Scaredy Cat

Ok ladies I need some major help here. I have total bag lust for an item that I shouldn't even be looking at. Someone talk me off my ledge because I was gifted Christmas money from my parents thats burning a hole in my pocket that should not go to a bag.   Right? :/

Bag lust x 100000000.

But on to today's writing prompt is on things that scare you.

The first and foremost thing? Snakes. Yup - thanks dad. I have an absurd fear of snakes so badly that I shudder if I see one on TV, and god help me if I see a live one. I'm not even putting up a photo because I'd probably have to look away. They are just so nasty and gross and the tongue thing I just can't. I can't even bring myself to eat unagi because eels are like water snakes. *Shudders in seat*

Needles most likely rounds out my second choice. Ever since a bad blood draw when I was in the hospital at 16 I've had major needlephobia. DH didn't believe me until he went with me to get a vaccine and I hyperventilated and almost passed out (pregnancy will be fun, oi). Strangely enough, I'm ok with tattoo needles. But drawing blood and getting a normal shot? Ugh god. No thanks.

And the third would most likely be flying. I'd like to think that I'm getting better with it, though! I flew my first transatlantic flight coming back from London and I didn't freak out too badly. I'm better when I'm with others, but I spent a good hour crying on the return flight from our honeymoon and contemplated turning on my phone to call and say goodbye to my parents. Yeahhh. And small planes? No thanks, I'll pass.

But of course, I'm scared of change. I hate to think what will happen one day when I'm older and I don't have my parents here with me any more. Sometimes the ache in my heart is almost too much to deal with - and I still have them. I don't even want to think about it... and if I'm ever without my DH... I'm just not sure I would be able to keep going.

What are some things that scare you - and what helps you to get over them?

My 9 to 5

Three more days until Mexico. Three more days. I hope I can make it three more days!

After seeing Jeannie wear her floral dress this weekend I decided to bring out my floral skirt for today's outfit. I think its stretched and gotten a little big on me but then again.. I don't want to be bulging out of this skirt.
Skirt: J Crew
Blouse: H&M
Phone case in french hens: J Crew

Today's writing of the day prompt is about what I do for work. I currently work at an IT staffing/recruiting firm as an HR Analyst. This is my second year of working in HR and I love it. The majority of my duties include helping to run on and off-boarding initiatives as well as running benefits for the company, employee relations, documentation, and any other day to day things that my boss needs.

I'm incredibly lucky in the sense that I have a fantastic team of coworkers who put up with me asking tons of questions on a daily basis and are also helping me to further my career. HR is not always the easiest thing to do. I often get a little nervous when communicating confidential information to people, especially across email so I double and triple check my work on a daily basis.

I'm also going to be enrolling in a continuing education course through UC Berkeley to get my HR Management certificate so that will start to take up some spare time. For once though I feel as if I really truly like what I do because it makes me think.

What do you do for a career?

My friend Tiffany.

Today's write every day in May challenge is to write about a blogger or real life friend. While I do have a few blogs that I adore I really have yet to make a good friend or two, so I thought I'd dedicate today's post to my best friend since 1st grade - Tiffany.

Tiffany is probably the most kind, selfless person I know. She honestly doesn't have a bad bone in her body and will never, ever say anything negative about anyone. Tiffany is one of the very few people that I know of who put herself through college and getting her master's degree after being dealt with a few hard rounds in life. But - she has never, ever stopped - and for that I admire her so much.

I can always count on Tiffany to listen or make me laugh when I need it, and has been through my side throughout deaths in my family and was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding. She has a contagious laugh and when the two of us get together we always manage to come up with some new joke to keep going.

Everyone who meets Tiffany always seems to say the same thing - she is just the most gentle soul. I know she aspires to be a social worker with adoption cases and I know that one day she will get there.

From volleyball and basketball games as kids, going to rival high schools,  high school dances, college degrees, new boyfriends, breakups, the passing of our grandparents and the distance between us in miles getting longer I can always depend on her.

To my bestest friend for over 20 years - I love you girl and you deserve all of the good things that will be coming your way in life. :)

Who is your oldest and closest friend?

Words to live by

So I've decided that next week while I'm in Mexico for a few days if I can't get online for the every day May blogging challenge that I'll write in a journal and then upload later. I hope that works.. :)

I found this one on Pinterest awhile back and loved it right away. I know its more of a quote about love and all things flowery and romantic, but I also like to think of this when I'm faced with making an adult decision or something that is hard and I'm scared about.

The perfect example that I have is surrounding this is work right now. Two of my closest colleagues are being faced with a tough choice that may ultimately result in us parting ways. I've  been thinking a lot about what I should do when and if that happens. My gut instinct was to go with them or quit all together and start searching for a new job - but when I sat down and talked it out with DH and looked at my options...well... I have nothing to lose if I stay where I am. Truthfully and honestly, I can only begin to grow.

So while I might not be ready to leave them just yet - and quite frankly there may never come a time that I'm ready to - so I'm going to strap on my big girl panties and jump, hoping to learn a lot along the way and help further my career and personal growth while doing so. And this can be said about so many other things too - sometimes being a real adult is just hard.

Are there any quotes that you particularly like to think about or write on when you need some encouragement?

Not so easy.

May 3! Friday! What do you have planned for this weekend? Tomorrow night DH and I have a house warming / cinco de Mayo party to go to, and Sunday is my sister's engagement shower. As long as the weather keeps up here in SF I will be a happy camper, although I'm sure my chinchillas will beg to differ.

Hello, heat wave...

Speaking of things not being so easy.... a few things that make me uncomfortable per todays prompt. Crowds, especially at bars/restaurants/clubs/venues where people are constantly bumping up into you. Snakes (thanks dad). Bathing suits. People clipping their nails at work or on public transit. Spitting. Awkward social situations where you are the third/fifth/seventh wheel. In high school and college it was boys.  Flying, although I'm getting better at it. And taking photos of myself, especially for my blog. The majority of the time DH isn't home and I don't have anything but my iPhone around, so its the bathroom at work for me. Work situations, especially in my field, can leave me wanting to cry/scream/drink/have a day off. But what can you do but hope that tomorrow is better, no?

What things or situations make you uncomfortable, and what have you done to try make those situations better?

My traveling tips

May 2nd - another prompt for writing today. Hurrah!

Lowenbrau Hall at Oktoberfest

Ichia Island off the coast of Naples

Educate readers on something you are good at or know a lot about.

I guess I know a bit about a lot of things... but I thought I'd take a stab at my vacation planning skills.

The most fun thing to do first? Decide where you want to go. Scope out points of interest - for us, we had never been to Naples and wanted to eat real Napolitana pizza. We had been to Cinque Terre but only on a day trip. And Oktoberfest is pretty much all you need to know about Munich in the fall. Narrow down the big things you want to see and you can start to plan your travel around them.

The second most important thing is... setting a budget. Yep. Realizing how much you want to spend on a trip can be the worst part. For our honeymoon, DH and I knew we wanted to get back to Italy.. but we decided to throw Oktoberfest in Munich into the mix. Because Oktoberfest happens in late September/early October we already knew when we would be traveling. We booked our hotel in Munich in February and it was by far the most expensive hotel of the trip, so we attempted to average about 150.00 USD per night for every hotel after that, and about 50USD per day in food (all of our hotels in Italy included breakfast, hurrah!)

Because we live in SF and are at a United hub we stockpiled our frequent flier miles to use for award flights. We paid out of pocket about 500 in airfare for all of our flights (SFO to Dulles [we had a two day layover for family events], Dulles to Munich, Munich to Naples, Bergamo to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt back to SFO). Airline affiliates and smaller European airlines are your friend.

Once we had our plane travel booked we started looking into hotels. We chose hotels that were conveniently located but also offered perks such as breakfast and free wifi (an easy way for us to communicate with our families back home). We then booked train travel to get us around Italy and ensure that we had seats (because sitting in the middle of the aisle is just not a fun way to go).

As we got closer to our departure date we went to our bank and got some Euros so we would have money for taxi or bus fare if we needed it, called our credit card companies, and packed our bags. DH and I both took a carry on to Europe and we did laundry once. Plus, we avoided any nasty fees for checking bags on intra-European flights.

And before you know it... your trip is here and all you have to do is have fun.

Some tips:

• Start reward accounts with hotel groups, airlines, car rental companies - you name it. Anything you can accrue rewards on to use in the future or get discounts on is a plus.
• Make a list of important things you'd like to see (and where they are located..we've been to Florence twice and have yet to see the real David. Or find him. Ooops.)
• Call your credit card company so that you can use your card if you are going out of the country - and if you use your ATM card your pin should be only 4 digits.
• Print out your itineraries, tickets, and boarding passes ahead of time to cut back on freaking out before you leave for the airport.
• Charge your camera batteries and bring extra cords for charging items.

And there you have it!

May blogging month & about me

I saw this on a few of my blogs today and thought I'd attempt the challenge over at Story of my life: Blogging every day in May. I'm always game for a challenge. :) Today's topic is the story of my life in 250 words or less.

My name is Laura. I was born August 30, 1984 to two amazing people I get to call my parents, and was graced by my baby sister Lisa in 1988. I was raised in the suburbs of San Francisco and lived in the same house until I went to college. I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2007 with a degree in english language literatures and dreams of one day writing a book. I'm the only person in my immediate family to graduate college with a bachelors degree. I travelled Europe for 6 weeks post graduation with my then boyfriend (aka, my husband) and promptly got a job upon returning. That was 6 years ago and today I work full time in human resources and love it. I live in downtown San Francisco with my husband, our cat, two chinchillas, and our fish. I have four tattoos (although most people always say they never think I would have any), and aside from my husband my mom is my best friend. San Francisco is one of my most favorite cities on Earth but I also have been bitten by the travel bug. I still want to write a book, adopt more cats, own a home, and not a day goes by that I don't miss my grandparents terribly. I love food, photographs, the sun, and laughter.

And... there you have it. Me. :)

Linking up for today's blog post.