Thursday, May 31, 2012

The time has come....

...FOR MY LITTLE SISTER TO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL!!

Yep, that's right tonight is my little sister's graduation and I'm so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She's even giving the benediction at tonight's program which is the same part of the program that I participated in when I graduated. Even though we've been through a lot of ups and downs, I can tell that time will only make us closer and I'm really excited to see her keep growing.

Us at the beach

Also, my peak of the day today was this awesome smoothie I made for breakfast. I found it on Pinterest and decided to try it out because I was getting bored of the same old breakfast fiber one bar. Because of all the comments on the blog about how good it was I decided just to turn the other way as I poured the spinach in my blender. I went to take a sip and it was DELICIOUS! The peanut butter flavor knocked out any hint that there was spinach in it and it benefits me because spinach helps you stay pretty and strong! The picture came out, but you get the point- it comes out looking nasty but give it a try because you won't regret it!
YUM!
XoXo

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

"The Opposite of Loneliness"

I found this article yesterday that I have to share with you. It is a piece written by Marina Keegan who was a 2012 graduate of Yale University. Unfortunately, she died in a car accident shortly after graduation, but will be remembered by countless classmates, friends, and not strangers who will share this piece that she wrote.

She somehow found a way to describe in writing exactly how graduates feel when they are leaving their safe haven of college and heading out to the real world. One of my favorite lines from this piece is, "It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team."

From my time at Pitt I can say I know exactly what she's talking about. It was that moment before a basketball game when you were beside a "stranger," but wouldn't hesitate to put your arm around them during the national anthem. Or that feeling of anticipation as you watched the clock tick down to 0 after the 3rd quarter of a football game and you just couldn't wait for the tune of "Sweet Caroline" to start. I used to love all these feelings of togetherness. In a sea full of thousands of students, I felt like we were all in this together. Marina Keegan will forever be remembered for not only a piece of writing, but for describing and sharing a feeling that all of us have had at some point in our lives. I just really can't convey how beautiful her words are so read them for yourself and share. :)

Will never forget the awesome time I spent with these people!



Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday Funday!

I'm going to be starting a new weekly post called "Friday Funday." All through the week I hear crazy facts or hear about fun stuff to do that I'm going to share them with you!

This week I heard from a friend of mine that the majority of people will meet the person they will marry by the age of 21! What do you feel about this? I mean at that point in life most people have graduated college where you meet a lot of people, but it still seems so young. Although I do find it kind of romantic that yes you could have met the person by 21 but then maybe you don't fall in love with them until much later.

Second, I urge everyone to go have some fun this week and visit a Pittsburgh Farmer's Market! You can get produce soooo cheap at these markets and know that what you're putting in your body is fresh! :)


Peak of the day
Getting to spend all weekend with great family and friends. Plus my parents are opening their pool which I am super excited about especially because it's supposed to be a very hot weekend! :) Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I'm Just a Bill....

This weekend my friend Nico and I went down to Maryland to visit Jon and take a day trip to Washington DC. I feel like every time I go there I see something different and we had beautiful weather as well which added to the fun day! One of my favorite parts was seeing the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The memorial was right on the water and was surrounded by famous quotes.
The memorial

   
My favorite quote!
We also got to visit a few of the Smithsonian Museums including the Museum of Natural History where I took this pretty cool shot from the second floor.
Oh, and here's another cool shot of the WWII memorial. It was so neat that day because there was a gathering of veterans and it was so awesome to see them all at the monuments telling stories to their families and looking so proud.


The only bad part of the day was waiting for the Metro to come home. Jon lives off the green line which happened to be on the same line as the stop for the Nationals baseball stadium so we had to wait to get on a metro for about an hour underground. It was probably my crankiness talking, but I ended up saying to a lady out loud "We're just a few nice Pittsburgh people trying to get on." Well I did not get a good reaction from that since we're hated by Ravens and Capitol fans, so after that I kept my big mouth shut!

My peek of the day today is my lunch! I bought a salad bowl at a local plant sale a couple weeks ago and finally had enough lettuce to pull off and eat. YUM!

Here's one last pic to leave you with :) We're always silly!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Be Happy

I wanted to share this cool article I came across today that put a little pep in my step :)

I like this article because it gives you a bunch of conflicting ways to respond to life. One of my favorites is this one:

12. GRATITUDE vs. INGRATITUDE. No no matter where they look, no matter where they are or with who, they have this capacity of seeing beauty where most of us would only see ugliness, opportunities, where most of us would only see struggles, abundance where most of us would only see lack and they express their gratitude for them all.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say to find the good in EVERY day! We need to see beauty where most see ugliness. So today, I challenge you; take someone bad that has happened to you or something negative you read/see and find the positive aspect in it. It may be hard, but it's worth it and you'll be glad you did because it will start to turn your whole focus around. :)


My peak of the day you ask? Seeing this little gem of a video online. This would be a great way to start every day although I don't know if I would exactly be able to climb up on my sink :)


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Little Things

Good Afternoon all!
     Do you ever have those days when you get random compliments and it makes you super pumped. I just got 2 in the last 10 minutes and I'm feeling pretty great. It's so nice to be recognized for work you do every once in a while just to keep you happy and content at work. Also, it's nice to get little random compliments like when our consultant and worked today told me she thought I was funny and reminded her of her best friend. It made me smile :) Definitely my peak of the day!

    In other news I have a new exercise challenge that some friends and I at work have come up with. We made a little chart on a whiteboard with each date and have to either put a check mark (meaning we worked out that day) or an X (meaning we did not). I'm very competitive so I think this will help me get to the gym on days I really don't have motivation because I will have to own up to people at work!

    This past weekend my little sister went to her senior prom!! She looked gorgeous and had a fun time!

Beautiful
Sisters <3
 In other exciting news, Jon is moving home in about two months!!! Finally we are cutting down the distance between us and I can't wait :):) Definitely my peak of the YEAR!

Be thankful everyone :)