I love math!

I've come to the conclusion that I love math.

What I realized the other day was that I always loved math and that I let society convince me that a right brain thinker (creative) can't be a left brain thinker (logical).

So in high school and college I  focused on developing my right brain and made excuses to be lazy with the left side of my brain.

I saw that other people were able to get away with it.
Well, no more herding mentality for me!

Left side of the brain, I love you.

I love math and science and I'm not going to make excuses to ignore you anymore.

Khan Academy, here I come!

The end.

Work that changes the world

I overheard my boss saying this today and I wrote it down. Truly inspiring...

We should stop asking,

“What can this job do for me?”

We need to ask what my job can do for the world.

You need to find the passion that will get you up in the morning to go to work.

The type of work that makes a difference in the world and that is why we do what we do.

Vintage pearl ring

Kevin got me this darling vintage pearl ring a couple weeks ago.

I wear it nearly every day.

He has such great taste!

The train

Going to work on the train has been an interesting experience. It's a great way to start the day and end the day. It's restful and relaxing.

Another thing about commuting to work on the train is that there's an underground culture that comes with it.

You start to recognize the same people over and over and get used to them. You guess their stories so much you think you know them and they look at you like they know you too.

On fridays people bring appetizers and wine to celebrate the end of the work week.

We are from all walks of life, from a wide variety of careers, coming together on the train united by the simple act of commuting on the train.

It's amazing how much life pushes is to relate with one another. To become a community despite our best efforts to avoid it.

My Masters Thesis Survey - Fashion as Communication

Please help me by taking this quick survey for my master's thesis.

Thanks in advance!


Click here to take survey

Sunflower

I got these for Christmas.

They make me happy.

Second day on the job

So, the second day on the new job went so much better. I had an idea of what I was doing and made some great contributions.

I felt like I mattered and could help make a difference in the world.

I enjoy the work and my colleagues. I am a PR superwoman of sorts on a super team, promoting people and products that save lives.

It's an amazing thing.

I'm thankful for the oppprtunity and am interested to see how I can grow.

Thank you for prayers and support.

Grace

Underdressed on my first day

I am painfully underdessed on my first day of work. Yikes!

Last time I was in the office, a girl told me that they dressed casually. She was in jeans. It was also a friday.

I can not believe that I wore jeans today. Just going to work it and try not to let it get to me.

Confidence, Grace. Confidence.

Oh, and don't forget to breath!

Hiatus

I've had a wonderful week of rest this past week before I start my new job.
It was so nice to take some time to clean the house, relax, work on my thesis, and step back to contemplate what the next year may look like.
At the new PR firm, I'm going to have 5 clients instead of one and the strategies are going to be very similar to what I did at my old job. But the field is different and it's going to take some time to learn the terminology.
I am so excited to start this next phase in my life.
On Wednesday, Kevin and I went to the beach with Hope and Jordan and then we went into the city to my favorite restaurant "Carmines". It was so fun and relaxing.
I am so blessed to have had this week to rest and refocus.
Grace

Beanie Babies and generosity

Kevin told me this sweet memory he had from childhood and it broke my heart, reminding me how lucky I am to have found him:

When Kevin was younger his three favorite stuffed animals were three beanie babies. He remembers their names and everything. He took them everywhere with him.

One day his school had a beanie baby drive for kids in need.

Kevin, without hesitation, took two out of the three of his favorite toys out of his backpack and gave them to the drive for the kids in need.

He remembers, when he got home, his mom was upset with him because they were some of the original beanie babies, were in relatively good condition, and could have been worth something some day (and many of those types of beanie babies were worth something one day... up to $1000 at auction for some).

Kevin remembers shrugging and playing with the one beanie baby he saved. He remembers thinking to himself, "Why have 3 beanie babies when all I need is one?"

This story brought me to tears because it is so Kevin. He gives without a thought of himself and is a purist in every way, shape, and form. He is so generous and never brings attention to himself for it.

I so love this guy and am honored to wake up every morning next to him.

Gracie

A procrastination post on the topic of procrastination

I would not consider myself a procrastinator, by any means.

Normally, I set myself out to doing something and I get it done.

Distraction is not normally an issue for me.

Well, this wonderful trait has not been something that has defined my Master's thesis writing experience.

I rather do ANYTHING other than work on this paper.

Including: cooking, cleaning (a popular alternative), feeding indoor plants, coming up with impossible business plans, rearranging furniture, and starting a new job.

Here's to finishing this paper somehow!

Wish me luck,

Grace

Up a mountain in Guatemala on a motorcycle...

Sarah Smith and I went to Guatemala together the summer after my freshman year in college and we lived with a host family in the city of Antigua while we did a "government internship" and "studied" conversational Spanish and the history of Latin America (i.e. had a busy vacation while we soaked in the culture).

Antigua is well known for their coffee beans and their vibrant indigenous culture.

Our host family lived next to a gym, so we heard techno music all day long from the time we woke up in the morning to the time we went to sleep. We called it the background music to our lives.

One of my favorite experiences from our time there was when we hopped the tour guide's motorcycle randomly when we met up with him at the city center and he drove us up the Guatemalan countryside.

Sarah held on to me so tight!

He raced up the windy mountain and a police car started chasing us. So he went faster and faster.

Sarah and I were scared, but trusted that he knew what he was doing.

All of a sudden the police car started driving on the left side of the road and began racing us to the top of the mountain!

We were in shock. Turns out they were friends of the tour guide. Ha!

It was our last day in Antigua and it could not have been a better one.

What a great experience to see the country we so grew to love one last time.

Here's to more adventures in exciting places!

Grace

P.S. Sarah has reminded me that the tour guide's name was Hugo. :)

Stationary Bicycle

Life is moving fast and I'm doing everything I can to keep up with it.


Full thesis is due in a month and graduation is in two months.


On top of it all, I was offered a terrific job in Stamford and the training is going to be intense.


I'm trying to adjust to all these huge transitions and to take them in stride, but the unfamiliar is so scary.
Most of me knows I'm ready for it. Yet, I can't help but to nurse and rehearse my worries.


Honestly, there's only one thing that can calm me down in times like these... 

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

 ¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal, 
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

 ⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.¹³

I need to trust. Trust that these new things are going to be great for me. 

I need to be open. To grow and learn new things in a fresh environment.

I need to believe. The skills I have will help me in this potentially arduous process.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Wish me luck!

Gracie

The World's Most Profound Sayings

The World’s Most Profound Sayings :)

Enjoy!

1. The Past is Prologue

2. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

3. He has an Instinct for the Capillary

4. Fish and Visitors Start to Stink after 2 Days

5. Payback is a B****

6. There is No Right Way to do the Wrong Thing

7. Less is More

8. Lead or Get Out of the Way

9. When Someone Says it’s Not about the Money, It’s about the Money

10. I used to be Indecisive, Now I’m not so Sure

11. When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going

12. Keep Your Friends Close, and Your Enemies Closer

13. 99% of Lawyers give the Rest a Bad Name

14. Success is 1 Part Inspiration and 9 Parts Perspiration

15. Silence is Golden

16. Carpe Diem (Live for the Day)

17. All You’ve Got is Your Health

18. Half the People you know are Below Average

19. Borrow Money from Pessimists … They Don’t Expect it Back

20. The Sooner you fall Behind, the More Time you have to Catch Up

21. People Rise to the Level of their Incompetence

22. The only Certainties are Death and Taxes

Others…

1. KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid
2. Honesty is the Best Policy
3. Hope for the Best and Deal with What Comes
4. Clothes Make the Man
5. An Elephant Doesn’t Catch a Mouse
6. Kill Them With Kindness
7. Patience is a Virtue
8. Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Makes a Man Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise
9. Money Does Not Grow on Trees
10. A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine
11. Love is Always the Answer
12. It Takes Two to Tango
13. Dwell in Possibility
14. Be the Change You Wish to See in The World
15. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
16. Courage is Grace Under Pressure
17. Nothing Can Be Said to be Certain, Except Death and Taxes
18. I Destroy My Enemies When I make Them My Friends.
19. Time is Money
20. Every Ending is a New Beginning

21. Knowledge is Power
22. Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work
23. Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk
24. Don’t Judge a Book by it’s Cover
25. Turn Those Lemons into Lemonade

Vermontingness

When Kevin and I realized our weekend plans changed this past Friday, we took a last minute trip with some dear friends of ours to Vermont.

When got home from work on Friday, we packed for the weekend in about 10 minutes. Then we raced off to New Haven to meet up with our friends to head up to VT. The drive up was a treacherous one. The windy and hilly roads were difficult to drive in, but we finally got to the house around 1am. We stayed up until around 4am talking and just having a good time.

The next day we went to the store and picked up food for the weekend and made a tasty breakfast.

The weather was gorgeous so we went for a walk. The view was glorious. :)

The boys played music with their bottles. 

The girls stood by laughing, talking, and taking in the view.

So much love.

The rest of the night we cooked food and played games. It was so nice to have some time with some old friends and some new friends to talk about life and thoughts about the world. Plus, the setting was amazing.

Today we woke up, made some "Texas Pancakes", and went shopping. I picked up my first Kate Spade bag and an adorable Kate Spade scarf! They are so cute and I love it.

It is nice to be home now with some great memories from the weekend to ready ourselves for this busy upcoming work week.
xoxo
Grace

P.S.


I had such a wonderful surprise today... my sweet friend Krysta sent us a beautiful house warming gift! A darling cake stand. I can't wait to use it! :)

Hi, I'm Grace and I shiver when I'm nervous.

Alright, I have no idea why, but when I'm nervous about something, I shiver.

It's almost like I'm cold or something.

So, I looked it up.

Turns out it is my nervous system preparing for the thing I'm nervous about...
preparing for something new and exciting.

It's a survival mechanism.

The technical term is - a psychosomatic response to emotional stimuli.

Brrr.... So cold!

What happens when we sleep?

I recently watched a documentary called "The Science of Sleep".

This documentary discussed what our brain goes through from the time we lay our head down to sleep to the time that we wake up. It offered excellent insight into the way our brain helps keep us alive.

One interesting discovery sleep scientists made was that our dreams and nightmares help us in our daily survival. When we do not have enough stress in the day, our brain often makes up for that while we sleep and we can have very stressful or busy dreams. On the flip-side, if we are overloaded with stress in the day, our brain helps us cope by providing horrible dreams for us to deal with, so that our brain can physically handle the overload of stress when we are awake.

It is amazing that so much good can come from horrible dreams. Often, our dreams help us see angles that we may have never seen before in the day time. Dreams and nightmares say something about where we are in our lives and can often give us tips for survival.

When I was a nanny, a sweet little 2 year old woke up from a nap. She told me in whatever language she could about her dream. She had a nightmare that her teddy bear lost her mommy in the park and it made her very sad. I gave her a big hug and assured her that everything was okay. It was very clear that her little brain was building up her strength and ability to know what to do if she ever lost her mommy in the park, to help her cope with the stress. Our brains are an amazing thing.

Additionally, when we sleep we go through cycles. There are 3 stages calles NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep which help us gradually fall deeper and deeper asleep (5 min, 10-20min, then 3rd stage) until we hit the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage which is the stage where we dream.

When we wake up mid-REM, it actually triggers the depression part of our brain, which is why waking up is often hard to do. So, feeling awful when we wake up is actually a natural thing. This is why it is also important to only take 10-20 minute naps during the day because they are far more refreshing for the brain than any longer naps and why it's also important to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night.

Hope this topic interested you as much as it interested me. Have a great day today and a wonderful REM tonight knowing that your brain is working in your favor to help you get through daily tasks.

Gracie