Gaining Perspective..

Ya'll know me. I am a Pinterest junkie and it should come as no surprise I came across this little quote pinning away. It seriously spoke to me. I find myself trying more and more to remain and stay as positive as possible, this is not always an easy task. But.. is it really so tough? I started to think about my conversations with my friends and family and how I have had a lot of great things to chat about and how before, it was always about the "stress" or "life's little annoyances."

Now, don't get me wrong. Girls gotta vent every once and a while but oh, how I wish we spoke about the joys in life more often. I also started thinking about how very lucky I am to have a few close friends who actually call me to see how I am and are happy, excited, and genuinely want to hear about the goods things happening in my world. I hope they know I feel the same way for them and I almost feel giddy when they tell me good things.

Support is important. Not only given but received. I wish more people thought that way and it reminds me of a conversation my father and I had not too long ago about "the less friends you have, the better off you are.." I wanted to instantly disagree! "Dad, how can you say this to a girl who has 37 bffs?!" Then.. slowly.. the gears started turning. "Friends" is a relative term. I am all about quality, not quantity these days.

In other news...  Brace your little selves.. I am almost afraid to type this.. but.. I am seriously in such a wonderful state of mind and place right now that I KNOW talking about the good stuff will not be too difficult for me. Am I stressed out of my mind with work, photography, love, life, family, friends, fitness, etc, etc? You bet your sweet potato I am but all of a sudden.. things seem.. calm in the midst of crazytown. I think focusing on what I can control, what is good, and looking forward to the outcomes, is keeping me grounded.

This post, like much of my posts recently, probably seems like it is on meth but you know me, I gotta write it out to process it all. I hope your week is full of joys to share and good, good, stuff.

xoxo-mere

High 5 for Friday!

I have been a total slacker in my Top 5 Friday posts! I am super sorry. Here is my top 5 favorite things of the week.

1. Boot socks! I loooove these and I got so many compliments. I loved the gray ones so much I am anxiously awaiting the tan ones I had to order right after I got my first order!

You can get these at....

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95998562/lacey-sock-dove-grey-boot-socks-open. 

2. KTIP is killing me. For those of you who do not cringe or have a shot for me when hearing this, KTIP is a first year teacher program where you have to do a bunch of paperwork, be observed 9 times, and do extra work. It's... in the words of my students "Cray, Cray"= Crazy. Cycle 1 is over! 1 down, 2 more to go! :)

3. All of my classroom anoles found homes! I also did not have to touch any of them in the whole 7 weeks I took care of them! I will miss them, though. :)

4. Sushi with my brother and cousin. I have not laughed so hard in such a long time. I seriously have the best family.

5. I have officially become one of "those" girls. I am very happy and thankful to have someone in my life who is pretty darn awesome. Good, good, week.

I hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm! :)

xoxo-mere

Fall..ing

I seriously love Fall. I love everything about it and I am lucky to live in a place where you can see it, feel it, taste it, and just live it for it's short time. The summers here are usually hotter than hot and humid to the max. By the time mid to late October gets here, I have already been sweating my butt off from refusing to wear any summer clothes after Labor Day. lol To me, there is something comforting about this time of year. It is like a hug you never want to break (which coming from me, is rare. I am NOT a hugger unless you are under age 10).

I have been going non-stop since.. well.. as long as I can remember. I am really struggling with balancing it all. Life, fun, responsibility, passion, drive, family, friends, you name it. I hate, and I mean hate, disappointing people. I feel like I have been doing that a lot lately and it's time to stop and re-evaluate some things in my life. I am sick of saying "I am going to do this.." or my personal favorite these days.. "I need to do that.." I just feel like I am falling and haven't hit the pavement..yet.

I am so exhausted and it's a really strange feeling for me. I am used to being "on the go" and "busy". I am also used to just working and that's all I have to worry about in my spare time. I have been having a lot of fun lately. Okay.. God, I said it. I am actually happy with all the great stuff I have in my life these days from professional to personal. I just don't want to fall on my face in either area. Problem is.. If I keep this pace up I inevitable will fall. Flat.on.my.face. Splat. Something has got to give, peeps. As much as it pains me to keep saying this.. I need my weekends. Photography is going to taper off soon.

That camera saved me. More than any of you will ever know. I was used to feeling (because of being told) that I wasn't really worth a whole lot, my thoughts and feelings never mattered, and I never had or got to make a lot of choices for a large part of my life. Truth is, I have hit the ground before but in true Mooney fashion.. We hit the ground running. You cannot keep Joe and Jayne's girl down... for long, anyway.

I am feeling very melancholy these days. This time of year has always been my favorite but I am coming up on 2 very hard anniversaries. I will say that the facts that each year gets a little easier, I grow a lot, and I am surrounding myself with amazing people is a plus. (Staying Positive Penny) No sulking around here. Fall and falling can be okay. I am falling into a good place and into good people.


xoxo-mere

High 5 for Friday!

I am off work today!!! It has already been a wonderful day! Here is my Top 5 loves of the week, in no particular order. :)

1.  Drinking out of my Chicago Bears cup and my student looks at me and says... "My cousin plays for them." I totally knew where that was going and offered him a homework pass for life if he could get my wwdd? shirt signed for me. :) I kid.. I kid.. maybe?

2. We had a potluck at work and my brownie triffle was amazeballs. #callmemartha

3. Watching drunk people sing karaoke is probably the greatest "pick me up" in the history of mankind.

4. My new Michael Kors shoes. I die. Be jealous.

5. Catching up with old friends and realizing our lives are getting to near perfect places. @JHK. Get.it.girl.


xoxo-mere