Celebrating Another Year & A Golf Cake

Today was simply amazing. I slept in late, read my novel on the patio, took the dog for a walk with my boyfriend (Bryson), went grocery shopping with my sister, and then got to celebrate my little brother's birthday! He turned 18 today and let me tell you, I'm still in denial. What could be more exciting than that? Oh wait, today was also his last day of high school classes! That's what. 

Besides being so proud of him for all of his accomplishments and becoming the caring brother that he is today, I am just overwhelmed by how quickly this day came up on us! I just turned twenty, my brother is going to college, and my sister doesn't even live in the house anymore. When did all that happen? It's times like these that I realize how important it is to appreciate and savor every day of our lives. Kenny Chesney was right when he said, "life goes faster than you think, so don't blink."

That is why I absolutely love birthdays at my house! We all get to come together and celebrate another successful year of our life and all the promising ones to come. It was so nice, especially after being away from my family for so long, to get all the siblings (and boyfriends and girlfriends) over to the house, grill some hamburgers and hotdogs on the deck, give gifts, and reminisce on old and sometimes embarrassing memories. 

And of course, you can't forget the best part. The cake. As tradition, the two siblings always make the cake for the third on their birthday. I wanted to share with you the cake that I made for my brother (the avid golf player) this year!

How cool is that? I made his favorite cake (chocolate), covered it with white icing and white m&m's, edged the plate with some green icing, made a cute little flag, and WA-LA! A golfball cake! I am quite proud of myself (sarcasm) and he absolutely loved it!

Overall, I'm just blessed to have such an amazing family to come home to after such a stressful semester and to share the future with.

What do you guys do to celebrate birthdays in your families? I'd love to hear!

Insecurities-Genesis 1:26-27

My biggest insecurity used to be my squinty eyes. Now I love them. Read more below!

In my most recent Bible Study, I was directed to study and reflect on Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV).

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

If God made us in his his image, we are reflections of God's glory. This gives us the ability to reflect the character of God through our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness.

This verse, however, became more to me than just how I came to be the more that I carried it with me during my day.

If we are made in God's image and are meant to represent his love and other qualities, are we downgrading him if we criticize ourselves? If I walk around thinking that I'm ugly or that I'm not smart enough, is that me saying that God's glory isn't perfect either? God CHOSE us to reflect his glory and that in itself should give us a strong sense of self worth.

This self worth allows us to love God, become closer to him, and continue to spread his glory to others. God blessed us with these abilities.

Isn't there a saying that 'you can't love somebody else until you love yourself.' Well if I don't love myself, I can't truly love God and what he has blessed me with.

This reflection has showed me that it is time to learn how to love myself. I'm learning to throw the insecurities out the window, love the muffin around my hip, adore my lack of direction and keep myself tagged in those not-so-flattering Facebook pictures. With less time spent worrying about my insecurities, I have been able to slow down, enjoy my time with myself, and appreciate the smaller blessings I didn't see before.

This reflection has led me to the commitment of using this mantra daily: I love myself because the Lord loves me.

Pleasure Reading

First off, I've joined the twitter era! If you'd like to check out my personal twitter, follow me at @EliseyGC (I think that is how it works)! Now onto my post...

I have gotten into this bad habit lately of picking up a pencil when I'm reading a book. My english class at Virginia Tech, as well as my AP Literature class in High School, had me annotating nearly every sentence of books in order to do a 'critical analysis.' Should my pleasure reading really be about critically analyzing? No, but it is a habit I can't seem to break away from.

Not only do I search TOO hard to find meaning in whatever I'm reading, but I've recently started to read things that are more factual and do have a definite meaning. For example, I've been trying to read books such as "Buddha's Brain" or the "Gift of Fear." While I agree that these are wonderful and educational books to read, I read them back to back and never give myself time to read my summer romance novel or a book with an inspirational story.

I feel like I am "supposed" to read these books and become more scholarly because that is what my college-level schooling has pushed upon me. I feel that I have been pressured by the college atmosphere to appear a certain way, which sometimes, means reading a certain kind of book at a coffee shop; one with more "intellectual meaning." These pressures and reprogramming to annotate has rid me of the desire to read, which I have always loved to do.

I actually have a list of books to read, in order in which I am going to read them. This, however, is being torn down today. My love for reading shouldn't be measured on a list and it shouldn't be confined to what I think is expected of me! I should read what I want to read in the fashion that I want to depending on my mood.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with reading a Jodi Picoult book or one by Rowling. Pleasure novels still build your vocabulary, teach you social patters, give you insights on life, and leave you with ambitions, they just do it in a more subtle way.

So today, I'm putting all of my 'smart books' on the book shelf, for now, and putting my Jodi Picoult novels back on my night stand. It is time to start living happily and stop measuring my brain capacity. I will read what I want, when I want.

This is a pretty random post, huh?

Happy reading!

PS- I just finished rereading Eat,Pray,Love! I'm watching the movie now! Has anybody seen/read it? What are your thoughts?!

Taking Time for Myself

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." 2 Thessalonians 3:16

The last couple of days have left me feeling rather...tense. I have had several interview for part-time nannying positions (for after hours of my 9am-5pm nannying job), have had emails to send for my sorority and for paws4people, and have been working through some disagreements with some family members.

Yesterday I decided to close the laptop, turn off the cell phone, sleep in, and enjoy a relaxing day at the pool reading and getting a tan (to some degree) with my sister. The rest of the evening was dedicated to continuing to read through the Book of John, watching a few Disney movies and eating ice cream with some friends!

After church this morning, I realize that I wasn't quite ready to go "back to work" today but knew that it was necessary. So, I decided to combine a day of relaxing and work by sitting in front of the television catching up on my recorded TLC shows, catching up on reading my favorite blogs, and responding to emails and finishing up a few excel files. What do you think? Well, it is working out nicely for me!

I will be more productive tomorrow; I think.

What do you guys do to relax during the summer?

Summertime is Finally Here

That old ballpark, man, is back in gear... Doesn't it just make you want to sing a Kenny Chesney song? No? Well then, I will continue with my post!

So summer has finally arrived. I finished off my first year at Virginia Tech studying to be an elementary school teacher and got to watch my admirable older sister graduate Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's in biology. The experience helped me to, once again, put my life into perspective and realize that college is more than partying and socializing, but it is about getting a strong education so you can work to do what you're passionate about and make a difference here on this earth. If I want to be successful in doing so, I need to make a few changes.

During my first year, I lost my way a few times, but during those times of wandering around aimlessly looking for the right path again, I learned what I wanted from myself. I learned what I needed to do to stay on the right path of happiness and self worth. However, those things, such as confidence and a better devotion to friendship, are not something that just click overnight, but they are a things that have to be absorbed, if that makes sense.

This summer is going to be about change or, self-building, if you will. I want to continue to build my relationships with my family and friends, continue to find my faith in His word, devote time to service, read more inspiring and motivational books, and find what makes me truly come alive.

“I hope your dreams take you... to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known."

Busy, busy, busy, ouch!

I wanted to post here and apologize for my absence on my blog. I try to recruit readers through a giveaway, and then it seems like I fell off the face of the Earth! Well I'm back and I will be posting more frequently.

Here is my excuse (not that you guys are really upset with me, right?): First of all, I rushed a sorority and was filled up to the tip top of my head with homework and events. The good news, however, is that I got in! I'm officially a member of Gamma Phi Beta!

Secondly, I got injured and have had a slow time recovering. Last week, and outlet in my room shocked me and burned the wall while I was unplugging a lamp. I placed a work order through my residential advisor and an electrician came, looked at it, and cleared if for use. Well, two days later I went to unplug my phone charger and POP! There was a huge flash of light and a buzzing noise, my hand got stuck to the wall, and my bed got completely burned. The rescue squad came and took me to the hospital I got a pretty good electrical burn and a good little execution. I will be okay, but the pain medications and treatment have left me really groggy lately....and I may or may not be a TAD scared to use electronics.

On top of all of that...I've had 6 tests within the last week and a half. Ugh.

Any how, I am back now! I am currently sitting outside of my class and getting ready to go in, but I can't wait to write to you guys and let you know about my Gamma Phi Beta experience so far!

What's been going on

Sadly, I haven't posted in awhile. On Friday I went home with Bryson to get my cast taken off, enjoyed a wonderful dinner with his family, and came back to school the next morning. I'm now in a walking cast (it is oh so stylish) and am back to walking to classes!

I have recently been having a very hard time with getting upset, over anything and everything. While I understand that my problems are minuscule in comparison with others, I can't seem to control my emotions. The combination of stress from school, arguing with my family, financial pressure, health issues, and the struggle to find trustworthy friends has left me feeling pretty lonely. Does anybody care about me?

During all of this, I am ashamed to say, I forgot to turn to God. He cares. It wasn't that I forgot that He was there, but I have given in to worldly concerns and have struggled to go to find reassurance in Him. I guess change takes time.

I prayed to Him for half an hour last night and found myself able to sleep deeply for the first time in awhile! I woke up refreshed, read a few of my favorite versus, took time to notice the nature around me on my way to class, agreed to go to a Christian group (Campus Outreach) meeting tomorrow night, volunteered my room for Bible study on Wednesday, arranged a one on one Bible study meeting with one of the Campus Outreach members, and peacefully studied John over a cup of coffee before my last class. I was feeling pretty rejuvenated!

Before I went back to the dorm, I got an email letting me know that I had a package to pick up in the residence hall mail room. I was a tad confused at first: What did I order?

Katie, my first blog friend, sent me a Study Bible to help me learn all about my faith. Katie, I can't thank you enough. Just when I thought God was the only person by my side, I remembered all of the positive support that I have gotten from you all. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have complete strangers care about me. I can't wait to use my new Bible in my studies tonight.

Thank you God, for showing me others who have given me the strength to push forward.

“God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight.”

What makes you come alive?

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman

Coming to college has made me realize two things. One; living with a bunch of girls and having to share a restroom with about 50 of them is horrible. No ifs, ands, ors, or buts about it. You can't change my mind. I cannot wait to have my own restroom next year in my apartment! The second, and more significant of the two realizations, is that you can't spend four years of your life studying something that you're not passionate about. I'm sure you can figure out how I came to the first realization, but let me explain the second.

When I started dating Bryson, he was in the process of changing from an engineering to a music major. He was so excited while signing up for his new classes and passionately talked about what he was working on all of the time. I, deep down, got jealous about his passion and the feeling only grew with time. Why couldn't I be that happy and passionate about my major? A red light went off in my head. I could.

I took some time to sit down and ask myself why I was in premedical. I guess I felt like it had always been expected of me because that was what would get me places in this economy. I was HATING my classes though. I hated looking at cells and had no interest in signing up for immunology or pathogenic bacteriology. Not only was I not enjoying my classes, but I wasn't getting good grades because of my lack of interest. It was then that I realized that life isn't about dying with the most money in your bank account. Life is about finding what makes you come alive and following that passion, so that you can make a difference in this world and help others live a more meaningful and just life as well.

With support from Bryson and my friends, I have since then switched my major to psychology (I'm still deciding what to minor in) and I am in pre-elementary education. I finally am just as excited as Bryson to sign up for my classes! Studying is so much more enjoyable knowing that I'm setting myself up for such a heart fulfilling future.

Now, instead of listening to Bryson practice piano while I moan through my biology notes, him and I are in my room while he is composing a new song and I'm studying developmental psychology of children. Things finally feel like they are falling into place! :]

Thank you Bryson for giving me the little push that I needed to find what makes me come alive.

Back in Blacksburg

I haven't posted in awhile due to all the chaos of getting myself back to school, moving in, getting textbooks, getting to class for the first day etc etc etc ON CRUTCHES! I have been exhausted, moody, and overall pretty stressed out. I finally have about thirty minutes, however, to rest at my favorite cafe with a cup of coffee (don't ask how I got it to a table with my crutches) before I have to maneuver myself and my textbooks to my next lecture. Oh the joy.

I left to head back to Blacksburg with Bryson Sunday after my family brunch. The trip is about four hours from my house, which isn't bad at all. About an hour in, however, Bryson realized that he forgot his keys and student ID card at his house. Uh oh. We back tracked for about thirty minutes to meet his parents half way. Although Bryson was stressed about the extra driving, I didn't mind the time to myself to listen to music and contemplate life (it seems that I never have enough time).

I got home (which is what my dorm is now) Sunday night, unpacked all my stuff with my friend Emily, reorganized my room based on what worked and didn't work last semester, and hung out with Bryson before bed. I was completely exhausted!

Monday was filled with grocery shopping, textbook buying (ugh) and just getting some reading done before classes start! I had a smudge of a mental breakdown that Bryson was able to talk me through, and that I turned to God for around 3 this morning when I was having trouble sleeping. Instantly comforted, I was able to get just enough sleep in before my 9:30 class this morning!

Math, Psychology and Biology were on the schedule for today, and I got homework assigned in each one of them. At least I will be busy! I find that when I sit around too much, my mind wonders and I feel lonely.

Well, I am exhausted after crutching around all over campus for classes. This afternoon after classes, I'm going to relax start reading my new book (on my nook):

Anybody read it? Let me know! I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Simple Pleasures

Since I was up so terribly late last night, or should I say this morning, I stumbled out of bed around noon. Is that so horrible though? I'm on winter break. I should be relaxing as much as I can before heading back to school on Sunday and having to crutch across one of the largest campuses in Virginia.

After such a deep and refreshing slumber, I woke up, my heart swollen with joy, knowing that God was there to get me through anything that I was going to face that day. Wait a second, why was I thinking that something bad was going to happen today? I suppose I'm usually a pessimist when I get up, dreading the day ahead of me.

Today, however, I decided should be different in honor of signing my life away to God only yesterday.

After tidying up my untamed hair and putting on some respectable clothing, I cleaned up the kitchen and invited Bryson to come over and make some homemade cookies with me. What better way to spread the love in your heart than with some homemade baking? However, don't take that comment too seriously.

We made chocolate chip cookies off a recipe from my new YummySoup! application and let me tell you that I have NEVER (yes with all capital letters) tasted such amazing homemade cookies before! I thought they were better than my usual precut Pilsbury ones. Maybe because they were made with love and good intentions (don't worry, I'm not that corny)! :]

Bryson had to go off to work, and of course, I sent him off with a bag of cookies. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't? Then I got working on a red velvet cake for my dad's birthday (we are going to eat it tomorrow so I will let you know how it went), caught up on a few of my favorite blogs, and went out to dinner with the family at Clyde's!

Now, after enjoying a wonderfully filling dinner and brewing a cup of lemon tea, I am bummed out on the couch with my mom watching Julie and Julia (ironic since it is about a blogging) and typing this to you. I'm going to catch up on a few emails and try to do a mini Bible study before bed.

It is days like this that remind me how truly lucky and blessed I am. I got to spend time with my family (which is rare since leaving for college), my caring boyfriend, and of course God. Today, I feel so loved.

Thank you, Lord, for helping me enjoy all the small pleasures of life today (mainly chocolate, I joke) and for allowing me to spend a wonderful much-needed evening with my family. And thank you, to all of you out there, who have sent encouraging and loving words my way. I'm blessed to have found people like you to talk to.

Revisiting Resolutions

Today, I sat down and officially decided to make my New Year Resolutions (again procrastinating), because I wasn't exactly happy with the list that I made on the first.

The problem that I have every year, as well as this year, is that I make definite statement like goals as if I can completely turn my life around in one day. Then, I end up forgetting all about my resolutions and find myself struggling to crawl away because they are too stressful. I expect way too much out of myself!

Change and growth takes time. So this today, I changed all of my New Year Resolutions to 'try' statements. For example, "Try to ask for forgiveness from those who you've hurt." See how much nicer and easier that sounds than, "Ask for forgiveness?" I think it does!

Today, I was able to step back and see myself growing instead of throwing myself off a cliff to the death of my resolutions.

Why do I blog?

This morning when I woke up, I opened up my macbook, responded to a few emails from my family and professors, and got to work reading blog updates that I'm subscribed to. That, and a cup of tea, is one of the best ways to start my morning!

I was reading blogs about cooking, running a household, and so much more. All of these blogs, I realized, have a clear and identified purpose of why the authors continue to write. I, however, am only eighteen years old, have no direct path in life at the moment, and don't have anything special going on in my life right now. So why am I blogging?

I decided to ponder that for awhile, and thought it would be a good idea to type it out. Here's why: I once found out, that I can never truly tell how I feel about something until I write it out. How is that so? Well, when you're thinking, you have a million thoughts buzzing through your head so fast that you can't concentrate on any specific idea. When you write, however, you can lay out your thoughts in a clear and logical manner, helping you to express and understand your feelings towards a particular topic.

Well, what am I writing about that I don't understand? Do I want money for blogging? No. Do I hope my posts will get published somewhere else? No. Well, I'm writing to figure out my life. I want to find what makes me come alive. I want to find a passion. I want to find what pushes me to be better. I want to find what brings me to peace. I want to find out how I feel about God and how I feel about relationships. What a better place to do it then on a blog where I can get feedback from others and grow from their experiences as well.

Most importantly: I write in this blog because I love to do so. Why doesn't that feel like enough for me? Why do I always feel that I have to have a concise purpose?

YummySoup!

Now, I don't have a kitchen of my own (I'm only 18 years old), but I'm a recipe fanatic! I love to whip up some baked goods for my hall mates or make a nice dinner for my family at home. I consider my recipe collecting as a hobby that I can bring into my future lifestyle. I pick up recipes from other bloggers, online, and even my boyfriend's mother!

The other day, I posted a comment on Katie's blog (The Cutting Back Kitchen) asking her how she keeps track of all the wonderful recipes that she has at home and that she posts on her blog. Katie was wonderful at commenting back and explained an efficient way to store recipes that interested me greatly.

For all of you with a Mac, however, you might know that apple released the Mac App Store today! As I browsed through all of the new apps, I came across one called YummySoup (for only $14.99)! Naturally, this enticed me to read more. YummySoup is a Mac recipe box! I wanted to show you guys a little bit about it (preview here)!

I've had so much fun adding my personal recipes to it! One of the coolest parts, is that there is a full screen preview mode for the kitchen, a web importer, a print mode, a share mode (in which you can email your recipes to friends), and cute design elements!

Happy cooking!

Bentley and Me

"Dogs leave paw prints on your heart."

Today, as I lounge on the couch with the love of my life, I thought it would be a fun idea to introduce him to my blog. This is Bentley, my one and a half year old golden retriever!

I got Bentley my senior year of high school, and quickly started to visit the special education classroom in my school with him! I worked with an organization, paws4people, to get him certified as an educational assistance dog, and we have absolutely enjoyed every moment of it! We have visited my high school, elementary schools, nursing homes, libraries, and we hope to visit an adult special education center sometime this summer!

Working with Bentley has been such a rewarding experience, not only in the wonderful feeling that I get knowing that I'm making other people's day just a little bit brighter, but by being able to start my life with Bentley. Bentley is not only a therapy dog to other people, but he has been my own therapy dog as well.

Bentley has pushed me to get up when the morning light is too much to look at, he has shown me the better in people that I didn't know existed, he has taken me out on early morning runs to enjoy the quiet sounds of morning, and has brought my family together and given us something to laugh about in hard times.

This post is for you, Bentley, and there will be many more to come.

Post Surgery Update!

Well, I made it out to the doctor today to get my stitches removed and a new cast! I thought I'd share a few pictures that we took! :]

(Not wanting to leave for the doctor's this morning.)

(Getting my stitches out!)

(Hokie fan cast!)

The doctor says that everything looks great and that I'm on the path to a full recovery! Only 3 more weeks in this cast, 3 weeks in a boot, and then a brace for the rest of my life! It could be worse, right!? I'm blessed to be in good health and continue to pray for those who have it worse off than I.

Enjoying Some Time to Myself

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea."

I woke up late today, around noon, and found the house to be completely empty. My sister is at her boyfriend's house for the day, my brother has school and soccer practice, and naturally, my parents are at work today. So instead of trying to make plans and get out of the house as well, I've decided to take the day for myself.

One of the inconveniences of an early dinner and a late morning is waking up starving. I decided to start off the morning with a slice of my homemade pumpkin bread that I made yesterday, and a nice hot class of pomegranate green tea. Which reminds me, that I've wanted to research about the benefits of green tea for awhile. What's the hype?

Let me sum up my findings for you:

-Contains natural caffeine

-Contains antioxidants that scavenge off free radicals

-Potentially helps to fight cancer

-Potentially helps to fight heart disease

-Lowers cholesterol

-Burns fat

-Preventing diabetes and strokes

-Staving off dementia

To receive such health benefits, we must consume the catechin EGCG, which is not readily available in our normal diet. This catechin is what gives us such health benefits, however, which can be found in green tea. We must drink green tea in our daily diet in order to gain such benefits. (This is not to say of course, that any of these complications will arise from NOT drinking green tea). So why not drink green tea?

Anyways, besides drinking green tea and boosting my health, I'm going to spend the day reading on my nook, practicing piano, and maybe watching some of my favorite shows on TLC! Oh, and never underestimate a day spent on your own! I've found them essential to reflecting on myself.

Merry New Year!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right."

For some reason, I still get all giddy inside during the ten second count down, when it truly hits me that I'm lucky to be here to celebrate it with my friends and family. As always, I wish I could deeply reflect on the ending year, but find myself unable to remember exactly what happened. Maybe this blog will work as a memory vault for me as well!

Every year I tell myself that I'm going to make resolutions to work on through the upcoming year. Most of the time, however, they are either extremely trivial or fly out the window after a week. This year, I think one of my resolutions will be to stick with my new year resolutions (I joke).

This past year has been significant for several reasons: I went off to college, became more confident in myself, finally found an amazing boyfriend, changed my major and reconciled old feelings with my family. It was a year of growth and learning and I feel like I'm finally starting to find peace with who I am. This year then, will hopefully become a chance for me to put my new self into action.

I've decided to type out my resolutions here and hopefully, if I get any readers, can get some feedback and maybe some other ideas. (The order in which I type them has no relevance as to how important they are to me.) Some of my resolutions aren't very big, but in fact small and personal things I'd like to change about myself. This journey of blogging for me, however, is about just that: learning to love the small things.

Elise Gabrielle's New Year's Resolutions:

1. Don't fret over the small stuff. As you've learned over this past year, things have a way of working themselves out in the end. You will always be fine.

2. As tasty as sugar and carbs are, try to limit yourself. No, you're not fat. If that bulge around your hips is making your more self conscious, however, I'm sure you wouldn't hate to see it go. Like you said at soccer camp one year: look good, feel good, do good, be good.

3. Love others to the best of your ability, but learn to live on your own and make time for yourself. Don't ever become dependent on the feelings of somebody else. As you know, they might not always be there to lean on.

4. Never make excuses for somebody if they don't deserve them. Of course, believe in second chances, but learn when to hand them out. Protect your heart a little more this year, eh?

5. Never forget to say 'please' and 'thank you.' Gratitude is one of the most honest and selfless feelings to have.

6. Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Now, you don't want to be scared and unaware do you?

7. I know you're in a cast now, but one you're mobile again, make a couple trips to the gym each week. Not only will you look better, but you will feel better too! You will never be this young again, so try to keep your body healthy!

I'm having trouble thinking of sincere resolutions right now, but I reserve the right to add more as I please! :]

Let Me Introduce Myself

My brother, myself, and my sister!

Happy Holidays!

Let me start off my introduction post by letting you know that this is not my first attempt at blogging. I've tussled with this website a few times and attempted to make blogs about my college experiences, hobbies, future plans, and a few other things that i'm too embarrassed to admit. Here I am, however, with an idea that I hope keeps my fingers typing.

On December 22nd of this year, I had ankle surgery to tighten up my ankle due to multiple sport injuries that occurred throughout my teenage years. Since the semester is over, I don't have any studying to do, and have had a lot of time to slow down and enjoy reading, knitting, watching movies, and taking time to really talk to the people close to me. Of course, I've also had a lot of time to sit in my bed and simply do nothing at all but let my thoughts build up into an overwhelming mess in my head.

While I thought that this break from my hectic lifestyle would be treacherous, I've actually found it to be a peaceful and eye-opening experience, in which I've been able to appreciate the smaller things in life that I usually take for granted.

I've had time to catch up on several blogs that I'm subscribed to, read a couple of books on my new Nook, and so much more. While enjoying all of these things that I usually don't have time for, I find myself having these moments of personal enlightenment when I'm enthusiastic and optimistic about life, but can never collectively bring my thoughts together enough to make those feelings permanent. At some moments, I see the bigger picture and exactly where I'm heading in this life, and other times, I can't find it.

In this blog, I hope to share what I find that makes me come alive, so that they can become a more permanent and influential part of my daily routine. The more I discover these small things that make me feel more whole, the closer I am to finding who I truly want to be. Maybe along the way, I'll be able to share a few things that I've learned about as well. One day I will be...well isn't that what this little journey called life is all about?