ordinarily extraordinary

Hello, world! Let me start by apologizing for not posting any blogs last week. You know how you get so excited and have a plan for everything, but then life happens and you don't follow through? It isn't fun. I got discouraged last week for a number of reasons. Class assignments, exams, not blogging, and, of course, my impending future. Usually when I get overwhelmed, I do things that help me feel better like painting my nails or drinking a cut of tea. One of my favorite things to do to feel better is watch a Disney movie (the live-action Cinderella, Pocahontas, and Beauty and the Beast are my current go-to's...) I find everything about them inspiring and motivating, especially when life get's dark. From the character development to the story-line to the music, I always feel loads better after I watch a Disney movie. Here are my Top 5 most inspirational Disney songs: 1)  A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Cinderella How can I not start this list with the ...

So much for me doing daily blog posts... I got so busy with errands and classwork that I didn't give myself the time to blog. But have no fear, I'm back for Faithful Friday! As a Catholic, I like to frequent Confession. Something I constantly find myself confessing is my relentless need for control. My desire for control is something that I have to work on every day, but my priest gave me a great idea. Something that I, as well as most of the world's population, have with me all the time is my phone. Social media, email, class work, texting, it's basically another brain. He suggested that I have a picture as my background that reminds me of God's love for me. So I did. And now, whenever I stress about something and look at my phone, the first thing I see is a watercolor print that says, " but first, PRAY" . Here are a few of my favorite pictures that you can use as the background of your phone, computer, tablet, and even cover photo on Facebook and T...

Happy Valentine's Day to all my married friends, single friends, and in-a-relationship-with-Ben-and-Jerry friends! For this Tunes-day, I'm going to share some of my favorite love songs! The Way You Look Tonight- Frank Sinatra "Some day, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you..." Wanted- Hunter Hayes "'Cause everything that don't make sense about me makes sense when I'm with you..." Never Stop- SafetySuit "I will never stop watching as you leave. I will never stop losing my breath every time I see you looking back at me..." Tenerife Sea- Ed Sheeran "Should this be the last thing I see, I want you to know it's enough for me 'cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need..." A Drop in the Ocean- Ron Pope "A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather, I was praying that you and me might end up together..." The Day Before You- Matthew ...

I don't know about you, but last week was rough. Early mornings, late nights, piles of work, cleaning that needed to be done, places to go, people to see, things to do... Busy doesn't even begin to describe it. I was on the go from Monday straight through Saturday. Once I got the chance to sit down and do homework on Sunday, I couldn't bring myself to do hardly anything. Fortunately, I only have one written assignment, and it's not due until Friday. I got the general idea fleshed out for the 3-page, double-spaced paper, before I felt the wave of exhaustion. My legs and feet hurt from lip sync practice, my voice was raspy from talking and singing, my head hurt from having too many To Do lists, my heart hurt from everything stacking on top of each other; I needed a break. I pampered myself with all of my favorite products last night and allowed myself to just take care of myself. As I lay in bed watching Bob's Burgers for the thousandth time, I realized something....

Happy Friday, everyone! We did it! We made it through another week! When your week is full of  people who don't know how to drive, angry bosses, full parking lots, busy schedules, and just downright bad things, how do you deal with it? Do you scream and yell? Do you shut down and cry? Do you down a bottle of wine while watching another episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians? Hey, no judgement here; I've done it too. It is so easy for us to turn to the world for comfort but what do we do when that isn't enough? What happens when we still feel the loneliness, the sadness, the emptiness? What do we do then? We turn to a higher power, something more than ourselves, something that gives us purpose. We turn to God. For the last couple of years, I have been actively involved with GMU's Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM). I entered Discipleship with the wife of one of our FOCUS missionaries and began to lead a bible study. One of the things that FOCUS teaches us is ...

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who starts to feel the burnout of the week by Thursday. Thursdays are actually my favorite day of the week! I usually have class in the morning and then I go to the chapel on campus. I do homework and  hang out with my friends until TNS (Thursday Night Supper) begins. We have Mass, a home cooked (FREE) meal, and a talk. We end around 7pm and them I'm free for the rest of the night. Usually, I take Thursday nights to relax and unwind. I count Thursdays as the end of my week. I may have class or something on Friday, but I'm usually pretty swamped on the weekends; it's basically like another week within a week. I'll take a nice shower, make myself some tea, settle in with some Netflix around 9, and I'm in for the rest of the night. So, yeah. I love Thursdays. One of my favorite parts of my nightly routine is washing my face. I love anything that has a process: cooking, cleaning, painting, working out... I have a pretty...

Hello, world! I'm sorry that this is so late, but I have been go go go since 9am. So yeah. I'm exhausted. But that never keeps me from finding the wonderful things in my everyday life. Wonderful Wednesday is something that I started on my Snapchat (follow me @chickadeelee19) and was inspired by my friend Lizzy! I share three wonderful things going on in my life and I hope that you will do the same! Wonderful Thing #1: It's Homecoming Week! I have been so busy with lip sync practice, but it looks SO GOOD!! I can't wait for Friday! I will try to post it next week! Wonderful Thing #2: I can get back into a solid workout routine next week! Because of Homecoming taking up all of my non-homework time, I haven't been able to have a steady workout in a while. I'm excited to get back into running and going to the gym. Wonderful Thing #3: I got to hold a baby!!! It's always a good day when I get to hold a baby! He is just the happiest, handsomest baby in...

Stress, it's a killer, and I've been feeling so much stress this week. Between classes, Homecoming, and bible study, I haven't been sleeping well; there's too much jumbling around in my head. When that happens, I turn to music to help me. Here are three songs that have been on my mind lately: Blue Ain't Your Color- Keith Urban I grew up listening to country music and this sounds just like the kind I listened to. I can just picture myself slow dancing in a dingy bar with some handsome stranger, trying to get my mind off of the fella who did me wrong.  Play That Song- Train When I first heard this song, I had no idea it was Train! This is such a different vibe that the stuff they have released in the past and I am LOVING it! A Whole New World- Yuna I am in love with Polynesian culture; the environment, the language,  the traditions... I'm hoping to go to Hawaii when I am back with Disney. Aulani started calling my name when this song was released with ...

Yesterday was the Super Bowl (congratulations, Patriots!) and I am definitely feeling the excitement! This week is Homecoming Week at George Mason University and I am on the team! From high school to college, Homecoming has always been exciting. At GMU, we have events ranging from a grocery bingo to a 3-on-3 basketball game to a blood drive. But the one event that I am looking forward to the most is the lip sync battle on Friday! I've adjusted to life back at home pretty well in the last month. As soon as I came home, I got sick with a sinus infection, not something you want in the middle of moving into a new house. Living with my family is great, but it's hard to get back into that frame of mind when I've been independent for almost 6 months. Now that things are starting to settle in, having a schedule for workouts, assignments, and Bible Study has gotten much easier. It helps when I have a set schedule when new things pop up, things like Homecoming!

Hello, blog-osphere! Welcome to my new and improved blog! In order to keep my blog new and fresh, I am going to be doing daily posts. Monday Motivation: Let's start the week off on the right foot! What is motivating me to get through the week? What is inspiring me in my life right now? What is keeping me going? These posts will include graphics, workouts, fun activities, Tunes-day: On Tuesdays, I will be sharing music that I enjoy! Wonderful Wednesday: Pulling inspiration from my Snapchat account, Wonderful Wednesday is the day where I share 3 wonderful things going on in my life. In return, I want you to do the same: tell me 3 wonderful things going on in your life. This practice is helpful on days when things seem to be going wrong and you just need that little boost of positivity to keep you going. Treat Yo-self Thursday: Tune in for my favorite health and beauty finds including DIYs. Faithful Friday:  Being Catholic is one of the largest pieces of my identity. On...