ramblings on becoming a better person

Disclaimer: this is super rambly and possibly quite annoying to anyone besides myself.  Read at your own risk ;)

Last month I had a kidney stone and it was a whole ordeal involving surgery, a stent, and a kidney/bladder infection from hell. Let's just say I didn't always handle it with the best of graces... There was a lot of tv watching, and a lot of me losing my patience and wanting to just go take a nap. It wasn't too pretty. Finally I just got fed up with myself and started browsing the internet for quotes on becoming a better person. And there were seriously SO MANY. Like, a never ending amount. Which actually made me instantly feel a little better that I'm not the only person in the world that's trying to better themselves (ha!). Reading all these quotes and thinking about how I need to change my attitude made me really think about humanity as a whole. NONE of us are perfect, no matter how perfect things may seem to outsiders. There's always something going on, something you're working on, something you could improve (even if you don't want to...), etc. It's kind of comforting to realize and accept that fact.

I wrote a snippet about this on my instagram account, and this is the quote I used. At the time, it was the most fitting. I didn't like how I was acting, and so I needed to change the story. I woke up the next day with a different attitude and perspective, and actively tried to be a better person and a better mom. While I wasn't perfect, obviously, it did make a huge difference throughout my day.

 

Whether I'm trying to change stuff or if I'm stuck in a rut, I'm still the same person. I can make the best out of what I've got in the present situation. I will always be Jess, I just want to be the most fabulous Jess that I can be ;)

In order to be in love with every minute of your life, you need to make the "good times" awesome, and make the "bad times" bearable, or at least try to see some reason for the crap that comes your way. Obviously this is easier said than done, but I think it is something to aspire to.

 

Another outcome of my soul-searching evening was that I realized I need to be pushing myself more. Challenge myself and my behavior. Delve into interests that may have perpetually been on the back-burner. Some days this really does just translate to *get out of the bed and feed your kids!*  haha

I liked this because there are all those sayings about acting the way you want to feel. If I want to be awesome, then I need to just start being awesome. Stay true to your own ethics/morals/personal guidelines, but DO the stuff you want to do, and ACT how you want to act!

This concept has been on my mind a lot lately. What makes me "come alive"? What am I passionate about? How can I create future employment from that? If you do what you love then you'll love what you do, right? I love being a mother and I'm forever grateful that I get to raise my two boys. While I want to work on being a better mom, I also need to figure out what else I really love and start developing my other interests as well. I feel so inspired by some of the people I follow on social media, and how they really do "come alive" and just radiate energy and love. That's how I want to be too. ♥

happy 2013

i've been thinking about what my goals are for this year, and what kind of year i want to have. my ultimate goal is happiness.so i've been thinking of ways to improve my (and my families) happiness:

+get completely out of debt (just that final 16% to go!!!)

+build up savings to be comfortable without my income (have enough $ to live 3-6 months)

+become a stay at home mom (or a work at home mom if that opportunity arises and works out well)

+eat healthier. i've been trying to cut out high fructose corn syrup (once i found out there are traces of mercury in it, that kind of made me freak out haha), and it's amazing how it is EVERYWHERE!

+become more organized/less cluttered. moving from a house to a townhouse is definitely going to help in this area!!

+work towards living a greener life. this is something i'm always working on, but i haven't been as active about it these last couple months.

+read more! i got a kindle for christmas, and it is awesome. also, my lovely mother-in-law shares books with me, so i have tons of books to choose from!! i'm like a kid in a candy shop :)

also, i am purposefully not calling these "resolutions", because that term is old. everyone knows people hardly ever follow through with their new year's resolutions (hence all the jokes/memes/ecards/etc). but "goals" are different. they seem more long-term to me, at least in my mind-set ;)

have any of you set any goals/resolutions/ideas/or whatever you want to call them for the new year? sharing is caring! and then you can be held responsible for it later (i feel like theres a word for that, but i canNOT think about it for the life of me!).

inspiration: Camila do Rosario

thanks to pinterest, i've found one of my new favorite artists: the illustrator Camila do Rosario. check out her portfolio here. i'm posting some of my favorites :)

this one is my favorite. i'm in love.

and here is her tumblr. i really admire people that are so talented and amazing at their craft. it kind of makes me slightly jealous that she's this awesome, and also younger than me.

workin on my fitness

just a couple weekends ago we went to a fitness expo (Mr Olympia) with some of our friends. of course, it is my juicehead husband that i went for, but it was still fun. and being there and seeing so many fit/healthy people actually motivated me a little bit to get in shape.

juicehead photo-bomb!

 i mean really, i have to stand next to this? haha. ;) but really, i've always wanted to get toned up, but just havent had the motivation. so for the past 4 days, i've been exercising! whaaaat!? the last time i did any sort of physical activity (minus hiking a few times at work) was zumba a couple months ago. and before zumba, i honestly cannot remember the last time i worked out.

we've also been eating healthier meals and snacks. my only problem is still my candy intake. but i figure if i eat healthier otherwise, add in working out, and some protein shakes and whatnot---its better than before, right? that's the position i'm sticking with. also, i'm super sore so today was a nice little rest day. i just have to keep telling myself that being sore is feeling my muscles grow. which probably isn't scientifically correct, but i'm an environmental scientist, people! ;)

cheers to working out, and hopefully i will be able to stick with the fitness plan! wish me luck (and good luck to those of you out there who are also workin on your fitness!!).

switch it up: hair-do

i'm bored with my hair. i was just telling josh that my hair hasn't been this tame since highschool... also, i have wanted purple hair for years! i've had purple extensions before and i LOVED them, but of course extensions aren't permanent :/  while browsing on pinterest for hair beauty, i found the following styles that i am lusting after. (and because i'm lazy, all sources can be found on my hair and beauty pinterest page)

i am in LOVE with this hair and want it so bad!!

prettiness

that's a lot of hair!

i'm thinking of doing something like this, but in purple

i like the little shaved portion, but i'd probably end up hating it

i think everything about this girl is gorgeous

what do you think? do you hate them all? love them all? i wish i could rotate through each of these throughout the next year. that would be awesome. if only i had magical powers and could make that happen...!

motivational design week, day 7

day 7: extra spaces

there are extra spaces in houses, or rooms that you can make into specialty rooms. whether that be a craft room, nursery, library, etc. here are some extra spaces on hgtv that i liked:

adorable nursery!

wouldn't this be awesome as our landing? i wish...

i love the way they used this space under the stairs!

LOVE this dresser top!

cute nightstand

i wish i had a classy mudroom like this

ok, so this is a dining room, but i mostly like this picture for what they did with the walls

library!! isn't this amazing? its actually in someones bedroom

love the rooster theme. and the chandelier is awesome as well

well, i hope this motivational design week was at least semi-entertaining for you. i've liked hearing about the spaces in your house. if you do any pictures of your place, let me know! i love looking at them!! :)

also, happy valentines day! ♥

motivational design week, day 6

day 6: bathrooms

bathrooms are another space where i don't exactly know how you're supposed to decorate. because there's just like...a toilet. haha. dont worry though, i'll still try my best. also, i will definitely refer to these pictures from hgtv.







also, once again i am curious to know how you decorate your bathroom!! do you incorporate flowers or fake greenery, stick to art, or add other special touches??

motivational design week: day 5

day 5: bedrooms

i always want our bedroom to look really fancy and nice. i havent gotten it together yet, mostly because we're poor. this time we're [slowly but maybe surely] getting it together. cheers to inspiration:

all pics from hgtv.com

we're thinking purple walls. that's about as far as i've gotten so far... how do you decorate your bedroom???

motivational design week, day 4

day 4: dining rooms

our dining room is going to be more of a dining "space," since it's just made to be a spot in our kitchen. which means... time to get creative! these pictures are definitely going to inspire me.

all pics from hgtv.com

do you have a dining room, or is it part of another room? what do you do to make it presentable?