My Time

Apparently I have had decided to give up actual blogging and just start sharing whatever I feel like whenever something worth sharing happens. Which, as you can see, isn't that often.

However, in the last few months I have made a few life altering decisions. My boyfriend of way too many years finally popped the big question and I said yes. That's the short version. We're now engaged and decided to have our wedding in February. Actually, I decided and he just agreed.

February, wow, that's quick. That was the only response I was prepared for. I guess when you grow up in a cold, blustery northern state you don't realize just how shocked people from out of state, or even in state, would be. Now, coming from a podunk town in North Dakota, most people would think that February is an awful time to tie the knot. However, I realized it's the absolute best! Here's why:

1. Everyone's available! you don't have to worry about finding a location, florist or photographer and working around their schedule. They may look at you like you're crazy, but they have an open schedule, which is all I care.

2. Dress sales. I found my dress half off because it's not "wedding season"! along with cheap and decent bridesmaid dresses!

3. Sales and Clearance decorations. My colors are black and white with red accents. Christmas is just around the corner so they'll have tons of ribbon, lights and decorations on sale that will go with my style!

4. More sales and clearance! Think of all the red and white candies after Valentines Day I can grab up for my candy bar!

5. The best pictures yet. I love looking at wedding photos, but after awhile all the summer weddings start to run together. But when you come across pictures of the bridal party with a beautiful snowy back drop, you actually stop to look. (even if it is to say she's crazy!)

That's all for today. I'm sure I'll be back with random wedding drama from time to time, and maybe a few photos. I really need to get my camera out again.  I miss it.

Chocolate in My Cheesecake Please

The question of the week - what to do with a few things of cream cheese I didn't want to go to waste? Cheesecake! Luckily that question has never been hard. I automatically think of cheesecake every time I think of cream cheese. No, it's probably not a healthy relationship between us, but I don't believe I've ever heard of meetings for cheesecake addicts, so it can't be all bad.

I didn't have much in my cupboards so I had to hunt for a recipe that didn't use sour cream and was pretty easy since it's not a payday week for me and I'm really trying to keep on budget. I couldn't justify going to the store just for items to make a cheesecake! At least not this week, in a few weeks ask again and I'm sure it would constitute and emergency, right along with a bag of chocolate and a coke. But I digress... here's where I found the cheesecake recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-cheesecake-i/

The only thing I altered was I used chocolate graham crackers instead of regular ones with cocoa powder mixed in. I think it turned out fine, maybe even a little sweeter :-)  The greatest tip in this recipe is to coat your chocolate chips with just a touch of flour - apparently this keeps them from sinking towards the bottom! Worked great!

My cheesecake before it went into the oven - sprinkled with chocolate chips it looked amazing! Of course, the one of the right is when I pulled it out - even better! It was almost impossible to wait for it to cool down so I could test it out, but I managed to make it all night and had a piece (or two) for lunch the next day. It was worth the wait. I highly recommend this recipe - if I can make it and it turns out nearly perfect - there were a few cracks but that's because there was no water bath - I'm sure anyone can. Since we don't need an entire cheesecake just laying around I did cut it up, wrap it really good and put it in some freezer containers to pull out at a later date. Or I could just pull one out a day for a few days!

Carefree Puddle Stomping

 

There's something about puddles, especially the ones on dirt roads, that bring out the kid in the adult and the trouble in the kid. 

Don't you miss being so carefree all the time?

 

Class of 2012

So in my last piece on here I wrote about my sister graduating but hadn't gotten to the best part of the day - the party! (Or open house if you'd rather go that route)

 

We started the morning with heading off to church and meeting up with the rest of the family - All of my immediate family, except for my other little sister who decided to be a poop and refuse to show up, both sets of grandparents and then my aunt and uncle who live about 2 hours away.

 My grandparents on my dad's side and his oldest sister and her hubby met us early to attend church with us, major kudos to them because it takes about 2 hours for them to get here and church starts around 1030... not that bad of a drive and really not that early I guess, but on a Sunday morning not really something I'd want to do! The other set of grandparents met us out at the Alerus for the graduation ceremony directly after church.

Graduation went fairly quick. They had the varsity jazz band playing while everyone was coming in. Mrs. Aleshire never disappoints when it comes to good music for stuff like this, one of the best band directors/teachers I think most of the high schoolers in the city ever had. The graduates only half filled the allotted area this year, not sure if that was due to them not making it, or just a much smaller class then I remember having

After graduation it was a race
 out to the parents to get everything ready for the open house. BBQ pulled pork, cookie salad, fruit and veggies and then of course, cupcakes! Oh, and I printed out awesome little stickers for the bottom of tons of kisses, but I didn't do the sticking of the stickers. I'm sure that was tons of fun I didn't miss out on! The weather held up beautifully and we only had a few slight mistings, but nothing to make anyone want to leave or go inside. Over all I think it went pretty well.

On a different note - we saved a ton my making almost everything on our own. We did all our own cooking and even baked and decorated the cupcakes on our own - actually, I didn't, mom and the others at home did. The cake stands were an idea mom found on, take a guess, Pinterest! We of course manipulated them a little to fit our theme and keep it super cheap. Nothing but cardboard cake boards, cans of peas, scrap book paper, ribbon, hot glue and a little spray adhesive! Not bad and I think they turned out amazing! The kisses was also my mom's idea, I just happen to be lucky enough to work somewhere that I have the capabilities of printing out mass quantities of them very quickly. Pink lemonade in super cute dispensers borrowed from a friend topped off the whole look! 

Time Flies

Isn't it crazy how fast times flies by? My baby sister is graduating high school this Sunday and it hardly feels like she's old enough to drive! Craziness I tell you, pure and utter craziness. She was such a doll when she little - the cute strawberry blonde curls, big brown eyes and evil smirk, I mean cute smile.

She's going into hair design, or to school for hair, or whatever you want to call it for now. I'm pretty excited for her because that means I'll be able to get cheap pedicures and hopefully she continues  onto massage therapy and facials... I could really use someone for that in my life! lol. I hope she doesn't read this until after graduation, when I'm safe in my apartment again and not standing right next to her.


 Here's some of my favorite pics of her growing up - and then of course just a couple senior pictures I was so lucky to be able to take.

 

Starbucks for Lucy

Our newest addition out at the farm is a little stray we picked up last year about this time. We're not sure what breeds are in her, but we're pretty sure she's got some lab. Lucy, the white dog in the photos, has such a good nature about her I couldn't believe someone would dump her off in the streets and not go looking for her! She has more personality then I've seen in most dogs. She smiles all the time and her tail is constantly in a light wag, especially as she saunters up to meet you when you drive in.

 It was a hot day, so Starbucks fraps were in order. After I downed my caramel frap, Lucy was all over the cup! A little whipped cream wouldn't hurt, and it was just a little because I'm pretty good and getting all that out for myself ;-)

She was definitely excited to get the cup to herself, there was no sharing with the other pups. Every last drop was cleaned out and thoroughly enjoyed, as I'm sure you can tell!

 It was exhausting trying to clean out those cups!

Flowering Trees for Shade

There is just something about spring flowers that amaze me. I took these a few weeks ago, and they've already finished blooming or were blown away with the wind. It makes a walk more peaceful and the bees and butterflies a lot more interesting to watch.

That's all for today. Here's to hoping the summer flowers bloom just as bright and beautiful!

A New Life Beginning

 I love spring in North Dakota. Besides the allergies, random snow fall and the crazy rise and fall of temperatures, it's not so bad.

My little brother made a cool discovery this spring while out mowing -

A Robin decided to make her next right at eye level for all of us. I missed the shot of just the eggs in the nest, but you can kind of see the last little blue one in the first picture. These little fuzz balls weren't more than a couple days old when I first got a peek!

They definitely grow a lot faster then I ever thought possible. This is only a week or so later and they have all their feathers and barely fit in the nest!

The parents were both around and I was lucky enough to hang out quietly not too far when they started to come in for feeding time. Those little birds know exactly where their parents are if they have food. The moment they start getting closer I could watch their scrawny necks stretch out and their mouths gape open, just waiting. 

They have all flown off now, but I'm sure we'll see a few of them around.

Trying to Catch Up

ND Spring Time - Moth on an Apple Tree Blossom

We are already towards the end of May, and I hardly feel like I've accomplished anything I set out to do this year! I've successfully signed up and am active on more social sites, because that's just what I need to do while I'm waiting around for my work to do itself. Ha. I am struggling a little bit with some of them though. I just don't know what to put out there and what to keep to myself! I also have this little issue where I'm nervous about who I let see things or friending people I don't know, heck, I don't even talk to half the people I do know! But feel free to chase me down with Twitter @CJJDesigns to see what I'm up to!

I also have my website design complete and ready to go. It took me forever because I'm great at the layout and design aspect of the spectrum, but making it functional is a completely different story! But I now have 2 domains and I'm hoping to have both of them up and running very soon. I figured just Facebook pages weren't going to be enough if I want to get both feet off the the ground... I'm kind of hesitant to pick my other foot up and jump, it's a scary jump. I'll post them later on so I can get some feed back, if anyone reads this or has anything to say. Until then feel free to check out my facebook page though - facebook.com/courtneysdesigns. Mostly photography and a few art pieces I put together for some clients. Please like it and then leave feedback! I'm always looking for new ideas for projects!

Cheesecake Fixes Everything

Some days I've realized are longer than others. On the nice warm, sunny days it seems time zips on by while on the rainy, gray and gloomy days it seems to drag on. To pass the latter of the days, I've decided to start trying out new recipes I find online. The latest one was a chocolate chip cheesecake bar. Ahhmazing! Super easy and but it looks way more complicated and delicate. Next time I'll top it off with a little whipped cream and some chocolate syrup or something for a different look. Although, it does look good just sitting there, waiting to be demolished.

 I failed to ration out my cookie dough when I started because I was concerned the cheesecake mixture would run through the bottom. Next time I'll just crumble up the cookie dough on the top to make it look better.

But I did pre cut it and make little bars before I brought it anywhere and it looked amazing then. Definitely will be making this one again.

I took the recipe from an old pillsbury cookie dough container - I also saw it on mrfood.com the other day while browsing through pininterest, my new found addiction.

Cooking Time: 45 min

What to buy: 
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 
3 eggs 
3/4 cup sugar
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 (16.5-ounce) rolls refrigerator chocolate chip cookie dough

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    
2. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until well mixed; set aside.
    
3. Slice cookie dough rolls into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices from one roll on bottom of a greased 9- x 13-inch glass baking dish; press together so there are no holes in dough. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over dough; top with remaining slices of cookie dough.
    
4. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden and center is slightly firm.
    
5. Remove from oven, let cool, then refrigerate. Cut into slices when well chilled.

You could be really ambitious and make cookie dough from scratch and it turns out just as well, if not better. But I was lazy this week and decided to go with the cheap rolls or cookie dough at my local grocer.

Amusing Oddities

I'm awful at keeping up with this. I failed within the first month of keeping an up to date blog for my new years resolution. At least I failed early and now have all the time in the world to sit and pretend to come up with something else. Like working out. Again.

Thinking of working out, I did actually go to the gym tonight. First month since September that I've made it my 12 times so I can get reimbursed a few bucks for going. Yay me.

It was a very strange visit though. I'm blaming the oddities I ran into today on the rather abnormal weather we've been having lately. I was starting my weight circuit I normally do every other time I go and I notice a guy completely engulfed in doing pull ups wearing normal day attire: Jeans, belt, tshirt - it was odd. All I could think of was "wow, he must have had a rough day to not even bother going home to change. Then I look over and there's another guy dressed for the gym but he's wearing his baseball cap and lifting weights along side a guy still sporting his winter beanie. On the other side of me some skinny little thing, whom I doubt was old enough to even be in the gym without adult supervision, sits down in the middle of the floor and starts to stretch. People now have to walk around her because she couldn't make it five more feet over to the area that has mats and is normally used for that kind of activity.

And now I'm home debating having a cheesecake bar I baked up last night while I should have spent my time at the gym. I believe that's a rule in Zombieland though and I think it's #32: Enjoy the Little Things. So yes, I think I'll have some dessert before I start my nightly routine.

Record Highs to Record Lows

What is wrong with this winter? We hit record highs not more than 3 weeks ago and Tuesday night (3 nights ago) we tied for a record low set back a few years ago at -18! The sad thing, that was just air temp, wind chill was -40. But then again, that is normal North Dakota winter weather. We were spoiled recently with highs in the 30’s and sometimes 40’s. I’m not sure how to react, my body on the other hand has decided to give in and want to stay in bed. My head feels like it’s going to explode and I’m sitting at work trying to focus on new designs to push out. Not amusing. I feel like I’m dying. I’m such a baby – It’s just a head cold I hope, with a random splattering of icky deep chesty coughs. Uffda. Thank goodness it’s Friday. I don’t think I could make it another day in the shape I’m in. 5 o’clock cannot come soon enough. Here’s to another week gone and 1 week closer to summer. Winter is my favorite, but right now I’m so sick of the ups and downs I just want either all ups or all downs!

Winter Sleep Deprivation

Living in the lovely state of North Dakota can take it’s toll even on the hardiest of the bunch. The sudden changes in temperature, this year especially, has not been kind. Going from 40 and sunny to -8 and cloudy over night is harsh. Even though the days are slowly starting to get longer and I’ve seen the sun a little more, this last week has been especially brutal on my body for some reason. I’ve been in bed before 9:30 every night since Monday and I’ve still had a difficult time getting up for work at 6:30/7. Not sure what’s going on. So I’ve talked to a few others and did a little research and here’s what I’ve come up:

SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder

(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195)

Some of my friends have actually went in and had their iron levels tested because they thought they were just anemic and needed to up their vitamins and iron intake. Which never hurts in this area, as long as you talk to your doctor first of course. They weren’t anemic though; they just had signs of this SAD. Feeling heavy and tired all the time, oversleeping, and craving carbs (nothing tastes better in the winter than a big pan of lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs with some cheesy garlic bread… mmmmm….). 

I’ve come to the conclusion after talking to my chiropractor that I just need to listen to my body for a few weeks and sleep when I can, take more vitamin C, B12 and maybe add a little more iron in my diet. I prefer the natural methods to deal with things, and my chiropractor is licensed and has sent me to a “real” doctor before when I needed that instead, so I trust her whole heartedly. I know a lot of people who think those kind of doctors are a little off, but I’ve found it not only cheaper, but more relaxing and I usually feel better faster!

Those photo lights I hear help too. Some special light in them that makes your body feel like it's absorbing sunlight and in return your mood lifts and in most cases your energy will lift too. I may have to look into getting one of those for my desk at work. Especially since I sit in an office with no windows all year long, it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Coming Out Even

Yes, I know gambling is a horrible thing to do when you’re broke and I have to real excuse for why I went other than I was bored and really wanted to get out of town. That and my wonderful crazy boyfriend spotted me a few bucks to gamble with, so technically I didn’t spend a dime. 

Friday night we went to Applebee’s because we both had gift cards and had probably the best food I’ve ever had at an Applebee’s. Bourbon chicken and shrimp and he had the parmesan steak and shrimp. Of course since it was Friday night they had the $5 mucho drinks so I had a nice strawberry long island with my chicken. I'm such a light weight. It was almost funny, just almost.

Then we decided to spend his overtime earnings from his last paycheck and go hit the casino the next day. So we get up, have lunch, since we slept till about 11 and headed out to Shooting Star. We arrive around 3pm and start off with our usual slots, nothing more than penny slots and nothing betting more than $0.50. My wonderful huskies at $.50 a spin paid out after 3 spins with a bonus round and free spins racking me up to about double what I put in, then I cash out. My boy, not so lucky, he’s down already so we move on…We hit about 20 different machines that night coming out ahead and then we hit the last machine of the night and we both go home with a pocket full of pennies. Not a promising start to the weekend. Oh well, you don’t gamble unless you have the money to lose anyway. So you’d think we’d stop – but we try our luck again on Sunday. I do much better Saturday nights and my boy here does amazing on Sundays. So I bring the money I had left from earlier and spend and he’s brought a little extra and hit a small jackpot, a gong bonus winning that small jackpot and we go home better than we came. Finally. But not getting home until after 2am both Saturday and Sunday nights and each having to work at 730 on Monday morning certainly takes its toll. It’s Tuesday afternoon and of course I’ve made it to work both days this week and I’ve been slightly productive and not as crabby as some would assume. 

Now we’re done gambling until next month. Hopefully we’ll hit another big break.

Food Addictions

I’m sure this is nothing to joke about, but I think I’ve developed a food addiction between Thanksgiving and yesterday. I’m not sure there’s a day that’s gone by where there hasn’t been holiday sweets, random dishes or even candy laying about for me to indulge in. My New Years resolution is not going very well with extra fudge being left on the break room table right next to the chips and dip along with the veggie tray and the really healthy veggie dip. If I eat a piece of celery and a piece of broccoli does it counteract the piece of fudge and plate of chips and dip? Negative calories plus calories equals a calorie free intake, right? Thanks, I thought so too.

Potlucks in Place of Catering

I really shouldn’t complain, I enjoy a casual business attire work place, fun people for the most part and a pretty awesome boss most days. But on days like today I wonder why other companies are able to put on this elaborate company Christmas party and I’m here enjoying a potluck. Potlucks to me were always a church thing. Every holiday, every major event for somebody in the congregation we’d have a potluck. For a corporate Christmas party, however, I don't think we should have to bring our own food. And yes, It’s January 5^th and we’re having it now. We had our other one with the coworkers across the way 2 weeks ago. So now we get to indulge ourselves once again starting from 11am and ending at 5pm when we all leave for the night with gut bombs and sugar headaches. Oh how I love the holidays.

On a better note, the food really is amazing. We have some of the best chefs in the state working for us. Every other day of the year they’re under cover and you’d never expect the random guy down to hall to bring in a jaw dropping pheasant and wild rice soup, or the lady across the room to bring in a dessert that you could sit and eat all day. A potluck has its perks. Leftovers for the rest of the week, granted we don’t completely pig out like some starving animals who haven’t eaten for days.

It’s also amazing what you learn about people when you leave food on the table in the break room. In our company any food left in the middle of either two tables in the break room is fair game. People bring cupcakes, donuts, cakes, popcorn and every other kind of snack you can think of and it sits there. Staring at you as you walk by. Whispering out to you. It’s horrible. I love cake decorating and since I took a few classes I went through a phase where I was baking a cake a week. I don’t need that much cake in my home so I’d bring it to work and put it on a table. Cake and coffee is one of the best breakfast staples in this company. The Midwestern nice statement stands true here – not a soul will take the last piece of cake. I have left for lunch some days and there’s been one piece of cake left only to come back to half of that one piece of cake left. Then when I go to take the cake carrier home there’s been half of the half of apiece left! Do people really feel bad for taking the last piece? It’s not a big deal. It’s cake. It’s not like it’s an emergency supply of sugar.. Nobody’s going to drop dead if they come in to get a piece and it’s all gone. It amazes me. However, when I put apple crisp in there and if I don’t get any when I put it down, I won’t get any at all. I’ll be lucky to get a lick out of the pan. Not sure what the difference is. Maybe it’s the “healthiness” of apples. Haha!

Sugar Coma is Wearing Off

The great thing, and the worst thing, about the holidays is all the food. We go big in my family and do an insane amount of Christmas baking. So much so that when my birthday rolls around on Dec. 28^th I don’t even want a fun fancy cake. I’m perfectly happy with an angel food cake with some cool whip and strawberries. Not too sweet and the perfect way to end any meal, in my opinion.

To finish off the holiday spirit of things for the year, we’re having a small corporate potluck tomorrow at work. I was a genius and decided to do a dessert tray like I’ve done for the past 4 years I’ve been here. So it’s expected of me to actually bring good desserts and not skimp on the tray. Now that almost all the holiday treats are gone I’m going to have to bake up a few again just for this, which means we’ll be bringing the sugar rush back for the month of January. Not helping my working out and eating better goal already and I’m only 4 days into the New Year! Oh no!

On a better note to the resolutions of the year, I did start Insanity. If you haven’t heard of Insanity I’m sure you’ve heard of P90X – it’s a program along the same line, built by the same people, just minus any equipment. My butt is being constantly kicked. Not only am I sore during the workout, but the 3 flights of stairs up and down from my apartment to my car are killing me, along with the big flight of stairs I have to walk up to get to my office. I’m fairly certain my legs are going to give out one day as I’m walking down the stairs at work and I’m going to end up in a tangled pretzel and won’t be able to move for weeks. Other than the insane side effects of constant muscular agony, I enjoy the workout. I actually feel as though I’m going to get in shape, granted I stick with it for the full 90 days. Woo Hoo! I’m only on day 3. I’ll keep you posted, unless I end up in a pretzel at the bottom of the stairs somewhere.

Trading in the Familiar and Settling for the Unfamiliar

Lost a coworker yesterday. She’s not dead, don’t worry. She decided that enough was enough and took a job with less stress, less driving distance and less responsibility. I’m proud of her for doing what so many of us can’t. If you don’t like something, change it. The most recent news articles about happiness have been a bit different from last years. They tell you to say no to a promotion if you don’t want to take in the responsibilities of a newfound job. That little extra change isn’t always worth the headaches that come with new responsibilities. Trust me.

The sad thing is the lady that left had been working with me for over 3 years now so we’ve become pretty good friends and we work together great. It’s hard to get a small group of designers trained in so that they all produce the same “feel” of the company. Hopefully the next person will make an effort to fit in instead of trying to stand out like a sore thumb. I’m not usually very good with new people invading my space, so this should be an interesting month.

With that being said – we now are in the process of interviewing potential candidates. The process, though not my problem, is quite interesting. Since we worked in the same room but different departments, I get all the perks of watching these candidates come in and take the design test and laugh, under my breath of course, at the struggles they have with it. I don’t get a say in anything, but it’s still fun to watch. Makes my days go by a little faster and my time spent at work a little more worthwhile. After watching a few of them it amazes me even more that they claim to have an education and experience! Don’t these people do any research on the company? I don’t want to disclose too much information as we’re still in the process, but it’s rather comical to watch the expression of horror as they are sat down at the desk with instructions on what they are to complete within an hour. It completes my day.

Sometimes You Have to Open the Door Yourself

Just because you shut one door and wandered around aimlessly looking for something bigger and better only to stumble across more closed doors doesn’t mean those doors aren’t unlocked.

Of course, it also doesn’t mean they aren’t locked. Dead bolted. Chained. Rigged. Sometimes it just plain sucks. Try as hard as you may, not even a budge. I’ve been attempting to find myself some freelance/contract work to help make ends meet. It’s amazing how many people out there deem themselves graphic designers without even the slightest bit of education. Granted I’ve a higher degree than most, I’m still considered under qualified for the jobs I'd love. I went to a 4 year school to obtain my B.S. in graphic communications, took two years and decided to go cram my M.S. into 12 months of insane insomnia mixed with adrenaline rushes of work and trying to make ends meet so I could keep my apartment. Yet, even after that and a few years of experience under my belt, I get nothing but rejection letters. I’ve tried taking the MS off my resume in hopes that maybe I was really over qualified and they didn’t want to have to pay me too much, but that got me ignored, not even a letter saying sorry, you’re not good enough for us.

Pretty soon I’m just going to kick the bloody door in and take whatever I want. Although, all I want is a decent job so I can quit worrying and stop living paycheck to paycheck. Not sure I can just strut in and take that, but it’s fun to daydream.

The Door to the New Year

 January - The coldest month of the year for most of us in the northern hemisphere. According to many, January 1^st is the coldest day of the year for us, and the warmest day of the year for those in the southern hemisphere. It’s also one of the most depressing months out of the year. The month when everyone realizes they overspent for the holidays; Their tax return, granted they get even a penny, will end up paying off their credit cards and the debt from the previous month or two of shopping and “saving money” on deals and bargains. At least that’s where most of my return will be going this year. Last year I was lucky enough to use it to pay off one of my many student loans and put a little something away for the There goes my plan of starting my New Year off financially sound.

Since my financial situation varies from paycheck to paycheck I need to find something else to shoot for this New Year. After a lot of overly ambitious thoughts, I’ve come up with a few things. Starting January 1 we’ll keep track of how long this lasts.

Exercise more – when I don’t exercise like I should already, exercising more might actually stand a chance. Motivation – I can’t afford new clothes so the ones I have need to fit better!

Eat right - After a year of taking cake classes and practicing decorating cakes, I’m getting sick of frosting. I never thought the day would come, homemade butter cream frosting is amazing, but I feel like I’ve reached my limit. Motivation – see the reasoning from the first goal.

Do something for myself every month. I think this is a goal everyone, no matter your age, should set. With the stresses of today’s world bearing down on you everywhere you go we need to remember to take time for ourselves. Whether it be a day where you stay home and relax, head out and take on nature or get a pedicure, do something you enjoy. Pick a date to do it on so you have something to look forward to, especially in these early months where holidays for us minion workers are scarce.

Welcome to my life. I’ve survived it for a few years, so I give props to anyone else who can make it through this world and still find time for themselves and not take the little things in life for granted. Because after all is said and done, at the end of the day it really is the little things that make this life worth living.