Okay back to the subject matter. The last 5 months for me have been insane and eventful. I know that the goal of this blog is for impowerment of women, but I wanted to bring up the many things that make us the way we are.
We as women have an amazing ability to adapt in an almost chameleon like fashion! I am going to share a few ways with how I have changed to fit my surroundings in the past few months.
March: In the month of march so many things changed for myself and many that I love! My Bestie, turned 19 and got engaged 9 days later to an amazing man! Talk about the element of surprise, She knew it was coming but as her fiance schemed and I played the roll of MOLE, she was not to know when it would actually occur. Needless to say she said yes and will be marrying her sweetheart in less than a week! Go her!
My sweet sweet little sister, turned the big 8. When this happened I realized that it had been nearly 11 years since I had been her age, boy how time flies. Kimberlie was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. In my family, we take baptisms pretty seriously, because this marks the point in our lives where we take the first major step of what I guess you could say is showing our devotion to our religion.
March was also the month where I started to reconnnect with a guy in my apartment complex, I could say that it was a game of chase where I was pursued endlessly by a handsome young suitor, but that would just be far to honest! ;-) This boy, goes by the name of Bret, the truth is, he made his attempts to get to know me months before this and had honestly given up on me because I was stubborn, determined I was happy and hated men. I felt like I did not need that other part in my life at the moment and just shoved anything male other than my man posse I hung out with on a regular basis(but everyone knows that best friends are genderless, and you should never date within a circle... wayyy tooooo awwwwkwwwwarrrddd). It took some creeping of my own and with some odd intentions to reconnect me with Bret. He was super sweet and fun to hang out with, I knew from the first time that we hung out that he was someone I wanted to get to know. So I did. He is amazing, funny, dorky, booksmart, cute as heck, tall, active, all the things I need in a guy.
April rolled around and Bret and I became boyfriend and girlfriend, I can honestly say before this point I had no clue what I was missing out on. Have the presence of another person when you need them or even when you don't is just something else!
In my family we have 3 birthdays during the month of April. My mom joined Club 5-Oh, Kindahl had a sweet 16, and miss Khloe turned a whopping 15. As I look back a few years at Kindahl and Khloe's ages and where I was, I think they are spending that time much better than I ever was. I admire my cute sisters for that. The focus at that time was not based on the present, but what could the future bring for me! My advice to anyon at any age, plan for the future, expect it to change, but make sure that you live in the present.
May flew by so fast I can hardly remember anything but finals week and my amazing cruise to mexico! Oh what fun you can have in mexico :-D.
Same thing happened for June, The main thing I remember about that month is Bret joining the church. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but that day was one of the most spiritual days I have ever had.
Now we are in July.I spent the 4th with Bret and his family and friends, it was a bit of a culture shock at first but I LOVED it! Then I hit another quarter life crisis dealing with the fact that I had yet aged another year by no fault of my own. Every birthday I struggle a bit with acceptance because it marks the fact that another year for me has gone by, I am almost forced to look at what I have done up until that point, and what there is to accomplish by the next year.
Some decisions that have caused me to change even more is my plan for education. I was not finding my niche at Utah State, so I have taken a one year leave of absense to pursue a career in the medical field through Bridgerland Applied Technology College.
I am still working at the Credit Union, but have taken on a load of 10 more hours a week! I can do this I know I can.
In the space of five months I can honestly say, my ways of thinking about life has dramatically changed. And I like it. Who is to say exactly what the future holds, but the now is what I am enjoying. Being surrounded by family often is a feeling I have grown to love.
Some minor changes I have taken to(and you know who you are because you have caused them!) are that I now love to eat cookie dough more than cookies sometimes, want a puppy, enjoy spending hours with children, and have accepted my flaws more than I ever thought I would.
A bigger change for me is that I have learned to love more, and feel like I am more honest in what I do. A challenge I would give to anyone is to see how many things in one day you can do for someone else, without thinking "how will this benefit me?"
The Recipe of the month is a Greek Salad I have yet to try it but it sounds DELICIOUS! A great way to utilize left over chicken and that fresh lettuce that should be maturing a gardens here soon!
- 1/3 cup(s) red-wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh dill or oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon(s) garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
- 6 cup(s) chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 1/2 cup(s) (about 12 ounces) chopped cooked chicken (see Tips & Techniques)
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1/2 cup(s) finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup(s) sliced ripe black olives
- 1/2 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese
