Blog Challenge: Thoughts and Feelings.

I have had a little bit of time to let the Blog Challenge sit, and stew. I have reflected on it. And I have found that I enjoyed it so much!

Was I all for it the entire month? No. There were days when I didn't want to post, or days when I looked at the clock and realized I was going to bed without having done my blog post for the day. However, when I look over it, I think there is a lot to be said about a routine, and schedule for a blog. Especially when you are new to blogging. With sporadic posts, it is hard to gain and audience, and though the blog posts didn't really relate to my theme of this blog, I knew that I was giving readers a chance to get to know me.

So, while I am happy it is over, I think I will search for ANOTHER blog challenge to do in the near future. Maybe I will do one a little more open ended. Or maybe I will create my own. The wheels are turning here, to see what I can do for my readers, and for this blog.

Brainstorming is something I never thought I would do for a blog, but I think it is necessary. If I want this to become a habit, something important, and a hobby that I enjoy, I will need content and I will need regularity.

So, overall, I loved to Blog Challenge. LOVED IT! It was definitely a challenge, but all good things are. I am excited to start posting some of the ideas I have.

Welcome to my Blog!

Blog Challenge: Day 31.

5 Goals for the Next 12 Months

1. Continue to post on this Blog.

2. Continue to work towards a healthy me.

3. Work hard towards a better A1c.

4. Start taking Sign Language.

5. Have a five year plan.

BONUS:

6. Read!

7. Get involved in my church.

Blog Challenge: Day 29.

How Have You Changed in the Past 5 years?

Five years ago was 2010. There are so many things that have changed since then. I have now graduated from college with a Bachelor's Degree, worked three different jobs, lived in two different states, four different homes/apartments, and four cities.

I have ended one serious relationship, started another, and had a lot of dates in between. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, my weight has spanned almost 50 pounds, my hair has been every length and color.

I attended beauty school, met several new friends, gained and lost friends along the way.

My dad was diagnosed with a life altering disease. My family and I have gotten closer than ever.

The dog that tops all dogs, my parent's dog Checkers started to suffer so we had to put him down. He died in my arms. There will never be another dog like him.

I would say that, while you're in the changing year and years, you begin to feel as though nothing is changing. However, when you look back over five years, it is mind blowing how many things have changed.

Blog Challenge: Day 28.

5 Pieces of Advice to Your Younger Self

1. Appreciate your body! 

You don't have to love it, but appreciate what you have.

2. It's okay to put yourself first sometimes.

It's not realistic to say always, but it is something that is okay every now and then.

3. Cherish the important family moments.

Put the phone down and watch television with your family.

4. Don't take advice from people who you don't hold in the highest regard.

Just because they are your friends, doesn't always mean they know best.

5. Change your major in college when you thought about it the first time.

Not that I am not happy with where I am, but having a major I am passionate about my have pushed me into a career a little sooner.

Blog Challenge: Day 27.

Things that Inspire You (Pictures)

I always pin on Pinterest. The things I like to pin the most, are things that inspire me.

Check it out!

Visit Beauty in Diabetes's profile on Pinterest.

Blog Challenge: Day 26.

Spread the Joy: Happiness Tips

1. Find a church that you connect with.

My journey of faith has been long with some ups and downs, but recently I found a church that is the essence of everything I could hope for in a church. The worship music is amazing and the people seem to be young, open, and faith-filled. I ENJOY going every week. It doesn't bother me to wake up early on Sunday morning to attend the service. I love the class I am taking through the church about getting to know your strengths (more on this to come). I just finally found a place where I can grow in my spirituality without dealing with some of the politics and pressures that some churches are known for. 

NOTE: This tip is one that I found worked for me. However, if you aren't religious, this can be just as easily worked into your happiness project with finding a gym, yoga class, art studio, chair to sit in, room to be in, it doesn't have to be a place or worship, but just a place that you can escape to that you connect with. 

2. Write in a journal.

I don't always write, but when I do, I feel so much better. Sometimes we have ideas, thoughts, feelings that we don't feel comfortable sharing with those we are close to. I know that I deal with some thoughts that no one wants to hear about. Some are just silly, some are things I find sad, and sometimes I am not ready to share them with anyone. So I carry a small notebook with me and write things when the mood strikes. This isn't every day, but I do it often. I find it's easier to share how I am feeling when I just empty my brain about it, I write and write and write. Then I can finally see the forest through the trees. There are people who write every single day, and that just isn't me. I like to give myself the freedom to write when I am moved to.

3. Read.

It doesn't matter what you read. It just matters that you do it. I know there are some people out there who hate reading books, they only look at magazines. That's fine. What I find more important about this tip is to simply unplug. Give your brain and eyes a rest from the television, your phone, iPad, tablet, computer, and allow yourself that time without technology. I have yet to jump on the e-reader band wagon, so I still go to the library and spend hours picking out books. I love the smell and feel of a real book in my hands. It's important to me to have that weight in my hands and feel the accomplishment as I turn the page. I have started doing this before bed and it has made a world of difference. I sleep better, I wake up feeling more rested. There is a lot to be said about relaxing before sleeping.

4. Nap.

Speaking of sleeping, I love to sleep. I love to read and I love to sleep. So whenever I get a free afternoon on a Saturday, I will lay in my bed on top of the covers and allow myself to rest. It is one of my favorite things to do. I have read that ever since the light bulb was invented, humans have been sleep deprived. I find this interesting, because I can't remember a time when I wasn't a little bit tired. However, I also have this gift. One of those stupid super powers people have, like always being able to find a great parking spot, or cooking eggs perfectly, every time without fail. Mine is that I can fall asleep almost instantly: anywhere, any time of day. I could sleep for twelve hours, wake up and fall asleep for a nap later in the day. It's a gift, and I like to take full advantage. Plus, after a nap, I always feel so much better, rested, revived, and I feel more ready for whatever comes next.

5. Challenge yourself.

I know that we all set up challenges for ourselves. And with the New Year having just passed, there is a lot to be said about New Years Resolutions. However, I think that sometimes, in the spirit of a Fresh Year and a Fresh Start, we all get a little ambitious with our resolutions. We think that a New Year means we can start anything and everything. I say 'we' because I am exactly the same way! I find it so hard to do any large changes when it isn't a New Year, New Month, or New Week. It seems so strange to me to start a challenge on a Thursday. However, I think that whenever we need to make a change, or want to make a change, we should do it. Something that makes me so happy is challenging myself and succeeding. It makes you feel so accomplished. So I like to challenge myself to not eat any candy for a week. And when I make it through the challenge, I reward myself with a little something. And that can make you feel so happy. When we look are large goals, it seems like it is so hard to see the little successes in between. "I want to lose 30 pounds." That can seem a little intimidating, so make it smaller challenges and you will be so happy with the results. An example would be: for the first 5 pounds lost, I will reward myself with a pedicure, when I love half of that, I will reward myself with new shoes, when I lose all of it, I will reward myself with a full body massage. Its the little success that make me happy, but they can't be success without a little challenge.

Blog Challenge: Day 25.

5 Favorite Blogs and Why You Love Them.

1. Hello, Gorgeous!

I love outfit of the day posts. I like to drool over the choices that other people make and wish that I could wear that shirt with those pants, and I also love to look and see where other people shop. She offers all that with affordable pieces, links everything, and gives you several options for alternatives. She's amazing! And she is stunning. Get ready to "ohhh" and "ahhh" over her style choices.

2. House of Rose

Once I found this blog, it has become the one I look forward to the most. When I see that she has posted something, it doesn't matter what it is, I will read it from beginning to end. Her writing style makes you fee l as though you are speaking to her rather than reading along with thousands of other people. She opens herself up to everything and it is so much fun to read.

3.Lauren Conrad

There isn't must to say about it except that there is a little bit of everything.

4. Citrus & Style

This girl is dynamite. She writes short and simple posts about all different things. She is in high school but her posts are always helpful in all stages of life. She talks about organizing for school, which can translate to organizing for my job. She does outfits, fitness, personal, and organizational. I enjoy her so much and find myself wishing I had some of the insight she is privileged to have.

5. Allison Anderson

This one! What can I say? She is my favorite YouTuber. When I found her channel, I am fairly certain I went through every single video she had posted. Then I went and started reading her blog and I just couldn't get enough of her. The writing style she uses and the way she uses photos, and she also don't just link her videos, but does separate posts that go into similar detail. I find myself looking her post and reading them the second I can.  

Blog Challenge: Day 23.

5 People Who Inspire You

1. My mom.
2, My dad.
3. My brother.
4. My Godmother.
5. Myself.

Blog Challenge: Day 22.

What Do You Miss (Person, place, thing or time in your life)

Something that has recently come up for me, is missing how things used to be. I have always been close with my family, extremely close, and because of that I was happy to live at home until I was 26 years old. This isn't something I am ashamed of, or something that I hide from people. I branched out, went to college, moved to Los Angeles for 8 months. However, I was never ready to live on my own because the relationship I had with my parents was so great.

I think there is a lot to be said about all the things that I have left to experience in my life. No one knows what is going to happen in the future, and I know that at some point in the coming years I will miss this moment. But that's part of life. We miss the things that are comfortable and familiar. The future is unknown, so when you think back to how things used to be, it is easy to get nostalgic.

I miss when my brother was little and how we used to play trains all day.

I miss when I used to go to school instead of work and always had something fun to talk about.

I miss my grandparents,

I miss liking things that didn't make me one type of person or another.

I miss summer vacation.

I miss my parent's old dog.

I miss not worrying about so many things.

I miss being a kid.

Blog Challenge: Day 21.

Finish This Story in Under 500 Words:
      The flash of light momentarily blinded him, and he wondered how it had all come to this. 

He was walking on the side of the main road out of town, a backpack on one shoulder, his dog’s leash in another. The headlights of the car turning down the road in front of him seemed brighter than usual. However, it could have just been the dark night and the rain.

“Austin?! Austin Bridges?! I thought that was you. I recognized The General!”

A woman was shouting at him through the window of her car. She rolled it up and got out. She was under dressed in yoga pants and a white hooded sweatshirt, her feet getting soaked in her flip-flops.  She had something in her hand, but he was so confused as to who this was that he didn’t register what it was.

The bright purple umbrella popped up and over his head and hers. She looked into his face, and he looked down at her. She was familiar, but he couldn’t place her. However, he was saved from the embarrassment of having to ask who she was, because she wasn’t looking at him at all. She had put her hand down and was scratching behind The General’s ear (his favorite spot).

She told him to hold the umbrella and, not knowing what else to do, he took it obediently. She crouched down in a catcher’s position and was giving The General her full attention.

While he worked through all the people who could know his dog like this, she looked up and said, “I’m Gracie. I work at the dog hotel you bring The General to. I have never spoken to you, but I see you come and go. This dog loves you so much! And he is all of our favorites. Why are you walking him in the rain?”

All the pieces were clicking together, he had seen her a few times when he dropped The General off at Le Pooch (the name wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, a little too frilly for his giant English Bulldog, but they had the nicest staff and the acreage they sat on was something you dream about). He had never given her much of a thought, except that The General ran to her when he saw her, and he didn’t run.

He thought about what to say to her. The truth? Or a lie? He was too cold, and wet to be creative with a lie, and it would already take The General hours to dry out if they got out of the rain this second.

“Long story, but my parents think I am on a train to North Carolina State. As you can see, we aren’t.”

 

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Blog Challenge: Day 20.

React to This: Positivity

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.

Proverbs 17:22

 

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Blog Challenge: Day 19.

Favorite Faery or Folk Tale

I studied abroad in Ireland for six weeks when I was a Senior in college. It was the most amazing and special thing that I have ever done. 

I took an Irish Literature class, and we learned about the Giants Causeway and the story behind the unique stones.

This will forever be my favorite story.

The Giants Causeway

 Stories are told of one great Irish Giant, Finn MacCool, whose most fearsome enemies were the Scottish giants. Finn was so angry, and determined to get at them, that he built a whole causeway from Ulster across the sea to Scotland. He built it of unusual six-sided cobblestones, so they would fit neatly together like a honeycomb, and they made a very pretty pavement indeed!

One day he shouted a challenge to the Scottish giant Benandonner, The Red Man, to cross the causeway and fight him. But as soon as he saw the Scot getting closer and closer on the causeway, he realised Benandonner was much, much bigger than he had imagined! Finn skidaddled back home to the Fort-of-Allen in County Kildare, and told his wife he’d picked a fight but had thought better of it now.

Finn heard the stamping feet of Benandonner from Kilcock, and when those feet got to Robertstown, Finn had to stuff five pounds of moss into each ear. Red Man’s spear was as tall and thick as a Round-Tower, and he used it to knock on the door of the Fort-of-Allen. Finn would not answer the door, so his wife shoved him in the great bath with a couple of sheets over him.

Finn’s wife, Oonagh, thought quickly. She opened the door to Benandonner saying,
“Sure it’s a pity but Finn is away hunting deer in County Kerry. Would you like to come in anyway and wait? I’ll show you into the Great Hall to sit down after your journey.”
Oonagh invited Red Man to look around the room, and showed him what she said were some of Finn’s possessions.

“Would you like to put your spear down? Just there next to Finn’s” - It was a huge fir tree with a pointed stone at the top.
“Over there is Finn’s shield.” - It was a block of building-oak as big as four chariot-wheels.
“Finn’s late for his meal. Will you eat it if I cook his favourite?”

Oonagh cooked a cake of griddle-bread – baked with the iron griddle pressed inside it. Red Man bit it hungrily, and broke three front teeth. The meat was a strip of hard fat nailed to a block of red timber; two back teeth cracked. He was given a five-gallon bucket of honey-beer to drink.
“Would you like to say hello to the baby? Wait! - I’ll have to feed her first!”

Oonagh threw a loaf of bread to the huge baby in the bath-cradle and, peeping out from a huge sheet-like dress and bonnet was Finn MacCool himself, contentedly sucking his thumb. Benandonner said he wasn’t much good with babies. The honey-beer made him feel woozy, and he asked to go outside to clear his head.

Oonagh showed Red Man out, where the gardens were scattered about with boulders as tall as the giant.
“Finn and his friends play catch with these rocks. Finn practises by throwing one over the Fort, then running round to catch it before it falls.”

Of course Red Man tried, but it was so heavy he could only just lift it above his head before dropping it. The blow only ricked his neck - luckily the Scotsman’s head was very hard. But it was also full of good sense. He thanked Oonagh for her hospitality and said he would wait no longer, but return to Scotland before the tide came in.

Finn leapt from the cradle, thanked Oonagh for her shrewdness, and chased Benandonner out of Ireland. Passing Portadown, County Antrim, Finn scooped a huge clod of earth out of the ground to fling at the retreating Scot. The hole filled up with water and became the biggest Lough in Ireland – Lough Neagh! The clod he flung missed its target and landed in the middle of the Irish Sea – it became The Isle of Man!!

And both giants tore up the Giant’s Causeway, just leaving the ragged ends at the two shores! And if you go to the North coast of Ulster, or to Staffa, the nearest isle of Scotland, you may visit them today – the ends of the beautiful causeway that is, not the giants – those giants are long since in their graves!

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Blog Challenge: Day 18.

Something You Find Fascinating

There are so many things that I find fascinating in this world. However, one of the things that I love are conspiracy theories. I don't mean that I buy into all of them, or that I believe they are true or that they are not true, but I love hearing about and speaking to people who believe wholeheartedly in something that not many people do.

To mention a few things I find fascinating:

Big Foot

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Mermaids

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Loch Ness Monster

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Time Travel

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Aliens

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Parallel Universes

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Telekinesis

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No one knows everything. This world is too big of a place for these things to be completely disregarded.

Blog Challenge: Day 17.

5 TV Shows You Would Recommend & Why

1. Prison Break: Hot guys, drama, suspense. It kept my interested and on the edge of my seat for the entire series. One I would love to watch all the way through again.

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2. Fringe: Science, supernatural, suspense, drama. This show was never something I was remotely interested in when it was on television. However, once my boyfriend got me started on it, I couldn't stop. It is so different from anything I have ever seen, and it creates so many questions, gets you thinking outside the box, and makes you wonder. The last season was... a struggle but I love this show.

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3. White Collar: Hot guys, FBI, drama. This was such a fun show. This carried enough humor to keep it from being overly serious, and the bond between the main characters is undeniable enviable. However, it looks at crime shows in a different way. It leaves out the blood and gore for more of a corporate espionage, money laundering, and counterfeiting. I only watched what was on Netflix, so I don't know how to series ends, but I enjoyed every episode I watched.

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4. Friends. It's Friends.

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5. Veronica Mars: Suspense, drama, mystery, comedy. A high school girl who doubles as a Private Investigator? Yes please. No one knows about this show. Or, at least, almost no one. I LOVED it when it was on television (being a high school girl myself), and I loved it even more when I got to watch the entire series on DVD. Same with the second season. And the third. I just adore this show. They even made a movie the continues the story. Just a fun and interesting one.

 

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Blog Challenge: Day 15.

5 Things That Make You Uncomfortable

1. Anything having to do with eyes.

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2. My Strange Addiction on TLC

 

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3. Low Blood Sugar

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4. Asking for special treatment (no matter how necessary it is).

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5. Receiving compliments. 

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Blog Challenge: Day 13.

Five Spectacular Movies

1. The Breakfast Club

 

2. The Emporer's New Groove

3. Moulin Rouge

4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

5. Sex and the City: The Movie

Blog Challenge: Day 12.

5 Amazing …(Songs, films, artists, books, websites etc.)

I think that I am going to choose songs.

I have been in the mood to listen to music and have found some really great songs lately.

My style is to repeat until I have worn it out.

I like to listen to songs until I know all the words.

I am going to choose the songs that I can't get enough of as of late.

1. Ghost by Ella Henderson
2. Shut Up and Dance by WALKTHEMOON
3. Heroes by Alesso
4. Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
5. Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart

Blog Challenge: Day 10.

Dinner Party Wish List (Anyone dead, alive or fictional )

Marilyn Monroe

Merna Loy

Josh Groban

John Krasinski

Zac Brown

Gerard Butler

Gregory Peck

Emma Stone

Drew Barrymore

Mandy Moore

Kristen Bell

Dax Shepard

Jimmy Fallon

Jim Parsons

Ellen Degeneres

Portia de Rossi

Blog Challenge: Day 9.

Tell Us About An Interesting Documentary You Have Watched.

My dad is a huge sports person. He has one or two teams from every sport that he will never stray away from. He  has loved some team from the time he was a young kid. One of these teams is the NHL Philadelphia Flyers.  He bought a Flyers onesie for me when I was a baby. That shows how much he loves them.

One afternoon I wasn't feeling too well, so I went down and my dad was watching TV. It seemed interesting enough, so I watched with his. I came in when it was about half over, but he was watching a documentary on the Philadelphia flyers. It is called The Broad Street Bullies and it talks about the early years of the Flyers. It goes into detail about the team "from their beginnings as an expansion team in 1967, to their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships (1974, 1975), and three straight Finals appearances (1974–76)." (Quoted from the Broad Street Bullies Wikipedia page.

It was an amazing documentary that speaks about the struggles and the following this team had from their home city. They were the underdogs, they are rough around the edges, and they wanted to win. They gave their city hope and a team to cheer for. It was such an inspirational story to watch! I found myself crying in the end because of the sheer power this team had on its city.

I shared some special time with my dad, and he patiently answered all my questions. It was nice to enjoy something so much that I knew my dad was also enjoying. It made it so much better.

"In any great drama, you need heroes and villains. The Flyers were both."

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Blog Challenge: Day 8.

Discuss Something You Have Read Online & Link to It!

21 Lost Gentleman Traditions that Still Apply Today  was a blog post that I found when I was 'surfing the net' (that sounds so old school, but the term is quite accurate). It sounded interesting, and another thing that I could casually send to my boyfriend, just as a nudge in the right direction. 

Once I began reading though, I realized that this isn't something that should be limited to men that are in relationships. It goes for young men out to dinner with their mother, fathers having an outing with their daughters, grandfathers spending quality time with grandchildren, mutual friends working on a school project. It is a great list of universal courtesies that most women find flattering.

I know there is a lot of movements out there that think this type of thing is so degrading to women, it shows that they are less than men, that they need to be taken care of by a man, that its setting the women's movement back. However, I don't believe that is what these truths are getting at. It's more of a push towards mutual respect. That a man is willing to rise when a woman comes to a table is a sign of respect, holding the door open for a woman, or anyone for that matter, is a sign of respect.

The one that stood out to me was the care of a woman's safety by walking them to their car or door. Women's greatest source of fear is men. That could also stir a lot of controversy, however, I know for myself that walking alone at night, I am not scared of a dog, another woman, or traffic, but rather I get the uneasy feeling in my stomach from the thought of being abducted by a man.

Putting all that aside though, I know that I am always appreciative of the little things! And having a man open my car door for me because he wants to is a gesture that goes a long way. 

However, as I was reading this, I realized that this is a list of things that can be taken throughout any relationship. Women with women, men with men, parents with children, friends, coworkers. It offers a mutual line of respect when you can put other people above yourself in these small ways.

I am more of a traditional gal, but that doesn't mean I expect all these things every time. I just know that when my father, brother, or boyfriend takes initiative, I notice and I greatly appreciate it.

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