I rarely write journal-style entires on the blog. As a matter of fact, this could be my very first one. I’m not sure why since I grew up journaling {on paper} almost every single aspect of my life from elementary school to college. But my writing didn’t consist of merely crushes on cute boys {who barely knew I was alive} and teachers I disliked. As a young girl, I would fill spiral notebook upon spiral notebook with fictional storylines and imaginative characters…and the occasional crazy doodle. Although I am not an artist by any means and couldn’t possibly draw to save my life, this is likely why I still doodle on everything today.

The past month has been filled with waves of emotion. In mid-April, I was unfortunately not feeling well and was forced to take time away from a majority of my extracurricular activities {writing, friends, social events}. I used the time to rest, rejuvenate and reevaluate. Often when your body says stop, you must listen. Manolo knows this very well and I have been taking a page from his book.

My mother was also near the final stages of selling our family home and closing on her dream “empty-nester” adobe. It has not been an easy time to say the least. Saying farewell to the American dream my parents worked so hard to build and the place we called home for 30 years, was {and continues to be} an emotional roller coaster. Although time heals all wounds, our memories will last forever.

I’m thankful that life is slowly inching back to normal and that I’m feeling inspired to write again. Sometimes you just need that mental and emotional disconnect to once again connect to your inner voice. And as much as I love writing about my favorite places, products and people, I hope to dedicate at least one post per month to my inner voice.