Sick Again....

Guess who has come down with another really bad cold...

On the plus side, I've done a lot of reading the past few days since walking more than a few steps exhausts me. I got all the way through the Divergent Trilogy again. I've been wanting to reread that series since it's been a long time since I did and I remember enjoying them. Overall I think the first one is by far the best then it goes slightly downhill each following book. I really like a lot of the ideas in it and enjoy the characters in it.

I know how it ends yet still teared up quite a bit at certain parts at the end of the series.

I'm hoping to keep up reading more and more. I tend to go through phases - make it through a few books at a time quickly and then not reading for a bit. So we'll see how I continue from here.

Flying Away

I'm currently sitting on a plane waiting to pull back to head down to Orlando, FL. It will be a nice change of temperature and I'll get to hang out with my grandfather for a couple days.

I'm reminded how much traveling stresses me out though.... I love traveling in the sense of seeing and exploring new places and getting a break from everyday life, but the traveling itself stresses me majorly. I have a major fear of flying, I always worry that I forgot things, and I always over pack yet manage to forget something important.

I used to travel 85% for my job and it really wore me down. Since leaving that position I've only flown for one other trip before today. That was stressful but I had one of my closest friends by my side for it which made it easier.

So here's to deep breaths and hoping for a smooth flight!

See ya soon Orlando!

Today's Exploration

Headed out on a quick adventure this morning and here are some pictures from Nickel Plate Beach and the Huron Lighthouse and Fishing Pier:

Thoughts of the Morning - January 29, 2016

1. It's Fridayyyyy! This has been a very long, but honestly very rewarding, week. I've gotten a lot done, had some fun, and just overall felt like this week kicked ass. On one hand that is wonderful and I love these weeks, but on the other hand I know that I need to take some time for me this weekend to decompress and refresh myself or I'm going to end up rather run down and it's going to be a mess. Especially because next weekend I'm off for a long weekend to visit my grandfather out of town which means missing some work and I know as hard as I try to not think about it, I'm going to. So recharging this weekend to have another kickass week next week to be able to go into my mini vacation strong is definitely a priority.

2. Sometimes impulsiveness can be helpful for balance? Which doesn't really make sense, but hear me out. I have found that if I listen to my little impulses that say "take a break and play one round of your favorite puzzle game" or "don't make a work call on the drive home, call a friend or family member" I get far less overwhelmed overall. Sure I may miss small chances to get little things crossed off my to do list in that instant, but I can enjoy myself quite a bit more.

3. Living in the now vs. planning for the future balance is difficult. And honestly I hope to expand this into it's own blog post soon just to get some more thoughts down on it. I've always been someone incredibly stressed about the future and needing to plan and always knowing what's next. I've improved on that a great deal in the past couple years and found it much more rewarding to be able to better live in the present to enjoy my life as it is now. But then I catch myself so caught up in the now that I have no idea what's coming next. Not always a bad thing, but I am still more comfortable when I have some sort of idea or plan in general....

Thoughts of the Morning - January 27, 2016

1. Working out has really great immediate side effects, let alone the long term results for your health. I need to push myself to be more disciplined to spend at least half an hour at the gym running or doing abs most days of the week. Even just such a short period of time can help work off stress, get my head on straight, and just leave me feeling overall better and able to conquer my world.

2. I've been staying pretty motivated this week and gotten a lot done already, even with it only being Wednesday morning. I'm finding that if I catch myself feeling worn out early and give myself small breaks as needed I am able to jump back into things quicker than when I allow myself to get completely worn down and am out of it for days to recover.

3. Finding balance can be tough. But I'm trying to balance my two jobs with what is best for me health wise, fun wise, future wise, and just whatever I need in the moment wise.

"...you can either run from it, or learn from it."

One of my all time favorite quotes! And super relevant for how I've been feeling late (see previous post about "What if's...."

I think it can be really easy to get in this rut of wondering about the past and regretting decisions and wondering if we can ever escape some of it. Truth is, you can't escape it. It's part of who you are and it's played its own part in who you are and how you act today. Regardless of good or bad, difficult or easy, within control or out of your control, anywhere in between the past has influenced you.

The quote says it all - if you run from it you'll still never truly get away, but if you learn from it you can better yourself for the future, get closure to move on, and acknowledge where things had been for you in the past all while preparing to be the best you can for the future.

Thoughts of the Day (Morning) - January 25, 2016

First of all, I always get up with a substantial amount of time before I need to be out the door. Sometimes I need to be a zombie for a while and then get ready and go and sometimes I'm pretty awake and use the time to get stuff done. This morning I'm kind of at the in between - not a zombie, but not really up for getting a lot done that requires me moving my couch. Hence the thinking and blogging!

1. We always wish we were where we aren't - make the most of it anyway! I've noticed the past few days with looking back at a lot of pictures that I am really missing traveling and getting to adventure a lot. Since I left my last job I've really been able to re-establish some amazing friendships and been happy to be able to be home more often. On the flip side, I'm really struggling with not having as much of a routine and honestly miss traveling at least sometimes. Finding the perfect balance in any situation isn't always the easiest but that's why it's important to appreciate things as much as we can while we have them, even if they're rough and not perfect in that moment. 

2. My schedule is pretty busy today and the rest of the week. I'm hoping that this keeps me moving and at the right balance of busy enough without getting too stressed. We'll see what happens!