High 5 for Friday! Thankful Edition

I have been trying my darndest to keep up with my High 5 for Friday posts and I told myself I would NOT forget the day after Thanksgiving! I mean, come on, it's the most Thankful week of the year. Although I try to count my blessings everyday, this year I can safely say that I am very blessed, indeed. Here is my Top 5.

1. 5 DAYS OFF OF SCHOOL. I mean, love my career and kids, but sister needed some "alone time".

2. My cousin Lauren. I got to spend some well needed cousin bonding time with her this weekend. Complete with a mall trip, mani/pedis, and a dinner that was full of laughter and advice. I cannot believe she is asking me about boys and college stuff. I want this back (see pic below) but I am very proud of the woman she is becoming.

3. Starbucks red cups. They are just so darn cute.

4. Sparkle in my clothes. Although my Mom is the "Queen of Bling, " I am loving Ann Taylor Loft's Holiday collection. My wallet.. Not so much.

http://www.loft.com/loft/cat/LOFT-ZHidden/LOFT-sparkle-and-lace-111912/cat610106?supCat=catl00002&loc=hpp2&icid=hpp2_lace_111912

5. Spending my Thanksgiving with my sweet guy, his family, my family. Perfection. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful week and holiday full of good food, stories, photos, and fun!

xoxo-mere

So Much to Say..

I had wrote out a couple of posts this week and with as insanely busy as I have been, I deleted all of them because not one post was worth reading or publishing. I think it is funny because as hard as it has been to produce a decent blog post, I sure have had a lot on my mind to talk about these days.

I can safely say that I am officially proud of myself for a few reasons. (in no particular order)

1. I am "officially" on break with photography. As far as a zillion sessions every weekend goes. I was starting to get burnt out and with as much as I love my camera, sweet babies, and my clients. Sister needs to breathe. I am thankful for a Photographer friend or two to take referrals for the winter while I focus on my 23 babies more than I normally do.. Which is a lot! Not to say that I will not do a random session here or there or take my friend-niece and nephew photos. ;)

2. I am glad to have a few coworkers that I have opened up to recently about life, love, and the insanity that is a first year Teacher. It is really important to have people you can go to when you feel yourself about to lose your ever-loving mind. I wouldn't say I have a ton of people I trust but a close few and they know who they are and they mean the world to me. I spent an hour after school last Friday opening up to a couple of Teachers and they were really great to me and it was just nice to be able to speak and reflect about how far I have come the past few years.

3. This one is the hardest for me to open up about and I probably won't say much about it because there are some things I just want to keep to myself but remember a few posts back about how I didn't think I had ever been in true love? Well, let's just say.. That has changed. I feel like a 17 year old. End of story.

Goodnight!

xoxo-Mere

High 5 for Friday.. Two days later.

This week is brought to you by "cray". I now say this all the time, much to the dismay of my bf. LOL In all seriousness, I am just going to stop saying "I have been so busy" because my life is "50 shades of cray." (Meredith Trademark)

So, here are my Top 5 Favorite things of the week. In no particular order.



1. Very Jane. http://veryjane.com/. This site has amazing deals for great prices. I suggest looking at the shipping date because it can take a while to get your items. Once I get some stuff I ordered a few weeks ago. I can't wait!

2. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate at Starbucks. LOOOOVE it.

3. Making plans. Enough said.

4. Feeling like a can of busted biscuits and my skinny jeans feeling too big. :)

5. Seeing everyone's 30 days of Thankful posts on Facebook and not knowing where to begin, myself. I have a lot to be thankful for these days. ;)

Flashback.. 2008

I tend to keep things to myself (believe it or not from someone who blogs). I was in my Parents kitchen talking politics with my Momma and I blurted this out... "This very night in 2008 I was experiencing the worst night of my life." She looked at me puzzled. "What do you mean?" I instantly got red faced and that little sinking feeling came over me. "Oh, nothing.. I was just coming home from Vegas and I was a mess..." To which I knew I had already said too much. I find myself saying more and more things about what I went through before and a lot of it I suppressed for fear of being judged. She looked at me and was like... "Spill it."

Picture it.. Las Vegas, 2008 (Golden Girls Style)..
I was on an Anniversary trip in a pathetic "last ditch" effort to win my (you insert favorite euphemism for him) love and affection back. I cried in a hot tub the night before in a Penthouse Suite in the Bellagio and drank a whole bottle of champagne. "How did I get here?" "What is going on?" "What did I do?" "Where do I go from here?" "How do I pretend that I am okay?" (cue sappy falling apart music). Fast forward to horrible plane ride home, fetal position crying, and lots of turbulence. Then, I also came home to find who I voted for did not win (sorry, those of you who know and love me, know who I voted for).

Four years later...
I woke up and had the day off from Teaching, a career I never would have gotten into if I was still in that previous state of mind, got dressed in clothes that fit me nicely because we all know what I used to look like, lol, voted, got a mani/pedi, look some photos (yeah started a business), and just did what I wanted to do... This all may seem trivial or overly dramatic but to this very day I cannot wrap my head around my past. I also think this is being accelerated by the fact that I have made a very difficult choice to surround myself with amazing people. I am being treated so incredibly well and made to feel special for the first time in my entire life, I have friends that are kind and fun, and my family.. Well, they have stood the test of time. It is funny because it almost seems like a bad Lifetime Movie when I think about it and as I recall that fateful night, I feel nothing but pride. Which, at the time, was the exact opposite of what I was thinking, feeling, and being subjected to in the moment.

The point of this post is that change is inevitable. Especially on the night of a major event like the Election of the President of the United States. I also want to stress that 4 years flies by.. bad or less than desirable times fly by, and there is no such thing as "the worst time of your life" lasting your whole life. I know several people who read this that need to hear that right now. Please know that whatever is hurting your heart, causing you grief, or breaking you down, will, indeed, pass. It can be 4 hrs, 4 days, 4 months, or 4 years, but it will pass. If..You will it to pass.

I am amazed at how different my life is and how I am forgetting more and more about all the B.S., drama, and hurt I was subjected to before I got a backbone. I say it a lot and especially more so recently. I am starting to forget. Every once an a while, it will creep back in and settle for a little bit. I will get the "I am not good enough's" or "RUUUNNN away! You aren't deserving." thoughts but they are few and far between. You know, I almost welcome them now because it's an interesting fight and test. So far, I am winning.

So if you are a "NoBAMA" or "GoBAMA". Change is upon us but the sun will still rise tomorrow (Jason trademark). You just gotta keep moving and that is what I plan on doing.

xoxo-mere