what now??)

Not

a l l

goals

are

meant

to

be

met.

Sometimes I think we

get more out of life when we realize

that we aren't invincible. That there may always

be someone that's better than you at  e v e r y t h i n g .

I honestly believe it is this mindset that has gotten

me so far and so  h a p p y  in life, and yet it

is oh, so simple. 

I can do anything, but not everything.

So there you have it!

My tangent for the day. (:

4 6 S e c o n d s

18 years ago,

and 46 seconds

after midnight,

one of my b e s t i e s

was brought into this life

of total insanity, and she also

just so happens to be one of 

lovely sisters. <3 

So  h a p p y   b i r t h d a y   Emmy!

You're officially an adult, so
make the best of it! 

Although,

In my mind, 

you might always

be t h r e e years old. ;)

T o C l a r i f y

In my previous post I mentioned a  j o u r n e y . 

I just wanted to clarify that I don't specifically 

mean a weight loss journey, although

that is an important part of it.

Every day we grow just a little bit more 

and become someone we might not have 

even recognized the day before. 

Sometimes the changes are so subtle that 

it takes a lot to even notice a difference.

So this blog is simply to share my 

thoughts, feelings, and ideas as I 

t r y,  f a i l,  and  s u c c e e d.

W h a t F o r ? ?