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30 Gifts For 30 Years

September 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

September 27th, 1988 is the day and year a star was born.

OK, now that I got that out of the way I can be serious now hahaha.

Today is my 30th birthday and I couldn’t be more grateful or full of love. I’m grateful to have made it to see the age of 30. There are many who never did, or will, and for this I am forever thankful each year God allows me to grow a year older.

I decided to take a break from blogging earlier this year due to my pregnancy. It was an exhausting pregnancy and I struggled with staying awake the entire day let alone run a blog in the process. I’ve had plenty of time to plan and have some quality blog posts coming your way soon. From recipes to personal stories to DIY projects. They’re all coming soon.Read More

All Posts, Dear Diary

16 Goals For 2016

January 3, 2016 Leave a Comment

Now that we’re in the year 2016 I wanted to make a list consisting of 16 goals to accomplish this year. I chose sixteen goals because who’s really going to write out two thousand and sixteen goals? Exactly. But in all seriousness I like to brainstorm things I would like to accomplish or improve, write them down, and hold myself accountable to these goals. I refuse to call them resolutions because goals that are taken seriously and strategically planned out tend to drive me more than the cliche new year resolutions ever will.

These are the sixteen goals I wish to accomplish in 2016:

1) Bi-Monthly Food Box

Now that I am getting into couponing I want to be able to bless others as well. I would like to put together a food box at the very least every other month to donate to a local family in need. It’s not major, but it’s a step in the right direction towards helping others beyond volunteer work in 2016.

2) Potty Train Jordyn

I’m pretty sure this is pretty understandable to those who have and don’t have children. However, we would like to talk about another child in 2017 (yes a whole year from now) but the conversation won’t even begin until Jordyn is fully potty trained.

3) Pay Off (A) Major Debt

As your average millennial buried in wonderful college loans, I would like to eliminate some, if not all, debt unrelated to my college loans. I’m aiming for financial freedom as soon as possible.

4) Visit 3 States BESIDES Illinois

My husband and I both are from the surrounding Chicago suburbs. Which means we always to IL for vacations to see family. However, in 2016 I want to explore and travel more than around/to IL.

5) Squat 150+ lbs

Because we all know strong is the new skinny. 2015 has shown us being fit and in shape is more important than being skinny. I plan to work on conditioning and strength this year.

6) More Base Activities

Now that pretty much all of my close friends have moved to new bases and states I need to find more friends. Haha j/k (sort of) I want to be more involved in base activities in general because I believe as a military community it’s important to be an important part of the community.

7) Visit 1 New Montana City

I’ve lived in Montana for almost 4 years and there are many large/popular cities I have never been to yet. Since we live here we need to take advantage of the places around us this year.

8) Visit The White House

We are planning another trip to Washington D.C. to see friends this year since we did not make it there last year. I want to reschedule a White House tour because this is the last year President Obama will be in office.

9) Spend <$100 On Grocery Trip

I’m officially one of those crazy coupon people trying to learn the ways of the couponing professionals. A major goal of mine is to spend less than $100 on a usual two week grocery shopping trip. I believe in me!

10) Take A Cooking Class

I’ve always wanted to take a cooking class. It has always looked like so much fun and would be a perfect date night idea. The husband and I have to make this happen this year.

11) Grow Blog Subscribers By 100+

I currently have 75 subscribers to my blog and would like to grow this list by at least 100 more this year. This is a huge challenge, but it’s one I am up for!

12) Do More Volunteer Work

As most of you know I am a (now level 1 certified) basketball coach for Special Olympics Montana. However, I would like to spend more of my down time helping others vs. doing things selfishly for myself. Selfless vs. selfish is the motto.

13) Eat Cleaner

This goes right back to fit being the new skinny. I want to eat cleaner for my health and my appearance. 70% of losing weight and getting in shape is what we put in our bodies so I need to do better this year.

14) Monetize Blog

I haven’t gotten a lot more serious about blogging. Writing is something I love to do and I would love to merge my passion with my purpose and create a job from it. Who doesn’t want to make money doing what they love?

15) Take A Dance Class

I’m not just talking about any dance class, I want to take a professional ballroom dance class. Learn to salsa, foxtrot, merengue, swing dance…anything!

16) Go To A Concert

Unfortunately living in Montana means we don’t have many diverse, main stream artists come here to perform. This year I would love to go to a popular artist’s concert even if it means traveling to a bordering state to do so. Especially if the artist is worth the hype.

You have officially read my goals (and reasoning) for 2016. I will try my hardest to accomplish all of them this year. What are your personal goals this year? Share in the comments below!

Brie <3

[01.03.16]

All Posts, Dear Diary

Be Patient Be Kind

November 25, 2015 Leave a Comment

We are only two days away from Thanksgiving Day which means it will be a week of craziness and last minute grocery shopping, making plans, and finalizing who is making what and traveling from where for Thanksgiving dinner. The ironic side of Thanksgiving week is because of people stressing out about different life events and/or plans, they tend to be running low on patience, especially when dealing with strangers. Due to the way I have seen people treat each other, and unfortunately how I have reacted on some days as well, I decided to write a post giving a perspective on being nicer to those around us. With all of the sadness going on the world, we always talk about wanting “peace on Earth” without realizing it’s the little things we do every day that is the stepping stone of peace.

Be patient, be kind means exactly what it says. While you’re out and about this week preparing for your grand Thanksgiving meal, I want you to think of others before yourself. Many of you may be thinking along the lines of giving back through volunteer work of some sort, but as nice as that is I’m talking about your everyday interactions with others. For example: while you’re out driving and you get stuck behind the one car going 10 miles under the speed limit, try and consider the person who is driving the car. Maybe the person is elderly and doesn’t have anyone who is able to run errands for them, or drive them around to get their errands done. Maybe the person driving under the speed limit is driving with tears in their eyes because of receiving some bad news about themselves or a loved one. When you go to the grocery store and there is that one person holding up the line with tons of coupons and/or multiple payments, maybe they are struggling to feed their family and this is the only way they can afford everyday necessities. Maybe they recently lost a job, or they are helping care for someone else and trying to find a way to make it work the best way they know how. On the flip side there are some people who are generally not the nicest people to others, but even for that person, consider the holiday season may make them sad and they respond with anger because they don’t have anyone to spend the day with or anywhere to go. Maybe the holidays bring them memories of pain instead of happiness due to their childhood. Not everyone grows up in a household that makes you feel happy and loved any day of the year let alone during the holidays.

I say all of this to remind everyone to try and remember compassion when you feel yourself getting angry. Remember everyone is fighting a battle of some sort, and most battles you can’t see by their outward appearances. Remember we are only here and able to share joy with our loved ones because of the wonderful grace of God. If God can bless us with the gift of grace and mercy through all of our downfalls and sins who are we to not extend grace and mercy to those around us. We know of the atrocities happening in this world to our brothers sisters and we know the answer to all of it is love and peace. We can’t ask and/or pray for love and peace if we’re not willing to extend it to those in our own communities on a daily basis. Will we all fall short and find ourselves losing patience in some situations? Of course, we’re only human. However, it is what we do to correct ourselves and our behavior afterward that counts. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to run into that person again within your community. (Six degrees of separation is real) If so, apologize to them even if you feel awkward in the process. Your apology may make their entire day. They might have even forgotten about the interaction, but you could very well restore their faith in humanity with your apology, which may lead to them extended the same grace to someone else one day.

Although this post fit perfectly into my “thankful” Jamieson Diaries theme for the month of November, this post works for every day and every month in life. I would like to incorporate not only being thankful every day of my life, but to always extend love, and be an example of the peace I pray for in this world.

Brie <3

[11.24.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

Selfish vs. Selfless

November 8, 2015 Comments : 2

In the spirit of the season, I have decided to make my Sunday blog posts for the month of November about giving and gratefulness. I know this tends to be the cliché trend of everything in the month of November, but what is wrong with doing something for others and sharing positivity? In a world where hatred and sadness seems to be more popular than love and happiness, I think a month of thankfulness is needed.

This won’t be a long blog post, because this post is simple. I challenge everyone (myself included) to be less selfish and more selfless this month. It is quite an easy task if we truly find the compassion in our hearts to put others before self. Becoming a wife and mother has taught me this lesson more than I could have ever imagined, but I can still be and do better. It doesn’t have to be some grand gesture to prove selflessness either. Maybe instead of buying that new shirt or pants for yourself, you buy a few pairs of sweatpants and sweatshirts at Walmart for the homeless. An alternative for those who may not be in the financial place to buy such items can go through your closet of clothes and give away anything you don’t wear or need anymore to the less fortunate.

Another example of a small, but large impact gesture, could be buying some cheap canned goods on sale at your local grocery stores and donating some to your local food bank or church. The alternative, you may be shocked at what you have in your own pantry and don’t eat/need that can be donated to someone else.

A few other examples of selflessness is donating your time to a cause to help others. Find a local church or shelter who may be looking for volunteers to bless someone in need this holiday season. You would be amazed how appreciative people are to those who share their time and love with complete strangers. Another idea is making sure your coworkers or neighbors have somewhere to go on Thanksgiving. As hard as it is for some people to understand, there are many people who do not have family and/or close friends to share Thanksgiving dinner with. So ask your friends, coworkers, and neighbors if they have plans for the holiday. Not only will you be given the opportunity to bless someone else who will always be grateful for your hospitality, but you have the opportunity to strengthen a relationship or make a new friend.

I hope we all have the opportunity to show multiple acts of selflessness this holiday season. I pray all of us are able to be a blessing to someone else, and in turn be blessed by them as well. What other ideas would you like to share of selflessness with others? Please comment below. Also, as the month goes on, please share your acts of selflessness with me and other readers by commenting below, and/or tweeting and Instagraming me @JamiesonDiaries.

Here is to a wonderful season of spreading love and happiness to those around us!

Happy and blessed Sunday everyone!

Brie <3

[11.08.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Family Love

Starting Family Traditions

August 23, 2015 Leave a Comment

Reminiscing about my childhood is easy to do considering all of the greats memories I get to remember and share with others. It is because of my great memories that I want to be sure to pass the same feeling and memories on to my children. Passing down family traditions is something I want my children to not only enjoy, but I want the traditions to mean equally as much to them, as they do to me. I want to create memories for a lifetime, and ultimately they pass the traditions down to their children, and their children’s children, etc.

I belive building family traditions is an important concept in teaching children what makes the love of family so special in our lives. There are so many people in this world without families to love them or for them to love back, and I think those of us who are blessed enough to have the love of family often take that same love for granted some days. I want to be sure our children are aware of the blessing they call family. Throughout their lives, I want them to share the lessons and love they received from us, with their friends, strangers, and eventually their future children. These are the five traditions I plan to tart with my children and hopefully generations to come.

I will let my children pick one day out of the year (not their birthday or a holiday), to skip school and have a mommy child date. This is a one on one date I will make with each child. We will go to eat at the restaurant of their choice and do one activity of their choice. However, I also want them to use this opportunity to open up and talk to me about whatever may be on their mind at the time. It is all about them on “school ditch day”, and I want them to remember no matter how busy and crazy life gets, they are individually special and individually deserve time with Mom.

This one doesn’t need much of an explanation, but family fun night is important, because it’s FUN! Family fun night can be anything from playing board games to watching movies. Whatever it is, it is up to the family to decide together. I would like to do family fun night, bi-weekly. I figure as our kids get older, and start spending more time with their friends on weekends, they can set one evening to the side, every other week, for family bonding. They can even invite their friends over to join in on the fun with the family. I want them to always remember having tons of fun with their parents and siblings.

I’ve already gotten the ball rolling on this one, but it is something I want to continue doing. Kids change so much and so quickly within the first few years of their lives, and it’s nice to look back on family photos and see the progression. Jordyn is only a year and two months old, and we can’t believe how much her face has changed since our Fall and Christmas family photos last year. As they get older, one family photo every year would be perfect. Preferably during the holidays :-).

More than eating the food, I love the fellowship sharing a meal brings to the table (I know you like my creative pun). Sunday is the day of praise and worship, and nothing ends a day of thankfulness like a big home cooked meal. Sunday dinners are something I have already started within the last few months. Coming from a huge Caribbean family, sharing a huge meal with a huge group of people is something I have loved since I was a child. In the Jamieson household, Sunday evenings are meant for big meals, full stomaches, complete happiness, and being grateful.

On the days we are taught everything is about US, I want to teach my children the complete opposite. I want them to understand the gifts and special treatment they receive on these days are a privilege many never experience. More so than teaching them their privilege, I want them to understand the importance of service before self, at a very young age. This is something our children won’t be able to understand until they are a bit older, but you can’t start them too young, in my opinion. Being in the military means we will be living in different states during these times throughout their lives, and will need to look for our local homeless shelter or mission. The kids will still get to have their big meals and presents, but my prayer is that when they eat or open their presents, they have a completely different appreciation for the lives they live, and privileges they receive on a daily basis. I want them to learn the beauty of compassion and to share it with others.

If you have a family to love, always remember to love them unconditionally.

Have a happy and blessed Sunday everyone!

Brie <3

[08.23.15]