All The December Things!

Happy December! 

Happy last month of 2018, happy month filled with celebration & twinkle lights, happy birthday month to me!!!!

My Decembers are notoriously BUSY. I remember my post in this blog from 2 years ago and my December plans were a hot mess. I was trying to cram sooo much into one month! Well, this year is actually pretty similar! Let's first take a look back at my November goals to see how I did, and then journey down the path of the craziest month of the year!

November Goals: 
1. Write poetry. I haven't been writing a lot of poetry, but I sure have been writing a lot besides that!
2. Take grad school steps. I submitted my application to my first school last night!!!
3. Make fun plans. SO MANY! Four friends are coming to visit me today (we're doing SantaCon Boston!), and I'm having a pajama party at my friend's house for my birthday!
4. Meal prep. I kinda did this, but because of Thanksgiving leftovers I have been HEAVILY putting off grocery shopping (also to save $), soooo this one was kind of a fail this month.
5. Contribute to family dinners. Also a fail! Thanksgiving snuck up on me and I didn't end up having time to buy ingredients!
6. Move that body. I had one AMAZING week of workouts and then I fell off after Thanksgiving! But I know I can do it now, I just need to stick to the schedule I made myself.
7. Be grateful! Of course! So grateful for the holidays, family, and friends. And of course, Cosmo.

Now time for .....

This December is another crazy month, so I'm breaking it down by weeks again, just like I did all those years ago! 

Week 1: December 1st to 8th

• SanataCon Boston with my CT friends is December 1st! Be a great hostess, clean the house, get appetizers & alcohol.
• December 7th is my friend Leora's birthday! Go out to drinks with her!
• December 8th is Courtney's housewarming party/Christmas party in CT! Remember to bring a nice bottle of wine and Yankee swap gift!
  
  

Week 2: December 9th to 15th

• Start buying Christmas presents on Amazon before it's too late! 
• This is the only weekend I don't have plans, so relax & restore for the rest of the month!
  
  

Week 3: December 16th to 22nd

• My birthday week!!!!!
• Out for drinks with friends on the 19th to celebrate my unfortunate aging! 
• Bake cookies for the staff cookie swap on the 20th
• Get an ugly Christmas sweater and Yankee swap gift for the staff holiday party on the 20th
• Pajama party with my friends in CT on either the 19th or the 20th (because nothing says "I'm elderly" like asking your friends to throw you a pajama party so you don't have to go outside in the cold!)

Week 4: December 22nd to 31st

• Enjoy Christmas and my Christmas vacation from work to the FULLEST! 
• Read a ton of good books
• Sleep in & relax
• Write write write! 
• Spend New Year's Eve with my friends (as opposed to last year when I didn't do anything for some reason and was extremely bitter about it) !!!
  
  

Overarching Goals for December:

- Don't spend money unless I absolutely need to!

- Get back into my weekly workout habit! 

- Work on consistency in creativity (art, drawing, writing, blogging)

- Stay on top of bills! 

- Be present & enjoy the magic of this season! 

Notes On Thankfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
I write this from the couch of my parent's house, slightly exhausted after sitting in holiday traffic for 2 hours. However, last year it took me nearly 4 hours to get home for Thanksgiving, so it's hard to complain!

My dad just bundled up the two dogs in their winter coats (too adorable to handle), the potent smell of dark chocolate brownies is wafting from the oven, and my mom is trying to get me to help her unsubscribe from pornographic emails that she's been spammed with. There's truly no place like home for the holidays.

I did this tag two years ago (since I always seem to forget that I almost completely took 2017 off from blogging/writing in general) and it was so cute to look back on it, so here it is again this year!

The many beautiful things that I'm thankful for, both this year, this week, and this moment...

This year:

• TRAVEL! Having the freedom to take my tax return (lol) and turn it into my first bonafied road trip adventure!
• My kitty boy Cosmo. Words cannot describe my love & adoration for this small orange creature.
• My parent's continued health. <3
• Animals in general. There has never been a time that I am more grateful that I became a bit more woke and decided to become a vegetarian. I've said it before and I'll say it again, animals don't deserve us. 
• My dear friends, who have really supported me this year in ways both big and small. 
• My health and liveliness. Especially with all of the dangers in this country, the fear of walking into a store, yoga class, bar, church, school, movie theater. That I am still alive and well. 

This week:

• One of my students on a behavior plan had a perfect week! She is awesome and I'm so proud of her.
• The chillest day of hanging out with two super easy students and watching such a cute movie, "Ferdinand"!
• My school's staff Friendsgiving! So much food, everyone went all out.
• Trader Joe's. It just always comes through in the clutch. 
• Having a short holiday week is just marvelous.

This moment:

• My parent's couch, where I am perched and content.
• The smell of dark chocolate brownies baking.
• My new-ish laptop that is so enjoyable to use... honestly how did I get anything done without a functioning laptop??
• The fact that it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would to drive home! 
• Looking forward to so much food, family, and friends time this weekend. My three favorite F's. 

Please take a moment to reflect and be mindful of the true origins of Thanksgiving and where your food is actually coming from if you're eating meat this holiday season. Sorry to be that person, but I am that person! :) Happy Thanksgiving! 

5 Easy Ways To Make Extra Money When Times Are Tough!

I am a twenty-something who still has not figured out their finances.

I know this is terrible. I know that paying my bills consistently late is screwing my credit score, potentially irreversibly. But I just do not have that innate responsibility gene that my Virgo friend, Alicia, so proudly possesses!

That said, I am not a total mess. I do have a two substantial jobs, but sometimes even this is not enough to live right outside of Boston and lead the lifestyle that I desire. So here are five of my personally tested, tried and true, somewhat outside of the box ways to make pretty much instant money when the need to pay your bills on time hits (and it will)!

1. Become a dog walker.
I signed up for Wag because I live close to a city, and there are dogs to walk galore! If you don't live near a city, there is Rover, and Care.com has a pet needs option. This is a great way to make some extra money, and I find myself walking dogs on the weekends if the weather is nice and I don't have any plans. What a great way to waste a few hours - exercise and hanging out with cute dogs!

2. Find date-night babysitting on Care.com and Sittercity.com.
My schedule is pretty packed with my school and tutoring jobs, but every now and then I'll have a weekend with no plans and wonder how to make money at night when it's too late to walk dogs. Well, here is the solution! Switch your search criteria on these websites to "one-time" and behold - a plethora of date night babysitting! And best yet, usually the kids are sleeping during these times, so could it really get any easier?

3. Sell random stuff on Facebook Marketplace.
This is for when times are truly tough. I have sold artwork, technology, and jewelry all on Facebook Marketplace and it's just too easy. The only frustrating thing is that sometimes your items may take awhile to sell - I have a friend who has been trying to get rid of her bed frame for two weeks. But when they do sell, there's instant cash for you!

4. Sign up to be a test subject in the name of science!
I haven't personally done this myself, but my friend with PTSD has been a test subject for a pretty intensive medical study where she sometimes got up to $500 for each session. Yes, she did get injected with different dosages of drugs, but it's in the name of science (and being poor)! These can often be found on Craigslist, but I'm sure there are other more reputable websites to find them if you try a quick Google search or look up local colleges/universities.

5. Return recent impulse purchases. 
We are all guilty of spending $100 at Target on Christmas decorations. Oh, just me? Well if you have a recent impulse purchase that is resulting in not being able to pay your bills, maybe make sure you kept the receipt and just take the stuff back. Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy happy feelings of financial security!

I hope this helped some of the hustlers out there! I know it isn't easy for me to keep track of my money, but knowing that there are always ways to make some extra coin really helps my sanity when I just NEED to go sweater shopping but my electric bill is 2 months past due.

Cheers to being a boss ass bitch in control of her fiscal income. 

A Christmas Mistake!

Happy Saturday! 

This week was an odd one. I somehow mustered the energy to go to the gym and do some killer workouts three days in a row! Monday was an intense heavy legs day, Tuesday I went to the gym after tutoring (so at 8pm, who am I???) and did back & biceps, and Wednesday was chest & triceps and 30 minutes of cardio! And I am honestly still sore.

I still plan to go to the gym today (fingers crossed) but I am feeling so lazy and also have a home to-do list that I need to get done. Involving putting away laundry and oh yeah, applying to grad school. I love being last minute for important things! I will also watch a healthy number of SVU episodes, Christmas cooking specials, and potentially How The Grinch Stole Christmas (third time now).

I wanted to take this opportunity to warn you about the dangers of Christmas decor shopping.

Because Target, Dollar Tree, and Michael's got me, and they got me good.

I went Christmas shopping last weekend in Connecticut with my friend Shawn, then came back to Mass and proceeded to spend another hundred dollars at the Target dollar spot. And now I can barely afford groceries! So beware, budget accordingly, and don't do what I did. Pictured above are my Dollar Tree & Michael's finds, but Target dollar spot is just glorious and irresistible.

There is something about decorating for Christmas that just brings me so much joy. I was talking about it with my friend Alicia today as we browsed Christmas Tree Shop about how it evokes the feeling of hygge. I am obsessed with this Danish concept!

Coziness, candles flickering, logs burning in the fire, knit blankets, comfort food, and friends all gathered around. 

Nothing like hygge for the holidays! Just learn from my mistakes and don't spend your Christmas shopping budget on fun decor alone. Oops!

The Friday Five

Hello Friday, and welcome back The Friday Five!

This week was ROUGH. Work was extremely overwhelming and all the shit I had to deal with yesterday pretty much sucked out some of my soul.

Working with kids is great and I love it, but there are some kids who are just beyond frustrating, no one can figure out where their bad behavior is stemming from, and even the principal is at a loss! So that's what we've been dealing with, ugh. Soooooo I decided that today I needed a mental health day because I knew that if I went into work there was no way I would have been able to give my students my best self, and I hadn't taken a sick day in a while!

I had a relaxing morning with Cosmo, watching The Grinch (for the second time since Halloween...), and cooked myself a healthy breakfast and lunch. I'm visiting CT again this weekend, so I was able to leave earlier than usual on a Friday and BEAT TRAFFIC!!!

Here are some of my favorite things that brightened this dull & difficult week:

01) This ridiculous, adorable Christmas cat house from Target. I got Cosmo a gingerbread one last year, and this year they have this double-decker Hot Cocoa Cafe with scratchers on the inside and on top. It was a little bit challenging to put together (I had to reinforce everything with tape), but how could I resist this? I plan to make this our Christmas tradition & get him the new one every year.

02) I have been loving two songs featuring the queen herself, Ariana Grande. Firstly, I randomly found Dance To This by Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande. What a mellow, sensual bop. Then there's the song that changed the break-up song game.  Fire!!!

03) As mentioned previously, I have already watched The Grinch on Netflix twice and it is November 9th. Bless Netflix for featuring this absolutely Christmas classic. I'm estimating I will be watching it approximately 35 more times before Christmas.

04) I get really into certain meals some weeks, and this week is just like that. I have been loving whipping up a quick breakfast burrito in the mornings - with egg whites, spinach, feta, salt & pepper, and a whole wheat wrap, this is literally the easiest filling breakfast (maybe besides overnight oats)!

05) Google Calendar!!!! I went absolutely ham color-coding, organizing, and setting up my Google Calendar earlier this week & I already have a good feeling that this is going to stick. I am notorious for not sticking to one consistent method of planning or setting reminders for myself. But there is something very satisfying about Google Cal syncing to my phone and seeing it all laid out on my laptop & feeling so in control of my life. Fingers crossed this sticks and helps me to adult a little more efficiently!

I will be spending time at home in Connecticut this weekend - helping a friend decorate her new home for Christmas (lol, yes already!), going to a hockey game with my parents, doing laundry, & hopefully working on some writing/grad school stuff.

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Weekend Warrior: Rockport, MA

Happy Sunday! 

My best friend, Shawn, came up from Connecticut to visit me today! We contemplated having a quiet day binging movies & stuffing our faces, but decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a day trip from the Boston area to Rockport, MA!

Driving time: ~1 hour each way
Sites to see: Halibut Point State Park, The Ice Cream Store, Tuck's Candyshop

You can take the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway if you have the time - just have your GPS bring you to the starting point, near Lynn, and follow the Byway signs! This is really fun because you can just turn your GPS off & enjoy the pretty coastal drive. The entire route goes all the way past Newburyport, and I haven't done the entire drive yet, but I plan to!

Shawn & I decided we wanted to spend more quality time in Rockport, so we took the highway to Halibut Point State Park. It was a sunny, brisk day but I'd actually worked up a sweat by the time we headed back to the car. There's a lot that's normally $10 for out-of-state plates, but parking fees end on October 31st, so it was perfect timing!

The state park includes a trail around a quarry and a trail out to the extremely rocky beach.
The salt air stung our noses and burned so good in our lungs as we muddied our boots & walked through thorn bushes, exploring the rocky coastline & the displays of stone cairns!

We drove to Bearskin Neck, the main drag in Rockport, and found a parking spot to explore the adorable, cottage-like art galleries, souvenir shops, & antique stores in downtown Rockport! 

We popped into a vintage bookstore where I became enamored by some colorful postcards, then grabbed wraps at the Bean & Leaf Cafe. Little did we know that right next door at The Ice Cream Store, it was FREE ICE CREAM DAY! How lucky were we?? 

Shawn got a black raspberry on a cone & I got a Low Tide - a delicious, fudgy, mocha concoction that made my wildest lactose-intolerant dreams come true. Whoops! 

We couldn't leave without stopping into a local candy store and dropping almost $20 on an assortment of gummies, truffles, fudge, & chocolate-dipped pretzels. Truly no self control over here. 

They call Rockport/Cape Ann the "Cape Cod of the North". 

I completely agree. It has all of the New England charm, kitschy stores, nautical touches, and historical architecture that it's sister in the south has. But it's much more accessible to me, and maybe a little bit overlooked! 

I live for a day trip. Being a weekend warrior means using your precious days off to get out & explore your local destinations. There is only so much time, and there is so much to see! Use your time wisely & the world is your oyster! 

I hope you had a refreshing weekend and are prepped & ready to have a productive, motivated, beautiful week. 

October Recap & November Goals

Happy November! 

This is the part of the month where I take a look at how I did in October, and make a beautiful roadmap of plans for the current month. Here were my October goals:

1. Write, write, write.  - Yes, I did! I could of course do more, but I got a start on generating some ideas for written projects. And of course, I blogged!
2. Get on the grad school grind. - I emailed two of my college professors asking for recommendation letters and they said of course!
3. Stick to the TIU 30 Day Challenge! - Lololol, this did not happen.
4. Purge my apartment and prep guest bedroom in CT.  - I got rid of so much shit in my apartment, spent an entire day cleaning out my closet, and made my guest bedroom in CT very live-able for when I go home to visit my parents. Yay!


Novembers goals & hopes & dreams: 
  
1. Write that poetry. I brainstormed & had great ideas, now I need to execute the ideas.

2. Take those grad school steps. I literally have to apply to one school before Dec. 1st, and I work best under pressure so now is the time to get. it. done.

3. Plan those fun events. I want to have a Christmas party at my apartment with my friends from MA & CT, so I need to plan that! I also need to plan what I'm doing for my birthday this year because it sneaks up on me so quickly.

4. Prep that healthy food. Meal-prepping is the bane of my existence because I hate cooking, so this will probably be a goal every single month.

5. Contribute to those family dinners. I want to bring something cute & vegan to Thanksgiving dinner this year.

6. Move that body. I started a little project called [move]mber on my dance instagram account where I post a video of myself dancing every day this month! I want to make sure I stay committed to this.

7. Thank those lucky stars! Being grateful & consistently writing down the things I'm thankful for subconsciously puts me into a more peaceful, present mood. I don't even realize it until I think back on when I was doing this consistently and then I'm like, oh... those were the good 'ol days.


I can't wait to read your goals & see how much we've accomplished by the end of the month! 

A New Year, A New Season, Another Stab at Blogging

Well, well well.

Here we are again. The world of blogging has once again found me, or maybe I found it. The pull to document my life, goals, and dreams on the internet is strong this season of my life. I re-found my old blog, where I read about the wild changes and challenges that I was going through about two years ago. And it ignited something in me again, to practice my writing, to practice being authentic, and to hold myself accountable.

So here I am, once again, planning to write my little heart out for anyone who find this blog, but wayyyyyy more importantly, my future self. Because hi you, I know you're reading this one day in the future. And if you're wondering, I could be better, but I'm doing okay. Here is a quick recap of the past year, fast forward version, to catch myself up from my last blog that I was continually updating!

I moved. I moved from central Connecticut to right outside of Boston. It's been an interesting year of self-doubt, discovery, and light-bulb realizations about the type of person I am and the environments that I thrive in (and do not thrive in). More changes are on the horizon regarding my living quarters, but I'm not sure how long it's going to be before they come to fruition.

I decided NOT to go to grad school! Applying to grad school, thinking about grad school, and preparing for grad school took up so much of my time and mental energy at the end of 2016. It wasn't until the summer of 2017, right before I was going to begin the Dance/Movement Therapy and LMHC program at Lesley University that I made the difficult decision to defer my acceptance indefinitely. The unbelievable cost of the program was weighing so heavily on me, and I decided that I can find a career path in a similar vein and find a program that will NOT cost me over 100 grand. And honestly I do not regret this!

I fell in love... with my beautiful, perfect, handsome orange tabby cat, Cosmo! I will write about Cosmo a lot - he is the love and light of my life. I adopted him October 3rd, 2017 and his birthday is July 23rd, which makes him a Cancer, which just makes so much sense. I am obsessed with him.

I decided on a new career path, related to my current job. I currently work at a private special education school as a high school counselor and I love my job! I follow a great group of 10th graders throughout the day and assist them with executive functioning, behavior plans, classwork, and just about anything you could think of. Working in a school, in a counseling role, really led me to believe that I would make an amazing school counselor. So this is the graduate program I will be applying for this fall/winter! Woohoo!

This feels like a completely new life from the life I was leading when I wrote my last post on my last blog. And in some ways it is. But that's part of why I want to continue this online journaling journey, so that I can look back and see the progress I've made, the big changes, the little moments, and always how far I've come.

Have a beautiful weekend!