I’ve been looking for a cool way to re-enter the blog space after a bit of a hiatus, and landed on writing a couple of posts surrounding a trip to SoCal with some friends I’ve been really excited to take  in a week. I’ve had a terrible work schedule lately, been beyond burned out, have some other more personal things going on, and just wanted to get away and relax, lay by the pool, ride bikes, sip smoothies, and frolic through Disneyland with friends, leaving it all behind for a second! Who wouldn’t?! The plane tickets and hotel are booked, I got some new luggage I’m geared up to try out and review, I started putting aside beach stuff to pack, and cute brunch and food places to hit up have been researched in anticipation. Andddd all of that came to a screeching halt yesterday.  GAH! Life had other plans, and now here I am in bed, covered in ice packs, realizing my trip won’t realistically be happening, and being forced to take some time off in a much different way than I had originally planned. Those travel posts are still on my mind in a big way, however, and they’re having to be put on hold for now.

Yesterday morning, I was in a car accident on the freeway on my way home from work.  I don’t want to go into the details of it all, but I can honestly say while all of it was happening, and it really did happen so quickly, I didn’t necessarily think I would walk away from it. Scary feeling. Coming out of it with the injuries I did sustain, however, was the best case scenario I could have imagined. I just remember sitting in the car once it stopped, noticing my breath (the airbags hit me hard and knocked the wind out of me), feeling to make sure I was in one piece. That’s the nurse in me, I guess. It could have been WAY worse, I see that and am very thankful. Recovery is going to be a process and I can tell I’ll soon be in the market for a chiropractor once the swelling and pain subside, and I can walk again without crutches. I have a lot of patience for others but not for myself, and I feel like you always hear that with people in the healthcare field. I’m just not very good at sitting idle for long because I generally have so many projects and chores I’m itching to get done, and I have a long list of places I want to travel and things I want to experience. That being said, lying in my bed without a lot of mobility and basically every muscle and bone in my body hurting, is really forcing me to focus more on other types of activities and plans so that I can still get some necessary things done while I’m physically recovering. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

1. Catching up on my DVR. Ok, I admit this one isn’t the most productive, but sometimes you just need to tune out and get inspired at the same time. I’m pretty into home design type stuff so I’ve been watching Fixer Upper and Cash Pad lately and I’m loving both!
2. Banking. I like to stay financially motivated by checking my credit card spending and savings accounts frequently so I can really see where my money is going and what kind of progress I’ve made.
3. Researching investment possibilities. I took a personal finance course at my local community college recently, and got a really good overview of a lot of the different investment principles, stocks, and retirement fund options. Now I want to dive deeper.
4. Brainstorming blog content. Like I said, I’ve been wanting to do this and just dive right in for some time now, but at the end of the day, I’ve been lacking energy and the momentum needed. I’m making lemonade out of lemons here…no time like the present! I’m thinking lots of gluten free/dairy free food/recipes, definitely smoothies, clean beauty and cleaning products, and healthy travel hacks! Thoughts??
5. Thinking about what I want for my future. Relationships and the types of people I hope to surround myself with in the future, and continue to surround myself with. My fur babies. My home environment. Career. Side Hustles. What projects and creative outlets are adding value to my life and need to be prioritized more. I’m noticing a lot of big changes that can be made in order to keep me more aligned with my goals and values.

So, while this accident isn’t the type of down time I was looking for, it’s not what I’d hoped to be jumping into blogging by talking about, and I’m bummed about missing my vacation, sometimes plans are thrown out the window and life throws a curve ball, and sometimes that’s worthy of being talked about, even though it’s not glamorous or pretty. I’m still taking this time to be productive and start some things I’ve been putting off, even if it means just beginning to plant the seed and do some research – it’s always that first step that’s the hardest!