A Letter to My Teenage Neice (that I wish someone had written to me 15 years ago)

Last week, this photo popped up on my timehop (if you don't know about timehop, it's an app that shows you what you posted on social media in years past, I kind of love it).

I was stunned at how young Jason looks in a photo that is only 3 years old.  He looks more like the guy I started dating 9 years ago than how he does now.  We got to talking about how much each of us has changed and we agreed he has definitely changed more physically, but I've changed a lot in other ways.  Most notably, my confidence level is infinitely higher than it was 9 years ago.  When Jason and I started dating I was full of insecurities and couldn't understand why a guy as hot as Jason would even look twice at me.  Obviously he saw things in me that I was incapable of seeing because I was blinded by my own lack of self esteem.  

It pains me to see young girls dealing with the emotions I felt as a teen/young adult.  I still have my moments of doubt (hello, number on the scale that I've never seen before...I'm talking to you!) but I know now that things weren't nearly as bad as I played them up to be in my head.  Recently my cousin's teenage daughter, whom I don't know that well, has been posting things to her Facebook that I'm certain if Facebook had been around when I was a teen, I would have posted as well.  Her words were my thoughts (and probably my words in my old diary/journal)...

My life motto should be, "He's not into you."

Like instead of ignoring me, at least tell me I'm not good enough.

Not to be a typical girl, but I think I'm forever alone. No joke..

Why am I the most awkward person ever

I don't know if it would have made a difference back then if someone had told me what I want to tell her but I want to try.  I want to scream at her that she is good enough and she won't be alone forever but I feel like I don't have the words.  I want to tell her that these feelings will pass, and one day, she will find a man that will be worthy of her love, that one day she will love herself enough to truly be loved by another.  That she is a beautiful, smart, strong young girl who is worthy of all the love and respect in the world.  That she is perfect just the way she is, that she shouldn't try to change to fit some socially acceptable idea of what a teenage girl should be or what she thinks a guy wants her to be.

I want her to know that everything will work out and everything will be O.K., better than O.K. even.

Balance

Balance eludes me.  No matter what I do, I can't seem to find the sweet spot, one area (or more) of my life always seems to be inadequate.  As we prepare to move across the country, my inability to maintain a balance is glaringly obvious.  Our list of things to do seems to be growing exponentially.  Each time I add something (find a job) it seems that 10 other things get added as well (update resume, obtain letter{s} of recommendation, notify references that I'm job hunting, etc.).  We've also had family in town/been traveling for 17 out of the last 25 days and we're meeting up with some other friends who are in town visiting family this weekend.  It's been awesome getting to see everyone and take some time off from work but it hasn't helped me get myself organized.

I'm working on setting some serious goals for myself to tackle over the next 6 weeks and that usually helps keep me on track so hopefully things will be a little more regular around here.  I also started wearing a Lokai bracelet and it's a great reminder for me to focus on balance.  Have you heard of these things?  They're all about balancing the highs (white bead) and lows (black bead) in life and the events that connect them.

How do you find (and maintain) balance in your life?

Stitch Fix {June2014}

Stitch Fix sent me another amazing fix this month.  In case there is still someone out there who hasn't heard of Stitch Fix, it's a fabulous company that shops for you. You complete an in depth fashion profile, answering lots of questions and choosing lots of photos based on your personal style, needs and budget.  Next you are assigned a "personal stylist" who studies your profile, any Pinterest boards you choose to share with them, and any notes you contribute.  They then choose 5 pieces, package them up and send them to you.  Once your box arrives, you try everything on in the comfort of your own home, with clothes that are already in your closet.  Once you decide which ones to keep, you simply place anything you want to return in the prepaid package they include and send them back.  There is a $20 fee each time they ship you a box but if you keep one or more items the $20 goes toward the price of the piece(s) you keep.  If you haven't signed up yet but would like to, I'd appreciate it if you would use this link as I receive credit for the referral.

Someone *cough cough* tossed the card that came in my fix this month so I don't have the specific details unless I found them on google/pinterest.

My favorite Just Black jeans in purple?  YES YES YES YES {KEEP}
I love this top but it was too small in the waist, I'm definitely sucking in my gut for this photo! {RETURN}

I hate 2 in 1 tops, HATE.  I would have loved both of these separately, the top half was incredibly soft, the bottom had a fabulous pattern, but half of each shirt sewn into one, no thank you.  {RETURN}

This Daisy Embroidered Skirt ($78) was described as "fit & flare" but it was more "box" on me.

 I wanted to love it, but for $78 the fit just wasn't right on me.  {RETURN}

The Colibri Heart Print Tab-Sleeved Blouse $48 was a good attempt at branching outside of the typical polka dots but I have an aversion to hearts.  For some unexplainable reason, I don't care for heart patterned clothes or heart shaped jewelry.  {RETURN}

 Although I didn't keep much out of this, it was still one of my favorite fixes.  I'm already looking forward to next month!

That was unexpected

Well, hello there strangers!  I woke up this morning and realized I hadn't blogged in 3 weeks.  I honestly haven't even thought much about this little space lately, and that's not to say I don't still love my blog and blogging, I've just had so much else going on.  With a cross county move coming up in less than 6 weeks (cue freak out!) I can't promise I won't drop off the face of the planet again, but I'll try my best not to.  I want to blog about everything that's been happening but for now we'll start with a brief recap of the highlights and I'll try to get around to filling in the details soon.

Ran into Akili Smith, former quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, while picking up some take out at Dave & Busters.

I hosted my Jamberry launch party and was completely blown away by all of the support I received.

This amazing #stateoftheheart necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs arrived in the mail.

This amazing "kid" I use to nanny made his national TV debut on The Late Show with David Letterman.

I received another fabulous fix from Stitch Fix.

I returned to CrossFit.  My initial going with Jamberry was to earn enough money to pay for a crossfit membership.  Wouldn't you know that the same day I earned the pay check that would allow me to return to the gym the same day a friend here posted something about CrossFit Hillcrest.  Until that moment, I hadn't found a box here that really drew me in, but the second I started reading on the CFHC page, I knew it was the place for me.  I have not been disappointed. 

Jason's brother and sister-in-law came out to visit for a week and this is the only photo we have together.  Their dad came down for Father's Day weekend and we played tourist at the USS Midway.

I participated in my first Relay for Life.

We went to the San Diego County Fair.

GreenBee Parking

Last week, in order to get back to Ohio over Memorial Day, using our airline reward miles, we had to fly in and out of LAX.  It wasn't ideal but it was what we had to do.  It saved us over $1000 in plane fare but I was concerned we'd be paying just as much in parking for 3 days {I'm only slightly exaggerating}.  So, I started doing some research and asking around and a co-worker directed me to GreenBeeParking.Com.

This company essentially "rents" parking spaces from hotels near airports and then offers them for minimal fees to the public.   After filling out a simple form on their website, you can choose from available spots near the airport you're flying out of, sometimes saving as much as 75% compared to parking at the airport.

The process could not have been any easier for us.  We paid for our selected parking space on their website, at a hostel near LAX, showed up at our selected time, filled out a form at the front desk, left our keys with the valet and boarded a free shuttle to the airport.  Our reservation also included a free continental breakfast, which I guess is included with most spots through GreenBee (it will say online at the time of booking if this is an offered perk).  When we returned from our trip 3 days later we simply called the hostel and requested a pick up. All of this was included for a whopping $23.97  If you're not familiar with LAX, daily parking can exceed $45 PER DAY!  This was a major budget win in my book!

GreenBee does not operate at every airport (sadly, San Diego isn't on their list) but there are about 100 airports available.  It's worth looking into the next time you're flying, for sure.

This is not a sponsored post.  I just had to share this awesome traveling tip with all of you!