Eating for a good cause- Firehouse Subs

Although my girlfran Maddie and I both live in Chicago, we always make it a point to meet up when we are both in Omaha. I called her this morning after dropping off my friend Casey at the airpot to see what she was up to and she suggested that we meet up for lunch at Firehouse Subs. I quickly said yes because my friend Sara told me months ago that it was a delicious place with a good cause. Firehouse Subs was funded by fireman and their goal is to ensure that they are able to impact local fire departments, law enforcement and EMS and public safety organizations with the tools, technology and training they need (see source, here). 

I ended up ordering their veggie sandwich because of my flexatarian lifestyle and it was amazeballs! Who would have thought that sauteed veggies on whole wheat bread could be so delicious? Watch out Subway and Jimmy Johns, there is some tough competition for my number 1 vegetarian flexatarian-friendly sub choice. 

Maddie is totally rocking the Fire Chief hat.

Love this look- reminds me of 101 Dalmatians

Good touch

Close up of the hat and table

Beautiful artwork on the wall

Until next time, Firehouse Subs. Overall, 2 thumbs up!

The reason for the season

Now that the Christmas season has quickly come and gone, I can't help recognize that the best gifts in life are the people around you. From our house to your house... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My siblings and I have a pact that no matter where we are in our life, we must always find a way to make it back to Omaha for the holidays. 

I got my parents this Pinterest-inspired table setting because I am thankful for all the life lessons I learned from them- my two most influential teachers- at the dinner table all these years.

This picture was taken at my sister's apartment after church. My family gives me so much happiness. We are truly individually unique, together complete!


I hope y'all were able to share this time or have a conversation with the people that mean the most to you. Happy Holidays to you and yours and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!

It's that time of year

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year! Why may you ask? As N-Sync once sang, " It's the best time of the year for the family; It's a wonderful feeling; Feel the love in the room from the floor to the ceiling; It's that time of year; Christmastime is here!"

Here are a couple of ways that I have been celebrating this special time the past few days:

My colleagues and I decided to have an ugly Christmas sweater work day last Friday. To be honest, I wish we could rock this look all the time because it is quite comfortable.

Friday was especially fun because we got to leave the office early and head to our annual holiday party at Broadway Cellars. Good food, good times, and good company!

But don't worry, the fun didn't stop there. Following the holiday work party, some of us went to our friend Ben's party. I truly got the most out of my ugly sweater. You wouldn't believe how many compliments I received.

Although Friday was a great time, the best part of my weekend was these two's big announcement...RYAN PROPOSED and Kara, of course, said YES! I made them take of picture of making it FBO (aka Facebook official for my social media disengaged friends).

Therefore, Brooke and I had to treat Kara to a mani/pedi. I ended up just going for the company because the salon did not have my preferred holiday color choice. 

But it was worth waiting because the salon by my work had the no-chip gold that I wanted. So instead of taking my lunch break to eat a salad, I decided to get my nails done with my colleague and friend, Sara. What do y'all think of this holiday color combo? Have you noticed that I am all about getting mani's lately? Remember this post?

Contrary to (some) popular belief, I promise that I have a life outside of getting my nails done. In fact, I am still in love with this big city and appreciating it like a tourist. So, I was happy that my dear friend from high school, Stacy, was able to visit me right before I left for Christmas break! (Yes, I am in academia and I still see the year in terms of semesters). 5 bucks if you can spot Stacy and me in this picture of the Bean.

Stacy and I had a great time but us city girls were excited to head back to rural Homaha.  I was really lucky that I made it back today because the weather has been crazy in the midwest. This is a picture of my parents' street. As expected, it looks like we are going to have a white christmas in Nebraska.

I've only been back for a few short hours, but I am already thankful for the time I get to spend with my family and friends. Y'all obviously know that I will always have a special place in my heart for this place... especially at this time. 

I guess you can say that it brings out the inner  kid in me- being fully present and open to love, laugher,  and others.

Tis the season, my friends. Just want to wish you a H-A-P-P-Y   H-O-L-I-D-A-Y season and encourage you to make this time count. Sing your favorite Christmas song a little bit louder, sit down and enjoy a drink/non-alcoholic beverage with a family member or good friend, and make sure to treat yo self! 

An Egg-celent tradition

Every single semester my colleagues and I volunteer our time by serving our students breakfast for dinner during their finals week. I enjoy this tradition because it's an opportunity for me to support and celebrate my students' success during a time that tends to be quite stressful for many of them.

I can relate to them because Finals Breakfast is also a big tradition at my undergrad and I still remember how motivational it was to see the faculty and staff, outside of the classroom, because I gained a sense of reassurance that I was going to get through the difficult week due to their kind words and gestures. Therefore, it's my pleasure to force myself to stay up pass my 8:30P bedtime (I wish I was joking), put on an apron, and hope that my smile or words of encouragement will inspire my students to keep going.

 It truly is a humbling experience because it reminds me that every single person at a university (or any work environment) plays a significant role, regardless of their official title. As I reflect back on my college experience, I obviously remember my faculty, friends, and mentors. But I will always have a special place in my heart for the maintenance crew, dining/food services employees, administrators assistances, public safety officers, and the transportation drivers. These individuals taught me three important life lessons...

1.  Life is not about what a title can give you, but what you can give to the title aka there are no such thing as a small part only small actors.
2. Be kind because the world is a small town.
3. You are never too busy to be a wo(man) for and with others (what up Jesuit values)

I think about these people and the lessons they taught me every single day and especially during this time of the academic year. Finals Breakfast is a fun time and an egg-celent tradition. I hope you enjoy the pictures (below) of my colleagues and me at the big event. 

I was in charge of serving the fruit. I was pleased to see that it  was a hit because I was the college student that always ran straight for the bacon and eggs.

Don't mind Alex, Courtney, and me

How can we serve you?

Before I Go To Sleep

Last night my book club and I met to discuss Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson. This is by far the best book that we have read so far because it is a page turner. I don't want to give you a summary spoiler, but I will share broad information. Basically, a woman named Christine suffers from amnesia due to an accident she encountered. She wakes up next to her husband, Ben, every morning at different stages of her life (i.e. as a child, college student, adult). In an attempt to remind his wife of her life, Ben has placed various photos of her and them together on the bathroom mirror. According to Ben, he can't provide more photos of their past or belongings because they had a bad fire in their previous house. However, her questions of doubt becomes too intense, therefore she starts to secretly see a doctor (Dr. Nash) on the side to help trigger her memory. Dr. Nash suggests to Christine that she should start a diary and document her day-to-day activities and memories of her former life. The first sentence in her diary is: DO NOT TRUST BEN. These little words captured the reader me because you start to question why and you are determined to find out why and whose motivates are genuine. I recognize that my brief summary isn't giving this book justice because I don't want to give everything away. But for real- recommend this read to your book club or find some time over the holiday break because it is just that good.

Not your typical love letter

So, friends, I must share this interesting letter that I received at work from my "Secret Santa." At first I thought this was a joke that one of my friends was trying to pull on me, but they have all sworn on their life that it isn't them. Therefore, I am currently completely stumped on who would like to "deck my halls tonight." Will the joke be on me at the end of the day or perhaps is this Santa's way of foreshadowing that there will be an IBM waiting for me underneath the Christmas tree in a few weeks?

 Either way, I've got to laugh at this situation because it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Don't believe me? Check our this cute little picture (below) of my friend VW and me in front of the Sullivan Christmas tree. I wonder if  my "Secret Santa" watched us while we took this picture and secretly laughed on the inside. In honor of them and this not so typical love letter, I am going to share one of my favorite guilty pleasure Christmas song with you here.

It's just one of those days

Today was one of those days when I noticed that I was putting out negative energy into the universe. For those of you who don't know me, I truly believe that you get out of life what you put in. Therefore, I played my go-to song on repeat, "Happy" by Natasha Bedingfield, and I was back to my positive self in no time. How can you not love the lyrics, below:


"Happy"

Ooh.. Oooooohhh.
Landlords Knocking at my door cussing me out
Got laid off my job the night before
Can’t figure how
I’m gonna fix tomorrow when Yesterday's still a mess
Can you tell me what’s the point man
It all seems meaningless
I wish that I could step away and breathe
This world’s trying to swallow me
Clear away the clouds inside my head

[Chorus:]
Someone just tell me
That it’s ok now
What are you worrying about

Got my dreams, got my life, got my love
Got my friends, got the sunshine above
Why am I making this hard on myself
When there’s so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy

People lie, people hide, people cry, people fight

And they don’t know why
If fear is all that we should fear
Then what are we so afraid of
'Cause fear is only in our heads

Someone please say...

[Chorus]

Any day I'll go bad thinking bad
Everyone is against me and the world wants to fight me
Preparing to battle an enemy unseen
During my stressing I’m blinded to the lessons 
That could be a blessing if Id be confessing that the enemy
I’m trying to beat is hiding inside of me

But it’s ok now...what are you worrying about...

[Chorus]

Keep your grind on girl...it’s your love, it’s your world... [Repeat 2x]

[Chorus]

The phrase, "There's too many beautiful reasons why I have to be happy" always gets to me!