Itinerary Update {2} & Words Have the Power to Change Us // Honor by Jay Crownover

Hey again. Quick (ish) update on what's been going on. The blog has been a bit quiet lately as I've been finishing up my final few shifts on my contract 2 weeks ago (FINALLY!), moving back home with a road trip and stop in Nashville on the way, and then settling back home. Phew. It's been a busy few weeks! Negative out of the way first, some of you might know from Twitter I absolutely hated my last job. Hated. Hated with the fire of a thousand suns. I use that word so infrequently that when I say it, I mean it. I dreaded every day I had to walk in there because I feel like I got dumped on with the worst patients every single shift. Add to that the complete ignorance and lack of professionalism in management I have ever seen that after the first few weeks the quote I feature above was my thinking months before I actually read the words.


I said similar words to myself multiple times on this last job so what a coincidence that one of the first books I read after getting home had almost that exact quote in it. Per usual, Jay Crownover knows the way to my heart and mind better than I do and book karma strikes yet again. With that said, like I said in a previous post, I'm a little nervous to be home. I know in my heart this is where I'm supposed to be but I'm so worried about falling into an abysmal rut of monotony and blandness...

...but I'm making it a job for that not to happen. When I've come home before in between jobs it's been hard to get into a good routine. But this time I was having none of that. I already called my old kickboxing/MMA gym to start getting workouts in. I unpacked and set up all the skincare stuff I use (my skin can get pretty bad and I always seem to get lazy about it when changing locations). I went to Starbucks and actually did some blogging which I haven't been motivated to do in quote awhile. I've been reading amazing books. And most importantly, I'm seeing the few friends I still have at home (most stopped trying to make an effort to talk to me after I moved. Seriously, you figure out who your true friends are when you move away but I digress) and it was amazing. I spent my last Sunday afternooon hanging out with my two friends from college and her baby and other friends and it was uh-may-zing. It was like I had this clarity moment of 'yes, this is why you needed to come home, this is what it's all about.'

This doesn't sound that life-changing to you? That's ok. It is to me. All these little steps added up to me to make me feel motivated, inspired, and happy to be home. I realized while driving home--I had plenty of time to think, let me tell you--that *I* was the one that needed to make changed I wanted to see. I really need to make the effort to go out and be social and take the initiative to find new things at home that I can do that makes me happy. I know, I know, I'm sure it all sounds like duh, stupid, of course that's all it takes, Kelly. But I don't know, for some reason I was blaming external forces rather than myself for my restlessness.

Granted, I've always had a wandering gypsy soul so restlessness in one location will always happen to me. But I'm ready to stay put for awhile. It took me 2.5 years and despising my last job to make me realize it was time to come home. I feel like--for the time being--really ready to carve out a new piece of home for myself. Make it mine. And maybe, just maybe, put down some semi-permanent roots.

However, SPEAKING of my gypsy soul. Another new development, that does NOT included staying at home, is I planned a new trip! EEEEEP! At the end of September I'll be going to London (yes, again, sue me, it's my fucking city, o-KAY?!), Scotland, and Wales. I reeeeeeally wanted to go to Copenhagen but hotels and the city itself is so expensive I just could not find an affordable hotel for my lonesome. BUT I won't always be alone this time! Steph over at No BS Book Reviews is meeting me in London and we're doing Scotland together and then back to London. SO excited! Somebody that loves the history and culture of these two places (almost, don't tell her haha) as much as I do! It's gonna be amazing and I'm so excited to have an extended amount of time in my city to see and do stuff I haven't done before. And WALES?! OMG I cannot wait!! And Isle of Skye and the Highlands, I could DIE just thinking about *keyboard slam*.

So that's wha's new with me!

What's new with you guys?

Any travel plans or vacations planned?