Day 60: February 29, 2016

I just realized today that I'll be completing 366 days of pictures, thanks to the leap year. 

I know what you're thinking - not another post about coffee. But I promise, this one is completely legit. 

I wasn't even going to get Starbucks today, but the line was so short that I couldn't pass it up! Likely story, right? I get to the register to pay for my drink, and the barista ignores my card and swipes a different one that she had in her hand. The guy in front of me paid for my drink. 

I've always heard of that happening to people, but that's the first time it's happened to me. What a great day to randomly decide to get Starbucks!

Then I got up to my office to find that one of my coworkers brought in a bunch of Polish baked goods leftover from her baby shower. 

Free coffee and free desserts? Can't get much better than that! 

Day 59: February 28, 2106

We've been having some interesting weather here in Michigan. One day it will be 60 and sunny, and the next day will bring a blizzard. 

Today was a sunny 61 degrees, although it was awfully windy. But the sun and the warmth made it all worth it. 

I very much enjoyed my commute to work, including my 15 minute wait for the bus. The wind was a little intense since I was closer to the river, but you just can't beat the warm, sunny weather!

Here's to hoping spring comes soon!

Day 58: February 27, 2016

I am LOVING this new shirt I got on sale at Target. I was a little unsure about it but my friend talked me into it and there is no regrets. 

I got a ton of stuff on sale at Old Navy and Target the other day that I'm in love in. I also got some hand-me-down clothes from a couple of my friends, including 6 pairs of jeans, so it's basically like I got a whole new wardrobe. 

All of these new clothes are making me feel really good about myself. I even took a selfie for the occasion!

Day 57: February 26, 2016

Once again, I had a really good day off. My good days off are making up for my rough days at work. 

Ant spent last night and today with one of his friends, so I got to sleep sprawled out on the bed by myself. I actually slept amazingly, and was able to sleep in a little. 

When I woke up, I made some coffee and ate my leftovers from lunch yesterday. I caught up on Grey's Anatomy, and then I finished up Chelsea Does on Netflix. Let me tell you, Chelsea Handler does amazing work on Chelsea Does. I highly recommend it. 

I finished the afternoon with a documentary on the Vietnam War and enjoying some quiet in the house. 

Day 56: February 25, 2016

This is going to sound a little creepy. I've waited 8 years to spend this day with Anthony. All I've wanted to do since I met him/fell into puppy love with him was to spend his birthday with him. Either he was dating another girl, or I was dating another guy, but the timing never worked out for us to be together. Well, we're finally together and I've been able to celebrate his birthday with him. 

I took him out to lunch and we got Starbucks, then we ran some errands, and his dad took us all out to dinner. 

It was a really good day, and I'm glad I was able to make the day great for him. 

Day 55: February 24, 2016

I've been pretty concerned about my job security at work. A lot of people have disappeared from the office without any sort of explanation from management. I haven't been doing terribly at work, but I also haven't been feeling that great about my performance. 

It also doesn't help that my boss doesn't give feedback like he's supposed to...

That changed today when my boss finally had a one-on-one meeting with me. We went through three of my chats, and he only pointed out a couple things that I could improve on. He said that my chats are good overall, and even pulled one of my chats that he said was one of the best he's seen. 

My strengths are using probing questions, good conversational flow, acknowledging the customer's vehicle of choice, and showing enthusiasm in my chats.

This is what I've needed to feel better about my job performance.

Hopefully, I can grow and improve with what he's told me, and continue on my good path.

Day 54: February 23, 2016

I've had this quote of the day calendar for less than a week but I'm already loving it so much. It's been very inspiring to me and reading the quotes every day has been putting me in a better mood. 

Reading the quotes gives me a lot of thoughts, positive and meaningful thoughts. I've always wanted to be a blogger. I had a journal from the time I was 11 until I was 21. I see all of these bloggers that write good and significant blogs, and they have a huge following. 

I don't expect to have millions of followers, but I do want to make a difference in someone's life, big or small. I feel like I have things to say, and I want to say them, and I want them to be heard. I miss writing. I love my job, and I do quite a bit of writing, but I miss opinionated writing with creativity. 

My only concerns are 1. That no one will read or care about anything I write, and 2. I won't have time to keep up with it and slack on content, causing me to lose any followers I may eventually have. 

As the saying goes, you won't know until you try. I might as well give it a shot. It couldn't hurt! I'll start small, maybe one post a week, then grow from there. 

Wow, all of this from a little quote of the day calendar. 

Day 53: February 22, 2016

Today I told myself I'm going to take more steps every day. 

I walked to the bus stop by my own free will. And since I was early to work (like usual), I took a lap around the lobby before I went upstairs. I also set alarms on my phone to remind myself to go take a couple laps around the lobby during my breaks. 

I did go downstairs and toon a couple laps during both of my breaks. Since they were later in the evening, there wasn't really anyone around and it was actually pretty peaceful. 

This is the catwalk-type thing that connects the different buildings at my work. This was where I did my walking. 

Day 52: February 21, 2016

I got to see another one of my favorite people today. 

She and her roommate kindly donated a lot of their old clothes to me, and I can't wait to go through them all!

We ate and shopped and I spent too much money. Seems to be a theme in my life. 

Everything I bought was on sale, so at least there's that. I also got a lot of clothes that I can wear to work, which I needed!

I've been trying to stick to such a strict budget because I have so much that I desperately need to pay off. But I'm starting to give myself a little bit of wiggle room. I paid all of my bills and things I needed to pay for the week, so why not buy myself a couple nice things if I have some money left over? I've gone so long without having any money at all that I don't want to deprive myself anymore. 

Day 51: February 20, 2016

I finally added the finishing touches to my desk at work today. 

I got the last of the pictures that I wanted to hang up, and I bought a cute little quote of the day calendar. Now I get to spend the day looking at my favorite people and some inspirational quotes, will drinking out of my penguin tumbler. 

Day 50: February 19, 2016

One of my best friends, sorority sisters, and favorite person in the world came to visit me today. 

It's only been about two months since I've seen her last but it feels like it's been two years. I used to spend five days a week with her, and even though it's been months since I moved away from her, it's still a hard adjustment. 

We walked around the mall, got Starbucks, went the the craft store and Target, and got dinner and drinks. I was also able to get some stuff for Anthony's birthday that will actually be a surprise - unlike Christmas and half of his birthday presents. 

We tried this new restaurant near me, and we were not disappointed. It's called Blackfinn and it's a chain restaurant, but it's definitely high quality. 

We shared Chicken Parmesan Sliders as an appetizer, as well as Finn Fries, the restaurant's speciality seasoned fries with Parmesan ranch. Then I got Skillet Mac and Cheese with Blackened Chicken.

The best part though, was the Peach Sangria. Amazinggggg. 

Day 49: February 18, 2016

Today I spent a lot of money.   

It was my day off and I had just gotten paid. I needed to get a lot of stuff. Plus I got Anthony part of his birthday present. 

Ant and I went to lunch, then we drove out to his favorite computer store. I got him a couple of computer things for his birthday (don't ask me what they are, I have no idea). I also got a wireless keyboard and mouse for my computer. Since my computer is hooked up to my tv and I basically lay in bed to use it, the wireless stuff is a godsend. 

Then we went to 3 different stores trying to find a desk for him. By the third store, I was annoyed and cranky, so it's a good thing that he found what he wanted. We also found a really cute bookcase that was on sale so we got that too. 

After a quick stop at the grocery store, we headed home. I started laundry and Ant started putting everything together. It turned out really well, and now I finally have some more places to put my stuff. 

Please ignore the mess that has already been made. 

Day 48: February 17, 2016

I met an interesting man at the bus stop today. He asked me if I had noticed that it's been a lot windier in the past couple of years. No, I clearly have no noticed this. Is that something that people pay attention to? He rambled on about it for a couple minutes, and I just told him that it was interesting and that I'll pay more attention to the wind. 

After that, he told me that I had a very pretty smile. I thanked him, but then I sort of brushed it off. 

I don't like my smile very much at all, and my coffee addiction has turned my teeth a strange color. But I also just find it difficult to accept compliments about my appearance. There are times when I'm feeling extremely self-conscious and a compliment about my clothes or hair is greatly appreciated. As I am continuing to become more comfortable with my body and my appearance, it's getting harder to appreciate compliments about it. I'd more often rather get a compliment about my knowledge of a subject or my creativity, something unrelated to looks. 

I still did appreciate the kind words from a stranger; I even documented my pretty smile on snapchat for my friends to see. 

Disclaimer: this is not my legitimate smile. 

Day 47: February 16, 2016

Today was the absolute worst day that I've had at my job so far. My chats were not on par, I didn't meet my goal for chats, plus I was tired and cranky. 

The one thing that got me through the day was the Dove chocolate that I thankfully remembered to grab on my way out the door. 

Day 46: February 15, 2016

It's days like today that make me thankful that I live 60 seconds away from a restaurant that is amazingly delicious. 

Anthony was kind enough to get me soup and salad from the restaurant for me to take to work today. It made making me lunch a lot easier. 

Day 45: February 14, 2016

Saying I'm grateful for my boyfriend is an understatement. Now I don't want to sound like one of those girls, but he does deserve a lot of credit. 

He's basically laid off right now, which is stressful and irritating, as I'm trying to support both of us and also dig myself out of debt. But I know he couldn't be more appreciative of what I've been doing for him. He never goes a day without thanking me for what I'm able to do for him. 

I'm also equally appreciative of him.  He let me live with him when I was homeless and had nowhere else to go. I don't know if I could ever repay someone for something like that. 

When I'm at work for 40 hours a week plus the commute, he'll clean the house, make dinner, do laundry. When I come home at the end of the day, he'll make me food and tuck me in when I go to bed. 

Whatever little money that he does have, he always tries to spend it on me, like with the Valentine's goodies he got me. 

Day 44: February 13, 2016

To be completely honest - I think the idea of Valentine's Day is stupid. You're supposed to love me and do nice things for me 365 days a year, as am I. 

I try to go out of my way to do nice things for all of the people in my life, regardless of if its a holiday. 

Despite my feelings on Valentine's Day, I'll take any extra reasons to do something cute and nice for the people I love. The cheesier, the better. This overrated Hallmark holiday is no different. 

Ant and I decided to not make a big deal out of it, especially since I work. I think we're planning on getting lunch one day during the week, but that's still TBD. However, I had always planned on making him something cute. The idea I had also just happened to go with one of his favorite candies, so it worked out well. 

Day 43: February 12, 2016

I spent today with my babe on a much needed day off. 

We both got hair cuts, after many, many long months of unruly hair (him) and split ends (me). Then we got lunch, went grocery shopping, got Starbucks, then went thrifting. 

We ended up taking a nap when we got home, which was exactly what I needed. Then we had dinner and lounged around. Now he's in nerd mode playing a game and I'm stuffing my face and watching Parks and Rec. Great way to end the day. 

Below is our post-hair cut selfie. I only got a trim so you can't tell in the picture, but Ant clearly got a lot cut off. Best $20 I ever spent. 

Day 42: February 11, 2016

Side note: I'm writing this on my new phone! With 4G! Because my crappy work wifi won't connect. Again. 

Back to business here. 

Yesterday at work, everybody in my department got their desks moved around and combined with the people from the other marketing support department, which is actually combining with my department. Weird and confusing. But the point of shifting everyone around was to condense everyone to make room for new hires that are coming in soon. 

It's weird being over here, mostly because we're all separated by cubicles, and because no one ever talks. My department would NEVER be quiet; people were always talking and asking questions and helping each other with customers. For the extreme introvert in me, that sounds terrifying, but it was actually quite nice. 

While the cubicles cut everyone off from each other, I'm excited to finally have an actual desk with a little file cabinet! And I have these nice little walls that I can decorate! 

I also have a pretty good view, as my desk backs right up to the window. 

Day 41: February 10, 2016

Today, I got my new phone. This means no more government phone, no more waiting for the crappy wifi at work to decide to connect, no more inconvenience. 

I've been waiting for this day for months, and anxiously tracking my package through UPS for days. 

I can finally call people without worrying about running out of minutes. I can text people on a qwerty keyboard instead of with complicated t9. I can go on social media while I'm out and about without frantically searching for wifi. 

I basically consider this freedom. 

Day 40: February 9, 2016

Let me just preface this by saying I know I talk about coffee a lot. Coffee is my life. Coffee can make or break my day. Today, it happened to make it. 

This is my third coffee today. The only Starbucks though, the rest was made at home. Getting this Starbucks was actually kind of miraculous - the line when I get there is always HORRENDOUS and way too long, but I caught it today at a very slow time. Amazing! 

All of this coffee may seem excessive (I'm convinced I have an addiction), but I've had a rough morning. I woke up sweating from being so hot and found out that the power was out, and that it had snowed over night. I have no idea if the two were connected but I'm sure we can assume as much. 

For the average person, this probably wouldn't be a huge ordeal. HOWEVER, I forgot to charge my phone last night, I didn't know if I could check to see if I still had to work, I didn't know if I'd be able to get to the bus stop, and I didn't know if the bus would even run today. Additionally, I took a shower at 1:00 am after I got home from work and threw my wet hair in a bun under the assumption that I could blow dry it and style it in the morning. No power = no blow dryer. ALSO, no power means NO COFFEE MAKER. So tragic. 

So I'm panicking and using the little phone battery I have left to text my mom and ask her if she could find out if the buses were still running. 

*Side note: I've been living off of a free government phone because of my lack of employment. I have my old iPhone that I can use when connected to wifi but no power means no wifi. 

After much panic, the power finally came back on. I made coffee, ate some food, blow dried my hair, made some coffee, and went on with my life. 

I got to work without any problems, and found the Starbucks gold of short lines, allowing me to enjoy my vanilla latte. 

Day 39: February 8, 2016

I've been trying to live a healthier lifestyle - more water, more physical activity, better mental health. I've been trying to drink more water. I've never drank a lot of pop or juice, usually water, but never enough water.

I used to keep track of how much water I drank a day, but it got to be too much. Now I just keep refilling my water bottle when it's empty.

I know I'm not drinking the amount of water that my body needs, but it feels good to be getting there. 

Day 38: February 7, 2016

My aunt and uncle spoil me. 

When I started college, they sent me cards and care packages, and we talked every week, more than I talked to my parents. 

They came to my graduation and bought me a bottle of champagne. They've given me money for every holiday for the past couple years because they know how much I've been struggling financially. They even disregarded their lease and faced potentially being evicted so I could live with them when I had no place else to go. 

My uncle spends a lot of weekends cooking in large quantities, most of which he ends up bringing over to me. 

Today they brought me chili, pasties, French onion soup, chocolate covered strawberries, and some Valentines candy. 

I only wish I could repay just a small amount of what they've done for me. 

Day 37: February 6, 2016

After a month of being employed and not spending my paycheck a very wisely, I finally completed my budget. That might sound lame and nerdy to most people but it's something I live for. I also used to be the treasurer of my student org so making budgets is like an art form for me. 

The only thing that sucks about my beautiful budget is that I can't make one for my boyfriend. Because he wouldn't be able to stick to it to save his life, and that drives me crazy. 

At least I get to look at my color-coded masterpiece budget. 

Day 36: February 5, 2016

This week has been truly terrible, but today was just what I needed. I was able to sleep in a little bit and snuggled a lot. 

Ant and I went out to lunch, and then I got a coffee. I did some online shopping and Ant and I looked for a desk for his birthday present. Then we went grocery shopping and I got some stuff for my lunches for the week. We also stopped and got some McDonalds, as is pictured above. I had a serious craving for some fountain Sprite. 

Today was the laid back day with bae that I needed. I won't have a day off for a week and then my work schedule changes and my life will feel off balance again. But at least I had today. 

Day 35: February 4, 2016

I've been DYING for Starbucks all week. There's one in my building at work so it's super convenient, but the lines have been TERRIBLE. I've gone 4 times in the last 4 days to see if I could beat the lines and make it to work in time but it just didn't happen. 

Finally, today, I had a breakthrough. The line was still pretty long but I chanced it and it all worked out okay. I finally got the white chocolate mocha I've been craving since Monday, though they didn't have any bagels like I wanted. 

This Starbucks turned my week around. 

Day 34: February 3, 2016

This week has been rough. But I'm hoping it will improve from here. 

Today hasn't been the worst, but I'm recovering from an awful day yesterday. 

One of my friends, who listened to all of my troubles from the past 2 days, sent me a Starbucks gift card this morning. I almost cried. What did I do to deserve such good friends?

In the midst of my wonky day, I got to eat a lunch made with love by my boyfriend. It was the lunch I was supposed to have yesterday that I left at home. It was just what I needed today. 

 

Day 33: February 2, 2016

Today has been... Difficult.

I traded shifts with one of my co-workers so I went in at 9:30 instead of 3. I thought I set my alarm early enough that I would have enough time to get ready, eat, make coffee, and catch the bus. But I did not. 

I had to change my outfit because my shirt was too tight, I didn't get to eat anything, I couldn't find my boots. I did get my coffee made and into a travel mug and was good to go!

But then, I get on the bus, and I realize I left my lunch sitting on the kitchen table. No biggie, I have a couple dollars on my card. I'll just get something cheap from the food court at work. 

I get to work and check the balance on my card and it's negative. So I'm at work with no food and no money for food. And I ate the rest of my snacks at work yesterday. Luckily I was able to grab a granola bar on my way out the door. 

I knew I would get to work early so my plan was to get Starbucks. It was then that I realized I could buy something at Starbucks for lunch with my gift card. 

So I'm at work, with no food, starving, and low blood sugar, not to mention I'm exhausted from getting 4 hours of sleep last night in addition to my traveling. To add on to that, there's a group of my co-workers that only talk to each other and are very excluding to the other people at work. They were talking to each other literally nonstop all afternoon, including their extended list of inside jokes that they exchange with each other very loudly even though they're all within 5 feet of each other. 

That really boosted my mood. But the one thing that helped cheer me up throughout the day was the jar I got from Honey Dukes at HP World, and the cutest little Starbucks gift card that my friend gave me, which are conveniently and adorably displayed on my desk. 

Day 32: February 1, 2016

Happy February!

Today was an interesting day. 

We had to leave Florida today, sadly and unwillingly. Everything was fine in the beginning of the day: we got to the airport on time with a cheap Uber ride, we went through security with no problems, the plane ride was quick and smooth, and our flight arrived early. 

We take an Uber back to my friend's house, which we were then supposed to head straight to my work and she would drop me off. 

She tries to start her car and IT WILL NOT START. Then we find out it will take an hour for AAA to get there to jump her car, making me late for work. 

I'm frantic and holding back tears. Being late gives me the worst anxiety and I very much pride myself on being punctual. 

I finally found someone to take me to work. One of my very dear friends left her job, drive 30 minutes to pick me up, drove me 40 minutes to work, and then 40 minutes back to her house. I seriously could not be more grateful for her and all that she has done for me in the past. 

I got to work only 10 minutes late, but my anxiety was still through the roof. But the second I walked in, all of my co-workers exclaimed that they missed me and were glad I was back and asked me questions about my trip. It was incredibly heartwarming and it helped take the edge off. 

Since I was late to work and had just come from the airport, I didn't have a lunch or any time to run down to the food court to get something. Instead I ran down to CVS during my break and found what I could to make a somewhat decent lunch. 

The result was: Easy Mac, a little veggie tray, and some trail mix. Not the worst lunch I would have had, but also not the best. Here's to doing better tomorrow!