July and August flew by so fast. I will miss the summer months. Until next year my friend ♡ Not so many mini writings for these two months, but once that weather changes and winter blues hit you’ll start to see a lot more. Mini writings = mini readings.
July 9, 2024
Your life is a book. You have chapters and every chapter has a story. Like a book, you read each line and feel each word and that’s exactly what you should do with your life. Be in the moment with each line and live each word, good or bad. It’s part of your story, your chapter, your book.
– sally.things
Thursday, July 25, 2024
“You were wrong, but you were right to be wrong.”
– sally.things
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Sometimes you have to let yourself and body know that you appreciate all that’s it’s done and is doing for you.
You have to stop and thank your body and mind for all that it has been put through.
Nourish your self, mind and body.
– sally.things
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
The end is none of your business until it actually happens.
I probably have typed about this in the few blogs I wrote before, but never finished. Fair warning, be prepared to read a little more of this in other blogs if they ever get posted. So far it’s the only thing that comes to my mind when I try to sit down to blog, so it’s something that needs to get out and hopefully after I can blog about other things. I feel like a broken record sometimes. I blog a lot about healing and my journey, it’s all I know right now. It is currently what’s going on in my life. Then and now. I wouldn’t quite call this a drunk thoughts blog, but I did have a good chug of some strawberry sake. Just a bit to loosen up and be not so in my head about sharing this. I actually find it hard to share this side of me because it feels super and very vulnerable of me. Maybe a part of me feels embarrassed, maybe because it still gets me in my feels or that I haven’t yet fully processed it. It’s hard for me to express because I simply do not know where I’m quite at with it all. Whatever it is, here I try to go.
These summer months, I have really compared my current self to my 2023 self. If I could describe myself this summer it would be: confident, strong, happy, healing, thriving, joyful, sober, living life to the fullest, a normal person. If I were to describe summer Sally 2023 it would be: sad, but grateful, stressed, alcohol driven, burnt out, lost, fun, goal driven, and hurt. What two very different and confusing versions of me.
A word that best described me then is lost. A word that best describes me now is healing, but of course I would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for that lost version of me. Looking back I’m actually very grateful for that part of my life (not the problems, but the lessons) and very proud of how I managed, even though I was very hurt. I sat with myself every day and I listened to my cries, I listened to my thoughts, I felt the hurt. I sat with every emotion and let them take their turn. I sat with all my doubts and gave them the time they needed. I sat there and cried out every tear in my body almost every night until there was nothing left. Some people might think it’s pretty pathetic, but it was what I needed to do for me. That was my way of trying to comfort myself. I gave myself that safe space. Now, I still have that safe space, but it’s more for the appreciation of my happiness, celebration of small steps on my healing and the new self love that I have for myself. I won’t say I’m completely on the other side, but it’s definitely a positive path.
I did something that I never thought or saw myself doing and that was to stop engaging and going silent. I let go of any hope and expectation, I let go completely. That’s such a hard thing to do. To let things go free and to let things come to or go from you. I ignored and pushed everything away as much as I could until I realized that it was something that was trying to come to me. I really crawled into my own little shell and if you weren’t someone I saw in my daily life, I unfortunately didn’t reach out to or interacted with for a bit. My social battery was fighting so hard, but my emotional side won. I’m a person who tries to act fine when I’m not, but in reality my emotions literally leak out of my pores and you can tell how I am through my body language and facial expressions. I pulled away for a bit so people didn’t have to see that side of me, ask me anything and I didn’t have to keep pretending. I’m sorry to my friends and family for that and I’m also very thankful that everyone understood that I needed some space. I put myself first and really focused on nothing, but myself and moving forward. One positive that did come out of it was my decision on schooling. Now, because of then, I still am continuing my education and I feel more comfortable with being truly vulnerable in front of others even if I feel stupid. It is not a burden. Now, I can thank the ‘then me’ and comfort any part of her that I still have left with the ‘now me’.
One thing that I learned from this and in my therapy sessions are to acknowledge all these different parts of me, listen to what they need to say, validate them and thank them. Practicing this has helped build a better relationship within myself with myself. Practicing this has allowed to me forgive myself, love all the different parts of myself, remember my worth, remember what I deserve, growth, healing, forgiving others and most importantly not to hurt others because of my own hurt. One day, I’ll be at the end with the rainbows and unicorns or in my case, a room filled with anything and everything Hello Kitty.
This was really building up in my head and I tried to avoid blogging more on it, but I guess I still have a lot to say. If you are still reading this, thank you. Sending lots of love out.Then and Now. ♡
I decided to spend my July 4th over at Royal Oak Taco Fest! It was a very last minute decision, but in the end worth it. I’ve been saying that I wanted to challenge myself to go out and do things solo more, so I did just that! I’ve never been to any Taco Fest, so I wasn’t sure what it would be like, but it was well worth the drive and admission fee. Royal oak is about 2 hours to 2.5 hours away from me, so I made it a small foodie adventure. Admission tickets were $12 per person and when I got in, there were tons of food trucks, vendor booths and a huge kids area. There were all sorts of food beside tacos and plenty of drink booths, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic. Now, let’s eat!
It was pretty hot out, so a freshly squeezed lemonade was a must! There was an option to add alcohol to the lemonade, but I decided not too. I was not going to make the mistake of “eating” alcohol like I did with previous festivals that I wanted to blog about. The first food truck was Eight Claw Crab Boil. I will say, I was hoping they had their seafood boil available, but sadly it wasn’t. Instead I ordered the Crab and Lobster Grilled Cheese. I’ve never had a grilled cheese that was this tasty. It was like heaven. I might have to hunt down Eight Claw Crab Boil pretty soon.
Next was Spicy Jerk Chicken and the famous BBQ Mac & Cheese from Chef Collier Willis of House of Barbecue. I was walking around and the smell of the ribs was so amazingly delicious that I stopped and grabbed food. The ribs were a big portion and I wanted to be able to try more foods, so I skipped on it. Don’t worry, I’m coming to find you too! The BBQ Mac & Cheese was nothing special, still good though, but the Spicy Jerk Chicken was SPICY. It had a great kick to it. I usually don’t like chicken that much because it usually is dry, but this was perfect and juicy. You got everything fresh and right off the smoker. House of Barbecue also got voted for ‘best entree’ out of everyone else!
I always try to go on these foodie adventures and get so full after the second food truck or booth. I opted in for some dessert just in case I was going to call it a day. I was so stuffed after eating this delicious strawberry and pineapple milk chocolate skewer topped with sprinkles, marshmellows and peanuts from Lekker Choco Treats. It was just what needed on a hot summers days. They have different fruit skewers to choose from, then you get to choose your chocolate and then your toppings. You can’t go wrong!
Who was I kidding? Who just quits after the third food truck when you go on a foodie adventure? Definitely not this girl. I was at the Taco Fest for hours, just trying to walk off the food I already ate to try more. I walked around for a good hour and even sat at one of the stages trying to stay awake and away from the food coma that was trying to get me LOL. Ya’ll I was struggling trying to not nap. I succeeded and decided to celebrate with some tacos! Finally the item that the festival was named after.
I know, I know. This might knock down my foodie credit with some of my readers, but I like flour tortillas over corn. Don’t hate me, okay!?! Please still support me ♡ I visited Galindo’s Authentic Mexican and ordered their red queso steak taco and just a regular steak taco. No, I didn’t eat them dry. I added both of their spicy roja salsa and verde salsa. They were good tacos, but nothing that made them stand out to be the ultimate best. Galindo’s got voted for most authentic taco at the festival!
Dessert time again! I’ve been really into sweets lately, which is very unlike me, but I’m not going to question it. It is what it is. There were some carnival like food booths and this one had deep fried candy bars. I’ve never heard of such thing or have seen one, so I had to give it a try. I ordered a deep fried snickers. I don’t know what I expected it to look like, but not a corndog like item with powdered sugar on top. Let me tell you though, if you haven’t had a deep fried snickers bar, you are missing out. I was impressed with this chocolate corndog delight. It may not look like it in the video though. I was passed full and starting to sweat being out in that heat.
I could no longer eat anymore, I was about to pop. It was time for me to leave, BUT before leaving I had to get one last drink. I tried the Watermelon Sugar topped with blue punch. It was a mix of the blue punch with raspberry tea and strawberry melon. It was very sweet, maybe a little too sweet for me. I think it would have been better without the added blue punch. It was pretty refreshing though, so I do recommend everyone to visit The Fern when you find yourself in Royal Oak!
I’m very happy that I did the solo trip to Royal Oak Taco Fest. Sometimes you just need to self indulge and take adventures. How would I rate Taco Fest? 8.5/10. It was a family friendly event with tons of craft tents and blowup obstacles for the kids, then tons of food options to choose from, plus multiple of the same food trucks, so lines were short. There were multiple vendors and chances to spin a wheel and win prizes from the merch ones. I will point out that if you are against cannabis, then this might not be the event for you. Most vendor booths were cannabis and THC products, so that’s all that I will point out. I’m not sure if this event is held in multiple cities, but you can always get a good idea of what vendors will be there based off of the sponsors! I’m not sure what the next foodie adventure will be and I won’t promise anymore about certain ones because I might end up “eating” alcohol again.. oopsies. ALWAYS remember though, we live to eat and not eat to live! ♡
These two months have been eye openers. Maybe the warmer weather has changed my mental state or maybe good things really have been coming my way. I’ve been finding more of my motivation to be creative and that creative side is slowly coming alive again. I have so many ideas bouncing around that my mini writings are being pushed to the side a little. There’s just a few for the months of May and June.
Thursday, May 23, 2024
“But think of it, what if all you need in order to heal is just the realization that you’re a different person now than you were back then.”
– sally.things
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
“Absence demands to be felt.”
– sally.things
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Set boundaries and embrace ‘no’.
Every ‘yes’ to something is a ‘no’ to something else, often your own feelings and mental health.
Repeat after me, ‘July is mine.’ July is m i n e. Yes, I believe in it whole heartedly because it’s my birthday month. Cancer season is here ♡ Every year I just feel so recharged when July comes around. I wanted to write out some affirmations and intentions that I would like for this July. I’m entering the last year of my 20’s next week, so I’ve been thinking a lot of where I would like to see myself, what I have already accomplished and the progress of what I’m working on.
July Intentions
Making mindful intentions for the month is a great start to bettering yourself and setting a foundation to creating self love and space for yourself. Setting intentions are like gentle goals for yourself. Which I am all here for! If this is new to you, here are mine. Always take what you need, my blog is just as much for you as it is for me ♡
✿ I accept myself as enough.I’ll admit that this is a hard thing to do for myself even if it might look different on the outside to others. I want to accept, fully accept, where I’m in my life especially with the pressures of society telling me where I should be at, at my age. I want to keep accepting that how I look is enough. I need to keep reminding myself to accept my worth and nothing left. I am enough. ✿ Everything I need is within me. I have the power and strength inside to control my own outcome. I am the one that decides my day and how it’ll turn out. I am the one who controls what bothers me or what stresses me or what I let happens. My outcome will be loving, peaceful, strong, and happy. ✿ I intend to love unconditionally.Love for myself and for others. To love myself unconditionally and other means to love without expecting a repayment or condition. I have enough love to pour and pour. ✿ Live with purpose. Live with meaning and be present in life. To be present in life and to enjoy the joyous moments will give a purpose. Then living with purpose will bring you more joy. Full circle. I intend to live my life and enjoy the journey as I go.
July Affirmations
Affirmations are things you can say daily to set your mood and start your day. It gets you in a more positive mindset and can be used as motivators for your intentions above. We speak affirmations out loud to put it into the world, so the world can give it back to us. Yes, speaking to yourself is okay! Here are mine for this month, again, take what you need and like ♡
✿ I stay open to feel calm and peace whenever I need. ✿ I attract positivity and happiness into my life. ✿ My potential is limitless and I choose to thrive, no matter what gets in my way or happens. ✿ My heart is open to giving and receiving love. ✿ I choose to focus on what I can control and I let go of what I cannot. ✿ I release stress and embrace peace, allowing my body to function optimally. ✿ I trust the journey of healing and transformation. ✿ I am deserving of love, happiness, and all good things life has to offer. ✿ I embrace challenges as opportunities for growth.
I hope July brings adventure, excitement, and happiness to everyone. We’re halfway through the year, so remember to pause and celebrate your progress and your achievements. Take some time to plan the 2nd half of your year. Only take the valuable lessons you learned from earlier this year and leave the rest behind. We don’t need to carry everything, all the time. Enjoy the long summer days and all that it has to offer. Prioritize yourself! ♡ Repeat after me, ‘July is m i n e.’
A slower month for me socially, so very little mini writings. School took over my life a little there, but we’re done with the semester! More writings coming up ♡
March 19, 2024
To find some clarity, you have to go through insanity.
– sally.things
April 9, 2024
“Perhaps in the past, the biggest mistake that I made was believing that love was about finding the right person. In reality, love is about becoming the right person. Don’t look for the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, become the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.”
A little late here, oopsie! Winter felt like it lasted forever and I’m so happy we started to finally get warmer weather even if it lasted for just a day. I’m not a cold weather person AT ALL. I question all the time why I live in the midwest, I’m not built for the cold. I started my second semester of college, so that school and social life balance has been a hard one. The beginning of 2024 has been an interesting one to say the least. I will say I am pushing myself to be a better version and opening up more. I want more out of life than what I have been comfortable with. Here’s to living more and loving life ♡
⋆˚✿˖° SPRING IS COMING, Happy March! ⋆˚✿˖° Let’s take a second and do a check in with ourselves. We’re three months into 2024 and time isn’t going to go by any slower. It’s not too late yet to chase what you dreamt this year will be for you. If you follow me on instagram you might have already seen and done this check in, if not then take some time to answer and reflect.
Let’s get into it: ♡ How are you feeling? ♡ How are mentally overall? ♡ Are you positively taking care of yourself? ♡ Have you come up with your yearly goals and intentions yet? If not, get started even if it’s just a weekly goal for now! ♡ Have you started on your goals and intentions yet? If so, how far along are you? ♡ What has made you happy so far? How can you do more of it? ♡ What has made you sad or mad so far? What can you do to make things better for yourself? ♡ Any new goals you can add? ♡ Reflect on your growth in the last two months and celebrate it. ♡ Reflect on your lack of growth and give yourself a safe space for grieving and acceptance. After, leave it behind and start over. It’s not too late! ♡ Do something you love. ♡ Soak in some sun when you can. ♡ Take a walk, even if it’s a little chilly. Find your green space, be outside for a little.
Remember it’s never a bad thing to do a little reset if needed. Let’s make the best of this year. Happy March, may it bring you lots of love and happiness ♡
MY UPDATE
I am currently sitting in an airport by a huge window and soaking in the sun rays. Even though I’ve been up and traveling since 3 AM, today life is good ♡ I also can’t wait to write a food blog after the trip! It’s been a while since I last wrote one, but I promise this one will be worth the wait. New foods to try for your next trip!
Some people will say I’ve gone quiet, but really I’ve just been very occupied with my life, wellbeing and focused on other goals/have other priorities. I’m at a good place now where I feel like I’m rested and decently caught up with life. I feel more like myself than I have in a while. I can feel SALLY THAT GIRL again. She’ll be in full effect by the end of this year. I calmed down my lifestyle to prioritize school and it’s really my main focus. That’s really the main reason why I disappeared. Michigan has this wonderful program where they’ll pay for your semesters as long as you keep up with their requirements and I’m NOT going to lose that. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of and I’m doing exactly that.
For those that haven’t really worked on your goals for the year, it’s fine cause I haven’t really either. I’ve touched the surface, but haven’t done enough yet to say there was any visible progress overall. Some I goals are in the works, some none at all. SO that’s why we can do this check in together, not feel bad and start working on them NOW! We’re human, life and other things get in the way, we don’t feel motivated, fighting the winter blues are hard, I GET IT. I’m there with you. Two weeks ago was when I finally found my motivation to really get up and be active and make sure I use my time to do things that I love and that help me. I just got out of my funk two weeks ago. I wasn’t even able to get out of it myself, my friends in Wisconsin were the ones who really got me over it and that’s okay. It’s absolutely fine to get help from those close to you that you love and trust. Sometimes what you need is love, attention and support. I will admit that I’m definitely one of those people. After all, we are just human.
I am going to go enjoy this love filled vacation now, (my friends are getting married this weekend!). Enjoy your day, your weekend, your week. And to remember to show up for yourself the best you can. ♡
Not so many to start the year off with and that’s alright. I’ve actually been a little shy to write down my thought and share them lately. I know there’s no need to be shy, but there will more mini writings to come in the next few months. ♡
January 20, 2024
“Slow and steady wins the race” & will also show you truth.
– sally.things
January 25, 2024
Live your truth.
Dig deep down and decide who you are and live in your truth.
What things are you going to let define you?
What things will you let take space up in your mind?
The last few months of 2023 in pictures look a lot better than how they actually were. One thing I do know is that even though I’m down, I’ll always be trying to live my best life cause that’s all that I can really control. I really just let certain things go and flow. End of 2023 didn’t want to let go without a bang though and honestly I’m not mad about it. What is meant for me will always find it’s way. ♡
SALLY♡THINGS 