The Best

I basically have the best boyfriend. Ever. I couldn't be more thankful to have Brady in my life!! He just left after spending a couple days here in Dallas. It's such a different place when he is here! It goes without saying that I am so ready to be near him in San Antonio. Nine more days. Yes, that's right. NINE! It seems like just yesterday that I was saying eight weeks...

Here are some pictures of the most adorable puppy!

Christmas Came Early This Year

Christmas came early for me this year!!! Brady came to Dallas last night to visit for a couple days and when he got there he told me to close my eyes. When he told me to open them he was holding the most adorable thing ever!! A 6 week old golden retriever puppy!!! Oh my goodness, I was so surprised I was speechless. I had no idea this was coming!!!

I just wanted to share with the world my excitement!! Here is a picture for you to enjoy :) I'm so glad I get to call this puppy MINE!!

I have decided that I am going to take a picture of him everyday so that I can watch how fast he grows!! I will post them here as well so yall can watch, too!!

Have a great evening:0)

Happy Holidays!!

Hello!! It's been a while...I just got home from Michigan yesterday. My parents and I went to visit for Thanksgiving. It was so great to spend quality time with family that I don't get to see very often. I wish we didn't live so far apart so we could see each other more often. (Although it is only one flight away!)

I am so excited about what this holiday season has in store!! As of right now, I have 3 days of classes and 2 days of finals left. As in...FOREVER! This is such an awesome feeling--although I know I will probably miss it after I start working full-time next year haha. I feel like I have been in the "transition period" between school and work for 3 years now. Starting my junior year of college I began to seriously think about the future--as far as careers go--until about a month ago, when I accepted my first full-time J.O.B!!! After finals, I'm headed to San Antonio to find a house and to somewhat settle in--which I am so very ready for. I can't wait to have some sense of a 'normal' life. No more having to think about the next step for a while...

I am also super excited because Brady and I will be so close to each other once I'm done with school. We have made it work with the distance, but I think that anyone can agree that it's not ideal. I'm so ready to be able to be with him without knowing that it will come to an end soon (as in either of us having to go back home).

Also, as far as the depression/anxiety goes...I'm happy to say that I rarely ever feel depressed anymore (almost never!! but I don't want to jinx myself here...) and I am able to control my anxious thoughts when they arise. With that being said, I have had literally no 'bad days' for the past 3-4 weeks. I use the words 'bad day' to describe my mental-emotional state..that's not to say that things don't go wrong here or there. I am just better equipped to handle to daily speed bumps.

Anyway, it's time for me to learn and study for my finals next week!! Take care and happy holidays!!

Home is where your heart is

I can relate to a lot of this week's Sunday Secrets. Here is the one I can relate to the most:

This is how I feel with Brady--I know I have told him this recently but I feel like I have come home :) It's neat to know that someone else feels 'at home' with their significant other, too.

Home Sweet HOME

A trip home was just what I needed. Let's just say that I feel somewhat "normal" for the first time in a long time, and when I say long-I mean it. I got some TLC from my amazing parents and got to see good friends. I got to have thought-provoking conversation. (Hah I find it funny that I just said that because I have been trying to rid myself of my thoughts) But, these conversations were about what I usually think about so it was nice to know that other people are thinking the same things I am.

Also, I got to see a college friend, Cruise Duke, play at Blaine's while I was in San Angelo. It was such great timing because I rarely ever go to SA so that just made the weekend that much better!! It was great to see him and I wish him nothing but good luck :)

This evening, when I got home my mom called to tell me she accidentally deleted her recording of Lady GaGa on the Today Show from the DVR (that she watches everyday) and proceeded to bawl. The poor thing:/ Hopefully, I can figure something out for her...

The main thing missing in all of this is BRADY! I am counting down the days until I get to see him. Actually right now we are still counting weeks because 4 weeks sounds better than 28 days or however many it is...I miss him so much!

Anyway, I hope your weekend was as good as mine was. I feel like a new person, and I LOVE IT!

Oh yeah, here are a couple pics from the weekend:

At Last...

Right now I feel like I have so much to say but I don't know where to start. This past week has been a really good one!! I have had my spells, but for the most part I've been content with where I'm at in my life. (Which, no doubt, I absolutely am...but sometimes my mind attempts to make me think otherwise--hence the reason why I'm here.)

About my mind--I've come to realize that I think WAY too much. This has been the root of all of my unhappiness, I guess you could say. I hate saying that I'm unhappy because I have nothing to be "unhappy" about but I just don't know of another word to use in its place to describe all the mix of emotions I feel on a daily basis.

I came across GlobalOne.TV yesterday as I was "stumbling" on the internet. (I say stumbling because I use StumbleUpon.com--check it out, it's neat.) Anyway, it's this online Spiritual Television website. I couldn't have come across this at a more perfect time. Just a few days ago I was telling to a friend that I wish I had more like-minded people in my life. Like-minded meaning nonreligious, more spiritual. So I feel like this website is exactly that..a place where people who think like me come together and exchange ideas and thoughts and whatnot. Granted I have hardly looked around on it (I came across it in the middle of class) so I have yet to really experience what it has to offer. The one thing I did see was that they have "Power of Now TV" so, naturally, I clicked on it. (I am currently reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle) It was a video of none other than Eckhart Tolle himself!! I was so excited...I decided to go to Eckart's website to check it out and holy cow!!! JACKPOT!!!! I can't believe this was my first time there. I think anyone reading should go check it out because there is so much good information there. I can't wait to explore!!

The purpose of this post was basically to tell you about those two websites (GlobalOne.TV and eckharttolle.com) because I was overjoyed when I found them that I had to tell someone!!! It's time to go to school now--only 4 more weeks of class after today :) but, who's counting?

In the meantime, I will be taking life one day at a time and trying to remain present and free from my mind.

Hello Hello

I've decided to start a blog!! Sometimes, I feel like I have so much to say and I don't know where to start so I figured a blog would be a good outlet for times when I feel like this. I don't really know where this will go or what exactly I will write about, but I'm excited.

I guess I can start off by telling you a little bit about myself. I am about to graduate with my Master's in Accounting from SMU in Dallas, TX. I went to undergrad at Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX. These past few years have been filled with trying to figure myself out. Who I am, what I stand for, what I want to do with my life, you know, all of those sorts of things. Sometimes I think I over-analyze things--to a fault. Yes, sometimes it is good to analyze things--but not to a point where it makes you crazy! I feel like this is what I do to myself. In fact, I KNOW this is what I do to myself. I have experienced mild depression & anxiety over this past year. I think it is attributable to my over-analyzing nature and the phase of life I am in, among other things. I tell you this because dealing with these things has forced me to turn within and find what truly makes me happy. And I want to share with you what I have learned. Hopefully that's what this blog will allow me to do...we will see :)

Anyway, there is WAY more to me than just where I went to school and the fact that I deal with depression & anxiety. Neither of these things define who I am. I suppose you will get a sense of that as time goes on...I hope that by me being able to share what I have learned through all of this will help others & in turn, help myself!

I am excited about this adventure & I hope to keep up with it. Soooo, if anyone is actually reading this...I would LOVE to know!! Also, I'm open to suggestions and ideas of what to write about. The sky's the limit!!!

Naturally me,

Carly