Trailing Minds Dream Big

Good morning all! I hope this Wednesday morning is treating you well. It’s October and in Indiana it was 65 degrees out when I left for the conference I’m attending today. If you don’t know it shouldn’t be 65 degrees in October in Indiana. But that’s another rant for another day.

As mentioned already, I’m attending a conference today. It’s focus is on children and how to ensure their safety. With that comes the talk about the current opioid crisis.  Don’t get me wrong it’s a very important topic but at 8AM and day two, my eyes are glazing and my mind started wondering. This is when I start dreaming so of course, I started jotting things down. Here’s my list.

As you can see, most of these have to do with work. I don’t want my life to revolve around work. I don’t want to “live to work”. I don’t even want to “work to live”. I want to do something to make my life’s earnings that I enjoy and has meaning.  

I find that my motivation is usually in full swing when I have time to stop, think, and plan. This doesn’t happen very often though so when it does I must capitalize on it. 

I’m determined to make some changes and strive to use my creative side more often. I’m excited to see what life has in store. 

Stay tuned. 

I promise my next post will be more fun and light hearted. 

Another Day, Same Old Thing

Do you ever feel discontent? Like you’ve gone as far as you can go in the job you have? Or you’ve hit a brick wall and there’s no moving that wall, smashing it down, or climbing over? 

That’s where I’m at. That’s me right now. 

I’m burnt out, exhausted, and ready for life to offer me something new and different. I currently work a very complicated, rotating  schedule and it doesn’t allow for any stability or routine. I grew up going to school during the “work week” and then I worked a “normal” schedule for years. Didn’t think it was anything special. Now, I miss those days. The days where I had a weeeknd, evenings, and holidays off. A period of time where I didn’t have to look months in advance to see if I would have a specific holiday off. It’s tiring and makes me sad. But here I am, trucking away. 

I’ve come to realize a few things in the last 6 months and here they are:

• I need structure, stability, and to know what each week will look like for me and my family. 
• I need friends and to build community in this great city. But how do I do this when I can’t commit due to my wacky schedule? Seriously, how do people make friends outside of school? It’s like dating all over again.
• I need an outlet. I need to make time for me.

So here I am. Struggling. Burnt out. Exhausted. Never knowing what day it is. Forgetting things. Losing things. Some would say this is life. I don’t want to be content with where I’m at. I have to make a change. Stay tuned. 

Have you ever felt this way? I can’t be the only one, right?! How did you get through? What changes did you make? I’d love to here your suggestions! 

Somewhere Over the Monon

Somewhere over the Monon the blue birds fly? Oh wait, that’s not how the song goes. 

There are several things I love about my city but one of my favs is the Monon Trail. Do you know it? It’s a trail that can take you to Broad Ripple, Carmel, Fountain Square, Mass Ave., well, you get the point. You can walk, bike, roller blade, skip, run, or whatever your heart desires. I’ve even seen a St. Bernard sitting on a platform being pulled by a man on a bike while blasting 70’s music – and let me tell you, that dog was living the good life. Oh and let’s not forget the many, many babies, toddlers, and dogs (yes dogs) being pulled or pushed by runners or bikers. Needless to say I love this trail for many reasons; here are my top three.

Food.

Drinks.

Entertainment.

When my husband, D, and I moved to Indianapolis back in 2014 we lived downtown close to everything. We still to this day talk about how good we had it and how we didn’t know what we had until it was gone. We lived 4 blocks from Mass Ave. We walked everywhere and spent wayyyy too much money. We ate, drank, and enjoyed “downtown living”. 

Indianapolis is full of life. Full of foodie places, full of food places, and full of places to kick back and have a drink. And yes, there’s a difference between “foodie” and “food” places. Just ask any “big city” resident. In the 3 years we have lived in Indy, we have visited numerous amount of restaurants, bars, pubs, wineries, and breweries. Here are a few of our favs.

Indiana City – The very first brewery that we stumbled upon and still to this day it remains our favorite. It’s laid back and they have delicious beer! And the bartenders are pretty awesome as well!

Old Point Tavern – Yes, some might say this bar that’s tinted red might be a “hole in the wall” but that’s what I love about it. It’s old, it’s quaint, and a little intimating to walk into but once you do you need to order the nachos. I crave them weekly.  

La Margarita – Mexican & yummy margaritas. Enough said.

Milktooth – Now, I really didn’t want to be another person to talk up Milktooth but honestly, it’d be a sin if I didn’t include this brunch establishment on my list of favorites. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a favorite of mine.

Locally Grown Gardens – I get very excited when spring comes back around because it means my favorite little market will be serving Lemon Shake Ups and not the ones you get at the fair or carnival. These are legit, full of fresh fruit, and massive. We split one and go for a walk on the Monon.  

Now, these are just a few that come to mind when I sit down and write. These are the ones that I think about when I reminisce on our move to this vibrate city and how it welcomed us with opened arms. 

I’m excited that I still call Indy home and that I continue to grow and discover new places, activities, and people. Thanks for letting me share a little about me and my love for this city that we call home. I hope to continue to share life with you.

Come along for the ride!