Don't Forget the Past When Looking to the Future

Anyone who is close with me knows that I've had a really busy, challenging, and rough month at work. It has been full of both rewards and disappointments. And I don't want to get into the details at all. Instead I just want to share a few very important life lessons that I've learned recently:

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the thought of our futures and who we want to become that we forget our past and who we really are. This is my advice to you if you are going through a rough patch in your life right now:

Be proud of who you were, who you are now, and who you want to become! And don't let anyone stop you from reaching your dreams. And if things don't work out the way you want them to -- remember that everything happens for a reason and the rough times help shape us and make us stronger. And it may be very possible that something even better may be just around the corner waiting for you! :)

The above picture is of me and my Barbie Dream House -- my favorite toy from back in the day. I'm not sure how old I am in this picture because nothing was written on the back, but I'd say no older than 7. I spent hours playing with my Barbies in this doll house. My Grandma Frankie who lived in New Mexico sent this to me for Christmas one year.

My super-awesome Barbie house came complete with furniture, little plants, play food, plates & the works. My dad struggled for hours because he was the one that got to put it together. The doors and windows opened, and you could move each section of the house apart -- and he had to build it from scratch with really bad directions. Thanks Dad! :) And even the cat loved Barbie's posh digs -- she loved to climb in the middle of my Barbie Dream House, sometimes making it go "CRASH" in the night.

On Sunday, my mom and I spent all afternoon going through 2 large tubs of pictures. We had a good time laughing and talking about the good old days. And we've decided to start a new project -- organizing all of these photos and putting albums together for her/dad, me, and my brother. Also, the majority of our pictures were taken with a crappy instant Poloroid camera. So many of our pictures are falling apart and fading and getting ruined slowly. So -- we will be scanning them too. A great project for this fall/winter. Also right up my alley for scrapbooking! I have a feeling that I'll need to buy more ink and paper for my photo printer. :)