E I G H T | Music

So I kind of cheated in the beginning of the whole Blog-tember Challenge, because I had some free time on my hands.  I scheduled a couple of posts.  And then I promptly ran out of scheduled posts, which is why Day {EIGHT} is a bit later in the day than normal.  But... it's still on time!

Ahhhh.  Pandora.  :-)  A girl could spend her whole life listening to music.  There are some songs that just bring me back to a time or a place, and help me to relieve memories, good and bad.

It's funny because when I sit down and try to think of the songs that have had such an impact on my life, my mind runs wild.

{Daddy's Hands by Holly Dunn}  Daddy's Hands was played during my Grandpa's funeral.  It's the first song I really remember having such an impact in my life, because the song is completely & 100% my Grandpa.  He passed away in 1994.  I still can't listen to that song without remembering sitting in the funeral home while it played.  

{Pontoon by Little Big Town}  Pontoon.  You know when you hear a song at the right time in your life and it just makes you smile?  Pontoon is totally that song for me.  When my ex-husband said he wanted a divorce, I packed my stuff from our room, and went to live in the guest room until I could find an apartment.  There wasn't a tv in there, so the first night, I was surfing the net, listening to the radio. The first song I heard was Pontoon.  It was such a happy, upbeat song.  And I swear, every time something great happened that summer, I heard Pontoon.  I still smile when I hear it!

{She is Love by Parachute}  Alex & I used to send songs back & forth to each other during the day when we'd hear them if they reminded us of the other person.  She is Love is one of those songs.  :-)  

S E V E N | Books!

Anyone who knows me, AT ALL, knows I have a deeply seeded love for books, of all kinds!  But, they are the one thing that tends to take up all of my time if I let them.  It's virtually impossible to allow yourself to be engrossed in an amazing book, and study/pass the CPA exam at the same time.  So sadly enough, I haven't read a book in, um, 6 months or so.  {SAD!}

But, that doesn't mean that I'm not always adding new books to my to be read list.  Have you ever of Goodreads.com?  If not, GO CHECK IT OUT, NOW!  It's an amazing site where you can track the books you've read, the books you want to read, AND you can give them a rating of 1 - 5 stars.  It's been an amazing tool for me to have, because I'm a list maker, and I can use my Goodreads list to find books when I venture out to the library.

Since it's been so long since I've sat down with a good book, I thought I could post about the books I can't live without...

... The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

... Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

... The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

... Emily & Einstein by Linda Francis Lee

... Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

... If I Stay by Gayle Forman

... The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

... The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

... The Entire Harry Potter Series by JK Rowlings

... Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

... I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

... pretty much anything by Philippa Gregory and Nora Roberts,

S I X | Currently...

...reading Business by Becker.  :-)  Gotta love that CPA preparation.

...watching Season 3 of The Tudors.  I watched the first two seasons several years ago, and then promptly forgot about Season 3 & 4.  I'm trying to get them finished before all the new shows come back at the end of September.

...trying to keep my head on straight, and not get overly excited about a new possible opportunity at work.  I don't want to get my hopes up instead of the let down. 

...eating nothing at the moment. 

...pinning things to do in Pittsburgh and business casual inspiration ideas.

...tweeting about nothing.  I don't do Twitter.

...going a little crazy thinking about all the possibilities!  I just wish I knew SOMETHING.  :-)

...loving the fact that school is back in session, which means the weather will soon start cooling down.  Pumpkin spice lattes are back at Starbucks.  And fall/winter is ON THE WAY!

...discovering that I need to have more confidence in myself & my abilities, and go after my dreams, instead of letting myself down. 

...enjoying the fact that I've had a bit of downtime lately.  It's been glorious.  And something I so desperately needed.

...thinking about the future, the possibilities, and wondering where it all fits into God's plan. 

...feeling exhausted.  Mentally.  Physically.  Emotionally.  All of the studying, the unknowns, the ups and downs, it's draining.

...hoping for positive news.

...listening to the sound of the air conditioner and typing.  I should turn on Pandora or something.

...thanking God for all of His many blessings in my life.  I may not always understand, but His timing is everything.

...starting to realize that the future possibilities are endless.  And I'm excited about that!

F I V E | Passion

Passion is an undeniably hard topic for me to write about, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because there are entirely too many things I've passionate about. 

God.

Politics.

Our military & veterans.

Ending human trafficking & sex slavery.

Education.  

All of these are such hot button items, and all of them would require hours of conversation, so I'll spare you all the details.

F O U R | Fashion Trends

I tend to shy away from fashion trends.  Not because I don't like them, but because I find that I lack the time, energy, and patience to shop often, put together outfits, include jewelry, etc.  I wish I were one of those girls that just always looks put together, but I'm not.  Quite frankly, I feel like a hot mess 99% of the time.  I think a lot of is deals with the weight I've put on in recent years, a lot of it is lack of self confidence.  One of these days I'm just going to have to get it together, because work will demand it.  

So, a fashion trend I love...

Maxi SKIRTS!  They are so easy to throw on, add a cute top, a necklace, and bam. Love. Them.

A fashion trend I hate...

Peplum tops, dresses, etc.

Unless you are a size 2, with no curves, it's incredibly hard to pull of this trend. That's not saying that some women bigger than a size 2 don't rock this trend, and look fantastic.  I'm not one of them.  Between being top heavy, then adding ruffles around the middle, it's just NOT a good combination.

T H R E E | Growing Up is Overrated

I've often pondered this question... what do you want to be when you grow up?  I wish I had an answer.  

{Professionally} I'm pretty much on point with where I want to be.  I wish I were a little bit further ahead (having finished my CPA license, gathered some more experience, making more money) but overall, I'm usually pretty happy with where I am.  If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I might {would} have made some different choices.  Hindsight is 20/20.  I still stand by the idea that the world can't expect an 18 year old to make a decision about the rest of their life.  It's impossible. 

{Personally} I've struggled a bit.  After a disaster of a marriage, a miserable divorce, I'm finally H A P P Y.  It's an incredible feeling.  But my patience?  Yeah, not so much.  I'm ready for the next step in our journey.  It'll happen in time, I have faith in that.  There's a lot of changes happening, and it's going to all work out and be amazing in the end.  

R E C A P | August Goals

Um, holy moly.  I feel ridiculously productive this month.  Other than the "health" section, I actually can CHECK OFF EVERYTHING ELSE!  :-)  And, not only did I complete {almost} everyone on my goals list, I completed stuff that WASN'T on my goals list per say, but has been out there to be done for YEARS.  How's that for an awesome August?  

Here are my August goals:

Just for your info:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-Bound

HEALTH
1.  Work out.  Period.  30 minutes, at least.  3 - 5 days a week.  Just do something.

 HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  8/10/2014  A little later than my original goal date, but um, it's done.  And really, that's all that matters.  I can't even remember how many MONTHS this has been on my to do list.  Oops.  I forgot to take a picture of this, but maybe I'll remember tonight and update tomorrow.

2.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date:  8/10/2014  Same goes for this one.  I figured since I was getting ready to start a new CPA section, the least I could do is start with a clean slate desk wise.  Ignore the cords underneath.  I haven't figured out exactly what to do with them.  And, I'm not sure that the wire drawers will stay there.  I also need to do some more decorating on the shelves, but for now, they look great!  :-)

PERSONAL
1.  Take the FAR portion of the CPA exam.  I tackled this test on 8/29.  I'm not too confident that I passed, but we'll see.  

2.  Celebrate Adam's arrival, and get LOTS of baby snuggles!  Oh my gosh, this baby boy!  He was born on 8/11.  And he's precious.  It's been a week since I've seen him, but man, he needs to stop growing already!  Isn't this little burrito baby adorable?  I most certainly think so.

3.  Plan one evening out.  Do something fun & spontaneous to break up the boredom of always studying.  Live a little.  Alex & I have tried to make it a point to spend time together and do more things outside of our house in August.  But I won't lie, August was a HORRIBLE month.  I'm glad it's September.  Hopeful for big things coming our way!  I tried to take a selfie, but when you are a foot shorter than your boyfriend, they tend to turn out like this. :-)

And here's all the projects I finished in August...

The first  embroidery project was started in 2012, to be ready for the "fall" season.  Um, yeah.  I clearly didn't make it.  The second one was started & finished this weekend, AND I learned a new stitch which is fun.  :-)

And these pillows... the paisley pillows were sewn by my mom when I moved into my first apartment after separating from Marcus.  All I had to do was stuff the pillows & close them. Needless to say, I just got around to it this weekend, but I love how they kind of complete our bed.  :-)

And I also put together a fabric bunting of Halloween fabric to decorate my desk at work.  I love making these buntings.  They are high impact without much work.  :-)  This is the 4th or 5th one I've made.