#GIRLBOSS

You don’t get taken seriously by asking someone to take you seriously. You’ve got to show up and own it.

re·lax

• Attend school full-time
• Care for four crazy dogs
• Maintain my house
• Sell my house
• Pay off debt
• Exercise?! (ha, just kidding)
• Do everything on my own and by myself
• Somehow manage to work wherever I can squeeze it in.

As a young twenty-something year old that is quite a bit I have on my plate and it eventually takes a toll on a person.  Naturally, I cherish my moments of relaxation.  When I think about it, I can’t help but laugh a little bit because when I do manage to relax and unwind, I’m often yelling at myself on the inside for being so super-duper lazy….

So I have a few traditional things that I do to relax and unwind.  First and foremost, Netflix, a movie, or catching up on my go-to TV shows.  Next option is a steaming hot bath paired with candles, a book, and dim lighting.  Third option (which should really just be filed under the imagination category) is a good solid uninterrupted nap.  That uninterrupted part is an extreme rarity when you have four large, young, high-energy dogs living under your roof (but i love um!).  No matter which option I pick, I’m usually pairing it with some sort of skin care and personal spa-like treatments (if I can find the time).

Recently, I discovered  Weleda Skin Food and it has been an absolutely amazing asset during these winter months and the inevitable dry skin that accompanies them.

Now I am a survivor of horrible skin and scarring acne so I am always trying to find new and better-quality products that won’t harm or irritate my skin or promote break-outs.  I have been using Weleda skin food (which is an all-over lotion) on my face for about a week now and I am in love! My skin feels rich and supple and I have even been using it for an under-eye cream at night to help with the undeniable dark circles and bags that have just made themselves comfortable as a part of my life.

This stuff is packed with great ingredients like oils from Sunflower Seed and Rosemary, Almond oil, Beeswax, and most importantly, Chamomile.  It has a relatively strong citrus-y smell but I think it’s wonderful, personally, and if I read correctly it is just because of the natural herby ingredients in this miracle potion!

I have had no complaints other than the fact that it can be a bit oily but that is only if you are using far too much product.  A little goes a very long way with this stuff.  I’ve used it as a night cream and even under my makeup during the day just allowing it time to soak in.  I love every bit of it with extra emphasis on the healthy glow it gives my problematic skin.

Best part is, this miracle-in-a-tube is only $14.

Check it out here .

And while you do that I will be enjoying these five-minute of quite time before I hit the hay and prepare for another crazy day of to-do lists.

xoxo
Monica

Dreams

Do you ever think back to what you wanted to be when you were younger?

I wanted to be a Veterinarian for the most part.  Also, I thought that I could be an author and would stay up late in the night scribbling out “novels” which were really just senseless notebook pages.

If you were to dig through the mounds of old keepsakes in my parent’s attic you could find my elementary school yearbook where I stated “I want to be a veterinarian” as my career goal.  For a nine-year old girl whose biggest problem was making sure little tommy didn’t find out I had a crush on him, something so complex as deciding what to do with the rest of my life was apparently such a simple idea.

But now here I am as a twenty-something year old on the brink of graduating from a four-year institution with no idea how to spend the rest of my life and my time is running out.  So where did that certainty and confidence disappear to?

What happened to the dreams and ambitions we had when we were young?  I am almost certain most of you thought something along the lines of “we grew up” or “welcome to reality and/or the real world” or something of the like.  Those are the things most of us are told time and time again.  But my questions is, why couldn’t we be those things we once wished for?  Why didn’t I pursue my dream of being an author or a veterinarian? Unless your dream was to become a dog, I refuse to settle for the explanation that growing up kills our dreams.

I was just reading an article about the same topic earlier today.
When we were young, adults embraced our crazy dreams and goals and told us we could do whatever we wanted to as long as we set our mind to it.  But the gears switched when we reached a certain age.  Suddenly our dreams of being rocks stars and astronauts became ridiculous and thoughtless concepts that we needed to outgrow.  We needed to get our head out of the clouds.

Now here I am more than ten years later wishing I pursued those dreams.  I wish that when I was growing up and going through my basic years of education that I didn’t lose the confidence to be whatever crazy dream I wanted to be.  They say the only regrets you’ll ever have are of the chances you didn’t take.

I blame society for telling me I needed to face reality and pick a career that would be in demand or guarantee employment and financial stability.  I blame myself for listening.  I blame myself for not taking a step back and focusing on who I am or who I wanted to become.  I blame myself for not working harder to fulfill those impossible or hard-to-achieve dreams.

I blame myself for eradicating those dreams.