30-day blogging challenge: Day 4

So it’s day 4 of my 30-day blogging challenge and I am supposed to write about my parents.

I have a little confession to make because honestly, this is one of the hardest posts I have ever had to write (I guess that’s why they call it a challenge). In some ways it was even harder than writing about Mr. BST. And that’s probably why it’s taken me so long to actually publish this post.

I guess I just didn’t know how honest I wanted to be. Sometimes, when you put your whole self out there for all the world to see it’s pretty scary. While some posts have been extremely challenging, most of my posts about dating have been kind of fun. It’s the only subject that makes you want to laugh, cry, and scream all at the same time.

But, well, my family, that’s different.

I’ve talked about my mom before. And honestly, I could write a whole book about how amazing my mom is. I mean seriously, when I wanted to move to NYC the woman volunteered to drive me here knowing she would have to drive all the way back all by herself. And she was incredibly supportive even though I know she didn’t want me to move so far away.

That’s the way she’s always been. She’s always wanted me to achieve everything and anything I’ve ever wanted. And more than anything she’s always believed I could. She’s pushed me when I thought I couldn’t be pushed and picked me up when I have been lower than low.

And I am not sure if I will ever be able to thank her enough.

Then there is my dad and this is where the hard part comes. I thought about not mentioning him in this post. But I feel like that kind of creates this idea that I don’t have a dad or that maybe I have never had a dad. And like my thoughts on Mr. BST, that just wouldn’t feel right to me.

But then if I kind of feel like if I don’t explain things then it makes it seem like something happened that didn’t. I mean, nothing tragic happened or anything. At the same time, I am just ready to write about it. I actually don’t think I could write about it because I wouldn’t know where to start. Maybe someday I will feel differently.

What I will tell you is that my dad was around for all my childhood and a good portion of my adult life. I mean, my parents were married until my mid-twenties.

We used to do things as a family. We went on vacations together and had holidays together. He saw me do many things -- like ride a bike, drive a car, graduate high school and college. I still know where he lives and he knows where I am (I think).

But, my dad and I don’t really see eye to eye. And somewhere, somehow we stopped knowing how to talk to each other. We stopped talking. And that’s really the core of the hard part -- I am not entirely sure how or why it happened.

I know it could be far worse. And as weird as it might sound, I think going through everything with my dad helped me to learn a lot about life. It helped me to learn a lot about myself. More than anything it helped me appreciate the things that I have in life and stop sweating the things that I don’t.

I'm going on vacation

Hopefully this will be me for the next few daysSo, I am taking a little vacation for a few days. For five whole days to be exact. I am not going anywhere exotic but just to spend a few days with my family. It’s the last extended weekend before my move so I thought it was the perfect time to get a few extra days in with my family.

I am pretty sure this will also be the weekend where it really hits me that I am about to pack up everything and leave the Midwest but that’s a whole other post.

Anyway, the vacation also means a few days away from the blog. Nothing major, I just won’t have a ton of internet access and, well, like I said spending time with family. And my hope is for some much needed rest and relaxation.

I’ll be back towards the end of next week with some awesome posts, maybe a few awesome stories and an awesome guest post (hopefully). I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday.

Things I learned over the weekend: Volume 8

We were so cute when we were little. And yes, that's me as a blonde.My sister came to visit me this past weekend. She actually came to help with my photo shoot and then we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out. 

We had planned to nosh at an awesome wine bar but ended up eating appetizers at the place next to it. Then we had this brilliant idea to go get wine (uh 3 bottles) and go back to my apartment to drink, nosh and watch really stupid horror movies.

It was truly awesome.

So, with all that said here are the things I learned over the weekend:

• I have an amazing sister. Seriously. My sister and I are total opposites. Like night and day. But we have been best pals for the longest time. She put aside everything this weekend just to come and help me with my photo shoot. Then she wanted to spend the rest of the weekend just hanging out with me. She’s one of the only people I know who enjoys spending a Saturday night watching horror movies. And she helps me to feel pretty even when I feel horrible about myself. Yep, definitely an amazing sister.

• Barry Watson is not the same person as Barry White. But it’s really funny when you confuse the two.

• You can get pretty drunk watching Piranha if you drink every time you see a pair of boobs or when something  is supposed to look real but actually looks really really fake.

• Bellinis are just as tasty as I remember.

• They should stop trying to make movies about piranha. Really. Just stop.

• Never underestimate the power of potatoes, cheese and bacon -- all mixed together.

• Like boyfriends, some friendships just aren't meant to be.

Things I learned over the weekend: Volume 8

Hopefully she doesn't hate me for posting her picture on hereThis past weekend was Mother’s Day. I was able to spend the whole weekend with my fabulous mom who came to Chicago to see me. So this weekend I really only learned one thing. Technically it’s something I already knew it was just reiterated over and over again to me (not that I would forget).

I learned that I have the most amazing mom on the planet.

I have a mom who will come to spend the weekend with me. She doesn’t care about what we do she just wants to spend the weekend with me.

I have a mom who doesn’t care about what I buy her. In fact she cares so little that she wants to go shopping with me and wants me to spend the money for her present on myself. I did buy her a pretty new dress and I took her out to dinner.

I have a mom who will walk around to every store in Chicago (or really any other place) just to try to find one thing that I really think looks cute on me. I have a body that is hard to fit - it’s always been that way and she’s always been patient.

I have a mom who reads my blog and sends the links out to everyone she knows. She’s that proud of what I do.

I have a mom who pushes me to do anything and everything I want to do. Even if I wanted to move as far away from her as a person could possibly get she would encourage me every step of the way. 

I have a mom who genuinely believes in me and knows I can succeed at anything I want to do. 

I have a mom who doesn't always understand who I am and doesn't always agree with the choices I make but who just lets me be me. She accepts me just the way I am.

I owe where I am today to my mom. Sure my talent and drive have given me the ability to be where I am. But anytime I wanted to quit or thought I couldn’t do something my mom was right there to tell me everything would be just fine. And it wasn’t something she just said to make me feel better; it was something she genuinely believed.

And she was right.

I thank her a million times but I am not sure if it will ever be enough. And I know it seems like she does all this just because she is a mom but trust me it's so much more than that. She does it because that's who she is. She does it because she genuinely wants to.

And I also know that this post is pretty cheesy and a whole lot of sappy but like I’ve said before I am working on appreciating what I have in my life. I know what it's like to have a parent who doesn't really care a whole lot (something I am sure I will talk more about later). My mom cares and I feel truly lucky to have that in my life.

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