Friday's Thoughts 10/23

Happy Friday! This week has flown by for me.  I cannot believe it is yet another weekend.  This week  was probably my lightest academic week since I was handed a syllabus. I enjoyed the down time by catching up on some much needed sleep and exercise.  This weekend is going to be a great one. It is my university's Homecoming Weekend, so I will be socializing with friends, participating in our parade, and enjoying the beautiful weather.  

Reading:  I've been catching up on my blog reading this week. Some of these are new blogs and others are those I have been following for a couple years.
{Prep in Your Step//

Watching: The back of my eyelids. I have been working on getting back on a regular eight hour a night sleep schedule.

Drinking: Apple Cider, the perfect fall drink. Hot or cold, I love it.

Wearing: Naturally curly hair.  This week I finally wore my natural curly hair for the first time since getting it cut.

Listening: TGIF Playlist (Thanks Spotify!)

Looking forward to: Coaching field hockey on Monday afternoon. The high school team I help coach has made it to district playoffs for the first time in seven years! Win or lose, it's been a great season and I can't wait to see what these girls bring to playoffs.

Loving: The Hydrangeas I bought during this week's trip to the grocery store.  Last week I ended Friday's Thoughts with "make sure you do something to treat yourself!" This week I took my own words of wisdom and treated myself.  I bought myself my favorite flowers.  Flowers are one of my favorite things! These were the perfect mid week/ mid semester pick me up that I've been needing.

Wanting: I want Halloween to be over. I am not a fan of Halloween. I don't like candy, dressing up, or  scary things. I think the holiday is overrated.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Make sure you do something to treat yourself!

XOXO

Weekly Goals

It's important to set goals.  They serve as a great motivational technique in all stages of life.  I use this for college, but my mom also uses this in her classroom and at home. In college, I like to set goals as benchmarks to help me reach a goal by a certain time.  These goals remind me to  do things I might forget to do otherwise, sometimes they are obvious things, and other times they are things I'd like to do but not sure if it's possible.  I begin each week by setting new goals.  Creating short term goals helps me get to tiny accomplishments that will eventually help me achieve larger goals.  

Goals can come in many different shapes and sizes. My weekly goals come in the shape of six square post it notes.  I create six goals each week. Usually these are things that would be on my to do list.  After I complete a task, I take the post it note off of my goal list.  The goal list is conveniently hung over my desk, so I am able to access it easily while working. These goals also serve as a great time management tool! 

How to create your own goal list:

• One: Purchase a small piece of poster board (11" by 14")
• Two:  Out line the layout in pencil.
• Three: Trace over the pencil in a fine tip sharpie adding any creative touches you wish.
• Four: Add your post it notes

XOXO

Friday's Thoughts 10/15

Happy Friday! The week has finally come to an end (almost- I still have two classes to get through)! This weekend is filled with coaching field hockey, sorority meetings, a little homework, and some fall fun. This is the first weekend in awhile that I will actually be on campus the whole weekend.  After being trapped on campus the first month of school due to sorority Recruitment, I've seemed to love escaping on the weekends to various places. Come back next week to read more about where I've been and what I've been up to! 

Reading: I am Malala written by Malala Yousafzai herself.  This novel is incredibly moving. I highly recommend it for everyone to checkout.  The story is about how Malala spoke out when the Taliban took over Pakistan.  In 2012, Malala was fifteen and almost paid the ultimate price by standing up for the women in her community.  This novel is all about her journey from living a life filled with fear in Pakistan to contributing to the United Nations in New York.

Watching: This video from Kid President about how girls are awesome. In the short clip, Kid President interviews Rachel Platten,  famous singer songwriter. (You probably know this song or this song of hers) This video talks about empowering and believing in ourselves.  It also talks about the importance of not being so hard on ourselves.  We need to take time to tell ourselves that we are good enough rather than beating us up about what we haven't done or aren't good enough to do. Check it out for a little positivity on this Friday afternoon.

Drinking: This past weekend my mom and I made pumpkin roll ups with pumpkin pie filling and homemade pie crust.  We had some leftover pie filling, so my mom invented a new drink.

Red rose tea+ half and half+ sugar+ one spoonful of pumpkin pie filling

Wearing: The chilly Fall weather seems to be making an increasing appearance here in South-Eastern Pennsylvania.  This time of year is my absolute favorite.  The fashion options might be one of my favorite things about the season.  I was excited to take out my clothes from storage and rediscover all of my boots, sweaters, and other clothing items.  It was like going shopping all over again. Lately, I've been playing around with prints and patterns.  Last week I wore this combination of the plaid and anchors with a simple dress.

Listening: This week I've found myself listening to Ellie Goulding on Spotify.  Her songs are so catchy and provide the perfect combination music for studying and being productive.

Looking forward to: Doing Fall things.  So cliche but it's so true. This weekend I'll be going to a corn maze with some of my sorority sisters. I'm excited to pull out my bean boots and vest to enjoy some quality time with some great people.

{Source}

Loving: I've really been loving all the inspirational quotes and images I've found on Pinterest lately.  You can find the ones I've shared on twitter or checkout my Pinterest board. Some weeks we just need a little more inspiration than others.  This week was one of those weeks.

Wanting: I've been fighting the urge to going on a shopping spree. It's been awhile since I've been shopping, and lately I find myself really wanting to shop online. I've added things to my basket, but I have yet to purchase anything. I'm trying to be good with money.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Make sure you do something to treat yourself!

XOXO

10 Facts About Me

1. I love fresh cut flowers. My favorite type of flowers are hydrangeas, pink peonies, and sunflowers.

2. New office supplies make me happy.  I love to color code and organize my school things, so new office supplies make me excited

3. I am a foodie. I eat just about everything with the exception of mushrooms.

4. I enjoy cooking and baking.

5. I think I might be addicted to shopping. I spent a ton of my money from nannying, in the summer, on clothes and other things.

6. I don't get myself enough credit. I have a hard time accepting compliments and owning the things that I do really well. I have a ton of self doubt.

7. I enjoy eating healthy, but I would eat ice cream everyday if I could.

8. I am an overachiever. I like to be incredibly involved and sometimes I don't know how to say no.

9. When I grow up I want to have a regular house and a beach house.

10. I love tea. I drink it (almost) every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

XOXO

October's Motivational Monday

We all know Mondays can be the ultimate struggle. This week Monday is a day filled with relaxation  for me, since it's my university's Fall Break.  However, I wanted to provide those of you who don't have Fall Break with a little Monday Motivation.  This month's motivation is centered around the following quote. 

{image from Pinterest}

A line in one of Taylor Swift's popular songs from this past year.  Shake it off. These three words have a great amount of meaning behind them. There are so many things that are worth shaking off in life.  It isn't worth our time to hold onto the little things in life that might be bothering us.  We cannot afford to walk around everyday letting the words of others tear us down.  Letting others bring us down prohibits us from succeeding. We cannot let the rude cashier at the grocery store get the best of our good mood. We cannot let the driver, of the car, that cut us off in the morning commute turn our morning into one filled with anger.  A few bad things in a day, should not turn our whole day into a bad one. It is how we react to all of these "bad moments" that dictate how the rest of our day will be.  Living a life filled with optimism requires us to shake it off frequently.  If we shake things off, then we will be able to live a happier life. 

XOXO