It has been almost 8 months since we got this beast and I have to say, he's still growing and growing. I thought it was time to update you all on our not-so-puppy dog. It's been a wild few months having him in our family and we all love him very much. 

There are things that we've noticed in him that remind us of our old dog, Rigly, and he brings us so much joy. When he's not tearing up a shoe or drinking out of our bathroom toilet, he's honestly one of the sweetest pooches out there. 

Cooper is probably 70-80 pounds of mischief and dirty socks. I swear he's gotten into almost all of our laundry baskets and garbage cans. We've also had to puppy proof our home and get him baby gates to keep him in the kitchen when we can't watch him 100% of the time. It's funny because I call it his exhibit because you never know where he's hiding or sleeping: under the table, on the carpet,  or behind the counter. 

He's at that awkward stage in his life where he's still very much a puppy, but his body is growing at an odd rate. His head is still pretty small for his body, as well as, his legs. His torso is probably all fully grown, but he's still very low to the ground. He reminds me of a mini pony. 

He does this really cute thing when you come home, he gets all excited and nose dives into your lap then does some tap-dance sort of thing before it's too late and he's already happy-peed on your foot. In order for us to tame his excitement all the time, we take him to our nearby park and run him on the baseball field until he gets extremely tired and sleeps all day—you know, what a puppy should do. 

He's still a bit teethy or mouthy, so we have been keeping an eye on him when he gets really riled up. Every now and then he will just start attaching to your sleeve and will whip his head back and forth. I know he just wants attention, but sometimes it hurts...a lot. There are other times he wants our attention and he'll go to his water bowl and start kicking the water out of his dish just for someone to notice him, I've never related to something so much. I just wished he had another way of showing it. 

Cooper will remain a mystery until we learn and he learns that not every single item he sees is a chew toy. I guess that's what comes with raising a pup. They're unpredictable but insanely cute, so I guess he's okay. Other than that, he's fitting nicely into our family and I'm excited to bring him on more adventures during the summer. 

It's a silly thing to think about, but I've always been one to over assume or analyze situations or circumstances and that honestly takes out so much wasted energy and causes unwanted stress that I don't even need to be having. I've been fighting with the idea of not having to address my issues and just sit them out, but that usually leads me to even more analysis and agony. If only it was so simple. 

There have been times that I've been living in what could be, rather than what it is at that present moment. The thing about my anxiety is that I place myself in hypothetical, "what if," situations that don't even have a place in my scenario, or circumstance, for that matter. The worst thing is when it usually ends up okay and all I have is just another racing heart, beating at someone else's drum. 

I start basing my self-worth on what could be or what I think it might be. I start second guessing who I am and what I did. I know this is pretty vague, as I would like to keep some of my private life private, but I'm sure at least one person could relate to this feeling. What I fail to do is be present. I am not paying attention to the present moment for what it is and am just creating something totally arbitrary and irrational. If everything's okay, why worry about it? 

I guess it might be my want for answers, truth, or justification that everything is entirely okay. I would say I am a pretty compassionate and sensitive, too, so that stems from my want for black and white information.

I've thought about the way I address situations and to be honest, it hasn't done me any good at all. I need to focus on what I'm doing at that moment and that I am also worthy of myself and my own capabilities. There comes a time to second guess and rethink things, but I'm tired of living by someone else's means.

For anyone who feels the same way as I do, you are worthy of success, a great job, love, happiness, and everything in between. It's noticing first that you are capable of these things and no one else can tell you otherwise. Stop living in assumptions and be here at this moment. Try to be bold. 

While I try to embrace the beginning of Chicago spring, I've lately been drawn to a lot of floral scents even though my city has lack of flora to be seen. Perfumes and finding scents I like can be very hard because I don't want anything too strong and I'm very particular with what type of flower it is or what other notes the perfume has in it. I'm still trying to decide my favorite perfume, as the Jo Malone peony and blush suede is high up on the list, I have a couple other favorites that I can't put down. 

This first perfume is the Daisy by Marc Jacobs which I know is a classic and very popular perfume choice for many women. I would say that this perfume is on the sweeter side of the spectrum as it has notes of strawberry as well as jasmine and violet leaves. I love it when a perfume can be balanced with fruit so you don't get that overly dramatic wave of grandma that I truly despise in a perfume (sorry grandmas). It is very feminine and is the perfect flirt for any occasion. 

The next scent that I have been reaching to lately is this Michael Kors Rio de Janeiro perfume. It leaves a springy and summery scent. The notes are mango, honeysuckle, and jasmine. I'm obsessed with anything mango scented. It reminds me of being on the beach and enjoying the summer rays. It also has a nice blend of fruity and floral which makes this perfume not as overpowering. 

I think these two will be on my perfume tray for a while as I hope the sun actually comes out sometime soon. Perfume and wearing specific scents always bursts my mood depending on the day. What's your spring scent this season? 

Reading has always been a hard commitment for me. Once you pick a book, you read the whole 800+ pages and are tied down to turn the page after page. Over this spring break, I was motivated to try it again. I'll be honest, reading books that I do not know of or have heard of always makes me a bit nervous and I simply avoid them at all costs—especially nonfiction. 

However, my elementary and middle school mindset on reading has really changed and I am finding myself in writing as well as what I prefer to read. It's funny how a writer could despise reading because when I was little, I was never good at it. The motivation was never there to sit down and read a good book until I've realized that it's just as important as writing. 

Just recently my best friend Alyssa gave me this book called Thanks, Obama written by Obama's former speechwriter, David Litt. No matter what your political standing is, this book is nowhere near an obnoxious preaching of President Barack Obama (while there are subtle hints here and there), anyone can read this who is mature—and also immature—to discover the "salmon in the toilet" at the White House.

While I do have to confess, some technical parts of the story were slow (when he talks about the elections and campaigning for Obama), the mix of uplift and utter nonsense that occurs keeps you engaged and wanting to know the whole story up until the end of the President's term. While I read this on the beach in Miami, I was pinned to certain chapters because I find this topic so interesting; knowing just a little more about what goes on in the Big House is so cool to know. Such as how much investigation goes into hiring staff at the White House and walking through the halls knowing that you can legally be killed by the Secret Service at any given moment. 

You do not have to be a history or political buff to explore the life of a "hopey" speechwriter. I would recommend this to people who are simply interested in what it's like to work at the White House, or maybe even figuring out the secret to great speech writing (because there really isn't one). This is definitely a beach read and a good read at that. 

We walk along the city streets knowing nobody or what they do—it's amazing that a lot of people that walk by us all have different stories to tell and I think that's what makes biographies really interesting to me. That one person who looks like an average Joe literally wrote speeches for the President. For all of those average Joes or Sally's out there, I've learned that anyone can pretty much achieve anything if the work and persistence are there. As Litt says, "The cost of living the dream, I was taught, is the responsibility to expand it for others. It’s a more than fair price". As he explained it, working in the White House was and was not at times the best job ever. It came with its own reins, if you pulled it the wrong way, you were destined in a totally opposite direction. 

I hope all of you have had relaxing spring breaks and spring holidays. I ate maybe too much candy and ham, but I feel like everyone deserves to treat themselves when they're on break. I've started a new quarter with new classes and I am eager for spring and warmer weather. Sadly, Chicago never gets warm, so I'm wishing on mother nature to bring in some sun. I've realized a few things I want to get done and accomplish this month before the end of school arrives. 

01. I've been very lacking on exercising, and I blame that on spring break a bit and my trip, but I am really wanting to get more motivated to go workout and do more than just cardio at the gym. I'm missing out on yoga since I froze my membership, so I am interested in trying out some different fitness classes and have to push myself to go this month. 

02. I'm excited about my new classes this quarter, I'm taking a Buddhism class and a caveman class! When do you get to do those? I have been really interested in all things Buddha like yoga, so I am excited to learn more about the religion since it is a requirement for my degree. And also, cavemen? Neanderthals? My freshman focal point is also a requirement for graduation and I just happened to choose it. I've always been curious about evolution and anthropology; this class will definitely be engaging every session. 

03. My goal this month is to also visit more family and see people that I need and want to see. I would say that I make it a priority even if I'm the only one traveling to see people that I care about and spend a lot of time with them. I just had some family friends over this past weekend and I missed them so much. Now that I can travel alone, there's no big reason for me not to besides financial things and school. 

04. Now that I am more comfortable at college, I have realized that I am really strict with myself sometimes and I don't say yes to things much. Not bad things, but I never stay at school on the weekends enough to develop more connections or relationships because I work when I go home sometimes. I need to let loose sometimes (without losing my dignity or integrity at that). I just need to go with the flow more and be more spontaneous—what I learned from my recent trip to Miami. 

05. This month I also want to not worry so much about what other people are doing. I know it's kind of cliche or very written about, but lately, I have been looking for places to live next year, worrying about not having a roommate, doing internships, studying abroad, and working. There's been too much on my mind about the future as school comes to an end, and I can't believe it. I have to gear my focus back to my work and what I am currently doing. 

I know these are only a few things that I may have stressed in the past, but I want the start of spring to be relaxed and not as high strung as winter was. I think this will be my only post for this week to refreshen my inspiration and my overall mood at the beginning of this last quarter. What things do you do to refresh your mind?