Oh Hi There

Hey everyone! Long time no see. I know that I once again disappeared off the face of the earth. I'm so sorry for that. I can't believe it's been about a year since I've last posted. But here we are. I'll catch you up on the past year of my life, and then I'll let you know where I am now. 

My first summer in Arizona was difficult. The heat here is no joke. We had 30+ days straight above 110 degrees. It's obviously not good hiking weather during that time (it's even about 85-90 degrees early in the morning) and I just wasn't prepared with things to actually do to keep myself entertained while I was stuck inside. I know that it is equivalent to a harsh upstate NY winter (which I experienced while I was in college), but the heat just gets to me in a different way. I got through it and was determined to be prepared for my next summer. Spoiler alert... I wasn't.

Since my blog started off as a vegan blog many many years ago, I will let you know that I am still indeed vegan. I'm not completely gluten free as it seems that chemically, processed ingredients seem to be more of the issue than actual, minimally processed gluten products. I'm not going to lie, this was a happy revelation because damn I missed bread.

I'm very happy to say I've seen a lot of beautiful places here in Arizona. I'm excited to share them with you in future posts. I'll completely update you on what I've seen and done over the past year. Unfortunately, I've come to a bump in the road that was unexpected and is a bit overwhelming.

I started working at my job in January 2023. I was with the company for 18 months. Unfortunately, the last Friday of June 2024 I was laid off from my position and it was more devastating than I anticipated getting laid off would ever be. It's been a pretty big hit to my self esteem and self worth. I'm in an absolute panic over finances. The worst part has been trying to figure out what that next step is going to be because in all honesty, the thought of applying for more office jobs is making me feel completely dead inside. So the question is... what do I do next? The idea of working another dead end, soul sucking office job makes me feel completely dead inside but it feels like the only option. The problem is, the clock keeps ticking as I agonize over this seemingly simple question.

Needless to say, my mental health is suffering a bit in this moment. Having no idea what your future looks like is pretty terrifying for this Virgo with OCD. The thing is I know I'll be ok. Stressed and sad for now, but I will be ok. The road to ok is challenging though and the beginning of that road has a lot of obstacles. But I know that I'll get there.

I know that this is a very general update for now. I do have a lot of posts planned to do a more thorough catch up on some of the fun things that I've done over the past year but I did want to share where I am now. I will continue to provide updates as I gain more clarity about my future. In the meantime, thank you so much for coming back here and for sticking with me. I am so grateful for you all 💜