Mysterious

Life is a mystery, as in an unknown abyss of information given to us daily to process and sort and we never know what is next. There are opportunities for us to choose our daily path and the choices we make help to define who we are and what life we will lead. At any moment we can change our path and venture down a new one--a freedom we have been given by God. The curious adventurers and strong willed will thrive in the changing situations of our growing world. What about the meek and frail? Should the stronger be left to gather the weak and bring them along our journey or do we say "forget you"? 

Taking chances and being confident in the decisions we make is not always an easy task, but I believe I have lead myself out of what may not always be normal and easy. I succeeded with being happy, humble, energetic, adventurous, independent, and successful with each endeavor I have chosen. It was not ever supposed to be easy, but when I made the decision to live, and truly live, I was all in. Do you feel like you can conquer the world one day and then relax on the couch the next? Staying constant in our efforts to make little changes every day in our life and in the lives of others can be the "make or break" of exceeding normal. We absolutely try to bring those of less fortune and virtue into their own light. Because God made each of us, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." 

Sometimes God has strange ways of telling us to go for it, but that is exactly what we have to do. There are moments we want to give up and be done with everything life throws our way. It is not that simple, life is not that simple. I have earned so much through my hard work and healthy attitude. I am so thankful for the opportunities I have in this life. I thank God every day that I wake up and get to spend another day with the people I love, doing the things I love. I am happy, I have all I need, and I know no one thing can take this from me. I wont allow it. The fighter in me will fight for what I deserve because I know it is mine to have. I proudly built the life I live. I worked to keep myself up and alive and out of the troubles of the world.

Will you fight for what you deserve?

On the Road

Growing up and traveling overseas has its advantages for visiting places many only dream of. I know I have been fortunate and I am so grateful. BUT I am so excited to take trips and travel the open road of the United States. 

It all started two years ago, I decided to go on a road trip with my (then) 13 month old. We began our journey from Oklahoma and spent two weeks exploring sites in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (my favorite), and California. Texas offered many Silos and farmland to ponder upon via I40 west. There is something slightly eery, yet spectacular about silos that I am drawn to. New Mexico was pretty and reminded me of living in the desert again. Old town Albuquerque was a neat little stop with a town square of shops and local vendors.

Arizona really was marvelous. We drove through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. We stayed in Flagstaff, it is the perfect little 'mountain town 'with a great downtown and lots of local breweries. Visited the breathtaking Grand Canyon at sunrise. This is huge for me because I am not a morning person so for me to wake up and drive over an hour away to catch the sun rising at 4:50am is RARE (as in highly unlikely to ever occur again). It was so much more than I could have ever dreamed possible. I then drove down to Scottsdale to visit a friend for a few days. We ate at a place called Culinary Dropout. I definitely recommend a visit if your in town or maybe your new to the area and havent tried it yet! We also did a morning hike up Camelback Mountain, which provided breathtaking views of the greater Pheonix area. It was on to California after that. San Diego was the first stop where my now fiance met us out there for four days. Sad part is it rained almost the entire time and after speaking with locals it hadn't rained in almost 4 years! So needless to say we must make it back sometime. We did enjoy the Zoo and a sailboat ride. Best meal here was at a place called Barley Mash. We proceeded to drive North on the coast of California stopping at various beaches along the way making our way to my family in Atascadero. It was so nice to see family that we don't get to see often (Love you all and miss you if you're reading). 

Pismo Beach Pier, CA

Lunch in Flagstaff, AZ with my uncle

A little walk in the Petrified Forest, AZ

Grand Canyon

Was I brave to do all of that with a 13 month old, absolutely! But she did amazing and it was so much fun and it was a much needed trip to get out of Oklahoma and to see some of the country that I never had before. 

2015 was a year of many road trips too! St. Louis: went to the Zoo, Science center, & the Arch. California: a last minute trip for family. Kahoka, MO: visited with Paul's grandparents and attended the Old Settler's parade

We are loaded up in the car now (with my daughter turning 3 tomorrow) heading to Park City, UT for a family ski vacation. We started in Frisco, TX after celebrating the New Year. Driving west to highway 287N through the panhandle of OK. It was my first time & really not much to see off the highway. Unfortunately we drove into Colorado in the dark & overnighted in the farm town of Lamar. We woke and began our drive once more. Paul got super excited when we saw the tip of the Rockies off in the distance!  We stopped in Fort Collins for lunch, ate at Coppersmith's Pub & Brewing. We all had burgers and they were yummy! It's located in the central part of town on a really cute town square. I wish we had more time there, but it was onto Wyoming for us. Wyoming was another first time. Its beautiful! Snow covered rolling hills until you rise into the Rockies. We watched the sunset here today- It's a total "breath of fresh air." Tomorrow we will drive into Park City and spend the week skiing, ice skating (in Elsa's ice skates! Thank you Aunt Crystal & Uncle Ethan), tubing, and enjoying the company of family.

CO via I70

Northern Rockies via I80

Road trips are not for everyone, but if you enjoy taking your time to get somewhere with little adventures throughout the day to break up the constant road time, they are so much fun. Its quality family time and I love that so much. We get caught up in the every day little things and we forget to take time for us. It's wonderful to look around in the vehicle and know I'm surrounded by love and the people that make me happy and I don't need anything else. 
Take the time to be grateful for the special people in your life and know that you put them there for a reason. It's truly the little things in life that bring me so much joy. 

Happy New Year! What are the little things that bring you joy? Tell me any great road trip locations that are a must!!

Family pic with the WY sign!

Newest Chapter

I completed my college courses about two months ago-- to some this is not a big deal. BUT I officially (and finally, after 10 years post high school graduation) have my bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus in Management.

So the story begins ... I have changed my degree a million times it seems. I began with a major of International business with a minor in Arabic, which lasted a year into college. I switched to Interior design this lasted a semester and followed by a semester break to "figure it all out." I resumed school focusing on completing my lower level "must-have" courses for any degree. Then I decided I would move to China for 3 months to focus on my modeling career. I had an amazing time and I was able to do an online course to keep up with my college degree. While there I obtained my Associate's in Business.

A little background information before I continue...I am very responsible and know what I want, but sometimes I let my creative side loose and try to run the show. The creative side doesn't know what it wants and is a bit indecisive!

I moved back to Oklahoma for about a year, and began pursuing a degree in Nursing. A new-found passion. Although, I have always been a bit queasy at the site of blood, I enjoyed all of the biology, anatomy, and physiology courses I took. I moved back to China and Taiwan for the next year to pursue my modeling career further. The experiences, the people I met, and the culture are so intriguing and different from the Middle East and United States. I love to travel and with that comes a desire to learn and educate myself.

Moving back to Oklahoma, I began college once more and began working fulltime. I decided to become a licensed Insurance Producer (I was working for an Allstate agent). Life happened and I took another year (I do hope all of these years are adding up correctly :) ) off from school. Upon moving to Bartlesville I began an adult studies program at the Oklahoma Wesleyan University. It was an 18 months program and it feels amazing to know that after all these years this December I have my bachelors degree!!

I participated in the walking ceremony at Oklahoma Wesleyan University this past Saturday. It was a day filled with friends, family, and surprises. Saturday morning before going to rehearsal my mom and siblings surprised me by flying in from Saudi just to attend. My daughter, sister and family, boyfriend and his parents, and aunt and uncle and cousin were also able to come.  I am so blessed they were all able to watch me and be with me to celebrate my special day.

So now the big questions... What do I do now? Will I use my degree after all this time? What are my new goals?

Fighter in me

I was once told my strongest quality is I am a fighter. Not the fighter that punches people or gets angry easily. Rather a fighter that does not allow myself to fail or settle for less than what I deserve.

Life is an experience and a learning process. Sometimes we have to get knocked down only to get back up and fight even harder to push away life's negativity. Every morning we make a choice on how to spend the rest of our day, either in a great mood or a bad one. We make the choice to let the little things bother us or not. Each day life will present us with negative energy and we have to make the choice to push it away and accept only the positive energy. For the positive is what allows us to have a good day, to find new passions, enjoy exciting adventures, explore new endeavors, meet new people, and so much more. We have to learn the things that bring us joy and fill our days with them. Experiences are what makes life, well...life. So experience away and enjoy every moment of it because this is your life and why waste it on negativity and being angry? Who says life has to be full of anguish and demise?

How can life be made more simple? What is the true value of it? It can be made more simple by the sheer pleasure of enjoying what life has to offer and not drown yourself with the bad. Life is extremely valuable to us all; it is what connects us all. On a path of self discovery, I have learned such an incredible amount about myself. New things I can endure, power I possess within me, the light and energy I can bring to a room, the depth of my inner thoughts. I have a feeling that my life is going to be a great one and that makes me live and breathe each moment in and progress to the next step of my life. I do not need to be rich and I do not need material items, but I do want to grow as a person and find myself in odd situations with people I would have never thought possible. I want to travel to countries only to discover the way the locals live in their society--to be completely immersed into one’s culture.

Do you find yourself wanting more out of life? To discover that inner zone of "happiness"

Building a better me

Anyone ever get the urge to do more with their life? To be somewhere better than where you currently are?

Well, I did! The combination of some big things happening (cannot discuss in detail now, but more to come on that later), an executive leadership course (one of the final courses in my Adult studies program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University), and a desire from within to use my degree and knowledge to really make a difference in my life and my daughters life.

So.. now I had this urge and some things that could potentially be of use to me in my life, but it wasn't/isn't so simple. I need to have a plan and a purpose and a WHY for whatever path I choose to take. That is where the leadership course and a book written by Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl, Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World comes into play. It is a great quick read and with a little effort ( okay a lot of effort on my part) I can make changes every day to a greater good, a more balanced life, a dream world so to speak. The leadership course made me realize the things that interest me in life are far from my grasp and the book has lead me to a belief that with the right path and discipline I can achieve my goals.

Digging a little deeper: a little over two years ago, I lost my best friend, my love, my partner, my daughter's father, and my fiancé. I had always believed we should live each day to the fullest, but that became a more prominent task after realizing this life can be cut short when God says it's time. This event has sparked a desire to live a balanced and healthy life. Over the last two years I have grieved and mourned and had to be strong for our daughter. Was it easy? Absolutely not. But finding a way to balance the way I was feeling with the needs of my daughters seemed to push me to continue every day.

So over the last month I have been reading the Oola book and want to continue to balance my life out. They suggest seven keys areas of life are worth balancing in order to stay healthy and happy. The areas are Fitness, Finances, Family, Field, Faith, Friends, & Fun. Towards the end of the book they give a three step method for living a more Oola life (this can also be found at www.oolalife.com ) .

Step 1: Fill out an Oola Wheel. The areas I need to focus on the most are Field, Finances, Fitness, Faith, and Fun. I am not sure what their basis for areas needing improvement, but for me it was anything with an average less than 7 out of 10.

Step 2: Develop a plan to change the key areas where you are wanting to make changes. start with small goals and work up to a bigger goal so that daily we are improving and making progress to a better me.

Step 3: Follow a path- make a conscious choice and write it down for a path that I will take to obtain my goals and alter it with any changes that need to be made along the way.

Just wait for it-- give me a year and I will be a much more balanced and developed version of me.