T H I R T E E N | Relationships!

Gosh - I love telling this story!  Every time I think about the way I met A, the situation I was just getting out of, and how amazing things have been in my life since that day, I just smile.  How could I not?!  :)

Let's see... it was September 2012.  Right at two years ago, exactly.  Let me set up the scenario a bit.  I lived in an apartment in Fort Worth.  It was on the second floor, but I had a garage.  A lived above my garage, and I lived above someone else's garage, which means that his patio was essentially over my garage door. 

So, I came home from work, and notice this super hot guy has moved in next door.  I even commented about him to my mom.  I close my garage door & go on about my merry way.  Later that evening, I had a friend coming to visit & check out my new place, and I pass him in the hallway.  A week or so goes by, and I don't seen him again.   

Then towards the end of September, he would randomly come outside while I was walking the dog, check his mail on a Sunday, talk to me from his balcony, etc.  Me being me, and just getting out of a toxic 10 year relationship, I didn't even notice the flirtatious signs.  I'm naive, what can I say?  LOL.  

So on October 9th, 2012, I pull into the driveway from work, and he's outside.  I ran in to grab Chloe, and come back outside.  We stand there chatting for about 30 minutes or so, before I have to leave to go meet my ex-husband to get some of my belongings.  So after I get home, I immediately wash my face, put on my yoga pants, hair up, and settle down on the couch with leftovers.  

I hear a knock on the door.  It's A.  He invites me to go get a milkshake, but of course, I haven't eaten yet.  So I invite him in so I can eat real quick, and then figure we could head out.  Two hours went by so quickly of us chatting it up, before he had to run home to finish up an assignment for school.  

The next night, he comes over and we hang out for a bit.  He asks me if I'd like to go to dinner the next night.  Um, YES!  :-)  So Friday night rolls around, and we head out to a sushi place in Arlington.  Now, granted, this poor guy was put through the ringer in the beginning.  I'm surprised he didn't run for the hills.  I'm pretty sure I would have.  Considering what I had just walked away from, I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't make that mistake again.  I asked him point blank on the way to dinner if he wanted kids.  (I have no doubt that I would have asked him to take me home if he had said no).  

From that night until February 1st, 2013, we spent every single evening together. We would sit out on my patio until the wee hours of the morning just chatting. He would always make me hot tea, I'd grab a blanket, and we'd just sit there talking. About the past, the future, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and everything in between.

On February 1st, 2013, we made it even more official and broke his lease.  And we haven't looked back since.

Now, things haven't always been easy, as I know I'm difficult to deal with when I'm stressed, and I've been stressed to the MAX with work, school, and studying for the CPA exam, but there's no one else in this world I'd rather be with.  He is one of my biggest supports, and he never fails to make me smile.  He is the man who is going to help me achieve my goals & dreams.  I have no doubt that someday soon he'll be my husband, and the father of my kiddos.

Being married before, I can truly say that I had no idea what love truly was before A.  I never loved my ex the way I love A.  I didn't know a love like this was even possible.   Happiness is real.  I've learned to never settle for less than that!

T W E L V E | Traditions

Growing up with traditions was such an important part of my childhood.  It's something that I've discussed with A numerous times, and we've talked about how we're going to incorporate the traditions we had growing up within our individual families as well as how we're going to start NEW traditions with our children.

I can remember the holidays growing up.  We always got new Christmas pajamas that we wore to bed.  It was the one gift we were able to open on Christmas Eve. As a family, we always made a big deal of decorating the tree.  For the majority of my life, I remember Christmas as just the three of us (Mom, Matt & I) as we lived a pretty good distance away from any family.  If there was time, we baked & decorated Christmas cookies.  

And one thing we almost always did was adopt an Angel from the Salvation Army Angel tree.  My mom tells the story of an instance where Matt & I agreed to give up presents for ourselves in order to be able to adopt an angel as my parents didn't have the money for both.

In terms of traditions I hope to start with my own kids...

... I love the Christmas PJs, so that's something I want to continue.

... I'd like to buy them a new ornament each year of their life.  The goal is to make sure they have a smaller tree in their room as they are growing up that has their ornaments on them, and then they'll have some ornaments to start their own tree when they move out.

... I'd like to also wrap 24 Christmas/holiday books, and read one each night as a bedtime story.  (Until they are old enough to not want bedtime stories, that is.) On Christmas Eve, the story would be the story of Jesus' birth, and what the real meaning of Christmas is.

... Of course, attend the Christmas services at church during the holiday season, including Christmas Mass to pay homage to A's family.

... Have you read the book The Polar Express?  Well, if not, the book gives various kids a "golden ticket" to ride The Polar Express.  How fun would it be to wrap the golden ticket in with their Christmas PJs, and use that as family bonding time to drive around looking at Christmas lights?  Granted, this one is more for me than them.  :-)

... And the biggest tradition I want to continue is the Angel Tree.  I think it's important to teach kids that there are people in this world that still need our help. I've seen instances where kids donate their older toys to make room for the new ones, and I think that's a great idea too.  But, being able to pick an angel, and pick out clothes, toys, etc. specifically for that child was important to me as a child, and is even more important to me as an adult.  

E L E V E N | Inspiration

I find inspiration from various places and varying people.  I could honestly say that every single person in my life provides inspiration of some sort, because otherwise, what would the point be?  I stay inspired because I always try to remember the joys in life, realize that no matter how bad things are, they could always be worse, and know that God is in control.  I may not like how things are going but it's not in my timing, it's in His.

{Inspiring people.}

{Mom}  My mom is simply amazing.  As a child, my parents divorced when I was 11.  My mom worked two jobs to make sure that my brother & I were taken care of, and had the things we needed.  It meant that I ended up growing up a bit faster because I took on some of the responsibilities around our house, but I honestly wouldn't trade it for the world.  I am, without a doubt, the person I am today because of my mom.  At 31 years old, I still think my mom hung the moon.  They say that your relationship with your mom grows by leaps and bounds when you have kids, and I can only imagine how amazing ours will be.

{Alex}  This man.  I don't even know where to begin, but I admire him in so many ways.  Despite not having the best childhood, he doesn't let that affect his adulthood.  He is such a giver, it doesn't matter if it's his last $1.  If someone needs it, he'll give it to them.  He has such a heart for God, and I admire that about him.  He is such a loving, caring, genuinely amazing person, and I thank God daily that he loves me. 

{Lindsey}  You know how sometimes you meet people, and they just have a lasting impression on your life?  That's Lindsey for me.  This girl isn't afraid to go after what she wants, even if it she may face adversity as a result of it.  She's incredibly intelligent, beautiful inside and out, a great mom, and she has an amazing heart.

{Amy}  There are women that come into your life and truly show you what its like to be a God fearing woman.  Amy is that person for me.  As a stay at home mom with three little ones, she definitely has her hands full.  She's also a National Director for Thirty-One AND one of their national mentors.  PLUS, she homeschools her kiddos.  Her schedule makes me tired just thinking about it.  But she handles everything with such grace.

{Ashley R.}  When I first "met" Ashley, I wasn't sure if we'd get along.  As the new military wife on the block (online), I found myself intimidated by her.  She was very pregnant with her first baby girl, and probably miserable too.  But over the years, I've found Ashley to be such an inspiration.  Ashley is one of the most non-judgmental women I've ever encountered.  She has such a beautiful heart.  One of the things that I admire most about her is that she's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.  There have been several instances in the news recently (Robin Williams' death, the Ray Rice situation) where she has spoken up for the "victim" and told the world that we shouldn't judge someone because we don't know.  She always helps me to find a new perspective, to open my eyes just a little bit wider, and to see the world a little differently.  For that, I'll always be grateful.

T E N | 10 things I love about ME!

A perfect topic if I've ever heard of one... ten things I love about myself.  Why is this a perfect topic you ask?  Well, because this will be a *great* kick off point for my {50} things I love about myself list for my 101 things to do in 1001 days list! :-)

... my desire to have a relationship with my God.

... my ambition.

... my eyes as they are a very unusual color.

... certain features of my body.

... my kind heart, although it sometimes gets me in trouble.

... my strength despite all odds, I keep my head up & keep going.

... my ability to learn quickly.

... my love for vintage & antiques.

... my craftiness.

... my pale skin.

N I N E | Personality

I have to say that I've always been intrigued by the idea of someone's personality. For me, growing up, I was ALWAYS the extrovert.  I have found that as I've grown up and matured, I'm not the extrovert I always thought I was.  In fact, I'm pretty introverted as an adult.  I often wonder when that shift came about, or when I became more knowledgeable about the shift.  

Either way - my Myers-Briggs:  INTJ.  No doubt.  

I find myself very introverted when it comes to new social settings, new people, etc.  I think a lot of that comes from being burned by people in the past, and well as the pain of being hurt in the past.  I don't externalize a lot.  In fact, I internalize it, and depend mostly on myself to sort through my feelings.  

I find a pretty neat site that really gives the portrait of an INTJ.  

Some things of note for me... 

INTJs live in the world of ideas and strategic planning.  {Always.}  

They value intelligence, knowledge, and competence, and have high standards in these regards.  {Most certainly true.  Otherwise, why would I still be in school and trying to get through the CPA exam?  Ha.}

INTJ's need closure and organization when it comes to ideas.  They aren't interested in understanding a concept, but in applying that concept.  The internal form of the INTJ's thoughts and concepts is highly individualized, and is not readily translatable into a form that others will understand.  {I hear this a lot.  I hear how my brain works faster than my mouth does, and I'm already onto another topic.  I have to really focus on this when it comes to work, because I often jump from one topic to another, without fully explaining the first topic.}

INTJs are natural leaders.  When in leadership roles, they are effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation.  They are adaptable enough to change things that aren't working well.  {This!  I love being in a leadership role, because I enjoy taking responsibility for how things operate.  I don't mind the relationship aspect of being in a leadership role. In fact, it's probably one of my strongest features.}

INTJs are ambitious, self-confident, deliberate, long-range thinkers.  {YES!}

INTJs dislike messiness and inefficiency, and anything that is muddled or unclear. They value clarity and efficiency, and will put enormous amounts of energy and time into consolidating their insights into structured patterns.  {Very much so! Some people call this OCD, but it's really just a personality trait.  :-)}

When under a great deal of stress, the INTJ may become obsessed with mindless repetitive, Sensate activities, such as over-drinking. They may also tend to become absorbed with minutia and details that they would not normally consider important to their overall goal.  {I think this is sooooo true.  When I find myself stressed, I worry about the small stuff, because it seems to be the things I can control.  It's the only thing that makes me feel like I have some sort of power over my life.}

INTJs are most always highly competent people, and will not have a problem meeting their career or education goals. They have the capability to make great strides in these arenas. 

On a personal level, the INTJ who practices tolerances and puts effort into effectively communicating their insights to others has everything in his or her power to lead a rich and rewarding life.

Another resource, this one, states that this personality trait is extremely rare, and INTJ women are roughly 0.8% of the population.  I knew I was awesome.  :-)

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,