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Friday, July 25, 2014

Welcome back, Friday.


I must say, my luck has really turned around this week. It's like the universe took one look at the past four work weeks and was like, "oh, I so sowwies" and gave me a quick turnaround. Who knows how long it'll last, really, but it's kept me in a chipper mood all week long. No complaints here.

One week from today, August begins. August. We are almost eight months into 2014. Blows my mind.

This time last year, I was enjoying long days at the beach and warm (okay, hot and humid) summer nights with the option to sleep in until 11 a.m. every morning. Obviously, that's changed a little. My trips to the beach are semi-often, and I don't even remember the last time I slept in past 10...even that's a rarity. I spend most of my nights trying to fit in a little relaxation time between my work days. This doesn't leave a lot of room for fun summer adventures.

You may recall my summer to-do list here. I figure it's only fair to hold myself accountable to see what I've accomplished thus far, and what is left to do:
  1. Float down Rainbow River! This is an absolute must, hence number one on the list. Ummm, well, we tried to float down the river, but we got there too late so we just hopped in the spring...this only half counts.
  2. Visit Disney's water park, Blizzard Beach. I've gone almost every summer since I was nine years old. The best.
  3. Make homemade sangria for a poolside barbecue. 4th of July...check!
  4. Have a blast in New York City with Ryan. This one is a given.
  5. Take a bike ride some place cool. Either along Bayshore Boulevard, or along a trail somewhere.
  6. Embrace my new outdoor patio space.  Growing some basil & swatting away spider webs as we speak.
  7. Make a stronger effort to make plans with friends I haven't seen in awhile. Real plans. Sleepovers. You know, fun girly stuff. I think I've been getting better about this!
Living in Florida, I still have PLENTY of time for summer festivities. Probably until like, December. But I'm trying to be a little better about holding myself accountable, both in my professional life and my personal life. Hope everyone has a happy Friday and a bomb dot com weekend! XO






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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Incentive Digest.

I am an incentive enthusiast. Incentives, rewards, high fives, whatever. In sales, obviously making more money is supposed to be the incentive. Who doesn't want to make more money? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Having said that, sometimes I require a little something extra. Something to work toward, something I can get now instead of waiting for a paycheck that won't even be available for another month and a half.

If you follow me on Instagram (@sammellaaa), you probably noticed that I just hopped on the Alex and Ani bandwagon. It took me a hot minute, but I finally caved and bought my first one. 

I got multiple comments on the picture letting me know that it would become an addiction. I'm not one to follow jewelry trends, but let me just say: they were right. I was on the website not even 12 hours after my first purchase trying to figure out which one I wanted to get next.

As you could probably tell from recent posts, work has been pretty stressful for me lately. No surprise there; it happens. It's been hard for me to get motivated, so I've been looking for inspiration left and right. Yesterday, a Monday of all days, I decided that if I could hit a certain goal, I would buy myself a new Alex and Ani bracelet. My goal was pretty out of reach for a typical day at the office, but hey, I wanted a real incentive. 

By 5:05 p.m., the end of the day, I was one short of my goal. Just one. I was tempted to give in and just say 'no worries, Sam, you tried, just buy it anyway.' But a part of me wouldn't let it go - I wanted to earn my own incentive, not cheat my way there. So I was all packed up, sunglasses on, bag on my shoulder and I saw a phone number of someone I promised to follow up with. I almost shrugged it off and walked away, but I thought "what the hell?" 

After that call, the call I almost didn't make, I hit my goal. It seems small and silly and stupid, but it meant a lot to me because I made myself earn it. My point is that sometimes, when you're looking for a little motivation, incentivize yourself. If you make it a point to go to the gym every day this work week, allow yourself a full-sugar margarita on Saturday. If you hit your numbers at work this week, buy yourself a little sum'-sum'. You'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes.

Now...it's time for me to get my hands on the mermaid Alex and Ani bracelet :) XO

















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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

No title.

In case anyone was wondering, we're already halfway through July. AKA it's almost August. AKA it's pretty much Christmas. 

When did all of my days start blurring together? When did I start living for the weekend? I guess living for the weekend stems directly from, ya know, having a weekday job. But when did I start letting my life revolve around work? 

It's been a bad month. Sales is a rollercoaster, and July feels like a whole lot of gut-wrenching free falls from a 200 foot vertical. Without a seat belt. Or a hair tie. 

I don't have a theme for this post, or an idea as to what I would actually like to say. I'll be the first to say that life could be worse. I'll also be the first to tell someone else that life is too short to be doing anything that doesn't make you ridiculously happy. Having said that, I am forever the last person to take my own advice. XO



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Friday, July 11, 2014

Closing the file on this week.

To say this has been an awkwardly rough week would be an understatement. I'm used to having bad days, but having a bad week has taken a lot out of me. If I'm one thing, it's easily discouraged, and that's a hard battle to fight. It's one thing about myself I desperately want to change.

And that's another thing: change. I feel like I always crave change, but once I have it, I just want things to go back to the way they were. Familiarity is my crutch. For the first few nights at my new apartment, I'd find myself wide awake at midnight in my new bed wondering why I thought it was such a good idea to move out of my parents' place. I spent all of my college years wishing for a Monday through Friday job with weekends off to find myself wishing I could get brunch on the beach on a Tuesday.

However, with change comes adjustment, and I always adjust. I suck it up, roll with the punches, create new familiarity. Sometimes, all it takes is a little inspiration. A rant and rave fest with my mom, a meeting with a manager, a pep talk with my boyfriend. It's a slow process, but I'm always learning and [hopefully] always growing.

On the flip side....it's Friday. And I'm going to Rainbow River tomorrow. So life could be a lot worse. And with that, I'm closing the file on my pity party. Here's to a productive and inspiring Friday, full of positive change. XO
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Monday, July 7, 2014

A List of Happy, Pt. 3

Red, white and blue cupcakes made from a box and sangria made from scratch.
Homemade quesadilla & Redbox movie nights with my handsome boyfriend.
Settling back into a routine after coming back from vacation.
Counting down the days until St.Augustine next weekend.
Going home to see my parents tonight. And my dog. Mostly excited about seeing my dog.
Hot stone pedicures after a rough day at work.
Getting a grande chai instead of a tall chai on Monday morning in anticipation of a long week.
Taking a cold shower after a hot run.
Kisses on the forehead.
XO


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Thursday, July 3, 2014

New York Trip, Pt. 1



Ryan's mom (love her) was gracious enough to reserve us a B&B for our first night in New York. It was located in historic Brooklyn and looked absolutely nothing like the concrete Lego land that is Manhattan. Our entry way was shaded by large, green trees and planted red flowers. The building sat between rows and rows of brick apartments - nothing like you see here in Tampa (or even Florida, for that matter). It was so beautiful there that we didn't even mind that we got lost a couple of times. Whoops.


The bedroom was perfect. Fresh white sheets and towels and a kick-ass air conditioning unit. Well, mostly kick-ass. I found myself awake and a little perspired halfway through the night...I digress.


After showering away airport musk, Ryan found us a great little Indian restaurant just up the block from where we were staying. It was definitely a hole in the wall - seriously, the place could maybe fit just over 10 people comfortably. Having said that, it was amazing. Neither of us were too familiar with Indian food, so we both decided on a spicy, sweet and sour curry - his with chicken, mine with lamb. I requested medium spice and after our Indian server convinced Ryan that regular 'spicy' was about a 6 out of 10 on the hotness scale, he decided to go for it...I don't think he could even taste his food, it was so spicy! 

Since we were running on five hours of sleep and woke up at 5 a.m. that morning, we were pretty zonked after dinner. The night ended with me falling asleep during the first 10 minutes of a Matthew McConnaughey movie and an official "good night" by 10 o'clock. 

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better first night. I knew it was going to be the start of an amazing trip. XO













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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Back to reality. Womp womp.

Our trip to New York was nothing short of amazing. While miles upon miles of walking made the trip feel like less of a vacation and more of an excursion, it was exciting to have my first real vacation with Ryan. I was thrilled (although not surprised) that we didn't fight or squabble once during the entire trip, even when we got on the wrong subway or when we wandered around aimlessly, starving, for two hours trying to find a place to eat.

There were so many sub-trips to our trip, so I'll probably create a tiny series over the next few weeks to showcase our activities. Tomorrow will be a look into our B&B Ryan's mom reserved for us in Historic Brooklyn; Long Island, Manhattan, Greepoint Brooklyn, etc. will be covered later.

Even after five days and four nights of New York adventures, I was only kind of ready to come home. Despite my ruined sandals and aching feet, lack of central air conditioning in most places and motion sickness from cabs and trains - reality didn't sound like very much fun to get back to. I guess that just means I need to pump a little more excitement into my reality, and with July booked, I can't imagine that will be very difficult. XO

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