Thankful

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On this Thanksgiving day, I want to give thanks for...

 - My brand new sweet baby boy
 - My hubs
 - My parents and in-laws
 - My family... and friends (which are like my family)
 - My dogs
 - Our first home
 - Good health
 - Football
 - Another shot at blogging on J&BT
 ... and all of YOU!

What are you thankful for?

Rivalry Week

 

I'm loving this week and it's only Tuesday! Although it's Rivalry week in the world of college football, there is still a lot of love and thankfulness to celebrate throughout! Here's a sneak peak at our list of events:

// RIVALRY WEEK [Nebraska vs. Iowa]
This week, Nebraska plays the undefeated Iowa! We are looking for another big upset, just like when we beat Michigan State just a few short weeks ago. Iowa is a great team and they typically dominate in their run game (from my perspective)... but Nebraska is also a dominate team. We are coming off of a bye week this past weekend, which is a great thing that our players and coaches had much needed rest to recover from the Rutgers game. We need to win this game in order to be bowl eligible, so I'm just gonna keep some positive and happy thoughts in my mind. I am totally looking forward to this game on Friday afternoon... hopefully we'll burn some calories jumping and screaming!

I'm also excited to watch some good ol' rivalry football on Saturday. Another game that I'll be rootin' on is the one and only Trojans! I know we have an excellent shot at beating the Bruins, as we'll be looking for some payback after our 'fluke' loss last year.

// FAMILY
I love last minute planning, especially when it entails family coming to town for the holiday! I am so excited to be hosting during a special time, and I am so THANKFUL for this time that our baby boy gets to spend with our family!

// THANKSGIVING
This holiday is probably one of my faves... of course the eating is a bonus, but I love the act of cooking and prepping while enjoying some family laughter. Growing up, we made it a custom to give thanks to each other and speak about what we were most thankful for that year. I may be far away from home, but I will ensure that my son is exposed to many of our family customs, especially this one on Thanksgiving!

// BLACK FRIDAY
I appreciate that many stores are publicising their steal of a deal promotions online. In previous Thanksgiving nights, we would spend the night waiting in line right after Thanksgiving dinner in hopes of snatching TV's, laptops, clothes and other things we really didn't need but were too good to pass by. This year, I'll be watching sales online from the comfort of my own home (or stadium because you know that our big game is on this very day)!

Any plans in store for the short work-week ahead of you?

Honesty

If I'm being honest and candid with myself, I can say that things are different in my life than where I was just a short year ago:

   - Instead of being home in Cali renting an apartment in Redondo Beach, we now live in Nebraska where we are first time home owners!

   - Rather than going to work every morning, I'm a MOM, staying at home to raise our bundle of joy until I'm ready to go back to the workforce... (WOW! Now if these first 2 points don't scream out adult, I don't know what does)!

   - We used to live just a hop, skip and jump away from our family in LA, and now we're a 5-hour (or so) flight away from them.

   - We were so close to the beach that we can smell the ocean from our home, but now we are FAR from the coast and instead live where the cornfields grow wildly.

   - I used to bleed cardinal and gold full time at USC, and now I am learning to share the blood of scarlet and cream of the Huskers.

Needless to say, if I'm honest with myself, I miss where I was a year ago. Some of those things just felt so right. Again, if I'm honest with myself, I also LOVE where I am today and wouldn't ask to take back any moment of this transition in my life. I'm learning to live differently. To just BE in a different place. Being honest with myself means staying true to myself, as William Shakespeare quotes.

I challenge you to stop masking any honest feelings you may have. Share them with yourself in a journal, or with someone else, and celebrate that honesty because you're worth the celebration!

Baby Mobile

Being away from the family and home is difficult... being away from the family and home during the holidays is just a tad lonely... being away from family and home while having our first child saddens me at times. Though we are embracing new adventures in Nebraska with such sincere people, I like to instill things into our routines that remind me and introduce my son to our family (which also helps fill that gap of being around the family)!

One memorabilia that reminds us of family is attached to the crib! My sister-in-law totally customized a mobile for her first born nephew which he absolutely loves to stare at and listen to. She added more diverse animals to the mix... she attached some siapo to the top (traditional Samoan material made from tree bark) which I LOVE... and she added a picture of mommy and daddy that just topped off this masterpiece! My little boy absolutely loves to relax and at times sleep to his precious mobile that his Aunty Clara made for him.

What things have you customized for baby in the nursery?

P.S. See that gorg tiny pillow with baby's day TWO picture on it? Another piece that is customized and made by another family member, Aunty Karen. I often find my son staring at himself on that pillow, which I will continue to remind him who made that beauty!

FREE Learning

E-learning has become such a hot commodity in today's society! I'm sure many of you are aware what the E stands for, but in the slim chance you don't, it stands for electronic. To sum it up, e-learning takes place primarily through the form of a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Whether you're a student, or a professional in the workplace, or are seeking out a career... you can start taking advantage of FREE learning at your fingertips now!

Although there are so many resources you can begin to search and learn about any type of topic, I'll share with you some of my top faves!

// LinkedIn: [lynda.com]
LinkedIn is one of the best social media accounts you can have. In addition to searching for jobs and professionals that you connect with, you can also find some great articles about endless topics. Once you start following specific companies to your liking, you will see that your news feed consists of articles that highlight the latest updates, trends and much more regarding that industry. One of my fave companies to follow and read the latest and greatest on is Google! Articles vary from research to blogs... all which can be useful in the e-learning world! [NOTE: if you opt to invest some money into your learning and development, lynda.com has thousands of courses, videos, articles on a multitude of topics that are suitable for the workplace. Lynda.com even has elective types of courses that you can select from!]

// TED
TED talks consists of amazing experienced professionals who give passionate and informative talks on any given topic. You can watch a 20 minute talk, or an hour talk... all depending on what your preference is on that topic. These presenters aren't just "presenting"- they tell stories from their personal lives that helps you connect on a much deeper level. Case in point with one of my faves, Brene Brown. Her talk on The Power of Vulnerability has got to be one of the BEST talks that I have ever connected with. So much so that I purchased a few of her audio books to hear more about her experience with shame and vulnerability. Not sure where to begin with your search? Check out the newest videos, or trending topics on the home page!

// YouTube
YouTube is another great place to search for any type of topic to watch and/or listen videos on. In addition to experienced professionals speaking on a particular topic, you can also find role-play videos, animated videos, audio videos, and others! Search interview tips, how to effectively communicate with your manager, professional coaching... just to name a few!

It turns out you don't have to necessarily pay an arm and a leg to learn. Take advantage of the free learning that you can search through!

What are your fave e-learning resources?

Un-Becoming...

How many of you have ever thought you just HAD to finish what you started? Not because you actually had desired to do so... but because you just felt you had to keep going since you already began to take steps towards something?

I went through school non-stop (like most of my colleagues did). In my senior year of undergrad school, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do for work and figured that I still had some self-discovery to do. I thought that graduate school would open many doors of opportunity for me... I would be able to learn more about psychology in ways I didn't have a chance to while earning my Bachelor's Degree. I also knew that if I were to take a break and work full-time after I graduated, it would be difficult for me to return to graduate school (at least that's what people around me made it seem like). SO, I applied for graduate school in a Master's program, and BOOM! I started that Fall semester.

THEN... when I was in my freshman year of graduate school, one of my professors engaged in a conversation about why those of us who were enrolled in the Master's Program were not enrolled in the Doctorate Program. Her points totally made sense... we were all in the same classes (until later on), and she pointed out that we would benefit SO much more for putting in the extra 2 (or so) years to work on a dissertation and complete a Doctorate degree, especially when we would be looking to start our career.

Hence when I decided to switch over to the PhD program! Before I knew it... I was in school for another 5 years to finish up my Doctorate degree. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for that opportunity I worked very hard for, and I really don't regret pursuing grad school at all.

BUT there was not one time that I actually stopped to think or discover or ponder on what I was deeply truly passionate about. Sure I worked throughout all of undergrad and graduate school, but I can't say they were ever jobs or internships that I was so passionate about that I couldn't imagine doing anything else in life.

Like I said.. I don't regret any of my time in college. However, I'm certainly doing some self-discovery as of late in my career and life to think about what motivates me... what drives me to learn until I'm blue in the face... and I am totally okay with that, even if it strays from what I thought I would be devoting my career to while I was in school!

I encourage you all to think about your passions and how you might try to pursue them if you are able to! The million dollar question to ponder on is...What makes your HEART sing?

Roca Berry Farm

The Hubs and I wanted to take our son to his very own pumpkin patch this year for Halloween, not because we thought he would have the time of his life only being 7 weeks old, but because I selfishly wanted to snap a few of those cute little pictures of him lying against those huge pumpkins. Needless to say it was 32 degrees that Friday morning, and you had to take a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch because it was sort of a distance to walk... yea... we opted to skip out on the pumpkins that day [it also didn't help that baby was nice a toasty warm against Daddy in his Boba wrap and slept the entire time we walked around]!

Instead we walked around what ended up being a cute little Halloween landmark, full of haunted houses, bikerides, a jumbo air-jumper, and many other things to keep the little ones occupied! This place, Roca Berry Farm, was a hit for the little ones, and definitely a place I can see our son running around and having a grand ol' time in the years to come!

Who would've thought that a real deal pumpkin patch was lying in the backyard of this cornfield state of Nebraska?!