To celebrate 2015, I'm offering 20% off all items in my shop through January 1 with the code NEWYEAR2015! This includes printed inserts, printables, and even my custom cover traveler's notebook refills! Check it out! #GUG ✒️http://www.etsy.com/shop/GrowingUpGoddess ✨ #notebook #travelersnotebook #mtn #tn #midori #midoritravelersnotebook #journal #planner #filofax #filo #planner #planning #organization #organized #calendar http://instagram.com/p/xN9xs3Rwci/

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2015 Personal Size Week on Two Pages Planner {Sunday Start} PRINTABLE - Filofax by GrowingUpGoddess (6.00 USD)

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Personal Week on Two Pages Planner {Sunday Start} UNDATED PRINTABLE - Filofax by GrowingUpGoddess (2.00 USD)

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2015 Personal Size Week Per Page + Notes Planner {Sunday Start} PRINTABLE - Filofax by GrowingUpGoddess (6.00 USD)

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Made some notebooks for a customer who wanted specific covers. I love all the patterns he chose! #GUG ✒️http://ift.tt/1sO03eD ✨ #notebook #travelersnotebook #mtn #tn #midori #midoritravelersnotebook #journal #planner http://ift.tt/1vs6kxr

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Working on some pocket sized inserts for one of my lovely customers! Just gotta punch and then they'll be off to their new home :) check out my Etsy shop to get some of your own!! #GUG ✒️ http://ift.tt/1sO03eD ✨ #planner #planneraddicts #planonit #philofaxy #filofax #fauxfilofax #ff #fflove #malden #filofaxmalden #plannernerds #filofaxlove #filofaxaddicts #journal #organized #organization #organize #daytimer #malibu #daytimermalibu #pocket #pocketmalden #pocketfilofax #printable #printables http://ift.tt/1Cl1BVH

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2014 - My Year in Music

Good morning, everyone!

This year, I started making a playlist on Spotify for every month. I noticed I only listened to certain songs for a while, so it was easiest to just compile all of my favorite songs into one playlist - and then every month, it was a perfect time to go through the playlist, pick out the ones I'm still jamming to, add some new ones, and enjoy a new playlist! Over the past month or so I've been looking at all of the music I've been listening to and decided I wanted to compile a list of all of the music I've loved most this year. Most of it is pretty current; however, there are some older songs that have just not gotten out of my head this year! I finally was able to get them into a playlist and I wanted to share it with you all.

Enjoy!

It's already Thanksgiving?

Y'all have to forgive me for my lack of posts... 2014 has disappeared on me! It feels like just yesterday I was preparing for my first holiday season at the mall - but apparently, and entire year has passed by.

Let's recap real quick:

• Family: Doing good. My dad has accepted a position as the president of a moving company in Pennsylvania and I am so proud of him! It's a new season of life for our whole family: my little brother is about to graduate high school, my dad is starting this incredible new job, my mother is working full-time around all of the changes the aforementioned bring, and I'm fighting my way into adulthood. I haven't seen a lot of them this year - I hate Jacksonville, my dad was in Maryland for most of the first half of the year, and everyone is just really busy. I was going to fly up to Pennsylvania after Christmas to visit because I have four days off after Christmas, but it turns out my whole family is LEAVING Pennsylvania the day I wanted to fly up... ha. Still, I'm super proud of my whole family for how well they've done for themselves this year.
• Identity crisis: my anxiety has turned to complete apathy. At first I was thankful for the lack of panic, but then I started forgetting about homework assignments and I'm probably never graduating so the panic is coming back.
• Ryan: Very good. Kicking ass at both aerospace engineering and being a security officer. My best friend. More mush, etc.
• My new apartment: I have reached roommate & apartment nirvana. Who knew it'd include a blanket fort, Christmas lights, and a Craigslist couch?
• Work: Busy, fun, satisfying, wonderful, sometimes stressful, still an awesome job.

I've been up to my usual stuff over the past few months: crafting, playing with my rats, marathoning TV shows with Ryan... you know, the usual.

I recently revamped my Etsy store and it's been doing well. I really enjoy it! It's a fun little hobby. You can check it out here.

The ladies are adorable as usual.

I'm 21 now - I may be able to drink wine, but I'm still doing it in my pajamas.

Roommate and I like to try delicious drinks together.

Ryan and I are still adorable, as usual.

I still have a face. My hair has gotten so long.

I got a custom leather traveler's notebook from ChicSparrow on Etsy. Good decision. Very good decision.

Ryan and I dressed up at Burt Macklin & Janet Snakehole from Parks & Rec for Halloween.

Hope you all are doing well. :)

Summer Sweetness (and work and school and packing and moving and big changes and little changes and stress and overwhelm and relaxation and hobbies and everything in between)

Good morning! This morning I dropped off my roommate at her doctor's appointment at 6:30am (she's getting a routine procedure done, but it requires anesthesia) and decided to spend some time at Einstein's Bagels afterward. I just moved close to an Einstein's, but since mornings are my productive time, I haven't gone! So I'm chilling out at Einstein's, observing the hustle and bustle of Friday morning, reading the news, and writing this blog post. As an introvert who finds comfort in sometimes going out for a simple meal alone, it's a great morning.

This summer has been wildly busy. Life has been absolutely nonstop. I've worked a lot, which has been fun, though overwhelming at times. I packed and packed and packed, then moved into my new apartment, and now I'm working on unpacking. I've taken four classes for fourteen credit hours this summer. I had my wisdom teeth removed on July 1 and dealt with a less-than-pleasant healing process.

Ryan and I celebrated six years together on July 21. We both worked that day, so we just took it easy and had Taco Bell. We had planned on having Taco Night and making our own tacos, but the one damn walmart we went to somehow did not have taco kits. I don't even think they had tortillas. This week we went to the Florida Aquarium, which is something we've been wanting to do since our fourth anniversary. We raised $92 on a crowd funding website - we were amazed when someone donated $5, so it's unreal that we raised so much - and on Tuesday we drove down to Tampa for an amazing day together. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing best friend by my side, especially being so young. We've been together since I was fourteen! Completely unreal. Lately lots of people have been asking if we're engaged, when we're getting married, and some even think somehow that we already are married, which is awkward. I just respond by telling them that we celebrated our anniversary with Taco Bell and crowd funding a trip to an aquarium; how on earth are we supposed to afford joining our finances and paying for life together yet?! After all, I'm not even 21 yet (20 days!!!!!) - what's the rush?

My new apartment and new roommate are both wonderful. The apartment is fifteen minutes from both work and school and in an area of town that I'm having a blast exploring. It's a completely not-college-at-all apartment, so our neighbors are quiet and our apartment really feels like a home. My roommate is a lot like me in personality, including being laid back about most things while still expecting a livable home, so my home life has been simple and peaceful and I am so thankful for that.

In an expected yet stil unbelievable turn of events, my father moved back to Florida from Maryland and is now adjusting to a completely different life from the one he's been living for over twenty years. His company let him go, and while this is a stressful and upsetting time for the whole family, the conversations I've had with my father since have revealed that he is happier and more relaxed now than he's ever been. He and I may not see eye to eye very often anymore, but his job had obviously been taking its toll on him over the last few years and it's comforting to see him finally let go and be happy. He deserves it.

Unfortunately I'm still recovering from my 19th year, the one in which I got my own credit cards, but I have plans to recover and hopefully be able to contribute more to things like my rent and living expenses.

Being an adult is weird.

Ryan now works as a security officer at the mall I work at and I'm still getting used to seeing him around. We work very closely with security, so we both deal with the same stuff. I told Ryan that it's nice that he can finally understand what I'm talking about when I talk about work! On another note, he's really enjoying it. He's a natural and he's shown a dedication and pleasure in the job that's refreshing to see in anyone. I'm really happy for him.

I feel like there's more to say, but I think I've covered the main points of an adequate summer round up. I'll post a picture post when I'm home, but until then - have a lovely weekend!

Cogito ergo sum

One year ago today, one of the most important people in my life passed away: my grandfather. It was my first experience dealing with the death of someone so close and I wasn't sure how I was going to handle it. I was so filled with emotions: the grief of losing a loved one, the relief that came with his years-long battle with Alzheimer's finally ending, the happiness of learning his history and remembering our history together. I wanted everyone to understand how important this man was to me and I did so in the only way I knew how: by creating. I felt compelled to write his obituary and took on that responsibility before anyone else had even thought of it. I spent hours searching for the perfect song to sing at his funeral; I do not consider myself the greatest public speaker, but singing for my Poppa B one last time is something I felt passionate about and couldn’t not do. I coped with and expressed my emotions regarding my grandfather’s death by creating and performing. And while this was easily one of the most heartbreaking weeks of my life, I was not without comfort and I still felt whole.

Lately, I have found myself thinking and saying "I want to be a writer" too often. I don't care if I have an infinite audience or if I am my only reader - I write because I feel, and I feel because I write. I am inspired and I create. The quality of my work is relative and inconsequential. I am passionate and I believe in it. I am constantly working, constantly practicing, and constantly improving. The desire to improve and my passion for creation inspire me to continue creating.

One of the greatest things about the arts is that there are no prerequisites. Saying "I want to be a writer" puts you only a few words away from saying "I am a writer." You can sing a song and your voice may crack, but now you're a singer - if you want to be. Throw some colors on a canvas and if it inspires you, I would call you an artist. The only thing that the arts ever require of anyone is passion: to be enthusiastic and deeply emotional about what you are doing. The emotions don't even matter, which is something so beautiful: art can move a person to tears. Art can move its own creators to tears. There can be a million different emotions behind these tears, but it's still art, and it's still evoking emotion. 

Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. I am a writer and I am a musician. I create, therefore I am an artist.

So are you.

In loving memory of Paul Wentroth Brandenburger

August 13, 1934 - June 17, 2013

Six Year Otterversary!

Ryan and I are desperate to see some otters this year for our anniversary, and so we are attempting to crowd-fund our anniversary date. Worth a shot, right?! Plus, there are prizes if you donate certain amounts :)

It sure has been a while!

Goodness. Everyone's read A Wrinkle In Time, right? It feels like someone wrinkled the time-space continuum to completely skip over the month of May. It went by so quickly that I don't even know what happened. I'm going to try to give a nice little recap (with the help of my planner, of course, because lawd knows that's where my brain is) so that the internet can be adequately caught up on my life.

• The identity crisis over my major and schooling gave way to dispassionate apathy. I chose the path of least resistance to my main goal: get the hell out of college. Since no major can grant me the pleasure of being the creative, writing, laundry-doing, crock-pot-cookin' domestic goddess that we all know I was meant to be, I went ahead and continued on with the major that would take the least time: psychology. I am, however, completing a sociology minor of some sort (I'm still undecided as to whether I want to do general sociology or crime, law, & deviance, but it will probably be the latter) and I am so thankful, because I really love sociology.
• My classes for the spring semester ended up grading me worse than I had expected, and so I am re-taking statistical methods for psychology right now. It's all good.
• Fun fact: before I PTFO last night and got a solid 11 hours of sleep last night, I would have told you I was dying.
• On April 22, Ryan found out he was not going to be going to Field Training, and after three years of busting ass, working hard, waking up at 6am, shaving twice a day, and dedicating himself to AFROTC, it was all over. His GPA had just missed the cut to be in Field Training Prep last year, and this year was his last chance. It really was heartbreaking. We both cried, and we both entered a mega ultra supreme infinite world of uncertainty as we both tried to figure out our identity crises. Everything is still up in the air for now, but I am so proud of Ryan for his hard work and everything he's done and he's just a really wonderful man and no matter what, I know he's going to make a positive impact on the world.
• Ryan took me to a number of family reunions and dinners and holidays with his extended family and I actually had a little bit of fun. Aside from the fact that I constantly ended up there way later than I wanted to be (I live by early bedtimes and early alarms and morning shifts - his family, not so much, hehe), it's a nice experience to be surrounded by a large family who all have nothing but friendship and love with each other. I still don't really want a wedding, much less a big wedding, but since we'll probably have to have one: at least I know the large amounts of people will be nice!
• Work is going well. Simon Property Group has recently completely changed its brand and so we're doing a lot of work with that at the moment, but overall it's been quite the same. This week hasn't been very good, but that's more because I've been malnourished and without adequate rest and overwhelmed. But like I said earlier, I finally got some quality sleep last night and I feel great.
• Got a haircut for the first time since December 2012. As you can probably imagine, I needed a trim. I went to the best hair salon in Orlando and was able to tell the stylist "listen, it's been over a year since a blade has touched this hair. I've taken good care of it, and I am still growing it out, but you know what to do. I don't want bangs and I don't want to lose more than two inches of length. Have fun" and he knew exactly what to do. It was awesome. I'm super happy with my hair now, and that's making the whole process of growing it out really easy.
• I'm hilariously broke/in debt. Things generally were going well until I needed groceries and gas and this and that - but I had zero cash. So I had to put it on my credit card and now, well, yeah, my life is a joke. I don't get paid enough and I'm not scheduled enough and so now I spend my days stressing about all the money I owe.
• Fortunately, however, my credit score is still ballin' because I always make payments on time and such, and I was approved for an apartment with a coworker from the mall in May! It's going to be closer to work, it's super quiet, it's a laid back community, it is in no way affiliated with college, and it is way cheaper than where I am now. I'm moving in July.
• Ryan got his security license and he's going to be starting work as a security officer later this month! Which is awesome!
• Over the summer I'm taking four classes: humanities, patterns of domestic violence, statistical methods for psychology, and perception. I can't even remember what I signed up for the fall semester.
• My rats have been free-ranging a LOT lately, and it's been really awesome. I've been able to clean a lot so I was able to rat-proof my bedroom and I think all of us are really loving it. It's fun to watch them explore and play and catch them asleep in a funny place. :)
• As for planners, I recently acquired a Filofax Dark Aqua Original in the Personal Size, and I have completely switched into that as my one and only planner. I look at my Malibu every day and basically cry because it's beautiful and I love it, but I fell in love with the Filofax the second I got it and I haven't been able to go back!
• I've been looking into getting my concealed weapons license since my 21st birthday is soon, anddddd yeah it's been cool!

I'm sure there's something I'm missing, but my brain is just all over the place, so I'll just end it there. Let's hope I can keep updating!

Hope you all have a lovely week :)

Weekly Review: Week 15

This week overall has been quite swell and uneventful for the most part. Work this week has been lovely; it's incredible how fulfilling a simple part-time job can be when you love it so much. I actually look forward to going to work and helping customers and seeing my manager and maintaining the booth appearance and every day I strive to do a better job than I did before. I've never felt this way about something before! It may only be a part-time job that barely pays above minimum wage, but I could do it forever. There were a couple of days when I even wanted to stay longer than I was scheduled! I'm just really loving my job so much.

On Monday after work, Ryan and I went to Lazy Moon for some massive pizza slices and studying for clinical psychology.

Saturday, I somehow found myself at a family reunion with Ryan's family. As someone who's never really been a part of a close, big family, I always feel really strange at things like this. They almost make me sad, even! But luckily Ryan's family is wonderful and I had a good time!

This week I really focused on setting up the business of this blog and getting my personal finances organized. After changing the name and securing my own custom domain name, I became really motivated to really get this blog rolling. I've always loved writing and social media; I've been blogging on various platforms for as long as I've been on the internet. I've also always enjoyed sharing my everyday thoughts and adventures with with the world. I don't know if what I have to say helps anyone or is anything of value, but I enjoy it, so why not?!

My main goal for this blog is to keep it personal and maintain regularity with regards to content. I don't think my experiences are anything special or unusual, but that's why I want to share them - my triumphs, my struggles, the lessons I've learned and the advice I have to give. I'm crossing tiny bridges towards being a real life functioning adult and it's terrifying and miserable and strange and scary and satisfying and amazing and beautiful and I know I'm not the only person who is feeling this way, or has felt this way, or will feel this way. I want to share my personal experiences - at least just to document this chapter in my life; at most, to entertain and help anyone out there who may relate!

I think my desk/craft space has finally come together, with the help of a cheap wire shelf that's been under my nose the whole time.

To save some money, I decided I'd try my hand at refilling my printer ink cartridges on my own. In short, I love it. Probably going to write an entire post about it one day. 

One adult thing I've been working on a lot this year is managing money. Last year I bought a new computer and have been making steady payments on it since and that's been going well, but the rest of my financial life can typically be summed up by the zero balances I find in my account days before my next pay day. I've been trying different methods of budgeting and organizing my finances since the New Year - the busy season at work was over and they had decided to keep me permanently, I had a good deal of money (for me) to manage after working long hours over the holidays, and since I'm turning 21 this year, I wanted to really get a handle on it all. I think I'm getting close to a solution, and I can't wait until I can share it with you all! It won't be long...hopefully.

This week I'm working and that's about it. Really focusing on setting this blog up for success, as well! Thanks for sticking around and dealing with my flippity floppity mind changing. :)

Have a lovely week!

A Bit of a Re-Branding

HealthyFunFrugal is now GrowingUpGoddess - custom domain and all!

Keep on the lookout for more. Content will be the same, but I'm newly motivated to love up on this blog :)

Limbo With A Deadline

College is dumb and I am stressed out.

I recently found out that I have fewer prepaid credits available to me than needed to graduate with a bachelor’s in psychology as I had planned. Now, this isn’t too big of a strain - I’m lucky enough that my parents are willing to pay for those couple of extra classes out-of-pocket - but that really brought the reality of how I felt about what I’m doing to the surface.

I started thinking about where I was in life and where I saw myself in the future. The truth is, I don’t really see myself anywhere in the future, with the path I’m on now. As I told Ryan when we had a wildly stressful conversation about this on Monday, I feel like I don’t really have a path; I’ve felt like I’m in complete limbo basically since I’ve started college. But now, as I’m nearing the end of my college career and only have so many credits left, I’m on a strict deadline. I’m on a deadline to figure out what I want to do with my life.

Is that at all realistic? Who has their lives figured out at 20 years old?

I mean, I’m a smart girl. I’ve always prided myself on the fact that I would often find myself streets ahead of my peers in terms of “real world” stuff - I know how to pay bills, I taught at least 10 people how to do laundry in my first weekend of college, etc. But seriously, I’m clueless. I still don’t know how taxes work (though I’d really like to understand that more, like, ASAP). I have no idea how to get an apartment or house if it’s not student housing. I’m still learning how to be an adult, and I think that should be okay.

I just feel very, very rushed. I feel that these adult careers that we prepare ourselves for in college are completely out of our understanding. We’re in college. Our parents still pay our rent. We’re not ready for adult careers.

And who’s to say we’d enjoy the work anyway? Sure, I’ve enjoyed the subject material of the majority of my psychology classes; that’s why I finally settled on a psychology degree, after all. But that doesn’t mean I’d enjoy being a counselor. I certainly wouldn’t enjoy having a more research-oriented job, either; none of the careers I’ve learned about in my Careers in Psychology class this semester appeal to me. And there is no way I would pay for grad school for any of this. I came to the realization that, if it came down to it, I doubt I’d pay for my last two classes for undergrad.

Upon finding out that I had fewer credits than I needed for my psychology degree, I didn’t call an advisor or try to figure out how much we’d have to pay for on our own. Instead, I started searching for any major I could possibly switch to that would put me on the fastest track to a degree. I didn’t care which one. In fact, I still don’t. I just know that my outlook is a lot less desirable without a bachelor’s degree. I’ve been searching for whatever major will take the least time for me to suffer through just so that I can put “University of Central Florida, B.S./B.A.” on my resume.

How depressing is that?

At the moment, I’m just trying not to stress about college too much. I know the things that I enjoy: music, writing, paper crafting, organization, laundry, customer service. Luckily I’m still able to enjoy these things.

I have absolutely no idea where I’m going in my life and college makes me miserable. However, I’m happy, my part-time job is enjoyable, and I can find peace in the fact that maybe someday I’ll have it figured out. And if I don’t, I’ll at least (hopefully) have a random degree to boost my job applications above some others.

Limbo is a weird place to be.

Thursday!

Happy Thursday y'all! I always really liked Thursdays. I couldn't tell you why.

We're about halfway through March now, and nothing new is really going on, but I figured I'd update as I'm sure you all would love to read me babble about my life.

First things first, I've got a March 2014 Jammin' playlist! Have a listen:

• Last week was spring "break." I worked 43 hours (in the calendar week; not the pay period) so it wasn't really much of a break for me, but I had the entire apartment to myself and luckily, as I'm sure I've said billions of times before, I love my job.
• Speaking of my job, it's going really really well. Aside from the fact that I still have an "in training" name tag from when mine fell into the toilet.................in January. I have a hunch that the woman in charge of ordering name tags just really doesn't like me (first impression of her was the day that I forgot to take out my lip ring, it was the holidays, I had a line of customers, and she loudly pointed out that I was breaking all the rules and I needed to take ALL of my piercings out and I probably had a tongue ring so I should take that out too............) because when my manager was in charge of ordering our name tags, it only took two weeks to get mine. But it's all good! Because it's just a name tag (though to me it was a symbol of my success and overcoming the terrible 2013 I was trying to conquer)! All is well. I cleaned up the booth last Wednesday and a couple of days ago I sent my manager my final "booth wishlist/project plan" for cleaning up and reorganizing our guest services booth. This year, our company is putting a lot of focus and emphasis on serving the customer, which I think is awesome - so it's just perfect timing that my manager is letting me take charge of cleaning up the booth! I feel really appreciated and respected by my manager and coworkers, and I think that has a lot to do with my love of the job. That, and the fact that I just really love customer service. This job has literally got me questioning my direction in life, considering the fact that I could see myself working at this mall for a long time and making a career out of it.............but that's thinking way too far into the future, so I'm just enjoying the fact that I'm loving the work that I do and the pay is good.
• School is another story. I have less prepaid credits left than I do remaining credits for my degree. I hate college. I have hated it since I started. I would just drop out and forget about it but unfortunately the working world will generally deem you worthless without a degree and I don't want to be stuck working part-time college kid jobs for the rest of my life... well, being realistic, I want to be a badass housewife one day. But unfortunately, that's an unrealistic and unacceptable-according-to-society aspiration these days soooooooo I'll just keep saying that I'm a psychology major and one day I want to be a counselor. I do really enjoy psychology. I also really enjoy sociology, and I've gotten to take a lot of really interesting classes under both majors. I just wish I could've figured out what I wanted to do with my life earlier in college so I wouldn't be stuck stressing about not being able to pay for college after three years of not having to worry about it. 
• See? College sucks. We need more options. I deserve more options. Half the reason I'm running out of credits is because I would bite off more than I could chew and then find myself in such a deep depressive state that I'd just panic and give up and drop classes on the withdrawal deadline. I'm healthy now and I wouldn't do that now... but, damn, I deserve some flexibility. And thanks to all of the mental battles I faced in college, my GPA is not even close to good enough for a scholarship. It's depression. Oh well.
• On a happier note, lots of rattie socializing has been going on in the Lair of the Goddess, and that's been much appreciated.
• I don't think I have much more to talk about, and I need to get ready for work, so enjoy the pictures from the last couple of weeks below!

Have a lovely Thursday!